Isilme ponders the moat being unguarded. If there was nothing within its waters, perhaps then having Ehren use control water to approach the wall might be viable, just as they had used it to ford the West Sellen river. Doing so might allow their forces to scale the walls directly with a bit of aid from Xanderghul's handy grapnel and Ehren's ability to create footholds in stonework. "Clearly the brimoraks will be a priority. If we can infiltrate and disable them quickly, we might be able to open a path for our troops to follow," she says, sounding somewhat unconvinced of her own suggestion. "Alternatively, we could attempt to bait them into using their fireballs on some illusions. Doing so would make assaulting them directly more feasible. Killing them quickly would still be preferable to avoid them warning other demons, but once we have entered the citadel it will likely not be long before they have been alerted to our presence."
"The ghost claimed to be Moxsahbuul when I suggested it. Which makes sense given that it fits the description of a Berbalang attack." Ary shares with the others. Her grayed skin masked the clarity of the damage from the assault, without her old rosy cheeks, the pallor was difficult to notice immediately. "Speaking of which, I'm feeling rather drained. I fully expect for them to become a threat anew. At least this one seems interested in me, rather than anyone else. We still need to get both myself and Xander to a healer... and probably Evie as well." She pauses, chewing her lip.
"Do you think this 'Corruption Forge' is connected to the blades that Vhane ordered Hosilla to steal from Kenabres? And to what end are they trapping another demon down below..?" She frowns for a moment longer, not commenting on the assault on Iomedae's chapel. She chews on her lip a moment longer. "We'll hold a small rite in the morning for those that we lost. I refuse to bury our men on tainted soil that the undead are going to be digging through. I'm going to go check on Nurah, then get recovered. It's going to be a long morning. Are you coming, Xander, or should I send someone your way?"
"I'll come with," he replies with a curt nod, moving to follow her. "Everyone, let me know if you have any questions about what I found. I need to recover now. That spell... It was rough. And painful."
Irabeth frowns. "Indeed. I wonder if this is connected to my family blade, stolen from Gwerm's home. I sold it to him to-... to-" her voice cracks and she shudders. She turns away, refusing to make eye contact with the others. "I agree that you should see a healer, Commander Bishop. I'll be out checking in with our captains. Come find me if you need anything."
Ary reaches out to Irabeth and places a gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "You do not have to suffer alone, Irabeth. Remember, that there is selfishness in strength during times like these. If you need anyone, I'll be here... and I'll do anything that I can to make this right."
Irabeth pauses, glancing back at Ary. A moment passes before she can figure out what it is she wants to say. "I'd like that. Once things are settled down, come to my room, on the third floor. I would appreciate the company tonight, at least."
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"I'll be there." Ary offers with a nod, before heading off to find some clerics.
By the time she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she's panting a little. That was going to be a problem. "Do we have any plans in place that would prevent you from being able to prepare a few lesser restorations or restorations tomorrow? Evie and I were attacked by a berbalang, and recovering from that would be in our best interest. Also... Xanderghul needs a healer." she turns to him with a slight smirk, "I believe he overextended himself."
"Would you mind a little extra company? Take it from someone who knows. You're not helping yourself trying to grieve alone. Especially when there were other people who loved Anevia."
Isilme hated to be the voice of reason at such a time. Irabeth was clearly hurting, and being able to spend time working through her grief was essential. Time, however, was not a luxury they had. Moxsahbuul's attack had reiterated that point quite succinctly. Attempting to be tactful, she attempts to remind the others that sleep was imperative to staying functional.
"It pains me to say this... I know things are difficult now, especially dealing with this situation in the midst of a siege, but all of us should make an effort to get rest," Isilme says to Irabeth, Ary and Val specifically. "As we have seen, Vhane and his forces will give us no quarter, even in this defensible location. If we are not prepared for what tomorrow brings, we will be placing many more than ourselves in danger."
As Isilme waits for a response, her thoughts turn to the discussion of Irabeth's heirloom sword. If it were true that such weapons had been collected and brought to the forge within the city, and were it the case that Vhane's sibling was the one working the forge, they might be able to use the blade's presence as a means to scry upon the forge chambers themselves. It wasn't guaranteed to work, but it might grant them a further edge, since Xanderghul had been unable to locate the forge. If it were truly in a secret area of the citadel, there was a strong chance the Sword of Valor might be stored there as well.
