Arcade’s Journal -- The Citadel of War

...realized that we were late for our meeting with Lord Tarim-Loial. We sent a messenger on a fast horse to Kindric to explain, and I sent my inquiry to Lord Arion Helmsford. After several days, the first messenger returned with a message from Lord T-L. It was vague and disturbing, but seemed to indicate that he had run into some trouble, and would soon be requiring our services....

...purchased new clothes and horses and prepared to leave town. A day or two before we were due to set forth, Tao called a meeting at the Manticore. She was quite concerned.

She had spotted an exotic bird flying overhead of a type most commonly found far to the east. Near the coast, in fact. I immediately opined that the Citadel of War had sent spies through the Teleportation Chamber, and that they might even now be preparing an invasion from the hills. We decided to delay our trip to Kindric, and investigate....

...wasn’t long before my worst suspicions were realized. We have found a small village where many farmhouses were recently put to the torch, and several villagers lie dead, killed by burning, drowning, and sword wounds. There are obvious signs of a well- armed war party. It also appears that a man and a woman have been taken hostage. Grundo is spoiling for a fight, as are we all. These invaders will not escape our wrath...!

...continuing tracking the war party. A few more clues have been left behind at campsites and on the trail. They have with them a swordsperson with the initial "R", some warriors wielding axes who seem uncommonly heavy, a cleric, and a fire-mage. They are apparently a scouting party, as they seem to be acquiring maps and gathering supplies....

...caught up with them at last. We tracked them into a small dell that held a farmhouse. As we approached we were met by their opening salvo: a Fireball! It nearly took down several party members. Grundo charged to the attack, running full tilt down the slope.

Grundo was in mid-stride, when two huge axes slammed into his body. As the axes connected, the pair of minotaurs wielding them snapped into visibility. Close by stood a giant black warhorse. Near the farmhouse stood the black-robed cleric, and the red-robed mage. In addition, a woman wielding a large bow appeared on the roof of the farmhouse, and took aim. Luck was briefly with us, however. As she adjusted her stance she stumbled, lost her balance, and fell off the roof.

I stayed close to Velendo. He fired arrows into the foe while I drank a potion of Fire Resistance. He then healed my wounds as I sent a Darkening Bolt crisping into the war party cleric, disrupting his spell. I then tried to foil the mage by casting Mirror Image.

The war party’s mage aimed a wand at Nolin. It glowed eerily, and Nolin began behaving very strangely, acting in an abnormally orderly fashion. First he got kicked in the head by the warhorse for trying to tie him to a tree. He then decided in was necessary to attack the enemy in order of height, smallest first. Tao unleashed her bola, but ineptly wrapped up Cadrienne with it.

Alix activated his Ring of Invisibility and vanished. Tom-Tom tried to activate his Ring of the Chameleon and promptly turned into a large lizard! (We later discovered that Alix’s gift from the Faerie Queen had taken this form: revenge against Tom-Tom. Alix had been holding a grudge ever since Tom-Tom looted his body when he was slain by a doppelganger. Alix may be a Defender, but he is a menace!)

The archer reappeared on the roof, and Nolin cast Insatiable Thirst upon her. As it took effect, she tried to dive off the roof into the well, but missed and concussed herself badly. However, she did manage to drag herself over the lip and into the well, where she promptly drowned.

Alix moved to engage the cleric, while I cast Irritation on the mage. Grundo had managed to slay one of the minotaurs, but he was bleeding freely from numerous deep cuts and looked awful. I gave him a hand by hitting the other minotaur with ’Missiles, but the war-party mage got the same idea and managed to find me with several ’Missiles despite my ‘Images. I was still partly wounded from the Fireball, and the mystic bolts plunged me into unconsciousness. Mighty Grundo then fell, dead from his wounds. With the two of us and Tom-Tom out of commission and Cadrienne struggling to free herself from the bola, things were beginning to look a bit dicey.

Then, just as the cleric was about to Bestow Curse on Nolin, Alix backstabbed him and the spell backfired. The cleric found himself suddenly possessed of only a child’s intelligence. Nolin took the opportunity to loose Otto’s Irresistible Dance upon the minotaur with his fiddle. Under the combined assault of Nolin, Tao, and Cadrienne, the minotaur finally succumbed.

In the meanwhile, the warhorse had charged Velendo and myself. Velendo managed to fend him off with a dome of golden bricks and some well-placed arrows.

Glimmer and Alix both went after the mage. Glimmer spurred his horse to ride the spellcaster down, and was thrown for his trouble. Alix stabbed the mage, but got a great deal of the damage back from a hastily erected Fire Shield. Although he nearly fell from his own wounds, Alix did manage to bring down the mage. The exotic bird that had been our initial clue to the war party, doubtless the mage’s familiar, fell dead from the sky.

As the battle was reaching its conclusion, TMOSAT displayed a strange and horrible new power. It animated my unconscious body, dragging it upright and walking us towards the fray, announcing that we were needed!

Thankfully, Velendo managed to tag me with a healing spell. I recovered consciousness to find us tottering across the battlefield, and ordered the staff to cease at once. As the fight seemed to be over, I lay down to rest for a bit.

Cadrienne and the others were appalled that the staff would drag my wounded body into combat, and berated the staff for its thoughtlessness. It became terribly embarrassed, and hid its face....

...as the party moved towards the farmhouse, a woman in armor poked her head out of the door to surrender. She explained that she had been part of the raiding party, but as an adventurer-in-training she had been only allowed to observe. We were skeptical, until she showed us her Citadel of War Adventurer’s Guild contract. We were all disgusted that someone could watch the slaughter of elderly folk, women, and children, and not interfere. Alix was so unimpressed that he tore up her contract. She vanished, screaming, in a gout of flame.

The party helped me, and the now-restored and quite peeved Tom-Tom, into the house. We put Grundo’s body in the main room, and tended to the hostages. They were still alive, although badly hurt and frightened.

The group recovered the drowned woman from the well, and searched the war-party. The drowned woman had been the warrior-thief with the initial "R" embroidered on her belongings. The minotaurs appeared to have been a pair of brothers. All of the war-party’s members were carrying Citadel of War identification cards. We had the proof we needed.

While Tao rode off at top speed to inform Rampart officials, the rest of the Defenders grabbed some much-needed rest....