[FL] Fantasy Lynching: Blood alone turns the Wheels of History

[doliest]

Soth
This man before him was his equal in sword, strength, and speed. He had enough endurance to fight for ages. He threw off enchanments and matched in blade. Soth's soul rises as he sets himself on the defensive, attempting to weave out of Druss's attacks as he begins hurling flames not at Druss, but the buildings around them, "This city will burn, warrior, I promised that."

[Draxx]

Druss
"Not while I'm alive you won't, laddie." He replies. Bust Druss is losing. He has no way of killing Soth, where his strength and magic defense, already fraying with time, cannot last forever.

"And you haven't killed me yet." WIth that, he puts all his remaining strength behind a final blow, slamming into the Deathknight with all he has. He can't keep this up, and if this doesn't work nothing will.

[Cracklord]

Pellew
"Lord Richard Rahl." The man replies, in an easy and relaxed tone, suggesting little or no investment in the title. "You know, I've met wizards, and tradesmen, warriors, evil men and morally righteous men, people who needed others to think for them and everything inbetween, but I don't think I've ever met a man who looks like you. What are you?"

Zasamal
"What did you do to him?" It's the girl.
The swordsman says nothing, staring at you suspiciously, one hand on his sword. This is unfamiliar magic, and he is suspicious.

Tavi
He laughed. "You are the first lord of Alera. Why negotiate with the Empire? To make allies. Or concessions, in order to make a profit. To increase your own power. To avoid having to fight pointless wars. Why should I be any different?"
He flexes his arms. "I could instead send you the skulls of vanquished kings and demand you submit, have done it before and could do so again. But I prefer to do things this way."

Lord Angmar
"Is that what you have to show me?" She asks, her voice not so much as trembling as she smoothed her emotions with potent application of watercrafting.

Wander
You are back at the people's palace in no time at all. Now all you need to do is find a facilitator and find a way to get people to give their endowments.
They say there are three ways to get an endowment off someone. You've never so much as held or seen a forcible before, the blood metal has become so rare that only the wealthiest Lords posses more then a few, and only use them in direst need. But it is said that money buys the endowment but at the weakest, fear gets the endowment better, but love is best of all.

Thrall
The tree ignores your words, and continues to lash at you with all that it can, tearing up the forest around it as it does. The thing is mad with hate, unable to focus on anything but your destruction.

Holo
He blanches at that, then looks at the wild beasts gorging themselves on his men and the fight goes out of him. "I'll tell you what I know. I was told you were coming by Petyr Baelish."
The master of finance who was in charge of Richard's treasury, and gave you the job.

Sonja
Hundreds are trying to force their way through the gate, and your pikemen are doing their best to hold them off. Gilgamesh is nowhere to be seen.
The new World Order troops use an assortment of weapons, few have armor more then boiled leather and furs, they come from different cultures and wear different aromors and they fight with an assortment of hooks, rusted implements, and crude blades. They look spectacularly savage.

Conan, Achillies
Their guttering torches were pitiful against the blackness of the night. Behind them was an aged wooden door, with inset copper designs. It was too easy too see a face in the abstract curlicues that it had to be design.
"The door." One-eye said, seeming serious for a change. "It's guarded by spells.
Silent paused and extended his index finger. He touched the metal and sparks flew. The inlay grew white hot and foul smoke curled out as the wood burned. The imagined face looked angered now and glared hatred at them.
Wuth a flourish, Silent stepped back and looked challengingly at One-Eye.
The witch-doctor smiled his confident, one sided smile. "Well, it's not a problem. A mere conjurer could get through these petty charms. Amateur work. No real wizard would stoop to such things."
He reached into a pouch and threw a handful of sweet-smelling dust at the door. The face went dark again.

[industrious]

Allecia Ehothorn

"I see."

What a horrible, horrible man. Of course, Allecia's expression is perfectly crafted to conceal that particular opinion.

"Is there anything else you wish to speak of? I was promised a tour of these gardens, after all."

Cleon

"Old and hungry."

His diluted Celestial blood had been the cause of enough grief. He wasn't exactly going to flaunt it. It caused him to do great things, of that there was no doubt, but he was old, and a lifetime of might-have-beens and regrets were catching up to him.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Wander

Back in the people's palace. Lately this place seems like a beacon, ever drawing Wander towards it until some goal is met. Wander started to walk around. He soon decided on a course of action regarding the forcibles after much internal debate. Considering the only information he has on the forcibles is that they can take someone's ability, leaving them completely useless in a certain field, he decided the only morally right thing to do in his position is find someone who was...dying.

Agro snorted behind him, seemingly emphasising the rather macabre thought process with the horse equivalent of disapproval. Wander turned his head towards the big horse, the expression on his face agreeing with her on this. Wariness, hesitation, and nervousness creased his face as he approached the more run-down areas of the palace, if it could be called that in this place. Surely not everyone could be as fortunate as he was to find someone who could save them, and even with the help he got he ended up with a rebellious hand.