Xanderghul just steps closer to Isilme and mumbles under his breath, "They're just looking for an excuse to have an orgy, let them be."
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Isilme doesn't miss a beat, turning to glare at Xanderghul. "You can be funny at times, but this is beyond the pale." she whispers back quickly after placing herself bodily between Xanderghul and Irabeth. Poking fun at Ary and Val, or even herself was fine, but Irabeth had literally just lost her wife. Insinuating that she would be having a threesome instead of mourning was just cruel to someone as obviously devout as their half-orc friend.
Irabeth doesn't hear Xanderghul's rude remark, so she just nods to Isilme. "Thank you for being a voice of reason," she says, though her voice is hollow. "Well, I should be off. We need to get a headcount done, make sure no one is missing."
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Though she doesn't show it outwardly, Isilme still sighs with relief when she realizes Irabeth hadn't overheard Xanderghul's crude remark. "Indeed. Good night Irabeth, I will be retiring as well then once I check in with Külə and Ledsa."
Heading down, she first wanders out to find her Unicorn companion. He was, of course, quite capable of taking care of himself; Isilme felt it important to keep tabs on his well being. His lack of concern for his own well being was something that would take much time and effort to undo. Not surprising, given the level of suffering Hormond must have inflicted upon him.
When she finally finds him, she gives him a pat on the side of the neck, trying her best to avoid his scars. "Təşəkkürlər, Külə," she says. "Sizin köməyinizə olan yardım və istəkləriniz həyatımı və bəlkə də irəliləyən digər insanların həyatını qurtardı. Mangvhune uzun müddət bizi narahat etməyəcək. Sizə minnətdarlığımı bildirirəm. Mənə bu səyahətlərdə mənə qoşulmaq üçün seçdiyinizdən şadam."
Leaving Külə in the section of the tower she staked out for them, she heads down to check on Ledsa and Yulin. She suspected the mother would be asleep by now, but it was important to check on her and make sure that she was both safe and that the Kellids had reacted positively towards her.
Ehren had intended to speak more of the plan, but that notion ends for him when Anevia is mentioned. He watches Irabeth sorrowfully, the inner peace he had found with Hinagiku earlier threatening to slip away. Anevia had been a friend to all of them, but to Irabeth she was so much more. The paladin's pain had to be unimaginable.
He frowns somewhat when Isilme insists that sleep was more important than finding comfort. But if that was tactless, then Xanderghul's utterance might as well have been a blasphemy. His grip on the charwood staff grows painfully right, but instead of doing something everyone in the room would probably regret, he storms out without another word and heads back to his room.
Val just sighs. "As you and I both well know, losing a loved one isn't easy," she says calmly to the aasimar, her voice abnormally flat. "I was fortunate to have my friends there to help. I would rather not leave someone to suffer alone. But I'm not in the mood to argue this right now. I'm going to bed."
Irabeth heads for the stairs down, and Isilme follows quickly behind. When the two women part for their separate destinations, Irabeth does not bid her farewell. She just trudges off into the darkness, her frayed white cape billowing out from behind her.
Isilme finds Külə near where they left him, in-between the two stables. He's silently watching a discussion between two of the cavalry captains from afar.
"Well we only lost five," Cobelen offers, weakly.
Captain Halse glares up at him from under her helmet. "Yes, but who knows how many we'll have to put down due to the ghoul fever? At least we have some clerics in there now, assessing the damage."
Külə flicks an ear towards Isilme as she approaches. "Heç bir problem yoxdur, İşlənmə. Dünyada bir az canavar," he says in his usual morose voice.
"It is no problem, Isilme. One less monster in the world."
He follows her back to the tower, wishing to sleep closer to the others, though he doesn't attempt to squeeze through the narrow doorframe. Anywhere that didn't smell like manure, really. "Bir az istirahət etməlisiniz. Gecdir. Sabah daha uzun bir gün olacaq."
