Chapter Six: Siege of Saragost

The army that was bred in the underground caverns now surges across the upper world. Rank upon rank, legion upon legion of gray warriors, remorseless and rhythmic as a vast machine, are marching across the land. Chain mail and axe blades that have never seen the sun before now gleam in the daylight. Shrunken, deformed faces snarl out at the world, tiny eyes screwed up in disgust at the unusual brightness. As you look at this army of stone-gray soldiers, you know one thing for certain. They will not be taking prisoners, nor will they be offering terms. They intend to take what they have come for. In the rear ranks, you see a strange sight. Burly Duergar are carrying sedan chairs, draped with black and purple silk, decorated with woven silver thorns. These must be the commanders of the army, kept veiled from the last rays of the sun. There can be little doubt of what race occupies these transports. Lumbering along within the ranks of Duergar are several massive figures. They have bodies like those of pale, flabby giants but their heads are bulbous metal spheres, like helmets. From the necks of the helmets extrude pipes that sink into the flesh below, with discolored veins spreading out from the entry point. You have never seen such creatures before and can only guess at what they may be.

The Starborn prepare for battle and move to the walls with the soldiers of Saragost. They have done all they can to prepare the city for the attack . . . weapons and armor have been distributed, boiling oil is at the ready, mages and clerics walk the walls ready to offer their magic in defense of Saragost, ships have set sail with what refugess could be taken . . .

Darkness is gathering fast. Lamps are lit in the city, but all the shops are shuttered up and the taverns are closed. The streets that had been so noisy and full of life are deserted of everyone save the patrolling guards on duty. Outside the walls of Saragost, in the red rays of the setting sun, the enemy has come into view. The gray legions, flanked by the helmeted shambling giants, advance towards the city walls with a slow inevitable march. Head guardsmen shout orders to waiting archers and creaking ballistae are wheeled into place. Quivers full of arrows are brought out of storage and the smell of wood smoke is strong in the air as the fires are lit under cauldrons of oil. In less than ten minutes, the enemy will be within striking distance. It is time to decide where your place in the coming battle will be.

Soldiers mutter prayers to their gods as they stand ready. The Starborn circulate among the guards near the main gate working to keep up morale.

From the gray hordes beyond the walls, a low rumble begins to rise. It is unclear at first what this is. You realise that it is the sound of thousands of gray dwarves making the same guttural, growling sound, like wolves about to kill. The earth vibrates with it. Then, a single clear female voice rings out, which cannot be that of a dwarf: 'People of the City! Know this! We, your future masters, are not without mercy. Cast down your weapons and admit us without bloodshed! What good will it do you to waste the lives of your fighting men in a futile effort? Will you blindly serve these lords of yours, who are sending you to your deaths? Or will you rather accept us and be treated kindly under our rule? 'This army you see before you is but the merest shard, the tiniest splinter of the Chthonic Alliance, a group led by the Terror itself, born according to prophecy. Thousands stand here; tomorrow, they could be tens of thousands! Did you perhaps hope for victory? Hope is a bitter blessing. Certainty is better. We promise, as a race that honours law, to treat you mercifully if you spare yourselves this fight. If you know your history, you know that we never break our promises. 'I say truly, to those who now heed me, that the future for you is a good one. In years to come you will tell your children that you made the right choice, the truly brave choice. For, if you had not, you would have had no children to tell, but only the unending darkness of a fool's grave. Would you rather have the cold earth for a blanket and worms in your eyes, or a warm fire, a mug of ale and your children's laughter in your ears? 'Choose! Lay down your arms and drink with us this evening as kinsmen, or fight and fill the gutters of the city with your hearts' blood! Five minutes you have to decide and that is all!' An uneasy murmur runs the length of the walls. Men glance at one another, not wanting to be the first to speak. The voice has clearly unsettled them.

Rumus, Alev and Neil spread among the guards near the gates and make stirring speechs to rouse the men. Some seemed certain to drop their weapons and flee or surrender. Now they are ready to stand and fight!

