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Post by ♥ Azzie on Jan 28, 2013 23:34:33 GMT -5
In a rush, Azzie flew off after Kristy. "I can't carry you," she said when she'd caught up. "I'm sorry!" She kept beside her, however. Whatever had made that sound was not something she wanted to face on her own.
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Post by Draco on Jan 29, 2013 0:52:17 GMT -5
Draco had been rushing, making it to Mage Manor as Celestial flew out the window and away. He stopped and watch her fly off.
"No... Something couldn't all ready be happening, could it?"
He turned around and started to run back the way he just came. Part way there he ran into the ninja scouts. They stop long enough to explain what was going on, then continue to run past him. Draco continued on.
"Living dead? Really? How and why?"
---
As two two scouts get closer to the the Manor they spot two people coming their way. They stop to wait for them. Bowing they only have one thing to say before running off again. "Zombies." Soon the scouts reach Mage Manor. One turns and starts to head towards the building while the other continues onto Brassport. The one going to the Manor walks up to the front door and knocks... Upon waiting and getting no answer, he sat on the doorstep.
---
Now at the castle! Dragus had been napping in his room. He had a few days off from work before he had to head off to another land on business. He expected to take it easy until this, that is until he heard many noises, one after another.... Sighing he gets up and puts on his clothes. Deciding to leave the armor behind. Instead he throws on his cloak and straps on his katana. He marches through the castle making his way to the throne room.
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Post by Kristykimmy on Jan 29, 2013 16:14:27 GMT -5
"It's okay, Azzie," Kristy says as she runs along. "Just glad you're here."
A few minutes later, she spots two figures waiting along the road. She quickens her pace a little, hoping they have some news. The ninjas' tell her only a single word, "Zombies." Though she wanted to question them a little about the situation, she can only return the bow and hastily call out her thanks as they hurry away.
She turns to Azzie. "Zombies? Seriously, zombies?" She sighs in bewilderment. "Still, I guess we should get to the castle. Maybe the mages are there too. Strength in numbers, right? I wish I had that mace from the second round."
Gathering her courage, she starts running again.
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Post by Gelquie on Jan 30, 2013 15:30:33 GMT -5
Gelquie frowned as she listened to them talk.
"Let me get this straight," she said, folding her arms. "They're walking around with an entire army of dead people and these general guys are marching around with them all war-like, and they expect us to just leave them alone and not ask them questions?! That's not just rude. That's stupid."
She looked to the Archmage and whispered to her. "Archmage, if we go to the Castle and talk to their leader, will we have time to stop these guys if they try something more? And how do we know that it's not a trap?"
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Post by Terra on Jan 30, 2013 17:01:07 GMT -5
Zephyr ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He had been sitting at his desk for the past three hours, poring over a copy of Essential Skills for the Combat Mage by candlelight, and his eyes were getting tired.
He was itching to put some of its advice into practice, but it was late at night, and attempting combat spells alone in the middle of the Manor was probably not a good idea. There were some mages trying to sleep, after all, and he didn’t want to aggravate them.
Maybe he would go for a walk - it would calm his mind, and he always liked nighttime walks, anyway. He closed the book, put on his cloak, and picked up the candlestick before walking downstairs to the Manor’s front door.
As he approached the door, he was surprised to sense a warm body sitting on the step outside. He opened the door and saw a dark figure sitting alone on the doorstep.
“Why, hello,” he said. “What might you be doing here at this time of night?”
((Okay, yes, I'm joining in, hope my post makes sense))
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Post by Celestial on Jan 30, 2013 17:41:23 GMT -5
Celestial bowed her head slightly to Hellas. She may have been irritated but she knew better than to mess with a legendary warrior like him. It was better to act polite for now.
"My apologies, Shining Sun, your...comrade just happens to be the spitting image and personality of somebody I knew once. I simply lost my temper for a second," she said, keeping her voice even but non-threatening. "We shall go speak with your commander then, if you will not help us."
She leapt upwards and turned towards the castle, not wishing to discuss anything with the mages in front of the two warlords. They both gave her an unnatural feeling, not like the zombies did but instead like that you would feel when facing down a mythical terror. Celestial really did not like the feeling of being outmatched.
"Gelquie, the fact remains that until we know just what they are doing, we cannot bring them down with brute force. It may be a trap but its more useful to go to the castle than to sit around back there trying to get water from a stone and chatting with somebody who could sweet-talk the Gordian knot into untying itself," she replied, landing on the castle grounds a few minutes later. Once everyone had safely climbed off, Celestial turned back into her human form and entered the castle.
She headed right for the throne room. Whoever was invading was clearly not going to do it quietly, they had a flair for the dramatic. Besides, all routes in the castle led to the throne room. It was a pretty safe bet that they would stumble across somebody if they wandered in their direction, whether it be a soldier or their commander.
