Benedict considers the explosive devices.
"We could have Aerel set a trap on them. So that if hobgoblins come back here to get the devices, we blow up a squad of them.
But I think that is getting greedy. They could spot and disarm the trap and recover the explosives. That risk isn't worth the chance of wiping out a dozen or so hobgoblins."
If nobody elses raises another idea, then Benedict will clear everyone out, leave the door open, and toss in a 2d6 Fireball bead from 70' away.
Then he will return the dragon figurine to statuette form and prepare to head back to Longshadow.
”If I may…”
Aerel shoos the others out of the building and examines the devices.
Aerel is quite confident that these devices will make a *very* big boom. Given the upcoming invasion, it's most likely they will be used to attempt to breach the walls or gates of Longshadow. Defensively, there's fewer uses, but they could be set as a trap in the event of a breach or even buried as a type of explosive mine in the grounds outside the walls.
Transporting them will be a challenge. Outside of using an extradimensional space, you'd have to crate them up and haul them carefully in wagons across the uneven terrain. Carrying them individually would be dangerous, because dropping them or jostling them too much may set them off.
"It would be great if we could use these, but I think it is beyond our means.
Best to deny them to the enemy."
”I’m afraid so. We risk too much to race back to town with these in tow. We can deny them access to the lab with these after we have removed what we intend to keep. I’ll set the charges when you are ready.”
Inside the stone church is an elaborate alchemical laboratory. Large amounts of reagents are in various shelves or crates around the room.
Transporting one or two of the explosive charges to the church is easy. But there is a lot of valuable goods within that would be destroyed in the explosion.
How much can we carry?
I think we all move at 30' while dismounted (if Amkarang takes off his armor), so we can load up the horses with as much of the alchemical gear as we can and walk back to Longshadow.
We're going at 30' anyway since two of us lost our horses; really no problem in having all five of us walk.
How long will that take us to get back?
The alchemical lab's equipment and the various reagents can be collected and loaded on the surviving horses.
Exploding the charges creates a massive fireball that rises into the air, likely visible for miles.
There is a twisting trail running nearly directly east that, based on the various maps the party has studied of the region, will likely lead directly to Longshadow, though on the far side of the Marideth River. It seems that the hobgoblins have not attempted to use this small road to access Longshadow because of the swiftly-flowing river flanking the city's western side, preferring to cross at the site at the nuckelavee's lair.
Assuming the party takes that path, it's a full day's travel by foot. The hobgoblins patrol the road, but by small scouting parties that are easily overcome by the archers of the group before they're able to either flee or engage the group.
At long last, the ground slopes and in the reddish glow of the setting sun behind you is the city of Longshadow. No signs yet appear of the impending invasion. No troops amassed outside its walls, no units of monstrous foes or implements of war lurk in the nearby hills.
A few ferry barges are available to bring the party across the river. Late as it is, word spreads fast of your return.
Benedict recovers over the course of the night.
Since his Ring of Sustenance has kicked in, he can spend 6 hours working on his Circlet of Persuasion, making it 14 hours done so far. Another night should be enough (with a higher-DC check for Accelerated Crafting).
He spends an hour in the morning reading the Manual of War to swap out Flagbearer for Advanced Armor Training (Adaptable Training - Knowledge (Engineering)).
"Amkarang, Grum - can you see if everything is good with Navah? If she has finished that Lyre, we will need to find someone who can play it. That shouldn't be too hard in a town of this size. Also, maybe she can help identify any items that we have not been able to identify."
Then Benedict will work on improving the walls.
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"Suppose so. Can ask around and see if everything is alright." With that he walked off and...
...managed to rub a soldier the wrong way, made a child cry, and mistakenly caused a small panic as a group of people mistook him for invading enemies. So he sulked off to make sure that he wouldn't cause any more trouble. He told the group that if they needed him to use the lyre, he'd be relaxing via the town's supply of ale.
Before anyone can go check on Navah, there's a whoop and commotion nearby. Hustling down the road towards the group are some familiar faces!
