01/27/98 21:19:05
| Name: Gungadin |
Comments:
A small horse appears on the horizon, a froth building at its mouth. It had been running for what felt like forever, and was about ready to collapse. Upon its back sits a rather undescript man, a look of determination in his eyes... until he sees the
carnage before him. "Dear Lord... I'm too late..." Gungadin whispers. He slowly rides his horse through the gates of Gaultheria, taking heed of the cheers coming from the nearby soldiers. Gungadin dismounts and approaches one. "What has ha
pened here?" The soldier turns to him and shouts with glee. "We've defeated Lord Philo's army! Every one of them, slaughtered!" Gungadin's eyes widen. "He had nearly 50,000 men here. How did you..?" The soldier retells his tale wit
excitement. "We rode around from the side under the command of the great Sir Loranar! The man has wits of steel, and the courage of an entire pride of lions!" Gungadin shakes his head. "Unbelievable..!" A smile spreads across his face,
but it slowly fades away. He grasps the man by the shoulder. "How many losses did we endure?" The man looks back at him with a wide grin. "It doesn't matter! Lord Philo's army has been vanquished!" Gungadin shakes his head. "Losse
. How many?" The soldier's smile fades. "We had 40,000, and we attacked 50,000 on flatlands. It was amazing. I mean, such a battle is impossible! We came out ahead, though. About 8,000 remain." Gungadin looked at the man with disbelief.
"That's impossible... it doesn't matter. It doens't matter..." Gungadin continued riding back to the castle. He didn't have the heart to tell the man what he had heard. One of his operatives had told him of the sacking of Morrowind, and he sent
that man off with Malcontent to inform either the Supreme General or the Emperor, whoever was there, to marshall the 1st Infinity Corp. before riding back to Gaultheria at breakneck speed. However, Strikehaven had been having troubles on its borders with
the Altairians again, and it was unlikely that the army would arrive in time to stop Lord Philo. He had to tell Lucien. They now faced a force of more than 100,000 replenished men with their battle-weary band of 8,000...
01/27/98 21:19:05
| Name: The Morrowind Fleet |
Comments:
Acting on information from dragon overflights, two full groups set out towards the current location of the transports...to make Philo's previous trick impossible to repeat.
OOC: Yo, I reconittered this one. What's Philo's fleet? Approximate size of vessels and number.
01/27/98 21:15:26
| Name: Sir Mastermind |
Comments:
(typo in the last one--assuming it posted...I tried to stop it =P)
His "opportunity" and his victory are going to turn to ashes in his mouth. He's either going to have to starve or else come down and fight. My troops already inflicted five to one losses on him. When Gungadin returns with the 1st Infinity, we'll have a
most 60,000 to his 106,000, and we can react far faster than he can because we know what he wants, and where he has to go. And if he leaves anything up there underdefended, the reserves will chew it to pieces. It's going to be close, until Gungadin gets
here, but I'm confident of final victory. But now, we must oversee the construction of defenses. Every fortification we get now is one more life of ours saved. He strides out, with the other dragonrider, and they leave for the armies nearest Gaulthe
ia, ordering them to set up concentric defensive rings around the castle and on the two major approaches to the castle--the north and east high-roads.
01/27/98 21:09:09
| Name: Johan |
Comments:
He apparently thought he saw an opportunity...
01/27/98 19:44:41
| Name: Lucien |
Comments:
He paces back and forth in the Great Hall, his brows furrowed. He looks to the others and finally speaks. "I've had Miss Lisa taken to a safe haven. It is hidden and very few know of its existance." He places a reassuring hand on Johan's sho
lders. "She will be safe. It is Lady Poca I fear for now. She's quite weak and in no condition to survive a battle. I think our enemy must know this. But that is something I do not understand. If he knows she is weak and unable to fight back, th
n why does he not come here now. Gaultheria is almost defenseless without her. The land, with her control, can do amazing things..." He shakes his head and resumes his pacing.
01/27/98 19:17:16
| Name: Sir Mastermind... |
| State: Distraught, yet cold. |
Comments:
What happened, Daniel? Why didn't the wind barrier keep him out?
He had a trick with his mages...Daniel growled out...He apparently went in under the thing--burrowed through the northern ridge. The mages couldn't react in time, because no
ne saw it until he was already in. I managed to get most of our trainees, paladins, and the mages out, and they're running around in the mountains as we speak...but the majority were slaughtered to a man. He shakes with rage....
Mastermi
d regards the dragonrider with sympathy, obviously trying to conceal his anger and sorrow at his supposedly impenetrable fortress falling so quickly: I'm sure you did your best, Daniel. Apparently, he thinks to consolidate his power before he attemp
s to attack. Let him--you know as well as I do that most if not all of my people will burn their food and hurl themselves on his men's blades before helping him--the stories of what the LAST ruler like Philo did to that country still circulate--and he ca
only weaken him armies by holing up there for any length of time.
