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The Greater Apotheosis of Ainz Ooal Gown
Book : Skelkor War
Chapter 4: The Horror of Arangyn
Beta:
At the same time as Drau, Yorha and Kuro were attacking Daerr, Gauldoth was leading his army of undead to attack the city of Arangyn, Skelkor's only major trade port, to cut off the empire's access to the sea.
Riding his Soul Seater mount in the middle of the formations of his minions, Gaul looked over his troops and couldn't help the annoyance that bubbled to the surface.
Why is it that I get stuck with the weakest of our armies.
Made up mostly of Skeletons of various types and Zombie Squires, his forces might be formidable by the standards of Toril but it paled in comparison to the well trained ex-slaves of their other forces equipped as they were with formidable Felmidian equipment. Not when his troops were equipped mostly with inferior swords and shields.
The disparity had been so stark that Drau had seen fit to supplement his legions with armored and artillery units. Admittedly the various tanks, AA combat vehicles, howitzers and other vehicles were a necessary addition but it still rankled. It showed the faults in the undead legions he'd built. The only consolation was that the units attached to him were staffed not by living ex-slaves but the Felmidian undead commanded by Momons.
Gaul didn't know if he could live down having to rely on the living to augment his forces. Though that these pure Felmidians were rightfully considered elites and the idea that he needed them just highlighted the weakness of his own troops even more.
Despite his frustrations however Gaul was not about to waver. Drau had given him a mission and he would accomplish it. While he had not always seen eye to eye with his leader, he did respect her and was thus unwilling to disappoint her.
"Lord Gauldoth," the Momon that had been assigned as his adjutant said suddenly from her place atop her own Soul Eater mount to his right, pulling him from his thoughts.
"What is it?" Gaul asked of the undead creature with the seeming of a beautiful woman with her brown hair styled into a bob-shaped cut that covered her forehead and was secured with a white hairband. She was dressed in the light armor and robes of a priest and had facial features that gave the impression that she was constantly plotting some scheme or the other. Something which for the elite undead commanders of Felmid he wouldn't gainsay as untrue.
"Our scouts have just reported in." Kelart Custodio informed him dutifully. "According to their reports, we should reach Arangyn by tomorrow."
"That is good news." Gaul told her. "Are Lord Mirelurk's forces in position?"
"Give me a moment, my lord. Let me check." The Momon said before casting a quick Message spell. She spoke quietly so Gaul couldn't hear what she said clearly, not that he cared to.
Cutting the telepathic connection that her spell created, Kelart returned her attention to him. "Lord Mirelurk reports that his forces shall be in position by tonight and will await your signal thereafter."
Gaul nodded with a grin hidden by the visor of his helm. He was so looking forward to the surprise he'd prepared for the upcoming battle.
"My Lord, might I ask a question?" Kelart asked after a moment.
"Speak."
"Do you think the slaves in Arangyn will raise up in support of us if we show them that we can kill their Dragonic overlords?
"It's unlikely." Gaul replied. "Our undead nature will offset any goodwill we gain by being liberators. That's why I did not factor that into account for our strategy to take the city like I know the other armies have."
Kelart nodded. "I was wondering about that."
"It will not matter." Gaul reassured her. "We will succeed even without that advantage."
"I'm sure we will, my Lord."
Gaul ignored her sycophantic reply. He knew well that the Felmidians idolized him and his party as the Chosen of Ainz Ooal Gown. He did not fully know why, though after his experience with Lady Shalltear he had his suspicions. Whatever those reasons might be however it did not change the fact that dealing with the awestruck Felmidians who saw him as somehow divine in some way was frustrating. Thankfully, most could keep their cool and professionalism, and Kelart was one of them for the large part though even she had her moments.
"Are our mages keeping the spells up like I requested?" Gaul asked, hoping to ward off any gushing on Kelart's part.
"Yes, my Lord." She assured him. "We're rotating them to ensure the coverage is maintained at all times."
"Good." Gaul said with a pleased grin. "It wouldn't do to ruin Arangyn's surprise."
