Chapter 5. The Ashen Orcs & Into Qorth Azell
The Questers met on the bridge connecting Hern and Carmalek with Rakab and Aemaeon bringing fifty Hernish warriors with Sergeant Elgus in charge. Ten Hernish soldiers were sent back to Silverstream with the Carmalekian prisoner, the Ashen Orc prisoners and the rescued women of Silverstream, including Tareen’s mother. Tareen swore vengeance on the Ashen Orcs as they had murdered his father and took his mother captive. The Questers marched to the Ashen Orc encampment, following the trail that Yaeldrin had found.
They launched a three-pronged assault on the encampment, which consisted of Ashen Orcs, Ogres, Worgs and the Chief Golgar with his black goblin forged spear.
This assault had distraction tactics used first, with an unseen servant dangling meat for the wolves, then the Hernish warriors split up into two groups of twenty and attacked from the east and west of the camp. Tareen became a werebear and rampaged through the camp to find his mother. The Questers with Aemaeon used Meridius’ fog cloud as cover, and charged through the centre of the camp whilst the main forces were engaged and struck at the central tent.
There waited Golgar, his ogre bodyguard and four ferocious worgs. They did bloody combat and were victorious, with Yaeldrin taking the killing blow on Golgar. Pascal then took Golgar’s black goblin spear.
The women of Silverstream were saved, Tareen’s mother was completely horrorstruck at her child becoming a beast. Rakab and the Questers decided it best to split up the Carmalekian Electrum amongst the soldiers and their families as they sustained heavy losses against the orcs. But not before Lohar had picked the lock of the chest and snuck all the gems into his coat.
They journeyed back to Silverstream and partied at the tavern. The morning after they contemplated their next move. It was decided that Sergeant Elgus and his remaining company would plead for action from the Hernish Baron, Terz Amion of Urthane, using evidence of the contract between Hierarch Jyrmal of Tuskhall and the Ashen Orcs and the prisoners they had captured. The Questers left Pereya and Tareen’s mother, Naysus, at Urthane under the protection of Elgus.
Pereya said a tearful goodbye to Aemaeon, forcing a promise from the Questers to keep him safe. Naysus did not say a tearful goodbye to Tareen, mortified at his form.
Tareen told the Questers that his father had said a witch of Hern told him that his son would be sought by the Questers from the Cave of Light. The Questers decided that he was a Child of the First Moon, as he is a lycanthrope. They decided that Aemaeon is a Child of the Third Moon, being a half-fey spirit. They deduced that the final blue sphere that the Cave of Light was guiding them towards would be the Child of the Second Moon…
The Questers equipped their new companions Tareen and Aemaeon, who had become fast friends on the road due to parenting quibbles and similar situations, caught up in this strange quest with these strange adventurers from the Cave of Light. They bought them armour and explorer’s packs and weapons.
The Questers used Rakab’s knowledge of the land to discuss a route through Qorth-Azell. Rakab conveyed three options…
The Black Goblin Kingdom of Ulzamar is where the Dark Orcs creep from, with black iron weapons and steal away humans in the night. They have not been seen in force for hundreds of years, only in small numbers. They dwell in the deep tunnels, waiting for their Demon King to be born from the Black Sun. Their King of yore was called Balthazek, he wore a crown of pure onyx, a warrior-warlock of nightmare who craved death with his powers flowing from the deep places.
The Dark Dwarf Kingdom of Keled-Azell is where the Duergar live in hate. They crafted weapons for the men in the Genus Wars, and even took part in two major battles, defeating the Valley Elves of Qorth-Azell at Penzar (the foothills near Dvergwode) and the Gnome and Wood Elf alliance at Dvergwode Lake. Their warlord is King Zelteesh, over 300 years old. He fought as a young Prince in the Genus Wars with a magic flail of blue fire, slaying the Valley Elf King Imralar. Their kingdom has gone quiet, with the duergar you saw at Elzere being the first spotted for a hundred years. The kingdom of Keled-Azell is said to be rich, with black pits of gleaming gold and purple rock. The Duergar doors are even more hidden than the dwarf doors, alighting in purple under moonlight in the secret places.
The Seven Bridge-Towers of Qorth Azell are former Mountain Giant Strongholds of their old empire. The Mountain Dwarves and and the Dark Dwarves fought against them in the times before men. These enormous grey towers mould into the rock and connect valleys of great heights, providing passage through Qorth-Azell. The Mountain Giants were hunted down hundreds of years ago, now nothing more than the monuments they left behind. The dwarves built the bridges to connect the Seven Towers. The towers are said to be long abandoned, but few take the passages, fearing the wroth of an ancient empire.
The Questers were undecided and Rakab decided to light a Candle of Destiny. The Candle was a candle of Present and it showed him three things.
