The succubus is dispatched when the tiefling tries to ambush Leothar and the battle is ended with their deaths. The human army took some damage as the paladins concentrated on the dretches and then came to their aid. Silence fills the air, or so it seems, when the battle concludes, but the cries of the wounded soon come to your ears.
The Heroes aid the others in saving who they can and convene for a discussion of next steps. The advisers recommend the Heroes conduct surgical strikes against the Citadel to infiltrate it, take out its commanders, and find and locate the Sword of Valor—all before enough time has passed for the defenders to grow desperate enough to call for help.
Aron sketches out a map and is able to tell you what the rooms used to be used for but has no idea what the demons are using them for.
"I don't think the front door is a good idea. Can we try entering via one of the towers with the siege weapons on it?"
Dadna felt exhausted. Their initial assault felt like it had dragged on for months, and after that had come the task of seeing to the wounded and the dying. It was draining, emotionally and physically. And unfortunately, that was just the prelude to the task before them. She agreed with the plan, of sending their group in for surgical strikes. The citadel was under siege, and they needed numbers to ensure that the enemy did not escape and that reinforcement did not come in. To launch an assault would mean the decimation of their army, and that was a best case scenario. And to make matters worse, they couldn't starve the enemy out, as they did not have the numbers, or supplies, to do so. It was also far more likely for the enemy to be reinforced than for the crusaders. It really came down to whether their small group could pull off another miracle.
"Ardriel is right. All obvious entrances will be guarded well. Torag knows that they will see us coming. If we are to do this, then we will need a way in that they have not foreseen. Let us at least attempt to find a way through the towers. This fortress was made by kinsmen, so there should be ways from the citadel to reinforce different parts of the fortress. We just need to find them."
Leothar takes stock of the situation after the battle ends.
"Ardriel's idea is a good one, to take the aerial route as we had done here, using the Scales.
If we take the frontal approach, we have to go through that southern barbican or gatehouse, then through a long corridor that might have murder holes. That would be the most risky.
But I expect that the Citadel was heavily damaged when the demons took it. The Crusaders would not have surrendered it easily. There could be breaches in the walls, or at least sections that were hastily patched up. If we can find such a breach, that would be best."
Agna, still the newcomer is reticent to offer too many opinions. She isn't even precisely sure what their goal is, aside from the most general and obvious one of retaking the fortress. A relative newcomer, she doesn't know what the sword of valor is, or why it matters. However, a good idea is a good idea.
"If there is a breach or a tunnel, those would be the routes of access that would be least likely to widely announce our presence and draw most of the garrison inside for a effort to repulse us."
Looking at the western side, it appears as if something large hit the wall and made a hole in it. The amount of rubble outside isn't nearly enough for the hole made so any exits from the room may be blocked. The four corners of the citadel each have siege weapons on them and are open to the outside as well as all four corners of the entrance. Since the battle ended there has been no movement seen anywhere in the citadel.
The remaining towers in the curtain wall all have doors in the courtyard area. Opening them up you see narrow stairs spiraling to the top but no other ways out.
"If Fley were still with us, I'd ask him to scout and get a good look at that breach. Inside, it might be difficult but still passable with a bit of climbing. I can't tell from here.
Okay, we can try the front doors.
Going in the front door gives us the option to retreat or find cover that we would not have while slowly levitating on a platform. Given the ballistae on the towers, and the Fireballing demons, that would make me a bit leery now that I think about it more."
"Ardriel, can Yarnala scout the breach?"
"Alternatively, we do have several Potions of Invisibility."
Leothar is happy to get a night's rest before proceeding. He will first recommend that the army move up and set up camp inside the outer wall.
Ardriel nods, then turns to Yarnala. "Yarnala, will you scout the breach for us? Let's see how accessible it is."
Yarnala flies up to the hole in the wall and then comes back. She tells Ardriel that the room has rubble and has an opening on the other side into the citadel.
After Yarnala gets back, Ardriel goes to the others and says, "Yarnala tells me that the breached room is full of rubble, but if we can clear it enough it has an opening on the other side leading to the citadel. I don't think we can clear the rubble quietly, however."
"I think we may be able to clamber over the rubble."
"Let's go. I am much more comfortable moving through rubble rather than hovering in mid-air. If it is at all possible to enter that way, then that is what I would like to do."
Agna adds her opinion in case it carries any weight.
"I like our chances going in through the collapse more than I do flying around. I'm not so sure our seeing no movement or presence inside is a good thing. I'd rather not count on it to mean floating about in the open isn't a problem for us."
"Let's head in. We should strike with precision."
