Dragons of Gralfor

[Angelus]

As he made it towards the mining level of the hall the sound of battle came to Kayl's ears, making him want to run towards the battle and cut down as many goblins as he could. He knew his orders though, commanding his troops to form up and move to the battle at a respectable pace. If the dwarves hated the idea none of them showed it. They all pulled their weapons free and began to march behind the general. All of a sudden he stopped and looked forward, listening for any sounds as he did. Just then a small pack of goblins appeared before them, their weapons drawn.

As one all of the dwarves stirred, their need to kill these goblins foremost in their thoughts. They moved towards the goblins who watched them move forward before turning around and running the way they had come. As they did several dwarves moved forward, their weapons gripped tightly in their hands. They were stopped however by Kayl who stepped in front of them, "Do not go down that tunnel."

The dwarves began to move forward until Kayl pulled his ax from his belt and stepped in front of them once more, "Ye may go down that tunnel if ye wish but ye know ye be going to yer deaths. Have ye not learnt anything in the years ye been alive? Ye should know if ye follow them goblins thinking it an easy fight ye be trapped. There be other goblins down that tunnel waiting for ye."

The dwarves stood there looking at their general until one after the other then truth dawned on them. "What are ye orders general?"

"We go after them, we all go after them."

The dwarves opened their mouths to let out a shout but then Kayl gave them the signal to keep quiet. As one the dwarves shut their mouths and began to follow the general. As they moved down the tunnel all the dwarves were thinking about how many goblins were ahead of them and how good it would be to get their hands on them finally.

As soon as they rounded the corner in the tunnel the dwarves spotted the goblins who had been waiting for the others. They all let out a shout and ran towards the wide eyed goblins who now looked ready to run.

 

[Angelus]

As Commander Karrin rode forth on his horse he looked at all the soldiers before him. When news of Kergal had reached Winter's Edge there had been no shortage of volunteers. Nobody wanted to believe the great southern city of the kingdom had fallen but they knew if it had they were the ones to get it back. Now he had one thousand men with him, willing to do whatever it took to get the city back. They had traversed the edge of Neverwinter in four days and were in the grasslands near the city. Karrin wanted to stop and look at the Eltharic Mountains as it had been far too long since he had been here. He knew though that if his army stopped here it would condemning the people who lived in the city to more suffering; something he could not allow.

He allowed them to stop at a nearby stream though so his men and horses could get some water and fill up the waterskins. He asked them to rest for a while, knowing what the battle ahead of them would be like. As they did so Karrin walked through their groups, watching them enjoy themselves. As he watched them Karrin hoped he would see alot of them alive before the end of the day. It was then that he saw the smoke that came from the direction of Kergal which made him stop and look towards it.

With a curse he turned quickly, walked towards the knights that had come with him and told them to get ready to move. As they moved to their horses Karrin turned to the rest of his army and did the same. Ten minutes later his army was ready and they started to move to the city, everyone of them determined to drive the orcs out of there.

Three hours later Kergal came into view, forcing Karrin to call a halt to his army. As he sat on his horse and looked at it he was shocked by what had happened to the city he had called his second home.

It was then that he heard a horn bellow out from the depths of the city and watched as a sea of green seemed to flow out of it. As he watched the orcs come out of Kergal he was surprised by their number but still called out for the army to form up into ranks. After they had done so Karrin drew his sword from its sheath and rode forth with the knights. Once he was at the head of the army he raised his sword and shouted out, "For the king, kingdom and everyone who dwells in it. Charge!"

The ground then began rumbling as the army charged towards the orcs, their weapons drawn and ready.

 

[BlueMary]

Kordra picked her head up from staring at the embers of the dead fire when the orc horn blasted out. Her movements were very casual compared to the frenzy of the barbarians around her. She stood slowly and stretched her body to shake the sleep from her and grabbed the large axe that rarely left her side. A moment later the axe was strapped to her back and she tugged a few loose bits of her leather armor to fit more snugly.

For a moment she paused, watching the orcs charge toward the wall of cavalry. A slight smirk fell on her lips as she saw Vek and his few chosen bodyguards hurry across the soon to be battlefield. She drew several javelins from the long quiver on her back and held them between her fingers in a test of weight, despite the fact that she had made them and she had used them many times before. In her mind she just wanted to delay the inevitable combat. With a roll of her neck and pop of the her joints she started off with a quick jog, which turned to a run, which turned to an all out sprint that allowed her to pass several lines of orcs. With a grunt she hurled a javelin and scored a successful hit against the still somewhat distant knights. Without losing her momentum she hurled another and two more but didn't care to see where they fell.

