Warcraft: Kingdoms
- Thread starter Arcman
- Start date
Interlude
Arcman
Heh
A Web of Intrigue
There is a desecrated altar in the depths of the Old Kingdom, where all sane fear to tread. Its sprawling walls and eldritch monuments were hewed from granite by the unending labors of Nerubian workers, crafted to appease the thirsting Old Gods. All are long since gone, slain by heretics as they fought or fled to Azjol-Nerub ages ago.
And now the faithful fill its long hall once again. Their servants work tirelessly to clean, repair, and prepare the room, obeying their orders without a thought of rebellion. Few in number that grows with each week as the high priests bring new converts from the Upper Kingdom. And now they gather together at the altar, ores of Saronite clutched tightly in their hands. All are Nerubians from nearly all castes in society, thirteen in all.
Work on finding their Master's greatest servants, the Faceless Ones, is proceeding, if slowly. The grandmaster enchantments weaved by their former leader, that damnable spymaster to deny them rightful passage, are weakening. Drained of power by the few converted mages here, while their workers busy themselves on disabling the numerous traps and contraptions they built before succumbing to their Master's voice. And after that they'll dig, and dig, guided by the Master to his servants.
Progress will still be slow, but only if more workers aren't acquired. Passage to Azjol-Nerub is blocked, the gates leading to the Upper Kingdom are all barricaded and under heavy guard. The soldiers and their King know of their presence now, alerted by traitors barely a year ago. All have been dealt with since that time, even the spymaster, and the regretfully disabled contraptions and traps to the entrances have all been reactivated. But all was not lost.
Azjol-Nerub is still within their reach, and it was almost disappointedly easy to infiltrate it. A simple homeward teleportation spell was all they needed. Cast near the gates to uninhabited parts of the Empire's capital, their former homes. It was only done in desperation, at their Master's urging. Wardstones located throughout Azjol-Nerub were supposed to deny them access against nearly all forms of teleportation into the city. All Nerubians know this. And they have weakened significantly from hundreds of years of neglect and disuse. No one but them knows of this. Their blind brethren's constant diligence to the rules and standards ensues that none will discover this or even try it.
With that their other plans can continue accordingly. Throughout this year they have made great strides in converting others to their side, by luck and the guidance of their Master. Dozens of Nerubian spymasters and assassins have been given the Master's blessing. All quickly fell, caring more about their lives than their loyalty to the Empire. Through them they learned of the New King's research into Saronite and have easily inserted researchers dedicated to the cause in the project. Theirs was the only ones willing to do the job. Now they work on spreading the effects of the wondrous ore throughout all of Azjol-Nerub, leaving the new King none the wiser.
Already their agents wormed their way into the other communities throughout Azjol-Nerub and beyond. Nezar-Azret may suspect their existence, but she is blind to the fact that three of her personal assassins serve the Master. Azhar-Menthas and the King have no suspicion that dozens of this new 'Ambassador' caste await to spread the Master's words across all of Azeroth. Anub-Rekhan hasn't a clue that hundreds of his soldiers will vanish in the chaotic battlefield of Zul'Drak, ready to wage war against the other races in Northrend the name of the 'Empire'. When the handlers of Maexxna have been converted the daily shipments of the Broodmother's food will be imbued with heavy doses of Saronite ore.
Even the King will be within their reach in a year, or two. His value is of great worth to the Master, a potential herald and prophet if there was one. He should be grateful for the blessings he will receive, honestly. And if not, his heirs will serve instead.
Now their Master whispers to them as they converse with one another. It instructs them, informing them of its demands, and they adjust their plans accordingly. The so-called 'Burning Legion' has arrived in Northrend. Its servants have brought with them a being incredible power with them, a tortured spirit trapped within a frozen tomb. But it is weak still, but its power and skill grows greatly as the days pass.
A potent threat to them in the coming years, but only if they fail.
And yet backup plans are hatched. The Master requires Queens and Spider Lords to be sent up above, high to the northern mountains of Stormpeaks. Both young and adult to bolster its army up there, kept safe in the halls of Ulduar. A risky task that may expose them early to their enemies, but one that needs to be accomplished.
