Of Light, Life and Liches

[Another_Poet]

"We have people we can save, Master Matthias. People we can actually save. If this power source is agreat as you think, then come back with an army. Or more specialists. But our job was to rescue Calamdan, and that's not going to happen. The best we can do for Calamdan is to get its last citizens out."

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

"An' how do yeh propose to get them out?" Matthias snarls, "We had this little argument before, remember? We had enough problems trying to move Kerhenn's group from the gates of the city to Edgil, an' now yeh wanna get three times as many people from three times as many locations - all of 'em deeper in the city, at that - to the border, which is father away? Yer a loony!"

He sighs, leans back, and crosses his arms. "Actually, I should give yeh some credit, Rads. Yeh made it a lot farther into this mess than I thought yeh would at the beginning, but frankly, I've been expecting this from yeh ever since yeh made yer 'I'll profit for the good of the people' speech back in Durk. So go ahead an' run, Master Egan Radley, an' try not to take anyone with yeh who's actually interested in fighting. But let me give yeh one last piece of advice: this would be a really good time to find religion, because no matter how far and how fast yeh run, it ain't gonna be far or fast enough."

He turns to Orrum, ready to continue discussion that doesn't involve bailing.

[Another_Poet]

"It was impractical before, I'll grant you. Before, when we had one sorcerer and one faith-caster only. Now we have a group of magic-using priests, and hopefully Seristra and company. We can find a way to get these people out." He shakes his head. "Seristra... she never liked me much but hopefully she's as sharp as they say. If so, she at least will hear me out."

He lets Harin and Orrum continue to talk about their fantasy of beating Darvis, and ignores the comment about religion. He simply waits for a fellow businessperson to show up.

[MountainKing]

Orrum

"If you wish to leave, Master Radley, then you may do so, but do not fool yourself into thinking that you are saving anyone by running," Orrum said quietly, "If the lich succeeds at Derguil, we lose... and when I say "we", I do not mean "we five". Nor do I mean "we few" or "we survivors". The threat of Darvis as he is now, is enough to conquer a powerful human city on his own without effort, and then lay siege to what sounds like an impressive fortification. Should he be able to increase his power, his influence will spread, and I seriously doubt that it will stop on a plane far from ours." Orrum was looking Radley in the eye, his expression neutral and his tone flat and calm.

"Do not let us stop you from running for your life, Radley; it's only what the lich expects," Orrum glanced at Matthias; they'd *just* been talking about this sort of thing, "Should we emerge victorious, even without you, I assure you that I will be asking about how well you fared after telling everyone that *you* were quite possibly Darvis' greatest benefactor in his war effort." Though his expression remained flat and un-telling, his eyes did gleam briefly.

"You had the personal strength to admit that much to us; I wonder, Master Radley... do you have the strength to admit that much to your people? And will they still follow you, after all that has transpired?" Orrum fell silent again, awaiting Radley's response, or lack thereof, in calm silence.

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

Matthias rubs the bridge of his nose, thinking hard, and sighs. "Of course they will, Orrum. Rads here is a persuasive guy. But then I have to ask one other thing of him."

He looks squarely at Radley, dead serious. "Are yeh really doin' this for the people under our charge, as well as those here and at the temple? Or are yeh just bailing because yeh've finally realized that yer salvage claims and yer little fiefdom here in this cesspit aren't worth it? An' for once, Rads, I need an honest answer - no lyin' to us, an' especially not yerself!"

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley stays silent during Orrum's wicked accusations. It seems he's about to try to give some sort of answer when Matthias speaks.

"Are yeh really doin' this for the people under our charge, as well as those here and at the temple? Or are yeh just bailing because yeh've finally realized that yer salvage claims and yer little fiefdom here in this cesspit aren't worth it? An' for once, Rads, I need an honest answer - no lyin' to us, an' especially not yerself!"

Radley sighs. "A little of both, Master Matthias, a little of both. You see, when we left Durk I was told the entire city would be undead only - no survivors. I came here for myself. My chance at profit seems lost now. But if I were as bad as our backwater excuse for a wizard here makes me out to be, I would just leave on my own. I wouldn't try to get you four to come, I wouldn't waste time at temples and hastily built refuges. I'd just up and leave. I have enough tricks to get myself out, at least as far as the border, if I'm stealthy and move quickly."

