 Re: Report of Scouting Mission... By: Nystramo Nystramo watched Kagis leave, still uncertain of what to make of the Kuldar's tale. He wondered, but not for long. There was work to do. He gestured to the case of weapons and addressed one of the gaurd. "See tha' these weapons gits distributed. I wants ever' unit ta has some o' dem in their ranks. An' gives each o' The Ten first pick o' weapons, 'cept fer tha Axebows. Finds our five bes' shooters an' gives 'em each one an' a score o' tha bolts." The guard nodded and he and another kuldar carried the cache of weapons to the forces. Nystramo fingered Rorn Norogh's blade and grinned. It would be a grand battle. Into the Mount By: Niord I gathers me senses an starts inta tha mount. Discarded stuff an dead bodies be 'ere an thar. I keeps goin, fallerin tha main trail tha gobblies left. Me mind be almos' gone....a million thoughts at ah time. I ne'er took meself fer ah psyco.... I starts findin signs o' fierce battle. I clutches tha amulet on me neck...funny....I naer noticed tha befur.... I finds ah pile o' bodies, an ah dwarven shield w' lotsa 'oles in it. I nae recognizes it, but I nae sees a body o' un me kin 'ere. I goes ah li'le further, an I finds crosses an names scribed in tha wall. I reads tha names, an me heart pains, fer I ken these two brave lads.... I comes ta ah spot whar tha main army turned, an then comed back. I goes doon....it be goin ta anudder set o' side tunnles. I 'ears noises.... I flattens against tha wall, an sees 4 gobblies commin oot o' tha tunnel. I sees ah shield in un o' thar 'ands....I ken whos it be....it be Dwy's shield.... I acts withoot thinkin....screamin like ah berzerker....chargin swingin me axe. I takes 'em by surprize, an cleaves tha shield 'older in halfs, frum tha top doon. Tha udders readies thar weapons, but I nae cares. I charges agin, I nae cares if'n I gits kilt. I rams un inta tha wall, an spits anudder w' me axe. Tha udder un 'its me frum behind an pierces me armor. I feels tha pain but nae cares. I finishes tha gobblie under me shield, an tha udder 'its me agin in tha sames spot. It goes thru me armor, an I screams in rage an pain. I clutches me side an whirls on tha gobblie, but it gots away. I rips off ah piece o' gobblie armor an puts it in tha hole in mine ta stops tha blood, picks up Dwys shield, an goes.... I comes ta ah pile o' gobblies, an ah cavein aftur it. I nae sees any dwarvie bodies, soes I figures they be buried under tha piles. I ken tha Dwy be below tha pile....un o' tha first kin tha findid me an tooks me in. I gots ta gives 'im ah propper burien. Soes I starts ta dig. I nae gits far, an me rage goes oot. I clutches tha amulet w' me bloody 'and, an I feels sumfin wierd 'appinen. Me strength....it be commin back....an greater.... I picks up me axe an starts swingin, cuttin thru boulder after boulder, an I nae tires. Me axe swings faster an faster....I be clearin tha pile gud now. I nae ken 'ow long I be swingin....I nae gits tired....I jes keeps swingin, nae seein any bodies. Me hopes git beddur, an I goes. 'boot 24 hours aftur I starts, I comes across ah gobblie body crushed in tha cavein. I lets oot ah sarcastic laugh....knowin tha Dwy got ah least un mores befur he gots it. I keeps diggin....nae noticen me sanity slippin away. Finally, tha pile starts givin way. I puts doon me axe, an drops ta tha floor in exhaustion, nae noticen it befur I puts it doon. I forces meself ta gits up. I pulls more stones away, an thar it be! I gots an opinen ta tha udder side! I sticks me 'ead thru, an barely pulls back befur an axe 'its whar me neck were. Frum inside I 'ears ah voice...weak...."Comes on in ye gobblies, ye nae gonna takes me wioot ah fit!" Me eyes widen, I calls "Dwy? Tha be you Dwy?" I 'ears ah voice agin...."Niord? Is tha you lad!" I finds me last bit o' energy an widens tha 'ole. I be stickin 'alf way in an Dwy runs up an hugs tha air oota me. Aftur 'e lets go an asks lotsa questions I nae has tha answers for, 'e 'elps me in. I stands up, an offers 'im 'is shield. He looks ah it, an ah me, then takes it. Thank ye lad....I naer fergits this. I looks ah tha udders an greets em. Las' I remember was sayin 'allo, then e'erthin goes black as I feel meself 'itten tha ground.... The Darkness Descends By: ZYXOS ::: The approach to the Mount had gone well, with no encounters forcing ZYXOS to give away his presence. He had started following one dwarf that seemed to have lost his mind in some fight. Finally, after killing 3 Goblins just for a shield, the dwarf seemed intent upon burying himself in a pile of rubble. Then... for the first time... ZYXOS saw the dwarf possessed a magical amulet hanging around his neck. ZYXOS knew of the Dwarven dislike for magic... and the amulet seem to be a surprise to the Dwarf himself. ZYXOS noted the discovery for his record... "Dwarves appear to be using limited magic or magical impliments.... must increase vigilence when patrolling or doing battle". Giving the magical impliment a wide berth, ZYXOS continued on into the tunnels. He happened upon a fight between some of the Goblin Hammer Corps and a small patrol of dwarves ::: watching carefully, it was obvious that the Dwarven Patrol was more than a match for the Goblins... but they were taking horrible wounds and losing many of their number. However, it was obvious that the preferred Dwarven fighting style was to put everything into the "obvious" battle, even