Yvernu Gorge:
PREPARING FOR WAR
After seeing the ravens, the Sun Rose Company and the armies go on high alert. At the same time, the terrain becomes rougher. The mountains are high and jagged, and the airship is used more often to find viable passes and trails. There is no sign of mankind here - everything appears to be raw, untamed wilderness at its fiercest.
Over the next day or two travel is slowed by guerilla attacks from the black trolls Balefire had warned about. These abominations are swift, large, decaying, feculant humanoids that attack at night, often burrowing up into the camps and pulling unwary victims down into the disturbed earth. Like other trolls, they regenerate, but unlike other trolls, they can cause the rotting flesh on their bodies to expand and whip forth like a tentacle, draining strength and making it easier for the troll to drag victims into its embrace, where it begins to drain their blood, as well.
To the discomfort of a few, the drow antipaladin Eclipse begins to patrol through camp at night. He is terse and refuses to do anything he doesn't want to do -- which is little that doesn't involve killing -- but he does raise one or two alarms early during the troll attacks, his preternatural night-sight giving him an advantage over the humans in the encampment.
At first the trolls do a great deal of damage, but they attack individually rather than in concert, and soon the military develops strategies to destroy them as soon as the alarm is raised. Fortunately, for all their dread abilities, the trolls aren't too difficult to attack, and fire does its usual troll-devastating work on the creatures.
Finally Balefire points out the sharp-edged Sentinel Mountains, where she was once deployed as the commander of the gargoyle slave-watch. Beyond them lies Yvernu Gorge. She bids the army make camp and give her, Emperor Adalane, Bonechalk, and Rudy & Hubert time to do what they can to disrupt the watch and free as many gargoyles as possible. The Sun Rose Company volunteers to accompany her, eager as always to promote gargoyle liberation. Elianora and Minimin call on any mages capable of casting "Knock" to accompany them, including Earle Remington. The children are tucked away in King Domenico's camp, although Elianora has some privately expressed misgivings about the king's camp ("It wouldn't surprise me if someone in that camp gets the king off unobserved on the battlefield and ... 'oops, the Cragsmeres are now in control,'" she confides softly to the rest of the Company.) and King Domenico must be convinced that, as a non-mage, there's little he can do to help the gargoyles, although he can be of immense help maintaining discipline and morale at the base camp.
The group ends up taking fifteen mages, including Gules Dragon ("a dungeon crawl! Oh, goody. Just like the bad old days of my dissipated youth"), Duke Maskar Wands, and the conjurer Anthony Cahiers, with his raven Mevernore. The paladin/contemplative Hari also decides to come along to defend the Swordbearer and add his combat and healing abilities. The goal: Remove as many collars as possible. Balefire says that she and Emperor Adalane will try to free or destroy the commanders, so that at least the chains of command will be broken. "A collared gargoyle has little free will, and therefore little independent decision-making ability. None will leave to warn the SS on its own volition." She warns Elianora and Valere that there may be one or two lower-ranked vampires there, and the two paladins agree that killing vampires will be their particular goal.
After rememorizing for the impending skirmish, Minimin and the other three high-level mages cast "Mass Fly" to ensure that everyone can travel together. The rest of the army will remain behind on alert. The company has twenty-four hours to get in and out. If it takes longer than that, the army will approach and carry out its mission as well as it can. Only those members of the Brain Trust realize that the loss of the Sun Rose Company would mean far more than a grave setback for the attack on Yvernu Gorge; that it could, quite possibly, mean the ultimate victory of the Metal Gods, unless Viris can be reclaimed and borne by another.
At last the small strike force takes off, flying low, led by Balefire and Emporer Adalane. The air is chilly this high up, even though it's late summer, and the tall mountains cast night-dark shadows on the valleys below them. Balefire glows faintly in the darkness, providing a rune-etched ruby light for the rest to follow.
The strike force winds its way through small canyons and fissures to avoid watchers. At last Balefire perches on a stone outjut, and the rest gather around her. Wind makes clothes flap and flutter and blows hair into eyes.
"The sentinel gates are a mile and half around the mountain, facing west," she reports. "The Emperor will break them down, causing a distraction. Rudy and Hubert will stay with him to fend off attacks. The rest of us will rush in and do what needs to be done." She sketches out a quick diagram: the area isn't complicated, consisting primarily of a high-roofed gathering hall where gargoyles wait and are briefed, the external gates, and a number of watchpoints spread across the mountain. There are no cells, no private rooms, no eating areas - a gargoyle watch force is, clearly, space- and resource-efficient.
