IV. The Battle of Athkatla

IV. The Battle of Athkatla

Dawn broke over Athkatla. Scouts had ridden into the city and confirmed it - the Zhentarim army would be there very soon.

Before the archers and mages standing on the ramparts of the city wall could even see the approaching Zhentarim, they could hear them. The entire army was marching in step, heavy metal-clad soldiers shaking the ground for miles around. Soon their banners became visible over the hill, bearing the red “Z” of the Black Network of the Zhentarim, the moon-and-stars emblem of the drow Cult of Shar, or the bloody crossed axe-and-hammer of the dwarven Bloodaxe Clan. They were as one huge machine. A phalanx of fighters deep and wide across the front, archers in the rows behind. Spellcasters were both behind and interleaved among them, strategically positioned for their own protection and the magical enhancement of the surrounding fighters.

The Amnish forces arrayed in front of and atop the city wall cowered at the site of the massive army. Looking through a spyglass atop the wall, Nalia gasped as she recognized the purplish tint of the opposing army’s gear. “It can’t be!” she screamed. “It’s broad daylight, but their weapons are made with….adamantium!”

The Zhentarim drew closer. Sarevok, eyeing the ground from his army to the other intently, at a precise moment gave a signal and a nearby soldier blew a horn. Within one step, the entire army stood still. He gave another signal, a different note followed, and then the archers drew their bows and began firing shot after shot. The Amnish archers were now doing the same. Clouds of arrows arced through the sky and came down upon both sides. The Zhentarim’s adamantium-tipped arrows sailed through the armor of the Amnish easily, and their adamantium armor largely deflected the incoming conventional arrows. After a minute of this, the Amnish were losing men fast and ordered a full charge. Sarevok called another hornblast and his own army charged to meet them.

Korgan, leading the mercenaries of his clan, looked across the rapidly approaching line of defenders and saw a cluster of short warriors breaking the line of tall. He recognized the emblem of Kagain Muscle Traders, the mercenary force of the recently-legitimate Sword Coast businessdwarf Kagain. “Ar, thar be goody human-lovin dwarves! Let us be showin ‘em what for!” he spat and led his clan rushing forward at them, ahead of the Zhentarim soldiers. His berserker clansmen were frothing at their mouths and running fast despite their short legs.

As fighters clashed on both sides, the Zhentarim were easily slicing the weapons of their opponents in two and cutting into their armor. Magically strengthened and hastened, they hacked through the defenders with efficiency and ease. Now the spellcasters on both sides were busy trading spells and replenishing friendly enhancements. Fireballs exploded, hailstorms fell, and lightning arced in the midst of the ranks and soldiers began taking painful elemental damage. Lathander and Helm clerics traded divine spells with Shar clerics and people on both sides found themselves held, enhanted, or in flames. With Aerie, Nalia, Imoen, Jan and other good mages casting powerful evocations and enchantments down from the ramparts, the defenders had the offensive magical advantage and were quickly taking out Zhentarim. However, the Black Network’s forces were making rapid advancement on their front line due to their aggressive discipline and technological advantage. Elite defending warriors, mostly paladins and rangers, with enchanted weapons and armor managed to keep from being slashed to pieces by the adamantium weapons, but the mundanely-equipped bulk of the fighters were being slain like cattle.

Amidst the dwarven melee, the Bloodaxe clan’s adamantium axes and hammers were hacking and smashing through through those of Kagain Muscle Traders. As Korgan axed through a rival, he saw a dwarven warrior-priest wielding a large enchanted hammer step in front of him. “Ah, tha pious Yeslick!” he sneered, licking froth from his lips. “Time ta show you what an axe edge is for, priesty-priesty!” he yelled and ran at him.

