The Second Castleland Group Story

[Sir Zeppelin]

Elwyn, Kazakina, Zarahe, and Wilhelm were gathered in one of the rooms in Captian Burgess's ship. The room was windowless; a single, sputtering candle illuminated it.

"Well, what do we do now?" Elwyn asked. "Should we pursue the sword, or go after bigger game?"

[Albatross_Viking]

Kazikana turned to look at Elwyn and gave a short, harsh laugh.

"There not much 'bigger game' than The Sword, my friend. And when it comes to getting it back, don´t waste your hope on that. Greybeard is too far away. Perhaps, he is handing over the sword to our Khan right now...", Kazikana answered.

Elwyn couldn´t avoid noticing Kazi´s use of "OUR Khan". But he understood, he thought.
He would have been quite proud, too, if Ruratainia or the Forestmen suddenly got their hands on some sort of ancient, magical weapon.

But suddenly, an eerie thought struck him.
Had Kazikana known of Greybeard before they delivered he sword to him? Had he just wished for his country to get the sword, but still not wanted to see his long-time friends dead?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Khan´s Throne Room, the servant quickly let Greybeard in. The old man then walked across the black and white checkered marble floor, up to a great, gold covered throne, where sat the Khan.
Greybeard knelt down in front of the throne, and so did all the high ranking Sameri that where assembled in the room

"What brings you here, my loyal Greybeard?", the Khan asked.
It was relly just a formality, as they both knew the reason for his visit. Greybeard would never have returned without the sword. His sense of honour was too important for him to do that.

"Yokoma Chan yin Sang, great Sosukay Khan, i have returned with the legendary Sword of Khans, and it will bring a new dawn to your mighty Sameri Empire"

Greybeard took out the Sword, and held it up for the Khan to take it.
A wolfish smile appeared on the face of the Sameri leader as he slowly drew the Sword. He examined the old, still shining weapon for some time, then looked at the generals and admirals kneeling around him.
"Prepare the ships, and gather the army. This is the time we have waited for!"

[Albatross_Viking]

Kazikana turned to look at Elwyn and gave a short, harsh laugh.

"There not much 'bigger game' than The Sword, my friend. And when it comes to getting it back, don´t waste your hope on that. Greybeard is too far away. Perhaps, he is handing over the sword to our Khan right now...", Kazikana answered.

Elwyn couldn´t avoid noticing Kazi´s use of "OUR Khan". But he understood, he thought.
He would have been quite proud, too, if Ruratainia or the Forestmen suddenly got their hands on some sort of ancient, magical weapon.

But suddenly, an eerie thought struck him.
Had Kazikana known of Greybeard before they delivered he sword to him? Had he just wished for his country to get the sword, but still not wanted to see his long-time friends dead?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Khan´s Throne Room, the servant quickly let Greybeard in. The old man then walked across the black and white checkered marble floor, up to a great, gold covered throne, where sat the Khan.
Greybeard knelt down in front of the throne, and so did all the high ranking Sameri that where assembled in the room

"What brings you here, my loyal Greybeard?", the Khan asked.
It was relly just a formality, as they both knew the reason for his visit. Greybeard would never have returned without the sword. His sense of honour was too important for him to do that.

"Yokoma Chan yin Sang, great Sosukay Khan, i have returned with the legendary Sword of Khans, and it will bring a new dawn to your mighty Sameri Empire"

Greybeard took out the Sword, and held it up for the Khan to take it.
A wolfish smile appeared on the face of the Sameri leader as he slowly drew the Sword. He examined the old, still shining weapon for some time, then looked at the generals and admirals kneeling around him.
"Prepare the ships, and gather the army. This is the time we have waited for!"

[Sir Zeppelin]

Lately, we have also been working on the Second Castleland Group Story at this thread over at the TLF forum. I've been posting the updates here for the convenience of anyone who has been following the story. Enjoy!