Invisibilities and other defensive spells are cast, Pip mindlinks with the rest of the Company, Earle, Gules ("no shopping around while you're inside, sweetheart. You might embarrass yourself"), Cahiers, and Wands. The gargoyles cannot be mentally affected by psi, apparently, something Pip makes a mental note to look into later. Perhaps much later.
YVERNU GORGE: SKIRMISH WITH THE GARGOYLES
A little past noon, the strike force reaches the front gate of the sentinel headquarters. A stone outcropping serves as a "launching pad" for the gargoyles, and the gate is a simple iron barrier designed primarily to keep flesh visitors safe from wild beasts. Gargoyles flank the gate, fearsome, motionless, and collared. True Seeing reveals that they are (c)¯real(c)˜ gargoyles, not architectural affectations, but shows nothing else out of the ordinary. Minimin casts Haste on the paladins and Pip, and Displacement on Adalane.
Emperor Adalane flies to the front gate, snake tail curling impossibly behind him, and bellows through his draconic mouth:
"I have returned!"
The gargoyles at the gate lift their heads, crouch, and launch themselves in attack. Rudy and Hubert swoop past them and take the iron gate in their great stone fists. Minimin is spluttering about being able to Disintegrate the gate, but then the hugely muscled gargoyles have sheared it off its hinges with a great squealing of torn metal.
Emperor Adalane appears unconcerned by the two gargoyles attacking him, batting them back with his great clawed hands and spiked tail. They, in turn, are having a difficult time finding him through his magical displacement. Then, with silent "snicks," the collars unbuckle and plummet down to the rocks far below. The two gargoyles shriek and soar into the air, clearly confused. The emperor hails them by name and bids them join him. The gargoyles swiftly fall into line behind him.
The Sun Rose Company abandons them and heads inside.
The great chamber rises several stories, filled with stone alcoves where gargoyles of myriad sizes and shapes are launching themselves forward to meet the "attack" from outside. Two humanoid figures in unpleasant-looking thick leather armor are shouting commands. Between their milk-white skin and the palpable aura of evil that hangs around them, there can be no doubt that these are the vampires in charge of this post. Elianora and Valere move in, calling on the Light and the Fire. Hari is right behind them, and Pip moves from place to place, looking for openings where he can do the most good. Stoneskinned and Hasted, the three paladins are whirlwinds of destruction.
The room grows noisy as spellcasters call out targets and cast their "Knock" spells, aiming primarily for the largest and most dangerous-looking gargoyles. Because Knocking open the collars doesn't negate invisibility spells, the vampires' shouts to the gargoyles to attack the intruders leaves the stone creatures milling about in confusion, then concentrating on Elianora, Valere, and Hari, who become visible as they hew into the vampires. Minimin casts Mirror Image from his Staff of Illusion to help defend those party members who have become visible and concentrates on the gargoyles attacking them. When Halkem shrugs resignedly and joins in, he, too, becomes a target - but gives the paladins an advantage as both vampires are then flanked. Caprice circles the outside of the fight, waiting for somebody to need her healing spells.
Balefire and Bonechalk also become visible as they rend collars from the necks of their former fellow slaves. As the mages run out of "Knocks," they follow suit, relying on their defensive spells to keep them safe from marble claws and flint fangs. Pip keeps the group coordinated, doing what he can to remove collars, as well. Gules Dragon keeps up a wry running commentary that would have been hilarious had anyone been able to spare the time to listen closely. Sounds of fighting at the door indicate that Emperor Adalane and the others are doing their best to keep the gargoyles from exiting. Minimin reinforces their efforts with a carefully placed Wall of Force that doesn't completely block off the entrance, but ensures the escapees must leave one by one, making them easier to subdue and uncollar.
Several mages reel back, injured. Caprice tends to their wounds.
With a liquid sound, Elianora hews off the head of her foe, sending thick black blood spattering over both paladins. Moments later, Valere returns the favor when one attacks her. Without a target left, Halkem goes to help uncollar gargoyles, and the two paladins join him. Hari stands over the dead vampires, praying for their souls. The mages have to work a little harder to keep the motionless paladin safe from attack as he prays.
Even with the vampire commanders dead, the fighting doesn't stop. Those gargoyles still collared continue to carry out their last command, attacking the intruders. But Elianora, Valere, and Halkem are nearly impossible for the gargoyles to hit, and they keep the stone guardians at bay while the more dextrous members of the strike force pit their strength and swords against the tough collars. Gules and Cahiers provide support spells for any who need it, while using their own extensive supply of Knocks and Dispel Magics to free the gargoyles. Once freed, the gargoyles help, their greater strength an asset.
