Dragons of Gralfor

[Angelus]

As Thoren and the others moved down the halls towards the tunnels he heard the massive explosions in front of him and let out a curse. Every dwarf who was with him knew why he had let out the curse and laughed. They knew that the elf had gone ahead of them, to help the dwarves down in the tunnels while they were grouping their army together. It looked as if he had used a spell to try and kill as many goblins as he could. While Thoren was greatful for the elf's assistance he hoped that the Dragon Knight would not do something that would cause the tunnel to collapse and kill many of his fellow dwarves.

He turned his head to look at Stean who had a look of grim determination on his face. In the many battles that Thoren had fought along side Stean he had seen that face and knew that it meant death to any and every enemy they came across.
"Do not worry. There'll be plenty of those smelly little buggers down here for ye and yer warriors to kill."
Stean just looked at Thoren, "Do me look worried. I am just hoping the elf hasn't killed too many of 'em."
They both let out a laugh just as Kayl appeared in front of them. He saluted Thoren before looking with wide eyes at Stean. He opened his moth to speak to Stean but turned to Thoren.

"Me king. The western tunnels are clear of goblins. While there are a few still roaming about me men will take care of 'em."

He then saluted again, turned and disappeared back the way he came. Thoren just turned to look at Stean, "What say ye to killing some goblins ourselves?"

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn coughed and heard many of the dwarves doing the same thing before clapping him on the back and from what he could hear out of his ears were yelling nice explosion. He arched his eyebrow then popped both of his eardrums from the concussion with a tiny cantrip. “Well I wasn’t expecting it to do that... Though I must admit, it was rather efficient.” He looked at one rather smoke covered dwarf who was patting out the cinders in his beard. “Sorry.” The dwarf looked back at him for a moment as he patted out the last of the cinders then began to laugh.

“Good spell elf!! A few hairs of me beard is a small price to pay to see a barbequed goblin.” One of the other dwarves piped up yelling that the first dwarf didn’t have a decent beard anyway which brought on a lot of jeering from the other dwarves and also a lot of back slapping. Malyn shook his head and grinned as well, it was remarkable, and even though these dwarves could soon be dead they were still cracking jokes. As he moved forward and set his hands on the hilts of the falchions, he received the message from Lord Falco of the drow attack on the borders of their realm.

He knew what he had to do. He would finish helping the dwarves then go to the aid of his own realm. He drew both falchions and spun cutting down several goblins as he moved into the fray. The dwarves were a bit surprised at Malyn’s ferocity as he cut down goblin after goblin. A moment later the dwarves joined the attack, raising their voices in an ancient dwarven battle song.

 

[Wolfsister]

Arianna turned towards the conversation going on between Alezal and Atherron. She had no idea if the other Knight would accept the mission and idly wondered if he was up to the job. Oh, Atherron was a great friend and an ever greater Knight, but he just wasn't the fighting sort. He did a good job, for sure, but he never actually allowed himself to get too involved in battles.

Concerned for his wellbeing, in body and spirit, she thought for a few moments before walking towards them. Lifting a hand to shade herself from the sun she said softly, "I know a spell that will shield you for a time from the eyes of others. Though it does not hide your shadow." She hoped she could help, her experience in magicks before those of a Dragon Knight could prove useful in this instance.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: A wise choice and perhaps the obvious one, Alezal had a selfless streak in him that may yet get him into trouble but that same quality made him great at our role.

'I know a spell that will shield you for a time from the eyes of others. Though it does not hide your shadow.'

"Leave it to the magus to have tricks up her sleeve." I smiled warmly at her.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Atherron heard Rhea’s request to end the spell that was feeding her power, so he silently let go of the flow of power that kept the spell going, allowing the spell to dissipate on its own. The only side effect that Rhea would have after the spell left completely was the draconic equivalent of a light tan on her wing.

"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. The choice is yours however."

“Thanks for giving me the chance to back out of my own suggestion,” said Atherron, smiling, as he placed his hand on Alezal’s shoulder in return. “But I’m still going.”

"I know a spell that will shield you for a time from the eyes of others. Though it does not hide your shadow."

“Thanks, Ari,” replied Atherron, turning his attention to her. “I can use all the help I can get.”

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: "How about a kiss for good luck then? Shela if you would do the honors." The air was thick with tension and joking was the best I could do to ease my worries.

 

[Kalika84]

Cherise grinned at the banter going back and forth and thought it was nice that even apocalyptic crises couldn't change the bond. Shar gently nudged her in the back just to let her know she was still there. Not that you could miss the massive dragon. Really.

