ooc:
Woot, apparition time!!

At this time a wizard appeared in the room and in a hurry fasion begain to speak, "Sir, before you hurt me for interupting your dinner I have some messages for you. The rogues will be alittle late but are coming, the Halfling king person is coming and he's bringing a guard, the Barbarians are coming and they are also bringing a small guard."
The wizard then ran as fast as he could to the double doors that lead out but the general motioned for the specters to stop him... they did so.

"Uhhh sir, can I umm go now," the wizard said in a scared tone.
"No, you may not go." a reply came in a cold mocking tone, "Whats the hurry... you have eternity."
The wizard obviously not very bright being a human wizard thought about it then calmed down.
The general in a heartless tone said, "I wish to speak with you later... specters take this man to my "holding area".

The wizard yelled out, "Noooo dont take me not there." He kicked and screamed but the specters dragged him on.

"Trust me he will not be harmed." The general said, "Now where is that globe thing you have I am ready to send bmy meassage."

~~~~~

"Oof!" Kedarien, Illizub and the as of yet unnamed monk fell down on top of the pyramid.
"Never trust a wizard when he's in a hurry." The monk said, standing up and brushing himself off.
"Tha' bastard dropp'ed us 5 feet abo've the pyramid!" Kedarien chuckled as Illizub got to his feet.
"Come on, at least were here right? Better then porting into NK then we'd have a much longer run." Kedarien said hopping down onto the grass. Illizub muttered something that Kedarien missed as the monk jumped down. The halfling merely slid down a side of the pyramid, and the three set off for the hills outside Qeynos...

~~~~

About this same time on Faydwer a skilled ranger sat in a tree with his bard girl friend. There was much merryment and laughter as the bard practiced her flute.
After they stopped the ranger smiled and said, "I love you with the same love Tunare gives the forest," He then knelt on the branch as best he could and she smiled wide as he pulled a Golden Diamond ring from his belt pouch he then continued with, "Will you merry me."

She was stunned but she said, "Of course!!!"

After the short walk home hand in hand they reached Kelethin, they took the elevator up the tree and into the bardess's mom's home. Once she found out the good news she exclaimed, "I never thought you'd be the one when I first met you to tell you the truth, Shaddowwolf, but I think that you two deserve each other."
The bardess nodded in approval and the hugged her mom who started to cry, "Alhanaa I am so happy for you."

So when are you to be wed. "Shaddowwolf glanced down and muttered, "I am suppose to embark on a journey in a week and Alhanaa is now coming but I say it should be before that, this journey came up suddenly and I knew I could never leave your daughter." Alhanaa said, "Well then the day we leave we are to leave we will be wed." Shaddowwolf hugged and kissed his wife." He then left to head back to his home."

