Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Introduction - Part Ten

   Previous installments:

• Introduction - Part One
• Introduction - Part Two
• Introduction - Part Three
• Introduction - Part Four
• Introduction - Part Five
• Introduction - Part Six
• Introduction - Part Seven
• Introduction - Part Eight
• Introduction - Part Nine

Introducing another major campaign player character, Thorbjorn Hrolfsson.

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Meanwhile, Thorbjorn Hrolfsson was at the Longhall in Gradsul, having just spent the day organizing a project to seat a mystical transporter pad, based on magics once employed by the Cult of the Black Flame and uncovered by Cerys Landry at their old stronghold of Baltron's Beacon in the Hool Marshes.  This enchanted stone dais would enable his followers to travel swiftly between his strongholds in Gradsul and Sasserine. Many followers had volunteered small donations of their life force towards the required enchantments. Soon, he would be able to move large numbers of the faithful frictionlessly between the two cities. 

He was also enjoying the thrill of romance with the lovely Arnora Gellveig, who seemed quite the perfect match. By now he and Falkvar had been courting their ladies together for over a month, since the completion of the Kassen Dam and the unfortunate events that occurred immediately afterwards that claimed the lives of half a dozen villagers there.

He wondered how Ingolfr was doing with his mission to assist the King’s nephew young Count Tarikos Skotti, and Cerys’ Uncle Torvus. He supposed that he might have made landfall in Krytos by now.

One of Thorbjorn’s aides approached his lord.

“Your Grace…there is someone to see you. She is just outside. It is the semblance of Cerys that dwells in Gradsul, her…sim-u-la-crum I think you once called her. She would speak with you about urgent matters.”

She was ushered before him. She was but a pale imitation of the original, but Thorbjorn knew that the simulacrum was permanently telepathically linked to her mistress.

“Hello Thorbs. I hear through my sources you have a bit of a romance going on. When’s the wedding?"

"Whenever my advisors have decided to organise it for me, I suppose."

"Well anyway...some news that may concern you.  I have had some most unusual visitors drop in on me. I am at Camp Ragfried right now with them. People from another Prime Material world. Their leader is a very charming fellow, of, well you might say, epic proportions. It looks like Sunaeco might have gotten himself into a spot of bother, and he may need our help…”

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...and from this point, the adventure commences.

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Introduction - Part Nine

   Previous installments:

• Introduction - Part One
• Introduction - Part Two
• Introduction - Part Three
• Introduction - Part Four
• Introduction - Part Five
• Introduction - Part Six
• Introduction - Part Seven
• Introduction - Part Eight

Another player character appears in the tale at this point: Cerys Landry, no mere dancer but a powerful sorceress; the mandolin player is her pixie familiar, cohort and constant companion Echo.  The half-ogres that get a brief mention are also PC's, Leguzh Leafcrusher and Baurig the Free.  The woman with the bear is Reynardia Yargrove, the Great Druidess of the Sheldomar Valley and a canonical World of Greyhawk NPC.  

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Their target was now sat on her haunches on the grass and was catching her breath. The swirling pattern on her skin was fading. They moved in around her and Gilgamesh ended their Etherealness.

What the interlopers from Uruk had failed to recognize, being unfamiliar with local hazards, was the nature of the space the dancer's performance had taken place in:

A faerie ring.

And none of them possessed fey blood…so the ring immediately afflicted them with wild magic of a chaotic nature.

Gilgamesh was attacked by a Finger of Death effect, which naturally he shrugged off with little effort, being famous for his immense constitution.

Sumu-Abum never made it to the Material plane; he found himself trapped in a shifting, confusing Maze of shimmering walls of force.

Ed-Wyna felt the paralyzing influence of a Temporal Stasis wash over her, which she successfully willed away before she became entirely frozen.

Ur-Zababa was afflicted by a Horrid Wilting. His skin cracked and parched and he felt the effects of extreme dehydration, that might have killed a lesser man.

Ed-Wyna unleashed her Rope of Entanglement on the surprised woman. It lashed around her pinning her upper arms against her torso and then snaked down around her thighs and tied her ankles together.

Immediately a commotion sprang up around them. “Damn, where is Sumu with his Silence spell?”

Ur-Zababa, grunting hoarsely from his parched throat, grabbed the girl’s shoulders with skin peeling from his hands. Yet she just twisted away and slipped out of his grasp like an eel, her agility apparently unhindered by the ropes that bound her.

Gilgamesh realized things were going to be more difficult than they had hoped, so he adapted the plan: he opened the Gate underneath her. And so she would have a soft landing, he (naturally) opened it into his royal bedchamber, directly over his bed. Where a startled-looking #2 wife Bam-Ninki was already lying, evidently awaiting his return (he’d only gone out to kill a giant centipede, for goodness’ sake, what sort of time did he call this?)