Celestial's hands filled with flame. Whoever it was, she was ready to meet them. The mages had a treaty, a treaty that said that nobody messed with the Kingdom without them managing to get a word in otherwise. In Celestial's case, she wanted it to be more than a word. Third-degree burns inflicted on the messers might be nice.
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Post by Lord Hayati on Jan 30, 2013 18:04:36 GMT -5
Krisseh Stumbled towards the castle, still filled with darkness as black as Kit's gender. After She had escaped the Manor, It was assumed she was a lost cause. Luckily, it had seemed she would endlessly trot through the desert, finding nothing but sand wherever she went.
but now... something had brought her here. It was like the hand of fate, guiding her towards civilization, no matter how dead or alive they were.
Her robes were tattered beyond belief, and her hair had disintergated into a barbers' worst nightmare. Her normally translucent body was clouded. but Despite this... she seemed contained, like the Underdeep was waiting.
"I-I sense a great force at work... Maybe I-I-I can go insid-d-d-e and see for m-m-myself??"
Her words seemed to be forced, trying to hold back something.
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Post by ♥ Azzie on Jan 30, 2013 18:36:57 GMT -5
Azzie was quite as surprised as Kristy at the news. "Zombies, really? I wonder if some experiment went wrong." She turned and waved at the ninjas, calling out a thank you as she flew off after Kristy.
Zombies. Great. And somehow, based on the bang, she didn't think they were the friendly kind.
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Post by Tiger on Jan 30, 2013 20:25:36 GMT -5
Tiger didn't like any part of this. Zombies, mages, cold people who wore odd clothes and smelled strongly of things nasty and decrepit...or maybe that was just the zombies. Tiger kept a hand on her sword through the entire conversation, saying nothing mostly out of fear of disturbing the temporary truce, but also because her stomach hadn't quite settled from being hoisted onto a dragon's back and flown quite a good distance.
On her own feet now, she kept close on the Archmage's heels. She drew her sword and kept it up and ready for attack. This could easily be a trick or a trap. Her free hand clenched around a cloud of gray-green mist that roiled and spasmed into bits of animals, a pointed snout here, a paw there, ropey tails and broad wing feathers. Snakes, Tiger thought. Snakes are the thing to use...when the time comes. No point in wasting magic. Amid an army of zombies, that was the very last thing Tiger wanted to do.
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Post by Draco on Jan 31, 2013 0:29:42 GMT -5
The nameless scouting ninja stands up and bows to Zephyr.
"I am here to pass on a message from our leader. It would seem that the living dead have risen from their graves by a woman with some sort of plan. So we are currently traveling the land to warn people. Now that you have been warned, good day to you."
He bows again and runs off in a random direction.
---
Dragus continues to sneak around the castle. He still hasn't seen anything that he should worry about, but he did hear things... Things that didn't sound good. Using a hidden side passage, he walked into the throne room, stepping out of a hidden door behind a pillar.
---
Draco continued to run...
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Post by Fraze on Jan 31, 2013 6:09:04 GMT -5
The two warlords watched as Celestial and company flew off, then set off walking briskly again.
"They might be back soon," Alabaster said. Hellas grunted an affirmative. "Also...thank you for defending me."
"I would have killed it then and there, but we were instructed not to fight unless absolutely necessary."
They walked on in silence for some more time.
"You know," Alabaster began. Hellas turned to look at him.
"What?" he asked.
"I know your secret," Alabaster said simply.
"My...secret?" Hellas repeated.
"The secret you carried with you from the day you first arrived on this continent. It was discovered after your death--quite inevitable, I'm afraid."
Hellas' face contorted. "I suppose I always knew it would happen. Has history laid bare my shame, then?"
Alabaster shook his head. "It was quieted up. It's recounted in history books, but mostly only known to scholars such as myself. I assume that our commander knows, but I don't think she cares."
Hellas grinned a bit at this. "That's probably true. And what of our companions?"
"I doubt that they know, and I will not tell them."
"I am in your debt, then." Hellas nodded his head toward Alabaster.
Alabaster dismissed the statement with a wave of his hand. "You defended my honor, I will defend yours. I see no debt here."
They continued walking, until they came to another, smaller town. Another 50 undead joined their ranks.
--------
Brick continued his journey, a bit to the south of Hellas and Alabaster. He arrived at a town on the border, with a flourishing trade economy. His army grew by 150-some.
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Sukhbataar moved farther away from the other groups. He found another 80 soldiers at the next town.
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Miss Jensen sat on the king's throne, with one leg crossed over the other. She had a pencil in one hand and a clipboard in the other. She looked up when Celestial, Gelquie, and Tiger entered the throne room.
"Ah yes, Hellas told me you would be coming. I had a feeling you would be the first to notice something was going on."
Dragus entered the throne room at that point, and Miss Jensen turned to observe him. "Though I don't think I've seen you before. I'll need to remember that doorway."
