Road Trip to the Dragon Isles (Tower Assault - Part 1)

11 Newkolt 349 AC

Arthur looked across the courtyard. Bren had upheld his part of the plan. While Phineas kept the Shock N Awe-atron trained on the nearest Dragonarmy soldiers, Altan, Davaa, Bren, and the rest of his deserters crawled out of the sewer.

For a moment, Arthur simply smiled. They were an unlikely group. Under different circumstances, they would have likely been enemies.

Arthur stepped toward Granite and Agnes. "You two ready?" He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Aye, lad," Granite replied as he readied his warhammer. Been waitin' long enough."

Agnes looked up. Reflections of firelight danced in her eyes. "Let us end this, my knight."

Bren touched the ogre's shoulder. "Grumak? The door."

The ogre started forward, building speed as he went.

Davaa watched him go. "That is the entire plan?"

Bren did not look away from the guards.
"For that door? Yes."

Phineas adjusted his goggles. "To be fair, it is a very large problem for a door."

Grumak reached the entrance just as two Dragonarmy soldiers began pulling the heavy doors shut. They looked up and saw the enormous ogre charging toward them.

One guard shouted. "STOP!"

Grumak did not stop.

Grumak hit the doors. The sound echoed through the courtyard. The heavy wooden-and-iron doors, built to withstand riots, storms, and siege attempts, held for a fraction of a second.

Just a fraction.

The doors burst inward. The guards were thrown backward. Grumak stood in the entrance, dust falling from his shoulders.

A deep, terrified bellow rolled through the streets of Styx. The merchants turned. The Dragonarmy soldiers turned. Everyone still gathered around the waterfront looked toward the sound.

Then the cattle came. A wall of muscle, horns, and panic thundered down the southern street. The Dragonarmy shipment — two hundred head meant to supply the armies fighting in Silvanesti — was no longer waiting calmly in the pens. They were charging through the city. People scattered. Merchants and guard ran for cover or simply fled.

A cow thundered past the courtyard entrance. Phineas watched it go. His eyes widened. "Ooooooo."

Davaa looked at him. "You knew about this?"

Phineas shook his head, "No. But I like it."

Arthur laid one hand on Agnes's shoulder and the other on Granite's. The courtyard was chaos. Cows were still streaming in and through the horde of merchants and soldiers. People were screaming and running for cover.

Across the courtyard, Grumak stood between the broken doors of the Governor's Spire. Phineas had the Shock N Awe-atron aimed at the nearest knot of troops. Bren, Altan, Davaa, Varkesh, and the two draconians were skirting the edge of the tower, staying out of the way of the stampede.

Arthur closed his eyes and concentrated. There a sensation of movement and when the paladin opened his eyes he was standing beside the gnome and ogre.

Granite doubled over, one hand reaching out to the wall for support. "A little warning next time, lad. Last time ye did that, I dinna #^%^ for a week."

Arthur's hand found Lawbringer. His voice rang across the courtyard. “On this day, let the fear of the Red Dragon and its rider be no more! You have cowered long enough. You have bled enough. On this day, we stand! ON THIS DAY, WE FIGHT!”

His voice echoed across off of the black stones. For a moment, no one moved.

Then Arthur turned and entered the tower. Agnes followed instantly, Granite stepped through beside them. The rest of the party rushed in behind them. 

Arthur did not wait to see whether anyone in the courtyard had been inspired by his words. He turned and strode through the shattered doors of the Governor's Spire, Lawbringer in one hand and his shield held ready in the other.

The interior opened into a broad stone hall. Red Dragonarmy banners hung from the walls, illuminated by the glow of braziers. Directly ahead, heavy chains descended through the center of the tower into an empty lift shaft. The platform itself was nowhere to be seen. Arthur looked right and left. Spiral stairs on either side of the room led both up and down.

Movement drew his attention back to the center of the room. A bronze-scaled draconian stood in front of the chain lift, sword drawn, and shouting orders.

Eight Baaz spread out to either side of him, four to Arthur's left and four to his right, weapons coming up as they moved to block access to the stairs and the center of the tower.

Behind Arthur, one of the two Baaz Grumak had knocked sprawling when he smashed through the doors groaned and began to move.

Above them, somewhere in the darkness of the tower, an alarm bell began to ring.

Arthur heard the groaning and drove Lawbringer into one of the downed Baaz.

"Maybe we should have waited."

The holy blade flared and the draconian went silent. He jerked the blade free before the baaz could turn to stone.

"Too late now."

The dwarf glanced down at the petrified Baaz. "So much for the speech."

Agnes drew her dagger and a wand. "Speeches are over. Time for...," she smiled a little, "the unpleasant part."

Phineas appeared beside her, "My lady, not to criticize, but as far as battlecries go... that was not particularly impressive."

The wand sparked in her hand. "That wasn't a battlecry. It was a warning."

The Bronze draconian hissed at the Baaz all around. "Kill them!"

Arthur's expression went blank. The anger disappeared from his face. So did the fear, the urgency, even the fire that had filled his voice in the courtyard.

All that remained was purpose. "Die, you Dragonarmy scum."

He started forward. The nearest Baaz moved to intercept him. Arthur didn't slow.

The draconian swung. Arthur caught the blow on his shield and drove forward, forcing the creature backward. Lawbringer flashed around the shield's edge. The holy blade flared and, in a single slash, took the baaz's head from its body.

Kassir bounded into action. The Baaz deserter broke left, racing straight toward the nearest of his former comrades. The defending draconian saw him coming and stepped forward, blade whipping across at Kassir's neck.

Kassir ducked beneath it.

The sword hissed harmlessly over his head. He came up inside the Baaz's reach and put his entire weight behind the return stroke.

