Chapter #1123
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic VI +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast +
+ which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use. Any such +
+ property contained within these stories are not representative of +
+ Wizards of the Coast in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2022 by Thomas A. Miller. Any resemblance to any persons +
+ or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. +
+ Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under +
+ the sole condition that no money is made in the process. In that +
+ case, I hope you enjoy them! +
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+ Date: 5/1/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: early morning +
+ Place: the Brass Hills, within the Bright Desert +
+ Climate: hot and dry +
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+ "What's the plan?" +
+ "Track him, find him, kill him." +
+ - from _The Expendables 2_ +
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MCXXIII. A Multi-Tiered Attack
Almost two weeks have passed since Belphanior met with first the group
of reclusive wizards and then Tenser. In that time, all aspects of the
plan have been put in motion...and are now well underway.
Belphanior: (eyeing the imposing structure in the distance, he mops sweat
from his brow with a scrap of cloth)
Hope: (glances at the others - Poulos, Ys, and Pallin - who are hidden
away with them amidst the Brass Hills, within sight of Rary's fortress)
I hope this works.
Belphanior: It will. (he frowns) At any rate, it should.
The planning of an attack on multiple fronts - and subsequent staging
of forces for each - had taken quite a bit longer than initial estimates.
In the end, Belphanior had suggested a four-pronged offensive against
Rary and his allies in the Bright Desert. The overall goal would be to
draw the evil archmage out of his fortress, rather than have to invade
the place and overcome countless defenders, traps, and wards that were
surely of surpassing power and difficulty. The question had been how to
best ensure that Rary would actually emerge to deal with a threat...and
so there would be multiple threats. Belphanior's thoughts turned back
to the events of the last dozen days...the multiple elements of the plan
he had designed and proposed, the modifications suggested, debated, and
made with the help of the others, and then the initiation of its assorted
elements...
The first of the teams was simply an advance scouting party, which
had ventured into the Bright Desert more than a week ago. Initially
entering the region from the northeast, they had crossed the Abbor-Alz
hills at one of their narrowest points, given the Necropolis of Unaagh
a wide berth, and made for Gai Hur. At that high column of rock, they
hoped to find and deal with the desert centaurs who were said to use the
spire as a meeting place. Whether that effort bore fruit or not, the
group would then continue south and west, skirting Fort Whiterock (which
contained some of Rary's troops) as they headed for the small village of
Kalundi...and, perhaps a day's ride beyond, the Brass Hills and Rary's
fortress.
This group - consisting of Otto, Razor Charlie, Skektek, Irina, and
Paige - had been equipped with several helpful items thanks to Wu, who
hailed from a land with similar terrain and climate to the Bright Desert.
Sets of specially-enchanted horseshoes would greatly help their mounts
move across the sandy ground, while a powerful magical sphere could be
expanded into a small hut each night to provide cramped but adequate
shelter for up to five people and their mounts. A small silver decanter
loaned by Tenser had the ability to produce large volumes of water on a
daily basis, and thus the group hadn't had to worry about dehydration and
its associated effects. There had been no communication with Belphanior
or any of the others; such magical means might have attracted attention
from Rary or his more powerful minions, which was a risk they couldn't
afford to take. Belphanior had to trust this team to do what it could,
fend for itself, and be in position on the day of the attack. For this
reason, it included some of his most trusted people, who had a diverse
set of skills.
The second team's insertion method centered around something Belphanior
hadn't thought about or used in years: Xusia's system of gateways, more
specifically the one hidden away in the depths of the Bright Desert. It
had first proven necessary to determine exactly where in the wasteland
the small underground chamber was located; as it turned out, the gateway
complex lay a day's ride northwest of the Brass Hills, and thus two days'
journey from Rary's fortress. Accordingly, several days ago, a small
but powerful team - Belphanior himself, as well as Pallin, Ys, Hope, and
Poulos - had used the gateway to insert themselves into the area. After
the minor challenge of bypassing the ten feet of sand that had covered
the gateway's exit, the group had begun an inconspicuous journey east and
south, making its way toward the Brass Hills during the night. The plan
had been to cross the span of sandy desert before the next dawn, reaching
the hills, and camping there in concealment during the following day. So
far, they had been successful, avoiding patrols and detection through a
combination of low-key magic and intelligent tactics (such as using huge
cloth blankets of the same colors as the hilly terrain to conceal their
campsite, and minimizing their talking at all times, and keeping someone
on guard duty to check for foes or other wandering dangers). And now, on
this hot and quiet morning, they were ensconced within sight of their
destination, lying in wait.
