Eren 23-28, 653 DR: War has come to Taldàna as the Saránði Army crosses the southern border. Tressta arranges a meeting with Sered. Dammon and Zildara meet with Osøgkrū. Battle at the Colossus. Sered is turned over at the Temple. Tressta receives the Boon of Amra. The fate of Tomach the Traitor.

Continued from Children of Osøgkrū.

Sūdìdor, 23 Eren 653

In the late morning, Tressta found Jak and Zildara and told them about the unhappy meeting with her father. She explained that Sered was not to be trusted and suggested that perhaps news of their allegiances should be heard by the High Priestess Elésea. As they talked a panel shifted in the wall. Tressta pointed to the section of wall, and Jak kicked open a hidden passage leading outside to an alleyway. Taládans liked little more than the taste of secrets and gossip. There could be no privacy here. The group gathered their things and left the inn for the Temple.

Together the three returned to Kyrm Or’Amra. While they waited for admittance into the Temple Grounds they noticed that the attendants were uneasy; something was agitating them. Soon there was the clicking of horse’s hooves and the group saw a company of light armored horsemen approaching the Temple. The decorated soldiers gathered in the plaza and conferred briefly with the Temple staff. They sought an audience with the priests of the Temple. It did not take long for a priestess to come forward and hear their news. Jak, Tressta, and Zildara listened as the leader explained the struggle in the South. It seemed that the Taládan Army of Alúrin had abandoned Kry Norand and were regrouping outside the City of Shalvàsal. The Army was not expected to be able to hold the unwalled City for longer, but were hoping for reinforcements from Westwall or the City of Taldàna herself. The priestess grimly listened to all this news and explained that she would relate their requests to the High Lady. The soldiers nodded and turned their horses away, understanding that they could not be admitted into the Temple.

After a time, a young attendant came to the group and escorted them to an interior courtyard overflowing with trees and flowers. Here they waited until Ērēus and Zêla came to meet them. Ērēus listened gravely to Tressta’s recounting of yesterday’s meeting, but he was distracted by the news of the Saránði forces and the fall of Kry Norand. In this time when his Temple and country needed him most, he had been stripped of his abilities and entrusted with a quest that take him far from his homeland. As Tressta finished her tale, the Heartguard stated that Tomach should pay for his crimes. Jak, Tressta, and Zildara left the Temple to discuss the matter further. Ērēus agreed to try and get an audience with the High Priestess.

That evening Tressta asked her mother if she could arrange a meeting with Sered. She said she would try. Later that evening a doorman handed her a note that the High Priestess would meet with them. Tressta gathered her things and returned to the Temple. A the Temple she found the outer plaza filled with soldiers, horses, and tents. Citizens stood on the edges of the plaza staring with disbelief at the assembled company. War was coming to Taldàna.

Talídor, 24 Eren 653

That morning the group met for breakfast in a high garden with toppled marble arches, trailing vines, and a magnificent view of the Tor’n Gorgyn. Jak found Dammon sitting alone and so pulled up a chair and asked him what he’d been doing. Dammon explained that he’d spent the day with Osøgkrū because she’d had something to show him. After breakfast the group reconvened at one of the chambers to discuss their options. Jak and Dammon both expressed interest in capturing Sered and bringing him before the High Priestess. It was decided that Jak would shadow Tressta, with Dammon following in animal form. Ērēus, Zêla, and Zildara would hang back until they were needed. Following the meeting, Jak, Tressta, and Ērēus took some horses from the Temple stables and rode out to the peninsula. At the peninsula’s end they dismounted and walked along the paved walkways and gardens that surround the feet of the Colossus. After getting a feel for the area, they returned to the Temple in the late afternoon.

Dammon and Zildara returned to Osøgkrū, where the magician was given a rolled piece of blank magical parchment. They spoke with the Bor for some time about what was happening in and around the City. Finally, Osøgkrū asked them if they’d heard of the Eylfāe prisoner. They had not. Osøgkrū then retold the story of how the City has an Eylfāe prisoner of war that has been imprisoned for centuries, since the time of the Occupation. There are some that claim that his cell exists deep beneath the Great Colossus of Taldàna where the green lightning strikes. Osøgkrū explained that there are many such stories, but suggested that the High Priestess might know the truth.

That evening the group prepared to meet Sered. Dammon transformed himself into a bird before leaving the Temple. Ērēus left separately with Zêla and Zildara. Jak and Tressta walked toward the peninsula, looking nervously over their shoulders at every shadow. Returning to the feet of the Colossus they saw a hooded figure sitting on the wide stairs. Behind him in the first garden were two more figures, trying hard to be inconspicuous. As the group approached, the seated man stood and spread his hands in welcome. His accent was the same as those they’d met in Ēgùlðar’s Rest, Saránðic. At this time a weight scrambled up Jak’s back and whispered from his shoulder that there were three more men behind the statue’s feet armed with weapons like they’d seen in Erhet. Jak whispered for the familiar to warn Ērēus and Zêla, and it was gone. Zildara was the next to feel the presence on her back. Stifling a scream, she listened to the monster’s words “Be quiet and still. Jak wanted you to know something, but you’ve problems of your own.” Once the familiar leapt away, Zildara looked around from her hiding place to find a man standing behind Ērēus with a weapon aimed at his head, another stood nearby looking for her. By this time, Tressta and Sered were talking about what could be done to save her father. Each her offers were countered with the words “I need something in return”. When Jak moved forward to interject the Saránðyn snapped “Stop, or your friends die.” At this point Jak and Tressta looked behind them to see the positioned gunmen. The two figures on the garden also stepped from the deep shadows, similarly armed. “This does not have to be ugly,” warned Sered. “You only need to prove that you’re the good daughter that we always knew you to be.”

