The Battle of Blue, Part 3

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About the Saga

The Blackrazors have learned their hated foe, the pyromancer Weri, is leading the humanoid marauders calling themselves the Army of Burning Glory.

Worse yet, Weri has been seen riding a red dragon. Knowing the dragon could ruin everything for the Expeditionary Force, the Blackrazors gladly take on the task of confronting and slaying both the mage and his mount.

Little do the enthusiastic Blackrazors realize what price they will have to pay to win the Battle of the Flame.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

  • "Well I am a mage of the 9th level, and I don’t have a staff or rod or wand. That’s unusual, wouldn’t you say?" -- Falgar

What Has Come Before

The Obsidian Expeditionary Force, after having been harried for two weeks by goblinoid marauder and high orc special units, finally arrives at Blue. By this point, the expeditionary force had sustained light damage during its various skirmishes, losing the equivalent of about 200 men out of the 2,500 it left with. The Blackrazors' are leading one of the army's advanced forces and have met with mixed success. In their first skirmish, the Battle of Dragon's Cry, they succeeded in routing a goblinod force.

In their second fight -- the Battle of the Ni-trath -- with an elite force of high orc cavalry, they didn't fair as well. The High Orcs, calling themselves the ni-trath, drew the Blackrazors away from their force. The high orc cavalry, a hundred strong, then outmaneuvered the heroes and attacked the unprotected advanced force. Calvin Cloudmore, the only Blackrazor officer left with the army, led it into battle but saw his unit routed and destroyed. The army, however, was able to defeat the ni-trath and their sorcerous leaders and when the Blackrazors returned two hours later, they were able to pull their army back together.

The Saga

Wealsun 27, CY 587

The Fallen Hero

Killian was dead. The former ranger, who had lost so much in the last few months only to gain it all back in the last few minutes of his life, lay burned and broken at the feet of Calvin Cloudmore. Cal fingered the tiny silver cudgel that hug from a chain around his neck. Cal said a prayer to his lord, St. Cuthbert, to guard poor, confused Killian’s spirit, closed his eyes, and remembered the battle.

Wealsun 26, CY 587

A telling strike

Just over a day earlier, on the 26th of Wealsun, Killian had still been alive and Blackrazors had been talking with General ]]Stephan Warrick] of the Obsidian Bay Expeditionary Force.

"Gentlemen, we’ve finally made it to Blue. We suffered losses in our lead units and to the main body, as I knew we would, but that is the cost of war. They will all be remembered with honor. As you know, we’ll be rendezvousing with Lord Umberleige’s Army of Blue later today. Before he arrives however, I wanted to brief you on our situation.

"Our scouts to the south have confirmed my fears. There is a large force of humanoids – most of them goblin or goblin-kin – roaming the open plains of the Great Southern Tear. And they seem to be far more organized that our friend Jander first supposed. They haven’t moved against us yet, but it is my fear that they will attempt to either block us from returning to the city after our battle to the north, or attack the city outright when the force from Stonehiem approaches from the west. I have dispatched three of my fastest scouts, as well as several homing pigeons, to the city in hopes that they might be able to do something about it. We shall see.

"However, we have more pressing concerns. Our scouts report that the humanoid force from Highport is a week outside of Blue, as we expected. Once we rendezvous with Umberleige’s force, we will head north and cut off the enemy’s approach on the plains to the north of Blue. We will stand tall and engage this force as best we can. I will call upon both the Blackrazor and Orcslayer contingents to drive slaying attacks in from the flanks. We will hold a war council two days from now, when the "Burning Glory" army is only a handful of days away. Until then, prepare your men and ready yourself for anything. You are dismissed."

With that, everyone rose and leaves the tent. Five minutes later, before the Blackrazors could rejoin their troops, one of the general’s advisors intercepted them and asked them to join him in the general’s private tent.

A dastardly plan

"Ah, good good," Warrick said, and motioned for the Blackrazors to sit. "Can I interest you in a glass of port? It’s a fine, fine elixir imported from Greyhawk from before the Wars."

