The Eyrie
The party, now in Winterfell, decides to take care of this new red Ioun stone they’d just acquired. Opening the portal just like any other time, they all step into the cool, still air of the cavern.
Once they all pass through, the portal blinks once. This behavior is uncharacteristic of this very stable portal, and they’d probably have questioned it had they the time. Suddenly, a force begins pushing them back towards the portal, and immediately after, four unknown strangers appear before them: one directly in front of each member of the Assembly. Each of these strangers seems to be pushing much harder than their size conveys should be possible.
All but Aran succumb to the shove, stumbling backwards through the portal.
Just before Aran retaliates, the man in front of him says, “you might want to hold on just a moment.” In a surprising twist, Aran complies and delays his attack for a moment. Or maybe it wasn’t compliance… perhaps it was just to give himself time to figure out which of these four strangers he is going to kill first.
Before he makes his decision, an authoritative voice calls out from beyond the portal: “Lay down your arms if you know what’s good for you.”
Just before it closes with his friends on the other side, Aran sees through the portal, revealing the inside of a cavernous great hall with a dais. Loads of soldiers are around the area.
Aran prepares to take on all four men at one.
AGGRESSOR: Your friends are surrounded right now and are surrendering. That portal is going to open back up in another minute, and if we don’t come through that portal unharmed, they will kill your friends and then come after you. We are here to take you for questioning, that is all.
Aran arrogantly lowers his weapon, confidently conveying hostility with an act of non-aggression. As he does, another six guards step out from behind intact pillars.
Farron, Qarzdaq, and Qhortho stumble backwards into a cold great hall. As they scan the area, ready to fight, they realize they are outnumbered. A dozen soldiers stand in full plate surrounding them, swords already drawn. Another two dozen stand across the dais, bows drawn. This is on top of the crowd of nobles in the room. They stand around as if they are here to witness a great event.
In front of the dais is a short-walled but very wide well of some sort. It’s easily thirty feet across.
On the dais are two very large Weirwood thrones, one set back slightly and a relatively smaller. A middle-aged man sits in the larger throne.
Just before the portal closes, one of the guards nearby says, “lay down your arms if you know what’s good for you.”
The man in the throne stands and approaches the edge of the dais.
LORD: You have been brought here to stand trial. For crimes against House Waxley. The evidence is clear as you carry the Vayrian Greatsword of House Waxley, indicated by the flame orange gem in the pommel. Do you have any words before you are sentenced?
Qhortho realizes this so-called sentencing is going to be carried out upon him.
QHOR: This sword? I found it on some dead guy in the south of the Reach. I didn’t steal this from House Wessley.
LORD: Waxley.
QHOR: Whatever.
The guard that had told them to surrender steps towards Qhortho.
GUARD: You are speaking to Lord Reysin of House Arryn in his home of the Eyrie! Show some damn respect!
Ah… that wide structure in the middle of the room is no well. This is the infamous moon door they’d heard of.
Six more guards come out through the crowd and draw blades but keep them down at their sides.
QHOR: Don’t you approach me like that. Explain yourself!
One of the more common-looking folk comes up behind him and deftly pulls the wrap off the pommel of the sword, exposing the gleaming fire-orange gem. The man steps back and blends into the crowd just as quickly as he’d appeared.
Farron and Qarzdaq have been looking around the room this entire time and even they hadn’t seen where this man had come from. At that moment, they realize there are at least three magic-wielders in the room, but those are just the ones that are fairly obvious. Farron and Qarzdaq look at each other, both realizing that these are the ones they want to be seen, and there is no telling how many of these people are just noble witnesses, and how many are actually here to protect the lord. They also notice a suppressive force on their higher powers; their magic will be of little use here. Hopefully that pertains to the other mages in the room as well. They shift around, figuring they need a diplomatic solution here.
Qhortho is also putting together that there are more fighters in this room than he’d originally thought.
A portal opens up nearby and Aran calmly steps through, followed by the four people that had pushed the Assembly into this situation in addition to six more guards.
Aran looks to Qhortho, communicating with his eyes, “we doing this?” Qhortho shakes his head slightly.
The guards guide Aran to the rest of his party.
REYSIN: Have you any words of substance before you are sentenced?
