NationStates Jolt Archive

"Ask.... 'your daughter'," Ar'mai replied to Lorathin's confused look.

He looked at Lúthien and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ar'mai won't let me call her mommy, like I call you daddy." She replied with a tearful sniff.
He looked over at Ar'mai and asked, "What do you have against Lúthien adopting you?" He asked as he conforted the elven child.

"Because that type of thing is not in our culture," Ar'mai explained. "If someone young loses their parent, then they are taken care of by the community, a ruler, or someone who is taking care of a bunch of children. They do not 'adopt' someone new as their parent..."

Zyergi, who had been casually watching Lorathin and Ar'mai's situation, spoke his mind.

"The elf girl has no community left as far as we know. Everyone she has ever known is probably dead, and you are the only one of her kind in the area. It's only natural for her to her to want to latch on to one of her own."

ooc: I don't think Lorathin is an elf (Perhaps part elf... but I am pretty sure he is considered and has the features and genetics of a human).

ooc: I don't think Lorathin is an elf (Perhaps part elf... but I am pretty sure he is considered and has the features and genetics of a human).

Edited. Thanks.

Steve thought maybe it was for the best that the little elf girl's way of life had been disrupted. From everything he'd seen of elves, a lot of them tended to be a bad thing. Elven society, as a whole, was full of self-righteous, all knowing aristocratic types. Add onto that annoyingness the fact that they lived many many times longer than a human, and their ability to aggravate the rest of the world was limitless. As far as Steve had seen, a single elf, who was an exile or otherwise removed from elven lands tended to be more practical. He wasn't sure that was the case with Armai yet, as she certainly seemed to hold to some odd ideas.
Even so, perhaps this trajedy would put a little compassion, understanding, and humanity into the little elf girl.
It was just sad that whole cities of elves had to die before one could have the chance to add something of worth to the world.

"The elf girl has no community left as far as we know. Everyone she has ever known is probably dead, and you are the only one of her kind in the area. It's only natural for her to her to want to latch on to one of her own."

"I have no problem with offering her support and help. In fact I would have no problem with bringing her back to my own lands when we are done, but she has to realize what has happened... she cannot hide from reality," Ar'mai explained.

ooc: Woh, Gargantua, Steve certainly has his mind made up about elves. :p

"Not all elven cultures are the same Ar'mai, just like human cultures are different." Lorathin said, "It might not be a part of your culture, but it appears it is part of Lúthien's. Can you not bend to encompass another's beliefs, especially when she needs you?"

"And yet you would think that I would know about the culture of a high elven society in which I have been to numerous times over the years," Ar'mai retorted. "I have already offered my help... numerous times now, something which you seem to have forgotten so quickly... however, I will not be called her mother when I am not. To be a mother in our culture is something sacred and not a word to just be thrown around. You have one mother other than Elune."

"You all think I am being cruel and unsympathetic... but you don't know the culture of elves. It is you that should be ashamed at condemning by actions as they do not conform to what you deem as right in your own worlds..."

"I've traveled in and out of several high elven kingdoms for some time now," Zyergi retorted. "I'm more farmiliar with the culture of elves than you might think. Are you really sure it is healthy for Lúthien to be rejected by a member of her own species? Even if you are not really refusing her-which you clearly are not-she might interpret your actions as such."

"While you may be familiar in some misguided sense of high eleven cultures, I am from a high elven culture. I have also traveled and had serious relations with numerous high elven cultures across the world," Ar'mai rebuked. "And if she feels that she is being rejected by a member of her own species, then it is only because the lot of you are guiding her that way..."

"I apologise if I've offended. Your right I do not know as much about elven culture as I might like. I'm also sure any help will be appreciated." Lorathin commented

Lúthien looked at Ar'mai and asked, "Will you be my aunty then?"

"Amin hiraetha, ne..." Ar'mai said, regretfully. "Fra... Amin tera lle Zalonna." She smiled. "Ean, mellonamin tera lle Fer-ael," she added a slight joke (though it would be true) to get Luthien to laugh or smile, as young elven girls often dreamed of having their own knight.

[Translation: I am sorry, no. But... I will be your 'Royal Keeper' and my friend (Bael'ther) will be your Champion Knight.]

Lúthien looked thoughtfuly at Ar'mai as she worked through the idea. "That'd be nice, but Lorathin's still my daddy." She said, clutching his arm possessively.

ooc: Royal Keeper?

Lúthien looked thoughtfuly at Ar'mai as she worked through the idea. "That'd be nice, but Lorathin's still my daddy." She said, clutching his arm possessively.

ooc: Royal Keeper?

Ar'mai did not approve. What she really needed right now was to be back in her elven culture... not with a motley band who were about to enter a series of deadly battles.

ooc: Check post 253.

"I'll be your second cousin or a friend of the family or something if you want," Zyergi said, looking at Lúthien thoughfully. He had never had any kind of 'family' since most of his relatives were obliterated by a rather angry demi-god when he was only six. He was raised by a thief and an old wizard for a time before striking out on his own.

Thank goodness, that, Just then, The Darnaysian People's Republican Militia Guards showed up and blew the heck out of the undead and degenerate elves with their kalashnikovs. Climbing back into a Bombardier Iltis, First Officer Lennox Tomlinson began his speech, "I'd like to think that we've made a difference here today..."

ooc: Do not spam in this thread or I will alert the mods.

As the others spoke of the little elven girl that he found, and how they were relating her to family... it got Kalzog to thinking, in only a way he may think...

Kalzog was silent as he watched his fires die down, he's had his bit of fun, for now at least. Now, he turned his ember-like eyes towards Lúthien, and smiled a smile. This was not his usual maniacle smile either. Instead, it was an eery warm smile.

"Lúthien, do you enjoy playing games?" he asked quietly.

Lúthien looked at the strange person and asked, "Who are you?"

When the ogre asked her a question, she looked at him apprehensively and asked back, "Why?"

"I'll tell you a fun little game I used to play as a child," he said as he rolled up a ball of mud. With a little spell, the mud hardened. "And no, it doesn't involve the rough things in life," he continued as he shot a glance at Lorathin and Ar'mai, who were probably thinking this would be a dangerous game.

"You can play this all you like. All you need is something round, and dry, some twigs or branches, and, of course, some fun!" he chuckled as he tossed the ball in the air and caught it. He set the ball down as he picked up ten pieces of the tree shrapnel and barely poked them into the mud, in a triangle.

He walked back to his ball, and gently rolled it towards the sticks, bumping and spinning on the uneven ground. Surprisingly, he knocked four of the sticks over.

"Care to try, little one?" he asked as he held the ball out to her.

Steve was growing ancy. All this attention for a little orphan was nice, but it wasn't dealing with the problem of a lich, which everyone had seemed to have forgotten about. Taking care of the child was treating a symptom, and not the cause. If they didn't kill the lich, there would be other lone survivors of civilizations.
And even less interesting to him was the discussion of high elven culture. The 'princess' as Steve was thinking of Armai, whether true or not, was debating useless things... just like most elves did. He figured it had to do with their overly long lifespans, that they thought they had all the time in the world to deal with trivial details. If the lich had its way, she wouldn't have much to debate at all as a zombie.

Steve coughed. "As nice and heartwarming as it is to see people fighting over whether or not they'll be the mommy or daddy of an elf... lich, anyone?"

The Censor, who had, for whatever reason, stayed around the general location, sitting beneath a tree, basically, suddenly stood up.

"... Yes. Do you think we have time for... This?"

He shook his head in dismay. If it weren't for his mission...

"No matter how many of them you can slay, it all does not matter if you cannot finish it for whatever reason. Do you want to continue fighting over your... Parenting rights over this orphaned child and let other children suffer the same fate, if not even worse, or do we go forth and extinguish the source?"

Steve suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, realizing he was thinking along the same lines as the undead thing that was accompanying them. Even so, the idea was true. If he had to, he'd leave these bickering people behind, and go solve the problem himself.

She cautiously took the ball from the ogre, and tried rolling it, but what had been a normal sized ball to the ogre was quite a bit bigger to Lúthien and she had understandable difficulty.

"Yes you're probably right." Lorathin commented, "But do any of you know where we can find this lich?"

Kalzog chuckled quietly. He rolled up a smaller ball and handed it to the tiny elf. "Here, this one may be easier to use," he said as he handed her the smaller orb.

He looked up at the others. "Yeah, if someone knows which way to go, then perhaps we could get a move on..."

"Thank you." She replied and while still leery of the ogre, she trusted him just a smidge more as she took the smaller ball and tried to bowl it at the sticks.

"It's a fun game, once you get the hang of it," Kalzog said as he walked over to the sticks. Kalzog clapped his hands when he had knocked down two of the side sticks.

"You must be a natural, Lúthien," he said happily. "Now you have one more chance to knock down as many sticks as you can!"

He gathered up the fallen sticks and gently rolled back the ball. "You can do it, young one, use those natural elven skills you have!"

She tried again, aiming for the middle stick. She hoped she'd knock more down this time as the game was fun.

Kalzog's eyes followed the ball as it rolled towards the middle. It hit a small bump, sending it off course, hitting another bump, making the ball swerve towards the opposite end.

Kalzog put his hands behind his back, using some of his power to make a small bump rise slowly, nearly unnoticable, putting the ball back on course. Sure enough, it hit the middle, knocking down all the other sticks.

"You did it, Lúthien!" he laughed as he walked over to the little elf and picked her up, gently swinging her around. "Like I said, a natural!"

"Yay." Lúthien said as her ball hit the sticks. As Kal picked her up, she was still leery, but seeing 'daddy' watching made her confident that she'd be safe.

Zyergi smiled at the little elf girl, although it was barely visable through his bandages.

"I'm just a friend, I suppose." He felt a tad guilty saying this, but he wanted the child on his side if he wanted to eventually get some money out of her.

He looked at the undead questionaly.

"This Lich is obviously powerful, and we have no idea where he is. For all we know, he could have easily left Val'Thalmas before now. It may be extraordinarily hard to find him, unless anyone knows any very advanced scrying spells."

Kalzog set the girl down, continuing to smile warmly. "In the alleys back home, we would have baskets at the end to catch the ball, and a slide will let it return to us. We called the sport, Basket Ball," he said as he looked at the makeshift alley. "Like I said, Lúthien, you're a natural."

Kalzog fixed his gaze on Zyergi. "Bug-man, want to give it a shot?" he called out to him.

"With the decrease in the attacks from undead, you may be right that the lich has left. But we may be able to pick up his trail from there, at least, and get an idea where he may be headed."

"So let's go to Val'Thamas..." Ar'mai said, the name of the city sending chills down her spine at the thought of its current status.

Zyergi looked at the ogre and nodded.

"Sure. I used to play a game similar to this when I was very young, in fact. The alleys were curved instead of straight, but this is nearly indentical. I've probably lost all my skill in it by now, though."

Zyergi made his ball and set up his sticks, winding up a mighty throw and tossing the ball between his legs.

"Thanks." She said again as she returned to take a seat beside a smiling Lorathin.

"Do you know where the city is?" He asked Ar'mai.

"Do you know where the city is?" He asked Ar'mai.

"Sure..." Ar'mai replied. "It is just northeast of our current position. Not that far either..."

Steve set two fingers in his mouth, and let out a loud whistle. Moments later, his trusty pegasus came flying into the area, and landed beside him.
"Don't worry. If the lich isn't there, I can scout fairly quickly with Peggy. I'll just need someone else to pick up the trail and point me in the general direction."
Hopping up on her back, Steve started off at a trot towards the destroyed elven city.