But she did not fall; she just hovered over the Gate, magically suspended in the air. Someone would have to shove her through.

“Grab her, Bam!” he cried. Bam-Ninki’s expression was a mixture of shock and disapproval, as she had evidently hoped to have her King all to herself tonight in Uruk.

Then many things happened at once, before Bam could react to his command. Tiny arrows began raining on them from all sides, from invisible assailants. The few that penetrated their defenses carried some kind of sleep poison, which they were all able to resist. Several Deep Slumber spells went off on them, but they were all too hardened to succumb to such magic. Squawking birds rained Colour Sprays on them. The dark-haired mandolin player was suddenly next to Gilgamesh in the blink of an eye and she touched him. He was able to shrug off the Otto’s Irresistible Dance – not so irresistible in his case, for he was famous for being resistant to such compulsions, of course. Ed-Wyna, however, did succumb to the touch of an invisible assailant and she began helplessly dancing a jig. A half-man half-cricket thing struck up a tune, calling “That’s the spirit!”

Outside the circle, the handsome brunette with the bear companion had a look of great anger on her features; she swiftly cast a spell on her bear, and its claws lengthened and its muscles bulged, magically enhanced for battle. Then she changed into a similarly large ferocious looking bear, herself. As the two of them lollopped up the hillside to aid the golden-haired one the elven bard gestured towards them and cast a spell that made both of them grow to Huge size. The galloping of centaur hooves was heard also and two large arrows glanced off Gilgamesh’ breastplate, knocking him back just a little though they would have skewered a normal man. The half-ogres had also snatched up their weapons and were moving in to do battle.

Roots suddenly lashed up out of the ground and struck at Ur-Zababa viciously, drawing blood; then a huge Air Elemental appeared from nowhere and grabbed him, lifting him into the air.

The golden haired woman, Cerys Landry – for it was indeed she – had at first been bewildered and taken by surprise; then her surprise turned to a look of annoyance. She looked down to see a richly appointed royal bed beneath her and the startled young lady. Then she glanced up and down at Gilgamesh, and her expression changed again. She shrugged an arm free of the entangling rope without difficulty and gestured towards the Air Elemental that had seized Ur-Zababa and said in Auran, the language of the air elementals – which Gilgamesh spoke fluently, himself – “Don’t kill him.”

She looked up at Gilgamesh with large, lustrous eyes and a smile upon her soft ruby lips that could melt men’s very souls.

“This might be the done thing where you come from, but I like to at least know someone’s name before I let them tie me up.”

“Lady, I am Gilgamesh, son of Lugalbanda, King of Uruk, who your King Sunaeco has wronged most grievously.”

“Well, Gilgamesh of Uruk, you don’t look like a habitual kidnapper, so before things get too unpleasant how about we just sit down together and have a chat instead?” she intoned huskily.

And this seemed to Gilgamesh, a highly reasonable suggestion, after all.

He flung out his arms, and exclaimed in a booming voice:

“Ed-Wyna, Ur-Zababa, Sumu if you can hear me; I have changed my mind. I will talk with this woman instead.”

Gilgamesh was, after all, famous for changing his mind.

Cerys easily shrugged the Rope of Entanglement from about her arms and shoulders, demonstrating that it had never really been a hindrance.  By now, Bam-Ninki had managed to stand up on the bed, and was clutching, rather ineffectually, at Cerys’ legs. Cerys glanced down at her and shook her head.  A faint but unmistakable hint of icy menace to creep into her voice. 

“Don’t do that, dear.”

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Introduction - Part Eight

  Previous installments:

• Introduction - Part One
• Introduction - Part Two
• Introduction - Part Three
• Introduction - Part Four
• Introduction - Part Five
• Introduction - Part Six
• Introduction - Part Seven

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THE PLAN

As this was an in-game action plan worked out round-by-round within the rigid framework of the D&D 3.5 combat rules, inevitably the narrative "flow" lapses into gamist terminology in this section.  With some work, I could recast this as more of a storytelling narrative; but instead, invite the reader to simply accept that it could be re-written in that way, and take it as a given.

The Invisibility had worn off; Gilgamesh could manage one more round of Invisibility for all, but would save that for just before they went in.

First they would lurk at a good distance in Wind Walk, amidst the treetops in the darkness where they would not be detected. They would await some indication of the arrival of Serise Lendri, given the degree of expectation they might hear a cheer go up.

Gilgamesh would then use his divinely-conferred powers to render them all invisible, and ethereal. They would then move in.

Close to their target, they would drop out of Wind Walk, but remain ethereal.