Within another ten minutes the gargoyles are all freed. Exhausted, the flesh combatants call on Caprice and Halkem to heal their wounds, and Minimin is asked to remove the Wall of Force so that Emperor Adalane can enter. Balefire and Emperor Adalane brief the newly freed constructs, who all agree to join the army to attack the Sacrament Sanguis. (Several of the younger mages express surprise at the unanimous decision. "Gargoyles, being stone, have no evolutionary need for a well-developed sense of self-preservation," explains Cahiers coldly. "Nor do they feel fear, or lust, or loneliness. Their motives are very different from ours.")
Balefire has the collars gathered up and asks Minimin to destroy them, which gives Min a chance to use his Disintegrate spell. A few of the mages look uncomfortable at the wanton destruction of what are, after all, rather powerful magic items, but one look at the gargoyles and the Company's forbidding faces, and they wisely remain silent.
"Fly back to the army and tell them to march," Balefire advises the Company. "We'll stay here for now; some of us are going to go to the outposts and uncollar the gargoyles there, and the rest will stay here to overwhelm and uncollar patrols as they come in.
"Yvernu Gorge is below and to the north. Unless the SS have disguised it with spells, it should be easy to find: look for the line of ribcage-shaped rocks that flank each side of the gorge. The gorge itself will be dark; they keep it that way even for the few hours that the sun is able to stream down its narrow walls. I have no doubt that the ravens have alerted them, so keep careful watch tonight and don't approach the gorge until daybreak. If you have to camp for a few more days, go as high up as you can, to maximize the hours the sun will fall on you."
[Everyone regroups, gets back on the airships, and heads out to Yvernu Gorge.]
YVERNU GORGE: THE BETRAYAL
The Sun Rose Company and accompanying mages reach the encampment as the sun begins to set. And as its crimson orb falls behind the jagged mountains, bringing darkness much earlier than in flatter lands, the killing begins.
A thundering crash echoes from the midst of the airship, and suddenly the ship is aswarm with abominations - large, pallored women with hawk-clawed feet and eight spiderlike legs jutting from their back as well as their own human hands. Their claw-tipped spider legs propel them on walls and ceilings as easily as on the floor, and they attack in three dimensions with the two-bladed bone swords in their hands and the fierce ripping claws on their feet with equal ease.
These are the kere, attack troops that could come have straight from Hell: incredibly strong, swift and ambidextrous. They tumble from side to side as they swarm, and their sharp-toothed feral smiles strike fear into the heart of those who see them.
Standing in the hallway, motionless as chaos reigns around him, is Lord Finster. His normally amiable face is expressionless as he watches the slaughter. Blood splatters, and his lips move quietly:
"A man of words and not of deeds
Is like a garden full of weeds
And when the garden's overgrown
It's like a book that isn't shown
And when the book is found at last
It's like a lock upon the past
And when the past away does fly
It's like a dragon in the sky
And when the dragon starts to roar
It's like a tygre at the door
And when the door begins to fall
It's like a bird upon the wall
And when the bird it takes to wing
It's like a child who starts to sing
And when the song is finally still
It's like the man who came to kill
And when the killer's called by name
It's like the rules of every game
And when the game begins to start
It's like the pounding of your heart
And when your heart begins to bleed
It's red and red and red indeed."
For a moment he looks away and buries his face in his hands. Then he heaves a deep sigh and lifts his head to looks across the hallway at the company. With a grim, resigned nod, he vanishes into the room, ignored by the abominations pouring out.
[The group discovers that their patron Lord Finster has killed his "brother-in-law" van Richten, turning Richten into a bloodgate through which the kere have been summoned. Finster disappears while the paladins rage and destroy the demons. Meanwhile, the mage Minimin discovers that the company's old, immortal enemies -- the Punishments -- are also on the attack.]
YVERNU GORGE: THE PUNISHMENTS
Min glides through the ship until he has the punishments in view, just drifting his body through far enough to see through the wall. He uses his staff to Project Image 225' away from him and the same distance from the Punishments. He crosses his fingers casts Undeath to Death via the image.
The spell is released and sweeps over the Punishments. Strutter, Dragonfly, and Nightcrawler collapse. Above them, a vampire plummets off its flying-beast and lands in front of them with a gruesome splatter. The surviving Punishments break up. Warghost lunges for Strutter's sword, Hellheart for Dragonfly's, and Frost for Nightcrawler's.
