Pathfinder: The Siege of Fiddler’s Vale.

In loving memory of crazypagangurl, aka Tiffani, who was a great help in getting this one started.

Prologue

Sometimes, bad things just come out of nowhere.

But sometimes, there is a warning.

And riding hard towards the town of Fiddler’s Vale, a warning is coming ...

Early in the morning, the gate guards saw three people riding towards the gate. One was tall, and her blindingly white hair could be spotted at a distance as she rode. The one in the middle was smaller, but also had white hair that shone in the morning light, and when she got close enough, a strange symbol could be seen blazing on her forehead. The last one was the largest of the three, but hooded so no details were visible to the gate guards - until they were stopped at the gate, and one of the guards saw that the hooded one had claws instead of hands ...

Despite this, the tall one showed the guards a seal belonging to the city’s mayor, and the three of them were waved through, and went to the city government house.

Again the seal was presented, this time at the city hall, and shortly the three were waved through and asked to wait while the mayor concluded some other business so he could see them.

The conversation with the mayor didn’t take very long. Messengers were sent out to the town leadership, and remarkably quickly representatives of the temples, the mage guild, the captain of the town guard, and several others were in the mayor’s office listening to the three, especially the smallest one with the symbol on her forehead, who appeared to be a girl just barely out of her teens.

After the report was made, the three were asked to wait again, so they went and sat on the steps of city hall.

After a few moments, a voice called out, “Loitering, huh?”

The tall one looked up, and saw what looked like a tiny woman, riding a dog.

“Duskade!” the tall one shouted, and leapt up, laughing, revealing herself to be a grey-skinned woman. Then she said, “How goes being a member of the Watch?”

“Well enough, Acera. I was starting to think you weren't coming back.” the tiny woman replied, hooking her short spear onto a slot on the saddle, and slipping off the large dog.

“I almost didn’t make it. Things are going to get bad, Duskade. The undead and the shadow peoples are coming in force.”

The smaller woman frowned, and then said, “Well, if it must be, it must be. I have been rather hoping for an opportunity to show my gratitude for this town in better ways than keeping the streets clear of riff raff.”

“Indeed. Now, I suppose we should go to the training grounds, that’s where the mayor said many of those who will be part of the town’s defence will be gathering.”

Duskade smiled, and leapt onto the back of her riding dog. “In that case, follow me!” she shouted, and then added “Parade march, Ambrosia!”

The others could not help but smile as they followed, because the dog strutted with its head held high while the tiny woman waved a small banner with the town’s crest on it.

The unusual quartet made their way to the training grounds, where already a crowd was gathering. The crowd were of many races and abilities, all willing to put aside any differences to serve as the town’s defence.

Meanwhile, far above on a nearby rooftop, a shadowed figure watched the crowd gather.

If anyone had been able to get close enough, they would have almost certainly drawn back by the strange, open smile on the face of the cloaked figure, unmoving as if frozen at the moment of laughter. But it was the laughter of madness rather than joy ...

Although that strange visage and its accompanying laughter had only been seen or heard in the town for a few weeks, it was already the subject of many rumours, especially among the less legally inclined residents, who called its owner the Laughing Shadow.

Today, however, the Laughing Shadow was not hunting criminals, but drawn by curiosity about this gathering. But after a few moments of silent watching, the vigilante decided they might learn more wearing a very different face ...

Not long after, Zova Petrovix, a high born lady here in this town as part of an embassy trying to establish peaceful relations among the nearby countries, arrived at the gathering, and approached the mayor.

“Lady Zova” He said, and bowed.

“Lord Mayor” she replied, and then asked, “What is this gathering about?”

“I’m afraid we’ve had some bad news, my Lady. It seems that a terrible sorcerer who had afflicted this area for some time had allies in the realms of the dead and the shadow planes, and those allies are upset that his work was disrupted by adventurers who had come from our town, and now plan to cause as much harm as they can in retaliation.”

“That sounds terrible. What can you do?” She asked.

“That’s what this gathering is to determine. That large fellow over there is Kelmen Larco, the closest thing our town has to a war captain. We’ve also asked anyone who has any adventuring or war experience to come, as well as clerics who represent the temples and faiths of the town.”

