The Objects of Power - A High Elf Warhammer Fantasy Quest
- Thread starter Fenderstat
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x] Option 1: Lead an exploration party. Both Maldor and yourself possessed a stone of power and therefore were able to sense them. The more of you out in the jungle with a stone increased the chances of you locating one quicker, plus it would set a good example to the humans that you were a frontline leader.
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 68 - Exploration Part 1
Episode 68 - Exploration Part 1
Results from Last Episode: Lead an exploration party.
It was decided. Telar was placed in charge of the camp alongside Humberto's second in charge, Roberto Ricci. Of course there was no way for them to realistically communicate with each other due to the language barrier but Telar had managed at least to pick up a some Arabyan, so hopefully Bakrat could assist him in relaying that information in Tilean.
Why couldn't all humans speak the same language like the Elves did? It was a little ridiculous that humans had to learn a myriad of different languages just to communicate with their own race. Especially since many of the human nations lived in relative close proximity to each other.
Your expedition force contained about twenty dervishes, fifteen elves and fifteen or so adventurers. In addition Skoren and his ironbreakers decided to accompany and of course a few of your supply wagon elves with pack animals and the like accompanied you as well.
Sir Herron had resumed his role as your bodyguard now that Telar had healed and he would assist you with military decisions during the expedition which you were grateful for.
It felt odd potentially being away from Telar for a few days, he had been your constant companion and mentor, for better or worse, for almost three months. This would be your first venture without him and he hadn't come to you in private to protest this venture which showed he had at least a modicum of trust in your ability to lead now. Or perhaps his trust was in Sir Herron to prevent you from getting yourself killed, either way you would never know as it was not like Telar would tell you anyway, such was his way.
Your party set out to the North, hacking their way through the thick undergrowth and it was evident that this area of the jungle was left to the animals. Your first casualty came via a Dervish succumbing to a bite from a poisonous snake as he was hacking his way through the scrub.
The dervish was buried after his fellows performed a short religious ceremony, you watched nearby in a solemn pose but secretly you were glad it wasn't another elf you had lost.
A defensive camp was set up each night, closely packed in and reinforced with felled trees and branches. Sleep was difficult as you didn't bring your cot and slept on the ground in your tent, leaving you at the mercy of whatever bugs raised to the surface of the earth.
What you weren't prepared for were the mosquitos, soon you were all covered in itchy red spots where the malevolent little creatures had bit you. Surely there was a spell you could learn in the future to shield you from them, you made a note to ask Maldor.
You made slow progress through the thick jungle but as you cleared away the undergrowth you created a trail where subsequent trips would be shorter.
Towards the end of the second day the forward party returned and stated that they found something that you needed to see. The main party diverted and you were escorted to a small clearing in the jungle, in the centre of the clearing was a large rock.
The rock was not of a natural shape, it had been carved tall and thin and was completely smooth to the touch. The rock was jet black, perhaps made from obsidian or the like. No trees grew in proximity to the stone however the long grass that was common in the open areas of the jungle was prevalent. The trees near the edges of the clearing appeared weak and sickly.
You walked a circle around the stone and observed strange runes carved within, of which one symbol repeated itself continually with a grim realisation you recognised it as the eight pointed star of chaos. You centred yourself and used your new found channelling abilities. Sure enough you could feel the winds of magic being drawn to the stone, or rather primitive monument. It radiated malevolent energy, but it was weak.
Further inspection revealed a large fissure towards the base of the stone, with a clean crack straight across it's side. Perhaps this stone had been damaged in an earthquake which had affected it's ability to draw magic? You looked at the clearing in the sickly trees, despite it's weakened state it was still strong enough to radiate corruption which poisoned the jungle around it.
One of the adventurers, a woodsman from the Empire, emerged from the jungle. Upon sighting the stone his eyes widened. The woodsman made a religious sign and he uttered a short prayer to his god, Sigmar.
"You know this stone?" you asked.
The adventurer nodded gravely, his eyes still affixed on the monument.
"Aye, I know it and I wish I didn't. It's a Herdstone" he replied. He must have assumed you knew what that was as he didn't elaborate further. You continued to look at him and he realised this with surprise.
"Beastmen. They mob around these, they are a place of worship to the dark gods. I have seen them before, in the Drakwald. Too many I have seen," he said.
You looked at him blankly.
"In the Empire miss. It's the greatest forest in the Empire, and the darkest. The darkest of forests and woods is where the beastmen live, they are servants of the dark powers. Chaos incarnate they are. Half men, half animal. I can't believe it, the Beastmen are here. Normally these stones have great creatures of chaos guarding them, warbands or even entire armies. I don't know why this is not guarded." said the woodsman.
"I think it might be broken." you replied. "What's your name?" you asked,
"Heinrich." he replied.
"Come with me. I want you to look at something." you said.
Sir Herron and the Silver Helms eyed the woodsman suspiciously and followed the two of you closely.
You showed Heinrich the damage to the stone.
"Do you know how they work?" you asked.
"No, the only thing I know is it corrupts everything around it. Men fall pray to the beast within them. It turns them savage. It kills the forest and turns all around them to the dark gods." said Heinrich.
"I think it channels magical energy, but it isn't working properly. Maybe due to this damage here. The magical energy is what corrupts, this one seems to have a problem attracting it. If these stones are normally guarded these "Beastmen", they must see little worth in this one. What do you do when you find them in the Empire?" you asked.
"We destroy them. Topple them, break them apart with tools or blow them up with blast powder. If you don't, the Beastmen congregate to them. Leave them too long and you'll have an army of them breathing down your neck. Getting rid of the stones generally makes the Beastmen go away. The priests then come to consecrate the ground, usually a priest of Taal but most can do it. After that's done the land is usable again." said Heinrich.
You considered the stone for a moment. If Heinrich was to be believed servants of the dark gods were either present in the jungle, or had lived here for a time. This was important information that needed to be relayed back to the camp, you would send a messenger with haste.
These herdstones were conduits for dark magic and likely provided some type of power to the Beastmen, and were probably religiously significant to them too. You would mark this location for Maldor to inspect at a later date.