Qhortho drops the aggression, but refuses to yield.
QHOR: For what crime?
REYSIN: For not returning the heirloom to its owner upon knowing it was from a high House here in the Vale of Arryn.
QHOR: And you know I knew that how?
REYSIN: Travers.
QHOR: Travers… You mean that thief?! A criminal?! You’re going to take the word of a criminal?!
REYSIN: That criminal, who you clearly know, was a crucial informant to the crown. You also killed him.
QHOR: I do not deny this. He attacked us. It was self-defense.
ARAN: We have helped humanity all over.
REYSIN: Well, this isn’t humanity… this is the Eyrie.
ARAN: I just mean that we can be useful. We’ve been useful in every place we’ve ever been.
REYSIN: So you are saying that you want to take Travers’s place.
ARAN: That is not what I am saying.
QHOR: You have an opportunity here. This can go more than a couple of ways.
REYSIN: Yes it can.
QHOR: The best outcome for you is to let us go and we do you a favor.
REYSIN: We will see about that.
Qhortho visibly brushes this off to not lose face, but rethinks his strategy somewhat.
Cave Man Lawyer
QHOR: This is a sham trial. I demand Trial by Combat!
A collective low-key gasp can be heard in the crowd as they add a foot or two of distance from the Assembly.
Farron approaches Qhortho and whispers something in his ear. Qhortho immediately straightens up his posture on account of his inspiring words.
REYSIN: Hmmm… So you stand by the claim you simply found this blade and that our trusted advisor lied to have you convicted?
QHOR: I do.
REYSIN: Very well… I expected you might turn to the most violent of options. Still, there could be veracity to your claim. You may choose a willing champion… unless you plan to fight yourself?
Qhortho steps forward.
QHOR: I will be my own champion.
Lord Reysin motions to the archers to lower their bows. The swordsmen in plate lower their weapons and take a step back, making a passage between them. One person comes walking through, a mountain of a man, easily 7 and a half feet tall. He wears full plate and wields a very large halberd.
The lord grins as if he’s already won.
FIGHTER: Ha! Look! It’s none otha’ than the horse fucka imself! Think ya gonna get by widout ya ‘elpas this time?
It is Brutus Maximus.
QHOR: I look forward to kicking your ass once more! Only this time, you might take a little flight out the moon door there.
The Lord sits in his throne to watch the spectacle.
Qhortho’s artifact begins to glow. Several glances are shared across the crowd and with the Lord.
Qhortho raises his voice to shout.
QHOR: These people came for a show today, did they not?!
The two men circle around each other, maintaining their distance to observe the other.
QHOR: I will not be the first to strike, for I am not guilty of these crimes. I am not the aggressor here. And if you want to attack me, it will again be self-defense.
Brutus rushes forward and attacks. Qhortho dodges the first one, but is struck by his next two. And then his next two.
Qhortho takes this in stride, knowing he is now justified. He goes into a rage and rushes his old foe. Between his sheer strength and the gods truly being on his side, exhibited by the glowing artifact, his attacks deal significant damage.
Qhortho realizes that a portion of Brutus’s plate was dented by one of his impacts, so he decides to do his best to focus on that one specific point. After taking several hard hits himself, but always doing more damage to Brutus, he sees his opportunity to lunge forward at this weak point.
Qhortho positions himself in a way that opens him up for an attack, but he is so focused on his target that he doesn’t even care.
He is struck hard in the arm but is unfazed. He lunges forward, pointy end aimed straight on the tiny indentation in Brutus’s plate armor.
For a moment, all movement pauses. Brutus steps back a half-step. Qhortho’s blade is wrenched from his hands as Brutus falls hard onto the white marble floor, cracking the surface. The Valyrian great sword stands upright out of his fallen enemy’s ribs.
Qhortho steps forward and uses all his strength to pull the sword from the body. He flings the great blade with ease to remove the dark blood.
Qhortho takes a few steps backward, still in a full rage. Maintaining his composure as best as possible.
QHOR: That’s that. I’d say we’re done here.
Lord Reysin stands angrily. The guards all around the room look like they are itching to avenge Brutus.
REYSIN: The gods have spoken. Get the fuck out of here. You are not welcome back.
