Part 3 and more than likely the last part.
====
It was Grundown that broke the sudden silence. "Lad... the lasses aren't going anywhere, not in a hurry. What's wrong?"
Gregory glanced frantically from face to face brandishing the paper frantically. "This, the Kryganites here, this ritual. It was all just a ruse - there is dozens of these things set up - dozens of traps to lure out adventurers to empty the city while all eyes are on the Communion. They plan to invade Mercia. They plan to take control of it. They're heading there - right now - from the Temple."
Shocked faces stared back at him, though the thought of moving quickly had made Eliana almost green. "Gregory... we're not going to make it back as a group." her voice was strained and she spoke through gritted teeth.
"Me and you, Crowan." Crow stood, reaching into a pouch at his belt and pulling out two vials of a murky yellow liquid, uncorking and downing both in one fluid motion before collecting his mace. "We race to the city, to see if we might warn them."
Conflict warred over Gregory's face, torn between his companions and the city. Leanna stood and crossed the hollow to him, embracing him with one arm and kissing him gently. "Go, we'll be fine. The Kryganites here are dead, Grundown can take care of us." the Dwarf nodded in assent.
"I've never been much good at running anyways lad."
"Head to Netherthong, don't get split up... we'll see you soon." Gregory said, as he pulled his sword free of the dirt. Together, he and Father Crow fled from the rest of their group, in the direction of the city of Mercia.
Aching though they were, with cuts and abrasions marring their limbs and torsos the Crowan and Kharachian tore through the forest of Mercia stopping for nothing. Trees, bushes, rabbit holes and other hazards seemed to avoid them as if they were on their own solitary path - as if Tralda, the Fateweaver Herself, had laid out an uninterruptable path for them to follow to warn the city of the danger. The first couple of miles passed with no incident, but then they started to notice a change to the landscape, found evidence to support the letter they had found. Here and there the corruption of Krygan was evident, choking vines around the plants, wildlife twisted and unnatural sprouting extra limbs and eyes... and then they started to reach the outskirts of the city. Small villages raised and burned to the ground; human, dwarven and Elven sacrifices lain out in deference to the 'Mother of Monsters' and then the stragglers of what was obviously a larger force - picking on the remnants of the wave of destruction like carrion.
Those that did interrupt the pair - now thundering juggernaut like through the undergrowth met sword and mace - but not thought was spared for them, no prayers whispered, their rites were not mentioned. The lives and souls of the thousands in the city were the only thing that existed for the pair.
Finally the walls came into view and they stopped at a tree line as they bore witness to the destruction in front of them. The east gate was besieged as Kryganite followers as well as followers of the other Dark Gods threw themselves against the stone walls again and again. The air was thick with mana and power. Ozone hung in the air in a way that was nearly palpable. The river that flowed through the city was turning to a thick black sludge as it neared its entrance to the city.
"Seven... we're too late." Gregory coughed out, his breathing heavy as the exertion caught up with him, forcing him to catch hold of a tree to stay upright. Crow looked pale - his face mask pulled down, the head wound reopened.
As they watched, details began to stand out - the militia on the walls trying their hardest to stave off the attackers that climbed the walls, either by ladder and rope or some more unnatural means. Survivors and refugees had begun to flee from the southern gate, pushing and shoving each other out of the way - all civility and compassion for their follow Mercians was lost as they fought to be away from the city, away from the battle. Militia and guardsmen did their best to try and save them, Gregory was able to pick out several of the men clearly - men he knew. Men he had fought besides, drunk with and laughed with. And now... now might be time to die with them.
"Crowa... if this is my day. I come to meet you with love and courage in my heart." the prayer was lost in the air under the noise of the fighting, and the Crowan turned to the Father behind him. "Head to Netherthong. Keep Leanna safe. If I don't make it back - tell her I love her."
Crow's cheek twitched and the grip on his mace tightened, he opened his mouth as if to protest but Gregory cut him off. "No, Shepherd. Concentrate on the souls. I know you're not a priest, but protect them..." he pointed with his blade to those fleeing the city. "See the souls of the Mercians that couldn't be saved, or that die in the journey safe. It's my duty to help those that need ssaving from their homes."
