The Beast of Drezen. Characters shown are not the player-characters.
As the chimera breathed its last breath atop the tower, large groups of human cultists and tieflings, and a smaller group of dretches rushed into the courtyard below to defend Citadel Drezen against the Crusaders. The defenders weren't armed with bows or crossbows, which left the Crusader Knights atop the tower free to heal their wounds. Jiro and Sosiel both summoned divine energies to heal Runa, who was the most badly wounded of the group.
Once the heroes had healed themselves and made an accounting of the defending force below so they could report back to Irabeth, they descended the outside of the tower and returned to meet the rest of their army. The army had now tripled in size by the addition of the captive Crusaders the paladins had set free while the Knights were disabling the catapults and battling the chimera. Irabeth ordered a tent set up across the Ahari Bridge as a temporary command post and began to plan for the Crusader army to assault the Citadel. She sent Anevia and Aron out to keep watch on the town for any sign of reinforcements for the demons. Meanwhile she introduced the Crusader Knights to the newly freed prisoners, who had all been away from Kenabres too long to have heard of the Knights' exploits there.
Then the commanders met to discuss how they would take on the defenders and gain access to the interior of the Citadel. Irabeth told the Knights to rest while she led the bulk of the army against the demons' minions. The Crusader army's morale was high with the success against the chimera and the release of the prisoners, and Irabeth wanted the Knights to be at full strength to enter the Citadel once the enemy forces outside it were eliminated.
When the Knights left the command tent, they went to see Horgus Gwerm, who had been acting as quartermaster for the army. They intended to trade some items they had recovered in exchange for other objects, as well as to see what sort of useful gear had been founded in the armory the Crusaders had seized. Gwerm reported that there appeared to be no enemies still within the town - they had all either been slain or fled. He told the Knights that he had had learned from informants that they should expect the interior of the Citadel to differ from the details on the map Aron had provided. Gwerm had also learned that the forces within the fortress included Joran Vhane, brother of the traitor Staunton Vhane, but reportedly Joran wasn't as dedicated to the demons as his sibling. Jiro and Runa both came away from this interview suspecting that Gwerm had got his hands dirty questioning the prisoners the army had taken, and that he wasn't comfortable with what he had done.
The Knights had all asked Gwerm to check the inventory of items taken from the demons' armory and let them know if he found any objects they desired. The result of this was that they each obtained several useful things. Asami acquired a rod that would extend the duration of her spells, a pair of bulette-hide bracers that would grant her the benefit of armor, and a wand that would allow her to enhance the vitality of herself or her companions. Her friends also gained various similarly useful items. Gwerm allowed each of them to choose one item of lesser value without requiring any payment or trade, and the remaining items were sold to them at half the typical market value.
Their purchasing done, the Knights went off to rest, but not before they heard that their comrade Aegronius, who had remained in Kenabres to look after his friend Dara after she was injured, would soon be rejoining them. Runa also performed a short service for the Crusaders who would be going into battle the following day, donning a chasuble over her armor rather than changing into her priestly vestments. Afterward she joined Jiro and Zosta in practicing with Bohgong, which drew a crowed of the new members of the army who hadn't seen the monkey leading a martial practice before. Asami meanwhile was presented a book of useful spells by Aravashnial, and she took that book and two others that had been taken from the armory back to her tent to study them.
That evening as the Knights all settled down to wait until the Crusader army returned victorious, they realized that like their success in reclaiming the Gray Fortress in Kenabres, slaying the chimera had brought more divine blessings upon them. Everyone felt stronger and more capable. Asami knew that the strength of her spells would be greater and they would be more difficult to identify or dispel, and her knowledge was a bit broader. Her affinity for all things of wood or plant-based had increased as well. But she also felt a greater repugnance to touch anything made of metal. Of course she didn't notice it herself, but the next day some of her companions told her that the bark-like markings on her skin and the green tinge in her hair seemed more clearly visible/
The siege against the Citadel defenders went very well for the Crusader army. Their enemies had been dismayed by the Knights' success in disabling the catapults and slaying the chimera. As a result the Crusaders were soon mopping up the courtyard to remove the last traces of the demons and their followers, at which point some of the Knights went to lend their aid. Asami remained in her tent copying spells into her spellbook. When her friends returned, they met to determine their strategy for entering Citadel Drezen.