Gonn, a young, cleanshaven man of 21, leaned out over the yard arm, peering through the dawn light. He had spent the better part of an hour climbing up here, hiding whenever a Samuri walked by. His slight frame and short stature made hiding a lot easier for him than most people; why do you think he was chosen as a spy? He squeezed the side of the yard arm with his dirty, bare feet, stableizing his balance. Now that he was sure he wouldn't go crashing to the ship deck below, he began examining the scene before him.

The reports from a month ago were right; unless the Kahn was merely taking his entire war navy out on a fishing cruise, the Samuri were preparing an invasion fleet. Even at this early hour, Samuri men scurried back and forth on the docks, loading food, water, weapons, and other cargo onto the ships. There were a few ships that displayed none of this activity, and Gonn guessed that those ships would be left behind to guard the port.

Gonn decided that he had seen enough. There was no doubt about it: the Samuri were preparing for war. Sliding backwards, he reached the mast of the ship. Keeping an eye about him, for you can never know sometimes who might be watching, he put his foot down to the rungs that led up the mast. His foot went flying out into the air, and it took Gonn a moment to figure out that he had missed the foothold. He tried to put his arm around the mast and spare himself from falling, but it was too late: he was falling to the deck.

Only Gonn's quick thinking and ingenuity prevented him from certian death. As he fell, he managed to catch a rope in the rigging. He tried to hang on to it, and maybe still escape Samuri detecting, but catching the tight rope as he fell through the air was no easy task, and his arms felt like they would be torn from their sockets. Besides, this rope was wet too, and Gonn quickly lost his grip. Now it was only a twenty foot fall to the deck, but that fall could still kill a man. This time, luck intervened, and he fall onto the back of a Samuri workman. Both men fell to the ground, and Gonn's head smashed into a wooden crate.

Gonn's vision was clouded from his crash, but before just before he passed out, he saw two Samuri carrying ropes running towards him. Gonn's last tought before he blacked out was of his partner, Thurgson, and how he would still be waiting off shore in their boat, waiting for him to return.

[Sir Zeppelin]

This post was made by Napoleon

Finally, I'm back! Sorry for the long-time-no-write. Anyway, this post contains a huge change to the characters' situation.


Elwyn and his friends sat alone in the ship's room. Kazikana had gone to get some food for the group. Zarahe glanced at the others, "Is anyone thinking what I've been thinking?"

"Mashed potatoes?" Wilhelm immediately asked.

"No," responded Zarahe, "I meant about Kazi."

"Vat? Does he like mashed potatoes?" Wilhelm asked again.

Zarahe rolled her eyes, "Will you forget about food?!"

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry," Wilhelm apologizes.

Elwyn put his feet on the table and took a sip from his glass of water, "I noticed it. The way he said "OUR khan" and seemed to be almost indifferent when it came to Greybeard stealing the Sword. I don't like it one bit."

Zarahe stood up and started pacing around the room. Suddenly, through a knot hole in the wall, she thought she could see someone out in the hallway next to their door. She continued talking, but she quietly crept over to the door and grabbed the knob. Suddenly, she opened the door and slammed her fist into the snooper's face. The man cried out in pain but didn't drop. Zarahe suddenly realized she was wearing a tunic. She instantly regretted taking off her armour earlier, which left her extremely vulnerable. A swift kick from the spy to her knee sent her to the floor crying in agony.

It was too dark to see the spy, but Elwyn and Wilhelm launched themselves into the fight anyway. The assailant was now prepared, and dodged both men's blows. A quick blow to the stomach sent Elwyn to the floor, but Wilhelm grabbed the spy from behind. Zarahe forced herself to get up. She knew Wilhelm could only hold onto the agile attacker for a moment, so she had to act quickly. She slugged the man in the chest, elbowed him in the ribs, and then kneed him. The man howled in pain, but managed to worm out of Wilhelm's grip. Wilhelm rushed the man head-on, but only managed to bash his own head on the wall.

Elwyn picked himself up and used his armoured shoulder to bash the man. The spy fell to the floor, rolled over, and stood up. In the blink of an eye, he drew a dagger and started to slash at Zarahe. Zarahe reacted quickly, though, and she bent backwards as the man missed her nose by inches.