Yeslick cast a domination spell at Korgan, but the berseker ignored it in his enraged state. Before he could get off another spell, Korgan’s axeblade smashed into his shoulder. Each drawf drew back and swung again, hitting each other’s shields. They continued the melee, making loud clangs with each blow. Yeslick cast strong harming energy into his hammer and swung it underhand and into Korgan’s knee, smashing it and causing a searing wound with the divine magic. The hardy Korgan took the heavy damage in stride and flew into another berserker rage and hacked his axe rapidly up and down on Yeslick’s shield and helmet. At last his swing cleft through one of the helmet’s horns and then fell into Yeslick’s shoulder, cutting in deep. Yeslick groaned and began chanting to heal himself, but before he could complete the spell, Kagain swung again into his chest, driving his axeblade clean through him. With the great strength of a madman’s rage, Korgan continued to swing his axe and lifted Yeslick off the ground impaled, swung his weapon over his head and then brought it down on the other side, smashing Yeslick against the ground and then following through the full overhead swing and cleaving the priest in two.

Korgan laughed heartily and took a swig of a healing potion and threw it aside. As he did, a throwing axe came flying back and lodged shallowly in his chest. As he bellowed and pulled it out, he saw another great dwarven warrior he recognized step from the blur of short soldiers. “Ah, at last, the turnin-a-new-leaf Kagain! First the black market, now tha white market! Bah!’ he spat.

“My old mercenary comrade,” Kagain began gruffly, “it’s not too late for my former partner in evil either. You’d be amazed at the lucrative contracts these goody-goody humans have to offer!” He kept his axe steady but not threatening.

“Then join yer new overgrown friends in tha grave!” Korgan roared and flew into another frothing rage, flying at Kagain. The other dwarf met the blow with his shield and swung back with his own, managing to hit paydirt. The two fighters hacked back and forth, each drawing blood several times, but the two hardy dwarves kept on swinging. At last Korgan grew tired from his rage and continued to rack up injuries while Kagain conserved his strength and slowly regenerated his own wounds. At last, as Korgan’s axe swung in from a carelessly wide arc, Kagain knocked it back away with his shield and then brought his own axe up underhand alongside Korgan’s shield. He cut through the evil dwarf’s armor and into his stomach, then pulled his weapon up and gouged through him groin to chin. In a final spasming rage, Korgan hurled his body forward biting and grasping, but Kagain calmly stepped back and, gripping his axe midway up the handle, pushed it forward with an inside elbow-strike-type blow and and pushed the blade through Korgan’’s neck and beheaded him. Korgan’s still-screaming head flew into the bloody mud behind him and Kagain turned to face the next ill-aligned mercenary.

***

As the Zhentarim fighters decimated the Amnish, they reached the lines of defending clerics. Among them was the wandering crusader Branwen. She froze evil soldiers around her with her clerical magic and conjured spiritual hammers to smash those that got close. She fearlessly waded through the oncoming phalanx and soon found herself face to face with the hideous drow clerics of Shar. The first resisted her magic but then she felled with the her hammer. Then another, sneering and beautiful, stepped in front of her, wearing jade armor, a mirrored shield, and a human-skull mace.

“Ah, my pretty, I have seen you before,”’ Viconia cackled, “but you were a stone statue at the time! Too bad the years are not as kind on you human women as the are on us elves! Perhaps you should have stayed a statue, eh?”

“Tis but one of the many obstacles Tempus has thrown in my way to test my faith” Branwen replied solemnly. “As are you.” With that she began to cast a spell, as did Viconia. A lightning bolt came down upon the drow lady and a column of flame upon the human woman. They each gritted their teeth, healed themselves, and then uttered holy and unholy words. The neutral Branwen was unaffected but so was the magic-resisting Viconia. Then their skull mace and spiritual hammer swung into one another. They circles and traded blows, hitting each other’s weapons and shields. Branwen managed to smash into Viconia’s knee but then she found the skull coming down on her own head. She then clenched the mace between her hammer and shield, but Viconia simply let go of the handle and then raked her long fingernails across Branwen’s face. The woman screamed as she felt their poisoned tips dig into her skin. Her muscles went limp and Viconia grabbed her mace away, infused it with the power to slay the living, and then brought it sailing into Branwen’s chest and killed her. The evil priestess cackled and licked the blood from her fingers, turning to cast destructive magic at her next opponent.

***

Jan stood on the ramparts just south of the city gate, shooting spells and flasher master bruiser mates into oncoming enemies below. He looked at the rows of mages in the back. Looking through his Jansen techno-spectro goggles, he saw a particularly powerful necromantic aura from one, a babbling figure in green. Suddenly the figure opened a dimension door and disappeared. Through his goggles, he could see the mini-conduit the wizard was taking. It ran through the wall and behind him into the graveyard district. Jan dimension-doored himself there as well.

