Zeno's Ziggurat

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Solasta: None too Quiet on the Eastern Front

The long trip to the Gallivan front in the east gave everyone a lot of time to reflect on the adventure so far. They had all come through a lot, and things hadn’t always gone how they’d expected

When they arrived at General Blunt’s camp, it had clearly changed hands a number of times. It was a solid fortification, but extensive repairs were apparent.

The General was in the command tent making plans with her senior officer when they arrived. She did not seem at all impressed with their request to leave the front for a ceremonial vote.

“I’ve got a War going on! I need soldiers, not legends!”. Roland tried to convince her of the seriousness of the threat, but the General retorted, “I’ve got a constant stream of Sorak Assassins and Gallivan assaults here. If you don’t help me stabilize the situation, then there won’t *be* an Eastern Clan to make a vote!” Roland was forced to agree and so asked how they could help.

Just then an alarm was called out. The camp was under attack! “You want to help?”, the General asked, “Get out there and help! Light the beacon!”.

So they did. Fighting their way to the top of the watchtower to light the beacon and call for reinforcements.

After they had proven themselves of concrete use, the General was somewhat more amenable to discussions. She told them that there was a Castle named Glendale nearby controlled by Gallivan. A supply caravan was to arrive soon, as well as reinforcements from the South. If they could intercept the caravan, and she took a detachment of troops of deal with the reinforcements, then the Castle would be vulnerable to an assault. And if they were able to take the castle, it would be much easier to defence the pass through the hills from Gallivan to the eastern Snow Alliance.

Roland agreed to the plan, and set off for Bald Hill – the most likely last shelter for the caravan before it reached Glendale. As they surveyed the caravan and its guard detachment, with Kat and Falcon discussing best spots for ambush, Roland began walking directly towards the camp. Kat grabbed his arm saying, “Roland! You can’t just walk up to an enemy encampment!”. But Roland replied, “These are just merchants and soldiers who believe they are defending their home. They don’t know anything about Sorak manipulation. They do not need to die”. And wouldn’t listen any further.

Roland walked into camp, with wary guards pointing weapons and raising the alert. But Roland proceeded directly to the Captain in charge, and frankly told him “There are Snow Alliance troops in force all over this area. The castle is under seige. It is not safe for you to approach, it is suicide. Go home and live.” And, as had happened so many times before – despite how ridiculous it seemed – they listened. They nodded, began packing up, and headed back the way they had come. Roland merely glanced at Kat and said, “I always have to give them a chance. Always.”
.

Upon their return they were met by a Captain Ashdown, the General’s second in command. He praised them lavishly, and said they should rest for the night as the General and her contingent were not likely to be back before morning

During the night, Captain Ashdown returned to visit their camp. He wanted to make a proposal. He told them that the General would never agree to leave the front for what she saw as a political vote unless the vote was essentially won. They would have to win the entire war before there was any chance she would agree. He, however, understood the importance of what they were asking. If he were General, he would be better able to help them. Roland asked him point blank if he was suggesting assassination and treason, but the Captain held up his hands. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m merely laying out the situation,” And with that, he left.
.

Roland was incensed. This was either Sorak manipulation or outright treason. The others knew he would never consider such a thing. When the General returned the next morning he immediately told her what had happened. The General was quiet for a long time. She had known the Captain for years. And then she asked Roland to make the arrest. She said she didn’t know who else might be involved in such a thing, but she trusted Roland to be able to apprehend the Captain without bloodshed.

She proved to be correct. When Roland approached Captain Ashdown, he looked as if he might reach for his weapon – but he looked in Roland’s eyes and put his hand back down. “You’re a fool Roland”, he said, “Risking all our lives for your honor”. “The fool is the one looking to take advantage with an easy way out,” replied Roland. “If you want things done right, you must do them *right*”
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General Blunt was all business afterwards, laying out the known defenses at Castle Glendale. She asked Roland how he thought she could best use his talents. “The General commanding that castle has to go, Roland. If he’s not a Sorak himself he’s a collaborator. And we *need* to control that castle. You can help my troops assault it directly, or you can find your own way in and do it yourself. Its up to you”. Roland just looked her in the eye and said, “We’ll do it ourselves. None of your troops need to die. And we will see how many Gallivan regulars can be spared as well.” She nodded once, and then answered: “ I can give you one day to accomplish it your way, and then I will order the assault myself. I cannot let this opportunity go“.

Arriving near the castle, Kat immediately began to scout things out. The defenses were formidable, but she spotted a messenger going a different direction and decided to follow him. She watched him enter a concealed cave behind a waterfall below the castle. It didn’t seem likely that this was actually an entrance to the castle – it appeared completely unguarded. But it clearly *something* of interest was down there. They chose to check that out first.

Inside the cave, Roland could immediately sense that something was very, very wrong. He followed his sense, and they soon found themselves overlooking in a large excavated cavern. A cavern with a number of troops, Soraks, a large crystal growth like they had seen at Icehenge… and a very large Demon. Whatever the Gallivan troops in the castle above thought of matters, this was obviously the true reason the Soraks were here.

Tess prepared to opened hostilities with a massive explosion of lightning – killing many troops outright and blinding many more from the sudden flash of light in the dark cavern.

Then Falcon, Kat,and Tess begin firing at spellcasters….

While Roland leapt down to deal with the Demon.

They had to endure a number of magical assaults. But once the magical support was stripped away, subduing the remaining forces was difficult but straightforward. The Gallivan General was clearly no longer entirely human – regenerating in the darkness like a Sorak. But without Sorak and Demon assistance he was no match for them.

With their officers and leadership gone, the mundane forces in the castle surrendered to General Blunt without incident. And contrary to Captain Ashdown’s insinuations, she was quite willing to return to the capital for a Vote now that the front line was stabilized

When they returned to White Rock, they visited Gorm to see if he had any new revelations for them. To their surprise, they found Violet there as well. The two scholars told them that while they absolutely needed the Clans to meet and elect a Speaker, that would not be sufficient. There was also a specific Ritual to link the Speaker to the Palace of Ice. A Ritual which would require a specific item.

But Gorm and Violet could not agree on exactly what that meant. The Ritual apparently specified that “The Guardian must gather the Claws”. Gorm thought that meant the Guardian was the Speaker and the phrase was a metaphor. Violet thought that “Guardian” was the name of an artifact, and that it would involved actual Claws. In her words, “Dragons don’t do poetry!”

Unfortunately while this revelation was important, it didn’t actually give them much to go on. So for the time being they would continue gathering the support of the Clans. This time, heading to see the Central Clans in their underground city of Turvaamalinn

2 responses to “Solasta: None too Quiet on the Eastern Front”

atcDave

January 11, 2025 at 4:23 am

The fortress render is awesome. I’ve often done such things as backgrounds, but it really looks good getting center stage.

Some interesting politics and such here, but the fight against the demon is the real standout. That looks terrific, very high energy/dynamic sort of action.

I like the last “discussion” shot too, Violet does not seem the sort to suffer fools.

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Zeno

January 11, 2025 at 8:32 am

Heh. The fortress was probably the easiest if the set. Ai refused to do battle damage or repairs like I wanted. But other than that it was quite straightforward.

Obviously the hardest was the first one. Only time I’ve ever done four characters that all came out recognizable. Obviously did it by stripping their descriptions to a minimum and pressing “go” until the million monkeys happened to get it right.

The Demon was probably second – because Glabrezu are painful to get and I still wanted a valid Roland.

OpenAI editor played heavily in a lot of these. Just the ability to easily clip elf ears has completely changed how my process works. I really need to do an AI page on that when I get back.

Violet has been fun the whole way. A very spunky character.

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