It was at this time she had come to the front line of the orc charge. Right where her surrogate father told her she belonged. A practiced tug brought her heavy axe into her hands. Her eyes saw the faces of the knights and in the indignation they felt that her people had destroyed their city. Three strides shot her ahead of the front line and a duck saved her head from a knight's swing of a sword and set her behind and to the left of the still charging man. She leaped into the air and spun, shouting as the runes along her axe crackled in anticipation. The blow caught the surprised knight along his side, ripping him from his horse and sending him barreling off to the side with a loud crash of armor that died amidst the roars of orcs and the battle cries of humans. She landed without slowing and flipped the haft of her axe around to catch the swing of a mace. Her hand shot out with lightning speed to grab the man's arm and tear him from his mount. She used his weight to make a sharp turn and a quick stab from the spike on the base of her axe ended his battle very shorty. With a terrible roar she charged back into the fray, letting the fight distract her from the thoughts of the purpose of this war

 

[AnonymousWryter]

Kodagon drifted lazily on the thermals, keeping just within site of the orc party. They had stopped only briefly, and he suspected an argument had broken out. Curious, he thought, but they had continued running briefly afterwards. They seemed hell bent on heading south, and never deviated.

Again... curious. thought Kodagon, this path would lead them out oddly close to the human city Kergal, and surely detection by such a largely protected border city would be unwanted. He wondered just what games these orcs were playing. They were either very brave, very scared of his kind or very stupid. The first two were useful, but if he had thrown his lot in with an army of thick headed barbarians... it didn't bare thinking about.

Taking his eyes from the party he scanned the horizon. It was with great interest he first noticed a large column of black smoke in the distance, made small and barely noticeable by distance. This day is getting more and more interesting. First these orcs behave unexpectedly and now smoke rises from the area around Kergal!

Motioning to a smaller fast dragon flying with him, he said, Fly to Kergal, i want to know what that smoke is, and why it's there. The dragon looked over at him, as if expecting more.
With increasing irritation Kodagon let some of it show in his tone. As in Now little one! and be quick about it. The smaller dragon took a few powerful, if hasty, wing beats and shot off into the distance. Kodagon growled in satisfaction, things were slowly working out.

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn frowned for a moment as he looked at the map. He was annoyed at the goblin’s they were acting much different then how they normally acted and it made little if any sense. He paced back and forth for several moments as he grew angrier and angrier. Finally he swore a venomous curse in the language of the dragons and spun around to face the dwarven king. Malyn’s eyes were filled with a look of pure anger and his rleft hand was clenching around the falchion’s hilt. He looked at the map and studied a spot on it.

“To the Abyss with waiting… I’ve had enough of these stupid goblins, orcs and the other green skinned creatures. Its time we kill the dirty little buggers” He smiled evily at the dwarven king. “Do you fancy a bit of bloodletting. The elves know their business well enough without me, they’ll cover the rear entrance and cut off any reinforcements, and then they’ll work their way into the rear entrance and will work their way in from there.”

As Malyn talked, he began to think of spells he could use that wouldn’t injure the dwarves or destabilize the mines.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

As Atherron laid Ari down on the ground, Alezal approached him and apologized for his words earlier. Then Alezal put out his hand to shake, but before Atherron could take it and respond, Alezal turned and ran towards Cherise, leaving Atherron with a confused look on his face. Then he turned back to Ari to find a surprise.

Atherron watched in mild surprise as Ari began to stir, long before he had thought she would, but then he simply smiled and shook his head, recognizing that it had been so long since he had healed another Knight that he had forgotten just how resilient they were.

Atherron knelt in silence next to Ari, there to help her if the need arose, but it never did. He smiled in response to her smile; he much preferred the arts of healing over the arts of war, so he was happy that he was able to help Ari recover so quickly. As she took sips from the water skin, Atherron placed a hand on her forehead to do a final check to make sure that there were no lingering ills; he found none. He removed his hand as Ari began to give her thanks, and then he stood by, ready to help once again, as she stood up on her own.

"So... did we win?"

“You’re alive aren’t you?” replied Atherron with a smile. “I’d certainly call that a winning situation.”