Aubrin, Cobb, and numerous other members of the Hemlocks including Mershan, Andrum, Toriya, and Likolm, along with other allies like Chang Jie and Amélie rush to greet you with beaming smiles on their faces. You also see the four dwarven miners Duggin, Solba, Margrath and J.W. in the crowd.
"Well met!" Cobb shouts over the din of other greetings and exited hellos. "We got your message. Took us a while to cross the hills, but we're here! The forts are secure, so we gathered who we could spare."
Aubrin laughs, "Some of these folks were worried when we were told you were out hitting the Legion before they hit back. I've long since stopped doubting if you'd be back!"
Benedict greets the reinforcements of the Hemlock Brigade, the dwarves freed from the fey woman, and his old companions. "You made it! Our chances just improved.
Chang Jie! Amélie! So good to see you. I will not lie, we are in for a fight, but I am glad to have you by our side."
He looks around a bit more.
Did the refugees from the Warbeast Camp make it?
Amkarang gives a big bear hug to Chang Jie as he greets the rest of the militia, "Excellent to see you! It's been far too long, all of you."
When the time comes, Amkarang enthusiastically launches into drilling the recruits. Killing hobgoblins was stressful work, and giving some prissy merchant's son a solid dressing-down was a great way to relive that stress.
Aerel magically unlocks insights into defenses and fortifications, and is able to direct some last-minute upgrades in the walls.
Meanwhile, Amkarang whips the reserve forces of Longshadow into shape with stern drills.
Benedict is relieved to learn that all the warbeast camp refugees made it to Longshadow two days after you parted. They are recovering from their ordeal and long journey.
Navah reports that she should have the lyre finished in four days' time.
As the sun sets on another day, the lookouts on the walls report no sign of hobgoblin activity. Thankfully, there are no further signs of wyvern scouts, and there haven't been since the heroes dispatched their camp several days ago.
Night falls. The anticipated attack is one day away.
Benedict is disappointed to hear Navah's news. He invested so much of the town's stipend on what could have been a very useful item against a siege, only for the assassins to kill Rutra.
"Four days is three days too late. But Navah's note to us did say ten days, so I should not be surprised.
Rutra had said he would have been able to craft it in seven."
"Our only hope is that our ploy to change the orders succeeded at stalling the Legion. We'll know in the morning. Otherwise, that Lyre may only be useful for rebuilding the town afterwards."
Benedict would like to join Grum for a drink, but cannot. He takes advantage of his Ring of Sustenance to work through the night on his Circlet of Persuasion.
DC to craft is 20: 5, +5 for CL, +5 for 1 missing prerequisite, +5 for accelerated crafting. Benedict will Take 10 if he can, which gives him a 20.
William spends his time preparing for the coming battle by studying his spells and double checking his magical gear.
The last day of what many believe to be peace passes by. There is a nervousness across the population of Longshadow as its citizens try to go about their day as if they might see a normal tomorrow. But the warnings have been heeded, and the efforts to bolster the town's defenses have pervaded their very lives.
Mayor Thom Crawbert makes regular speeches, trying to keep the townsfolks' spirits up and their vigilance high. Still the watches spot nothing from their positions on the battlements. Hours creep by, and there is no sign of the Ironfang Legion.
The sun sets on the last day. The predicted day of the assault has come.
Benedict will use the Manual of War to retrain Flagbearer for Power Attack, in case an attack comes in the evening.
And he will attempt to drill the refugees and freed captives into a passable militia.
He begins to feel somewhat hopeful.
Did our ruse succeed? Have we stalled them?
"Stay vigilant. They could come at any time."
He puts an ear to the ground - maybe he would hear some sign of them tunneling, if that is how their tower appears?
Another day passes.
Preparations continue, even though uncertainty has turned to real doubt... or confidence that the hobgoblins won't be attacking and were never planning on it in the first place.
The night is also quiet, a humid and sticky night full of unease and restless sleep. The doubled watch patrol the refurbished walls nervously, listening for any signs of an impending attack, and hearing nothing.
Benedict is able to provide some last-minute training to the rescued captives of the beast pens. His checks of the ground for tremors or other signs of tunneling are met with the silence of stone.
The next day arrives.
