Squawk! Registered Member #648
Joined: 1:50:32 am GMT 11/20/05
Posts: 1484
Kar'tok Bloodtusk inhaled deeply as the smoke rose from the burning herbs. The world became softer as he attempted to see what was, and what may come. The normal, jagged angles that represented the brokenness of the world smoothed into a blur. Then, like melting glass, the view became like that of a fish-eye lens.
The half-orc shaman breathed in deeper, letting the effect of the smoke release his bond to the mortal realm. He looked with his heart-eye through the blurred edges and magnified middle of his perception. His heart felt the sickness as he dared to peer into spiritual pain. Blood spilled onto a land of plotting and hatred. The demons fed on this blood and they grew. Such was this war.
Kar'tok meditated on this as he chewed on a fresh piece of Wine Wood Root. The fire in the pit in front of him rose higher by some unseen force. The coals burned to a searing white heat. He spat the red, sap filled saliva upon a coal, causing a thick, sweet mist to rise to his nostrils.
His nostrils stung and his heart-eye looked away from spiritual pain, toward the mortal pain of blood shed in savage combat in fields of honorable contest. The blood of the victors and the losers fed the wild spirits and gods and totems, filling the void left by shadows and demons no longer nourished by these barren lands.
As Kar'tok, Shaman of Boar Totem, member of the Bloodstar Tribe, watched this, he saw the Boar Totem watch these happenings with approval. Deep in Boar Totem's eyes, he saw the reflection of the roaring fire of Tozak, watching with approval as well.
((OOC FIGHT PARTY IN THE DESERT. WAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHH !!! ))
Registered Member #223
Joined: 3:05:42 am GMT 08/26/04
Posts: 1317
A new round of posters and advertisements decorate the isle, but these were found in stranger places than before. On the half-ruined walls of the Bagnorn fortress, in the depths of the Iron Clan mines, some others stained by the toxic mists of the Poisonwood, and even to the doors of the powerful houses of Mora'chel, invitations are delivered, some in secret, some rather brazenly (and violently.) To these more rarified potential guests, a further guarantee of temporary neutral ground and safe conduct is added, in particular to those who would normally delight in the chance to arrange for the slaughter of their neighbours, at the price of fearful retaliation and consequence.
All would be welcome, for their blood on these sands would be the catalyst for great things.
wrote ...
More OOC Stuff
Fight Party is this Saturday, October 20, at 1200 PDT (1900 GMT)! As with the prior events, no two Fight Parties are the same! Each match or match-up will be subject to certain rules of engagement, beyond the requirement to doff gear and step in to the Pit. Each match will have a pre-amble and characters will have rules explained in character prior to entering the arena. Please note that breaking these rules, in particular around equipment/consumables, may result in your character being unceremoniously removed and you (the player) likely barred future events. No matter how IC it may be for your character to 'cheat,' it can be assumed that the divine influence of Fight Party would preclude the opportunity.
In instances of 1v1 PvP, /duel is heartily encouraged, and sometimes mandatory! It is advised to read up on it if you intend to participate.
This Fight Party has a great focus in nonsense and struggle, and as such some scenarios may seem bitterly stacked against you! Good luck, and may Garagos ever turn his gaze from you!
Hundbert Registered Member #293
Joined: 1:22:43 am GMT 10/06/04
Posts: 3106
Agneta had learned a difficult lesson. She sat patiently on a hard, cold, stone bench, simply waiting. It had been a long time, but it was not her place to bother him, and so here she would sit, waiting as long as it took.
~Six weeks earlier~
The Valkyrie strode purposefully through the snow, thousands of feet up, as she neared Hammersong Peak. She had heard rumours that this highest summit was where she might discover the lords of the elemental giants who had joined the mortals' battle at the Blood Lake, but it was not giants that snared her attention this day.
A massive bear, but a bear unlike any that Agneta had seen before, appeared to be squaring itself off against one of the yethiy that roamed near Hammersong's upper reaches. This particular bear, however, wore a helmet, epaulets, and a thick coat of leather armour across its middle. She had never seen an animal so clad without its rider nearby, and she paused a moment in her ascent to observe.
The bear and the blue-skinned man were circling one another. The spear in the yethiy's hands held deftly as the two combatants locked eyes. With a strike to rival lightning in its speed, the spear shot out as the bear lunged. It was over quickly. The spear glanced harmlessly off of the bear's leather cover and a brutal paw and knife-like claws found their mark without such difficulties. The yethiy may very well have been dead before it hit the ground, Agneta reasoned. At this thought, she smiled. "Bravo, bold creature!" she called, "Well-fought!" Her voice rang out in the chill air and the staccato sound of her applause served to disrupt the stillness of the snowy mountain.
That, she realized too late, had been her problem. She had precious few seconds to contemplate her mistake as several tons of snow and ice thundered down upon her. A particularly large chunk struck the Valkyrie squarely, and consciousness slipped away.
Agneta awoke to the sounds of battle, metal ringing off of metal, orders being shouted, and the cries of the dying. Sounds she was used to, but unexpected, given what she remembered. She sat up quickly, noting it was far warmer than a moment ago, and realization dawned on her. Warrior's Rest was home, now, but no one ever enjoys being forcibly transported anywhere.
~A few weeks later~
She had been sitting upon this bench now for just over three weeks. He was busy, one of her sisters told her, and implied it had something to do with her. It would seem Garagos had been stirring up quite a lot of trouble for the others of the Tempuran pantheon, as the day of his celebration neared. The Foehammer himself had been called to reign in the unruly exarch, and as such had no time for something so menial as creating a new body for a simple Valkyrie. And so Agneta waited. Eventually, the sounds began to die down, and she saw her patron striding purposefully around the Rest once more, a return to his usual tasks.