Arangyn was a large sprawling city, as befit the only major port of an empire as rich and powerful as Skelkor. It sat on the delta of the river whose waters that flowed down from Crescent Lake and a number of smaller glacier fed tributaries and was thus surrounded by a fertile floodplain. One that its inhabitants had exploited to build a series of farms that stretched out for miles outside the port city's formidable looking walls. Though that wasn't the only things spilling out of its walls as whole districts of the city had likewise been built outside their protection, though as Kelart surveyed the city from the eyes of one of her specter scouts it seemed that work was underway to expand the walls to enclose these new districts.
"Are they expecting us?" Lord Gauldoth asked impatiently from where he rode just ahead of Kelart.
"No, my lord." Kelart informed him. "It seems that they are wholly unaware of our arrival. Though their guard is up. Presumably as a result of news of our invasion in general."
It seemed Lord Gauldoth's plan to use anti-divination and obscurification spells to hide the presence of their advance had paid off.
"How is their guard up? More patrols?"
"Yes, my lord. There are also a handful of Dragons lairing in temporary or half-complete forts on the outskirts of the city as well."
"Pickets? No, the Dragons would be too proud for that. They're probably there to command the actual pickets."
"It is as you say, my lord. They are at least half a mile away from the enemy's furthermost sentries. Often more."
"Have the artillery units sight the Dragons. Not just the ones outside. All of them or as many of them as possible. Prioritize the older ones." Lord Gauldoth ordered. "Do not give them a chance to join the fight."
"Yes, my lord." Kelart said dutifully as she used Message to relay the order to the appropriate subordinate to disseminate down the chain of command.
"Done?" Lord Gauldoth asked with his usual impatience a moment later.
"Yes, my lord."
"Good. Then once the artillery have their weapons trained on their targets we can begin the show."
"As you say, my Lord." Kelart said with an enthusiastic grin. She couldn't wait for the fireworks to begin. It would be a glorious sight to behold.
Jotran was a Halfling and like all non-Dragons native to Skelkor he was a slave. He however did not mind his lot in life over much. The Dragons for all that they were tyrants and cared nothing for the lives of the slaves, still needed things done that they couldn't or didn't want to do themselves. Exploiting this fact, Jotran like so many others had found a way to be useful to his overlords and through that secure for himself some measure of a good life. In his case this meant joining the Skelkor military, using his skills as a Rogue to earn himself the right to a decent standard of living for him and his family in the port city of Arangyn.
It wasn't much by the standards of free Halflings elsewhere in the world if what the traders that came through the port since the Blue Breath of Change swept over them claimed were true but it was enough for him and he was happy with that. Which was why he was employing all his skills as a rogue to scour his city for any signs of infiltrators.
In recent days reports of an army with strange weapons and magic that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and declared that they were there to liberate the slaves of Skelkor had reached the city. Jotran was sure whoever these upstarts were they'd be crushed like all other rebellions before them, no matter what gimmicks they had at their disposal. The Dragon overlords didn't seem to agree though. They were taking the threat seriously and had put the city on high alert even though there was no sign of the enemy being anywhere near them. Last Jotran had heard, the fools were marching towards their doom at Dearr.
Jotran was pulled from his thoughts suddenly though as his Blindsense detected something ahead of him in the dark back alley in which he was patrolling. Pulling out a pair of daggers, lightly enchanted and strictly on loan from the Dragon governor of the city, he sneaked up on the mostly transparent and faintly luminous form of a Specter. Considering that the Dragons would never permit undead into the city, there was no doubt this was an infiltrator. Though considering the stupid thing was just standing in darkness of the alley peeping out at the street beyond, it wasn't doing a very good job of it.
Time to earn my keep. Jotran thought as he prepared to strike.
Before he could however the ground shook and the sound of titanic explosions washed over the city.
What the-
Jotran couldn't finish the thought as the moment the explosions struck, the Specter had turned towards him and shot through him like a wispy arrow of darkness. The moment it made contact the Halfling Rogue knew he was dead as a surge of cold had spread almost instantly to suffuse his entire body. He was no fool. He knew that was the necrotic power of the Specter.
Collapsing forward, Jotran could only watch in growing horror as a portal of darkness opened where the Specter had been hovering when he'd found it.
A Gate portal, Jotran's dimming mind supplied. So that's why it was just standing there. It was the marker for the spell.
This realization was the last proper thought the Halfling slave ever had as the last of his life drained from him. As his eyes lost its living luster for the last time however it glimpsed one last scene that would send his soul screaming to the afterlife in horror, for it saw hordes of undead pouring out of the Gate portal and into his city radiating their contempt for the living.