"Then does anyone have an objection to going there?" Lorathin asked as he stretched out on the soft grass, made softer by the 'magic' rain of Ar'mai.

"Nope..." Ar'mai said, and almost in unison with her words, the great, majestic, winged horse known as Gael'kadar, emerged from the clouds and dove towards the land, stopping gently next to Ar'mai.

"How will Luthien be transported?" she asked Lorathin as she hopped nimbly onto the horse's back. "Do you want to carry her or will it be easier to let her ride with one of us?"

The Censor sighed deeply, even if it took some effort. It's not like he was breathing or anything anymore.

But some habits die hard.

"... I think I should be able to find his tracks. It is his presence which has caused me to come here, to this location, in the first place."

After all, what could possibly find the dead easier than those who share their fate?

"I think I'll be able to handle carrying her, but perhaps we can change off sometime later." Lorathin replied

Steve brought the great white pegasus to a stop, and looked at their undead companion. "Wait a second... if his presence brought you here, can you sense him now? It would be handy to know if he's still in the direction of the city now, before we go there."

The Censor laughed evilly for a second.

"Yes, it would be convenient if it was that easy. You could say that I need to go there to pick up his scent again - for he is trying to hide his presence. What I feel now is that he could or could not be in the city. Only way to find out for sure is to go there."

Zyergi's roll was dead on, the uneven ground having little effect. However, Kalzog's magic had a much greater effect...

As the ball was about to smash into the lead stick, it hit a newly formed bump, spinning out of control and landing in a small puddle of rain.

Kalzog burst out laughing. "Bug man, you were beaten by a little elven girl!" he chuckled. "But that is alright, She was a natural," he corrected with a wink at Lúthien.

As the others were speaking about the elven girl, Kalzog tossed the balls in the nearby forest. "I can carry her if you wish. If I get tired of walking, or if I'm slowing down, I could always summon a rock platform. If not, she can always hang off my back or I can carry her," he said as he tossed the sticks into the forest.

"I think I'll be able to handle carrying her, but perhaps we can change off sometime later." Lorathin replied

"Fine with me..." Ar'mai replied. "If you need me to carry her on the back of Gael, just whistle into the clouds..."

"I can carry her if you wish. If I get tired of walking, or if I'm slowing down, I could always summon a rock platform. If not, she can always hang off my back or I can carry her," he said as he tossed the sticks into the forest.

"I think we can manage fine..." Ar'mai commented, still not trusting Kalzog's motives or possible actions as she noticed that he was attempting to get Luthien to trust him with his little game.

"Ah, you hurt my feelings, Ar'mai. I'm only trying to do the nice thing, since I was awefully bad to her when we first met. Think of it as, repayment!" Kalzog said, with not hint of sarcasm.

"Why, you guys can even stay close to me if you want! In fact, I'd bet my life on her safety!" he said. "No one would even get close to touching her with me at her side!"

Zyergi clenched his fists and bit his tounge to restrain himself against Kalzog. He had been expecting something like this, of course, but the Ogre didn't have to be so damn annoying. In retrospect, however, Zyergi should have had a counterspell prepared.

"Well, Ogre, it looks like you are right about one thing:Luthien is a natural. She did knock down more sticks than either of us. I'd like to see how good she is when she gets older."

He suddenly grew cold at the thought of entering Val'Thamas. The thought of it was very unnerving.

"We would, but there's something freer about flight than walking or riding your strange stone." Lorathin commented as he stood and stretched. "Possibly later though."

Kalzog laughed as he noticed Zyergi clenching his fists.
"Yes...when she gets older," he muttered, wiping tears from his eyes from laughing so much, as his mind working mischieviously again.

"I would be honored whenever you are ready," Kalzog replied, smiling at the little elven girl.

"Well let's go already..." Ar'mai said impatiently as they seemed to be dallying. "The ride there isn't that important. It is only a couple of minutes at the most..."

"Fine, why don't you lead as you seem to know where we're going." Lorathin said from his prone position.

"Well, if it's that close..."
Steve nudged his holy mount, and she responded by leaping into the air, quite used to carrying the heavy load of the armour clad paladin and his assortment of weapons and trinkets.
Indeed, from the sky, he could see the city a short distance away, and in the sunlight he could see that the undead were busy at work there.
"Hundreds, by the looks of things," Steve called down, although he was unsure if they could hear him from that height. Muttering to himself, he gave Peggy a gentle pat, and they flew on to scout the defenses.

"Okay then. Grab Luthien and let us be off..." she said with a gentle tap to the horse's side. In a split second it had taken one gallop and jumped into the air, allowing its wings to take over and rise higher into the sky. Going above the clouds wouldn't be necessary in this instance as the distance would make it impractical and useless, so Gael'kadar stayed within the visible range of the ground as he soared across the sky.

Soon they would arrive in Val'Thamas...

Lorathin scooped up the young elven girl in his arms, cast his phantasmal wings spell and took to the sky.

At that point, Steve wouldn't have been surprised if the other three still on the ground suddenly sprouted wings, and the whole party flew to the city...

"Okay, I have a plan. We let the three down there head on foot to the city. The undead there will likely either shamble out towards them to fight, or take up defensive positions. In either situation, they'll be facing the newcomers. That's when we swoop down and take them by surprise in the rear. If the forces are made up of the same sort of undead we saw before, this should be a walk in the park."

Kalzog plunged his hands into the ground, pulling upwards on the large piece of ground he pictured. Suddenly, around his hands, a silvery white light formed, making an oval shape, large enough for several people. It began to lift upwards, as Kalzog's muscles bulged with his pulling. Suddenly, he let go as the platform hovered in midair.

He smiled as he jumped on, ready to follow the others.

Zyergi raised his hand.

"I'll go on foot. I've never liked flying myself, and I'm particularly good at sneaking as well. I could probably slip into the city unnoticed if I had to; zombies and skeletons aren't particularly hard to fool."

With that, he quickly scaled another tree and waited for the others to start moving.

"Pah, sneaking are for those unconfident in their skills. I say we all head straight on, right into them...except for the elf girl..." he said as he floated on the platform.

"Perhaps you'd like to get a ride with me on this expedition, bug man?" he asked motioning to the wide space available on his floating earth-platform.

"It may be true that I am a little lazy," Zyergi admitted, "But knowing how to be invisable has it's advantages, especially in battle. Although it's typical of someone like you to charge forward swords swiging, I rather prefer suprise and subtelty. besides, if that Lich is still there, it would count to have suprise on our side."

Zyergi looked doubtfully at Kalzog's new form of transportation.

"I think that I'd be more comfortable in the trees, Ogre. Thanks for asking, though." The last bit was said with a fair bit of sarcasm.

"Okay, I have a plan. We let the three down there head on foot to the city. The undead there will likely either shamble out towards them to fight, or take up defensive positions. In either situation, they'll be facing the newcomers. That's when we swoop down and take them by surprise in the rear. If the forces are made up of the same sort of undead we saw before, this should be a walk in the park."

ooc: Is this directed at Ar'mai???

IC:

"Sounds like a plan to me..." she said [possibly].

ooc: Both of you two who were flying.

Steve watched the ogre's floating pile of earth, and lost sight of Zyergi.
"Well... scratch that plan. Anyone else have any ideas? If we knew where the lich was in the city, I'd suggest just flying straight to him, and fighting him while we're fully rested, and at peak performance. But I certainly have no idea where he'd be..."

"Let's just fly overhead and search around the city from above," Ar'mai suggested as her voice carried skillfully across the airwaves. "I won't have a problem seeing from up here... the only thing we will have to find out is if the undead have 'air defense'."

"There shouldn't be many, if any air defences. The undead aren't known for flight." Lorathin commented as he rolled with Lúthien on his back, almost as if he were playing horsey with her. She gave off an "Eeeeeeek," That was obviously a product of a happy little girl.

ooc: DMG, Krowemoh has a new RP you might like
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=481384
Also Blast, replied to your earlier TG.

Steve shot an incredulous look at the flying man with the little girl screeching on his back.
With a firm nudge, Steve took off far away from the pair, not wanting anything to do with them should a combat situation arise. He was a big enough target by himself, being a paladin with a glowing sword. He didn't need children, or adults, who weren't taking the dire situation seriously endangering his life, or the lives of others.
This dying forest was not a child's playground.

Soon, Steve was flying over the city, looking at what defenses the undead had managed to create.

"There shouldn't be many, if any air defences. The undead aren't known for flight." Lorathin commented as he rolled with Lúthien on his back, almost as if he were playing horsey with her. She gave off an "Eeeeeeek," That was obviously a product of a happy little girl.

ooc: DMG, Krowemoh has a new RP you might like
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=481384

"Just because they aren't known for flight doesn't mean they don't know how to shoot down a flying man..." Ar'mai replied. "Especially if they are resurrected elves... they will certainly have some bows..."

ooc: I know... I saw it and she told me about it, but I have decided it wasn't my cup of tea.

"That's true." He replied, "But undead, even elven undead, aren't particularly known for being dexterous."

"What do you see up there? I'm itching for a fight!" called Kalzog to the fliers.

Ar'mai ignored Lorathin's last comment. Even if they weren't terribly good shots, an entire city's worth of archers could just launch up a hail of arrows... that many would be hard to evade. Nevertheless, all there was to do was to hope they weren't smart enough to do anything of the nature.

"What do you see up there? I'm itching for a fight!" called Kalzog to the fliers.

"They seem to be building a wall..." Ar'mai reported of the undead.

The fallen city was little more then stone rubble that littered the ground. The once beautiful statues and stone buildings that had once stood majestically at this precise spot were now in shambles and rubble that had suddenly developed a very recent smell of death that perfumed the city, On closer inspection from their aerial surveillance. The Scouts could see the forces of undead elves marching across the broken streets and passageways. They were all wearing armor and carrying weaponry including their dreaded long bows..


The aura of death was not just limited to smell. The forest near Val'Thalmas was showing signs of decay and wilt as a dark mist appeared to be consuming the local area and vegetation. The mist was difficult to make out but upon a closer inspection one could see it was coming from the temple that was in the center of the city. This massive structure thou badly damaged was still the most intact building in the entire city. The mist was pouring out of it….


The Undead seemed to have taken defensive formations across the city. They had been building a large six foot tall wall around the old perimeter around the city. The wall had several skeleton spearmen and zombies at the end. The Skeleton archers had taken position on the highest structures of the city. They looked for intruders and would fire at anything that came near including birds and other flying creatures that happened to get to close to the cursed city….


************************************************************************

The Arch Lich Mavis and his retinue of Skeleton Knights had finally reached the dreaded border to the Grand Shadow Empire. The captive High Elf Queen Mora awoke from her enchanted sleep. She suddenly screamed at the sight of the dreaded undead Elven knights that held her to here floating prison.

The Lich laughed at her sudden surprise and said, "Welcome my pet, You are going to be one of the few High Elves to enter the Grand Shadow Empire and not be killed by it's border Guards. You should be quite pleased."

Mora cried out, "You will never get away with this Lich!"

Mavis replies, "No one can stop me! My Goddess will soon devour this world!"

"A wall? Surely they don't think they can stop an ogre from breaching a wall, right?" he called back up to them.

Zyergi peered from the trees at the looming defenses of Val'Thalmas, taking in every small detail. The outer wall would be no problem-he could probably pierce through it without even casting any spells. The small skeleton army on the other side of the wall could pose a problem, however.

"Kalzog, I'm going in," Zyergi said from the trees. "Getting past this wall unnoticed will be easy. As soon as the fighting begins, I'll make a breach inside the wall and start cleaning out any enemies."