You looked into the dark stone pillar in front of you and stared into an eight pointed star which had been etched into the surface.
If the Beastmen were here in the jungle they would take any destruction to their property as a serious threat against them. Who knows if there were other stones and if they were connected to each other by some dark link. If you destroyed this stone would you be weakening the Beastmen? Or alerting them to your presence before you are ready to deal with them? Or was this an ancient monument and the Beastmen had already left the jungle centuries before?
What do you do?
[]Option 1: Destroy this Herdstone and continue through the jungle.
[]Option 2: Destroy the Herdstone and continue through the jungle. In addition you will pass a standing order for all parties to destroy them if more are located where possible.
[]Option 3: Leave this herdstone for now and continue through the jungle.
Pics: Elaine inspects the herdstone.
Results from Last Episode: Lead an exploration party.
It was decided. Telar was placed in charge of the camp alongside Humberto's second in charge, Roberto Ricci. Of course there was no way for them to realistically communicate with each other due to the language barrier but Telar had managed at least to pick up a some Arabyan, so hopefully Bakrat could assist him in relaying that information in Tilean.
Why couldn't all humans speak the same language like the Elves did? It was a little ridiculous that humans had to learn a myriad of different languages just to communicate with their own race. Especially since many of the human nations lived in relative close proximity to each other.
Your expedition force contained about twenty dervishes, fifteen elves and fifteen or so adventurers. In addition Skoren and his ironbreakers decided to accompany and of course a few of your supply wagon elves with pack animals and the like accompanied you as well.
Sir Herron had resumed his role as your bodyguard now that Telar had healed and he would assist you with military decisions during the expedition which you were grateful for.
It felt odd potentially being away from Telar for a few days, he had been your constant companion and mentor, for better or worse, for almost three months. This would be your first venture without him and he hadn't come to you in private to protest this venture which showed he had at least a modicum of trust in your ability to lead now. Or perhaps his trust was in Sir Herron to prevent you from getting yourself killed, either way you would never know as it was not like Telar would tell you anyway, such was his way.
Your party set out to the North, hacking their way through the thick undergrowth and it was evident that this area of the jungle was left to the animals. Your first casualty came via a Dervish succumbing to a bite from a poisonous snake as he was hacking his way through the scrub.
The dervish was buried after his fellows performed a short religious ceremony, you watched nearby in a solemn pose but secretly you were glad it wasn't another elf you had lost.
A defensive camp was set up each night, closely packed in and reinforced with felled trees and branches. Sleep was difficult as you didn't bring your cot and slept on the ground in your tent, leaving you at the mercy of whatever bugs raised to the surface of the earth.
What you weren't prepared for were the mosquitos, soon you were all covered in itchy red spots where the malevolent little creatures had bit you. Surely there was a spell you could learn in the future to shield you from them, you made a note to ask Maldor.
You made slow progress through the thick jungle but as you cleared away the undergrowth you created a trail where subsequent trips would be shorter.
Towards the end of the second day the forward party returned and stated that they found something that you needed to see. The main party diverted and you were escorted to a small clearing in the jungle, in the centre of the clearing was a large rock.
The rock was not of a natural shape, it had been carved tall and thin and was completely smooth to the touch. The rock was jet black, perhaps made from obsidian or the like. No trees grew in proximity to the stone however the long grass that was common in the open areas of the jungle was prevalent. The trees near the edges of the clearing appeared weak and sickly.
You walked a circle around the stone and observed strange runes carved within, of which one symbol repeated itself continually with a grim realisation you recognised it as the eight pointed star of chaos. You centred yourself and used your new found channelling abilities. Sure enough you could feel the winds of magic being drawn to the stone, or rather primitive monument. It radiated malevolent energy, but it was weak.
Further inspection revealed a large fissure towards the base of the stone, with a clean crack straight across it's side. Perhaps this stone had been damaged in an earthquake which had affected it's ability to draw magic? You looked at the clearing in the sickly trees, despite it's weakened state it was still strong enough to radiate corruption which poisoned the jungle around it.
One of the adventurers, a woodsman from the Empire, emerged from the jungle. Upon sighting the stone his eyes widened. The woodsman made a religious sign and he uttered a short prayer to his god, Sigmar.
"You know this stone?" you asked.
The adventurer nodded gravely, his eyes still affixed on the monument.
"Aye, I know it and I wish I didn't. It's a Herdstone" he replied. He must have assumed you knew what that was as he didn't elaborate further. You continued to look at him and he realised this with surprise.
"Beastmen. They mob around these, they are a place of worship to the dark gods. I have seen them before, in the Drakwald. Too many I have seen," he said.
You looked at him blankly.
"In the Empire miss. It's the greatest forest in the Empire, and the darkest. The darkest of forests and woods is where the beastmen live, they are servants of the dark powers. Chaos incarnate they are. Half men, half animal. I can't believe it, the Beastmen are here. Normally these stones have great creatures of chaos guarding them, warbands or even entire armies. I don't know why this is not guarded." said the woodsman.
"I think it might be broken." you replied. "What's your name?" you asked,
"Heinrich." he replied.
"Come with me. I want you to look at something." you said.
Sir Herron and the Silver Helms eyed the woodsman suspiciously and followed the two of you closely.
You showed Heinrich the damage to the stone.
"Do you know how they work?" you asked.
"No, the only thing I know is it corrupts everything around it. Men fall pray to the beast within them. It turns them savage. It kills the forest and turns all around them to the dark gods." said Heinrich.
"I think it channels magical energy, but it isn't working properly. Maybe due to this damage here. The magical energy is what corrupts, this one seems to have a problem attracting it. If these stones are normally guarded these "Beastmen", they must see little worth in this one. What do you do when you find them in the Empire?" you asked.
"We destroy them. Topple them, break them apart with tools or blow them up with blast powder. If you don't, the Beastmen congregate to them. Leave them too long and you'll have an army of them breathing down your neck. Getting rid of the stones generally makes the Beastmen go away. The priests then come to consecrate the ground, usually a priest of Taal but most can do it. After that's done the land is usable again." said Heinrich.