He shakes his head. "But I feel bad enough having left living people in this city once. I can't do it again. I can't."

He seems very emotional all of a sudden. His usual businesslike facade cracks and he turns on Orrum. "And as for you, you sodden excuse for a failed apprentice, you and I agree on exactly one particular: if the five of us fail at Derguil, everyone in the world loses. What your dim wits fail to grasp is that the five of us going to Derguil guarantees we fail. Whereas going and raising an army to send at Derguil, with hundreds of casters and summoners and healers, might actually have a chance at winning."

He's shaking and red in the face, a perfect poster child for foaming-at-the-mouth conservatives.

[MountainKing]

Orrum

Orrum remained calm, his discipline crushing his temper in a steel vise, his iron will unshakable in this matter.

"Your insults are unbecoming of you, Master Radley. If I have failed to state only facts in my questioning, then please feel free to enlighten me. However, do be civil; if you feel the need to question my capabilities, then we can settle the matter of quelling your disbelief at another time," On uttering that sentence, Orrum's eyes glittered again, even despite his calm exterior and tone... it was the same dangerous look he had given Radley once before, when the merchant had called Orrum ignorant, without regard to the fact that he was not a native to the area.

"Darvis, as he is, single handedly overthrew this entire city. He crushed and consumed nearly every living being here, and turned them into his unliving servant. He now has lay siege to what is described as a large castle, an undertaking that is typically only taken up by the armies of entire nations." Orrum let his statement sit in the open air for a moment, "Now, should he become more powerful than his is now, Master Radley, pray tell: just how many nations do you think it would take to stop him upon his return?"

[Another_Poet]

Radley

"If you think five people can stop him today, but 100,000 won't be able to in two weeks, then you have proven my 'unbecoming' insults quite accurate. More to the point, why exactly is it you are so intent on doing this ourselves? Is it for glory? Everyone questions my motives, which I've been quite open about. Now lay yours bare. Should we not even send a message to other nations? What if we go in to Derguil and die, who will warn them? What happens to them then? Why is this suicidal plan so important to you, dwarf - and why is it more important than sound tactics of some sort?"

[MountainKing]

Orrum

"My motives have not changed, Master Radley. I have sworn to see the afront done to the established rule of law put to justice. However, we do not have time to gather up your hallowed armies of heroes. We have ourselves, but next to no information, and no plan, beyond being unable to agree with each other what may be best. If we waste time here, Derguil could very well fall, leaving us to our fate at Darvis' hand. If we pause only to gather what we have, and make a plan *together*, we can join with the Derguil's defenders," Orrum was actually frowning, "Once again, I must ask you to curb your venomous tongue, Master Radley. You act like I am proposing we five go defend an empty castle against Darvis. If it were empty and completely undefended, how would Matthias have returned, and bearing the capacity to summon the Derguil to come *get* us? Open your eyes, before you call me blind again, Master Radley; I am tired of your pointless insults."

[Another_Poet]

Radley

"You have not answered my question. If we go and join with this castle and do as you say and lose, what then? We've sent no warning to anyone in our own world and, as yet, made no effort to get the survivors here away from the portal and toward anywhere defensible."

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

Quietly, the ranger draws his crossbow from where it hangs behind him, rests it in the crook of his right arm, points it at the ceiling, and squeezes both triggers. A storm of fire and a loud ratcheting noise erupt as the crossbow belches out hundreds of "spiritual bolts," some lodging into the ceiling, and others falling around them. Within moments, except for a few bolt-gouges in the ceiling, all is quiet and as it was before - and hopefully, the argument is halted.

If either of the two give him a stunned look, Matthias simply says, "Yeah, it can shoot that fast."

"Gents," Matthias states, putting his crossbow back, "I love a good pissin' contest as much as the next woodsman, but we don't have time for this."

He shoots a speculative look at Radley. "Rads, despite the fact that yeh still haven't got a good grip on the way things are at Derguil, yeh've got half a point. There's children, elderly, sick, wounded, and those needed to care for the children, an' none of 'em need to be here. If we can find a way to get 'em out, we should, which should not only keep 'em from slowin' us down, but also make fewer bodies for Darvis to animate if the worst happens."