At the same time, Minimin is swiftly casting another spell. Nightmare turns and points her sword at Minimin's image, standing amidst the soldiers around them. Another swath of fighters falls, in a 15-foot radius all around her - kere and soldier alike. Minimin casts his Dimensional Anchor on Strutter's sword. Warghost lifts it; the sword is surrounded by a shimmering green field. Satisfied, the wizard floats back to his room, grabs some scrolls, and then moves to Finster's room.
As Valere begins to close the bloodgate in the only way known to work for certain [self-sacrifice], he's stopped by mental cries from Elianora, Pip, and an especially indignant cry from Halkem. Moments later Minimin ghosts in and casts a Sphere of Force around Van Richten.
"The boys are unharmed ... for the moment," Halkem reports over the mindlink, checking the status of Malachi and Gaetano via the spell he'd cast earlier. "Good," Elianora replies, hewing down more kere and fighting to get close enough to the side of the ship to attempt to Turn one of the flying vampires. Suddenly she gives an unladylike oath. "The Punishments!" She begins issuing orders to Earle.
Relieved of the need to make an abrupt, if heroic, end to himself, Valere runs up top and vaults over the side of the ship in true duelist fashion, reminding the group of his first fighting career, before he became the blessed of Bel. He lands in a field of slain bodies - unmarked, unbreathing.
The Punishments, now halved, most carrying two swords at once, smile fiercely. Up above, Elianora casts a spell and changes her mind. Pip flies down to join Valere. "Earle," Elianora says, "scratch that -- go get Valere, inside, and get him down there so he doesn't have to fight his way out. Pip, can you go with him, guard his back?" Hellheart, the red-haired dwarven woman, shapechanges into a small -- only 200-feet-long -- red dragon. Both swords she carried are now absorbed into her form.
Halkem uses the Fly that Minimin had cast on the group to hover over the Punishments, keeping a wary eye on the 9-year-old girl's deadly sword. He casts Spell Resistance on himself. "I can cast antimagic field on myself and get within 10 feet of them," he suggests along the Mindlink. In the meantime, he checks the fuel tank of his flamethrower - full - and keeps one hand on the pistol-pump. "Everyone's got Fly and has left already," Earle says, standing by Elianora and looking sweaty and tired. His owl is on his shoulder, feathers ruffled with irritation. Elianora nods absently. She is too far from the Punishments to attempt to turn them. "Caprice, Halkem -- Bless, Prayer, Doom -- every bit you've got!" She flies over the edge and lands side-by-side with Valere. Minimin swears a little, having a hard time casting his mass spells on people who won't stand still long enough to get them. "The Light be upon you!" Elianora shouts, attacking with fury, putting full effort into a Disarm. "May Bel's Fire burn through your soul!" Hellheart breathes dragonfire over the paladins and Pip.
There is no time to pursue him. The kere are terrible foes, and they begin to leap off the airship into the encampment below. The alarm has already been sounded, but the soldiers are still scrambling into their armor and out of their tents. Clerics pour out to try to turn the dread beasts, only to discover that the kere are not undead. Mages scramble to muster their defensive spells. A ear-splitting war cry fills the air and the antipaladin Eclipse charges in on Acrid, his black unicorn, lance raised, blood flying. Acrid is heedless of any allies who might find themselves underfoot as it lunges, bites, and tramples.
Minimin and the other mages who'd gone to free the gargoyles are at a terrible disadvantage, most of their spells used already. Gules, uncharacteristically grim, draws his House rapier and joins the melee. The other mages fall back to provide whatever mundane support they can, some few using wands or other magic items they have created or that survived the Theophany.
Then the warhorns of Lament's Guard sound an alert - _to the sky_! Those who understand the signal look up to see darkness descending from darkness, vampires astride unnatural bat-winged beasts. Mages start to cast spells as the vampires stretch their bows, shooting arrows into the encampment. Those whom the arrows strike scream and fall to the ground, writhing and tearing at the wounds with their hands and teeth. Then the Hellebore rally, and those with distance weapons built into their bodies begin to open fire. A few moments later, one of the cannone roars, bucking and hurling a great iron missile into the air. One of the flying beasts is torn to shreds and plummets, with its rider, to the ground, where soldiers descend upon it.
The battle echoes with sounds never before heard: not only the cries of the injured and dying, the clash of steel, the sharp twang of bowstrings, the pound of hooves, the swearing and warcries of soldiers, and the clarion call of warhorns, but also the sharp explosions and deep thunder of firearms as Iron Scream's unholy gift sends projectiles tearing into armor and flesh. A new scent joins the ghastly smells of battle; vaguely sulferous, as though the powder blasts each opened small gates to Hell.
