Miloh speaks as everyone gathers in the small grotto:
"I am glad to see you well, Elohwyn, Groloday, Blu, Ji,
Dorgon, and newtlings of the 5 eyes.
I see that our ally Nikkolai is not with you, and will assume the worst.
I can tell that your voyage was epic and you must tell me more soon."
"But it is time to come clean; there is no turning back
now. If you don't know me, I am
Miloh the Shrewd, and I have long been affiliated with members of your River
Voice team. I serve a different
group who has very similar goals and principles. I am one of the leaders of a secret
covenant that has been growing out of sight for years now, led by Ettir the
Sly." [you
know of Ettir as a respected local Pavisite and politician for the Free Pavis
faction, and he directly intervened to forge a truce between the Cold Wind
terrorists from Sartar and Sor-Eel's Lunar government]
"We are called the New Teeth and we serve the interests of
Old Pavis. We are opposed to the
Lunars and their close allies, including some elements within New Pavis and the
cult of Pavis. Bendrath is our ally
as well, and together we have been forging an alliance with your group for many
years. We have learned to trust you
and I hope you can trust us.
Groloday and Blu, and your deceased friend Tarranyr, have been working
with me to this end. I am sorry to
say that I am responsible for many recent missions that you have embarked on
with the urging of my
comrades in your band."
"I have already sent most of the people of my ring of the
New Teeth deep into Pavis; they work with the dwarves to open secret paths into
the underbelly of New Pavis. Some
of our forces and allies will gain entrance into the city and wreak havoc from
within. We have been waiting for
this time for years, and have almost tried before several times, but it has
become clear to us now that this is our moment. We will help end Lunar
rule in Pavis County, and restore the might of Old Pavis. You can help us do this."
"Ettir fell sick long ago from a disease unleashed by Lunar miners in the Rubble, and when he sought a cure at the
Pairing Stone shrine, the god Orlanth spoke to him in a dream. Ettir did not worship Orlanth; he is of
a noble Pavic house with blood ties to Sartar and Orlanth though. Orlanth's dream showed him a rising
dragon whose jaws snapped on the city of Pavis, devouring it. In that dream, Ettir saw that he could
save part of Pavis by becoming one with the dragon. He began collecting allies and
information, including nightmares from the Lunar soldiers in Pavis that Orlanth
wanted to know about. His allies
soon became called the New Teeth, and Ettir heroquested to gain forgotten
magics from dragonkind and Old Pavis to help us. Now we understand the meaning of his
dreams and our covenant's name. The
dragon is here, it is the wild nomad force that threatens to destroy
Pavis. To survive, we must become
one with it. We must become its
teeth, and help it consume the rotten parts of Pavis, leaving the best parts
alone. I ask you to join me,
Groloday, and Blu to help destroy a rotten piece of Pavis and free something
grand."
"My plan is this.
I have learned that a prominent Lunar official, I am not sure who, was
pursued by his own Sable rider guards through the Rubble as the nomad clans surrounded
the city, and he was cut off from the gates of New Pavis. He and other like him have retreated to
a fortification inside the Rubble walls.
You know this place well, for it was your home. It is indeed Wyrmsjaw Fort, and we all
have many reasons to want to see it free again. In addition, some of our allies are
concerned about what lies within the fort... perhaps you know more about
this. But we have made agreements
with forces waiting inside the Rubble walls that we will coordinate an assault
on Wyrmsjaw fort and set it free, destroying any Lunars within. My understanding is that two files of
Granite Phalanx elite troopers are stationed there (28 men) along with a file
of Lunar army regulars of Yanafel Tarnils, and a seven-man squadron of Wyvern
Riders. Along with this mysterious Lunar fugitive, we think that the Lunars have brought
scholars and priests into Wyrmsjaw to study something. Our allies, dragonewts and their kin,
wait for our signal to begin their assault on the outside of the fort, distracting
most of the troops there while we enter the back of the fort and attack the
important people from behind. You
know the way into the fort, and you know entering it will provide a loud enough
signal for the assault to begin. We
are few in number but we will have some surprise on our side, and the Lunars
will be sandwiched and disrupted.
So my plan is, to ride down these underwater tunnels to the back
entrance of the fort, slay any guards there, and hurry to get any Lunars inside
the fort."
