Allies against the Shadows

Their conversation with Berrin Ironfist over, Hildraft and Sack returned to the pass by Wind Walk, rejoining Surya. There were two options at this point. Return to Known Alair, and build up the defences ready for the onslaught, or press on over the mountains, and do some scouting of the threat in the East.

Deciding on the latter, they Wind Walked down the pass until they came to the far end, where they perched themselves on  a suitable crag and looked around.

About a mile away, on the plain in front of the pass, was camped the army of General Kyu. Over a hundred thousand Shadowkami warriors, enclosed in a tight, well-structured encampment. Roughly-made wooden buildings jutted up from the sea of tents here and there, their purpose obscure, and in the centre was a cleared area, ringed with larger tents, and with the largest tent of all - clearly the General's - in the centre. Although the sun was high and the day bright, the central clear space and master tents were drowned in shadows, cast by nothing, and banks of shade rippled through the camp at irregular intervals. Looking more closely with Surya's spyglass, the three could see Shadowkami stepping into and out of these shadows, apparently using their shadowstep simply to travel from place to place within the camp. At the edges, pens held hundreds of the riding lizards they'd encountered in the pass, enough for cavalry.

On the far side, beaten dirt tracks led away from the camp towards the mysterious land of Sasutora, but there was no traffic on them; no carts, no riders, no marching troops. No supply lines. How was the army fed? Then the penny dropped. When you can shadowstep, you don't need to use the roads to move things around....

Increasingly gloomy, the three once more Wind Walked across the miles, heading south. After several hours they passed a second great army, similar in almost all respects, and finally they reached the camp that Tohi Mitsutoru had indicated was commanded by the Dark One himself. This was rather bigger, and had a wooden wall around the central area and its's command tent. The artificial shade over that was even deeper than that over General Kyu's tent, so much so that only by implication could the observers discern the shape of the tent.

Allies were needed.

Khemla Sidira, Astral Plane, 6th October, 1607

Kazoth met them at the gates of the Githyanki city. He appeared perplexed at the idea that they wanted an audience with his Queen; normally, such an experience was to be dreaded. But he had organized it, and escorted them into the dread presence of the Lich-Queen.

Sack, who had not exactly parted from her on the best of terms, approached the throne and proffered his gift - a bunch of simple flowers. The court was filled with whispers, as the Gith courtiers clearly didn't know what to make of this. Githyanki ornamentation consisted exclusively of warlike decorations; moreover, flowering plants simply didn't grow on the Astral Plane, and this bunch were probably the only flowers in the entire city. And yet, there was a deep, primal magic in this gift, a melding of elemental Earth and Water and trust and honour. Reaching out delicately with her telekinesis, the Queen of the Githyanki accepted the flowers, and deposited them gently into a nearby goblet.

Doubtless Vlaakith had had a briefing on what was transpiring from Kazoth, but she asked the Wyrmslayers for their own account anyway, and listened patiently while they described the coming war and suggested that a fight with the Shadowkami would be excellent training for Githyanki dragonriders.

She accepted this, and indicated that she would have no objection to Kazoth aiding his allies with his own forces; around 500 riders. This was not nearly enough; for a simultaneous attack on eight armies at once, 1,600 were going to be needed at least; preferable 2,400. For the use of more, she said, there would have to be something more in it for the Githyanki. What could they offer that she could want?

There was a pause. The three Wyrmslayers, thoughts frantically whirling, struggled to think of something from an earlier adventure that would be of use. Suddenly Vlaakith lifted a clawlike hand sharply. "What is this I see in your thoughts about... Sancrist Crystals?" she asked.

"We could make an agreement involving such things," she continued. "There are, of course, no complete Crystals left." Instantly, the three desperately tried to block their thoughts. Of course, there were two complete crystals. None of them would care if Vlaakith were to take Tersoal's crystal, but for her to rob the circle at Maraka would be an act of desecration, and Hildraft at least could not allow this. They seemed to succeed, for her attention turned to the fragments of the Kingmaker that they concentrated on remembering. Sack unpacked four of his six pieces, and laid them on the table.

Instantly, the court fell utterly silent. All attention was riveted on the chunks of broken gemstone.

"Our psions can make mighty works with these. Your bargain is acceptable," husked Vlaakith, and signalled one of her court specialists forwards to take the fragments. She gestured again, and a small crystal threaded on a thong rose from a casket and drifted over to Sack. "Signal with this an hour before you are ready to attack, and the Githyanki will ride to the Prime Material," she said.

Sack bowed respectfully. "Your attitude has improved," noted the Queen with dry amusement. "it is well."

Belamir, the Desolation, 7th Oct 1607

Leaving Sack to make his way separately from Khemla Sidira, Hildraft and Surya next travelled to Belamir, where they looked up Voth, Master of Shadows - the commander of the elven Shadowguard. They found him in the headquarters building of the Shadowguard, a rather grey building by elven standards, low, cylindrical and domed. The pair were well-known in Belamir now, so getting access was not especially difficult, and they were soon shown into Voth's study.

As they related what they had discovered about the Shadowkami, the elf's face crumbled through disbelief and dismay to horror. The shadowlore his whole force was centred on was carried far beyond their own powers by these creatures, who accepted wholeheartedly the terrible taint the Shadowguard resisted every day.

Clearly, the Shadowguard would be of no use in opposing the Shadow Spirits from the east, out-classed on their own ground. The best Voth could do was to give freely of the shadow lore that he had, to better allow the two to understand the abilities of their foes.

As Sack had already deduced, the range of the shadowstep power was dependant on the power of the individual. It also required, if not exactly line-of-sight, an unbroken straight line between the start point and the destination. Finally - and most interestingly - the sharpness of the shadows was of great importance. A nice crisp shadow cast by a Light spell, for example, made accurate, distant Shadowsteps very easy; flickering or faint shadows made them much harder. Shadows such as those cast by flames for example. Or dragonfire....

It occurred to the group to wonder what had become of the other Blades of the Sun. Sack's was of course a unique item now, blesséd of Kord, but in the deeps of time Elverandil had forged twelve of them. When asked, the Mastersmith considered, and then answered that to the best of his knowledge, three were held by warriors of the Elvenhost of Belamir, two were on Viridor, Sack had the sixth, and the others were lost. "Much was lost in the Dragonwars," he said sadly.

Kîshshul, Erean Mountains, 7th October 1607

Reunited, the three travelled to the Orc fortress in the mountains. They planned to ask Hoskh for four stalwart warriors to wield the Rods of Daylight during the attack. This proved straightforward enough, the orc General selecting ten of his best warriors to go with them - he'd happily have sent a thousand.

As the three prepared to leave, however, Hoskh drew Hildraft back. He looked almost embarrassed, if that were possible for an Orc. "There's someone else wants to talk to you," he said, and waved forward another warrior. This orc appeared no different to the others; massively built, strong, dressed in crude, heavy armour and carrying a large iron battleaxe. As he approached, however, he had an expression in his eyes that none of the Wyrmslayers had ever seen on an Orc before. "This is Duzmakhmol."

As Hoskh said those words, a shock of recognition tore through Hildraft. Not of the person he faced; they'd never met; but of a like soul, a fellow, a comrade. A co-religionist. Deep within, beyond question, the Hand of Kord knew that he had found his acolyte. Within his backpack, he knew, the twin axes Glimstad and Brendel were blazing with the blue fire of faith that likewise burned in the unlikely vessel before him.