"I think that we have a problem. Cherise and I tried to get through to the Citadel to talk to Nicolas and we could not do it. Something stopped us, something strong."

Atherron turned his head to look at Alezal, not liking what he had heard.

“So, what should we do first? Attempt to retake Kergal from the orcs or investigate the mystery at the Citadel? Either way, we better be prepared for a fight,” said Atherron. While he waited for the others to respond, he went over to Shela and pulled a pack off the saddle.

Inside the pack was his armor and his sword, things that he had not used since the last time he had gone into battle, almost two centuries ago. Age and disuse had not touched these items during the many long years, due in no small part to magic that Atherron had woven into their creation at the hands of the finest smiths of Riverdale, whose craft, when couple with the magic Atherron had used at the time, rivaled that of the dwarves.

Atherron’s armor was comprised of two pieces: a tunic and leggings, both a forest green color to match Shela’s scales. The tunic was an excellently crafted piece of padded scale armor, designed to protect the upper body from both arrows and swords while not hindering Atherron’s movements, with the sleeves being made from much smaller metal scales than the chest and back. Each individual scale was padded with leather to absorb hits and to reduce the sound of the pieces moving against each other. The leggings were made the same way, with larger scales covering the thighs and shins, and smaller pieces everywhere else.

After the tunic and leggings were put on, a belt was cinched around Atherron’s waist upon which hung his sword, Hornet’s Sting, the blue sapphire in its pummel glinting in the sun light. Next, Atherron took his bow and quiver from the saddle where they were sitting and placed them on his back, green bands around the shafts of both the bow and arrows marking them as his. Now ready for battle, he awaited the group’s decision on where to go next.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: "It'll be a while yet before we are ready to fight again. And once we are we should strike at the orcs and rescue any survivors. I hate to say it but our own home shouldn't be a priority compared to the value of suffering lives. All the same we can't help them with out rest first."

First NeverWinter and Kregal, and now the citadel. This is my fault for being a poor guardian of this region.

 

[Wolfsister]

“You’re alive aren’t you? I’d certainly call that a winning situation.”

Ari shook her head, then swayed momentarily with the movement. She noted to herself not to do that again any time soon. Then she gave a wry smile to Atherron, "You always did have a way with words, old friend."

Feeling the need to sit down, Ari did just that. Well, more likely, she flopped ungracefully into the sand. But at least she didn't pass out. She could still feel the prodigous amount of energy being channelled to her by Rhea and was grateful. Although she was still exhausted - at least she was healing. Her scarred arm spasmed but she hid it by idly using that hand to scratch her other arm. All of the knights would know it... but it helped her own illusion that she was a fit and capable warrior.

“So, what should we do first? Attempt to retake Kergal from the orcs or investigate the mystery at the Citadel? Either way, we better be prepared for a fight,”

Ari silently pitied Amber, she knew the other Knight would feel personally responsible for what was currently happening. After almost two hundred years of peace, for this to happen again, it was almost too much. She wanted to reach out to Amber, but wasn't sure how she would be doing on her feet again. So, instead, she sent a warm tingle of energy toward Amber, hopefully conveying the comfort the other knight obviously needed.

Sighing as she shaded her eyes, Ari noticed that most of their water skins had been bled dry. Probably trying to revive me... she thought bitterely and after conferring with Rhea for a breif moment, struggled to her knees and began to dig a small ditch in the sand.

"Could you help.. please?" she asked absently as she scooped sand away from the depression. Her back hurt and her breathing became laboured, but she kept going. Whether she got help or not.

Then, closing her eyes, she borrowed heavily from Rhea (luckily Atherron's spell was still working) and summoned a Water Elemental. It rose from the ground as a trickle of water, then a spout that erupted (a small one) then slowly coalesced into a humanoid shape. Its 'eyes' swung around and in a sing song voice it called to all of the Knights, "Water Skins Please."

It would fill all of their water skins in turn and then turn to briefly hold its head in reverance and reasurrance against Arianna's, then it would disappear back into the ground.

 

[Wolfsister]

Suivea - Ileria

Lord Falco reclined on his throne, enjoying the night's festivities. Dancers revelled before his banquet table and he watched with appreciative eyes as they flung themselves through the chanting music, making magic with their bodies. He picked up a luscious fruit and bit deep, the juices rolling down his chin. Wiping idly with a napkin, he turned and looked at his Queen by his side and smiled into her eyes. She was the most precious thing in his kingdom, and he was wise enough to know it.