You considered the stone for a moment. If Heinrich was to be believed servants of the dark gods were either present in the jungle, or had lived here for a time. This was important information that needed to be relayed back to the camp, you would send a messenger with haste.
These herdstones were conduits for dark magic and likely provided some type of power to the Beastmen, and were probably religiously significant to them too. You would mark this location for Maldor to inspect at a later date.
You looked into the dark stone pillar in front of you and stared into an eight pointed star which had been etched into the surface.
If the Beastmen were here in the jungle they would take any destruction to their property as a serious threat against them. Who knows if there were other stones and if they were connected to each other by some dark link. If you destroyed this stone would you be weakening the Beastmen? Or alerting them to your presence before you are ready to deal with them? Or was this an ancient monument and the Beastmen had already left the jungle centuries before?
What do you do?
[]Option 1: Destroy this Herdstone and continue through the jungle.
[]Option 2: Destroy the Herdstone and continue through the jungle. In addition you will pass a standing order for all parties to destroy them if more are located where possible.
[]Option 3: Leave this herdstone for now and continue through the jungle.
Pics: Elaine inspects the herdstone.
- Location
- yorkshire
[X]Option 3: Leave this herdstone for now and continue through the jungle.
- Location
- Belgium
[X]Option 3: Leave this herdstone for now and continue through the jungle.
Let's not make a lot of noises when we're here for any creatures that hear that shit happening
Let's not make a lot of noises when we're here for any creatures that hear that shit happening
[X]Option 3: Leave this herdstone for now and continue through the jungle.
It's not going anywhere or doing anything. Less of a risk to leave it now and destroy it later than to explode the thing with a bang heard for miles or spend the rest of the day exhausting ourselves smashing it to gravel.
It's not going anywhere or doing anything. Less of a risk to leave it now and destroy it later than to explode the thing with a bang heard for miles or spend the rest of the day exhausting ourselves smashing it to gravel.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x]Option 2: Destroy the Herdstone and continue through the jungle. In addition you will pass a standing order for all parties to destroy them if more are located where possible.
[x]Option 4: End this part of the journey immediately. Return to Maldor. Learn anti-mosquito spells. Resume the journey.
[x]Option 4: End this part of the journey immediately. Return to Maldor. Learn anti-mosquito spells. Resume the journey.
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 2 votes
Option 2 - 2 votes
Option 3 - 3 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 2 votes
Option 2 - 2 votes
Option 3 - 3 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 69 - Exploration Part 2
Episode 69 - Exploration Part 2
Results from Last Episode - Leave the hearthstone for now and continue through the jungle.
"We will leave this for now, it is clearly not working properly. Otherwise there would be Beastmen guarding it, correct?" you asked Heinrich.
"I suppose. I've never seen one abandoned but I know once we break them the beastmen don't come back." said Heinrich.
The woodsman still appeared troubled upon discovering the herdstone. You had never seen nor heard of a Beastmen before. They didn't live on Ulthuan, at least as far as you knew, and Elves who turn to chaos generally don't look too much different than what they originally did before they had fallen.
It was alarming that men could devolve into such a state in the manner of a lifetime and that a powerful subrace of overt chaos worshippers could flourish in the greatest of the human nations of the Old World. Humans were capable of change far quicker than Elves were, for better and for worse. It was perhaps both their greatest strength and at the same time, their weakness.
You spent a few moments observing the broken herdstone before taking a quick sketch and an etching of some of the runes on the side of the stone. You would send Maldor here to inspect this place and you despatched a runner back to camp to warn of the potential beastman threat.
You continued on for the further day but found nothing of interest, your initial journey had been quite slow due to the thick jungle undergrowth and you believed subsequent journeys would be able to venture further as the initial paths had already been cleared.
You returned to camp and found significant progress made since your departure. The camp was larger and entirely walled. The jungle had been cleared away to a distance of thirty metres, with the intention of increasing that to fifty where possible.
The tents and more permanent fixtures had been constructed and mundane facilities such as latrines, cooking and food preparation areas had been established.
You checked in with Telar who seemed pleased, us much as he could ever be, with the progress in the camp. He had received the message about the beastmen which he had not taken lightly and his evidence in preparing redoubts within the camp were noted.
Maldor arrived later that afternoon. Like you and your expedition, his soldiers were muddy, grimy and dirty. Most Elves and dervishes were clothed in white robes which were now stained various shades of brown and black. Maldor however appeared to be free of all dirt and grime and looked as clean as he was when he left El-Nasir's folly.
This was obviously some sort of dirt repellent spell he was maintaining, you looked down at your once white dress and all of the red bumps on your arms and neck from the mosquitos (and other insects) and felt a bit self conscious as Maldor approached.
Your mentor seemed excited, stating he discovered some old ruins similar to those in Lustria. He floated the idea that there were likely Lizardmen that had been residing in the area at some stage.
You had no idea what he was talking about, having never heard of a "lizardman" and didn't like the idea of potentially sharing the jungle with another beastial race. Why couldn't the jungle be full of nice things, like friendly house cats or something?
You spoke about the herdstone to Maldor and he agreed to inspect it after a nights rest, his expedition would set out to the North and follow in your footsteps, leaving you to choose a new path for now.
You compared maps and notes and formed a plan for a new map which you would add to after each expedition returned which would give all of you a bigger picture of what lay ahead.
As the day turned to night you continued your magical tutelage under Maldor where he taught you the beginnings of using the lifestone to channel and store the winds of magic.
After a long night of study you drifted off to sleep in the comfort of your personal tent and in your cot, well off the jungle floor and well away from the small creatures and insects that crawled within it. Your simple camp tent felt like a luxurious manor house compared to what you had been enduring over the past few nights.
You awakened early the next morning and were informed that Humberto's expedition did not return the previous night. You had a short meeting with Ricardo Ricci, Ricci stated it was not unusual for Humberto to take longer than what is agreed upon and if he was late by another day without any notification explaining his absence he would lead his garrison out to find him.
