Midnight Massacre

Day 18: It took us a few days, but Bartleby and I pinpointed where Andraste was being held; a tiny Legion camp some few miles west of Fastigium. We had no way of knowing the exact layout of the camp, nor how many guards we’d be expecting. So we decided to wing it. Wouldn’t be the first time, gods help us it not be our last.

We snuck in at night, both of our eyes slightly glinting with darkvision. Turns out the “camp” was an old abandoned fort taken over by the Legion, their red flags billowing from the decrepit tower. From the forest we could see two Legion sentries posted at the front gate, their scales casting reflections of moonlight. They looked tough, and I really didn’t want to mess with them. 

Bartleby had other ideas. He kept his hood well over his face and scurried out of cover. I stayed back, silent, waiting to jump in if needed. The gnome started crying, remarkably similar to a human child. The guards were on edge at first, but lowered their weapons at the sounds of a child. Bartleby paused before them, hiding his face in his hands and continued to cry just like a child. One of the guards leaned down and tried to calm him, extending a hand to pat him on the back. Bartleby took the opportunity and grabbed the dragonborn’s head in one hand. With the other, he flourished a coat pistol from beneath his robes to shoot him point blank between the eyes, somehow only making a slight puff of noise. That was my cue, running forward and charging magical lightning into Azadon. The magic was noticeably stronger in the Black Blade, making my hands throb just trying to hold it. I caught the second guard by surprise and sliced through his neck, beheading him in a diagonal line.

So we had two headless dragonborn, eliminated quickly and quietly. A good start. We grabbed what little gold they had and tossed the bodies behind the bushes. We slowly entered the old fort, dim torches partially lighting the way. It wouldn’t be quite so easy to sneak past here.

I looked to my gnome friend and whispered “Do you have any ideas?”

Bartleby smiled “I do.” He pulled a tiny flask from his satchel and consumed the contents in a quick gulp. Almost immediately, his skin started turning greenish, his eyes bulged, and his fingertips grew long and bulbous at the end. He tested his fingers against the wall and stuck to it. He proceeded to climb the vertical wall with sticky fingers and bare feet. Even more astounding, his skin changed to match the color of the walls. He moved deeper into the hall and I lost track of where he was. I could barely hear him whisper back “Good luck.”

Well that wasn’t exactly teamwork…but I moved on, sticking to the shadows as best as I could. The first room that I came to was full of dragonborn, all drinking and enjoying themselves. I snuck past undetected and crept further down the tunnel.

I peered into the next room, seeing another dragonborn guard, asleep at a table. There was a flash of movement and I saw Bartleby’s camouflaged hand take a ring of keys from the lazy guard. I could scarcely see him crawling towards a tunnel downward.

We found a room full of cages, with the only person besides us being a single prisoner. Bartleby climbed down from the wall and reverted to his normal image. We approached a dwarf woman sleeping in her cell, snoring loudly and completely unaware of our presence.

“Andraste?” I said, keeping my voice down, “We’re here to break you out.”

The dwarf woman woke up with a start, staring back and forth between us both “Who are you?” she asked in a hushed whisper, “What are you doing here?”

“Freeing you. Obviously” Bartleby said in his blunt way, searching through vials in his satchel and sizing up the lock’s durability.

“You fools! You’re ruining everything” she hissed, staring wide eyed at us.

“Here’s the deal,” I started, already tired of her attitude, “We’re looking for information on the Black Blades. I’ve been lead to believe you’re the best person around Fastigium that I could talk to. So freeing you is kind of a necessity. I’m not sure why you have a problem with this.”

‘It doesn’t matter why, just get out of here!” Andraste slammed against the cell door just as Bartleby was pouring an acid over the lock. The flask whipped back through the air and shattered, the acid burning a hole in the concrete floor. Up above we could hear the sleeping guard moving, coming down to our level.

“Hide!’ Bartleby and I whispered to each other, taking cover on either side of the doorway.

Bartleby searched through his bag and found a vial full of thick white liquid. He stuffed the vial into a strange second barrel of his gun and stood ready to fire. The dragonborn walked into the room, oblivious to our presence. He must still be groggy from his wittle nap. He looked around the room, finding only Andraste in her cell, pretending to be asleep. The guard turned back towards the door and that’s when the gnome fired. A burst of white, web-like liquid blasted the dragon’s face, effectively silencing and blinding him at the same time. I drove my knee into his gut and brought him to his knees. Crux already had a rope in his hands and we tied the guard up. The thing I loved most about gnomes is how they think of everything.

We tossed the guard into the corner and turned back to Andraste “Come on! Before more show up.”

The dwarf sat there, defiant. “I had a plan. You ruined it. In the morning, a militia of the resistance was going to attack from outside while I broke out BY MYSELF and tore them apart from the inside. Now I have to deal with you fools.” She tossed over onto her side as if she could just go back to sleep. We stood there quiet for a moment, unsure what to do. “….Damn it! Fine!”  Andraste got up and faced us. “We’ll start the attack early.” With a quick punch, she broke the lock and the cell door flew open. She charged past us, her small but sturdy frame nearly knocking us over. We briefly looked at each other, confused, but followed after.

Andraste had already picked a fight with the dragonborn guards we had avoided earlier. She blasted chain lightning from her hands, electrocuting everything in her path. More guards appeared from upstairs, amazed at the carnage before them. I launched two magic missiles into one guard, knocking him slightly back. Bartleby threw a bomb into the group, blasting them out of formation and crumbling parts of the wall. Still more came from above, and Andraste was in a rage. She looked around at dragonborn coming from all sides.

“Ramdus!” she called out, raising a hand over her head. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of amber colored light. As it subsided, a hefty bastard sword appeared in her hand, the metal black as night. 

Just like Azadon.

Now that she was armed, Andraste became a storm of black metal and magic. From one hand she cast a spell of Contagious Flame, sending ray after ray of fire from one enemy to the next. Her sword flashed with electric sparks, slicing through armor and scales like butter. Bartleby and I tried to keep up, but there was no matching her bloodlust.

In mere moments, the entire tower was cleared of Legion soldiers, in large part by Andraste and her Black Blade. I don’t see how she would have needed help at all. The woman was ruthless, especially with her sword. Now was the time for questions.

“So you have a Black Blade?” I said nervously.

She hefted the bastard sword on to her shoulder and nodded “I see you’ve got one too. And you want my help understanding it.” She yawned and stretched slightly. “Yeah, I can teach ya a few things. But I’m beat. SOMEONE woke me up in the middle of the night.” She started up towards the fort’s living quarters, presumably to find a bed. “Come back here in a couple days. The fort will be under resistance control and I’ll be in a better mood.”

That settled that, I suppose. I thanked Bartleby for all his help and went back to find my current travelling companions. Turns out, we have a mansion now. Must have missed out on that whole business with the lords and they won the mansion and Marius’ favor. I talked with Zedyethe for a bit before bed and we recapped our adventures. My assumption was more or less correct, wish I hadn’t run off when I could have been helping them. I didn’t tell her about Azadon still, just that I was doing work with Bartleby. I feel awful keeping things from her, but it may be necessary at this point. I’ll tell her sometime after Andraste can get me informed first.