Other schemes and preparations are made in case of discovery. The King's budding research into Saronite will be leaked to all of Empire in the worst ways possible, demolishing his seemingly insurmountable reputation. Nezar-Azret is to be assassinated, an easy task given her utter lack of martial prowess. Their few agents traveling to Wintergrasp will anger the docile Titan Watchers there into hostilities. As are the other factions in Northrend. And if else fails they will hole themselves down here, in the Old Kingdom where their Master's presence is felt all around them.
Any Nerubian force sent down will be converted, just like they were.
There is a desecrated altar in the depths of the Old Kingdom, where all sane fear to tread. Its sprawling walls and eldritch monuments were hewed from granite by the unending labors of Nerubian workers, crafted to appease the thirsting Old Gods. All are long since gone, slain by heretics as they fought or fled to Azjol-Nerub ages ago.
And now the faithful fill its long hall once again. Their servants work tirelessly to clean, repair, and prepare the room, obeying their orders without a thought of rebellion. Few in number that grows with each week as the high priests bring new converts from the Upper Kingdom. And now they gather together at the altar, ores of Saronite clutched tightly in their hands. All are Nerubians from nearly all castes in society, thirteen in all.
Work on finding their Master's greatest servants, the Faceless Ones, is proceeding, if slowly. The grandmaster enchantments weaved by their former leader, that damnable spymaster to deny them rightful passage, are weakening. Drained of power by the few converted mages here, while their workers busy themselves on disabling the numerous traps and contraptions they built before succumbing to their Master's voice. And after that they'll dig, and dig, guided by the Master to his servants.
Progress will still be slow, but only if more workers aren't acquired. Passage to Azjol-Nerub is blocked, the gates leading to the Upper Kingdom are all barricaded and under heavy guard. The soldiers and their King know of their presence now, alerted by traitors barely a year ago. All have been dealt with since that time, even the spymaster, and the regretfully disabled contraptions and traps to the entrances have all been reactivated. But all was not lost.
Azjol-Nerub is still within their reach, and it was almost disappointedly easy to infiltrate it. A simple homeward teleportation spell was all they needed. Cast near the gates to uninhabited parts of the Empire's capital, their former homes. It was only done in desperation, at their Master's urging. Wardstones located throughout Azjol-Nerub were supposed to deny them access against nearly all forms of teleportation into the city. All Nerubians know this. And they have weakened significantly from hundreds of years of neglect and disuse. No one but them knows of this. Their blind brethren's constant diligence to the rules and standards ensues that none will discover this or even try it.
With that their other plans can continue accordingly. Throughout this year they have made great strides in converting others to their side, by luck and the guidance of their Master. Dozens of Nerubian spymasters and assassins have been given the Master's blessing. All quickly fell, caring more about their lives than their loyalty to the Empire. Through them they learned of the New King's research into Saronite and have easily inserted researchers dedicated to the cause in the project. Theirs was the only ones willing to do the job. Now they work on spreading the effects of the wondrous ore throughout all of Azjol-Nerub, leaving the new King none the wiser.
Already their agents wormed their way into the other communities throughout Azjol-Nerub and beyond. Nezar-Azret may suspect their existence, but she is blind to the fact that three of her personal assassins serve the Master. Azhar-Menthas and the King have no suspicion that dozens of this new 'Ambassador' caste await to spread the Master's words across all of Azeroth. Anub-Rekhan hasn't a clue that hundreds of his soldiers will vanish in the chaotic battlefield of Zul'Drak, ready to wage war against the other races in Northrend the name of the 'Empire'. When the handlers of Maexxna have been converted the daily shipments of the Broodmother's food will be imbued with heavy doses of Saronite ore.
Even the King will be within their reach in a year, or two. His value is of great worth to the Master, a potential herald and prophet if there was one. He should be grateful for the blessings he will receive, honestly. And if not, his heirs will serve instead.
Now their Master whispers to them as they converse with one another. It instructs them, informing them of its demands, and they adjust their plans accordingly. The so-called 'Burning Legion' has arrived in Northrend. Its servants have brought with them a being incredible power with them, a tortured spirit trapped within a frozen tomb. But it is weak still, but its power and skill grows greatly as the days pass.
