Shadow War campaign In-Game: Chapter 58- Return to West Wellington

[Navarre]

The Shadow War

Chapter 58
Return to West Wellington

The warm air wafts over the gently rolling hills of Morganshire. You have bypassed a dozen farms and dozens of miles in the blink of an eye.

Your stomach seizes a little as you appear at the bottom of a particularly steep rise. Just above you, a flock of portly sheep meander toward a small brook.

Immediately before you is your destination: West Wellington, capital city of Morganshire. A glint of metal and glass from beneath the royal blue banners reveal the vigilant Guards but your approach remains unknown to mortal eyes.

Two City Guards, dressed in chain mail with a long sword at their side, stand holding a spear tamped into the firm ground. Their blue tabards and pennant on their spear match the many flags flying high over the city.

You appear a hundred feet in front of the city gate, where once a small booth had been erected beneath an awning of broad alternating white and gold stripes. The booth sat just to the left of Merchant's Highway from the west.

But the booth is gone now. No travelers make their way in for the festival. There is only you and your friends, packed into two carts.

The warm air, the flock of sheep, the babbling brook. The royal blue banners, the mailed City Guard with their spears.

The memories formed. The losses suffered. The friendships made.

You have returned to West Wellington. You have returned home.

The instant you appear you hear a dog barking. It sounds like a great mastiff of some sort, its loud bark deep and frightening. Aphra, the hair on your neck stands reflexively as your instincts send you on alert.

You all look about for the dog. You see no such beast. The sound of its bark seems to be coming from near the main gate.

The two City Guard, helmed and armored, immediately level their spears and peer in your direction.

"Halt! Declare yourselves!" one of the Guard demands.

[Web.Metz]

Faerun jumps out of the cart.
"Faerun Herllun, with the Defenders of Life in tow."

[sab39]

I put my star into my shirt so that I'm presenting as illuminated and hopefully rather impressive, famous Defender T'Ning of the Lone Pine. The hat is doing nothing but concealing its own existence and the mask's.

[Navarre]

One of the City Guard at the gate takes a half-step forward, looking closer at all of you, including the star-emblazoned vest. A reply is made to Faerun's declaration.

"Mister Herllun?" you recognize the voice of Guardsman Warren Vaughn. He looks closer still.

"Ah, Acolyte Rashai!" he smiles. "Sorry I didn't recognize you."

"Please, come forth."

As you approach you take a longer look at West Wellington. This is the place where your adventures all began. Here you met lifelong friends and learned of the troubles that beset a world seemingly based on so much order. It feels good and right to be here, even if only for a little while and even if for a mission so pivotal to the salvation of the world.

But as you walk the few steps to the gate you take a second look. Things are not as you left them.

The land around the city is not green grassy knolls as you left it. Instead you see the same blood-soaked land you have just left.

The sheep, once white or even a bit dull and mottled, are now stained crimson from the bloodfall. Even the waters of the once sparkling brook shimmer red in the light of The Eye.

The banners atop the city appear new, however. The walls of West Wellington itself show the long vertical stains of the Ravager's intrusion into this world.

Something is happening to the stains, however. As you watch, the blood is slowly but surely being scrubbed away from the stone.

Looking closer, you see large buckets of sudsy water sitting at random places along the base of the wall as huge sponges float upward of their own accord to scrub at the bloodstains. A half-dozen unseen servants go about their silent task as you walk up to Guardsman Vaughn.

The large guard dog, also unseen, continues its loud barking. Above, you see one of the City Guard on the ramparts wave off someone from inside; likely more Guards heeding the dog's call of warning. You are only ten feet away when he holds up his hand in warning.

"A moment there!"

"This new sentry is a bit difficult to manage. Let me try again."

"Cuddles!" he sighs and rolls his eyes at the name. "There are ten newcomers here. I see them. Now, stand down!"

The dog continues barking. Guardsman Vaughn looks vexed.

"This hound won't shut up. stupid magic," he grumbles to himself.

"There are only ten of you here, right?"

[Web.Metz]

Faerun double checks with True Seeing.

{Wouldn't Faerun see the dog with True Seeing of the ring?}

[Navarre]

{Wouldn't Faerun see the dog with True Seeing of the ring?}

{As soon as you activate the ring. I didn't remember if you'd activated the ring. Are you always leaving it on?}

{But, either way, the answer is no. If you look at the description of the spell, the dog is invisible to everyone but the caster. That is a feature of the spell, not its "invisibility".}

Faerun, you look toward "Cuddles" with your True Seeing. You see nothing from the location of the sound, though you are certain the barking itself is no auditory illusion. Something is there.

You look around to see what continues to hold the invisible dog's attention. You see what it must be.

Just to the right of Bedlor stands Ice. Even though you made no attempt to bring the spirit of this animal, the large ice bear stands at Bedlor's side.