A sardonic look: Besides, as cold as it seems, we lost very little in terms of striking power. The truly effective troops are still all intact. You were the only dragonrid
r left at Stormwind--and you escaped, so the high-ranked Paladins are still intact. We've got most of the people he could've hoped to capture or kill--you, me, Johan, Arina, Loranar--here. LightFall hasn't fallen yet--it hasn't even been touched, he pro
ably doesn't even know where it is. Few do, and there are a lot of mountains to get lost in up there.
He shakes his head: Now it's a question of how we can stop his advance. Regardless of the citizens and the militia, it's still pretty much a straight shot straight through down the coast from there to here. Lucien, I'm going to have to intrude a
ain on Gaultheria's hospitality. I'd prefer to bring at least three divisions here, with the object of moving up the coast and trying to hold him at Kalinka or Dawnbright. Buy us some time.
To the rest: Meanwhile, the best way to get him
ut of Stormwind is to go there ourselves, at least some of us, and see if we can't cut the head off the army. The way he treats his troops, that'll likely crush their morale entirely, and most likely end it there. As for how, there are ways into Stormwi
d he won't have found yet, but he will eventually.
01/27/98 19:00:22
| Name: The Nameless One |
| State: Entirely out of character. |
Comments:
Perhaps it deserved a story, yes. However, in the timeline Philo has in mind somebody would have acted in the time it took just to post the stories of its fall (I mean real time, not Gaulthrian time) and upset the flow of the Gualtherian time events. Be
ides, even the best laid defenses, magical or not, can be taken, easily even, if the foe does it just right. Everything can, and in time, does fall. I know from experience. :) Besides, it's just a story. Take it for the storyline's sake. I have befo
e. You CAN always rebuild.
01/27/98 18:59:50
| Name: Morrowind citizenry... |
Comments:
Word from refugees from the north and survivors from the north filters into the heartlands...and here the military machine that was Morrowind responds with speed and enthusiam...some small villages are empty of citizens at first light, and most everyon
everywhere notices a considerable lowering in the number of young-to-middle-age men and women in the streets...
In caves, warehouses, and anywhere they can, determined bands of Morrowind's veterans meet, carrying their old arms and armour--a bit r
sty, just as they are, true--but they discuss the nature of the threat and the tactics they might use to fight it...
Slowly at first, but with building momentum, these groups continue to form.
01/27/98 18:59:09
| Name: The Nameless One |
| State: Entirely out of character. |
Comments:
Perhaps it deserved a story, yes. However, in the timeline Philo has in mind somebody would have acted in the time it took just to post the stories of its fall (I mean real time, not Gaulthrian time) and upset the flow of the Gualtherian time events. Be
ides, even the best laid defenses, magical or not, can be taken, easily even, if the foe does it just right. Everything can, and in time, does fall. I know from e
01/27/98 18:55:48
| Name: Loranar's 5th and the 6th... |
Comments:
Hearing the news of Stormwind under attack, he orders the armies to march in a wide circle...the diversionary army, pinned between the defending 2nd and the new threat from its rear, can't hold off both threats at once and is pretty much either slaught
red or captured to a man...the three divisions next return to Gaultheria...
01/27/98 18:52:16
| Name: Troops near Lightfall.... |
Comments:
The dragonriders return from their scouts, telling a rather frightening tale--no sign of an army, AND no sign of invasion ships. The officers in charge quickly reform the ranks and turn the troops around, preparing to march back to Lightfall as a seco
dary keep while the situation around the northlands is clarified...
01/27/98 18:49:55
| Name: Josh Sholes |
| State: Confused... |
Comments:
Wait a second...what time of year is this again?
I missed that whole ships thing the first time through...
Okay. Crap. I hate codiene cough syrup. Anyway, disregard the army comments but I'm still peeved about Stormwind falling without a story. =(
01/27/98 18:49:48
| Name: Josh Sholes |
| State: Confused... |
Comments:
Wait a second...what time of year is this again?
I missed that whole ships thing the first time through...