Wander still sighed. This whole thing was never easy from the very beginning. Still, he can't help but wish it all turned out differently.


----
Smaug

Smaug found some amusement in this nobleman's attempts at formality, especially in the face of danger. He looks over to him, a smile tugging at his jaws. "A pleasure, certainly." It's hard to tell whether that was an attempted insult, or a simple greeting.

Smaug then cranes his head towards the nobleman, as if to lean in to whisper in his ear. "Now," Smaug says in a low tone that counts for a whisper, "You are to go out there, holding up a symbol of peace so that they know you mean no harm. You are there to initiate negotiations with the leader of that army. Tell him that you speak on behalf of Smaug the Golden, he who wants to see if there is any way for the both of us to exist in mutual peace."

"Tell them how glorious their army is, and how splendid a force they have brought against me, and how impressed I am at their efforts. If they scoff, tell them how much of an honor this is that I admit such things. Give them just enough to have a reason to listen, but not enough to chop off our heads with. Keep their rapt attention on you and your words as you feel their every weakness and prod them until every movement they make bleeds traitorous words into your eyes. Let them become as scrolls and books to you as you give their lord an illusion of a chance at taking this city. With every word and deed press upon them that what we desire most is peace, so that they'll be dragged down to the abyss when they strike against us. If they so much as raise a fist to strike you, remind them of that peace, and remind them of what horrors I can visit upon those who attack my people in vain. Then, when your deed is done and the negotiations have ceased, come back alive and unaffected by the tricks they have, and pass what you have learned to me and those who will lead us to glory."

Smaug then looked off to the army, his impression clearly made on the nobleman. "If they decide to submit, and become one with us, then so be it. But, if they decide to attack us, and given their appearance it may very well be the only option, then we will dash them upon our walls. Wouldn't you agree?"

[Colesign]

Tavi

Tavi shrugs. "You got me there. I led my fleet to this continent to feel out the political situation, find trading opportunities, strengthen my nation and allies after a long war with a brutal enemy.

And I found out the world was going to end in a few months, unless all the nations of the world unite to stop the onslaught of the Dark One."

Tavi's face grows grim. "But, like Alera several decades ago, this land's too caught up in vengeful wars, too disunited. And people who say the world's going to end tend to be perceived as crazy."

Tavi turns to the Emperor of the Old World. "If you can talk to people in dreams, surely you've been acquiring numerous allies and contacts among this entire land while they've been asleep. There are numerous authorities you could possibly ply among the Varden. Perhaps together, we can put these numerous wars on hold, and find a way to preserve the world as we know it!"

[Draxx]

Conan
"Well done." He says, not trusting that in the slightest. He'd seen wizards call on spirits before and take credit for victories, but he did not trust them so freely. While he as inclined to superstition and to believe in magic, he treated what he did not understand with utmost caution.
"You go through first."

Sonja
She does not step into the front lines yet. For now she waits behind the line of her men, keen eyes staring intently ahead into the press, waiting for the opportune moment to turn the tide into her favor.

[industrious]

Cleon

A good thing that she didn't, as well. As the latest wave of attackers rushes forward, the boiling oil is poured, sizzling the leather and fur armor; in some cases, setting the material aflame on its own. A few seconds later, a arrow, its tip wrapped in cloth and set ablaze, drops to the ground, dropping the rest of the besiegers.

They were holding, but they were running out of oil. And while Cleon could still command quite well, they were running out of tricks.

[Cracklord]

Tavi
He laughs a little at that. "It's a bit more complicated then that, Octavius. But that is the principle.I cannot force them to listen, however, and I cannot be everywhere at once."
"I regret to say that my own enemies are rather less receptive then I would wish to the new threat. There is no sign of the Dragon, The Earthking or the other signs that would indicate the final battle, and though the dark continues to rise they are too self-interested and inwardly focused for such enlightenment. People refuse to see what is right in front of them."

King Arthur
You are all armed (with the exception of Arthur himself, who feels an empty space at his hip where Excalibur should be) and dressed in mail once more, feeling like your old selves. You are beneath the People's Palace (having been taken there after your ignoble capture) and the guards are beginning to stir.
You don't have long.

Pellew
"And how old are you, Pellew?" He replies, staring at you. It seems he's not going to be dissuaded easily from his curiosity. His hand is resting on the blade at his hip, a longsword with a stylized hand clutching a torch on the hilt, his other hand absently scratching the side of his face.

Kitiara
A man ride out with a red flag, and cries out, in the flowery language that courtiers favor, 'that he wishes to negotiate with the leader of this invincible army.'
Your dragonriders are ready to attack in a moment, and await only you and Skie's arrival to rain fire on the city.

Smaug
He smiles at the promised treachery, and bows his head, agreeing most wholeheartedly with you. Already dressed in his best, he takes a red flag (a flag of truce), and, mounted, rides out all alone through the front gate to negotiate with the dragonarmy.

