20th Altruiak

It arrives, cold and wet.  Arust was up at dawn for the airship to show up, but it never shows up.  Comes back in and cooks breakfast.  Later, Cynrain shows up and shares breakfast.  Around nine bells we go off weapon shopping, Cynrain buys a new parrying offhand weapon.  Arust looks at swords too.  Then swing by Og's bar and find out the guy made it to the meeting fine. 

Around eleven bells, a burning near wreck of a ship is flying in from the southeast.  Its sails are down, and parts are smoldering.  It is still in flight, and headed towards the yard infront of the Coronal's Palace.  The crew moor it and brace it to the ground as we arrive.

A captain from the guard gathers up his unit after jumping off the boat and heads into the keep.  Arust goes to meet them, saying he is with the Militia, and the Captain asks him to come with.  Arust waves Cynrain over, and he goes with too.  They go into the Coronal's keep, while GD and I stay out in the crowd.  I try to fight the most damaging rumors as they're spreading and stay truth based.

Inside he tells that he went into the Coronal's Center Office and all the captains were in there.  The ship was attacked over the sea of fallen stars by the creatures out of nightmare flying in the sky.  The archmage in the room asks if they're eel based or was there a storm?  Yes the captain says. The archmage says that it was the city of Xxiphu.  It represents the stronghold of the Abolethic Soverignty.  Its moveable and legend says its never in the same place twice.  Then the captain continues, thats what delayed them, but its not the bad part.  A marching army approaches, and is in two columns, one from the south, one from the southwest. Creatures from the feywyld and rolling darkness. At their given speed, they will arrive this evening at midnight. The Coronol calls a council of the city. Then the Nobles and military Liason leave after her.  They are left in the room with the female High Priest of Corellon, the Archmage of the city and Aramul.  They leave and talk with Inoset Songdancer, the High Priest. 

He rejoins me at this point and fills me in as we're walking to our militia meeting ground.  We meet up with Straelyn and Brenna and he'd gleaned that these Xxiphu Flying City Soverignty are resisted by the Cerulean Order, who oppose the Aboleth monsters. Brenna has gone off to the library looking at maps to give a clue to these Cerulean Order.  Lt. Radachatel sends a messenger to Arust, but its not really from him, its from Aramil. It says he needs to talk to the Arcanes, so Straelyn and I go off to talk to him.

As we're walking suddenly Aramil is beside us. He said he'd like to talk to us over here.  We follow him into a room, and its ritualized silence. The store room also has a Glyph which makes it unscryable.  He's gotten word from The Archmage, that there is a peculear threat, primarily attacking Elven wizards. Some have burned up from the inside, from their own magic. He'll give us names and places, none were inside Myth-Drannor. Mainly he's making us aware. He then leaves and the magic stops.  We then leave and go back to the meeting point.

When we get back Arust and Cynrain have gone to the ship, the Shielf of Savars to give the dagger and note to Alihandros. Cynrain tosses the dagger and sticks it near his head. He comes down and they go to Og's bar. I share a bottle of wine between the three of us. He says they've recently been in Sembia and east and west. He remarks that the old Gnomes in Sembia remark it has changed a lot.  As they were leaving, they saw the sillouete of Netheril in the sun.  He's also seen the Orcs marching to the mountain, as far as Waterdeep they are.  A share of Half-orcs are marching as well.  Like people on a Pilgrimage.  That if they don't they destroy things. None have arrived yet. Arust tells him a little about Zhentil Keep and the new Exarch. 

They get back in time for Arust and a group of Rangers to check the left flank of the army marching from the southeast. He says bye and that he'll be back soon. Another elf is a melee focus, as is a paragon eladrin.  Cynrain and Og are in their group.  The rest are ranged, two elves and an eladrin.  Two of them go with Arust and one is in the rear. Several giants (skirmisher. teleport. Eldrich Giant. a sword made out of force. shoot magic missiles. they consume magic, zones and conjurations, which boosts their damage. they can create a zone that when they're in it, they do more damage.) are among the mob including a misshapen giant (Formori Totemist-chain of skulls attack, 20 squares, voodoo, blind, weaken, or make ou attack friends, evil eye-does damage and weakens you. skirmisher) and a cyclops (Fey Blade-Soldier, mark a person with eye, and if they are unattacked by that person, they teleport 20 to them, high AC) or two. They are all fast and have a move eight. The darkness is man high and extends up the valley.  The misshapen one is huge.  There are roughly twenty total. 

Arust sets up a L ambush and he and Cynrain move in to check whats in the darkness. They hide in some brush and wait for the darkness to wash over them. As it does, they know it is Drow darkness from past experience. Ranks of Drow are passing by them. Most seem quiet though they are not stealthing. They go unnoticed thankfully, and notice their armor is one third paragon, and two thirds heroic. No stragglers are found, so they pass out of the darkness and return to the group. Then we get the report back from them and they say they're coming back.

We take our positions along the line, and the darkness grows in height as they approach concealing the giants from our archers.  Then it rolls forwards and splashes against the Mythal.  The Eldrich knights and other giants form a line just outside the mythal.  The Eldrich Giants have their palms out and sparks leap from them to the Mythal, either consuming it or damaging it.  We focus fire on one of them, as Cynrain moves up.   I follow him as five Drow join the fight and shoot at him.  The large Formori step up and the rest of their ranks are condensing.  The heroic melee surrounds us as the Fey Blade moves up half way to Cyn and I. 

We move up more and continue to unleash ranged attacks.  The one bloodied Eldrich giant is hit again but doesn't go down.  A vision of avarice is dropped by Brenna and it pulls in most of the drow and all of the giants that aren't shocking the Mythal. I sustain and move up.  Cynrain jumps over many of them and then attacks the wounded one, killing him. The cyclops teleports back to Cynrain and hits him.  The noble drops a ball of necrotic blast on us, damaging some of us. 

The visions of averice pulls some in and we attack.  I move up to support Cynrain and he is teleported back into healing range by Straelyn.  Some of them attack and hit Cynrain again.

Straelyn puts up Ironhide and gives us an armor bonus. He then does a lightning attack.  The formori are engaged by epic opponents and effectively taken out of the fight. Cynrain attacks wounding the drow. Arust attacks wounding the cyclops but missing the drow. I say horrible things about their parentage and home town, knocking two drow and the cyclops back and blooding the drow.  Brenna stuns some more and hits some with thunder. 

The fight continues on and I am dropped despite being healed by both Arust and Cynrain.  Then the Church Tower of Corellon sounds a horn, giving us all healing surges and I wake up prone.  Straelyn drops a healing stone statue and I use it to remove my blindness from the drow attacks, and Arust does as well.  Cynrain shifts and removes the blindness.  Cynrains bleeds drop the Fey Blade. 

We eventually kill the remaining drow except for the drow noble who runs off with the Eldrich giants.