CXXXIV. Battle of Marketport

General Summary

The Final Night

Hours after the Ring & Wren's amassed soldiers had fallen asleep, drunk, on shore, Lady Kohinoor stepped around their dozing bodies, trailed as always by Gault. The two had spent the past couple of hours checking the encampments, the suppliers, and the last-minute evacuees. There was nothing left to do but wait, but the sea was churning and sleep evaded them.
They were not alone in this; the beach was quiet, but there were several people who sat awake, looking out at the dark horizon. Lady Kohi looked grim and, never able to truly hide her emotions, clearly had something on her mind--something besides the looming battle. Something she'd been putting off. Something that scared her more than death. But now was the time for courage. Desiring a little more privacy, she led Gault into an empty commander's tent. Finally, she spoke:

“Gault. Stay safe. Do whatever it takes to live. That’s my final order to you. When we get back, I don’t want you to serve me anymore. As of now, you are free from my employ, and may do as you wish. If you…still want to stay by my side, I have a different role in mind for you, if you want it.
If you don't, we can pretend I never said anything and go back to how we were. Or, if you don’t want to see me anymore because of it I’ll understand that too. I just…wanted to tell you in case I don’t get the chance later.”

-Kohinoor Sattari

Kohi cleared her throat and looked away.

“My parents have argued for years about when I should get married. Maaman still thinks I’m too young. Babaayi says I’m running out of time. But neither wanted to pick someone for me. They want me to pick for myself. I was never sure what type of person I would choose. Perhaps some Elvish nobleman, a good man, from a good family, who would act with honor and fulfill all his obligations. Someone who would make everyone happy, someone I could grow to love. But…that’s not what I want.
I want…someone I can depend on. Someone I can trust. Someone who isn’t nice, but is kind. Who isn’t afraid of me, of telling me I’m wrong. Someone who will argue with me. Someone courageous, who cares about other people. Who cares about me. Who inspires me. Who, when they touch me, when they look at me, makes my heart beat faster. Someone I can’t stop looking at, with rough hands, and eyes that can be soft as water or hard as glass. Someone who would devote his life to me. Someone who would die for me. Someone who did. And if he doesn’t have all of those qualities, I don’t want him.”

-Kohinoor Sattari

Gault's face had taken on an absoultely miserable expression as the words rushed out her. He said nothing, but the dark eyes boring into hers seemed to implore: why? Kohi took Gault's hand in her own, brushing a thumb over the long fingers of the man she held so dear. When she spoke again, it was nearly a whisper.

“I’m sorry to burden you with this now. I’ve said before that when it comes to your life, I am selfish. That’s still true.
Kharabetam. No matter what happens, I will always come back to you. That’s not a promise. It’s a vow.”

-Kohinoor Sattari

She bowed her head, drawing Gault’s knuckles to her lips before turning briskly to leave--too afraid to hear his answer. For several minutes, Gault stood silent, disbelieving, and distraught. Then he stalked off to where he always went in times such as these--the Cheated Chimney. Others taking shelter there would hear him asking, hours later and deep in his cups, whether paladins always kept their vows.

Morning

Morning did not so much break over Felstadt as the sky simply lightened its grey shades from an inky black to the color of worn wool. A chilling wind began to blow directly onto Felstadt from the sea, and those remaining in town began to shore up the last of defenses as the tides loomed larger than any old sea captain had ever seen. Inside The Ring and Wren, where most of the party had spent the night in quiet contemplation, taking advantage of the cozy hearths, Wynna called everyone to attention and read out a letter with shaking hands:

