Onward to Aurincia

The inn was a lost cause. Flames danced and crackled merrily across the walls and rooftop, secure in the knowledge that no bucket chain from a well or nearby stream would save the building. No matter, the innkeeper and his family had long since fled. Luckily I had not yet secured myself a room for the night, so I had all my belongings with me when I went through the window. Interesting mix, I thought looking at the six other travelers who had not yet made their way away from the inn.

A debate went on for a bit regarding the merits of which way to travel. A large guard tower lay about a days march overland along the coast. Auincia was less than five miles away, but the orange glow on the horizon gave the impression that kobolds were currently attacking the city. The debate ended when the paladin, Rhegar, made a short, passionate speech about needing to assist victims in the city. Through guilt or sense of duty, we each grabbed our gear and headed toward Aurincia and certain danger. I didn't mind much. I had stayed at the tower the night before and did not relish the idea of bracktracking an entire day of my route. Besides being a cleric of Kord means you have pretty clear expectations. If there is a battle, you're expected to be there.

Not quite two miles down the road, we came across a mixed group of soldiers and civilians. Fifteen or so guards of the capitol were arguing with twenty of the adventuring types seen earlier in the common room. Years of trying to avoid backroom brawls has left me with a sort of sixth sense about people's intentions. Cal and Cora used to joke that I was a human fight barometer. I didn't get the impression that the guards would start anything, though they did look weary from dealing with the civilians, and I told as much to the group.

Rhegar, who had appointed himself leader of our little band, approached the captain. Turns out Aurincia had been attacked by a large draconic menace. When the captain and his guards had been forced to retreat, the kobolds and such held the main gates and were setting fire to most of the city. The captain had also reported seeing greenish winged dragonlike creatures apparently directing the actions of the kobolds. I sucked in a breath, surely those could only be Abishai, the 'angelic' servants of Tiamat. Well that certainly explained the shaman. I thought. We went back into a group to digest the information the guards had given us. Travis, a swashbuckler type, and Kyri, the elf ranger, had both been to the city enough times to know their way around. Our best bet was the western gate, though located in tannery district and ordinarily not a nice place to visit, was probably our best bet on this night. Informing the captain of our plan, he expressed his wish to go with us to retake the city. Unfortunately, by this time more refuges had appeared. He promised to at least keep the amateures from following behind us.

We reached the city walls without further incident. Kyri and Travis led the way to the docks and tanning district. We found a set of stairs to the top of the wall but before anyone could do any scouting, we heard rough voices. I swore under my breath. Of course you wouldn't make this easy, Kord. Draconic smacked into my ear like a punch to the head, which is apparently what our unknown opponents were apparently doing. The conversations went something like "Me punch harder." "No me punch harder." and so on.

Taking advantage of a pre-made distraction our impromptu party took to getting ourselves to the top of the wall. Travis, Kari, Garn, and I scaled the wall while Vixi and Kalena took the stairs, led by Rhegar. Kyri and Travis, not being held down by heavy armor, made it up first and took the chance to suprise our walltop friends with a couple of well placed shots. Meanwhile, Rhegar attacked from his alcove. The wizard and the warlock added their own bit of fire and brimstone.

On top of the wall were four large dragonborn, all wearing tabards of "you're-gonna-pay-for-that" Tiamat, as well as a smattering of dragonborn underlings. Needless to say, they were a little pissed as being attacked in the middle of their celebration. The two who had been involved in the punching match decided to make Rhegar their new target, still arguing about who could hit harder. The other two headed down the wall toward Kyri and Travis. Being a cleric of Kord means you don't get to back away from a fight, so fully aware of how incredibly stupid I was being I threw a beam of holy light at the browner of the two as I popped onto the wall. Unfortunately one of the underlings took the opportunity to take a swipe at me. I was quick enough to dodge but the attack threw off my aim and I missed. Brown decided I like like an easy target but Garn got a quick hit in, allowing me to slip back to a slightly safer position. With Vixi and Kalena pounding away, none of the dragonborn had much of a chance and soon only the seven of us remained conscious on the wall. If this was what it took to take a look at the city, I thought, what waits inside?