Qhortho turns his back without a word and walks toward the crowd in front of the door.
QHOR: Make a hole!
The crowd immediately separates to allow their passage.
Qhortho stops at the threshold and turns to face Reysin.
QHOR: I expect you won’t follow us now.
One of the assassins they’d seen on the road to Winterfell is in the crowd and quips back, “well that’s up to you, isn’t it?”
The Assembly dismisses this comment and starts down the path from the Eyrie. Qarzdaq continues to try casting minor illusion as they walk away and, after about ten feet, it succeeds, letting them know they are outside the magic dampening field.
The illusion he creates is that of a flaming middle finger, aimed in the direction of the dais.
Just before Farron teleports them all to Winterfell, they see someone go over the Brutus and lay hands on him. A moment later, he sits up. Another moment later, the Assembly are back in the center of Winterfell.
Shall We Try This Again?
They seek out Karlon Stark where he is still working with his soldiers. Since the Assembly’s arrival in Winterfell, the training has not ceased; they know winter is here, and they know they cannot overprepare. The Assembly catches up with Karlon near the archery range where they see the bowmen continuing to hone some of the skills Rolan had taught them.
QARZ: Hi Karlon, we just wanted to check in. We have to head south to retrieve some gear and take care of a few things near Greywater Watch.
KARLON: Alright. Are you heading to the Wall afterwards?
QARZ: We are. We also wanted to let you know that we were kidnaped and held on trial by the Eyrie.
KARLON: Where were you taken from?
QARZ: Near Fire Lake.
KARLON: Where is Fire Lake?
QARZ: It’s in the Vale of Arryn.
KARLON: I hate to say it, but you knew they were after you.
QARZ: They were pretty resourceful. We were surprised by how they were able to capture us because of where they were waiting.
KARLON: Why?
QARZ: The area should have been impossible for them to reach… and hard to even know about.
KARLON: How did they know where you were?
QARZ: Excellent question, but they have some pretty potent magical abilities and they held us on trial for a variety of things.
ARAN: Yadda, yadda, yadda, they let us go.
FARR: You “yadda, yadda”’d over the best part!
QARZ: Yeah, we were found innocent, all charges were dropped, and we walked right out. I hope you don’t mind we gave them a flaming middle finger.
KARLON: You were in their realm, you took the chances you took, they took the chances they took. I’m glad to see you are ok. Not many would have walked away from that moon door and the sky cells alive.
QARZ: Our Dothraki here is very well versed in uh… in law…
…
QARZ: Ok, so we just wanted to let you know our plans and let you know what happened. We’re going to stay over night and then set out.
KARLON: Please do. Stay as long as you wish. Remember, winter is upon us, and those at the Wall are awaiting your arrival.
QARZ: Understood.
They stay overnight. Once they awake and perform their daily rituals, they open a portal to the Ioun cavern.
Getting a Little Head
Once in the cavern, Aran attunes to the new red stone and finds out it helps his Dexterity. They decide that Qarzdaq would get the greatest benefit of the Ioun Stone of Agility and could trade his Ioun Stone of Regeneration to Aran.
Regardless of who will ultimately wield the stone, they all agree it would be better for Aran to insert the stone into the pillar. When he does, the pillar rumbles and cracks, crumbling to a pile of crystal chunks.
A small floating skull appears before them.
QARZ: Oh. My. God.
Qarzdaq creates a ball of radiant light in his hands and sends a beam towards the skull. The skull looks unaffected.
It begins to swirl up its dusty remains, which envelop Aran and Qhortho. They close their mouths tightly and squint their eyes. As the dust settles, they don’t believe they’ve been affected by whatever that was.
Aran slashes at the skull, it zips out of the way. He slashes a second time and connects squarely to its temple. The strike causes it to zip in a different direction, like a bat hitting a ball. Aran gets a second wind and attacks a few more times but only connects twice. The skull still seems spry.
Everyone feels as if their soul is being tugged from their body, but only Qhortho feels as if part of his being has been stripped.
Farron manifests a crown of stars and one immediately streaks towards the skull. The skull turns at just the right angle for the star to go inside its mouth. Sunlight bursts through its eyes as the head shakes violently in mid-air. The bone cracks open, allowing bright light to shine out in streaks. Suddenly, the skull explodes with a burst of radiant energy and it crumbles to the ground.