YVERNU GORGE: DRAGONFIRE!
Elianora: "I look over at Valere, holding his eye with a desperate, passionate gaze for a moment as the flames burn on the battlefield around us."
Valere returns the gaze, the dragon fire reflected in his eyes matching the Fire of Bel that burns within. His eyes never leave her as the fire burns around and through them.
The colossal Hellheart breathes on Valere and Elianora as Pip, uncertain whether he can fly out of the range in time, vanishes in a Timehop. Valere raises his shield in time (58 hp), but Elianora is caught in the blast (117 hp), leaving her with 1 hp left. The fire scorches the ground for 70 feet beyond them, wiping out another slew of combatants, both kere and, more grievously, soldiers and horses. Screams and the smell of burnt flesh fill the air. Tents and wagons are on fire, and the earth itself smoulders. Ash and smoke rise ‹ those on the airship lose sight of the combatants below, seeing only the red glow of flame through the darkness and smoke. Hellheart's tail sweeps across the battlefield behind her, knocking soldiers away. Huge muscles bunch as she crouches, head swinging up toward the airship. Howling with horror, soldiers flee from the dragon, shaken by the unnatural aura of fear that drips off of its dark, purple-red scales. [DC 38]. At the dragon's feet, Warghost leaps amidst the fleeing soldiers behind the dragon, swinging the sable-hilted sword that is glowing green from Dimensional Anchor; the saffron-hilted sword is tucked back into her belt. She's obviously a trained fighter; her multiple attacks cleave running soldiers in two. She's quickly lost in the mass of darkness and panic beyond the dragon. Also at the dragon's feet, Frost carries both the ivory-hilted sword and the violet-hilted sword, lifting them in the formal starting position of an aseku bladedancer about to become a whirlwind of sharp steel. He seems to be delaying, waiting for some triggering moment to act. The little girl, Nightmare, shifts, leather batwings tearing through her frock. She grins and casts a searing, crackling Lightning Bolt at the airship. The airship shudders. "Damage alert," the psionic control-brain announces mentally to those on the ship. "Hull at 53 percent of strength." Meanwhile, Valere activates his VIM tattoo and lays on hand to heal some of Elianora's damage. She does the same to herself. Then Valere stands:
"I am the Fire of Bel, sent to deliver you to oblivion!"
Elsewhere on the battlefield: With a sharp crack, Eclipse's lance shatters. He throws the shards into his enemy's face and draws his sword for the first time. It is a black iron broadsword carved all over with screaming, twisted faces whose eyes bleed iron drops of blood. It groans and shrieks as he wields it, ruthlessly chopping into the vampires he blames for his long imprisonment in the Unders. Acrid rears and vanishes, reappearing on the other side of their foes. Eclipse stabs the kere in the back and then Acrid turns, malevolant eyes fixed on the dragon. The Hellebore continue firing at the winged beasts and the vampires riding them, as do those other soldiers who have skills in archery or who have bought guns from Faermeth Don. One of the firearms hits a flying beast in its bulging belly and it explodes in a huge ball of swiftly burning flame. The vampire plummets and is descended upon, chopped to bits. Distantly, Basil Applethorpe's voice can be heard shouting to his soldiers as he rides back and forth: "Fire! Shoot fire at the fliers!" Slowly the battle is being brought to ground and more vampires either fall from their fliers or leap off to go into bloodfrenzy below. Then the earth erupts and black trolls begin to climb up into the battle, grabbing combatants and ripping at their throats.
YVERNU GORGE: THE SLAUGHTER CONTINUES
Elianora and Valere charge forward, heading for the 9-year-old girl, Nightmare, standing beneath Hellheart's huge forelegs. That appears to be what Frost was waiting for - as they lunge, he moves into action, the consummate aseku bladedancer. His swords become a net of blurred silver as he heads to intercept. At the same time, an eerie white rain falls down over Elianora -- cold -- deadly, soul-chilling cold.
Valere swings and strikes the little girl several times with Fire. Blood flies from her wounds, and she staggers, but she doesn't fall. Her lips curl up and she assumes gaseous form, becoming virtually invisible in the smoke-filled melee.
Up on the ship, Caprice is hastily issuing orders for the ship to move. But at the same time, Hellheart, who had crouched the round before, leaps into the air. Two huge claws grip either side of the airship. With a jerk the airship is dragged down. Everyone on the airship is thrown wildly around; some fall, others are crushed beneath collapsing beams. Caprice manages to jump overboard, her Fly keeping her from death. The ship's brain is calmly reporting damage, but nobody is left inside the ship capable of concentrating on what it is mentally reporting.