---
Isilme then heads into the tower. She finds the kellids sequestered into one of the larger barracks on the second floor. They are wide awake since the encampment was under attack, and the room is illuminated by candle light. The kellids are clustered into small groups, murmuring amongst themselves.
She finds the kellid known as Isbeyl sitting on the floor, across from Ledsa. She's playing with baby Yulin, covering her face with her hands, then revealing it, much to the baby's delight. It squeals and coos - for an infant just born a few days ago, it has grown astonishingly quickly. Abnormally so.
But despite her demonic features, Yulin is just like any other baby. She stares intently at Isbeyl, suckling on her mitten, before erupting into a fit of giggles when she makes a silly face at her. Ledsa sits behind her, smiling. She turns to Isilme when she notices her there. "O, noson dda, Isilme. Rydyn ni'n gwneud yn dda, diolch am wirio arnom ni."
"Oh, good evening, Isilme. We are doing well, thank you for checking in on us."
"Mae'r un bach yn fendith," agrees Isbeyl, a woman not much older than Ledsa. "Gwaed Sarkori yn nhiroedd Sarkori. Fe all hi dyfu'n iach a chryf."
"The little one is a blessing. Sarkorian blood born in Sarkorian lands. May she grow healthy and strong."
Though she is willing to play with the baby, it is clear that not all the kellids feel the same way. Many keep their distance, whispering among themselves.
You spot a writhing shadow underneath a nearby bed, like something out of a child's worst nightmare - only visible because its form does not flicker like a normal shadow does in the candle light.
----
Meanwhile, Valaria and Ehren head to bed on the third floor. As soon as they lay down, getting comfortable, they're jolted awake by a sound... in their heads.
In your room, Ayavah moans, sitting up from bed. Her hair sticks every which way as she yawns. "Ughhhh, what the f@~$?" she grumbles.
Val sighs as she sits up and rubs her eyes. "I am not in the mood for this tonight," she grumbles, rolling out of bed before she's even gotten comfortable. "You hear it too Ayavah? Because it feels like there's an angry mob in my head." She grabs her knives from beside the bed. "I suppose we're going to need to see what that is now."
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Isilme smiles at Ledsa, pleased at least one of the other women there had taken well to Yulin. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she clearly makes out the form of a shadow, likely an invidiak, hiding beneath the bed. Given there'd been suggestions of prior visitations, Isilme knew this was likely the same one. Perhaps even the one that had made a pact with Ledsa.
She turns to Yulin and begins singing a song, concealing her intention to leave the invidiak shaken with her words. "In days of yore when darkness long held sway // Underneath the endless stars, the shadows came to play. // Desperately they sought a host, a body to steal away. // But wise men knew that light they fear, and prayed to Sarenrae // And the goddess's blessing seared their eyes with the holy light of day."
She takes Yulin's hand and plays with it for a moment before turning towards the bed. "وحش تحت السرير ، كيف تسيل." Isilme says with a laugh, funneling a small measure of the magic she had left into her celestial taunt. The magic in her words worms its way into the thing's mind, compelling it to begin laughing hysterically.
Valaria/Ehren
Valaria heads out into the hallway, Ayavah sleepily following right behind her. The noise of the angry crowd in their head does not relent, continuing to scream Demon! Demon! The crusaders on this floor are awake and looking around for the source of the noise.
'Yeah. That's horribly annoying. What in the Abyss is making that racket?'
----
Isilme
Yulin's pupil-less red eyes stay affixed on Isilme as she sings. She grabs her hand when offered, and immediately starts suckling on it, drooling on her fingers. Ledsa pulls out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth and Isilme's hand, unaware of the danger lurking nearby.
The shadow starts writhing on the ground beneath the bed. The shrill sound of it's laughter - a woman's voice - echoes in her head. The kellids turn their heads around at the noise, confused.
Ehren winces, having been in the middle of clearing his thoughts so he could get some proper sleep. He clutches the side of his head as he sits up, realizing that wherever all of these people were, they were speaking directly to his mind. With no time to throw on his armor, he simply grabs his staff before heading out of his room to investigate the floor.