"Personally I agree we should send Atherron in first, However, I doubt he will remain unnoticed for long. Once you have slipped into the city Atherron, the rest of us should then fly to meet you. The intervening time between should allow you enough space to scout out various escape routes, how organised the enemy is and where we should enter from...better yet..." a secretive smile curved her lips as she continued, "I wonder how quickly the invaders would evacuate should the town start to become...unstable? I should be able to sense down into the earth below the town and create some explosions against some of the rifts which in turn would cause earthquakes...I should...and I stress the should be able to keep damage to a minimum, however if Atherron can tell me if certain buildings have only invaders inside I am sure between Ari and I, we could cause some wicked devastation to their ranks." She grinned over at her friend.

Watching Alezal and Anoth interact she nearly lost her train of thought but snapped herself back to attention when Shar once again nudged her in the back. "Also we have the added problem of not being able to contact Nicholas. We are unable to get through to the Citadel due to the weird forcewall around it. We need to address that problem as soon as possible."

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: "I am not sure I like the idea of making a city unstable. Especialy when there could be long term side effects to ground water, soil conditions, and local resources. Truth be told its beter to burn the city to the ground and let them rebuild it then damage any of those and let the standing city starve."

"As for the barrier its quite possible Nicolas put it there, none of us are as gifted with psychic arts as he is, so it would be hard for any of us to cross it mentally. So our best option is to simply go there physically and let him know what is going on."

 

[Kalika84]

Turning to look at Amber I tried to hide my annoyance. "Yes lets just ask all the civilians and bad guys to please vacate a fortified city so we can burn it without casualties. And as for the wall around the Citadel, your assuming it will let physical matter through. On top of which Nicolas is more than capable of setting up that forcewall and allowing we riders through while prohibiting others. The fact that he hasnt done so worries me as it should you." Turning back around, I rested my head against Shar's scales and prayed to the gods for patience.

Shar's sibilant hiss drifted through my mind, Why does she vex you so little one? Cherise grimaced and closed her eyes. I do not know my sweet. The slap to Alezal is still bothering me, its hot, and the is a war going on and people are dying while we try to sort out a battle plan.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"How about a kiss for good luck then? Shela if you would do the honors."

Shela visibly balked at the idea of kissing Atherron, let alone anything on two legs, and Atherron failed to suppress a shudder at the idea of being kissed by a dragon. Both of them noticed the reaction of the other, and neither was happy.

“What the hell was that for?” said Atherron and Shela at the same time, with Atherron speaking out loud and Shela unknowingly broadcasting to the group. They quickly broke into a rather public argument, with Atherron and Shela switching back and forth between being the accuser and the defender. It was obvious that there was no real anger in the argument; it was just another “lover’s quarrel.”

The argument ended as quickly as it started when Cherise spoke up, suggesting that she attempt to cause an earthquake right under the city. Amber then objected to the earthquake idea, citing that it could prevent the city from ever recovering.

“I agree with Amber, Cherise,” said Atherron. “An earthquake right under the city would not be the best idea, especially with humans still in there. While you could control the strength of the earthquake, you can’t really control what it destroys, can you? It’s best that you use a more direct method to taking out the orcs.”

“With regards to our attack plan, I was thinking that the rest of you attack from one direction, while I slip in from another,” continued Atherron. “Basically, draw the attention of the orcs away from where I’ll be.”

“As for Nicolas and the Citadel, it’ll just have to wait until after we’ve dealt with Kergal. So, that means the sooner we’ve dealt with Kergal, the sooner we can explore the mystery of Nicolas and the Citadel,” finished Atherron.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: I was surprised at the way Cherise snapped at me. There was something about me that bugged her, so much in fact that she took burning a city under my care to the ground quite literally.

We have to come together as an unit, I wonder if this is because we have no clear leader since Nicolas retreated to solitude.

'As for Nicolas and the Citadel, it’ll just have to wait until after we’ve dealt with Kergal. So, that means the sooner we’ve dealt with Kergal, the sooner we can explore the mystery of Nicolas and the Citadel' Atherron commented.

"True although, you'll have to make the trip with out me. I have some business with the dwarf king that I've neglected for several hours already. Besides I am sure our good friend and former prince is simply practicing spells up there. If it was serious he would of contacted one of us at the very least."

