Evaluating your options thoroughly, you decide that the best course would be to repair the mythal to the best of your ability. While a full restoration would take years and demand a small fortune in reagents, research, labor... mending a few fraying strands of the Weave here and there would get the Demon's Ingle in working order long enough to exact some advantage from it. And if, by chance, you were to make a few augmentations to the design that placed a geas on those wearing the Ingle's products, compelling them to obey you... A few contingencies here, a redundancy there... by the gods, you are a genius. Truly, it is a shame that you are surrounded by troglodytes that could never appreciate the magnitude of your splendor. You'll need to cast some preliminary divinations, of course. And a way of concealing your work just in case - a few quasi-real illusions should-"Mistress Phaere!" A familiar voice calls to you, far too giddy and pitched such that it resembles the scraping of chalk along a cavern wall. "The negotiations have been opened! Your presence is required immediately!"
>>6375905Readying a lethal spell prepared in advance, you pivot in place, scanning the obelisk room for the new arrival. Your senses have the displeasure of being assaulted by the putrid sight of Xelthryn, Vierna's Ghaunadan spymaster. His yellow-brown oiled cloak reeking of harsh chemicals and his beady yellow eyes fixed on you, expression unreadable. At least you cannot cannot see the sheen of his bald head in this dark."Let us away, then, Xelthryn. Walk in front of me, and do keep your hands where I can see them lest I turn you into a toad," you demand. The tiny male laughs boisterously, which sounds more akin to a gargle, no doubt a product of whatever horrible concoctions he's inhaled over the centuries. "You wound me, Mistress Phaere! Traitor though I am, I could hardly liquidate you while you are still so crucial to our immediate plans. Right this way!"Traitor indeed... a trait that can be leveraged in opportune times. Just as he makes to lead you further into the sweltering depths of the dwarven ruin, you gently place a hand on his shoulder, drawing him back into the obelisk chamber. "Hold a moment, Xelthrn," you command, drawing him back in with a predatory grin. "I have a plan, and it involves you."
>>6375907LOYALTY DEFENSE INTEGRITYLovingly carved from a single chunk of igneous rock, the circular stone table large enough to seat over a dozen sits at the center of the dismal room illuminated by a single torch, the Dethek runes engraved on its surface extolling the dwarven virtues. What must have once served as the central command apparatus of this old fortress of dwarves and their elven allies is now occupied by the people of Ilythiir and the orcish menace, their longtime enemies since time immemorial. How ironic.Vierna has judiciously made the choice to exclude her daughter Vaelith from the negotiations - proof that she at has some sense, at least. Daereth, the ranger, seems to have decided against attending as well, to no one's surprise. That leaves only Vierna, Xelthryn, and yourself to shape the course of the coming campaign.For the opposite party, there is Wurgoth Twice-Scarred, half-orcish warlord horribly deformed, who masks his mutilation behind a visage of iron. Joining him are a musclebound, blue-skinned abomination twice the height of a man with vicious black claws that could no doubt rend flesh and an array of charms around his neck - an ogre mage, or 'oni' as they are sometimes called, and a female orc clothed in an austere robe of brown-black fur, her hood concealing her features. You infer that she is a priestess, likely of Luthic, the orc goddess of healing and witchery.
>>6375909"As was explained prior, Master Wurgoth, I will repair the Demon's Ingle mythal to support the war effort as a gesture of goodwill such that you may sustain your long-term campaigns in these lands. You and yours may also do with the city as you please once our victory is assured," you say in the surfacer tongue, speaking with a sufficient measure of deference. "Our objective is merely to recover our delinquent sibling. Are we agreed?"Erudition confers many unique advantages, control in matters of diplomacy being one of them. Vierna's grasp of the surfacer language is too feeble to make any meaningful use of, and while Xelthryn has an excellent command of six languages or perhaps more, you've managed to buy his complicity for the time being. As the orcs do not speak Ilythiirra, that leaves you to creatively interpret the exchange and shape the outcome to your liking."We are agreed, drow. We can easily replenish our numbers from the scattered bands roaming in the north for our future wars. Consider this a long-term strategic investment; understand that this commitment is conditional on your repair of the magma forges and expires upon our victory," responds the warlord, his low voice carrying a metallic hum through his mask. It will last so long as you require it, though you do not vocalize this.
>>6375910"Wonderful news, sister!" You transition seamlessly to Ilythiirra, addressing House Delyl's matron mother. "The orcs have accepted our offer and we have secured their cooperation!" Vierna clicks her tongue, a smirk finding its way across her face. "Good. Tell them that they are to storm the walls and open the way. From there, we will be able to use our superior scouting and maneuvering to terrorize the streets. From then on, it will be a slaughter," she demands."The Matron Mother requests your input on how best to proceed with the offensive," you tell the orcs. Xelthryn opts to remain silent, a confirmation that your plan will proceed smoothly. The half-orcish warlord leans back in his stone seat, tapping an armored finger against the rocky armrest in consideration. "I have fought with your kind before, drow, as both ally and enemy, and I admire the assets that you bring to the battlefield. Tell her that you and yours are to infiltrate the city and open the gates - we will handle the handle the rest."A strategic decision lies before you. No doubt the people of Ilythiir would fare far better in urban combat than the orcish army of the Thousand Scars by a wide margin - but with geas you'll be placing on them, the orcs are just as much your assets as they are Twice-Scarred's and it is in your own best interest to preserve them. The surfacers no doubt have an array of defenses prepared along the city's perimeter, a result of their unhealthy obsession with 'building things.' Whoever takes the walls will be incurring heavy casualties. Fortunately, you are able to shape the outcome of this discussion...>The orcish army will lead the vanguard, breaking through the walls and affording our people the chance to slip in and raid the city.>House Delyl's army will dismantle the defenses to make way for the orcish army.
>>6375910Previous Adventures: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Forgotten+Realms+Adventures The Rules™: https://pastebin.com/VRQHDHSr Abilities:https://pastebin.com/FaJABuJsI'd like to personally thank whoever archived the previous thread before my involuntary hiatus. I'll allow some time for people to trickle in.
>>6375912>House Delyl's army will dismantle the defenses to make way for the orcish army.It gives our actual protagonist a better chance to catch them and stop them before the gates are ever open.>>6375914Welcome back, QM!>whoever archived the previous thread before my involuntary hiatusI think that was me, but I forget, kek.