Their eyes met, and then their hands met each others forearm in a warriors handshake.
"Till we meet again High Father Gregory Chrace." Crow said, with a nod, readjusting his hood and mask.
"In Netherthong, or in the Halls themselves, Father Crow Chrace." Gregory returned before looking out in the field. "May Crowa bring us strength to bring our enemies downfalll.
"And my Kharach guide our souls once battle is done."
"For Crowa. For Kharach." their voices mingled and they broke into a run across the field of broken bodies between the trees and the city walls, breaking off from each other as they raised their voices in a battlecry. "For the Seven! For Mercia!"
Showing posts with label fnh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fnh. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
After the battle...
Greg knelt with a sigh as the last of the heretics fell, the name of their Dark Goddess he last thing that gurgled out of her throat. He had driven his greatsword into the dirt and clung to it like a lifeline as he fought to steady his breathing, willing strength back into his aching limbs. The fight had gone on for far too long - they had underestimated the cultist numbers and the strength of the corrupt beast that had been leading the ritual.
But they had won; they were bloody, exhausted and in agony but they had won and the surrounding woodland floor was littered with broken bodies, broken weapons and the remnants of the ritual circle.
"Crowa... thank you for your strength and courage to face down the enemies of the Seven, those that would pervert the land undo the work of your brother Longstor. I just pray we have the strength to return back to the city." the priests voice was hoarse from yelling: order, challenges and prayers to his Goddess.
His companions behind him were in a similar state; Father Crow was busy dragging the corpses of the fallen into a pile so that they could be sent on despite the limp and the way he held one arm slightly closer to his chest. His hood had fallen away during the fight and blood trickled still down the left side of his face from a deep gash about his eye. He had protested numerous times that it "wasn't life threatening" and even if it had been then it was simply his "time to meet his Lord." It was the first time Greg gad seen the devotee without his good and had been briefly surprised to find that he was bald, with a litany to the God of Death tattooed on his scalp.
Grundown - ever practical and stubborn was fashioning what looked like a crude crutch out of the bits of broken weapons that adorned the floor. Moving gingerly so as not to disturb the herbs and poultices on the bandage tied across his chest he meticulously sifted through the hafts of spears and axes - trying to find enough decent wood for the support of Eliana. The elf lay propped up by a fallen log, her face pale and drawn and absent of any kind of superiority that the long lived race frequently wore in the company of the 'younger' races. Her right leg was bandaged heavily, tied to another broken haft of a weapon to form a splint. Blood soaked her leggings and the bandages and Greg knew beneath them was an ugly wound.
Leanna was sat next to the elf, sobbing softly and holding her own bandaged right arm. Greg couldn't help but be sympathetic with the young woman, remembering all too well the first time he had been stabbed. The mage was lucky it hadn't been too deep, but it still left a gash across her bicep that had caused her to scream in agony.
"Stop lookin' so glum manling." Grundown murmured as he drew close. "We won, and that's that. Wounds'll heal, even yer pretty little lasses arm and the eckla... the elfs leg. S'what we do as adventurers, we take a few knocks so the peasants have a brighter tomorra', isn't that what the Great Bearded Goddess of Courage and Battle teachers?" He nodded at Greg's pendant before clapping the human on the arm, eliciting a wince and a groan of pain. "Man up, an' help the Father with the bodies." The Dwarf sounded stern, but he followed it with a wink as he went to Eliana, measuring his spoils expertly by eye against her.
Gregory pushed himself to his feet, claiming one of the bodies of the fallen that lay at his feet and dragging it over to the rest of the bodies. "Where do you want it?"
"Lay it out with the rest after stripping them of their weapons. I will not provide them with the means to fight on in Elysium - their Goddess provides them with augmented strength that is weapon enough for them." Crow's voice was strained as if said through clenched teeth, but it was impossible to tell through the mask he wore.