Before Radley can say anything else, he continues. "But! Rads, I don't think we're going t' go toe-to-toe with all of Darvis's... stuff, and win. That's the last thing I want to do. Don't get me wrong, there's not much I'd rather do than kill undead all day, but we can't wade through the entire population of Calamar."

He takes a deep breath. "Orrum, let me know if you see anything wrong with my reasoning, I don't do this much..." He continues. "Here's the thing. It's been almost nine days since Darvis started this mess, and he's the only one who came prepared to this party, but some of those who fled were mages and others, who've probably spread the word of what's happened to every nearby country, at the very least. I think the armies are already coming - the problem is what they're gonna find when they get here. Y'see, right now we're facing a Darvis who has one goal that we know of - gettin' ahold of the power source at Derguil - an' four enemies - those at Temple Street, those at Roostwell, those here, and us. An' right now we have a chance to turn all of that - minus the noncombatants - into a pretty solid guerilla force. I've never done anything like that, but our 'backwater wizard' here has seen quite a bit of warfare, and between the two of you, I think you can get the able bodied into shape."

"Link up with the Derguil, an' we have our group on this side of the portal, and Queen Blythe on the other end. If we can secure a portal between the two, maybe find a way to make it permanent, then we'll actually have more mobility to shift between the planes than Darvis, since we could do it for free an' he has to use spells. Normally I'd say that's kind of a long shot, but the Derguil thinks we can do it, and I'm betting his side. On top of that, the undead Queen Blythe has on her side seem better armed, better coordinated, and more durable than Darvis's group. Between the two of us, we can keep Darvis distracted until the armies get here to finish him off. Or maybe we can find out what hole he crawled into, and then you, me, Orrum, Harin, Senal, the Derguil, Queen Blythe, Kerhenn, Groban, Hellbright, Sir Ermine, Sersitra, and whatever priests from Senal's gang want to come along go and wipe his dusty carcass out. When the cavalry arrives, they can be a third, much more powerful enemy and flatten Darvis if he's still around, or clean up his minions if 'e's not."

He leans back and crosses his arms again. "Or... we leave now, Darvis swamps castle Derguil's defenses, claims his hidden power, rebuilds his army, and bushwhacks whoever he wants by popping in from the next plane over. The cavalry won't know what hit it, and Darvis eventually claims everything. That's a worst case scenario, of course, but it's lookin' more likely the more time passes."

He steps over to stand just outside of arms reach of Radley, and stares at him from under his hat. "So, Rads, yeh have a choice to make. Yeh can leave now, and yeh can probably convince a whole lot of mages an' whatnot to go with yeh. Good luck living through the next few months. Yeh'll probably die. Everyone left here certainly will. Or yeh can take another leaf from merchant school an' compromise. We'll get the kids, the old folks, the sick an' injured, and the families of the kids out - better yet, we find a way to get 'em into Castle Derguil. We'll send the mages with 'em - when they reach the edge of the infestation, one way or another, they can teleport back."

"Then, we go to war, an' we do it right. Orrum described a web of control for the undead, but frankly, that has it's weak points too. If we find one of Darvis's intelligent cronies, we kill him, and all his undead go freelance - it lets Blythe mop 'em up easy. We look into gettin' the fighting refugees coordinated. We hit Darvis where he's weak - where he's weak, Rads - an' run when enough undead or big enough undead show up. We coordinate with the Derguil, since that guy can see more of the big picture than we can. An' then maybe yeh can tell yerself that yeh didn't abandon the people of Calamar. Because running away with 'em right now? That's not gonna cut it. We need you leading the survivors Rads - YOU - an' we need to keep Darvis from getting his way for as long as we can."

Matthias's voice has grown raspy, and he suddenly looks tired. He takes a swig from his waterskin and swallows with a funny expression. "What do yeh say, Rads? Yeh ready to charm Darvis to death, or is there nothin' to you but talk?"

[MountainKing]

Orrum

Orrum didn't cease staring at Radley the entire time, though he did blink at the sound of the crossbow unraveling it's ammunition into the ceiling. When Matthias finished, Orrum added quietly,

"It's good to see that some of us, are willing to step forward with a plan, rather than repeatedly point out what one has already stated. I said, we do not have a plan, Egan. That is a large part of our problem."

