Malathorn responds to Nurin's questions, despite the rebuke. "The Baroness Satha Sevastia is the lady of Vothys, the farthest outpost of the great metropolis of Taaryissa. She came upon the post in disgrace. In an effort to rebuild her reputation, she desires to make Vothys a true fortress. For this, she needed ample stone and slaves, which Fasturvalt has in abundance."
"The first step in the plan was to remove the only deep gnome capable of forming a defense. The second was to remove any legitimate ruler. Finally," the drow emissary pauses for dramatic effect, "an army of drow will fall upon Fasturvalt and remove it from existence."
The assembled deep gnomes immediately begin to cry out in anger and shock. Only the guards beating their swords against their shields manage to quiet the crowd. Lord Geirni speaks up, his eyes wide with fear. "A-an army?"
Malathorn nods. "I tell you this in the hope that you spare me, but even now, my brother Damiel is marching on Fasturvalt with 200 of the Baroness's finest soldiers. Every one with a vial of gnome's bane."
Reginald bows his head at the news. Their worst fears are confirmed. His heart sinks. Military command was probably the one thing he had never personally done. Now, in his twilight years, it seems that he would have the honor of actually doing everything at least once.
Pravics heart races at the news.
An Army! 200! These gnomes are going to be pressed...
Speaking low and quickly to his companions, family, he says When we reclaim the Mithril throne, our most loyal allies will be the ones whom we help defend home and life, right here, right now. I call to you brothers and sisters, this is the first and most important step to reclaiming our home and the power the throne holds. Stand with me in this, please!
Then Pravic stands and speaks with his booming dwarven voice, loud enough for everyone to hear.
M'lord, My kin and I are grateful for yer offer of honorary citizenship. We wholeheartedly accept yer offer and declare to ye now that we will stand beside ye when the evil comes to yer door. For effect, he turns to the crowd of armored gnomes and mass of citizens behind them, and raises his voice even more. Lifting his hammer in the air, he bellows,
When the commotion dies back down, Pravic turns back to Lord Geirni. What does yer justice system say about these, who have committed treason against ye and yer city? Judge them now good Lord, Life or Death. But either way, do not let them go. If ye choose not to execute, then they must remain imprisoned, separated every one for their crimes. Then ye must get about the business of preparing the defense of yer city. There isn't a moment to spare.
Can the good Gnomes be defended against Gnome's Bane? She turns quickly on Malathorn, Tell us the secrets of this poison and I will support a decision to spare you, cross us, and you will feel my hammer!
Malathorn turns to Bali. "Gnome's Bane is only dangerous to gnomes if ingested. If any other race drinks it, they become all but immune to a gnome's innate magic. You face a legion of drow soldiers that have no fear of the svirfneblin's greatest defense."
Geirni slumps back into his throne, clearly frightened. "I will spare his life for this warning. Do any of you have questions before they are sent to the dungeon?"
Many, says Reginald, but I will defer to the honored Tarnhammers before asking mine.
"So the drow plan to drink the Gnome's bane themselves to bolster their defenses against ye. This makes yer defense more difficult, but at least now that we know, we know not to bother wasting time trying to do things that won't work. Lord Geirni, the drow may be able to resist yer magic, but they have no idea we are here to bolster yer defense. We must use that to our advantage."
Turning to Malathorn, Pravic asks, "What do ye know of their battle plan. Where to they intend to hit, and how do they intend to get in the city?"
Pravic slowly walks towards the prisoner as he speaks, eventually standing right in front of him. Once he gets there, he bends down and speaks in a lower volume. "I'll have ye know that I will hold ye responsible for the lives of my kin. If any of them fall because ye lied to us, I'll strike ye down with the righteous wrath of Torag."
Standing back up, and never taking his whithering gaze from the shackled drow, "Speak yer mind Reginald. This is not a time to stand on ceremony. Yer wisdom is needed now more than ever."
Something tells me that won't be the last time I say that...