The Crowan nodded his compliance, fetching the last few bodies as Crow prepared himself for the ritual.
"Lord Kharach, the gifts bestowed upon these men and women by your fair sister Vleybor has ended; I ask that you take their souls and usher them into the Halls of the Dead, presenting them to the Allfather so that they may be judged accordingly for the rest of time."
The last few bodies had joined the rest and Crow began the last rites for the Kryganites, his boots crunching on the carpet of leaves as he walked around the pile. Greg could sense rather than see the slow build up of mana in the air as the Kharachian drew a vortex of Divine energy to the site. The ritual reached its conclusion and the power washed away again, and a sense of peace hung in the air around them briefly.
"Praise be to Kharach." The group’s voices met in chorus in honour of the God of the Dead, and Greg raised his gaze from where he had been knelt in deference to the sacred ritual.
His eyes met a pouch on the belt of one of the cultists, the corner of a piece of parchment sticking out of it, with a frown he reached forward, opening the pouch deftly and extracting it's contents.
It was a single sheaf of paper, the text written in something that he suspected was not ink. He scanned it quickly, his eyes widening in horror and spurring him into action.
"We have to move. Now! The safety of the city of Mercia could be at stake!"
(((Written at work - have had some feedback on it already but this is in it's pretty raw and unedited form.))
But they had won; they were bloody, exhausted and in agony but they had won and the surrounding woodland floor was littered with broken bodies, broken weapons and the remnants of the ritual circle.
"Crowa... thank you for your strength and courage to face down the enemies of the Seven, those that would pervert the land undo the work of your brother Longstor. I just pray we have the strength to return back to the city." the priests voice was hoarse from yelling: order, challenges and prayers to his Goddess.
His companions behind him were in a similar state; Father Crow was busy dragging the corpses of the fallen into a pile so that they could be sent on despite the limp and the way he held one arm slightly closer to his chest. His hood had fallen away during the fight and blood trickled still down the left side of his face from a deep gash about his eye. He had protested numerous times that it "wasn't life threatening" and even if it had been then it was simply his "time to meet his Lord." It was the first time Greg gad seen the devotee without his good and had been briefly surprised to find that he was bald, with a litany to the God of Death tattooed on his scalp.
Grundown - ever practical and stubborn was fashioning what looked like a crude crutch out of the bits of broken weapons that adorned the floor. Moving gingerly so as not to disturb the herbs and poultices on the bandage tied across his chest he meticulously sifted through the hafts of spears and axes - trying to find enough decent wood for the support of Eliana. The elf lay propped up by a fallen log, her face pale and drawn and absent of any kind of superiority that the long lived race frequently wore in the company of the 'younger' races. Her right leg was bandaged heavily, tied to another broken haft of a weapon to form a splint. Blood soaked her leggings and the bandages and Greg knew beneath them was an ugly wound.
Leanna was sat next to the elf, sobbing softly and holding her own bandaged right arm. Greg couldn't help but be sympathetic with the young woman, remembering all too well the first time he had been stabbed. The mage was lucky it hadn't been too deep, but it still left a gash across her bicep that had caused her to scream in agony.
"Stop lookin' so glum manling." Grundown murmured as he drew close. "We won, and that's that. Wounds'll heal, even yer pretty little lasses arm and the eckla... the elfs leg. S'what we do as adventurers, we take a few knocks so the peasants have a brighter tomorra', isn't that what the Great Bearded Goddess of Courage and Battle teachers?" He nodded at Greg's pendant before clapping the human on the arm, eliciting a wince and a groan of pain. "Man up, an' help the Father with the bodies." The Dwarf sounded stern, but he followed it with a wink as he went to Eliana, measuring his spoils expertly by eye against her.
Gregory pushed himself to his feet, claiming one of the bodies of the fallen that lay at his feet and dragging it over to the rest of the bodies. "Where do you want it?"
"Lay it out with the rest after stripping them of their weapons. I will not provide them with the means to fight on in Elysium - their Goddess provides them with augmented strength that is weapon enough for them." Crow's voice was strained as if said through clenched teeth, but it was impossible to tell through the mask he wore.
