Post by hubertbartels on Feb 20, 2021 14:17:07 GMT -5
From under the eaves of the church, we could see masses of mercenaries crowding against the few loyal soldiers guarding the gates. At the edge of the mob, a wizard was hurling fireballs while mercenary officers were urging their men on.
Aerwyn launched a Stinking Cloud into their midst. While most of the mercenaries started to choke on the thick fumes, the wizard rose above the cloud and threw a cone of cloud on top of us. Gideon and Sir Thabo advanced on the officers coming out of the stinking cloud while Aerwyn retreated deeper into the church.
The enemy wizard cast Greater Invisibility on himself and began stalking Aerwyn. The elven wizard, warned by Gideon, quickly cast See Invisibility to try and find her opponent. She then used Misty Step to move closer to Gideon. It did not help as the enemy wizard tossed another fireball into the melee.
Aerwyn dropped as did many of the mercenaries fighting Wolfram, Sir Thabo and Gideon. Aerwyn’s Stinking Cloud disappeared, showing most of the mercenaries inside, dead or dying. The enemy wizard, seeing the balance of the fight shift, decided to retreat. He disappeared over the curtain wall.
As Aerwyn’s life was saved by a quick spell from Dunkin, the gatehouse troops entered the fray. With their help, we soon brought the fighting in the courtyard to an end.
It was at this point we discovered that there were no partisans outside beating on the courtyard gates to be let inside - the attack in the courtyard was a distraction. A quick look at the Midmeadow keep showed us that the keep doors had been closed against us. We examined the bodies of the mercenaries and discovered that all of them were Iuz worshipers that Scardos had recruited in the Rift. While we were slaughtering the Iuz cultists, Scardos had captured the keep.
We had a chance to take a break while Nyrond troops brought in a ram to breach the keep’s doors. The Captain of the Gate asked us to take a lead in going upstairs - he had lost too many men already in fighting. We were asked to rescue the Countess and her children from Scardos’s men.
As the main stairway had been sealed with deadfalls, we proceeded up the back stairway. It was a narrow and winding stairway, easily defended. On the first floor, we found six of Scardos’ men. Sir Thabo, in the lead, charged them and threw them back, allowing us to attack them. Their officer was a tall woman who was surprised when Dunkin entered the chamber. “Dunkin, throw down your weapons and join us,” she urged. She signaled to her men to stop fighting. “Scardos has come to claim Midmeadow as a base to take back the Bandit Kingdoms from Iuz,” she added. She was Dunkin’s long lost sister, now a follower of Scardos. We tried to explain that what Scardos was doing would lead to a major civil war as well as involving the Theocracy of the Pale. His plans to either carve out a kingdom from Nyrond would fail but seriously weaken the throne.
She wouldn’t listen. We wouldn’t go along with her plans. So it came to down to a fight after all. We finally knocked her out and defeated her men. Tying her up and binding the wounds of her men, we then moved up the spiral stairway again.
On the next floor, we found Traves, one of Scardos’ inner circle, and two officers. They had been searching the room before hearing us below. It was a tough fight but we finally took her out. One thing she said before dying was, “Strike me down and I shall return, stronger than ever.” Was this something that Jovian, Scardos’ wizard, capable of doing?
From the looks of the room, Scardos’ forces had been looking for something. We took up the search. In a corner by the garderobe, we found 3 drained vials. At this time, the Captain of the Gatehouse came up to tell us that the Countess of Midmeadow and her two adult children had managed to escape the keep and were safe.
Scardos was now trapped in the keep along three more of his party. This included Jovian, a very powerful wizard. We estimated that he might be able to cast spells of the 8th-level order. We would have to deal with them in the morning - but for now we needed to rest and recover our own spells.
The Countess of Midmeadow invited us to a dinner with her. At that meal, she explained that Scardos was King Archibald’s child by a marriage not recognized by the major churches. Archibald had to set Scardos’ mother aside to claim the throne. Scardos was raised in Midmeadow but when he was almost an adult, someone sent assassins after him and his mother. Scardos escaped and fled into the Bandit Kingdoms to become a man.