His blade ripped across the defender's belly.

"HUFF!"

The breath exploded from the Baaz as the impact doubled him forward. For an instant, the two Baaz faced one another. Same scales. Same blood. Same army—once.

Bren dashed forward behind Kassir. He picked another of the Baaz and closed quickly, sword already rising over his shoulder. The draconian planted its feet.
Bren brought the blade down in a hard two-handed stroke.

Steel crashed against steel.

The Baaz caught Bren's descending sword on its own blade. For an instant the two weapons locked between them, then the draconian twisted sharply and shoved Bren's sword aside.

Davaa moved forward. He carried Bloodletter in both hands—the sword Arthur had taken from the green-cloaked mercenary and later given to him.

Kassir's opponent was still doubled slightly from the Baaz deserter's blow when Davaa reached them. The Khurish warrior didn't hesitate. Bloodletter swept around in a brutal slash.

The wounded Baaz tried to bring its weapon up, but it was too slow. The blade struck cleanly. The draconian collapsed, its body immediately beginning to harden into stone.

Grumak lumbered forward, the massive wrench clenched in a brawny hand. The two baaz nearest to him scrambled sideways.

"GRUMAK SMASH!" and then he tripped over one of the petrified draconians laying on the floor. He stumbled forward. The wrench came down and annihilated one of the braziers, reducing it to bits of fiery rubble.

"Well done, Grumak!" Phineas shouted.

Davaa growled back, "He missed, Professor!"

"Yes! But he did it with enthusiasm and confidence!"

Before Davaa could argue further, Phineas raised the device held in his right hand.

The gnome raised his Gat-inizer and yanked on the attached ripcord. A small dynamo deep within the device begin to spin. He shouted, "BEHOLD"

The machine made a shrill hum and spat forth four glowing darts of energy.  They streaked across the chamber, slamming into the leader's chest and face. The draconian staggered backward, armor ringing from the impacts, smoke curling from the scorched bronze scales.

Agnes stepped forward. Battle raged around her. Her eyes moved to the center of the room and chain lift. She raised one hand. A faint shimmer of magic extended from her fingers and he lift's control lever moved.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the chain tightened. The ancient mechanism groaned to life. The CLANK CLANK CLANK of the chains over toothed cogs echoed through the chamber as the platform began to descend.

Altan drew his bow and fired two arrows at the wounded draconian leader. He hit with his first shot, striking the reptilian figure high in the chest while his second struck the wall behind his target.

Granite hefted his hammer and took in the chaotic melee raging within the entry chamber. He raised his free hand and shouted "KZORD!" A translucent pane of force sprung into being, hovering just in front of the rightful lord of Ginfardwgak.

Varkesh slid forward, sword at the ready, and engaged the closest baaz on the right. He struck with his blade but was unable to slice through the combination of chainmail and the scales beneath.

The draconian officer staggered back. It yanked out Altan's arrow and cast it aside. Its cat-slitted pupils scanned the crowd, searching for the weapon that had wounded it so. It spotted Phineas, nocked an arrow to his bowstring, drew back and fired at him. The shot sailed over the professor's head. Phineas looked up. "Oh, I seem to have attracted his attention."

Tarakis leapt forward, sword in hand, throwing himself at the same Baaz fighting Varkesh. Where the hobgoblin's blade had failed, the deserter's opened a cut along the back of his kinsman's sword arm.

Three of the Spire's defenders rushed Arthur, seeking to overwhelm is defenses. The paladin was having none of that. Lawbringer blazed, its holy flames illuminating the room. The consecrated blade rose and fell with deadly precision, slaying each foe in turn and leaving the entire left side of the room emptied of defenders.

On the right, the baaz trapped between Varkesh and Tarakis lunges at the hobgoblin, forcing him to step back to avoid being skewered.

The other three pressed forward, two rushing Tarakis while the last focused on the hobgoblin. There was a rapid exchange of thrusts, slashes, and parries. Tarakis came away with a cut on his shoulder while his hobgoblin ally narrowly managed to avoid injury.

With the entire left side of the entry chamber secured by allies, Arthur stalked forward. His eyes flicked briefly toward the arrow that had just missed Phineas then back at the draconian who had fired it.

"That was my friend you just shot at..."

His face was grim. "You need not worry about them. I am the one you should fear."

Lawbringer blazed in his hand.

"Die, you scales rat!"

And then he charged.

The paladin shoved the baaz defenders aside and closed on the leader. His holy blade came down in arc that split scale and bone, opening the officer's chest. As the draconian fell, its scales blackened and shriveled, turning to dust that flaked away from rapidly disintegrating flesh. A bare, smoking skeleton clattered to the floor. All of the baaz, including Tarakis and Kassir scrambled back from the fallen warrior. Arthur saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and raised his shield as the bones detonated. Shrapnel pinged off of his shield as the paladin raised it to protect his eyes from the blast.

Kassir leapt in from the left, barreling into the flank of one of the enemy draconians. The enemy baaz managed to push away, avoiding the deserter's blade and jaws but came with reach of Bren. Two swift slashes brought it down. The slain draconian turned to stone as it fell, trapping the ex-Sergeant's blade, yanking it from his hand.

Davaa was there a moment later. Bloodletter came down in a mighty strike, splitting the skull of one more defender.

Grumak came at the next with his massive wrench - Arthur was going to have to ask Phineas where he had been carrying that before the ogre had joined the group - and smashed another baaz into the ground, leaving only the one flanked by Tarakis and Varkesh standing.

The high-pitched whine of the Gat-inizer filled the air as four darts of glowing energy smashed into the final baaz, rocking him back on his heels before an arrow fired by Altan ended the fight.

The first floor had been captured.

PREVIOUS  | NEXT