With that, he vanished, casting several spells on himself as he started to near the city. One erased his physical shadow, another his smell, a third his footprints, another his sound, and a last his body. He was completely nonexistent to most everyone around him. Perhaps an extremely powerful mage might be able to see him, but the Skeletons were hardly mages. In minutes he had silently penetrated into Val'Thamas.

"Well, I guess I should provide some sort of distraction..." he chuckled to himself. As his platform floated past a rock, he brought his hand out, picking it out of the ground.

His transportation slowing down, he spun around, gaining momentum for his rock, before letting it fly, smashing over the wall, hopefully into some skeleton...

With a great roar, Kalzog raised the Platform as high as it would go, and lept off as it smashed into the gate. With a great thud, Kalzog landed in a crouch across the wall, his eyes a bloody red. "Hello," he laughed, before beginning his deadly dance.

The Skeleton patrol watched in amazement as the rock smashed into one of their comrades……


The rest of them defending the wall raised their spears and charged at Kalzog. The Zombies hungry for flesh followed suite this time however they were all wearing armor which though weighed them down also provided a greater protection from their enemies blows.

The Skeleton archers fired a volley right at the Ogre that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The arrows numbered in the hundreds as the fell upon Kalzog. The Skeleton Archers were not as accurate as when they were alive but they had the advantage of being on a elevated plane thus giving them an easier shot at the Ogre..

Zyergi was ignored thanks to the massive distraction Kalzog had caused and the fact he was invisible made it hard for the dimwitted Zombies and Skeletons to find him…

"Want to give him some aid?" Lorathin asked Ar'mai, even thought Kalzog looked like he was enjoying himself, and the ogre would likely protest if he was denied his fun.

The Skeleton spearmen jumped upon Kalzog trying to bring him down with their elven crafted weaponry. The Zombies that were right behind their Skeleton comrades attempted to grab for Kalzog's legs while the arrows kept falling from the heavens. The Undead were obviously trying to overpower the Ogre with the weight of their numbers and weapons...

Kalzog laughed as he fell backwards, crushing the undead on his back. He rolled back to his feet, taking care of the zombies on his legs. The arrows fell upon him like rain, fortunately not like Ar'mai's rain. With a sweep of his arm, he sent small, yet strong dust devils outwards, messing with the arrow's trajectory.
As arrows fell uselessly to the side, Kalzog picked up several pebbles. "Time for one of my favorite tricks," he muttered, smiling broadly. His arms began to glow. Soon, they began to spread to his hands, and finally the pebbles.

The massive ogre stepped back and threw the pebbles at nearby undead. The pebbles ripped through a zombie's flesh, before returning to finish their job.

Kalzog grumbled as he noticed this attack was much better against the living, as the small homing projectiles ripped apart vital organs of a good number of opponents before clattering to the ground.

A bright light flashed inside the wall as Zyergi revealed himself, summoning a large lightning bolt that killed a dozen undead in the process. A flurry of knives went in every direction as he ripped through the completely unprepared skeletons and zombies behind the walls; the distracted skeleton archers soon started to rain arrows down upon him. Using one hand to mantain a strong barrier of magic that protected him from above and the other to wield his sword, he continued to cast lightning bolts through his weapon. The undead forces inside the city were being quickly depopulated as they were sandwiched between the wrath of both Zyergi and Kalzog.

"Any luck finding the lich, bug-man?" Kalzog growled as he pounded a trio of zombies into the ground.

About four skeletons were attempting to hold his arms as zombies were trying to claw at the Ogre's belly. With a great tug, Kalzog smashed the zombies inbetween his massive, meaty fists, along with its four skeleton comrades.

"No!" Cried Zyergi as he impaled another skeleton before swinging a knife through several zombies. "I only had a little while to search, but there's no sign of him in the exterior of the city!"

Undead patrols were starting to notice the new hotspot and several of them were starting to pour reinforcements from the central part of the city. Hundreds of them lumbered toward Kalzog and Zyergi with the intent of killing and devouring their corpses...



The Skeletons sent their swordsmen at the Zyergi. These elite fighters would once again attempt to beat the sneaky rogue out of the city. They came at him in a turtle formation using their shields to cover their front sides and over head areas. They moved very slowly but had a determination only the dead could extert in that kind of stress...


Arrows and skeletons and Zombies were still swarming Kalzog. The Skeleton arrows kept firing at the Zyergi then alternate to Kalzog pending on who was the bigger threat of breaking the undead's hold on the wall...

"Coward! Pah!" growled Kalzog as he picked up a zombie and threw it hard at a large group of skeletons, shattering all of them. "What would I expect from a lich? I'm surprised he left his army here then...unless he was meaning to come back."

The Ogre was becoming more of a threat as he was pushing several squads of undead away from the wall. This forced the Undead to redouble their efforts. The Undead practically jumped at him they would bite him, slash him, hit him and everything they could think of to break his momentum against their legion...


The Rogue was facing a very determined foes as they tried to break his defenses with their swords hoping to break his ability to defend against them. The arrows were becoming more desperate as the better undead archers tried to focus shots to hit rather than making a massive volley...

Zyergi downed a couple more zombies before turning to face the small horde of swordsmen bearing down slowly on him. Same tactic as before, but there were many more enemies this time. He couldn't call for Kalzog for help, seeing as the ogre was currently busy, and the Gods knew what the Flyers were doing. It would take a tricky spell to bring down all these swordsmen, but Zyergi had an idea in the back of his mind that could pull it off.

Knowing that speed was the heavily armored skeleton's weak point, Zyergi started to circle the swordsmen in a wide arc, carefully avoiding the hail of arrows trying to bring him down. Every few feet he threw a dagger into the ground at exact intervals; soon, he had made a complete circut around the skeletons, who had not made much headway trying to turn to face him. Zyergi shot a powerful lightning bolt from his sword; the streak of energy collided with one of the knives. The knife's enchanted jewel quickly absorbed the energy, sending a visibale line of electricity to the knives around it.

It was like a giant domino effect; there was soon a huge circle of sparking energy encircling many of the swordsmen, who were still advancing slowly towards Zyergi. He wispered a few words under his breath and raised his hand; electricity shot from the knives and lanced upwards, focusing in a single focal point far above the skeletons. Zyergi let his hand drop, and a massive tornado of lightning, far more powerful than anything Zyergi could have summoned, flew downwards and smashed into the swordsmen, vaporizing many of them instantly. Many others were knocked off their feet or injured.

Luckily, the spell relied more on the latent power in the jeweled knives rather than Zyergi's own power; he felt hardly drained as he charged forward and started sparring with the few remaining swordsmen.

"Suicidal undead..." growled Kalzog as he batted away a group of zombies who leapt at him.

Constantly shielding his eyes from the hail of arrows, Kalzog waded through the sea of undead. With a great roar, he picked up two more zombies, and threw them against the undead archers. "That should keep them busy for a time..." he said as he rubbed his hands together, his tattoos still glowing, but this time the glow spread across his chest and back.

Kalzog knelt down, letting the undead swarm over him, however he made sure none would attempt to gouge out his eyes, by batting away any who tried. Then, with a feeling of vertigo, he jumped upwards, the undead bursting into the air. A large white flash engulfed around the Ogre. Kalzog being the center, the white flash extended about five feet in diameter, tossing the undead away in the blast, while those closest to Kalzog were vaporized upon impact. With the new space, Kalzog leapt up into the air, smashing into the ground in the middle of another group of undead. With another howl, he smashed his fist into the ground, smaller shockwaves erupting from his hands. Kalzog was building up for his "Chaos Rage" as he called it, in which he struck down any in his path, causing the most damage and the most chaos...

The undead were taking to much damage from the combined onslaught from both Zyergi and Kalzog. The remain skeletons and zombies started to follow their secondary order to fall back to the temple and defend it to the last undead...

The sight would have seen comical undead retreating from a fight?

The survivors if you could even call them that were starting to fall back away from the raging ogre and his extremely fast rogue comrade...

The Ogre and Zyergi would probably start to smell and see the dark mist that seemed to be powering the undead. The poor monsters were giving away the source of their power as the retreated to the colossal stone structure that overshadowed the rest of the ruined city…

"Want to give him some aid?" Lorathin asked Ar'mai, even thought Kalzog looked like he was enjoying himself, and the ogre would likely protest if he was denied his fun.

"I would... but they seem content to battle the undead and I am still looking for any signs of survivors or the lich responsible for this atrocity. However, you can do as you wish," Ar'mai commented as she scanned the city atop her winged horse that continued to circle from above.

The archers had found their targets in Zyergi and Kalzog and so Ar'mai was relatively safe at her vantage point. However, there had been little luck of finding anything of use... save, perhaps, the building... the temple.

"So you and Bael'thar go search for survivors, I stay here in case the lich makes an appearence or those two get in trouble?" He suggested as Lúthien clapped at seeing the undead get smucked.

"We will share the second duty, but as for the other two... yeah," Ar'mai replied as she continued to search the ground for anything important.

"Have a look at that temple..." she commented.

"Sure." He replied as he cast a spell on his hand. Reaching up and touching an eye, he 'pulled' it out so that he was holding a translucent copy of a human eye. The eye began to speed forward, quickly becoming almost completely transparent as it began searching thought the temple. As the spell required quite a bit of concentration, he was flying in an aimless circle.

As the eye was quite a bit faster than a human, it quickly covered the temple before returning. He closed the eye that had used the spell and said, "I'm almost positive the lich isn't there."

The once majestic and holy temple dedicated to the supreme Elven God Corellon Larethian was now a desecrated unholy place where darkness reigned supreme.

The dark mist that powered the undead seemed to be based from here and it was evident that the skeletons and Zombies that were closer to the temple seemed a lot stronger and more invigorated compared to the ones on the wall.

The Undead had now surrounded this temple and had archers all over the roof. The entrances had pike zombies backed by Sword wielding skeletons. The rest of the undead formed into a massive circular wall around the temple which encompassed most of the nearby streets..

The skeleton Archers were now snipping the adventures using hit and run tactics hiding behind rubble and above broken buildings trying to ambush the enemy…

"I'm almost positive the lich isn't there."

"That isn't what I meant," she protested. "I meant that it seems a little odd. There seems to be a faint and dark mist coming out of it. They are also taking up defensive positions around the temple... and battling like hellions to keep it."

Kalzog growled as he pummeled a group of lagging zombies. "Watch them retreat like cowards!" he roared in his blood lust. He ran to a huge chunk of rubble from a nearby building and hoisted it above him. Arrows clattered against it as the undead archers took notice to the strange ogre. With a great heave, he tossed it to them, smashing a small group of them.

"Bug-man, see if you can take out their pikemen. I can't jump in if they have their pikes raised..."

"Oh." He replied abashly. "Your right. Possibly some source of undead power is in there, thought I didn't notice one, of couse I wasn't exactly looking and that spell isn't the best for picking up magick."

"Of course." Zyergi thought hard on how to destroy the pikemen before the idea came to him. He concentrated and performed a quick, complex spell; he seemed to explode into a plume of smoke.Three Zyergis walked out of the cloud, swinging their swords expertly. Dopplegangers. It was impossible to tell which one was which as they charged the zombie pikemen full-speed; one clone jumped upwards, another tried to chop at the legs of his enemy, and the third ran straight forward. The zombies, confused, started pointing their pikes this way and that, trying to bring down the clones.