With an earth-shaking crash, airship and dragon hit the ground again. The few combatants in the area throw themselves aside to avoid being crushed beneath Hellheart's weight. Ashen dust rises again, sending everyone into paroxysms of coughing and obscuring all sight two rounds.
The dragon rumbles, low, gutteral, like a great furnace stoking up, and straddles the ship.
Minimin, shaken, casts Prismatic Spray on Hellheart, unable, for the moment, to find Frost. He aims it high enough to keep from obliterating anyone who might still be alive inside the ship. The colorful rays dance off her hide.
On her other side, with a fearful war cry, Eclipse and Acrid charge. He swings with his Unholy Reaver, but it bounces uselessly from Hellheart's thick hide.
Deciding that this is just bad, very bad, Halkem lands in the smoke and dust not far from Hellheart and casts his Antimagic Field. Then he cautiously edges closer, no longer able to fly, until the field is around Hellheart. Everyone immediately feels the effect.
Hellheart turns back into a red-haired female dwarf, standing on top of the tilted deck of the airship. She loses her balance and slides to the railing, where she stops herself and drops the rest of the way to the ground. All magical spells vanish, including Hastes and Flys. Magical weapons stop working. Magical tattoos, potions, scrolls, and so forth cannot be accessed.
At that moment, Pip reappears. He is blind -- there's nothing around but a great roiling cloud of smoke, ash, and dust. The air smells like burned flesh and is filled with the sounds of screams and battle. In the next round, the smoke and dust settles enough to make out the shapes of everyone around you.
YVERNU GORGE: PUNISHING THE PUNISHMENTS
Frustrated, Elianora shrugs off the white rain and tries to get to Nightmare, but Frost was delaying and readied, and he remains in her way, much to her invective-accompanied annoyance. As the dragon grabs the ship behind them they trade blows. Elianora is a brutal warrior, especially hasted, and she swings at him four times. Three of her attacks are parried by Darkfire and Whiterain, but the fourth lands, staining his pale clothing with dark blood. She feels a brush against her mind but wills it off, shaking away cool tendrils of thought that tried to steal her will.
Pip, invisible, lunges at Hellheart, yanking a stake from his bandolier. His attack strikes, but doesn't bury itself into her heart. She turns and yanks the stake out, her flesh sealing itself up. "Use your mancatchers!" he shouts to Halkem, as Hellheart swings back at him. Halkem moves forward, a little clumsy under his load as he holsters the flamethrower and swings around his mancatcher.
Minimin shouts as he runs up, a little ash-covered, and swings his staff at the dwarf. He misses, too, as she ducks beneath his blow. But now she's flanked, the three men hemming her against the airship's tilted hull. Hooves pound and Eclipse swings at Frost, coming from behind. The aseku Punishment ducks the blow and Acrid rears, screaming in anger. Now he, too, is flanked, between paladin and antipaladin. Valere joins in to even the odds, striking a heroic blow that sends more blood flying.
Three on Hellheart; four on Frost (for Acrid fights as well as, if not better than, a human or aseku). The two Punishments fight fiercely and skillfully, and they take many blows to defeat, but defeat is never a question. At last Minimin and Halkem brace Hellheart against the hull of the ship and Pip buries his stake into her heart. She dusts. And at last Valere, Elianora, and Eclipse batter down Frost until he falls, decapitated, and then turns into dust.
Four swords lie on the ground. Blood drips from sundry wounds on the members of the Sun Rose Company.
As if the Punishments' deaths are a signal, the vampires begin to wheel away their bloated, bat-winged mounts. Their numbers have been seriously reduced -- once the soldiers realized the gas inside the flying mounts that gave them buoyancy was inflammable, many of the creatures were destroyed with firearms and fire arrows.
The kere, advance shock troops, have already been fought down. All that are left are the black trolls, and the soldiery ruthlessly hunts them down, until the remainder flee back into the ground.
At last combat is over, but the night is far from done. Screams and wails of anguish fill the field, and the rest of the long night is spent dragging the dead into a pile and -- under the clerics' supervision -- staking them to ensure none return as undead. The injured are gathered for the clerics and anyone with healing skills to treat. For the first time in their lives, members of the Sun Rose Company hear grown men and women weeping in pain, and must walk through a field digging through corpses for victims still living, cutting the throats of injured mounts, and trying to identify soldiers who have been burned to death.
The king and the boys are alive and safe; Domenico fought in battle, but was well-protected by his bodyguards, while the boys were kept, unhappy, under strict guard in the king's tent.
