Dreams and Debates

Trax tells us of a dream she's remembered where we're in a high place, lightening flashes, figures of dread below.

In the meantime, confusion and disarray afflicts our little group … I know you are surprised.

We can't decide on what to do. I (and Stib for the most part) really really don't feel like getting up on the walls and fighting the ravening orcs. What for? We'll just be orc meat on the spot. We perform better in more, um, subtle situations. I can't believe orcs are behind this either - so many orcs, organized? Krog and Trax are flushed with bloodlust. Boink wants to go to a weapons shop at all costs.

We debate and argue. In the end, Krog remains adamant about fighting orcs, Boink is off to a weapons' shop, the rest of us are prepared to either lay low or leave town altogether in hopes of avoiding those orces. Are we on the verge of a serious rift?

A voice - could it be a guiding principle of our activities so far? - whispers its profound confusion. It is adrift in a cloud of unknowing…

So we compromise: we will go to the weapons' shop. And decide what we'll do then.

The Weapons Shop

On our way to the weapon's shop, my mind darkens for a moment, as darkness pulses it wipes away all memory of my (sole) spell. The instant passes and my memory returns. An empty mind is a terrible thing - especially for a mage.

Stib experiences the same phenomenon.

Our moment of emptiness occurrs at the instant the skyship - which we'd noted earlier flying over the city, flying a merchant's flag - explodes: the sphere beneath the ship flashes, a dark flash the sucks in all light, and the ship breaks apart and falls. ENORMOUS explosion. As we walk to the weapons shop, we hear two well dressed elves nattering, one says: "Where is Aldurin?"

****

After the first weapon's shop (Les Shoppes Weappones) - there was just no way we'd ever get in - we hear of the mother of all weapons shops and make haste to go there.

The friskers at the door let us all in, even the orcish Krog. Once again I have to fend off an annoying pat to the bottom, the suggestive leers.

Once insisde, I ask to go to the magic weapons section, while Krog and Boink go off to get a sword.

Well, I don't have much money, but am actually able to sell my dagger for 2000 gold pieces! It's now that I - we - realize that the place is going mad, and prices are spiralling out of control. Someone offers Stib 5000 gp for his dagger.

Then I do something nutty and scary, but ultimately delightfully lucrative. I bid for a set of 5 daggers of utter annoyance, the amount goes up and up, and I win the bid at 25,000 gp - and agree to sign a magical contract for payment of same. I can feel the sting of the contract, and know that if I don't pay the money, they'll track me down… on the other hand, we might all be dead tomorrow so does it matter?

We join the rest of our companions, unsuccessfully trying to purchase swords. Some disgusting fighter offers to pay off my contract in return for my favours - permanently.

The bidding all around us is loud and raucous, prices mount and mount…

And I decide to auction off my new daggers. The though of being either a pleasure slave or somehow tortured by magical contract just doesn't make the future seem bright. Trax offers me her spare dagger if I need to fight…

Unbelievowitz.

Daggers auction off at 34,600 gold pieces. After paying off my contract (no pleasure slave just yet), I'm left with 9,600 gp. This is great. I wish I could flip some more weapons, but there isn't enough time.

I give the other four 6000 gp. to split amongst themselves and I'm left with 5,600 of my own.

I stagger under the weight of all this filthy lucre as we leave the shop.

*****

We head for the walls - in the end decision almost made for us anyway - and our doughty fighters get on the wall, while Stib and I stay at the foot of the wall. We do end up having our uses even so.

We wait for many hours. Finally at 9:30, we hear from those on the walls t hat they see the orcs coming, a writhing mass of the savages 10 km. Square. No one can see any seige engines. No drums.

Meanwhile, even those of us on the lower walls can see the sphere from the skyship that crashed, just inside the castle walls. A black obsidian sphere. There are people running all around it. 1000s of red runes adorn the sphere… It doesn't give any of us a good feeling.

It happens again. All light is sucked into the sphere. My spell is sucked out of my mind and doesn't come back; Stib tells me he sees cloaked people around the sphere holding their heads. A spell stealer!!

Up above us, Krog and Trax are shooting arrows. Somewhere orcs scream: someone throw oil.

Behind us with a whooshing sound rise the mages of the city on their floating discs, shooting fireballs into the orc army. More orcish screaming. The stench of burning fills the air. Ugh.

I find some healers who are handing out potions, get some to Trax who has been wounded and rush off to get more.

Stib sees the sphere by the castle begin to glow - and gets a horn to give to Trax to blow. Why Trax? Something about those deep dwarvish chests perhaps?

The mages come back just in time, otherwise would have smashed to their deaths above the orc army.

There's fighting in the clouds as well beyond the city walls (so I hear) - an airship comes crashing down and explodes upon the orcs. Yay!

Then, spell comes up from the orcish army - a orcfist stunning. Only Boink and I in our immediate circle aren't stunned .

Emboldened (why not) I light and throw a flask of oil down a ladder as some orcs try to climb up - 4 of them die - and then push over the ladder. Get another flask from Trax and try to get another ladder - only manage to kill an orc, but not to burn the whole ladder.

Trax, Stib and Krog finally recover from the stunning.

We feel - everyone feels - that another orcfist stun like that will decimate the defense, which right now is just holding on.

So the fighting continues. Trax, Boink & Krog amass a really large number of kills - aggregate orcs dead easily 150 (if not more).

I do try to stab an orc - but alas I miss.

Then…. A horn sounds in the midst of the orc army. Elves are parachuting into the area of crisped orcs. Military skyship alas crashes there. Magic users lightning bolt orcs from the field - these are elves from other skyships.

And finally, the end.

Then we hear an enormous sound, and we turn. Mages are focusing lightning bolt spells through a giant gem, the sparks fly - and the light from this gem sears our eyes.

We cower, covering our eyes. An indescribable sound - imagine 1000 lightning bolts just before the thunder - pierces or booms or hisses into the air. Everything gos white. We're stunned.

We come to. There's a crater in the midst of the castle grounds. And the orc host has been destroyed.