You considered Ricardo's statement. Humberto made these contingency plans for recovering lost exploration parties with Ricardo before you gained the knowledge of the potential threat of beastmen in the area. What if Humberto's reason for being late was far more sinister than mere wanderlust?
Ricardo seemed like a sensible man but rigid in his willingness to follow orders, he would not send a party out earlier than what was agreed upon to look for Humberto as that was his orders from the great explorer.
You considered this for a moment. Now that Maldor was taking the northern path you needed to choose a direction to go yourself, you realistically had three options.
The first was to take your expedition along Maldor's trail to the east, continuing where he left off and piercing deeper into the jungle due to the groundwork Maldor had already laid.
The second was to forge a completely new path to the South, but that would be just as slow as your initial outing.
The third was to go to the west along Humberto's trail where one of three things would occur. The best possible outcome was that you located Humberto's expedition on their way back to camp and you would then continue where he left off.
The second outcome is that you locate Humberto and assist him in his reason for delay.
The worst outcome was you never find Humberto at all, or worse, fall victim yourself to whatever woe that befell him in the first place.
Either way Ricardo was going to lead out his garrison (leaving your's behind) the next day to try and locate Humberto but if they were alive and trouble, could they afford to wait an extra day?
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Continue to the east along Maldor's trail.
[] Option 2: Forge a new trail to the south.
[] Option 3: Look for Humberto in the west.
Pics: Heinrich
Results from Last Episode - Leave the hearthstone for now and continue through the jungle.
"We will leave this for now, it is clearly not working properly. Otherwise there would be Beastmen guarding it, correct?" you asked Heinrich.
"I suppose. I've never seen one abandoned but I know once we break them the beastmen don't come back." said Heinrich.
The woodsman still appeared troubled upon discovering the herdstone. You had never seen nor heard of a Beastmen before. They didn't live on Ulthuan, at least as far as you knew, and Elves who turn to chaos generally don't look too much different than what they originally did before they had fallen.
It was alarming that men could devolve into such a state in the manner of a lifetime and that a powerful subrace of overt chaos worshippers could flourish in the greatest of the human nations of the Old World. Humans were capable of change far quicker than Elves were, for better and for worse. It was perhaps both their greatest strength and at the same time, their weakness.
You spent a few moments observing the broken herdstone before taking a quick sketch and an etching of some of the runes on the side of the stone. You would send Maldor here to inspect this place and you despatched a runner back to camp to warn of the potential beastman threat.
You continued on for the further day but found nothing of interest, your initial journey had been quite slow due to the thick jungle undergrowth and you believed subsequent journeys would be able to venture further as the initial paths had already been cleared.
You returned to camp and found significant progress made since your departure. The camp was larger and entirely walled. The jungle had been cleared away to a distance of thirty metres, with the intention of increasing that to fifty where possible.
The tents and more permanent fixtures had been constructed and mundane facilities such as latrines, cooking and food preparation areas had been established.
You checked in with Telar who seemed pleased, us much as he could ever be, with the progress in the camp. He had received the message about the beastmen which he had not taken lightly and his evidence in preparing redoubts within the camp were noted.
Maldor arrived later that afternoon. Like you and your expedition, his soldiers were muddy, grimy and dirty. Most Elves and dervishes were clothed in white robes which were now stained various shades of brown and black. Maldor however appeared to be free of all dirt and grime and looked as clean as he was when he left El-Nasir's folly.
This was obviously some sort of dirt repellent spell he was maintaining, you looked down at your once white dress and all of the red bumps on your arms and neck from the mosquitos (and other insects) and felt a bit self conscious as Maldor approached.
Your mentor seemed excited, stating he discovered some old ruins similar to those in Lustria. He floated the idea that there were likely Lizardmen that had been residing in the area at some stage.
You had no idea what he was talking about, having never heard of a "lizardman" and didn't like the idea of potentially sharing the jungle with another beastial race. Why couldn't the jungle be full of nice things, like friendly house cats or something?
You spoke about the herdstone to Maldor and he agreed to inspect it after a nights rest, his expedition would set out to the North and follow in your footsteps, leaving you to choose a new path for now.
You compared maps and notes and formed a plan for a new map which you would add to after each expedition returned which would give all of you a bigger picture of what lay ahead.
As the day turned to night you continued your magical tutelage under Maldor where he taught you the beginnings of using the lifestone to channel and store the winds of magic.
After a long night of study you drifted off to sleep in the comfort of your personal tent and in your cot, well off the jungle floor and well away from the small creatures and insects that crawled within it. Your simple camp tent felt like a luxurious manor house compared to what you had been enduring over the past few nights.
You awakened early the next morning and were informed that Humberto's expedition did not return the previous night. You had a short meeting with Ricardo Ricci, Ricci stated it was not unusual for Humberto to take longer than what is agreed upon and if he was late by another day without any notification explaining his absence he would lead his garrison out to find him.
You considered Ricardo's statement. Humberto made these contingency plans for recovering lost exploration parties with Ricardo before you gained the knowledge of the potential threat of beastmen in the area. What if Humberto's reason for being late was far more sinister than mere wanderlust?
Ricardo seemed like a sensible man but rigid in his willingness to follow orders, he would not send a party out earlier than what was agreed upon to look for Humberto as that was his orders from the great explorer.
You considered this for a moment. Now that Maldor was taking the northern path you needed to choose a direction to go yourself, you realistically had three options.
The first was to take your expedition along Maldor's trail to the east, continuing where he left off and piercing deeper into the jungle due to the groundwork Maldor had already laid.
The second was to forge a completely new path to the South, but that would be just as slow as your initial outing.
The third was to go to the west along Humberto's trail where one of three things would occur. The best possible outcome was that you located Humberto's expedition on their way back to camp and you would then continue where he left off.
The second outcome is that you locate Humberto and assist him in his reason for delay.
The worst outcome was you never find Humberto at all, or worse, fall victim yourself to whatever woe that befell him in the first place.