Of course, none of the clones were the real Zyergi. In actuality, the clones were a simple diversion as he merly made himself invisable again and sneaked behind the block of pikemen. He appeared out of nowhere and started to quickly slaughter the confounded zombies, creating an opening for Kalzog. Hopefully the Ogre would take it, or the Skeleton swordsmen would soon charge Zyergi.

The Pike Zombies fell for the dopplegangers ploy they aimed their pikes and attempted to take out the incoming Zyergis before they reached their first barrier from the temple…


The secondary Pike Zombies cohort move out of the way from the main door, as a column of ten undead knights come out of the temple's main chamber door. They seemed to be a lot smarter and more enhanced then their brethren. They move at an almost unholy speed as these heavily armored undead Knights heads toward the ogre with obviously enchanted blades. That were glowing a dark crimson color as they charged screaming in unison, "F..or.. Ma..ster.. Mavi..s!"



The Undead held their ground at the temple sight. They were now fighting with more strength and speed then normal it was like they had been upgraded from their humble origins. They fought like some sort of demon rather than the easily outmaneuvered and individually weak undead...

So focused on the battle were the undead, that the sudden flying impact of a pegasus with a paladin was quite unexpected. Flying skillfully low to the ground, and calling out to Thraxis, Steve unleashed a blast of holy power into the area near the door to the temple, dusting several undead before they even had a chance to react.
But Steve noticed it did not instantly kill as many as he expected.
Rearing up, Peggy's hooves smashed the skulls of the two nearest skeletons, as Steve's glowing longsword rang out, before hacking apart five of the nearest undead abominations.

"Perhaps we should shed some light on this issue..." Ar'mai commented to nobody in particular as her horse rose higher into the sky. It circled, gaining altitude on each successive pass, and then finally disappeared into the clouds.

A moment later, the horse that carried Ar'mai reappeared as it galloped through the clouds (at a steep angle of descent) and continued downwards. Like a shockwave, a powerful energy hit the clouds, making them disperse. After a large hole had been created in the clouds, a bright light shined through and radiated over the city.

[ooc: It is sort of like Holy Light, though it will most likely not kill any of the undead - just make them uneasy, or something like that. Choice is yours.]

Kalzog smiled at the opening Zyergi created. "Bug-man isn't so bad after all," Kalzog muttered as he jumped into the hole, once again beginning to smash through the ranks of undead.

Several pikemen shuffled towards Kalzog, but he took hold of the pikes with his hand and shook them violently, shaking the zombies off of them.

Pikes in hand, He impaled several nearby zombies with the pikes, and beating the skeletons apart with the newly made clubs. "Hey look! A Zombie-kabob!" laughed Kalzog as he tossed the full spear into the crowd of undead.

"Anyone know what is inside the temple? Especially what is causing this...horrible mist?" he asked as he smacked a skeleton to dust in between his hands.

"Why don't we go find out," shouted Zyergi as he decapitated another skeleton. He grabbed hold of a zombie's pike, killed it, then commendered the weapon, swinging it dangerously. Zyergi cast another spell, and the pike lit up with an electric light.

"Kalzog! Throw me into the temple!" Zyergi held the pike straight forward like a missle as he urged the Ogre to toss him.

"With pleasure!" laughed the raging Kalzog. He picked up the relatively light Zyergi and aimed at the temple door. With a loud grunt, he threw the man at the target, as powerful as he could. I hope I aimed right...he thought as he watched the living dart soar through the air.

Zyergi was suprised at the incredible streanth of the ogre as he was tossed straight through a group of armored skeletons, the electrified pike slicing through them with ease. He turned, threw the pike, impaled a few more zombies, and started to fight his way through the temple. His indoor style of fighting was more acrobatic than his ourdoor one; he had taken to jumping from wall to wall, throwing knives and kicks downwards at the heads of his enemies. The black mist was making it harder and harder to see as he continued to move forward.

The light and the sudden onslaught from Steve had caused a massive disruption in the undead ranks as some tried to cover themselves and avoid the dreaded sunlight that suddenly shown through..

The Skeleton Knights all ten of them began to hack at Kalzog with their necromantically enchanted Leech Blades. These unholy swords would drain vital life energy from a wounded target. The Skeletons Knights jumped on Kalzog trying to beat him down with their enchanted weapons and strength.

The Zombies and Skeletons continued to fight despite the painful irritation in their eyes and the burning sunlight against their skin and bones. The Skeleton Archers suddenly lost a good chunk of their accuracy and many arrows were beginning to fall short or to far from target…

Several Pike Zombies attempted to stop the flying Zyergi dart from reaching the entrance there reaction however was slower than usually thanks to the now burning sun in their undead eye's.

Steve's sword hacked into the spine of one of the undead knights assailing the monsterous ogre, and it straightened suddenly.
As its leech blade attempted to take life, so to did Steve's sword weaken evil creatures. The powerful artifact blade came back, as the skeleton fell to the ground. Far from finished, it held up a sword, and attempted to strike at Steve.
With a deft spin of the blade, he intercepted the Leech blade, batted it aside, and shoved his holy sword into the skull of the vile undead, ending its unlife.

Steve looked down at the still form with concern. It was rare he found an undead who could keep moving after being struck by his sword. And these were mere slaves to the lich. He found himself glad for having the company who was with him now in the fight.
Several pikes slammed into his full plate, distracting him from his thoughts, and he bellowed out another prayer to Thraxis, blasting several of the closest undead to nothing, before he held aloft his sword, and continued on his crusade.

"Why thank you, Paladin, however I could have delt with them myself," Kalzog said as he noticed the Paladin taking out some of the enchanted swordsmen. He was, however, thankful of Steve's blow. It certainly did lighten up Kalzog's load, and made things easier for him.

With his remaining pikes, he pierced a swordsman, keeping the others at bay, thrashing the pikes around. As the impaled swordsman continued to bring himself deeper into the pike, closer to Kalzog, the large ogre picked up the pike and rammed it into two other swordsmen, and finally into the temple wall.

Picking up another piece of rubble, Kalzog smiled as he charged into the skeletons, sandwiching them between a large rock and the temple. He smiled as he heard the familiar crunch before returned to the remaining undead.

Zyergi's vision was growing dimmer and dimmer as he breached farther and farther into the temple. He could remedy the problem instantly, of course, but doing so would be a waste of energy. Better save that skill for later.

The enemies he was fighting were also getting stronger and stronger and their armor thicker. Knives were almost useless, and Zyergi's saber was having trouble peircing the skeleton armor. Enemies came in continual waves, seemingly never-ending. He hoped Kalzog and Steve would catch up to him quickly, or else he might be in serious trouble.

The undead forces outside of the temple were becoming overwhelemed by the sheer power of the group. They were enchanced by their dark mist but they could not hold while taking so much damage. The undead began to fall back trying to hold the doors and using fallen comrades weapons to make it harder for the enemy to advance.

The arrows continued to fly as the archers fired more volleys into the Paladin and Ogre trying to slow them down so the rest of the surriving undead to overwhelem them...
*********************************************************

Zyergi was being assualted by nermous Skeleton and Zombie guards. These guards were greatly enchanced thanks to being so close to the source of the dark mist. They fought like demons to hold the temple at all costs.

The Grave Dirt Golems that slept at the sides of the Temples doors awakened and charged at the only living creature in the Temple. That would be the poor rogue Zyergi..


OOC: Powers and abilities of Grave Dirt Golem:

Berserk: Have an uncontrollable rage against enemies...

Construct Traits: They are immune to Poison, Magic Sleep Effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, mind-affecting spells and abilities. Energy drain immunity etc.

Immunity to Magic Effects: They are immune to most offensive magic spell. Certain spells like moving earth can harm them however.

Soiled wound: If they harm a living creature that creature suffers negative energy damage.

This rules came out of my rule book not out of my head...

"Golems," Steve groaned, as he lopped the head off a zombie. It still came at him, so he reversed the swing into a thrust through its chest. The holy sword did the rest of the work in killing it.

"This is getting worse and worse all the time. Kalzog, can you take the golems? I can keep the undead off of you in the meantime, if you think you can handle the problem!"
With another prayer, more undead died in the area between the two melee goons, and Steve moved to back up the ogre, taking hacks and slashes at any undead who dared approach.

"Consider it done, paladin," replied Kalzog, cracking his knuckles as he walked towards the golems. Arrows wizzed passed him, some hitting his incredibly hard skin, only to bounce off, others missing completely.

"Hey, dirt bags! Over here!" Kalzog called to the golems.

As the indomitable ogre strode forward, crushing undead in his path, Steve backed up behind him, swinging his sword defensively. The skeletons and zombies were learning that the sword bit hard, and weren't too eager to engage. Even so, they knew they needed to defend the temple, and were attempting to coordinate attacks.
Even so, Steve was a seasoned veteran, and he wasn't going to underestimate this foe. If they appeared to be coordinating in a way that he would have trouble defending against, he would unleash a wave of holy energy, wiping some of them out.
But he knew that he couldn't do that indefinitely.
He hoped the golems were the worst of their problems in this place, and things would settle down soon. Otherwise he thought they may not have enough left in them to finish the job.
To accentuate the point, an undead took a pike like a bat, and from out of Steve's reach swung it and shattered it over his shield, causing Steve's arm to vibrate hard, and feel a little numb. They were learning from Kalzog's fighting techniques. Most unusual undead...

Green muzzleflashes accompanied with twisted, cold laughter lighted the blackened insides of the temple, bullets burning with green, evil light hitting whatever golems, zombies and their likes as they attempted to close in on Zyergi.

But why had they not reacted to this intruder within their temple?

Quite simple.

The Censor had come out of the shadows once more.

As he continued to fire his weapon, he shouted, almost incoherently:

"So this is what the blasphemer used! I can feel the similarity, but it is just a mere... A mere copy!"

Click. Click. He stopped to reload and spoke out.

"This thing is blocking my... View, of the lich. Yes, I can see that now. Once it is removed... It is likely that he cannot hide anymore."

Ar'mai continued to circle above the ruined city of the now undead as the bright sunlight poured down upon her, making her feel more energetic and vibrant. "They seem to be making headway..." she commented as the others on the ground made it into the temple.

I wonder if this city will ever rise again... she thought sadly as she remembered how beautiful it once was.

The Main Chamber

The Grave Dirt Golems turned to attack the Ogre and the undead creature that had attacked them. The realization that they were more of threat than Zyergi, There attack was now seemed to be spurned on by the fact, The Golems had gone Berserk trying to smash their opposition into putty.

The undead warriors were falling from the enemy onslaught and some of them went to protect the fountain in the next room. The rest of them attacked the Paladin with their swords and axes trying to break his defense. One of the Zombies had tried to attack Zyergi with his elven spear.
***********************************************************************

In the throne Room...

The Tombstone Golems all of them stood like statues ready to defend the fountain as soon as a living creature walked ten feet near it. The surviving Undead took positions around the fountain and prepared to face true death to protect it. Mavis's notes and books were still layed about on the table of the far edge of the left wall. A perceptive person who noticed them would learn much about Mavis's plans.

******************************************************************

Border…


Mavis and his escorts finally ran into the guardian of the border a young Black Dragon by the name of Rathagoth. This Black Dragon was charged with flying and protecting the border from intruding armies and raids from the elves and other unwanted guests.

The Arch Lich spoke to the dragon in a respectful tone, "Mighty Rathagoth, I am Lord Mavis Constanlio, I ask you to allow me entrance into the Grand Shadow Empire. I am a citizen and I bring a captive Elven Queen for his Imperial Majesty."

The Black Dragon sneered and said in a loud bolsterious voice , "A Lich? Your kind usually does not leave the boundaries of the Grand Shadow Empire. I will allow you to pass inside the Grand Shadow Empire!"