Tywin, Allecia
The Garden of Life is an elaborate, cavernous garden in the center of the People's Palace of D'Hara. Leaded windows of stained glass high overhead let in light for the lush plants. Around the outside of the room are flowers set in beds, with walkways winding through. Beyond the flowers are small trees, short stone walls with vines covering them, and well-tended plants completing the illusion of a spacious, outdoor garden.
There is small, hot, forge room at one side with a small vine-covered door. Inside there is a small slit that can be used to view the center of the garden through the foliage as well as a back door to the garden.
In the center of the expansive room is an area of lawn that sweeps around almost into a circle, the grass ring broken by a wedge of white stone, upon which sits a slab of granite, smooth but for grooves carved near the edge of the top, leading to a small well in one corner. It is held up by two short fluted pedestals and resembles an altar. Beyond the slab stands a polished stone block set next to a fire pit. The block holds an ancient iron bowl covered with beasts which serve as legs to support the round bottom.
In the center of the lawn lays a round area of white sorcerer's sand, the powdered, crystallized bones of wizards, used in the greatest magical rituals. It was impossible to imagine the expense of that much, using blood ritual magic a sorcerer could sink an entire continent. The area is ringed with torches that burn with fluid flames. Geometric symbols crisscrossed the white sand, but fortunately no ritual seems in progress, for which you are relieved. It's hard to focus on the rest of the garden, you find your gaze continually straying back to the sand.

Gaborn
You and Iome emerge back outside the palace. The earth tells you that your chosen are all safe, for the moment at least. Bu the air feels heavy and dark, and you sense that something terrible looms ahead in the near future.

Conan
"Enough." Says big Dolf, who might be handsome if you washed him, Shagga's close friend. "I fear not tricky wizards! They cannot harm-" Precisely what his reasoning was to this point will never be made clear, for at that moment he pushed the door open.
Then, Dolf simply exploded. They were drenched in gore. The door hung with ribbons of cloth and meat. The stone walls dripped red for ten meters behind them. The barbarians naked skeleton stood for a moment, still grinning, then collapsed.
The door finished sliding open, seeming oddly smug, to reveal thick murk within.

Sonja, Cleon
The retreating warriors part, leaving the ground to smolder. The golden warrior steps forward, alone, the flames dying beneath his tread. He is tall and broad-shouldered, his face almost delicate and very handsome, his hair the same shade as his armor. He holds no weapons for the time being, he simply leaves his hands hanging on either side as he continues his leisurely walk forward.
"You are the closest thing to a real woman in this age." He comments, his eyes gleaming with something like lust. "Indeed, you are far too good for that fool of an emperor, perhaps you are even worthy of me. Marry me." He says it like an order. "Marry me, and you can share the world with me."

The sniping tactics have caused plenty of confusion in the ranks of the New Order, milling the troops around and making them easier prey. But they have the numbers and you don't, and apparently no shortage of officers either.
You're almost out of boiling oil, and have the cauldrons filled with boiling water instead. It's just as bad first contact, but has no real staying power. The walls are holding for the now, but the main battle is at the gate.
What's more, this is just the fodder. They were not attacking because they expected the assault to succeed. Because this was not an assault. It was merely a test.
What sort of madmen would throw away five thousand men merely a test, to soak up your traps and ensure a clear path to the walls? A quick glance at the generals sitting impasively on horseback out of range answered that for you. The madmen you faced. Now, more then every, you were worried.
They were lean, vulture-like men, clad in huge molted brown robes that's folds gave them a resemblance to wings. The priests who headed the order simply stood, watching, uncaring as the ocean.