"Mae pawb yn dal yn dawel ac yn symud i gefn yr ystafell yn erbyn y wal, i ffwrdd o'r gwely honno a'r drws," she says to the Kellids. Preventing a panic was important in this situation, especially when she would immediately need to call for help to deal with the demon.
Had it been earlier, her magic likely would still have been active, but without message Isilme had no choice but to resort to calling out for help. "Val! Ary! Ehren! Hinagiku! Paladins, crusaders! To the second floor barracks! I have immobilized a shadow demon!" Isilme calls out towards the door. As she calls out, she draws her sword and begins walking towards the shadow demon, using the last of her arcane power to enhance her weapon. She steps forward and swings at the creature, not really having any other recourse in this situation.
Val sighs. "Ayavah, can you run and see if anyone else is hearing this? And possibly get help if they're not? I'm going to help Ehren look around." Then she stops when she hears Isilme calling from below. "Maybe we'll be lucky and that's just the cause of this. I doubt it, but maybe." She turns and heads toward the shout.
Ary purses her lips once more. A sure sign she was disappointed in a choice that had been made. "There is nothing more important than a friend who is hurting. I'll be there in a few moments. I need time for preparations. But I'll definitely stay up with you. The cleric's spells will cover that as an added boon, and you're capable of removing fatigue... So there's no loss.". Her pursed lips become a frown when Isilme decides that the Hallit and unicorn were worth staying up for, but Irabeth was not. In thought and deed she thinks to herself as she officially moves to the ward to make her request, get Xanderghul healed, and then moves on to join Irabeth, mostly content to listen and to ask her to share stories, especially good ones, and how they met. She'd heard one version, but they always tended to differ. She hoped she would be able to guide Irabeth towards focusing on the good, and holding on to the happiness... Not focusing on her loss.
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As the party splits up again, Xanderghul just shrugs and heads to find a healer. He is still in some great pain, and he needs help recovering from his ordeal. After visiting the healers, he heads straight to bed. Tomorrow will be long, and will suck. He falls into a shallow sleep, just as normal.
Xanderghul, standing on an empty cobblestone street of Nerosyan, sees a snake-bodied figure from afar. Wielding a different rare weapon in each hand, they are surrounded by a squad of Crusaders. Their six arms are a whirlwind of violent activity, skewering one Crusader after another. A swift, sharp slice of a katana severs one Crusader in half diagonally, and a Dorn-Duergar sends a second crashing through the glass windows of a nearby storefront. "Hey!" shouts Xanderghul, his voice like someone yelling through a locked door, "Stop!" He begins to run towards the melee. He has to stop it. The Crusaders couldn't stand a chance on their own.
One by one, the armored men and women are dismantled by the snake-bodied creature's weapons. By the time Xanderghul reaches them, the last one is being held in the air, screaming, impaled by four different weapons at once. Shouting, Xanderghul's whole body lights up and he unleashes a blast of blazing-white pure arcane energy at the marilith. He would obliterate it in a single blow.
The humming, blazing blast passes through the creature like it didn't even exist... and as he finishes channeling the spell, he realizes that it didn't. It was an illusion. The marilith turns towards Xanderghul, a wide and evil grin on its face. Xanderghul stops in his tracks. The marilith and he have the same face. "You are nothing," it says, its voice sibilant and seductive, before it rushes forward, intent on carving him stem to stern.
Xanderghul gasps, sitting up in his bed. It is the middle of the night, and he has a pounding headache, a ringing in his ears, and sweat covers his body. As he rubs his head, it resolves into a faint mental message... "DEMON! DEMON! DEMON!" Getting up, Xanderghul wipes the sweat from his forehead and neck with a towel before leaving his room to see what the commotion is.
The kellids back away from the writhing shadow, and Ledsa reflexively scoops up Yulin into her arms and recoils against the door. Isilme strides over to the bed and stabs at it with her rapier. It stops laughing and simply sinks into the floor, melting into the stone and vanishing without a trace.
A few moments later, Commander Bishop arrives on the floor, having heard Isime's cry for help.
---
Ayavah nods to Valaria. "Okay. Okay. I'll be right back," she says, then runs off down the stairs.
Valaria and Ehren then work together to comb the floor, looking for the source of the noise. Then they hear Indisy's voice - "Hey! Hey! I think I found it!"