They would position themselves for the snatch. (Ed-Wyna, to grumbles from Ur-Zababa and her father, had persuaded them that attempting to carry additional women off, no matter now comely, would jeopardize the mission. “You’re such a spoilsport Ed-Wyna. Always getting in the way of our fun.”)

Ur-Zababa would cast Divine Power for increased combat prowess. Also Prayer and Bless.

Sumu-Abum would cast Silence on a coin from his pouch to suppress spellcasting.

Surprise Round:

Gilgamesh would dispel his Etherealness.

Ed-Wyna would hurl her Rope of Entanglement (a trophy she had taken from a slain devil) at the target.

Ur-Zababa would then make a grab for the woman.

Sumu-Abum would also help to grab and restrain her.

“I should think the two of you will be enough for one dancing girl, heh?”

Hopefully, all this would occur before any opposed actions could take place.

Round 1:

Gilgamesh would next open a Gate back to Uruk.

Ed-Wyna would be tasked with fending off anyone who attempted to stop the abduction, with trip attacks. If the grappling is already failing because their target is too slippery, Ed-Wyna bull-rushes the target through the Gate instead.

Ur-Zababa and Sumu-Abum would next aim to pin their hostage and drag her through the gate into Uruk, or else assist Ed-Wyna in bull-rushing her if grappling is obviously failing.

Round 2:

Gilgamesh delays until after everyone else has passed through the Gate

Ed-Wyna et al further grapple, pin and drag their hostage through. Shout for the Palace Guard.

Once they are through, Gilgamesh steps through and lets the Gate close.

What could possibly go wrong?

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As the ambushers from Uruk watched, and waited, they became aware of a rustle of excitement in the gathering of woodland beings about the mound, a change in the music. The green-skinned dancers moved to the outer perimeter of the circle of toadstools as a cloud of mist expanded in the centre. Somewhere within, glowing lights began winking on, dancing flickering flames. Then another glowing radiance developed, pouring downwards to form what might be a humanoid shape, though the mist made it hard to see any detail.

Then a rushing central downdraft of air blew the mist down and outwards over the surface of the mound, whooshing out over the toadstools towards the audience who gave a rousing cheer as the dancer was revealed, glowing traceries of light swirling in intricate patterns that emphasized her feminine contours.

“This is surely she” Gilgamesh whispered to his companions. “She likes to make an entrance, doesn’t she? Now, we must move in and get into position. Remember the plan. Box her in, and wrestle or shove her through the Gate to Uruk I will open.”

Holding hands together, Gilgamesh shifted them to the Ethereal Plane, and they moved in closer.

But as they approached, they were all slack-jawed in wonderment as they observed this superb being engage in the most awe-inspiring display of dancing they had ever seen. The finest temple dancers of Ishtar could not compare with her gyrations and the graceful use of her sleek limbs, the swirl of her hair which seemed to possess its own life, her control of the tracery of glowing lines that performed a dance of their own over her supple form. Now they knew why the Sheikh’s son Husaam had been so taken with her, and why Elysium had called upon her talents to impress the Amir.

It was evident that boxing her in or even laying a hand on her at all might prove a challenge, such was her agility, and it seemed that she may possess the power of flight, also.

Gilgamesh found now that he was greatly enjoying watching this paragon of beauty and artistic skills go through her moves. It was quite the most arousing thing he’d seen in many a year. He was also aware of a magical enthralling effect in the glowing patterns swirling over her form. He was immune to this and his companions strong-willed enough to not be completely robbed of their wits. But her talents were sublime, even without magical enhancements. 

He glanced at the others and shook his head. “Let us wait until she finishes. She will be more exhausted by then.”

“A most excellent change of plan, O wise King” said Sumu.

It was a lengthy, tireless performance, though. Gilgamesh had to renew the group’s Etherealness. “We are the lucky ones, to observe her this closely, unseen.  Her talents are unrivalled, and I am keen appreciator of such arts, not easily impressed.  Be prepared for the end of the performance, though.”

The performance drew to a crescendo, and suddenly there were a half dozen brightly coloured birds flying around her that discharged sprays of rainbow coloured light outwards from her in every direction as she leapt and span and gyrated faster and faster. With her final move she threw her head back, her arms stretched skywards and a massive electrical discharge leapt skywards from her open palms, radiating spokes of lightning over the heads of her audience.

Gilgamesh found himself clapping with great enthusiasm and shouting his approval into the ethereal mists, before sternly reminding himself that he was here to kidnap this woman and make her reveal the whereabouts of the scoundrel Fishy King she served whose actions had already led to the death of four janni warriors and a village full of his people.

He touched each of his companions to draw the cloak of Invisibility around them in readiness. “Now quickly, people are stirring and soon they may swarm up the hill to get closer to her and offer her their praise.”