Registered Member #24148
Joined: 5:42:35 am GMT 11/06/17
Posts: 260
Rumors have it that the Hell Knight who was presumably being held prisoner in Steinkreis is no longer such. Even wilder rumors have it that Lord Bargus has sent an official apology to Iron City because the Hell Knight was arrested and held under false premises.
Plebeians and nobles both whisper among themselves that war between Steinkreis and Raven's Watch is only a matter of days. Indeed, it is as if the very winds are heralding the war's coming; a whistling wail that mourns the thousands of deaths that the coming battles will no doubt beget.
And yet others, tucked away in the comfort and sanctuary of their high castles, scheme and rub their hands in anticipation. Because ultimately, war is business. Good business.
With the death of Visthrexia, Yssirlexa and Xarstraxxar, the Five are reduced to the Two, but the Kinsarmy has far from been beaten. Commandeered by N'hazz, a powerful telepathic dragonkin, a fleet of half a hundred advanced warships has breached through a blockade of Sandburrow caravels and landed in Davenshire. As this diligent reporter writes, hundreds of dragonkin and "merman" soldiers disembark on the coast of Davenshire where they have built their warcamp. To quote Mister Periadoc from Sandburrow, fisherman by trade: "I saw hundreds of ships. They rose from the very sea, they did. The limpid, placid sea opened up and there they were, hundreds of weird-looking ships with mermen and dragon-folk on them. There was lots of fire and smoke when the dragonships engaged our own caravels. I swear I saw dragonmen jumping from ship to ship, murdering Boldfeet crewmen."
A brave preliminary warparty of Sandburrow Boldfeet, Greenvale Estel Tirindor and Kreis Kinhunters, as well as a dozen or so valorous adventurers, engaged N'hazz as the dragonkin pushed his army toward, presumably, the City of Elisara. The brave heroes of the Kreis Alliance were at one point outnumbered and facing terrible defeat, but the Keeper Lady Mialee Galanodel managed to turn the tide by commanding the very heavens to rain fire and lightning upon the draconic assailants until both armies decided to withdraw from the battlefield. Maribeth (and her ox Seamus), a known traveler, witnessed the battle: "It was terrible. There was a large blue dragonman that threw soldiers into the air like they were ragdolls! He spat lightning and moved with the speed of the winds! I saw mages hurl hundreds of spells at it and hundreds of soldiers strike it with sword and axe, but at the end of the battle it was still standing!"
Tonight Queen Yu'syu holds a memorial for the brave fallen. Immediately afterward this reporter has it on good faith that the Queen will be accommodating the Kinsbane to determine an offensive strategy to banish the Kinsarmy from the South Coast.
OOC Notice: Davenshire will be temporarily "transformed" to host N'hazz's fleet. Be warned beforehand that if you intend to "visit," you will encounter many powerful spawns.
N'hazz'sistrexxis dead and his fleet routed! The Bloodwinged dead! The Heroine of Steinkreis, the Lady Adair, dead! Queen Yu'syu mortally wounded and has yet to recover. Draxus Ultimax missing. Elisara on fire. Demons roaming the South Coast. Agents of Syann uncovered in Elisara.
Steinkreis Times brings you this special war edition to keep you appraised of the greatest calamity to befall the South Coast in mortal reckoning!
Yesterday, when the sun had yet to climb over the horizon, Commander Jestin of the Sheltering Wing was instructed by the Queen of the South herself, Yu'syu of Elisara, to lead her army to war. The preparations were meticulous and exhaustive. The Queen had mustered thousands of her Estel Tirindor soldiers to march on N'hazz'sistrexxis' warcamp in Davenshire. Half a hundred Steinkreis Kinhunters were rallied under Ashellia Adair's banner to march with the Elven army. Finally, the Ux Sauriv (red: Order of the Platinum Eye), knights sworn to Bahamut, answered the Queen's summons to lend their mounts and lances in defense of Elisara. Commander Jestin determined to lead in the vanguard, bringing with him not only his kinsmen from the Sheltering Wing, but also a number of famed heroes such as members of the Keepers of Thain, the Greenvale School of Magic and the Celestial Knights Council.
Witnesses report that the battle against the Kinsarmy was a veritable massacre. Thousands of Estel soldiers, and thrice as many Kinsarmy thralls, died in the onslaught. Commander Jestin and his chosen force at the spear of the Elisaran army, they cut through the ranks of the Kinsarmy whilst the Queen and the Kinsbane pushed from the rear. The enemy was definitively routed when the heroes sank The Ouroboros (red: N'hazz'sistrexxis' private warship) and drove a lance through the creature's heart. But their victory was short-lived!
Whilst the bulk of Yu'syu's army was occupied repelling the Kinsarmy in Davenshire, a host of demons, winged orcs and agents of Syann laid waste to Elisara. A witness reports that they came from nowhere, pouring into the city from unseen entry points. The same witness reports that the Ux Sauriv gave their lives defending the civilians and protecting the Tomb of Gzalmash, whilst Lord Draxus Ultimax himself dove into the ranks of demons and draconic abominations to buy the fleeing civilians time until the Queen's army returned from Davenshire. Lord Draxus was last seen entering the ruins of the Planesgate (red: an old portal site believed to bridge Thain with a place called "the Wastegate") to drive back the demonic assailants.
Upon the Queen's return, more agents of Syann manifested from the shadows. Witnesses report the Queen fighting side-by-side with the Kinsbane as they fought their way to Elisara's Tower. At some point a massive creature, now identified as the Bloodwinged, dove from the skies and engaged the Queen and the Kinsbane in mortal battle. The Queen was almost mortally wounded and the Kinsbane was cornered in Elisara's Tower where the Bloodwinged smote her and cut her in twain, tossing her remains into oblivion. Commander Jestin and his allies returned too late to save Ashellia, but they managed to defeat the Bloodwinged and rout the lingering Poisonwood and demonic forces from Elisara.
