Chapter Eighteen: Saviour
Outside Athkatla, 9 Hammer, 1370 DR
Athkatla was burning.
Or at least significant parts of it were.
The City of Coin lay next to the coast, and the wide river that cut messily through the centre of the city transported the trade of neighbouring towns and villages to the trading centre of the Sword Coast.
Now, instead of goods and gold flowing along the waters, blood and black ash could be seen, mucking its way to the sea, where the pollution started to spread into the sea, with its crashing tides.
Nalia looked at the goblins and occasional orc who surrounded the city, and was surprised to see only about seven thousand, which, while a lot, was not enough to cause this much terror in Athkatla. With a standing garrison of four thousand men, along with the guards of merchants and important houses, the City of Coin should have found it easy to fight off this threat.
Screams cut through the day, and Nalia turned, seeing a massive roaring explosion. Algerias whispered in fear, "The Bridge District has been destroyed… by the gods, what sorcery was that?"
Keldorn took a step forward. "The evil from the sewers is rising… all the exiled mages scared of your order are taking their revenge on the City… quite successfully, I think. With the Bridge District destroyed, there is no other way to get to the southern districts of Athkatla. The City is in effect, split into two…"
The wizard cursed. "My brethren should have stopped this…"
Nalia murmured, "Unless they are too busy protecting the Council… but that is not the major cause for speculation. I want to know where the rest of the garrison is…"
Algerias sighed, "Gone. Lord Aberga took about two thousand legionaries and most of the
merchant's guards south to deal with the threat of the ogre-magi and their
Empire…"
Keldorn laughed bitterly, "The one time
when the Council acts, and Athkatla is attacked. What cursed luck."
Nalia narrowed her eyes. "Unless it is not down to luck. Someone wishes to keep the Council indecisive, and this attack at the heart of their power accomplishes that. Well, they obviously did not reckon on Nalia de'Arnise. I will be damned before I let this city fall to goblins!"
She said to Algerias. "Transport us to the Council Building. It is time I did something about this mess."
* * *
Government District, 9 Hammer, 1370 DR
Nalia flashed into the Government District. Her yellow robes of the archmage glimmered, and on her shoulder could be seen a dark blue swan. On her finger, the signet ring of de'Arnise could be seen, gleaming with its power. Two rings rested on her other hand- a ring of acuity and a ring of wizardry.
Around her waist was a weak-looking silver chain, studded with three sapphires. They pulsated very faintly, almost as if they were too weak to do anything else. But Nalia knew differently. They, along with her rings allowed her to hold more spells in her memory than she could without them. An amulet around her neck provided resistance to magic, and also made her immune to the bane of mages- a silence spell.
Other small charms, bracelets and enchanted items could be seen, all serving a useful purpose, all making the wizard of the de'Arnise keep a potent force to be reckoned with. It had been too long since Nalia had worn all her items from her adventuring days, and now, their comforting weight and brimming power made her feel confident and self-assured.
And the circlet on her head made her feel even more so. The Circlet of Netheril, shivering with immense power, rested on her brow. An artefact from the times when mages were equals to gods, this circlet had sparked terror in many enemies, who had fallen within moments to her spells.
And along with the circlet, she now held her staff, whose power matched that of the circlet. The staff warmed to her grip- as it should do. She had made it, so there was a personal bond between the item and her blood. Much like the signet ring. If anyone tried to use the ring, they would find it impossible. If anyone tried to use her staff, they would find it impossible- unless they had de'Arnise blood within their veins, which she doubted anyone but her did.
Marching through the marbled streets of the Government District, Nalia was struck at how quiet it was. A few legionaries stood in doorways, obviously protecting the ruling elite of Athkatla, but apart from them, few soldiers could be seen.
But then, if they could be seen, then Athkatla had already fallen, for the Government District would be that last place to see battle, the last place to fall to the besieging forces- and the forces that attacked from within. So as she walked, Nalia offered thanks to all the good gods that Athkatla remained standing.
She, Keldorn, Anomen and Algerias approached the Council Building, and immediately five legionaries, supported by five Cowled Wizards moved in front of them. One of the wizards stated calmly, "You cannot go within. The Council commands anyone offering aid to go straight to the walls, where they are needed, rather than wasting time in this building."
Nalia moved her hand, and cast a simple time stop spell. Striding past the men blocking her way into the Council building, she pushed the door open, and walked into a room filled with chaos.
Aides were rushing about frantically, carrying maps and orders to and fro. Nalia ignored them, and advanced instead towards the distance, where she could see five men and one woman wearing golden masks. The Council of Six.
Nalia continued to walk, and as one the six council members turned. The man in the centre, a massive, burly man boomed, "Why have you come here, Lady de'Arnise? You are needed on the walls, not here with us!"
Keldorn growled, "We have come to see why the Cowled Wizards have not done anything about the Bridge District being destroyed! They have power enough to stop the exile mages who return now, but instead they protect you here!"
The female council member shouted, "They act
how they wish to act, and how we command them, de'Arnise! Do not question our
authority! For Athkatla to survive, it requires leadership."
Nalia reddened. "For Athkatla to
survive, it requires magic and sword to drive the enemy from the walls and back
into the sewers. Why is it that the Cowled Wizards hold back, when the
legionaries under Lord Orhotek are fighting for their lives?"
Another Council member, a tall man, murmured dispassionately. "The Cowled Wizards will aid the legionaries when we deem fit. The element of surprise cannot be lost, de'Arnise."