Looking on down, he noted his two sons - Princes of the Realm, and nodded to them both. They didn't take much notice, too taken in with the revelry to really notice. But he knew that as the night wore on, they too would take to dancing and blessing the moonlit forest with their songs. He raised a hand and the dancing abruptly stopped, the dancers breathless with the beat of the music that still coursed through their veins.

"Brothers and sisters, mother and fathers, daughter and sons, I am happy to announce that Moons Dance has begun!" There was a general cheer and the music instantly started again - this time the beat faster and wilder than before. It was time to get serious for this festival.

But before he could begin to imbibe the precious golden fluid that would inebriate him, he felt a tingling along his scalp and new that one of his closest was trying to contact him. Sighing, and signalling his wife to wait, he answered.

"Lord Falco, the dwarves need your aid, they are under attack . I know our two races haven't always gotten along. But you know as well as I that what affects the dwarves will affect on us as well. Especially if the flow of fine steel is cut off by the loss of the Dwarves. As such Milord, request you a legion of rangers to aid me in helping the dwarves to defend their hall."

Falco had only to think about it for a moment before he replied, stating he would send his warriors as soon as he could. Elves did not usually venture too far out of the their forest home, especially in such large numbers, but it was Malyn asking for help and he did make a good point. Besides, ever since getting that dragon of his, he had been impossible to say no to.

Letting his queen know of the situation, he took aside is two sons and began to make plans. He would have waited till dawn to send the reinforcements for Malyn but he did not want to send elves drowsy from the festivities of the night before. He rathered that they be sent before they could partake.

Before he could organise more than one son's party, however, an elf came running up to him. From his uniform, though Falco did not know him personally, he knew that the elf was a messenger from an outlying post. To his surprise, the elf's dark brown hair was matted with blood. His own, or someone elses remained to be seen.

"My King! Drow!" At that point the obviously exhausted elf collapsed at Falco's feet.

Alarmed, knowing that none of his kingdom would make such a claim without good reason, he ordered scouts to run to the outpost indicated by the messenger's uniform to find the truth of this statement. He was also worried why he had not been telepathically informed of an attack.

Until then, he hesitated to send anybody from the forests. If this threat was real, he knew he would need all of his swords to fight back their ancient foe.

Closing his eyes, he prepared himself to appraise Malyn of the situation. Connecting with the Dragon Elf easily, he said, "My friend, I am sorry. I cannot reinforce your position. There are reports of Drow on my borders. You know what that entails. If the reports are true, I can spare no-one and I urge you to return at your earliest convenience. Truly, I can do no more."

 

[Angelus]

Thoren looked at the elf with a smile. For the first time since he had met the Knight he actually liked him. He turned back to look at his generals.
"The elf is right. Get as many troops as ye can. We are going down into the tunnels. To the depths of the Darkness with waiting for 'em t' come t' us. It is about time we all go and meet the smelly little bastards down there and tell them they are not welcome."

The moment he finished talking all the generals turned and ran from the hall, leaving Thoren with the elven Dragon Knight. "I am starting to like ye Knight. Ye finally have the right idea in things."

It was then that one of his generals, Garin Redbeard ran back into the room, smacked his hand against his chest before he started speaking, "Me king. Several dwarves 'ave come from Althon's Hall. They want t' know if we need 'elp."

Thoren looked at him with a smile, "It is about time they came. Tell their leader to come 'ere so we can talk."

Garin walked hurriedly out of the room only to reappear several seconds later, a black beared dwarf carrying a large ax behind him. The moment Thoren saw the black beared dwarf a large smile appeared on his face and he moved towards him.

"Stean! It's been too long since ye 'ave come 'ere!"

Stean looked at Thoren, "We 'eard that ye 'ad a problem with some smelly goblins and decided to lend ye an 'and."

Thoren laughed, "What took ye so long. I thought ye would be 'ere for some fun long before now."

The two dwarves laughed and moved to the table. As they did they began to speak amongst each other; Thoren telling Stean what had happened. Stean's face changed as soon as he was told of the situation but he then let out a smile and told the king that he would only be too happy to help. Thoren thanked him and it was at that point that the generals entered the room. They all saluted their king and told them they were getting as many troops as they could together. Thoren smiled, turned to Stean and said, "How would ye like to take part in a war?"

