Classic-Castle.com

Sir Kohran wrote:"So, what errand were you on? What would bring a reasonable-looking bloke like you to this mess of a country?"

“The Order of course”, Alcander answered with a slight smile. “I hate to be secretive but… it´s done now anyway.”

Galdrutt nodded gravely. “Oh, I see. Can´t reveal all secrets to complete strangers, eh?” He chuckled dryly.

“Sorry”, Alcander said with a slow shrug of his head and looking thoughtfully at the ground below his feet. “Anyway…” He dismounted his horse and shook Galdrutt´s hand. Galdrutt looked a bit sceptical at first but then his face broke into a smile and he chuckled lowly.

“Well met, Gnae-Ang-whatever.”

“Indeed. Why don´t you let Alba carry your bag?” he glanced at the horse and winked. “Our homelands are in the same direction from here.”

“Who said I was going towards the Royal Knight lands?”

“Oh, I´m young but not stupid.”

Galdrutt laughed heartily. “Well then, let us go, or do you want a visit to the inn first?”

“Nah, seems a bit too rough for me.”

“I wish I could say the same…” He fell silent for a moment but then he winked and put his bag on the back of the white horse. “Towards civilized lands then, Gn…”

“Alcander.”

“Alcander yes… Towards that horizon, Young Sir Alcander.”

And with that the two men set out on their journey towards the setting sun.

In the water, the man knelt down, pressed the rock, and a crunch was heard.

The crunch echoed throughout the cavern, as Jarvis looked into the magic pool. He saw the land under the strange man's feet fall away, and turned away from the pool as the man fell through the hole that had just opened in the roof. The man looked hard at Jarvis, and a scowl crossed his features.
"You forestman scum!" he cried and threw himself at Jarvis.
"Stop!" Jarvis yelled. "I saved your life!"
But the man ran towards him just the same, and Jarvis saw strongly muscled arms, a helmet with ruby horns jutting out, and armour of a type he had never seen before. Jarvis had no choice. He did not wanted to be killed by the strange warrior. He yelled in a loud voice,"Feana ili lathan!" and gestured at the man with his staff. Strong green tendrils of vine shot out of the staff, and grasped at the man's arms and legs. The warrior cut the first few with his sword, but soon the rest had wrapped around him and he dropped his sword in defeat to avoid being strangled.
"Why have you captured me!" He shouted. "Are you going to torture me?"
"No." replied Jarvis. "I am not going to imprison you. I just saved your life."
"How?" the man answered. "Why would you save me from my mortal enemies, the forestmen?
"Those WEREN'T Forestmen. They were strange undead archers. They appeared to be animated skeletons of long-dead men." Jarvis bowed his head, then continued sadly, "They destroyed my village. My family, my friends, my neighbours, all dead. Just this afternoon. At the time, I was down here meditating, when suddenly, I felt the essences of creatures and people disappearing, and I sorrowed. Immediately, I woke up, contacted the druids in each area of the land, and warned them. The undead are being sighted all over the Northern Forests. We don't know where they are coming from, but they are destroying our nation. This is a sad day for the Land of the Stag."

Lord Nev sat astride his steed, Garrath and surveyed the road before him.

"Oh, what's the point. I've got nowhere to go and nothing to do if I get there in the first place."

He slouche din the saddle, tired from the day's journey and dispirited from the ordeal his own famiyl out him through.

"I was once a mighty man," he yelled to the sky. "What have I done to deserve this?! Tell me!"

The sky gave no answer. It just sat there just as blue and massive as it always had been. A few clouds apperaed on the horizon and the road happened to run right to it.

"What else could go wrong?" Nev thought. Thunder boomed suddenly overhead, startling his horse. "I didn't MEAN it!" he said angrily. "I supose this is as good a place as any," Nev said as he pitched his tent, if one could even call it that. Nothing but two poles stuck in the ground and a sheet of canvas roped to it. He took off his armor and threw Garrath's saddle in just as a sheet of rain drenched the world around him.

"I forgot to tie him down!" Nev rushed out of the tent already soaked to the bone and tied the horse to a nearby tree. He didn't bother to run back in. He could not get any more wet. Nev took off most of his clothes and piled them up. It was summer, the night was warm, and the rain had given him a bath.