Anomen shouted, "By Helm! Are you all cowards! The element of surprise is in the hands of the enemy! The city is falling, and you are here with your maps and scrolls! March out into the city with the wizards, and fight for the City! You are a member of the Council only because the people wish it! Fight for them, and prove you are worthy!"
One of the Council members advanced slowly. "Lord Delryn, I will ignore that lapse of reason for the moment. If it occurs again, I will have you arrested!"
Anomen narrowed his eyes. "You mean you could try. I have fought more evil than you would see in your lifetime! I have defeated hundreds, possibly thousands of enemies with my hammer, and you have the audacity to threaten me? By Helm, I could kill you all now, and all the warriors within this hall within minutes."
Nalia placed a placating hand on Anomen's shoulder. "Peace, my lord. Let us leave, for now. It appears that we will have to aid the City without the aid of the wizards, or the Council."
The woman laughed. "A retired paladin, a love-sick knight and a foolish whore against all the evils that besiege us? Why, a story worthy of a ballad, de'Arnise! Tell me, how are you going to defeat seven thousand goblins, let alone the scum coming from the sewers?"
Nalia smiled. "With strength of will and strength of arm."
* * *
The Walls of Athkatla, 9 Hammer, 1370 DR
Algerias had remained behind in the Council Building with the rest of the Cowled Wizards, glaring at them scornfully and naming them fools for insulting the Council members and then threatening them.
Nalia chanted a spell, moving her, Anomen and
Keldorn to the walls. They stood staring at the mass of green beneath them for
a few minutes, before Anomen said, "I will go to the Temple District. The
remaining knights of the Order will be laying their defences there."
Keldorn nodded. "I will come with you
also, Anomen. Nalia, it might be best if you teleport to the south, to offer
your aid to the garrison there. We will protect this side of the City with ours
lives."
Nalia sighed, "Be careful, my friends."
With those words she incanted another
teleport spell and re-appeared on a similar wall, miles to the south. She saw a
youthful legionary gape at her, and bow his head. "Y- y- y- you are Lady Nalia,
aren't you?"
She said, "Yes, I am. Stand firm, soldier. I am here to help you win."
Other legionaries, about three hundred in all, shouted loudly, "De'Arnise has come! De'Arnise stands with us! Victory shall be ours!"
A volley of arrows sped towards the Athkatlan walls- thousands of flitting bees, whose touch would spell death. Nalia made a simple gestured, and a wall of pure fire leapt in front of the arrows, turning them all into harmless ash.
Cries of rage could be heard from the goblin lines, and, as one, they started to charge, a massive tide of green sea churning towards them. Nalia turned to the youth, and said, "There are only three hundred on this wall?"
He nodded, and Nalia issued a prayer to Tymora, praying for the luck that would surely be needed to fight off these goblins. They were three hundred against about a thousand…
"Tell the men to get to the towers. I will cover the walls, is that clear? Make it understood that any man on the walls will probably be killed within seconds… quickly, boy, we have little time available to us!"
The goblins continued to rush forward.
The order was passed along, and slowly, Nalia saw the legionaries obeying. You could say what you liked about the Council, but when they did muster troops, they made sure they were well-trained.
Within a few minutes, the walls were empty, and the towers were packed with legionaries, who took advantage of the height to begin shooting arrows into the mass of goblins. Screams rose to clash around her ears, and Nalia had to force herself to ignore them before she could begin casting her spells.
One spell and she was standing high above the city on a disc of pure blue energy. Another spell and six orbs struck the main wall. There was a massive rumbling, and the sky above darkened purple, and lines of ice started to fall just as the goblins gained the wall.
Goblin after goblin was caught in the ice storm, until there we none left on the walls. But there were still hundreds left below it. Gesturing, Nalia sent fireball after fireball plunging into the masses of goblins, and slowly lowered herself down until she was hovering just above the solid mass of burning flame caused by her fireballs.
Another gesture and a spell, and rain started to fall, until the flames sputtered and died. When the flames had cleared, all the guards could see that no goblins remained alive… Nalia smiled. Praise the gods for stupid goblins.
* * *
By the time sunset came, Nalia had travelled to all the walls of Athkatla, using ice storms, meteor strikes, lightning bolts, and death spells, almost anything she could think of to defeat the goblins. Her plan had been to remove the threat of goblins, so that the legionaries could begin to cleanse the city of the invaders from the sewers.
Breathing heavily, and leaning on her staff, Nalia used her last teleport spell to move her into the Temple District, where she had been told Keldorn and Anomen were fighting. Well, where they had been fighting.
The fighting had faded now, as the goblins had all been killed, and the evils had returned to the sewers, driven off by the Cowled Wizards, who had roused themselves when it appeared they could finally win.
Nalia walked through the Temple District slowly, seeing a multitude of different creatures lying dead along the marble bridges of the district, their blood flowing into the peaceful water of the district.
A strange peace had descended over everything, and slowly, the city-dwellers were returning to the streets, beginning to slow task of repairing the damage. Nalia sighed, knowing that tonight women would realise husbands had died, and that children would never be able to see parents…
She saw Anomen in the distance, and walked over to him. He was crying, but not just slightly, but sobbing loudly, his face looking completely defeated. From the shadows, Keldorn walked, and he too was sobbing. Nalia paled, knowing something was terribly wrong.
She asked, "Anomen?"
The knight stared at her, his eyes bleak… "The Order… The Order… is dead…"