The Sylvan Realm #26 (#70)

[GM Mad]

Sylvan Realm #26 (#70)

The Heroes of the Mother Tree are spread out across and beyond the Sylvan Realm. Some have traveled with their clans to reclaim their ancient Clan Holds while others travel on urgent business to distant lands...


Return to Karn's Keep:

December 3rd, CR 571 or Deepnight 25th, 20,519 AP

“A necessary part of the job,” Lilia offers. “My plans change as circumstance dictate. They are always evolving.”

“A particular mindset that I will need to become used to,” Allurien admits. “As the Head of the Clan Council, I need to oversee all the clans and the goings on within the Sylvan Realm. I'm going to need a staff...”

“The group that protected the realm from the Underdark.” Lia quickly answers, “It is indeed possible though I haven’t not seen any evidence of such a force.”

“While I had not considered the possibility of such a force existing before, I can see the need for one,” Gweyr notes.


December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

The Sunflower is flown back to Shillesta and to the Pillar Artifact on top of the Tall Tower. Talen activates the artifact and Kylie, Lia, Lilia, Andlin and the cooshee's pass through the portal. Gweyr, the mages she recruited from Pinit and some guards acquired by Andlin remain behind to protect the Sunflower.

Passing through the portal the group appears on a different platform somewhere in a vast underground chamber. The room is so large that no one can see the walls or the ceiling with their infravision! While the arrivals are wary, the cooshee's seem calm. As all recall, the elfin dogs will bark loudly when there is danger.

The group spreads out and discovers the walls were just out of the sight range of Lia and Talen. The chamber is square and about 200' wide. Kylie flies up and discovers the ceiling is 100' overhead. The whole chamber is worked stone, so it was built by someone.

One exit is found, but it only goes a short distance as it shows signs of a collapse long ago. The passage is filled with rubble and impassable.

Light is noted as one gets closer to the side of the room opposite of the collapse. Stairs are discovered going up and light can be seen from up there. The stairs are also giant sized, but smaller, normal steps were added between the giant treads so that non-giants can climb them easily.

The top of the stairs are reached and the elves find themselves in a very large, but familiar basement. It was this area that the Twins lead the group through to reach the barge. A hidden door was passed through that led outside to a small lake beside the keep where the barge was kept. The chamber is lit by torches here and there, but no one is around.

Stairs going up are right beside the stairs going down to the Portal Artifact. These stairs are climbed and they end at the ground floor of the keep. To your right is the door that leads to the Mage Guild area. A door to the left leads to the grand hall of the keep. Noise can be heard from behind this door. Its the metallic crash of weapons!

While the door to the grand hall is giant-sized, a human-sized door was later cut into it. Opening this smaller door reveals a chaotic scene! The guards of Karn's Keep are easy to identify from your previous visits. They are clashing with other humans wearing different colors. The invaders are wearing tabards with matching designs on their shields. Their shields are divided into quarters with the upper left quarter identical to the lower right quarter. Likewise the lower left quarter matches the upper right. The upper left quarter shows what looks like the shape of a tower in white on a field of red. The upper right has what looks like a brown wagon wheel, or maybe a shield, in brown on a field of white. Their tabards match the design on the shields.

While you are taking all of this in, the three cooshee's suddenly let out a very loud barks that reverberates around the vast great hall! The fighting stops for a moment, as all the humans turn to see what caused that noise. The break only lasts for a moment as the fighting resumes.


GM Notes:

The combatants are all spread out among the grand hall. There seems to be about 40 Karn's Keep guards here fighting about 50 of the invaders.

[GM Mad]

The Spiders of Einsun:

December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

“I would not defile our clans culture in such a way .” He says simply a slight smirk upon his face. “I was thinking more a griffon’s talon or beak.”

“That could work,” the Clan Master muses. “Or perhaps a dead spider...”

Laucian sits and talks with the younger elves, getting to know them. Alandar, Thimion, Etrian, Shyael and Merlara all wished to be rangers but for one reason or another they could not make the cut. Knowing that there is no shame in becoming a scout, Laucian congrats all in turn. Even more interesting, Laucian finds that Shyael and Merlara are mages as well!

(Rangers, along with Paladins, have the highest stat requirements for a class in the game. That's why these five, and those like them, could not become rangers. They didn't have the stats to make the cut.)

“You more then likely have heard this before.” He says with a smile as his copper hair falls into his face. His amber eyes hold each in turn, ”But it makes it no less true. Focus on your training and your instincts that our elders have developed in you. Keep your griffon mobile and fire from afar.”

The novice riders will nod in agreement. They all have combat experience, its riding and fighting on a griffon that is new to them. All do agree that at this point, they are probably better off not trying to fight while on the griffon.

(In game terms each has advanced to at least 6th level one of their classes, so not totally raw recruits.)

“Shyveal and Merlara, I understand that you are mages as well? What spells are you able to cast?” he asks curiously.

“Fireball is my most potent spell,” Shyael will report. “I can load up on damaging spells. I'll make these creepy-crawlies crispy!”

“Fireball as well,” Merlara adds. “I wonder if spiders can be trapped in a Web spell?”

“Oh!” Shyael inserts. “And then hit it with fire to burn a whole bunch of them! That could work very nicely!”

“We'll have to try it,” Merlara agrees.

“When the time comes and we are once settled in Einsun and you are willing, I will teach you of the experiences I have had. Whether it be fighting from a griffon to tracking to tricks with a bow, if you wish.”

“I think I can speak for us all when I say we look forward to the battle to come, Commander Laucian,” Thimion states.


December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

The defenders of Clan Grunalf are off the next morning. The Clan Master travels on foot with several score of archers to aid in the battles to come. Laucian leads the way for the Griffon Riders. The two Silver Maidens follow along on the ground. Sergeant Silversword brings up the rear on her elfin horse accompanied by Laucian's cooshees and several others that joined in along the way.

“Elder.” Laucian reaches out his hand in greeting, “I will see you in Einsun. You be good, Onyx.” He says giving the black cat a pet.

“Good hunting, son,” Elder Treelife will say as he accepts Onyx. “Shoot a few of those pests for me!”

The road to Einsun is a nervous one as he flies Aura above the road. He watches as the unicorns blink to keep up. Every time they do it, Laucian smiles to himself, “ I could not get used to that!” he says to Aura. Within moments he hears the wings of another griffon whom carries Tisha upon them.

“You honor me, but Tales can be misleading.” Laucian says being somewhat humble. “I have been blessed with a keen eye and a Hunter’s bow from Ehlonna.”

Tisha will laugh in response. “We shall soon find out just how humble you're being! I'm a fair shot myself. These spiders should be quite a work out.”


Einsun is soon reached. Some of the town is free of spiders, but other parts are thickly covered by webbing. The smaller spiders are easily seen, but their larger parents not so much. The seem to be gathered into nests with a larger spider at the center and many smaller ones around it. What are guessed to be spider eggs and even creatures trapped in webbing are seen.

The Griffon Riders regroup with the Silver Maidens on the outskirts of Einsun, near one of the spider nests. The plan of attack is simple. A lone arrow set on fire will be launched int the thick of the nest. The webbing should burn and in turn, the spiders should come rushing out. The archers will pick of the smaller spiders as they can until the larger one appears. Everyone present forms a line behind the cooshee's. The idea is to keep the spiders in front of you and not let any get past. The griffons are further back as they don't have much room to operate under these conditions.

An arrow point is dipped in oil and set on fire. Laucian takes aim and fires! The burning arrow flies through the sky and buries itself in the thickest part of the webbing. The webbing slowly starts to burn and smoke. In response, the smaller spiders start to swarm out. There looks to be over thirty of them!

Laucian takes aim and quickly fires three arrows. Each arrow strikes a different spider and each spider drops from the wound. These smaller spiders don't take much to kill!

Over two dozen arrows are fired from the elves as the spiders swarm towards them! Many more of the spiders are dropped from arrow strikes. So many of them fall that only 3 reach the cooshees! The elfin dogs tear into those that remain. Without their great numbers, these spiders are not so dangerous.

“Wow, I was expecting more of a fight,” Annelwin notes. “Not that I'm complaining!”

“Here comes your fight,” Sergeant Silversword calls out. “We got the mother's attention!”

Looking back to the burning webbing, you can see a giant spider moving towards you! This one is 10' wide and some eight feet off the ground on its 8 legs! The giant spider rushes to the attack, screeching as it goes!


GM Notes:

I got a laugh out of Shyveal!

[GM Mad]

The Wyvern's of Walltree:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

The mission to retake Walltree from the wyvern riders occupying it begins! The Griffon Riders have departed with scouts that they will insert into Walltree via the tallest of the griffon stables. The Forest Riders move along at a steady pace, accompanied by four of the Silver Maidens with Fayrianna in command of them. Nearly sixty troops accompany the riders on foot. The ground troops set the pace and the riders adjust to it.

By mid-afternoon you can feel that you are close to Walltree. Up ahead on the road you can see Commander Valis and Arlen Brightsword waiting for you beside their griffons.

“Walltree is about a mile or so away,” Arlen reports. “We are safely out of their sight.”

Here is what the scouts have determined. The humans occupying Walltree are all a fighting force. There are no non-combatants or children present. The wyverns are kept on chains in what would be the town's open market. These keeps them from flying off. The wyverns have to be prepared for a rider to fly them. The saddle and harness need to be attached and so on.

The only roads they watch are the two main roads. They pay no attention to the two smaller roads that head off to the south. There are men watching in each tower on either side of the main roads.

“My suggestion, Clan Master,” Arlen states, “is that we bring the bulk of our forces in through the southwest gate. It is unguarded and if we wait until dusk the humans won't notice. Then we can move through town and take up positions in preparation for attack.”

“We can place archers in the other two griffon stables as they have clear shots of the guard towers by the main gates,” Commander Valis adds. “They have the wyverns chained so that they cannot flee. This will allow us to take them out quickly as they will be limited in mobility.”

“I'll happily introduce them to my lance,” Fayrianna says with a laugh.

“Solid suggestions,” Clan Master Argus will state. “This operation is starting to come together nicely. You have any additional recommendations, Onas?”

“If not, then I think we are ready to begin. Onas and I will ride up to the gate and speak to the humans. The troops who remain with us will take cover in the forest while everyone else goes through the back gate. Let us time our attack for dusk. No sense letting the humans see as well as we can!”

Now what?

[Lia]

Lia
Looking about her Lia looks into the darkness, her eyes adjusting to the deep dark. “So this is how they see.” She says stepping out and drawing her sword, Umbra padding along. It quickly becomes apparent that they cannot see the walls that the keeper’s of Karn’s Keep were giant indeed as the cavern and echoes go on for a time.
Lia looks down at Umbra looking at the dogs reaction, though he seems normal..”Come, Umbra let us see what there is here.” She says as she slowly makes her way about. Debris lies where a hallway once had been. “I wonder if Argent knows what lies behind there.” She says picking up her sword arm and pointing at the rubble with her sword, her curiosity peaked

.
The top of the stairs are reached and the elves find themselves in a very large, but familiar basement. It was this area that the Twins lead the group through to reach the barge. A hidden door was passed through that led outside to a small lake beside the keep where the barge was kept. The chamber is lit by torches here and there, but no one is around.

“Is this normal?” she asks looking back to the others, “Torches? But no one is about?” she asks curiously as they find the stairs leading upward.

Stairs going up are right beside the stairs going down to the Portal Artifact. These stairs are climbed and they end at the ground floor of the keep. To your right is the door that leads to the Mage Guild area. A door to the left leads to the grand hall of the keep. Noise can be heard from behind this door. Its the metallic crash of weapons!

A faint noise is heard as she walks the steps her eyes looking up to the darkness back to the large stairs, Looking down at he cooshee he still seems normal. Trusting her new companion’s senses she continues on. Several moment’s later the ringing of metal on metal is soon heard.
“Training? I don’t recall seeing that.” She says evenly to her brother.