~Today~
Each time he had passed, Agneta rose slightly off of her bench, opening her mouth to address him, and each time, Tempus moved away, distracted by something else much more pressing than a Valkyrie without a mortal body. And so she was patient. "Soon", she thought, "soon he will have a free moment to grant my request."
Today was different. Today Tempus saw her sitting there, hands folded in her lap, ankles crossed, waiting politely. His laugh boomed across the fields of Warrior's Rest where she had waited for him as she recanted her tale to her god and made her request of restoration. Still laughing, the Lord of Battle sent her spiraling through the sky, hurled from Warrior's Rest to return to her task. As Agneta awoke on a cliff's edge near Raven's Watch, she could still hear Tempus' hearty laugh in her head. The thought brought a smile to her face.
The day was still young, however, and preparations still had to be made. The Valkyrie hurried quickly to town to begin writing her heraldry speech for the imminent Fight Party. For if not her, who else would introduce her champion?
Hundbert Registered Member #293
Joined: 1:22:43 am GMT 10/06/04
Posts: 3106
~Before~
Bormokol the gnome had gathered the few of them to help him with some sort of metallurgy project; Agneta had scarcely understood the premise. Standing there, however, as he worked his magics, she looked around the valley that Bormokol had brought them to. At the time, she had not been thinking of a venue, but then, she had not spoken to Ralzok about the Games.
~Now~
"Ralzok!" she called down to the orc, standing in the knee-deep water, "Come up! Have a look!" Ralzok walked to the cliff's edge that Agneta stood upon, looking up, searching for a way to climb. After several moments of the ear-splitting screech of metal against frozen rock, the orc chief had summited the face and stood with her looking down on the relatively undisturbed snow below them.
"We could use the stream, and the tree there, as boundaries." she suggested, pointing them out. Ralzok grunted, seemingly in the affirmative. Agneta turned the orc around, indicating the tableland they now stood upon, "And a good vantage, for spectators, with room for seating, for food."
"And fires! It will be cold for the spectators, the ones not fighting." the elf who had joined them spoke up. Agneta had not recognized her, but she was the only one who had expressed an interest when she and Ralzok had invited the gathered passersby at the Crossroads on their exploration. "A sound thought." Agneta replied, with a nod.
The Valkyrie turned again, looking down upon the potential battlefield. "This could absolutely work, thank Tempus." she thought, "Frozen, barren, bleak, harsh. A reasonable choice to honour Uthgar."
((OOC: Fight Party 4: Uthgar. Coming soon! First thoughts lean to November. Watch this space!))
Hundbert Registered Member #293
Joined: 1:22:43 am GMT 10/06/04
Posts: 3106
Word had begun to spread, a venue had been chosen, Ralzok's snake-worms had been acquired, and now, at last, a date had been set.
"FIGHT PARTY", exclaimed the signs Agneta had painted. Below the eye-catching title, more of the details were spelled out.
"Join Clan Bloodstar in celebration of the Orcish holiday season. Chief Ralzok has decreed the time is right for another instance of the Bloodstar Games!
Prove your mettle in the frozen arena as a combatant, and test your endurance as you are pitted against others in a frigid footrace!
All are welcome to attend Uthgar's Fight Party in the crystal valley of the frozen north. Transportation will be provided. Spectators are requested to dress warmly, and furs are encouraged. Speak with Chief Ralzok or Agneta of Warrior's Rest if you intend to compete. All glory to Tempus, and to Uthgar! ((Saturday, December 14. 2:00PM PST))
Registered Member #223
Joined: 3:05:42 am GMT 08/26/04
Posts: 1317
It would be generous to call the ragged groups that thronged the streets of the various settlements heralds, but they were loud and boisterous, their brightly painted posters and pamphlets drawing the eye. Great Heroes locked in mortal combat adorned the cheaply made paper, the words in several languages describing ways one could reach the coming Great Event. For the particularly noteworthy looking, crimson script crawled across the page, the cheapest sort of cantrips peddled by hedge wizards describing the rules and conditions in which the combatants would stand against one another for glory and honor (and, whispered the heralds, sizable purses and prizes.)
wrote ...
The OOC Stuff
This Fight Party will be composed of two stages, a qualifying footrace and then a series of combat events where teams of competitors (formed by the outcome of the races) will test one another for their own glory and the grace and favor of the mighty Uthgar! As before, bouts will be varied both in number of fighters and the rules under which combat will occur. This event will begin at 2pm PST, Saturday December 14th.
The Rules
1)The Great Frozen Race must be performed entirely with walk/run movement. Teleports/transposition abilities (shadow-jump, monk-jump, ranger boot effect etc.) are prohibited and will result in everyone waiting while the person walks back across the course and then does it properly. Walking/running is the only permitted action, no combat takes place within this part of the event. Buffs are not permitted. 2) Potions, scrolls, wands and Gold Items are prohibited unless otherwise stated prior to combat, and casts from Equipped Items are permitted only once combat has begun. If you otherwise cannot cast it, you cannot do it. 3) /duel will permitted or strongly encouraged for some bouts, others will require use of regular NWN PvP mechanics. 4) Please refrain from non-bout PvP during the event: If your arch-nemesis is present there will surely be a moment for a throw-down, a show-down, hell no we won't slow down while you effect your Grand Revenge out of turn. 5)Please respect the rules and decisions of the hosts/arbiters, and above all have murderous fun.
[ The Island of Thain ]
Best Party is a Fight Party