"I thought ye would never ask," Stean said before he laughed.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal could feel the pain that was flowing from Amber and wondered what she must be feeling. He thought about everything that had happened and wondered if she was blaming herself. He wanted to walk up to her and tell her that it was not her fault; that it could have happened to any one of them or even all of them but he did not want to leave Cherise's side. She was still weak from the attack she had received when she had tried to get through to the Citadel. Instead he just looked over at her and sent a message to her, It is not your fault Amber. You cannot blame yourself for all of this. None of us saw it coming and I do not think any one of us could have stopped it if they did.

He then looked over at Ari and was as surprised as Atherron was to see her awake. While the Dragon Knights could get all their energy back faster than a normal human; something that was a gift from their bonding her recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

He then remembered Amber's words about attacking Kergal and taking it back from the orcs. He wanted nothing more than to do that but there was one thing that made him pause. He looked at Cherise and sent her a message, I have to do something to get those people out of Kergal. before he looked at the other Knights and said, "I for one want to go to Kergal and take it back from the orcs, hopefully killing as many of them as we can so they know not to come back. What of the innocent people that called, still call the city home though? The orcs would not be so stupid as to let them go. That would mean they are trapped somewhere in the city which is a great problem. I do not want to go into the city with our dragons as it would surely get us killed but I do not want to take them with us if it means that we will kill them when we attack. I think we have to go into the city and free them before we attack. It is probably the most dangerous and stupid thing that I can say right now but I will not attack without the knowledge they will be safe."

Just then Alezal got an image of Kergal in his head and saw a battle waging before one of its walls. He could hear the screams of the dead and dying, see human soldiers and knights fighting orcs and cutting down as many as were being cut down. He was glad that he could not smell the blood as there was so much of it but every time there was a clash of steel against steel it exploded inside his head, making him want to scream out in pain. He fell to his knees then, letting go of Cherise's hand and screaming out for it to stop.

 

[Angelus]

Karrin cut down at an orc who came from his side and let out a curse as he did. The number of orcs that had come out of the city were more than he had anticipated and even though he had killed many of them, several of his soldiers were now lying on the blood soaked ground with them. He let out a shout as a orc ran at him and moved on his horse so that he could stab down with his sword. As the orc fell to the ground, blood seeping out of the stab wound in its chest Karrin heard a non human shout close to his right. He knew that he would not be able to turn his horse to face this threat in time but tried as fast as he could. As he did however he heard another shout before he felt something slam into his horse.

The horse gave out a scream of pure pain before it fell to the ground, throwing Karrin away from it and onto the ground. When he landed Karrin looked over into the unseeing eyes of one of his dead soldiers before he heard heavy footsteps coming his way. He grabbed his sword in his hand and waited as the footsteps came closer and closer. As soon as he was sure they were close enough Karrin stabbed out with his sword, smiling to himself when he heard a scream of pain. He then looked in the direction of his sword to see the orc impaled on it.

Karrin slowly got back to his feet, pushed the orc off his sword and looked around. What he saw was that the battle had become nothing more than utter chaos. All the discipline his soldiers had was now forgotten as they fought for their lives. He could see soldiers hacking blindly with their swords, axes or even orc weapons. He knew that if this continued that they were surely going to be slaughtered. He then towards the sky, raised his sword and was prepared to give a shout for his soldiers to rally around him when he saw the dragon flying lazily in the sky above the city. His heart rallied when he saw it as it meant that one of the Knights was now with them. He wanted to call out to the Knight, hoping that he or she would listen but when the dragon began to fly away from the city his heart sank. Why would the Knight abandon us when we needed them the most!

He wanted to curse the Knight but knew that there were more important things at the moment. He raised his sword again and shouted out for all his soldiers and knights to rally to him. As soon as he heard another shout his heart lightened again. He just hoped that he had enough soldiers left to live another while longer.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: I felt first the tingle of inner warmth and then shortly there after heard the message from Alezal. Fucking mind readers, but they are right.

I then spotted our wounded caring for us instead of herself in her normal fashion. I rushed over to help dig the pit, and scold her for being reckless. I filled my water skin while listening to Alezals words.