Meroful Homma was a Human from Beregost and owner-captain of a private trading ship, the Adventure, that operated out of Waterdeep. As a child she'd always wanted to be an adventurer and explore the unknown like so many legendary heroes before her had done. But sadly her family business needed her and she'd put away her childhood dreams to learn the trade of a merchant. Her only concession to her old ambitions was her decision, against her family's wishes, to take her Adventure out to explore the new continent of Laerakond for trading opportunities.
However, as she beheld the sight before her she found herself cursing her foolish wanderlust.
Just moments ago, the port city of Arangyn was normal. Well, as normal as a city in a slaving Dragon empire could be anyway. Which was surprisingly so, since to Meroful at least it was not much different from most of the other ports she'd visited. Even the slave trading wasn't exactly novel. Unsavory yes, but not new.
Then as Meroful was loading the Adventure with a fresh load of trade goods that she'd managed to buy from the local markets, suddenly the world went insane. First, projectiles flew in from over the horizon and slammed into the city. It was a sight that had her thinking some kind of vengeful god had come to pass its judgement on the city's overlords, especially since she knew the city's layout well enough to spot how the continuing rain of projectiles and the explosions they caused were centered on the lairs of the Dragons who ruled the city. Dragons whose howls of agony were only just drowned out by the thunderous barrage killing them.
As if that wasn't bad enough, moments after the rain of death began falling on the city the waters of the city's harbor began churning violently. Meroful panicked and ordered all hands to abandon ship. With the turbulent waters there was no chance of escaping into open water and loathe as she was to do so she had to give up on the Adventure. The lives of her crew was more important.
It was in hindsight the right call.
Her men were just scrambling off the ship when the source of the sudden tumultuous seas revealed itself as no less than a Zombie Kraken that breached the surface of the city's harbor and with a casual swing of one of it's rotting tentacles smashed the Adventure to bits taking at least half her men who were still aboard at the time with it.
Meroful would have cried, but she was a little too busy running for her life to muster up the ability to do so.
"Morninglord preserve us," one of her crew prayed and Meroful found herself offering a similar wordless plea to Lord Lathander.
Sadly, he did not answer as Meroful and her surviving crew found themselves face to face with a squad of waterlogged looking Zombies who were hauling a massively swollen corpse onto land.
"To arms!" Meroful shouted, drawing her own cutlass. If she was going to die today, she would die fighting.
The brave men that they were, her crew drew what weapons they had on hand or if they were unarmed picked up whatever they could around them.
The majority of the Zombies ignored her and her men's defiance however and having pulled one distended corpse ashore simply proceeded to do the same to another. The first grossly inflated corpse however sprang to unlife, revealing itself as a Zombie in its own right. One that promptly turned its attention to Meroful and her men and began running at them in an ungainly but undeniably swift sprint.
"For Beregost!" Meroful shouted as she charged the disgusting creature, her men following behind her.
It was the last mistake they ever made. As the moment they got close, but well before their weapons could have reached it, the Bloated Corpse suddenly exploded in a poisonous shower of razor sharp bone fragments, decomposing internal organs and diseased fluids. In an instant the last remains of the Adventure's crew were wiped out.
Watching from the safety of the nearby heights overlooking Arangyn, Gaul watched in satisfaction as his plan came together. Thanks to scouting ahead with Specters and using them to help sight their artillery, he'd managed to annihilate most of the city's Dragonic population in the opening salvos. Salvos that then covered his undead minions as they used Gate spells to directly emerge in the heart of the city thanks to the Specters and the use of Undeath Slave Sight to target the aforementioned portals. That alone would have sowed immense amounts of chaos and confusion, but Gauldoth was not done. No, he had one final trick to use against the terrified city in the form of the Zombie Kraken and various aquatic Zombie variants he'd loaned from Lord Mirelurk who had emerged from the harbor in an impressive display.
"It seems we have won." Kelart told him as she stood next to him observing the total disorder that was sweeping through the city below.
"Do not count your chickens before they hatch, as they say on Felmid." Gaul told her in a slight reprimand. "Do we have confirmation that the city's governor is dead?"
Said governor was an Ancient Black Dragon named Isrendra and was probably the biggest hurdle to taking the city. If she survived, she stood a decent, if low, chance of single handedly fighting off their whole army.
