Discord
Changelog
After some work by the leaders of the attacking force, and reassurances that the battle would be swift and not costly, Aznar Thrul agreed to remain with his forces and take the city of Amruthar, then the combined force would be turned to the Priador to deal with the usurper Mari Agneh.
As planned, zulkir Nevron and tharchion Hezess Nymar’s forces of demons conjured by his Red Wizards and the Lapendrar legion attacked the eastern gate. Zulkirs Samas Kul’s and Aznar Thrul’s Red Wizards pinned down the forces on the wall. And tharchion Dimon attacked the western gate with his Tyraturos legion and a special vanguard that included the Priador legionnaires Rozz Khephra, Kalis Kurm, and Azura, the Red Wizard Kessa and her knight Nikos, and the mercenaries Kareena and Pedron Niall II. The bulk of the Priador legion was held in reserve to sweep into the city, under the command of Aznar Thrul, once the gates were breached.
At Samas Kul’s insistence, the zulkirs cast a powerful magic over the city to prevent the use of teleportation and recall magic so the defenders could not try to get in behind their troops as they advanced - or escape.
This was to prove a fatal miscalculation…on the part of the other zulkirs.
As the battle commenced, the vanguard under Dimon proceeded to take the western gate and dispatch the initial resistance, and then made their way south along the interior of the city wall while the Priador legion poured in behind them to begin a sweep through the center of the city.
Dimon’s vanguard encountered heavy resistance. It quickly became apparent that first, the defenders were under some magical protection that prevented minor spells from harming them and also absorbed some of the impact of damage they would have otherwise sustained and second, they knew of the planned flanking motion around the southern wall and had defenses in place to slow or stop the advance. Could it be that the zulkirs Lallara and Yaphyll were aiding the defenders? Would they be so brash as to outright defy the majority of the council, Dimon had wondered aloud to those in the vanguard?
Despite the strong resistance the vanguard pushed through to the rear of the Heirarch’s Palace and then cut north to the market with Dimon becoming bolder with each enemy defeat. Indeed, he may have fallen on that advance had the Priador Lieutenant Azura not been there to break off her attack and aid him. Finally they reached the entrance to the Palace and regrouped as Red Wizards of Nevron and his demons were battling the forces of Amruthar throughout the eastern portion of the city around them.
The force charged into the palace and met more strong resistance within the throne room. Dimon, in a bold but foolish move, rushed away from the bulk of his vanguard to attack three of the city guards on his own and had his skull split before his force could reach him! Thus ended the reign of the tharchion of Tyraturos.
Command of the vanguard now passed to the Red Wizard Kessa with the guidance of her Knight; Nikos. After fighting through the barracks and lower levels of the palace, they made their way above where the Heirarch had taken his last refuge. Fighting past his guards, the vanguard slew him as well, moments before Thrul, Kul, and Nymar converged on the Palace and joined them.
After being informed of Dimon’s fall, Thrul moved to inspect the body of the Heirarch which suddenly transformed into a terrible Blood Fiend - and undead demon-vampire! The Blood Fiend unleashed some magical power that swept through the Palace and throughout the city, rising all that had fallen as shadows, dread warriors, and worse. Those in the Heirarch’s chambers proved to be the strongest of the undead and converged around Thrul, hacking and slashing at him. Thrul’s power was terrible to behold, but he could not stop from being overwhelmed by the creatures surrounding him and could not escape due to the anti-recall magic laid over the city. The great and mighty Aznar Thrul fell there, in the Palace of the Heirarch, damned by his own magic and the horde of undead that ripped apart his body.
In the last moments before Thrul’s death, Hezess fled the battle, screaming retreat as he flew from the city - which in turn caused his Lapendrar legionnaires to flee in disarray. As the dead armies began to rise and attack their mortal counterparts, the balance of the battle fell from the attackers. The Tyraturos and Priador legions, now leaderless, were both routed in disarray and horror. Only Nevron, his Red Wizards, their demons, and the remaining wizards of transmutation and evocation remained to turn the tide against the undead. As was Dimon’s vanguard which was fortifying its position and regrouping in the upper level of the Palace.
Samas Kul found the battle at a precarious point, and ordered the vanguard to counterattack back through the Palace and to make their way to the Slave Stockyard which would be a rallying point for Nevron and the others who remained. Wearied, but resolute, the battered vanguard set back through the Palace and streets of Amruthar, battling undead almost every step of the way. Once at the stockyard, the ever-unhappy Nevron informed all arrived that the undead had been mostly destroyed by the few remaining living attackers, demons, and Red Wizards still committed to the battle.
