3 - 022: The Third Piece

[K Man]

Callian - Melting into the ground, you appear, amid two large sections of rubble and stone that used to compose the outer wall of Cannon's Foot. The gap blown by the explosive barrel is now a little over fifteen feet wide.

You hope another explosion is not imminent...

Taking a seconds glance over your shoulder, you see the inhabitants of Cannon's Foot running at break-neck speed towards the base of the giant cannon, 'Fortress-Breaker', and entering a tunnel at its base. Hero and Garor have been enlarged and maneuver barrels around...presumably of the same powder that caused the recent deafening blast.

Looking back, the Slaughterfog swells and pushes forward, coming through the Windwall and exposing countless trolls and shamans that push them foreward.

[I'll assume a few things. One - Hero won't roll another barrel with Callian standing there. Two - The Trolls are desperate enough to push past Callian, risking the AoO's.]

Callian, standing in the entry way, you see dozens of Trolls bum rush the opening with desperation, ignorant of your attacks. [AoO on passing Troll = 15] The weapon barely glances off the tough, thick hide of a Troll as it pushes through, barely squeezing past you.

A few more push by, hindered by the tight confines and only able to get a few feet beyond you.

~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
T-T--T---S---T--
*************
-T----E-E-T----
^___.C.______^
-----T-T--------
--T-T--T--------

E = Enlarged Troll
C - Callian the Cajone
- = Normal ground
* = Wind Wall
^ or _ = Cannon's Foot Wall
~ = Fog
. = Break in the wall
T = Regular Sized Troll (The Enlarged Ones can't squeeze through
S = Shaman Troll
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hero, Caelith, Garor, Newt and Angelus - Delomme ushers his soldiers into the remaining shells, nodding that the children and women are already safe.



"The women and children are secured. My men and I will need only a few more seconds to secure ourselves." Delomme's eyes become narrow, searching for a truthful answer from any listening. "I assume that 'Fortress-Breaker' will be destroyed...no mistakes or heroic actions? The city is lost, I'll not have all this be for nothing."

He pauses, awaiting a reaction...

Hero, seeing Callian - her friend and companion - step into the opening, shifts her bulk to either the Western of Eastern walls. Caelith has the Southern, and Trolls are tearing through other walls as well. Spotting several enlarged Trolls tearing down a ten foot section of the Eastern wall with their combined might, Hero lobs another barrel down the dirt path to rest at the bottom of the wall. The archers take aim and fire a volley of arrows with deadly accuracy. [Ref. Saves, 3 Enlarged Trolls = Failure] The barrel explodes with blinding light and raining ash and rock, leaving behind little. [Damage Roll = 65]

Though not as devastating as previous blasts, the effect is still the same. The larger Trolls disappear into a cloud of reddish-dust, leaving behind stunned and temporarily frightened lesser Troll counterparts.

Caelith acts next, spotting a rush of fog-shrouded Trolls through the Southern wall. [Remember, these guys don't have to push through a Windwall.] A moments hesitation an a floating disk deliver a lethal exploding barrel to the flooding gap. [Ref. Saves, Trolls = Failure] The barrel is placed effectively, exploding with enough of a radius to eliminate any that might have made it through. [Damage Roll = 78] There is little left behind as even the fog itself is consumed by fire and smoke.

The Southern wall is held, the Northern wall is plugged by Callian, the Eastern wall is stunned...the only wall unguarded is the Western, through with three enlarged Trolls tear through the wall and enter the city, their heads barely visible through the fog.

Delomme and his men will have the time they need, but who will ensure the destruction of this city and all creatures within it?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Krysta, Girud and Galdren - As the battle rages on, well away from you - you notice the explosions have become more prominent and happen in different portions of the city. Could it be a retaliation of the inhabitants? A weapon of the Slaughterfog?

Argghh... it's so frustrating being this far from action, in the company of Elves you have come to loathe.

After a moments discussion, you tire of this and Krysta tries yet again to break the shell of the arrogant Elves in her company.