Either way Ricardo was going to lead out his garrison (leaving your's behind) the next day to try and locate Humberto but if they were alive and trouble, could they afford to wait an extra day?
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Continue to the east along Maldor's trail.
[] Option 2: Forge a new trail to the south.
[] Option 3: Look for Humberto in the west.
Pics: Heinrich
- Location
- yorkshire
[X] Option 2: Forge a new trail to the south.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x] Option 2: Forge a new trail to the south.
Character Info - Gutri Oakenshield
Character Info - Gutri Oakenshield
Gutri Oakenshield is the third oldest of the Oakenshield brothers. Once he was a mighty general and a leader within Oakenshield's army, second only to his brother King Hadrir. Now he is drunkard, a wastrel and a slayer.
After the failed assault on Karak Kurz Gutri resigned from his position in shame and took the slayers oath and left the clan to travel the lands in search of his doom.
Decades later he returned to Clan Oakenshield after receiving the call to conquest from King Hadrir. Soon clan Oakenshield will march upon Karak Kurz one final time and it is there Gutri hopes he will finally meet his doom and repent for his sins.
The High elves first encountered Gutri Oakenshield during the siege of the White Tower where he defeated Lawrunz of Araby along with Sir Herron of Istor and Throd Oakenshield.
Shortly after he joined the High Elf expedition to protect Skoren Oakenshield at the request of King Hadrir. Gutri had previously sworn an oath to protect all of Hadrir's children before he became a slayer (something which he failed at during the siege of Karak Kurz) and has temporarily put aside his slayer's vow to preference Skoren's safety. That being said should the opportunity arise and a sufficient foe presents themselves, Gutri will eagerly test his mettle and meet is doom if Grungni has deemed it time for him to do so.
Known Family:
Hadrir Oakenshield (Eldest Brother)
Throd Oakenshield (Older Brother)
Gottri Oakenshield (Younger Brother)
Skoren Oakenshield (Nephew)
Notable Feats and Accomplishments so Far:
Defeated Lawrunz of Araby (along with Sir Herron of Istor and Throd Oakenshield.
Pics: Gutri Oakenshield
Gutri Oakenshield is the third oldest of the Oakenshield brothers. Once he was a mighty general and a leader within Oakenshield's army, second only to his brother King Hadrir. Now he is drunkard, a wastrel and a slayer.
After the failed assault on Karak Kurz Gutri resigned from his position in shame and took the slayers oath and left the clan to travel the lands in search of his doom.
Decades later he returned to Clan Oakenshield after receiving the call to conquest from King Hadrir. Soon clan Oakenshield will march upon Karak Kurz one final time and it is there Gutri hopes he will finally meet his doom and repent for his sins.
The High elves first encountered Gutri Oakenshield during the siege of the White Tower where he defeated Lawrunz of Araby along with Sir Herron of Istor and Throd Oakenshield.
Shortly after he joined the High Elf expedition to protect Skoren Oakenshield at the request of King Hadrir. Gutri had previously sworn an oath to protect all of Hadrir's children before he became a slayer (something which he failed at during the siege of Karak Kurz) and has temporarily put aside his slayer's vow to preference Skoren's safety. That being said should the opportunity arise and a sufficient foe presents themselves, Gutri will eagerly test his mettle and meet is doom if Grungni has deemed it time for him to do so.
Known Family:
Hadrir Oakenshield (Eldest Brother)
Throd Oakenshield (Older Brother)
Gottri Oakenshield (Younger Brother)
Skoren Oakenshield (Nephew)
Notable Feats and Accomplishments so Far:
Defeated Lawrunz of Araby (along with Sir Herron of Istor and Throd Oakenshield.
Pics: Gutri Oakenshield
Last edited:
poor Gutri, slayers are nearly always tragic, and so too is his story
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 4 votes (wins)
Option 3 - 1 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 4 votes (wins)
Option 3 - 1 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 70 - Exploration Part 3
Episode 70 - Exploration Part 3
Results from the Last Episode - Forge a new trail to the South.
You supposed it would be a good idea to scout out the area to the south, this way you would be able to fully explore the areas closest to camp and determine if there were any potential threats within striking distance. Humberto would be fine on his own and he had his own contingency plans developed, Ricardo would venture out the following day to find him as he had likely done many times in the past. You were not overly concerned about Humberto's absence, at least at this stage of the expedition.
You set out to the south, finding it much the same as the north; however instead of constant thick jungle there were far more rivers and watercourses blocking your path. Some could be crossed, others could not. You made a note that pontoon bridges would need to be constructed in order to navigate the area. Work teams would need to be brought from the camp and guarded while they performed their task.
Still you explored as much as you could given the restrictions you faced, spending your allotted three days in the humid undergrowth. While discovering nothing of note you noticed strange behaviour from the animals you sighted. Monkeys, who were normally incessantly shrieking both day and night, would cease noise upon sighting you and stare. Dozens of them would watch you from atop their branches or vines as you made slow progress through the jungle.
Some specific monkeys followed your party the entire journey, silently watching. You could tell them apart from the others due to their bright orange fur and larger size. One of the adventurers shot one with a rifle. The sharp crack of gunshot caused thousands of birds to fly up into the sky in unison in panic and temporarily blacken the sky. Almost one hundred of the lesser monkeys suddenly appeared from the jungle gloom to gather and watch in silence as the adventurer inspected the kill.
You cursed at the adventurer, he was some type of Arabyan so he understood what you said and he slunk off annoyed. You watched the assembled horde of monkeys for a time. You couldn't help but feel like they were watching you specifically.
You grasped the lifestone which hung about your neck, it had not reacted to anything so far in the trip. You tried to sense any magic dominating the wildlife nearby but to no avail, you even asked a wizard from one of the adventurer groups but still no luck. Still the monkeys watched you, silent and unmoving.
You felt a strange compulsion and ordered a small grave dug and you buried the body of the fallen monkey within it. Upon doing so several of the monkeys started making noises again and scurried off into the trees. Many of the creatures remained and stared silently at you. The large orange monkeys standing in full contrast amongst their lesser black and white brethren, their eyes almost reflective in the limited light of the jungle.