A morning scout races back, reporting a large mass of troops and warbeasts about a half-mile northeast of Longshadow. The scout says she saw over a hundred soldiers and dozens of beasts, like dire wolves and aurochs. While a sizable force and one that would easily overwhelm a small party, the numbers are far too few to successfully assault the city.
A realization comes to Aerel.
"Be watchful! They wielded powerful magic last time - that will cost them no soldiers, no beasts! They will start with their magical assault! You there, on the northeast wall! Watch toward the waiting force, let us know when they approach! The rest of you, half watch outside the wall, but every other man watches for the strange and magical. Anything odd, ANYTHING, call out!"
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Fully suited up in his dented, scratched and obviously repaired plate armor, Grum raised his blade to the sky and roared out happily Gorum's name. The war had finally come upon the city and all within were under his God's gaze. He had not been nearly so religious when the hobgoblins first came, but the constant anxiety of being chased, mixed with the adrenaline of near constant fighting for his life, had caused him to slide further and further into the Lord of Iron's embrace. It was comforting to know that win or lose he would have a place to go, one where he would be honored for going down fighting. It took the edge off of the fear and turned it into strength. Now, with a magical assault incoming, followed by a full scale invasion...shouting Gorum's name was something that he could do.
"Come, men! Raise your voices! Show these hobknobs that they come to their deaths. Show them what you are made of! Gorum! Gorum! GORUM!" The warrior roared, as he exulted the soldiers, militia and mercenaries around him.
Regular scouts continue to return information about the moving of the enemy. The reports of the small encampment involve little to no change in numbers until later in the day, when the contingent begins marching toward Longshadow. Chiang Jie returns in the afternoon, riding hard to report that a force primarily comprised of hobgoblins, minotaurs, trolls, bugbears and a variety of vicious animals are on the move.
Shortly after she makes her report, the Ironfang Legion moves into view on a high ridge to Longshadow's northeast. Setting up outside of bowshot range, the army appears as large black shapes moving around on the slope of the ridge.
A lone human swathed in rags and iron shackles approaches Longshadow's north gate, waving a flag of parley and bearing a scroll. He squints in the light of the setting sun, but begins reading in a wavering voice.
"People of Longshadow! You face the host of Kosseruk, lord of the war maze, emissary of the Ironfang Legion, she whose horns shall pierce your walls and mercifully redden the river with your blood!
"You infest this place, which my mistress desires. In her mercy, she offers you this one chance: throw open your gates. Cast down your arms. You will serve her. You will serve the Legion, in this place you call home and at these forges you so lovingly built. And your children will live to one day know freedom. Resist, and you will die. Do not think your deaths will be honorable. My mistress will crush you beneath her hooves, grind your bones into the earth, and what remains will rot. There is nothing you false heroes can do to stop this.
"Be wise! Are your lives, your families, your friends, truly worth this spit of land and the false hope you cling to? Kosseruk is a generous mistress, but her displeasure shakes the hills and brings tears even unto the gods."
Upon a hill some thousand feet away, where the Legion's forces are assembled, a single hobgoblin holds a shining spike of black aloft, then drives it into the ground. For a moment, the army falls silent, and then the ground begins to rumble. With a thundrous crack, the stones part and a shaft of obsidian reaches into the sky, growing and twisting into an ominous tower. The echo of a thousand iron-shod boots echoes from an arch in the monolith's base, and from the darkness steps a woman of impossible stature, swathed in gleaming bronze.
"Longshadow!" she bellows as an army pours from an opening in the tower behind her. Her voice carries like thunder across the hills. "The sun has set upon your pink faces because it was my will to gift you this one last moment of beauty. But now the sun is gone, and this night is the domain of monsters!"
The booming sounds of war horns ring out across the valley, and the ground suddenly begins to tremble with the trampling force of hundreds of hobgoblins charging toward the town. Arrows rain out of the dark sky, embedding in shields, clattering off stone walls and slate roofs, and finding gruesome purchase in the flesh of unfortunate souls.
William is ready. He looks to the others and says "Where shall we post ourselves? We can add our arrows and fireballs to the defenders or should we wait for our talents to be needed in a particular spot?"