"Surely you would rather not have them all die? If you were to save them, they would then be in your debt. In debt to the queen. We could deal a mighty blow to the Master's troops if we can make sure those trolls die there, and not rise in force. What spells do you have left that might decimate the forces? Even if you do not get into battle, you can still turn the tides of this battle with what magic you have left. Quit being a damn pawn and stand up and aid those in need! After all, that is what we did for your prince! Why else would we have been asked by your queen to aid in this endeavor? You could have found others to use in this manner, but we have proven ourselves, to your prince. But you have proven anything to me, except your use of magic to leave at will. Surely you must have harnessed a magic powerful enough to aid those at the battle? Or is the extent of your magic simply to grow feathers to fly away?"

Laucimust pauses, and slowly closes his book with a sigh. He stands, dusts himself off casually and strides over to meet Krysta face to face, stopping a foot or less away from her. Instinctively, your blades come up for defense, but Laucimust simply smiles.



"Their death is inconsequential to me Krysta...as is mine, or yours if the fates deem it necessary. The only thing I care for is the shard and its return to our city."

"You must learn that, in the game, the pawns' movements are instrumental and yet insignificant as they simply make way for the King and Queen - ulitimately those that can win the game. They clear the way for those that matter..." Laucimust looks to the field, miles away with the muffled explosions. "Think of this as a squabbling between pawns...a perhaps significant move, but ulitimately pointless as only our Queen and their King can end the match."

"I have enough spells left in my repetoire, as does my companion, to surely assist...but it is not the direction of our Queen, the puppeteer pulling our strings. We could win this fight, but lose the match. Learn this...and your emotions may one day be under control."

Laucimust turns, heading back to you, looking over the horizon towards the Elven home.

"None asked you to save our Prince, but we are not without gratitude. That is why the offer to survive within our city walls, to outlast this war, was extended. Had you not saved him, we would lament the loss of a piece and re-adjust our strategy."

"I feel the Queen allowed you to come with us so that you would 'feel' important...feel like you where making a difference." Laucimust walks away a bit, then stops, barely glancing over his shoulder. "Accuse my magic of only sufficing for a cowards' retreat and you shall receive a painful lesson in just how...useful it can be..."

The Elf walks towards his spot for meditation, turning a cold back to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuri and Romar - Using the newfound speed of your adamantine mounts, the lands fly past you at an alarming rate. Grass whips by so fast is becomes a blurred carpet of green, trees turn to paintbrushes that streak across the sky in brilliant greens and browns, brushing against an ebony sky, blocking out the stars as they shine above you.

The tracks continue, the hooves centered in the smashed footprints of the Orcish tracks. They appeared to have traveled at a fast pace, their gallops spaced far apart.

While you relish in the fact that your new mounts do not require rest for their incredible speed, you also know - in the back of your head - that the dead do not need rest either...

As dawn creeps upon you, nearing within the hour, the tracks end...or rather become swallowed in the landscape before you. It spreads, thick like a woolen blanket or a low lying cloud of greenish-yellow hue...

The Deathspew Swamps...

Your eyes cannot penetrate it, it seems to swallow light like the night itself and no sounds emanate from it - it just looks deadly. The ground before it is scorched, as though touched by the sun itself. Grass has turned to sand and rock has turned to dust - life swallowed by a muting fog of death.

The tracks lead straight into them...
__________________________________________________________________________________________

[Wizard]

Cursing himself for his folly in allowing the trolls access to the keep, Callian vein-rides back to a larger-than-he-remembered Caelith.

"To what end? Are the helpless yet safe?"

[Fangor the Fierce]

At the elf's ignorance, Krysta simply grins as he threatens her. "I hope you sleep well....when the time comes..." is all that is said from her. She turns to the view of the battle, watching with intent eyes.

Pawns have also been known to take down queens and even kings alike. He underestimates us. I will leave it at that.

She sighs and kneels down, almost praying. But she doesn't. The prayers have been unanswered for too long. She knows that only their actions will win this war. Turning to Galdren, "King Sturmguard only knows of our fate by what is told to him. We will tell him we escaped the seige, found our way to the Elves, and found a way to locate all of the crystals. We then ran into the others, thought to have died as well, and told them of the other 2 crystals to seek. All of this is true. We will then tell him that we are powering a weapon to deal a great blow to the Master, and once it is completed, we will return and aid in the strike on the Master. We have to rely on the elves mode of transportation, as the teleportation method of the others is foreign to us. If he would have us learn it, then we could return sooner. That is my intention. The sooner we complete our task, the sooner I can rid myself of these arrogant elves."