They follow the sound of her voice and walk into the hallway adjacent to Irabeth's room - the half-orc chevalier was still out at the moment - and find that on the table is an enormous axe of dwarven make, emblazoned with the holy symbol of Torag. The axe is visibly vibrating on the table. When they step in, the voices in their minds grow even louder, and sound more enraged.
"KILL IT!!! KILL THE DEMON!!! KILL THE DEMON!!!"
Indisy reaches for the axe....
as soon as her fingers touch it, a strange expression crosses her face... she grimaces for a moment, as if in pain... then her face contorts into an expression of pure rage.
"YOU WILL DIE," she screams.
She turns and seems to charge right at Valaria... then at the last second leaps up and swings the axe at a spot in the air to her right. Whatever she hit, she draws blood, and there is a loud squeal of pain. She lands somewhere behind Valaria, then turns back towards her, axe raised once more.
"What the f!&!?!?!" curses the Bound Horror in your mind.
It is at that moment that Xanderghul arrives.... and the heroes hear Isilme's voice come up the stairwell, alerting them to the presence of a shadow demon.
---
Val follows the sound of the cries and comes across the crusader just in time to see her pick up the ax. "Wait that's..." She doesn't have time to finish telling Indisy that touching talking objects is usually a bad idea before the crusader picks it up. "F*ck me," she mutters as she dives sideways to try to get out of the range of the swipe, only for it to not actually be aimed at her at all. "What."
'What the f+@$, how can it see me? Do you have any idea how many layers of -Augghhhh... okay, I'm going, I'm doing."
The little halfling cavalier readies to charge back at the spot she did before... then stops all of a sudden. The whole time, the axe was screaming in everyone's heads like a damn siren - "DEMON! KILL IT! KILL THE DEMON! DEMON! KILL IT! DEMON! DEMON!" but after a moment it silences completely. Indisy abruptly comes to, dropping the axe with a thud on the floor.
"Oh... oh gods... what happened?" she asks.
After the really awkward comment of Xanderghul, and the sudden departure of Ehren, in a state of frustration no less, Hinagiku is momentarily taken aback, she wasn’t expecting those things to happen. After a short hesitation, she decides to try and catch up with. However, once she finally reaches his room, the lights are off and silence reigns. Deciding against waking up her companion, she heads for Xanderghul’s room…. Only to discover silence and darkness once more. In the end, Hinagiku goes down to the base of the tower to stand guard around the surviving horses.
Hinagiku rushes through the tower as soon as she hears Isilme’s whispers, only to find the azata without a foe.
”Gone, already?” she asks.
The monk then looks around. As she does, she slowly attunes herself to the corruption that follows demons hoping to detect the whereabouts of the invidiak oni that was just there.
Isilme scans the room quickly, moving over towards Ledsa. She needed to make certain the demon was actually leaving and not merely hiding in an attempt to possess someone.
"Rwy'n credu fy mod wedi ei gyrru i ffwrdd, ond mae pawb yn cadw eich llygaid allan nes cyrraedd Ehren. Bydd yn gallu canfod a yw'n agos," she says to the Kellids and Ledsa, making sure to continue to keep them calm.
"There was an invisible demon lurking around and the axe decided that it was demon killing time," Val says, trying to keep her voice level. "The ax must be sentient or possessed or something, because it took control of you. Thank you very much for not trying to take my head off by the way." The tiefling rubs her neck gently, very glad that she wasn't the one nearly chopped in half.
Isilme/Hinagiku/Ary
You don't find any evil in the room.
Ledsa nods mutely, clutching Yulin tightly to her breast. The other kellids gather their weapons, feeling jumpy at the repeated attacks in the middle of the night.
Ayavah appears a few moments later, on the tail of Hinagiku and Ary.
"Oh! Commander. Isilme. Hinagiku. Valaria asked me to find you. There's something screaming about demons on the third floor...telepathically. Valaria and Ehren are looking for it now."
----
Indisy exhales. "Sorry... I didn't think that would happen. I'm really sorry... I could have killed you!" She shakes her head. "But really, a demon? Gods, maybe it was a good thing then..."
