Assault on the Monolith

Gazing around themselves at the unearthly environment of floating fragments that was the plane of Heppetah, the heroes could see the inhabitants becoming aware of their presence; Mind Flayers and Githmorein were launching themselves from nearby fragments and drifting or magically flying towards them. Sack readied Asildur's great bow, and drove a clothyard shaft straight through a 'flayer's unclean skull, killing it instantly. Surya followed suit, and soon their foes were dying all around.

The Githyanki knights of Kazoth's bodyguard had bows in their hands also, but had not put arrow to string; they stood apparently motionless, but it was clear that a great deal was going on in the realms of the mind. Hildraft noticed with unease that several of the Githyanki around him were snarling, their bone-deep hatred of the Ithilids clear in their inhuman eyes.

Kazoth and Morodric soared around the fragment, clearly getting a good look around, and then returned, landing elegantly as the dragon transformed himself once more to a humanoid form. "We must go," announced Kazoth, and each of the Wyrmslayers felt a   Githyanki claw touch his arm. The wierd vista of Heppetah faded as the Plane Shift took effect.

They found themselves once more in the dark stillness of the Nisur council chamber, and for a moment there was silence. Then there was an outbreak of confusion; Sack, taking exception to being Plane Shifted without his consent, had siezed the Githyanki responsible and demanded via sign language that the knight speak to him telepathically. Upon the establishment of this, the half-orc had threatened to kill the Githyanki if he ever did the same again. The knight indicated he'd rather kill Sack than not, but that he would obey his lord Kazoth in all things, and that included working alongside people like him, and Plane Shifting them when he was told to. He concluded by inviting Sack to walk home from Heppetah next time, and snapped the mindlink.

Once all that was sorted out, the issue of what to do next arose. Clearly, the scale of what was going on on Heppetah demanded a more significant response. Kazoth announced that he was going to petition his Queen for an assault force, and asked the Wyrmslayers if they would accompany him. With some trepdiation, they agreed. All had heard tales of Vlaakith, the dread Lich-Queen of the Githyanki, but the chance to muster an army to aid in rescuing the suffering dwarves of Nisur was worth the risk.

Githyanki Fortress, Astral Plane, 18^th April 1602

Drifting through the strange peaceful silveryness that is the Astral Plane, the Githyanki and their guests approached one of the largest cities of their race.

In basic structure it was not unlike the fragments of Heppetah; a chunk of ground, flat-topped, tapering off underneath, and with buildings on top. This, however, was the end of the similarity. Where the Mind Flayer architecture was alien, windowless and rather drab, the city of the Githyanki was ornate beyond belief, with decorations and adornments wherever possible.

Dominating the city was a towering structure, part palace, part cathederal, part mausoleum. This was the place of Vlaakith, the Queen of the Githyanki.

Alighting in one of the town squares, Kazoth and his knights moved off purposefully towards this building. Once inside, more Githyanki appeared, tall grim warriors in black-themed armour, with the aspect of an elite guard. With humans or dwarves, there would have been a pause for who-goes-there and this-is-us and we-are-here-for-this. Here, however, among telepaths, a soundless mental exchange of complex symbols was enough, and the guard fell in around the visitors without breaking stride.

After marching through the palace for nearly an hour, they were brought into a titanic hall, its' carved and grotesque walls soaring into the dimness towards the unseen ceiling. Battle banners and trophies hung here and there, parts of dead Mind Flayers very prominent.

Hundreds of Githyanki guards lined the chamber, watchful and alert, and a variety of courtiers of one sort or another stood before the throne.

Seated on the throne was the Lich-Queen herself. At first glance she appeared merely a rotting corpse arranged on a seat. An instant more and the real picture was apparent. Her flesh - dead though it undoubtely was - was animated by a fierce and dominant spirit. She radiated power, both personal and arcane. The heroes, all sensitive to the presence of the living dead, could have felt her undead status even if their eyes hadn't proved it already. Hildraft had long given up excercising his ability to Detect Evil; it washed around him in great waves, and the eye of the storm was right here.