If it is agreed, she writes out the information. Once completed, she then removes the token and ties the message to the bird. She whispers in its ear, "To Sturmguard" and lets the bird take flight. She makes sure that she is away from the elves, so as not to draw attention to herself. If Galdren and Girud could also distract them, it would help. But she makes sure the elves are unarmed while doing this, for fear that they would shoot down the bird.

She then watches the battle, hoping to see its outcome...

[Japic]

I'm useless. There is no convincing the elves otherwise. For now we must wait.

Girud continues to work on his helm, silently harboring fears about the slaughter fog not retreating once the city is finished. Afterall, wouldn't it just serve the elves right to have the fog encamped above the crystal. Or better yet, the shamans call elementals of their own to retreive the crystal and we have to fight our way through the fog afterall. Damnable elves.

Edit: I'm ok with Krysta sending the note, and will distract if necessary.

[Hero]

Hero will ensure the destruction of the cannon - she can always set the power off from a distance and then vein ride away. For now, she will lob another barrel at the opening where Callian WAS - glad that her friend is out of the way. She will try to get a shaman troll if she can - if not, as many enlarged trolls as possible.

[VemuKhaham]

All the while he hoped it wouldn't be necessary to go into this godforsaken marshland. All the while he had charished that last peace of hope, and now that too is gone. He halts his steed, gives a hearable sigh and then slowly dismounts. He walks towards the edge of the swamps, as close as he can get, and picks up a stone. For a short while, he just stands there, as if to finally recatch on his breath, but above all, he appears calm.

"AAAARGH!!!"

Romar gives a cry of frustration as he forces all of his remaining strength and adrenaline into his arm to throw away that rock, far into the Deathspew Swamps. What else can he now relieve that energy with, now that his tracks have left him a dead end in this dead place?

The silence soon returns all around him, only a soft sound of the stone landing on the ground a few seconds later. He is on the verge of walking into his doom, ignoring all that his eyes perceive before him, but he reconsiders, and falls to his knees instead, as if he threw away too much of his energy with that rock to remain standing.

"What are we to do now? Where will we go if all that lies before us here is a poisonous desert? Please Yuri, tell me that you have another idea, or I will try to follow through my path. I have no other plans left."

[GeneralMHB]

Yuri thinks back to his studies of this place and tries to find out more about this place than is rumored. The vampire's voice suddenly recalls back to his head, but only a memory.

K said:

Change them and together hunt 'The Master' as you would have once hunted me.

I will be in contact with you again...

Why have them changed just to hunt the Master? Why can they be living.... OF COURSE! The fog!

Yuri gallops to Romar slowly, speeking of his plan.

There are three options bestowed upon us. The first is to head back to Ravenshead and speek with the king to find the rest of our party. The second is to have me follow the trail and you head to Ravenshead to find the rest of our party. Only the dead have come out of this fog to tell the tale of the deeds done within. I am not certain how Sindri will fair in this fog, but I and Sindri are willing to take that risk...

Sindri interrupts in Yuri's head.

[glow=green,2,300]No I'm not![/glow]

Of course you are Yuri replies.

He pauses and then continues yet again.

The third option is for us to wait for the vampire to come find us. Although that will be a wild card with you following me. There is a fourth option, but I will not speek of it. It will not please you at all. What do you think?

He awaits the ranger's answer.

[Merovingian]

With the innocents secured and a battle far out of the scope of Newts capabilities he looks to his friends around him. As Hero nods in assurance to Delomme’s statement Newt looks to the group hoping all will escape the force about to be unleashed.

I’ll meat you all back at the clearing beyond where we found the crystal. I seem to have lost something and must go find it before it is beyond our grasp.

Newt then sinks into the ground in a way that has become most familiar. Heading out to the direction where he felt the strange presence in the earth there he starts a search from the shadows for the elves and the lost crystal.
Search +11
Hide +19
Move Silent +17

[Jevva]

Galdren sighs and nods. "It is truly all we can do at this point."

[VemuKhaham]

Romar knows what Yuri means when he speaks of a forth option... He knows it all too well, as he too was bothered by the thought that Yuri could proceed the chase and he could not. He would be the problem, not any of his companions: not Yuri; not their mechanical steeds.

But he can't let Yuri consume his life. By doing that he wouldn't be any better then the Enemy, and there would be nothing to stop them from finally becoming a plague on this world, just like the Master.