Elwyn squinted, trying to see in the dark. He thought he saw the spy, and knew this was his chance. He flung himself at his target and tackled him, face-to-face. Elwyn grabbed the arms of the spy and pinned him down. Or, at least, he thought he pinned him down. Suddenly, someone lit a lantern, and Elwyn looked down at his captive: he had accidentally tackled Zarahe.

"Why, Zarahe, I didn't know you felt that way about me!" Elwyn grinned.

"I'm not hugging you. I'm trying to get you off of me!" shouted Zarahe angrily, "Wait! After him!" She could see the spy, holding the lantern, trying to run away.

"I got 'im," Elwyn calmly stated. He saw the spy's dagger lying on the ground and picked it up. Aiming carefully, he threw it at the man's calf. It found it's mark; the spy fell to the floor. Elwyn helped Wilhelm get up, and all three went over to the wounded spy.

"All right, you blackguard!" started Elwyn, "Let's see who you are..." Elwyn removed the thief's mask, "I...I...can't believe it! Kazi, you're a dirty traitor?!

This post was made by Sir Zeppelin


Gonn groaned, feeling the bonds tied to his hands and feet. He felt a rope leading away from his feet with his toe. The Samuri must have me tied up pretty good, Gonn thought. He was reluctant to open his eyes, because he was afraid that the Samuri would try to take him somewhere or try to torture him if they saw he was awake. Instead, Gonn resigned himself to using his other senses to determine his surroundings. He made sure to keep his breathing deep and steady, so the Samuri could not tell he was awake.

Gonn groaned, feeling the bonds tied to his hands and feet. He felt a rope leading away from his feet with his toe. The Samuri must have me tied up pretty good, Gonn thought. He was reluctant to open his eyes, because he was afraid that the Samuri would try to take him somewhere or try to torture him if they saw he was awake. Instead, Gonn resigned himself to using his other senses to determine his surroundings. He made sure to keep his breathing deep and steady, so the Samuri could not tell he was awake.

He could not hear any signs of another human being; where ever they had him, he was alone. He could smell the ocean very strongly, so they must have put him in one of the lowest rooms. Rats, he thought. That will make escape much harder.Gonn could also feel the ship heaving up and down, which could only mean one thing: they were out on the open ocean, and that was the worse part of his entire predicament. Gonn sighed, and wiggled around a little bit (his worry of alerting any guards entirely forgotten), so he could get comfortable in his bonds. The Samuri had merely tied him to the hard wooden floor, and he was beginning to get sore.

Gonn doubted that the Samuri would entertain any prisoners during the course of the voyage. If they did, then he could only shudder at the thought of what they would do to him. Indeed, they would probably make him run around the mast until he died of exhaustion, or do the most famous of all naval tortures: keel hauling. Keel hauling is when the crew would bind a person's hands and feet (Like mine are bound now, Gonn thought. Crud! That's probably what the long rope is for... A hopeless feeling of dread engulfed Gonn) and drags them underneath the vessel from one some to the other. The bad part about it is the razor sharp barnacles that always grow on the underside of a ship. The barnacles usually cut the person into a bloody mess: keel hauling among sailors is almost always a death sentence.

Or maybe, thought Gonn, Since these are Samuri, they have some other terrible method of torture unbeknownst to me. Gonn began to panic within himself, until he forced himself to calm down. He decided that worrying about it would be no good, and that he should be content to either try to escape, or wait.

[Seikfreid]

"Let go me!" growled Kazikana.

"I think not," said Elwyn, pressing his heavy booted heel harder into Kazi's neck. "First you're going to have to explain yourself."

"I not explain if I not want to!" replied the wounded Samuri. "Ohhhh my leg!"

He grimaced with pain and clutched at his calf where the dagger protruded from it. Elwyn and Wilhelm lifted Kazi from the floor and carried him to a bunk, where they tied him down and held a cloth over his wound while Zarahe ran to fetch the ship's doctor.

"Now," said Wilhelm, "vat do you think you are doing, turning traitor against us, eh?"