After pouring the sweet purple liquid into several small glass globes and handing them to his guests, Warrick motioned to the advisor who brought them. The advisor bowed slightly and then left, sealing the tent. Once the Blackrazors and the general were alone, he toke out a small rock and placed it on the folding table in the center of the tent. There was a momentary flash of faint blue light from the stone, and Warrick began to speak in a calm, measured tone.

"You know and I know that we’re up against a huge enemy with such power, and such abilities, that we are almost certain to meet disaster on the battle field a few days from now. Our initial contacts with the enemy have been inconsequential and in some ways dangerous – the troops think they can beat anything. This is good … but we know that there is a red dragon out there – a huge one – and that it will drive some of the men screaming into the ocean. And then there’s that mage and the high orcs.

"We need to level the playing field a bit, BEFORE we engage the enemy on the field of battle. And it seems we’ll have that chance. When the army left Highport, it did so with two ‘moles’ buried deep inside it. One of these spies – who naturally work for Jander Drachen – managed to escape from the army and make his way here. He brought with him and extremely interesting tidbit of information: Weri’s dragon must feed every three days. So twice a week he takes the beast and flies away from the main army with an escort riding dragonnels. The creature has a taste for red meat, and he loves burning small human settlements. He raids the settlements and then feasts on their cattle.

"With this knowledge in hand, we can guess – and guess well I think – where the dragon will feed. There is a small village known as Poke’s Gulch about two days ride north of here. It’s a small burg of about 40 cattle ranchers.

"This is an excellent opportunity to engage Weri away from his much-vaunted army. I would like you, if you are willing, to engage the mage, his honor guard, and the dragon, at this town. I won’t deceive you … this is a very dangerous mission; it’s failure would surely mean your deaths. I wish I could dedicate more men to it, but a small strike force is all we can spare and I have separate plans for our Orcslayer friends. If you leave know, you’ll have a little less than a day to plan at the village before the dragon arrives. I don’t know how the villagers will react to your presence – that’s something you’ll need to deal with when you get there."

Poke’s Gulch

By the time the small band of Blackrazors arrived at the farmstead, it had been long abandoned by the human wretches who had been maintaining it. Six scrawny, underfeed cows chewed mildew-covered straw as the Blackrazors approached, not seeming to care, or even notice, the strangers. The farm was hedged in by a large but crude fence. A smaller pen held the cows, and next it was an barn that had seen too many winters. Its wooden sides consisted of planks that were held on by what appeared to be rope or twine of some sort. Covering the roof was a thick, decaying thatch of straw. Two squat buildings, one neighboring a chicken pen, appeared to be experiments in sod homes. The sides sagged and the thatched roofs were thick with a greenish-black mildew.

A quick scouting run determined that the farm itself was indeed abandoned and that the nearest water source was a pathetic, barely moving stream a quarter mile to the west. General Warrick had warned the adventurers that Weri and his honor guard could arrive anytime with the next passing of the sun, and with this in mind they quickly began debate ways to defeat their opponents.

Some were ingenious. Others were just strange.

First they decided to put spikes into the roof of the barn, so that the dragon might be hurt by the spikes if it landed there. Second, they used magic to reduce the size of a ballista so that it could fit into one of the two hovels. Third … well third is when things started to get a bit weird.

Knowing that the dragon was coming to feed on the cattle, the Blackrazors began debating how to use this to their advantage. Back at the main camp, the dwarven warrior Luc proposed somehow poisoning one of the cows so that the dragon would eat it and fall sick, but the plan had been struck down by Warrick, who stated the proper amount of poison to affect a dragon couldn’t be found.

So instead they focused on the idea of putting a magically reduced 20-foot steel pole inside of one of the cows, so the dragon would eat the cow and then take massive internal damage when the rod expanded.