Aran, Qarzdaq, and Qhortho turn to look at Farron, who’s still got several balls of light circling his head.
ARAN: Nice job!
Qarzdaq walks over to the rubble and snatches the newly upgraded Ioun Stone. Now he just needs to spend some time with it.
Let’s Get Weird
They gather around the open area of the cavern to try Teleporting to Moat Cailin so they can get a jump start on their trek to Greywater Watch. Qarzdaq closes his eyes and all of them are struck hard by a powerful and painful force but ultimately pop into Moat Cailin, just beside the Outside Inn.
The place looks like the same ruined castle grounds as they’d seen it roughly five months ago.
Their first destination is to pick up some more healing potions. They pass the magic shop and Dorleck’s shop, which are both closed. They continue around the bend to the potion shop, where Qarzdaq is able to negotiate an amazing price for ten bright red vials of healing goodness.
They inquire about more obscure and interesting potions, and the shop owner tells them about a single vial of Potion of Hill Giant Strength. He says he’d sell it for the same price as the bright red potions. Qarzdaq jumps on that deal immediately.
OWNER: How obscure are you looking for?
QARZ: Look. I just spent 220 platinum. We’re looking to get weird.
ARAN: Yeah. Anything from north of the Wall?
OWNER: No, definitely not. But… probably the weirdest thing is the two vials of Necrotic Resistance potions I’d acquired quite some time ago.
QARZ: I’ll get both of those. Hey Farron, you take one of these. A gift from the Lord of Light.
FARR: Thanks!
They head to the clothier next. Qhortho is the first to ask about warm clothing, for their journey north of the Wall. He points Qhortho to a big fur trench coat, made of Dire Wolf pelts. Qhortho is intrigued.
OWNER: And if you buy today, I’ll throw in this Dire Wolf cod piece!
Qhortho buys it on the spot.
Aran asks about something of similar caliber. The owner shows an earlier version of Qhortho’s new coat, which is functionally equivalent but has some minor aesthetic flaws that were corrected in the later one.
Aran is on the fence about it at first, but the owner drops the price by 10%. He says he’s willing to buy it if he can trade his panther cloak to reduce the price further. The owner agrees and the trade is made.
Qarzdaq asks about turning his crocodile hide into some “really nice RED crocodile boots.” The owner’s eyes light up as he doesn’t get many challenging requests very often. The owner tells him it will take some time, but he confidently agrees to take on the work.
Qarzdaq thinks about their past Teleportation mishap, minor as it was this time, and decides he needs something from Moat Cailin to make their return safer. He places his hand on a small piece of the wall that is jutting out. He grips it tightly, tugging at it.
QARZ: Hey do you mind if I take a small piece of your wall here?
OWNER: Uh… does it have to be my wall? Can you take a piece of the ruins?
Qarzdaq releases the wall.
QARZ: Oh yeah. That’s a good point.
They agree on a price and Qarzdaq decides it’s about time they introduce themselves.
QARZ: Oh, by the way, my name is Qarzdaq. What’s your name?
OWNER: It’s Wyllard. Nice to meet you Qarzdaq.
QARZ: Likewise.
They leave the shop and set up camp at the Outside Inn.
To the Greywater!
Once the morning comes, they head south into the swamp. After nine days of travel, they feel like they are in the general area where they found the floating castle last time.
There is some disagreement of which way they should go from this point. Farron has never been here before and cannot provide any guidance, no matter how much he claims to be good with directions. Aran believes they should try to the southeast, but although he is not completely sure, he repeatedly mentions that he is the only one in the group qualified to retain long-known facts. Qarzdaq is not sure which way, but “has a feeling” like continuing south would be best. Qhortho, who has never had the best sense of direction, decides very confidently that the direction is to the west. So much so, that he starts walking and just expects everyone to follow.
QHOR: It’s this way guys. Let’s go.
Even he is not quite sure where this confidence is coming from (other than hubris), but he is tapping into his tracking abilities more than his memory.
As he walks off, the rest of the party decides they might as well follow.
