Fourth Entry

Mage’s Day. Evening approaches as the party makes its way through the blacksmith’s souq, scouting for weapon shops. Judging from the crowds at the first shop we try, a lot of other folk have the same idea. It has sold out all its weapons. We continue on. As we do so, a Skyship crashes to the ground in the distance. As it falls, the sphere it carries as cargo emits a flash of darkness, and I momentarily feel as though my memorized spell has been “sucked” from my memory. The strange feeling soon passes.

If I were in need of a weapon, I think for myself, it would have been achievable to swipe one a few days ago, either from a local or from one of the bazaars. But today people are keeping an abnormally close eye on their weapons. In any event, I don’t really need anything. The dagger I swiped from Theodore’s is of very fine craftsmanship indeed, and will serve for my purposes.

My companions have different ideas, so we locate a large walled indoor weapons market (“Wal-Weapons”) and are admitted through the heavily guarded entrance. The market auctions have never been so active – people are paying many times the normal price. The same holds true in the magical weapon auction – wealthy local citizens are binding themselves to contracts involving tens of thousands of gold pieces for a single magical sword. Most contracts are consummated with a magically enhanced document that tests the purchaser’s ability or willingness to pay up on obligations. It would not surprise me if they could also track the purchaser. I decide not to get wound up in any attempt to scam the shop – it looks like they have seen it all before, and judging by the size of their burly guards, I would not last long when the repo crew arrived.

Notwithstanding that most of the buys are on credit, there is enough real money floating around here that I am verily tempted to pick a few pockets whilst my companions admire the wares. But I quickly catch myself – could there be a worse location to get caught up in a melee than a one-exit building chock full of heavily-weaponed swordsmen?

No sooner do I turn my attention back to admiring my gleaming new dagger (it is a fine specimen!), than a local offers me 5,000 gold pieces for it. Either the prices have gotten truly out of control, or else this gentleman sees something more special in my dagger than I have been able to detect. We test this theory by offering Sidonia’s unremarkable dagger in lieu – and Sid quickly pockets 2,000 g.p. on the exchange.

Sidonia’s participation in this bubble economy does not end there – she is enticed by the opportunity to purchase a unique and fascinating magical weapon usable by mages: a complete set of “Daggers of Utter Annoyance” which can, when used properly from a distance, distract and injure an opponent with repeated dagger thrusts to the head. A truly distinctive and useful find, but…..$25,500 gold pieces!!

I consider how long it took me to scrounge my tuition for the Kurach Academy. I consider the foes we will need to defeat and the adventures that we will need to undertake in order to fund the payment for this one magical item. The magnitude of the task makes me feel small, and the consequences of failure bring bile to my throat. As the supply of weapons dwindles and the auction draws to a close, I remind Sid of these facts and suggest she try to reduce or eliminate her debt by re-selling some of the daggers now before the market peaks.

The bad news is that the daggers depreciate considerably if sold individually, so she is forced to auction off the complete set. The good news is that she walks away with a handsome profit. She generously divvies out 1500 g.p. to each of the party. The weight feels good in my pouch.

Later, on the city wall, we wait for the approaching army. I admire my find from the Theodore burglary: the perfume, ring and bracelet look like they might fetch a decent price in gold. The catch is that I need to live through the night in order to benefit. When the Orcs arrive, the horde is intimidating. The battle today will be such as Imperial Ward has never seen. The city militia provide Trax with a horn to sound the alarm if the walls are breached on this side.

Looking into palace grounds from above, we see the cargo from the crashed Skyship: an obsidian orb, now glowing with red magical runes. Suddenly, there is another flash of darkness as the orb sucks all light from the vicinity. Again, I am able to resist my spell from being wrenched from my mind. But Sid is not so lucky. Nor, it appears, are many of the mages near the orb, who fall to the ground writhing in agony. This new devilry will certainly weaken the city’s defences. And, as if prompted by the flashing orb, the orc arrows begin to rain down on us.

As the orcs begin scaling the battlements with long wooden ladders, I take a shot with my sling, wounding an orc but not killing it. I quickly realize that the rain of arrows is too heavy for me to engage in missile fire exchanges. One direct hit and I could be killed. Instead, as the orcs begin coming over the wall, I crouch in the shadows below the battlements, waiting for the opportunity to do a surprise back-stab should an orc penetrate the melee in front. The gore begins to fly as my companions wield their blades and axes, but the orcs are coming over the wall very fast.

I wait for an opportune moment, then cast my Sleep spell at the orcs climbing the nearest ladder. Zzzzzzzzzz. Eleven orcs literally “fall” asleep on the ladder and five of them awaken shortly thereafter, only to find that they are dead, impaled on the spears of their colleagues below. I slip to the battlement between Trax and Kroggor, and heave the ladder up over the wall and back behind us to the other side, creating an additional escape route from the walls to the square. As the battle rages on and mages periodically scorch the earth with fireballs, Sidonia and I use the ladder route to retrieve healing potions from the square below.

Returning with the potions I notice the palace orb again glowing red with those dreaded runes. The mages are floating high over the city on their Floating Discs, protected by various spells as they continue to work their magic. My heart plummets as I picture those mages, suddenly robbed of their magic, plummeting to the ground far below. I sprint toward Trax, who is engaged in battle, shouting for her to sound the horn. She quickly does so, and as attention is attracted we wildly motion for the mages to return to earth, shouting “The Orb! The Orb!” The mages rapidly descend behind the walls, just in time for the next darkness flash. Many of them roll on the ground, helpless and in pain, with the spell force drained from them. Better there than shattered on the battlefield.

Sid and I hear tell that the battle is not going so well on the west wall. Magical forces are conspiring against the city, not the least of which is a new concussion spell that the fearful citizens have dubbed “Orc Fist”. And the healing potions have all been depleted. We return up to the battlements, just in time to experience the force of “Orc Fist” first hand. I am stunned completely, and am fortunate to have the protection of some unaffected companions as I stagger helpless waiting for the effects to wear off.

Our fighters are growing weary and can not take much more damage. I fear that another Orc Fist will mean the death of some or all of us. I retreat down the wall to wait for the inevitable, hoping to pick off some orcs with my sling as they come over the wall.

It doesn’t happen. Unbeknownst to me, the mages have solved the riddle of the Orb. I hear only the static charge of electricity and an incredibly bright light. I dive for cover and shield my eyes from the huge release of light, energy and sound as the Orb releases all that it had absorbed in one mighty flash. The orc horn blows. The army is defeated. The victory cry goes up.

I am dirty but unscathed. My fighter companions are soaked in blood and brains. We retreat to a tavern to imbibe much ale and spread rumours of our heroism.