CHAPTER XXIII
in which a King comes to town and the ground give way...
Previously (08/27)
The group:
Assisted the Centaur survivors in a fight against their raised dead
Encountered, interrogated, and escaped Gassy the beetle man
Reported back all they've seen to Sovelus and Cadence
Met up with Malokai, Kayleigh, Zojak, and Ezra
Immediate Medical Attention
Having reported their findings, the Silver Foxes get some much needed sleep, except the Glad of War, whom Sovelus drinks under the table. Everyone wakes the next morning and takes part once more in some PT with the Felspar soldiers. Glad casually mentions to Eierryn that as the only ones besides Haas injured by Gassy during their previous mission, they'll likely need some extraordinary medical attention given the unidentifiably toxic nature of the creature. The group don't know exactly where to go for this, so Glad suggests Gormie. Gormie recommends his cousin Jorm. While at the store Ra'jira picks up some explosives and Glad rents a book wrapped in cloth from Gormie that the shopkeeper describes in ways that ominously imply the book is alive and has a face.
Next they visit Jormie in his shop Jormie's Jorms where they find him to be very much like his cousin, if even less meticulous in his shop-cleanliness. Jormie mentions that they made a good choice because an official hospital would have quarantined both Sly and Glad. Instead, he mixes up a cure that will take a few hours to prepare and gives Sly something to grow his hair back.
A Merry Band of Killers
The Silver Foxes meet up with Malokai and the gang at the palatial School of Thought Main where they are wait for his meeting with Cyax. Haas, impatient about waiting, tries to sneak in by size-changing but is found and flung back to the waiting area. Glad, who distrusts the First's followers, debates Ezra about the pillar and religion's merits. Ezra largely agrees that it's a horrible place that's hard to escape but argues that there are at least a few good men in the church like Father Benjamin. He also reveals that his own town, Renamore, has become up for grabs since the prominent player in the criminal underworld there, Kovius, has disappeared...chief among them, the Heretic. Haas joins in and mentions that she killed Kovius, to everyone's surprise. Glad offers this information to their old criminal contact Imbri, but isn't offered pay for this information. Imbri will pay, however, if their is proof of Haas' claim...proof Haas possesses in the form of Kovius' enchanted crossbow gears. Imbri says he'll start sourcing bids, but Haas seems hard pressed to part with the trophies which could be useful symbols of status.
Eventually, Cyax's previous meeting with High Commander Ricotta ends and she marches out past the crowd. Eierryn dares Glad a gold to giver her a rose, which he does. She thanks him and discards it once safely out of view.
When the Silver Foxes are finally allowed their audience, they find King Cyax (on the right hand of the table's head), Prime Sage Velda (at the table's head), Sentinel Tiersa (staring disinterestedly out the window and joined briefly by Ra'Jira), and others already assembled. After an invisible guard keeps Haas from pulling something out to show Cyax, the meeting begins. They learn their purpose is to join Malokai on a special and dangerous mission to preemptively neutralize LeShrac to minimize war casualties. This task will prove exceptionally difficult...Not because of LeShrac's use of suppression (which he can use on hundreds or thousands simultaneously), but because of his talent for body magic. Cyax once saw him pierced through the heart and continue fighting during the war.
Glad mentions making use of that collected beetle poison, prompting Cyax and Velda to investigate the liquid themselves and verify that what was found in the Jhora Plains was a simulacrum of the Ruined Land. An illusion meant to mimic the effect but not the actual Ruined Land which has itself been shrinking slowly, not expanding. Glad, Haas, and Krom offer varying plans from invading from below again to dropping explosive lined airships on the army, but each of these has its own weaknesses. Before they can get too far into planning, Tiersa speaks up. She tells the meeting that something is tunneling underneath the palace and headed their way. The palace quakes.
Although recovering from the Jhora Plains, the Silver Foxes agree to join Tiersa as she cuts the tunnelers off below using her earth magic.
