Thank you.
The Objects of Power - A High Elf Warhammer Fantasy Quest
- Thread starter Fenderstat
- Start date
- Fantasy
Thank you.
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 0
Option 2 - 3 votes
Option 3 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 0
Option 2 - 3 votes
Option 3 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Yeah D-elfs probably wouldn't be a good idea tbh. Orkz and Gobbiz be different imo as heir tone can be much lighter while still being Evil.
Episode 55 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 12
Episode 55 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 12
Results from Last Episode - Concede the walls entirely and call for a fighting withdrawal to the town square
You called for the order, concede the walls and defend a smaller location, it must be done. Anything less would leave your forces vulnerable to be surrounded. You relayed the order and your musician, Sindor of the Silver Helms, sounded the command on his war horn.
Suddenly everything went pitch black and you could no longer see. You put your hand in front of your face, you could barely make out it's form. You spoke but your voice was dampened and muffled, like you were talking underwater. You could feel something tearing at your mind and visions of death flashed before your eyes.
You saw visions of what could have been, you saw the snakes devouring your body in the pit trap in the Tomb of the Northern Oasis. You saw the Liche Priest Runihara harvesting your organs while you were tied to his altar, you saw yourself being incinerated by his magic during the raid on the tomb and you saw yourself being beaten to death by his skeleton warriors.
Now the visions showed you what could be, dozens of scenes flashed by you, each one involving a grizzly death, a macabre demonstration on what the orcs will do to you. Some had you hacked apart in battle, others showed you captured and tortured, some even showed you being cooked alive and eaten. You screamed loudly and tried to run.
Tight hands gripped your shoulders and you flailed in panic. Cold blue eyes stared at you from behind the gloom and a pale face formed inches from your own. It was Telar and he was shouting at you but you couldn't hear his words. You watched his mouth move, he was repeating a phrase. What was he saying? Then you figured it out. "Shadow Orc".
Your senses returned almost immediately, first the sound and then your sight. The sudden return of your senses was jarring, the noise in particular was deafening and the perpetual war cries of the orcs were louder than ever.
"Shadow Orc!" Telar screamed at you again.
"I'm back, I'm back" you repeated anxiously, still trembling.
"A fear spell like no other, the Dwarves are abandoning the gatehouse walls!" said Telar.
Your eyes widened in horror. You looked around your tower, all of the Dwarves there had fled with some of them dropping their weapons. Dozens of Dwarves were now fleeing the walls, but even more were stuck where they were, cowering in fear against their unseen deamons,
A few Dwarves were either unaffected by the spell or had already shaken it's effects and were fighting but the orcs were making good purchase on the walls. For the first time since the siege began there were more attackers on the walls than defenders as the once disciplined volley fire of the dwarves had all but ceased and nothing to thin the greentide before they ascended their ladders to assault the walls.
Any Dwarves on the walls still under the effects of the spell were being struck down like lambs to the slaughter. You were instantly reminded of the skeletons butchering the dazed Silver Helms in Runihara's tomb, this was true horror playing out yet again in front of your eyes..
Behind the gatehouse the rest of the Dwarves were in disarray too with many fleeing into the settlement. Your bodyguard had all but fled too, only Sindor remained as a cowering mess in the corner of the Tower. You quickly searched the Dwarves position with your eyes and you couldn't see Throd anywhere, you hoped he had not succumbed to the panic.
The Shadow Orc knew that the gatehouse was susceptible to his magic and had pulled a ruse to draw Maldor as far as possible away from it, the cunning of these Orcs showed no limits. You prayed Maldor realised his error and would return to your position, without him you were completely vulnerable to the Shadow Orc's whims.
A massive spectral scythe appeared in the sky, twice as big as the walls. You watched transfixed in fear as it swung down and collided with the cannon position next to your tower, annihilating it completely. The crew were killed and the surrounding wall collapsed. Fortunately that area of the wall wasn't accessible on the ridge line and the orcs could not make use of the breach.
You realised you had not heard either cannon for sometime before the spell, did something happen to the crew on the cannon on the eastern gatehouse side? Your vision was blocked by the opposing tower and you couldn't tell. Fortunately a salvo of catapult shot rained down on the orcs, killing dozens. At least they were still operating and not under the effects of the fear and terror.
Telar was watching something, he leaned on the parapets and stared intently at the Orcs amassing in front of the gatehouse. You moved next to him. 'Look, over there further down the ridge," he said.
You followed where Telar was pointing, the orcs were clearing their dead off the road and were pushing a series of carts towards the gatehouse.
You watched in silence for a few moments, you were soon spotted and a number of goblin archers turned their attention towards you, firing inaccurate shots towards your direction. You ducked below the battlements, Telar didn't move and seemed nonplussed about the goblins shooting at him.
You peeked through the crenulations on the tower and observed the carts, there were three of them in total, well spread out from each other. The carts were human made and were carrying barrels of dwarvish make, you were puzzled.
Telar suddenly sprung into action. "It's captured gunpowder! They are going to blow the gate!" he said.
With the success of the fear spell, the purchase of the orcs on the walls and the destruction of at least one of the cannons the orcs had almost no opposition in driving the gunpowder carts all the way to their gatehouse where their blasts would be the most effective.
The destruction of the gates would be a complete disaster and you needed to stop the carts at all costs.
You looked around the tower, many of the fleeing Dwarves had abandoned their weapons which included crossbows, handguns and even some grenades. Perhaps Telar and yourself could try and trigger the carts to detonate with these weapons?
Alternatively you considered the second cannon, if you could find Throd you could motivate him to crew the secondary cannon, assuming it still existed. Accurate fire from a dwarf artillery crew could sweep the carts from the ridge line with ease and you knew you couldn't rely on indirect fire from the Dwarven catapults.
Both choices were a longshot but you had to do something. What do you do?
……………………………………………………
Choices
[] Option 1 - Try and detonate the cart yourself with the weapons in the tower.
Advantages/Disadvantages: The chance of the handguns or crossbows detonating the carts is very low but at least you could get on the task straight away. The grenades were certain to perform the task but the carts would have to get dangerously close to the wall for you to use them effectively.
[] Option 2 - Motivate the Dwarves to staff the second cannon (if it exists) and focus fire whatever they have available on the carts.
Advantages/Disadvantages: The cannon would be sure to remove some of the carts and focus fire from whatever Dwarves were able, would be considerably more than just Telar and yourself firing alone.
You would however have to find a Dwarf with authority that could communicate this order and rally whoever is required to do this. Considering a good portion of the Dwarves had already fled or were still under the effects as well as Throd being nowhere to be seen, this was now a difficult task.
Pics: Elaine.
Results from Last Episode - Concede the walls entirely and call for a fighting withdrawal to the town square
You called for the order, concede the walls and defend a smaller location, it must be done. Anything less would leave your forces vulnerable to be surrounded. You relayed the order and your musician, Sindor of the Silver Helms, sounded the command on his war horn.
Suddenly everything went pitch black and you could no longer see. You put your hand in front of your face, you could barely make out it's form. You spoke but your voice was dampened and muffled, like you were talking underwater. You could feel something tearing at your mind and visions of death flashed before your eyes.
You saw visions of what could have been, you saw the snakes devouring your body in the pit trap in the Tomb of the Northern Oasis. You saw the Liche Priest Runihara harvesting your organs while you were tied to his altar, you saw yourself being incinerated by his magic during the raid on the tomb and you saw yourself being beaten to death by his skeleton warriors.
Now the visions showed you what could be, dozens of scenes flashed by you, each one involving a grizzly death, a macabre demonstration on what the orcs will do to you. Some had you hacked apart in battle, others showed you captured and tortured, some even showed you being cooked alive and eaten. You screamed loudly and tried to run.
Tight hands gripped your shoulders and you flailed in panic. Cold blue eyes stared at you from behind the gloom and a pale face formed inches from your own. It was Telar and he was shouting at you but you couldn't hear his words. You watched his mouth move, he was repeating a phrase. What was he saying? Then you figured it out. "Shadow Orc".
Your senses returned almost immediately, first the sound and then your sight. The sudden return of your senses was jarring, the noise in particular was deafening and the perpetual war cries of the orcs were louder than ever.
"Shadow Orc!" Telar screamed at you again.
"I'm back, I'm back" you repeated anxiously, still trembling.
"A fear spell like no other, the Dwarves are abandoning the gatehouse walls!" said Telar.