Captain Vica claps her hands together. "Okay, men, enough gawking! Everyone, we need to scan the tower - at least three times - looking for demons! And... no one touch that axe! Even if it helped us this one time, it is too dangerous to touch until the Commander decides what to do with it!"
Isilme breathes a sigh of relief when the others verify that there is no sign of the shadow demon. "Thank you Hinagiku," she says once she has searched the room.
When Ayavah appears mentioning something screaming about demons telepathically, Isilme sighs. Perhaps she should have informed more people of what exactly to expect with regards to the axe. "The axe up there is intelligent, named Fiendsplitter. It really loathes demons. Make sure that no one touches the axe at all, as it is likely to attempt to take control of them. As someone who was literally once in their position, it is much easier to do than it would seem like it would be, believe me. Also... if you get a chance, send Ehren down here."
His misplaced feelings of gratitude towards the quasit aside, Ehren felt a good deal of satisfaction in realizing that the Bound Horror was the one being attacked. However, the very real possibility that the demon's connection to Valaria could be discovered was a cause for concern. He is just about to lend the halfling - or the axe, rather - a helping hand, when the shouting in his head suddenly stops.
"When Isilme mentioned an axe, this is not what I had in mind," he remarks, taking care not to get close to the weapon, despite the fact that it has apparently calmed down.
With the situation in the room under control for the time being, Ehren then hurries over to the second floor barracks to check on Isilme.
Without even the barest sigh of annoyance, Hinagiku nods to Ayavah.
"Quickly then." she says, sprinting toward the stairs and climbing them with alacrity.
She arrives just in time to hear captain Vica's orders and, just before she joins the search, she decides to join the tiefling woman.
"Miss Valaria, do you think the demon might be gone now?" she asks once they are mostly alone.
"Archdderwydd Ehren, A fyddech chi'n meddwl gwirio dwbl am ysbrydion?" Isilme asks, sounding exceedingly polite and formal for the Kellids watching.
"Archdruid Ehren, Would you mind double checking for the demon?"
Ayavah is about to run and fetch Ehren, when he shows up of his own accord. "Oh. Well, there he is. I'm going to go find Valaria," she says. And with that, she climbs back up the stairs... slowly this time, her legs were starting to get tired from all the back and forth... until she finds Valaria. She trails a bit behind Hinagiku.
"Oh. I'm glad the noise has stopped. I was getting a headache."
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Xanderghul purses his lips when he realizes that the Bound Horror was the demon that he had been awakened for. As the paladins move to scan the tower, he just sighs. What a load of drama for nothing.
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Ehren blinks when Isilme addresses him in such a reverent manner, but he quickly realizes what she is playing at.
"Ydw. Ni all unrhyw cythraul guddio o'r golwg Gwyrdd," he says resolutely, stepping further into the room. He has almost certainly never called his spirit sense that before, but nobody in the room had to know that. His eyes glow with the light of the ley itself as he searches the room for the missing shadow demon. In the end however, only Isilme and Yulin glow with otherworldly auras. The archdruid blinks, closing off his sight to the ley. "Mae'r cythrault cysgodol wedi mynd. Gallwch chi orffwys yn hawdd."
After a moment of thought, he adds, "Bu'n noson hir. Byddaf yn aros gyda chi nes bydd yr haul yn codi."
"The shadow demon is gone. You can all rest easy."
"It has been a long night. I will stay with you till the sun rises."
"You don't need to apologize. You weren't in the driver's seat, as it were," Val says, sounding very tired. "But I think it did what most demons do when they don't want to fight and teleported. It could be anywhere by now, so let's hope we're done for now." She nods to Ayavah when she gets back with the others. "Hopefully the axe will stay quiet from here on out and we can all get some sleep. I would rather not be exhausted in the morning since we have a siege to get to and all."
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The kellids watch as the young druid moves through the room, checking it for any demons that could be hiding invisibly or otherwise. They appear visibly relieved when he is done, in a way that they weren't when Hinagiku had done essentially the same thing just moments before. "Diolch, Archdderwydd," Ledsa says reverently.
