DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Dawn of Revolution
The Belle
The day before the coalition war began...
"You're new here, aren't you, madam?" the carriage driver asked politely as the single-horse carriage trundled down a wide cobblestone street in Nasrond's business district.
Lorelai offered an innocent smile. "Dear me, how could you tell, good sir?"
The carriage grinned and looked over his shoulder. "You keep lookin' around, madam. Elvish architecture is an unforgettable, even breathtaking sight when you first lay eyes upon it. The whole capital is like this. Enjoy."
"Oh, I think I shall, sir," Lorelai said, keeping up the facade. She had just arrived in the Illaran Kingdom's capital with a self-disguise spell firmly in place, reshaping her features into that of a typical water genasi lady from her native Kingdom of Verhamaine. Revolutionary leaders like her didn't dare travel with their real faces on.
"Okay! So, where to first, madam?" the carriage driver asked as the carriage arrived at a busy intersection. Countless pedestrians, mainly wood elves and half-elves, crossed this way and that, intermingled with horse-drawn carriages and carts, plus a few lumbering beasts of burden with supplies loaded on theri saddles.
"I'd fancy a visit to Math'yari's Accounting Firm, if you please," Lorelai told him warmly. "I have a good friend there I'd like to visit. He moved here two seasons ago and I miss him so dearly."
"As you wish, madam. Just a moment..."
Lorelai wondered how many cover stories she'd have to make up to justify her visits to so many unrelated locations all over Nasrond. It was faster and more convenient to take a quick-moving carriage like this one, but she didn't dare make the driver suspicious. General Danoraj Silbrass of the Illaran royal army was this close to launching the glorious revolution to overthrow king Esmir Fontani V, and Lorelai had to act quickly but discreetly. Even for a woman with her quick wits and calculating mind, this was like walking on a razor's edge. While on fire. And with hungry owlbears waiting to eat her if she fell.
Lorelai beamed when the carriage driver pulled up at a typical accounting firm, and she hopped out to meet her friend - that is, her fellow revolutionary, hiding in plain sight. The halfling revolutionary agent was in Danoraj's pocket, and Lorelai needed to double-check his intel on the general's behalf. Only by proving herself useful could Lorelai get an audience with the general himself this evening in the continent's most restless city.
The meeting went as planned, and Lorelai felt her confidence tick up another notch as she politely departed the accounting firm and climbed back into the waiting carriage. Next, she cheerily gave instructions to visit an opera house in the entertainment district, whose stage manager, a human lady, was a revolutionary spy. After that, Lorelai was carted to the financial district, going right past Nasrond's Orzhov Syndicate branch location and toward a bank whose gentlemanly deputy manager was in general Silbrass's pocket.
"Just one more destination, my good sir," Lorelai cooed as she climbed back into the rented carriage yet again. The sun was sinking lower, already half-blocked by Nasrond's tallest building and trees. "You can drop me off at the edge of the market district to the northwest. I hope to stretch my legs and explore the city on my own before finding a tavern for the night."
"Good call. It's nice and quiet over there," the carriage driver said, flicking the reins to get his horse moving yet again. "Whew, we've seen half the city today!"
"We certainly have, sugar."
The moment Lorelai's feet hit the ground at the market district's northwest corner, she melted right into the thin crowd, swiftly but covertly making her way toward the warehouses at Nasrond's most northwestern point. The sparse crowds soon faded away, and Lorelai was soon alone, walking briskly past one- and two-story warehouses with gas lamps hanging at their corners and over the doors. A few armored security guards roamed the place. Not that that was a problem.
"Hey, you! What are you doin' here, punk? Huh?" a burly earth genasi guard barked. He stalked over to an illusionary punk who taunted him from a stone's throw away.
Lorelai made a quiet "hmph" and let her minor illusion spell do its work as she slipped past the guard's patrol route and into warehouse D-3. This was no ordinary warehouse; it was the appointed meeting place for...
... half the revolution, it seemed. What a fine soiree this was!
"The white dove flies toward the dawn on divine wings, its mind free of darkness," Lorelai said as she undid her disguise spell and strode into the crowded warehouse. The two guards nodded and saluted her, and Lorelai gave them a quick smile before joining the real party.
"Ah, here she is. Lorelai. Good evening, my lady," general Danoraj Silbrass greeted her. The wood elf general was in his crisp Illaran royal army uniform, with dark blue and red fabric with silver trim and brass buttons. He was not, however, wearing his trademark black bicorn hat. "I trust your journey to my homeland was a pleasant one?"
"I had a marvelous time making the journey here, general Silbrass," Lorelai greeted him in return with a polite bow. "With plenty of time to think."