The Crowan nodded his compliance, fetching the last few bodies as Crow prepared himself for the ritual.
"Lord Kharach, the gifts bestowed upon these men and women by your fair sister Vleybor has ended; I ask that you take their souls and usher them into the Halls of the Dead, presenting them to the Allfather so that they may be judged accordingly for the rest of time."
The last few bodies had joined the rest and Crow began the last rites for the Kryganites, his boots crunching on the carpet of leaves as he walked around the pile. Greg could sense rather than see the slow build up of mana in the air as the Kharachian drew a vortex of Divine energy to the site. The ritual reached its conclusion and the power washed away again, and a sense of peace hung in the air around them briefly.
"Praise be to Kharach." The group’s voices met in chorus in honour of the God of the Dead, and Greg raised his gaze from where he had been knelt in deference to the sacred ritual.
His eyes met a pouch on the belt of one of the cultists, the corner of a piece of parchment sticking out of it, with a frown he reached forward, opening the pouch deftly and extracting it's contents.
It was a single sheaf of paper, the text written in something that he suspected was not ink. He scanned it quickly, his eyes widening in horror and spurring him into action.
"We have to move. Now! The safety of the city of Mercia could be at stake!"
(((Written at work - have had some feedback on it already but this is in it's pretty raw and unedited form.))
Friday, December 30, 2011
Don't bump your head...
So, as I've mentioned I'm writing some plot for LARP in which there are a number of items.
One of them is Snorri Underwarrens Mining Helmet and thanks to a wonderful donation of a helmet from a friend, I've been able to start on it.
Epic long picture dump is epic and long here btw...
First pic is the helmet unedited. Nice, plain, white and... a bit boring.
I didn't get a picture of the rough plan I drew on it - but the idea was a band of rivets around the bottom and over the "crest" of the helmet as it were. Next two pictures are with the 'rivets' (which are actually metal buttons with the bottoms clipped off) taped on to the helmet just to get an idea for positioning. Which I didn't completely stick to as the rivets were SLIGHTLY bigger than my drawn ones...
Also in the second picture is what is going to hold the stub of a melted candle which would have been the miners "light source." (Mainly because I couldn't find a plastic torch that would have been suitable.
Last three are of everything finished - pre-painting. It still needs sanding some more I think to make sure that the paint sticks properly - though I'm kinda neverous about the candle holder when it comes to that as it's essentially thick card and masking tape... I just hope it holds. I was also (as you can see from the back picture) toying with the idea of having a hanging piece of leather down the back of the helmet, but that would havebeen a massive pain in the arse I think - especially with the tools I had at hand. So... I don't think I'll bother. The leather I have isn't that great a quality anyway.
Hopefully will be spraying it black in the morning - I have some leftover GW primer (about half a can I think) which I HOPE is enough to cover it, though it will need resanding again - especially each of the rivets. Then I have some metallic grey paint though I am kinda stuck on how to make it look weathered and old... If anyone has any ideas - would love to hear.
So yes. That's the helmet half sorted!
There is also Beltha Underwarrens Precision(/Unstoppable) Chisel (still tossing up on the name.) It's a bit of a WIP shop, but yes - that is a REAL chisel (which was also kindly donated.
The current version has leather over the pointy bit to (hopefully) lessen any chance of damage to fools.
As I've posted the full list of items IC - I can post it here too - as well as mark the items I have DEFINATE phys reps for...
(The ones in bold and italics I have phys reps for...)
Mages – Staff of Abramelin
Cooks – Ladle of Haffi Everstirrer ((Damnit I knew I should have bought the one I saw in TK Maxx...))
Merchants – Scales of Edward the Unbalanced
Brewers – The Honey Coated Vessel ((I have a couple of spare tankards... now to pick on.))
Alchemists – The Stone of Alchemical Perfection ((This one I'm struggling with most - I know what I want, it's just finishing it.))
Physicians – Pares’ Rod ((Need a stout walking stick for this one.))