Standing in the middle of the graveyard, Jan looked across the tombstones and saw his enemy appear.

“Those that the gods wish to destroy they first make mad! Mad! MAD!” Xzar screamed.

“Well you know my magical friend, according the gnomish theologicial Humpret Smogglewise the Twenty-Third, most gods would simply just smite the affected individual - hmm, affected, yes, that would be you - and be done with it rather than putting them through a convoluted series of trials and tribulations and mental….”

He was cut off as Xzar sent a squad of magic missiles his way. They crashed into him and he flew back. “Wooohooooo!” he screamed as he smashed into the tombstone behind him, harmed but not critically. Xzar then cast a time stop but not before Jan’s’ contingency kicked in and brought up a host of protections. Xzar used his window to dispel them and then cast a slew of necromantic spells. As time resumed, they simply fizzled on Jan harmlessly.

“I’ve seem pigs fly, I have, tis true!” Xzar moaned and clasped his hands over his ears as his spells failed.

“Har har har, my necromancer!” Jan smirked. “You really should know that us illusionists are in the habit of carrying an immunity spell to necromancy - it’s our opposition school for cryin out loud, of course we do!” he laughed and cast a time stop of his own. He spent his window simply firing his crossbow. As time resumed, a half dozen flasher master bruiser mates slammed into Xzar’s frail body and their splinters raked through his flesh and he fell dead. Jan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to run away, but then he heard a cackle seeming to come within the ground.

Xzar sprang up, but now he was a lich. A score of zombies popped out of the ground behind him. “Now for a thriller, thriller, yeah!” he screeched and suddenly strange music began playing from nowhere and Xzar started a snappy dance with the zombies matching his every motion.

“Well," Jan opined and began casting, “my newly undead necromantic friend I can’t say in all of the Annals of Dances Throughout the Various Regions and Races of the Realms, in any of the 123431 volumes - all of which I’ve read, naturally - I’ve seen anything quite this bad! you should, well - just beat it!”
“Who’s bad? I’m bad? I’m bad! Just beat it?” Xzar screamed and patted himself on his bare skull spasmatically while he orderd his performing zombies to start dancing their way to Jan. Jan completed his spell and summoned a number of orcs to his aid. The orcs started dancing their way to the zombies and the two groups met and began trading rhythmic slashes and parries. Jan and Xzar leapt into the fray and swung their daggers at each other. As their other hands flailed up and hit, Xzar conjured a small rope tying their left wrists together. They circled, swinging their knives back and forth in an intense close-range duel while they zombies and orcs continued to fight and dance side to side. Each cut into the other a few times with their daggers, but then one of Jan’s slashed cut off Xzar’s skeletal hand at the wrist and freed them from one another. Xzar pushed him back with a telekinetic cantrip and Jan fell onto a slab, spinning around rapidly on his back while flailing his hands and feet into the air. He came out of his breakdance and tried to slash at Xzar again, but the necromancer spun around and disappeared into a whirlwind of sand and then reformed elsewhere.
“I’’m invincible I am yes invincible! “Xzar babbled and cast a fireball at Jan. The gnome outran it as it took out the remaining zombies and orcs. Jan fired a flasher master bruiser mate but Xzar twisted sideways and started walking backwards out of his way, bringing his knees up as if he were walking forward and artistically moving his hands to both dance and cast. The necromancer began casting his deadly spell but then the illusionist distracted him by projecting false images of a monkey and small boy. They broke Xzar’s concentration and he started bounding after them with an outstretched shiny glove and a weird skeletral grin. They led the enchanted lich over to an open grave and coffin which he mindlessly walked over and fell into. Jan kicked the lid closed behind him and conjured dirt to fill the grave.
‘Guess that buries your career my dancing wizard good riddance unfortunately they’ll probably try to resurrect you over and over and… ” Jan trailed off as he ran out of the now eerily quiet graveyard.