/ooc they will be tied in to the story in a few moer posts...

~~~~~

"Taken by force. No way would the Barbarian's willingly go." Finally having given in, the monk had revealed his name as Kentou. The trio were lying on the ground in a patch of tall-grass on the outskirts of Qeynos, watching a small party of Barbarians and Halflings being led into the city.
"He'll go after Surefall Glade soon, too tempting of a target to pass on." Kedarien replied, glancing at Illizub who was focused on the halflings.
"Tha' one. He is our king." Both monk and elf leaned over to follow where the halfling was pointing.
"You sure?" Kentou asked.
"Yeah he's sure, I've seen the guy a couple times." Kedarien muttered, sitting up.
"So, feel up to meeting a General?" He asked his two companions. The monk picked up a potion.
"With these to protect us, we'll be fine." The potion was returned to a pouch at the monk's hip. Illizub merely grunted, he was still focused on the Halfling King.

The trio hopped down from the hill and approached the city gates...

"Now we just need my rogue friends," The general replied. The general feelt an uneasiness in his gut. At this time three arrows embedded themselves in the chair the general was at. Lucky he had good reflexes. The general pulled out some shurikens at this time and called for the specteres to block the door from the out side. The general then dive rolled behiund another chair which now had three arrows in it. The general used some magic to create an illusion which he sent to roll like he did... after the tree arrows were shot the general stood and threw 3 shurikens into three elves whch fell off some high rises.
He then removed the arrows from his chair and sat back down. "Now if yall dont mind I say we wait for the other two I invited.

"Welcome," the general said, "Have a seat."
"Now I'm sure yall think this is a big trap but it isn't I swear and furthermore I'm sure you think that we are out to distroy everone, you are partly correct but the truth is that we only are out to gain mass strength and rise to some power. As we speak a war in Freeport is going on between people of the same race. Now wouldn't it be wonderful if fighting and death no longer were a part of our lives, no more mourning, no more lost love ones."

The halflings just sat there in deep thought and the barbarians were kinda accepting of this idea.

The general coninued, "The Erudites dont belive in this... that is why I purpose that we crush them and then enslaves the Iksar who arn't accepting of anyone but them selves."

The Halfling king stood up and said, "As much as this is a good idea my people refuse to be a part of it I will not give you any support." The barbarians also stood up and said, "I agree with the halflings."

The general then snaped his fingers and the doors were blocked the windows had skelital archers in them and the door to the kitchen flew open and about 5 spectors 2 skelital captains and a large number of darks elves and skelitons entered the room, "I hate to be rude but I'm afraid you really dont have a choice, and for you Kedarian I am offering you eternal life for your and your friends all you have to do is swear your eternal loyalty."

"The attacks will begin shortly, after I get word of them I shall deal with yall till then sit tight."

ooc:
Just how does a rogue teleport to Runnyeye and then to Everfrost? I mean, he could be bound in Qeynos and then used a gate potion or had someone trans him to his bind point. But Runnyeye and EF?

The trio exchanged a glance with eachother.
"Ahh. No." A small bottle appeared in their hands, and the trio each down the potion in one gulp.
"We'll be back later to-" Kedarien's words were cut off as the three vanished from the room.

Illizub wrapped a shawl around his shoulders after the three entered Thurgadin.
"Halt!" Kentou leapt clear as Illizub and Kedarien drew a pair of daggers each and spun around.
"What are your intentions here?" The daggers vanished as the two rogues saw the person speaking, who was an erudite.
"Escaping from Qeynos and General Knightbane." Kentou said, bowing before the erudite.
"What a coincidence. I have just spoken with the leaders here, they have agreed to aid the Erudites and any other races that come under threat or attack from Knightbane."
"Sounds lahk a plan." Illizub muttered.
"The Barbarians and the Halflings will be under attack soon, the Elves and Humans in Surefall Glade may soon be under assault as well. The General will have a harder time fighting the Erudites, but the other races have not had so much time to prepare." Kedarien said.
"I see. A few of my collegues and a group of druids are also here, we will arrange transportation for the dwarven army."

The druid ring in Misty Thicket was rather quiet, only two druids sat peacefully meditating underneath the stone columns. This peace would not remain for long, as suddenly an army blinked into the Thicket. Surrounding the druid ring, spread out in an impressive array was an army of the finest dwarven warriors, paladins and clerics...

Everfrost, however, would be a little harder to reach. The army headed to protect the Barbarians decided to split up, half teleporting into Surefall Glade, the other half into the Plains of Western Karana. A group of a half-dozen druids that accompanied the Erudite wizards transformed the Western Karana army into wolves, and then the group set off to secure Qeynos Hills...

The Surefall Glade group waited patiently while the druids there cast protective spells on the army. This group split again, half moving into the Jaggedpine Forest, while the other half headed into Qeynos Hills to relieve the rangers protecting the entrance to the Glade. The Jaggedpine army quickly ran to the teleport crystal and slowly piled into Blackburrow...

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Daniel Gow ]

The general laughing like a maniac then tells the people in the room to arm themselves and to throw the halflings and the barbarians in the dungeon and put a few ogres down there. "Sir," said an officer, "We will need to attack surefall soon. Our necromancers feel their power growing." The general walked and sat down at the head of the table and he said calmly, "Send out scouts in every direction... I want 10 watching the WK pass and I want 5 watching Sure Fall I want to know if one species with reason moves, and if they are a threat I want one messenger to come back and I want half of the rest to press an attack, and if anyone sees two rogues, an edrudite, and a monk I want them... dead or alive." With these last words the words that lets him infest a soul came to mind."

Kedarien accompanied the Qeynos Hills army, sticking with the scouts. This army also made quick work of the undead and gnolls near Surefall, helping to reinforce the Glade defenders.

Kentou stayed with the Karana army, who was making good speed across the plains. A spur-of-the-moment order came down from the commanders of the Karana army, a small party of dwarves would make a hit-and-run attack on the Qeynos gates, to test the strength of the undead and gnoll guards.

ooc:
Simple update

The general got word of the small group of gnolls killed over by surefall and the happenings in black burrow. He hastened to summy the army of the New Qeynos. Necromancers, a few Shadow Knights and a bunch of skellital archers surrounded the battlements. The general relizing that he'd have Erudites coming in from behind set up about 100 or so near the docks. He then lined at least 150 skelital spear men in front if his gates. He then opened a letter that was addressed to him and it read,
Dear NPC,

I wish that you send your army back to their spawn points. I need to kill one to gget my paladin epic piece. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
A_Conserned_Paladin_00

The general snickered at this and tossed the paper into the fire. He recieved that the attacks on River Vale were not doing that badly they had surpassed the halfling wall with 90% force still moving with full power. The attacks on Halas wern't so bad either. They had gotten throught the ever frost part but noone was used to the cold water so crossing it wasa challange cause every time somone would get out of it a arrow or a blade would find them. By the time they did all get out the army had dwindeled down to 50%.

The general now took his Shadow Knights and set two flanks and a few on horses ran at all haste to the small lake in the hills to wait for the box attack. The army that was visable was ammassed to at least 500 the others crouded the areas where they would move into and about 100 hid out in building just incase the front D fell.

ooc:
Lol, I like the letter

Blackburrow was finally secured, the dwarves sent word back to Surefall and both teleport crystals were properly guarded in case a retreat was called. With this accomplished, the army coming from Surefall Glade reached the entrance to the caves, quickly crossing and moving into the Everfrost Mountains.

The groups that were headed to Qeynos launched their assault. Only fifty dwarven paladins and clerics attacked the Qeynos gates, using their specialized anti-undead powers to hold back the guards.

ooc:
You're welcome to do whatever you want with the group attacking the gates

The rest of the Karana army reached Blackburrow at the same time as the Surefall army. Units from each army stayed behind to guard the entrance to Blackburrow.