Tallowmakers – The Ever Burning Candle ((Candle - and done.))
Blacksmiths – Forgehammer of Ungrum Forgetender ((Not sure... an actual forgehammer might be a bit too far.))
Scouts – Drakes’ Map to Everywhere ((Pretty much done - gotta work out the details of the item first.))
Miners – Snorri Underwarrens Mining Helmet ((As above!))
Masons – Beltha Underwarrens Precision Chisel ((As above))
Mercenaries – Michaels Folly ((Part of it has been acquired.))
Farriers – The Shoes of Thundar ((Will be being donated by a lovely lady from work. :) ))
Law – Gavel of Tomas the Just ((Got an idea of what to use... it's just finding one.))
Cobblers – The Last of Dickie Heelworker ((... yea. Anyone got an old shoemakers last they want to donate?))
Farmers – Giles Call ((Ditto a dogwhistle?))
Tanners – Pelt of the Nightstalker ((... Gonna need a large fur for this one. So far - searching has been fruitless unless anyone has a LARGE piece of black fur they don't want any more?))
... Think that's everything for this post.
Comments welcome. :)
One of them is Snorri Underwarrens Mining Helmet and thanks to a wonderful donation of a helmet from a friend, I've been able to start on it.
Epic long picture dump is epic and long here btw...
First pic is the helmet unedited. Nice, plain, white and... a bit boring.
I didn't get a picture of the rough plan I drew on it - but the idea was a band of rivets around the bottom and over the "crest" of the helmet as it were. Next two pictures are with the 'rivets' (which are actually metal buttons with the bottoms clipped off) taped on to the helmet just to get an idea for positioning. Which I didn't completely stick to as the rivets were SLIGHTLY bigger than my drawn ones...
Also in the second picture is what is going to hold the stub of a melted candle which would have been the miners "light source." (Mainly because I couldn't find a plastic torch that would have been suitable.
Last three are of everything finished - pre-painting. It still needs sanding some more I think to make sure that the paint sticks properly - though I'm kinda neverous about the candle holder when it comes to that as it's essentially thick card and masking tape... I just hope it holds. I was also (as you can see from the back picture) toying with the idea of having a hanging piece of leather down the back of the helmet, but that would havebeen a massive pain in the arse I think - especially with the tools I had at hand. So... I don't think I'll bother. The leather I have isn't that great a quality anyway.
Hopefully will be spraying it black in the morning - I have some leftover GW primer (about half a can I think) which I HOPE is enough to cover it, though it will need resanding again - especially each of the rivets. Then I have some metallic grey paint though I am kinda stuck on how to make it look weathered and old... If anyone has any ideas - would love to hear.
So yes. That's the helmet half sorted!
There is also Beltha Underwarrens Precision(/Unstoppable) Chisel (still tossing up on the name.) It's a bit of a WIP shop, but yes - that is a REAL chisel (which was also kindly donated.
The current version has leather over the pointy bit to (hopefully) lessen any chance of damage to fools.
As I've posted the full list of items IC - I can post it here too - as well as mark the items I have DEFINATE phys reps for...
(The ones in bold and italics I have phys reps for...)
Mages – Staff of Abramelin
Cooks – Ladle of Haffi Everstirrer ((Damnit I knew I should have bought the one I saw in TK Maxx...))
Merchants – Scales of Edward the Unbalanced
Brewers – The Honey Coated Vessel ((I have a couple of spare tankards... now to pick on.))
Alchemists – The Stone of Alchemical Perfection ((This one I'm struggling with most - I know what I want, it's just finishing it.))
Physicians – Pares’ Rod ((Need a stout walking stick for this one.))
Tallowmakers – The Ever Burning Candle ((Candle - and done.))
Blacksmiths – Forgehammer of Ungrum Forgetender ((Not sure... an actual forgehammer might be a bit too far.))
Scouts – Drakes’ Map to Everywhere ((Pretty much done - gotta work out the details of the item first.))
Miners – Snorri Underwarrens Mining Helmet ((As above!))