Your eyes widened in horror. You looked around your tower, all of the Dwarves there had fled with some of them dropping their weapons. Dozens of Dwarves were now fleeing the walls, but even more were stuck where they were, cowering in fear against their unseen deamons,
A few Dwarves were either unaffected by the spell or had already shaken it's effects and were fighting but the orcs were making good purchase on the walls. For the first time since the siege began there were more attackers on the walls than defenders as the once disciplined volley fire of the dwarves had all but ceased and nothing to thin the greentide before they ascended their ladders to assault the walls.
Any Dwarves on the walls still under the effects of the spell were being struck down like lambs to the slaughter. You were instantly reminded of the skeletons butchering the dazed Silver Helms in Runihara's tomb, this was true horror playing out yet again in front of your eyes..
Behind the gatehouse the rest of the Dwarves were in disarray too with many fleeing into the settlement. Your bodyguard had all but fled too, only Sindor remained as a cowering mess in the corner of the Tower. You quickly searched the Dwarves position with your eyes and you couldn't see Throd anywhere, you hoped he had not succumbed to the panic.
The Shadow Orc knew that the gatehouse was susceptible to his magic and had pulled a ruse to draw Maldor as far as possible away from it, the cunning of these Orcs showed no limits. You prayed Maldor realised his error and would return to your position, without him you were completely vulnerable to the Shadow Orc's whims.
A massive spectral scythe appeared in the sky, twice as big as the walls. You watched transfixed in fear as it swung down and collided with the cannon position next to your tower, annihilating it completely. The crew were killed and the surrounding wall collapsed. Fortunately that area of the wall wasn't accessible on the ridge line and the orcs could not make use of the breach.
You realised you had not heard either cannon for sometime before the spell, did something happen to the crew on the cannon on the eastern gatehouse side? Your vision was blocked by the opposing tower and you couldn't tell. Fortunately a salvo of catapult shot rained down on the orcs, killing dozens. At least they were still operating and not under the effects of the fear and terror.
Telar was watching something, he leaned on the parapets and stared intently at the Orcs amassing in front of the gatehouse. You moved next to him. 'Look, over there further down the ridge," he said.
You followed where Telar was pointing, the orcs were clearing their dead off the road and were pushing a series of carts towards the gatehouse.
You watched in silence for a few moments, you were soon spotted and a number of goblin archers turned their attention towards you, firing inaccurate shots towards your direction. You ducked below the battlements, Telar didn't move and seemed nonplussed about the goblins shooting at him.
You peeked through the crenulations on the tower and observed the carts, there were three of them in total, well spread out from each other. The carts were human made and were carrying barrels of dwarvish make, you were puzzled.
Telar suddenly sprung into action. "It's captured gunpowder! They are going to blow the gate!" he said.
With the success of the fear spell, the purchase of the orcs on the walls and the destruction of at least one of the cannons the orcs had almost no opposition in driving the gunpowder carts all the way to their gatehouse where their blasts would be the most effective.
The destruction of the gates would be a complete disaster and you needed to stop the carts at all costs.
You looked around the tower, many of the fleeing Dwarves had abandoned their weapons which included crossbows, handguns and even some grenades. Perhaps Telar and yourself could try and trigger the carts to detonate with these weapons?
Alternatively you considered the second cannon, if you could find Throd you could motivate him to crew the secondary cannon, assuming it still existed. Accurate fire from a dwarf artillery crew could sweep the carts from the ridge line with ease and you knew you couldn't rely on indirect fire from the Dwarven catapults.
Both choices were a longshot but you had to do something. What do you do?
……………………………………………………
Choices
[] Option 1 - Try and detonate the cart yourself with the weapons in the tower.
Advantages/Disadvantages: The chance of the handguns or crossbows detonating the carts is very low but at least you could get on the task straight away. The grenades were certain to perform the task but the carts would have to get dangerously close to the wall for you to use them effectively.
[] Option 2 - Motivate the Dwarves to staff the second cannon (if it exists) and focus fire whatever they have available on the carts.
Advantages/Disadvantages: The cannon would be sure to remove some of the carts and focus fire from whatever Dwarves were able, would be considerably more than just Telar and yourself firing alone.
You would however have to find a Dwarf with authority that could communicate this order and rally whoever is required to do this. Considering a good portion of the Dwarves had already fled or were still under the effects as well as Throd being nowhere to be seen, this was now a difficult task.
Pics: Elaine.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x] Option 2
Telar does though. I just don't think that the crossbows will do it.
Correct. For those who don't know Telar used to be a Shadow Warrior and has excellent archery skills. He will be using unfamiliar and incorrectly sized Dwarven weapons to shoot which will impact his aiming ability.
This is correct, Elaine has almost zero practice with ranged weapons of war and cannot shoot a bow. She is very good at using throwing knives as it was part of her circus acts but that is not very useful in this situation. In terms of training she as the basics down of sword and spear but would probably lose to most trained combatants in a one on one duel. For her a single orc would be a great struggle and two orcs would be almost death sentence.
Fortunately the weapons here are mostly crossbows which are relatively simple to use compared to a bow so she could at least have a go and stand a chance of hitting something. She can also load crossbow bolts on spare weapons for Telar so he can fire faster if you want her to do that, she has observed the Dwarves long enough to figure out the crossbows but she won't be reloading the handguns as it is too complex.
Character Info - High Priest Runihara of the Mortuary Cult
Status: True Death
Killed by Telar Nighstrider.
High Priest Runihara of the Mortuary Cult lived in the Bay of Knives over four thousand years ago. During this period the Nehekharans were still flesh and blood and Runihara was second only to King Khalfani himself.
Khalfani's kingdom ruled almost the entire Bay of Knives however he was still second to the High Elven colony of the White Tower. The head of the High Elves was a powerful mage who had an ancient forged amulet, called the Amulet of the Eight. Within this amulet were eight magically infused stones which possessed power from all of the winds of magic and it amplified the wizard's already impressive power considerably.
Runihara was ambitious and cunning, he knew if he could Obtain the Amulet of the Eight he could overthrow King Khalfani and claim his kingdom for himself. Khalfani was oblivious to Runihara's scheming and viewed the High Priest as a trusted friend and valuable advisor.
Unbeknownst to King Khalfani, Runihara orchestrated a series of atrocities against the common folk of his lands and laid the blame on the Elves of the White Tower, these actions caused the already fragile truce between the Nehekharans and the High Elves to collapse entirely and war broke out.
Eventually King Khalfani slew the elven wizard lord during the siege of the White Tower. After the Elves were defeated, Runihara was gifted the Amulet of the Eight in recognition of his service to his liege by King Khalfani himself.
With the Amulet of the Eight in his possession Runihara's power was absolute, he was able to channel from all of the eight winds of magic as he saw fit, something which was theoretically impossible for a human such as himself and he used this power ruthlessly.
Time past and Runihara soon led a rebellion against Khalfani. Despite the challenges faced in front of him, Khalfani defeated Runihara's rebel forces and bested the powerful priest in single combat.
Runhara was captured and the Amulet of the Eight was destroyed. The magic stones were spread out across the lands of the Bay of Knives so one person could never hold such power again.
A Tomb was built in wasted desert lands of the region as punishment for his sins. Runihara was mummified alive with one of the amulet's stones which possessed the power of the lore of life. Khalfani thought it was fitting that Runihara was to be haunted by one of the objects he desired, having it always present but never in reach in eternal torture.
With the destruction of the humans of Nehekhara and the raising of the Nehekharans as undead, Runihara found himself awoken from his long death. Now a Liche Priest, Ruihara took possession of the lifestone and found throughout the thousands of years of his entombment the lifestone's energies had seeped into the earth and had formed what was now called the Northern Oasis.
Runihara learnt that an expensive human township lived there and it was a popular trading hub. Runihara raised the towns dead and overtook the settlement. He then spent the next few hundred years growing an army of the dead, killing those who settled or rested within the oasis to form an army big enough to conquer the rest of the Bay of Knives.
In modern times Runihara's tomb was raided by the High Elves of the Bay of Knives Expedition before he could raise his army and destroy them. He was defeated in single combat by Telar Nighstrider of the High Elves and his body was burned to ash so he would not rise again.
PICS: Liche Priest Runihara
Killed by Telar Nighstrider.
High Priest Runihara of the Mortuary Cult lived in the Bay of Knives over four thousand years ago. During this period the Nehekharans were still flesh and blood and Runihara was second only to King Khalfani himself.
Khalfani's kingdom ruled almost the entire Bay of Knives however he was still second to the High Elven colony of the White Tower. The head of the High Elves was a powerful mage who had an ancient forged amulet, called the Amulet of the Eight. Within this amulet were eight magically infused stones which possessed power from all of the winds of magic and it amplified the wizard's already impressive power considerably.