~~~

The elven couple made merriment in that their wedding was in just a few days. They sang together, snuggled under the stars together, and on the occasion helped with the crushbone attacks the elves have been doing.

/ooc this was just so I wouldn't forget that I had introduced them into the story.

~~~

The general sat in his chambers pondering trying to think about the next attacks.. Would they prove to be so easy or could this "dream" be a test set by the gods or could it be just a futile attempt. He sat thinking these all night.

~~~~~

One dwarf survived from the assault on Qeynos. Dieing rapidly from a powerful disease spell, the paladin did not last for more then a few minutes after reaching the caves of Blackburrow. The few words he was able to speak were enough, the dwarven army knew they were not prepared to retake Qeynos. The attacks on Blackburrow and the protection of Halas were easy to accomplish given the element of surprise. However to retake Qeynos, many more soldiers would be needed...

ooc:
Cue the ominous music!

[ 09-18-2002: Message edited by: Daniel Gow ]

A messenger gated back to Qeynos where he told the general the good news the general set the city up as an armory and made quick friends with the shroom men and the goblins that lived nearby. He gave Rivervale to the shroom men and goblins in return for their allyship and their best warriors which were sent to Qeynos. The city of Qeynos now had a standard guard (shadow knights and warriors and undead.) of at least 1000 strong. Rivervale had a guard of about 500 but the goblins were pretty well armed and even though they were weak they were quickly gathering other forces such as ogres, more shroom men, a few orcs, ect.

/ooc take halas its too cold there... lol

[ 09-19-2002: Message edited by: NiteShadow ]

ooc:

Um...there was like...a dwarven army in Rivervale...

The undead army made their way from Runnyeye and found the massive dwarven army relizing that they were alittle outmatch the army went back to Runnyeye where they got the assisance of the Runnyeye orcs and the shroom men.

ooc:
*is still freezing in Halas*

The halflings more then welcomed the assistance of the dwarven army, deploying the troops to defend the entrances to the city. For the moment, they were not prepared to make an assault on the Runnyeye caves - much as they would like to - so instead they fortified the city's defenses and prepared to be attacked.

Kedarien, Illizub, Kentou and the dwarven general Horf were brought back together in Surefall Glade. After much discussion they decided to not attack Qeynos, the cost would be too great. If they could hold out for a few more days, Halas would be able to recover and send some of their soldiers down to help. The Erudites were talking to the Wood-Elves and the High-Elves, hoping to gain their support.

For now, it was all a matter of waiting.