This group's critical task, at the appointed time and place (about an
hour from now, and just outside their place of concealment, respectively)
would be to emerge from hiding and abruptly open a sizable portal to a
faraway staging area, through which would rush a powerful attack force.
This element would be sizable: Cespedes, his elementals, the adamantine
golem, and the iron dwarf...Kronos, his twin white dragons, and his own
golems...and Tenser along with his most loyal allies, henchpeople, and
hirelings.
The third group had yet to appear on the scene...but when it did, it
would be both the most imposing and the least substantial. Perhaps two
leagues to the north of Rary's fortress, in a deep ravine situated right
at a rough junction of hilly and desert terrain, Alindyar and Lyra would
descend from the skies high above, suddenly and rapidly. The former -
using his inherent magical abilities to manipulate reality, amplified
through the artifact-level power of the wondrous paintbrush he'd acquired
from Belphanior years ago - would summon into existence a sizable army,
which would march southward into the hills, heading directly for Rary's
fortified lair. Since maintaining and manipulating this massive force
would consume Alindyar's full attention, it would fall to Lyra to watch
over and protect him; for this reason, they would be riding together on
a roc - a gigantic bird that was large enough to pick up and carry away
an elephant. This fantastic creature had somehow been trained by Tenser
to serve as an ally, and as such it had a special saddle fastened to its
broad back, within which the drow were firmly secured. As an additional
precaution, both of the passengers would have spells of flying cast upon
themselves prior to the attack...as well as numerous other magical wards
and protections.
It was Alindyar and Lyra's team whose actions would be the first signal
for all other attack elements to proceed with their part of the overall
plan, as the appearance of thousands of marching, armored warriors was
certain to get the attention of those within Rary's fortress.
The fourth team would be based in Kronos' skyship far above the world's
surface, and quite a distance away from the Bright Desert. It was hoped
that being nowhere near the target until right before the attack would
minimize the chances of the vessel and its occupants being detected. On
the ship - its repairs recently and hastily completed by Kronos - were the
remaining members of this alliance. Parekh had Drak, of course, who was
not a henchman but rather a companion - and a powerful one at that, with
his ability to grow in both size and strength. Wu had a contingent of
a half-dozen ogre magi, their massive light-blue forms sporting exotic
tattoos, their heads topped with green hair and curved ivory horns. These
fantastic creatures were siblings, and were also unflinchingly loyal to
the aged wizard due to some event in the distant past. Each had an array
of magical abilities, and was also an accomplished warrior clad in exotic
armor of the style common in the far West, and armed with halberd-like
weapons consisting of long poles tipped with huge, arcing blades. The
bearded Dexitheseus paced the skyship's deck, having made good on his
previous promise to bring "a priest or two"...namely a couple of his old
adventuring companions. The stern, powerful high priest of Pelor known
as Relmar stood side-by-side with Oakly Greenleaf, Grand Druid of the
Flanaess. Well over six feet tall, and broad, Oakly sported a beard as
unkempt as it was massive, its grey strands splayed in every direction
and matching the wild mane of tangled hair that surrounded his head like
a corona. Clad in greenish-brown robes, the man looked as if he'd just
walked out of the wilderness after being there for a long, long time...
but his eyes were clear and focused, and conveyed both great wisdom and
force of will. He gripped a thick staff of gnarled wood from which tiny
green leaves sprouted.