It showed him the Seven Towers of Qorth-Azell. It showed him deep in one of these towers was a grey stone gate which had three slots where three talismans would fit - a red sun (already slotted in), a red moon and a red star. Finally it showed him a great battle in one of the tall towers, engulfed by swirling ice, mist and snow. The battle was between the Questers and some great pale beast of the mountains, it was difficult to discern.
The Questers trampled through the Hernish wilderness, seeing very few settlements, only fishermen by frozen ponds, trappers of wolves and campfires of warmly clad outlanders. It began to snow lightly as they reached the great mountains of Qorth-Azell that blocked out the pale sun and pierced the clouds.
They immediately hiked into the mountains and found the first tower as directed to them by the Hernish outlanders. Rakab shot down some dark purple crows, believing them spies of the Dark Dwarves.
The first tower they found was the Gate-Tower. A great arch read “Here is Keled-Dhörem, The Last Kingdom of the Mountain Giants.” The tower itself was grey stone, formed into a crag that stood alone with gaping chasms either side.
The Questers went in formation, Yaledrin at the back with Aemaeon and Tareen. The gates were opened and they were breathed upon by a winter wolf. A battle took place between the Questers, and the five ogres with their cave bear and winter wolf pets. The Questers were victorious, with no casualties. They looted the ogres and rested the night in the cold winds. Tareen and Aemaeon proved themselves as capable warriors in this battle, just as they had done at the orc camp.
Yaeldrin slept four hours then went on watch at the top of the tower, looking out across the mountain range. He saw with his elf eyes, the second tower, a Beacon Tower with great birds circling it and a spiral icy staircase leading up the side. Tareen joined the star elf, and they conversed. Yaeldrin expressed that he didn’t know what destiny had for Tareen, nor what awaited them at the next tower, only that it would be dangerous. Tareen asked of Yaeldrin if knew what his role was, Yaeldrin said he didn’t know, but they would find out together.
The Questers awoke and trekked through the mountains to reach the second tower and cross its dwarfish bridge that glowed with silver runes. They were assaulted upon the bridge by Peryton, large birds with royal blue wings and the heads of stags, with sharp antlers and magical glow about them.
The birds attacked, sweeping down fiercely, and the Questers were hard-pressed. Meridius drew up a fog cloud which obscured the vision of the birds. But they were stuck on the bridge.
Rakab the Wizard had a mad plan, he misty stepped up to the Peryton, inflicted wounds with his deathly touch, then grappled the Peryton’s antlers, until he was struck off it by the others…he cast feather fall and fell back into the fog cloud on the bridge.
Yaeldrin ran out of the cloud and fired arrows at the Peryton. They did not damage them as they should, for his aim was true but the effect was not. He quickly retreated back to the fog.
The Bard Pascal cast a cloud of daggers into the fog, when the Peryton swooped down into it, they were cut. But the Peryton still struck the Questers, and they were unable to move from the bridge.
Meridius made a break for the tower, unaware of the rotting wood at his feet where there was a gate. A grey slime dropped onto him, melted his helmet and shoulder mail. It burnt through him quickly, but he cast thunderwave and the slime was shot into the air. He ran quickly back into his own fog cloud, the battle still raging.
Rakab continued his craziness, flying through the fog cloud up to the Peryton and withering them to death, then falling as a feather back to the bridge, crunching the great birds into it. Pascal cast a dancing lights into the cloud to entice the Peryton into his cloud of daggers. Lohar ran out of the fog cloud with his Dark Dwarfish Dagger of Venom, beckoning the remaining Peryton to face him, those that were not felled by the Wizard’s spells and the Ranger’s and Roman’s arrows.
Pascal cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on a Peryton and it fell into the chasm, Rakab felled his last Peryton. Only one remained. It raged at the Lohar, who struck with a final slice of his poisoned dagger, cutting the great bird down into the snow.
They quickly destroyed the grey slime, Lohar removing his shirts and metal. They found the slimed skeletons and slimed equipment within the tower. They also found much frozen wood and pots of oil for the beacon above. There was only object that was not rotted, a grey stone-like staff in the centre of the room.
They heard a screech echo around the valley from the top of the beacon tower. They took a brief rest and raced up the stairs to face the mother Peryton. They found her feasting on frozen hearts, bloated and pregnant with a magic necklace on, sat upon a huge nest that was swimming with treasure. They killed her and cast her body down into the chasm, removing her necklace first, with the hearts and the felled Peryton on the bridge.
They gathered the treasure and Rakab identified it all. The Staff of the Mountains, a Pearl of Power, a Necklace of Wound Closure, a Potion of Cure Paralysation and many coins.
They stared out across the mountains, the snow falling lightly…they saw the third tower in the distance…
So ends the fifth chapter of The First Book of Azarak…