The heroes move to the southern side gate of the city and prepare to skirt around the Dueragar to engage the army's supply and command from the rear. As they make their way out the gray horde surges forward led by the massive undead giants.

Arrows, spears, fireballs and lightning bolts flash through the air as the defenders of Saragost lay into the massive army. The undead giants reach the gates and begin to pound on them. It seems certain that they will crush the walls and the gates with their inhuman strength, but a pair of them fall to boling oil and blasts of magic. The Duergar take some losses, but their fury and strength knows no bounds . . . they are here to take the city.

In the meantime the Staborn engage a trio of gray dwarves in the rear of the army who are guarding supplies. The party makes quick work of the dwarves although one seems certain to make an escape for a moment under the cover of invisibility. Casey manages to ride him down on her horse, and he is done for.

The Hruggi (undead giants) continue to pound on the gates and the gray dwarves fire arrows at the defenders on the walls. The dwarves inflict serious punishment on the defenders of Saragost. Things are beginning to look bad.

The heroes spot a Duergar commander calling out orders to troops near the rear of the battle and rush to engage him. A fireball from Rumus dispatches his minions, but the commander vanishes from sight. Neil casts locate object and manages to get a directional sense of the gray dwarf by searching for his plate mail armor. Casey again rides into the dwarf, but not before he punishes her severely with a great blow from his warhammer. Concentrated fire from the party brings the dwarf down.

Another Hruggi falls to the magical might of the Saragost defenders, but two others manage to topple the main gate of the city. Burning oil and blasts from the wizards of the Order of the Prism inflict heavy damage on the advancing Duergar. The gray dwarves pour through the breach in the gates and set to slaughtering all in their path.

Neil casts fly on Rumus, and Rumus streaks towards the city gates pummelling one of the massive undead creatures with fireballs and other magic. Meanwhile the rest of the party skirts around the army to reach the south gate and move back into the city. They meet a lone Hruggi on their way. While they could easily speed past the beast, they choose to engage the creature . . . at great cost.

Most of the heroes keep their distance while Rygorh moves into melee with the huge undead. Neil and the Knife continually apply healing magic to Rygorh as the beast lays massive blows on the fighting priest of Firinna. Tilk moves into engage the creature as it begins to flag from the combined damage of Rygorh's sword and the magic of the Starborn. Several punishing blows from the Hruggi's great club crush Tilk's breastplate and he lies dead as Casey moves in and finishes off the brute.

Having breached the gates of the city, the Duergar seem certain to take the city. Soldiers of Saragost drop their weapons to surrender only to be cut down by waraxes or crushed under dwarven hammers. Rumus races to the Sanctuary of the Seven Archways where he tells Arigane of the battle's progress. In the meantime the rest of the Starborn make their way to the Node beneath the city sewers in hopes of reviving Tilk.

It is clear that the city is lost. Tilk is raised from the dead by the power of the Node, and Rygorh and Neil heal the rest of the wounded. As they make for the Elensil the heroes face a handful of Duergar that are prowling the streets of Saragost. They overcome the gray dwarves easily, and reach the ship as Captain Tabarak begins calling out orders to set the ship in motion. Wait . . . where is Rumus?

Seeing as he's not at the ship or the Node the party determines that he must be at the Sanctuary of the Seven Archways. They make for Lady Arigane's refuge, avoiding the gray dwarves and retrieve the elven wizard.

As the Duergar lay waste to the city of Saragost the Starborn set sail on the Elensil for the port of Crescent City in Caldrazza. Looking back they can see fires burning throughout the city and hear the screams of dying men. A lone beacon of hope stands in the Avenue of Beasts . . . blasts of great magic rain down from the Sanctuary of the Seven Archways where Arigane and her ilk make their final stand.

The Starborn's last sighting of Saragost is of a great city falling under the immense weight of an army that was just too much . . .

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