You returned to camp. Humberto had already returned and left again to the west. The reason for his delay was that he found some old ruins with an underground chamber filled with treasure on his third day. The location was marked on the shared map for you or Maldor to investigate. Humberto already confirmed they were made by Lizardmen having seen many such sites before on previous expeditions to Lustria.
With the extra day added to Humberto's return he was now out of sync with you and Maldor. The initial idea was for all parties to return roughly on the same day to discuss what was found, now Humberto was at least a day late meaning you will likely never see him.
Yes Humberto had left simple notes and had briefed Ricardo but that was relayed information which was translated through multiple languages, there was always room for error when information passed through so many channels.
Maldor returned that night, looking as immaculate as ever, and you discussed what was found. Maldor reported the jungle was becoming darker and more corrupted to the east. He described the vegetation taking on a gnarled and sinister aspect and it seemed to swallow the light from above. In terms of losses he had lost one elf, two adventurers and a dervish from poisonous snakes and massive man sized spiders. You inwardly groaned at the prospect of the giant spiders as Maldor listed his discoveries with excitement.
Maldor explained that he ordered some Shadow Warriors to climb a massive tree which was a little higher than the canopy above. The Shadow warriors reported seeing a massive clearing further to the east which they could not reach in that trip and Maldor looked forward to inspecting it.
You organised the work parties and guard duties for the south, they would take a few days to construct bridges and crossings across the rivers and lakes where possible so for now the south would be unable to be explored until they did so.
Some of the canoe parties had returned too whose job was to map out the rivers. They were composed of Humberto's men and had lost a good portion of their number due to crocodiles and other river monsters that lurked within the depths. Unfortunately they had yet to find a way out of the jungle via the river system but it was still early days.
You continued your study under Maldor and gained the ability to move simple objects and generate a weak light. Maldor was impressed at your progress and attributed your success to the lifestone. You were mildly offended by the comment as Maldor did not see the long nights you had spent practising your channelling and arcane speech.
Still this was Maldor's way, he was more interested in the concept of seeing the apprentice succeed, rather than seeing you as the person doing the same. The lifestone approach was his theory, which his apprentice was validating. It could be a completely different apprentice doing the same but there would be no difference in Maldor's approach. Maldor simply had no interest in you or the individual side of teaching
At least Telar seemed to care about you as an elf, even if the way he showed it was through intimidation and criticism. Still I guess you weren't afraid of Maldor so that was a bonus. Who knew what misery you would be subject to at the moment if you decided to take Telar as your mentor, maybe having Maldor as a friendly aloof teacher wasn't so bad after all.
You considered your options for your next exploration venture. There were the ruins to the west which Humberto requested you to investigate. There you would use the lifestone to try and detect another of it's kind. Alternatively you could request Maldor to do the same and he might gain some other insight or clue with his greater knowledge of history and the arcane.
The south was currently off limits while the bridges were being constructed and any venture down there until the teams had finished was simply wasting time.
You could continue exploration to the north, picking up from where you left off or you could take Maldor's route and head towards the clearing that was spotted by Maldor's party the previous trip.
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Personally inspect the ruins to the west.
[] Option 2: Send Maldor to the ruins to the west and head east.
[] Option 3: Send Maldor to the ruins to the west and head north.
Pics: Humberto Bolognesio
Results from the Last Episode - Forge a new trail to the South.
You supposed it would be a good idea to scout out the area to the south, this way you would be able to fully explore the areas closest to camp and determine if there were any potential threats within striking distance. Humberto would be fine on his own and he had his own contingency plans developed, Ricardo would venture out the following day to find him as he had likely done many times in the past. You were not overly concerned about Humberto's absence, at least at this stage of the expedition.
You set out to the south, finding it much the same as the north; however instead of constant thick jungle there were far more rivers and watercourses blocking your path. Some could be crossed, others could not. You made a note that pontoon bridges would need to be constructed in order to navigate the area. Work teams would need to be brought from the camp and guarded while they performed their task.
Still you explored as much as you could given the restrictions you faced, spending your allotted three days in the humid undergrowth. While discovering nothing of note you noticed strange behaviour from the animals you sighted. Monkeys, who were normally incessantly shrieking both day and night, would cease noise upon sighting you and stare. Dozens of them would watch you from atop their branches or vines as you made slow progress through the jungle.
Some specific monkeys followed your party the entire journey, silently watching. You could tell them apart from the others due to their bright orange fur and larger size. One of the adventurers shot one with a rifle. The sharp crack of gunshot caused thousands of birds to fly up into the sky in unison in panic and temporarily blacken the sky. Almost one hundred of the lesser monkeys suddenly appeared from the jungle gloom to gather and watch in silence as the adventurer inspected the kill.
You cursed at the adventurer, he was some type of Arabyan so he understood what you said and he slunk off annoyed. You watched the assembled horde of monkeys for a time. You couldn't help but feel like they were watching you specifically.
You grasped the lifestone which hung about your neck, it had not reacted to anything so far in the trip. You tried to sense any magic dominating the wildlife nearby but to no avail, you even asked a wizard from one of the adventurer groups but still no luck. Still the monkeys watched you, silent and unmoving.
You felt a strange compulsion and ordered a small grave dug and you buried the body of the fallen monkey within it. Upon doing so several of the monkeys started making noises again and scurried off into the trees. Many of the creatures remained and stared silently at you. The large orange monkeys standing in full contrast amongst their lesser black and white brethren, their eyes almost reflective in the limited light of the jungle.
You returned to camp. Humberto had already returned and left again to the west. The reason for his delay was that he found some old ruins with an underground chamber filled with treasure on his third day. The location was marked on the shared map for you or Maldor to investigate. Humberto already confirmed they were made by Lizardmen having seen many such sites before on previous expeditions to Lustria.
With the extra day added to Humberto's return he was now out of sync with you and Maldor. The initial idea was for all parties to return roughly on the same day to discuss what was found, now Humberto was at least a day late meaning you will likely never see him.
