When the Crusader Knight group had defeated all of the defenders of the Ahari Bridge and healed most of their own wounds, they decided to remain together on the bridge to hold it until a unit of paladins could come take control of it. They were concerned that the bridge defenders has sent a signal to the fort for aid, though they hadn’t seen or heard any sign of such a signal. Then they removed any items of value or use from the corpses of the dead demonic tieflings. The tieflings had all carried much-valued curative potions, and their armor and weapons could be given to the prisoners once they were free.
Asami found that the tiefling sorcerer had worn a magic cloak, as Kirara had told her, as well as a magic amulet. He had also carried a wand. When she examined these she found that the cloak was of the same kind as the cloaks Rhino had sent with Shim. Zosta asked to have the cloak and presented her gift cloak to Bohgong out of appreciation for the martial training the monkey had been giving her. This seemed to please the monkey, much to Shim’s bewilderment.
The amulet proved to hold an enchantment to improve the wearer’s armor, so the rest of the group encouraged Runa to take it since she was so often in the front lines of any fighting. Asami took charge of the wand, which held a spell to allow the wielder to teleport a short distance and even take along two companions as long as they were willing and were no bigger than an ordinary person.
After the items were distributed Asami volunteered to cast a spell so they could find out how the paladins were doing against the demon cultists and tieflings who stood guard over the cache of Crusader arms and armor. She sat down cross-legged and held her wooden sword in front of her as she murmured the lengthy incantation to summon an invisible, flying sensor she could send to the South Bank.
Military tactics were not a topic Asami had ever studied, and when she saw the skirmish through her magical ‘eye’ it was difficult for her to interpret what she observed. But as she described what she saw, Shim recognized that the paladins were gaining the upper hand and that the struggle to claim the supplies would be over very soon. Within a quarter hour, a group of 20 paladins arrived at the bridge to take over from the Knights. The Knights left the Ahari Bridge in their capable hands and joined the rest of the army in returning to their encampment just outside Drezen. On the journey back they learned that sadly one paladin had been slain, and a dozen others had been badly injured in the attack on the armory. Jiro and Sosiel both lent what healing magic they had left to them toward helping the wounded paladins recover, and when the army reached camp Runa and Sosiel took charge of preparing the body of the deceased man for burial.
Later that day, as the Knights relaxed, they struck up a conversation with Shim and began to talk about how each of them had come to be with the Crusader army fighting to reclaim Drezen. They had already told Shim briefly what had happened to them in Kenabres before they accepted the mission to Drezen from Queen Galfrey. But now each of them described their earlier lives and how they had come to choose fighting demons as a vocation.
Asami told him of her parents and how they had left Jinin and gone to work with the Riftwardens at the Worldwound, where they died. She explained that she had joined the Council of the Golden Flame and been trained in the knowledge of oni, and that the Council had sent her to Kenabres to share her knowledge when they feared the oni would take advantage of the demonic activity at the Worldwound to further their own cause.
Jiro followed by telling the story of how he once encountered a demon when it destroyed the household where he was a gardener, how he discovered he was a noble lord’s illegitimate son when he was 16, and how he had always been able to talk to the spirits of place and of his ancestors. He described how it was the ancestors who had chosen him to go to the Worldwound when his noble-born half-brother had expected to be sent, and how he had seen his brother in Kenabres in the company of a very powerful oni lord.
Runa told Shim the story of her childhood as a half-orc orphan in a village where orcs were hated and feared. She described how as a child she had imaginary playmates named Io and Sara, who she eventually learned were aspects of the goddesses Iomedae and Sarenrae. She also spoke of learning that her adoptive human father was actually her real father but had kept this secret for fear of how the other villagers might react to his willing relationship with an orc woman. She finished with the story of how she received a divine message telling her to join the warrior priests of Iomedae and then go to the Worldwound.
