Posted November 04, 2011
Just a conclusion to the previous action and a little prelude for the new system...
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Adventures in Vue
Chapter VIII: Northbrook United
A joint task force composed of the Wanderers and cell ND of the Black Brigade, acting under information obtained by Jack the Knife, and with the aid of Miken’s Djinn, disposed of an evil lich and a small army of the undead in the Blood Peaks. There, they rescued Cat of the Cobra Division as well as the missing Wanderers.
To their surprise, they discovered that Miken had been framed by the King of Northbrook for stealing the Compass from the Nog. It had all been an attempt to instigate a war between the Black Brigade and the Nog.
Having been imprisoned by the Brigade pending questioning, Miken was abducted by the lich, who sought to control a precious commodity: Miken’s Djinn.
Though the lich was ultimately dispatched, his powerful magic convinced the Djinn that he was Miken. Thus, the Djinn was bound to the lich’s orders. Doing so enabled him to finish his wicked project: opening a great portal between this world and a lesser dimension.
The lich’s goal was to flood the world with barbaric, primitive, un-evolved beings with limited mental capacity… the types of souls he could use to conquer the world.
Many portals had already opened before the Wanderers and cell ND of the Black Brigade encountered the lich, but the one created by the Djinn was by far the most impressive. Through it, a bloodthirsty army had poured into Northbrook and began to lay siege to the town.
It was through one of the smaller portals that a pair of unnamed killers had entered Northbrook. Setting up shop in an abandoned Black Brigade hideout, they began to murder high ranking city officials one by one. Though mindless, the primitives are adept killers.
It was also through one of the smaller portals that the Blue Team had fallen, following combat with the Wanderers in the Ringmaster’s Bazaar of Dreams. They were subsequently rescued by Charfox Leafwhisper and a mysterious wolf-like being, both of whom disappeared from their sight shortly thereafter. None amongst them know why Charfox or the wolf went to such great trouble to return them to Vue.
In the midst of the siege, the Cobra Division, the Blue Team, the Wanderers and the Black Brigade held emergency meetings to prepare a counterattack. The King of Northbrook and the Ringmaster were forced to set their quarrel aside to face the more immediate concern of defeating the invaders.
The assault was undertaken so swiftly, that Northbrook could not call for aid. A unit of Quenhali was passing nearby and volunteered their services to the King, and they proved to be the only match for the invaders in melee combat, while the guard and the Cobra Division conducted hit and run operations on small pockets of enemies.
No other help was forthcoming: even if a rider could leave the city, no friendly army could make the march in time to aid the city. Northbrook was alone, surrounded on all sides by unfamiliar faces from a foreign world.
No sorcerer in Northbrook had the power to shut down the great portal. With certain death facing the defenders, they resorted to the use of the Weapon, an unexplained artifact from a time long ago, inherited from a long forgotten civilization that once occupied the area.
Fifty feet tall and just as wide, the Weapon was a killing machine that was kept hidden in catacombs of the royal palace. It emitted beams of pure light, burning holes through organic matter in seconds. However, the Weapon was unstable: it resulted in equal casualties among the city’s defenders and the primitives.
Most civilians had already fled or perished in defense of their homes, but some remained barricaded throughout the battle. Soon there existed only a handful of survivors: a few units of the King’s soldiers, no more than ten Quenhali allies, a smattering of Black Brigade units and just a few of the adventuring parties called the Wanderers and the Blue Team.
With the whereabouts of both the King and the Ringmaster unknown, and with leadership in disarray, the Knight Kemuel was called upon for his expertise in devising tactics.
Though he was adamant that he would prefer to be directly involved in the fighting, he ultimately conceded to the demands of those present. He took command atop the hills to the northwest of Cioll Mehirt, hoping that he could finally repulse the invaders despite being outnumbered 5:1. From the hills, he could observe and coordinate movement through dispatches sent to unit leaders.
Xirdneh had been grievously wounded in earlier fighting, but took comfort in the music box provided to him by the Paladin, Roe. He was up on his feet for the first time in days, and ready to punish those responsible.
Exile and Barnell led the main fighting force into battle. The Milkman and Leh Dzebo led the Qunhali. Aluinie Goldwind and Heroditus operated near the perimeter, picking off stray primitives with their bows.
Harzhan, Silly Hollow and the Clerics set up a camp to tend to the wounded.
The rogues, including Cat, Nathan Blake, Rhun Danwyn, Jack the Knife, Lewendor, Samuel Drabek, Artemus Venn and others set to work laying traps for the primitives in vulnerable spots surrounding the battlefield. Virama Unseer and White Elk called upon primal forces to aid the cause.
As the final charge began, the great portal inexplicably started to flicker until it had all but disappeared. Exile took this as a sign of divine favor, and the unit commanders used it as a rallying cry to inspire what few forces remained to liberate Northbrook.
During a slight lull in the action, Lewendor took note of a crimson and white banner in the distance. He shouted towards Xirdneh on the battlefield,
“It’s the banner of Hammerhall, Xir! We have reinforcements!”
But as the dust cleared, Xirdneh saw the legion turn away due south, and Kemuel had vanished along with them.
Northbrook was in ruins and uninhabitable. Over the next few days, the few who remained alive were rescued. Reports from small scouting parties indicated that Northport had suffered the same fate.
In time, all the primitives were defeated and with their portal closed, there was no sign that they would return. However, the minions of the lich remained scattered throughout the lands, seeking to open the portal once more. No one knew where they would choose to strike next, nor the enormity of the challenges to come.
