Sithelnost Calls for Aid
07 Deepkolt 349 AC
THE PROTECTOR'S TOWER
For the first time since sunrise, there is no immediate threat to the city. The defenders of Tarithnesti stand gathered at the base of the Protector's Tower. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, the gemstone blackens and begins to crumble. The magical energy that lent its strength to the bodies of those defending the city fades with it.
The bodies of four dragons lie as grim reminders of what was thrown against them.
Two red dragons.
One white.
One green.
Their massive forms dominate sections of the streets and forest edge, their scales already becoming trophies, salvage, and eventually memorials.
Kysek and Raven explain that they had fought two additional greens on their way back to the city. A ripple spreads through the survivors.
Six dragons and the city was still standing.
Laborers, mostly dockworkers and crystal miners begin the arduous task of clearing rubble and searching for the bodies of those trapped within.
Shadow exhales and leans on the battlements looking for his angelic assistants he calls them to him and says “My thanks for you assistance with the Dragonarmy. I know your time here is limited, would you use that time to tend to the worst of our wounded?”
Shadow will then proceed down the stairs to check on the Commander. “Commander, it seems the enemy has pulled back. What are your orders?”
Parintha closes her eyes for a moment. Then she opens them again. "First..."
She looks around at her remaining soldiers.
"Find our wounded. Find our dead."
Ra'ziir leads the search from atop Redclaw, looking for survivors and making sure there are no enemies still lurking nearby.
What remains of the city guard pick through the remains of fallen enemies, searching for maps, written orders, and any useful equipment.
Stones occasionally fall from the Tower. The structure is barely recognizable, having suffered catastrophic damage from dragon claws and multiple explosions.
The enemy dead are counted. Forty draconians in the city, twenty in the woods, another ten at the entrance to the Crystal Caverns.
Ra'ziir looks over his scouts. Of the ten who fought alongside him, Raven, and Grotto at the farmhouse, only two remain. Shadow’s squad lost only four, all of them had fallen defending the mineshaft and its hidden refugees. Only Kysek’s platoon, now commanded by Captain Ornforithalas was still intact.
Commander Parintha's forces suffered even more. Of the forty defenders she led into battle only four remain. The commander herself barely stands, held up by an equally wounded ex-councilor Summerwalker. The explosion from the baaz's gemstone nearly killed them both outright. Cedron immediately tends to the commander, healing her wounds with magic provided by Malazzarr.
As the survivors begin to think the worst is over, a voice calls out over the crowd. "Anyone miss me?" Romulus emerges from the forest, riding Macula and smoking his pipe. Ten of Ra'ziir's scouts walk behind him, escorting a prisoner. Kysek’s owl, Bubo is perched atop the saddlehorn, looking much the worse for wear.
The halfling takes a long pull on his pipe, "We would have been here sooner but we picked up a guest along the way. It is my pleasure to introduce Garrick Voss. Oh, and I killed two white dragons on our way here."
Eight.
Eight dragons.
Voss comes to a dead halt when he sees the armor of the man Raven bisected. "Flight Marshal Chomax. Commander of Third Flight."
Parintha straightens, "A Flight Marshal? Then this was a major operation."
A SCRREEEEE from overhead draws everyone's attention. A messenger hawk circles down, alighting on a pile of rubble at the base of the Tower. A sealed letter is removed from the leather tube on its back and is passed to Parnitha.
As she reads the page, her face grows pale and her shoulders sag.
She looks up from the parchment. "Sithelnost has fallen. Two hundred defenders dead. Another hundred captured. They're asking for help."
Shadow asks, "How far are we from Sithelnost, Commander?”
She shakes her head, "About seventy-five miles."
”If you and the other spellcasters are like me, we are scraping the barrel for magical fire power… we’d be a lot more helpful with some time to assess the situation and prepare.” Ra’ziir offers, “Many of us need healing as well.”
Romulus nods, "My most potent offensive spells have been expended but I have one Teleport and my staff available."
Shadow nods in agreement that he too is wounded and out of spells for the most part.
Raven asks Commander Parnitha if she has a map showing the way to Sithelnost. He then asks Romulus if they can teleport there.
The halfling shrugs, "Probably. Well, maybe. I've never been there before, never seen it. We could appear too high and plummet to our death, too low and materialize under ground, or halfway through a wall or a tree or any other number of places that would get us killed before we could do anybody any good."
The swordsman nods, "I understand."
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