Okay. Crap. I hate codiene cough syrup. Anyway, disregard the army comments but I'm still peeved about Stormwind falling without a story. =(
01/27/98 18:46:27
| Name: Josh Sholes |
| State: Confused, and a little skunked. |
Comments:
01/27/98 18:43:19
| Name: Lord Philo |
Comments:
"Stormwind Keep..." Lord Philo mutters as he walks through the fallen capital of Morrowind. "How intriguing... Not my final destination, but it will do for now... He adds with a fearful grin. By the time he had arrived, a large portion o
the bodies had been removed. Only 50,000 of his troops had actually been sent against Gaultheria, and at an incredibly slow march, to boot. The other 130,000 loaded back into the ships and sailed up behind the Worldspine, where they came against Stormw
nd Keep from behind. Only 13,000 troops of Sir Mastermind's army were left in Morrowind, making it an easy target. Those within Stormwind Keep put up a great fight, but they had been outnumbered by more than 10 to 1. Philo's army now numbered roughly 1
6,000 men, still an ungodly force. He was not pleased with the number of casualties, but since he now had Deristative Repower in his hands, he was lienient on the officer in charge. "Lord Philo! The men are waiting..." A voice calls. Philo sha
es his head. "Very well." He walks to a curtain on the other side of the fortress and pushes it aside to reveal a balcony. Below it is a courtyard filled with men, all cheering and shouting at the sight of Lord Philo. Philo nods approvingly,
nd lifts the newly-reforged Deristative Repower above his head, triumphantly. The men grew ecstatic, and they begin chanting his name. "PHILO! PHILO! PHILO!" fills the mountains surrounding Stormwind Keep, and Lord Philo grins demonically...<
i>
01/27/98 18:29:42
| Name: Fighters in Gaultheria |
Comments:
"HERE THEY COME!" the lookout shouted from within Gaultheria castle. The fighting had been going on for days. The defenders had retreated back toward the castle as planned, leaving the various tricks and magical traps behind them. Lord Philo's a
my ran into them head-on, causing quite a few casualties, but not as many as were expected. The mages along with the army quickly deciphered what was happening and neutralized the traps on the border, and the army, moving much faster now than they had fo
the last few months, almost overran the defenders. However, their power seemed to be only a fraction of what was expected. Morale in the for the defenders high, for it appeared that Lord Philo's army was evenly matched with theirs, and since they were
defending, victory was most probable. However, Philo's army fought with obscure tactics, ones generally not used by an army trying to overcome a country. They resorted mostly to a large-scale hit-and-run battle, which caught the defending army by surpr
se. After being pushed back time and again, the armies were finally clashing at Gaultheria itself. "Prepare for the attack! And watch them flowers, boys! There's gonna be a show!" an officer shouted. However, before the army reached the battl
field, another voice called out. "DRAGON!!" The officer looked up to see the large shadow of dragon flying overhead. "Shoot it down!" The archers inside the castle drew back their bows and let their arrows fly, striking the dragon severa
times, but doing no real damage. The dragon dove down toward the castle. "WAIT! IT'S AN EMERALD!" The officer shouted. Indeed, as the dragon lowered itself to the castle wall, its emerald scales could clearly be seen. A man wearing the tabar
of Morrowind stepped off its back, exhausted. "I must speak with Sir Mastermind!" he shouted, his eyes wide with terror. The officer helped to support him. "What seems to be the problem, soldier?" The dragonrider appeared to be in a pa
ic. "Philo's army is everywhere! They came in from the mountains, where we'd least expect them! This slow-marching army was a distraction while they brought their main forces elsewhere!" The officer nodded. "We figured that something like
hat was happening. Don't worry, we're prepared for the worst here. We're all set to fight a war on both fronts of the castle. The dragonrider shook his head furiously. "NO! You don't understand! I'm not talking about Gaultheria! Stormwind Ke
p... Morrowind... The whole country's been SACKED!"
01/27/98 16:11:37
| Name: The Nameless One |
Comments:
As Zappo starts moving, he becomes aware of a figure strewn out on the floor on the opposite side of the cavern. The only difference between this one and the other dead bodies is that this one could still possibly be alive. However, it is not breathing.
One of Philo's troops is poking at it with a stick to check it out. Its clothes are a little scorched and it seems to be steaming a bit. After sufficient prodding, the 'corpse' takes a loud, gasping breath. He stands up quickly, swinging wildly at any
hing nearby! "Get off me, dog!" he shouts as he strikes down the man who kept poking him with the stick. Zappo's pretty sure he's found his 'odd companion.'
01/27/98 14:31:08
| Name: The Onyx Knight |
Comments:
He sits in the dining room of a small roadside tavern, staring at the flames as they dance in the fireplace. He looks up as the door is opened and a group of rough looking men enter the tavern. They sit at a table near him and speak in hushed tones.
He overhears them without even trying. One of them speaks of a "foolish lady" who should have not gotten in the way. They all agreed that it was sad that such a fine looking woman had to die. A terror sweeps through the Knight, for the only lady he kno
s in the area is Lady Poca. He stands and runs from the tavern, calling for his mount. He rides as fast as his steed will take him in the direction of Gaultheria. Once he reaches the border, he notices the addition of guards. Not wanting to be seen, h
rides along the outskirts of Gaultheria until he reaches the back of the castle. He removes a key from the inside of his cloak, tethers his mount to a nearby tree, and silently approaches a doorway hidden in the wall of the north tower. He unlocks the
oor and slips inside. He makes his way through the dimly lit tunnels until he hears a familiar voice. "She's not dead..." Relief washes over him momentarily. However, he still feels concern for her safety, so he opens the door and enters the ha
lway in time to see her sink to the floor. No one has yet noticed him, and soon it becomes apparent that no one has noticed her either. Taking advantage of their preoccupation, he sneaks over to Lady Poca and lifts her into his arms. He again enters th
hidden tunnel and carries her up to her room. He gently lays her down on the bed. Quietly, he lights a few of the candles in the room and moves to the main door to lock it. He then removes his armor, leaving him clothed in black silk, and lays down ne
t to Lady Poca on the bed. He lovingly pulls her into his arms and places her head on his shoulder. He smooths some hair off of her forhead and kisses it gently. "I'm here now, love. I shall watch over you. Just sleep..."