It was Jiro who suggested that instead of entering through the front gate they should go to one of the towers at the rear of the structure and come down from its roof. He and Shim had done a circuit of the Citadel by walking along the top of the curtain wall and had decided that might be the best entry point. After the Knights took the Ahari Bridge Asami had acquired a wand that could teleport herself and two fully-laden people at a time to a nearby destination, which they decided could be used to take Runa and Zosta to the tower first since they were the best fighters. Then she would return for Jiro and Shim. Bohgong and Kirara could make their own way up the tower since the monkey could climb and the silvanshee could fly.
The map Aron had provided showed that the hidden vault where the Sword of Valor had been stored in the past was closer to that tower, and although they didn't expect the banner to still be in the vault after so many years of occupation they wanted to check there before investigating the rest of the Citadel. Aron had also told them that the top of the tower Jiro had chosen once held a summoning circle used for summoning celestial beings to aid the Crusaders. No doubt the circle had been destroyed or corrupted by the demon invaders, but it would be good to know what state it was in. Once their plan was in place it was decided that Sosiel should remain with the rest of the army to lend them healing, and Aron would be better staying with him. Only the Knights would enter the Citadel.
That evening before settling into her meditation period Asami used her new ability to restore several charges to Jiro's wand that could summon a weapon of force energy. She had already used that ability on the previous night to recharge her own wand that fired missiles of force. The next morning when everyone was ready to begin, she used the teleportation wand to transport herself, Runa, and Zosta to the top of the tower. They found the summoning circle of inlaid gold and ivory intact, but Runa wasn't able to determine if it had been corrupted. Then Asami left and went to fetch Jiro and Shim.
An instant after Asami departed, a burst of fire blasted the top of the tower. Zosta saw it in time to drop to the ground and avoid the flames, but Runa was burned. They couldn't tell where the flame had come from. Asami, Jiro, and Shim saw the fire, but that didn't deter them from going to the tower to join their companions. As they appeared on the tower a moment later, they welcomed by a much bigger inferno. Asami was momentarily exhausted by the use of the teleportation magic and had no opportunity to protect herself from the cloud of fire that engulfed her and left her a hair's breadth from death. The wand that had brought them all to the tower burned to ash. Seeing that Asami was in dire condition and Jiro would need to work quickly to save her life, Zosta picked Jiro up and grabbed Asami by her cloak to carry both of them off the tower roof to safety. Runa ran down the stairs behind her. Shim was hit by another ball of fire before he could escape the exposed roof, but he managed to stagger down the steps to join the rest of the group.
Asami was terribly burned. Jiro and Runa both called on the greatest divine power they could muster to save her. Jiro then healed Runa, Shim, and himself, and linked his life force to Asami as well as to the others so he could continue to provide healing.
After Asami was recovered enough to get on her feet again, they looked around at the chamber they had entered. It carried a strong animal smell, and they quickly realized that this must have been the lair of the chimera they had slain. A hole had been knocked through the tower's exterior wall to allow the creature to fly in and out, but the doorway to the descending staircase had been blocked up with stone to prevent the monster from entering the Citadel. The chimera had accumulated a pile of looted treasures that were heaped on the floor near the rubble-strewn area that had once been a stairwell.
The mass of fireballs that had attacked them from above led the Knights to realize that there were probably more brimoraks in the Citadel other than the tower defenders they had eliminated. Brimoraks like many demons could also summon others of their kind from the Abyss, and these summoned demons could teleport and call flames to attack their foes just as well as those who had summoned them. Concerned that she would be injured again and drain more of the party's resources, Asami cast a spell to grant herself some protection from fire.