Vlaakith's form was gaunt and twisted, even for a Gith; grey skin wrapped around dark bones. Two blood-red eyes smouldered in deep sockets. Ornate finery in the Githyanki style decorated this shattered ruin of what had been a woman, and draped around her shoulders was a cloak dotted unnervingly with constantly moving eyes, staring in every direction - a Robe of Eyes, similar to the one Surya wore, although his was red and hers was a midnight blue.

Gently orbiting around her at waist height was a mighty sword. Similar in design to the swords wielded by the other Githyanki the heroes had met, and with a luminous green gem set in the hilt, the sword moved with apparent purpose and intelligence. It didn't just circle her; it prowled.

Kazoth and his knights prostrated themselves instantly before this intimidating being, and even Surya was moved to a respectful bow. Sack and Hildraft remained resolutely upright.  The dark Queen spoke then, bidding her knights rise (which they did - to one knee) and tell her their tidings. She spoke aloud, and in the Common tongue of the Material Plane, although with a most peculiar accent.

Kazoth  narrated the events since receiving the call from Hildraft, and illustrated his recitation with a projected image depicting what he had seen from Morodric's back while flying in Heppetah. The evidence for a return of Imperial Mind Flayers and the treason of the Githmorein was unarguable, and no-one there challenged its' veracity.

Vlaakith was clearly furious. Raging, she declared that this situation was intolerable, and that action would be taken immediately. Then she paused, and looked directly at the visitors for the first time.

"So you are here to fight with the Githyanki against the abomination that is the Ithilid?" she asked, communicating verbally and mentally. "We seem to have a common cause," agreed Surya cautiously.

"Very well. You will be under my protection for the duration of the emergency. All lesser emnities are discarded when the Ithilid are discovered. I would even work with the Children of Zerthimon to defeat this."

"What can you contribute?" she asked. Sack said nothing. Hildraft indicated his God Magic (something the Githyanki utterly lacked), and Surya's simple answer was "Two swords". Clearly, the Lich-Queen could feel the power of those swords, for she seemed to feel these quite adequate suggestions.

Sack, given the opportunity to communicate in detail for once, could not resist. "Does it bother you that you are ugly?" he commented cheekily. The Queen's mental tone was glacial, that of one observing an irritation that would be gone before it would be worth the effort of squashing it. "Does it bother you that you will age and die?" she returned with contempt. Sack, of course, returned a "No", but the Queen had clearly had the best of that exchange.

She addressed the court as a whole. "Kazoth gi'Baskhun is appointed my General for this campaign. You obey him as you obey me." There was no dissent, and Kazoth and his guests were granted permission to leave.

As they walked away down a baroque corridor, no longer under guard, Surya noticed that Kazoth was trembling slightly. He enquired, and the Githyanki replied that an interview with the Queen was always a tense affair. You were never to know when it might be 'your turn'. This, it transpired, referred to the Lich's regular practice of creaming off the most powerful of her living subjects and draining their souls to prolong her own existence.

Kazoth conducted them to a suite of guest rooms, in the shared lounge of which had been placed a huge table. Maps and mental projections of the Monolith in Heppetah were laid out on it, and Kazoth, his lieutenants, and the visitors bent over it to plan their attack.

Kazoth was asked if the Githyanki had anything available which could protect the non-psionic from the mental weapons that would doubtless be in use during this battle. Some though brought up the idea of manacles.

In the (fairly rare) cases where Githyanki had committed crimes for which they were to be imprisoned, the race had created manacles enchanted to suppress the psi abilities of the prisoner. Although the heroes had no psi abilities to suppress, Kazoth reasoned that the damping abilities of the manacles would probably help protect them against mental mayhem. With the chains removed, they made passable wristbands or anklets for a human, half-orc or dwarf. Talamos, of course, had no such need.

Surya's next question surprised Kazoth even more. "Can you give me a dragon?"