"Most excellent," general Silbrass said, and Lorelai was sure he got her meaning. "Tonight's meeting promises to be a productive one. Especially if your intel is ready, madam Lorelai. Soon, we shall strike, and my kingdom shall be forever changed."
"Damn straight!" someone in the chattering crowd cried when they heard that.
Lorelai politely chuckled and handed over a few papers she had hidden in her travel bag. "I believe these should be in order, general. I visited half of Nasrond to get them ready for you."
"Well done." General Silbrass accepted the papers, quickly scanned their contents, then nodded and handed them to an aide. "Feel free to meet my top lieutenants before I deliver my speech, madam Lorelai. You would do well to know their names."
"I shall, good sir," Lorelai said. She was just about to speak again when general Silbrass turned and strode into the crowd. Curses, Lorelai could never make any serious progress with him! Her own revolution was this close to making its first move to overthrow Verhamaine's own tyrannical king, but without general Silbrass' direct support, it would be slow going. And there was still the matter of the Cult of Bones and its insidious lich leader Bog'Shaic who, according to reports, was about to launch some great plan of his own.
Still, best not to press the issue too hard. Surely, Lorelai would find her chance to win over the general and unite their revolutions to end the cruel world order of monarchies once and for all.
Until then...
"Rathmay Insgar, chief financial minister of the royal crown. A pleasure," a middle-aged man said warmly when Lorelai greeted him. Like general Silbrass, he was a sharp-eyed wood elf, except with fancy gold and green robes rather than a posh military uniform. He vigorously shook Lorelai's hand. "King Fontani trusts me to keep running the numbers and line the pockets of his aristocrat friends. Ha! I simply cannot wait to see the look on his face when I bring it all crashing down. The people of this kingdom deserve better. I shall help general Silbrass give it to them."
"Such marvelous sentiments, good sir," Lorelai said with another polite (and calculated) chuckle. "Bless your heart."
"Are all Verhamaine ladies so delightful, madam?" Rathmay said politely. "I confess, sometimes the upper crust of my kingdom can be so... dry, shall I say?"
Lorelai beamed. "In my kingdom, I am what's known as a southern belle. In Verhamaine's southernmost region, near the border with Mehir Balad, girls are raised to be sweet and sociable, but with a mind like a razor. Many say we are like strong whiskey in a flower-pattern teacup. And they are quite right."
Rathmay threw back his head and laughed. "I love it! Fantastic! You are truly unforgettable, madam Lorelai. We are fortunate to have you here with us tonight."
"The pleasure's mine, good sir. Now, I'll be off..." Lorelai roved through the crowded warehouse, making sure to also meet Rathmay's vice-minister and aide, a slightly nervous-looking human man named Dirrond Lemai, who had a chinstrap beard and a distinct widow's peak. She also met a few royal courtesans and guards who had joined the revolution, all of them vowing to take down king Esmir Fontani V's twisted reign from within.
And then, it was time. General Danoraj Silbrass was ready to speak.
"Friends, countrymen, I bid you to listen as I rouse your souls for our righteous, historic cause," Danoraj Silbrass declared once he stood atop a wooden crate, his arms stretched out wide. "For centuries, the old world order persisted, sinking into corrupt complacency, with the powers that be living off the labor of the downtrodden masses, sowing the seeds of their own doom..."
Lorelai stood near the crowd's back, hands clasped behind her back, her half-elf ears taking in every word. As she hoped, the general was a fiery orator with powerful but delicately-chosen words, inviting everyone to join him in the Illaran Kingdom's new destiny to free the people from the tyranny of the monarchies and apathetic aristocrat class. The general also made it more intimate and personal with heart-wrenching accounts of the "downtrodden masses" slowly but surely losing everything to the all-powerful ruling class, reminding them that everyone who suffered was a mother, a father, a child, a neighbor. Lorelai took mental notes to make sure she, too, could rouse the people of the Kingdom Verhamaine and inspire them into action with her words.
She truly stood on the precipice of history, right here in this warehouse. So exciting!
General Silbrass bowed humbly as the crowd broke out into wild applause once the speech was concluded, and the general cleared his throat. "There remains much work to be done, even now, after we have come so far," he declared. "My lieutenants and I have finished drawing up our plans, and tonight, we shall outline them -"
BOOM!
Lorelai jolted, and the entire crowd hollered in alarm, when the warehouse's front doors blasted inward with a sheet of flame. Through the smoking door frame strode a burly half-elf woman with long, braided red hair and shiny silver armor with black mesh underneath. She wasn't alone - two dozen city guards stood with her, ready for her next order.