Skaven
"Lament, brothers! Tragic news!" The room was suddenly as silent as a grave, not so much as a squeak from the assembled horde.
The skaven who spoke was a figure out of a nightmare. It was a skaven, the oldest imaginable, and decrepit beyond imagining. Most zombies looked healthier. It was skeletally gaunt, with gnarled paws and matchstick arms sticking out of the sleeves of it's dirty gray robes. It's paper-thin flesh was stretched taunt over it's angular, spade shaped skull, and horrible cysts and warts grew from shriveled, scabrous skin gone mostly bald with mange. Only a few clumps of whispy white fur clung to it's head and arms. It stood with the aid of a tall metal staff topped with a glowing green stone. Two curled horns sprouted from either side of it's heads, like a rams. It bared broken, chipped stumps of teeth as it surveyed the meeting.
It was only made up of the leaders of the horde, of course, but none of them trusted each other quite wisely, and so had brought as many of their bodyguards and flunkies as could be squeezed into the cavern, so that there was a veritable press of furred rats-bodies pressed together. only he was alone, in order to showcase his total confidence in his own power.
Grey Seer Thanquol ran his eyes over them all, his rivals in this war.
The monstrously obese skaven lounged on a palanquin born by rat ogres. He tried to meet the Grey Seer's burning gaze and could not, so instead the Moulder Packmaster ran a paw over the largest of his pets, a creature so massive it had to stoop in the cavern and made it's fellows look small. The creature bellowed it's pleasure as the Packmaster fed it a tasty tidbit of human fingers.
Beside him was the rotting form of the Low Abbott of the plague monks of clan Pestilens, who stood alone, well apart from any other skaven. From within the abott's cowl, puss-filled, fearless green eyes met his own. The plague monks were quite mad, and quite easy to antagonize. The plague monk blew his nose on the sleeve of his moldering robe. A huge bubble of foul green snot swelled on his wrist and then burst.
Next in line was the armored form of the master warp engineer of Clan Skyre. He was small by skaven standards, dwarfed by his retinue of jezzail-armed bodyguards who ringed him and his companions. Around him, standing in a half circle stood his acolytes, all wearing hooded-goggles and bizarre, protruding muzzle-bags over their faces, paws clutching staffs forged from a riot of skaven technology. Crackling energy and sparks played across gears, jutting forks and rusted prongs, and they seemed to make the air greasy.
Then there was the Clan Eshin Deathaster, a black cloaked shadow in rags, eyes blindfolded, back hunched and shoulders stooped, as if the murk was an extension of it's very being. Though the gutter-runners had been thwarted, their were other, deadlier skaven, adept at sneaking and appearing suddenly unexpected. Thanquol felt a sudden prickle at his shoulder-blades, and had a suspicion one was already creaping silently towards his back, blade raised...
"Mighty warlord Rattaro Stabb has fallen, killed in a tragic accident involving a loaded crossbow and an exploding donkey."
Straight away, all the skaven began to chitter amongst themselves. It only stopped when the Grey Seer raised a paw and let a warning glow of energy play around it, exuding menace.
"Now, we will prepare for the next stage of the master-plan. In the sad absence of lord Stabb, I will assume direct control."
"With greatest respectfulness, Grey Seer Thanquol, that is not the case." The booming voice of the Moulder Packmaster filled the chamber. "As senior skaven here, it is my duty to assume direct responsibility. Clan Moulder has generously provided many warptokens to fund this effort, and I must see they are spent wisely."
"What nonsense is this?" The plague Abbott inquired, the words bubbling phlemishly from his ruined throat like a death-rattle. "If any is to command here, it is rightfully me. It is, afterall, our plagues that shall bring about the downfall of these human cities. We have great plans. Great plans!"
"No, no! I disagree!" chittered the reedy, high-pitched voice of the Clan Skyre Master Engineer. "It is our machines that will make victory possible, and so it is up to us to see they are correctly implemented. Naturally, as the ranking representative, it is my duty to take command."
"This war shall be won in the shadows." The Clan Eshin Deathmaster noted, his voice so soft it was practically a whisper, a paw caressing the murder instruments strapped to it's bandoleer of criss-crossed belts almost lovingly. "It is clan Eshin that takes the risks, and therefore needs a subtle hand directing them, that only I can provide."
"This is a vile usurpation of Clan Moulders privileges!" The Moulder Packmaster roared. The rat-ogres, hearing the anger in his voice, bellowed with barely suppressed fury, and began straining forward. The sound of their wrath echoed across the cavern, growing deafening. "Mutinous behavior cannot be tolerated! NO! For the good of the force, I will warn you once that one more word of such treachery and my warriors will execute you all!"
There was a clicking as the jezzail teams cocked and leveled their weapons, lining them and bringing them to bear on the Packmaster. "Your warriors? Your warriors? There speaks a mad skaven! by what right do you name the warriors of my command your troops?"
"Both of you are trying my patience." The Plague Abbott burbled. "Seeing my two senior lackeys bickering in such a runtish manner cannot help but demoralize my army. Cease this treacherous behavior at once or face the hideous and eventually fatal consequences." He flexed his paws menacingly, and suddenly there was a package of filthy stuff in his paws. Nobody could doubt it was dangerous.
A score of shadows detached from the wall behind deathmaster, spreading out and forming into cowled skaven, all dressed in black and slinking silently forward so that they seemed to glide. They paused behind their leader, drawing rusted and ill-kept, single edged blades coated in a luminescent green slime. Most held two, but a few even held three, with the additional one coiled in their tail. The deathmaster straightened, hands clasped behind his back. "Enough. If you cannot conduct yourself in a manner worthy of leaders, I will be forced to vacate your positions to other, more qualified representatives. I cannot abide such foolish behavior among my soldiers." The whisper shook with unsuppressed menace.
Grey Seer Thanquol looked on with baffled rage and barely suppressed glee. A considerable part of him wanted to sit back and watch them come to blows, and laugh as they slaughtered each other. But, unfortunately, he needed them. So it was time to put a stop to this nonsense.
"Consider this. Until Rattaro was put in command, The Council put me in command of this army. Therefore, it is only logical that the leaders place in the rear must again default to me. Of course, if any of you wishes to challenge The Council's ruling, I will notify them at once."
That did it. The council was a place of intrigue and bickering, with so much politicing and back-stabbing almost nothing was achieved, but one thing they agreed on was dealing with anyone foolish enough to question their authority. And their paws were long.
"Of course, you are correct, Grey Seer Thanquol." The Engineer chittered, recovering masterfully. "It is only, as your second command, I felt that these others were over-stepping the bounds of their authority."
"I know not how he can claim to be your second-in-command, Grey Seer, when all know my respect for you is boundless, and my devotion to your cause is without limit." The Packmaster said, settling his ogres with soothing strokes.
The Plague Abbott merely coughed enigmatically and said "It pains me to see these overbearing oaths challenging your rightful authority, Grey Seer. Surely the power of my clan and my proven dedication to your person must mean I rank second here."
That was more like it, thought Thanquol. Let them bicker over the scraps while the glory belonged to him.
As was only right.