As if this assemblage wasn't enough, the flying ship held yet another
passenger, one whose small size belied the assets he would bring to this
effort. Whistling to himself as he wandered along the deck, the halfling
Bosco seemed to have no comprehension of the challenge ahead. Recruited
to this effort by Belphanior at the suggestion of Alindyar and Lyra - a
suggestion that had come with a short but impressive tale - Bosco wasn't
here for his own abilities but rather because of a rather potent artifact
that he happened to carry. Of course, whether or not he understood this
was anybody's guess.
This group's instructions were to move the ship to a position roughly
over Rary's fortress, arriving at the time of the first attack below.
Those aboard would then make their way down, adding their forces to the
battle in progress as a slightly-delayed wave of attackers.
This four-part plan of assault incorporated most - and the best - of the
initial ideas that the wizards had come up with, merging some pieces while
excising a few. There might have been other options and tactics, but the
ones within this strategy were all solid and capable of being executed by
the groups. At this point, Tenser had obviously learned of the existence
of the larger group of wizards, but if he had an opinion on the matter he
had not yet shared it. One thing was for sure: the blue-garbed wizard's
tips and information had helped formulate and fine-tune the plan. Some
prominent features of the Bright Desert - such as Dagger Rock, said to be
home to an ancient blue dragon, and Fool's Rest, where some fell beast was
rumored to lair - had been considered and disregarded. Others where Rary
had substantial numbers of troops - such as Kalki's Leap, or to a lesser
extent Fort Whiterock or the oases at Kolum and Tulwar - had been noted
and avoided, as had places either neutral or hostile to Rary, like Histak
or Griffon's Nest. And then there were the ruins and alleged necropolii,
several in number, that might be interesting or have value but were out of
scope of the current effort. After all, Belphanior and his allies didn't
need to find the Scorpion Crown, they just needed to stop Rary before _he_
found it...or did anything else to consolidate and grow his power within
the region.
The irony of the group's existence - that they had come together in part
to avoid working and acting out of sight and mind of the world, yet were
right now involved in a covert assault on a powerful adversary - was not
lost on Belphanior, as he was sure it had not gone unnoticed by the others.
The current conflict was nothing more than a one-time effort to rid the
world of a dangerous foe who deserved whatever justice was coming to him.
After that...things would be different.
But for now, they would simply deal with one thing at a time.
Belphanior: (smiling grimly to himself, he again surveys the fortress,
wondering if all of the various groups are in position and ready) Hmm.
(he decides to trust in their skills and experience and stop worrying)
Pallin: Bear this in mind...if something had gone wrong, there would have
been commotion from the stronghold ahead.
Belphanior: (nods silently)
Hope: It's almost two hours past sunrise...it won't be long now...
Poulos: (clenches and unclenches his beefy fists)
Ys: (cracks his neck, then flexes his massive, scaly arms)
Suddenly, the fortress in the distance went from silent with a handful
of guards patrolling its walls...to a great deal of shouting and activity
as more people began to appear and bustle around, both within and outside
the place.
Belphanior: Here we go.
next: the Battle of the Bright Desert
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 9/2/2022
notes: As expected, it took me a while to get started on this one.
The amount of research was...daunting, with numerous sources consulted
for details and ideas. As might be expected given the story arc, I
primarily drew on material from _Rary the Traitor_ but also scoured a
variety of others, including
- the old 1970s _Rogues Gallery_
- articles from _Dragon_ magazine
- articles from _Dungeon_ magazine
- issues of the _Living Greyhawk Journal_
- issues of _The Oerth Journal_
For those intimately familiar with the history - both printed and then
what came after, online - of Greyhawk, Rary, and his developing domain...
bear in mind that the events here are happening _before_ some of those
canon events. In essence, I'm having Rary dealt with before his efforts
bear more fruit. He hasn't yet turned the Bright Desert into the Bright
Lands, or started to make inroads on alliances with nearby kingdoms and
other allies. And he sure as hell hasn't found the Scorpion Crown yet,
though to me he'd logically have accomplished that given a little more
time. But he won't, not here, because I'm making my first major deviation
from Greyhawk canon here and now, in this story arc.
More to come.
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