'I for one want to go to Kergal and take it back from the orcs, hopefully killing as many of them as we can so they know not to come back. What of the innocent people that called, still call the city home though? The orcs would not be so stupid as to let them go. That would mean they are trapped somewhere in the city which is a great problem. I do not want to go into the city with out our dragons as it would surely get us killed but I do not want to take them with us if it means that we will kill them when we attack. I think we have to go into the city and free them before we attack. It is probably the most dangerous and stupid thing that I can say right now but I will not attack without the knowledge they will be safe'

From there he fell to his knees and grabbed his head asking for it to stop. I rushed over to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Focus yourself." I then gave him a mighty slap to the face. I am sad to say I enjoyed the act more then I should of, after all he forgot and I had yet to forgive him.

 

[Angelus]

The slap to the face from Amber brought Alezal back to where he was but it also made him drop his hand to his sword. He looked up at Amber and wondered why she had done that. She could have asked Cherise to bring him back to the the fold so to speak but the way she had slapped him made him think that she had enjoyed it. He slowly got back to his feet, dropped his hand away from his sword and looked at her.

"Thank you. You know that you did not have to do that but thank you anyway."

He then turned to the others. "There is something happening near Kergal. Do not ask me how I know because I do not have an answer for that right now but there is a battle happening in front of one of its walls. There are humans fighting out there trying to take Kergal back from the orcs. I know that we are not strong enough to help them just yet but it might give us the opportunity to do one thing. We can get into the city and free the people there."

He knew that he would go himself. He knew though that it was up to everyone in the group. They had to talk about what they could do to free the people there.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: I looked at Alezal. "Why would I enjoy hitting you?" Deep down I knew why but didn't want to admit it even to myself.

'There is something happening near Kergal. Do not ask me how I know because I do not have an answer for that right now but there is a battle happening in front of one of its walls. There are humans fighting out there trying to take Kergal back from the orcs. I know that we are not strong enough to help them just yet but it might give us the opportunity to do one thing. We can get into the city and free the people there.'

I looked at the others "Then it is time to go to work. Perhaps for the first time, in a long time, we need to be dragon knights." I walked over to Opal and gazed at the scar along his flank.

"Do you remember when we fought with the slayers?" I softly touched Opal's ancient wound. "We were knights then, we had trained for years to achieve as close to perfection as any mortals ever reached. That only came with sacrifice. I had to give up part of myself. I had to remove self doubt, over confidence, rage, and even love. I had to replace all of that with trust and only trust. Trust in myself, trust in all of you, and trust in a better tomorrow."

I looked at the ground. "I am sad to say I recovered a part of myself again. The part that knows doubt, and pride, and wrath." I looked upon the others again. "But I will leave this part of me here. When I leave for Kergal, I leave with you, and we leave to make a better tomorrow."

 

[Kalika84]

Cherise watched in slow motion as Amber struck Alezal and felt for the first time a wave of anger towards another one of the knights. Venting in her mind she quieted only when Shar murmured, Breathe sweet, she was trying to snap him out of it in her own way. That was all well and good Cherise thought as she stood up next to Alezal and cast her mind over his checking for any damage from the visions. If she does something like that again Shar, I dont know if I will be able to stop myself.

I listened to Ambers words then walked over to Shar and checked her armor, stroking her shiny scales. "This will not be an easy road. But I believe we will prevail. Battle strategies anyone?"

Casting a hard look at Amber, Cherise offered some water to Alezal as she checked him over once more.

 

[AnonymousWryter]

Kodagon still followed the Orc's group, but his attention was now firmly placed on the growing cloud of smoke and what he suspected to be dust. He waited impatiently for the small dragon to return, and his mind was working over time trying to figure all possibilities. The most likely he considered was that orcs were attempting to take the city, and he was already running through all those implications. That meant the incursion force was huge, and exactly what he needed. To begin with at least. he thought. To truly remove the human's from this land he knew he would need a force three times the size he suspected was currently attacking the city. Nothing scared people more then more than multiple fronts in war. He grinned wickedly.

It was then he noted the growing shape of a dragon in flight, and he hoped it was his own. Nothing would annoy him more right now then a snooping Dragon Knight. It soon became apparent it was his returning scout, and he almost sighed in relief. But the report that accompanied the scout's return sent him into stunned silence.

Great one, said the young dragon, using the honourific for elders. Kergal is under attack! It seems as though the humans are trying to retake their city. This information slowly sunk in. With it the implications came crashing down. The orcs had already taken the city. Their numbers were much more then he expected, and the response from the human king would be harsh and swift. No doubt he would pit the might of his mounted knights agains the orcs. Even worse, the Dragon knights could no more over look this than the king. Their retribution would also be terrible.