While the door to the grand hall is giant-sized, a human-sized door was later cut into it. Opening this smaller door reveals a chaotic scene! The guards of Karn's Keep are easy to identify from your previous visits. They are clashing with other humans wearing different colors. The invaders are wearing tabards with matching designs on their shields. Their shields are divided into quarters with the upper left quarter identical to the lower right quarter. Likewise the lower left quarter matches the upper right. The upper left quarter shows what looks like the shape of a tower in white on a field of red. The upper right has what looks like a brown wagon wheel, or maybe a shield, in brown on a field of white. Their tabards match the design on the shields.

While you are taking all of this in, the three cooshee's suddenly let out a very loud barks that reverberates around the vast great hall! The fighting stops for a moment, as all the humans turn to see what caused that noise. The break only lasts for a moment as the fighting resumes.

Lia looks about in shock as a battle unfolds before them, She slowly takes in the garb of the unfamiliar uniforms and their insignias. The cooshees bark loudly and the fight stops, momentarily.
“They need to work on their welcome.” Though she realizes her kin are here. Reaching down into her pouch, Lia takes out her lioness statue and speaks the command word, She will issue the lions to attack the armed men assisting Umbra.
Lowering her cowl, “For Karn’s Keep!” she calls out as she follows her lions and Umbra her sword in hand.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Fireball is my most potent spell,” Shyael will report. “I can load up on damaging spells. I'll make these creepy-crawlies crispy!”

“Fireball as well,” Merlara adds. “I wonder if spiders can be trapped in a Web spell?”

“Oh!” Shyael inserts. “And then hit it with fire to burn a whole bunch of them! That could work very nicely!”

“We'll have to try it,” Merlara agrees.

“You are starting to sound like a fire mage I know.” He says shaking his head a smile upon his features. “I do now know mage spells as well as most, but if the web is anchored I would be hesitant to do so… They might be able to use it against you.if unanchored the spider may be trapped for a moment, enough time to let it become crispy.

“I think I can speak for us all when I say we look forward to the battle to come, Commander Laucian,” Thimion states.

Laucian nods for a moment to Thimion and the others. “Remember that this is our home that we are fighting for. I would not wager against any elf fighting for their home.” He says simply. Commander? He thinks to himself. When did this happen but makes no objection to the title.

“Good hunting, son,” Elder Treelife will say as he accepts Onyx. “Shoot a few of those pests for me!”

“I will do my best, Elder.”
Laucian strokes Aura’s back as the others regroup. Laucian takes out his bow and knocks and arrow to it. He dips the point into some oil and it is soon lit.
He takes aim and fires his arrows firing into the heart of the webbing. Within moments the webbing begins to smolder and smoke as 30 small spiders swarm out looking for the culprit.
Knocking another arrow aiming and firing, Laucian takes the fight to the swarm. For each arrow he fires find a new home in the small spiders. They still come and the thwang of bows can be heard as the arrows embed themselves in the smaller spiders. A few make it through but are quickly dismembered as the cooshee tear into them.

“Wow, I was expecting more of a fight,” Annelwin notes. “Not that I'm complaining!”

“Careful what you wish for!” he calls back to Annelwin

“Here comes your fight,” Sergeant Silversword calls out. “We got the mother's attention!”

“And it is ugly!”

Looking back to the burning webbing, you can see a giant spider moving towards you! This one is 10' wide and some eight feet off the ground on its 8 legs! The giant spider rushes to the attack, screeching as it goes!

For a moment, Laucian takes in the creature partially due to it’s enormous size. “Take it down!” he calls out as he knock a fire arrow takes aim and fires. He will use one normal arrow and ice for his next arrows.

[Onas]

Onas Brightsword:

The trek back to Walltree takes a good part of the day. Around mid-afternoon, they come across Arlen and Varis waiting for them on the road, and the two aerial scouts make their report.

"As long as we can keep them from releasing the wyverns, then the beasts shouldn't be much of a factor in the battle," Onas comments. "Good to know there are no innocents presents, either." Apparently, the back roads aren't watched, either. Onas nods in satisfaction.

Clan Master Arlen then lays out a strategy, with input from Commander Varis. Most of the force will infiltrate from the unguarded southwest side and set up positions to oversee most of the town.

“Solid suggestions,” Clan Master Argus will state. “This operation is starting to come together nicely. You have any additional recommendations, Onas?”

"No sir," Onas replies. "My team will be ready."

Final plans are made, including the timing for the approach. Onas will have his triplet of Riders accompany himself and Argus as a sort of honor guard. Two lone elves on horses won't look very official.

Since they have a bit of time to prepare, Onas will take his team aside and discuss tactics for once they get inside. First priority will be the wyverns and any humans trying to get them airborne. While there is some small possibility that the humans will take the opportunity to leave peacefully, Onas isn't counting on it.

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

Kylie listens to the discussion between her mother and the queen regarding rulership. She's not really interested in that level of responsibility herself, but it is interesting. Then mention of staff catches her fancy, and it occurs to her that she will probably get involved sooner or later in recruiting staff members. She will need to give some thought to that later.

===

Rising straight up, Kylie finds the ceiling well before being to high to see the floor and shares the information with the rest of the group. "Found the ceiling. I'd say it's less than twenty people high, and I can still see the floor when in sight of the ceiling."

At first, Lia thinks she's found an exit, but quickly determines that it's blocked by rubble. An unblocked exit is found on the opposite end of the room. "Come on, Dapple, this way!" she calls as she reduces her altitude and flies in the indicated direction. As she gets closer, she's able to see a bit of light and adjusts her direction accordingly. Soon after, she can make out stairs going up. The stairs show obvious evidence of having been made by or for giants, and then modified for human use.

At the top, Kylie finds herself in a familiar basement. "Hey, I recognize this place. We went through a hidden door on that wall to reach the lake where the barge was stored." At least she now knows where the other stairway they had seen then lead to.

“Is this normal?” she asks looking back to the others, “Torches? But no one is about?” she asks curiously as they find the stairs leading upward.

Kylie shrugs. "I don't know. It seems like we brought torches down with us last time, but I might be mistaken."

Continuing up, they reach the ground floor where the great hall and mage guild are located. Lia's ears are sharper than Kylie's and she notes the sound of weapons being used coming from the great hall.

“Training? I don’t recall seeing that.” She says evenly to her brother.

Consternation creases Kylie's forehead. "I don't think they normally practice indoors." Kylie flies up over the heads of the others toward the large doors. Reaching the doors first, she descends and opens the smaller door as quietly as she can and peeks through.

Someone's invading the castle! Kylie's been here enough times to immediately recognize the livery of the Karn's Keep guard. On the other hand, the invaders' insignia is a mystery to her. Before she can say anything, the cooshees all bark loudly, interrupting the battle momentarily.

The moment of hesitation passes quickly as the soldiers resume fighting. "Come, Dapple! Defend the castle!" Kylie flies into the great hall and ascends rapidly as she readies her bow. Once high enough to easily shoot over the guards, she begins firing arrows into the invaders. It seems that the war has come to Karn's Keep!

____________________________________________________________________________
If she has any normal arrows, Kylie will start with those. If not, she'll alternate between ice and fire arrows.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"Oh," Kylie says, thinking. "You postulated that they left here 65 million years ago. I was thinking that perhaps the went from here to Myev's world, or perhaps to one or more other worlds and eventually ended up on Myev's world. Do we know that they have died out everywhere, and if so, how long ago? And is this the origin world of elves? If elves exist on other worlds, it would seem hard to know where they originated and how they spread across the various worlds."

“That is a possibility,” Lilia admits. “Perhaps there could have been Elders on Myev's world as well. Clearly there were since a teleportation pillar is there. But did they actually live there or just visit? A question to be answered at another time.”

"I'm concerned that your plan seems to require a fair bit of time, what with traveling hither and yon on the ship. We also don't know that there is a way into Shelvestra from the outside; it seems like someone would have found an Elder city located in Cynalon by now if it weren't completely buried or at least very well hidden."

Kylie's mind is racing now, trying to find ways to speed their preparations. Unfortunately, the only pillar they know of in the Sylvan Realm is the one in the palace, and that isn't really usable right now due to the thorns.

"The pillar in Shillesta is much closer to the Realms than flying all the way down to Cynalon. Instead perhaps we use the pillars again to bring everyone to Karn's Keep and meet whoever the Sallavarians can recruit there. Then, we use that pillar to travel directly into the Hive complex. We can probably shave off close to a day doing it that way. Of course, that leaves the problem of what to do with the Sunflower while we're fighting the Hive..." It's not clear that she's any closer to an answer.

“That is a sound plan,” Lilia agrees. “Using the pillars in Karn's Keep to travel to the elder city in the swamp instead of trying to find it. My only concern is the conditions around the arrival point. How well guarded are they? Will we arrive among a swarm of Hive?”

“The point about taking the Sunflower to Cynalon is that we need to do it anyway,” Lilia continues, “so that we can bring back reinforcements from the Elfholds to counter the slavers arrival in a few days. It makes sense to me to combine these two objectives and just take the Sunflower down there a few days early. Fly it down there, giving those in Cynalon time to gather their forces, meet at Karn's Keep, deal with the Hive, then travel to the Elfholds to pick up additional defenders. We might be able to spend a day or two down there in between these battles.”

“Plus having read the manual that came with the Spell Engine we found in the wreck on the way to the Sylvan Realm,” Lilia adds, “I discovered how to travel that far even faster across vast distances. I told Sherwood Elf-Friend of this method so that he could return to Cynalon in a matter of hours instead of days.”


Talen uses the Pillar Artifact on top of the Tall Tower to bring us to Karn's Keep. Just to a place we have not seen before. We arrive in a vast chamber, but soon find stairs going up. This leads to a basement that we passed through before.

At the top, Kylie finds herself in a familiar basement. "Hey, I recognize this place. We went through a hidden door on that wall to reach the lake where the barge was stored." At least she now knows where the other stairway they had seen then lead to.

“That's right,” Lilia says. “The pillar chamber was on the lowest level of the keep. Perhaps the giants built this entire keep here to study it.”

Continuing on we find ourselves in familiar territory. The familiar door to the Mage Guild is found. The sound of steel hitting steel draws us to the Grand Hall. There the defenders of Karn's Keep are under siege!

“They need to work on their welcome.” Though she realizes her kin are here. Reaching down into her pouch, Lia takes out her lioness statue and speaks the command word, She will issue the lions to attack the armed men assisting Umbra.

Lowering her cowl, “For Karn’s Keep!” she calls out as she follows her lions and Umbra her sword in hand.

The moment of hesitation passes quickly as the soldiers resume fighting. "Come, Dapple! Defend the castle!" Kylie flies into the great hall and ascends rapidly as she readies her bow. Once high enough to easily shoot over the guards, she begins firing arrows into the invaders. It seems that the war has come to Karn's Keep!

Lilia is stunned to see the scene before her. Karn's Keep is being attacked! Lia and Kylie rush to join the battle.

“If this is a targeted attack, than Sherwood Elf-Friend and his kin are the targets!” Lilia calls out. “We should find them and see if they need aid. The strongest of the invaders will be targeting them!”

Lilia will cast Fly on herself and go forth to try and find the masters of Karn's Keep and see if they need any aid.

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

Kylie has questions regarding the Elders, and Lilia confirms that it may be a while before they find answers. It seems certain that there is a pillar artifact on Myev's world, which she agrees implies that the Elders have been there at some point in time.

“That is a sound plan,” Lilia agrees. “Using the pillars in Karn's Keep to travel to the elder city in the swamp instead of trying to find it. My only concern is the conditions around the arrival point. How well guarded are they? Will we arrive among a swarm of Hive?”

Kylie shrugs, as she has no more way of knowing the conditions around the pillar in Shelvestra than Lilia does. "It could work in our favor. A heavily-armed and well-prepared fighting force coming through the pillar gate in full combat mode could well provide a substantial surprise effect and allow us to wipe out a substantial part of their forces in quick order. Hunting down and eliminating the remainder would then be much less troublesome."

She nods her understanding as Lilia explains the need to take the Sunflower to Cynalon either way, so that time needs to be spent regardless. Lilia then reveals that she knows of a way to make the trip far quicker than normal, which Kylie finds quite intriguing. "Really? That's fascinating! I will look forward to learning how that is accomplished."