Before the Knights had time to look closer at the chimera's treasure, a brimorak demon suddenly appeared inside the room, teleporting in from elsewhere. The demon looked surprised, though they didn't know whether it was because they were there or because all of them appeared to be unhurt. They knew it must be sending a telepathic message to its brethren to warn them. Shim swallowed the last of a potion he had been drinking when it arrived and stepped toward it, sword drawn. Zosta rushed forward to knock the demon off its hooves and then stamped on it. Runa drew her sword and stabbed it fiercely. The brimorak breathed its last and vanished, demonstrating that it had been summoned rather than among the Citadel's regular defenders. Shim decided that getting out of the tower room was the best option to avoid being cornered by more demons and began attempting to break through the stones blocking the stairs by chopping at them with his sword.
It seemed likely that more brimoraks would be arriving soon. To prepare Asami cast a spell on herself and her comrades that would allow them to communicate with one another in whispered messages to prevent their enemies from overhearing their plans. She then went to look at the chimera's treasure to see if it held anything helpful to them. She could see at least on enchanted item in the collection of objects and coins. While she was looking, three more brimoraks appeared floating in the air beyond the gap in the outer wall. Asami failed to observe them because there was a section of broken interior wall between the spot where she stood and the gap. There was a five-foot-wide doorway through this broken interior wall, but Asami wasn't looking toward it and didn't see when Zosta and Runa both ran to defend the gap.
Zosta punched one of the demons. Runa then called on Iomedae to wound the evil creatures with her holy radiance, injuring all of them and leaving two of them blind. The third hovered there blinking its streaming eyes. Asami realized that there were enemies present and repositioned herself so she could hurl her spear through the opening in the interior wall to hit the demon who had been dazzled by Iomedae's light. The wound was minor, much of its force deflected by the brimorak's armored hide, but it began to bleed freely.
Jiro moved closer to Runa and Zosta and created a circle of protection to defend against the demons. At the same time he created a purifying effect that prevented them from causing harm with their sickening smoky breath. Two of the brimoraks spat burning blood toward the Knights, but their spit caused no harm. Asami cast a spell to create a narrow stream of strong wind blowing through the opening in the inner wall and out through the broken gap. The wind caused one of the blinded demons to be pushed away from the tower. Because the brimorak was floating on the air rather than standing on the ground, it was pushed even farther than would ordinarily have been possible. In its blinded state it was too confused to move out of the wind or return to the tower.
Jiro summoned a tetsubo of force to attack the demon nearest Zosta and drew his cold iron mace. From behind him a single bead of force shot over his shoulder to attack the same target as the tetsubo. Bohgong was part of the communication spell Asami had cast and she was amused to hear the monkey say, "Pull!" in the Tian tongue when he triggered the wand he'd pilfered from her, as if he was calling for a new target in an archery contest. He had forgotten anyone could hear him. Meanwhile, Shim realized that the stones blocking access to the stairs formed a barrier at least ten feet thick. He abandoned trying to smash through and joined the others by the gap in the outer wall.
One of the blind brimoraks created a ball of fire but centered the blast on itself. Asami was protected by the interior wall section and the rest of the Knights were relatively unscathed. Zosta grabbed the demon Asami had hit with her spear and began to struggle with it. Runa followed up with a thrust through its heart and it collapsed. Asami threw another spear at the other blind brimorak but missed her aim. Jiro transferred his tetsubo to the demon that had been blown away by the wind spell and Bohgong sent another unerring missile at it. It was still blind and unable to either escape the wind or find its way back to the tower. The wind continued to blow it further away. Its comrade who was also blind retreated, walking on air to escape.
A moment later both demons recovered their sight, and the one that had been caught in the wind was able to escape the wind and follow its fellow's example by retreating. Before it could get much farther from the tower, Jiro's floating tetsubo took it's life. Only the first brimorak that had begun to flee was actually able to escape.
Next: part 34, Demons on the Roof
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