Registered Member #24064
Joined: 6:33:55 pm GMT 03/29/17
Posts: 131
(( A rumour for the good folk of Underdark parties: ))
A group of individuals, consisting of three elves, two humans and kin, wrecked havoc in Mora'chel. They appeared seemingly out of nowhere, somewhere within the city itself, taking lives of drow nobles, warriors and priestesses alike as they rampaged with precision and determination.
When they finally stopped before the gates to Mora's throneroom, unable to pass through them, the group placed a luminous, holy shield on the ground, overcharged it and shattered it to pieces, thus realsing its energies.
Searing Light immediately surged through the site, becoming reflected by the numerous crystal formations and forming a barricade of a brightly glowing loop of holy sun rays.
[ image disabled ]((Cuchuwyn edit: Changed image width to 800px so it doesn't stretch screens. ))[/color]
Registered Member #24544
Joined: 12:14:46 am GMT 07/17/18
Posts: 16
Not long after the druids' attack on Mora'chel, a night patrol outside Greenvale was found slaughtered. A guard posted on the wall claimed he saw a kobold discussing with a Poisonwood elf over the bodies of the fallen before both disappearing as if into thin air.
! Registered Member #20
Joined: 8:30:40 am GMT 02/25/04
Posts: 7123
A strange haze hangs over Crater Lake as the once-mighty tower that dominated the sky seems to have crumbled suddenly and without much warning. Initial reports from the Raven's camp claim that strange and horrible monstrosities escaped from the central tower, only to attack the watch forces unexpectedly, though as of yet this is unconfirmed. Meanwhile, a strike force from the south managed to enter the fort itself, though what connection, if any, they have to the strange creatures is as yet unknown.
The forces of the Iron City seem to have withdrawn from the Crater Lake; their banners no longer fly over the northern cliffs. Fearing infection by whatever lies within the haze, the vandals have pulled their forces back to the Watch. The fate of the banites and the Watch's matron sorceress is as yet unknown.
Registered Member #24041
Joined: 4:19:01 am GMT 01/24/17
Posts: 2213
Travelers through the Feywood and Raven's watch have been telling strange tales of late, of odd dreams they have been having. While most are dismissed out of hand- after all, who wants to listen to someone's dreams over ales at dinner- the sudden spike hasn't gone unnoticed by those paying attention, and some portend it means something strange is afoot.
Registered Member #24041
Joined: 4:19:01 am GMT 01/24/17
Posts: 2213
Patrols from the Feywood and Raven's watch have reported being attacked by strange creatures, who appear seemingly from nowhere, bursting forth via corrupted stones, with only an eerie wind preceding them. Descriptions of the creatures vary wildly; the only constant is that they seem to attack in packs and all shriek and moan with one singular voice.
Registered Member #24078
Joined: 3:40:59 am GMT 05/14/17
Posts: 1715
Travelers along the northern roads report a terrible sight: a supply caravan bound for the Northlands was found ablaze. No surviors were found. Only a single radiant blade inscribed "Lux Sanitas" remained on the scene; leaving the local Empyrean garrison with many questions....
Registered Member #24041
Joined: 4:19:01 am GMT 01/24/17
Posts: 2213
Greenvale has once again suffered a loss, though locals report no witnesses to the strange crime.
Several guards appear to have been lured into the temple which was attacked some time ago by the forces of the demons and the kin, and then rather brutally murdered. All that was found at the scene was a celestial blade inscribed "Gladius Caelestis", wrapped in a blood-soaked robe that had already been dyed a deep red.
Registered Member #24148
Joined: 5:42:35 am GMT 11/06/17
Posts: 260
One morning a shift of Brotherhood guards coming to work found the previous shift slaughtered. The bodies showed signs of excessive force used, as if merely killing them was not enough for whoever did it. One of the severed heads had a short sword jutting out of an eye socket. The blade is of excellent craftmanship and has the words "Gladius Invictus" engraved on it.
! Registered Member #20
Joined: 8:30:40 am GMT 02/25/04
Posts: 7123
Within the Watch…
Following the death of Krel, the vandals had been depleted. Their loyalties were uncertain, their morale weakened by the fall of the Crater Lake fort. But, so long as the coin continued to flow, most continued to work. And for the time, the Watch had fallen under the command of Krel’s former consort, Lucy. A beautiful woman who’s will was enforced at every step by Carson, the leader of the Vandal assassins.
Today, all of that would change.
There was no warning of Nayritha’s plan. The sorceress had told no one she was coming. The better to catch her enemy off-guard. Ahead of her marched the chromatic kin. Devils and demons who had fought in the Great War. The gnolls who had chosen to answer to her call.
