In which our heroes find nothing was quite what they expected, and the path to peace sometimes takes strange turns…
After some final preparations they were ready to infiltrate the Dominion facility hidden deep in the swamp. According to the reports from the Forge scouts it was large, old, and heavily guarded. Even if they could assault it directly, if they intended to potentially rescue prisoners – Giants or otherwise – that might not be the wisest course. So they decided to approach at night, get a good look at the place, and then decided on an approach.
As they had been advised, it was a large,old Manacalon complex, with walls, trenches, and guard patrols both inside and out. Will could perhaps sneak past all those to get inside, but the others were not nearly so stealthy. Will slipped in to check things out, and came back with a plan. His capabilities with fey magic had come a long way. Masking all of them in shadowy camouflage was no longer beyond his ability. If Blaze could manage to be reasonably quiet, he thought he saw a way in through a roof access.This camouflage worked quite well as they slipped their way over the wall and onto the roof of the complex.Unfortunately, Will’s roof access turned out to lead straight to a security checkpoint, and Will’s camouflage magic didn’t work quite so well point blank… But they were able to put down the initial guard contingent reasonably quickly and quietly.Exploring, there were banners of the Lord Protector everywhere, but strangely little traffic in the hallways. When they entered a large room, however, they found themselves in a research wing filled with guards… and Mages.
It took a concerted effort from all of them to neutralize the strongest mages while holding back the elite guards.
When they searched the room afterwards, the found a variety of cryptic research notes that were not terribly encouraging… with comments about combat trials and and relative performance of various strains of “improved” wolves, bears,… and bulettes with “enhanced size and aggression”… They were beginning to understand why they had seen so much aggressive wildlife in the area… And why the Lord Protector had wanted them to acquire his list of “study subjects”. As if to emphasize the point, they found a “polymorphing report” explaining that the Lord Protector’s inability to revert to his “true form” was not physical, and that they must experiment on an ever wider variety of subjects to find “the key to free our Lord”. “True Form???Exploring further they found a lower level, with a large open area teaming with guards. There were a number of passageways leading in various directions. Many of which had been actively barricaded. It was unclear to what degree the guards were there to keep people out… or keep something *in*. But it was clear they would get no further without clearing the way. Will could perhaps sneak past, but even with his camouflage the others could not.So they set up in a defensible position from a large platform overlooking the main area, and Dawn and Glory cut loose.
They took quite a bit of return fire. The Dominion archers and mages were too spread out to eliminate quickly. And Will and Blaze had their hands full holding back the tide of Elite Guards. Fortunately, Blaze was getting better at influencing his own wild magic – although the attacking soldiers may have begged to differ. He manifested tentacular vines which sprouted from his back to hold soldiers in place while the others attacked from afar.
After the battle they healed up and went back to exploring, and found multiple layers of hastily constructed barricades barring their path. It took some time to clear away enough of the blockage so that they could continue on into the facility and see what was being so desperately contained.And shortly after penetrating through a last barricaded room they found a clue, as they heard a huge roar and a giant albino minotaur charged straight for them, with large winged snakes at his sides!The minotaur was not the only horror they found sealed in those tunnels. There were crazed, corrupted Dryads.Huge berserk bearsAnd an arena with a a hideously disfigured Bulette, Apparently even a Bulette can be “improved”.
Finally they came to a room bursting with bears, wolves, another Minotaur… and a huge misfigured Troll!.They adopted the strategy of Blaze holding the doorway while Glory laid a huge wall of fire across the entryway. Will and Dawn concentrated upon slowing down anything that approached. The creatures were so single-mindedly aggressive that they were oblivious to the flames as Blaze kept their attention… and let them burn. His name had been earned long ago. He wasn’t completely immune to fire, but few things short of a fire elemental could tolerate it as well as he could.Past that chamber they found what appeared to be prison cells. Many of which contained mutilated bodies. Including a particularly mangled Giant. Apparently Madruk’s friend had not survived. Will looked sadly at the dead giant. All of the Giants they had known here had been gentle beings – wanting little more than to be left in peace to make and build. It was hard to imagine doing this to them.
They did, however, find a number of still-living human prisoners who were delighted to be let loose from their cages. They set up a make-shift camp where these – and any other prisoners they might find – could be reasonably safe until they were ready to lead them out.Finally they stumbled upon one further research area, and once again had to deal with Elite Guards and Archers with full magical backup. They were pushed to their limits attempting to weather the combined assault until they could gain the upper hand.But what they found afterwards truly astounded them. There, in a cage, dressed in peasant’s attire, was someone who looked for all the world like the Lord Protector himself! He called himself “Sitenero”, and had quite the tale to tell.
