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 Post subject: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 1:13 pm 
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Posts: 1928
Forest arrived at Eagleshire and set up an audience with Baron TuK!. The diplomatic meeting at Bright Forge had not gone well and it was apparent that TuK! would rather go to war than try to negotiate. Forest was hopeful that TuK! would be willing to stop the inquisition with minimal bloodshed so that they could investigate the source of evil that was influencing Alphonse.

TuK! walked into the pavilion stone faced. It was obvious this meeting was not going to be a social call between two old friends.

"TuK!, we need to talk about the approaching forces. They are small in number and you have people from across the Kingdom to aid you. Can we not devise a strategy that will subdue this misguided 'Inquisition' and its leadership so that we can question them?"

TuK! scowled. "I don't care what his influences or motivations are. Alphonse and his whipped dogs will not be given any safety from me. We are an ancient holding and there are items of power here. I will not see him in possession of them!"

His agitation was growing and Forest knew that TuK!, when angered, was not going to be swayed. He had one last chance. "TuK! Alphonse has little chance of success. The worst he could do would be to destroy what he can before he is overwhelmed, but he won't be able to sack Eagleshire."

"Destroy? Oh he doesn't know what destruction is. But he will. Mark my words he will! I will show him what true fury and destruction look like! As they say 'Here, there be dragons!'" TuK! shouted as he stormed out of the tent.

Forest knew that the meeting had little chance of success, but now he was worried. What did TuK! mean by destruction and dragons? Soon, the answer was clear.

As the inquisition approached, they saw flames. TuK! has sent his army to negotiate for dragon fire from an ancient wyrm that lived in the caves near Eagleshire. Multiple tress were already ablaze before Alphonse' forces reached the field of battle.

"We must douse the flames!" Alphonse commanded. "If the tress are destroyed we can not tap into their essence to discover where the relics are hidden!"

His armies did their best. They ran to the lake to get water, and encountered a Water Nymph who wanted to aid them in saving the woods. But try as they might, they could not put out the fires as fast as the Eagleshire forces could set them. Soon, it was apparent that a 3rd force had joined the battle. Qintar, Bloodmoon, and a force from Midnight Sun sought to help stop the inquisition, but also to save Eagleshire from TuK!'s seeming insanity. Like the forces from Bright Forge, they were outnumbered and had little chance of success.

And then, it all turned to Chaos. Alphonse became enraged that the relics were to be lost to him, so he ordered his armies to lay waste to everything they could. Instead of putting out the fires, they sought to bring Eagleshire to the ground in a ball of flame! "if you can't beat them, JOIN THEM!" he shouted as he flung a torch into a nearby building.

Soon, it was over. Forest sat on the hilltop and surveyed they damage. Eagleshire was in ruins. Only the tavern, made mostly of brick and metal, remained standing. Forest had stayed his own armies, not wanting to take arms against either Barony. And Eagleshire had paid for it. What would become of this land, and what now of the inquisition. Would they see this as a victory? Would they move on to other holdings in the Kingdom? Forest turned his horse and signaled to the Royal Caravan to head out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TuK! and the other members of Eagleshire drank mead and celebrated their 'victory'. The fires had stopped the inquisition from gaining any of the relics, and the secret passages beneath the keep had allowed the members of the Barony to escape into the caves and allow Alphonse to believe they had suffered great losses in the fires.

"Rebuilding will be easy. We have master druids to tend to the trees, and craftsmen and mater wizards to rebuild and enchant the town. Now, we make ready. The inquisition will likely be emboldened, thinking they destroyed us. But all they have done is made an enemy of Eagleshire. An enemy they will come to fear!"

The others cheered and raised their glasses, and their swords. Eagleshire was already preparing for vengeance.

"They will look to strike again. And our spies will tell us where. Then, we will show them what it really is to crush those who stand against you." TuK! was smiling now. His anger burning cold like ice in his veins. The old evil of the Hills was strong in him, and he would see this false inquisitor bleed before it was over.

_________________
Forest Evergreen

Puppet Master of the EH

"Of course you are Forest. You're like the Mr. Burns of EH." - Finn

(insert titles and awards here)


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 Post subject: Re: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:15 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:52 pm
Posts: 9
((I'd like to correct that Bright Forge did not stand with their Baron, and instead mutinied with their Regent against him))

Atheris was weary, and had stopped only at the cool waters to scrub away the soot of TuK!'s commanded fires. It had been an interesting experience, and the day's events would likely have passed as they did without her aid on either side. Nevertheless, she had stood with her defender, and a few key others of the populous, with their barony's ally against their wayward Steward Baron. His mission had been fruitless, as she'd predicted, and he had been oddly surprised at where she stood in regards to this battle.

Eagleshire Barony and their kin were known allies of her new home, and Alphonse's heavy-handed method had been against her advice. She didn't necessarily mind his search for artifacts or items of power... and she certainly didn't mind his attempt to ferret out whatever influences remained of Cthulu's taint on the previous king... but to attack an ally under the guise of cleansing was not the way to go about it. She, and her Defender, would keep an eye on the Steward, this would-be Inquisitor, and determine the steps to be taken from there. She knew that this battle will have gained Alphonse quite enough enemies and hunters, there was no doubt there with how TuK! had received this treatment... but she could possibly use this quest of his, and the hunt for his head that it's caused, to Bright Forge's, and her own, advantage.

