Expedition 158: The Last Warden of Fort Skywatch

**Expedition Roster**: Passion, Enkidar (non-Compact member), Fi Falcon, Valorie Vayer

**Report Given By**: Valorie Vayer

**Report Written By**: Lera Longtooth, assistant to the Supreme Commander

Edited and Issued by the Authority of Boris Vadislav, Supreme Commander of the Forces of the Living in the East.

##### Expedition Summary

A small group of Compacters attacked Fort Skywatch, to seize the Meadowsong Shield and other resources from the outpost. The Compact then searched the sides of Mountain to gain intelligence about an optimal ambush location against Gigas Interfex, additionally recovering Dire Wheat and surveilling the Green Dragon Sardak the Spiteful and the White Dragon Takaj the Djinnbane.

To limit the impact on the Ironwood Compact’s and Supreme Commander's schedule, the below is a transcription of a verbal report issued to Supreme Commander Vadislav by Valorie Vayer.

##### Transcribed Report

Valorie: “Early in the morning on the twentieth we marched through the Mageline to Highhall. I was there, with Finnjamin Falcon, Passion, and Enkidar, shapeshifted down to humanoid scale to fit through the Mageline.”

Supreme Commander: “Wait, he can do that?”

V: “Yes, Curry taught Enkidar how to shapeshift.”

SC: “Wait, Curry can do that?”

V: “Curry can teach Giants how to shapeshift, yes. She can’t shapeshift herself. That I’ve seen.”

SC: “Shame.”

V: “Anyway, we arrived at Highhall and met with Carter, of the city. I cast Wind Walk on the Compact and seven of Carter’s workers, for which he paid me a small sum, and we began flying over the Windgate Mountains towards Mountain. We knew Fort Skywatch was at the top of it.”

“We traveled through the Windgate Mountains without much difficulty. The Gate of Air altered gravity in the region; things tend to buoy upwards there, even the stones. We caught sight of the Gate; there is an extremely tall mountain made entirely of floating rocks tumbled together in the center of the range, with the gate atop it. We saw Takaj the Djinnbane leaving the gate as we flew overhead. He appeared busy.”

SC: “Did you see what he was doing? Was he carrying anything?”

V: “We don’t know, we were too far up, and wanted to stay on-mission. We flew over the Mountains and the Frostlakes--which, true to their name, were frozen solid even as spring was coming to the land around the water-- onwards to Mountain, where we surveyed the Fort.”

SC: “What defenses did the Fort have? Only aerial attackers would have been able to scale the tallest Mountain in the East to try to invade the city, I should hope!”

V: “The Fort’s defenses were organized to protect against ground assault from massed troops, as best I can deduce.”

SC: “What, on top of a mountain? What were they thinking?”

V: “Perhaps they wished to spite the sky by building a grand and useless structure as close to it as they could. The Fort was a 20-foot radius hexagonal tower, with each face assigned a Gargoyle keeping watch. The surrounding ground was cleared, but some rocks were still large enough for us to hide behind, so we settled about two hundred feet from the Fort, reformed from mist, and discussed our tactics.”

SC: “The day you Compacters do not have time for a fifteen-minute strategy conference before a fight is the day you all die. This is why soldiers *drill*.”

V: “I have frequently survived encounters where we had no time to plan.”

SC: “‘Survive,’ you say? I think I win this one.”

V: “*Anyway,* we decided to cast Fly on Enkdiar and Passion and I also cast Greater Invisibility on Passion. They would go over the top and do the bulk of the fighting while Finnjamin and I advanced to support them on the ground with magic.”

“Unfortunately, the moment Finnjamin stepped out from behind our rock, he set off a mine.”

SC: “Who mines the top of a mountain?”

V: “I don’t understand it, but it did work, Finnjamin had to slow down to avoid the mines. At first it looked like they were all incendiaries, so Enkidar stepped on half-a-dozen of them trying to clear a path, but they actually included cryonic and acidic explosives as well, so he very quickly abandoned that plan.”

SC: “I see you’ve taught him your ego.”

V: “*Anyway*, at this point the Gargoyles were flying at us. Passion, however, was invisible and they were totally unable to find him in the air, so he was able to land critical hits at will with his crossbow. I held position outside of the minefield and waited for the fight to develop. Finnjamin had it worst; he was the closest target when one of the Gargoyles activated the energy cannon.”

SC: “You did not notice an energy cannon on the Fort while flying over it?”

V: “...”

“Finnjamin took a blast from the energy cannon to his chest, then a Gargoyle dropped a lead weight--they had them stored in their wrists--from above and another mine exploded under him as he tried to advance. He was able to hypnotize one of the Gargoyles, but another got past him to begin dropping weights at me, and Fi was nearly dead on his feet. Things looked perilous.”

“Fortunately, Enkidar had the presence of mind to teleport right next to the energy cannon, and he distracted and eventually killed both of the Gargoyles operating it. My enchantment magic kept the Gargoyle on me away, and Ellu, courageously, took hits for me so I could keep concentration on Passion’s invisibility spell. Thanks to my tactics--”

SC: “--of hiding behind your horse--”

V: “*Passion was free to slay one of the gargoyles clustered around Fi,* and then Finnjamin, bless him, got onto his stilts--”

SC: “Huh?”