It seems that once he and Orenetis had been the same being, one of the Dragon mages of the Manacalon empire – Periphanos the Master of Transmutation. But when the Magister had called upon all dragons to assault the Rift and drive back the Sorak invaders, he had instead hidden in the Valley. And when the Cataclysm broke the foundation of magic he had found himself unable to return to Dragon form. He had experimented with various means of correcting the situation, but in the process had only managed to split himself into two beings. Orenetis the Lord Protector was his emotional side, and had been slowly growing more erratic, more paranoid, and more unstable in the centuries since their separation. Meanwhile Sitenero, he claimed, was Periphanos’ more rational side. And he had been imprisoned here ever since. He claimed that if they could re-unite him with Orenetis they would find Periphanos a far more rational entity to deal with and a far more civilized ruler. But there was a catch. Orenetis would have to be a *willing* participant in the reunion, and to this point he had been firmly opposed to the idea – only allowing Sitenero to even continue existing because he was not sure that Sitenero’s death would not kill him as well.
They weren’t quite sure who to trust. Of the other powers that seemed to want to rule the Valley the Rebellion still seemed only moderately better than the Lord Protector and the Masks appeared completely untrustworthy. They decided that they would bring Sitenero to see the others that they had grown to trust, and see what they thought of the matter.
They were prepared for a fight as they emerged from the complex, expecting the guards they had bypassed on the way in to be waiting in ambush. Instead they found that Rose, Priestess Reya, and what forces the Forge could muster had taken control of the topside while they guards had been distracted with their assault inside! They were only too happy to leave the facility in the Forge’s hands while they met to determine what should be done.
Hasdrubal told them that he knew of a secret passage leading to the Lord Protectors’ Castle Gardens. Rose claimed that the Lord Protector had been distracted and volatile enough lately that her agents had been spreading conflicting rumours all through the city about what exactly the Wildlings had been doing and who they worked for. She claimed it unlikely that any of the factions currently in the City would openly confront them at the moment given the uncertainty about their allegiances. She believed that this would enable them to make their way to the secret passage, at which point they could surprise Orenetis in his private gardens and then take their shot at finding a solution.
The stage was set. And the Forge and the People delivered as promised. They made their way to the passageway, and confronted the Lord Protector himself.
He was furious at Sitenero’s appearance, and swore that he knew the “outsiders” would betray him. But Sitenero spoke quietly, and urged him to consider their proposal.The Lord Protector appeared conflicted. He was clearly still angry, clearly still impulsive, but also clearly wavering. And so Dawn spoke up. She stared directly into his eyes, and told him exactly what he needed to hear.
“You will never regain your “true” form as long as you are separated. Both you and your brother will continue to fade as long as you remain apart. And, deep down, you know its the right thing to do.”
He stared at her for a long, long time. And then slowly nodded. Even for a thousand-year old dragon mage in elven form, it is hard to stare into Dawn’s eyes and not listen.Sitenero grasped his hands, there was a bright, swirling light, and Periphanos returned.He blinked. Looking disoriented and thoughtful for a moment, and then focused on them. He thanked them for their service, and then asked them to return to the outside world and tell Caer Cyflen of the Valley’s existence. He said it was time they reconnected with the outside world. Will asked how any of that could be possible with the Redeemers swarming around the Valley. But Periphanos merely smiled and produced an amulet from his pocket. “The Redeemers answer to me. They always have. They just could not clearly hear me when I was not… myself.”
They were going home. With news and opportunities far beyond anything they had dreamed of when they left. They had learned much. Including much about each other. And as they made their way back they could not help but wonder what their future would hold. But that was for another day.
2 responses to “The Lost Valley: The Root of the Problem”
atcDave
That was all very exciting. I’m impressed at how dark you were able to keep the night scenes, consistent darkness is something I often struggle with.
Your variety of critters is dazzling, some incredible renders there. And the bulette did not disappoint!
And of course, I love the celebrating crew at the end. Those sort of scenes always resonate with me, the reward for all the struggle!
For me the secret to dark scenes is to put it in the style too, and make the light source explicit. “Dark Larry Elmore painting; blah blah blah;dark library at night. Lit by torches”
That “Bullette” is basically a giant pangolin with a big head and shark jaws. Took some doing to come up with that combo!
Now just have to decide what I’m doing next. Lot of good custom modules available for this engine. May look through what’s available now.
Leave a Reply to ZenoCancel reply