Kelman Larco stepped forward, and began to speak:

“We dont have long to prepare for the attack, so we need to work fast. First, we need all the temples and holy places in town to set up areas where undead creatures cannot enter, and those will be where we will send those not able to fight as well as the children. At the same time, those areas will also need food, water, and other supplies, so every merchant is also being asked to contribute what they can. They will be reimbursed from the town treasury - if we survive this.”

“Meanwhile,” he continued, “Those who can and are willing to help defend the town should muster here tomorrow morning. Those who come must be prepared to demonstrate their abilities so that we can best determine how to use them in the battle. Once that is completed, the signal will be given for those who will be going to the safe zones to begin to do so. The town guard will be on hand to try and make sure no looting happens, and the people will be asked to only bring the necessities, as the spaces will be rather cramped.”

He then brought forward the young girl with the symbol on her forehead, and said, “This is Kynomi, an oracle who brought us the warning of the upcoming attack. Can you share more for us?”

The young girl blushed, and then said, “My vision was ... not clear in all respects, but the undead are coming. I saw them surrounding the town, cutting it off from the rest of the world. Then they started to siege the town in earnest.”

“How long do we have?” Kelman asked.

“A week. Maybe a day more than that.” Kynomi replied.

Kelmen turned to the gathering and said, “Well, you heard the young lady. Not much time. We best get started.”

The people around him nodded, and began to disperse.

The mayor turned to Lady Zova, and said, “This isn’t your fight, nor that of your country. If you desire, I will arrange an escort out of town before the enemy arrives.”

Lady Zova replied, “That will not be necessary. Besides my function as an ambassador, my father has instructed me to use my time here to see if there is a suitable man for me to marry. What better way to find such a man than to watch him be tested in the ways that this upcoming trouble will test all of the town?”

“As you wish, Lady” The mayor said, “Your temporary residence will be as safe as any place in town can be.”

“Perhaps I shall retire to my residence now, so you can continue your preparations.” Lady Zova said, and turned away, thinking “And once there, perhaps I should watch them from a slightly different angle - as the Laughing Shadow.”

Chapter 1: Preparations begin

An hour after the town meeting, heralds went throughout the town, proclaiming the message of the oncoming siege, of the option to either leave town or go to the temples for safety, and of the need of any with skills to come and take what tasks they can. A runner was sent to the smiths Vansel and Gregg to ask them to come, so they could ask them to make whatever extra weapons they could before the siege began.

At the time the warning came, Kotori the dwarf was sitting in a tavern, listening to Goruza the half-orc barbarian and Emerald the Aasimer bard tell again the tale of how they along with a gnome named Besh first encountered a sorcerer who had then taken Besh prisoner and they had been forced to come to the town along with a ranger named Milah to try and find a way to rescue her, which ended up involving a magic sword at a defiled temple - which is where Kotori had met them.

When the messengers arrived at the tavern saying that anyone who might want to help the town should report, the three decided to find Milah and make their way to the town square.

Once they had heard about the upcoming siege, each returned to their rooms at the local inn so they could prepare to be of assistance, with Kotori deciding to take her portable forge to one of the local smiths and offer to help make weapons for the townsfolk to use.

So early the next morning she made her way to Vansel the smith’s workplace, and spoke the smith and his assistant, a large half-troll creature named Jarg, and said, "I bid ye a good day, masters. I be here to ask if I might set up me small forge here and work with ye on making weapons?"

Vansel stepped around his forge, still holding his hammer, chuckling softly as he approached the small woman.
"Good day to you as well. Ahhh, nice little portable forge there, that's useful. That holy symbol is an odd one, I don't know it," Vansel stated.
"That be no surprise, good sir. Austri has called me to serve by protecting others and by working at a forge when I can spare the time." That simple statement, along with the symbol of the hammer and anvil shining on her brow, made her intent to help the town in any way quite clear.

Vansel nodded and helped the woman, who told the two men that her name was Kotori, to set up her forge in an open space.
The first thing that Kotori did after her forge had been set up was to bless each and every weapon Vansel and Jarg had already made. Only after she had done that to every single piece there did she begin the process of lighting her forge so she could add her own efforts to theirs.
It didn't take long for Kotori's smaller hammer to make its counterpoint against the sound of the larger hammers the two men were wielding.