The Arch Lich smiled as Mora tried to protest but was silenced by the dragon's dark glare…

Kalzog noticed the reckless actions of the golems. He admired their rage. Several of the golems began to close around Kalzog, attempting to corner him and pummel him into submission. One threw a heavy punch at the massive ogre.

Kalzog took it in the chest, taking some of the breath from his lungs. This only made Kalzog smile as he looked at the golem. "Let a true rage artist show you how it's done," he growled. His eyes flashed blood red and with a mighty roar, Kalzog charged at the golem that had punched him. He smashed the golem into a wall before picking it out by the arm and swinging it at it's comrades like a flail.

Steve grimmaced, as swing after swing came in at him. His extremely magical armour was deflecting most of it away safely, but even the constant battering was wearing on him.

One of the leech blades cut in, and hit a crease, drawing just a slight line of blood, but it was enough to drain strength from the paladin.
With a grunt, he reacted by throwing out a blast of holy power, vaporizing the undead knight and a couple other nearby undead, but the hit hurt.
With a few moments in the clear, before other undead could rush in, Steve uttered a Prayer, and all of his allies and himself felt a slight boost in the middle of the exhausting combat, and the undead in the effected area were equally drained, attacking slightly slower and more susceptible to damage.

As Kalzog chose to go berzerk, Lorathin decided to see if either could use some help. Casting a spell on Lúthien to transport her to Ar'mai's horse, he said softly, "I'll be back shortly, don't be too much trouble for Ar'mai."
"Alrigth." She replied as she found her self appearing in Ar'mai's lap.

Quickly landing, he cast a spell to render him invisible, unsmellable and unhearable to the simple minds of the average undead. He would have to avoid touching them or effecting the reeking minions of death, but otherwise he was safe from them. He then headed into the temple to see what was going on.

"Hey, Lúthien..." Ar'mai commented over her shoulder as she saw the young elven girl appear on the back of Gael'kadar.

"Ever flown through the clouds before?" she asked with a smile. She wouldn't be much good in a fight if she had to protect Lúthien, so she might as well have some fun.

"No, what's it like?" She asked as she petted Gael'kadar's mane.

"No, what's it like?" She asked as she petted Gael'kadar's mane.

Ar'mai merely smiled and gave the signal to Gael'kadar. She held on to the elven girl so that she would not slip as Gael'kadar beat his mighty wings hard and quickly rose higher into the sky. Soon they were flying through the majestic clouds, darting in and out...

Lúthien sneezed as she passed throught the damp cloud but smiled as she had fun.

Kalzog tore apart another golem before his golem-made-flail dissolved apart. Soon, no more Grave Dirt Golems were around Kalzog.

"How does it go on your front, paladin?" Kalzog called out as he looked around for any sign of Zyergi or any of his other comrades that ran into the temple.

For one of the few times in his life, Zyergi was caught off guard by a zombie spear; the blade cut an inch or two into his forearm. Zyergi winced in pain. The zombie tugged the spear, trying to pull it out; Zyergi's bandages, however, were snaking up the weapon as though they had a life of their own. The bandages pulled out the weapon and decapitated the suprised zombie. Zyergi tugged the bandages on his other arm, and they too came alive. He surged forward, wielding his new weapons like deadly garrotes and whips.

Zyergi struggled into the Throne Room, watching Kalzog fight several golems at once. Before he could react, two golems dropped from the ceiling and tried to crush Zyergi; he avoided the huge masses of earth easily. The golems got more frusterated as Zyergi doged every punch that they threw at him. Zyergi whipped his badages around each of the golem's legs and pulled, swiping the creatures off their feet. He started to swing the golems around and around, smashing them into various enemies and walls.

Zyergi caught sight of the Fountian and paused before he spun around and smashed a cohort of skeletons with his earthy weapons. He started to spin wildly, the two Golems providing plenty of momentum as he neared the fountian. Just as it seemed that he would lose his balance, he sent the golems smashing into the fountian; the powerful blow ripped the fountian from it's founations and turned the golems into dust.

"Let's just say I'm hoping there's a big lever somewhere that we can pull and all of these things will just fall dead," Steve replied, slashing his sword down across an undead's shoulder, splintering bones until it came out the opposite side of the undead thing.
He had no idea how many times he'd called upon the power of Thraxis, but he was certain he would soon be unable to turn undead. Again a holy wave of power reached out, but the undead here were strong, and it only killed one, forcing a few others to run in terror.
Pausing, as the undead ran around in chaos, he laid his hand upon his chest and let healing powers flow over him, closing wounds he had taken. It certainly wouldn't be enough if the fighting carried on, but it was better than nothing.

The dark fountain was destroyed, The remaining undead looked over as the black mist started to dissipate into oblivion. The undead started to crumble into heaps of bone and flesh. The fountains dark powers had been shattered and all the undead were destroyed. The remain Golems were deactivated, They just held their ground not following any more commands...

The throne room was littered with the bones and the fleshy remains of the undead that once fought here. The weapons and armor had also remained on the ground. The desk holding the books and journals were also at the far left of the wall.

ooc: rofl Deatharon, them journals sure show up a lot ;)

Kalzog watched as all the undead around him dissolved into nothingness. He growled as the skeleton he held burst into dust. "Fight, you blasted undead lackey!" he growled as he shook what little was left its shoulderblades.

"Infernal..." Suddenly, Kalzog's gaze wandered to a desk near a wall, with many books and scrolls. "What have we got here?" he asked no one in particular as he walked over to them.

Steve stood in the middle of the mess, watching for any movement among the ruined bones and rotted flesh, breathing hard from the long fight.

"Well... I wish I would have wished for that instant death earlier..." Steve said with a bit of a grin, as he looked to his companions in the room. "Good work, everyone."

"Pah...good work nothing...These undead would have been better if they didn't just die off suddenly..." he growled as he picked up the journal. "Hey...this looks as though it were made by...the Lich Mavis. Our target perhaps?" he asked out loud.

Lorathin walked in after the undead bit the dust. He'd gotten lost and gone in circles for a while. "Hey Kalzog, and you other two." He commented as he went over to join the ogre in leafing through the books.

Kalzog turned to face Lorathin. "I do hope you did not bring Luthien down here. This was, afterall, her home," he scolded, his eyebrow raised.

"Ow..."

Blood was still dripping from the deep wound in Zyergi's arm as he took a long breath. The battle was over. About time. He looked at Kalzog.

"I'm suprised, Ogre. We make a pretty good team." He examined one of the journals. "Mavis, eh? At least we know who we're hunting now."

"We're alright," Kalzog grumbled as he picked through the papers. "I must admit, however, you did fight decently, being a grasshopper and all," Kalzog chuckled.

"These appear to be Mavis' journals...boring..."

The Journals were bound by what would appear to be elven flesh. The words were written in the blood of elven children and the journal's had a seal of Minax upon them. If any one tried to open the journals they would be given a nasty surprise as the dark magic that protected the journals had been activated upon the touch of strangers. It was clear only someone with considerable art in magic could penetrate the barrier that protected the books from being opened and read....

"Of course not." He replied, "And I knew a lich named Mavis, but that was a while ago and there was no way he could do this."

"No? Why not?" Kalzog asked gruffly as he noticed a faint odor emanating from the book...

"Perhaps it would be best to keep the book away from the elves, at least Luthien. This seems to be...made out of elves..." he grumbled as he examined the book.

"Azrael, are you a good historian? Is anyone here a good historian?" Kalzog asked suddenly, stopping himself from opening the book.

The Censor had kneeled down next to the remains of the fountain, placed his weapon to his side and put his hand onto the drenched soil, as though leeching the last remaining traces of the unholy power left behind in the broken fountain, the green flames let out by his armor burning brighter than before.

"Hee hee hee, of course," he mumbled silently, "Yes, of course. It is as we thought. The lie runs deep, but it cannot hide its tracks from its true holders."

He then picked up his weapon and stood up.

"He is long gone. He has retreated back into his homeland. But, what do we do now? Remain here, or follow him while his tracks have not gone cold?"

"That's most definately a good idea, and no I'm no historian." He replied

"Well...my ogre senses tell me not to open this book," Kalzog chuckled. "Actually, a rule I have learned the hard way is not to always open random books that I have no idea what's in it. Considering this book has...been made from elves....and has the goddess Minax on it...Something especially tells me not to open the book if someone can attempt to dispell whatever traps it may hold. Not that it would hurt me, considering I have these," he chuckled as he pointed to his tattoos.

ooc: Just saving the link. Anyone have any ideas how I can get into the story at this point?

"Minax? Never heard of that one," Steve said, as he walked over to Zyergi, and cast a small healing spell to stop the bleeding.

"Certainly we'll need to follow the lich, but I think we could all benefit with some rest before we run off into his homeland. If he can conjure this many forces away from there, I have trouble imagining what we will face closer to his base of power."

"Oh, but certainly not around here...The elves may have trouble getting used to the city..." Kalzog replied, packing the book in a pouch hooked up to his belt.

"Minax is the Goddess of Death to many nations, if I know correctly. Wicked being, but nothing I can't handle," Kalzog chuckled. Actually, he was hoping they wouldn't end up meeting Minax. He had dealt with demi-gods, and near-gods, but not quite a god itself. The closest he had ever gotten to a god was not very close, and he was thankful for it, after seeing the effects it had on those around it.

"Agreed," Steve replied, as he walked out of the temple. "Goddess of Death, eh? Sounds like a good adversary for Thraxis. Did I ever tell you the story of how Alfred, Gabriel and I saved him, and some other gods, and he made me his paladin? Let me tell you, it's a lot better of a life than being a simple fighter."

His pegasus appeared nervous outside, with a few cuts and scrapes, despite her fine white dragon scale barding. Laying a hand on her, Steve channeled power into her, and she was instantly healed of all her ailments. It was a good life, being the mount of a paladin. He only wished he could heal himself so completely, much as Father Alfred had done for him countless times.

Up on the pegasus' back, Steve surveyed the outside area, making sure there weren't any lingering undead about. "So, where shall we go to rest before our next fight?"

"Oh, I'm sure any old Inn will do fine. I'm connected to most of the hostels in the area; I could probably get us in for free. They're good places to lay low and divert attention." Zyergi rubbed his arm where Steve had healed it. "Unless, of course, anyone wants to stop in one of the cities. We could stock up on weapons and food a plenty, but that would take longer. We might be noticed by people we don't want to be noticed by as well."

"We had better not wait too long, though. The Shadow Empire may become impossible to infiltrate if we tarry."

"Oh brother..." Kalzog muttered under his breath as Steve began to speak of his previous exploits.

"That's a good question, paladin. I would prefer somewhere where there's fresh water...none that is corrupted by the undead," Kalzog replied as he followed Steve outside the temple.

As Zyergi suggested an inn, Kalzog nodded slowly. "That may be our best bet. I need no weapons, and Lorathin seems to have a good supply of food...which he still promised me 6 more cows I believe..."

"Ya ya ya." Lorathin commented, "How about you guys go alert Ar'mai and Bael'ther while I do some searching through the library." He suggested

"Alert Ar'mai why? We're doing just fine without elven intervention. Perhaps when we get to the inn, we can drop off the child to someone responsible, as well."

"As for weapons and such, I'm good. A good night's rest, some healing in the morning, and I'll be good for another day of travel. Anyone know how far it is to this land that the lich has run to? It'd be nice if we had an extra day or two for us to be at 100% strength."