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley considers and nods. "Wise words, Master Matthias..."

Spoiler

Show

Waiting to finish this thought until I have an answer from the group & especially the GM. OOC post coming shortly.

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley considers and nods. "Wise words, Master Matthias..." He sighs. "I agree to the plan. I believe Orrum and yourself will do well enough training a guerilla force. I, however, must play my part by getting the concombatants out of here. And I mean to somewhere across this-world borders, not to the middle of a sieged castle. Perhaps Seristra will have a plan to effect the evacuation--if not, it will be a forced march. I will set out immediately after this meeting. I will come back - hopefully after informing some foreign rulers of the full situation, and requesting they send aid. But I'll come right away, rather than waiting for them, and bring whatever tidings they may send."

He ponders, and looks at Orrum. "Unless of course you cannot stand to be parted from me for a week or so, eh old chum?"

[DMfromTheAbyss]

"Excuse me I'd appreciate it if I was warned before anyone attempts to reconfigure my extradimensional mansion."
A stern old woman's voice from one of the entrances echoes for a moment. Entering you see first an elderly stern looking bald human with a longsword and wearing a sturdy looking suit of chain. Moving with the experienced gait of a bodyguard he stays in front of and just to the side of Seristra. Behind him Serristra is best described as possessing many attributes in common with the village witch archtype, leaning rather heavily upon a twisted wooden staff and wearing a tattered and ragged looking robe of indeterminate color. Finally the pale girl who had led Mathias and Orrum up to the room looking demure and subservient behind the elderly pair.

"Now then the meddlers have arrived let's get down to it, The situation is worse than you have guessed. :points at Radley: Your familiar and the undead fiend that was the King are plotting to take the whole world straight to Hell, Darvis has had a falling out with whatever foul being he made a deal with for all his power and is again seeking to raise an undead army to find the King and whatever the "Being" that he bargained with is racing him for it. On top of that you're apparently in contact and "getting help" from a Dark Necromancer that even the Fiends of the lower plains are frightened of. QUITE THE PREDICAMENT that you've done a marvelous job of making worse. Now any suggestions on how we might start fixing this?"

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley guffaws. "My familiar," he says pointedly, "Is under a strict contract. Where did you get this information?"

Then he blinks and looks at Matthias. "Wait, necromancer so foul that--what? Matthias, did you leave something out?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

"Oh yeah, she's so foul that she gave me a magic crossbow an' a sandwich, and has a paladin in her direct employ."

He considers. "Either that, or she's actually the hag, and a damn good actress. That would be pretty clever, actually... although how the paladin would still be working for her... nah, I don't think 'Dark Necromancer' means what yeh think it does."

[Another_Poet]

Radley

"The thought occurs that a hag who can disguise herself as a friendly sandwich-vendor can also disguise a minion as a paladin, complete with good aura."

He shakes his head and looks back at Seristra. "But, Calvin, what happened to him?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

"Complete with a paladin's signature healing ability, too?"

[DMfromTheAbyss]

"The exact words of the extra-planar being I compelled to reveal information were "The Derguil wields dark magics beyond mortal comprehension, capable of destroying even immortal souls for eternity. He is singularly responsible for ending entire CIVILIZATIONS." Seristra gloats.

"Actually that is still slightly up for debate as it's a matter of interpretation, as the being in question was himself rather untrustworthy" The older Gentleman adds contradicting the old witch and drawing a slight scowl you might take to be an actual point against her.

"In any case the contract you had with your familiar can be broken could it not? Though as it was with a creature of evil to begin with and you handed him a great way to get a promotion, it wouldn't take a genius to see that he'd choose that over continuing to try and turn you to evil. Heck knowing you it might not even be going against your implied orders to start an invasion from Hell. That's what you get for trusting any sort of evil outsider without firm controls and compulsions.. preferably Spirit Wrack for the likes of Imps.. and you wonder why I never let the little soul stealing monstrosity into my shop."