"Well done, Dirrond Lemai," the guard captain said smugly. "So the rebel rats really were meeting in a warehouse, right here in the capital! The nerve of you all." She scanned the room, armored fists clenched at her sides. "Get out of the way, Dirrond. As per the deal, you won't come to harm. But if you foolishly get in the way, you may suffer an accident." Foul, green acidic magic sizzled on her fists.
The warehouse was suddenly filled with angry, confused, and panicked shouts. A handful of revolutionaries rushed forth to meet the city guards, armed with basic weapons and spells, but could they take on armored professionals?
"Dirrond! What is the meaning of this?" Rathmay Ingmar, the royal financial minister, demanded. He pointed right at the guard captain. "You brought them here?!"
"You will address me with respect!" the half-elf captain barked. "I am Rila Bosman, the esteemed captain of Nasrond's city security force! Every last rebel traitor in this warehouse, save for my helpful friend Dirrond, is under arrest. And general Silbrass! You, too? A man of your standing, stooping to conspiring with sewer rats..." She shook her head.
General Danoraj Silbrass responded exactly the way Lorelai hoped he would. Still standing on the wooden crate, the general pointed dramatically at Rila Bosman's squad and thundered, "ATTACK!"
With a shout, the armed revolutionaries charged forth, spells and weapons at the ready, and Rila's team met them halfway. Lorelai leaped right into the fray, unable to help a wide, excited smile. Why not take this chance to prove what a sorcerer southern belle can do in a real fight?
"Hey! Rila! You want the general, you'll have to go through me, darlin'," Lorelai taunted her, striding forth with her fingers curled into flaming claws. "How about a proper duel?"
"How dare you address me in such a familiar tone!" Rila Bosman snarled. She adopted a combat stance, her acidic magic doubling in intensity. "I'll see you melted down to your bones!"
"Sugar, you're perfectly free to try!"
Both women threw out a hand, their powerful magic clashing fiercely in the middle, acid vs flame, and the combined magic exploded like a cluster of fireworks between them. Again they cast their hardest-hitting spells, only to strike even. Hmmmmmm, Rila was a tough one! Goodness, what was Lorelai to do?
"Yaaaah!" Rila Bosman switched up her tactics and ran to the side, throwing out smaller, faster missiles of acid magic. Lorelai leaped to the side just in time, watching as the acid arrows punched right into the sturdy wooden floor, boring smoking holes right into the ground. Then Lorelai yelped as an acid arrow exploded close to her feet, and she felt herself thrown to the side, sprawling on the wooden floor as the battle raged on.
Rila charged up and fired another heavy-duty acid spell, and Lorelai was too slow to muster a defense. Just in time, a revolutionary agent sprang into action, throwing up a glowing blue-green shield spell to resist Rila's finishing attack. The man's shield spell held for a few seconds, then cracked and shattered. To Lorelai's grim dismay, the acid spell broke through and washed over the shrieking man, burning his flesh down to the bones, the acrid stink of dissolved flesh filling the air.
Lorelai rolled out of the way just as Rila fired yet another acid arrow, but there was no dodging the next one. But on her honor, she didn't dare ask anyone to help her. Instead...
That's it!
Lorelai charged up her quickest spell and thrust out her hand. Three near-invisible darts of blunt magic streaked through the air, whooshing past Rila and bouncing right off a guard's round steel shield behind her. Right as Rila was preparing another spell, the magic darts bounced off the guard's shield, punching right into Rila's back from behind.
"You...!" Rila's face was red with fury as she stumbled forward, her interrupted acid spell fizzling out on her hands.
"Sorry, hon. All's fair in love and war." Lorelai sprang to her feet, tossed her hair, then put both hands together and unleashed her strongest flame spell of all. A blistering cone of fire roared through the air like a dragon's maw, swallowing up Rila Bosman before she could even think of countering it. Rila wailed and shrieked in agony, burned alive in her armor, and when the smoke and flames cleared, only charred scraps of her remained.
Lorelai, panting, rested her hands on her knees, her magic running dangerously low. She had given that last attack her all. Would it be enough...?
It was.
Danoraj's troops, inspired by Rila's gruesome defeat, redoubled their efforts. With a defiant cry, they blocked off the warehouse's open doorway and surrounded, then crushed, the remaining guards to the last man. It was over. The revolution was safe. But...
"You four. Secure the doorway," general Silbrass ordered, striding over and pointing at four of his men. "You three, tend to the wounded. And you..." He rounded on Dirrond Lemai, who cowered in a corner.
"I had to! They... they got to me!" Dirrond wailed as his furious revolutionary allies closed in on him. "Captain Bosman is holding my family hostage. My wife and daughters... I couldn't let them die. And Captain Bosman knew it!" He fell to his knees, his eyes wide with terror. "Forgive me!"
"I saw we kill him!" a revolutionary demanded, and his friends shouted in agreement.