Runihara was ambitious and cunning, he knew if he could Obtain the Amulet of the Eight he could overthrow King Khalfani and claim his kingdom for himself. Khalfani was oblivious to Runihara's scheming and viewed the High Priest as a trusted friend and valuable advisor.
Unbeknownst to King Khalfani, Runihara orchestrated a series of atrocities against the common folk of his lands and laid the blame on the Elves of the White Tower, these actions caused the already fragile truce between the Nehekharans and the High Elves to collapse entirely and war broke out.
Eventually King Khalfani slew the elven wizard lord during the siege of the White Tower. After the Elves were defeated, Runihara was gifted the Amulet of the Eight in recognition of his service to his liege by King Khalfani himself.
With the Amulet of the Eight in his possession Runihara's power was absolute, he was able to channel from all of the eight winds of magic as he saw fit, something which was theoretically impossible for a human such as himself and he used this power ruthlessly.
Time past and Runihara soon led a rebellion against Khalfani. Despite the challenges faced in front of him, Khalfani defeated Runihara's rebel forces and bested the powerful priest in single combat.
Runhara was captured and the Amulet of the Eight was destroyed. The magic stones were spread out across the lands of the Bay of Knives so one person could never hold such power again.
A Tomb was built in wasted desert lands of the region as punishment for his sins. Runihara was mummified alive with one of the amulet's stones which possessed the power of the lore of life. Khalfani thought it was fitting that Runihara was to be haunted by one of the objects he desired, having it always present but never in reach in eternal torture.
With the destruction of the humans of Nehekhara and the raising of the Nehekharans as undead, Runihara found himself awoken from his long death. Now a Liche Priest, Ruihara took possession of the lifestone and found throughout the thousands of years of his entombment the lifestone's energies had seeped into the earth and had formed what was now called the Northern Oasis.
Runihara learnt that an expensive human township lived there and it was a popular trading hub. Runihara raised the towns dead and overtook the settlement. He then spent the next few hundred years growing an army of the dead, killing those who settled or rested within the oasis to form an army big enough to conquer the rest of the Bay of Knives.
In modern times Runihara's tomb was raided by the High Elves of the Bay of Knives Expedition before he could raise his army and destroy them. He was defeated in single combat by Telar Nighstrider of the High Elves and his body was burned to ash so he would not rise again.
PICS: Liche Priest Runihara
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 5 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 4 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 5 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 4 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 56 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 13
Episode 56 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 13
Results from Last Episode - Try and detonate the cart yourself with the weapons in the tower.
You looked around frantically and picked up a loaded crossbow, one of the many the dwarves had abandoned. "We'll shoot at the carts. Try and detonate them or maybe slow them down long enough for the Dwarves to respond." you said.
Telar nodded in reply and retrieved a crossbow for himself.
You peeked over the walls, still conscious of counter fire from the goblin archers below. The closest cart was over one hundred metres away making slow progress. The carts were heavily laden and would make for large targets. There were three carts that needed to be detonated to keep the gatehouse safe.
You fired the crossbow, you had never used one before but you had seen the dwarves load and fire these hundreds of times now and you were certain on how they were used, just not how they were aimed apparently as your bolt flew well wide of the mark and collided with a nearby goblin.
Telar fired next and his bolt split the head of one of the orcs pushing the lead cart, he muttered something disapprovingly under his breath and commenced reloading.
It soon became apparent that there was no point in you firing at such ranges so you simply reverted to loading crossbows for Telar. Telar did not seemed bothered in the slightest by the goblin archers so they did not interrupt his rate of fire like they did yours, plus he was infinitely more accurate than you with each shot fired.
Telar's shots struck the barrels repeatedly but occasionally he would miss and hit an orc instead. Eventually the orcs began forming a shield wall around the carts once they realised what was happening which made the task harder. You spared a glance at Sindor, your musician, he was still huddled in the corner, terrified of the unseen horrors brought on by the Shadow Orc's spell.
You had gathered all of the grenades you could find as well as several loaded handguns. Despite interrupting the approach of the carts you had not deterred them in the slightest as they continued their slow advance to your destruction.
The walls were still hotly contested but some of the Dwarves were now regaining their senses and were making a good account for themselves, now turning a certain overrun into a tenacious defence. The dwarves on the opposite tower had woken up and were assisting in the sniping of the carts, but it still wasn't enough. The orcs had now formed a living wall in front of the carts and were blocking most shots made at the gunpowder barrels.
The lead cart was now about fifty metres from the wall. Telar fired a handgun and with a pronounced thunk, the bullet hit one of the gunpowder barrels. The barrel fizzed and sparked for a few seconds while the orcs regarded it in horror before it finally detonated. A white flashed burned your eyes and a shockwave of pure noise hit you like a fist.
You regained your wits and you observed a smoking crater where the cart used to be, dozens of orcs were killed in the blast as the greentide slowed and stuttered. You let out a loud cheer which the Dwarves in the opposite Tower met. Telar was already firing his next crossbow bolt, there were two more carts to go after all.
You looked at the Dwarves jovially patting each other on the back of the opposite tower. A large spectral scythe materialised in front of them, it was almost fifty metres in height. The scythe swung back and paused in the air menacingly and the Dwarves began fleeing the tower in panic.
The scythe swung forward, like a pendulum, and with a loud crash it collided with the tower and collapsed it. Masonry flew everywhere and a large dust cloud settled over the gatehouse, completely obscuring the defenders and attackers from your view.
You heard a strange noise behind you. You turned your head and observed an orc standing with you in the Tower, an orc that was not there moments ago. The greenskin was about your height but broad and strong, it was covered in a rough hooded grey robe and it carried a primitive totem staff. Evil red eyes glowed from within the darkness of its hood and you could see the orc's mouth twisted in a bizarre smile.
You looked at the primitive necklace which the Greenskin wore on the outside of it's robe. The centre of the necklace carried an ornate grey stone which was shining brightly. The greenskin conjured a wicked looking scimitar from the beyond, it was a weapon of raw chaotic energy and you could feel it's evil.
You could not move, your feet were simply frozen in place. Your eyes widened as the visions of fear returned to your mind. As greenskin's smile broadened you went to speak, but no words came from your mouth.
The Shadow Orc was here.
The Shadow Orc was quick, he lunged at you with his weapon raised high. A rough hand pushed you in the shoulder and you fell to the ground and the impact allowed you to snap out of your trance, you looked up to your saviour.
Telar had drawn his sword and parried the blow meant for you, he attacked back but the Shadow Orc vanished in a mist before reappearing a few metres away. The Shadow Orc was still grinning wildly.
"Run. I will hold it off. I'll follow when I am done." said Telar.
You looked up at him. Telar was still under the effects of the greenskin poison and was severely weakened. He wore no armour and beads of sweat were forming on his brow from his efforts of firing the missile weapons at the carts. This worried you, you had never seen Telar show any type of fatigue ever and now he was sweating after five minutes of physical activity, this was not good.
Was Telar even capable of defeating the Shadow Orc in his current state? You knew Telar was lying when he said he would follow. You Telar was planning to fight to the death.
Kill or be killed.
Deep down you knew he was sacrificing himself for you, but weakened or not Telar was a formidable duelist and you believed he could beat anything if he set his mind to it. Telar was a careful commander and would not commit to any action if he didn't stand a chance of succeeding. Maybe he thought he could win?
You however, were a poor fighter, and no match for the Shadow Orc. Maybe you would just get in Telar's way if you stayed. Is that why he wanted you to go? Would he stand a better chance of surviving or defeating the Shadow Orc without you?
Or was he just trying to save your life by giving his own?
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Comply with Telar's request and flee, leaving him to battle the Shadow Orc alone.
[] Option 2: Refuse Telar's request and stand and fight the Shadow Orc together.
Pics: The Shadow Orc
Results from Last Episode - Try and detonate the cart yourself with the weapons in the tower.
You looked around frantically and picked up a loaded crossbow, one of the many the dwarves had abandoned. "We'll shoot at the carts. Try and detonate them or maybe slow them down long enough for the Dwarves to respond." you said.
Telar nodded in reply and retrieved a crossbow for himself.
You peeked over the walls, still conscious of counter fire from the goblin archers below. The closest cart was over one hundred metres away making slow progress. The carts were heavily laden and would make for large targets. There were three carts that needed to be detonated to keep the gatehouse safe.
You fired the crossbow, you had never used one before but you had seen the dwarves load and fire these hundreds of times now and you were certain on how they were used, just not how they were aimed apparently as your bolt flew well wide of the mark and collided with a nearby goblin.
Telar fired next and his bolt split the head of one of the orcs pushing the lead cart, he muttered something disapprovingly under his breath and commenced reloading.