Kelart was silent for a moment as she confirmed the answer.
"Yes, my lord." The Momon priest said after a minute. "One of my Specters has visual confirmation of her corpse."
"Good. And the surviving Dragons?"
Kelart gestured to the city below, specifically the northern quarter where an Adult Yellow Dragon whose body was littered in wounds of all kinds was flying low and attempting to use the city's buildings as some kind of cover. It was a futile effort as a precise volley from a battery of Jericho missile artillery fell on its position and killed it.
"Systematically being exterminated, my Lord." The Momon said with sadistic glee.
"Very well. Then let us head into the city." Gaul said as he kicked his mount lightly in the side and it began trotting down the road to Arangyn.
"Yes, my Lord." Kelart said promptly as she followed after him.
She began shouting commands to their escorts to form up and soon Gaul was surrounded by hundreds of black armored knights riding red-eyed unicorns. These were Death Cavaliers and were undead created by Lord Ainz himself and loaned to Gaul to serve as his personal guard for the campaign in Skelkor. Around this core formed dozens of armored vehicles that ran the full gamut from mighty Scorpions to simple Hippos that formed a wall of solid steel around Gaul as they advanced towards the city.
It was a slow procession, Gaul was in no hurry, and by the time they reached the city center the whole metropolis was secured. His minions had even managed to finish herding the city's surviving population into the massive amphitheater that dominated the heart of the city. Originally used by its Dragonic overlords when they met to discuss matters, now it was filled to overflowing with Arangyn's huddled, fearful masses. Many of whom were trying, and mostly failing, to give wide berths to the corpses of their masters that Gaul had ordered brought to the venue as well.
"Ah." The necromancer said in satisfaction as he trotted into the gargantuan building and most of his escorts peeled off to secure the surrounding area. "It is good to have such capable subordinates."
He could practically feel Kelart beaming behind him at the compliment but he did not turn to face her. Instead he continued walking his horse to the center of the amphitheater's stage, directly in front of the battered remains of Isrendra and where said Ancient Black Dragon had once held court. Not bothering to dismount, Gauldoth turned to face the crowds of her former slaves.
"Greetings people of Arangyn." Gaul said with none of Neia's charisma and his voice carrying only due to the excellent acoustics of the venue. "I am your liberator Gauldoth Half-dead."
He didn't expect a cheer but the dead silence at his introduction annoyed him nonetheless. As such it was with a hint of displeasure that he continued, which in turn engendered even more fear in the crowd.
"You are now free of the Dragons. Some might think me here to subjugate you for myself, but you would be wrong. I serve the undead primordial, Ainz Ooal Gown, and he has declared that Skelkor be liberated and thus here I am. One of the instruments of his will."
Many within the crowd of the living paled at the mere thought of an undead primordial, the ignorant fools that they were being wholly unaware of the immense power and majesty of the Supreme One.
"Whether you believe my words or not, I care not." Gaul said with a shrug. "I serve my Master's will and that is all. But before I leave your fair city in the care of my lieutenants and continue in the liberation of your homeland, there is one thing I want you to see."
With that Gauldoth looked to Kelart who had taken a respectful position just off stage and received a nod back to show that everything was ready. Doing his own quick survey to ensure she was indeed correct, he was pleased to see that dozens of his fellows necromancers were scattered throughout the amphitheater as he requested.
"Create Low Tier Undead!" Gauldoth cast, soon echoed by the other necromancers under his command.
At their invocation, necrotic energies flooded the amphitheater before streaming into the carcasses of the various Dragons that once ruled this city who now as one slowly staggered to their undead feet. For they had been raised, one and all, as Zombie Dragons.
Most dramatically was the reanimated corpse of Isrendra herself who now loomed behind Gauldoth.
The whole display was met by stunned silence and a spike in the already pungent aroma of fear that had wrapped around the crowds like a cloak all this time.
They should be scared. This is but a small taste of our might.
"Look upon your former masters and see the might of your liberators."
The people of Arangyn did and beheld despair.
Done!
Hope you liked this shorter chapter.
Gauldoth is really not a people person. Here he was supposed to be liberating Arangyn and while he defeated the Dragons ruling the place, he also terrified the populace in the process. Which considering his character is just par for the course.
Well, that's it for this chapter. Till next time perpisahan!
