The festivities proceeded with a new urgency. Now there was no doubt that something was going to happen very soon. The three couples quickly made their way to the temple, having been told that things would have to start two hours ahead of schedule.
Mages throughout the city took precautionary measures against an attack. Doors were magically locked, wards were put up, various orders called their members together for common defense, Kluthu the court archmage advised the king of Minbenthac to take cover in a heavily-warded "safe room" underneath the castle, and valuable magical texts were locked down, or in some cases, burnt in order to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
The Great Temple of Minbenthac was a very odd place; it was preparing for a major attack at the same time it was getting ready to host a wedding. Armed guards stood next to musicians and cup bearers, as priests prepared spells to turn demons and heal the injured at the same time they rehearsed blessings for a newly-married couple.
Tallon's palace was also undergoing various steps of fortification; wards were strengthened, more guards were posted to the walls, and, in a gesture of charity, he opened up his gardens for use as a refugee camp, should any large number of houses be destroyed in the fighting. Meanwhile, the city's guards recalled all reserves and prepared fire-fighting crews armed with buckets and spells to extinguish flames. A call to allies was sent out, as was a call to all available soldiers in Minbenthac's armies. Alas, only the 5000 troops which were already recalled could reinforce the city's defenses in time. Still, the walls were quite formidable, and the archers, crossbows, ballistae, catapults, vats of burning oil, and other pieces of equipment which adorned the walls were no small matter to overcome.
A couple dozen dragons were allied to Minbenthac as well, although most of these were simply paid to assist in a war, should it come to that. Only one adult dragon was in the city at this hour, a copper dragon. He had come to witness the wedding, not to fight a war. He would have to do both. There was a second dragon in the city as well; he had been waiting there for a couple of days, on top of the palace. The wards had detected him, and he was chased from the top of it. A red dragon hatchling! Surely, he was no threat, but what was he doing here? The hatchling flew towards the Great Temple of Minbenthac, and literally ran into Adykon, who recognized the little one.
"Toby?! What are you doing here?!"
"Adykon! I came to warn you! There's a big, BIG army on the way here! Thousands, tens of... I don't know how many!"
"How did you get here from the valley?"
"I few through a portal they used! It's horrible! Not long after you left, they came and killed everyone! They took Gerasia, and even took that staff in Vaeri's grave!"
This was bad news. Not only did the enemy kill their old allies, they also had the means to-
"Portal? You mean, Dememoras can transport large armies over great distances in an instant?!"
"Yes. It took only a few minutes for them to get through the big, blue circle that he made. I heard his voice, but I didn't see him. It was like he could see us, but we couldn't see him."
This was getting worse and worse. What have they gotten into.
"Toby, what did they do to Gerasia?"
"They grabbed her after killing her parents. I don't know why they didn't kill her too."
She was still a vampiress. Not living in the truest sense. This was getting worse and worse. At least they couldn't teleport into Minbenthac; the wards extended over, under, in, and around the city, even though a skilled mage could come up with enough power to cut a hole in them to fit one or a couple of people, it would take an unimaginable amount of power to force an army through. Surely, Dememoras didn't have THAT kind of might. Or did he?
"Young Dragon, we are about to be hit, and hard. Your warning came a bit late, but I thank you for it. You've given us vital information. The enemy is likely to teleport just outside of the wards which surround the city. This means they will be about 5 kilometers away from the city walls when they first appear, probably."
20,000 troops would attack a city with a similar-sized force guarding it. 3 dragons, deadly magics, and a hidden agent already in the city would soon strike... no, not just in the city, it was worse than that. The party itself had been infiltrated. One of Adykon's companions was really in the service of Dememoras, and had been for months.
The forum should now be back up and running. Please don't hesitate to let us admins know if you run into any issues.