Zosta went last, describing how she had been found by a couple who were refugees from a town in Mendev that had been destroyed by demonic forces. Her adoptive parents had later joined Cennami’s band of demon-fighting barbarians, who all believed that Cennami's destiny was to end the Worldwound. Zosta had spent her entire life learning to combat demons, alongside her adoptive brother Rhino the redeemed demon, at the very edge of the Worldwound.
After these stories were told, the Knights explained to Shim that each of them had been designated commander of a unit of 20 paladins, but one unit had lost its commander with their comrade Aegronius’ unexpected departure. When it was suggested that Shim might take over Aegronius’ unit, he became uncomfortable and told them he doubted the paladins would accept his leadership. He revealed that in the past he had been put in charge of a dozen paladins for a special mission. But he had succumbed to the temptation of drugs, and as a result all twelve had died. Aron and Sosiel had helped him overcome the attraction to drugs, but he wasn’t ready yet to take on leadership or to ask the paladins to trust him.
Despite the loss that day, the mood in the camp was high now that the army had access to a substantial supply of armor and weapons that they could use to equip the prisoners once they were set free. But before they could release the prisoners, they felt it necessary to disable the catapults on the watchtowers. As evening arrived, the Knights planned their strategy for taking the towers the following day. Asami offered to again cast her magic eye spell and examine the towers to see what sort of defenders waited there. But she couldn’t move the sensor any more quickly than an unburdened person could walk, which meant that if she cast the spell in camp she would have very little time left to examine the watchtowers after sending the sensor over the distance between the two locations. The army commanders decided it would be better if the attackers moved closer to the fortress before Asami cast her spell. Rather than approach the fort from the Ahari Bridge, the Knights and their companions would follow the dry riverbed that ran between the fort and Paradise Hill where the prisoners were being held. They would take shelter under the ruins of the second bridge while Asami used her magic to spy on the tower defenders.
That night before everyone retreated to their tents to rest, Asami used her special power to recharge the wand she had claimed. When she lay down to meditate the wand had twice as many charges as it had carried when she took it. She and her friends had discussed using it to get to the top of the watchtower, but because they didn't know what would await them there they were hesitant to try that method.
The next morning before preparing to attack the watchtowers, Runa donned her priestly vestments and performed a service. When the service was over, Jiro had a brief conversation with Sosiel, asking the young priest of Shelyn to concentrate more on providing healing to his comrades than on trying to help Aron fight their enemies. Jiro had been using his ability to absorb harm from this friends to keep them healthy, but this often left him too weak to help with the fighting. Aron was a skilled fighter, but he was hampered a little by trying to stay with his husband, and Jiro had been expending too much of his own magic to heal everyone while Sosiel tried to flank enemies along with Aron. Sosiel agreed to follow Jiro’s suggestion. Runa meanwhile was asked by the paladins to calm their horses, which were skittish. Runa only needed to walk among them to soothe them.
When they were ready the Knights set out together to attack the tower, accompanied by Shim, Aron, and Sosiel. Their journey was unopposed until they reached the riverbed and came closer to the tower they intended to attack first. A moment later a ball of flame flew from the top of the tower to explode in the riverbed near the group. After recognizing this, Sosiel cast a spell on all the group except Kirara that would partly protect them from fire for a limited time. Asami knew the same spell and cast it on her familiar herself, which granted the otherworldly feline longer-lasting protection than Asami gained from Sosiel’s spell. Then they raced for cover against the river bank. Zosta sprinted out ahead of everyone else, followed by Kirara who could fly faster than any of the two-legged members of the party could run. Runa came last due to her heavy armor. The defenders on the tower rained more balls of fire down on them as they ran.
The spell Asami had planned to cast was now useless, as their enemies had seen them. Jiro and Asami conferred and recalled a type of demon that could hurl fireballs, a variety they had encountered before: brimoraks. These demons were no taller than a halfling, but their boiling blood could severely scald anyone who had the misfortune to be splashed by it, and the demons could vomit blood as well to cause even worse burns. They could use their blood to set their swords aflame, and they liked knocking enemies down and kicking fallen foes with their flaming hooves. The pair shared this information with their companions, as not everyone had been present for their last encounter with a brimorak.
