Chapter #1183
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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 +
+ 1991-2025 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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+ KEY LEADERS OF THE TWIN ARMIES +
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+ Mongo 20th level dwarven fighter +
+ Gorgo 10th level dwarven berserker +
+ Gorin 13th level dwarven fighter +
+ Yod Ironbeard 21st level dwarven fighter +
+ gigantic armored war-lizard (ridden during battle) +
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+ ASSISTANCE FROM THE BRIGHT LANDS +
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+ Belphanior 18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
+ Hope 16th level female human wizard +
+ Poulos 8th level human fighter +
+ Irina 14th/7th level female human priestess/fighter +
+ Otto 12th/14th level dwarven fighter/thief +
+ Paige 13th level human female fighter +
+ Razor Charlie 12th level human fighter +
+ Skektek 14th level human wizard +
+ Ys 14th level reptilian fighter +
+ iron dwarf insane, armored berserker +
+ Parekh 18th level female human wizard, innovator +
+ Drak 15th level human barbarian +
+ Wu 18th level human wizard, transmuter +
+ 6 elite ogre magi +
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+ Date: 1/3/587 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: midday +
+ Place: outside Istivin, recently-liberated capital of Sterich +
+ Climate: cold and windy +
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+ "There's never been an armed occupation in history that wasn't +
+ overthrown by force." +
+ - from _Arrow_ season 3 episode 12, _Uprising_ +
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MCLXXXIII. The Twin Armies
The plains north of Istivin, capital of Sterich, were completely filled
with members of not one but two armies. Due largely to the determined and
bloody work of this united force, the fallen kingdom had been retaken over
the last few months. It would now fall to the land's exiled rulers to set
about the work of rebuilding the damage and repopulating Sterich; those
who had made it possible would now turn their attention northward...to the
neighboring Duchy of Geoff, which had also been conquered and pillaged by
evil giants and humanoids during the wars several years ago.
Both armies numbered roughly ten thousand, but they had very different
compositions. The first force, commanded by Mongo Thunderhead, was a mix
of Sterish soldiers and refugees, mountain dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and
warriors from Keoland. Its numbers had been bolstered somewhat by large
numbers of Sterish survivors freed during the liberation of the kingdom;
while almost none of those people were soldiers, they were motivated and
angry, and wanted some payback (even if it didn't come in their own land.)
As for the second force, it was commanded by Yod Ironbeard and consisted
of ten thousand dwarves from the Lortmil Mountains, all of them veteran
warriors with armor and weapons of the highest quality. These so-called
"Twin Armies" were now assembled in Sterich, covering the grasslands all
around Istivin, and would soon march north to begin the long and surely
challenging campaign to reclaim Geoff. Along with all of the assorted
troops - the infantry, and the cavalry with their horses - there was also
a long train of wagons laden with the food, drink, and supplies that the
armies would need for this campaign. Much of this had been quietly (but
thankfully) provided by nearby kingdoms who had a vested interest in the
the evil ones being slain or driven out of Geoff.
This was the situation into which Belphanior, Parekh, Wu, and their
various companions now interjected themselves. The group from the Bright
Lands had already reached out to Mongo a few days before and were not just
expected but highly-anticipated.
Mongo: Welcome back! (he clasps hands with Belphanior) Damn, it's good
to see you!
Belphanior: Likewise. I told you we'd be back.
Mongo: And just in time, too! We're heading out today.
Various others greeted those they knew from past adventures, or else
made introductions...
Gorgo Hammerhead: (raps knuckles with Otto) Still at it, eh?
Otto: You know it.
Gorgo: (to Drak) Good to see you again. We're gonna bash some heads.
Drak: That's for damn sure.
Gorgo: (looking around) I don't see everyone who was around before.
Otto: It's been a long, hard road and we've lost a few over the years.
Gorgo: At least Bosco isn't here to try and steal my money at cards.
That little fucker still owes me money.
Skektek: But as I recall, he beat you in almost all of those games.
Gorgo: (grunts) Whatever. He took my money...so he owes me money.
Skektek: I see.
Paige: That little pint-sized terror who hit on me? Is this the same
Bosco we're talking about?
Gorgo: That's the one. Someday I'll find him, and collect what's mine.
(he suddenly notices the iron dwarf, who is standing near Belphanior
but otherwise doing nothing) Eh? (he notices the dim red glow coming
from the other's sealed helmet) Huh?
Otto: Oh, don't worry about him. He's a berserker, much like you...but
uncontrollable. Until recently, when Belphanior gained the means to
control him.