Dear Ring & Wren,
After last night’s discussion I feel used. My view of many of my teammates has changed. I was surprised and dismayed by how dishonorably everyone behaved. I feel that one does not enter into an agreement with a goddess lightly, and I know that when I promise to help someone, I will do everything in my power to fulfill that promise. I was shocked at how many of you would so casually break the promise you’ve made, without a second thought.
But most of all, it hurt me that my friends would be so suspicious of me. After everything we have been through together, after I have pulled so many of you back from the other side– sometimes more than once– I thought that we were like a family– it certainly felt that way to me as someone who was never close to my family and never had many friends. But now I fear that I have trusted the wrong group of people with my life’s mission. I have worked so hard, and come so close to achieving my dream, it’s disturbing to know that my fate is in the hands of people who don’t care about the promise they made, don’t care about my life’s work, and worse still– don’t trust me.
There was a lot of talk about doing what’s best for Felstadt, but I see now that it was all empty. I don’t think that the Ring and Wren care about Felstadt at all. You have shown that you only care about power and ego. You have been so easily tempted by the taste of power that Enki Adda  has given you, and now you want to keep it all for yourselves. Instead of choosing the safest and most sure-fire path to victory, you’ve decided to “prove that you can do it yourself” and risk not only the city and the lives of everyone in it, but the Empire and future of the realm as we know it. This risk fills me with dread, but I know that if I choose not to fight in the battle now, our odds will be even worse. So, I will fight with the Ring and Wren at the end of the world, but not as a part of the team. And if the battle is won, I hope that you honor your promises to the Goddess whose power has saved us all. Afterall, without the shards and all the places they have led the party, would the Ring and Wren have a chance against Dhor?
Whatever the Ring and Wren chooses to do, no matter the outcome, I will be leaving. I can no longer make a life with the people who would so easily betray me. You are not my family any longer, maybe you never were.

Sincerely,

Aerwynna Cannari

In the stunned silence, emotions ran high. Amari turned and left the room, gutted. Soora, who had been in agreement with Wynna during the aforementioned discussion, said nothing, but looked sullen at the news. Lady Kohinoor had returned from her solemn confession about an hour ago and took Wynna's words into blunted consideration. King and Jäger both apologized to Wynna for how things had gone, and told her they understood her decision. Theirs was a grim, though pained acceptance the consquences of the decision they'd come to.  
Just before dawn, the icy wind from the shore had made its way to the heart of town. The shutters of the Ring and Wren battered in the wind and sheets of rain began to hit the city. The mood inside was bleak as the party cast their spells: Jäger cast Death Ward on himself and King. Lady Kohi cast the same on herself and Amari, and in addition gave Wynna a ring--one that matched one she was wearing, which linked them with a Warding Bond. Wynna herself summoned a Quetzalcoatl to be her companion in the coming fight, having decided that she could no longer trust the party. Amari was noticeably distracted as final preparations were made, deep in thought about how he could communicate what he was thinking and feeling. Family was everything to him, but it seemed that that the family he had made for himself had fragmented beyond repair. 
Together, perhaps for the last time, the Ring & Wren made their way to the harbor, where all the forces they had mustered had arrayed themselves in Market Port and the Wharfs. It was high tide. Waves crashed into the hastily erected storm walls and threatened to breach the docks. After surveying they front lines, the party departed on their Griffins, as satisfied with the arrangements as they could be. They would have to fight Dhor themselves and leave his forces in the hands of their commanders. 

The Battle

The field of battle was split, as the city itself was, by the Oris River. On the northern side of the river stood Fort Gunnhild, and on the other, the Ring and Wren. Connecting the two sides was a bridge where the Imperial Crimson Guard were stationed, and where, under Valoryn Nightshade's command, large chains had been installed.
The whispering of the soldiers went silent as the water level of the river suddenly dropped, the high tide rolling back until the sand of the bay was exposed. Loud creaking was heard as ships laid to unsettling rest, fish flopped on the ground and crabs scuttled away. A shudder went through the troops. 

"Steady!"