As the sun gets low in the sky ahead of them, they decide to stay overnight on an area of slightly higher ground in the swamp. The next morning, the sun illuminates a structure not more than 300 feet away from them!
QHOR: Ha!
ARAN: Told you it was over here.
QHOR: Pfft.
As they approach, they see the castle looks just as they’d left it.
Seeing it now resurfaces memories that they’d wish could be left in the past. The death of their trusted Children of the Forest guardian and artifact-holder, Faryn. The death of another close Children of the Forest ally, Shaylin. The eventual capture of yet another close Children of the Forest ally, Zinsueli – which later led to his execution. Not to mention the near finality of Qarzdaq. All of these events took place within seconds of one another. It is a grim reminder that this is no adventurous joyride; the stakes are real and people die.
The structure creaks as it sways gently in the water. They look around and see no threats. They climb into the floating structure.
In the center of the lower room is that foul cauldron containing the thick black putrid sludge. They investigate the cauldron more closely and find the floor is depressed from the weight. It seems to be rotting. Qhortho takes it upon himself to tip over the cauldron, spilling its contents to the floor. Qarzdaq and Farron jump out of the way, as the thick sludge spills out. Bones and beaks and all sorts of nasty unidentifiable components spread across the floor.
Where the cauldron once stood is a small silver nail embedded into the wood floor. It certainly seems out of place.
Aran pulls at the nail and sees it is attached to copper wire. He pulls it to a point where it stops. Upon letting go, it falls hard back into place.
ARAN: I think it’s connected to something underneath the floor.
Qhortho grabs a hand axe and chops into the rotted wood. He makes a hole beside the nail and finds a crystalline shard underneath!
The Last Shard?
They immediately remove the quartz icosahedron from the Teletherscope and begin trying to assemble the four shards around the icosahedron.
After a few minutes, they manage to assemble the pieces. A smaller rendition of the shard appears as a hologram floating above it. It appears to be a pointer, but it jumps around randomly for a few moments. Suddenly, the pieces push apart slightly and the quartz icosahedron jumps to the ground.
Qarzdaq picks up the gemstone, which immediately erupt in what can only be described as a Fireball of cold energy! Each of them takes enormous injuries as a result, blackening their skin in places.
It takes them a few minutes to regain their composure.
They decide they need to try again. This time, they realize the numbers on the outside of the quartz are likely to play a role. Three of them were visible when the item was assembled… Now they need to figure out which three numbers are the correct ones.
Not being hindered by the years of encounters and memories with the Assembly, Farron recalls a recent event that required three numbers…
FARR: Hey guys, remember that safe under the Bear Island Keep? There were three numbers used there… they were 19, 09, 06. I think they were connected to that book that was found with the Teletherscope. I think they were the letters S, I, F.
QARZ: It’s as good a lead as any!
Qarzdaq hands the pieces to Aran, who spend a few minutes trying to make those numbers visible in the assembled piece, but is unable to find an orientation that fits.
Qarzdaq looks at the pieces while Aran is assembling the shards but sees nothing of interest.
ARAN: Wait! I think I got it!
As he pushes the pieces together, a smaller rendition of the shard appears as a hologram floating above it, just as it had before. Once again, the pointer jumps around randomly for a few moments.
QARZ: Shit…
This time though, the shards seal up, melting together into a firm solid. The numbers on the quartz fade as it becomes one solid piece. The newly-formed shard begins to glow very brightly, shedding bright light in a 30 foot radius and dim light 30 beyond that.
It immediately jumps out of Aran’s hands and lands 30 feet away. The holographic indicator disappears, but the item continues to glow brightly.
Aran attempts to pick it up, and it jumps 30 feet away from him again.
Qhortho attempts to pick it up, and it jumps 30 feet away from him.
Qarzdaq attempts to pick it up, and it jumps 30 feet away from him.
Qarzdaq tries his Mage Hand and lifts it without any issue, but the indicator does not appear.
He drops it then attempts a spell…
QARZ: Cut and bind, slice thy mind.
Nothing happens.
Farron approaches the item, but this time, the indicator appears floating above the shard. Rather than pointing haphazardly, it is now pointing in a northerly direction.
QHOR: It must prefer virgins.
They all erupt in laughter.
As they are thinking about why this might really be the case, they realize that Farron is the only one who does not carry an artifact!