Gorgo: A battle-rager who can be controlled? (he shakes his head in
denial) Sounds like bullshit to me. (he eyes the iron dwarf again)
No wonder he's so quiet over there.
Drak: No, it's true. He's completely berserk in battle. I've seen him
wipe out five foes at once.
Gorgo: (snorts) We'll see. (noting the sharp spikes all over the iron
dwarf's plate mail, he frowns) I do like his armor, though.
However, Gorgo wasn't the only dwarf from the past who now fought with
Mongo in this great campaign.
Belphanior: Gorin! Is that you?
Gorin: Of course. (he pauses) Why wouldn't it be?
Belphanior: Well, we haven't seen or heard from you in...(he thinks for
a moment)
Gorin: Let me help you. It's been at least seven years. I was employed
in the mercenary army of Lord Marcus, at the fortress of Greyspire. The
place was overrun by demons, and I got hurt bad...had to take some time
to recover. I made a name for myself in some battles during the great
wars, and eventually rejoined Mongo when I found out what he was doing
here.
Mongo: (nods) Gorin's a dwarven hero in his own right now. And one of
my captains in this campaign.
Otto: So the whole gang's together, eh? Gorin and Gorgo....that could
get confusing.
Mongo: Yeah. (he regards Gorgo, who is busy talking weaponry with Drak)
Only for him, really. (he sighs) Just be glad none of my other cousins
are here. The Knuckleheads could get lost in their own homes.
Nearby, Wu was catching up with Yod Ironbeard; they knew each other of
old, as Wu had once been among the Host of Greyspire led by Lord Marcus.
That worthy, in turn, had known Yod even longer, as the two of them had
been adventuring companions in a highly-successful party decades ago...a
group that also included Dexitheseus, the Great Druid Oakly Greenleaf,
the high priest Relmar, Sir Drexel, the barbarian Tarl, and others. The
more he thought about it, the more Belphanior realized that it had only
been a matter of time before - just like had happened with the Cabal and
the Circle of Eight and even the Crimson Blades - the various affairs of
such multiple but similarly-powerful groups began to intersect and then
intertwine.
Mongo: -and your help last time, here in Istivin, was more than I could
have ever hoped for. Much more!
Belphanior: (smiles, recalling that past mission of infiltration and
assassination that had ultimately rid the region of the fearsome hill
giant leader, King Galmoor) It was my pleasure.
Mongo: As you know, we've gotten a lot done here since then...but now
it's time to try and repeat the process in Geoff. It's long past time
that we retook these so-called Lost Lands and slew all the humanoids,
giants, and other vermin living there. (he frowns) We'd have done it
a hell of a lot faster, but we had to make sure the job was done and
done right in Sterich, first.
Parekh: That makes complete sense.
Mongo: Thank Moradin that others came to bolster our forces - that damn
sure helped. (he nods in the direction of Yod Ironbeard) Him and ten
thousand dwarves of the Lortmils...that was huge. (he grins) And will
continue to be.
Belphanior: I heard someone here talking about another force that just
recently arrived to help out - what's the story there?
Mongo: Yeah, some of the people of Geoff now seem ready to help. (he
frowns) I guess they were too weak, or too afraid, to do anything
before.
Gorin: (eyeing the warriors camped all across the grassland, as far as
the eye can see) But before is not the same as now.
Mongo: Nope. We've got about a thousand of them - that's why my force
is over ten thousand in total now. It's a mix of soldiers from Geoff
who got driven to the Gran March, and some high elves and mountain
dwarves too. The Duke himself won't fight - as the ruler, he needs to
stay safe, and is exiled in the Gran March for now - but he rallied his
troops and sent as many as he could muster.
Belphanior: (silently thinks about how that ruler, as well as the Duke
of Sterich, will owe Mongo, Yod, and others a great debt in the future)
Mongo: So it seems the "Twin Armies" might now be the "Three Armies",
thanks to the good folk of Geoff.
Gorin: And I hear there're more hiding out in the Oytwood, maybe the Dim
Forest too. So after we march north, through the Stark Mounds - which
are now empty of friendly folk, as all those gnomes and dwarves went
east and are now counted among the additions from Geoff - we may gain
more allies if we can clear the humanoids and such out of both those
woodlands.
Belphanior: Hmm.