As this edition is penned, ashes yet rise from the fair city in old Greenvale. Corpses of brave soldiers yet litter the streets. The Queen herself has been taken to safety under the diligent care of Estel healers, but it is whispered that some of her wounds were not merely physical. The Court of Elisara has yet to give any official statements or announcements.
Meanwhile, in Steinkreis, Lord Telmoran convenes another war council. It will not occur, however, before Lady Adair has been appropriately honoured with ritual burial. The Kinhunters of Steinkreis, now deprived of their heroic commander, are rumoured to no longer operate under an independent mandate and will be imminently annexed into the Kreis Army under Lord Rittermark's direct command. Sources inside the Knaves speak of a new division being established called the "Ashen Knights of Steinkreis." The name is a tribute to the deeds of Steinkreis' perhaps greatest hero, Ashellia Adair.
We have just received devastating news from our sources inside the City of Elisara. The Tomb of Gzalmash the Silver has been cleared of collapsed debris, but the bones of Gzalmash are not within their resting place! Read along as Steinkreis Times brings you a detailed summary of the battle that preceded the robbery!
When Queen Yu'syu, the Kinsbane and Commander Jestin marched the Estel army on N'hazz'sistrexis' warcamp in Davenshire, Elisara was left vulnerable. A detachment of Ux Sauriv (red: Order of the Platinum Eye) and Lord Draxus Ultimax elected to stay behind and command the remaining Estel Guard in the event that the Kinsarmy's other surviving commander, the Bloodwinged, drove his forces to assault the city. As was feared, this is exactly what the Bloodwinged did. But he did not act alone.
The attack was incredibly well-orchestrated and clinically executed. Completely bypassing Elisara's impregnable walls, the Bloodwinged's army entered through clever and masked entry points that suggest that they either had inside help or that Poisonwood sleeper agents inside Elisara were particularly diligent preceding and during the attack. From the southwest, a host of powerful demons were summoned by as-of-yet undisclosed means. Whilst Lord Draxus detached from the main city guard to repel the demons, from the opposite end of town a host of dragon-blooded soldiers, Bagnorn, Flametooth zealots and agents of Syann emerged to strike at the flank of the garrisoned Estel Guard. Bloodwinged's maneuver was efficient, but costly. Whilst the Bloodwinged sacrificed his army to occupy the attention of Lord Draxus, the Ux Sauriv and the Estel Guard, several individuals snuck into the Tomb of Gzalmash and plundered the bones. Our sources have confirmed that the Thayan General, Dwent Chambers, partook in the plunder. So did one Vaurin Ncartu of the Kinsarmy and Daniel of Poisonwood.
Is Dwent's involvement a symptom of Thay finally picking a side? What repercussions will follow against Poisonwood, the Kinsarmy and Thay? No doubt that Elisara will pressure Steinkreis to war. Steinkreis Times has yet to hear any official comment from Lord-Regent Telmoran.
Registered Member #24005
Joined: 7:42:25 pm GMT 06/05/16
Posts: 41
A grim report circulate in feywood about 5 elves who lost their lives in a cave south of the stronghold. among one of them was a scryer who was trying to detect agents of syann.
Last night a contingent of Kreis Ashen Knights shot dead three patroling Vandals on neutral ground without just cause provocation! Later soldiers of Steinkreis as well as individuals affilitated with the Keepers of Thain, the Celestial Knights, Tau'Varataurie and Telborea mounted an attack on the Watch itself!
Led by one Captain Corbin DuVall, the newly instated special forces of Steinkreis, the Kreis Ashen Knights, have disclosed their true purpose: bloodshed and blatant antigonism. DuVall was personally responsible for shooting point-blank and in cold blood three young Watchmen on duty patrol. No warning was given. The Ashen Knight Captain shot them in the back without preamble or provocation.
Led by Tezzrya the Pale, a contingent of Vandal soldiers was deployed to demand of Steinkreis that they extradite Captain DuVall to stand trial in Raven's Watch. Steinkreis answered by rallying Auroran Empyreans from Hamley and butchering the entire contingent. Among the brave soldiers were Lord Arminier of the Black Hand's two personal squires.
As a further and final aggression toward Raven's Watch, Captain Corbin DuVall mustered members of the Keepers of Thain, the Tel'Varataurie, the Celestial Knights and Telborea to launch an assault on the very Watch itself.
Asked to comment, Lord Krel Twistback was succinct: "The youth of the Watch can no longer step outside Watch territory without getting shot in the back by Kreisian warmongers. The Watch will not abide by this savagery. If Steinkreis thirsts for blood to the point where they forfeit all military decorum, the Watch will answer in kind!"
Registered Member #1761
Joined: 10:05:21 pm GMT 10/13/11
Posts: 456
A weeping family in Lowtown mourns the death of their grandfather. He was a brave, old man who always had a penchant for biting off more than he could chew. Though he and his family lived in Lowtown, he was proud to have lived and died within the walls of Steinkreis.
A young woman claims to have witnessed how the poor man was slain; she declared, to the first knight she could find: "I saw it! I did! A dog-faced gnoll wif an axe tha size of a halberd, it was! Cleaved Old Man Rikkard right in two, it did!"
Once she had calmed down, the woman did manage to get out one, last detail: the gnoll in question bore the symbol of the Vandal Hawks on its breastplate.
[ The Island of Thain ]
Curious Rumours IV ((the 2017 remake))