===

In the basement of Karn's Keep, Lilia provides an interesting idea.

“That's right,” Lilia says. “The pillar chamber was on the lowest level of the keep. Perhaps the giants built this entire keep here to study it.”

"That does seem like a possibility," Kylie replies, scrunching her forehead as she tries to recall what she learned while studying with Jallarzi. "I seem to recall reading that some of the giant races are actually quite intelligent. If they had found the pillar, I can see where then may have wanted to learn more about it. Certainly the chamber around it is as giant-sized as the rest of the Keep."

===

The group is startled to find that combat has broken out in the great hall between the Keep's guards and a number of invaders. Kylie moves to attack, but then Lilia suggests that there may be a greater danger.

“If this is a targeted attack, than Sherwood Elf-Friend and his kin are the targets!” Lilia calls out. “We should find them and see if they need aid. The strongest of the invaders will be targeting them!”

Kylie finds herself needing to make a fast decision. Though she hates to leave the guards outnumbered, she cannot leave Sherwood and Jallarzi in danger. "I'll come with you, Lilia," Kylie responds. "Dapple! Stay and help the guards!" Hoping that her canine friend understands, Kylie flies off toward the library and private rooms. She suspects that any Sallavarians in residence would be in those areas at this time of day.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

Return to Karn's Keep:

December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

Using the Pillar Artifact, the elves have traveled to Karn's Keep to alert Sherwood's family that an Elder City lies within Cynalon and it is the base of operations for the Hive! The group arrived in a massive sub-basement where the Pillar Artifact is located. Finding stairs, they make their way up to the main living areas of the keep. Much to their surprise, a battle is taking place in the Grand Hall!

Lia and her cooshee Umbra move to repel the attackers. Her lion statue is used and a pair of the great cats appears.

Lowering her cowl, “For Karn’s Keep!” she calls out as she follows her lions and Umbra her sword in hand.

Kylie moves to follow Lia into battle, but words from Lilia divert her away. The Queen theorizes that if this is an attack on Karn's Keep, the attackers may be targeting Sherwood and his family! Lilia flies off to find them and Kylie reluctantly follows, leaving Dapple behind.

“Who is friend and who is foe?” Andlin wonder as he watches the battle unfold.

“Those ones are friends,” Talen answers pointing to one of the guards of Karn's Keep. “The others are the invaders!”

As Talen watches, Lia and her companions tear through the invaders easily enough. The invaders seem to be just ordinary soldiers and have no where near her skill with the blade. However, the defenders of Karn's Keep are unsure about the drow and the cooshee's in their midst!

“I am Talen Sculley!” Talen yells so that all in the hall can hear him. “Lord Sharadin is my uncle! My friends and I are here to defend Karn's Keep!”

“Rally to Lord Talen!” Andlin calls out, switching to the language of the Cynalon humans. “Form a defensive line and we will begin to push the invaders back! Defend your lord!”

“I'm not a lord!” Talen objects.

“You are if your uncle is one,” Andlin counters, leaving Talen something to think about.

Andlin moves ahead following Lia into the thick of things. Numerous invaders fall to his blade as the elfin battle master passes.

In response, the defenders of Karn's Keep, start to push towards Talen, Andlin and Lia. They form a better defensive line and coupled with the addition of Lia and Andlin, the battle swings in favor of the guards of Karn's Keep.


Elsewhere, Lilia and Kylie fly through the library, but find the area deserted. They recall that Lord Sharadin and his family had quarters on the northwest side of the keep and head in that direction. The pair fly down the long hallway and eventually emerge in the huge kitchen. The sounds of battle can be heard coming from behind the far door.

Kylie and Lilia reach the door and throw it open. Behind the door are the masters of Karn's Keep. Lord Sharadin is present and he is battling attackers with his longsword. The twins are further behind him. They are holding hands and casting spells with their free hands. They alternate speaking the command words of their magic. As you watch they simultaneously cast a pair of Magic Missile spells. The missiles are spread and catch a total of eight attackers.

“Kylie? Lilia?” Lord Sharadin wonders as he sees the new arrivals. “What are you doing here?”


GM Notes:

There are a total of six attackers badgering Lord Sharadin. Most wear plate mail armor, while those not so heavily armored hang further back. At least twice as many enemies have already fallen to Lord Sharadin and his daughters.

[GM Mad]

The Spiders of Einsun:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

The reclamation of Einsun has begun! The first nest of spiders has been engaged. A arrow lit on fire was fired into the webbing, setting it on fire. In response a swarm of the smaller, only dog sized spiders, came forth and were easily dispatched. One good arrow hit was enough to put these creatures down.

After the slaughter of the smaller spiders, a larger spider comes forth. The beast is 10' wide in diameter and high off the ground on its eight legs! However the giant spider is slow as it crosses the ground. Slow enough that multiple arrows are embedded into it before it can get close enough to attack. With nine arrows sticking out of it, the giant spider falls to the ground and into death.

“I have to agree with Annelwin,” Sergeant Silversword calls out in disbelief. “I was expecting a harder fight.”

Annelwin simply nods in agreement, also surprised by the results of the battle so far.

“A unit of skilled elfin archers can bring most beasts down they come across,” Tisha will point out. “That does not make these enemies any less dangerous. I'd wager that the poison from a bite of one that size would be fatal!”

“While that is true, priestess,” Dorotha will point out, “we now have a strategy that we know works. Simply repeat what we have done and soon Einsun will be free of the webs of these spiders.”

The others present nod in agreement. The elves carefully pick their way through town towards the next of the spider nests. A lit arrow is fired into the webbing and the smaller ones swarm out. Most of them fall to arrows, but the few that do reach the elves are dealt with by the cooshee's and with steel. This in turn brings out the mother and being slower on the ground than in a web, she is taken out by arrows before she can get close. The confidence of the group grows with each victory.

As the elves start to work on the third nest of spiders, Laucian notes something nearby. A familiar owl is perched on a nearby tree. The owl looks at him curiously.

“You drive spiders away?” the owl asks. “Why?”

[GM Mad]

The Wyvern's of Walltree:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

About a mile from their Clan Hold, Walltree, the members of Clan Red Arrow prepare for their encounter with the humans living in their home. The humans only guard the main roads leading into the wall town. Two smaller roads are unguarded from the south. Most of the troops and Forest Riders move off to enter Walltree from the south. That just leaves Clan Master Argus, Onas, three Forest Riders and about ten ground troops to approach the front gate.

As the sunlight starts to fade, the group begins to ride towards the northern gate of Walltree. The ground troops move ahead on both sides of the road. They will conceal themselves in the forest along the road just outside the main gate.

Before the light completely fades, the group of Forest Riders and their leader Onas accompany the Clan Master to the front gate. Humans can be seen up in the towers that flank the gate.

“Attention!” the Clan Master calls out in the common language of the humans in Cynalon. “The elves have returned to the Sylvan Realm. We are Clan Red Arrow and you are holed up in our Clan Hold. We will let you leave peacefully. Otherwise we will take what is rightfully ours. What say you?”

“Wie ben je?” one of the humans calls out in a dialect unfamiliar to anyone here. “Er zijn geen elven hier! Het is een truc! Slacht ze allemaal af!”

“I thought humans all spoke the same language?” Clan Master Argus notes in surprise.

Crossbow bolts are fired from the guard towers making the intention of the humans crystal clear! Spurring their horses on, the riders quickly vacate the road and take cover in the woods.

The riders regroup near the ground troops who are using their bows to take out the humans in the guard towers. A horn blows from behind the walls, no doubt rousing the humans to defend the town.

“So much for diplomacy!” Clan Master Argus mutters. “Let's do what we do best. Fight!”

Now what?

[Onas]

Onas Brightsword:

A small group of ground troops accompany the riders as they approach the northern gate to Walltree. The sun is low on the horizon - or would be if their view of it weren't blocked by the forest. As a result, the woods are rapidly growing dark, which doesn't really hinder the elves much at all.

By now, most of the rest of the assault force should be inside the walls and taking up position. They are responsible for making sure that the wyverns are not released and eliminating any guards on the walls.

Argus, Onas, and their team approach the gate at a casual pace. Their intent is to appear to be dignitaries, rather than a fighting force. They can see guards in the stations on either side of the gate as they grow closer.

Once they are in parley range, Argus addresses the guards in Cynalonian Common. He makes it clear that elves have returned to the Sylvan Realm, and asks them to depart. The guards respond with their crossbows and words in a language none of the elves understand! It seems they are determined to stay. So be it.

“I thought humans all spoke the same language?” Clan Master Argus notes in surprise.

"No, they're far too fractious for that," Onas says as he guides Carad Orod in amongst the trees. "I did once encounter a different human language, but forgot to take that into account in our planning."

The ground troops concentrate on picking off the guards. Once that's done, they should be able to scale the wall and open the gate from inside. Meanwhile, a horn sounds from within, which should be sufficient signal to bring the rest of the elven force into the fray. Onas doubts it will be long before the humans are drowning in their own blood.

“So much for diplomacy!” Clan Master Argus mutters. “Let's do what we do best. Fight!”

"Indeed. I'm ready to charge in as soon as they get those gates open. I just hope Fayrianna and her Maidens don't have all the fun!" Onas closes his helmet, readies his shield, and couches his lance in preparation. A glance around reveals that the triplet of Riders is similarly preparing.

"Steady, Carad Orod. Be ready - our time will come."

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

Kylie's first instinct was to check the library. When they arrive, however, they find no one there. She pauses a moment to consider; Karn's Keep is so large, there are many places that the residents could be.

"Let's try their quarters," Kylie says to Lilia. "Seems the next most likely place they would be." The queen doesn't object, so they fly off in that direction.

They glide into the literally giant-sized kitchen and are greeted once again by the sounds of combat emanating from the next room. From her previous visits, Kylie knows that to be part of the living area used by Sharadin and the twins. "In there!" she exclaims, pointing, though no doubt Lilia has figured it out as well.

Throwing the door open, the see the battle in full swing. Sharadin is caught up in melee combat with six armored attackers. More attackers hang back a ways; spell-casters, Kylie suspects.

Looking to the left, Kylie notes the twins preparing a spell. She has never seen their unique style of dual-casting before, so this is a treat. Two sets of Magic Missiles slam into the attackers.

Kylie's first instinct is to roast the group toward the back, but decides against it as she knows that Fireball is one of Lilia's favorite spells. "You take the guys in the back," she calls to Lilia. "I'll see if I can't give Sharadin a bit of wiggle room." Floating to the left to try to line up the melee attackers as best she can without catching Sharadin, she extends her hand and casts Lance of Disruption in an attempt to knock as many of them sideways as possible.

“Kylie? Lilia?” Lord Sharadin wonders as he sees the new arrivals. “What are you doing here?”

"We came to warn you and recruit help for an attack on the Hive base here in Cynalon!"

Kylie has questions of her own. "Who are these people, and why are they attacking you?"

___________________________________________________________________________

“You are if your uncle is one,” Andlin counters, leaving Talon something to think about.

Great line!

[Talen]

Talen:

Kylie chuckles at Talen's comment. "Maybe she does and just hasn't admitted it..." she says with a sly grin.

“That would explain a lot,” Talen says with a perfectly straight face.

"It's kind of like an old saying I once heard, 'We're stronger together than apart.' If we work together," Kylie explains, "I think we'll both accomplish more toward both of our dreams than struggling along by ourselves."

“That makes sense,” Talen agrees.

Kylie then turns to Talen. "Are there limits to how many can pass through the gateway once you open it?"

“No limit to how many can pass, but there is a time limit on how long the gateway will stay open,” Talen reports. “Like a minute or so.”


We arrive in an unfamiliar part of Karn's Keep. Making our way up, we come across humans in unknown uniforms attack Karn's Keep. Kylie and Lilia fly off to help the Twins repel the invaders. Talen tries to keep up with his energetic sister followed by Andlin.

“Who is friend and who is foe?” Andlin wonder as he watches the battle unfold.