_________________
It is not our blood or our appearance which makes us good or evil... it is by our deeds, our minds, and our hearts. Create not the path to disaster with your rose-colored ideals. - Squire Atheris Coinin Labrys

Lepores! Lepores! Non est hic aluid Lepores!


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 Post subject: Re: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:14 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:27 pm
Posts: 297
Location: Eagle Shire/King's Point
The raven dove straight to the ledge overlooking the main forum of the Emerald City. It landed and hopped two steps forward closer to the closed window. It began tapping its beak on the window pane. A shadowy robed figure opened the window and sat his hand down near. The raven stepped onto the figures hand where it waited patiently.

The necromancer lifted his hand and with his other hand removed the scrolled message attached to the ravens leg. He unrolled the scrolled missive and read the printed words.

Eagleshire burns. The Inquisition rides.-Siv

The missive was written in one of the older rune ciphers known to the wizarding community of Amtgardia. In recent days the ways of the prim, the ancient and primordial ocean of power that is magic, had become unknown to the necromancer. There were certain things, however, that would never change; tradition, language and ritual chief among them. The ancient ciphers of the earliest prim wielders of Amtgardia were something that fit all three categories.

In every part of the world of Amtgardia and every division of magic had a language that only those who wielded those magics could read and write. Those tongues were older than most of recorded history, and were actually what most historians agreed the first written histories of the world were written in. The runes flashed a bright gold across the small scrap of paper, the letters themselves being enchanted.

So the dream the dark mage had was true, his home of so many years had been set ablaze. The very idea sent a bolt of rage through the man. This was his home for many years, and it was destroyed. He had fled the fields of the barony just a few years previous. A treacherous gypsy had burned his own manor to the ground, and left him for dead. So he had fled to the Emerald City and the businesses he had there to heal and regroup. Even so, the fields of Eagleshire were still his home, and he would hunt down those responsible and see to it they were brought to justice.

The necromancer rose from his high back chair and released the raven into the air to take a missive to his apprentice. He would find this Alphons who claims to be a pirate, and then he would remove his head and bring it before the Emerald Throne.

_________________
"A mind needs books as a sword needs a wetstone, if it is to keep it's edge.”
Tyrion Lannister

I do not suffer fools gladly, and fools with white belts never.

Mortem proditoribus.


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 Post subject: Re: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:07 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:44 am
Posts: 17
Low, the vicious die is tossed,
Low is the tide that tricks,
Low, the light of the Radiant Skull,
But all things have their time,
and the high pride cometh before the fall.


Alphonse smiled as he ran from burning Eagleshire. The Night Frights in tow, Alphonse ran with mad glee, a cinder spark in the night air. His troops had broken and fled as the barony took to flame and still The Winkler smiled. All things have their time. As he ran, his mind turned to thought…..

The battle was “lost,” that much was true. The Inquisition’s forces were heavily outmatched. Many allies had not joined the battle, others, traitorous dogs that they were, joined their banners to the dark forces of Eagleshire. The most disappointing betrayal was Alphonse’s own regent, Atheris. The pirate spat at the recent memory. For sure, he would remember well when that turncoat, hell-spawn pointed her sword at the bard. Her might was not the issue, it was the insult that it carried. Alphonse thought wicked thoughts, spiteful dreams, but for now, he would simply smile and laugh as if all was well. If one can play false, why not two?

He shook and trembled, his lip curling and uncurling in a fit, uncontrolled. He had hate, a feeling he had not known in his time in the Emerald Hills. It was a passionate anger, not at the loss, but for the circumstances. He had trusted too much, believed in his “friends” and saw it used against him. It had been a while since Alphonse thought vicious thoughts, but it seemed to sooth him in the long moments after the battle. He was a pirate, what place did he have trying to play hero? What good was it to be “good” in a land where evil fed the trees and grass as well as it did the people. There was no noble cause in the Emerald Hills, pride and self-interest was the currency of power. Lord Tuk! had wanted Alphonse to learn a lesson, and Alphonse did learn, All’s fair in War.

The Pantsless bard had learned something else that day. There were people he could count on, of special note his Knight, Sir Sutra, Lucian, and the populace of Midnight Sun. The denizens of Midnight Sun, despite Sir Quintahr’s unfortunate neutrality, had rallied behind the Inquisitor, not because they believed in the Inquisition, but because they believed in him. Lucian himself proved to have the potential to become a strong leader. In the face of a far superior force, he held his ground and issued orders in a controlled manner. It was good to see Lucian exercise his command presence, he knew his warriors and he knew how to make them work to the best of their abilities. Alphonse believed that with more guidance and experience, the Night Frights would be a powerful force is the days to come.