The brimoraks would have a good view of them as they crossed from the river bank to the tower, so Asami reached out for the magic to cloak them all in invisibility as she had done the day before. Sadly though the spell hid them from sight it couldn't muffle the sounds of their movement, especially not when Asami kicked a loose stone not once but twice. Then the magic vanished as the brimoraks used their innate ability to banish their enemies' magical defenses. The group broke into a run again, this time heading for the base of the tower. Shim picked up Sosiel and carried him so he could keep up with the others.
When they arrived at the tower Shim cast a spell on everyone that would allow them to climb up the tower like spiders. Zosta vaulted onto the wall, clinging with magic, but a moment later she dropped as the magic was dispelled. Jiro avoided being struck by her as she fell and she landed acrobatically on her feet. Jiro cast a spell that allowed him to mold the stones of the tower to suit his desire. He formed hand and foot holds into the tower to allow him to climb up it like a ladder. Asami still had benefit of Shim’s magic, but out of fear that it would suddenly disappear and she would fall, she climbed Jiro’s stone ladder behind him.
Shim set Sosiel down and moved to another part of the tower to climb up. As Jiro reached the top of the tower, he reached out to grab one of the brimoraks and tried to pull it off the parapet. The demon swung its sword at him but missed. Jiro used his magic to cause the top of the parapet to slope in a second effort to knock the demons off. When that effort failed he realized the demons were using their ability to walk on air to prevent themselves from falling. The demons leaned over the edge and began to spit boiling blood on those climbing up from below. Asami tried to dodge the searing liquid but was unable to lean far enough out of the way to avoid all of it. She was so badly burned that she fainted from the agony. Zosta was ascending behind her and had been attaching a grappling hook to a rope so she could bypass the ladder and reach the top of the tower faster. When she saw Asami let go of the ladder she dropped her rope and heroically grabbed the falling wizard, dropping to the ground herself and allowing Asami to land on top of her.
While Asami lay insensible at the foot of the tower, her companions swarmed up over the parapet and attacked the brimoraks. Runa climbed up one side as Shim had done, and Sosiel gave her a boon of luck to aid her. Jiro bowled over one of he brimoraks and tumbled past two others as he clambered onto the top of the tower. Sosiel granted Runa a boon of luck as she reached the top. The demons exhaled choking smoky breath, which left Jiro feeling weak and sick in addition to all the wounds he’d absorbed from the other Knights. He was forced to back away from combat for a moment to heal himself.
Zosta climbed up the tower and grappled one of the brimoraks, dodging past two others. Aron darted in to stab her prisoner with his dagger, then ran one of the other brimoraks through. Shim darted behind the catapult and carefully removed some small but crucial parts that wouldn’t be easily missed but would render the device useless. Several of the brimoraks suddenly disappeared, revealing that they had been summoned from the Abyss by the brimoraks who guarded the watchtowers. Zosta released the demon she'd grabbed and punched it viciously in the face until it died. Aron inflicted a deep stab wound on another demon. One of the demons near Zosta tried to cast a spell but lost the magic due to her threatening proximity. Runa slew another demon, and the remaining brimorak decided to flee by walking on air. Its movement was slow enough that Runa was able to sear it with a blast of Iomedae’s scorching brilliance, but that wasn’t enough to slay it and it escaped.
Kirara had flown to Asami’s side and extended her divine healing ability to her companion. But her ability was very limited and it was far from enough to overcome the critical burns Asami had suffered, though it did help to prevent her from dying. When the brimoraks were vanquished Jiro and Sosiel healed her enough that she revived.
Jiro had realized that there had been only one brimorak assigned to stand watch on each of the towers; when the Knights were spotted the demons on the other towers had teleported to join their compatriot on the tower the Knights were approaching. Then all of them had used their power to summon others of their kind from the Abyss to aid them. In defeating them, the Knights had eliminated all of the sentries from the watchtowers. Now they only needed to disable the other catapults to complete their mission.
Next: part 32, Battling the Beast
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