if it meant losing most of their force. Finally one of the Dwarves had been able to subdue that last of the goblins... and with a large chest on his back was making his way shakily towards the Underhalls of the Mount:::: pulling the cloak of darkness tighter about him, ZYXOS followed closely on the heels of the struggling Dwarf :::: ::: As the pair approached the perimeter of the UnderHalls of AxePeak, the dwarf was challanged by a sentry ::: it was interesting to note that they did not fire if they even "thought" the approaching figure might be a fellow dwarf ::: and then with a cursory pass through, the Dwarf was allowed to make his way on through the defensive perimeter just because he said it was important ::: even Dwarven Clerics were not present to assure there was nothing amiss.... such as a cloaked Drow Warrior ::::: :::: splitting off from the struggling Dwarf, ZYXOS made his way into the outer tunnels of the Dwarven UnderHalls watching for traps and patrols :::: finally he spotted the beginnings of a trap that he recognized in both form and function :::: as he was studying the trap and noting its location on his map the 2 dwarves working on the trap approached :::: "Sur'n it be impor'ant ta get dis done so Tigghur kin show it ta Moradinson... bu' ye wou' t'ink dey wou' give us time fer a few ales w'out us havin' ta sneak off ta get 'um ourselves".. ::: the two had obviously been taking a break and were now quite relaxed :::: ::: ZYXOS moved quickly and silently taking advantage of the laxness of the two workers.... his boot knife drank deeply of the blood from the larger of the workers as it silently slit the dwarf's throat ::: the other dwarf looked on in horrid amazement as his companion's throat seemed to open of it's own accord and the blood spilt down the front of his armor ::: and the look turned to one of shock as the fully armed and armored Drow Faern seemed to materialize from thin air in front of him ::: the deep blood red eyes were the last site the Dwarf saw before the Fireball slammed him to the floor and ended his life in a living hell of flame and pain :::: :::ZYXOS' movements were precise and it was apparent he was searching for someone or something specific as he made his way gradually inward within the defensive ring of the Dwarven UnderHalls ::: " So, little one... where are you now? There is one more card to be played that even you are not aware of...." Re: The Darkness Descends By: Nystramo It was the most disturbing news yet. Two more kin dead.... killed WITHIN the outer perimeter of Lonely Mountain. Nystramo looked over the scene of the killings. There was a lot of blood, all of it dwarven. "Blast," he muttered. One of the kuldar had his throat slit, apparently without a struggle. The other had been burned to death. The charred area suggested a fireball. "Magix." The assembled dwarves looked at each other with concern. It was obvious no goblin was responsible for this. It was inconcievable that one could slip past the pickets, sneak up on two dwarven warriors, slit one's throat and kill the other with a fireball without losing a drop of it's own blood. Besides, Nystramo had never even heard of a gobin skilled enough in magic to even cast a simple sleep spell. There was only one other possibility worth considering. There was a drow, or a few drow, inside the perimeter. "Gits Moradinson! Now!" he barked to the nearest dwarf. Startled by his chief's unusually brusque command, the kuldar ran off to find the Rrin Kuld as quickly as he could. He considered for a moment before giving his next order. Clearly their couldn't be more than a handful of drow within the perimeter right now, if even that many. This particular killing indicated no more than two or three of them. Even one drow, though a very skilled one, could have managed it. "Puts out a call to all tha kin," he told another kuldar. "I wants all kin wha' kin be found in tha nex' three hours inside tha mount. In three hours, we be closin' tha gates. An' puts tha call out to tha priests. I wan' them scourin' tha mount fer any signs o' foul magix." The dwarf nodded and ran off, knowing that Nystramo didn't mean the standard gates that allowed entrance and egress from the mount. He meant the REAL gates - huge stone slabs that needed a dozen kuldar just to open and close. It was a serious move. It meant the chief thought the mount was in immediate danger. It was second only to the final sealing of the mountain, a decision reserved for a truly desperate situation. Nystramo remained at the site, worrying. Why were the drow striking now, before the goblins had played their hand? Why announce their presence with an attack that accomplished nothing else but draw attention to them? He was missing something. He shook his head and hoped Moradinson would be able to shed some light on the situation. Har dee Uh ooh... By: Tigguhr Tigguhr heard of the slayings and began working even faster. Morad had approved a couple of designs for test, but now the bouncer (who knew they would work) now decided to go ahead and complete the one he was working on as if it would be deployed for real and immediately. Alone in a side corridor, he worked in the darkness. As he bend over some bamboo rods and netting, he suddenly got a sensation that he hadn't felt in some weeks. Staying in a crouch and turning quickly, he spied a blackness moving toward him, that got significantly lighter as it approached. A dark form materialized in front of him and grinned wickedly. "Oh oh! Nae agin!" cried the bouncer, as he went for his axe Coral Joe... Re: The Darkness Descends... By: Baldar Hmr ::Baldar had just arrived at the stonewerks, as requested by the StoneMaster,Moradinson, and was waiting for Morad to arrive when one of the chief's guards ran into the quarry. 