"Blu, you have long guarded a great power that must be
unleashed now. Please take a moment
and direct the spirits you hold to go forth to Pavis. Tonight, the Lunars of Pavis will not
sleep soundly. The nightmares of
the last two years of duty in Pavis will haunt them tonight, and those that
live will be exhausted at best. It
will not help our group, but it is essential for our forces entering the
city. We have many other allies,
too; even Che'enshashan has given way to reason and commited some resources. The loyalties of all people in the county
will now become evident to all; we are seeing who is our friend and foe."
The Five Eyes newtlings prepare coracles for everyone and show
the way to the secret entrance to the tunnels to Wyrmsjaw, while Miloh answers
questions. Blu pulls out an odd
ivory urn that he's had concealed on his person somewhere, and mutters to
himself (Sami can describe later), then pops the lid off and looks around in
wonderment. Most of you just
shudder as chills run up your spine, but you see nothing. Dorgon could see dozens of spirits swirl
out of the urn and whip off in different directions.
It is
Miloh answers obvious questions:
"The Crimson Bat came to Pairing Stone several weeks ago and
devoured everyone there, except a few lucky souls that were clever enough. Next it moved to the Bullflood area,
where most of the Storm Bulls and other chaos fighters sent by the Lunars were
on a hunt for broo. They all
died. I think there is hardly a
chaos-fighter left in Pavis. The
Bat was accompanied by a hundred-some initiates of its
cult and perhaps a score of priests, plus later it had huge bat-spawn that
helped to gather prey for it. We
know that your friends Pachala and Chingua arrived late and we think they are
trapped in or near New Pavis, along with your ally Chendry. We don't know about your other friends,
except that Caernak and Arcus and their families are safely in hiding down south. As for the Bat, it ate everyone that the
Lunars could bring to it: first the criminals in all the jails, then beggars
and people no one would miss, then it started cleaning out the towns in the
north, and came as far south as Waterby.
I even saw it from a distance as I was helping to smuggle people here
and downriver through the tunnels!
Thousands are lost, and we mourn them now while we still remember
them. But its hunger got the
worst of it. Nomads began riding
into the valley for Pavis, and riots broke out allo over the county, especially
in Pavis. Lunar buildings in the
city were under siege from within until the Bat was moved away. I think if it stayed any longer, it
would have either had to enter Pavis and eat everyone there, or face the
growing nomad hordes. My guess is
that it was satiated, but also I have heard of something happening in Sartar
that must have distracted it. It is
now there in Sartar, I guess."
"What I heard of in Sartar will be great news to you
all. You know that the Lunars were
finishing the new Temple of the Reaching Moon in southeast Sartar. They were doing the final ceremony
earlier this season, when a ring of stars appeared in the sky. The stars were the Ring of Orlanth
constellation, and resolved into seven Sartarite heroquesters that broke into
the Lunar quest.
They were not enough to stop the ceremony, but what happened next
was. The Ring called forth a new
thing, not known before to anyone.
It was a True Dragon that had slept beneath the temple grounds for
centuries, forgotten since the Dragonkill War. They call it the Brown Dragon, and that
day it ate most of the Lunar Army and priests in the area, and destroyed the
temple before it settled back into the earth! Now all of Sartar is in furor, and the
Lunars must be very busy quelling rebellions inspired by the Dragonrise. Thus I assume the Bat was needed there
more than here."
"What is happening with the nomads is just as historic. I hear that the Lunars tried a daring
quest to chain the spirit of the White Bull at the Seven Mothers Temple in New
Pavis. This spirit was holy to the
nomads, especially an upstart group with ties to the Cold Wind; the White Bull
Riders. The Lunars hoped to end
this menace, but it has tragically backfired and given us an opportunity to
free Pavis! The Lunars not only
drew all of the White Bull riders to Pavis; they drew every beastrider in Prax,
and other such as the Agimori and Basmoli came with them to join in the
plunder. I have a feeling that this
is Sor-Eel's final blunder and he is being abandoned by the Lunar
government, with the rest of Prax.
The whole venture here seems to have failed them; Corlfu has become too
much of a pain with the Wolf Pirates and all. Even if Jaldon's Horde does not dislodge
Sor-Eel, it is only a matter of time.
The New Teeth will find him and gain our final vengeance. You are living now in the heart of the
Hero Wars, and we will end the old world to birth the new."
"So what happened with Nolantor, anyway?"