The airship is badly damaged. The brain can levitate it again, but the ship will require extensive repairs before it's safe for any extended journey; walls and halls need buttressing, the sides need repair, the extended front end has been shattered. Fragile supplies have been broken, and several water casks breached, but much of the food and other supplies can be recovered and moved to safer, drier areas of the ship. Needless to say, the gold foil and beautiful paint job are ruined.
YVERNU GORGE: THE PLANNING SESSION
After morning mass, the encampment settles down to sleep, keeping guards posted but otherwise stealing a few precious hours of sleep. Then it gradually begins to move again. The cooks prepare meals, soldiers clean and sharpen weapons and repair armor, and a number of men and women begin work replacing stakes and creating makeshift wall shields and other defenses that will help the soldiers hunker down and avoid arrows from above. The mages, called into a gathering by High Mage Crimson before the noon meeting, swiftly divvy up spells and discuss best defenses. She does ask several to memorize Stone Shapes, Walls of Stone, and similar spells to help build bulwarks. They are all very curious about the Punishments and the swords, and she and Minimin do their best to explain what's going on there.
At noon, the commanders assemble in a Secured area: the Sun Rose Company, the boys, King Lament, Cristofawr DeRange, High Mage Crimson, Sterlon, Lavendar, Eyvan, Hari, Balthasar Drake, Cleric Margarid Tiridates (Bel - Redeemers), High Priest Applethorpe (Vair), High Priest Gaimar Mirk (Caren the Reaper), High Priestess Elinor Kyrielle (Chymrae), High Priest/Commander Alister Imre (Sangre), Cardinal Ambrose Lavosier (Sacred Order), Inquisitor Militant Miles Hawke (SO), Father Sebastian Chalk (SO), Faermeth Don, Papa Lucco, and Commander Drake (Hellebore), and anyone else you decide to invite from your cohorts the armies.
During the first hubbub of discussion, it becomes clear that although the attack was a surprise, the military minds feel it gave them important information about the vampires' abilities and modes of attack. They aren't cocky about it, but they feel like they've got a much better idea of what to expect and how to defend from it. They agree that this time one or more of the wamphyri might decide to check things out. After all -- if the wamphyri can destroy the army while it's out in the open, all the better. If the army gets to the gorge, it's gotten too close. On the other hand, the mages point out that any spellcasting wamphyri is probably spending day and night buttressing the gorge's defenses, and won't have free time to investigate the army. There's a split over whether the Punishments will continue to be a threat -- some argue that they'll return for revenge and to regain the lost swords; others believe they'll leave to await the eventual rebirth of their companions. Nobody thinks the Punishments have any innate loyalty to the SS, so the belief is that they'll do whatever they feel is best, regardless of what the SS wants.
YVERNU GORGE: NIGHT 2
Shortly after 1 p.m., the army moves to the gargoyle sentinel post. Getting there is no small feat, as it's difficult to reach without a Fly spell, but ropes and ladders and what Fly spells are still available help, as do those gargoyles who are still there. By nightfall the army is secured inside the mountain, in very close quarters. It's uncomfortable, but all agree that it is safer inside the mountain than out, and Crimson and a few other mages use spells to carve out some more room. The door can be secured with Min's Wall of Force if it becomes necessary; there is no other way out of the cave. Crimson also notes, quietly, to Minimin, that Walls of Force may be necessary as buttressing should the vampires have any ability to cave in the cavern.
Some items cannot go into the cavern; the waggons, horses, airship and its supplies, and so forth. Crimson suggests the airship be sent away temporarily and the waggons and horses left below and secured, perhaps with Walls of Stone and high-powered illusions. Alternatively, a small attack force could stay out there with the horses and supplies, but that would be extremely risky.
In addition to the army, 25 gargoyles take perch in the cavern. Balefire and Emporer Adalane are not among them; they were headed out with a few others to take care of the other gargoyles on watch and recon the area. Their original intention was to meet up with the marching army, but the gargoyles feel certain that they'll return to the cavern should they not find the army as planned.
While the army was on the move, Earle took the very injured and the dragon-fired corpses back to Cislunar and reported to the Watchful Order. Several hours later he returns, along with ... Gules. But -- not exactly Gules. The sharp-eyed see subtle differences in shape and coloration.