A potent threat to them in the coming years, but only if they fail.
And yet backup plans are hatched. The Master requires Queens and Spider Lords to be sent up above, high to the northern mountains of Stormpeaks. Both young and adult to bolster its army up there, kept safe in the halls of Ulduar. A risky task that may expose them early to their enemies, but one that needs to be accomplished.
Other schemes and preparations are made in case of discovery. The King's budding research into Saronite will be leaked to all of Empire in the worst ways possible, demolishing his seemingly insurmountable reputation. Nezar-Azret is to be assassinated, an easy task given her utter lack of martial prowess. Their few agents traveling to Wintergrasp will anger the docile Titan Watchers there into hostilities. As are the other factions in Northrend. And if else fails they will hole themselves down here, in the Old Kingdom where their Master's presence is felt all around them.
Any Nerubian force sent down will be converted, just like they were.
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
Great, just great 
Did you really need to make things seem so hopeless, Arcman?
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Dermonster
The Shittiest Wizard
Well then.
That needs taking care of.
That needs taking care of.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
Better late then never.
OK guys that research needs to get shut down immediately.
And new time we don't take it until where sure we've gotten ride of any existing cultists.
And new time we don't take it until where sure we've gotten ride of any existing cultists.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
And you guys were all excited about cleansing saronite ore. Yeah, clear out the mines, then get rid of that shit.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
This is one of the better arguments in favour of dropping Saronite...
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
We only failed the first roll by 8 points, and that was with rolling a 2. We don't need to stop Saronite Ore, we just need to purge the cultists.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
We were always aware of the risk, people just didnt think the risk was that great. Or that the risk was worth the reward.
Oops?
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
We barely failed one roll, we don't need to stop it.
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
@Arcman can we have personal options that help improve the chances of the purge happening successfully? Like having our king going around making speeches or our wife(s) helping in the purge in their own ways? Maybe our military options can include assisting in the purge?
Also we need to put DD and RA into the purge no matter the chances so to hopefully get a crtical success.
Also we need to put DD and RA into the purge no matter the chances so to hopefully get a crtical success.
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Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
Barely failing one roll was enough to convert a few guys without a so much as a peep. Those guys went on to convert others, and so on and so forth.
We could cut off their access to the ore, except now they have their own workers to mine it, they dont need us anymore.
Yes, but the double down we put on it is responsible for us failing the roll to get rid of the cultists.
We need to put everything into this purge if we want to work, and we can't do that if we leave the saronite roll working, never mind the chances of it making things worse.
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
And like I've stated several times all ready, we have both DD and RA free this turn. The DD on Saronite Ore from last turn will stay on it for the entire time the action is running. Stopping it now completely wastes it.
I'm still not seeing a reason to stop it completely here. Continuing the research, which should at least succeed this coming turn, will give us ways to counter or possibly even reverse Old God Influence.
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Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
The saronite ore is actively converting our researchers.
Wrong way round. Read the interlude again.
The ENTIRE crew of researchers who volunteered were cultists from the start.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
So the entire action was doomed from the start?
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
That's a result of the rolls, which we can counter by not stopping the action just because of a bare failure.
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
He has a point. We can still put all of our bonuses and hopefully personal actions into making the Purge succeed, and maybe a crtical success. Plus the whole point of the Saronite research was to find a way to avoid Old God corruption and after the purge the research team will most likely be replaced.
I also need to say this now but if our empire is taken over by the Old Gods I will stop playing because it's no fun to play as world destroyers.
We have the Loa we can ask them to help us with the Old God cultist either through a godly re-roll or telling us who is corrupted and giving us improved chances.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
If the researchers working with the ore were already corrupted from day one, how is their success going to help us? The rolls determine the success or failure of the people working on the project. How is the success of the enemy going to help us?
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
They inserted agents into the research team, not replaced it entirely, so purging the agents and continuing it will still benefit us.
Arcman
Heh
I'm working on it. Luckily you guys saved all the Loa, and all are indebted to you at the moment.