“Those ones are friends,” Talen answers pointing to one of the guards of Karn's Keep. “The others are the invaders!”

As Talen watches, Lia and her companions tear through the invaders easily enough. The invaders seem to be just ordinary soldiers and have no where near her skill with the blade. However, the defenders of Karn's Keep are unsure about the drow and the cooshee's in their midst!

“I've got to protect her,” Talen silently realizes as he can see the guards are unsure just who Lia is. “Sorry dad, but I need to use a different name to do this.”

“I am Talen Sculley!” Talen yells so that all in the hall can hear him. Sculley is not actually his last name, but that is a name the guards will know so Talen uses it. The rest of what he says is true. “Lord Sharadin is my uncle! My friends and I are here to defend Karn's Keep!”

“Rally to Lord Talen!” Andlin calls out, switching to the language of the Cynalon humans. “Form a defensive line and we will begin to push the invaders back! Defend your lord!”

“I'm not a lord!” Talen objects.

“You are if your uncle is one,” Andlin counters, leaving Talen something to think about.

“I guess,” Talen starts to realize to himself. “If Uncle Sharadin and Sherwood and Jallarzi are, then I guess Lia and me are too! I never realized it!”

Andlin moves ahead following Lia into the thick of things. Numerous invaders fall to his blade as the elfin battle master passes.

In response, the defenders of Karn's Keep, start to push towards Talen, Andlin and Lia. They form a better defensive line and coupled with the addition of Lia and Andlin, the battle swings in favor of the guards of Karn's Keep.

Talen is content to let Andlin and Lia do the work. He'll direct the guards and keep his eyes open for surprise attacks that might come their way.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

She nods her understanding as Lilia explains the need to take the Sunflower to Cynalon either way, so that time needs to be spent regardless. Lilia then reveals that she knows of a way to make the trip far quicker than normal, which Kylie finds quite intriguing. "Really? That's fascinating! I will look forward to learning how that is accomplished."

“It's called the 'Up and Down Method',” Lilia explains. “In short, your take your vessel straight up until there is no more air. Point it in the direction that you want to go. Then you use the other propulsion method for a mere moment. That rapidly moves you to a different location. Then you simply go back down to the ground. Using this method, you can cover vast distances in the blink of an eye. Everything around the Sylvan Realm is so close together that this method would be impractical. But to travel back to Cynalon it is ideal.”


We discover that Karn's Keep is under attack! Kylie and I fly off to find the masters of the keep as they are most likely the primary targets. After a bit of searching we find them in a vast chamber off of the kitchen.

Kylie's first instinct is to roast the group toward the back, but decides against it as she knows that Fireball is one of Lilia's favorite spells. "You take the guys in the back," she calls to Lilia. "I'll see if I can't give Sharadin a bit of wiggle room." Floating to the left to try to line up the melee attackers as best she can without catching Sharadin, she extends her hand and casts Lance of Disruption in an attempt to knock as many of them sideways as possible.

“Very well,” Lilia agrees as she casts a Fireball into the group in the rear.

“Kylie? Lilia?” Lord Sharadin wonders as he sees the new arrivals. “What are you doing here?”

"We came to warn you and recruit help for an attack on the Hive base here in Cynalon!"

'”Indeed,” Lilia adds. “We have grave news that affects all of your lands!”

[Lia]

Lia
Her legs begin to drive her forward as Umbra and Lioness run forward. She hears the call behind her from Andlin

“Who is friend and who is foe?” Andlin wonder as he watches the battle unfold.
Resisting the temptation to say the ones that swings sword at him, Lia crosses swords with her foe quickly dispatching him.”

Her brother calls forth!
“Rally to Lord Talen
“I'm not a lord!” Talen objects.

“You are if your uncle is one,” Andlin counters, leaving Talen something to think about.

Gritting her teeth, “Now is not the time to debate, brother.”
Many faces can be seen within the helms of the soldiers. An uneasiness comes over them as they watch her. “Have no fear! I am a Priestess of Eilistraee and I fight for Lord Sharadin!” hoping that the words reach their ears.
A defensive line is formed as the warriors rally to Lord Scully. A thought that Lia would never had thought to hear of her bother.”We need to push them back so that we can join the others!”
Lia will continue her dance with her blade in hand. Using the cats and Umbra to her advantage.
( I am assuming that Lady and Dapple are with Talen etc?)

[Laucian]

Laucian
Laucian takes aim and fires as the screaming spider charges their position with 9 arrows jutting from it’s body it falls to the ground. For a moment the body twitches in death.
After the slaughter of the smaller spiders, a larger spider comes forth. The beast is 10' wide in diameter and high off the ground on its eight legs! However the giant spider is slow as it crosses the ground. Slow enough that multiple arrows are embedded into it before it can get close enough to attack. With nine arrows sticking out of it, the giant spider falls to the ground and into death.

“I have to agree with Annelwin,” Sergeant Silversword calls out in disbelief. “I was expecting a harder fight.”

Annelwin simply nods in agreement, also surprised by the results of the battle so far.

“Who is to say that it will not get harder?” Laucian says as he knock another arrow to his bow. ( Use regular arrows for now till otherwise stated.) We do not know yet what lies before us. Let us still be cautious, not over confident.” He says simply to the Sergeant and to Annelwin.

“A unit of skilled elfin archers can bring most beasts down they come across,” Tisha will point out. “That does not make these enemies any less dangerous. I'd wager that the poison from a bite of one that size would be fatal!”

“A fate I would not wish on anyone.”

“While that is true, priestess,” Dorotha will point out, “we now have a strategy that we know works. Simply repeat what we have done and soon Einsun will be free of the webs of these spiders.”
“Unless we run out of arrows.” The follower of Ehlonna points out.
As the second nest is cleared out, Laucian directs the team on to the following nest. He is about to commence when a presence is felt. His eyes scan the trees and a familiar creature rests in the branches of the trees.
As the elves start to work on the third nest of spiders, Laucian notes something nearby. A familiar owl is perched on a nearby tree. The owl looks at him curiously.
“Hold your arrows!” He calls out as the familiar owl is seen. It looks at him curiously and then begins to speak.

“You drive spiders away?” the owl asks. “Why?”

“Aye, we are.” The cleric ranger says easily. “This is our home. We are reclaiming it.” He says to the owl. He looks about to the others then back to the owl. “Should we not? Who are you? What else makes it’s home here?” he asks curiously.

[GM Mad]

Post (Finally) Continued:

The Heroes of the Mother Tree have gone their separate ways. Some are assisting their clans in returning to their homes across the Sylvan Realm. Still others have traveled far from the elfin forest to deliver a warning to their allies in Cynalon...

Return to Karn's Keep:

December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

Talen used the Pillar Artifact to bring the elves directly to Karn's Keep. However the keep is under attack by an unknown force! While Kylie and Lilia go to assist the masters of Karn's Keep, Lia, Talen and Andlin lend aid to the regular troops clashing with the enemy in the Grand Hall.

Talen proclaims himself to be Lord Sculley, the nephew of Lord Sharadin. While that is not completely true, it is not an outright lie either. While Talen mainly did this to ensure the defenders of Karn's Keep did not attack them, Andlin used this proclamation to turn the tide of battle. He directed the troops to rally to Lord Talen and in turn the men did. Many of the enemy fell before the steel of Lia and Andlin. Some of the enemy seem to loose their resolve and will surrender on their own, dropping their weapons and shields to the floor. These men are directed into a corner where three snarling cooshee's, Umbra, Lady and Dapple, stand guard over them. In short order the one sided battle quickly comes to an end.

“To Lord Sculley!” one of the soldiers cries out, raising his sword to the sky. The other defenders of Karn's Keep join in on the praise.

A moment later, an exquisitely beautiful silver haired elf maiden flies into the Grand Hall, no doubt using magic for flight. She scans the area with an approving look upon her face. Lia does a double take upon seeing the elf. There is more than a passing resemblance to the strange elf she spoke with when the Rainbow Bridge opened a few days ago. What was his name? Xavier? The elf maiden then flies off without saying a word. Many of the Karn's Keep guards follow after the elf to lend their support.

“Find your uncle, Lord Sculley,” one of the guards will say to Talen. “We can deal with this lot. Lord Sharadin may need your aid!” The remaining guards take the enemy troops who surrendered prisoner.


Elsewhere in the expansive Karn's Keep, Kylie and Lilia were looking to find Sherwood and his family, figuring that they would be the primary targets. They did find the twins, but their father, Lord Sharadin the Archmage of Cynalon, was also present. They were being attacked by a squad of armored men, while spellcasters hung further back.

The twins just pepper the enemy by dual-casting a pair of Magic Missile spells. Kylie casts Lance of Disruption and the spell damages the men in armor and throws them to the floor. Lilia covers the rear group with a Fireball, downing a few and wounding the rest. Many rush to put out any fires on their clothing.

It's at this time that a silver-haired elf maiden flies in from the passageway behind where the Fireball was placed. She sighs upon seeing what is going on and makes a quick spell casting gesture and utters a word of power. In response, those attackers still moving freeze up.

“Are you still playing with them?” the elf maiden wonders.

“I've been busy,” Lord Sharadin counters.

The lady elf lands near Lord Sharadin and the twins. The guards of Karn's Keep come rushing in from the same direction that the elf flew in from. The men rush to take the immobilized attacking force prisoner. Following behind the guards are Lia, Talen and Andlin. The cooshee's trot along as well. Lady moves up to the silver-haired elf and will nudge her hand in greeting.

“Why hello there,” the lady elf will say softly to the cooshee. “You're an elfin dog are you not?”

“Lia!” one of the twins calls out in surprise.

“Talen!” the other twin adds as the pair go to greet their cousins with hugs.

“Sherwood told us that you had become a drow, Lia, but seeing it is still a bit of a shock,” the twin that hugs Lia will say. “Given the weirdness that runs rampant in our family, you fit in just fine.”

“Hello Talen,” the other twin says. “You are looking well. What brings you here?”

“Lord Sculley here,” Andlin indicates Talen, “was instrumental in turning the tide of battle in the Grand Hall.”

“Lord Sculley? Really?” Lord Sharadin says in mild surprise.

Kylie and Lilia also land near Lord Sharadin and have news of their own to deliver.

"We came to warn you and recruit help for an attack on the Hive base here in Cynalon!"

'”Indeed,” Lilia adds. “We have grave news that affects all of your lands!”

Kylie has questions of her own. "Who are these people, and why are they attacking you?"

“They are the forces of Duke Kelvin,” Lord Sharadin answers. “The ones who started the civil war. I imagine that they sought to eliminate me and my family, thus weakening the king and those who follow him.”

“Did you say the Hive?” The silver-haired elf maiden wonders aloud. “Have you encountered those parasites?”

“This is the Lady Silvarn,” Lord Sharadin will say gesturing towards the mystery elf. “She is a powerful ally to Cynalon.”

“The attackers came on one of those Alphatian flying ships,” Silvarn reports as she turns back to Lord Sharadin. “I can temporarily paralyze the crew if you wish to take their vessel. The ship is called the Lady Iris and is hovering above the nearby lake.”


GM Notes:

Of those present here, Kylie, Lia, Lilia and Talen, none of you are aware of just what Silvarn really is nor have you met her before. Sherwood might have dropped her name before, but beyond that she is a mystery.

Now what?

[GM Mad]

The Spiders of Einsun:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

Clan Grunalf continues to work on freeing their Clan Hold from its infestation of spiders! So far, the task has been much easier than expected. The small spiders can be deadly if they are allowed to swarm their target, but when taken out by arrows from a distance not so much. A larger mother spider comes forth, but she too falls when filled with enough arrows. The combatants are surprised how easily their mission has gone so far.

“Who is to say that it will not get harder? We do not know yet what lies before us. Let us still be cautious, not over confident.” He says simply to the Sergeant and to Annelwin.

“Wise words, Forest Brother,” Annelwin will note. “Let us continue with our task.”

While the group moves towards a third nest of spiders, a familiar owl speaks to Laucian.

“Hold your arrows!” He calls out as the familiar owl is seen. It looks at him curiously and then begins to speak.