At this, Tressta gave a look to Jak who lowered his spear and charged Sered. Sered stepped forward drawing two swords from his cloak to meet the Oðyn’s charge. Elsewhere, the man nearest Zildara screamed out in pain and collapsed to one knee as the invisible familiar darted away. As Zildara stabbed at the man he dropped his gun and drew a knife before falling to the ground in convulsions. Zildara examined the fallen gunman before her, and watched in horror as the man’s face was ripped apart and a black ichor was inexplicably drawn from his head. The front courtyard of the Colossus then exploded with a rain of icy shards that ripped indiscriminately into the gunmen, Sered, Jak, and Ērēus. Ērēus turned toward his attacker and both drew swords. The Heartguard proved to be more than a match for the gunmen however and soon more blood was spilled at the feet of Amra. From somewhere in the night above, arcane bolts cut deeply into Sered’s cloak. Tressta and Jak continued to engage Sered as Dammon offered support from above. Sered retreated back toward the stairs, cursing in Saránðic. Around him his followers were dropped, one after another. As Tressta dispatched one of Sered’s henchmen another dropped his weapon and surrendered. Gasping for breath, Sered fell upon the statue stairs, his swords ringing on the stone. He tried to speak but only blood came to his lips as he looked about himself in disbelief. Jak moved forward, kicking the man’s swords aside. He bound Sered’s wounds as Ērēus roamed the grounds looking for others. Dammon descended from the night sky, making his first physical appearance of the evening. The magician explained that there was another hiding near the statue. Tressta activated her cloak and faded into the shadows to find the last Saránðyn. Tressta found the last henchmen, but by the time she could retrieve Jak and Dammon, he was nowhere to be found. Once they were confident that the survivor would not be found, they bound their prisoners and returned to the Temple.

Padídor, 25 Eren 653

It was late at night as they strode through the City streets. As they grew near the Temple a contingent of guards intercepted them and demanded to know who they were and why the two men were injured and bound. After a brief explanation the guards insisted they be taken to the barracks. Jak argued with them a bit until Zêla stepped forward to explained the situation. Reluctantly, the guards agreed to help and summoned more support from the barracks to help escort Sered and his follower. The group marched forward until they reached the Temple where the military encampment had been established. The soldiers were quick to awaken, stepping from their tents to watch the highly irregular scene of City guardsmen and foreigners escorting two prisoners to the Temple. At the gate they were met by a priest who listened to the evening’s tale before sending servants running into the dark halls.

After a time there were shouts of attention among the troops as they quickly formed into reviewing lines. Inside the gate a young acolyte hurriedly moved from sconce to sconce, lighting the long hallway. Another rushed between the wall niches filling the corridor with wafts of incense. Somewhere a door opened and an entourage of priests stepped into view, followed by the High Priestess Elésea. They walked with some urgency to the the plaza gate, which was fully opened before them. the High Priestess knelt first before Sered. As she touched the Saránðyr’s shoulder, all nearby could feel the air become charged with magic. Sered’s breathing grew more gentle and his wounds closed. Standing, the High Priestess turned to Tressta and thanked her for capturing the man who had brought so much trouble to the Land of the Goddess. Asked how they wished to be compensated for this act, Tressta asked that her father be shown lenience. The High Priestess smiled and took Tressta by the shoulder. Together they turned and entered the Temple as soldiers moved forward to secure the prisoners. As they left, one of the priests who had walked with Elésea turned to the soldiers and explained, “These are enemies of the State. This is a matter of Law, not of the Lady. Deal with them as your Law requires.”

Inside Kyrm Or’Amra, the High Priestess led Tressta through a dizzying array of sculpted corridors and courtyards before settling near a fountain beneath the open night sky. Above, she could see all the stars of the firmament moving slowly across the sky. Elésea lifted a copper ewer from the stones and drew water from the fountain for Tressta to drink. She did. “I give you a boon,” she said. “You have lived with hatred for far too long and your spirit is exhausted from it. This boon is a gift of love, but you may use it only once. Listen to the Goddess and use this gift wisely, for it is a rare and powerful gift. Thank you for your service, and may your travels bring you home. Now leave.” Tressta thanked Elésea, stood, and left the courtyard. Some hours later she found her way back to the plaza and her friends.

Bærídor, 26 Eren 653

The next morning, the group was assembled in a Temple garden. Beyond a gate stood a contingent of guards, unable to enter the Temple grounds. Standing inside the gate between two attendants stood an older man who looked about himself bewildered. This was Tomach, Tressta’s father newly released from the barracks prison. The group gathered around to meet him and hear what he had learned. He had spoken at length with the soldiers sent to release them and they had dispatched riders throughout the countryside to round up traitors. The priests that stood nearby talked animatedly amongst themselves at the news of War and treachery in the land beyond their walls.

Tressta asked that her mother and sister be brought to the Temple as well.

Virídor, 27 Eren 653

Waiting for ship.

Palídor, 28 Eren 653

Waiting for ship.

Continued in Fires of Shalvàsal.

Characters

• Dammon Shroudson
• Jak of Cænden
• Tressta Drynsval
• Zildara of Zalan
• High Priestess Elésea the Ninth of Amra
• Ērēus of Amra
• Familiar
• Gwendin Drynsval
• Osøgkrū of Zalan
• Sered Dassur
• Tomach Drynsval
• Zêla ma Ler

Played: 20 May 2003