Chapter 2: the Calm before the storm

Having given the message of her visions, Kynomi and her hooded companion were given quarters in the mayor’s residence while Acera went to the city Watch with her friend Duskade and was quartered there.

Of all those who had arrived, the companion of Kynomi was the one who seemed the subject of the most gossip, mostly because no one knew what sort of creature he or she was, although they soon learned that Kynomi referred to her as Yigi. Most of the mayor’s staff were of the opinion that Yigi had been an adventurer who had been cursed and transformed into some hideous beast and thereafter chose to keep covered up. Only Kynomi and Acera knew how close that was to the truth ...

Meanwhile, one of the local taverns, in a bid to help reduce the tension, was holding a storytelling competition ...

What first appears to be a young girl stands up to tell her story:

“My name is Emerald Hasma, but my friends call me Emmy. I am an Aaimar, which means one of my ancestors had a child by a good celestial being. You might think that would mean I was welcomed and popular as a child, but you’d be wrong. All it meant was I was different, and especially when you’re young, that’s the last thing you want to be. But there was one way I could please those around me, and that was by singing.

So maybe it made sense that I would eventually become a bard. Not long after I finished my training, I came back to my small village looking for a way to use the skills I had been taught, and as luck would have it, someone had set up a post with notices advertising the need for various adventurers. One of these caught my eye - to be one of a group of bodyguards and companions for a sorcerer named Besh. I applied, and Besh hired me, as well as my friend over there, Goruza, to help her return some stolen magical items to their rightful owners. While others in Besh’s employ came and went, we stayed, and eventually people started calling us “the trio”, even though Goruza and I were employees, not equals to Besh.

Then, as we were headed for this very town, we came across Milah - wave to the nice people Milah - who had been tracking a group of bandits.

Then we encountered a very evil sorcerer, the very one whose allies are headed here now, and Besh sacrificed herself, allowed herself to be taken prisoner in place of Goruza, Milah, and myself. Needless to say, we were not going to let that sacrifice be in vain, so we came to town and found a priest whose god offered to make sure Besh was rescued, if we did a favor for him. We succeeded, thanks in part to Milah and a dwarf cleric named Korori, who is now hard at work making weapons for the siege, and the god told us Besh would be safe, but our destinies were now separated.

Not really knowing what to do with ourselves, Goruza and I decided to stick around here, and Milah has too. I dont know how many of you have adventured, or served in war, but there is a bond that develops when you are in danger beside someone, and Goruza and I had developed that bond to the point where we could not imagine parting. So we will do all we can to help this town survive this seige - together.
****
While the patrons of the inn were applauding Emmy, a more intimate group were sharing stories at the home of the mayor ...

Zova Petrovix had conducted some ... interviews, so to speak ... with some of the town’s riff-raff in the guise of her frightening alter ego, the Laughing Shadow, and then returned to the mayor’s home and switched back to her silks to digest what she had learned - that it seems that most of the less than law abiding citizens have decided to hold off on illegal activities until the siege was over. Still restless despite her .... exercises, she went to the quarters that had been assigned to Kynomi, the young oracle who had brought the warning of the upcoming siege and her two companions, Acera and the hooded creature who had not spoken nor shown their face since arriving in town. And Zova was determined to find out if this hooded person represented a threat ...

Zova knocked softly on the door, and it opened, to reveal the young oracle sitting in a chair, and her hooded companion standing beside the doorway. “Come in” Kynomi said, and Zova carefully entered, keeping the cloaked figure in view.

But Kynomi smiled, and said, “It’s alright, Yigi, this is the woman of my vision.”

“You had a vision of me?” asked Zova.

“Yes, and as a form of apology for unwillingly intruding on your privacy, I hope you will allow us to share our stories, so that you can know you can trust us with yours.”

Zova nodded, and Kynomi shifted her form to her true Kitsune form - a white fox-like creature with three tails and a blazing ankh sigil on her forehead.

“You are Kitsune! Is this vision of a siege some kind of prank then?” demanded Zova.

“If you know my kind, you know that we do not prank maliciously. Yes, we normally walk where we will, but sometimes, one of us is born with a special connection to a god, and becomes an oracle. I am one such. The Goddess Isis chose me and forged me for this purpose - to prevent the dead and the shadow creatures from overwhelming this town.

