Chapter 12 – The King of Cormyr and the Ghazneth

Myrtle 9-30, 1371 D.R.

            We had just found our way out of Gitchi Gummi Swamp and were heading towards Cormyr in our attempt to get home to the Dalelands.  We were on the Coast Road heading west hoping to have a relatively uneventful trip home.  Cedar was hoping we could make a quick side trip to visit his family in Susail.  I had no problems considering this as he kept talking about all his sisters, and his parents, and it would be interesting to meet them.  As we hit the border of Cormyr, the road became called the Way of the Manticore as we continued on westward.

            After we had been traveling inside of the Cormyrian border, we saw a rather large force of Purple Dragon troops heading our direction.  Oriseus turned to us and was instructing us on how he was going to handle this.  He said he was going to place Artur under arrest and wanted us to give him our weapons.  By doing this it would not cause any problems as we had no charter to travel in Cormyr with weapons and he would keep his War Wizard ethics in tact now that he had to play that role.  Reluctantly, we gave our weapons under Oskar’s lead. 

            The troops were lead by Lord Wyvernspur and numbered about 300 strong.  We had stepped aside to allow the troop to pass and Oriseus had requested a consultation with the commander of the force.  Oriseus explain what had been going on in Tilverton with the Fire Knives and the Bleth family.  It was decided we needed to get this information to the King as soon as possible.  We also learned of trouble on the border here with Sembia and that there had been goblin attacks up in the north portions of Cormyr.

            Lord Wyvernspur gave Oriseus an amulet that he was to take to Wheloon.  This amulet would allow usage of the portal to Arabel saving some travel time in hopes we could catch the King before his departure.  Unfortunately, this meant that we weren’t going to get to visit Cedar’s family, as there was no delaying this assignment.  The force was impressive indeed.  The troops were obviously well trained and there was no break in their discipline while on their march.  We wished them the best of luck and continued on our way.

            Four days later we arrived in the small trade town of Wheloon.  It was also a ferry town and was a beautiful city.  We admired our surroundings during our quick trip through town.  Oriseus led us directly to the area where the portal was located.  We showed the amulet and were allowed in.  We were allowed to use the portal and were magically whisked to Arabel saving us days.  The portal had been guarded by Purple Dragon troops on both ends of the trip.  They did not allow us to see how they activated the portal as it was already running when we entered the room.  These could be a really fast way to connect portions of the Dales if we could find someone willing to do it and the costs were covered somehow.  Talk about cutting travel time for troops and movement.

            In Arabel, we re-supplied and spent some time making sure we were ready for the next leg of the journey.  It turns out we had missed the King’s force as they had already headed north.  They would be easy to follow but we would be leaving in the morning to catch them, if possible.  Arabel was a fine large city and very alluring to someone looking for a safe, non-mobile livelihood.  The shopkeepers were polite and their history is rich and thick.  Most people seemed to have some knowledge of the land’s history, new a couple heroic stories either about Cormyr or the King, and showed loyalty to the King.  Some would call the blind faith but it was refreshing to see.  If we could only get Randal Morn to that status, the Dales would be united as stand stronger than ever.  I was able to find a masterwork light crossbow and many songs and stories.  I also learned a great deal about Cormyr’s recent history but there seemed to be so much more to learn.  Unfortunately, we’d be off in the morning.

            We had been re-issued our weapons and were allowed to carry them as long as they were tied with “Peace knots”.  This was acceptable in my opinion as long as everyone else was doing the same.  We received some horses from some horse traders so we could move faster.  Who paid the bill?  I’m not sure.  My horse was still tied up in Tilverton.  There was talk that the King had gone to fight a Ghazneth.  What was a Ghazneth?  We were going to follow the King’s force and, with our luck, cross its path as well.  By the time I had heard this it was too late to find any information on it.

            The next morning we headed out for the Stonelands, as it seemed to be called around here.  We traveled three days before any encounters.  The King’s force had left an easy trail to follow and scared most things off in its path.  Looking around at the probable campsites, this was a large force he had taken.  This must be a major threat to require this many troops to battle it.

            On the 16^th of Myrtle, we ran across Andalara and some of his men.  He and his small group had discovered a Goblin encampment separate from the main force of the goblin army.  It appeared to be in the perfect position to flank the King’s forces.  He was going to take his group up to warn the King’s army.  He asked if we would hold the group off as long as we could to give him the needed time to get the warning to the King.  We more than readily accepted the challenge but we were set on destroying the goblin flanking force and not letting any of the past.  We took stock of our surroundings and got ready – they were coming.

            Oskar stepped forward as they crested the hill shouting, “Come die in Moradin’s Forge.”  Shane stepped up beside him giving our opponents a definite front line to aim for in their charge.  At that, it began raining Fireballs as both Cedar and Oriseus let some go into the pack of goblins and killing the charging dire wolf riders.  Xan was next dropping two of the three worgs, Feris finished off the third.  We had made the challenge and sealed it with a huge offensive.  We had demolished their flank, their mounted unit, and their toughest allies.  It was now time for the intimidation part of every battle.

I used a ghost sound spell to create the clanging of a hammer against an anvil as one would hear at a forge centered above Oskar and the initial challenge came from him.  It had a rhythmic and constant clang to it and was plenty loud enough for each of them to hear wherever they were on the battlefield.  The next few second proved even more deadly to our opponents than the first.  A resurgence of fireballs and bow fire eliminated the remainder of the force.  They had not even made it to a melee confrontation.  The force had consisted of 40 goblins, 6 worgs with riders, and a leader.

During the battle, a swarm of bugs had begun attacking us making it very difficult for the spellcasters to cast their spells.  We could hear the sounds of the main force in a deadly battle not far away and it sounded like they had engaged the Ghazneth.  Shortly after noticing the sounds of their encounter, a huge thing went flying over us through the sky.  It was the Ghazneth.  It had fled the battle and took the swarming bugs with it.  Unfortunately, that’s not all it did on its way.

As it passed over our battlefield, it animated a number of the dead back to undead.  It animated 30 zombies and the battle was on again.  Primula had taken a great position and, using Corellon’s power through her, she blasted a number of them.  Melee was accomplished this time but with Shane’s flying fists and Oskar’s ergosh, they didn’t stand a chance.  While it lasted longer than the original battle, we were victorious again.

Once both battlefields went quiet, we were taken to see King Azoun IV and Oriseus had a chance to explain about the Bleth family and the Fire Knives in Tilverton.  To Oriseus’ surprise, Artur and King Azoun IV were former adventuring companions, making Oriseus feel slighted that he hadn’t been informed by anyone.  King Azoun IV told Oriseus to return to Tilverton and eliminate the Fire Knives infestation.

King Azoun IV was also very impressed with the aid we were able to give his troops by preventing the attack to the rear of their formation.  He awarded each of us with a silver ring with an inlayed Purple Dragon showing us to be Friends of Cormyr for our aid in this battle.  This was truly an honor.  Cedar must have been bursting.  To now be recognized by the King as a Friend of Cormyr and hero in your homeland.  Even better to have it presented by the King!

We assisted the rest of that day tending to the wounded on the battlefield and assisting any way we could.  We were allowed to camp with the army and gathered some information on the Ghazneth.  There are rumored to be five of these plaguing Cormyr at this time.  The bug swarm can be effective at dropping troops before an army can even close. 

The next day we left for Tilverton with Oriseus and Artur.  We were guided by Andalara and made good time over the countryside.  We had definitely gotten our bargain on this adventure.  I hope Feris has been attentive in observing.

The Songs and Stories of My Life,

Kerith of the Dalelands