Dara grabbed Alaina's shoulders as well. Without warning, the two collided heads. Shaking her momentarily, the said, "I don't know how he did it, but Uncle certainly made your head harder than the last time we met."
The Wolf just laughed. Turning around to her latest lover, "Cel, I'd like you to meet Dara Shadeshard. My Cousin. Dara, this is Cel, one of my companions."
The Dwarf eyed the young man. There was definitely something about him that made her mage sense tingle.
Looking up at Alaina, "Now when you say companion......?"
Smiling at her Cousin, "Later."
Cel flashes bright red again at the exchange, "Uh, hi!"
"A bit skittish isn't he?"
"A little, but he's a good man," Alaina said giving Cel a wink.
Turning back to her cousin, "Well, love to chat, but we have business with the Captain."
"What a coincidence, so do I."
Sweeping her arm to usher Dara forward, "Shall we then?"
"Hmm, it was a bit damp, but no mist obscured our vision until we tried to make our way down."
Dulae nods in agreement with Xizoh’s assessment. “The caves got more damp as we went up.”
Inside the waiting room, the double doors to the captain’s office are open, and they can see Captain Vazquez, Lieutenants Buhari and Narwita, all four of Silo’s apprentices, Blaine Guillen, Xizoh and Dulae, and a few other faces they don't recognize inside. The group seems to be listening to something Xizoh and Dulae are saying. Private Zahan is standing by the door, watching the waiting room.
Inside the waiting room, the double doors to the captain’s office are open. Dara can see Captain Vazquez, Lieutenant Buhari, and about 10 other faces she doesn’t recognize inside. Private Zahan is standing by the door, watching the waiting room. She doesn’t spot Private Hotakainen.
Alaina and Cel walk into the waiting room behind them, joined by a young female dwarf with red hair who looks like she’s on friendly terms with Alaina.
Captain Vazquez nods to Alaina, Cel, and Dara.
“Private Zahan, please man the door,” she instructs. The private steps outside the office, closing the door firmly behind him.
Silence settles in the room for a moment. The low flickering lamplight highlights fine lines of worry in the captain’s features.
“Thank you all for coming,” she says. “Here is the situation.
“One of our civilian search parties,” she nods at the party, “found Todd Laverty’s body tainted by necromancy earlier today. They reported the rest of his team suffered the same fate, and spotted a single presumed necromancer hiding in the Smuggler’s Caves on Mount Oranis.
“To complicate matters, the spirit Oranis seems to be involved, which indicates to me there’s something else out there related to these deaths and disappearances.
“We think Silo has been captured by this necromancer, and is being held somewhere in the Smuggler’s Caves." The captain does not mention the possibility Silo might be dead, or worse in the eyes of Altien. "Silo Fairhurst is an important asset and needs to be secured as soon as possible. I plan to send a rescue party at dawn, and we'll be relying on the first search party's help to navigate the caves quickly.
“Without Silo, we are currently out of contact with Teresct, the Shining City, and all other units. We have two charged teleportation orbs with a radius of 2 miles, and one with a radius of 5 miles. We could use all three to give a rider a nine mile head start to ride for aid, or we could assume we won’t get help in time and save all three to maximize the number of people we can teleport up the mountain at dawn.
“Thoughts?” she asks, looking around the room.
"Can a mage boost the power of the orbs?" I won't endanger someone just to keep my secret. Silo did right by me, so I'll do right by him.
Cel shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot, unsure of how he can contribute right now. I wish it was the morning, I want to help!
Captain Vazquez nods an acknowledgement at Xizoh and looks to Silo's apprentices for an answer to his question.
"Not in any way I know of," Quida shakes her head.
Definitely sounds like someone's trying to cut you off. Dara thought as she wracked her brain of any cult she could think of that use such tactics.
Shifting over to Cel's side, Alaina put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Looks like I'll have to bed him a couple more times to get him less nervous. She thought.
Dulae narrows her eyes. "We didn't get reinforcements earlier because of problems on the Northern border... this is either terrible luck or a plan spanning the country. Not that it particularly matters for tomorrow."
She pauses for a moment to consider the options for the morning.
"I don't think we should use all the orbs at once... something on that mountain is able to kill a full patrol. Perhaps use the 5 mile one for to help us hit the caves early and the 2 mile orbs as escape or surprise assault options? We should also each take an empty orb; whoever finds Silo can have him charge it and escape, even if the rest of the group has been killed."