ARAN: Then I guess that’s it. Farron is our guide to wherever this thing leads us. Don’t die on us.
Qarzdaq pulls out a map and they determine the shard is not pointing due north, but instead someplace along a line that crosses the Bay of Ice roughly midway between Bear Island and the mainland.
They teleport back to Moat Cailin and check in on Qarzdaq’s boots. They appear to be in excellent shape! Qarzdaq is so glad to own these new boots that he wears them right out of the store… muddy ground be damned!
They rent another tent at the Innside Out to rest overnight.
As it gets dark, they realize there is no way to turn the ice shard’s light off; it gleams brightly providing a great way to illuminate their surroundings. The downside is that it could potentially give away their location from long distances. Farron tucks it away in his coat so they can get some sleep.
Back to the Inventorship
The next morning, they teleport to the Inventorship, trying to get as far north as possible to head towards the Wall. The guards on watch fumble a bit when the party appears out of nowhere.
Once they realize it is the Assembly, they offer them entry… after turning over their weapons, of course.
QHOR: Come on. Haven’t we proven our trustworthiness?
GUARD: It’s just our policy. No weapons inside the gates.
QHOR: Well, it’s a good thing you’re not threatening. At all.
GUARD: We strive to be.
QHOR: Well, you’ve succeeded.
While they are here, they decide to check in with Floyd, the man that gave them the motor for their boat. Qarzdaq leads them towards the giant waterwheel and find him without too much trouble. Qarzdaq asks if it would be possible to use some of their “style of magic” to make his cloak provide resistance to cold. Floyd looks puzzled for a moment, but recognizes that his manner of tinkering could look like magic to the uninitiated.
They discuss what amounts to a resistive heating element. Rolf overhears the conversation and walks over to join in. Floyd and Rolf discuss how this might help their crop yield by supplementing some over the winter. They excitedly go back and forth on ideas until Qhortho stops them.
QHOR: Again. Can we just get to the point?
FLOYD: Certainly.
He turns to Qarzdaq.
FLOYD: The problem we’d have to solve is not so much about the possibility as it is about the portability.
ROLF: Yes, exactly. We could use that type of technology here, within our gates, only because we have the waterwheel to continuously generate power.
FLOYD: Right. And the technology for providing that much power to walkaround with…
ROLF: …let alone do efficiently…
FLOYD: …simply does not exist yet. I’m sorry.
QARZ: Well it was worth a shot!
FLOYD: Indeed it was! We are going to start researching this imminently!
The Assembly takes its leave from the Inventorship to head towards the Wall. Their destination: the Shadow Tower.
Winter’s Wrath
They travel ten days to the north through the mountains. On the tenth night, Aran is on watch when he sees a tower beacon light up in the distance. The sounds are soft from this distance, but they are unmistakable. The clanging of swords and shouting. Combat.
Aran yells for everyone to get to their feet. The Shadow Tower seems to be under attack and could probably use their help.
Everyone gears up and they rush to help the Night’s Watch.
It takes what feels like an eternity to arrive, and they don’t even realize they’ve entered the “castle grounds” when they are there. It is unlike any other castle they’ve seen: there are no walls around the grounds and no protection from invaders to the west, east, or south. Of course, the one wall it does have is THE Wall. From their perspective, they cannot even see a top or the sides of this enormous structure.
But there is no time for investigation – this is a full-on crisis!
Undead creatures are swarming multiple groups of the Night’s Watch and the Night’s Watch might actually be losing! They have the very real sense that if any one of the fighting groups go down, the undead may very well be able to clear the way to ravage the Seven Kingdoms.
They all arm themselves with their dragonglass weaponry. Farron manifests his crown of stars. Qarzdaq sprouts his wings.
There are six distinct groups of fighters. Some have veteran fighters wearing good armor and wielding fine blades, but the rest of the soldiers are armed with modest weaponry. The Night’s Watch in each group range from 5-10, but the undead range from 10-20. As if that is not enough, a few of the groups have large undead wolves, some have actual ghostly wights, and the undead group near the center benefits giant undead ogre that is just hammering the Night’s Watch soldiers. Two of the commanders are fighting against the ogre, so they might even have that covered.
