Ilbareth speaks up.
“As horrific as recent events have been, we’ve come to realize
that they are, in fact, merely a prelude. The razing of the Kite,
the destruction of our wardstone, Terendelev’s murder, and the
assault on the city were nothing more than opening gambits.
The Worldwound is on the march in a more concentrated assault
than we’ve seen since the fall of Drezen. It’s fair to say the Lord
of the Locust Host is finally making his move. The end of this
hundred-year-war is upon us, and it falls to us to ensure victory.
“While the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth were scattered,
those who serve the Lord of the Locust Host himself remain
concentrated in Old Kenabres. What we’ve heard from within the
barricade they’ve erected is ominous. The cultists are waiting
for something, and based on our own information and
what you’ve managed to recover so far, it sounds like
the vile witch Areelu Vorlesh will soon be coming to
Kenabres. And it appears that we’ve determined
what she intends to do.
“When the wardstone was destroyed by
the Storm King, it exploded and destroyed
the Kite. The network along the border
failed, but did not fade completely.
I believe this is because a significant
portion of our wardstone still exists, and
that the cultists have taken it to the old
garrison in Old Kenabres. From what we’ve learned, they’re
hoping to engineer a way to somehow reverse the field generated
by the wardstones—essentially, to use our own greatest defense
as a devastating weapon.
“The attack on Kenabres had a predictable result: causing the
crusade to gather at the border to defend it. Some wonder why
the demons haven’t attacked in stronger numbers. I believe that
Areelu was counting on us massing along the border, and that if
she can corrupt the wardstone field, she can strike a devastating
blow against us all. In effect, we’ve lined up for the slaughter.
“Vorlesh is surely seeking some object of great Abyssal
power, likely the Nahyndrian crystal mentioned in the missive
you recovered, and with it she intends to turn the source of
our hope into an unimaginable nightmare. We cannot hope to
evacuate everyone from the border—I doubt they would give up
the defensive line even if they knew what the enemy planned.
But we can still stop this from happening—we just need to have
someone infiltrate the Gray Garrison, locate the wardstone
fragment, and destroy it.”
|
”would it be possible to retrieve the fragment instead? Use it’s great power for our own benefit? Hanna is pacing as she talks, though the thought of there being an actual objective seems to have calmed her slightly ”after all, if it’s a weapon they can use against us, it’s one we can use against them
So, tell us about this Gray Garrison. What are we up against?
As Ilbareth finishes speaking, Lina takes a moment to consider what's been said. "You...want us--" She gestures to herself and her companions. "To carry out this infiltration?"
As Ilbareth finishes speaking, Lina takes a moment to consider what's been said. "You...want us--" She gestures to herself and her companions. "To carry out this infiltration?"
"yes. Persisely."
”would it be possible to retrieve the fragment instead? Use it’s great power for our own benefit? Hanna is pacing as she talks, though the thought of there being an actual objective seems to have calmed her slightly ”after all, if it’s a weapon they can use against us, it’s one we can use against them
"optimistic at best, stupid at worst. We have no way of knowing what has already been done to the wardstone, and even if it is, by some ubsurd stroke of luck, untouched, we are currently on the defensive and have no time for a restoration project.
"however, even before that, we might have more pressing concerns. The templar safe houses may very well be acting as locations for cultists still in the city. This also needs to be handled, and we are rather short handed as is...
She sighs.
"I am loathe to ask, but I may need your assistance for more then one thing."
So, tell us about this Gray Garrison. What are we up against?
"it's near impossible to keep track of the forces within, as we cannot gain entry now, but it was a museum dedicated to honor the dead."
"as it stands, an assault on the grey garrison would likely be suicide. We're stalling them, but we can only manage so long without having to attack directly. We might be able to coordinate a distraction when you go in, should you do so, to reduce the numbers, but remember, should you need to retreat to rest when you assault the garrison, feel no shame. The garrison is very well guarded, and you are only so many people. I'll leave it up to you what to do first- we still need to investigate the templar safe houses, and we need to assault the grey garrison. I can attempt to have the eagle watch get some more information on the garrison if you want to put that off for a time."
It would be helpful to have more information, thank you.
When you said infiltrate, I was assuming that you wanted someone to sneak in. That might be an excellent task for Shayde. I only worry about him needing backup.
We could also investigate the Templar safe houses while we wait for more information, if we know of no way in.
"to be perfectly clear, no, I dont intend for this to be a stealth mission. If you leave them alive the shattering of the wardstone would bring them all down on your heads, and you'd certainly die. That said, if shadye is as skilled as you claim, he could help us scout the location."
Shayde scowled slightly. "There would have been a time when I could have executed that task alone with no fear. But that time is past. I now stumble far too often, and solid walls are once more a barrier, for a time. Caution is needed. Still, if we move at night, I could likely provide some advance scouting."
Silently, Shayde clenched his teeth as his twisted arm spasmed slightly again. But that bore no direct relevance to this task, beyond contributing to his weakness.