As Above, So Below
Sentinel Tiersa leads a charge to the infiltrators, using earth magic to dig a tunnel under the SoT Main to cut off the enemy advance. She blasts a hole through a cavern wall which takes out a couple of Tuskers, gives Glad a glass orb for communicating, and disappears, leaving the Silver Foxes alone on the other side of a cavern filled with at least 30 Tuskers armed for battle. Glad enters the breach and uses the remaining fire powder he stole from Imbri to disable, but not kill, a large handful of the enemy. The others follow suit into the cavern, outnumbered and generally overpowered, yet they make use of their considerable teamwork and experience to stave off death.
Krom acts as the vanguard, using his incredible size and some earth manipulation to smash and destabilize the Tusker front lines. Unfortunately, his size also makes him an easy target for Tusker spears. For every few Tuskers incapacitated, smashed, and beheaded by his hammer, it seems a new one is nearby to impale him. And it doesn't help that he takes significant aggravated damage from a magic user hidden in the Tusker ranks. Haaszander scouts out any Tuskers hiding and not equipped normally in an attempt to root out the magic user, but there a few such targets and she has to make use of Krom's forward attacks to sneak past many lines of Tuskers. Ra'jira is one of the first to follow Glad and uses his explosives to clear out another patch of Tuskers. Then, he retreats to higher ground-the cavern gently slopes downward from the breach-and uses his bow to pick off enemies one by one, taking aim at long distance fighters. Glad and Eierryn hold the line behind Krom providing support with their magics. Eierryn uses her kinetic magic to yank free enemy weapons or otherwise cause Tuskers to stumble while Glad fries advancing Tuskers with waves of lightning. However, when he starts taking damaging fire from archers and slingshots, Glad retreats to Ra'Jira's position and calls for backup.
Despite the significant progress and a couple of fled Tuskers, the group is still outmatched and growing worryingly more injured. Krom looks like he's taken about all the damage he can, so Ra'Jira gives him some cover with a smoke bomb. This proves particularly effective when Eierryn confuses the Tuskers around Krom. He can use earth magic to sense and pick them off while they begin taking out each other. Haas continues to put down the more dangerous Tuskers in the back ranks while Ra'jira and Glad take out the archers. Eventually, they whittle the enemy down to a handful of fighters that Krom traps in a small sinkhole and Eierryn confuses. An angry Glad walks ill-advisedly close to the trapped Tuskers and electrocutes them all. Haas scares off the last survivor.
Tilly reveals herself when the battle's done. Not much of a fighter, she tried out an experimental potion that let her camouflage herself into the tunnel walling. Backup finally arrives, just in time to do nothing but provide medical relief while the wounded lick their wounds and a crazed Glad begins cutting off every Tusker tusk he can find. He doesn't bother explaining their purpose as a bartering currency to the Brenthian onlookers. The backup is anxious to know how Tiersa fared but the group has no idea. They all do hear a loud explosive sound from deeper in the tunnel. No one there is in any shape to follow. Krom can barely stand. Eierryn and Ra'jira are stronger support fighters than offensive scouts. And Glad, though eager, is covered in blood from his torso up. Haas volunteers to go and finds Tiersa, who is wounded herself, mopping up her own group of Tuskers with a huge, earthen sinkhole. When she finishes, she regroups with the others and the Brenthians celebrate having defended the SoT Main, which is visibly damaged from the underground tunneling but still standing.
Sly's hair begins to grow back.
Post-Game Summary
The group:
Restocked their stores and attended to Eierryn, Glad, and Sly's wounds
Accompanied Malokai to his meeting with King Cyax's council
Discussed taking preemptive measures to put down LeShrac
Fought valiantly to defend the palace where the meeting occurred from an underground incursion of Tusker warriors
Important information learned:
Gorbie stole his shop naming pattern from his cousin Jorm
Ezra has somebody high profile vouching for him and engendering Malokai's trust
Gassy is a synthetic creation that closely, though not perfectly, mimics the effects of the Ruined Land
LeShrac is highly skilled at body magic and will be able to survive what would usually be fatal attacks