Reginald bows slightly, then turns his attention on the drow. After you address my lord's question, I need to know their commanders. Who are they, what are their reputations, if they have won any battles of note, and how they won those battles. Then I need to know what sets these troops apart in armament, temperament, disposition, and training.
Following that, I need to know about his Baroness you serve and if she has any military experience. More specifically, if she was involved in the planning of the coming assault. If she was, I need to know about her history as per the other commanders.
Lastly, do they have any women with them?
Bali looks at Reginald with much admiration. Do they have any devils or demons with them? Bali is catching on to what Reginald is up to.
Nurin watches silently. While he was able to mix magic and his axe, he knew little of battle tactics and how to fight an army of 200 drow. His eyes grow wide as the others imply the drow may have demons or devils in their midst.
Malathorn thinks for a moment. "The plan was the Baroness's, I must say. I was to distract the svirfneblin and dispose of their leadership. The longer I could distract the gnomes, the more closely my brother to maneuver into position without their knowledge.
They intends to enter through the northern entrance. That is to say, the entrance I did not leave from. It is a longer journey, no doubt, but they will not be bottle-necked from that direction."
He turns to Reginald. "The only commander is my brother, Damiel, weapon master of the House Sevastia and consort to the Baroness. He is a brutal warrior and an utter fanatic. Do not expect a simple surrender from him. What you could expect is a full-frontal assault. He has little patience for subtleties, you see. He is expecting the gnomes to be unprepared and without any sort of leadership. I would not anticipate caution from him."
Malathorn laughs at the other questions, but quickly doubles over in pain as a wracking cough replaces it. "No. We did not expect a group of dwarven avengers to throw a wrench in the plans. The only thing approaching Fasturvalt is a drow legion. And my brother."
"And what was to be yer role once the attack began in full?" Pravic asks, staring down his large nose at the cowed dark elf.
"Oh, I'd be far away from here. Ideally in Vothys."
Indeed- foreknowledge of the Gnome's Bane prevents precious time from being wasted on magic alone. More time for crossbow bolts to be fired on their approach.
Lothar had been watching the emissary closely.
You have already earnt your life with this information. But I sense you are holding back some crucial detail. This detail may surely be the bargaining chip, that would mark the difference between a life clad in irons in some dark hole, to a life of comfort as a guest of the Tharnhammers or the Svirfneblins; guarded, aye, but available as a consultant for the Drow, their people and the Underdark. Irons or loyal, rewarded service.
Reginald grins inwardly. Lothar's move was a good one.
Malathorn's shoulders sag as the last of his resolve floods out of him. "In the armory, there are four gems of condensed fire energy. When the gnomes were to go to equip themselves, they will activate and release elementals to kill as many gnomes and burn as much weaponry as possible."
Bar the armory. Reginald immediately orders. He turns back to Malathorn and asks, Are these keyed to a Gnome presence or a general presence? He suspected a general presence, but they could get lucky. In either case, their primary goal as of his moment was those gems.
Oh, I have GOT to learn Undercommon... Grimdahl is slow with the news, as it is translated piecemeal.
He grunts on learning of the trap. Doesn't surprise him in the least. "We should retrieve those gems if we can, might go a long way to evening the odds." he mutters in Dwarven.
In dwarven Reginald replies, Yes, but they may be set to activate upon any detection of movement. If they cannot be retrieved then they must be destroyed, and quickly. Be ready to depart for the Armory.
"Ak je to len elementálové, ktoré sú vydané, potom by sme mali eliminovať, ak nemôžeme použiť, takže trpaslíci budú mať prístup k svojim zbraní obchodoch. To by sme mali urobiť hneď, keď sme skončili."
"The gems are attuned to react to any presence, gnome or otherwise."
Let us deal with it, my lord. Keep this one under well accomodated lock and key until we return, please.
He then bows and is ready to take his leave.
Pravic turns about.