"That's not a bad idea. I'll stand behind it." Xizoh purses his lips before adding, "Do the orbs have a limit on how many people they can take?"
Southtown’s sudden isolation reminds Dara of the tactics used by the Black Dragons, a cult with a history of practicing necromancy that operates in Mezzacappa, the country north of Altiendel. Dara met a Black Dragon cultist once after she was caught attempting to steal guns and ammunition in Abbhen City. The cultist was talking to herself in her cell, whispering seemingly to Norah about the oppression of Altien.
Dara thinks it’s not likely a Black Dragon cultist would operate alone - they tend to act in groups of six or more.
“A sound suggestion,” Captain Vazquez says to Dulae, then looks to Lieutenant Narwita for her opinion on it.
Narwita says, “Nine miles wouldn’t be enough to get a rider to the Kingshaven forces by dawn.”
The captain nods. “And time is of the essence as soon as the sun rises.”
Captain Vazquez looks back to Silo’s apprentices to field Xizoh’s question. Koji says, “An orb will transport anyone who is touching it.” He thinks for a moment. “With full armor, if someone crouches down and we're smart about how the others reach over them, you might fit perhaps 15.”
The captain remarks, “Enough for a squad, myself, Narwita, a healer, and the search party.” She pauses, then says, “Very well. The rescue team will meet here an hour before dawn to prepare. We’ll use the 5-mile orb to send us up, and keep the other two in reserve. Einholz will lead reinforcements up the mountain behind us.” A man the party doesn’t recognize in a silver uniform nods his agreement. “Buhari will take command here.”
Captain Vazquez looks around the room. “Any questions?”
Dara raised her hand, "Have you heard of a group called the Black Dragons?"
Alaina looked at her cousin with a raised eyebrow. What is she one about?
"I have not." Captain Vazquez says. "Do you think they may be relevant, Corporal?"
Dara notices a flicker of recognition on the face of a tall man in a dark cloak who is armed with a rather expensive looking Abbhen revolver.
Dulae has heard of the Black Dragons. She knows they're a cult with a history of practicing necromancy that operates in Mezzacappa, the country north of Altiendel.
Kieran told her a story about a Black Dragon cultist who tried to infiltrate the Order, but was captured after he wasn't able to replicate the tattoo or its spell. She's heard that cult members tend to be fairly normal people who are radicalized after falling on hard times. They loathe Altien, praise Norah, and have been known to practice necromancy.
Dulae would be surprised if they were responsible here; they usually operate in larger groups. What she knows of the trouble in the north sounds like more their handiwork to her.
Dulae would also have the sense that it would probably sound pretty odd to some of the people in the room if she knew this as a retired sergeant.
Dara noted the look in the man's eye and continued, "They're a cult known for practicing necromancy. They operate from Mezzacappa and some time back we caught one attempting to steal guns and ammunition from Abbhen City. They also tend to operate in groups of six or more."
Pointing to the man in the dark cloak, "Although he may have more relevant information."
Cel relaxes a bit with Alaina's comforting touch, but then eases far more with the plan laid out. There's a lot of people coming, that must be good! Safety in numbers...
He frowns mid-thought and looks at the ground. His face is one that the group has seen many times before: it is frustrated motivation. I'm going to have to be more careful. I can't keep putting others at risk, especially now with so many around.
"I heard about them when I was serving in the north; necromancers who go in groups. What would they be doing all the way down here?"
You notice Captain Vazquez's gaze flicks to Dulae for a moment at the mention of a cult involved in necromancy.
Seeing who Dara is pointing to, Captain Vazquez says, “Mr. Guillen?”
Blaine Guillen gives Dara an annoyed look that says We’ll talk about this later.
“Well,” he drawls, “I rather doubt it.” He shifts uneasily in his seat. “Long term campaigns that don’t draw attention to their message aren’t really their style.”
“What if they’ve been preparing for something big?” Lieutenant Narwita asks.
“Could be. But I don't think so.” Blaine frowns. "Signs point to our current trouble revolving around the artifact. Maybe someone, or something was smart enough to instigate the trouble in the north as cover to make a move for it. I can imagine being able to manipulate the Black Dragons into striking on that kind of timescale."