To help me, she sent two people to escort me here with the warning - Acera, a fetchling shadowdancer, who well understands the dark realms where some of our foes come from, who is bunking with her friend Duskade of the town Watch, and my friend here, who has her own reasons for see our foes defeated, but I will let her tell you her story.”

At that, the hooded figure threw back her hood, showing that she was of the lizardfolk.

Zova stepped back, and said, “There must be truly a remarkable tale here.”

“Indeed. My name is Yigi. My branch of the lizardfolk do ... did ... not live in swamps, as do many of my kind. We preferred the heat of the desert and the rocky outcrops of the badlands.

Sadly, our attempt at isolation did not save us. Some prospectors found out there were valuable minerals in our desert rocks, and the fact that we lived there was an inconvenience to them. So they apparently contacted a sorcerer who trafficked in necromancy, and sent a wave of dead creatures to our home.

I ... was not at home, that day. I had gone to pick some rare flowers that would be part of my upcoming wedding, and when I returned ... everyone in my tribe was dead. My family, my friends, my mate to be ... I fled into the desert, running away from the carnage as fast as I could, until thirst and the heat finally slowed me. But just before I would have died, I was found by a paladin who was in training at a citadel nearby. He took me to the citadel, they accepted me because their god told them I would serve, and they trained me to be a paladin. For some time after, I went from place to place, aiding people when I could, and I took to disguising my nature so as to not arouse distrust in those I wanted to help.

Until my god told me to go to the home of the oracle, and then serve her. Little did I know then that in doing so I would end up in a position to fight the undead who took my family from me.”

Zova sighed, and said, “I believe you. But tell me, what is this vision you saw of me?”

Kynomi replied, “I do not fully understand what I saw. I saw two children, one living, one dead. Then the living child became a woman - you, but you then developed a second face - a face of rage. I was confused, but then I heard my goddess say that despite your dark side, you could be trusted.”

Zova remained silent for a moment, and then said, “Come with me to my room. I’ll show you what your goddess was referring to.”

The three young women went to Zova’s room, and Zova introduced them to her animal companion - a fox named Vivian, and then she took out a large chest containing clothes. She then pressed a spot on the back, and a small chamber opened up, revealing the mask and cloak she wore as the Laughing Shadow. Beneath it was a small painting of two children - one boy, one girl, hugging each other.

Zova sighed, and said, “Fraternal twins, but it was always like we were two halves of one person. She even understood that I felt more like a girl than a boy. And then we got kidnapped, and she ...died in my arms, but she gave me one last gift - the idea that I could take her place, and as far as the world would know, she would live, and I would die.”

Zova paused, wiped a tear from her eye, and then continued, “Only my father and a trusted servant named Harriet Pennyworth know the truth. And only Harriet knows that I decided to take on another identity as well - the vigilante known as The Laughing Shadow. Thanks to that identity I was able to discover that the sorcerer whose allies approach was the mastermind behind our kidnapping and came to this town to learn more. So now that we know each other’s secrets the question becomes ... what now?”

For a moment, the only reply was silence ....

****

Chapter 3: moving day

The next morning the first groups of people began to make their way to the temples During this time, Duskade’s riding dog Ambrosia proved to be invaluable in herding the people in a quick and orderly fashion. Even as the streets cleared, notices went out for any who wanted to obtain a weapon for the coming battle to come to the Watch’s training grounds.

The town smiths had gone there with a couple of wagons filled with weapons, freshly forged. Those who went discovered that the Watch had provided training dummies - sets of old clothes stuffed with hay to give them a vaguely human shape - for the townsfolk to try out the weapons on. Kelmen watched the townsfolk train, and gave out assignments based on the skills demonstrated, sending people where he thought they would do the most good - or in some cases, where they would do the least harm ...

While the inside of the city buzzed with activity, the mayor and the town elders had not neglected to think of what was beyond the city limits. Among those tasked with keeping watch was a young mage who had a eagle as a familiar, and, early in the morning, the animal was the first to see the storm coming ...

Later observers would correct the idea it was a storm - in a storm ,the clouds dont rise up from the ground - but the name stuck anyway. It grew in height and moved slowly towards the town, but by evening it was clear that it was also growing in area in a specific pattern.