They fought not for her, but for themselves. A life that would belong only to them.
On wing, talon, and claw they came. Roaring. Howling. Shrieking. The beasts, dragons, and monsters of Thain who had once been outcasts now descended upon the fortress that had, up until now, permitted them a grudging home.
They tore through the gates, ripping down the raven banners. They called to the vandals for peace, and received none, many of the human guards clinging to their loyalty to the old ways. Instead, they burned through Krel’s loyalists with fire and steel. Many of the vandals fled. The civilian population mostly hid within their homes. Leaving no obstruction as the force marched upon the tower that had once belonged to Krel himself.
Lucy and Carson fought alongside their remaining loyalists, but were overwhelmed. The pair narrowly, with Lucy wounded, dragged by Carson onto a ship heading south. Along with the still-loyal vandals. With the opposition defeated, Nayritha set to work. Old banners were torn down, and new ones were lifted. Banners bearing the sign of the dragon.
Along the southern coastline of the Watch, a new tower has risen from the sea. Drawn from somewhere below by Nayritha’s staff. The Tower of the Five. A fortress for the chromatic kin, and for those Thain had once considered beasts.
Several new policies were soon announced. The vandals would now be called the Drakes, and would aggressively recruit gnolls, kobolds, and other such creatures. The chromatic kin would be respected, given positions of power, not shunned. Nayritha would take up residence in Krel’s former power, from which she would oversee the city’s day to day affairs, overseen by a council of dragons. This would be the home of those creatures Thain had called monsters, if they were willing to obey the laws.
The remaining force of humans who refused to submit to the council’s law have found themselves outcasts within their own city. They have left the Watch as refugees, under the leadership of Lucy and Carson. The ones who were not slaughtered outright.
As the sun set, the new banners were raised. The fortress had taken a new name.
! Registered Member #20
Joined: 8:30:40 am GMT 02/25/04
Posts: 7123
Meanwhile, in the North…
The Great War had left devastation throughout the island. Greenvale’s forces were heavily depleted by the ghostly elves within the south. The Kreis lost many in their defeat at Crater Lake. Repeated engagements had left the vandals easy prey for Nayritha and the dragons.
But the Empyrean Aurora had always held strong. Well-defended in Hamley by celestials and the Ashen Knights, the tales of darkness and cruelty spreading across the land had only bolstered their resolve. Their numbers were growing. And the recent massacre of their celestial allies had left the paladin order seeking vengeance.
They fought through the Pass of Ashes, with the newly named Cassia the Red leading the charge. Reclaiming it and destroying the devil encampment that sought to hold the place.
With the Pass claimed, the Empyrean continued their advance, under the command of Colonel Darienne. They moved through the pass, bringing not only blades, but weapons far more deadly to their extra-planar enemies.
But they had one weapon in particular stood above the rest. A sphere of glass, kept in a large covered wagon that was guarded above all others. A planar anchor.
The sphere was brought into sight of the walls, still nestled in a place of safety. The celestials were ordered back, so as not to be caught within the shockwave. A spell was cast, and the device hummed into life. The sphere began to spin upon its axis. Faster and faster. Sparks of silver light emanating from its surface as it built up speed. Then, it shattered. Sending a shockwave over the walls that would be the first strike.
The residents or the Iron City, devil or otherwise, would feel it as a sickening lurch. A sensation in the gut of being pulled away quickly, through time and space.
One by one, the portals to the Hells began to wink out. Always, the Iron City had existed in a space between planes. The Nine Hells were their source of supplies, the source of their forces and their greatest strength. Now, as the Empyrean advanced, those links were severed. Abruptly. Binding all within the city to the Prime. Cutting off their greatest support. Some devils within the city were immediately banished. Others found themselves bound to the prime. Faced, perhaps, with the possibility of true death.
The Empyrean were quick to move in a set of smaller devices to disable other forms of portal devices. The line of catapults would follow, great siege machines rolling their way through the unstable ground of the pass, under heavy Empyrean guard.
A few portals remained. Only opened for brief periods and at great cost. Many of the city nobles were more than willing to pay the exorbitant prices. Particularly as the first of the catapults began to fire.
The city of devils shook as great stones of fire and electricity flew over its walls, crashing into its streets. The Empyrean Aurora made their perimeter around the edge. Protecting their siege machines while cutting off any who would seek to resupply their enemy.
[ The Island of Thain ]
Curious Rumours IV ((the 2017 remake))
