A Siege Begun

"Come, let us go," he said, breathless. "I must collect my things, before we are to travel." Severos laid his coin on the table, overpaying in his hurry. He set off immediately for the door, wanting to be away from the Golden Oak where he had been made a fool of by a disguised Shade. His eyes scanned the shadows for the demon thief to no avail. He cursed silently to himself before making for his hut.

Reise stopped Severos. “Where are you going? We can get back to your place the same way we came from there to here.”

Putting a key into the door lock, he half-dragged Severos through the rear exit of the tavern, which through inexplicable means led directly back into Severos’ hut. Reise and Orla stood there staying out of the way as Severos manically packed. “I hope he knows to travel light,” he whispered to Orla. “I don’t want to help lug around...well luggage.”

When Severos returned with just a single sack slung over his back and a white willow staff, much to Reise's relief, the three walked down a long corridor lined with doors of which no two were the same. Orla had been here before but it never got any less strange. She instinctively sensed the place did not exist in any normal sense of the term.

Severos looked about with wonder. This place had every bit of description to the Hall of Doors from Master Soran's lecture on the Planes of Existence. He thought it to mythical, yet here he was. He didn't know what to say only that he was in a very old place.

“Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,” Reise said under his breath, looking between the doors.

“Is that an incantation?” Severos asked.

“Huh? Yeah, that’s right,” Reise said, only half listening as he reached out and chose a fancy looking door to open.

Beyond was a grand hall where a tapestry prominently hung. He recognised the Soldor coat of arms. The three walked through and he quietly shut the door behind them, withdrawing the key.

“I don’t know if this is Folkstan's Keep, but it’s definitely Dalen,” Reise said, looking around and sincerely hoping no one was home.

Severos glanced about. "Is anyone here?" He asked. His voice echoed slightly in the stone walls.

~~

Attempting to teleport such a large force into Soldor's Bastion would be folly for any accomplished spellcaster. It was protected not by powerful magics but multiple layers of protection. Even if one protective ward was breached, dozens more stood in the way. Such was the maze of woven magic that any attempt to breach would be noticed.

There was one kink in the armor that very many did not think about. And that was the aqueduct at its entrance. It was here that Liliana and her one hundred Kragan teleported to, it was here that she quickly rusted away the old gate. With a quick flourish of her hand, she casted the pass without trace spell onto the Kragan, whose wicked black blades were bared for blood.

"It is time," she said, an evil smile playing upon her face. "Go forth now, kill all who oppose you."

The lead Kragan nodded with a deep grunted. "Follow," it growled to the others. With a silence that seemed to not fit such creatures, they marched through the open gateway. Liliana smiled all the while, turning away to look over the plains. It was only as the last went through did she move.

She caressed her left shoulder, running her fingers along the scars there. The sweet memory of the blade making fresh the mark that she tendered so cane to her. A sweet ecstasy in the release as she pulled upon the scar, the tissue pulled as if a scarf had been undone. She held a length of the scar as a twisted cord of flesh, watching as it shuddered and grew. It twisted into a snake with a vehement hiss.

"Keep watch on the fields, my familiar," she cooed to it. It hissed before slithering away into the grass. With a mad laugh, she turned and walked to the front gate.

~~

Severos glanced to the others as he walked forward, glancing around. The grand hall echoed with people moving about elsewhere. Finally, the young mage spotted a maid cleaning. "Hail!" He called.

A sudden sound of an explosion rattled the area as everyone did a take of surprise. "What was that?" Orla asked.

"Nothing good," was the reply from Reise and Severos, voices matched. They glanced at each other before Severos pushed the large entrance open.