Scardos was the eldest son of King Archibald and a liability to the kingdom of Nyrond. He had to die. The Countess of Midmeadow asked that we kill him before he brings everything down.
Aerwyn launched a Stinking Cloud into their midst. While most of the mercenaries started to choke on the thick fumes, the wizard rose above the cloud and threw a cone of cloud on top of us. Gideon and Sir Thabo advanced on the officers coming out of the stinking cloud while Aerwyn retreated deeper into the church.
The enemy wizard cast Greater Invisibility on himself and began stalking Aerwyn. The elven wizard, warned by Gideon, quickly cast See Invisibility to try and find her opponent. She then used Misty Step to move closer to Gideon. It did not help as the enemy wizard tossed another fireball into the melee.
Aerwyn dropped as did many of the mercenaries fighting Wolfram, Sir Thabo and Gideon. Aerwyn’s Stinking Cloud disappeared, showing most of the mercenaries inside, dead or dying. The enemy wizard, seeing the balance of the fight shift, decided to retreat. He disappeared over the curtain wall.
As Aerwyn’s life was saved by a quick spell from Dunkin, the gatehouse troops entered the fray. With their help, we soon brought the fighting in the courtyard to an end.
It was at this point we discovered that there were no partisans outside beating on the courtyard gates to be let inside - the attack in the courtyard was a distraction. A quick look at the Midmeadow keep showed us that the keep doors had been closed against us. We examined the bodies of the mercenaries and discovered that all of them were Iuz worshipers that Scardos had recruited in the Rift. While we were slaughtering the Iuz cultists, Scardos had captured the keep.
We had a chance to take a break while Nyrond troops brought in a ram to breach the keep’s doors. The Captain of the Gate asked us to take a lead in going upstairs - he had lost too many men already in fighting. We were asked to rescue the Countess and her children from Scardos’s men.
As the main stairway had been sealed with deadfalls, we proceeded up the back stairway. It was a narrow and winding stairway, easily defended. On the first floor, we found six of Scardos’ men. Sir Thabo, in the lead, charged them and threw them back, allowing us to attack them. Their officer was a tall woman who was surprised when Dunkin entered the chamber. “Dunkin, throw down your weapons and join us,” she urged. She signaled to her men to stop fighting. “Scardos has come to claim Midmeadow as a base to take back the Bandit Kingdoms from Iuz,” she added. She was Dunkin’s long lost sister, now a follower of Scardos. We tried to explain that what Scardos was doing would lead to a major civil war as well as involving the Theocracy of the Pale. His plans to either carve out a kingdom from Nyrond would fail but seriously weaken the throne.
She wouldn’t listen. We wouldn’t go along with her plans. So it came to down to a fight after all. We finally knocked her out and defeated her men. Tying her up and binding the wounds of her men, we then moved up the spiral stairway again.
On the next floor, we found Traves, one of Scardos’ inner circle, and two officers. They had been searching the room before hearing us below. It was a tough fight but we finally took her out. One thing she said before dying was, “Strike me down and I shall return, stronger than ever.” Was this something that Jovian, Scardos’ wizard, capable of doing?
From the looks of the room, Scardos’ forces had been looking for something. We took up the search. In a corner by the garderobe, we found 3 drained vials. At this time, the Captain of the Gatehouse came up to tell us that the Countess of Midmeadow and her two adult children had managed to escape the keep and were safe.
Scardos was now trapped in the keep along three more of his party. This included Jovian, a very powerful wizard. We estimated that he might be able to cast spells of the 8th-level order. We would have to deal with them in the morning - but for now we needed to rest and recover our own spells.
The Countess of Midmeadow invited us to a dinner with her. At that meal, she explained that Scardos was King Archibald’s child by a marriage not recognized by the major churches. Archibald had to set Scardos’ mother aside to claim the throne. Scardos was raised in Midmeadow but when he was almost an adult, someone sent assassins after him and his mother. Scardos escaped and fled into the Bandit Kingdoms to become a man.
Scardos was the eldest son of King Archibald and a liability to the kingdom of Nyrond. He had to die. The Countess of Midmeadow asked that we kill him before he brings everything down.