 

[Wolfsister]

Ari smiled back at Atherron, letting him know that she had his back. Shrugging about the 'magus' remark, she smirked and wiggled her fingers in the air dramatically in a 'mysterious' fashion. Then raised an eyebrow at the rather public 'row'. Rhea whispered into her mind not to interfere, as the two partners were just trying to say goodbye, without saying it. Ari just had to look at her draconic friend and then she understood. So saying, she stayed clear of the two.

After a while of discussion, Ari once again spoke up, "Cherise and I can cause quite a distraction, if that is truly what you need." She turned to Atherron at his suggestion. Cocking her head to the side, she murmured to Amber, "Are you sure that is wise? We have many troubles to deal with, yes, but Kergal may need us all." She inclined her head, "It is your decision, of course, but I would suggest staying with the group. We need each other."

 

[BlueMary]

Kordra's vision and hearing grew slightly hazy as the battle raged on. It felt as it usually did; as though time had slowed slightly and that her actions were guided by something more than she. It was a feeling she had grown used to over the numerous years of tribal conflicts. A quick jab backwards cracked the heavily weighted haft of her axe against the helm of a knight with enough force to drop him to the ground. The detachment allowed her a sort of moment for introspection, despite the intensity of the conflict.

The axe head's point allowed for vicious thrusts as it was essentially a massive spear head wide enough for broad swings. Leap, thrust, sidestep, kick, parry. She could almost see herself on the battle field from several feet above as she waded through the knights, returning small nicks and cuts with brutal slashes and stabs that left men reeling from the pain or dead. It didn't matter, as long as they didn't bother her again. Punch, throw, dodge, bludgeon. The battles always had a pattern. It was the way fighting came so naturally to her that she faltered in her beliefs that orcs were bred for something more than war. No...father was right. More to living than killing. The opportunity to test her beliefs has yet to come to reveal itself, but she never did let that stop her. She grunted in pain as a knight managed to strike a good slash against her muscled bicep. His victory was inconsequential after his torso was nearly cleaved in two from a powerful thrust that could not be stopped by his meager attempts at a parry.

Veks, her current chief...her problems always tended to boil down to him. He epitomized the current orc nation of bloody combat and dark rituals to rise to the top. It was he who killed her father's tribe and essentially kidnapped her. Her honor and sense of sel preservation had always stayed her hand, despite his crimes against her. After all, he did keep her alive. That only went so far, however.

The battle seemed to come back to her mind with a rush at the ignorable pain of the slash. Kordra roared as she swatted a quick thrust of a blade aside with a bracer and retaliated with a powerful backhand that threw the man from his feet and into sturdy fence. She tilted her head in time to avoid a heavy axe swing from behind and spun about, knocking the man's legs out from under him. Before she allowed him the decency of falling, the axe flipped around in a blinding speed to slam the man into the ground with the mace-like weight. How many of these men were there?

 

[Angelus]

Alezal looked at Cherise then Amber and could feel the tension that hung in the air. He could feel that anger that seemed to be overflowing from Cherise and walked to her, looking into her eyes. He wanted to take her away from this so they could be alone but he knew that now was not the time for it. He hated the fact that it wasn't; all he wanted to do was share time with Cherise. He looked over at Amber, "I think that both ideas have merit but I think I have a better idea. There is one small problem with it. We need Shela's help with this one."

He looked over at Atherron with a slight smile, "Shela is the only one who has the rare ability to burn anything living without touching anything dead. If she flies over the city, burning the orcs out of any homes they are hiding in it would be easy to clear the city of them."

It was then that he turned back to Amber, "I know how much you want to go and help the dwarves. They are as much a part of this place as the humans living in Kergal but we have both personally fought alongside them and know they can last in those tunnels for days. I, we need you to stay here and fight with us to free the city of the orcs. I am asking you as a friend and fellow Knight if you will do this."

He then took a step away from Cherise and looked at everyone, even the dragons, "We need to free Kergal as fast as we can; with the luck we have been having lately something else could happen."

 

[Angelus]

Karrin knew they were losing this battle; he knew that if they did not retreat now that he would lose all of his men and there would be nothing to show for it. He raised his sword again and gave a shout for his men to come to him but as soon as he did he heard a shout to his left and turned to see several orcs coming towards him. He looked at them with wide eyes and knew there was no way he was going to win this battle. He lowered his sword and moved towards the orcs, a shout coming from him as he did. As the shout floated into the air he moved towards the first orc and with a sweeping arc of his sword cut deep into its abdomen. The orc looked down at Karrin with surprise before it dropped to the ground, just to be replaced by another.