"I meant that this was cleaned up without incident and that we were all headed to an inn." He replied

"Sure, I'll just toss this here chunk of rubble," began Kalzog before rememboring Luthien was with Ar'mai. "Or...I'll spark something fancy..."

Kalzog looked up at the sky and let his power surge to his balled hands. He pointed his fists to the sky before opening them. Several spouts of bluish light shot up into the sky before exploding into brightly colored flashes, some green, some yellow, some red.

"Maybe that will get her attention," Kalzog laughed as he admired his work.

"I was aware of what you meant," Steve muttered under his breath, as he watched the magical display. He had to admit, he hadn't ever met a being quite like Kalzog, and he was glad that they were not meeting as enemies on the battlefield. Although he was quite sure his sword would be able to pierce even the massive ogre's tough skin, it would be a terrible duel, and likely wouldn't leave whoever was the victor unscarred.
Not that the ogre seemed to mind scars, Steve thought with a grin, as he nudged Peggy into a slow walk down the road.

ooc:trying to subscribe... ignore this...

Kalzog turned to face Lorathin. "I do hope you did not bring Luthien down here. This was, afterall, her home," he scolded, his eyebrow raised.

[ooc: lol, write before I read this, I was thinking about writing my post and having Ar'mai decide not to enter the city because of Luthien.]
[ooc2: While Ar'mai is not a historian per se, she has been around for a few hundred years, has kept herself up to date with events, and has gone through a rigorous education (which definitely included a lot of history as it is important to elves).]

IC:

After flying through the clouds some more and letting the little elven girl enjoy her time, Ar'mi noticed that the undead army that had occupied the city was now crumbling into dust and the mist that had spread across the fallen city from the temple was dissipating. The battle seemed to be over and it would now be safe to land.

She nudged Gael'Kadar slightly and the horse began spiraling down towards the land. Remembering that the city was the city of great tragedy for Luthien, Ar'mai decided not to enter it and remind the little girl of the death of her friends and family as well as her entire people. Instead she landed on a small hill that was a hundred meters or so outside of the city.

The display by Kalzog certainly got her attention even as she sat on the ground (or rather on Gael'kadar who stood on the land) with Luth sitting neatly in front of her. However, what the display was supposed to do was beyond Ar'mai. Clearly the battle was over, she knew that already, but if they wanted to discuss something they would have to come to her. She wasn't going to enter the city with Luthien and she was definitely not going to leave her alone.

Her keen elven senses and hearing picked up some faint sounds of the group's voices that carried over the wind, but for the most part she was too far to hear what they were talking about. However, that didn't mean they couldn't hear her. She raised her hand to her mouth and whispered something gently; a spell that would make her voice carry across the wind and into the ears of those in the temple. "What?"

Karasu, in her overly-massive, yet graceful dragon form, was flying high above the clouds looking down. She was out wandering the country, as she had completed her last job; as usual, guarding a small village against a gang of thieves and pillagers, in human form. She loved her work and was able to meet so many different people. Karasu adored meeting new people.

Currently, she was wandering from place to place, staying here or there. As she was gliding, she noticed a nice looking inn.

Karasu found a place far enough away to land, and changed back to human form with a puff of rainbow dust just before landing, to avoid the inevitable earthquake if she landed in her dragon form.

She was wearing her black and gold Kimono with her Nihonto through her Obi, her black hair down past her waist, and on the right side, a streak each of green, gold, silver, white, blue red, yellow, purple, and some other colors which only took up an area from the front to her ear. She carried a bag of belongings over her shoulder. Mostly weapons, lots of money, and her black leather fighting clothes.

Karasu was blessed a stunning woman, with full lips, eyes that changed colors, and a very curvacious body. Men stared at her constantly, however, she was so used to it, she ignored it, most the time, unless someone caught her attention.

Karasu began to walk to the town where she saw the inn. She could use a rest. I hope it is a nice inn! She thought.

Steve opened a small pouch at his belt, and flipped a shiny gold coin to the stable boy, before handing over the reins of his trusted companion. "Make sure she's well fed, and groomed."
Staring in awe at the gold coin, the child wandered away with Peggy in tow. She gave him a 'look' but he grinned, never feeling bad about tipping a child one hundred day's wages for a night of work. Peggy always came out looking her best afterwards. She hated it. Truth be told, she'd rather be up in the sky, flying free, than spending a night being fawned over in the stables.
Brushing his hands over his armour to get some of the dust of the road off, he looked back to his companions. "If there's one thing I've learned from traveling to other planes of existence, it's that inns are trouble. Sure, I've met a lot of companions and would-be companions in them, but they seem to invite massive brawls." Steve looked to the ogre, trying to hide his smirk. "I sure hope we don't have any problems like that in this one."

Kalzog looked around as he heard Ar'mai's "what?", but realized she must have been using some elven or nature trick...that's what most elves do...

"We're going to go to an inn for some rest. We may be there for a few days as we try to figure this out...We have some information that...should not be heard by all," he called out to the forest, not exactly sure where Ar'mai would be.

"I guess we'll meet her there?" he asked the others.


Kalzog only smiled at Steve. "Why do you look at me, paladin? You should watch out for Ar'mai...she always starts up bar fights...after chugging several kegs of beer..." he chuckled as he imagined how that would look.

"That sounds like a good idea, I'll catch up before you get in too much trouble. I intend to take a quick look around this library." Lorathin commented

(ooc: Sorry, I skipped the chat as leaving the ruined city, and went on ahead to the inn. I didn't figure there was an inn anywhere near that city that wasn't touched by the undead. Continue on with the talking on the way to the inn. Steve'll just be silently riding as point)

After hearing Kalzog's message, Ar'mai set off into the sky on Gael'kadar, gripping Luthien tightly so that she did not fall off - if falling of a horse ruins one's day, then falling off a flying horse might ruin a lot more than just one's day.

They glided through the air for ten minutes or so before Ar'mai spotted the group walking along the road that led out of Val'Thamas. Gael'kadar set down just thirty feet or so in front of them and then Ar'mai waited until they reached her. "What did you find?" she asked curiously, though wondering if they should discuss it in front of the small elven girl.

"We found nothing of importance," Kalzog replied grimly.

"Did you see the lights, Luthien?" Kalzog asked cheerfully, pointing towards the sky with one hand. Once the little elf child looked to the sky, Kalzog patted a pouch on his belt for Ar'mai to see.

As the others returned, Lorathin began doing a search for any books that were magically warded. Those that were he set in a pile to see about dealing with.


"It was pretty." She replied, "But where's daddy?"

"Azrael is, checking out some books," Kalzog replied, a smile on his face. "He'll be back soon."

"Come, let's go to the inn. Then perhaps ol' Kalzy will have another game for us to play," Kalzog chuckled as he looked towards the direction of the destroyed elven city.

Ar'mai gave a look of understanding as she looked to the ogre's belt when Luthien was distracted. "Come on... let's go before anyone else shows up," she commented as Gael'kadar turned to face the road ahead of them and began slowly walking...

"Agreed," Kalzog replied as he walked to the inn.

"So, did you two have fun?" he asked Ar'mai and Luthien.

"Certainly," Ar'mai replied. "The clouds are quite pleasant to dive in and out of. It is even cooler if it is raining during the daytime. Then you can fly up out of the rain and on the other side of the clouds, it is perfectly sunny..." Ar'mai commented with a hint of memories in her voice.

Karasu found her room at the in to be quite nice, considering the condition of the city. She got herself settled and decided to go downstairs for a relaxing drink.

When she reached the lounge and tavern area, she was surprised at the amount of people... then again, this was probably one of the only decent buildings left.

The men whistled at her as she strode into the lounge and up to the bar, but she ignored them. She ordered a glass of mead and found an empty table to sit at.

I hope there is something to do around here. she mused. If she was not busy on a job or quest, she got quite bored, although going to see her son soon was on her list of things she wanted to do.

Karasu was hoping to meet some people she could stick with for a while. Some interesting people... not these men, who kept coming up to her table trying to start conversations, which were all dull. Karasu told them to leave or ignored them until they did.

Where are the interesting people?

Steve strode confidently into the inn, surveying the patrons with a big smile. "Everyone, we have news! Spread it far and wide! The neighbouring elven city of Val'Thamas, which was destroyed by a lich, has been cured of the plague of the undead! Our adventuring group has just ended the threat by destroying the very source of power of the undead armies! You may rest easily this night, knowing that the lich has run in fear of us! Soon, we shall continue the hunt to end his wretched existence!"

Who is this guy? Karasu thought as she sipped her mead.

"However, more undead can be raised to take their place, can they not?" Karasu asked aloud to the man called 'Steve', while swirling her mead in her glass.

"They could if there was anything left to raise," Steve admitted, as he wandered over to the woman's table. "But by destroying the center of power, the undead crumbled to dust for the most part. Even if the lich comes back, that would save us a trip. But he's on the run now. Mind if I have a seat, milady?"

"Yes, please join me. I am most interested in hearing about your adventure and where you are going from here." Karasu gestured for the man to have a seat. She actually heard some of the other men complaining that 'this guy walks in and she lets him sit with her, but we're not good enough?', and that sort of trash, which she ignored.

"I had heard about the decimated town, but did not go there myself to see it." She had flown over it, but was not going to reveal that information.

"One lich did that to the town? I had heard such, but I thought that part was exagerated... and you are tracking him!" Karasu said, excitement in her voice. "Tell me more!"

Karasu was hoping this was the adventure she was looking for. It certainly sounded exciting, and vital, which was most important. She was always looking to save lives. It was the mission of The Black and Gold Dragon.

Karasu smiled slightly seductively at the man as she waited to hear his tale.

"Ahh...the inn," smiled Kalzog as he walked indoors. Steve was already making himself comfortable with a lady...a strangely familiar one too.

"Perhaps I should show you the findings in a private room," he said as he noticed how full the inn was. "After some drinks..." he added, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Kalzog?!" Karasu spoke loudly, stunned. "How are you?! It has been a long time. It is me, Karasu! It is great to see you!" She was so surprised. She always loved Kalzog because he could always get under Inzi's skin. His humor amused her.

"Kalzog do you know this man here? Are you part of his party? He said all of you vanquished the undead in Val'Thamas!" Karasu said excitedly. "Please join us."

Karasu turned to the man, "I knew Kalzog a long time ago. I am quite surprised. He always cheers me up." She grinned at Kalzog.

"By the way", she turned to the other man, "you have not introduced yourself, sir."

After dismounting Gael'kadar and whispering something short into his ear, the winged horse lept into the sky and rose higher every moment before disappearing into the clouds.

"Come on Luthien... let's go inside," Ar'mai said as she held the little elven girl's hand. She entered through the door a minute or so after Steve and proceeded towards the bar.

"Two glasses of water, please," she asked of the barkeep as she reached into a small pouch to produce a pair of coins.

The barkeep returned after only a couple of seconds with a pair of ice cold, water glasses. "Thank you kindly," Ar'mai said as she took the pair of glasses. "Here you go..." she said as she bent down slightly and handed one of the glasses to the little elven girl.

"Ah! Karasu, it is nice to see a familiar face," he chuckled as he looked at Ar'mai.

"It's a small world after all," he replied as he looked at an open seat, realizing it was made for smaller races. He grunted as he slid it away and stood in it's spot.

"This is...Steve? A paladin. Useful, but boastful, and tends to take my kills," he chuckled. "We were part of the same group, yes."

"So how have you been, Karasu? It has been, what? Two years?"

"I have been well." Karasu smiled. "I have had a son." She grinned. "Other than that, I have pretty much been doing the usual.