But returning so soon... that's not an option either. If he would return to Ravenshead, or even to his former companions, his vow would surely be forfeit.

He thinks of any other options. Does he know of any other places for aid, as nearby as possible. He is not far away from the place were he grew up; the outskirts of Carealal. But upon returning there, would there be help? No of course not, only the ruins and the memories. He can't go there, even though he never knew for certain if his parents, his sister or any other people he knows managed to flee in time or if they got overrun by the enemies troops like most.

Then, something strikes him as an idea.

...The Hidden City...

It does exist. When he still lived in relative peace, he learned some tales about it, but most said it didn't even exist, and if it did none were allowed to see it unless with the power of the gods themselves. But now, by the appearance of this cleric, its existance can't be denied any longer, and if it is truly a city of clerical awe, then would it not be the ultimate place for them to find a way to resist the poison of the Deathspew Swamps?

He tells Yuri of his idea, even though he isn't even sure if he is right now being desperate or bright. He sounds hopefull though; after all, anything is better then the options Yuri represented. He adds, still speaking hopeful:

"...if we can only find it, they must have some way to aid us. And I know it must be somewhere within the mountains nearby. What do you say?"

---

I was looking at the info on the map and the map for some ideas; don't know if we are to assume our characters have this info as basic info. If not, then scrap the idea.
Oh, and maybe a knowledge (geography) +1 could do something to enlighten Romar on anything concerning the Hidden City.

[GeneralMHB]

Yuri looks at Romar a bit puzzled, trying to figure out what he is talking about.

The "Hidden City" you say? Why should we go on a wild goose chase for a city that may not even exist? Even if we did find it, what makes you believe that they will let in a vampire and a ranger with no power or say from the gods?

(OOC: +4 Knowledge check, I'll give it a shot too)

[VemuKhaham]

"nothing makes me say that, Yuri, but I think it's the best we've got. Even if we don't find it or if we will not get aid from their population, then we haven't strayed far from here and at least we have tried. And though I can't say I'm absolutely certain, but since the coming of 'the Diviner' I am positive that it must be around somewhere in those mountains."

[BluSpecs]

Garoe makes sure everyone is secured then turns to Hero.

I'll stay ourt with ya, that way if anything nasty should happen we've got a back up in place.


Lets do this thing!

[GeneralMHB]

How about this: I'll follow the trail so we do not loose the vampire, while you find the city and catch up with me. That way, if I find the vampire, I can give my "report" and come back. Sound good?

(OOC: We have reached the gates of hell, only we have no idea what to do next. Hehehehe )

[VemuKhaham]

"I am still afraid you will not have the strength to return once you are in there, Yuri. The pressure on your will shall grow once you leave the world of the living behind and enter the realm of the death.

But I do see the reason in your proposition. As a vampire, you can survive in the swamps, but you can't face a city of clerics. As a human, I can't survive in the swamps and yet I have skills to track down things like this city. It seems faith already decided for us.

I wouldn't like adding you to my hunting list, Yuri. You have much strength in you, which you can use to resist evil, but also to destroy life. I will only do this if you will leave me a clear trail to follow once I can enter the swamps, and the absolute promise that you will do everything you can not to fall."

Romar gives a sigh as he realizes his initial plan again proved unatainable. He will have to trust Yuri on this.

"Come back to this very same spot in a week's time, no matter if you have found the Enemy or not. I will do the same. If you do not return, I know you are either captured or slain by the undead, or you have given in, and I will try to find you first. If I don't return, then something unforeseeable must have happened and you need not look for me. Instead, try to fullfill our goal in both our names. But let us still assume we will meet then, and we will together have the means to persue the Enemy."

If Yuri agrees, Romar will await any information he or Yuri thinks of about the Hidden City, and then make his way towards the mountains that house the fabulous place.

---

Looks like there will be another split-up Kman... I hope you don't mind.

[GeneralMHB]

Yuri agrees to the plan and heads for the Deathspew Swamps in search of his quarry.

[glow=green,2,300]Brilliant idea Yuri, go into the enemy's stronghold without fulfilling his request.[/glow]

We have nothing more to go on my friend. I cannot have Romar die looking for vengence.

(OOC: I hope you don't mind either. It's complicated as it is managing 3 groups. If I have more info on the Hidden City, I'll hold that last action and make appropriate changes.)