-Officers & Lieutenants

A hurricane whipped above, and through the churning storm, the assembled army watched as all the water that had withdrawn rose like a black mountain, pushing back in as a tsunami crashed over the edge of the harbor. In the distance, the lighthouse on the end of the peninsula collapsed. The officers called for the troops to brace themselves as they realized that inside the approaching wave was a horde of creatures, plus a gargantuan shape that breached the water with tentacles pushing it forward. 
The Ring & Wren was gone. They were on their own.
Dhor's vanguard seized the initiative. Sahuagin Wave Shapers advanced first, skillfully skimming along the surface of the rolling tide to meet the Crimson Guard upon the bridge. The Guard weathered the blow and held their ground, unwilling to allow their enemy past them. Nearby, the Ironbeard Húskarls, led by Bryson, faced off against a Golem constructed entirely of packed, crystalline salt. The Salt Golem proved a fearsome threat, causing the Húskarls to take heavy losses, but the Ironbeard Honor guard, reckless as they were, gained power from any damage they took and returned its attacks with unshakeable fury as long as they still drew breath. 
Farther down the southern shore, the giant shape in the water--the Great Old One, a kraken--loomed over the Unbreakables, the Orcish warriors supplied to the Ring & Wren by Vy'Thek and headed by Shugluk Elf-Butcher. The Great Old One immediately killed two of their rank and froze the area around them, seperating the Unbreakables from the rest of the troops with a wall of rime. Those who were left alive had their morale shaken by the sheer brutality.
On the northern side of the bridge, Elven archers left to Vasya's command noticed that among Dhor's forces were a unit of Coral Cannons. Recognizing the threat such weaponry would pose to the army's fortifications, they set to work firing poisoned arrows at the cannoneers. Meanwhile on the southern side, from within Fort Gunnhild, two units of artillery made up of Orcish Bone Bows and another unit of Elven archers (commanded by Luna ), attacked a second (Cold) cannon and a unit of Sahuagin Harpooneers with arrows of Dancing Lights--a unique boon granted to them by Amari. Also taking cover within the fort were the Arram Deepguard, led by Festiv, who held their position while the Dwarven Crossbowmen accompanying them joined in Vasya's attack on the Coral Cannon.
Back on the front lines, the Unbreakables attempted to fight through their fear and attack the Great Old One, but to their despair, their best efforts seemed to have no effect on the gargantuan beast. A joint cavalry unit made up of Imperial horsemen and Singing Wood Elk-Riders led by Diana came around Dhor's back line and utterly destroyed some of the Drowned Dead that made up the ranks.
Above the battlefield, Skyrvrannir and her brood created a wall of fire with their breath, melting the Great Old One's wall of frost away. The Hidden Leaf's Pegasus Riders, led by Tuck and Baku, used the Wand of Lightning Storms they'd been given by Amari to rain lightning down on Dhor's Sahuagin Iconoclasts.
With the battle now underway, the water in the Oris rose and flooded the banks of the river, submerging the peasant militia that had been supplied by the Empire. Sahuagin Shark Riders rode in from the back line to feed on them, clouding the water with blood. Harpies under Dhor's command harried the Dragons and the Bone Bows, intent on preventing damage to the cannons. The Great Old One, greedy as it was, tried to consume the Unbreakables outright, but they managed to fend it off. Though they were damaged and terrified, the University of Felstadt's mummies, headed by Yoric, healed them with a scroll of healing provided by Wynna. 
The Wave Shapers at last managed to gain the upper hand, battering the Crimson Guard with a wave that disoriented them and knocked them into the water behind the bridge. Despite the efforts of the archers, the Coral Cannon was successfully activated and its engineers began to load and aim it toward Fort Gunnhild. The Iconoclasts, safe in the middle of Dhor's ranks, unleashed Secola's Wrath in the form of a wave on Fort Gunnhild, which wore at its Arram stone and weakened its structural integrity.
With the threat of the Coral Cannon mounting, the party's various artillery joined forces to take it down before it could do too much damage, while Skyrvannir's brood helped the Unbreakables by dive-bombing the Great Old One. Azka, a unit in and of himself, threw a bolt of lightning that destroyed both of the Cannons and broke the ranks of the Iconoclasts, single-handedly saving the Fort from imminent destruction. Diana's cavalry worked together to take out another unit in the back line, the Harpooneers, while the Crimson Guard climbed back up onto the bridge.