"It could be worse," Nev said aloud. He lay on the pile of clothes and looked outside. It was coming down hard. Really Hard. But in his almost dry tent, it really was a beautiful sight. Lights flashed in the distance and he glimpsed a horse or two coming down the road. "Poor travellers." Was all he could think of to say. He turned on his side and the glimmer of water on his armor caught his attention. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes. He had nothing save a horse, armor, and a change of clothes. There was nothing he could possibly do with his life. "I've nothing to live for....." then he remembered. He remembered who had made him into the vagabond he was. Comin.

Nev smiled through his tears. But it was a smile that could turn even the dessert into a hyperborean. He had something to look forward to. He would meet Comin again. Nev savored that thought and it gave him unnatural comfort as he drifted off to sleep. His dreams were full of what he would do to Comin once he found him. Nev smiled.

"Stop your nonsense, the both of you!!"

No need for fightin',thought Geoffrey as he tried to get back to sleep,we haven't even decided what wer' gonna do yet. Only know two thing for sure- I'm visitin' my wife, and the king will not die, no matter what Seth says, I'm with that fellow.
Geoff was watching the newcomer, James, watching Seth- waiting for him to sleep- hand under the pillow holding the knife hidden there.
*****
Hate to say it, but maybe that bloke's right, thought Seth, maybe we don't need to kill the king- we'll just travel and try to make some money that way, sure that'll work! Well, If he tries anything, I've got my eye on 'im...
*****
All three were now asleep, first went Geoff, then Seth, and finally James, once he thought he was safe enough to do so. James was dreaming of valiantly protecting the king and getting knighted for his effort. Geoff is dreaming of Gemma and their sweet daughter Sara. Seth's dreams are jumpy- first hes sneaking into Castle Falconia; then hes riding a horse down a path, smile on his face; climbing up the side of the castle with a grappling hook thrown in a window, sword and shield on his back; entering a house with his sword and shield mounted on the wall and hugging a woman waiting for him; slitting the throat of a guard as he enters a hallway; greeting a young boy who runs to greet him; bursting into the thrown room and battling the guards, killing them all; the door to his home bursts open and three arrows fly into the room, the woman and child are struck in the stomach, Seth in the arm as he turned; a bolt of fire hits him in the stomach and catapults him across the room, the mage has attacked him; Seth runs to the wall to get his sword and sheield, he must protect his family; the King takes advantage of his weakness and attacks, Seth is too weak to defend; 8 undead warriors burst into the room, 2 more arrows take care of the boy and the woman, then they charge at Seth; darkness; He starts to charge them and he is shot in the stomach by an arrow, Seth is flung backward, he lies by his wife and child...
*****
Seth woke up panting, with an indescribable pain in his stomach.
Are those my destiny? Are those my only choices? How can I stop this?

Seth woke up panting, with an indescribable pain in his stomach.
Are those my destiny? Are those my only choices? How can I stop this?

It was early the next morning, and James had been the first to awaken. He tried his best to creep out of the room, without waking the others.
"Hey, wait up."
Said Geoffrey as he realised James was leaving.
James was a little startled, he was sure that Geoff was asleep.
"Umm.. Yes?"
"Where are you going?"
Replied Geoffrey.
"Not too sure, currently I have no orders so I was thinking of taking a trip to Adenwood."
Said James.
"Please. Let us come with you"
Asked Geoffrey.

James was surprised that Geoff asked such a thing. And he was unsure of what to tell him.
Should I trust them?

Lokr looked around the room. The walls were made of smooth, light brown stone. There was a pool in a small basin made of stone, built into the floor. Strange markings Lokr knew were druid letters were etched around the circumference. Of course, Lokr already knew the young man in grey robes was a druid. Who else could make thick vines entangle him, one of the best Viking warriors in the land? He must be powerful, Lokr thought. There was also a bed in the corner, and a few shelves of books. Some cupboards containing what Lokr thought were herbs were clustered around the rest of the walls.

Lokr was confused. This man was telling of walking skeletons, nothing but old folk stories. But he had saved his life, so he guessed he owed something to the man.