---
Irabeth returns, informing the others that there are no reports of other attacks from their night-time guards. The paladins in the tower move off in pairs - to protect from possession, a trick taught to them by their Commander - and scan the tower multiple time. They check every square inch and come up empty. Satisfied, the heroes all go their separate ways and drift off to sleep... except for Ary. Ary stays up late, talking with Irabeth in her room. The half-orc paladin shares with her happy stories - how she met Anevia - how she was aware of her birth gender from the very beginning ('She seriously thought she had me fooled! But I peeked, once, when she thought she was in private.'). How they fell in love, and how she proposed the night in Tymon that Anevia swore she'd follow her anywhere. To join the Crusades, into the Worldwound, even into the Abyss if she needed to. There are moments where she can't help but cry, but she steels through even the difficult stories. And in the end she seems better for it. Eventually the first rays of dawn are streaming in through the arrow slits in her room and Irabeth stands up.
"Thank you for staying with me, Ary. I... I needed this."
---
26 Lamashan 4713
Morning
The next day, the weather appears calm, except for the severe winds. There is light cloud cover. After their morning tasks, the heroes convene in the office on the third floor with the captains to decide what to do next.
Xanderghul shows up to the meeting room, but just waits. He knows that Isilme will take charge before long.
The next morning, Isilme shows up in the meeting room, expecting to find Xanderghul waiting to be told what to do.
When the captains and everyone else has assembled, she stands before the assembled group and bows apologetically. "My apologies for not warning others more clearly of the nature of Fiendsplitter yesterday," Isilme begins, looking disappointed in herself, "I should have realized that even leaving the weapon wrapped and bound was too risky without explaining the consequences of touching it. The weapon may become a valuable ally with time, but it is consumed with a need to destroy demons, and as Indisy found last night, it is more than capable of enforcing its will upon others. It pains me that my lack of clarity and foresight risked Indisy's life."
Taking out the map that Ary had convinced Nurah to produce, and which with Xanderghul's brilliant use of magic had been thoroughly annotated, she begins:
"With Nurah's aid, and Xanderghul's magic, we now have a relatively full accounting of what lies in store for us within the citadel. Surprisingly, despite her betrayal, her map was quite accurate. It seems that they have consigned most of their troops to the area outside the citadel, while keeping their few, more powerful, demons within. Xanderghul can give a more detailed description briefly, but before we worry about what lies within the citadel we must solve several issues."
"Firstly, we know that Soltengrobbe resides somewhere within the city. We must lure it out and defeat it, or we place our forces at serious risk."
"Secondly, the drake riders possess the mobility necessary to assault us in the open with impunity, and they allow them to keep tabs on our movements continuously."
"Thirdly, the river must be forded, in a minimal amount of time, while still making it difficult to observe the approach of our troops."
"Finally, we need to determine how best to raid the Citadel itself, especially the means of entry."
"Have I missed anything?" she asks the others honestly.
Hinagiku, surprisingly, steps forward to speak first.
"Miss Isilme, in what amount of time are we expected to do all this? It seems to me that taking down Soltengrobbe and the drakes would probably take the greater part of the day... would that mean we will only attack tomorrow?"
"I agree that achieving these goals might take the better part of today, and we have to do so while being prepared for other attacks. There is no reason not to expect further attacks from Moxsahbuul or the others. The cover of darkness tomorrow morning is likely our ideal opportunity for making a move on the citadel."
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"I was happy to be here with you, Irabeth." she says with a nod, looking tired, but also looking pleased with time well-spent. By the time she sees the half-orc again, she looks back to her old self, having recovered remarkably well with the medic's aid. She does her best to see to it that Evie gets healed as well.
"So... we bait a giant death monster and their aerial drake entourage, create a bridge or disarm the traps in the river and then make sure we have a way to cover our passage. How many stone shapes would that take?"
She pauses. "We should do our best to find a way to continue to hammer the negative relations between Moxsahbuul and Vhane if we can. Like delivering a message that 'Moxsahbuul and Bishop met under a false attack that lead to the deaths of only two horses.' or... a better form of phrasing if you have it. Since Xanderghul gave us that advantage, we need to keep the enemy on tilt there."