[Sir Zeppelin]

This post was made by A_V

Gonn looked up at the sound of someone walking down a ladder. Two Sameri, the one wearing expensive, black and red silk clothes, the other one wearing the metal/leather mix that made up the armor for most professional Sameri infantrymen were walking towards him.

"Now, what do we have here", said the man in the silk clothes "One little spy, perhaps?", he saids slowly.
It was first then Gonn noticed the pointy, about 5 strands long metalnails that were put onto the Sameris fingers. He shuddered at the thought of, what those nails were used for.

"Well, first off, where are you from, my little friend?", the Sameri with the nails then asked. Gonn didn´t answer.
The man raised one nail and scratched his cheek with it. The soldier imediately stepped forwards and sent his heavy boot into Gonns stomach. Gonn gave a short scream and tried to roll away, but the Sameri soldier quickly stopped him by planting his foot on Gonns head.

"Answer when the general speaks to you!", he shouted.

The other Sameri leaned forwards, when the sound of somebody coming down the ladder made him turn around. It was another Sameri soldier. The newcomer looked confused at the three persons in the room, until he remembered why he was there and focused on the one in the silk clothes.

"Sir, lookouts spotted Shark Island about a fathom ahead", he said.

"Oh, good", was the answer. "Don´t worry, we´ll take care of you later on", the apparent general whispered to Gonn.
All three Sameri soon disapeared up the ladder, and Gonn just heard one of them say something with the strange words "Invasion Gateopener Goldfish".
What a wierd name, Gonn thought.



This post was made by Napoleon


"I not traitor!" screamed Kazikana, "I following orders from my sensei!"

"I thought you said your Sensei was dead!" asked Elwyn angrily.

"No, no! He alive. He is Greybeard, and I obey him!"

Wilhelm grabbed the Samuri's neck, "So, you are a little traitor, eh? I'll show you vat happens to people who betray me and my friends!" The group was now in a screaming match. Wilhelm suddenly dropped Wilhelm to the ground. Reaching for his sword, he cried, "I vas betrayed by a friend once, and I killed him in the arena. You betrayed me, now I kill you!" Elwyn grabbed Wilhelm's arm just in time to prevent him from killing Kazi.

"Wait! Stop, Wilhelm. He'll get his proper punishment soon enough. In the meantime, let's try to get some information from him. Grab his arm," Wilhelm did as he was told, and Kazi howled in agony.

"What is the Empire up to?" asked Elwyn.

"I never talk!" said Kazi emphatically.

"Oh, yeah? Ve'll see about that," At that, Wilhelm twisted Kazi's arm backwards. His shoulder made a loud popping noise.

"All right, all right! The Sameri are going to invade Castleland! I swear! They land at Shark Island and from there, march into and establish order in the Native territories. If they do that, they'll have a convenient location from which to launch attacks. There, I tell truth!"

"We'll, I guess that makes sense. Let him go, Wilhelm. Tie him back down...Uh, you sure that's all Kazi?"

"Yes...of course."

Meanwhile...

Location: Shark Island. Time: 2:40 in the afternoon.

General Oni Chan, the man with the strange metal nails, looked at his invasion army. It was a sight to behold; fifteen thousand men, fully equipped and ready for battle against the natives.

"Natives have been sighted, sir," said a mounted scout.

Chan looked over into the jungle, "Ah, very good. We shall try to barter with them, but, just in case, have a group of musketeers station themselves over in those woods. In case something should happen to me, make sure every last native is wiped out. Every last one."

"Yes, sir! It shall be done," the soldier saluted and then rode off to attend to the musketeers. Muskets were another invention of the now world-famous Dawson Weapon Company. They were a real step-up from the hand-cannons that were used for the first time in the Prasden uprising five years before. A man could now fire at least two shots a minute.

"Oodonga akileea!" suddenly rang through the jungle, "Akivee oodonga Sameri!"

"So," said Chan to himself, "The natives are here...I wonder what they'll say."

At least a dozen warriors came out of the jungle accompanying their chief. The warriors wore clothes made out of leaves and bone armor. There were reports of the Shark Island natives being cannibals, so Chan hoped that he did not look too tasty to them.

"Hello, Sameri. Whata youa doing?" said the chief in broken Basic.