“That owl may be more than it seems...” Tisha whispers to those around her. “Do not let it distract us from the spiders.”

The owl asks why the elves are here and if they are going to remove the spiders.

“Aye, we are.” The cleric ranger says easily. “This is our home. We are reclaiming it.” He says to the owl. He looks about to the others then back to the owl.

“Home?” the owl questions. “We have lived near here for generations with no one but spiders here.”

“We elves were away for a long time,” Tisha will explain. “We are now returning to our ancestral home only to find it infested with these spiders.”

“Should we not? Who are you? What else makes it’s home here?” he asks curiously.

“Spiders menace my people,” the owl answers. “Not sorry to see them go. But are you better?”

“We elves live in harmony with the good creatures of the forest,” Annelwin will proudly state. “We do not desecrate like the spiders do.”

“Urvov,” the owl suddenly utters. “Urvov is me. You've seen baby spiders and children. You have not seen the mother yet.”

“There's an even bigger one?” Sergeant Silversword will say in near disbelieve. “Maybe this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.”

[GM Mad]

The Wyvern's of Walltree:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

Elsewhere in the Sylvan Realm, the members of Clan Red Arrow are working to liberate their own Clan Hold that is being used as a base of operations by humans who ride wyverns! These humans used to serve Moorkroft, but were starting to tire of his rule. So they had been gathering their forces with the idea of taking out the evil mage. However, the elves beat them to the punch. Clan Master Argus tried to reason with the humans, but they spoke a language that was unfamiliar to the elves. The humans fired upon the elves as they fled to take shelter in the forest. With diplomacy of the table, the battle is on!

The humans try to return fire with their crossbows, but the fading light hinders their aim. In return the humans on guard in the towers are quickly taken out by elfin arrows. A few minutes pass and then finally the gate starts to rise!

Onas leads the charge flanked by his other Forest Riders. Clan Master Argus and the ground troops follow in behind. Passing through the main gate the elves find themselves feeling as if they are coming home. It's now easy to see that Walltree was the blueprint for when Shieldtree was built in the Elfholds. The town has a familiar feel to it. It feels like home.

As the riders charge in, they can see elves and the humans of Sunderland locked in hand to hand combat. Humans who make targets of themselves are taken out with weapons as the riders pass. The main road soon leads the the central market area of Walltree. It was in this area the wyverns were stabled.

As the riders move closer, they can see others engaged in battle against wyvern riders trying to reach their mounts. Elfin archers shoot down riders who get too close to the flying monsters. Other archers concentrate their fire upon the wyverns themselves, filling it with arrows until it drops, then moving on to the next one.

In the center of this free for all, the Silver Maidens can be seen. Fayrianna leads the charge with an almost reckless abandon. She charges towards a wyvern, her lance lowered. Suddenly the unicorn blinks and it covers the distance to its target in the space of a heartbeat. The lance drive deep into the unprepared wyvern, wounding it further. The Silver Maiden Maylia attempts to duplicate the maneuver Fayrianna just performed, but isn't as skilled in fighting on top of her unicorn. Umara and Leandra keep their distance and hurtle spells at their enemies.

Six wyverns are still moving in the open market area. Several are straining at the chains holding them to the ground, while more than few humans are trying to reach the beasts to either fight or flee.

Now what?

[Talen]

Talen:

While Talen was the one who declared himself Lord Talen Sculley, Galandal is his and Lia's real last name, it was Andlin who used it to rally the troops into defeating their foes. While Talen doesn't know Andlin all that well, clearly he is a skilled tactician in battle. A real leader.

“To Lord Sculley!” one of the soldiers cries out, raising his sword to the sky. The other defenders of Karn's Keep join in on the praise.

“Well done men!” Talen gratefully calls out to the troops around him. He doesn't get to add any more as...

A moment later, an exquisitely beautiful silver haired elf maiden flies into the Grand Hall, no doubt using magic for flight. She scans the area with an approving look upon her face. Lia does a double take upon seeing the elf. There is more than a passing resemblance to the strange elf she spoke with when the Rainbow Bridge opened a few days ago. What was his name? Xavier? The elf maiden then flies off without saying a word. Many of the Karn's Keep guards follow after the elf to lend their support.

“WOW!” Is all that Talen can get out before the lady elf flies off once again. “Who was that?”

“Find your uncle, Lord Sculley,” one of the guards will say to Talen. “We can deal with this lot. Lord Sharadin may need your aid!” The remaining guards take the enemy troops who surrendered prisoner.

“Uhm, yes, of course,” Talen agrees shaking himself away from the departing elf. “Yes, uncle made need our aid!”

Guessing that the guards know what they are doing, Talen just dashes off after them. They pass through a door and out into a giant sized hallway. Up ahead there was a battle going on, but that too has ended. Kylie and Lilia are there, as is Uncle Sharadin and his twin daughters. The mysterious silver-haired elf is there as well.

“Talen!” the other twin adds as the pair go to greet their cousins with hugs.

“Hello,” Talen says easily as he is hugged by his cousin. “It's been a while since we last saw you.”

“Hello Talen,” the other twin says. “You are looking well. What brings you here?”

“Oh, that,” Talen says realizing just what our mission here was really all about. “It's matter of great importance! I must speak to your father!”

“Lord Sculley here,” Andlin indicates Talen, “was instrumental in turning the tide of battle in the Grand Hall.”

“Lord Sculley? Really?” Lord Sharadin says in mild surprise.

“A partial truth, uncle,” Talen admits. “I was just trying to protect us from your own guards.”

Before he can say more, both Kylie and Lilia ask other questions which Lord Sharadin fields.

“They are the forces of Duke Kelvin,” Lord Sharadin answers. “The ones who started the civil war. I imagine that they sought to eliminate me and my family, thus weakening the king and those who follow him.”

“Did you say the Hive?” The silver-haired elf maiden wonders aloud. “Have you encountered those parasites?”

“This is the Lady Silvarn,” Lord Sharadin will say gesturing towards the mystery elf. “She is a powerful ally to Cynalon.”

“Yes, that is why we are here!” Talen says rambling a bit. “I can make use of the Elder Artifacts. I used them to bring us to the artifact below Karn's Keep. We encountered the Hive north of the Sylvan Realm. They too are using the Pillar Artifacts to move about. They are based in ruined Elder City within the Great Swamp. They are also behind what happened to Argent. There are, or rather were, six of them! Anyway, I can get us into the Hive base. We can end them!”

[Lia]

Lia

“To Lord Sculley!” one of the soldiers cries out, raising his sword to the sky. The other defenders of Karn's Keep join in on the praise.

Lia can’t help but smile upon seeing her brother cheered for. She chuckles to herself for but a moment as she realizes her brother is growing in confidence. She raises her sword to the others adding their voice to theirs.

A moment later, an exquisitely beautiful silver haired elf maiden flies into the Grand Hall, no doubt using magic for flight. She scans the area with an approving look upon her face. Lia does a double take upon seeing the elf. There is more than a passing resemblance to the strange elf she spoke with when the Rainbow Bridge opened a few days ago. What was his name? Xavier? The elf maiden then flies off without saying a word. Many of the Karn's Keep guards follow after the elf to lend their support.

Lia watches the female elf enter and she quickly looks back to her brother then to the elf once again. Her blade tip drops as her eyes follow the maiden. Her lavender eyes close slightly as her mind tried in vain to figure out why she looks so familiar. As a growl from Umbra is heard it comes to her! The quiet elf! The one who was indifferent, a vagabond Xavier!
“An ally, it would seem.” Lia adds as she walks up to her brother, “With a certain resemblance…” she adds.

“Find your uncle, Lord Sculley,” one of the guards will say to Talen. “We can deal with this lot. Lord Sharadin may need your aid!” The remaining guards take the enemy troops who surrendered prisoner.
Guessing that the guards know what they are doing, Talen just dashes off after them.

Bringing her Ebony fingers to her lips, she lets out a loud whistle, A deep booming bark is heard as Lia turns to follow her brother.
Following behind the guards are Lia, Talen and Andlin. The cooshee's trot along as well. Lady moves up to the silver-haired elf and will nudge her hand in greeting.

“Why hello there,” the lady elf will say softly to the cooshee. “You're an elfin dog are you not?”

Lia takes in the scene before her, the resistance being taken away as they are frozen from some unknown force. As the elf maiden says hi to Lady, she casually walks about her looking her over,’Does she know him? Could it be him?” she asks herself as her name is called waking her from her thoughts.
“Lia!” one of the twins calls out in surprise.
Lia looks to the source and sees one of the twins smiling at her. “You recognize me?”she asks as she pulls up her hood, so that the light is dimmed. “Forgive me, the light it takes some getting used to.”She says with a sheepish smile.

“Sherwood told us that you had become a drow, Lia, but seeing it is still a bit of a shock,” the twin that hugs Lia will say. “Given the weirdness that runs rampant in our family, you fit in just fine.”

“Remind me to thank him for doing so.” She says easily as she welcomes the hug. “I understand. It is taking me time to get used to the looks I get at times. But the elves have been surprisingly welcome of me.” She says with a smile. “It would seem the family just got weirder, we are now a multi-raced family.” She says with a laugh.

“A partial truth, uncle,” Talen admits. “I was just trying to protect us from your own guards.”

A faint smile comes to her lips as she looks at Talen then to Uncle Sharadin. “I think our good uncle will forgive us for a breech in conduct, given the circumstances.

Uncle Sharadin wrote:“They are the forces of Duke Kelvin,” Lord Sharadin answers. “The ones who started the civil war. I imagine that they sought to eliminate me and my family, thus weakening the king and those who follow him.”
“Did you say the Hive?” The silver-haired elf maiden wonders aloud. “Have you encountered those parasites?”
Uncle Sharadin wrote:“This is the Lady Silvarn,” Lord Sharadin will say gesturing towards the mystery elf. “She is a powerful ally to Cynalon.”

“Civil War? You mean to say your people are fighting one another? Why to what end?”she asks curiously. But then elf maiden speaks of the Hive. “We fought the Hive after following our wayward kin to ruins to our lands north. Sadly, it became a rescue mission where of some of our kin fell. The hive queen was buried in the ruins underneath tons of rock and stone.”
Lia eyes narrow slightly as she looks the elf maiden over closely, her gaze casts over her legs to her torso to her face, her lavender eyes staring curiously at the elf maiden. “Well met. Lady Silvarn, I am Lia.Have you been to the Slyvian realm recently?”
“Forgive me but I cannot help but wonder if we met, for you look familiar to me.”

[Onas]

Onas Brightsword:

Seconds tick by as Onas and the other Riders wait in the woods along the side of the road for their opportunity. He sees first one, and then another of the guards manning the gate go down. Moments later, the gate begins to rise, inch by inch. Onas takes a moment to judge the speed at which the gate rises and their distance from it.

"Now, Carad! CHARGE!" Onas calls out, urging his beloved horse and fellow riders forward into the fray. He couches his lance beneath his arm so as to avoid any conflict with the still-rising gate.

Entering their ancestral home, the commander of the Forest Riders looks quickly about. The walls in this part of town seems to belong exclusively to the elves already. Some humans mill about on the ground, attempting to organize a defense, while others race for the wyverns. Elven archers on the walls are thinning them quickly, while others concentrate on trying to kill the wyverns.

The humans seem little obstacle, which Clan Master Argus and the ground troops will no doubt quickly mop up. The wyverns are the real threat, which Fayrianna has already figured out as well. About a half dozen appear to still be alive, and thus dangerous.

"Focus on the wyverns!" Onas calls back to his squad of Forest Riders. "Beware their sting!" Putting his words into action, Onas spurs Carad Orod into a full charge at the nearest wyvern. Aiming his lance at a tender area on the beast - if such a creature can be said to have tender areas - he leans forward to get maximum force behind the strike.

[Laucian]

Laucian

An owl speaks to the elves causing Laucian to give pause to the spider culling.
“Home?” the owl questions. “We have lived near here for generations with no one but spiders here.”
“We elves were away for a long time,” Tisha will explain. “We are now returning to our ancestral home only to find it infested with these spiders.”

