Also, Peter the Earth Warrior has told you how the Temple is laid out. There's a castle with four towers, each the property of one of the Four Lords of Nature: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. They have a basement level beneath the towers, then a second basement beneath that which is full of fantastic beasts they are breeding for their conquest of the East. And below THAT is a third dungeon level where the Lords of Nature keep their precious belongings, but no one knows how to get down there except them.
Peter thinks if the Four Lords think Civula's a threat, they'll bring out all their powers to smash it. The Temple is some years away from being ready to take on the Roman Empire openly, so they have to kill all the witnesses.
Each of the Four Lords has a jewel which gives them unlimited access to the forces of Nature. With it, Binyamin the Earth Lord is harder than iron. Procellus the Fire Lord can burn down whole forests, and so on.
But the jewels are a strain to operate, so they usually keep them in their towers.
Probably, he says, three of the Four Lords will come to Civula with most of their troops, leaving one to guard the Temple.
Vathek niVthanid, the captured wizard, confirms Peter's statements, and adds that there is something extremely valuable on the third level below ground. The Four Lords have killed valuable minions who went down there without permission!
Rosa asks, "And where are the soul jars being held?"
ReplyDeletePeter: They are on the third level below ground. Only the Four Lords know how to get down there, although I did see someone rushing to bring the Fire Lord a small golden skull when he wanted to go down. Perhaps the skull is a kind of key."
DeleteMike sends:
ReplyDeleteI have an idea. :)
Ask the engineer if it is possible to engineer a decoy that would draw out the Four Lords. Something that they would see as a major threat and attack with full force. We want it away from the city and the temple. It should be something that would trigger an entrapping fire once the majority of their force was within its destructive reach.
In the mean time, in order to make it more intriguing for the Lords to go after, I propose we let the captured wizard go, after "too loudly" discussing our secret weapon in front of him. Our resident cleric could give a relic to the thief to slip into the wizard's pocket, preventing him from performing his magic. I could discuss our "secret plan" regarding our secret weapon that we really hope the Lords don't find out about and attack before it's ready. Why ... That could doom us all. ;)
My personal guard will then ask, "What about the wizard?" I'll say, "kill him." The guard will then take the wizard outside to execute him ... But he'll have an Orc arrow carefully hidden away. With the wizard's back to him, he'll pull the arrow out and place it in a manner that makes it seem as if he's been struck. The wizard, believing he's been saved by an Orc arrow will run off to his masters and tell them about our "secret plan." :)
Scottius says, "It'd be sair easier to wipe 'em out wi' water rather than fire, General. Get 'em down in a swale, block th'end wi'rocks under foliage, undermine the bank o'a stream an' when they're all in, rip oot the blocks! Swuuush!"
DeleteRosa says to Scottius: "Altho the water wizards ran from the fight, if you send water doon upon them, well, t'will be their element, surely."
DeleteScottius looks dour.
Delete"Aye."
Excellent suggestion, Scottius! Give instruction to whatever men you need in order to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteBrother Aquila, have you a relic or blessed object to hide on the person of the wizard, preventing him from performing his devil's arts? If you do, give it to Pouncequick to hide somewhere on the wizard without his knowing.
In the mean time, the rest of you join me to loudly discuss our secret weapon in front of the tent holding the wizard. After I tell my personal guard to take the wizard out to the woods to kill him, our plan will be set.
Here's the follow-through:
Sylvia will track the wizard so we can follow from a distance, out of sight. We'll keep watch for the Four Lords leading their force to attack our decoy. Once they depart for our trap, we'll attack the temple.