It was, yard after yard, surrounding the town.

Late that night, Kelmen’s opinion on its behavior had been sought, and he said it seemed very similar to classic siege strategy - cut off all the roads that lead away from a city so no one can escape ...

Then the other shoe dropped.

The town had a decent port, and Kelmen considered it as a possible entry for their foes to attack from, so he had asked the dock workers to prepare for any attack while the fishermen patrolled the nearby waters.

And the next morning those fishermen came back into port with bad news ...

Kelmen shared the bad news with the mayor and the town’s officials

“A fleet of ships, all former wrecks from the look of things, and manned by undead.” he said.

“What can we do?” the mayor asked.

Instead of answering the mayor directly, Kelmen turned to the fisherman, and said, “Please go back to the docks, and ask the other fishermen to assist the dock workers in setting up our ... deterrent to any ships that might want to dock without permission.”

Then he turned to the mayor, and said, “I suggest we ask the priests, especially those with experience in dealing with the undead if they will bless our fortifications, and prepare to help repel any undead that slip through them.”

The mayor nodded, and arrangements were made ...

The word went out that the first attack should come after sunset, so everyone busied themselves trying to get as ready as possible.

Many of the busy people were hoping that if they were busy enough, they could keep anxiety at bay, but unfortunately, they were wrong ...

****

Chapter 4: seige at sunset

By the time the sun was getting low, both the cloud and the fleet were very close to being within striking range, but as Kelmen predicted, no attack came until the last rays of the sun had disappeared behind the horizon.

Once darkness fell, however, the siege began in earnest ...

Man-like shapes stepped out if the supernatural darkness that surrounded the town, and Kelmen said, “Negative energy elementals. Distance attacks only, they will damage all in range when they die.”

So the defenders on the wall damaged the creatures with whatever ranged weapons they had - spears, arrows, bolts, and spells were fired into the oncoming foe, and as Kelmen had said, each time one died there was an explosion of negative energy that fortunately happened far enough from the wall to cause no harm to the defenders, but unfortunately close enough to those behind to allow them to gain temporary benefits ...

Then suddenly, no more of the creatures came forth, and silence came again.

But only for a moment, before someone shouted, “Ship in the harbor!”

“Raise the barrier and release the mines!” Kelmen shouted back.

What they had created in the harbor was essentially a floating gateway by narrowing the passage to the point only one ship could enter at a time, with gangplanks to allow defenders to move along this barrier. And now a druid was causing underwater plant to grow up and fill the space between ...

At the same time, at the far entrance to the harbor, men carefully unloaded round objects into the water, where they began to float towards the incoming ship on the outgoing tide.

The explosions rattled windows, and caused the defenders along the barrier to duck, but fortunately it happened far enough out to cause no damage. The ship, on the other hand, had suffered a terminal blow. It may have been raised from the ocean floor by magic, but even such powerful magic had limits, and now the ship was rapidly sinking once more. For the floating balls had been prepared by an alchemist, and had now served the purpose for which they had been created.

Spotters reported that some of the undead crew had survived, but instead of attacking they swam back to join the remainder of the fleet.

But the townsfolk dared not celebrate, for out at the gate, a new assault had begun ...

So it went all night, with the attacks growing in number and intensity so that by halfway through the night the defenders were beginning to waver.

Fortunately, this had been prepared for.

Leaving the city by way of a secret entrance, two groups set out to cause some damage to the enemy and raise the morale of the defenders.

One group, consisting of Kynomi, Yigi, Milah, and Jarg took a small boat out into the bay, and Jarg fired an arrow up onto one of the opposing ships. The arrow had been magicked to turn into a ladder, allowing the group to board it. Both Kynomi and Yigi had the ability to turn and damage the undead, and so they were swiftly able to overpower the crew and take control of the ship. They then slipped in and out of the attacking fleet, firing flaming arrows, cannonballs, and alchemist-prepared explosives.

Once the ship they were on became seriously damaged, they set the ship to ram the largest opposing craft with the remaining explosives set to explode by way of a fuse, and leaped into the water, Jarg pulling out a magically shrunk boat to help them escape the range of the subsequent explosion.