“It is as my companion states.”Laucian adds looking to the owl. His amber eyes looking to the branch the owl is perched and about it. “Our people left this realm to spread their way of life. Few elves remained to tend the Mother tree. Many perished in the task as they were sat upon by a evil mage and his minions.”

“Spiders menace my people,” the owl answers. “Not sorry to see them go. But are you better?”

“We elves live in harmony with the good creatures of the forest,” Annelwin will proudly state. “We do not desecrate like the spiders do.”

Laucian listens as Annelwin explains to the owl their way of life. “What we speak is true. If by not in word, then by action you will see that we mean the good of this realm, not harm.” Laucian says easily. "My Patron, Ehlonna, Charged herself to look over those good creatures of the forest and those that dwell within that of the woodlands. I will see her will come to fruition.”

“Urvov,” the owl suddenly utters. “Urvov is me. You've seen baby spiders and children. You have not seen the mother yet.”

“There's an even bigger one?” Sergeant Silversword will say in near disbelieve. “Maybe this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.”

“Urvov, I am Laucian.”he says looking up to the owl. “What can you tell us of this Mother?” Laucian asks humbly. The thought of there being more out here had crossed his mind But an even larger Spider was not one of them. “Do you know of it’s lair?” he asks curiously as thoughts of how to take this larger threat engulfs his thoughts. If the larger ones took 11 arrows to bring down, what would the mother take to extinguish her life.
Turning to the others, Laucian put forth a thought. “If these Grand children and children are here on the outskirts, It maybe safe to assume this Mother of Spiders is at our homes center. Does anyone recall what may house such a creature from the stories of our home.”
“Urvov, I thank you for your warning and your counsel.” Laucian says respectfully to the owl. “You have been most helpful.”
Hold action for the moment

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

Reaching and dealing with the Hive engenders significant discussion. Kylie asks Talen about the limitations of transporting an army though a pillar portal.

“No limit to how many can pass, but there is a time limit on how long the gateway will stay open,” Talen reports. “Like a minute or so.”

A grim smile appears on Kylie's face. "That is good to know. It should be possible to transfer a significant force in that amount of time. Fortunately, we know a significant number of highly capable people."

Lilia also informs them that there is a method of flying vast distances in flying ships like the Sunflower that are much faster than one would otherwise expect.

“It's called the 'Up and Down Method',” Lilia explains. “In short, your take your vessel straight up until there is no more air. Point it in the direction that you want to go. Then you use the other propulsion method for a mere moment. That rapidly moves you to a different location. Then you simply go back down to the ground. Using this method, you can cover vast distances in the blink of an eye. Everything around the Sylvan Realm is so close together that this method would be impractical. But to travel back to Cynalon it is ideal.”

Kylie considers for a moment, doing her best to wrap her mind around what Lilia is proposing. "That's... wow. Okay, I think I understand. I suppose it takes some practice to get a feel for how long to go forward for various distances. It will be both fun and educational to give it a try."

===

Wen they find Sharadin, he and the twins are defending themselves from a concerted attack. At Kylie's recommendation, Lilia Fireball's the group toward the back, severely wounding a few and lighting the others on fire. Almost simultaneously, Kylie casts her Lance of Disruption, and succeeds in knocking down most of the swordsmen that were attacking Sharadin.

Moments later, a silver-haired elf woman flies in. From their banter, she and Sharadin seem to know each other. She casts a spell that appears to paralyze all of the surviving attackers. They are quickly rounded up by the castle guard as Talen, Lia, Andlin, and the cooshees enter. Lady greets the elven woman while the twins catch up with Talen and Lia.

Dapple approaches Kylie, eyes bright and tail wagging. Kylie kneels down and scratches his ears as the canine licks her neck and face. "Who's my good dog? You are, aren't you? What a good boy!"

News is shared on both sides. Sharadin confirms that the attackers were agents of Duke Kelvin, who apparently started the civil war and is trying to unseat the king. "Sounds like this Kelvin is something of a problem child and needs to be spanked. I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

The unknown elf joins the discussion, asking about their experience with the Hive. Talen and Lia quickly explain about their previous encounter with the creatures, their connection to the pillar artifacts, and their base in the Great Swamp. "Indeed. We are seeking to recruit powerful allies to help us wipe them out. We were hoping that you all would want to help."

“This is the Lady Silvarn,” Lord Sharadin will say gesturing towards the mystery elf. “She is a powerful ally to Cynalon.”

Kylie does her best to effect a passable curtsy. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Silvarn. I am Kylie Lanthorn, a former student of Jallarzi's."

Lia expresses some impression that she may have met Silvarn previously, perhaps in the Sylvan Realm. A bit puzzled by this, Kylie waits to hear how the elven woman responds.

After introductions are made, Silvarn turns back to Sharadin and mentions that the attackers arrived aboard a flying ship. Kylie finds herself starting to wonder just how many of them are still around and functioning. They seem quite a bit more common than she had realized.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Kylie considers for a moment, doing her best to wrap her mind around what Lilia is proposing. "That's... wow. Okay, I think I understand. I suppose it takes some practice to get a feel for how long to go forward for various distances. It will be both fun and educational to give it a try."

“Sadly, this means that the week we spent flying to the Sylvan Realm on the barge was a waste of time,” Lilia continues. “We could have made the trip in hours instead of days. Alas, I didn't know that until I completely read the manual that came with the Spell Engine. I did tell Sherwood Elf-Friend about this method when it came time for him to return to Cynalon. I have to assume that he made the trip successfully that way.”

Karn's Keep is under attack and we go to help. Instead of finding Sherwood, we find Lord Sharadin himself being attacked. Spells are cast and the attackers are on the ropes. Then a lady elf with silver hair flies in and casts a spell that immobilizes the rest.

Right after that more of the Keep's guards rush in and take control of the attackers. Lia, Talen, Andlin and the cooshee's follow them. Strangely Lady moves towards the elf as if in greeting. It is said that dogs have stronger senses than people do, perhaps the same can be said for cooshee's?

“Why hello there,” the lady elf will say softly to the cooshee. “You're an elfin dog are you not?”

“Yes she is,” Lilia calls out as she moves closer. “She is a cooshee, or as you said, an elfin dog. I have named her Lady.”

Lord Sharadin quickly answers the questions that Kylie and I asked.

“They are the forces of Duke Kelvin,” Lord Sharadin answers. “The ones who started the civil war. I imagine that they sought to eliminate me and my family, thus weakening the king and those who follow him.”

“Kylie did mention this civil war of yours,” Lilia reports. “It is unfortunate and a waste of lives.

“Did you say the Hive?” The silver-haired elf maiden wonders aloud. “Have you encountered those parasites?”

“Yes, we have,” Lilia states. “Are you familiar with them?”

“This is the Lady Silvarn,” Lord Sharadin will say gesturing towards the mystery elf. “She is a powerful ally to Cynalon.”

“Lady Silvarn,” Lilia says with a nod. “I am Lilliathelionn Allandros, Queen of the Sylvan Realm. If you are as skilled as I suspect, were you not asked to join one of the rescue missions to the Sylvan Realm?”

The conversation turns back to the force attacking Karn's Keep.

“The attackers came on one of those Alphatian flying ships,” Silvarn reports as she turns back to Lord Sharadin. “I can temporarily paralyze the crew if you wish to take their vessel. The ship is called the Lady Iris and is hovering above the nearby lake.”

“We can assist in this matter, Lord Sharadin,” Lilia announces. “We have a flying ship ourselves called the Sunflower. If Lady Silvarn can disable the crew, Kylie and I should be able to take over their Spell Engines and take control of the ship ending this siege.”

Talen speaks up throwing out facts of our visit without any real narrative to them.

“Yes, that is why we are here!” Talen says rambling a bit. “I can make use of the Elder Artifacts. I used them to bring us to the artifact below Karn's Keep. We encountered the Hive north of the Sylvan Realm. They too are using the Pillar Artifacts to move about. They are based in ruined Elder City within the Great Swamp. They are also behind what happened to Argent. There are, or rather were, six of them! Anyway, I can get us into the Hive base. We can end them!”

The unknown elf joins the discussion, asking about their experience with the Hive. Talen and Lia quickly explain about their previous encounter with the creatures, their connection to the pillar artifacts, and their base in the Great Swamp. "Indeed. We are seeking to recruit powerful allies to help us wipe them out. We were hoping that you all would want to help."

“That is why we came here,” Lilia says. “Talen can take us right into the ruined city where the Hive are. We can take the fight to them and eliminate this menace. But first things first, let us help to defeat those who invaded Karn's Keep. Then we can share what we have learned.”

Lilia will cast a Fly spell on herself, so she can maneuver better. Then she'll follow Kylie and Lady Silvarn to this flying ship. The elf maiden is very interested to see just how the silver-haired elf is going to disable an entire ship's crew. That must be powerful magic!

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

Return to Karn's Keep:

December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

The elves return to Karn's Keep has interrupted by an attack by the forces of Duke Kelvin, the Cynalonian nobleman who is behind the civil war. Ground troops were stopped in the Grand Hall while those directly assaulting Lord Sharadin were wounded and then neutralized when Silvarn paralyzed them. The Keep's guards take the prisoners away while the two groups converse. The twins speak to their twin cousins first.

“Hello,” Talen says easily as he is hugged by his cousin. “It's been a while since we last saw you.”

“Back when you left on your mission to the Sylvan Realm,” the twin easily states. “Sherwood told us that you succeeded when he returned.”

Lia looks to the source and sees one of the twins smiling at her. “You recognize me?” she asks as she pulls up her hood, so that the light is dimmed. “Forgive me, the light it takes some getting used to.” She says with a sheepish smile.

“I couldn't be sure at first,” the twin admits. “But I figure if there was a drow with Talen and you were getting along that it would be you.”

“Remind me to thank him for doing so.” She says easily as she welcomes the hug.

“Sherwood should be back any time now,” the twin states. “You can thank him in person.”

“I understand. It is taking me time to get used to the looks I get at times. But the elves have been surprisingly welcome of me.” She says with a smile. “It would seem the family just got weirder, we are now a multi-raced family.” She says with a laugh.

“It is a big change,” the twin agrees. “And we were plenty weird before this!”

The twins then exchange partners and greet their cousins once more, mostly repeating what just transpired. They will then say hello to Kylie, Lilia and Andlin.

“Good to see you again, Kylie,” one of the twins will say.

“Welcome back to Karn's Keep,” the other twin adds.


“Well met, Queen Lilia,” a twin states.

“That's quite a promotion you received!” the other twin notes.


Lilia moves closer to Lady who has greeted Silvarn.

“Yes she is,” Lilia calls out as she moves closer. “She is a cooshee, or as you said, an elfin dog. I have named her Lady.”

“A fine name for such a noble creature,” Silvarn agrees as he pets Lady.

Kylie does her best to effect a passable curtsy. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Silvarn. I am Kylie Lanthorn, a former student of Jallarzi's."

“Nice to meet you,” Silvarn says with a smile. “I've known Jallarzi for a long time now and I have heard your name before. All of your names.”

Lia eyes narrow slightly as she looks the elf maiden over closely, her gaze casts over her legs to her torso to her face, her lavender eyes staring curiously at the elf maiden. “Well met. Lady Silvarn, I am Lia. Have you been to the Sylvan realm recently?”

“I've never been to your Sylvan Realm before,” Silvarn answers.

“Forgive me but I cannot help but wonder if we met, for you look familiar to me.”

“Oh?” Silvarn utters in mild surprise. “So you met someone who resembled me? Describe them for me.”

“Lady Silvarn,” Lilia says with a nod. “I am Lilliathelionn Allandros, Queen of the Sylvan Realm. If you are as skilled as I suspect, were you not asked to join one of the rescue missions to the Sylvan Realm?”

“Well met, Queen Lilliathelionn Allandros,” Silvarn says, easily pronouncing Lilia's tongue-twisting full name. “There are reasons for why I was not asked that I am not ready to divulge just yet.”


Lia and Talen say hello to their Uncle Sharadin.

“A partial truth, uncle,” Talen admits. “I was just trying to protect us from your own guards.”