It soon became apparent that there was no point in you firing at such ranges so you simply reverted to loading crossbows for Telar. Telar did not seemed bothered in the slightest by the goblin archers so they did not interrupt his rate of fire like they did yours, plus he was infinitely more accurate than you with each shot fired.
Telar's shots struck the barrels repeatedly but occasionally he would miss and hit an orc instead. Eventually the orcs began forming a shield wall around the carts once they realised what was happening which made the task harder. You spared a glance at Sindor, your musician, he was still huddled in the corner, terrified of the unseen horrors brought on by the Shadow Orc's spell.
You had gathered all of the grenades you could find as well as several loaded handguns. Despite interrupting the approach of the carts you had not deterred them in the slightest as they continued their slow advance to your destruction.
The walls were still hotly contested but some of the Dwarves were now regaining their senses and were making a good account for themselves, now turning a certain overrun into a tenacious defence. The dwarves on the opposite tower had woken up and were assisting in the sniping of the carts, but it still wasn't enough. The orcs had now formed a living wall in front of the carts and were blocking most shots made at the gunpowder barrels.
The lead cart was now about fifty metres from the wall. Telar fired a handgun and with a pronounced thunk, the bullet hit one of the gunpowder barrels. The barrel fizzed and sparked for a few seconds while the orcs regarded it in horror before it finally detonated. A white flashed burned your eyes and a shockwave of pure noise hit you like a fist.
You regained your wits and you observed a smoking crater where the cart used to be, dozens of orcs were killed in the blast as the greentide slowed and stuttered. You let out a loud cheer which the Dwarves in the opposite Tower met. Telar was already firing his next crossbow bolt, there were two more carts to go after all.
You looked at the Dwarves jovially patting each other on the back of the opposite tower. A large spectral scythe materialised in front of them, it was almost fifty metres in height. The scythe swung back and paused in the air menacingly and the Dwarves began fleeing the tower in panic.
The scythe swung forward, like a pendulum, and with a loud crash it collided with the tower and collapsed it. Masonry flew everywhere and a large dust cloud settled over the gatehouse, completely obscuring the defenders and attackers from your view.
You heard a strange noise behind you. You turned your head and observed an orc standing with you in the Tower, an orc that was not there moments ago. The greenskin was about your height but broad and strong, it was covered in a rough hooded grey robe and it carried a primitive totem staff. Evil red eyes glowed from within the darkness of its hood and you could see the orc's mouth twisted in a bizarre smile.
You looked at the primitive necklace which the Greenskin wore on the outside of it's robe. The centre of the necklace carried an ornate grey stone which was shining brightly. The greenskin conjured a wicked looking scimitar from the beyond, it was a weapon of raw chaotic energy and you could feel it's evil.
You could not move, your feet were simply frozen in place. Your eyes widened as the visions of fear returned to your mind. As greenskin's smile broadened you went to speak, but no words came from your mouth.
The Shadow Orc was here.
The Shadow Orc was quick, he lunged at you with his weapon raised high. A rough hand pushed you in the shoulder and you fell to the ground and the impact allowed you to snap out of your trance, you looked up to your saviour.
Telar had drawn his sword and parried the blow meant for you, he attacked back but the Shadow Orc vanished in a mist before reappearing a few metres away. The Shadow Orc was still grinning wildly.
"Run. I will hold it off. I'll follow when I am done." said Telar.
You looked up at him. Telar was still under the effects of the greenskin poison and was severely weakened. He wore no armour and beads of sweat were forming on his brow from his efforts of firing the missile weapons at the carts. This worried you, you had never seen Telar show any type of fatigue ever and now he was sweating after five minutes of physical activity, this was not good.
Was Telar even capable of defeating the Shadow Orc in his current state? You knew Telar was lying when he said he would follow. You Telar was planning to fight to the death.
Kill or be killed.
Deep down you knew he was sacrificing himself for you, but weakened or not Telar was a formidable duelist and you believed he could beat anything if he set his mind to it. Telar was a careful commander and would not commit to any action if he didn't stand a chance of succeeding. Maybe he thought he could win?
You however, were a poor fighter, and no match for the Shadow Orc. Maybe you would just get in Telar's way if you stayed. Is that why he wanted you to go? Would he stand a better chance of surviving or defeating the Shadow Orc without you?
Or was he just trying to save your life by giving his own?
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Comply with Telar's request and flee, leaving him to battle the Shadow Orc alone.
[] Option 2: Refuse Telar's request and stand and fight the Shadow Orc together.
Pics: The Shadow Orc
Last edited:
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[X] Option 1: Comply with Telar's request and flee, leaving him to battle the Shadow Orc alone.
Need to get reinforcements for Telar.
Need to get reinforcements for Telar.
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 57 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 14
Episode 57 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 14
Results from last episode - Refuse Telar's request and stand and fight the Shadow Orc together.
You picked yourself up from the ground and drew your sword.
"I'm not going anywhere." you said, your eyes affixed on the grinning Shadow Orc.
"You are making a mistake Elaine, flee." said Telar.
"Advice noted, advisor. I have declined it" you replied.
The Shadow Orc was here, you could not pass up this opportunity even if it meant your life. If the Shadow Orc was defeated that would be a significant blow to the greenskin's resolve and may even save the siege. You spied the shadow stone gleaming around it's neck. This was the secret to it's power, all you had to do was take it and the Shadow Orc would be nothing.
"We need to get the amulet from him, without it he can't use his magic." you said.
Telar grunted in reply, clearly he was displeased with your decision.
The Shadow Orc disappeared in a puff of smoke. You caught movement in your eye as the Orc re-appeared behind you and swung it's weapon. You scrambled out of the way as Telar parried the blow and cut back. The Shadow Orc disappeared again and re-appeared on the other side of the tower, still grinning.
Telar charged forward and engaged the Shadow Orc, Telar was noticeably slower than normal and the Shadow Orc was able to defend itself. As they exchanged blows you moved up to the side in an attempt to surprise the greenskin and once again it disappeared.
Telar and yourself froze in place, the Shadow Orc did not re-appear.
Then something strange happened.
Much like you could when you encountered the life stone, you could sense the shadow stone and the magical aura it projected.
You lashed out with a cut behind you and felt it slice across flesh. The Shadow Orc re-appeared and was reeling back, you knew the cut hit but it was a glancing blow and not fatal.
Telar charged forward again and the Shadow Orc clumsily parried the attacks. You could tell the orc was not a proficient fighter and the only way it was surviving against Telar's onslaught was due to the poison Telar was still suffering through.
The Shadow Orc disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the tower again, it was no longer smiling and you could see the tear in it's robe where your blow landed.
You noticed that when the Shadow Orc teleported his relocation was almost instant, but when he disappeared and did not immeadiately reappear the Shadow Orc moved at normal speed, that was when you were able to sense it. Were they different spells?
"How did you do that?" asked Telar.
"I can sense the shadow stone, I can tell where it is when it's invisible." you replied.
You felt a surge of confidence, maybe you could do this after all? Then you looked at Telar.
Telar was breathing heavily and dripping with sweat, his white shirt clung to his body and was almost translucent. Telar's guard looked strained and his hands were shaking, as if he was struggling to hold his sword aloft.
Telar had lied when he told you that he would follow if you fleed, he was in no condition to fight the Shadow Orc alone and knew he would be killed. In less than thirty seconds of bouting Telar looked like he was ready to faint on the spot. You had prolonged his life by staying but if he fell first you knew you would not be able to handle the Shadow Orc alone.
"We need to end this quickly," said Telar grimly.
You went to reply but found you could no longer talk. Your neck felt constricted and you could no longer breathe. Ethereal black tendrils coiled around your throat, you tried clutching at them but your hand simply passed through them.
Telar tried to move to you but the Shadow Orc relocated and commenced attacking Telar. The Shadow Orc was attacking relentlessly, before you felt like it was either toying with you or at least trying to delay. Now it was a ferocious beast intent on killing.
You fell on your back and clawed at your throat. Panic started to rise within you as the tendrils painfully tightened around your neck and you felt yourself being choked to death.
The Shadow Orc relocated to the other side of the Tower, you looked to Telar. Telar was sucking in huge breaths of air in order to stay upright, his complexion was pallid and he was dripping with sweat. He was now unable to hold his sword at all and was resting the tip on the ground.
Telar glanced at you briefly and for the first time you saw an expression you had never seen on his face before, concern.
Your lungs were beating in your chest as they were fighting for air and the pressure on your throat was unbearable, you felt like your neck was about to snap. Darkness crept in from the sides of your eyes as you were starting to lose consciousness. You reached at Telar with a quivering arm while your other clawed frivolously at your neck as you silently died.