The Altiendel military members exchange dark looks.
An Abbhen cult? The gods really do not want me to live a peaceful life do they?
Xizoh sighes quite audibly at the semi ominous mentioning of an 'artifact'. "Is there something else to our necromancer friend that we should be concerned about?" By Produs I hate magic and the crooked paths it weaves.
All heads turn to Captain Vazquez for an answer. She deliberates for a minute, then says in a low, serious tone, "It could benefit us all for you to know what may be at stake here. Very well. But I need your word that what you're about to hear won't leave this room. Understand?"
The captain looks for verbal agreement from each party member in turn that they will not speak of this to anyone else.
Dulae narrows her eyes at the Captain and tries to conceal her irritation. "Understood, ma'am. But when you say 'artifact', do you men 'priceless treasure' or 'weapon of immense power'?"
"If my experience is any indication, it's probably a bit of both. But from one soldier to another, you have my word Captain."
"And mine as well," Alaina answered.
"I'm happy to help!" Cel surprises himself with the vigor he has with that statement considering all of the peril, and necormancer, and imminent death stuff.
The captain's mouth twitches at Dulae comment. She nods at Dulae, Dara, Alaina, and Cel, and turns to Xizoh.
"You have my word"
Captain Vazquez nods at Xizoh. A tense silence hangs in the air while she collects her thoughts.
“A diary was recovered describing a terrible plan to kill thousands during the Abbhen-Altiendel war. The armies of both sides were to be buried under ice and snow on the slopes of Mount Oranis with powerful spells to bring down the mountainside.” She swallows. “As far as we can tell, it was at least partially successful.”
“The dead were to be raised as an army of abominations that would advance over the southern continent. The diary’s author was meant to use an amulet worn by the sorcerer who triggered the avalanches to return the sorcerer’s dead form to twisted life. It’s unclear why the author did not succeed 300 years ago, but we suspect the amulet was lost and buried during the avalanches.
“Over the past few years, two of our seers began having visions of an army of undead marching on Kinghaven. One of these visions caught a glimpse of their apparent leader, and they were able to sketch a symbol it wore around it’s neck. This matched drawings of the sorcerer's amulet in the diary.
“Assuming the amulet is still buried on the mountain, Silo was sent here to lead excavation teams to secure it and prevent this terrible possible future. When the mist arrived, we braced for the worst, but Silo was convinced the mist wasn't caused by the 'impotent spirit' tied to the amulet, as he called it. And perhaps he was right; the mist has yet to advance much past the treeline. ”
Narwita adds, "The mist is getting marginally closer lately, sir."
A worried look crosses the captain's face, quickly replaced with a determined expression. “Assuming the worst possible scenario, our enemy also knows of the amulet, and intends to find and use it to raise this sorcerer. It is vital that we find Silo before that happens.”
You expect that the Altiendel military would distribute this information on a need-to-know basis. You think it is implied that a member of the Order recovered the diary. You are reasonably sure the captain would know other details about its recovery, like where, how long ago, and anything known or suspected about whom it belonged to or what their motivation was.
The revelation regarding Mount Oranis collides hard with what Cel has learned in the past about the area geography, and he briefly forgets that he's trying to be quiet and respectful, "Wait, what?!" He clamps his mouth shut after the outburst, "Sorry...but the history of the mountain. I don't think I've ever heard anything about that before."
Then, a memory bubbles to the surface, "Wait, how big is this thing? I didn't think anything of it at the time, but when I was leaving Sky City I did hear some rumors about cultists making trouble outside the city. Could...could those visions be related to those cultists? Does the journal say anything about Sky City?"
Blaine scoffs at this. "Cults are everywhere, kid." He rolls his eyes. "It's not like they all talk to each other at the annual cultist guild meeting. The little cults that cause trouble are each obsessed with their own petty horrors."
Captain Vazquez ignores Blaine and answers Cel directly, "Not to my knowledge, no."
Xizoh gapes at the revelation. The battle of Mount Oranis is a lie?
"So we just have to carve our way between TWO literal armies of undead?" The half elf's voice peaks at the end of his words, unintentionally mimicking their barely departed friend Henri' tone.
Wait a moment..."Is that why the dead had such different strengths? Some are our friend in black's and the others the old guard." At this point Xizoh shuts up, waiting for more information.
Alaina just stood there, too shocked to say anything.