"I believe the spell Ehren used in the tower we fought Arastrax might be more effective for crossing than stone shape. I do not know what the extent he can cover with the spell is, but it was a significant length inside the tower. It would certainly cover far more ground than stone shape would. But in general, yes, those are the things we must do."
She listens to Ary's suggestion regarding Moxsahbuul and Vhane, nodding in agreement. "Vhane might not buy that we were actively collaborating, but I am quite certain we could make him believe Moxsahbuul did the bare minimum to appear to be contributing while plotting another attempt on Vhane. Being able to further drive that home could certainly play to our advantage, especially since both he and his ghouls would be able to respond to our assault on the citadel much more quickly than the others outside. Ensuring that he sits out would be quite beneficial."
"Convincing the enemy that our plan is to cross the river into the southern section to attack their forces might also be of great use. It is important that they believe our assault is not aimed at the citadel, but instead at their fortifications on the southern bank. Doing so would help in buying time for our assault on the citadel."
"Firstly, we know that Soltengrobbe resides somewhere within the city. We must lure it out and defeat it, or we place our forces at serious risk."
"How do you propose we lure it to us? We do not know where it lairs. Likely it is chained up somewhere, and its masters would need to let it out to fight," asks Captain Halse, her helmet under her arm.
""Secondly, the drake riders possess the mobility necessary to assault us in the open with impunity, and they allow them to keep tabs on our movements continuously."
"They're too high up for us to fire on reliably in a volley, and too quick to target individually. How can we stop them?" asks Captain Cobelen of the Everbright Crusaders.
"If we were to get into a fight - a real fight - with their armies, they may feel compelled to commit the drakes. They fly too high and too far for them to attack us with their breath so far. That is when we'd need to strike. But I feel that they would be too smart to dare assault us near the tower, where it would be trivial to fire upon them without much risk of counterattack," reasons Ser Ilivan.
""Thirdly, the river must be forded, in a minimal amount of time, while still making it difficult to observe the approach of our troops."
Captain Streigher of the Sunrise Sword scratches his beard. "We would be left extremely vulnerable if we tried to move our civilians across the ford... many of the sick and injured cannot even walk. So who would go with you across the river, and who would stay?"
"Speaking of that," adds Lietenant Kost, of Vilareth. "Aren't the riverbeds trapped? How will we cross?"
""Finally, we need to determine how best to raid the Citadel itself, especially the means of entry."
Ailig of Ceffgwylt grunts. "Their castle will be heavily guarded, more so than any other part of the city. Demons... and their misguided followers. If you go in, you will be surrounded by their teeming hordes, with no way of escape."
Wenduag speaks up. "But as Isilme says, if we engage their armies on the southern end of the Citadel, or even inside the keep, perhaps we could draw out enough of their forces, distract them, to allow for a smaller force to take on what is left inside the castle proper."
"Ah," says Captain Vica. "Yes. Very similar to the plan we pulled off at the Grey Garrison."
""I agree that achieving these goals might take the better part of today, and we have to do so while being prepared for other attacks. There is no reason not to expect further attacks from Moxsahbuul or the others. The cover of darkness tomorrow morning is likely our ideal opportunity for making a move on the citadel."
Irabeth frowns. "Well, we cannot waste much more time than that. We have maybe three days of rations, from what Artis told me. We've taken on a large number of freed slaves these past few days. We're feeding many mouths."
Captain Cobelen nods. "We could halve rations, and last longer. But we need to accomplish what we came for and then either leave, or establish a supply line."
"Once the siege in Nerosyan is complete, we could send notice that we need supplies from the capital," says Sosiel. "I could prepare a sending. But we would need to have control of the city to make that feasible."
"She pauses. "We should do our best to find a way to continue to hammer the negative relations between Moxsahbuul and Vhane if we can. Like delivering a message that 'Moxsahbuul and Bishop met under a false attack that lead to the deaths of only two horses.' or... a better form of phrasing if you have it. Since Xanderghul gave us that advantage, we need to keep the enemy on tilt there."
"How would we get such a message to them?" asks Ser Ilivan.
Val listens to the planning in silence, considering their options carefully. "While I agree that we need to move as quickly as possible, discounting any further counterattacks puts us at risk. We can't become complacent just because we beat back one or two night raids."