Chronicle - The Plane of Water
Plan of Action
There were no ships at harbour, or normal trade vessels docked, at Fontainver. Houses were fortified and archers posted everywhere, prepared for war. Stocks of food, water and weaponry were being put in tactical locations around the city. Milai's captain confirmed that the fleet was at sea due to the threat of being caught at anchor; the ships were about three leagues out and down the coast, but in contact with the city should they be needed. A great warship, which was to be the flagship, was under construction. Findorsfelt was held by Orcus, and the region to the west. Malenwe travelled north in an attempt to bring the traitor elves back into the fold by confronting her father. The men of Farass were not aligned at the moment, and their land was to the far west. Malor held the far north, and the lost souls were somewhere in that region. Orcus held the nearby forest, but not the bridge just to the west of Fontainver. After a strategic update, we were at last able to rest. Again, though, we were all gifted visions of various kinds (although it might be nice to just have a good night's sleep once in a while) and compared them when we met the next day (see the separate notes); mine was a very positive omen and gave me heart!
Lanzi communed with Si Lung in the bay of Celinas, as he was concerned about the balance of the planes and the Plane of Water in particular; our visions had told him that Hattori had aligned with the Drow! Si Lung warned him that the Princess of the Plane of Water, the Olyhydra, who had powers similar to a deity, but was currently engaged in battle across the outer planes in order to gain control of some. This was most unusual for a being that should only be concerned with the inner planes, and her lack of attention had contributed to the imbalance between the elemental planes. The Sea Elves had been leading support against the Olyhydra, hence in her rage she tasked Hattori to bring her Milai! Si Lung offered to help us to reach and survive on the Plane of Water, but could not commit to fighting with us.
Lanzi also spoke to Dracor Augusta, who was flying over the mountains of Madur, and explained the concerns over the imbalance of the inner planes and our intended actions. Dracor warned of Demogorgon's intent to attack Nega.
Once we had agreed that the most pressing concern was to restore some balance to the inner planes, particularly as we could not afford creatures from the Plane of Water to attack with the Drow, we planned our route there. First I transported us to the Plane of Air, into the now familiar clear blue, never-ending sky. Milai fell away from us initially, but eventually came to a stop. Lanzi somehow summons a bright golden Kirrin, which greeted us and was glad for our belated assistance. We needed to fight here in order to have the assistance of allies with the Plane of Water.
The Kirrin moved us effortlessly to the Ethereal in order to travel more quickly, but it was still an hour before we reached the battlefield he intended for us. A large section of the plane, almost cuboid, was filled with creatures moving all the time and fighting whenever they came close to each other. We exited the Ethereal in slightly different places, with those intending to stay at range farther back, but all with the intent to enter combat.
Milai threw an ice explosion at a nearby efreet and moved to attack. A couple of efreet moved to attack Hintzu, and a fireball exploded amongst us, causing me a few singes. Snakelike things started to nibble at Lanzi, causing him some annoyance. Hintzu tried loosing an arrow, but it would not fly in this plane! He switched weapons and attacked instead, quickly killing one foe. Milai also killed the efreet she had first attacked.
At this point things were going pretty much to plan, but then disaster struck... Milai took a massive blow in her chest as she turned and her armour (mithril no less) shattered! With the main body sundered, the rest fell or hung from her offering no real protection. Realising that she was now too vulnerable to fight from the position she was in, she began to flee as quickly as she could. To add insult to injury, a fireball destroyed her cloak as she fled. My tabard was on fire, but was easily removed, and then I joined Hintzu - both of us landing solid blows on an efreet. Realising that Milai needed protection, I used a rare ability of my crown to summon a phoenix to aid us, and set it the task of defending Milai. But then I was hit by another fireball, and my holy symbol was shattered! Were we cursed? I was able to kill a salamander in retaliation, but my sense of loss was devastating; my ability to channel Odin's power was now severely diminished. Hintzu killed another salamander that strayed too close, and I used the crown to hurl a positive energy ball at two elementals.
The phoenix started dancing, which perhaps did not seem particularly useful, but was soon to pay off. Lanzi unleashed a blast of cold, and Hintzu finished off an elemental caught in its effect. Lanzi then sent a lightning bolt into an efreet, which got its attention. The phoenix finished its odd dance, and swept to Milai's defence. He merely scratched the two efreets chasing her, and both abruptly disappeared, banished back to their own plane! Lanzi's mirror images came in handy once more to protect him, but were fast diminishing. More fireballs exploded around us, but we were not affected. The phoenix struck again, killing another foe, and I finally managed to finish off the efreet I had been fighting with my hammer.
Lanzi sent another blast of cold at his foes, but then disappeared and instantly reappeared near to Milai, just in time to be close enough to be struck by a fireball aimed at her, but Milai was fortunately able to absorb it without damage.