'Quick like, where tha 'ell is Storm, Baldy?', asked the guard in a gruff fashion. 'Hmph!..I dinnae ken where he be, I be waiting fer 'im meself!..Why is you so werked up?',answered Baldar. 'Gordul!', exclaimed the guard,' It done started! The chief dun ordered the gates sealed in three hours! All the kin is ta git inside tha Mount by then!!.Two kin dun be found dead in tha Outer perimeter, and it 'pears ta be magix, maybe Drow!!' 'Sandstone!',muttered Baldar, 'Well kin, best tha we goes off and checks with Emmy and D1 ta see ifn' they ken where Storm be at.' ::A scowl crossed the young Kuldmordin's face as the two ran off in search of the sisters':: The Eastern Underhalls 1 By: MoradinSon "Yer sure?" "Aye Rrin Kuld" Breathed the ghostly herald. Storm MoradinSon stood in his planning chamber before a stone table covered with runes and pieces of engraved stone that would be indecipherable to any but a dwarf. He was conversing with an ancestral guardian, a dwarf who, in life, had been so dedicated to the protection of the mount that he continued his vigil even beyond the boundaries of death. "Ragin" Storm addressed the shade respectfully. "I be honored that ye has shown yerself ta me an I be shaken at th' same time tha' we be in a danger fierce enow ta bring ye inta view in this livin world. I will strike a weapon upon Moradin's forge in yer honor fer givin yer aid to us now" The translucent dwarven warrior nodded his head in recognition of Storm's words and began vanishing from sight. "I will always be an guardian of the Mount. Always." The Ancestor's final word lingered behind in certain promise as the ghostly image vanished from view. MoradinSon moved a few cryptic stones about the surface of his table. He turned to one wall of the room upon which was engraved a layout of one of the underhall levels. Beneath the mural was a bank of stone rods which extended in various lengths from the face of the wall. Each rod had a series of runes upon it. Moradinson faced the wall and studied it carefully before murmuring a quiet word in the ancient tongue of the house of Durin. He intoned it precisely as Nystramo's venerated mother had taught him. He then withdrew two of the rods from the wall. The rods slid smoothly from their sockets. Far below in the deepest levels of the underhalls, although not yet within the citadel's gates, Zyxos moved in the dancing shadows of the flames which burned in the sconces of the hall. The drow had not yet penetrated deep within the mount and the hall he traversed well not well used. Many of the walls appeared to be natural in origin and the flagged floor had enough shallow pools of standing water to make it clear that the dwarven work crews didn't pass this way often. still, it was the path by which the goblin army would approach and it would serve better than most mused the drow faern. Suddenly the faern heard a click. A click so soft and distant that few other beings would have had any chance of hearing it. At the same instant every torch in the down sloping hall went out. "Foolish little men." Thought Zyxos. "Such darkness will slow the goblin hordes little and me not at all". Zyxos continued more confidently now that there was no need to flit from shadow to shadow. Downward toward the inner halls of the mountains underbelly he continued until he came to an abrupt dead-end. A glyph covered wall arose blocking the chamber. Although the wall was so well fit that no seam could be discerned Zyxos was certain that this wall was newly placed. He was tempted to cast a spell upon the wall to rend it from its place but something about the runes held him from doing so. He was unsure what effect they would evoke but he was certain that they were magical in nature. The dwarves were poor in most magic and they held what magic they could wield close to home but they walked closer to their gods than most folk and even a drow had to think twice before risking tripping dwarven runes and traps. A mile back upslope the goblin front ranks had entered the same tunnel down which Zyxos now found himself. The tunnels torchlit mouth beckoned the horde in. Thirty or more goblins had entered the tunnel when the mighty slab of stone dropped into place sealing it completely and pulping the three hapless goblins unfortunate enough to be caught beneath it. Eastern Underhalls 2 By: MoradinSon Zyxos heard the goblins screams echo from behind him and his well honed instincts screamed to him. Trap! He took a deep breath and realized that he felt weak. It was then he heard the faint hiss. He looked about intently and listened. Several tense moments later he traced the sound to one of the doused torches. Upon close examination it became clear that many of the torches were not wood but metal. The hollow metal torches were making the faint hissing noise. Realization dawned upon the oxygen starved drow. Swiftly as he could travel he began running back up the tunnel. Back the way he had come. The squad of goblins who had been trapped on the inside of the stone slab pummeled its polished surface |