Kazoth explained that the dragons he and his fellows rode were not possessions, or servants, but allies, free and proud, and would only bear those that they chose to. They were also much harder to ride than a horse. "Well, can you introduce me to one then?" persisted the Tellaran. "I can ride anything."  Kazoth agreed, clearly not expecting much to come of it.

After the planning was done, Kazoth led the visitors out onto the balcony of Surya's room. With shocking suddenness, a vast, winged shape swooped up from below the level of the balcony and alighted with great delicacy on the ballustrade - which was obviously designed to take such strain.

"This is Ruthric," commented Morodric, as the dragon lowered a wing, clearly for Surya to mount. The Tellaran noticed that a peculiar saddle had been strapped across the dragon's chest. "What's that?" he asked. "That's for ... beginners." answered Morodric.

"Take it off."

Ruthric shrugged out of the harness, and eyed the armoured human with slightly more interest as he cautiously climbed across the wing and settled himself between the neck ridges as he'd seen Kazoth do.

With no warning, Ruthric dropped off the ballustrade, backwards and upside down, and corkscrewed off across the Astral 'sky', bucking, turning and stunting in an attempt to throw the human off. Although a little green in the face, Surya held on doggedly, and even began to enjoy the matchless sensation of flight.

He had been aware of the creature's steady breathing, as its' body rose and fell between his legs. Now, he felt a change in the rythmn, and after a moment he realized what it was; laughter. The dragon was enjoying himself.

Finally, the reptile alighted once more on the balcony of the Tellaran's room, and Surya climbed down to firm ground again. Ruthric eyed him for a moment, and then spoke. “I will bear you into battle,” he said, and swooped away.

Nisur, Erean Mountains, 18^th April 1602

Taken there by Hidraft's Plane Shift, the pair checked their horses, tethered there when they arrived, and ensured they had enough food. Sack was very doubtful as to whether he wanted to accompany the others on the attack. Even with the manacles (which he wasn't going to wear), he felt they would be outclassed by the psionic weapons they'd face, and he did not really see a reason why he should get involved. Finally, however, he decided there might be some worthwhile loot in the offing.

Monolith Fragment, Heppetah, 19^th April 1602

Shifting onto the plane as close to the target fragment as possible, the Githyanki strike force - 2,000 infantry and 500 dragonriders (including Surya mounted on Ruthric) converged on the Monolith from four directions. The dragons swept past first of all, scouring the weaker defenders from the lowest level with gouts of fire, and the infantry drifted down to the ground by means of the inherent Githyanki ability of Levitation.

Hildraft and Sack had gone in with the footsoldiers, and found themselves plunged into a boiling melee. The lowest level of the Monolith was pierced with regular arches leading inside, and was overhung by the level above; columns to support this lined the edge of the fragment. Githmorein and human warriors, led by a scattering of Flayers, were the defenders of this first point of contact, and the invading Githyanki tore into them with savage fury.

All three of the heroes concentrated on the Mind Flayer leaders. Hildraft, though, found his way blocked by Githmorein knights. He kicked off with a Sword Stream, brought up his Holy Aura, and began carving his way through them. Sack used his helm twice to Teleport behind battling ‘Flayers and slaughter them with Sneak Attacks, then paused to explore their bodies for possessions of interest. Surya, orbiting the battlefield on Ruthric's back, used his bow to deadly effect, bringing down two Ithilids.

After that, the battle became so tangled that he dared not shoot into it for fear of hitting his allies. Slinging his bow, he asked Ruthric to land him in the thick of the melee. Displaying considerable trust in his new rider, the dragon closed his wings and dived, pulling up sharply to drop neatly to his talons in the middle of the fight.

Glancing around, Sack saw that he'd managed to Teleport himself behind the enemy “lines” and into the interior of the Monolith's lowest floor. He sprinted for the shadows, concealed himself, and looked around. Corridors snaked off in various directions, but a pair of enticingly important-looking doors, guarded by Githmorein appeared to open into one of the massive domes that dominated the ground level.