To that end Luc reached into the bag of almost anything to pull out a steel rod … and instead pulled out a bizarre, spider-like monstrosity. The creature had six huge, 20-foot long joined legs made from steel rods, no obvious head and only the slightest of metal bodies. It lashed out a look with surprising speed, striking him twice. A stoneskin spell saved Luc’s hide from the physical blows, but he still convulsed as an electrical attack rippled down the thing’s leg. It then began splitting its attacks between Luc and Killian. The two warriors soon found that nothing but his great axe could damage the creature; with that knowledge in hand the dwarf was soon able to shatter the creature in to its component rods.

With the creature broken in the steel rod components that the Blackrazors needed, they set about their other tasks. Falgar and Aaron lit small fires to confuse their attackers – the hope was the smoke would throw off the dragon’s acute senses. Luc and Killian entered the hut near the chicken pen and began evacuating a ditch. They managed to dig a 10x10x5 foot ditch inside the long hut and quickly covered it with wooden planks from they’d taken for fence outside. As they were laying down strips of sod, Falgar shouted "Luc! Killian! They’re coming!"

Flying death

They appeared as dark shapes flying low on the horizon. Falgar saw them first, and ran to cast his reduce spells on one of the steel rods. He barely had time to fasten the rod to the cow’s neck and shout a warning to his friends before the riders over the farm.

The mage could see seven shapes – one a huge, red dragon and six large reptilian looking creatures the likes of which he’d never seen before. The dragon was ridden by a figure wearing dark red robes. Two of the flying reptiles behind him carried individuals wearing light red robes and the remainder of the creatures carried riders clad in chainmail.

Falgar, Aaron and Cal ran into the barn and the riders swooped in.

The battle is joined

I sense that my prey is not alone, the great red wyrm said to his rider in the low, rumbling speech of dragon-kind. The dragon was known to the humans as Inferno and to the High Orcs who had subdued and befriended him as Cor-Tasser. I sense others … humans, elf-kin, DWARF!

Weri cackled as he spoke. "Then my friend, you shall feast on their roasted marrow tonight!" The mage raised a hand and uttered a series of commands in the high tongue of orcs. A fireball streaked from his fingertip and struck the barn. The magical blast instantly burned through the decrepit structure’s supports and sent the roof crumbling down on those who had taken refuge beneath it. Aaron, Cal and Falgar stumbled outside, dodging burning debris as they did so.

Ballista Strike!

Luc threw open the door to his building and fired a ballista bolt at the dragon. It missed and one of Weri’s henchmen launched a fireball at the their hovel, encasing it in flames. And then Killian appeared and yelled a single word: "Weri!"

The mage recognized his opponent instantly. "You almost killed me once before," he screamed, "You will not do so again!"

Killian had lost his ranger status many months ago in the Free City of Greyhawk when he had teleported the evil mage/thief Malphas from a city prison cell to the plane of Concordant Opposition. His chance to regain that status hovered 25 feet above him. He drew his bow and fired two bolts at the Weri – both of them were instantly burned before striking the mage. The dragon circled overhead as the warrior-riders of the flying lizards dismounted. They moved to engage Luc, Calvin and Falgar as Falgar on the ground.

Falgar had other ideas.

First, he cast a haste spell which accelerated all of his and his companions’ actions. Then he lashed out at the dragon with an ice storm which pelted Weri and his beast with thousands of hail stones. As the hail neared Weri though, a flame shield of some sort prevent most of it from hitting him. Killian ran after the dragon and took up a space directly beneath the beast, notching an arrow as he did so.

Revenge

Wrath burned beneath Weri’s skin. Killian the Red. The one who had all but slain him nearly two years before on the plains north of Eastfair in the foul remains of the Great Kingdom. Weri had almost had his revenge in the fall when he’d murdered two bards in the City of Greyhawk in an attempt to lure Killian to him. But his plans had gone awry when the Blackrazors, Killian’s new friends, had self-destructed, sending their leader to the inner planes and Killian into prison.

But now, miraculously, the killer had returned. Now was the time for revenge, to strike him down and then feast on his burning flesh. A small and distant voice urged Weri to caution. He ignored it.