The tendrils lifted and the spell was released as air exploded violently back into your lungs. You coughed and sputtered as you looked to the Shadow Orc.
Sindor, your musician, had awoken from the fear spell and was attacking the Shadow Oc with a vengeance. Sindor was cutting deep gashes into the greenskin's body as the Orc squealed like a pig.
You spied a discarded dwarven pistol and crawled to retrieve it, you checked the pan and saw powder. It was loaded, you cocked back the hammer.
The Shadow Orc swung his arm out and Sindor was thrown back, a massive indent formed in his breastplate as if he had been hit by an invisible fist. Sindor was thrown across the tower and roughly collided against the battlements, he lay stunned.
The Shadow Orc disappeared again and stayed invisible. Sensing where it was you broke into a run, it was fleeing and you couldn't allow that to happen.
You fired the pistol, a red mist materialised and moments after the Shadow Orc flickered into existence, you had shot it through from back to front and it was stumbling forward awkwardly.
With all the speed you could muster you launched yourself onto the Shadow Orc's back. You had to get the stone, if you didn't the orc would escape.
You both collapsed in a heap, due to all of the Shadow Orc's injuries it was unable to hold against your meagre frame. Your helmet fell off as you rolled through, the Shadow Orc ended up on it's back and you straddled him in a mount, squeezing as tight as you could with your thighs.
You had experience wrestling as part of your time with the circus and you considered yourself reasonably competent, however this was a little different. The orc was at least eighty kilos heavier than you, it was significantly stronger and it was also trying to kill you. You hoped all of the injuries it had sustained was enough to even the odds.
The Shadow Orc threw a meaty fist up which collided with the right side of your head, just near your eye. Your vision blackened for a moment as the blow landed but you maintained your hold on the orc. The orc threw another punch but you covered and blocked it, it still hurt but there was little power to the blow due to your position in the mount. You drew your dagger from your belt and plunged it repeatedly into the orcs chest, it was now covering the Shadow Stone with one of it's hands, it knew what you were after.
The dagger blade was short and it was likely only annoying the Shadow Orc, you were doubtful any of the blows you landed were lethal but still dark blood was covering you and staining your white robes red. The orc was bucking wildly but you were determined not to be thrown.
You went to stab at the orc again but it caught your arm with a powerful grip and started to pull your hand to it's face. You realised in horror it was going to bite your hand off, you looked around frantically and noticed the pistol you used nearby. You seized it with your off hand and clubbed the orc in the face with the but of the pistol and it released it's grip.
You started to lose vision in your right eye, you were bleeding from the strike you received and the blood was interfering with your sight. With one eye now closed you stabbed the orcs hand that was covering the shadow stone. The Shadow orc squealed and moved it's hand just enough for you to capitalise. You dropped your pistol, took hold of the shadow stone and reefed it from the orc's neck, snapping the cord on the necklace in the process.
You regarded the stone in disbelief for a moment and the Shadow Orc gripped you around the waist and threw you from the mount.
You landed roughly on the ground and the Shadow Orc leaped on top of you and moved it's jaws to maul your face. A boot replaced the orc's in front of you and with a mighty thud Telar punted the Orc straight off you. He raised his sword and thrusted the point through the orcs chest repeatedly, the orc gurgled and spasmed before laying still.
You lay in disbelief clutching the shadow stone in your hands. You had done it, you had killed the Shadow Orc.
Telar appeared above you, his hand outstretched. "Elaine, the powder carts. They are almost at the wall!" he said urgently.
You took his hand and he pulled you up from the ground. You made your way to the battlement and looked over to the gatehouse, the remaining two carts were less than forty metres from the walls. You saw Maldor riding to your position from within the walls. You looked at the grenades you had gathered earlier, there were six of them.
The grenades could detonate the explosive carts if your aim was good enough but there could be collateral damage to the dwarves depending on how close the carts get, and you only had six shots. You doubt you could be lucky enough to detonate the carts with the missile weapons alone.
Alternatively you could use the missile weapons to try and shoot the orcs pushing the cart to delay them long enough for Maldor to arrive. He could use his magic to push the carts away from the walls where they could be safely detonated, but would he get to you in time? Would the orcs be able to detonate the carts and collapse the gatehouse before Maldor arrived?
Sindor groaned as he got to his feet, the carts were closer so even you stood a chance of hitting them. There were three of you now, you might be able to delay the orcs for long enough. Alternatively do you use the grenades and risk it all?
What do you do?
Option 1: Use the missile weapons (handguns and crossbows) to try and delay the orcs long enough for Maldor to arrive.
Option 2: Use the grenades to try and detonate the carts before they reach the wall.
Pics: Elden
Results from last episode - Refuse Telar's request and stand and fight the Shadow Orc together.
You picked yourself up from the ground and drew your sword.
"I'm not going anywhere." you said, your eyes affixed on the grinning Shadow Orc.
"You are making a mistake Elaine, flee." said Telar.
"Advice noted, advisor. I have declined it" you replied.
The Shadow Orc was here, you could not pass up this opportunity even if it meant your life. If the Shadow Orc was defeated that would be a significant blow to the greenskin's resolve and may even save the siege. You spied the shadow stone gleaming around it's neck. This was the secret to it's power, all you had to do was take it and the Shadow Orc would be nothing.
"We need to get the amulet from him, without it he can't use his magic." you said.
Telar grunted in reply, clearly he was displeased with your decision.
The Shadow Orc disappeared in a puff of smoke. You caught movement in your eye as the Orc re-appeared behind you and swung it's weapon. You scrambled out of the way as Telar parried the blow and cut back. The Shadow Orc disappeared again and re-appeared on the other side of the tower, still grinning.
Telar charged forward and engaged the Shadow Orc, Telar was noticeably slower than normal and the Shadow Orc was able to defend itself. As they exchanged blows you moved up to the side in an attempt to surprise the greenskin and once again it disappeared.
Telar and yourself froze in place, the Shadow Orc did not re-appear.
Then something strange happened.
Much like you could when you encountered the life stone, you could sense the shadow stone and the magical aura it projected.
You lashed out with a cut behind you and felt it slice across flesh. The Shadow Orc re-appeared and was reeling back, you knew the cut hit but it was a glancing blow and not fatal.
Telar charged forward again and the Shadow Orc clumsily parried the attacks. You could tell the orc was not a proficient fighter and the only way it was surviving against Telar's onslaught was due to the poison Telar was still suffering through.
The Shadow Orc disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the tower again, it was no longer smiling and you could see the tear in it's robe where your blow landed.
You noticed that when the Shadow Orc teleported his relocation was almost instant, but when he disappeared and did not immeadiately reappear the Shadow Orc moved at normal speed, that was when you were able to sense it. Were they different spells?
"How did you do that?" asked Telar.
"I can sense the shadow stone, I can tell where it is when it's invisible." you replied.
You felt a surge of confidence, maybe you could do this after all? Then you looked at Telar.
Telar was breathing heavily and dripping with sweat, his white shirt clung to his body and was almost translucent. Telar's guard looked strained and his hands were shaking, as if he was struggling to hold his sword aloft.
Telar had lied when he told you that he would follow if you fleed, he was in no condition to fight the Shadow Orc alone and knew he would be killed. In less than thirty seconds of bouting Telar looked like he was ready to faint on the spot. You had prolonged his life by staying but if he fell first you knew you would not be able to handle the Shadow Orc alone.
"We need to end this quickly," said Telar grimly.
You went to reply but found you could no longer talk. Your neck felt constricted and you could no longer breathe. Ethereal black tendrils coiled around your throat, you tried clutching at them but your hand simply passed through them.
Telar tried to move to you but the Shadow Orc relocated and commenced attacking Telar. The Shadow Orc was attacking relentlessly, before you felt like it was either toying with you or at least trying to delay. Now it was a ferocious beast intent on killing.
You fell on your back and clawed at your throat. Panic started to rise within you as the tendrils painfully tightened around your neck and you felt yourself being choked to death.
The Shadow Orc relocated to the other side of the Tower, you looked to Telar. Telar was sucking in huge breaths of air in order to stay upright, his complexion was pallid and he was dripping with sweat. He was now unable to hold his sword at all and was resting the tip on the ground.
Telar glanced at you briefly and for the first time you saw an expression you had never seen on his face before, concern.
Your lungs were beating in your chest as they were fighting for air and the pressure on your throat was unbearable, you felt like your neck was about to snap. Darkness crept in from the sides of your eyes as you were starting to lose consciousness. You reached at Telar with a quivering arm while your other clawed frivolously at your neck as you silently died.