"In any case the damage is done, and there is still life, and with it hope.. Might we worry more about fixing the situation than laying blame. Now if we hope to stop any and all of these threats to our plane we require every asset at our disposal. Let us be frank and take an honest look both at our own resources and the threats before us before we give into despair. Aside from what Seristra has gleaned from her contacts among the planes, what solid intelligence have you on Darvis's doings, other pockets of survivors, the disposition of the King and anything else we might be able to utilize against our manifest foes." The old man than mediates, fixing everyone with a calm yet serious glance. "Our own information is somewhat sketchy reguarding the city due no doubt to interference from Darvis or someone at one point allied with him as it started roughly the time the zombie invasion happened.. limiting us to short range clairvoyance and extra planar sources."

[MountainKing]

Orrum

"At present, it sounds to me that we must embrace the addage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", and determine what threats remain after we have neutralized Darvis... and your former king. However, if your king is no longer able to resume his former duties, then one of two things must be arranged, in order to save the surviving citizens, and service our need for allies and troops." Orrum looked directly at Radley.

"You have said, that contacting other nations was your intention to gather aid for our cause. Consider then, how quickly a powerful nation might jump to our aid if you offered up the kingdom itself? There is no king, and if we wish to succeed at the castle, we must destroy both the king *and* Darvis, as they are both attempting to attain the same goal." Orrum paused, looking to Seristra and her bodyguard, then back to Matthias and Radley.

"After all that has happened, being brought under the wings of a new ruler may well be exactly what this nation needs to survive."

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley chooses his words very carefully. "It would be a disservice to the remaining royalty of Druth, if we were to offer any treaty which we are not in a position to enforce. Druth became mighty through strong trade, wise scholars and an exceptional system of law and justice.* It would be a shame to carve too deeply in handing out prizes to our allies - the very traits that made us great might be lost. But with all that said, yes, I believe there are sure to be many empty counties and duchies that will need filling, and we can offer significant incentive to foreign hopefuls willing to bring military force to bear."

*I have no idea if this is true in this campaign world, but as a patriotic conservative Radley believes it is true.

He ponders. "And I suppose some of our own royalty and nobles might be at the same court or courts that I go to visit, in which case, they might help to leverage such arrangements. If any of them can give their word that land and titles will be handed out, it will only bring us advantage."

He turns to Seristra. "Are you absolutely positive that your information on my erstwhile familiar is correct?"

[MountainKing]

Orrum

"While I profess no knowledge of the intricacy of politics or nobility, I find myself questioning just how much of the nobility remains... if they were located in the castle, I seriously doubt any could have escaped the coup," Orrum shrugged, spreading his hands a little to better express that he has no idea, and is only offering ideas, "However, you are correct; it may be best to conserve what could be offered to outside nations, in case there is surviving nobility." Orrum stroked his beard a moment, waiting to see what Seristra had to say.

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

The ranger raises an eyebrow. "Is this really what we need to be discussing right now?"

[MountainKing]

Orrum

"In a way, yes," Orrum replied, "We came here seeking assistance, and are presently reviewing possibilities for the near future with the people we seek assistance from," Orrum looked to Seristra pointedly, politely asking,

"Pray, have you any wisdom to impart, concerning the matters at hand?"

[Another_Poet]

Radley is already rummaging through the inner pocket of his fine vest even as he awaits an answer to his own question to Seristra.

[DMfromTheAbyss]

"Perhaps indeed" Seristra waits a moment to see if anyone else has anything to say before continuing. "The Dead king is aided by the very forces of Hell, which makes divinations somewhat difficult. We know only that he's gone from the area but he is inside the country. Darvis and his erstwhile ally are still likely in the city.. though we know this only becouse the city itself has become almost impossible to divine upon through interference and wards. If there are any other survivors we should consolodate both our forces for defence and to stop whatever plans Darvis has enacted. For though he was a twit and Morally challenged to say the least he was a competant schemer, and he went out of his way to catch the entirety of the royal family in this "event" The king has no living heirs.. and now he needs the king, though we know not why."

"That might not be entirely true, remember your divination said the line was broken but the dynasty had not fallen. There might be some small hope yet we're not seeing for the royal line."