Meanwhile, a team consisting of Kotori, Acera, Emmy, and a half-elf magus named Tamerie snuck around to get close to the negative energy beings attacking the gate, and waited till the gate opened enough to let two people out.

One was Duskade, the tiny cavalier riding her dog Ambrosia and shouting a challenge at the foe, and the other was Goruza, brandishing her double-bladed axe.

Then while the foe’s attention was thus engaged, the team attacked.

Led by Emerald, her Aasimer heritage showing in the brilliant glow surrounding her, they swept through the group closest to the gate, caused as much damage as they could, and then ran back inside taking both Goruza and Duskade with them.

Meanwhile, Zova was also enacting a plan to improve morale. During the week of preparation, she had gone to various shops and bought small toys, games, and other items that would please small children, and all through the night she had been going from temple safe-house to temple safe-house and giving these items to the children of the town. She had just finished a visit to the last temple when she heard the cheering at the main gate, and keeping to the shadow, watched as the two groups who had counter-attacked received praise, then she slipped back to the mayor’s house before she was missed ...

But the siege wasn’t over yet ...

Chapter 5 The dark of the moon

The dark force that besieged the town reorganized itself after the attack by the townsfolk, and soon was ready to renew its assault.

He was a Lich named Lord Tyrstaer, and he had been at the sorcerer’s compound when a group of adventurers had caused a lot of damage, and had destroyed his body and reduced his status with the sorcerer in the process.

This retaliation was his plan, his idea to prove his worth once more.

And so he put his creatures to work ...

First, he sent the remaining negative elementals to assault the walls and gate, to keep the defenders busy. Then he had the remaining ships smash into the barrier in the bay - not on the hope of breaking through, but to create a barrier of his own so no one could escape from that direction. Once this was accomplished he had the surviving crews - mostly undead - come to join the main force outside the town’s gate.

While waiting for them to arrive, he brought forward several catapults. Once the catapults were in position, he began preparations for their unusual ammunition ...

The preparations were timed to coincide with the darkening of the moon - the moon which had been providing the defenders with some natural light since sunset, and now was almost completely shadowed by a lunar eclipse ...

Once the lunar eclipse was complete, he ordered the catapults to fire - not at the wall, but over it.

And the “ammunition” he used was not fire or acid, but rather his undead troops, each prepped with a feather fall spell so they would land inside the town intact ...

Fortunately for the town, one of the first undead to land came down close to the mayor’s home, and both Kynomi and Yigi and returned there after their successful attack on the invading fleet. They were able to dispatch the undead monster, and then went out into the rest of the town, to help get the others.

As it turned out, most of the invaders attempted to enter the various holy places to get at the women and children hiding inside, but the blessings placed on the entrances were able keep them out long enough for defenders to arrive and engage them.

The adventurers who had participated in the counter-attacks had the best success against this threat, but things got even more desperate when they heard the main gate fall to a concentrated attack ...

****

Chapter 6: Trumpets sound

The enemy poured in over the fallen gate, and many of the defenders on the wall fell in short order.

But then Jarg dropped down from the wall, right on top of Tyrstaer, who had entered the breach in the gate.

The part-ogre seemed to be unaffected by the fear that most creatures felt when approached by a litch, lost to a berserk rage that left no room for fear. Meanwhile, his troops were attacked by Goruza, Duskade, Acera, and Emerald, as well as the regular townsfolk, keeping them from coming to his aid, forcing him to deal with the enraged Jarg on his own.

And then the eclipse was over, and the light of the moon returned. Meanwhile, Jarg fought extravagantly, as if he had found the perfect focus for all his abilities. The others were able to keep the litch’s army from coming to his aid, but they were also prevented from aiding Jarg themselves.

But apparently he didn’t need it as he was able to knock the litch to the ground.

But then a new figure appeared at the gates - the sorcerer Oress Manul himself.

Under any other circumstances, the idea of a three foot high gnome coming across as threatening to someone as large as Jarg would be ridiculous, but the sorcerer’s power and malice were so great he managed it.

He was carrying a chest under his arm, and he sighed at the litch, and said, “That’s twice you’ve failed me. There wont be a third time.”

Then he set the box down in front of him, and blasted it with a spell.