The party decides on a plan to split up to aid separate groups as to not have any single group be overrun. Qhortho and Farron head for the left-most; Aran goes towards the right-most; Qarzdaq heads to the group just next to Aran.
—-
Qarzdaq hastes Aran and shoots a fire bolt at one of the wolves in his own group. The wolf manages to easily dodge the attack then takes down one of the wounded soldiers. Aran, wielding his dragonglass glaive, attacks the corporeal wights. He takes down eight of them in a matter of seconds, each of them shattering upon contact with his weapon! He looks across the soldiers who are in awe.
ARAN: That’s how it’s done fellas! Step it up!
The unexpected aid inspires the troops.
—-
Farron hastes Qhortho then launches a ball of light at the only undead wolf in this group, vaporizing it with radiant energy.
Qhortho shatters three corporeal wights into oblivion.
The soldiers take this as a rally and push themselves harder.
—
Qarzdaq flies towards the ogre and takes aim with his finger. A thin green ray streaks from his finger forming a stark contrast in the dark sky. It strikes the ogre, which is immediately reduced to a pile of fine gray dust. The men cheer with inspiration! This cheer seems to also rally the undead, who push harder than before.
Before Aran continues his attack he shouts out a command to the soldiers in his area.
ARAN: Don’t worry about the rest of these guys, I can handle them. Go help out the guys over there!
They follow his command without question.
He follows that up by shattering four more of the corporeal wights, though one of them did get the chance to strike him.
The remaining undead surround him, biting and slamming him. One of the soldiers looks back and hesitates going farther, wanting to help the newcomer. He decides against providing aid when another corporeal wight shatters between him and Aran. He’s got this.
The soldier rushes on to keep up with the Watch.
—-
Farron looks to the horde of undead in the next closest group and sends out a Mass Suggestion that their master is in danger of an approaching flanking army and they need to protect him. Suddenly eleven of them turn around towards the Wall and start running away towards the large open gate.
Farron shouts to the soldiers.
FARR: Don’t worry about them, they are no longer of concern!
Qhortho shatters three of the wights and shouts to the soldiers.
QHOR: Reinforce the next group over, we’ve got this!
—-
The Assembly continues taking down the undead, while more of the Night’s Watch consolidate towards the center to reinforce their dying brothers in arms. And dying, they are. The commanders can be heard shouting commands to balance their forces against the variety of threats, but they were definitely spread thin before the Assembly arrived.
Just Who Is This ‘Lord Commander’ Anyway?!
Upon the last of the threats being killed, and setting fire to the dead, one of the veterans walks up to the Assembly. He introduces himself as Lance, the commander of the Shadow Tower.
LANCE: We might have been alright if you’d not shown up, but we most certainly would have lost even more men. Thank you. It was most un… expected. As it is, we’ve lost 34 men tonight including one that wielded the steel of his House. In the morning, you should travel to the Nightfort to meet with Lord Commander Byron.
QARZ: How far is that?
LANCE: About a hundred and fifty miles east from here.
ARAN: We are going north of the Wall, do we have to go out of our way just to meet this guy?
LANCE: I would suggest going for two reasons. The first is informational. You can gain the latest information he has about the threats we’re facing and he can gain the information you undoubtedly have. The second is to ensure you are not attacked when you return from your ranging. He may even be able to provide you with gear and other resources.
ARAN: Do you know about the dragonglass?
LANCE: This is the first we’ve seen this in action. We know the Valyrian Steel has the same effect, but there is only so much of it. And those that own such prized possessions do not typically take them up here to the Wall.
ARAN: There is a cache of dragonglass weapons on Dragonmont.
LANCE: Hmm… Do you have any extras with you?
QARZ: I’m afraid not.
LANCE: I am going to send a raven to Nightfort now so they are expecting you and to request reinforcements. You will probably cross paths on your way.
QARZ: How’d the undead get through the wall?
LANCE: I’ve no idea. We had some rangers come back before dark, but the gate should have been closed. I will be investigating the matter in the morning.
We end this session on the night of Day 823. Each member gained 2.5 kXP, bringing their totals to 167.5 kXP. Their next immediate step is to meet with the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch at the Nightfort to begin their trek into the Lands of Always Winter.