"Delighted to see you again, dear hearts. I'm afraid that I'm not entirely myself today," Gules says cheerily. He wears new clothes and bears a different sword; his old one was slag. "Min, dear, do be careful not to hit me with any antimagic fields; I'm afraid that I'd just melt away like a wicked witch." He gestures dramatically. "This is my only backup body. I would have returned earlier, but, my heavens, dying from dragonfire is a bit of a shock, and of course I had to spend _forever_ rememorizing. Now darlings, after this one goes you'll simply have to raid my jewelry box yourself. Look for the biggest gem there, and be sure to give it a hard knock before you cast a resurrection. I put my old corpse into stasis until we have time to rectify this mess. Horrid, absolutely horrid. I nearly fainted just looking at it. I do hope we can put it back into proper shape again." He shakes his arms fastidiously. "I feel like I'm wearing a borrowed suit. Dreary cut, and definitely secondhand fabric."
The suspicious SRC questions him closely and he finally admits that his present body is a simulacrum, part of a complicated moment-of-death setup involving Contingency, Trap the Soul, Magic Mouth, several Simulacrum spells, and one or two spells he created himself after the Theophany changed the way magic worked. "It's nice to know everything worked, after the tinkering I had to do," he says complaisantly. "My old precautions worked every time, but with all these disruptions in the magical fabric of the multiverse, it isn't so easy to guarantee virtual immortality anymore." The small flaws and differences the SRC notices are due to the nature of simulacra, which are never entirely identical to the original.
Other than Gules' return, Earle has little cheerful news: the WO has already provided all the resources it can, and none of the remaining mages are willing to leave. The guildmistress wishes the army her best, but she is unwilling to leave, as she is now the highest-ranked mage in Cislunar left to defend it should the city be attacked in the king's absence. He does bring back a chest for a Leomund's Chest spell, and the warning about Lord Finster went through. The Red Ferret wasn't seen in the city, but several of his files are missing, his money was all withdrawn before the army left, and Shaze mournfully reports that his most prized possessions -- including his son -- were spirited away the night before. Apparently Shaze did not know about Finster's duplicity, and he is now going through the files trying to reconstruct what was taken. Interestingly, Finster did apparently leave him a tidy sum of money as severance pay.
YVERNU GORGE: THE SECOND NIGHT
That night the vampires return on their bulbuous, winged airbeasts. They are visible to the gargoyles keeping watch at the doorway of the mountain stronghold and to those who are keeping guard outside.
The stronghold is relatively safe; Minimin has used another Limited Wish to cast a "Forbiddance" over the cavern. The newly repaired airship is gone, with its load of food supplies, removed by Querida until she is called back. It is what's in the foothills below the sheer cliff that is in danger: the army's mounts and its waggons full of equipment and heavy weaponry.
Valere and Oriana take night patrol, along with Eclipse and Acrid -- just as well, as his presence in the close cavern quarters would have been contentious -- Nicholas Thongolir and his dourly grumbling husband Eyvan, and Hari. Standing guard over the mounts are twenty volunteer cavaliers from the Church of Vair, soldiers from the Church of Sangre, and Hellebore. Gules Dragon lounges on a waggon seat shivering dramatically in the cold night air, and the king's high mage Crimson sits next to him, looking perfectly comfortable. They banter softly back and forth as they wait. Faermeth Don huddles by his loaded cannon in a heavy leather coat, a pot of smouldering embers at his feet. Several of the Hellebore are beside him, swearing at the cold but ready to help reload. The aseku monk Corwin sits on the top of a pile of equipment, apparently meditating.
When the attack comes it, as expected, concentrates on the mounts and equipment, although for the first ten minutes several vampires also try to pierce the gargoyles' cavern until it becomes clear they cannot enter, even in gaseous form. They rejoin their companions in the assault on the encampment.
Relatively few people guard the equipment, but this time they are better-prepared. Minimin, Gules, and Crimson launch an offensive against the flying vampires, and the Hellebore cheerfully bellow the lyrics of "Bel's Bastards" as the cannon roars. The vampires swiftly wheel upward and away to safety. Several vampires and their beasts were fried; nobody on the ground took a casualty.
Cheers break out for a few minutes, and then the soldiers settle back into a more optimistic watchfulness. An hour or two later, Oriana pricks up her ears.
"I hear something," she warns Valere. "It sounds like an army on the move. Many people are approaching -- about half an hour away."
Ten minutes later, others begin to hear the sound -- an unnaturally syncopated march. Corwin takes off at unnatural speed along the path to see what's coming, and then hurries back to report. It appears to be an army of zombies and skeletons, marching in almost perfect silence, moving entirely in the darkness. Even the horses some are riding are, apparently, undead. The length of the army exceeds his aseku darkvision. But he did see a number of vampires, on their winged steeds, circling high above the approaching army.