Link - HERO OF TIME, Borenson, Nekron
You have successfully navigated the tunnels and caverns of the glacier, and come at last to the heart, where the lord holds his icy court. You stand in a cavern of ice and snow. great spires that appeared to be made of pure crystal hung from the icy cieling, some twice, even three times the height of a grown man. Other, rockier formations jutted up through the thick snow that not only blanketed much of the cavern floor, but the walls as well. From some inner passage light entered the chamber, casting glittering ghosts all about.
Navi darts about, seeming unnerved by whatever she can feel ahead.

Kitiara
A young, well-groomed courtier rides out of the gates, which close behind him with a resounding boom. He's holding a red flag, which around here is a flag of truce. You suppose he's here to negotiate.
Sure enough, he stops before your tent, and bows. "Your beauty is matched only by your martial power, fair lady." he says, falling to one knee. Eragon, scowling, goes for his sword. Apparently, he's jealous.

Legolas, Gimli
"I can shed some light on that." The wizard replied, lighting his pipe with a coal from the rooms fire place, and puffing contentedly on it for a moment. He doesn't blow smoke rings as is his habit, and seems to preoccupied to derive much satisfaction for the moment.
"The end has come. The true lord of darkness has stirred at long last, and has freed himself from that which bound him in the void, and stretches out his hand once more. If he is not stopped, then a final night shall fall, and the end will come." He looks old as he speaks, his skin papery, and his hands shaking somewhat.

Tanis
They stop sharply, King Orrin's hand snapping for his sword. "Who goes there? What do you want?" He demands, his pleasant features arranging artfully into a thick-browed scowl.
The woman doesn't react, beyond stepping away to give him room. She's a schemer, not a person of action.

Cohen
Suddenly, and without warning, the door opens, seemingly on it's own accord. The flames flare brighter for a moment, then settle down again.

[Colesign]

Tavi

"Then we do what we can, because we must. We prepare for the oncoming storm, and stand against it to the best of our abilities."

Tavi shrugs. "But that doesn't mean we can't be smart about it. I think we have a good chance of 'putting out the fires in our kitchen': all I can ask is that you ask the allies you've acquired among the Varden to support a ceasefire, and I'll work my best to show them that storm on the horizon."

"Oh, and you stop your advance on D'hara and the other nations." he adds.

[doliest]

Kitaria
She smiles-ego stroking always puts her in a good mood. "Well then, let's negoiate." As fun(and profitable!) as razing a city was, a fully intact city was both easier to hold and more useful in the long term.

Soth
Soth is slammed into the ground-but he is a Death Knight. Without magic, he is almost impossible to contain, and even harder to destroy. There is a noticable slash in his armor, but he merely exudes pain, not defeat. "You fought valiantly." Soth raises swings his sword, ready to end this.

Tass
Tass looks at Tanis, defering to him here. He liked talking, but situations like this usually resulted in someone hurling something at him, and that was never very fun.

[The Shoveler]

Tanis
He walks out from behind his hiding place and into the open. He lifts his arms in the air to show he doesn't come to fight.
"I'm sorry, I just came in here to run away from my kidnappers. I don't mean to intrude on this building or on any business that you may have."

Legolas and Gimli
"Then we shall stop him as we have many before him. However, we need a plan. Are you coming along with us?"
"If you aren't able to come, then we would like some information about where to go. You always had a knack for knowing these things."

[Cracklord]

Tavi
"I'm afraid that is not possible." He replies. "Even were it necessary, my army has a momentum of it's own. It would be impossible to stop it. As much of the land as possible needs to be united when the black day comes, or there will be no hope at all, and the only way left to me is conquest. Second, and more importantly, D'hara is most likely the place where the Dark One will manifest. And I suspect that Richard has taken the Keepers salt."

Legolas and Gimli
"I will come for a while, but I shall be needed elsewhere before long." Gandalf replies. "And we shall go East to begin with."

Tanis and Tass
She purses her lips. "A wizard of Kitiara's arrived two hours ago, and requested your arrest. Why shouldn't I turn you in?"

Kitiara
"Our lord is impressed I am at their efforts. Never has he seen so majestic an army, and complements your generalship in binding so many together. It is an honor to be told such by him."
He stands up. "His greatest desire is peace, but he will not kneel. He will offer you tribute if you turn your wrath elsewhere, however."

[Draxx]

Druss
He lifts his axe again, his hands shaking with the effort, but he hasn't given up. He never will. Even now, past his breaking point he won't go easy. He'll keep on fighting until you kill him.