Yes Humberto had left simple notes and had briefed Ricardo but that was relayed information which was translated through multiple languages, there was always room for error when information passed through so many channels.
Maldor returned that night, looking as immaculate as ever, and you discussed what was found. Maldor reported the jungle was becoming darker and more corrupted to the east. He described the vegetation taking on a gnarled and sinister aspect and it seemed to swallow the light from above. In terms of losses he had lost one elf, two adventurers and a dervish from poisonous snakes and massive man sized spiders. You inwardly groaned at the prospect of the giant spiders as Maldor listed his discoveries with excitement.
Maldor explained that he ordered some Shadow Warriors to climb a massive tree which was a little higher than the canopy above. The Shadow warriors reported seeing a massive clearing further to the east which they could not reach in that trip and Maldor looked forward to inspecting it.
You organised the work parties and guard duties for the south, they would take a few days to construct bridges and crossings across the rivers and lakes where possible so for now the south would be unable to be explored until they did so.
Some of the canoe parties had returned too whose job was to map out the rivers. They were composed of Humberto's men and had lost a good portion of their number due to crocodiles and other river monsters that lurked within the depths. Unfortunately they had yet to find a way out of the jungle via the river system but it was still early days.
You continued your study under Maldor and gained the ability to move simple objects and generate a weak light. Maldor was impressed at your progress and attributed your success to the lifestone. You were mildly offended by the comment as Maldor did not see the long nights you had spent practising your channelling and arcane speech.
Still this was Maldor's way, he was more interested in the concept of seeing the apprentice succeed, rather than seeing you as the person doing the same. The lifestone approach was his theory, which his apprentice was validating. It could be a completely different apprentice doing the same but there would be no difference in Maldor's approach. Maldor simply had no interest in you or the individual side of teaching
At least Telar seemed to care about you as an elf, even if the way he showed it was through intimidation and criticism. Still I guess you weren't afraid of Maldor so that was a bonus. Who knew what misery you would be subject to at the moment if you decided to take Telar as your mentor, maybe having Maldor as a friendly aloof teacher wasn't so bad after all.
You considered your options for your next exploration venture. There were the ruins to the west which Humberto requested you to investigate. There you would use the lifestone to try and detect another of it's kind. Alternatively you could request Maldor to do the same and he might gain some other insight or clue with his greater knowledge of history and the arcane.
The south was currently off limits while the bridges were being constructed and any venture down there until the teams had finished was simply wasting time.
You could continue exploration to the north, picking up from where you left off or you could take Maldor's route and head towards the clearing that was spotted by Maldor's party the previous trip.
What do you do?
[] Option 1: Personally inspect the ruins to the west.
[] Option 2: Send Maldor to the ruins to the west and head east.
[] Option 3: Send Maldor to the ruins to the west and head north.
Pics: Humberto Bolognesio
Last edited:
- Location
- yorkshire
[X] Option 1: Personally inspect the ruins to the west.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x] Option 2: Send Maldor to the ruins to the west and head east.
East is the big clearing, right?
East is the big clearing, right?
Here is a map of the Steaming Jungle, it will expand out and new landmarks will be discovered each time when Maldor, Humberto and yourself return to camp and update it.
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 5 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 3 votes
Option 3 - 1 vote
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 5 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 3 votes
Option 3 - 1 vote
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 71 - Exploration Part 4
Episode 71 - Exploration Part 4
Results from the Last Episode - Inspect the ruins to the west personally.
You made arrangements with Maldor for you to inspect the ruins to the east, Maldor stated he would head to the clearing to the west and investigate there. You showed Maldor the etchings from the herdstone and he advised they were runes associated with the dark tongue and held no intellectual worth. Still you filed the drawings in your tent in camp, perhaps they would yield something of note in the future?
Early next morning you departed for the lizardmen ruins to the east which Humberto had previously looted. Travelling through the jungle in this direction was significantly quicker due to the groundwork laid by Humberto and you reached the ruins in less than a day.
The ruins themselves were quite large, consisting of many collapsed rectangular pillars and a multi storey square based layered pyramid which had partially caved in.
As you entered the ruins you observed the ornate carvings on the fallen pillars, many of which required you to remove moss or undergrowth to observe. Strange collages of lizard shaped people adorned them, often praising things like the sun or the moon. In many ways it reminded you of the Nehekharan hieroglyphics you had seen in the Tomb of the Northern Oasis, except the inscriptions had almost an alien sense of mystique about them. Rather than the vague familiarity of the human ones.
You moved into the temple itself, the doors to it had been blasted open by Humberto with powder. Inside of the temple was a series of long corridors with small rooms to the side. Skeletons could be seen scattered in various places, some were clutching strange looking weapons, others primitive. None of them appeared human, some had tails, most had strange skulls.
You took etchings or quick sketches of various hieroglyphics or murals which took your interest. You could surmise that the lizardmen were often depicted battling the forces of chaos. The chaos forces regularly depicted misshapen deamons and humans with the heads of beasts.
There were three types of lizardmen regularly depicted in these murals. The most numerous were small and lightly built, they were often depicted as builders or servants. The next were large and hulking warriors and were often depicted in the battles. Finally the last type of lizardmen were large toad like creatures who were often depicted as being venerated by the other lizardmen.
After reading several murals, you could now identify the skeletons of the different lizardmen. The small ones and the large ones, with the third and most common skeleton type being humanoid with animal heads, most commonly goats. They were not lizardmen. Heinrich, the woodsman from the Empire you had conversed with at the herdstone, confirmed your suspicions. They were beastmen.
Eventually you reached a large chamber where there sat a stone throne. Upon it sat a skeleton larger than the others, it had been mostly scattered. You had seen thrones like this in the hieroglyphics in the previous rooms. Was this the remains of one of the toad-like lizardmen?
The throne room contained the most skeletons than any other, could this be the site of a last stand? Had the temple been raided by the Beastmen and the Lizardmen fought to the last? How long ago did this happen? judging by the state of the skeletons at least hundreds of years ago, maybe even thousands.
