The Battle for Ralgah

cy 4884 Mayan 15th - 16th

The party search the dead body of the sorcerer quickly. The fighting rages all around them in the streets as the pirates make their move against the outlaws led by the man called Malak Openshield. Andurus identifies a cloak of pain (which he takes) and a ring of the sea (which Vugar slips onto his finger). Hobin is aware that they must keep moving; standing still is not an option in the midst of a battle.

Pixeido casts heat metal on the strange cannon as the party head up towards the manor house where Malak has his headquarters. The resultant explosion rips apart the front of two buildings. As they move two of the party receive a telepathic message in their heads; Hobin and Andurus receive the following words:

Whilst distracted by the strange message Hobin lets his concentration drop. The party are duly ambushed by a squad of outlaws who fall upon them unseen, Pixeido and Redewd receive cuts to their stomachs before the party can re-assert themselves. It is Hobin that leads the counter-attack; he unleashes queen Elena’s ancient katana upon the unsuspecting outlaws. Left and right the blade strikes like a silver blur in the evening light. They fall back under the blistering slashes – where the blade cuts it kills.

Aryllos lays down a spray of magic missiles taking out two outlaws in the process as the rest of the party wade in. Whilst Pixeido and Redewd cure themselves Tarrun of the Axe moves in on the terrified outlaws. His great axe turns the street into a river of gore and blood as the warrior scythes down his opponent after opponent with great strokes of the awesome weapon.

Hobin leads them on. His haragei tells him that the pirates are winning the struggle – this is confirmed when he spots a pirate scout observing them from a nearby first floor window. "Well, well," the pirate says, "it seems we have help from an unlikely source."

Hobin nods as they move on. He spots three hidden archer in second storey windows along a narrow street, snipers lying in wait for the unsuspecting pirate. Aryllos blasts two of them to pieces with Melf’s minute meteors as Redewd casts warp wood on the final archer. The outlaw cannot fire from a bow that resembles a quarterstaff. Nor can he launch his now crescent-shaped arrows. Whilst he ponders what to do next Pixeido puts an arrow through his left eye and slays him.

Hobin and Andurus spot two outlaws taking Sylveth to the harbour. They consider tracking the mate of Malak Openshield – the supposed Queen of Snakes – but instead drive on towards their target.

Out of nowhere steps an enraged outlaw with a katana in each hand, his face red with anger, and his intent obvious as he charges into battle. Though only a single swordsman against many the man is dangerous – it is clear that he is a consummate swordsman. Aryllos does not like the look of the newcomer and dimension doors to the roof before Hobin steps out to engage the attacker.

The party watch in awe as Hobin moves with the grace of a dancer, he flows away from the dual swords and lithely steps in behind the newcomer’s defences. With an almost negligent flick of the wrist the spy decapitates the swordsman whose broken body falls into the gutter with the rest of his kind.

Andurus identifies the blades; Soulstealer (which he takes) and Black Death (which Pixeido takes) – the sorcerer is convinced that the magic is either from Hell or the Abyss but there is no time to study either blade. Instead Hobin drives them relentlessly forward.

At last they reach the manor house, home of Malak Openshield. What little resistance that is left is inside – no more than twenty along with the outlaw chief himself. Strond, the pirate lord, and the beautiful Elenorian called Xera greet them warmly. Xera questions the party about their quest and – after a brief discussion, confirms interest in the Sigils of Elena. "So the tales are true," she says, "I have often wondered whether the sigils – the keys to Elena’s power in the south – were no more than mythology. Incidentally the creature you call Bludger is known to me – a True Rat, a first generation prototype created by Promethius (or perhaps his sons)."

"Flush out the outlaw and slay his minions," Strond says. "For that I will make you all Lords of Ralgah."

"I need to rest," Aryllos tells them.

"Be my guest – Malak isn’t going anywhere."

Hobin secures a room at a deserted tavern close to the manor house. The sorcerers swap scrolls as Vugar brews poison. The priest Redewd and Pixeido fix their wounds as best they can as they sleep for the rest of the night. Later Aryllos casts stoneskin on the entire party in preparation for the upcoming battle.

But at first light, when the rest of the party are deciding how to attack the manor house, Pixeido feels that something is wrong. He descends into the sewers aware that there are no creatures anywhere to be seen. No rats, cats, and no dogs – only carrion birds swirl high above Ralgah awaiting rich pickings below. He follows the dark passageway almost to the sluice gates that alight into the harbour – when he spots a monstrous crocodile waddling towards him.

After a quick speak with animals he realises that Bludger has sent the crocdile. But the crocodile is only on a reconnaissance mission but does tell Pixeido that Bludger has taken the animals off the island. The druid’s curiosity gets the better of him. He stalks the harbour and realises quickly that it is all quiet. No pirates patrol the wharfs, no merchants or their guards step foot on dry land.