"Greetings, honorable Chief," Chan bowed in artificial reverance, "We have trinkets for you," Chan put out his hand and offered the chief to take the trinkets he held, "And there are plenty more presents for you where these came from."

The Chief picked one of the coins from Chan's hand and bit it to see if it was real, "As great Tiki-warrior used to say, 'beware of Sameri bearing gifts.'"

"Oh, no, Chief! You cooperate with us, and we make big buisness!" Chan grinned.

"More like 'we make big war.' You think me stupid? You think me just got off slow canoe from Northern Islands? No, I will not agree," the Chief said adamantly.

Chan thought over his options, and said, "Well, Chief, since you won't agree, I guess we'll just have to take all of our gold elswhere. Perhaps the Kahuka tribe would be willing to work with us."

The Chief's eyes lit up, "You hava much gold?"

"Oh, yes indeed! Coffers full!" Chan sensed the man's love of gold immediately.

"Well, that'sa different. Great Tiki-warrior gotta be wrong sometime, right? Okay, you gimme gold, and I cooperate," the Chief said eagerly.

"Good, good! All right, the first thing we want is for you to help us build a port here. After that, Chief, we know that your tribe, the Barahura, hates the Kahuka tribe. You help us, and you will have support for taking on the Kahuka. How does that sound?" asked Chan.

"Ooh, thata sound very good!" the Chief rubbed his hands together, "Yes, we hate the Kahuka. Their empire is much big, though, so we never able to beat them. You thinka we actually beat them?"

"Yes, Chief. With your help, we'll beat them in a matter of two months, if things go as scheduled," explained Chan, "We understand that the Kahuka have established a fishing village not far from here. If you gather some warriors, we can go and attack them. We can drive them off Shark Island forever. After that, we'll muster a fleet to sail with your canoes to attack the mainland. In a matter of days, we can capture the Kahuka capital city. Once that is accomplished, we can destroy their empire at any time we choose."

"Good! You get together some of your warriors and we attack fishing village. We will slaughter them, take their daughters, burn their homes, and pillage the village!" The Chief then waved his spear and shouted at his warriors, "Attack! Attack the Kahuka! Okimono aklimo nagibana!" The warriors scrambled back to their village to gather their army.

"I need thirty musketeers to attack the village, Major Aniwa. Can you provide them?" Chan questioned one of his men.

"Yes, General! Finally, I will have a chance to use these guns in battle. I will get thirty immediately," answered the Major. Under his direction, he had thirty of his best men pack up supplies and line up in a column. Afterwards, he gave his orders, "Warriors of the Sameri Empire! You are to be the first soldiers to fight in our War of Imperial Sameri Expansion. You are to accompany a group of warriors to destroy a nearby village. Once you are there, you are to put all the men to the sword. However, we are warriors, not savages, so you are to spare the women and children. The children are to be sent to the Empire to recieve training to serve as auxillaries in future conflicts. The women are to remain as slaves and you may marry them if you wish, as long as they accept our religion. If any of the natives try to kill women or children, you have permission to use lethal force to stop them. Again, kill anyone who tries to kill females or non-adult males. Now, the time for playing games with our enemies are over! The war has begun! Now, onward to VICTORY!"

At that, the soldiers pulled out and began the march to the fishing village...

[Sir Zeppelin]

Seikfreid:

Though tired and now hurting, Gonn never abandoned hope. He struggled to loosen the bonds that so tightly bound him, but he could not. He strained every muscle in his body, but the ropes did not give way. Panting, he collapsed back to the floor.

The deck hatch opened and a man came crashing down from above. Gonn flinched and curled himself into the tightest ball he could manage. However, it was obvious the man was drunk and therefore no threat to him. Then a second man came down, laughing.

"Whaa...uhhh... whatta we have hereeee?" slurred the drunk guard.

"Oh, just some company for you until you sober up, Nazrim!" said the other, kicking Gonn hard in the ribs.

Pain shot through Gonn's limbs like fire, but he didn't move. The guard laughed again.

"So now he's playing dead on me, is he? Well, soon he may get his wish!"