The Wave Shapers, once again locked in with their current opponents but sensing weakness in some of the other ranks, sent out a wave that pushed the Unbreakables into the Ironbeards, which after the heavy losses sustained in fighting the Salt Golem, finally killed the last of them. With none left to stop it, the Salt Golem advanced over their dead bodies while the Great Old One continued its hunting of the Unbreakables undeterred. As their army advanced, Sahuagin Infantry began scaling the walls of Fort Gunnhild. The Arram Deepgaurd tried to push back as many as they could.
With the Cannons out of commission, the artillery began to focus on the Harpies, which were keeping them harried. But where one threat had been taken care of, another arose: a War Hydra slithered from out of the sea and made began to make its way toward the fort. The Pegasus Riders used the wand of lightning to try and stop it. What remained of the peasantry tried to rally themselves out of the water, but alas; they were shark food.
Azka wrestled with and finally killed the Salt Golem, avenging the Húskarls. As he stood back up, victorious, the Great Old One shifted its attention to him, and the Unbreakables cheered, happy to be rid of its terrible focus. However, their joy was to be short-lived: the Great Old One was not a power to be trifled with. It brought Azka to his knees, though Azka refused to be broken after all he had been through. He rallied once more, but the Great Old One killed him with great delight. The Great Old One moved over his corpse and set its sight back on the Unbreakables, who were again gripped in terror. Sensing an opening, the War Hydra advanced on their other side. The Elk Riders attempted to use its distraction to attack the War Hydra, however this attempt backfired: the creature simply grew new heads and rose in power. It struck at the Orcs, breaking the Unbreakables.
The Oris continued to overflow. Its waters now flooded the bottom floor of Fort Gunnhild and exposed the Dwarven crossbowmen to the Shark Riders, who tore them to shreds despite the best efforts of Vasya's elven artillery, who tried to protect them from across the river.
With the Unbreakables out of commission and the War Hydra growing in strength, this new creature was proving to be an even bigger threat than the Coral Cannon. The Bone Bows attacked the War Hydra with Faerie Fire arrows, allowing Skyrvannir's brood to descend and rip it apart before its four heads were able to do any more damage. Its prey no longer fighting, the Great Old One lost interest and instead drew up next to Fort Gunnhild, from where it attacked the Bone Bows. Not to be ignored, Skyrvannir and her brood followed up on the Great Old One and nearly diminished him. It was Festiv who dealt the final blow, coming down on the beast with the Sunderer. Below, the water rose another floor in the Fort, and with the tide came the Shark Riders, whose beasts began to feast on the Bone Bows--though not without a fight.
The battle was quickly becoming decided: though they had suffered casualties, it became clear that the defenders of Felstadt were gaining the advantage. After Skyrvannir's brood finished off some of the Harpies, the Imperial Cavalry mowed down the Sahuagin Infantry that the Arram Deepguard was pushing from walls of Fort Gunnhild, and the University's mummies took down the Drowned Dead, Dhor's forces realized they were outnumbered and their key players were dead. Those who remained fled the battlefield, knowing that defeat would be imminent.
Market Port was flooded and battered, but still standing. The troops that the Ring & Wren had personally hired and trained had done their job, and now the fate of the city would rest in the hands of the party, who were pitted against the storm in the ocean...and within themselves.

Related Reports

Next Report

CXXXV. Amari's Last Wish

Previous Report

CXXXIII. Homecoming

Campaign

The Ring & Wren

Protagonists

Krux McClain

Soora Huinë

Shugluk Elf-Butcher

Vasya

Jäger Ironbeard

()

8 / 8 HP

STR

DEX

CON

INT

WIS

CHA

Guiomar Vela Cuevas

Tuquarion of the Hidden Tree

King (Drayton Honeysong)

Aerwynna Cannari

Valoryn Nightshade

Amari of the Ring and Wren

Milo Miles

Chaotic Good Lightfoot Halfling ()
Monk 7
Druid 11

129 / 129 HP

STR
8

DEX
20

CON
14

INT
13

WIS
20

CHA
17

Torryn Songheart

Kohinoor Sattari

Diana

Luna

Gault Harrow

Report Date

23 Aug 2022

Primary Location

Market Port