Every ship is guarded by grim-faced marines except one. The talismanic Jandraki Hammer – Strond’s pirate vessel – is silent. Pixeido makes it to the deck and sees only corpses. Each shows the red welts that tell him the plague has taken them. He descends into the hold after speaking to a lone cat on the deck – "The rat is down below."

Pixeido has never seen anything like it. Millions of rats infest every spare inch below decks. They part like water as he moves; Pixeido fights back the urge to run as he continues downwards where Bludger holds court in the deepest cargo hold.

"You would do well to remain here," Bludger tells him. "Your friends are all doomed."

A movement causes him to glance aside. The bound and gagged form of Sylveth is carried down by a rodent conveyor and dumped at the rat’s feet. A couple of warrior rats nibble through the gag so that she can speak – the Jezharrain Daywalker is terrified. Pixeido can already see the welts appear and knows that this woman – this undead woman! – will soon be taken by the plague. He wonders why he himself has not shown signs of catching it but watches silently as she pleads for her life.

"You will both remain here until it is over," Bludger’s tone is final. Pixeido knows better than to argue with a rat that has several million warriors within biting distance of him!

Meanwhile the party make a full frontal assault on Malak’s fortified manor house. As Redewd warps the main doors Hobin and Vugar sneak into place. Tarrun and Illyrian take the vanguard; Andurus and Aryllos close behind with Redewd bringing up the rear. The sorcerers both cast mirror image and the small party suddenly takes on the size of a larger fighting force.

But it is Hobin and Vugar who discover a large banqueting hall where the temperature is below freezing and the smell of sulphur agitates their nostrils. In a large circle are the last twenty outlaws. Malak Openshield kneels in the centre at the feet of a hideous devil; a gargantuan monster with fire for eyes and poison for breath.

The outlaws turn to attack the main party. Illyrian and Tarrun stand at the threshold making it easier for them to defend as Redewd casts prayer to bolster their chances. The outlaws fall upon the two warriors but cannot move them from their defensible position – Tarrun lops off the head of the first one without effort, the greataxe cutting across a neck without resistance.

But Andurus hurls a fireball into the middle of his own party by mistake, the product of a bad aim. It engulfs them all hurting every one of them except Hobin and Vugar who stalk the devil and Malak; both who manoeuvre into position. The devil hurls a blast of icy cold wind into the heart of the party – Aryllos catches the full force of the cold air and freezes instantly. His whole body rooted to the spot like a statue.

Redewd reacts quickest of all and his resist cold spell frees the sorcerer from the cold. But the devil teleports behind Redewd and attacks. The priest takes the full force of a harm spell that reduces him to a gibbering wreck. As he collapses to his knees at the feet of the devil he waits for his inevitable death. But Illyrian and Tarrun strike fearlessly into the creature’s face. Illyrian smashes through the lower jaw as Tarrun carves open an awesome wound that reduces the devil’s face to ruin.

But even that is not enough to save Redewd – who falls under the mouth of the devil and is gone.

Aryllos dimension doors away from the beast, taking Andurus with him. Once inside the banqueting hall Aryllos raises tentacles that start to rip apart the outlaws even as Andurus webs a significant number of them. But Hobin and Vugar know where the real threat lies. Since they cannot reach the devil they concentrate on Malak Openshield. Hobin diverts the outlaw’s blade away as Vugar drives a poisoned dagger into Malak’s thigh. The outlaw chief curses as his left leg buckles beneath him and he is reduced to fighting from a prone position. Few swordsmen are good enough to accomplish that but in the face of Hobin’s exquisite blade-work it is futile. Queen Elena’s blade slices open Malak’s mail shirt, thunders through exposed ribs, and finally slices his heart in two neat halves. As he wrenches free the blade Hobin decapitates the outlaw for good measure.

The outlaws fall back unable to cope with the party’s sustained attack. But they all know that without magic the devil will have them all. Andurus rams the blade Soulstealer through an outlaw and is instantly healed as the devilish blade restores his own vitality from the soul of his victim. Tarrun is hit by the devil’s awesome magic – every nerve in his body fires as the pain threatens to slay him instantly. But Tarrun of the Axe is made of sterner stuff. Through gritted teeth he sneers at the beast before him, even though he is on his knees he lifts the great axe for one last strike.

But Andurus darts past him quickly. Soulstealer bites through the devil’s shoulder, drives itself down through bone and sinew before coming to rest in the beast’s heart. The blade drinks thirstily at the soul of the devil. Within a few seconds the creature is reduced to dust. Tarrun makes the effort to stand, with victory on his face he spits at the pile of dust before him…