And yet it's over. He's given it all that he has, all that he is, and it wasn't enough. No human, can defeat Soth.

But Druss has, in his own way, won. He's freed from his curse, his desire for battle he'd never been able to escape. He's going to paradise. While Soth lingers, trapped by his own darkness and sins, unable to escape the twilight world of his own curse.

"Go on then. Finish it if you can." Druss replies, his eyes burning Soth with their uncompromising ferocity.

Cohen
"Huh. It's a trap. Knew it." Willie notes.

"Well, it's not going to spring itself. Let's go." Cohen replies, and pushes Hamish through into the darkness beyond.

Conan
The barbarian calmly wiped off his face, while the others swore loudly and frantically scraped at themselves, dislodging chunks of flesh and scraps of clothing that had plastered to them.

Staring ahead, he kicked the bones out of the way, then turned back to the one eyed witch doctor. "Like I said. You go first."

Sonja
She's been through this before. So many kings want to tame a barbarian princess. And that's the curse. Any man who can beat her in battle may be intimate with her, and nobody else. That was the edict of her goddess, to ensure she never knew the touch of a man.

Taking the magic sword in both hands and holding it before her, she leveled it at the golden warrior and tossed her burnished locks. "I've been there before. You have to beat me first."

[Cracklord]

Conan
Silent glared at him with all the warmth of a snake. He was tall, lean, dusky, hard as a stone with less sense of humor, and his eyes were as black as jet, hard as diamonds, and friendly as death. Somehow, he had avoided all but a few scattered drops of gore, and was mostly clean. He was probably considering doing something to you like what just happened to Dolf.
Then he clenches his teeth and walks through the open doorway. It seems that Dolf used up the last of the wards, for nothing untoward happens to him.

Cohen
Beneath the citadel was a maze of passageways and tunnels, underground caverns and rooms that had never seen the sun, the work of thousands of years of excavating the stone bedrock. They stretched beneath the entire city, and perhaps one could walk among them forever, never again finding the way to the surface.
Nearly perfectly round and bored through solid rock as though made from a monstrous worm, the passages turned back on themselves again and again.
It was clear that the tunnels were not made by any thinking being, or at least not a sane one. They were rarely level, plunging and ascending, curving, intersecting and re-intersecting themselves again and again to no evident purpose.
The air was musty and damp, and a gelid slime covered many of the curved walls. Frequently their sandled feet crunched over piles of old, brittle bones.

Sonja
He laughs, high and arrogant, and walks forward, still with no weapon. "Well that's not really in the spirit of things. Instead, let's make this interesting. if you can land so much as a single blow on me, I will admit defeat."

[Colesign]

Tavi

"Why wouldn't you be able to control your army?" Tavi says with bemusement, coming from a world of Legions.

Then he puts two and two together. "Oh, bloody crows." he says. "Let me guess: you tried putting as many people into your army as you possibly could, anyone who could hold a spear and walk on two legs: and there's currently too many people to feed via common sense logistics, so your army has to live off the land, and plunder and pillage almost everything, lest it starve to death."

He rubs at his eyes. "No insult is intended, Emperor, but that's not an army you've got there. That's a group of wanna-be Vord you've got. Even if you manage to conquer D'hara with it, it's going to be utter chaos: without forward momentum, or anything resembling a consistent chain of logistics, that army's going to disintegrate into roving band of hoodlums and bandits. Your house will be nowhere near in order when this Last Battle thing comes. So I hope you're really sure that this Richard is in the service of 'The Keeper', and that killing him will be worth all the deaths."

[Cracklord]

Tavi
For a moment, a thunderous expression passes over him, his eyes narrow, and his teeth clench. Then it's over, and he's once more calm and level.
"The army, though over-sized, is sadly necessary. The midlands has wizards. We do not, and cannot match their numbers. You are aware of the powers a first lord may wield. You can imagine what would happen if they were used against ordinary, defenseless men. To have any chance of triumph, any at all, we need this many soldiers."
He's telling the truth, but you can sense only part of it.

[industrious]

Pellew

"Dunno."

He chews thoughtful, calculating an answer. The last Emperor ruled for 65 years, the Oblivion Crisis which began with his death was five years ago, was born 87 years ago...

"About a century and a quarter."

Tywin, Allecia

"What is that used for?"

The words escape her mouth before she can clamp them shut. Blood and bone magic made her nervous. Not because she was disgusted by it, but because she was very proficient at using that art, for obvious reasons. She can think of a few uses. Even fewer of them are pleasant.

[Corvond]

Tywin Lannister
"I'm sure you know better then me." He replies. Which is probably true, he's no channeler of any description. He walks onward, as though the sand was inconsequential and he hadn't seen Lord Darken Rahl drag children there to be killed horribly.

He is not putting any more pressure on Allecia, he's rendered her charade pointless by putting his cards on the table. She can either come clean herself, or keep it up a while and leave. He doesn't really care either one, although he could use a few mages.