Masons – Beltha Underwarrens Precision Chisel ((As above))
Mercenaries – Michaels Folly ((Part of it has been acquired.))
Farriers – The Shoes of Thundar ((Will be being donated by a lovely lady from work. :) ))
Law – Gavel of Tomas the Just ((Got an idea of what to use... it's just finding one.))
Cobblers – The Last of Dickie Heelworker ((... yea. Anyone got an old shoemakers last they want to donate?))
Farmers – Giles Call ((Ditto a dogwhistle?))
Tanners – Pelt of the Nightstalker ((... Gonna need a large fur for this one. So far - searching has been fruitless unless anyone has a LARGE piece of black fur they don't want any more?))
... Think that's everything for this post.
Comments welcome. :)
Monday, December 19, 2011
So, there's this large creative-blocking wall, right?
(Post I wrote on my iPod last night using the BlogPress app, which then crashed when I saved it and crashes every time I try to reload it.)
So, text blog this time as I don't have a mic while I'm hiding underneath my duvet, cause it's freezing in here...
So. Mission one of my plot is nearly complete and the pre-froth is out there in the Mercia boards for anyone who is interested. Still stuck for two encounters though, mainly because I'm stuck for storylines for several of the items I've got on the list... Hopefully my wonderful assistants will be able to make some suggestions tomorrow. =P
I'm quite happy how some of the sub plots are going to pan out in my mind at least and hopefully dab one is varied enough that the missions won't be boring. May need some help with that, though it depends on my monsters on the day for that.
Struggling a bit for what I can write as the blog is public and a lot of the potential players could read it (though whether they would...) and it's hard cause I'm really psyched for this... I just hope I can keep the momentum going... S'gonna need me to run at least once a month if possible to make sure that it doesn't take forever, and I need to get a phys rep for all of the items as well, some of which will be trickier than others. Really want to make sure I have physreps for everything the players are likely to find...
With regards to other projects, Aylix's backstory is on hold, which it really shouldn't be... With the rate that characters have been killed off in FnH recently I definitely need a backup. And maybe a couple more after that.
Other than that... I think I need a new writing project... Still toying with Xeonphotrix it's just getting it out that I'm struggling with...
Guess I need some kind of inspiration... Envy those friends who are struck with it seemingly frequently.
Gragh. Creative boost needed. Any tips?
Anyone?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod
So, text blog this time as I don't have a mic while I'm hiding underneath my duvet, cause it's freezing in here...
So. Mission one of my plot is nearly complete and the pre-froth is out there in the Mercia boards for anyone who is interested. Still stuck for two encounters though, mainly because I'm stuck for storylines for several of the items I've got on the list... Hopefully my wonderful assistants will be able to make some suggestions tomorrow. =P
I'm quite happy how some of the sub plots are going to pan out in my mind at least and hopefully dab one is varied enough that the missions won't be boring. May need some help with that, though it depends on my monsters on the day for that.
Struggling a bit for what I can write as the blog is public and a lot of the potential players could read it (though whether they would...) and it's hard cause I'm really psyched for this... I just hope I can keep the momentum going... S'gonna need me to run at least once a month if possible to make sure that it doesn't take forever, and I need to get a phys rep for all of the items as well, some of which will be trickier than others. Really want to make sure I have physreps for everything the players are likely to find...
With regards to other projects, Aylix's backstory is on hold, which it really shouldn't be... With the rate that characters have been killed off in FnH recently I definitely need a backup. And maybe a couple more after that.
Other than that... I think I need a new writing project... Still toying with Xeonphotrix it's just getting it out that I'm struggling with...
Guess I need some kind of inspiration... Envy those friends who are struck with it seemingly frequently.
Gragh. Creative boost needed. Any tips?
Anyone?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod
Friday, December 09, 2011
Audioblog the second.
In which I mostly ramble about Fools and Heroes - a non-profit, UK based live action roleplay society.
Also, if people could actually let me know if they ARE listening, it would be appreciated. >.>
Also, if people could actually let me know if they ARE listening, it would be appreciated. >.>
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