A Killing Strike

Killian took two shots and one struck home, hitting the mage. Weri retaliated by urging his mount to breath fire yet again. Inferno did so, splashing flame over Killian. But the warrior did not fall. Instead he reached into his quiver and pulled out an obsidian-black arrow with the word "Weri" carved into its shaft. He pulled back on his bow, and sent the arrow streaking toward Weri. It struck home and before Weri could even think to be surprised, he was dead. Thunder shook the sky and the clouds above the battlefield seemed to boil as the mage slumped dead in his saddle.

The Burning Hand of Ati

Luc and Falgar had their own problems. The orcs, who were wearing the burning hand symbol of Ati on their black-chain mail armor, were lashing into them with dozens of hurting blows. Plus the mages, who still hovered overhead, threw more and more magic down on them. Aaron and Falgar managed to drop one of the mages with spells, but not before the orcish mages had badly burned Falgar. Falgar fell back into the nearby hovel, where he quaffed down potion of extra healing. Outside Luc sliced his way through his orcish opponents as Aaron fumbled his bow and cursed loudly. Suddenly the remaining mage summoned some sort of fiery warrior which Luc’s weapons seemed unable to bite. A few more swings revealed the warrior was affected by the magic of the weapons, but not the weapons themselves. He intensified his assault on the thing and was joined in his efforts by Cal.

Ranger, Restored

After landing the killing blow again Weri, Killian felt the faith of his god Beory filling him once more. His ranger abilities returned, bringing with them years of prowess. He ran from the dragon and hid behind the portion of the barn that was still standing. The dragon followed, attempting to grab him between its claws. It failed.

Killian saw his opportunity and took it, running into the hovel where he and looked had dug their hole. He threw off the sod covering and leapt down into it, quickly replacing the hole’s roof as he did so. The dragon followed, landing so that he could breath again. The sod covering saved Killian’s life by absorbing most of the blast.

Killian leapt from the pit and challenged the dragon, landing several powerful blows with his swords. Luc, who had just managed to defeat the fire warrior, ran with Aaron to fight the dragon.

The Death of Killian

The-One-Who-Killed-Weri! I must slay him. I must! Inferno could feel his coppery blood pouring from gruesome gashes in his scales. The foul human was powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat one of wrymkind. The dragon breathed a third and final time, basting The-One-Who-Killed-Weri in flames. The human fell before Inferno, but as he did the grimy little dwarf hit the dragon with his powerful throwing axe. My blood spills to freely today! These creatures … these foul creatures I must destroy them … but my blood… Indecision tore at the dragon -- who was considered young as dragons reckon time --- until he ripped through his thoughts and decided to withdraw to a safer distanced, and pushed his wings against the air.

He lofted himself higher and higher, feeling the terrible bite of the dwarf’s axe again and again. He was just outside the range of the axe when the cowardly mage who had hidden from the might of Cor-Tasser. Now he opened his hand and sent a cluster of missiles flashing toward the dragon. The dragon scoffed at the missiles … and then screamed in surprise as they broke over his skin, killing him.

The Cruelest Flame

Falgar had tried to kill the second mage, but had succeeded only in disabling its flying mount. As the creature glided to the ground in pain, its master weaved a spell of invisibility and in the confusion wrought by the final fight with the dragon, he slipped away. Luc had run to help finish off the few orcish paladins and the mage. It was then that the mage slipped around the remains of the barn, passing the fallen dragon and stopping next to Killian. Just as one of the Blackrazors said aloud "some one should take care of Killian?" a short burst of flame rippled from the mage’s finger tips.

The flames struck Killian and consumed what little life was left in his body. Now visible, the mage turned to run. He made it a dozen steps before Luc killed him with his trusty axe.

The aftermath

In the aftermath of the battle, wounds were bound, bodies were tallied and treasures were collected. Weri, who had died strapped into his riding harness on the dragon, was an amazing site. His once-human face had been twisted with orcish features and eyes were lifeless and black .Strapped to his back was a staff and he wore a black leather glove on his right hand.