Thrall
"Then so be it." He lifts up the hammer and lightning strikes it, sending arcs of brilliant energy flickering over it's stone head. Drawing back his arm, he throws it, where it hit's the tree with a thunderous crack and a flash of brilliant energy that turns the air white for a moment. When it fades, there is nothing but a burned stump where the tree used to be.

He retrieves and replaces the hammer, then departs.

[darkblade]

Holo and Lawrence

"You may run now." Holo says before hawling and telling the dogs to disperse.

It is at this time that Lawrence catches up. Shocked by the grisley display he stares aghast. "Holo, what did you do?"

***

Zasamal

"I do not posses the power to do this. Pray you never meet someone who does." With that the Immortal excuses himself and steps out to see what is happening outside.

[Draxx]

Sonja
She mislikes his confidence, but doesn't step forward. She simply takes her sword in both hands and waits. Delaying serves her better, they've lost the gates, and the walls are falling. There will be a fighting retreat to the citadel, which will be their last chance to hold them off. The longer she keeps this going, the more time withdrawing soldiers have to set-up baricades, set traps and block up roads to funnel the horde into killing ground.

So she waits, silent and still, focused as a statue, waiting for him to advance into range.

Conan
Satisfied, the barbarian follows him in, but he keeps his senses primed and his hand on his sword. He does not believe that a few feet of steel will protect him from fel sorcery, nor does he believe that dying with a sword in hand will make him any less dead, or grantee a better class of afterlife.

But he does suspect they will encounter more conventional defenses, for which a sword shall serve him well.

Cohen
Cohen's seen a lot, but never anything quite like this. "Where's the treasure? These are the mines, got to be treasure."

"What, just lying around?"

"I dunno. Isn't that what mines are for? And monsters, got to have monsters."

"Well, why's it empty then?"

"Probably some hidden treasure chamber you need a sepcial key to unlock. Everyone, keep your eyes open."

[AnimeKid]

(Again sorry)

Lazlo
(Has he finished with his powering up the rune of punishment? Normally it only takes about 3 secs tops. However since he was trying to avoid turning his allies to ash along with thier enemies so it might take a minute or two. Also that you have a scale of the rune of punishments power using it Lazlo managed to destroy a fleet of ships that were attacking his. Also where is Tavi because I kind of his Lazlo to stay close to him.)

Link

Link steps forward and says, "Who are you and what is your connection to what has happened in this village?"

Auron

He groan as he tries to get up and then falls back down to the ground feeling weak. He then gathers all his strength and stands shakily saying, "N-n-n No time, we should get g-g-g going," He says weakly.

[Colesign]

Tavi

{Tavi went down to the command tent, and is currently trapped in the world of dreams with Emperor Ja-Jang}

"My words were, perhaps, harsher than they should have been." Tavi says. "Nevertheless, your strategic situation leaves much to be desired."

A thought occurs to him.

"If you're so sure that Richard is an ally of the Dark One, then why don't you simply try killing him from this..."

he gestures at the World of Dreams around him.

"....place?"

[darkblade]

Holo and Lawrence

Lawrence looks at Auron and sighs. "Find some clothes and get in the cart. We will talk about this later."

"But..."

"We will talk about this later. Now get looking." Lawrence all but yells at the Wolf as he grabs the chest from the other cart and loads in into his own.

Holo glares but does as he says for now. If the man was stealing from other merchants on their way through here then surely he must have stolen some clothes along the way too.

[The Shoveler]

Tanis
"Because she has no charge against me. I've done nothing against Kitiara. I'd reckon she's taken a personal interest in me... again... but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I am innocent and was unjustly held against my own will. And I'm currently defenseless, starving, and on the run. Please, I beseech thee, let me escape and claim you never saw me."
He's royally screwed.

Legolas
"Then shall we wake the others and get on our way?"
He stands up and prepares to get back on the road.

[doliest]

Kitaria
She turns her eyes to Eragon-he knew the tactical situation the Varden were in better than she did(hopefully), "Well? Will that be enough?" She didn't want to push too heavily-she might be able to take the city, control it, hold it, and move on, but her forces would be much weaker for the effort with little gained. One didn't always win with force.

Soth
The undead knight lifted his blade, mere seconds passing that felt like hours. With as much strength as he can muster, he brings the blade down to end the fight, and the legend.

[InyutheBeatIs]

((OOC: My sincerest apologies for not coming up with posting. I've been more than a little tired and burned out recently.))

Smaug

Smaug grinned at the enthusiasm of the nobleman, and grinned even more at the nobleman's demeanor on the battlefield and his cries for negotiations. He looked behind him, seeing the many people preparing themselves to defend Dras-Leona from the enemy, nodding his head slowly as he looked back to the fields.

Now it is time to see how they play their parts. Smaug thought to himself. Either way, I can see to it that I am victorious. The question is what I have to do to get that victory.

[Draxx]

Druss the legend
The massive warrior falls, the blade having cleaved through his collarbone, hir ribs and his heart. With a small sigh he collapses, Snagga the Sender falling from his hands. And so passed Druss the Legend, and with it the world seemed a little less bright.