His hackles are raised and he bares its teeth, trying to locate the source of the loud sound that threatens Bedlor.

[Web.Metz]

{Always leaving it on. Faerun is too paranoid about Dark Tomorrow disguising themselves with spells}

{Do I have knowledge on the Faithful Hound spell?}

"Eleven if you count the ethereal polar bear."

[Navarre]

{By now, you are familiar with the spell. This particular hound seemed to have an extended range of detection and may somehow be keyed to obey the Guard on duty. But, otherwise, it seems to match your research.}

Rachel looks with a start toward where Ice is standing, seeing it now, as Guardsman Vaughn takes a puzzled expression.

"Polar bear?!? ... What's 'ethereal' mean?"

"Well...um..."

"Cuddles! I see eleven newcomers. Stand down."

The barking immediately ceases. Vaughn sighs and looks back to you.

"Sorry about that. Master Landru has added a lot of security since...that."

He points southward and up. The black moon hangs low over the horizon like an all-consuming void.

[Web.Metz]

"I know that is one of the reasons we are here."

"That hound, if it starts barking like that when no one is around, it means there is either someone invisible or ghostly around. Ethereal essentially means ghost, if that makes it simpler for you."

[Navarre]

Vaughn nods.

"Ghosts, right. Simpler, but no less frightening."

He looks at Rachel, who has stopped hiding.

"Oh. You," he laughs.

"I didn't see you there. After all those years chasing you through the alleys, you'd think I'd have spotted you first."

Rachel grins.

"Och, ye'd t'ink so. Must be gettin' a wee bit near-sighted in yuir old age, 'Brawn'. Maybe Landru can fix ye up wit' a pair of 'is spectacles?"

Vaughn laughs a little and shakes his head.

"Maybe."

"Well, you're all welcome here. Even your ghost friends and the, err, dog-lady."

"Welcome back, everyone," he says, frowning a bit at Donovan anyway, as he opens the access gate.

[chrysalis]

"Good to see you again, Vaughn. Is everyone alright?"

[sab39]

"From what I heard, you all didn't spot her terribly often in the alleys either..."

"Anyway, ackshully it's Landru that we're here to see... well... among others. Do you know where we might find him?"

[Navarre]

Rachel giggles and gives your butt a little squeeze, also unseen by Vaughn. He tries to reply to your statement but seems at a loss for a justifiable retort.

He nods at you instead, Liv.

"Things are well as can be expected, seeing as how there is a third moon and it rained blood. People are worried, I won't lie."

He looks at you, T'Ning.

"Yes. Master Landru has made himself available to all at the Oak Haven. You will find him there."

He allows you all entrance through the access gate into the city. Passing through the arched tunnel, you find West Wellington stretching before you.

The buildings are as you remember them, stretching along either side of the main thoroughfare. Rachel's face breaks into a delighted smile, seeing the place she has come to know as "home" stands unmolested.

In fact, if anything, the buildings seem better than before somehow. They are ever so slightly cleaner and show less wear to their walls and roofs. The paint is crisp and the windows free of the dust from the city streets.

People move along the avenues. You recognize several faces though no one you know readily by name. But Berl's General Mercantile sports its bright red awning and a new sign hangs over the newly renovated armory.

The sign, you notice, still reads "Drade's Armory", that name also now appearing below the Imperial in several languages; including Dwarven, and interestingly, Kaazradi. In fact, as you look, you notice all the town's signs are now multi-lingual.

But your eyes are drawn immediately away from the main street toward the conspicuous structure that now sits off on the northeastern field of Old City. You recognize the Temple of Dalophor.

It stands in all its grandeur, seemingly untouched by time and the ravages of assault. The key shape stretches before you with tall crystalline windows and the rounded dome where you last saw the tragedy of those found in the tomb it had become.

You can barely see a wide path leading to it from Old City; a traditional Elven road made of raised and interlaced wood on risers that allow water to pass below it. A few people, commoners it seems, make their way along the path toward the building. You see a few of the rare children of this world holding a parent's hand, pointing in awe at the temple.

Just down the street from you and to your right, the Oak Haven rises high above the other buildings; three stories worth of memories. There is a line of citizens, perhaps a dozen, lined from the front door onto the street.

They see you approach and almost all seem to recognize you. They smile and nod, several waving. The very sight of you seems to fill them with instant hope, for their heroes have returned to them.

[Gaumer]

"Well, i not be expectin' 'em to be sittin' on their 'ands why we be doin' as we do, but I ne'er be expectin' to be seein' this, mates.

Be makin' me feel lazy, bein' true, hohoho."

[Navarre]

Vinnrog grunts.

"Is it me or do city look more new than when we left? How they make new buildings so fast?"