"Don’t let Malphas get that glove," Luc mumbled, remembering the advice he’d heard Kalib give the Blackrazors once. Furthur searches of the mage’s body revealed bracers around his wrests and bag with some sort of book in it tied to his waste.

"If he had the staff, why didn’t he use it?" Falgar asked.

"He wasn’t around long enough. Killian killed him two minutes into the battle," Luc replied as he sliced through the mage’s riding harness and dumped the body onto the ground.

Aaron, relying on his semi-intelligent ring, Sayre, was able to identify the properties of most of the magical mage’s items, as well as those of his followers. As he did that, Cal cast detect evil which revealed a number of powerful auras.

  • 6 suits of orcish chain mail: This highly magical (+3) suits of chain also radiated evil Each had the symbol of the high orc god of war, Ati, worked into the breast.
  • 6 staffs: These staffs, also aligned toward evil, seemed to be holy to Ati.
  • Weri’s Staff: Contained a variety of spell-powers, including the ability to create missiles of flame, fireballs, a wall of fire and a powerful surge of flame.
  • 'Weri’s Spellbook: The book in the sack turned out to be a spell book, apparently Weri’s. It was bound in leather that had been stained a dark red. It was held shut by two copper latches, and the adventurers decided not to test them.
  • Weri’s Bracers: When Luc and Falgar touched these, they flamed brightly inflicting painful burns on both of them.
  • Weri’s Gauntlet: Was revealed to be a powerful magical item, perhaps as powerful as the artifact known as Time’s Splinter which the Blackrazors had recovered, and then given away, months before. Falgar noticed that the two items in fact seemed to be joined together some how, as though they had been made through a similar process. The leather gauntlet radiated evil, but the question of whether this was from Weri or the item itself could not be determined.

Falgar took the custody of the staff, saying allowed. "Well I am a mage of the 9th level, and I don’t have a staff or rod or wand. That’s unusual, wouldn’t you say?"

Aaron shook his head. "No, not really," Aaron said. "Not in this world."

Luc raised an eyebrow when Falgar picked up Weri’s spell book. "You aren’t planning on keeping that for yourself are you?"

Falgar looked at the book for a second and then tucked it away. "No, no, I’m just … holding on to it for right now. Maybe later, when the battle is done, I’ll ask to keep it as my own."

The dwarf merely grunted in reply.

The end?

Cal stood over the body of his fallen friend and shuddered. Behind him, the others were stuffing the head of the red wyrm they had slain into a bag of holding. The thunderclaps that had followed the evil leader’s death had faded, yet Cal still felt ill at ease. Killian, a good friend for these last two years, had strayed from the path to be sure. His freeing of the murderer Malphas from prison was a foul deed, no matter what the ranger’s motivations. Yet he did not deserve this fate… Calvin kneeled next Killian, and closed the ranger’s eyes. He had redeemed himself in the end, slaying Weri with a powerful magical arrow – Cal could feel this truth at the roots of his soul. Yet it was the arrow that set him to thinking. The arrow – the color of ebony – had been one of several found while he and the others still adventured in the foul land of fallen Aerdy. Someone, Cal couldn’t remember who, said the arrows carried powerful death magic, but a powerful curse as well. The magic would slay any opponent, but the curse, well, the exact nature of the curse was never revealed.

Back in the Great Kingdom, the elven archer Alton had taken two of the arrows, Killian had taken one. Alton used one of his against a troll while the Blackrazors were recovering the legendary Eye of the Nyr Dyv during their time near the city of Greyhawk. Killian had used both of the remaining arrows, using one to lay a hill giant and the other to kill Weri. Now both heroes were dead: Alton by an assassin of Nerull, Killian by one of Weri’s insane apprentices.

Cal shuddered again. What could it mean I wonder? Alton was lost to us, choosing to stay in the land of death rather than return to the one of the living. If given the choice, will Killian decide the same?'

Experience & Loot

  • No experience and/or loot is available for this saga.
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