The guard, still laughing, clambered up the ladder and closed the hatch, leaving Gonn and the drunk guard alone in the dark. There were a few moments of silence, then Gonn heard some movement from the other man. He braced himself, expecting to receive a kick. Instead, he saw the flicker of a dagger blade. He was about to scream when a hand clamped over his mouth.

"I am not the drunk Sameri the others think I am," said the guard. "And I know who you are, Gonn. If you want to escape from this ship alive, you will do exactly as I say!"



As night fell, Nazrim shook Gonn awake.

"Now's our chance, man! It's break out now or die here waiting!"

He began to clamber up the ladder. Gonn rubbed his eyes and stood up, crossing to the ladder. Nazrim slowly raised the hatch and looked around. Then he smiled, gave the all clear to Gonn, and climbed onto the deck. Gonn quickly followed and they stole across to the gunwale, in the shadow of the stern cabin.

"Alright," breathed Nazrim. "Now we make our move."

A guard passed right in front of the two men, then Nazrim immediately sprang up and delivered a blow to his head, knocking the man to the deck.

"Come on!" he said to Gonn, and they raced towards the bow. Another guard passed nearby and they dived behind a row of barrels. They sat a moment, panting, and then, all of a sudden, a bright light illuminated the deck area on which they sat. Both men felt musket barrels in their backs.

"Well, well," said General Oni Chan, "It appears that you are not the man we thought, Nazrim."

[Napoleon]

LOCATION: Ruratainia

The aging king of Ruratainia, Orion, plopped down on his seat to watch the jousts and other activities. The royal fair in Rarsland, a Ruratainian province, always drew many visitors and contestants, but this year was especially busy. Ruratainia had just finished re-building after the failed rebellion years earlier. Now, the people wanted to celebrate. Knights from all over the continent had arrived, ready to fight for honor, glory and doubloons.

Orion looked around at the fair grounds. There had not been any events yet; Orion was early, just as he always was.

A knight in bronze armor sat next to him, reading a military report on events throughout Castleland to Orion while they were waiting, "King Benito has launched another attack into Morcia, looting and burning as he goes."

Orion cracked his aged knuckles nervously, "Ah, that little devil. When will he stop his military escapades?"

The knight continued, "And the...what? It couldn't be!" moaned the knight, "The Sameri have invaded the Southern Lands! They are systematically wiping out the Kahuka tribe and appear poised to attack Black Falcon lands!"

Orion raised his eyebrows, "Oh, wonderful. That is just what we need: another war. Those Sameri are crazy. Why don't they just leave us and our allies alone! Please, read no more. The knights are almost ready."

As he spoke, a soldier galloped out onto the field and read from a scroll, "Ladies and gentlemen! Damsels and knights! One and all! Welcome to the annual Rarsland Fair! Our first activity is the joust!"

The crowd cheered happily.

The soldier continued, "The knights can use either the dull or sharp lances. Scoring system: knock the opponent off his horse and achieve immediate victory. Land a solid blow to the head and receive two points. Land a solid blow to the torso and recieve one point. The first jouster to reach five points wins! And now, please welcome Sir Galabrook of Bouford-upon-West Valley! And please welcome Sir Monte Zalerdo of Normendy!"

The two knights trotted out onto the field. Sir Galabrook wore a yellow cloak over his armour and a hounskull. Zalerdo wore a black and white checkered cloak over his armour and a great helm. The knights had chosen the dull lances because they didn't have any reason to try to kill each other. When the soldier-messenger dropped a cloth onto the ground, the knights charged each other.

Galabrook's lance smashed into Monte's helmet, tearing the visor off. Monte appeared unconscious and slumped out of his saddle and onto the ground. With a loud thud, he landed. Everone could see the nasty gash in the side of his head. Galabrook dismounted and helped carry his defeated rival off the field. The crowd roared their approval at his chivalry.

Soon, Galabrook started to sweep the tournament. That is, until the Sameri delegation arrived. The Sameri were rightly feared for their skill with horses and Galabrook's heart sank when they chose the sharp lances. Riding to opposite ends of the field, the opponents readied their weapons. After a pep talk with his squire, Galabrook donned his helmet and prepared to charge.