He would have to wait, bide his time. If his small rebellion was discovered now it would surely mean their undoing. He could no more risk being found out then he could risk losing the Orcs. Indecision tore him apart. In the end caution prevailed, and the dragons held their place high in the air. From there they could observe without obstruction. If the Orcs really did fight for Kergal, then they would have to have a strong army to repel the human defenders. This was a good chance for Kodagon to view his would-be allies in action. He was not the sort of dragon to throw his lot in with weaklings and cowards.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal felt Cherise's anger flow over him and put out a hand to touch her, to tell her that he was okay. Before he could however he felt her touch inside his head, checking to see if he was okay. When she was sure he was okay he watched as she walked away from him and towards Shar, checking her armor. He knew that she was doing it to calm herself down. He watched her as she turned and asked everyone what the battle strategies were. He opened his mouth to offer any advice but it was then that he noticed Cherise was by his side again, offering him some of her water.

Very slowly he took a sip of it, feeling its coldness slip down his throat as Cherise checked on him again. He looked down at her and wanted to tell her that he was okay but found himself unable to. He wanted Cherise to check him over, more importantly he wanted Cherise close to him. He smiled at her, took his hand in hers again and said,

"I know that this will sound dangerous and stupid but I think the best thing we can do is for one of us to sneak into the city and try to free the people there. I would like to volunteer for that honor but every decision we make has to be made as a group. I know that all of us want nothing more than to fly their on our dragons and rid these lands of the orcs but we are Dragon Knights. We are here to keep the peace; to battle as one."

He looked over at Anoth, What do you think I should do my friend.
I do not want you to go into the city by yourself little one.
Alezal looked at him with a smile, I do not want to go anywhere without you Anoth. I do not think I will be able to fight as well as I should knowing that there are still people in the city however.
Then you can still call yourself human and a Dragon Knight little one. If you felt otherwise then I know we would both be questioning whether the kingdom would be safer without both of us in it.
That statement shocked Alezal to his core, That will never happen my friend. I am a Dragon Knight; I will always be a Dragon Knight and I will live to the code I swore to all those years ago.

Anoth did not say a word but Alezal could feel the warmth that was deep within the dragon's heart. He just hoped it would still be there when the battle was over.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Atherron

Atherron watched the interaction between Amber, Alezal, and Cherise, and its significance was not lost on him. Apparently, Cherise was madly in love with Alezal, and Alezal most likely reciprocated the feeling; Amber enjoyed slapping Alezal just a little too much, so there was probably something going on there that neither one was willing to admit, and the slap had the side effect of making Cherise mad at Amber. All in all, not exactly a good situation.

"I know that this will sound dangerous and stupid but I think the best thing we can do is for one of us to sneak into the city and try to free the people there. I would like to volunteer for that honor but every decision we make has to be made as a group. I know that all of us want nothing more than to fly their on our dragons and rid these lands of the orcs but we are Dragon Knights. We are here to keep the peace; to battle as one."

“Indeed, the people need to be freed,” replied Atherron, stepping forward. “But it might make more sense for me to go into the city. If there are any wounded people in there, I’ll be able to assist them better than any of us here. Plus, I’m the only one who hasn’t just exhausted him- or her-self in a big battle, so I’m all set to go. And I agree, we need to battle as one.”

Atherron decided not to press Amber, Alezal, and Cherise about the little interaction that just occurred, mainly because the details that Atherron had read were very subtle. He needed something a little more obvious before he made his inquires.

 

[cats]

Amber

"Alezal, Atherron is by far the wiser choice, but the question is how long before we show up. Lets not forget the soldiers will be needing our help."

 

[Wolfsister]

Ari was silently grateful that Amber helped her scoop up the sand, even when she was scolded. Amber had been a close friend of hers for some time now and their territories being so close had been a great boon to their friendship. If she were to hazard a guess, she was sure that Amber and herself were far closer than she was with any of the other Knights. Perhaps Atherron, but he had the benefit of being a Healer - and he had had the ability to cool both Ari and Rhea down after so many abusive arguements oh so many years ago, while they were still training.

As the water skins got filled, Ari took the time to wave weakly at Cherise, the only other knight that she had not yet greeted. She had known that Cherise was on her way to relieve her and Amber, but had not been completely conscious when they had arrived at her side. Atherron was the only puzzle - just how had he known to come? After all, they had not initially contacted him because he had been so far away in Riverdale - and they had thought it unnecessary to contact all of the Knights.