“No!” Rasped the litch, “My heart! My LIFE!!!”

“Is forfeit,” sneered the sorcerer, and continued blasting.

Shortly the box, its contents, and the litch were reduced to dust.

Then the sorcerer focused on Jarg, and said “What’s the saying? If you want something done right ...” Then the gnome fired magic at Jarg.

And the part-ogre growled in pain, as as a pendant around his neck began to glow ...

Just before Kynomi, Yigi, Milah, and Jarg were to attack the fleet, Kynomi gave Jarg the pendant to wear, saying “This is a gift from the gods of life, for you. ‘Be brave and true, endure to the end’ is what they have asked me to tell you.”

The part-ogre looked at the Kisume oracle and then nodded, and put on the pendant ...

Jarg could feel the magic flowing through him, every cell in agony before the magic would go into the pendant.

And then Oress Manul realized he couldn’t stop blasting Jarg ...

And more than his magic was flowing out of him - his very life force was bleeding out, and still he couldnt stop ...

In Jarg’s mind he pictured a battle taking place in his body - tiny versions of himself fighting against versions of the sorcerer, slowly herding them towards the pendant.

And even though it was killing him, he kept fighting.

Suddenly, it was over. The now empty husk of the gnome toppled over, and was still.

And then Jarg let go, and died.

Sadly, the others had no time to grieve. Despite the loss of their commanders, the shadow plane monsters kept fighting, because that was the last command they had received.

Many of the townsfolk had died, more were wounded, and the remainder had no choice but to give ground to the invaders.

Kelmen shouted, “Grab what wounded you can, and then retreat to the watch training grounds!”

The defenders ran, many weeping for having to leave Jarg’s body behind.

The attackers were momentarily confused, allowing the defenders a chance to keep the retreat from becoming a rout.

Then the attackers began to pursue ...

The brief head start gave Kelmen a chance to organize the defenders, saying “Hold out as long as possible. We’re not defeated yet!”

The attackers came, and soon the training ground was filled with the sound of battle.

It seemed that the defenders were going to be overwhelmed when Kelmen shouted to Emerald, “Now!”

The Assimar bard turned, and fired her last bolt of heavenly brilliance at a large disk that had been erected on top of the mayor’s residence.

The disk glowed, and the returned the bolt, magnified a thousand times.

And the whole training ground area was bathed in light ...

Many of the attackers were reduced to ash, and most of the rest were badly burned or were forced to flee.

And just like that, it was over ...

Epilogue

The sun rose on the town of Fiddler’s vale and the people were still celebrating.

But eventually, there was work to do. The children and other non-combatants went back to their homes, the wounded were tended to, and clean-up crews started repairing the gates, clearing the harbor, and repairing damage throughout the town.

And funerals were held for those who had been lost.

The last of these was for Jarg, and the whole town turned out for it.

Stories were shared, tears were shed, and Emerald created a song called “Jarg the hero” that brought everyone to tears.

The mayor decided to turn the training area into a monument to the town’s survival, with sculpted images of all the adventurers set in such a way as so that they pointed toward a center pillar with the names of all who served during the siege, and on top of the pillar was a statue of Jarg raising a fist in triumph and defiance.

As a visiting noblewoman, Zova was not allowed to directly help the clean-up, but she told the mayor, “I’ve sent a message to my father, and he’s sending a caravan filled with supplies, food, and workers to assist you.”

Then she went to Kelmen and said, “If you were younger, you would make an ideal choice for a husband for me. Sadly, I shall have to tell my father I’m still looking.”

Kelmen, blushed, and stuttered out “Thank you, Lady”

The caravan arrived, and Zova packed up her belongings, but managed to slip away long enough to speak with Yigi and Kynomi, and said, “I do not know what I am to do now. The person responsible for my sister’s death has been killed. What purpose would the Laughing Shadow serve now?”

Kynomi replied, “There are still evil people in this world, people who believe they are beyond the reach of the law. And there are still still those who will need the aid of your alter ego. Because no one else can do what you can for them.”

The three hugged, and Zova returned to her room to wait for her servant who would escort her to the caravan when it left the town.

The other adventurers would remain in the town when they were not abroad fighting monsters.

And life would go on ...

In a town called Fiddler’s Vale.

End.