V: “--and began casually walking over the bombs with ease, throwing daggers into the remaining Gargoyles. He and Passion slew all of the Gargoyles that had flown out from the Fort, except the last, hypnotized one, which Enkidar destroyed spectacularly after he figured out how to operate the energy cannon. We turned a wholly unexpected strategic challenge into a significant victory.”

SC: “You could have just returned to corporeal form five hundred feet above the Fort, and Feather Fallen onto it. It would have ended better and looked cooler.”

V: “... That. Is true.”

SC: “Why didn’t you do that?”

V: “... We didn’t think of it.”

SC: “I see. Well, you did very well given the circumstances, and I suppose this is why they made me Supreme Commander, eh? Carry on.”

V: “... After we reorganized from the battle, we began attempting to crack the Fort. It was heavily enchanted with abjuration, divination, and evocation magic, but eventually we found the door and got it open with a combination of Enkidar’s strength and the Knock spell.”

SC: “How long did this take?”

V: “About an hour and a half. Inside, we found that the Fort had been turned into an extremely ramshackle living space for its sole occupant: Boron Skyguard, the last Warden of Skywatch appointed by the Emperor. Fort Skywatch’s wards make it airtight, and Boron survived the death cloud that destroyed his country. He maintained Fort Skywatch for three hundred and sixty-two years, ensuring his entrance to Mountain was never disturbed.”

SC: “Gods.”

V: “Understandably, Boron was furious when we broke his defenses and forced our way in. However, he was bedridden, and couldn’t do any damage. I could speak Stonetongue, and asked him his name and history. I told him of our purpose: to defend Mountain, and the world, from Gigas Interfex. I swore that we would keep his watch for him. I believe it comforted him. He passed on the Meadowsong Shield to us. And then promptly expired.”

“... No quip?”

SC: “No. You did a good and honorable thing, comforting an old soldier in his final moments.”

V: “Thank you.”

“We extracted everything of value that we could move from Fort Skywatch. In addition to the shield, there was a small amount of living stone, tools and a manual of Gargoyle Carving, a few weapons, and a Pitcher of Endless Water. We left behind a Table of Infinite Bread, it was too large to carry. We also wrapped Boron’s body and placed it in a Bag of Holding for later burial. There is a route into Mountain from Fort Skywatch--choked with skeletons, gruesomely--but it’s a single-person ladder, not a viable entrance for Gigas Interfex. We departed to find the route the giant would be more likely to take.”

“Scouring the sides of Mountain took a few hours. We went in stealth, avoiding all hazards, and I successfully found a position on the lower slopes of the mountain where we could launch an ambush at Gigas, assuming he takes the logical approach up the southern side. Finnjamin also found a large patch of Dire Wheat.

SC: “You fought wheat?”

V: “No, we talked to wheat.”

SC: “... I mocked another party of adventurers for wanting to fight everything, once. You, with your obsession with talking to everything? You are worse.”

V: “The wheat reacted favorably to news of our war, and asked that we take its children to our homeland to feed the soldiers of righteousness. We swore to do so and harvested the grain. With that, we were done on Mountain. However, we still had plenty of daylight.”

“We decided to visit the place where Liefsend had been sacrificing its citizens to the Mountain Dragons, to free another Liefsender, if we could. It would have been a quick detour--”

SC: “You got lost, didn’t you?”

V: “... We scouted a great deal of the Sheepcreep Mountains. There’s one mountain with a massive acid burn down one side, and we saw goats and sheep congregating strangely, as if to ward off a threat, in another area.”

SC: “How long were you lost for?”

V: “Four hours. We found the totem where the sacrifices were made eventually.”

“A dragon we later confirmed as Sardak the Spiteful was there. We observed him from a distance, and learned a great deal about him. He is in between the adult and ancient stages of his life, and his poison both damages and weakens those afflicted. These notes will be very helpful when we do battle with him.”

SC: “So, in conclusion: you took a fortification of no tactical value, completed Finnjamin’s shield collection after almost killing him, conversed at length with wheat, and then faffed about in the mountains for four hours sightseeing?”

V: “When will you finally let me make a report without mocking me?”

SC: “After I have mocked you as many times as you submitted reports for expeditions you didn’t tell me you were going on, plus the times you submitted reports written like vacation reviews and wouldn’t redo them.”

V: “I could find a replacement for you as Supreme Commander, you know.”

SC: “Except you couldn’t, because all of the good options committed international crimes a week ago. Excellent report, Miss Vayer, and thank you for your service to the Alliance of the Living.”

**Expedition Result:** Success

**Expedition Level:** 8

**Expedition Loot:** Heavy Crossbow, Club, Meadowsong Shield, Pitcher of Endless Water, Manual and tools of Gargoyle-Carving, a small amount of living stone, Dire Wheat (3 Units)