"Lord Geirni, Please send your fire brigade behind us. It won't hurt to have a little extra water on hand. We will take care of the elementals.
Ingrid takes stock of her remaining powers - two spells prepared, one healing, one protective; and one remaining blessing of the Forge-father remaining. She looks down at her axe, deciding it would be better served wreathed in holy light. She closes her eyes briefly, thinks of the battle to come, and nods to the others. "I'm ready."
Reginald has only minor magic left, but he is confident that this group can prevail.
Bali asks the appropriate Svirfneblin What kind of golems should we expect? What will be the safest way to dispatch them?
"Elementals, Bali, not golems. The gems will likely release fire elementals to burn and destroy. Luckily, I have a cold spell memorized."
Bali gives Nurin a blank expression. Right, elementals. She has never dealt with either and figures there could be little difference.
The armory turns out to be a stout stone building sitting alone on an embankment overlooking the rest of Fasturvalt. A flag bearing the standard of Fasturvalt flies in front of the building. The great marble bunker is unguarded. The thick iron doors are secured by a devious clockwork trap that can only avoided by the use of one of two keys: one of which you found tied around the neck of the late Sheriff Gunther.
Inside, a small foyer is dominated by two exquisitely sculpted larger and than life marble statues. These statues are of Lord Geirli’s (Lord Geirni's great-grandfather) generals who aided in taking Fasturvalt two hundred and fifty years ago. Beyond, the space widens out with a dozen different niches set in the stone wall, each containing stone armor and weapon racks.
Malathorn, deflated by his surrender points to the far-right corner. "There. I hid them in that niche. Careful, though. They will react as soon as you come close."
Here is the link to the combat map.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As Nurin enters, he casts a spell and holds the Axe of Grunwald in one hand. His other begins to shimmer with a frosty coating.
Reginald moves in behind the group and prepares to cast a spell of acid on the first elemental he sees.
Grimdahl positions himself alongside Reginald, ready to fire with the last few of his remaining acid darts.
Bali readies herself. Hammer in hand, curious as to what happens next.
As Malathorn said, four orange crystals, about the size of an apple, pulse with an inner fire. The dwarves edge closer and closer to the gems, fanning out to better intercept the elementals. Suddenly, the room fills with bright light and a shattering noise like a pane of glass hitting the floor. Four small humanoids, shaped like gnomes but made entirely of flame, wordlessly rush out to the attack.
Initiative Block 1: Ingrid, Lothar, and Pravic
Initiative Block 2: Fire Elementals
Initiative Block 3: Ivy, Bali, Grimdahl, Nurin, and Reginald
Pravic shouts with a tiny but of surprise in his voice, even though he was expecting the gems to burst. He charges the nearest ball of flame with a roar, swinging his hammer powerfully.
for
Lothar had resorted to his trusted spear once more and charged one of the elementals alongside his battle brother Pravic, ramming it deep into the flames and that which lay beneath them.
Initiative -
Block 1 - Ingrid, Lothar, and Pravic
Block 2 - Fire Elementals
Block 3 - Bali, Ivy, Grimdahl, Reginald, and Nurin
Round 1
Predetermined Actions -
Active Effects -
Map (Round 1) -
Current Damage -
Fire Elemental 1 - 7 damage
Fire Elemental 2 - 11 damage
Bali - 3 damage
Pravic - 3 damage
Ingrid - 5 damage
Notes -
One of the fire elementals flickers and vanishes before Pravic's hammer. Lothar's spear also finds its mark, but the elemental still surges forward, grasping at the monk.
Lothar is able to dodge out of the way of the elemental's fiery tendrils, keeping the flame at spearpoint. The other two remaining fire elementals rush towards Pravic, trying to engulf him in flames.
Despite their assault, the paladin stands tall among the elementals, flames licking his armor ineffectually.
Reginald conjure a blob of acid and hurls it at the closer elemental facing Pravic.
Bali follows Pravic steps closely, not willing to miss out on the action.