"Let's not deplete the Staff of Fire since that is so potent, and the Wall of Fire could be useful for sealing a breach. But if you see massed enemies, use the Wand."
Benedict had thought of offering all manner of insults towards Kosseruk in response to the demand for surrender.
Perhaps they could hitch her to an oxcart. Or have a barbecue. Make her horns into drinking vessels.
But he leaves the response to the people of Longshadow, and is hardly surprised when they rebuff the demand for surrender.
As the obsidian tower appears 1000' away and outside of Longshadow's walls, he is relieved. Benedict does not know how the magic works, or if the Ironfang Legion was unable to make their tower appear inside the walls, but that is a lucky break however it happened.
He shouts to the soldiers on the battlements, "Take cover and fire back!"
Hopefully his improvements to the walls have included crenellations so that the defenders have a significant advantage and can inflict far more casualties than they take.
William shakes his head and says, "I was thinking of the wands. They don't seem to be as effective against the foes we are starting to encounter but could do large amounts of good fired into their massed troops here."
The sun sets as the heroes make their last-minute plans. The easy sight of the enemy forces maneuvering in the nearby hills becomes harder and harder in the waning twilight. Soon, only the rumbling sounds of an army on the move and setting up, punctuated by the growls and howls of warbeasts, is the only sign of the besieging army.
Then, roughly an hour after sunset, the booming sounds of war horns ring out across the valley. The ground suddenly begins to tremble with the trampling force of hundreds of hobgoblins charging toward the town. Arrows rain out of the dark sky, embedding in shields, clattering off stone walls and slate roofs, and finding gruesome purchase in the flesh of unfortunate souls.
The slow buildup and then sudden furious assault has Longshadow's defenders nearing the edge of panic!
Benedict rallies the troops, his voice growing stronger and louder.
"People of Longshadow! We have prepared for this moment, and we shall triumph!
We are Nirmathi! Molthune could not conquer us, and neither will their monstrous allies!
Aerel does not yell, he does not exhort those near him. To those near him, he simply says, ”We fight. We make them pay dearly for every foot of ground, every arrow loosed. Be steady, make your shots count.”
Benedict's skillful oratory bolsters the town's defenders as the assault continues. Arrows continue to rain down as the town's archers try to mount their own counterattack by shooting into the darkness. The attackers have the advantage in the dark, since any light on the town's battlements becomes a target. The defenders are forced to fumble about in the dark underneath relentless arrow fire.
The assault continues, minutes stretching on after minute. The rain of arrows slack, but never ceases. After all lights on the wall are doused the archery fire becomes far more random.
The Phaendaran heroes find themselves making little difference in this opening stage of the engagement. Sure, the archers are more accurate and bring down more hobgoblins than the average Longshadow defender, but nothing they do stops the relentless assault. Fireball spells light up the enemy ranks briefly, showing rows upon rows of soldiers -- plenty to fill the small holes in the ranks created by the magic.
Benedict will ask Captain Kulcher for her recommendation.
The Ironfang forces are spread out along the three walls of the city, probing its defenses and making sure that its defenders are spread out to cover every section.
Captain Kulcher shakes her head at Benedict. "This is beyond my experience. I don't know if it's better for you to be spread out, a couple on each wall, or together. You're tougher together, to be sure, so if a single major beast attacks... I think that's what I'd prefer, but if you're at the north gate, that leaves the south and east gates without you!"
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”We should stay together. That way the Gods can watch us all at once.” ”And again, we go where needed. Right now they are probing. I still think it is best to hold back and see where the enemy’s strength is. But if we must be somewhere, then the East Gate is the best bet, so we can more easily redeploy to the North or South.”
"No place will be undefended, Captain Kulcher.
You and your best troops take the north.
The Chernasardo Rangers will take the south.
We will take the east gate, ready to rapidly respond to any major beast attacks.
Mayor Crawbert and Navah will take the waterfront and also be a reserve for the walls.
Chang Jie will send word to get us to where we need to be."
William stays quiet for a bit and then says, "That sounds like a good plan Benedict. Let us head there now."
”Agreed.”