Sir Sutra’s guidance was essential that day. Alphonse didn’t think that even the last ditch escape would have been possible without the knight’s help. Sutra saw far deeper then he often let on, and the more Alphonse consulted with him, the more the Emerald Hills made sense. Even as the rest of Sable Pride stood with Lord Tuk!, Sir Sutra stood by Alphonse, an act which the pirate would be forever grateful.

Alphonse continued to run, the thoughts raging in his head were a torrent easing the rough pain in his chest. I find myself running away far to often. He laughed to himself, still, mortuorum non custodiat aurum, the dead keep no gold. Before his departure, Alphonse left a small chest for Tuk! to find with a simple message. If Alphonse was one thing, it was persistent. If I must be the fly on the back of the kingdom, the crow in the field, the torch to the spy I will. Perhaps there were those who would have stayed, perhaps there are those who would have left long before, but The Winkler saw the town burn in his eyes, and that made the retreat all the more easy to stomach.

However, Alphonse had lost and a bit of his pride burned with town behind him. He had thought that the support of his friends and allies, with careful leadership and rousing words would win the day. Yet here he ran in the wet and the dark, here he ran as he oft did when the tide of favor turned. His ambition had been checked, and his plans became blurred has he continued to run. The relics and the portal were lost to Alphonse now. Still he wondered if the battle was truly a loss overall. Eagleshire burned, all to ashes, it burned. Alphonse thought on this a moment, what does it mean to burn a bastion of evil? Further more, if truth be told, it was of Lord Tuk!’s own doing, why would one go to such extremes to hide the relics? He barked and ugly laugh in the night sky, half from the running exhaustion, half from the thrill of it. I march, and Eagleshire burns, that in itself is a feat to sing of. The bard knew in that moment he was on the right path. Leave honor to the knights, before he was done, there would be more fire.

“There they stood, ranged along the hill-sides, met
To view the last of me, a living frame
For one more picture! in a sheet of flame
I saw them and I knew them all. And yet
Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,
blew “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.”

_________________
Mortuorum non custodiat Aurum
The Dead Keep no Gold



Glory to the Pirate's Inquisition
By the Light of the Radiant Skull


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 Post subject: Re: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:37 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:27 pm
Posts: 297
Location: Eagle Shire/King's Point
Alphonse stood on the deck of his ship Fleshalone, and scowled into the sky in front of him. His plans for purging the empire of evil had not gone as he had planned. Eagleshire was a burnt husk of the barony it once was, and he was no closer to discovering the befouled artifacts or turning the empire toward the light than when he started. Not only that, but his list of allies was growing ever shorter.

He clutched a piece of parchment in his right hand. He brought the paper up and gave the words scribed on it another read.

Alphonse De Oso,

I send you this missive as a warning, boy. Until these last few weeks you were but a minor footnote in the history of this realm. As of today you have my attention, and you have made it clear that you are my enemy. You attacked my brother and his land without provocation, and with no cause other than a misguided attempt to cleanse this realm of so called evil. What you may see as evil is simply the lengths we will go to in order to assure the safety and prosperity of our people, but I am not writing to you to give you a lesson on governance. Consider this a warning, I am coming for you, and I will find you. When I do I will remove your head from your body, and I will take it with me to the Emerald Throne Room to be presented to the crown. Also, believe me when I tell you I will not be alone.

Sincerely,
Master Fionnigan Hellblazer

Alphonse clenched the missive within his fist and looked out into the fog surrounding the airship. He had not known the wizard Fionnigan Hellblazer long, but he knew he was a man of resolve. Hellblazer would be on the hunt for him soon if he wasn't already.

_________________
"A mind needs books as a sword needs a wetstone, if it is to keep it's edge.”
Tyrion Lannister

I do not suffer fools gladly, and fools with white belts never.

Mortem proditoribus.


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 Post subject: Re: Ashes to Ashes
 Post Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:32 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:27 pm
Posts: 297
Location: Eagle Shire/King's Point
Journal of Fionnigan Hellblazer

I am on the road traveling the realm in search of Baron Alphonse. He and a few other misguided fools raised their banners in an attempt to purge Eagleshire of evil. He has some high minded notion to cleanse the empire of evil, and he started there. Tuk burned Eagleshire to the ground in retaliation for the act, and it now lays in ruins.

I got the news within a few days after the raid, but I had known the night before it happened. I had a dream about it. The moment I received the missive from Siv with the confirmation of what had occurred I left my shop and went to the Houses of Healing to inform Draeven of what had occurred. He sent a missive to Eniad to meet us at the Laughing Jester Inn. We set out from there, and have been on the road ever since.

I am still having trouble casting magic. The shift in the prim that recently occurred was a major one. As a result I am having to relearn the necessary rites and components to work the prim. I still have my inherent foresight. In my dreams I continue to have visions of present and future events. I continue to have visions of my mother in the throne room of Imrryr. She keeps telling me to stay, but I am still not sure of what she means. I need to take some mushroom powder tonight before I sleep, and see if that doesn't help to clarify this dream. Perhaps the answer to my problems with magic will be in this dream.

_________________
"A mind needs books as a sword needs a wetstone, if it is to keep it's edge.”
Tyrion Lannister

I do not suffer fools gladly, and fools with white belts never.

Mortem proditoribus.


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