But the losses they had inflicted as both living and undead defenders of the city had been enormous. Almost half the attacking force had been destroyed, and the remainder scattered. Worst of all, tharchion Dimon and the mighty zulkir Aznar Thrul had been killed as well. Successors for both would be needed, and Kul vowed that Hezess would be stripped of his position as tharchion of the Lapendrar. Among those still remaining in the vanguard, it was decided that the Red Wizard Kessa should become the new Heirarch of the city, and before he left, Kul charged her with clearing the remaining pockets of undead while the restoration of the city was being organized.
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Samas Kul, zulkir of Transmutation and leader of the Vengeful’s Trade Circle completed his lengthy report of the battle to his master, although he was certain his master already knew all of it.
“I believe your magical influence was sufficient to convince those involved that Lallara, Yaphyll, and especially Szass Tam were all involved in assisting with the defense of the city. Nevron is hot-headed enough that he will not see past the obvious and blame Tam for the cost of this ‘victory’. There will be blood, and trying to replace Dimon will make the divisions more apparent.”
“Our plan worked quite well, but the coward Hezess ran before your undead that killed Thrul could dispose of him as well. And as we expected Nevron to survive, the anti-Tam faction of zulkirs is still strong, although diminished. No doubt Tam will seek a way to exploit the situation...,” Kul trailed off, finally stopping his one-way conversation.
“You have done well, and your part in this first part of the plan is over. The chaos has begun. You may go,” the raspy voice of Kul’s master simply stated after a few uncomfortable minutes of silence, from the darkness around Kul.
After the fat zulkir lumbered out of the chamber, the Old Man stepped forward.
“You have heard Kul’s results. The balance of power is shifting back to Tam’s faction,” the master rasped. “Ensure it shifts away from him just as quickly. Contact your agents here and in Aglarond. It is time the Simbul become involved.”
The Old Man opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it, and then nodded once. He well knew that Tam’s plan for domination of Thay was nearly ready to be unleashed. And on the off chance the zulkirs should put aside their increasingly dangerous feud to combine their strength now, they were still strong enough to thwart the Vengeful’s plans. He would need to act soon to prevent any chance of that occurring before it was time.
As planned, zulkir Nevron and tharchion Hezess Nymar’s forces of demons conjured by his Red Wizards and the Lapendrar legion attacked the eastern gate. Zulkirs Samas Kul’s and Aznar Thrul’s Red Wizards pinned down the forces on the wall. And tharchion Dimon attacked the western gate with his Tyraturos legion and a special vanguard that included the Priador legionnaires Rozz Khephra, Kalis Kurm, and Azura, the Red Wizard Kessa and her knight Nikos, and the mercenaries Kareena and Pedron Niall II. The bulk of the Priador legion was held in reserve to sweep into the city, under the command of Aznar Thrul, once the gates were breached.
At Samas Kul’s insistence, the zulkirs cast a powerful magic over the city to prevent the use of teleportation and recall magic so the defenders could not try to get in behind their troops as they advanced - or escape.
This was to prove a fatal miscalculation…on the part of the other zulkirs.
As the battle commenced, the vanguard under Dimon proceeded to take the western gate and dispatch the initial resistance, and then made their way south along the interior of the city wall while the Priador legion poured in behind them to begin a sweep through the center of the city.
Dimon’s vanguard encountered heavy resistance. It quickly became apparent that first, the defenders were under some magical protection that prevented minor spells from harming them and also absorbed some of the impact of damage they would have otherwise sustained and second, they knew of the planned flanking motion around the southern wall and had defenses in place to slow or stop the advance. Could it be that the zulkirs Lallara and Yaphyll were aiding the defenders? Would they be so brash as to outright defy the majority of the council, Dimon had wondered aloud to those in the vanguard?
Despite the strong resistance the vanguard pushed through to the rear of the Heirarch’s Palace and then cut north to the market with Dimon becoming bolder with each enemy defeat. Indeed, he may have fallen on that advance had the Priador Lieutenant Azura not been there to break off her attack and aid him. Finally they reached the entrance to the Palace and regrouped as Red Wizards of Nevron and his demons were battling the forces of Amruthar throughout the eastern portion of the city around them.