Not as confident in his ability to clamber over rubble as Leothar is
The heroes approach the citadel side and everything is quiet, too quiet. They get to the hole and use the shields and scale to levitate up to where it is and carefully traverse the rubble.
They enter into a dark room that has multiple exits through doors.
"We've seen map of his place's layout. Shouldn't we start with doors most likely to take us to our objectives?"
"We don't know where any of those objectives are. The commanders could be anywhere, as could the Sword of Valor. That door on the left is as good a choice as any."
"To the left then." Dadna said. "Slow and steady. Let's not fall victim to the keep's defenses." These stones were lain by dwarven hands. She was certain that anyone who rushed forward would find themselves easily surrounded or cut off. It was enough to give her pause, and to accept Ian's and Ardriel's plan of going clockwise. Even if they had to retreat and come back another day, it seemed like the most sensible option to her.
Leothar thinks.
"As I recall, our mission is not just to reclaim the banner, but to reclaim Drezen."
"So we will need to kill most of the demons in this place, especially the commanders. Some may flee, but once the banner is re-installed they will not be able to easily return.
I don't recommend that we draw them all to us at once. But if we can hit the demons a few at a time, and whittle them down as we search the fortress, we should do that."
"As to which way to go, left is as good as any. But rather than keep going, we should go forth a bit - a few rooms deep - and then fall back here. We don't want to get cut off. We can work on clearing rooms in a radius from this point."
Leothar moves into the hallway with Ian, Radiance at the ready.
"Did the vault that was mentioned not matter then?"
Agna shrugs to herself and follows the rest.
Ian opens the door into an empty hallway. He moves in and goes into the first door on the left. It too is empty and was someones room at one point. There is nothing personal or important left in this room.
The vault is off the shrine that you will run into if you continue with the plan. You were told where the Sword of Valor was kept before the fall of the keep.
"Did the vault that was mentioned not matter then?"
Leothar stops and listens for any sounds of enemies reacting to the group's intrusion.
Hearing nothing, he moves up to the next door with Ian.
"If there are locked doors, what is our best course of action? Should we come back here with Aron, Sosiel, and Aravashnial? Aron's skills may be of use.
Or should we try to just break down the doors? It would play more to my strengths, but would further damage the Citadel."
Cautiously Ian opens the door only to see another empty room with a door on the opposite wall. Opening it shows a hallway with doors on the right. The furthest one is another empty room.
You move down to the next room down the hallway and Ian gasps when he opens the door.
A large number of weapons are stored along the walls of this
well-equipped armory.
"One moment. I'll need time to filter everything out if there's multiple items." Ardriel concentrates, then his eyes glow as he scans the room for magical auras.
Agna takes up a position at the doorway, acting as sentry while the armory is searched.
Dadna nodded, but kept quiet. She strained to keep her ears open for the sounds of any approaching dangers, lest they come upon her. But finding the armory undefended was a good sign.
Search in the room you find an adamantine battleaxe, 50 +1 arrows, an arrow of human slaying, a +2 breastplate, a +1 keen longsword, a masterwork composite longbow (Str +2), a masterwork flail, a mithral heavy shield, and a suit of +2 elven chain.
"There are several magic items in here. If we can wait a couple moments more, I can try to identify the magic items."
Ardriel takes a few moments and manages to identify all of the items except for the longsword.
Ian then moves down the hall and opens the double doors. Two rows of stone benches occupy face a raised dais to the north, on which stands a twelve-foot-tall statue of an armored woman with a sword and shield. Faded tapestries hang in tatters to either side, and a larger one on the south wall depicts the armored woman on bended knee before a man wearing green robes. Three smaller, human-sized statues of armored knights stand within small alcoves to the west, each holding a longsword
pointing downward.
Standing before the tapestry stands the armored woman in the tapestrys who Ian recognizes immediately as Iomadae! Four crusaders serve as her entourage. As you enter she raises her hands in welcome and says, "I am a vision from the Inheritor. I have come to bless your efforts here. Please come forward and receive my blessing!"
Leothar waits, glad that Ian has taken the initiative.
It appears to be his goddess; let us see what he thinks to do.
Ardriel's fingers twitch on the bowstring, but he doesn't do anything as Ian focuses on the apparent vision of Iomedae.
Iomedae doesn't have much of a presence in Korvosa, or Varisia more generally, and Agna is a relative newcomer in Mendev. She feels that she doesn't have the knowledge required to draw any conclusions about what's going on. She looks to Ian for cues about how to understand what's happening.
Ian looks at the crusader and does not detect any evil.