The tendrils lifted and the spell was released as air exploded violently back into your lungs. You coughed and sputtered as you looked to the Shadow Orc.
Sindor, your musician, had awoken from the fear spell and was attacking the Shadow Oc with a vengeance. Sindor was cutting deep gashes into the greenskin's body as the Orc squealed like a pig.
You spied a discarded dwarven pistol and crawled to retrieve it, you checked the pan and saw powder. It was loaded, you cocked back the hammer.
The Shadow Orc swung his arm out and Sindor was thrown back, a massive indent formed in his breastplate as if he had been hit by an invisible fist. Sindor was thrown across the tower and roughly collided against the battlements, he lay stunned.
The Shadow Orc disappeared again and stayed invisible. Sensing where it was you broke into a run, it was fleeing and you couldn't allow that to happen.
You fired the pistol, a red mist materialised and moments after the Shadow Orc flickered into existence, you had shot it through from back to front and it was stumbling forward awkwardly.
With all the speed you could muster you launched yourself onto the Shadow Orc's back. You had to get the stone, if you didn't the orc would escape.
You both collapsed in a heap, due to all of the Shadow Orc's injuries it was unable to hold against your meagre frame. Your helmet fell off as you rolled through, the Shadow Orc ended up on it's back and you straddled him in a mount, squeezing as tight as you could with your thighs.
You had experience wrestling as part of your time with the circus and you considered yourself reasonably competent, however this was a little different. The orc was at least eighty kilos heavier than you, it was significantly stronger and it was also trying to kill you. You hoped all of the injuries it had sustained was enough to even the odds.
The Shadow Orc threw a meaty fist up which collided with the right side of your head, just near your eye. Your vision blackened for a moment as the blow landed but you maintained your hold on the orc. The orc threw another punch but you covered and blocked it, it still hurt but there was little power to the blow due to your position in the mount. You drew your dagger from your belt and plunged it repeatedly into the orcs chest, it was now covering the Shadow Stone with one of it's hands, it knew what you were after.
The dagger blade was short and it was likely only annoying the Shadow Orc, you were doubtful any of the blows you landed were lethal but still dark blood was covering you and staining your white robes red. The orc was bucking wildly but you were determined not to be thrown.
You went to stab at the orc again but it caught your arm with a powerful grip and started to pull your hand to it's face. You realised in horror it was going to bite your hand off, you looked around frantically and noticed the pistol you used nearby. You seized it with your off hand and clubbed the orc in the face with the but of the pistol and it released it's grip.
You started to lose vision in your right eye, you were bleeding from the strike you received and the blood was interfering with your sight. With one eye now closed you stabbed the orcs hand that was covering the shadow stone. The Shadow orc squealed and moved it's hand just enough for you to capitalise. You dropped your pistol, took hold of the shadow stone and reefed it from the orc's neck, snapping the cord on the necklace in the process.
You regarded the stone in disbelief for a moment and the Shadow Orc gripped you around the waist and threw you from the mount.
You landed roughly on the ground and the Shadow Orc leaped on top of you and moved it's jaws to maul your face. A boot replaced the orc's in front of you and with a mighty thud Telar punted the Orc straight off you. He raised his sword and thrusted the point through the orcs chest repeatedly, the orc gurgled and spasmed before laying still.
You lay in disbelief clutching the shadow stone in your hands. You had done it, you had killed the Shadow Orc.
Telar appeared above you, his hand outstretched. "Elaine, the powder carts. They are almost at the wall!" he said urgently.
You took his hand and he pulled you up from the ground. You made your way to the battlement and looked over to the gatehouse, the remaining two carts were less than forty metres from the walls. You saw Maldor riding to your position from within the walls. You looked at the grenades you had gathered earlier, there were six of them.
The grenades could detonate the explosive carts if your aim was good enough but there could be collateral damage to the dwarves depending on how close the carts get, and you only had six shots. You doubt you could be lucky enough to detonate the carts with the missile weapons alone.
Alternatively you could use the missile weapons to try and shoot the orcs pushing the cart to delay them long enough for Maldor to arrive. He could use his magic to push the carts away from the walls where they could be safely detonated, but would he get to you in time? Would the orcs be able to detonate the carts and collapse the gatehouse before Maldor arrived?
Sindor groaned as he got to his feet, the carts were closer so even you stood a chance of hitting them. There were three of you now, you might be able to delay the orcs for long enough. Alternatively do you use the grenades and risk it all?
What do you do?
Option 1: Use the missile weapons (handguns and crossbows) to try and delay the orcs long enough for Maldor to arrive.
Option 2: Use the grenades to try and detonate the carts before they reach the wall.
Pics: Elden
I don't know what sorcery was used when I rolled the dice for this but you had a 10% chance on a d100 to kill the Shadow Orc. I rolled an 8. From 11 to 60 the Shadow Orc would have delayed you long enough for the carts to detonate the gatehouse and then it would have escaped and from 61 to 100 you both would have been killed. Very lucky indeed.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x] Option 2: Use the grenades to try and detonate the carts before they reach the wall.
I don't think that Orcs will stop or even appreciably slow getting a major strategic objective due to 2-3 people shooting at them.
I don't think that Orcs will stop or even appreciably slow getting a major strategic objective due to 2-3 people shooting at them.
- Pronouns
- He
[x] Option 2: Use the grenades to try and detonate the carts before they reach the wall.
They are too close to the wall and we can risk a few dwarf casualties in the face of total defeat.
They are too close to the wall and we can risk a few dwarf casualties in the face of total defeat.
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 6 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 3 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 6 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 3 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 58 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 15
Episode 58 - The Siege of the White Tower Part 15
Results from Last Episode - Option 1: Use the missile weapons (handguns and crossbows) to try and delay the orcs long enough for Maldor to arrive.
You had your plan. It was time to commence firing. The three of you began unloading bolts and bullets into the oncoming orcs but to little effect, there were simply too many of them.
You heard boots thudding up the stairwell of the tower and a shout rang out. The Dwarves had returned.
Skoren Oakenshield (Throd's nephew) arrived with two dozen dwarves. They began occupying the battlements and provided withering fire support, occasionally a Dwarf would fall to counter fire from the goblins but the shots per minute of accurate fire you were now putting out was truly devestating.
One of the wheels on the cart collapsed and sent the gunpowder barrels tumbling onto the ground, some of the barrels split apart and powder was thrown into the air, unfortunately for you it did not ignite.
The orcs that were providing shield support were standing well off the collapsed cart, no doubt fearing an explosion. This allowed the Dwarves to accurately snipe any who attempted to load or carry the fallen cargo, essentially disabling the cart for all intents and purposes.
The second cart was further away and the Orcs were doing a credible job of defending it, but still their progress was slowed just enough.
Maldor arrived and used his magic to levitate himself quickly onto the tower where you and the Dwarves were fighting. Maldor looked surprised at the corpse of the Shadow Orc but you quickly explained the situation and he turned his attention towards the carts.
A mighty gust of wind threw the carts and barrels back about fifty yards and a fireball detonated them, dozens of orcs were killed in the blasts.
The tower erupted in a cheer as you had now come to the realisation that you had won, the walls were slowly being retaken, the gatehouse stood fast and the orcs were running out of options. There were still hundreds of Greenskins milling around waiting to assail the ladders but they were lambs to the slaughter now that Maldor was here.
Maldor had described the concept of the winds of magic to you before. He said that when he draws power he channels the winds of magic through him and depending on how strong they are at the time of channelling dictated how often he could cast and how powerful his magic could be.
Maldor said the White Tower was a powerful conduit to the winds of magic and they were so powerful and limitless that he could channel magic in catastrophic proportions. Generally the stronger the wizard the more magic they could channel through themselves, however opposing wizards channel their own magic and compete for the availability of the winds of magic and syphon magic away from the caster.
This was the constant duel that Maldor fought with the Shadow Orc, casting and recasting, stealing the winds from each other to reduce each other's magical effectiveness. In truth it was Maldor who had once again saved the expedition by limiting the Shadow Orc's effectiveness.
Now you had killed the Shadow Orc which meant Maldor was left unopposed and the full power of the winds of magic that swirled around the White Tower were all his. He tapped his staff on the ground and the Life Stone which hung around his neck glowed a bright green.
Energy magicka around you and all of the Dwarves, even the ones far below fighting on the walls. You felt instantly revitalised, your energy returned completely, the blow to your head ceased bleeding and the numbing pain inside of your skull vanished.
Maldor raised his staff above his head and slowly levitated into the air. You could feel the winds of magic swirling and due to your arcane sensitivity, almost see the fiery wind that was dancing about him.