She stood up. A sword hung by her left hip. "At this point, you want to know what is going on. I am going to conquer the kingdom of Dunburrow, using the four heroes of legend. I resurrected them using certain items--items that you collected for me during the game. Each of the four heroes will build up an undead army. The takeover should be swift.
"At this point, you will try to reason with me. This is pointless, since I have nothing to lose. If you kill me, I will admit defeat and revive after a few years. If you defeat me, I will simply return to Master Euripides' service. And of course, if I win, I will continue to rule this kingdom, and work to expand its territory.
"At this point, you will threaten me. Let me make this as clear as I possibly can: your threats to me are like a grasshopper's aggressive posturing before a tiger.
"And finally, at this point, you will attempt to fight me. The results of such a match are nearly predetermined. Battling me as you are now would not only be foolish; it would also be tremendously disappointing. If you wish to defeat me, then band together. Raise up an army of your own. Strive to become more capable warriors. Work together to topple my plans. I desire a challenge above all else, and if you hope to defeat me, you had better provide one."
Miss Jensen took a few steps closer. "Or you could join me. I will kill no more people than is necessary, since I do not want to damage my future subjects. If you help me to take over this kingdom rather than fighting against me, the process will be that much less bloody."
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Post by Lord Hayati on Jan 31, 2013 9:46:12 GMT -5
Krisseh Trembled into the throne room. She had no idea what was going on, but the sense of powerful magics had brought her to the source. There, she saw her former friends... who were now enemies in her eyes.
"C-C-Celes!"
she had no regard for the lady on the throne. But, there was something else there. Well, there was. It smelt like undead... And somehow, it smelt like watermelon.
In her mind, the Underdeep started to think.
"If you are unable to fight, follow the undead. Even if we have to follow someone else, we shall seize everything."
Meanwhile, on the outside, Krisseh grabbed her head, and shook it. She still had her problems, afterall.
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Post by Huntress on Jan 31, 2013 10:19:31 GMT -5
The waves crashed against the cliff.
Captain Huntress of the White Weewoo was sitting in her cabin, burning the well-past-midnight oil. The nearly illegible scribbles that the ledger in front of her had built up over the past hours had been getting steadily more illegible as the night wore on and sleep got more and more persistent, but she was hellbent on getting this done.
The pirate crew of the small white brigantine had always had a way of getting out of trouble, but also always had a way of being short on money, and now that they were docked under a cliff on the south border of Dunburrow, Hunty had used the chance to catch up on their accounting. The numbers weren't all that pretty.
She stretched her back, thinking glumly how much easier things would be if the crew stopped being silly about opening an on-board petting zoo. Sure, the blarf had eaten three kids the last time they'd tried that, but that was their own bloody fault. And chewing gum in fur had never killed anyone.
Hunty put the quill down and stepped outside for some fresh night air, idly wondering if her first mate might be back already. There'd been some talk of some game in the castle grounds, and with any luck, such games usually meant money, whether by honest means or otherwise.
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Post by Gelquie on Jan 31, 2013 12:54:34 GMT -5
Gelquie stared up at Miss Jensen and glared. She knew there was something fishy behind all these games, and that maybe the organizers were behind it. She was right, but... She didn't expect this. She knew she couldn't fight her. She didn't want this... But there was no way she wasn't going to say something.
"...Why?" she started. "Why? You're not only bringing war here, but you're stinking the place up with all of these undead. No 'subject' wants to hang around undead all the time. Why do you want this kingdom so badly?"
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Post by Fraze on Jan 31, 2013 14:06:47 GMT -5
Spacefleet Commander Fraze lay asleep in his quarters. He had spent the previous day in mild mental agony, entertaining diplomats from another planet.
Well, it could have been worse; in fact, it had been worse, not too long ago. Fraze had done a lot in the past few years to streamline Spacefleet's bureaucracy. If anyone asked, he was doing this so that the organization would run more smoothly--and it was. But really, he did it because it meant less work for him.
There was still too much to do, though, but he was at least able to get a good night's sleep on a fairly regular basis.
Not tonight, though.
The communicator in his quarters blooped. "Gmmmmnnnhhhh?" he asked.
"Sir, there's odd activity on the surface. You should take a look."
"Put i' through t'my quarters," he answered. He rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the computer screen. A satellite image, taken from above, appeared to show a large cluster of people. "It's people out in the dark. What's important about it?"
"We've been getting some odd transmissions from Dunburrow. They said that there was a break-in at the castle, and..."
"And what?"
"And people have been rising from their graves."
"...," Fraze said.
"We've found three groups traveling at night, which fits the reports. What do you want us to do?"
"Keep watch on the situation and try to find out more. Don't call me again unless people actively start fighting or Dunburrow asks us for help directly. We can contact them in the morning."
"Yes, sir."
The Commander rolled over and went back to sleep.
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