"Bah NO Matter.. we need to stop Darvis and the King before anything else can come into play. We can research the royal line when we have dealt with the immeadiate threats. Now what have all of you seen of the city? survivors? Anything? Or have you nothing more to add?" she then gifts Radley with a brief face of incredulity and adds as an afterthought. "The information on your familiar is certain, that at least is not in doubt. Also I doubt if any of the nobles you knew are alive, they were gathered in the Palace just before.."

"Perhaps we would be best served first dealing with the problems at hand.. I personally sent messages to the nearest countries as of yesterday informing them of what has transpired here.. their reactions are out of our control, though we can hope from help from several directions I would think it folly to count on it. We need to find and destroy Darvis, Whatever entity aided him in this and put the King to rest, Getting any survivors to safety is also a priority, though to plan for that we need your information about the state of the city."

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Hearing Seristra's certainty, Radley withdraws a folded slip of vellum from within his vest. Unfolding it, it looks a slightly different colour and texture from normal vellum. There is clearly a large arcane diagramme on it in some kind of flaking brownish ink. In the places where the ink has flaked entirely off, a sort of bruise-coloured stain remains on the vellum, like a poorly done tattoo.

In his other hand Radley holds a handkerchief, which he holds to his mouth long enough to wet with a bit of his spit. Then he uses his spit-touched handkerchief to drive a big X through the diagramme. Dust rises from it and he intones several words, which in Old Common mean "I cast aside." Suddenly the entire diagramme vanishes in a puff of smoke and the vellum falls to the floor in four pieces, as it if suddenly tore through along its folds.

Radley shakes his head. "Back to the torture I tried to rescue you from, Cal..." he mutters. He looks up at Seristra with sad eyes. "I had such high hopes for him."

But he sees that he'll get no sympathy from her quarter and so he simply shakes his head, puts away his handkerchief and tries to focus on the matter at hand.

"Our country is not some backwater barony," he says with renewed confidence. "Even if the entire court was gathered around his Majesty, there are cousins, sons and daughters in fosterage or boarding schools, dukes sent away as foreign ambassadors, generals and lieutenants, families away on processions... I don't pretend to know all their calendars, being mere bourgeois myself. But surely there are hundreds of our nobles scattered about the lands of Druth and our various neighbours. In any normal circumstance, the death of the whole court would mean our biggest worry is all the rest of them fighting over succession. As it is, it may be a blessing that there are so many scattered here and there - they surely have more clout abroad than I do."

"Regarding the survivors, my companions and I have discussed that. I will be taking all those who cannot fight and trying to get them to a safer nation. The others will remain here to try to aid in whatever we can do against Darvis. As soon as the survivors as safe, I'll return with whatever news and aid I can bring."

He does turn an eye toward Orrum and the others, as if to make sure that what he said is in accord with their understanding after the earlier conversation. He's painfully aware that he doesn't necessarily speak for the whole group.

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

When Radley pauses for confirmation, Matthias adds, "There's a bunch of survivors at Radley's little villa, and another in the basement of the last standing structure on Temple Street. The group at Temple Street is currently under attack by these flame... things. Lots of 'em. They're hidin' behind some kind of big magic shield, but the flame things are wearing it down."

He considers. "And... we have one extraplanar survivor, from the Isle of Necromancy - a girl named Rachel that's important to the Derguil for some reason."

[MountainKing]

Orrum

Orrum snorted at that.

"Important to the Derguil, but useless to us," the Dwarf shook his head, "I tested the girl against what measures I could; I do not believe her to be evil, but I am also not certain of that as fact. It was relatively simple to traverse the city; at large, it seems to be empty, save for the constructs guarding the temple to foreign gods." Orrum's eyes glittered a little at that.

"They are unresponsive to attempts to break extraplanar bonds, nor do they appear to be effected by holy men's attempts to break undead wills. They are in no way natural, and by their appearance, they are not by definition aberrations... I've never seen a plant that was on fire, and yet apparently alive." Orrum looked at Seristra and her lightly armored companion, "I suspect then, that the resistance we faced, are constructs, or something never before seen. However, with Master Radley taking those unable to fight to safety, Master Matthias and I intend to form a guerrilla force." Orrum tapped his chin a moment.

"Know you of any possible armories in the city that have not already been seized?"