"I hope you have been doing well, Karzog. You are looking good and healthy." Karasu grinned at him.

"Pleased to meet you Steve." She nodded.

"Hello Ar'mai." She smiled. "And who might this be?" Karasu asked smiling at the little girl.

Lúthien looked at the strange lady and hid behind Ar'mai's proverbial skirts. She wanted her 'daddy' here, but since he wasn't Ar'mai was the next best thing.

"Good evening to you..." Ar'mai said as she turned from the bar and strode over to the table where the group was gathering around Karasu. She had her glass in one hand while her other hand reached down and held Luthien's own up-stretched hand.

"This... is Luthien."

"It is okay, Luthien," Ar'mai whispered as she noticed the girl dart behind her legs. She knelt down and turned to face her, "Karasu is a friend. She knew Kalzog, me and Azrael from a couple of years ago."

Zyergi stared curiously at this seemingly old aquiantince of Ar'mai and Kalzog. He was still smarting from Steve's loud entrance-the idea of an inn was to lay low, anyways. Not like Kalzog could lay low anywhere, of course. He took a couple of seconds to snatch a particularly foul smelling drink off the bar counter, handed the barkeep a few coins, and then went back to observing the attrative newcomer.

"Hello there Luthien." Karasu spoke gently to the girl. "You are a very pretty girl." She smiled. "It is very nice to meet you. My name is Karasu." She told the girl, smiling warmly. Having her own child made her more accessable to children.

"And who are the rest of you, if I may ask?" She looked at Zyergi in particular, as she had never seen him before.

"A boy? Why, congratulations Karasu!" Kalzog replied with mirth. "Are you keeping the little guy at home under the care of others?"

He looked at Luthien and rumpled her hair gently. "Luthien is quite the professional sports player," he said proudly.

"Zyergi Zyerga." Zyergi gave a short and akward bow as he introduced himself. "Bard, Thief, and Rouge extrordinaire. Glad to meet you."

And I'll be glad to steal something from you as well, He thought. He still hadn't forgotten his plan to steal away Luthien. He hoped to complete his plan before the group reached the edges of the Shadaow Empire.

Lúthien listened to Ar'mai talk about the strange lady, but she still was weary of the lady, more so than she was for the ogre.

"For now, yes Kalzog. I had some business to attend to. I want to hear how you decimated the undead! That is truly amazing!" Karasu exclaimed.

"That is okay Luthien... you have the right to be shy," Ar'mai said as she stood up and turned around, the small elven girl still standing behind her.

"Sorry, Karasu. She doesn't seem to like you..."

"Pleased to meet you, Zyergi." Karasu nodded to him. "A thief, huh... well, I will be sure to watch my things... well, I do not really have anything, actually." She chuckled.

"So someone... tell me what is all going on!"

"Of course she does." Karasu replied to Ar'mai. The child does not even know me. She is picking up signals from Ar'mai. Poor kid.

"Well, how I decimated the undead...they came from all sides, as I was stuck in the middle. I roared a challenge to their leader, a mighty vampire and he came to suck my blood. Considering my skin is very strong, he broke his fangs and cried. As he did so, I took him by the neck and snap-" he stopped himself as he thought of Luthien.

"And playfully tossed him across the horizon with a mighty throw. The other undead screamed for mercy and told me they would do my bidding, so I made them dissolve," Kalzog said, smiling broadly.

"Good for you!" Karasu exclaimed. "I assume you are trying to find this lich?" She asked the group. "If that is the case, may I join you. I find myself with not a lot to do at the moment, and I am not expected home for quite a while. I think I can be of help." Karasu looked at all their faces trying to read them, and waiting for an answer.

The mentioning of the lich that was responsible for the recent events gave Ar'mai an off feeling. There were rumors that the person in question was a lich by the name of Mavis...

Mavis whom they had traveled and ventured with just over two years ago. She didn't want to accept that he could be responsible for such a despicable act.

But soon she had brushed her thoughts aside for later contemplation and her eyes refocused on the matter at hand. "I am fine with it... another pair of capable (and feminine) hands is always good to have."

[ooc: By the way, would it be pretty safe to assume that Kalzog, Ar'mai, and Lorathin know she is a dragon by now?]

Steve finished adjusting his armour in the seat, feeling uncomfortable. He really should have taken it off before coming in the bar. After several minutes of trying unsuccessfully to find a good position, he looked back up and noticed that everyone was there. He had totally missed everything going on around him.
"Right. So... where was I? Oh, my name is Steve Smith, Champion Paladin of the God Thraxis! After saving my own plane of existence more times than I could count, and founding a castletown, I decided to extend my life-long adventure to other planes of existence! Granted, I'd already been doing that for several years now, but this is the first time I've wandered off on my own of my own free will, without being catapulted around by seemingly random magical artifacts lying around waiting to teleport people to very strange places."
He paused for a breath, before continuing on. "As may or may not have been stated already, we slaughtered the undead that have been plaguing the region! Not too much trouble, really. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious. The strangest thing was, that the further we went into the temple, towards an evil fountain, the stronger the elven undead became! I'm not sure if it was because they were the best armed and armoured of the fallen elves, or if the fountain had something to do with it. Nothing really left to study, but studying has never been my strong suit anyway!"
He looked to the rest of the group. "Anything I've forgotten?"

"You forgot to mention how amazing I was in that fight, paladin," Kalzog replied as he walked towards the barkeep.

"I figured that went without saying," Steve replied with a smile. "Yes, Kalzog, Zyergi and I were brilliant, without a doubt. I think the other three were around somewhere, but I didn't really see them. Where did our undead companion go, anyway?"

"Well, it sounds like quite a fight!" Karasu exclaimed. "My question again... may I join your group?"

Karasu waited for an answer.

ooc: yes they know she's a dragon now.

"Well, umm..." Steve looked a little lost. "To be honest, no one's really taken a lead on the group. It's not really any one person's. But as far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier... unless that involves elven children who shouldn't be put in harm's way."
Turning to the others, he added, "So, what is the plan for the child, anyway? We're surely not taking her with us into the heart of the lich's homeland."

"So that means I may join you?" Karasu asked hopefully.

I do think I could be of help and it does sound like the more you have, the better you'll be.

Karasu took a sip of her mead.

Blastit TGs

"I believe you can join us, I doubt anyone would have a problem with it..." Kalzog replied as he brought over a keg of beer, dumping it's frothy beer in his large mouth.

"I can keep her close by and protected," Kalzog replied on Steve's comment on the little elven girl.

"Oh thank you!" Karasu replied. "I really wanted something important to do. I really appreciate it." She smiled and ordered another mead.

Karasu was thrilled. No more boredom.

TGs Blastit

"Safe inside your belly isn't really safe," Steve said with a grin. His look turned serious again, "Really, though. There's no reason to bring her with us into battle. We've reached a safe place, where we can get someone to take her to another elven city or some such."

"Luthien would fare better safe with her own people," Zyergi agreed. Or in my hands, he thought. "It might be dangerous to cart her around to wherever we are going-for all of us, not just her."

Karasu listened to the conversation. Not knowing the particulars, it did seem that the little elf girl would be safest with a group of elves. Bringing her along seemed a danger to the girl, in Karasu's opinion.

Kalzog chuckled quietly at Steve. "No, I have given my word I would not eat her, and I will keep it. Besides, can we trust anyone around here to take care of her or bring her to the elves? Perhaps we should do it ourselves."

Kalzog looked at Luthien. He wanted Luthien to open up more with Kalzog. The big ogre had begun to grow fond of the little elf, despite his initial actions, and his act he had put on.

"Or perhaps we should let her decide. She is smart," Kalzog said with a smile.

Kalzog chuckled quietly at Steve. "No, I have given my word I would not eat her, and I will keep it. Besides, can we trust anyone around here to take care of her or bring her to the elves? Perhaps we should do it ourselves."

Kalzog looked at Luthien. He wanted Luthien to open up more with Kalzog. The big ogre had begun to grow fond of the little elf, despite his initial actions, and his act he had put on.

"Or perhaps we should let her decide. She is smart," Kalzog said with a smile.

"I would suggest having Bael'ther bring her back to my clan..." Ar'mai began to say as she looked down at the little girl who stood quietly as the subject of the conversation, "But I doubt she would agree to leave Azrael, and somehow I doubt Azrael would want to be leaving this adventure to go live with a bunch of elves... but I guess stranger things of happen." She paused for a moment thinking deeply about the issue.

"But yes, I think you are right, we should let her decide. Luthien?" she said, looking at the small elven girl.

"I'm staying with daddy." Lúthien said with a, for a kid, vicious look at anyone who'd suggested seperating her form her 'daddy'.

"Ah! Good choice, Luthien!" Kalzog praised. "You've got the makings of a strong warrior in you! Brave, defiant, and willing to take charge."

Karasu grinned. Azrael as a dad. It is so cute! So is the girl, even if she does not like me. I hope she does not grow up like Ar'mai, who refers to me as an "it". That bitch... and she thinks it does not show. Well, I let that one slide. Her making a point out of Luthien not liking me was obnoxious. That skank makes everything that comes out of her mouth regarding me full of vitriol! And I never did a thing to her! Arrogant snobby bitch. Too bad she is not leaving.

"On that note, then," Steve said, standing up and finally feeling comfortable. "I shall take my leave."
Without further ado, Steve strode to the innkeeper, paid for a room, and went to rest for the night.

"Yeah... me too," Ar'mai said as she yawned slightly. "Come on Luthien," she said as she turned her head slightly to the young elf. "I will get you a room and put you too bed."

"Good night all... see you in the morning." She walked over to the innkeeper and quickly acquired two rooms for Luthien and herself - making sure to tip the hospitable fellow with a few valuable coins. She was halfway up the stairs when she stopped and called down to the others, "Have Lorathin check in on Luthien when he gets in... will ya?"

"Will do. Now go get some rest!" Kalzog called back.

As soon as both elves disapeered, Kalzog put on a smile that could only be trouble...

All alone...in her room... Kalzog thought.

Karasu saw the look on Kalzog's face and pretended not to notice. She would make sure to check in on the little girl as well... if not sleep under her bed... That damned Kalzog flip-flops on the trust level far too much!

Zyergi sat down, spoke to the Bartender for a few seconds, then started to recall ancient tales and myths for the remaining patrons of the tavern. He was, after all, a bard, and an Inn like this was the best place to practice his trade. His voice was soft as he spoke his stories, but he was a very animated storyteller, constantly walking aound and motioning with his arms. Little did the patrons know that Zyergi was subtely using slight-of-hand tricks and levitation spells to lift precious objets and trinkets out of their pockets, all the while relating tales of great warriors and philosiphers to the crowd.

Zyergi smiled as he levitated a paricularly nice-looking ruby brooch out of the bag of an unwitting patron. He could do this all night if he wanted to.

"Hey, bug-man! Tell a story of me, the greatest warrior to roam the world," Kalzog chuckled. He had downed two kegs of frothy beer already and was slurping down the third keg.

Steve stretched in his room. Magical or not, full plate simply wasn't designed for comfort.
Out of a pouch came a small battered book, which he flipped open to a fresh page, which always appeared to be the last page of the book. The magical journal was handy for keeping all of Steve's adventures.
"My time on this world has come to a close, it seems," Steve wrote with a magical feather which never ran out of ink. "The people of this backwards world would bring a child into harm's way, and I cannot abide such actions. Instead of taking the young girl to safety, and thus allowing the adventuring party to fully commit to combating the forces of the evil lich, they cart her along as though she is more important than the vital world-saving quest that we have taken on. They're fools, it would seem, and thus tomorrow morning I will return home and leave this world to its own devices. I'm sure there are other adventures more befitting a Champion of Thraxis. I am not a babysitter!"