***

Cyrex, Eldoth and Haer’Dalis were running up the stairs outside the Copper Coronet, holding Xan. They reached the roof, which was nearly deserted. A few catapults stood about hurling stones east at the Zhentarim forces just outside the walls, but they were an unmanned variety Jan had devised which were automatically self-reloaded and fired every few seconds.

“this is a high point right in middle of athkatla this will do nicely.the chaos shockwave will blast across the entire city and bring madness to all!!!!!! cast it here now my enchanter!!” Cyran instructed.

“Oh dear, I’m dust!” Xan moaned and began casting.

“spell will take several minutes to complete let’s get out here outside the radius we are insane enough as it is!” Cyrex babbled and he and the other two bards ran back down the stairs.

"Mayhaps, my parrot," Haer'Dalis sang, "but first Eldoth and I have a certain dove and sparrow to cage, come hither to the ramparts." They ran east towards the city gates.

***

As the Zhentarim army continued to push forward, their mages came within range of the city walls. Edwin, at the back, began summoning all manner of monsters in the air above the walls. Skeletal warriors, elementals of all types, invisible stalkers, and various tribes of demons fell amongst the archers and mages, causing great havoc. Spellcasters protected themselves and archers drew out their melee weapons. The strong monsters quickly began thrashing them to bits. Further north along the wall, over the city gates, Aerie and Nalia were however taking them out with their destructive spells as well as deft melee blows from Crom Faeyr and the Short Sword of Mask. Nearer Edwin, Imoen was also taking them out with spells and her Staff of the Ram. Edwin looked up at her and dimension doored himself onto the wall beside her.

They each quickly sent up numerous spell protections and then trading dispellings. Edwin held out his fingers and sent a volley of flame arrows at Imoen but she stopped time, ran out of their path, and cast several lightning bolts at Edwin. As time resumed they struck and burned him, unleashing a contingency which sent chain lightning through Imoen and Tenser’s transformation upon himself. Becoming a mighty juggernaut, he swung his quarterstaff at Imoen but she swung back. The ends of their staffs clapped against one another as they tried in vain to hit each other’s knuckles, faces, or chests. Edwin swung his staff in a horizontal arc at Imoen, but the thief girl deftly leaned back and did a limbo underneath it, then swung her own downwards and swept Edwin off his feet. As his legs flew up into the air and he fell, she cast an ice storm at the ground below him. The spell hardened into icicles which he fell upon, impaled and dead.

***

Onyx, Valygar and Minsc were surveying the battle from a high watchtower within the city. Onyx and Valygar shouted out orders, while Minsc barked loud commands that he claimed were coming from Boo. They watchertower had recently been built in the "slums district" which, though it had prospered and become far more safe and upscale during the years of Nalia's reign, still held the same name almost as a joke. Onyx detected Eldoth's evil aura and pointed the other two in that direction, towards the Copper Coronet, and then Valygar’s hairs bristled as he felt the strong enchantment aura from the roof of the tavern. The three warriors ran up out of the tower and over to the tavern, then up the stairs and onto the roof.

“Xan!” Onyx exclaimed. “I thought you were at Spellstudy!”

“Oh dear, my old friend from those horrible Nashkel mines, I find myself in a miserable bind yet again! I have to cast a terrible Chaos Shockwave for those circus bards or it’s Mr. Geas! Oh woe is me!’

Onyx held his sword high at Xan. “My friend, you must not cast it or I will be truly sorry to do this, but I can’t let you…”

Valygar held his hand on the paladin’s shoulder and restrained him. “He is no longer casting, Onyx. I can see the yellow-and-purple glow around his body. The spell will go off no matter what now. The only question is…”

“Where!” Onyx and Valygar shouted in unison as they looked at one of the catapults. Onyx scooped up Xan and they ran over to it. As the head came down from its last shot, he tossed the enchanter into its bowl. With automatic speed, it sprang up again.

“I’m doooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmed!!!!!!!!!” Xan moaned as he sailed high through the sky, over the slums and the city wall. He landed in a puddle on the muddy battlefield, amidst the Zhentil soldiers who by now had nearly annihilated the Amnish from the field and were clamoring at the moat. Then Xan spasmed as he felt his spell complete. The Chaos Shockwave flew out of his body, rippling across the surrounding battlefield. Zhentarim went confused and crazy and began attacking each other instead of cleaning off the remaining foes or manning their boat-bridges and battering rams. Wizards and Sharite clerics began casting magic carelessly about and causing explosions.