Mongo: (scratching his beard) There's another group of possible allies,
but they're in a bad spot and have been for a while now. (he pulls out
a map of the entire region) See this here...the Hornwood? It's a big
forest in the western part of Geoff, next to the mountains. Word is, a
couple thousand soldiers and common folk of Geoff fled there when their
land was overrun. That group surely includes some skilled bowmen, and
there'll be even more if you count the wood elves who helped them once
they showed up.
Belphanior: (studies the map) But...they're all trapped now.
Mongo: Right. To the west are the Crystalmists, where all the giants
and humanoids came from. To the east and north are the occupied lands
of Geoff itself. It's a good sixty or seventy leagues to the closest
possible safe place, the Oytwood. So these people are surrounded on
all sides, probably running out of food and supplies and desperate.
Belphanior: (ponders this) Hmmmmm.
Mongo: So all current and potential troops and allies aside, here's what
we know about occupied Geoff, either from what you already told us you
learned from Galmoor and what our scouts have learned. (he pauses for
a moment) There are more giants in Geoff than there were in Sterich,
so the tougher fight lies ahead. They've also got forces of assorted
humanoids...ogres, hobgoblins, and possibly more. Some accounts have
them mostly disorganized, just sacking cities and towns...while other
tales tell of a few giant leaders being unusually smart. (he shrugs)
So who knows? What's for sure is that when they first came out of the
Crystalmists during the wars, they came from somewhere around...here.
(he points to a specific part of the map)
Yod Ironbeard: (having walked over, he joins this discussion) Northwest
Geoff. Maybe there's a pass or other route there...leading to a city
of giants somewhere in the peaks. (he cracks his knuckles)
Mongo: (nodding) Yeah, seems likely. Evidence points to that path...
Crystalmists into Geoff, then south into Sterich. Hmph. This is worth
checking out, once we clear the rest of Geoff.
Yod Ironbeard: Agreed.
Gorin: As for Gorna - the capital and the first major concentration of
foes we'll reach after we march through the Stark Mounds - it's now
home to about six thousand, including many hundreds of giants. If we
can best them and take Gorna, it'll be a key victory and a launching
point to start reclaiming the rest of Geoff.
Belphanior: (nodding) That would be the conventional wisdom.
Mongo: (regards the elf) You've got that look in your eye. We need to
try our best to leave the city intact, like we did before at Istivin.
Belphanior: (shrugs) Sure. But the enemies in the second place will
have learned about the defeat of the first place, and will undoubtedly
be both stronger and better-prepared. Which means both our approach
and our tactics need to scale accordingly.
Mongo: I'm just asking that we try.
Belphanior: Of course.
Gorin: Anyway, we can be there in five days if we hustle.
Belphanior: They must know there's an army to the south now, and that
you'll be headed their way.
Gorin: True, but they shouldn't yet know about our increased numbers...
which is why we need to make haste, surprise them as best as we can.
Mongo: (nodding to Belphanior) Not to mention the magical power that
you and your friends bring to our force. You could level the tallest
towers in Gorna, if it came to that...it's a huge advantage for us.
Which is why we should press on and strike, while we have all these
extra allies.
Yod Ironbeard: Agreed. This is our best chance, and I think a lot of
the nearby rulers know it. I mean, they have to fight this fight
sometime - the scum who occupy the Lost Lands won't sit there forever.
Once they completely strip those places of everything useful, they'll
get the idea to head eastward and southward...the Gran March, Keoland,
maybe the Yeomanry. It's either fight them now or fight them later.
Mongo: (regards Belphanior, who seems to have something to say) What?
Belphanior: (studying the map, deep in thought) Eh?
Mongo: You've either got a problem with this plan, or some suggestion.
(he folds his thick, hairy arms) So which is it?
Belphanior: You know me too well, old friend. (he turns to Gorin and
Yod in turn, addressing all of them as he speaks) Your plan is sound,
fundamentally solid...strike fast, take the capital city and eliminate
the single strongest concentration of enemies, utilizing the newfound
numbers of strong troops and the capabilities of a handful of powerful
wizards to fullest advantage. (he smiles thinly) But what if I could
make it better?
next: the march to Gorna
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/bright_desert_1156.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 9/5/2025
notes: I need to get out in front of this line of questioning that
might come from some readers: there is a lot of background material
(canon and otherwise) about Sterich, Geoff, their occupation by evil
forces, and what might really be going on.) Some of that is known to
me, some is not, but I kinda went and did my own thing anyway.
The 1/16 section of the world map that contains all the locations
referenced in Mongo, Gorin, and Belphanior's discussion can be found
here: http://peldor.com/world/wog/map13.html
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