With another drop of a cloth, the oppenents raced at each other at break-neck speeds. With a loud metal scrape, the Sameri's lance smacked against Galabrook's yellow shield, almost piercing it.

The two jousters turned to face each other again. In a moment, they were aiming for each other's heads. This time, a blow landed. The Sameri's lance pierced Galabrook's side and went all of the way through. Blood gushing everywhere, his horse still racing forward, Galabrook fell off backwards and limply flopped his arms and legs in the air, before landing face first.

The crowd gasped as it was announced that Galabrook was indeed slain.

"Curse those Sameri!" muttered Orion to the knight next to him.

The knight whispered in Orion's ear, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we shall have our revenge in the gladiatorial combat tomorrow."

[Albatross_Viking]

The next day, the time for the gladiatorial combat had come.
The first fight stood between Sir Nerk of Telemar and Sir Trevir of Ruratainia.
As weapons, both men chose swords.
Then the sound of a bugle started the fighting.
Sir Nerk rushed forwards and swung an overhead cut at Sir Trevir. The Ruratainian barely managed to get his shield up in time to keep the attak away from his head the attack. Then it was his time to go offensive. He delivered a flickering series of thrusts, overhead cuts and sidewards cuts,slowly but steadily forcing Sir Nerk closer to the edge of the fighting ground.
Knowing that he would be declared loser if he stepped outside the arena, the Telemarsian began striking back.
The fighting continued for a while this way, until Sir Nerk suddenly dropped his sword, blood flowing from an open wound in his right arm.
Now without a weapon, he quickly dropped to his knees, declaring that he surrendered. He was then helped to back to his tent, where the wound would be taken care of.

The hand to hand fighting continued well into the afternoon, finally revealing the last four contestants:
Sir Trevir, a Black Falcon named Redolf, the Morcian Emselm and (which made King Orion curse nervously), Marazi Ko´unen of the Sameri Empire.

The first of these fights saw Marazi as winner and Emselm out of the contest with a very dangerous wound in the left side. In the next fight, Trevir finally managed to push Redolf out of the arena after a long time of uncertainty about who would win.

So, after a little hours rest, Marazi and Trevir we´re ready.
As the bugler sounded the start of the fighting, Marazi stayed a few metres away from Trevir. Then suddely, he leapt forwards with incredible speed and nearly hit Sir Trevir in the chest with his sword.
They then fought for quite long time. Sometimes was Trevir winning, sometimes was Mazari. Slowly the victory began turning to Trevir as Mazari again and again gave ground to the Ruratainian´s attacks.
And then, Mazari seemed to slide in something and fell to a sitting position.
Feeling the victory was close at hand, Trevir was just about raise his sword high up over his head and deliver the final strike, when something made him hesitate.
Mazari had dropped his shield as he fell, but the hand still holding the sameri´s long, thin sword looked far too prepared to attack.
So instead, Trevir threw his own shield at his opponent.
It all happened so quickly that Mazari didn´t even notice before he found himself lying in the dust, a bleeding wound at his right shoulder, his swordarm kept down by Sir Trevirs heavy shield and a muddy footprint acompanied by a hammering pain on his chest.
Sir Trevir then sent a heel down on Mazari´s right hand. This loosened the grip on the sword, which Trevir then picked up and threw away. The crowd cheered happily at him, relieved that the Sameri had not won yet another contest.

"You were right after all, although it was darn close to end up quite messy", King Orion said to the knight, once again sitting besides his king. "Now, whats up for tomorrow? My mind is getting a bit old these days", the king continued. "Ehm... looks like its the archery contests, your majesty. Bows and crossbows in two seperate contest", the knight answered, ignoring Orion´s comment about him getting old. "Oh, thank you. That should be interesting, too".

[Sir Zeppelin]

Let's get this baby rollin'!


"I just can't believe Kazakina would do something like this," Elwyn said, pacing back and forth. Elwyn, Zarahe, and Wilhelm were once again seated in their small, dark little room, the tallow candle about ready to burn out.