He saw the orc raise its large ax and let out a curse, knowing that he was not going to be fast enough. It was then an arrow sprouted out of its chest, surprising the orc so much that it turned towards the direction the arrow had come from just as another one slammed into its chest. It fell to the ground just as the sound of a horn pierced the air.

Karrin turned in the direction of the horn just to see several horses appear from the direction they had come from. A smile appeared on his face as soldiers appeared alongside the knights. Whoever these knights and soldiers were they were very much appreciated. He looked towards the city then and let out a curse towards the Dragon Knight that had been flying there earlier.

It was then that an orc came up behind him and slammed its heavy club into his back, causing him to fall to the ground and into the blackness that called him with open arms.

 

[Angelus]

Thoren could hear the battle song rising louder and louder the further down in the tunnels they went. He knew with he sizeable force he now had the goblins were going to be forced out of the tunnels. He just hoped the elven Dragon Knight wasn't going to kill too many of them or blow up the tunnels doing so. That thought made him laugh and when he looked at Kayl he could see the smile that was on the general's face.

"I see ye be having the same thoughts as I. We all know the goblins need to be thrown out of here and done in such a way they won't show their smelly hides here again."

With that a shout came from the dwarves behind him. He turned to look at them, "I see ye are all agreeing with me. Enough talk; let's kill us some goblins!"

Another shout came from the dwarves and a second later there was a great rumbling in the tunnels as several dwarven feet pounded the ground.

 

[Angelus]

The knight shook his head. He had come back to see how the goblins were going. He had thought that; with their numbers they were going to be able to take the hall easily but as he flew towards the rear entrance could see they were bogged down in battle. He let out a curse when he saw the dragon that flew back and forth over the dragons, killing them with its breath. As he looked at the dragon he wondered which Knight had made it here but realized that this dragon was different; that he had never seen this dragon before. He let out another curse; this time directing it at the elves. He knew they always kept secrets but this was something he never thought they would do.

He learned forward over his dragon's neck, Come my friend. I think we need to rid this place of that nuisance.
I think you may be right. his dragon thought.

Without a second thought dragon and rider dived down towards the elven dragon; fast enough to hope the other dragon would not notice them until it was too late.

 

[cats]

OOC: See cats translation notes in OOC.

IC: "Paradon me I seem to of misspoken, I do not intend to see what the dwarf king wants of me until our business with Kregal has ended." I was moderately worried that my comment of burning down the city was very much on the table of options and against my will. But I was severely worried about the way Alezal spoke about the dwarves ability to last for days, was there something going on bigger then the handful of goblins the king had mentioned to me? Or have I been mislead about there numbers. Where did Alezal get any information on the dwarfs to begin with for that matter? And who is to say his intelligence is acurate, I did talk to the king after all.

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn continued in the melee for several moments before making certain that the goblins were being pushed back. He nodded to the commander of the dwarves beside him and cast another spell that killed more goblins before moving back through the lines towards the entrance. There he met the Dwarven King. “Sire, the goblins are being pushed back in massive numbers; I leave the rest of it to on, or at least on the inside. I go to join my dragon in the air, then I must go to my own people, we are under attack by the drow. I’ve held to my word and aided you in driving them back. I bid you farewell good king of the dwarves.”

Malyn made a gesture and spoke a word of magic and his body disappeared as he turned his body and equipment to a wisp of smoke and vanished through the rocks.

~~Meanwhile above the dwarven mines Skie flew back and forth over the goblin hordes, frying them again and again with his lightning breath and dropping massive rocks down onto them. Above him he could hear the wind being cut by large wings and knew that there was another dragon above him. He banked again, crisping more goblins with his breath then he heard the other dragon dive toward him. He banked to the other side, spitting a bolt of lightning across the other dragon’s eyes. ~~

The wisp of smoke that was Malyn slipped through the mountain and floated through the currents of air till it reached Skie’s saddle. A word of dispelling was spoken and Malyn’s weight settled into the saddle. “I see you found yourself an opponent Skie. Shall we greet them?” Skie’s roar was answer enough as he leveled out and Malyn began to chant a envocation for a spell of wind. The envocation was a pillar of wind would buffet the creature toward which the spell was directed. He said the final words of the spell in draconic so that it would attack the enemy dragon then drove his fist forward to unleash the spell.

 

[Angelus]

The rider smiled when he felt the power of a spell in the air. He looked at the elf riding in the saddle and although he did not know what he was going to do knew that he had to stop it. As he whispered the words of his own spell under his breath he pulled his sword free of its sheath. He pointed the sword at the elf as he finished the words of the spell, wanting to see the elf's reaction when the spell he was creating backfired spectacularly.