Unfortunately, the small band or Orcs had become something much larger and now Kergal had fallen (or so it seemed) and the Citadel could not be reached.

Rhea kept channelling greater and greater amounts of energy to her and soon Ari was left to silently deal with the influx of energy. She was still for many moments more as the Knights stood around discussing their options. Alezal screamed at the top of his lungs and had some sort of vision and Cherise seemed overely protective of him now. Then again, they had always been close. Amber, on the other hand, could be seen to be agitated - though her friend could only guess at what. Even after hundreds of years, Ari was no where near understanding her friend's stubborn mind. She seemed to take being a woman very seriously.

Suddenly gasping for air, Ari jumped up - the last of the energy needed to fill her reserves wisping through her body. Atherron's spell was far more efficient than he had thought possible, but it could also have been because of Ari's natural resiliance. She experimentally bent her mangled arm, testing its movement before dusting off her leather tunic.

"Fight as one?" she murmured and almost fell over laughing again. For some reason, that idea just seemed about the funniest thing she had ever heard. It seemed to her that many of the Knights had fallen into bad habits, herself included and it just seemed hilarious that now they were banded together again - fighting orcs.

"Nothing like a good fight to get us together again," she chortled.

Rhea snorted disapprovingly, but the great dragon accepted her Knight's strange words, simply because she realised that Ari was still quite addled in the brain. She motioned a wing towards Atherron, The spell is completed. You can stop now, Knight Atherron. It seems that Arianna is as fully recovered as to be expected now.. Her tone held only wry amusement.

Then Rhea turned to pointedly stare at Opal. Well?

 

[cats]

Opal

IC: Opal looked at Rhea. While you do tempt me with your beauty even now my dear friend, I know that this is neither the time or place for romance. Instead let us set aside our obvious good looks and simply be happy Ari is alright. Then after saving the people of Kregal I can tell you about your magnificent wings and the other twelve features you have above all other dragons.

 

[Wolfsister]

Rhea arched a scaly brow bridge in a fair imitation of human female scorn, I wasn't speaking of romance, you addle brained..... You could of at least said you were glad to see me!

A puff of smoke emitted from her nostrils as she huffed with indignation, and she turned away from him, shifting her bulk to pointedly back herself away from Opal. Then she turned her head and fairly screeched into his mind, Twelve! Just twelve! Hrrumph!

Obviously she had missed him too.

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn looked at Dwarven king and smiled, he knew of a spell he was certain that the king would enjoy. He began to prepare the spell as he walked toward the main battle; it was a complex spell that dated back to when he had been a part of the Magus. It would do a fair amount of damage to the goblins as well as potentially blind a good portion of the goblins. He passed by dwarves as he began to softly chant the opening envocation of the spell. His voice grew louder and rougher the closer he got to the main battle. When he reached the spot of the main battle, he slid easily into the second envocation of the spell.

The second envocation of the spell was more complicated then the first since it was in a different language then the first. The first had been in Draconic, the second was ancient Elven which only the magus knew how to speak and read. He spoke the ancient language easily, the words flowing from his lips like a well aged wine. He reached the climax of the spell and reached into a pouch and took a pinch of crushed diamonds and rubies.

He flung the crushed precious stones towards the goblins as he shouted the final three words of the spell. The crushed diamonds turned into flashing darts of light and the crushed rubies turned to arrows of incandescent fire. The darts and arrows plunged deep into the goblin ranks and cut a fair amount of them down, the light from the darts blinding many a goblin and the fire spreading over their bodies.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal looked over at Atherron with a smile and then looked at Amber. She was right about her choice, he just had to ask Atherron if he would go. As he walked towards him however one thought could not help but enter his mind. When was in that I became the leader of this group? We should be making the decisions together; not waiting for one of us to make a decision and the rest of us to agree on it.

When he heard Anoth laugh in his head he turned to look at the dragon with another smile on his face. He knew that Anoth would always be there for him; no matter what situation he got himself into. He then turned back to looked at Atherron.

"I think that Amber is right. You are the best choice we have for sneaking into the city and helping to free those people. None of us knows how many people are still trapped in there, or in what state they are in. I hate to even ask you if you want to do this but it seems, at this time that I have no choice. Everyone else thinks you are the best choice for this mission."

He took a deep breath and placed one hand onto Atherron's right shoulder as a sign of friendship. "The choice is yours however."