___________________________________________________________________
Adventures in Vue
Chapter VIII: Northbrook United
A joint task force composed of the Wanderers and cell ND of the Black Brigade, acting under information obtained by Jack the Knife, and with the aid of Miken’s Djinn, disposed of an evil lich and a small army of the undead in the Blood Peaks. There, they rescued Cat of the Cobra Division as well as the missing Wanderers.
To their surprise, they discovered that Miken had been framed by the King of Northbrook for stealing the Compass from the Nog. It had all been an attempt to instigate a war between the Black Brigade and the Nog.
Having been imprisoned by the Brigade pending questioning, Miken was abducted by the lich, who sought to control a precious commodity: Miken’s Djinn.
Though the lich was ultimately dispatched, his powerful magic convinced the Djinn that he was Miken. Thus, the Djinn was bound to the lich’s orders. Doing so enabled him to finish his wicked project: opening a great portal between this world and a lesser dimension.
The lich’s goal was to flood the world with barbaric, primitive, un-evolved beings with limited mental capacity… the types of souls he could use to conquer the world.
Many portals had already opened before the Wanderers and cell ND of the Black Brigade encountered the lich, but the one created by the Djinn was by far the most impressive. Through it, a bloodthirsty army had poured into Northbrook and began to lay siege to the town.
It was through one of the smaller portals that a pair of unnamed killers had entered Northbrook. Setting up shop in an abandoned Black Brigade hideout, they began to murder high ranking city officials one by one. Though mindless, the primitives are adept killers.
It was also through one of the smaller portals that the Blue Team had fallen, following combat with the Wanderers in the Ringmaster’s Bazaar of Dreams. They were subsequently rescued by Charfox Leafwhisper and a mysterious wolf-like being, both of whom disappeared from their sight shortly thereafter. None amongst them know why Charfox or the wolf went to such great trouble to return them to Vue.
In the midst of the siege, the Cobra Division, the Blue Team, the Wanderers and the Black Brigade held emergency meetings to prepare a counterattack. The King of Northbrook and the Ringmaster were forced to set their quarrel aside to face the more immediate concern of defeating the invaders.
The assault was undertaken so swiftly, that Northbrook could not call for aid. A unit of Quenhali was passing nearby and volunteered their services to the King, and they proved to be the only match for the invaders in melee combat, while the guard and the Cobra Division conducted hit and run operations on small pockets of enemies.
No other help was forthcoming: even if a rider could leave the city, no friendly army could make the march in time to aid the city. Northbrook was alone, surrounded on all sides by unfamiliar faces from a foreign world.
No sorcerer in Northbrook had the power to shut down the great portal. With certain death facing the defenders, they resorted to the use of the Weapon, an unexplained artifact from a time long ago, inherited from a long forgotten civilization that once occupied the area.
Fifty feet tall and just as wide, the Weapon was a killing machine that was kept hidden in catacombs of the royal palace. It emitted beams of pure light, burning holes through organic matter in seconds. However, the Weapon was unstable: it resulted in equal casualties among the city’s defenders and the primitives.
Most civilians had already fled or perished in defense of their homes, but some remained barricaded throughout the battle. Soon there existed only a handful of survivors: a few units of the King’s soldiers, no more than ten Quenhali allies, a smattering of Black Brigade units and just a few of the adventuring parties called the Wanderers and the Blue Team.
With the whereabouts of both the King and the Ringmaster unknown, and with leadership in disarray, the Knight Kemuel was called upon for his expertise in devising tactics.
Though he was adamant that he would prefer to be directly involved in the fighting, he ultimately conceded to the demands of those present. He took command atop the hills to the northwest of Cioll Mehirt, hoping that he could finally repulse the invaders despite being outnumbered 5:1. From the hills, he could observe and coordinate movement through dispatches sent to unit leaders.
Xirdneh had been grievously wounded in earlier fighting, but took comfort in the music box provided to him by the Paladin, Roe. He was up on his feet for the first time in days, and ready to punish those responsible.
Exile and Barnell led the main fighting force into battle. The Milkman and Leh Dzebo led the Qunhali. Aluinie Goldwind and Heroditus operated near the perimeter, picking off stray primitives with their bows.
Harzhan, Silly Hollow and the Clerics set up a camp to tend to the wounded.
The rogues, including Cat, Nathan Blake, Rhun Danwyn, Jack the Knife, Lewendor, Samuel Drabek, Artemus Venn and others set to work laying traps for the primitives in vulnerable spots surrounding the battlefield. Virama Unseer and White Elk called upon primal forces to aid the cause.
As the final charge began, the great portal inexplicably started to flicker until it had all but disappeared. Exile took this as a sign of divine favor, and the unit commanders used it as a rallying cry to inspire what few forces remained to liberate Northbrook.
During a slight lull in the action, Lewendor took note of a crimson and white banner in the distance. He shouted towards Xirdneh on the battlefield,
“It’s the banner of Hammerhall, Xir! We have reinforcements!”
But as the dust cleared, Xirdneh saw the legion turn away due south, and Kemuel had vanished along with them.
Northbrook was in ruins and uninhabitable. Over the next few days, the few who remained alive were rescued. Reports from small scouting parties indicated that Northport had suffered the same fate.
In time, all the primitives were defeated and with their portal closed, there was no sign that they would return. However, the minions of the lich remained scattered throughout the lands, seeking to open the portal once more. No one knew where they would choose to strike next, nor the enormity of the challenges to come.
Post edited November 04, 2011 by stoicsentry