[Cracklord]

Conan, Black Company, Achilles
This was the throne-room fit for a king of darkness. The rest of the fortress had been ill-lit and stark, bare of the slightest decoration, with small rooms and tight passageways, but this was enormous and illuminated by jeweled chandeliers. The furniture was ostentatiously luxurious. Gold gleamed from every edge. and silver. There were paintings on the walls, and the little witch-doctor wept to see so much loot in one place.
On one wall, was a floor-to-cieling window, set with stained glass where the king could gaze down from his keep at the world. He could see as far as the Hadrac dessert and trace the glittering threads of rivers through the forests below the cliffs.
And on the throne of jet and onyx sprawled an eighteen-year-old youth, dressed in black but for the ruby red blade leaning against the arm-rest near at hand. His fierce eyes were framed by the locks of his long brown hair. He was whip-cord thin and lean, and his eyes were hard and cold. "Took you longer then I expected. I had to take down most of the traps to see that you got this far."

Pellew
"You age gracefully." he doesn't doubt your word, or suspect you of any falsehood. He simply accepts it, not even asking for an explanation. "And what brings you to D'Hara?"
A very suspicious country this one. The sought that came about when a ruler loved regulations more then freedom. It seemed impossible to do anything without being questioned or having to avoid guards.

Thrall
You come to a city of buildings set in the treetops, so it is difficult to tell where nature ends and civilization begins. The place would be calming, beautiful and amazing, except that it is on fire, and massive orcs are in the process of killing and looting.

Zasamal
The new plan seems to be working. Soth is at least holding the wizards in place, while the Varden troops finally take the walls and begin raising the city to the ground, and with it, any hope whatsoever of peace.

Holo and Lawrence
The man takes the chance, sprinting and leaving the money there, deciding being poor and prospectless is better then being rich and dead. The wild animals do as you command, and if a few drag bodies with them as they leave, well that's only to be expected in this savage world.
Auron is looking somewhat better, though the sickness still has it's claws deep within him.

Sonja, Cleon
Gilgamesh holds out an arm, and a massive rectangle of brilliant crimson light shines out behind him, as the Vault of Babylon opens. In appearance it is almost like the surface of a pond, somehow glowing and totally rippleless. At least at first, as a multitude of artifacts begin to poke out from it, sending golden rings expanding over the surface.
In function, the gate is a portal to a small, self contained bubble in the world of dreams, that rests the magical weapons of the pattern when not in use. They all belong to The King of heroes, and now he reaches out to grasp one. considers them for a moment, then selects one. He selects one that, on due reflection, he himself is not certain of his ability to control, that was wielded by the last king of Valyria before the final doom came, that legends say he himself brought down. He pulls out a long, black runeblade, and grits his teeth as it screams in his head. He pulls out Stormbringer.

Lord Angmar
"What do you want to show me?"

Kitiara
Eragon steps forward. "Never. We will not leave a single one of the flesh peddlers and fanatics alive. You are all a blight on the world, and it is the Varden's sincerest desire to burn you from the world before you can do any more harm."
The noble turns to Kitiara and raises an eyebrow, as if to say 'dos this man speak for you?'

Soth, Rand
The defenders lose heart, fleeing back as Druss falls with an agonized wail, leaving none remaining but the Asha'men, who continue to hold back the undead. Logain takes this moment to step forward, holding what appears to be a handful of fire.
"See if I am so easily bested, oh knight." He says, the flames flaring brighter as he does.

Smaug
All is in readiness. Now all that remains is waiting for the woman to take the bait...

Cohen
Massive piles of treasure fail to miraculously appear all over the place. As do intricate secret doors, or any doors at all for that matter. All that happens is you get deeper still into the mines, beneath the earth.

Legolas, Gimli
"That would be well." He says, seeming a little distracted. "I'll go downstairs and order breakfast." With that he steps out, leaving you to rouse your companions and slumbering Gimli.

[Corvond]

Lord Angmar
"Say his name." He says, forcing her to look past him to the roiling shadow in the air behind. "Thoust knows it well, though thou may wish thy did not. It lives in all mortal minds as a nightmare of distant lands and forgotten days. It is a name of death that travels with fearful tale-tellers and poisons the lips of scared men huddled around fires in the foolish belief that they are safe from his reach. Say it, mortal. Say it now."

Tywin Lannister
"Forgive me, but I have matters to attend to. Consider my proposition, and if you wish to discuss further meet me for dinner. But don't waste my time. If you have nothing to contribute then don't bother to show up." With that he strode out of the gardens and vanished into the corridors, striding back to his office, his letters, and his plots.

Thrall
He pauses a moment, then looks for the orc that seems to be in charge, preparing to demand a report. This should not be happening, there is a ceasefire, and this could mean total war, that they could not afford at the present. He knew this would happen sooner or later. The drums of war have been beating for a long time. But he would have hoped he could try peace first.

If these orcs seem a little more feral, a little less self-controled or disciplined then he remembers, he does not think to examine it.