You were surprised that there was still treasure in the temple which Humberto had recovered. Heinrich stated that the beastmen did not value gold so they likely never looted the place in a traditional meaning that humans or elves could relate too. The beastmen simply desecrated and destroyed, they did not amass wealth. They only existed to destroy.
And as such the murals and hieroglyphics had been defaced in this room, most had been crudely chipped at or etched with the eight pointed star of chaos. You looked at the skeleton atop the throne, a single shaft of light sunlight was emanating from the roof of the temple onto the throne. It almost made the skeleton look regal.
You climbed the stairs to the platform and looked out across the throne room and imagined the last moments of this creature's life. You thought of the siege of the White Tower and possibility of your own last stand, then you grimly realised you would have died at the walls at the hands of the Shadow Orc long before any last stand was even being considered. Throd or Sir Herron would have led that in a suitably heroic fashion, you would have never had the opportunity to see it.
You touched the lifestone around your neck, it had not reacted to a single thing since entering the jungle. Still, the Steaming Jungle was a large place and if there was a stone of power within it, it was not here at this ruined temple.
You took a final look around the throne room and discovered nothing of note. You left the temple behind and considered your next move *observation check failed*
You were a little less than a day from basecamp to the east. Ahead of you by at least one day was Humberto in the same direction. You could continue to the east and join with Humberto, or you could return to camp and set out in a new direction.
Maldor had already headed west from the basecamp so there was little point in exploring that direction. The river crossings were still under construction to the south so realistically your only option was to continue to explore the north.
What do you do?
[]Option 1: Continue East and meet up with Humberto to explore together.
[]Option 2: Return to camp and venture out to the north.
Pics: Ricardo Ricci
Results from the Last Episode - Inspect the ruins to the west personally.
You made arrangements with Maldor for you to inspect the ruins to the east, Maldor stated he would head to the clearing to the west and investigate there. You showed Maldor the etchings from the herdstone and he advised they were runes associated with the dark tongue and held no intellectual worth. Still you filed the drawings in your tent in camp, perhaps they would yield something of note in the future?
Early next morning you departed for the lizardmen ruins to the east which Humberto had previously looted. Travelling through the jungle in this direction was significantly quicker due to the groundwork laid by Humberto and you reached the ruins in less than a day.
The ruins themselves were quite large, consisting of many collapsed rectangular pillars and a multi storey square based layered pyramid which had partially caved in.
As you entered the ruins you observed the ornate carvings on the fallen pillars, many of which required you to remove moss or undergrowth to observe. Strange collages of lizard shaped people adorned them, often praising things like the sun or the moon. In many ways it reminded you of the Nehekharan hieroglyphics you had seen in the Tomb of the Northern Oasis, except the inscriptions had almost an alien sense of mystique about them. Rather than the vague familiarity of the human ones.
You moved into the temple itself, the doors to it had been blasted open by Humberto with powder. Inside of the temple was a series of long corridors with small rooms to the side. Skeletons could be seen scattered in various places, some were clutching strange looking weapons, others primitive. None of them appeared human, some had tails, most had strange skulls.
You took etchings or quick sketches of various hieroglyphics or murals which took your interest. You could surmise that the lizardmen were often depicted battling the forces of chaos. The chaos forces regularly depicted misshapen deamons and humans with the heads of beasts.
There were three types of lizardmen regularly depicted in these murals. The most numerous were small and lightly built, they were often depicted as builders or servants. The next were large and hulking warriors and were often depicted in the battles. Finally the last type of lizardmen were large toad like creatures who were often depicted as being venerated by the other lizardmen.
After reading several murals, you could now identify the skeletons of the different lizardmen. The small ones and the large ones, with the third and most common skeleton type being humanoid with animal heads, most commonly goats. They were not lizardmen. Heinrich, the woodsman from the Empire you had conversed with at the herdstone, confirmed your suspicions. They were beastmen.
Eventually you reached a large chamber where there sat a stone throne. Upon it sat a skeleton larger than the others, it had been mostly scattered. You had seen thrones like this in the hieroglyphics in the previous rooms. Was this the remains of one of the toad-like lizardmen?
The throne room contained the most skeletons than any other, could this be the site of a last stand? Had the temple been raided by the Beastmen and the Lizardmen fought to the last? How long ago did this happen? judging by the state of the skeletons at least hundreds of years ago, maybe even thousands.
You were surprised that there was still treasure in the temple which Humberto had recovered. Heinrich stated that the beastmen did not value gold so they likely never looted the place in a traditional meaning that humans or elves could relate too. The beastmen simply desecrated and destroyed, they did not amass wealth. They only existed to destroy.
And as such the murals and hieroglyphics had been defaced in this room, most had been crudely chipped at or etched with the eight pointed star of chaos. You looked at the skeleton atop the throne, a single shaft of light sunlight was emanating from the roof of the temple onto the throne. It almost made the skeleton look regal.
You climbed the stairs to the platform and looked out across the throne room and imagined the last moments of this creature's life. You thought of the siege of the White Tower and possibility of your own last stand, then you grimly realised you would have died at the walls at the hands of the Shadow Orc long before any last stand was even being considered. Throd or Sir Herron would have led that in a suitably heroic fashion, you would have never had the opportunity to see it.
You touched the lifestone around your neck, it had not reacted to a single thing since entering the jungle. Still, the Steaming Jungle was a large place and if there was a stone of power within it, it was not here at this ruined temple.
You took a final look around the throne room and discovered nothing of note. You left the temple behind and considered your next move *observation check failed*
You were a little less than a day from basecamp to the east. Ahead of you by at least one day was Humberto in the same direction. You could continue to the east and join with Humberto, or you could return to camp and set out in a new direction.
Maldor had already headed west from the basecamp so there was little point in exploring that direction. The river crossings were still under construction to the south so realistically your only option was to continue to explore the north.
What do you do?
[]Option 1: Continue East and meet up with Humberto to explore together.
[]Option 2: Return to camp and venture out to the north.
Pics: Ricardo Ricci