A faint smile comes to her lips as she looks at Talen then to Uncle Sharadin. “I think our good uncle will forgive us for a breech in conduct, given the circumstances.”

“Indeed, it is fine,” Lord Sharadin says. “If your grandfather and my father are one and the same, then yes, you would both been Cynalonian nobles when you were born, as would be your mother.”

“Civil War? You mean to say your people are fighting one another? Why? To what end?” she asks curiously.

“Power,” Lord Sharadin answers. “Control. An attempt to preserve a flawed way of life.”

News is shared on both sides. Sharadin confirms that the attackers were agents of Duke Kelvin, who apparently started the civil war and is trying to unseat the king. "Sounds like this Kelvin is something of a problem child and needs to be spanked. I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

“That is one way to put it,” Lord Sharadin agrees.

[GM Mad]

With the general introductions out of the way, talk turns to the reason for the visit to Karn's Keep. Talen lets loose with a flood of information.

“Yes, that is why we are here!” Talen says rambling a bit. “I can make use of the Elder Artifacts. I used them to bring us to the artifact below Karn's Keep. We encountered the Hive north of the Sylvan Realm. They too are using the Pillar Artifacts to move about. They are based in ruined Elder City within the Great Swamp. They are also behind what happened to Argent. There are, or rather were, six of them! Anyway, I can get us into the Hive base. We can end them!”

“Slow down, Talen,” Lord Sharadin urges. “Kylie told us what happened to you when she was here a few days ago. Are you saying that you can use the Pillar Artifacts?”

“That is remarkable!” Silvarn says in surprise. “I don't believe that I've ever heard of a humanoid being able to control the ancient devices of the Elders. Those who can are usually more... malevolent.”

“Are you saying that there are six Argents?” One of the twins says in disbelieve.

“And what do you mean 'were'?” the other twin adds.

“From triplets to sextuplets!” the first twin notes.

“Imagine having five sisters!” the other adds.

“Yes, we have,” Lilia states. “Are you familiar with them?”

“I've battled them before,” is all that Silvarn will offer.

“I think you need to start at the beginning and explain all of this better,” Lord Sharadin urges.

The unknown elf joins the discussion, asking about their experience with the Hive. Talen and Lia quickly explain about their previous encounter with the creatures, their connection to the pillar artifacts, and their base in the Great Swamp. "Indeed. We are seeking to recruit powerful allies to help us wipe them out. We were hoping that you all would want to help."

“Then allies you shall have,” Lord Sharadin vows. “From what Sherwood told me of your talk with him these things need to be dealt with extreme prejudice.”

But then elf maiden speaks of the Hive. “We fought the Hive after following our wayward kin to ruins to our lands north. Sadly, it became a rescue mission where of some of our kin fell. The hive queen was buried in the ruins underneath tons of rock and stone.”

“So this was an attack force you encountered and not the nest itself?” Silvarn wonders.

“That is why we came here,” Lilia says. “Talen can take us right into the ruined city where the Hive are. We can take the fight to them and eliminate this menace. But first things first, let us help to defeat those who invaded Karn's Keep. Then we can share what we have learned.”

“Agreed,” Lord Sharadin will say. “Lets put an end to this foolish siege and then we can discuss matters fully.”

“We can assist in this matter, Lord Sharadin,” Lilia announces. “We have a flying ship ourselves called the Sunflower. If Lady Silvarn can disable the crew, Kylie and I should be able to take over their Spell Engines and take control of the ship ending this siege.”

“We've captured several flying ships as well since you left for the Sylvan Realm,” Lord Sharadin adds. “I've used a Spell Engine before.”

“Are you sure about this?” Silvarn will say, looking to Lord Sharadin as if asking far more than she is saying.

“It's okay,” Lord Sharadin will say. “You are among friends and family.”

“Very well,” Silvarn answers. “Follow me.”

Silvarn flies off once more with everyone in pursuit. The silver-haired elf flies back into the Grand Hall and out the front door of the keep. Once outside, the Lady Iris ,as Silvarn called it, can be seen nearby. It hovers about a hundred feet above the small lake beside the Keep. It was this same lake where the barge used to travel to the Sylvan Realm was docked. Ropes were used for troops to repel down to the ground from the hovering ship. The ship is named 'Domina Iris' which when translated from Alphatian means Lady Iris.

Both Kylie and Lilia do a double take upon seeing the Lady Iris. The ships size and configuration resembles the Sunflower! But the ship hovering above is not the ship the elves captured from the scro, as that is back in the Sylvan Realm. The sails are a contrasting color and there are other minor visual differences.

“Stay clear until my breath dissipates,” Silvarn calls out. “Unless you want to be paralyzed too.”

Before anyone can ask just what she means, Silvarn's form starts to change and grow. Her skin takes on a more silvery appearance. In just the space of a few heartbeats, the elf maiden changes into a gigantic silver dragon! Her skin is like molten silver and has no individual scales. With her transformation complete, Silvarn now measures over 130' feet long from her nose to the tip of her tail! Flapping her gigantic wings, Silvarn starts to rise up into the air.

“Shall we begin?” the dragon calls out.

[GM Mad]

The Spiders of Einsun:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

Up in the Sylvan Realm at the Grunalf Clan Hold of Einsun, Laucian and his companions are taking a break from spider-squashing duty to speak to an owl. It is nearing mid day.

“It is as my companion states.”Laucian adds looking to the owl. His amber eyes looking to the branch the owl is perched and about it. “Our people left this realm to spread their way of life. Few elves remained to tend the Mother tree. Many perished in the task as they were sat upon by a evil mage and his minions.”

“But now we are back to restore the Sylvan Realm to what it once was,” Tisha adds. “This place here is where our clan came from. We will see our home restored.”

Laucian listens as Annelwin explains to the owl their way of life. “What we speak is true. If by not in word, then by action you will see that we mean the good of this realm no harm.” Laucian says easily. "My Patron, Ehlonna, charged herself to look over those good creatures of the forest and those that dwell within that of the woodlands. I will see her will come to fruition.”

“If you are protectors of the forest, than help free some of my tribe caught in the spiders webs,” Urvov says. “They, and other unfortunates, are trapped in large webs. Free them to prove you are protectors.”

“Urvov, I am Laucian.”he says looking up to the owl. “What can you tell us of this Mother?” Laucian asks humbly. The thought of there being more out here had crossed his mind. But an even larger Spider was not one of them. “Do you know of it’s lair?” he asks curiously as thoughts of how to take this larger threat engulfs his thoughts. If the larger ones took 11 arrows to bring down, what would the mother take to extinguish her life.

“Mother is bigger than all others,” Urvov states. “She lairs where the webs are the thickest. Be warned, if you attack the mother, the children will rush to defend her.”

“And if we keep attacking the children, the mother will come forth to protect them,” Annelwin realizes. “Thank you for your warning, Urvov. We may have very well caused the mother to emerge and catch us unaware.”

Turning to the others, Laucian put forth a thought. “If these Grand children and children are here on the outskirts, It maybe safe to assume this Mother of Spiders is at our homes center. Does anyone recall what may house such a creature from the stories of our home.”

“If this mother is as big as we are fearing,” Tisha states, “then she would be too large to fit into any of our homes or dwellings.”

“Webs spun between the trees,” Tanyl of Solonor will realize. “Unless the mother can burrow as well. Either among the trees or in the ground is my bet.”

“We need to be more careful about using fire,” Silver Maiden Annelwin will note. “If Urvov's kin are trapped in the webs we could burn them as well.”

“Those moving cocoon's we saw when we arrived,” Silver Maiden Visara adds. “Those were things the spiders trapped! We must free them!”

“Agreed,” Tisha states. “We now must be sure a web is free of victims before putting it to the torch. This requires a more methodical approach.”

“We should scout the area first,” Sergeant Silversword speaks up. “Since we have a better idea what we are getting ourselves into, gaining a better understanding of the battlefield can only help. So we don't just stumble into the mother's den accidentally.”

“Urvov, I thank you for your warning and your counsel.” Laucian says respectfully to the owl. “You have been most helpful.”

The owl will appear to nod and then leaps into the air taking flight. Urvov is soon lost from sight.

[GM Mad]

The Wyvern's of Walltree:

December 5th, CR 571 or Deepnight 27th, 20,519 AP

Further to the south and west, and later that same afternoon, Clan Red Arrow is attacking the humans who are using their Clan Hold as a base of operations. Trying to parley with the humans went horribly wrong as they did not speak a language the elves were familiar with. So they fired upon the elves, forcing Clan Master Argus and Onas to seek shelter underneath the trees. In response, the elfin forces already moved into Walltree attacked!

Finally the tower guards are removed and the gate to Walltree opens. Onas and his Forest Riders charge in a familiar and yet unfamiliar elfin town. Realizing that the wyverns are the true threat the Forest Riders make their way to the heart of town. The riders mostly ignore what is going on around them, but do take advantage of any openings the enemy gives them along the way.

As the riders near the center of town, Onas can see that elfin archers are already using the wyverns for target practice. They focus fire on one until it drops and then move on to the next target. A smaller group of archers targets any humans trying to reach the wyverns.

In the midst of this battle are the four Silver Maidens. Fayrianna and her unicorn Aeolus speed about the battlefield using the unicorns unique ability to 'blink', to vanish in one spot and reappear instantly in another. Fayrianna lowers her lance and the Aeolus charges and then blinks right before the target, striking before it is ready. Fayrianna's lance drives deep into the wyvern, drawing blood and a screech of pain from the beast! Aeolus than blinks away to safety leaving the wounded wyvern no target to attack.

The Silver Maiden Maylia attempts the same maneuver with her unicorn, appropriately named Lance, but do not have the coordination that Fayrianna and Aeolus have. Instead Maylia and Lance appear too far away that the wyvern can defend itself. The snake-like head of the wyvern snaps at Maylia, biting her in the shoulder. The force of the impact knocks Maylia out of her saddle and she hits the dirt ground hard. Lance manages to avoid the stinger sent his way and is forced to gallop to safety.

"Focus on the wyverns!" Onas calls back to his squad of Forest Riders. "Beware their sting!" Putting his words into action, Onas spurs Carad Orod into a full charge at the nearest wyvern. Aiming his lance at a tender area on the beast - if such a creature can be said to have tender areas - he leans forward to get maximum force behind the strike.

Seeing Maylia down and the wyvern moving towards her, Onas charges forward lance at the ready. The wyvern is so focused on its prone enemy that it does not realize the danger it is in. Onas and Carad Orod charge full speed into burying the lance deep into the wyverns chest with the tip emerging from the other side! Blood erupts from the beast covering the immediate area and the wyvern struggles to stay upright.

Silver Maiden Leandra unleashes a volley of Magic Missiles and this finishes off the wyvern. Onas lets go of his lance so as not to be pulled from Carad Orod and to the ground as the wyvern falls. In the background, Umara rushes to help Maylia to safety.

“Well done!” Fayrianna complements as she rides closer to see if Maylia and Umara need any help. The wyvern she attacked was finished off by arrows. With the one Onas and Leandra finished off that leaves just four of the monsters left. “We've got these monsters on the ropes! Let's finish the job!”


GM Notes:

Is Onas going to recover his lance or leave it for now? The wyverns were stabled so that they were apart from each other, so there is no danger in being attacked by another while fighting one.

Now what?

[Lia]

Lia
A quizzical look comes over the young drow. When Silvarn says that she was not at the Slyvain realm. But then she follows up asking to hear of what transpired and describe the one she spoke to.

“Oh?” Silvarn utters in mild surprise. “So you met someone who resembled me? Describe them for me.”

“I’ll do my best.” She says simply. “The one in which I speak called himself Xavier. He was extremely light on his feet and quiet. He startled me and not many can do so… It was as though he wasn’t there one moment and there the next. He was a tall handsome elf his hair was similar to yours, platnium blond.”she says gauging the elf maiden’s reaction. “He almost seemed unaware or naïve toward what a drow was, and why elves may look down on one such as me. Yet he described himself as a wandering elf and nothing more.” As Lia thinks for a moment a thought comes to her. “It made me feel as though he was not an elf, or if he was a leaf in the wind.”