The rider wanted to laugh at that fact but there was something more important he had to do at that point.
What say we make a better introduction shall we?
I think that we should. his dragon replied.

With that they flew towards the dragon and his knight, the sword in the rider's hand gleaming brightly as they did.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal looked at Cherise and Ari. What they were coming up while everyone was discussing what to do was a good idea. He knew that Atherron needed a distraction to get into the city or all they were planning on doing was for nothing but there was one thing that bothered him; the fact that it would be just the two of them creating the distraction. If there was ever a time they had to pull together as a team then it was this. He stood back for a second and closed his eyes.

He knew that Amber was worried about the dwarves and his comments did not help matters. It was true that he had no idea what was going on with the dwarves and his words were meant to help alleviate Amber's anxiety but it had done exactly the opposite.

Amber; I know I have no idea what is going on with the dwarves. I am sorry if what I said was wrong. I hope that what I said did not hurt you in any way. If I did I am truly sorry. If there is anything I can do to help; I am here to listen.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Cherise and Amber with a smile. "I like your idea of creating a distraction for Atherron to sneak into Kergal. I think that we should all go in though; with the obvious exception of Atherron. That way we can create a big enough distraction for Atherron to just walk into the city without any worry."

 

[Kalika84]

Cherise sighed. "I suggest we think of something and move out. Kergal is running out of time." While she was talking she unwound the tie from her hair letting it flow loose around her. Having it back had been giving her a headache for sometime.

Massaging her temples while everybody continued to argue her head cotinued to throb, the dull ache hammering against her skull from the earlier psychic whiplashes. Even Shar was not speaking in her mind at the moment as it would cause the headache to worsen. Lifting her canteen to her lips she took small sips of the cool liquid inside, her brain still trying to work through a plan even with the ache.

She turned and leant her back against Shar while the others continued to debate, mollify and discuss what to do. "As I said. Someone think of something or Kergal will not be worth saving by the time we get there." She was sure her headache was making her temper shorter than usual but at this time there was not much she could do about it.

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn chuckled out loud. “Well now this will be fun after all. I haven’t seen a reversal in quite a few years.” He smiled to himself and gestured with two fingers splitting the pillar of air so that it passed on either side of them. “I suppose we should greet them as well Skie.” Skie chuckled in a manner only a dragon could and shook his massive head.

“Well one thing I can say for this Malyn, things have been interesting since we were bonded. Why not, it couldn’t hurt to greet them at least.” Skie swooped lower and began to circle the other dragon as Malyn kept the lance in hand and a spell at the ready.

“So rider, should we make introductions or should we disperse with the introductions and get right to killing each other?”

 

[Angelus]

What Cherise said was better and more to the point than anyone had said, including himself. He stood and looked at her for a second and thought about her words then came up with an idea. He walked to the middle of the group, pulled out his sword and began to draw a crude map.

"Cherise is telling the truth. We have to get to the city or there will be nothing left to save and all the people who have died there will have died for nothing. I have an idea that I think just might work. The four of us, as well as Shela will weave our way through the mountains and come around to the south eastern side of the city. We know those mountains better than anyone so it will be easy. While we do that Atherron; you can go to the north eastern side of the city and wait for us. When we start our little distraction; you will know what it is when it happens you sneak in. The orcs will be so worried about us it should not be a problem. Once he is in the city and we know he is safe within the walls all of us should do everything we can; everything that is within our power to do to rid Kergal of any and all orc we can find."

It was then that he felt something coming from Cherise. He did not know what it was but his first reaction was see if she was okay. He walked towards her slowly, all the while feeling whatever it was flow from her. As soon as he stood in front of her he said, "What is wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

[Angelus]

The rider let out a chuckle as he looked at the elf. He wanted to congratulate him on thwarting his earlier spell but he knew it wasn't the time.

"No. I don't think introductions are in order. Do you know how much hassle you and your dragon have caused me? I think we should just get to the point of killing each other."

With that he let out one word of draconic and watched as the sky around him was filled with copies of himself and his dragon. As he flew towards the copies he wondered what the elf and his dragon were going to do with this new situation. He knew that this spell, if he kept it long enough was going to drain him but it was going to be fun.

He turned slowly in the air, flying back towards the elf and dragon and said, his voice echoed by the copies around him, "If you think you can find and kill me then by all means do. I warn you though that I have many years to practice what I do."