The force charged into the palace and met more strong resistance within the throne room. Dimon, in a bold but foolish move, rushed away from the bulk of his vanguard to attack three of the city guards on his own and had his skull split before his force could reach him! Thus ended the reign of the tharchion of Tyraturos.
Command of the vanguard now passed to the Red Wizard Kessa with the guidance of her Knight; Nikos. After fighting through the barracks and lower levels of the palace, they made their way above where the Heirarch had taken his last refuge. Fighting past his guards, the vanguard slew him as well, moments before Thrul, Kul, and Nymar converged on the Palace and joined them.
After being informed of Dimon’s fall, Thrul moved to inspect the body of the Heirarch which suddenly transformed into a terrible Blood Fiend - and undead demon-vampire! The Blood Fiend unleashed some magical power that swept through the Palace and throughout the city, rising all that had fallen as shadows, dread warriors, and worse. Those in the Heirarch’s chambers proved to be the strongest of the undead and converged around Thrul, hacking and slashing at him. Thrul’s power was terrible to behold, but he could not stop from being overwhelmed by the creatures surrounding him and could not escape due to the anti-recall magic laid over the city. The great and mighty Aznar Thrul fell there, in the Palace of the Heirarch, damned by his own magic and the horde of undead that ripped apart his body.
In the last moments before Thrul’s death, Hezess fled the battle, screaming retreat as he flew from the city - which in turn caused his Lapendrar legionnaires to flee in disarray. As the dead armies began to rise and attack their mortal counterparts, the balance of the battle fell from the attackers. The Tyraturos and Priador legions, now leaderless, were both routed in disarray and horror. Only Nevron, his Red Wizards, their demons, and the remaining wizards of transmutation and evocation remained to turn the tide against the undead. As was Dimon’s vanguard which was fortifying its position and regrouping in the upper level of the Palace.
Samas Kul found the battle at a precarious point, and ordered the vanguard to counterattack back through the Palace and to make their way to the Slave Stockyard which would be a rallying point for Nevron and the others who remained. Wearied, but resolute, the battered vanguard set back through the Palace and streets of Amruthar, battling undead almost every step of the way. Once at the stockyard, the ever-unhappy Nevron informed all arrived that the undead had been mostly destroyed by the few remaining living attackers, demons, and Red Wizards still committed to the battle.
But the losses they had inflicted as both living and undead defenders of the city had been enormous. Almost half the attacking force had been destroyed, and the remainder scattered. Worst of all, tharchion Dimon and the mighty zulkir Aznar Thrul had been killed as well. Successors for both would be needed, and Kul vowed that Hezess would be stripped of his position as tharchion of the Lapendrar. Among those still remaining in the vanguard, it was decided that the Red Wizard Kessa should become the new Heirarch of the city, and before he left, Kul charged her with clearing the remaining pockets of undead while the restoration of the city was being organized.
----------------------------
Samas Kul, zulkir of Transmutation and leader of the Vengeful’s Trade Circle completed his lengthy report of the battle to his master, although he was certain his master already knew all of it.
“I believe your magical influence was sufficient to convince those involved that Lallara, Yaphyll, and especially Szass Tam were all involved in assisting with the defense of the city. Nevron is hot-headed enough that he will not see past the obvious and blame Tam for the cost of this ‘victory’. There will be blood, and trying to replace Dimon will make the divisions more apparent.”
“Our plan worked quite well, but the coward Hezess ran before your undead that killed Thrul could dispose of him as well. And as we expected Nevron to survive, the anti-Tam faction of zulkirs is still strong, although diminished. No doubt Tam will seek a way to exploit the situation...,” Kul trailed off, finally stopping his one-way conversation.
“You have done well, and your part in this first part of the plan is over. The chaos has begun. You may go,” the raspy voice of Kul’s master simply stated after a few uncomfortable minutes of silence, from the darkness around Kul.
After the fat zulkir lumbered out of the chamber, the Old Man stepped forward.
“You have heard Kul’s results. The balance of power is shifting back to Tam’s faction,” the master rasped. “Ensure it shifts away from him just as quickly. Contact your agents here and in Aglarond. It is time the Simbul become involved.”
The Old Man opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it, and then nodded once. He well knew that Tam’s plan for domination of Thay was nearly ready to be unleashed. And on the off chance the zulkirs should put aside their increasingly dangerous feud to combine their strength now, they were still strong enough to thwart the Vengeful’s plans. He would need to act soon to prevent any chance of that occurring before it was time.