The general as much as he despised it sent a messanger disquised as an Iksar to Cabilis to ask for help. He prepared for the assult he knew the rogue and his friends would make on Qeynos... his sodiers trained in the day and slept with sword and armor by the bed side.

~~~

The army that gathered in Runnyeye sent a scout out to check defenses. about 30min later the scout returned wuth bad news.
He said to the Dark Elf Shadow Knight in charge, "Sir, they have the wall well guarded by the time we take it we'll be at half our strength and they will most likely flank."
The shadow knight thought about it and then decided to fortify runnyeye while he got the goblins to make catapults from some of the trees out side. The high goblin said, "We make 5 catapults at once.. only take 3 days once lumber cut."
The Shadow knight nodded and sent a messenger to tell the general.

Halas got back on its feet in five days, sending two-hundred Barbarian warriors and Shamen down through the mountains to reinforce the dwarven army.

Just outside Rivervale, the druids were gating in and out of Misty Thicket so frequently that the dwarves finally had to build a wall around the druid portal to keep it safe from ambush. Finally on the sixth day since the dwarven arrival, an army of Wood-Elves and High-Elves were teleported into the Thicket.

Also in Surefall Glade, the number of dwarves nearly doubled as an army from Kaladim arrived.

Reports of a severe ale shortage rippled through both Surefall and Rivervale...

ooc:
Is anything happening in Freeport/Neriak?

With the Ogres and Trolls being just down south, Freeport seems like a pretty juicy target

The goblin catapults were coming along fine.

~~~

The elven couple made some last preperations for their wedding

~~~

The general just kept thinking about how he lost his humanity

~~~

The generals messanger arrived in LOIO on his way to Cabilis.

/ooc nothing big today

~~~~~

The fortifications around Rivervale and the Druid Portal are complete. The wood-elf rangers begin daily scouting patrols near the Goblin Caves.

~~~~~

The wood-elves in Fironia Vie begin patrols deep into the region around the Lake of Ill Omen.

~~~~~

An_Annoyed_HalfElf_Paladin_23 attacks Qeynos!

~~~~~

Erudin settles in and prepares to defend their city.

~~~~~

"For now we will wait for the General to make his move. An attack on Qeynos might succeed, but the cost would be too large to handle right now." The Erudite named Xino had arrived in Surefall Glade, where they had turned the tavern into an unofficial "headquarters." Right now, he was talking to Kedarien and the commanders from the dwarven armies. Illizub and Kentou were out with a pair of scouting parties.
"How long can we wait? While we have him locked in for land travel we know he has teleporting messengers so he's not isolated." Kedarien was standing with his back to a wall, slightly seperate from everyone else.
"Our defenses will be complete soon, within the week all of our soldiers will be fully rested..." Xino trailed off.
"You see, the problem is this. If we build up for an attack on Qeynos, Neriak, or Runnyeye Citadel, it will be rather obvious what we're doing. We'll need a large number of soldiers, and that kind of buildup is impossible for even our Enchanters to hide. What I'm getting at is this: we need to attack all three cities at once, keep all three pinned down or any one of them could launch an attack on our cities when their not as well defended." No one spoke for a few seconds as Xino's words set in.
"Ah have to agree with the Erudite." The dwarven general said, and the other dwarven commanders agreed.
"Then we should start drawing up our battle plans for your three-pronged attack. The sooner we're ready the better." Kedarien's words were followed by another chorus of agreement.

~~~~~

A shadow whisked through the grass. Silent with the exception of the occasional twig that snapped underneath. However with the strong breeze blowing across the Plains only the sharpest of ears would catch the noise.

The shadow came to a halt, as if pausing to catch it's breath. The shadow did not breathe however, and was merely pausing to take in the view of another sunset. A wolf howled in the distance and a gust of wind blew for a half-second. The shadow turned, and kept running...

With this the Shadow Knight walked out black cape flowing behind him as he made haste.

~~~

The messenger arrived at Cabilis and cast a spell that morphed him to look just like an Iksar. He practiced his Lizard tounge and then made his way into the city. The lizards looked at him with a funny glance but didn't do anything. He then made his way to the Shadow Knight guild where he had arranged a meeting with the Grand Master (monk), High Shaman, General of the guard (warrior), Master of death, and the Dark Ones Fighter.

They scoweled at him but they quickly warmed up to him when he asked for their assistance in ridding the world of everyone but the Dark Elves, Ogres, Trolls, and the undead. The iksars thought about how it would feel to have slaves instead of being them and they discussed it and told the messanger to stay the night. Then the shaman spoke up, "When youss isss withs ussss yous may drop that ssssilly illusssion."
The messenger walked to the room the masters had made him and slept with one eye open.

~~~

The wedding day for the elven couple was just one night away. It is elven tradition to not be with the couple so that they may get an extra night to make it on their own..
So the two elves snuggled under a blanket high in a tree top.
Their bags were packed, wedding area set, and both ready to journey hand in hand.