"Take off his head!" a fire genasi woman snarled. "Let me at him!"
"Spare him," general Silbrass declared, motioning with a hand.
"What!" the fire genasi cried. "But general! We just lost people because of that bastard!"
"I cannot easily overlook what you have done, Dirrond," general Silbrass said darkly. "But I also understand. You did what you had to so your family could live." He raised his voice and addressed the crowd at large. "Remember: we fight for our families, our neighbors, the common people who make up this kingdom! Surely, you can sympathize with our traitor. He has done us wrong, but he can be forgiven someday. We shall not rob his family of the husband and father they need."
"Th-thank you, general! I owe you everything!" Dirrond was positively groveling and sobbing.
"But even so..." General Silbrass nodded to Rathmay. "He is your aide, Mr. Ingmar. I leave him to you."
"Yes, general." Rathmay Ingmar and two of his allies soon had Dirrond the traitor in cuffs, and escorted him out of the warehouse.
"He shall be kept confined for now, and watch our revolution unfold from afar," general Silbrass declared, though some people were still muttering angrily, unsatisfied with the general's mercy. "I pray that someday, Dirrond will be a free man once again in our post-monarchy nation. Long live the revolution!" He thrust up a fist, and despite their annoyance, the people raised their fists and said the same, Lorelai among them.
It took some time to sort out this mess, physically and otherwise, but Lorelai didn't dare leave until she got what she wanted. She confronted general Silbrass, hands on her hips.
"I must commend you for your fine handling of this mess, good sir," Lorelai told him. "I am most impressed." That's right, butter him up first...
"Yes." General Silbrass wiped his brow. "This will accelerate our plans, and fate has forced my hand. I intended to properly launch this revolution in one week's time, but now it shall commence tomorrow at first light. If we do not act at once, we are finished. And I am terribly sorry you had to witness such a scene, madam Lorelai."
"It's no trouble," Lorelai assured him. "I have seen worse in my homeland."
"And I have never seen someone fight so tenaciously in a magic duel," general Silbrass said with a quick smile. "Such ferocity! I must thank you, madam Lorelai, for personally fighting for the cause. It is not an easy thing to face a warrior of Rila Bosman's caliber."
Then he leaned in closer, lowering his voice, his sharp green wood elf eyes locked onto Lorelai's. "I underestimated you and your resolve, madam Lorelai, and for that, I must offer my sincere apology."
"That's mighty gracious of you, general," Lorelai said warmly. "And it was my pleasure."
"Clearly." General Silbrass took a breath. "Tonight, madam Lorelai, I pledge to lend your own revolution my full support. Together, we shall topple two monarchies and light the way toward a brighter future for the entire continent, one free of monarchs."
Lorelai fought to hide her wide, satisfied smile. "I am honored to accept your help, general. May the gods bless you and your people tomorrow morning, and may the Fontani family fall." And the Rhoda family with it too, ideally. The Rhoda dynasty was even nastier than the Fontani one.
It wasn't easy, but Lorelai snuck her way back through Nasrond later that night, weaving her way through the nighttime crowds and countless guard patrols to make her way to a cozy tavern, her water genasi disguise firmly in place. She didn't dare rest until she was securely in her rented room, the door barricaded just in case, an alarm spell humming in place.
"Whew. Goodness me..." Lorelai changed into more comfortable clothes, took a seat at the small room's modest desk, and got out her writing supplies. Such a drastic change in plans! If General Silbrass was going to launch his revolution at first light tomorrow, Lorelai's allies in Coventry needed to know! Lorelai hunched forward and wrote several letters, outlining the situation and giving different orders to her top-ranked officials. She also made a note to rent the fastest, most reliable courier hawks in Nasrond to get this letter back to Coventry first thing in the morning.
Lorelai's final letter was addressed to those charming quintuplets, the daughters of Farraday the oafish merchant. Those brave girls had crossed the Kingdom of Verhamaine, making top speed from the capital to Coventry on the nation's other side, and they've been hard at work supporting the revolution there ever since. Bless those girls.
Lorelai's orders to the quintuplets included a mission to Warwick, Verhamaine's southernmost city, to drum up more support for the imminent civil war, with the end goal to capture Sassanoit itself. Then, one day, those dear quintuplets would return home to a free city, where neither the royal family nor their father Farraday could control them ever again. Minerva, Maggie, Mozzie, Miranda, Murbella... together, they could change the world. For themselves, and for everyone who called Verhamaine home.
Satisfied, Lorelai rolled up her last few letters and sealed them with wax, then stuffed them into her bag and got ready for bed. Goodness knew she and general Danoraj Silbrass had a big day ahead of them tomorrow!