"What is your name?" he asked. "Jarvis." the man replied. "I am a druid, and last surviving forestman of the town of Fulmarch."
"Shall we work together to investigate these undead?" Lokr asked.
"Yes." Jarvis replied. "And I will get vengeance."

Fortune smiled on Nev as he woke. The storm had passed but the clouds still lingered in the distance. Neb packed and mounted his horse. The path was muddy and Garrath found himself slipping on many occasions. Nev drew his sword as a bend approached in the road. It was mainly the reason he was still alive because his mindset was that every bend was a trap.

"Oh," Nev sighed. No one to fight. "That town ahead could prove profitable." He spurred Garrath forward.

"Please. Let us come with you"

"Well, I guess you can come with me," said James, if they're with me, they can't kill the king! "Yeah ok, just wake him up and then we can get going."
"Hes Seth and I'm Geoffrey. Would you mind if we went by my home, my wife and daughter don't know that I'm alive and I need to let them know."
"Alright, I'm James by the way."
"Hey! Seth! Wake up!"
"Meh? Don' go messin' wuth my boots..."
"What?"
"I like my boots..."
"Just get up, we're heading to Adenwood."
Seth had now got up and was almost fully awake.
"Adenwood?" he said, "Isn't that in Forestman territory?"
"Sure is," James chipped in, "Now get ready to leave, we're gonna visit Geoff's family."
"Hey, you ok Seth?" asked Geoff, "You aren't your normal yellow- bit pale."
"Just a bad dream...just a bad dream."
And with that, the three minifigs exited the Inn and started heading down the street- heading towards the home of Geoffrey.

As Lokr and Jarvis discussed their opinions on the strange events happening, the water in the stone basin started to swirl around, and even change colour. They both stopped speaking to look at it. Jarvis said, "It appears that someone, probably a druid or other magc-user, is attempting to speak with me. We shall see who it is." The swirls of water suddenly shone brilliantly, and Lokr turned away. Jarvis did not, having communicated through the druid pool before. When Lokr turned back, the image of a young elf was staring back at him! Lokr jumped, as much by the magic as the fact that elves were not common in the land. He had a thin face and long blond hair. The elf started to speak,
"Hello Jarv. I am very sorry about the burning of Fulmarch. My message is of utmost importantance though: Vladek is back."
"What!" Jarvis replied. "Vladek? And what does his return have to do with the sightings of undead everywhere?"
The elf replied sorrowfully, "Yes, Vladek is back. After his battle with Sir Kentis, Sir Adric, and King Jayko, where his legs and arms were cut off, he was smuggled away by Shadow Knight commanders. They employed some evil clerics to keep him alive, and then forced the good gnomes of the Wolfpack lands to make mechanical arms and legs for him! However, the gnomes could not find a power source for the limbs, so the Shadow Knights exterminated vast number of gnomes! Then, from spy reports, an evil Stygian Priest used his magic to power the armour! And now Vladek is besieging the capital of Morcia!"

Location: The eastern Taurus Mountains.

___Vbana's phoenix flew along the highest ridges of the mountains until it came within sight of Galf's village. Spiraling slowly down, it landed in the rhubarb patch of Marta's garden, and began singing sweetly, "SerrooOOOooodddeeeee, serrooooOOOooooooodddeeee...." Kemp, who had been playing in the mud near the garden, looked up and laughed, then ran inside and brought out his father.
___Galf looked where his son was pointing, and then stared. A phoenix! he thought, why, I could make a fortune off of that.... Out loud, he told Kemp to go wash up in the stream. Then he crept slowly towards the magnificent bird.
___"Hello, Galf," said the phoenix in a warbling tone. "I've come for that stone, for Quolde."
___Galf, startled, answered, "Wha-huh? The sto—wait, you're a bird! Why are you talking? And how do you know my name?"
___"All phoenixes can talk Galf, surely you know that." Galf had indeed heard that they could, but he had put it off as a legend many years ago. "As for your other question, I come from Quolde, and Vbana, and they told me your name. Now please, the stone."
___Galf, too bewildered to speak, walked into his house and brought out the pouch. "Do you want me to tie it to your leg or something?"
___"On the string will be fine." Galf then saw that there was a length of twine around the birds' neck, and secured the pouch to it. He was about to asked if it wanted something to drink, but it flew over to the stream, and then away west over the hills.
___Now that it was gone, Galf had some doubts. Why did I give the stone to that bird? How do I know that it doesn't come from the enemy?... However, soon after he thought this, he saw the unreasonableness of it. Nothing that polite could come from his enemy. Shaking his head at the his luck in seeing one of the rare birds, he turned around and walked back into his house.