Karasu chuckled as she noticed what Zyergi was doing.

She decided to go to her room, but not before walking up to Zyergi, giving him a few coins, and telling him, loud enough for everyone to hear; "Here you go... for your marvelous storytelling." She smiled. "Then you will not have to lift it from me either." Karasu gave him a wicked grin. "G'night everyone!"

She walked upstairs chuckling to herself.

Zyergi grinned at Kalzog and started telling the crowd about him.

"Ah, now here's an ogre that you wouldn't want to mess with. I've personally seen him rip a city apart with his bare hands, but not before he had a fun time drinking the fluids of those who lived inside it. Kalzog could rip the largest tree in the world out by it's roots, then crush an army with it without any problem. He loves women, too-can't get enough of them. Likes to eat them, if you know what I mean."

Zyergi froze and suddenly stopped as Karasu revealed his trickery. The smiles on the faces of the patrons faded as they started to growl and crack their knuckles. The man he had lifted the brooch from pulled a nasty-looking cutlass off of his back. The bartender had a longbow drawn taught, pausing only to fix an arrow into it.

"I agree," Zyergi said nervously. "Let's call it a night!" He reached inside his jacket and threw a pair of smoke bombs onto the floor as the crowd angrily rushed at him angrily, swords and knives drawn. Zyergi quickly turned himself invisably and darted out the door, ending up on the roof of the Inn. He grumbled as he streached out on the hard surface; there wasn't a chance that he could go back in the Inn with all those angry patrons around. Ah well, he did like sleeping outside better.

"Blast! He was gettin' to the good part!" growled the half drunk Kalzog. Four kegs of beer lay on the floor, empty. "I'm gonna have to go find him...after a few more drinks..."

Karasu did not realize what she would cause until she saw for herself. She went up to her room and opened the window. She quickly flipped onto the roof.

"Zyergi... if you're here... show yourself." Karasu said. "Please... it was supposed to be a joke on you... I was not thinking. Please please forgive me."

Karasu had tears in her eyes. "Perhaps I should not travel with you." She sat down. "I do not want to cause trouble. I usually do not. This is a rarity, I just wanted it to be a joke... obviously, a bad one... Please forgive me."

Karasu looked down, realizing how idiotic her actions were...

"I am so sorry Zyergi." she whispered, a tear falling down her face.

How could I be so stupid.

"You are welcome to come through the window and sleep in my room."

Zyergi appeared behind Karasu, frowning.

"It's fine, Karasu. A inn full of drunkards has never managed to pose a threat to me before; I doubt this one is any different."

Zyergi circled to face Karusu, lifting her head up with his fingers before wiping a tear from her cheek. He reached inside his jacket, revealing the sparkling ruby brooch he had stolen, and put it into Karusu's hands.

"Here, keep it if you want to. It's not like I'm going to wear it." His goggled eyes peered blankly into Kasuru's multicolered eyes. "It's okay. No need to cry about your little joke; it was pretty funny if you think about it." He gave a slight chuckle. "Besides, there wasn't much left to steal from those idiots anyways."

Zyergi hesitated as Kasuru offered her room to him.

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind spending the night in a warm inn. It's a bit chilly outside, anyways. I hope you don't mind...?"

"Thank you for being so understanding Zyergi." Karasu said appologetically. "There was really no reason for me to do that... I do not know what I was thinking." She said, ashamed.

"The least I can offer you is my room. No one will look for you in there." Karasu smiled. "Do not worry... you can have the bed. There are extra blankets." She let him know. "The floor will be just fine for me." She smiled.

"Zyergi, thank you so much for this beautiful brooch, although after what I just did, I do not think I deserve it at all." Karasu looked into his eyes questioningly. "Are you sure you do not want to give it to someone else?" She asked him.

"Tell you what... let us get inside!" Karasu flipped through the open window and began looking for extra blankets.

Kalzog appeared to be alone at the table, half-drunk with eight empty barrels that once held a lot of alcohol. He hiccuped quietly as he staggered up to the barkeeper.

"'Ey...Barkeep...give me a...nother kegs," he managed to hiccup. Several other bar patrons quieted down and watched the ogre, expecting a rowdy brawl to break out.

The barkeeper looked at him as though he were crazy, and motioned towards another keg. He did not seem to want to deal with an ogre right now.

"Deja...hic...vu," Kalzog mumbled to himself as he remembered the uneventful evening in which he caused himself and his whole party to be imprisoned...It was worth it...got to fight in the arena...Kalzog thought to himself as the barkeeper hoisted another keg onto the counter.

Kalzog looked at the keg, slowly realizing that drinking so much was not a good idea. There was an elf child under their protection. And if he were to imprison them again in an Arena, Kalzog would have to live with a guilty conscience of having brought the poor child into terrible danger.

"N'er mind...." Kalzog grumbled leaving a bag of gold for the kegs he drank. Surprising, considering Kalzog would never do such a thing in normal circumstances.

Where is Azrael, anyways? Kalzog wondered as he walked outside to take a breath of fresh air.

"Oh, no! I simply refuse to deny such a lovely woman her beauty sleep. I'll take the floor; you can keep the bed." He smiled at Karasu as he slipped into the room. "No need to keep apologizing either. I've had bouts of stupidity before; everyone does."

"Oh, you are more than welcome to keep that brooch. Normally I'd just sell it for a jacked-up price, but I've already got plenty of pretty jewlry to not miss that particular brooch."

"Are you sure you will not take the bed?" Karasu asked? "It is the least I can do for causing the ruckus. I should be just fine on the floor. You are making me feel guilty, asking me to take the bed, and giving the brooch to me after what I have done." She smirked at him, but there was a definite grain of truth in that smirk.

"What can I do for you to make it up to you, Zyergi? I will feel guilty if I cannot do something." Karasu explained.

Zyergi paused. Karasu was a very pretty girl, and he thought that he might be developing some sense of affection for her. Still, no girl should deserve to sleep on a hard floor. Thief or not, Zyergi had always been somewhat protective of women.

"No, it's fine, Karasu. I'm accustomed to sleeping on the ground, anyways. You don't really need to do anything for me...Just get a good night's sleep."

Zyergi crossed his arms, sat against a wall, and started to relax.

"Well at least take this pillow and these blankets." Karasu handed them to Zyergi and then went to close the window.

"I still feel so guilty Zyergi, but I will shut up about it so you can get some sleep." Karasu grinned at him. "Good night Zyergi. Sleep well."

Zyergi took the pillow and blanket gratefully and smiled at Karasu. He was quite glad that she was joining the group.

"Thanks, and good night."

Zyergi put his head down and almost instantly fell into a deep slumber.

After tucking Luthien into her bed, Ar'mai set good night and slipped out into the hallway. She checked to make sure nobody was trying to get in and then traced the door's frame with her finger. After her little spell had been cast, she entered her own room and settled into the bed for a good night's sleep...

Kalzog scanned the streets, staggering about, looking for any signs of Lorathin. "Where is that bugger?" he hiccuped. He returned into the bar, walking up the stairs, occasionally leaning up against the wall to gain his bearings. He noticed Ar'mai walk from one room into another, and smiled.

Little Luthien is all mine... he smiled, hiccuping quietly as he walked to the door he suspected Luthien to be in. He opened it slightly, trying to enter quietly.

Shortly after being tucked in, the still awake Lúthien heard a noise at her door and looked over to see if it was Lorathin finally returning after doing whatever important buisness he'd been doing.

Just a moment after Kalzog had entered into Luthien's room, Ar'mai was standing right behind him. "Come to say goodnight?"

Kalzog hiccuped as he turned around to face Ar'mai, swaying in the process. "'Ey...Ar...mai...No...I was just goin to wish 'er goodnight," he hiccuped, holding onto the wall for support.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Ar'mai asked as she stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Eh? 'Ey Ar'mai! Fancy see'n...you...'ere," he hiccuped, seeming to have already forgotten what had just been said. "Shouldn't you be...sleep'n?"

Ar'mai looked at him quizzically. "I was... but then something woke me up."

"Eh? Wha'...Wha' woke yer up, princess?" Kalzog asked as he leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down as his eyelids began to close.

"Ya know... I think it was an ogre. Imagine that!"

"An' why would...why would an ogre wake you up? Jus' tell me...and I'll beat 'im up," replied Kalzog as he tried to keep himself awake.

"I don't have the faintest clue!" Ar'mai professed. "I believe his name was Kalzog... he was really rude to me and he said if anyone wanted to mess with him... he would be waiting outside of the inn."

Karasu fell asleep quite quickly, having enjoyed the company of her companion.

Zyergi, huh... I wonder why he is bandaged? her last thoughts before sleep overcame her.

"Eh? Really? Well, yer want me to deal with 'im?" Kalzog asked as he got up. "Poor lit'le Ar'mai can't get 'er sleep! Why...a Princess needs 'er beauty sleep, right?" he asked, patting her somewhat roughly on the back, but not even noticing it in his half drunk state.

"Right!" Ar'mai said before she was knocked forward several feet by Kalzog's heavy hand. "If you would now..."

"Eh? What now?" Kalzog asked, nodding his head as he leaned against the wall, his eyes nearly closed all the way.

"Deal with him of course!" Ar'mai said slightly strongly, as she moved from the door to allow Kalzog to go beat the rude ogre... Kalzog... into the ground.

"Ah...of course," replied Kalzog as he opened his eyes slightly. "After...tomorrow..."

Kalzog slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, and began to snore somewhat loudly.

Ar'mai frowned, "We can't have this now, can we?" She looked from the slumbering ogre that was snoring loudly to the innocent little elven girl and then back again.

Shrugging, she crossed the room and gently picked Luthien out of her bed. "Shhh..." Ar'mai said reassuringly as she left the room and entered her own. "Sleep tight..." she said as she put the little girl under the covers of her bed.

Kalzog opened one of his eyes and looked around, grinning. I am a good actor he thought, nearly laughing aloud.

He looked towards Luthien's door and smiled, about to get up and move to it.

No...Ar'mai must have put some sort of spell on it...that's why she woke up... he thought. He looked at a nearby plank of wood and moved it to the door, pressing slightly on it.

Nothing happened...

:p

ooc: LOL

Kalzog smiled as he slowly got up and walked to the door. He opened it slowly, and poked his head through, his eyes burning a soft red, like charcoal.

"Nothing?" he asked himself as he looked around. "Blast...that elf must have taken her!"

Annoying elves! he thought, before smiling mischieviously. I'll just have to give the little princess a little surprise of my own...

Immediately he swung the door shut and nearly broke down Ar'mai's door, opening it so quickly.

"Ar'mai! Luthien's gone!" he shouted.

"Really!" Ar'mai said, acting, as she jumped up towards the door. "Quick! Go look for her outside... she couldn't have gotten far."

"Oh, but us ogres are not so great at listening and seeing! You should do it, Ar'mai! Besides, she may come to you more readily!" replied the ogre, motioning towards the stairs. "Surely you know that, princess!"

"Nonsense!" Ar'mai protested. "She loves you... remember? You make her laugh."

"Besides, you can yell much louder than I. What good would it be if I could see her, but not contact her."

" I am a lovable Ogre, however I don't want to be swarmed by woman. You will manage," replied the ogre, nearly laughing as he pushed Ar'mai out the room and closing the door.

"Now that...was funny," Kalzog laughed as he stumbled about the room.

Now where would Luthien be? he wondered as he looked onto the bed.