***

Sarevok bellowed in rage as he saw his army, massive and organized only moments before, fall into utter disarray. The banners fell, the lines broke, the forward momentum was lost. Soldiers at the edges of the flanks or at the back began skipping off into the surrounding field, those in the middle were hacking and blasting each other to bits. As his own soldiers ran at him crazily, Sarevok raised Soul Ravager and preparing to slash them down. He soon felt much better, slashing down at least one soldier with every blow, making sport of seeing how many he could slay in a single swing.

Amidst the now rapidly-declining numbers of both the Amnish and the Zhentarim, he saw two knights come before him, one tall and one short. "Ah, my straight-and-true old friends Sir Delryn and Lady Fentan!" he bellowed. Anomen and Mazzy approached him bravely but cautiously, mace and shortsword and shields held close. Anomen began to cast a spell but Sarevok had drawn his Crossbow of Affliction just as quickly and fired a bolt at him. The heavy launcher sent the missile into Anomen's chest, interrupting and injuring him. As Sarevok slung the crossbow back over his belt, Mazzy was running at him and stabbed her short deep into Sarevok's thigh. Sarevok merely laughed as he drew out Soul Ravager again and swung it down at her. Mazzy parried the blade with her shield but the strength of the blow sent her to her knees. Anomen was rushing at Sarevok and managed to smash him in the side, but Sarevok swung back and caught the knight against the side of his helmet. He went reeling as Mazzy drew back.

Sarevok deliberately stepped between them and began swinging his sword around quickly. The two moved in with their weapons but Sarevok went into a blinding whirlwind attack, a tornado of dark flashing steel that parried every blow and knocked the two good fighters back. As his whirlwind ended, he sheathed his sword and drew out a great adamantium double-ended halberd. He simultaneously dueled Anomen's mace with its front end and Mazzy's shortsword with the back. Mazzy went into a whirlwind attack of her own, but Sarevok quickly swung his halberd over his head and brought the front end down upon the short, spinning Mazzy while the back end swung up at Anomen, blocking his blow and smashing into his stomach. The halberd blade cleft into Mazzy's helmet and put a deep gash in her head. As she fell to the ground with a fatal concussion, Sarevok swung his halberd around again, catching Anomen across the chin with the back end and then brining the front end around into the knight's thigh. As Anomen backed up and healed himself, Sarevok switched out Soul Ravager again and came at him full force. He knocked Anomen's mace far to the outside with his first blow, the shield away from his body with the second, and then he swung it up and caught Anomen in the chest with the third, sending him to the ground unconscious and bleeding to death. Before Sarevok could desecrate their bodies with his blade, more of his own mad troops ran up to him and he was swept into the fray again, swinging furiously at his insane disloyal soldiers.

***

Aerie and Nalia stood together on the ramparts, overlooking the battle and casting spells down into the fray.

“Ah, sweet dove and sweet sparrow, would you hear a song from three humble minstrels?” a voice behind them asked.

Nalia turned first to see the three bards dresses as clowns. One held a bunch of balloons and the other two were beginning to orate from scrolls they held. “I don’t think now’s the ti-“ she began, but then, just as Aerie turned to them, the two bards completed their chants. Suddenly shimmering spheres encircled Aerie and Nalia.

“Ah, I do so love Otiluke’s Resilient Balloon!” laughed Haer’Dalis as his scroll vaporized. “It lasts so much longer than Otiluke’s ordinary sphere, works every time, can’t be dispelled, is light as a feather, and even comes with a convenient handle!” As the women tried in vain to cast and kick their way out of the bubbles that slowly floated up, Haer’Dalis grabbed the rope handle of the one carrying Aerie and Eldoth grabbed the one carrying Nalia. Cyrex laughed madly and held his own balloons aloft.

“And now, my friends," cackled Cyrex, "to Insanity Island we must go for a much needed vacation."

"...or honeymoon!” Eldoth grinned evilly, looking up at Nalia.

The three bards began running west through the town towards the docks district, where their trimaran was moored.