the ambushers then searched syreen's pack and found only a cord of rope, a tinder box, a large polished black stone, food, a quiver of arrows, a bow made of eboney and silver, a comon mithril long sword, and a sack of coins.

Location: The Fire Mountain.

___Quolde bent over his table, jotting down notes feverishly as the potion worked its way through his apparatus. Now it was nearing the vessel that held the stone. Quolde fumbled on his table for the red-lensed glasses and just barely got them on before the first drop landed on the stone, causing an intensely bright flash of light. The glasses protected his eyes from blindness, and he was able to see the stone change from an inconspicuous, rough, grey lump, into a perfectly round, perfectly transparent green-tinted sphere. "HA!" he shouted. Below, the dragon, the phoenixes, the drakes, and various other fire creatures all shook their heads or rolled their eyes, but they were all glad he was finished. "Vbana, prepare yourself for flight. We must leave now!"
___Looking up at the wizard's ledge, the huge dragon grumbled, then swam out of the lava pool, through the channel, and into the main crater of the volcano. He waded ashore, and shaking himself free of bits of lava, he stretched his expansive wings. Quolde soon appeared on the side of the crater, and Vbana walked over to him. The wizard leapt onto the dragon's large back, and lay down between the two rows of spines. He strapped himself onto them, and then called out for Vbana to start. Climbing the volcano's walls, he bounded along the ridge until he came to the spot where the outer slopes dropped straight down. He backed up a bit, and then ran off the side. Gathering speed, he flung out his wings just before hitting the ground, and soaring up, set off towards Leonopolis.

"Hey!" Commander Gerodal called in his deep, gravelly voice, "Marcus, you've got good eyes. Tell me, is that an inn I see over there?"
After looking at what the commander was pointing at for a few moments, Marcus replied in a low whisper, "I think it is sir. By the way you shouldn't yell so loudly. Specially in Forestmen territory."
"Why should I listen to a pup like you, huh? I'm your elder and superior, so give me the respect I deserve. Anyways, if that is an inn we should stop there for the night. Arthur! Where in the MegaBloks are you?"
As if in response to the commanders question, Sir Arthur BeDar dropped from a low branch in a tree to Gerodal's left.
"Here I am sir. And I have to agree with Marcus. We really should try to be quiet. Also, I've been looking at that inn for a couple of minutes and I think it is not going to be cheap."
"Who cares about price. Long as they have good beer and ale at a reasonable price, I'm perfectly happy." With that statement Commander Gerodal walked on through the forest, leaving the two knights to choose to stay and let him leave and have them spend the night out in the cold on hard ground, or go with him and enjoy an ale or two and have a nice, soft bed for a single night.
Sir Marcus and Sir Arthur chose the later choice and quickly ran after their commander, yelling "Wait for us! We want some ale as well!"

the falcons only then took syreen to their leader

Garland walked down the village road. His blue cloak was wrapped around him, the hood pulled high. Garland tucked his sword into the scabbard at his waist. The snow fell around him, silent, as he entered his manor. It was crumbling, deserted from the last time Garland was cast from the society of his fellow Crusaders. Garland took a torch from the wall, burning down each and every one of the brilliant Crusader tapestries. Garland took the knife from his belt and fiddled around with it, opening up the case that held his armor. Taking it, Garland left the manor, leaving his torch behind him. The manor could burn for all he cared. Taking one final look at it, he shrugged and turned away. His wife and son were still in the manor, sleeping there. Garland payed no attention to their screams through the night. Chuckling to himself, Garland turned his back on the manor. All he once held dear - useless. He was a black knight now, and resented the Crusader ways with pleasure...