"It doesn't surprise me, Elwyn," said Zarahe. Gently touching Elwyn's arm, she guided him back to his seat on a water barrel. "Remember, I've known Kazi for longer than you have. He has always had a bit of a different, isolated aura about him, but I never could put a finger on what it was; now I know. Those Sameri, once commited, rarely go back on a promise. Their sense of honour is strong. Maybe Captain Burgess will be able to advise us on the issue."

"He certianly had a lot to say when we brought Kazi to him."

The group had drug Kazakina up the stairs and on to the deck, Kazi kicking and screaming all the way (it would become the first of one of many "Kazi fits"). Captain Burgess had agreed to lock him in one of the spare rooms, and Kazi had remained there ever since. Now, it was the morning after the incident, and the group was still just as clueless about Kazi's motives as they were when they started.

Elwyn said, "I wonder where he was going with it. You know, what his next move was. If I could just figure that out..." Elwyn hit his fist on the wall, his pain lost in his anger. "I have a myraid of questions, and only a handfull of answers."

"Perhaps I can help." The whole group of three turned, startled by this person standing in the doorway. Once the door was shut and the light no longer blinding, they could see that it was Captain Burgess and his first mate, Joosten. "I have just finished interrogating our prisoner, and my methods have yeilded me much infromation."

"What are your methods?" Wilhelm asked, awestruck at the captian's sucess.

The captian grinned. "Keep kickin' till he caves."

[Napoleon]

General Oni Chan looked at his two prisoners, "You know, Nazrim, the natives have been wanting new captives to sacrifice. You two would probably make them happy." Chan grinned evily.

And so, the General's ship headed to the shore near the native town. Anchoring just off the beach, General Chan grabbed his prisoners and put them in a boat to get to shore. Awaiting them was a large group of hostile-looking natives.

Chan raised his hand to greet the priests of the Temple of the Sacred Banana God. Weekly, they sacrificed humans to a giant golden statue of a banana.

The chief priest waved, "Oha, good! You bring us more captives?"

Chan nodded, "Yes, oh great priest. These sacrifices will surely convince the Banana God that we are on his side. When do you wish to sacrifice them?"

The priest pulled out a hatchet, "Asa soon as we can. We take them to Sacred Dark Caves where we rip out their guts and use their brains to fertilize the Great Banana Tree."

Gonn, who's real name was Gonnazala, shook his head in disbelief. One day, he was spying for Peachland, the next, he was about to be sacrificed to a "Banana God." He could not allow his life to be taken so soon and for such a stupid reason. He would do something.

A half-hour later...

Gonn saw a priest in front of him preparing the altar for the coming ceremony. They would gut him and Nazrim and then burn their bodies on banana leaves. Gonn frantically looked for a chance of escape. He saw an entrance to the lower levels of the caves hidden behind a blanket. If he and Nazrim could get free from their binds, they could at least try to get to the lower levels.

Finally, he saw a knife for cutting people open lying on a rock. When the priest turned his back, Gonn got up and grabbed the knife just in time to sit back down as the priest turned around again. Slowly and quietly cutting his ropes, he managed to cut them all. Quickly, he cut off Nazrim's also.

Then, the priest completely ignored everything and started bowing before a golden banana statue. The ceremony had begun.

Keeping the knife, he and Nazrim bashed the priest in the back of the head with a stick. Running into the caves, they could hear angry priests and Sameri behind them.

[Albatross_Viking]

"Now, what've ye found out, mein good alte Burgess?", Wilhelm asked.

"Well, the Sameri traitor's sensei was this Greybeard you told me about, as you already know. Greybeard contactet Kazikana some months ago, ordering him to ensure that this Sword of Khans reached Greybeard safely. Although Kazikana had left Sameri lands long time ago, he apparently decided to follow his old master's orders.
Thats what we got about the man himself. And now that the Sameri have got their sword back, i thought that an invasion of somewhere would be very possible. So i asked our little friend, and he was, well, after some kicking, so very kind to inform me about the Sameri invasion. For yes, they appear to have launched an attack at...