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"The crusaders launch an attack on the garrison, drawing most of the defenders to the front. That way we can move quickly in. Means we'll only have to face the strongest of them on the way in," Lina says, realizing it as she says it. "If this is what you wish, commander, then I'll give it all I have." She gesticulates as she speaks. "Nevertheless, we'll need every edge we can get if we're going to succeed here, and I'd bet my last copper they have resources we can use in those safehouses. We'll need to work quickly, but I..." She clenches her fist to keep it from shaking. "I believe we can do it."
Haruto nods. "Yes. The safehouses first."
ilbareth gives hanna an odd look.
"three. Like your group reported. ... anyway, yes, anyone have any more questions?"
Azlana gears up, ready to head back out, a little bit stressed that they need to continue this struggle, but very relieved that they don't have injured they need to watch out for this time.
Eventually, the party arrives at topaz solutions.
A wooden sign above the door bears a carving of a bundle of
orange herbs and flowers hovering over a beaker filled with
smoking orange liquid. The building’s windows are tightly
shuttered, but the front door hangs halfway off its hinges.
Inside something living can be heard.
Azlana casts Light on a pebble and tosses it inside, then walks closer to the door, ready to shoot anything evil that she sees.
Shayde and Stalker move closer, staying out of sight. Was the noise a foe? A friend? Or just a scavenger?
Lina taps Azlana and says quietly, "I'm going to go round back and check for another entrance. Remember, their passphrase was, I've new material for the archives."
Lina moves around the building to look for another entrance.
inside are a bunch of lightly armored, banged up people who are digging through the ruins, and flinch as the stone hits the ground, whipping around to look at the party.
Azlana nods to Lina and watches her go. Then she ducks through the door and addresses the people.
Greetings, friends. Perhaps we can help you find something?
The people in the building squirm a bit.
"n-no, we're fine. We were just wrapping up, actually."
You guys don't mind if I cast Detect Evil, do you? I might have some new material for the archives and I need to make sure you aren't just a bunch of demon-loving looters. What say you?
the group flinches a moment, and start arguing among themselves. They seem more fearful of the idea of magic then anything- they dont neve seem to recognize what the spell does or how it works.
Shayde waits, willing to see if the others could solve this through diplomacy. In case they couldn't, he edged closer, aiming to be in reach of these scavengers with a single lunge, while staying hidden.
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Haruto steps forward and smiles at them, his tails spread behind him.
"Perhaps it would be better said this way--anything you might find here would be of no use to you if the demons have their way. Every arm is needed to defend the city now. Will you not go to Defender's Heart and join with those who still resist the world's end?"
Lina, finding no other exits, returns to the front, catches up on what's happening, and uses her power to read the auras in the area.
the men glance about, and then lie through thier teeth.
"Y-yes, sure! We had better go!"
and the group bolts, no real intention of helping defend.
Lina steps aside and lets the scavengers go. "Scumbag looters, but we have bigger fish to fry," she murmurs.
Agreed. I just hope they didn't take anything irreplaceable.
Azlana ducks in, looking for any other threat, and seeing if there is anything salvageable left.
The location seems to have been looted until nearly nothing remains.
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Lina takes a good look around. A cultist safehouse, they wouldn't leave everything out in the open, it would be hidden away, she thinks.
Shayde and Stalker look through the rubble, and Shadye intersperses some detection magic to find anything unusual or invisible. (using Detect Magic and Detect Psychic Significance)
that line of thinking seems to have been accurate, as lina and shayde find a trapdoor buried under a small pile of rubble behind the counter.
Lina whistles to grab attention, and carefully clears the rubble away. She checks the trapdoor for traps.
Azlana is glad that her companions are more observant than she is, and waits while Lina checks the trapdoor. She has her bow in hand, ready to defend the party as needed.
The air in this basement is damp and musty-smelling. The
walls and floor are packed earth, while dozens of gourds hang
from the ceiling beams. A sludge of rotting plant matter covers
the floor. Against one wall, a wooden table holds a strange
apparatus that looks like a clockwork toy of a snake-bodied, six-
armed woman holding a sword in each hand. A tightly corked
bottle, filled with what looks like water, sits before the statue.
A wooden chest covered with engraved runes stands under the
table, and a sinister image of a star surrounding a goat’s face is
painted on the wall above the table.
Once they get into the basement, Azlana casts detect magic to see if the strange objects on the table are magical.
She doesn't try to open the chest, but she takes a good look at everything to see if there is anything to be wary of.
"Well. Seems we're in the right place," Lina says. She looks briefly over the objects and tries to identify the religious imagery. She then goes to the chest, checks it for traps, disables any traps she may find, and tries to open the chest.
Haruto stands at the top of the stairs until Lina declares the area clear of traps or he hears shouting.
Shayde similarly stays upside, figuring there are enough people scouting downstairs already. Besides, someone needed to keep watch.
Azlana tells her companions
There is an illusion spell over on this wall.
With detect magic still up, she tries to identify the specific spell with Spellcraft.
If that doesn't work, she starts running her fingers over the wall to see if what she feels and what she sees are the same.
as lina and anvina explore, something triggers a magic mouth spell. "I hope this gift finds it's way to iomadean dogs, else this would waste a perfectly good blessing from bahamat!" and the statue mashes the bottle before lina can get close enough to disarm, filling the room with a foul substance. (fort saves please)