[ 09-30-2002: Message edited by: Daniel Gow ]

~~~~~

There was a quiet knock and the door creaked open. Sianj faded into view as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind.
"You must get up and get dressed quickly." He said, a worried tone in his voice as the ghost stepped over to the window and peered outside.
"I recieved new information late last night while you were in council with the other clerics. They have been squabling for too long and ignoring the threats laid before their eyes. You must act now without their approval, before it is too late." Sianj quickly walked back over to the door set a hand on the frame, turning his head to glance back at Fantasha, awaiting a reply.

ooc:
It hasn't come up yet, but when listing off each 'good' race a thought came to mind.

For now I guess we'll have to assume that transportation between Luclin and Norrath hasn't started yet. Is that okay with you two? Bringing ShadowHaven and the other Luclin cities into the story will make things rather complex.

~~~

The iksar council called back the messenger and told him that they had no love for the Dark Elves but would lend them a hand in exterminating and enslaving others but once that was done they were once again on their kill list. The messenger left to go tell the general.

~~~

The elven couple stole away half way through the merriment to begin their journey to Erudin to meet an old friend and then to Kunark where they seek to enhance their bond.

"Iksar." The wood-elf spat the word out and set his hands on his hips.
"Definitely, I saw the messenger meeting with them." The gnome glanced to his right, watching a wasp fly by, a good distance from where the two were standing.
"This was not unexpected, you have alerted the outpost of Fironia Vie?"
"Yes, they have increased their patrols." The gnome began to fidget, uncomfortable underneath the tall trees.
"Good, go back to the continent of Kunark, continue to watch the Iksar." The gnome saluted, then cast a teleportation spell and vanished. The wood-elf looked up at the trees, then also cast a spell and vanished.

~~~~~

At the Misty Thicket wall: Dwarven, wood-elf and halfling archers are set up as advance scouts should any attack be launched on Rivervale.

The barbarians, with help from dwarven architects, have begun the process of fortifying the access route to Halas. Much has changed...

Sarsh Mc'lar, Barbarian Wolf o' the North, stood in front of a stone wall which that ran between two sides of a canyon. The wall was easily four barbarian's tall, and had a single gate at it's center. The gate was barely tall enough for Mc'lar to walk under, but the majority of the people moving through the gate were dwarves.
"Ah do believe our home in the snow has been o'errun." A voice spoke at Mc'lar's shoulder, causing the barbarian to turn slightly. The speaker was Mc'lar's second-in-command, Bjor Slen, another barbarian warrior.
"Aye, but what a fortress they have built." Mc'lor commented, waving a hand in front of him. The wall was not the only structure the dwarves had built. Behind the wall, extending down the canyon and up to the famous "Halas Ramp", was a Fort. Basically, the dwarves had decided to build a wall at the end of the canyon leading to Halas, and then extended that wall down the canyon, finishing up with another wall just outside the Ramp. Then the architects had decided to take it a step further, and build inside the wall. Four stone towers were built in each corner, plus along each side-wall was a two-story stone structure. These two buildings held barracks, archer posts, jail cells, and stables. The whole purpose of this fortress was to provide a large barrier between any invaders, given that General Knightbane had proven that the Halas Lake and frigid mountains were not enough protection.

The speed at which the fortress had been constructed was also impressive; within two weeks from the attack on Halas the Fort had taken form, and then at the end of the third week it was complete.

~~~~~

~Faydwer?~ Sianj rolled the name around his mind for a few moments, considering the possibilites. He'd be able to collect information there, if Fantasha would stay still for a short while again, and he'd be able to catch up on the local mood. Especially from the gnomes...he was suspicious about them.
"Faydwer...yes that's a good plan." Sianj agreed, sounding slightly cheerful.
"The meeting broke up early, you've been asleep for a while...although it is still early in the morning." Sianj replied to her question, glancing back at Fantasha.

ooc:
Is that what you meant by "How long was I out?"?

Fantasha takes one last look around the room as she clasps the finally clasp on her boots.
She stands up walks over to the desk and picks up her diary putting it snuggly under the stomach of her breastplate. Picking up her backpacks she slings them on her back looking up at Sainj. "Shall we?", she says as she walks over towards the door walking thru it with out really waiting for a reply. She walks up to the Guard in charge and asks her to keep her room available for I will be returning shortly. She then continues out of the Cleric's Guild and out of North Freeport heading towards the docks. However, once she hits West Freeport a fellow high elf wizard appears before her bowing at her feet. She touches him lightly on his shoulder and he instantly begins to chant. Fantasha reaches behind her and touches Sainj's arm. Instantly all three disappear and momentarily they re-appear in Greater Faydark at the Wizard Spires. She then heads towards Felwith while the wizard follows in step with her.

[ 10-09-2002: Message edited by: Bevous Cypher ]