A Huge pillar of fire dropped from the sky, twice as high the walls. The pillar quickly unfolded in a furious tornado. The heat was unbearable and you and the Dwarves ducked beneath the battlements to seek shelter from it's fury.
The firestorm swirled around in a vortex for what seemed like an age and you could hear the Orcs screaming as they were torched alive. You watched Maldor in disbelief as he laid waste to the assembled army below him, it was as if the fires of Asuryan walked amongst you once again.
After a few more devastating spells from Maldor the orcs soon lost heart for the battle and retreated. Shortly after their rout from the walls the orcs in the settlement fled, those who did not were rounded up and killed. This was the end and somehow against all odds you had won.
A tally was made for the wounded and dead, you know had around one hundred and fifty able bodied elves and ninety dwarves. The elves were no longer counted as separate units due to their low number and sections were a mixed bag of cavalry, archers and spearelves. You were now down to about a quarter of your original strength but the orcs would have lost hundreds, possibly even more from earlier in the night.
It was a few hours until dawn, watches were set and those who were permitted to rest did so. Only the barest minimum pickets were set on the wall and they were instructed to retreat to the town square and sound the alarm at the sight of any orcs as there were simply too few of you to defend anything. Everyone's quarters were moved into the gatehouse, townsquare districts as well so the soldiers would not succumb to any surprise attacks while they rested. The dwarves repaired what they could and even managed to salvage one of the cannons as it only required a replacement mount.
Sir Herron, whom had ledled a valiant defence of the town square earlier in the night, suggested that you rest before you took over day duties, it was then an assessment could be made of the greenskins forces. Telar physically escorted you to the physician who tended to your wounds and you were quite surprised at the amount of blood that was washed from your face and hair. The cut near your eye was bandaged and you were told it would require stitches once the swelling reduced.
You retired to your room and looked yourself over in the hand mirror. Your right eye was black and blue and was almost completely swollen shut and around your neck was marked and bruised from the Shadow Orc's strangulation spell. The blow to your head was permanent and would scar, you were certain of this but it's true visage was hidden in bandages.
You knew your parents wouldn't like it, it would reduce your marriage prospects and cause you problems once you returned. You smiled a toothy grin, laid down on your bed and for the first time in weeks, slept peacefully.
You were awakened at dawn by a Silver Helm and were escorted to the gatehouse tower. Maldor, Telar, Sir Herron and Throd waited. Throd stood smiling and handed you his spyglass. "Take a look elgi." he said.
You looked through the spyglass at the orc throng below, it was much smaller. You estimated only five to six hundred remained. Many of the orc's casualties from the previous night were unable to be determined as Maldor had incinerated a lot of the orcs and their corpses during the gatehouse defence.
Unless Lawrunz of Araby had removed a portion of his forces out of the valley in some sort of ruse attempt, about thirteen hundred greenskins perished in the battle last night. With only six hundred orcs remaining, against your garrison of two hundred and fifty, with an unopposed Maldor who was supercharged via the magic of the Tower, you had won the siege, the orcs would be unable to take the tower by force. You could hardly believe it. The plan worked.
The orcs would realise Lawrunz had been defeated and would turn on him, Lawrunz would be forced to deal with leadership disputes which would take his time and free you to perform the ritual and escape. The Dwarf army was on the way and Lawrunz would be unable to breach your defences before they arrived.
You smiled and handed back the glass. The commanders of the siege laughed and congratulated each other, all except for Telar. He simply stood out and watched the Orcs from the Tower, his face expressionless.
Later that day a four strange dwarven flying machines arrived, they flew over the orc encampment and landed within your settlement with ease. These devices were called gyrocopters and they were the vanguard of the Dwarven relief force and they brought uplifting news.
King Rugni Oakenshield, whom was apparently Throd's older brother and also the leader of clan Oakenshield, was two days away with an army of two thousand Dwarves. This sealed the deal, in two days you will have defeated Lawrunz and could claim the White Tower as your own.
This however brought its own dilemma. You had sworn on oath to Throd that Lawrunz of Araby would be killed in the siege, a payment for the grudge on your clan brought upon by your uncle centuries ago. If you were unable to deliver this you were to pay a heavy price in gold, something which would deplete your warchest significantly. You were bound by this oath, it was what your alliance was sealed on and once of the reasons the Dwarves fought beside you in the first place.
Lawrunz would recognise the gyrocopters for what they were and retreat into the desert at the closest sign of any Dwarf relief force. Lawrunz's remaining forces were almost entirely cavalry based and would easily slip away from the lumbering Dwarven host.
If Lawrunz of Araby escaped it would cost you an absolute fortune and you knew you would need as much money as you could muster to hire competent human mercenaries to supplement your weakened forces. Reinforcements from Ulthuan were months away and they way that the expedition was going you needed additional manpower to survive.
You presented this to Telar and he came up with a proposal. Despite showing high levels of cunning and tactical awareness, Lawrunz of Araby was still an orc and he still led an army of orcs. Therefore if you presented a challenge to Lawrunz he would be obligated to accept it.
Lawrunz's remaining forces were cavalry based and likely contained some of his most elite and heavily armed warriors. Their cavalry was strong but slower than yours and likely possessed little ranged ability, you however possessed quicker, lighter cavalry and superior ranged prowess.
Telar suggested that you could send the entire combined garrison down to meet the orcs. While you only had two hundred and fifty or so soldiers across both races they could be divided into melee and ranged infantry.
Due to the narrow nature of the ridge line and the declining slope that granted access to the White Tower, the infantry could advance to the base of the ridge line and set up a defensive position that would be unable to be flanked. It could then be supported by the missile infantry from the rear, the Dwarven catapults and the remaining cannon.
A small force of your light cavalry and the four Gyrocopters could skirmish with the Orcs and draw them into the fight, as long as your infantry didn't break Maldor and your ranged units could fire into the mass orcs and do the killing for you.
Telar admitted the plan was foolhardy at best but in theory it stood a chance of succeeding, of course if it failed your forces would be slaughtered and the White Tower would fall. If it was to be conducted it would have to be today before the orcs made plans to withdraw.
You pondered for a moment, was it worth risking everything to save on some gold? You knew you could afford at least some type of troops with the money left over after the grudge was settled, but not anything in vast quantities. Did you risk it and try to kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all or take the safe option and wait for the Dwarven relief force and settle your grudge with coin?
Of course if you decided to attack you would have to convince Throd of this plan too, it would be challenging but you understood Throd's mindset now. You knew you stood a good chance of convincing him if you wanted to, in many ways Throd was just like Lawrunz and you knew they both couldn't resist a fight.
There were six hundred Orcs and about two hundred and fifty of you.
What do you do?
Choices
[] Option 1: Be safe, wait for the Dwarven army and settle the grudge via a huge sum of coin.
[] Option 2: Risk it all and try and kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all.
Pics: Skoren Oakenshield
Results from Last Episode - Option 1: Use the missile weapons (handguns and crossbows) to try and delay the orcs long enough for Maldor to arrive.
You had your plan. It was time to commence firing. The three of you began unloading bolts and bullets into the oncoming orcs but to little effect, there were simply too many of them.
You heard boots thudding up the stairwell of the tower and a shout rang out. The Dwarves had returned.
Skoren Oakenshield (Throd's nephew) arrived with two dozen dwarves. They began occupying the battlements and provided withering fire support, occasionally a Dwarf would fall to counter fire from the goblins but the shots per minute of accurate fire you were now putting out was truly devestating.
One of the wheels on the cart collapsed and sent the gunpowder barrels tumbling onto the ground, some of the barrels split apart and powder was thrown into the air, unfortunately for you it did not ignite.
The orcs that were providing shield support were standing well off the collapsed cart, no doubt fearing an explosion. This allowed the Dwarves to accurately snipe any who attempted to load or carry the fallen cargo, essentially disabling the cart for all intents and purposes.
The second cart was further away and the Orcs were doing a credible job of defending it, but still their progress was slowed just enough.
Maldor arrived and used his magic to levitate himself quickly onto the tower where you and the Dwarves were fighting. Maldor looked surprised at the corpse of the Shadow Orc but you quickly explained the situation and he turned his attention towards the carts.
A mighty gust of wind threw the carts and barrels back about fifty yards and a fireball detonated them, dozens of orcs were killed in the blasts.
The tower erupted in a cheer as you had now come to the realisation that you had won, the walls were slowly being retaken, the gatehouse stood fast and the orcs were running out of options. There were still hundreds of Greenskins milling around waiting to assail the ladders but they were lambs to the slaughter now that Maldor was here.