“So this was an attack force you encountered and not the nest itself?” Silvarn wonders.

"It is hard to say. More like a recon force, for they used the devices. There was a queen attached to a mage and they were bonding to both scro, orc not of this land and elves alike. Though they did not make use of the old or two young. And it seemed they did not like the use of women. Sadly now they know of foreign planets as well as the workings of the Elfin race."
Lia follows Silvarn outside where she says, “Stay clear until my breath dissipates,” Silvarn calls out. “Unless you want to be paralyzed too.”. Lia’s eyes go wide in surprise and her jaw drops in unison as Silvarn turns into a silver Dragon. What more she begins to talk and asks Shall they begin.
‘I may steer clear of her altogether.’the priestess says.
When the time comes to go to the Lady Iris, Lia will cast levitate on herself and rise to the ropes that are dangling off. She will grab hold of the ropes and pull herself up while her levitate is still active to the deck.

[Onas]

Onas Brightsword:

The battle is on! Fayrianna expertly skewers one of the wyverns by 'blinking' in close. One of the less experienced Silver Maidens, Maylia by name, attempts the same maneuver, but misjudges the distance. Striking like a serpent, the wyvern bites deep into her shoulder and knocks her from her mount.

Seeing this, Onas and Carad Orod veer in that direction. His strike is true, and blood and gore spray the area. Unfortunately, his lance feels stuck in the great beast! A spell volley from the other two Silver Maidens drops the wyvern, and Onas is forced to let go due to the creature's substantial weight.

Concern overrules blood-lust, leading Onas to approach Maylia and drop from his mount. "Are you in need of healing, Maiden Maylia?" he asks, apprehension over her wounds clear in his tone. "That was a vicious bite you received." If she wishes healing, he will inspect and clean the wound, then call upon the power of Angharradh to provide healing. Otherwise, he remounts Carad Orod and goes after the next wyvern with his Frost Brand.

__________________________________________________________________________
Either way, he leaves the lance for now.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“Well met, Queen Lilia,” a twin states.

“Hello Ladies Sculley,” Lilia answers since she is unsure which twin is which.

“That's quite a promotion you received!” the other twin notes.

“We elves have a different style of leadership than you humans or the dwarves,” Lilia explains. “My position is an elected one. I represent the Sylvan Realm only in matters beyond our borders. Since humans and dwarves have kings, this position was given the same title, but for we elves it means something very different.”

“Well met, Queen Lilliathelionn Allandros,” Silvarn says, easily pronouncing Lilia's tongue-twisting full name. “There are reasons for why I was not asked that I am not ready to divulge just yet.”

Lilia will raise an eyebrow in mild surprise, but does not comment on the words of Lady Silvarn.

“I've battled them before,” is all that Silvarn will offer.

Whomever this Lady Silvarn is, she is not one to explain much. Her answers are vague.

“Then allies you shall have,” Lord Sharadin vows. “From what Sherwood told me of your talk with him these things need to be dealt with extreme prejudice.”

“Very good, Lord Sharadin,” Lilia says. “We can discuss the matter further once this attack has been stopped.”

“We've captured several flying ships as well since you left for the Sylvan Realm,” Lord Sharadin adds. “I've used a Spell Engine before.”

“Well done,” Lilia compliments. “These flying vessels are a wonderful to have.”


We follow after Silvarn as she exits the castle to contend with the Lady Iris. The enemy ship is spotted in the sky overhead. Lilia's mouth drops open as it looks very similar to the Sunflower!

“Perhaps that style of ship is a common one among the Alphatians?” Lilia wonders aloud but has no real way of knowing as the ocean is very far from the Elfholds and she has never been to a sea port before, let alone one frequented by Alphatian ships.

“But that may make our task even easier,” Lilia will say to Kylie. “Perhaps the decks are laid out the same as the Sunflower? The Spell Engines may very well be in the same locations. One way to find out.”

“Stay clear until my breath dissipates,” Silvarn calls out. “Unless you want to be paralyzed too.”

Before anyone can ask just what she means, Silvarn's form starts to change and grow. Her skin takes on a more silvery appearance. In just the space of a few heartbeats, the elf maiden changes into a gigantic silver dragon! Her skin is like molten silver and has no individual scales. With her transformation complete, Silvarn now measures over 130' feet long from her nose to the tip of her tail! Flapping her gigantic wings, Silvarn starts to rise up into the air.

“Shall we begin?” the dragon calls out.

Lilia's jaw drops once more as Silvarn reveals her true form. She's a huge silver dragon! As far as Lilia knows this is the first dragon she's ever encountered. Silvers were supposed to be good and kind and thus far Silvarn seemed to fit the bill.

“And that explains why she was never asked to go rescue the Mother Tree,” Lilia silently reasons. “She's not an elf!”

“Lead the way, Lady Silvarn,” Lilia will say once regaining her composure. Clearly staying clear of her breath refers to her breath weapon attack. Perhaps silver dragons do not breath fire? “We will follow at a safe distance.”

[Laucian]

Laucian
The talk with the owl continues:

“If you are protectors of the forest, than help free some of my tribe caught in the spiders webs,” Urvov says. “They, and other unfortunates, are trapped in large webs. Free them to prove you are protectors.”

Laucian closes his eyes for a fraction of a second. Freeing those trapped within the webbings will not only increase the difficulty of their task but also slow their progress. There is no telling if they would be able to free them unharmed.
“We will do our best to free those trapped within the webbing.” He says simply back to the owl.

“Mother is bigger than all others,” Urvov states. “She lairs where the webs are the thickest. Be warned, if you attack the mother, the children will rush to defend her.”

“And if we keep attacking the children, the mother will come forth to protect them,” Annelwin realizes. “Thank you for your warning, Urvov. We may have very well caused the mother to emerge and catch us unaware.”

“With two of the Children’s webs cleared we have an area to retreat to, to fight them on common ground. It seems we will have to trigger the webbing and draw the spiders to the fringes of their webbing.”

“We should scout the area first,” Sergeant Silversword speaks up. “Since we have a better idea what we are getting ourselves into, gaining a better understanding of the battlefield can only help. So we don't just stumble into the mother's den accidentally.”

“I agree, If we are going to be working so close to the webbing and freeing those captured within. Do any of you have objects that contain the enchantment of free action? If there are some I would recommend having teaming those with with those without. I asked Ehlonna for her blessings, and she has granted me spells that may aid us in this endeavour.”
Seeing the task before him, Laucian stows his bow and draws his longsword. He looks down at the black blade as it glints in the sunlight. “Let us spread out, perhaps 5 yards apart in groups of two so that we do not get over run. Try to control the cooshee so that they do not go running into the fray and get trapped, even with their good intentions.”

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

“Sadly, this means that the week we spent flying to the Sylvan Realm on the barge was a waste of time,” Lilia continues. “We could have made the trip in hours instead of days. Alas, I didn't know that until I completely read the manual that came with the Spell Engine. I did tell Sherwood Elf-Friend about this method when it came time for him to return to Cynalon. I have to assume that he made the trip successfully that way.”

"The value of knowledge..." Kylie says with a wry grin.


Sherry and Terry greet their cousins, Talen and Lia, whom they hadn't met previously. Once they are acquainted, the twins turn and say hello to Kylie. Kylie smiles, pleased to see them again and happy they weren't hurt in the fighting. "Hi Sherry. Hi Terry. It is good to see you both. I'm glad neither of you was hurt by these idiots," she says, gesturing toward the attackers.

“Nice to meet you,” Silvarn says with a smile. “I've known Jallarzi for a long time now and I have heard your name before. All of your names.”

"You have me at a disadvantage, then," Kylie says with a snarky grin. "I'll have to bug Jallarzi next time I see her about not mentioning you to her students." The warm, moist feel of Dapple's tongue on her hand causes Kylie to glance down, then back up to Lady Silvarn. "Oh, I'm sorry. This beautiful canine is my friend Dapple."

The mention of the Hive and Talen using the Elder artifacts draws a host of both questions and answers. Kylie mostly listens to make sure that all of the information they have is shared. Sharadin pledges to provide support in attacking the Hive. Kylie knows that he has many powerful associates and feels more confident in their ability to destroy the Hive once and for all.

“That is why we came here,” Lilia says. “Talen can take us right into the ruined city where the Hive are. We can take the fight to them and eliminate this menace. But first things first, let us help to defeat those who invaded Karn's Keep. Then we can share what we have learned.”

Kylie nods her head in agreement. "That works for me."

Once the decisions are made, Silvarn leads the way outside. Kylie joins Lilia flying along behind, readying her bow as she goes. Looping around the castle, they find the attackers' ship, which closely resembles the Sunflower! Lilia speculates that it may be a common Alphatian design, which is starting to seem likely.

“But that may make our task even easier,” Lilia will say to Kylie. “Perhaps the decks are laid out the same as the Sunflower? The Spell Engines may very well be in the same locations. One way to find out.”

"Exactly. I'm looking forward to it, and whatever secrets this ship my hold." Remembering all of the secret rooms and trapped chests on the Sunflower, Kylie wonders if they will find similar things on this one.

“Stay clear until my breath dissipates,” Silvarn calls out. “Unless you want to be paralyzed too.”

Kylie's not entirely sure what the elven woman means, but floats back a bit further just in case. Moments later, Lady Silvarn undergoes a startling metamorphosis -- in a matter of a few heartbeats, she transforms into a dragon with a body that resembles silver! Lia and Lilia seems as surprised as she herself is. Kylie has heard of silver dragons before, but had never seen one. She stares admiringly; rather than rough scales, Silvarn's body is all smooth, sleek metal. Most impressive!

The dragon asks if they are ready, and Lilia gives her the go-ahead. "Right behind you, Silvarn," Kylie adds.

Once it is safe to move in, Kylie will use her bow to deal with anyone that wasn't paralyzed by Silvarn's dragon-breath.

[Talen]

Talen:

“An ally, it would seem.” Lia adds as she walks up to her brother.

“Must be,” Talen agrees as he follows his sister and the guards deeper into Karn's Keep.

Soon we come across Uncle Sharadin and his twin daughters Sherry and Terry. Talen apologizes for proclaiming himself Lord Sculley.

“Indeed, it is fine,” Lord Sharadin says. “If your grandfather and my father are one and the same, then yes, you would both been Cynalonian nobles when you were born, as would be your mother.”

“Wow,” is all Talen can say about that. He never though of himself as being a noble before, even with being related to so many of them. “I never realized that before.”

“Slow down, Talen,” Lord Sharadin urges. “Kylie told us what happened to you when she was here a few days ago. Are you saying that you can use the Pillar Artifacts?”

“Yes, I can,” Talen answers. “The pillars have a sort of recorded history to them that I can read. Those records told an astonishing tale!”

“That is remarkable!” Silvarn says in surprise. “I don't believe that I've ever heard of a humanoid being able to control the ancient devices of the Elders. Those who can are usually more... malevolent.”

“Who else can do what I can do?” Talen wonders. “I mean if they are not humanoids, then what are they?”

“Are you saying that there are six Argents?” One of the twins says in disbelieve.

“That's right,” Talen answers, trying to field all the questions being hurtled at him. “The Hive altered the pillars to create duplicates. Probably to bring bodies to them to infect!”

“And what do you mean 'were'?” the other twin adds.

“One of the other Argents was infected and was killed,” Talen explains. “Still another one appeared at the pillar artifact underwater. The pillar vaporized the water when she appeared but then she was crushed when the water came back. The last Argent was sent to the Elder ruins in the Great Swamp where the Hive is. We think she is another Hive Queen.”

“From triplets to sextuplets!” the first twin notes.

“Imagine having five sisters!” the other adds.

“One is bad enough,” Talen moans. “Let alone have four extra!”


It is decided to end the siege at Karn's Keep. Silvarn leads the way outside and then changes into a huge silver dragon.

“Okay then,” Talen manages to utter in response to the transformation. “I did not see that coming.”

Talen keeps an eye out as the others fly off after the dragon towards the enemy ship.

[GM Mad]

Post Closed