Maldor had described the concept of the winds of magic to you before. He said that when he draws power he channels the winds of magic through him and depending on how strong they are at the time of channelling dictated how often he could cast and how powerful his magic could be.
Maldor said the White Tower was a powerful conduit to the winds of magic and they were so powerful and limitless that he could channel magic in catastrophic proportions. Generally the stronger the wizard the more magic they could channel through themselves, however opposing wizards channel their own magic and compete for the availability of the winds of magic and syphon magic away from the caster.
This was the constant duel that Maldor fought with the Shadow Orc, casting and recasting, stealing the winds from each other to reduce each other's magical effectiveness. In truth it was Maldor who had once again saved the expedition by limiting the Shadow Orc's effectiveness.
Now you had killed the Shadow Orc which meant Maldor was left unopposed and the full power of the winds of magic that swirled around the White Tower were all his. He tapped his staff on the ground and the Life Stone which hung around his neck glowed a bright green.
Energy magicka around you and all of the Dwarves, even the ones far below fighting on the walls. You felt instantly revitalised, your energy returned completely, the blow to your head ceased bleeding and the numbing pain inside of your skull vanished.
Maldor raised his staff above his head and slowly levitated into the air. You could feel the winds of magic swirling and due to your arcane sensitivity, almost see the fiery wind that was dancing about him.
A Huge pillar of fire dropped from the sky, twice as high the walls. The pillar quickly unfolded in a furious tornado. The heat was unbearable and you and the Dwarves ducked beneath the battlements to seek shelter from it's fury.
The firestorm swirled around in a vortex for what seemed like an age and you could hear the Orcs screaming as they were torched alive. You watched Maldor in disbelief as he laid waste to the assembled army below him, it was as if the fires of Asuryan walked amongst you once again.
After a few more devastating spells from Maldor the orcs soon lost heart for the battle and retreated. Shortly after their rout from the walls the orcs in the settlement fled, those who did not were rounded up and killed. This was the end and somehow against all odds you had won.
A tally was made for the wounded and dead, you know had around one hundred and fifty able bodied elves and ninety dwarves. The elves were no longer counted as separate units due to their low number and sections were a mixed bag of cavalry, archers and spearelves. You were now down to about a quarter of your original strength but the orcs would have lost hundreds, possibly even more from earlier in the night.
It was a few hours until dawn, watches were set and those who were permitted to rest did so. Only the barest minimum pickets were set on the wall and they were instructed to retreat to the town square and sound the alarm at the sight of any orcs as there were simply too few of you to defend anything. Everyone's quarters were moved into the gatehouse, townsquare districts as well so the soldiers would not succumb to any surprise attacks while they rested. The dwarves repaired what they could and even managed to salvage one of the cannons as it only required a replacement mount.
Sir Herron, whom had ledled a valiant defence of the town square earlier in the night, suggested that you rest before you took over day duties, it was then an assessment could be made of the greenskins forces. Telar physically escorted you to the physician who tended to your wounds and you were quite surprised at the amount of blood that was washed from your face and hair. The cut near your eye was bandaged and you were told it would require stitches once the swelling reduced.
You retired to your room and looked yourself over in the hand mirror. Your right eye was black and blue and was almost completely swollen shut and around your neck was marked and bruised from the Shadow Orc's strangulation spell. The blow to your head was permanent and would scar, you were certain of this but it's true visage was hidden in bandages.
You knew your parents wouldn't like it, it would reduce your marriage prospects and cause you problems once you returned. You smiled a toothy grin, laid down on your bed and for the first time in weeks, slept peacefully.
You were awakened at dawn by a Silver Helm and were escorted to the gatehouse tower. Maldor, Telar, Sir Herron and Throd waited. Throd stood smiling and handed you his spyglass. "Take a look elgi." he said.
You looked through the spyglass at the orc throng below, it was much smaller. You estimated only five to six hundred remained. Many of the orc's casualties from the previous night were unable to be determined as Maldor had incinerated a lot of the orcs and their corpses during the gatehouse defence.
Unless Lawrunz of Araby had removed a portion of his forces out of the valley in some sort of ruse attempt, about thirteen hundred greenskins perished in the battle last night. With only six hundred orcs remaining, against your garrison of two hundred and fifty, with an unopposed Maldor who was supercharged via the magic of the Tower, you had won the siege, the orcs would be unable to take the tower by force. You could hardly believe it. The plan worked.
The orcs would realise Lawrunz had been defeated and would turn on him, Lawrunz would be forced to deal with leadership disputes which would take his time and free you to perform the ritual and escape. The Dwarf army was on the way and Lawrunz would be unable to breach your defences before they arrived.
You smiled and handed back the glass. The commanders of the siege laughed and congratulated each other, all except for Telar. He simply stood out and watched the Orcs from the Tower, his face expressionless.
Later that day a four strange dwarven flying machines arrived, they flew over the orc encampment and landed within your settlement with ease. These devices were called gyrocopters and they were the vanguard of the Dwarven relief force and they brought uplifting news.
King Rugni Oakenshield, whom was apparently Throd's older brother and also the leader of clan Oakenshield, was two days away with an army of two thousand Dwarves. This sealed the deal, in two days you will have defeated Lawrunz and could claim the White Tower as your own.
This however brought its own dilemma. You had sworn on oath to Throd that Lawrunz of Araby would be killed in the siege, a payment for the grudge on your clan brought upon by your uncle centuries ago. If you were unable to deliver this you were to pay a heavy price in gold, something which would deplete your warchest significantly. You were bound by this oath, it was what your alliance was sealed on and once of the reasons the Dwarves fought beside you in the first place.
Lawrunz would recognise the gyrocopters for what they were and retreat into the desert at the closest sign of any Dwarf relief force. Lawrunz's remaining forces were almost entirely cavalry based and would easily slip away from the lumbering Dwarven host.
If Lawrunz of Araby escaped it would cost you an absolute fortune and you knew you would need as much money as you could muster to hire competent human mercenaries to supplement your weakened forces. Reinforcements from Ulthuan were months away and they way that the expedition was going you needed additional manpower to survive.
You presented this to Telar and he came up with a proposal. Despite showing high levels of cunning and tactical awareness, Lawrunz of Araby was still an orc and he still led an army of orcs. Therefore if you presented a challenge to Lawrunz he would be obligated to accept it.
Lawrunz's remaining forces were cavalry based and likely contained some of his most elite and heavily armed warriors. Their cavalry was strong but slower than yours and likely possessed little ranged ability, you however possessed quicker, lighter cavalry and superior ranged prowess.
Telar suggested that you could send the entire combined garrison down to meet the orcs. While you only had two hundred and fifty or so soldiers across both races they could be divided into melee and ranged infantry.
Due to the narrow nature of the ridge line and the declining slope that granted access to the White Tower, the infantry could advance to the base of the ridge line and set up a defensive position that would be unable to be flanked. It could then be supported by the missile infantry from the rear, the Dwarven catapults and the remaining cannon.
A small force of your light cavalry and the four Gyrocopters could skirmish with the Orcs and draw them into the fight, as long as your infantry didn't break Maldor and your ranged units could fire into the mass orcs and do the killing for you.
Telar admitted the plan was foolhardy at best but in theory it stood a chance of succeeding, of course if it failed your forces would be slaughtered and the White Tower would fall. If it was to be conducted it would have to be today before the orcs made plans to withdraw.
You pondered for a moment, was it worth risking everything to save on some gold? You knew you could afford at least some type of troops with the money left over after the grudge was settled, but not anything in vast quantities. Did you risk it and try to kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all or take the safe option and wait for the Dwarven relief force and settle your grudge with coin?
Of course if you decided to attack you would have to convince Throd of this plan too, it would be challenging but you understood Throd's mindset now. You knew you stood a good chance of convincing him if you wanted to, in many ways Throd was just like Lawrunz and you knew they both couldn't resist a fight.
There were six hundred Orcs and about two hundred and fifty of you.
What do you do?
Choices
[] Option 1: Be safe, wait for the Dwarven army and settle the grudge via a huge sum of coin.
[] Option 2: Risk it all and try and kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all.
Pics: Skoren Oakenshield
Last edited:
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[X] Option 2: Risk it all and try and kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all.
These fricken dwarves.
These fricken dwarves.
Yes. The magical boost of the White Tower covers quite a large area. Several kilometres in fact. It will easily cover where the battle will take place.
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Option 2: Risk it all and try and kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all.
- Pronouns
- sapper
awesome. let's use our mugle boddy's to draw them out and have our mage murder the hell out of them.
[X] Option 2: Risk it all and try and kill Lawrunz of Araby once and for all.