 The Moment of Truth Approaches By: Jhaelryna The drow captain cursed quietly as he read the orders from the Queen. He had been relieved of command! After all his hard work and careful planning, he was now to hand over control of the patrol to this faern. Such was life in service to the Dark Queen. The captain stood, squared his shoulders, and bowed to the dark figure. "The patrol is in your hands, Jabbuk." "That is not necessary, Captain. You will retain command over your men. You know them best. They are yours. I am simply here to fulfill the plans of the Valsharess. I will instruct you as to our operational plans immediately." "As you see fit, sir". "Then let us begin. There is no time to lose" The drow soldiers moved unobserved to their planned positions. They camouflaged themselves and waited. Waited for the remnants of the goblin army and the dwarves to finally meet in pitched battle. The battered goblin army had finally reached the Mountain. Its numbers had been decimated by the guerilla warfare of the dwarven patrols, and by the fiendish traps laid by the dwarves. The force that remained was still sizeable, however. Nystramo hoped that the outer defenses had pared down enough of the gobbos' strength. The inevitable had finally come. The goblins were at the gates. Now was the time when the dwarves would have to stand shoulder to shoulder, and fight for their home. The goblin horde screeched in frenzied ecstasy as they finally bashed their way through the initial outer defenses of the Mountain. A battleline of armored dwarves stood impassively in the hallway as the green tide swept towards them. Within seconds, the first major engagement of the war had begun. Screams of dying goblins and dwarves filled the dark tunnels as the two ancient enemies grappled with each other yet again. "Somebody get Storm! Dem goblins gots tru da tun'ls somehows! We gots ta get reinforcements here rite quick! Hold steady, lads! We gots ta hold at all costs!" The dwarven veteran began to sing a song of battle at the top of his lungs. Soon, the entire dwarven line was singing in unison, smashing goblin bodies with every note. When a soldier inevitably fell to the wicked blades of the goblins, his surviving comrades increased the volume of their song, and quickened the tempo of their blows. But the weight of the goblin army was too much, and the outnumbered dwarves were inexorably forced backwards.... Valsharess Jhaelryna GM, TOL The Powers are Awakened By: Gaglug Gaglug's mind whirled with the immense power of the goblin army. His manipulation and control over the goblins was complete. The raw, insane emotions of the goblin army was feeding the power of the Shaman. The army itself was a giant psychic battery, a immense power source that Gaglug could tap. Gibbering madly, Gaglug lost control for a split second, and a random bolt of magical energy shot from the shaman's head. The massive bolt blew a large hole in a nearby wall (killing several goblins unfortunate enough to be standing nearby). "MINE IS THE POWER!!!" hooted the deranged shaman. Gaglug looked around for Gunklob, but the goblin chieftan was nowhere to be found. Gaglug immediately set out to find the chieftan. Magical energy crackling visibly around him, the shaman moved through the horde towards the front of the army. Gunklob found himself in an uncomfortable situation. He had planned to lead this assault from his usual position...the rear. But somehow, he was near the front lines. How had that happened? He resolved to move to a safer location, and turned around, then froze. The chieftan's hand moved involuntarily to the hilt of his sword. As his fingers touched the pommel, Gunklob's eyes glazed over. He threw his head back and let out an unearthly roar. "I SHALL FEAST ON THE SOULS OF MANY DWARVES THIS DAY!!!! FOR I AM THE KIN-SLAYER, AND THE KING-EATER. I HAVE SLAIN A THOUSAND DWARVES, AND MY HUNGER IS UNABATED. LOOK UPON ME, DWARVES, AND TREMBLE! I AM H'RATHN'GON, BORN OF THE ABYSS." Gunklob drew the sword and held it over his head. In that moment, Gunklob vainly tried to resist possession by the sword, but it was too late. H'rathn'gon, dwarvenslayer, had fully awakened. Mighty Gaglug, Dwarf-Ripper and Troll-Eater Shaman of the Goblins The Storm That Has Broken... By: Nystramo D1amond woke with a start on Nystramo's lap. She smiled up at her taerin, but the smile turned quickly to a frown when she saw the look on his face. He looked at her and said simply, "It's started." She nodded and stood. With the practiced ease and efficiency of a kuldar she donned her armor and weapons, which had been thoughtfully brought to the planning room for her. She noticed Tigguhr was also awake and ready for battle, as were Baldar Hmr and the rest of The Ten. Noticing her look, Nys said "Almos' all," with a frown. Dwyvyrn had still not returned. The First of The Ten remainded missing. As he took up Rorn Norogh, he couldn't help but feel a sense of doom at the lack. One of his oldest friends and most formidable kuldar, the chief hated the idea of going into battle without him. Dwyvyrn's ready pike and unwavering courage always gave him a sense of confidence. Now, when he needed him most, the captain was nowhere to be found. But, there was no time for morbid thoughts now. "Ya ready kin?" The Ten all nodded grimly. "D1, ye be tha captain now. Keeps yer kuldar on their toes." D1 nodded once again. One look in her eyes almost made Nys feel sorry for any goblin that came face to face with her. Almost. "Alri' den. We goes ta battle." He jogged out of the planning room, Rorn Norogh at the ready and glowing with a golden light. He could almost feel its thirst for the goblin blood. As soon as he was out the door The Ten formed a running circle around him. For the first time he noted the kuldar that had replaced Dwyvyrn to fill out The Ten for the battle; Dorgan, a sturdy kuldar and a veteran of the orc wars. When he noticed the chief looking his way he grinned and tipped his morning star in salute. "Raugh ar dun, Olor Kuld." Nystramo laughed and replied, "Raugh ar dun, samman." Privately he thought, death from below, to be sure, but for who, and how many? They came upon the fringes of the battle quickly. The Ten quickly cut through any goblins they came upon. They battled with the practiced ease of Kuldmorndin, their attacks and parries in perfect harmony. Not a single enemy got even close to the chief. As they got nearer the center, however, it became more and more difficult to hold off the massive tide of goblins. Their weapons whirled, thrust and parried in a deadly dance so swift Nystramo made no attempt to follow them. Besides, his attention was demanded elsewhere. In the center of each knot of dwarven kuldar was a captain, also protected by a knot of veteran warriors. Each one kept an eye on their chief, looking for the signals they had all comitted to memory so they could communicate in battle. Looking toward one such squad which was being hard pressed on all side, Nys gestured toward the captain and gave the signal for an ordered withdrawal. The captain nodded and barked out "Kuldar! Rear!" As one the warriors reversed their direction in the blink of an eye. Caught off balance, many goblins stumbled and were quickly cut down by the retreating dwarves. The captain had his eye on a good defensive positition near the inner gates and steared his kuldar in that direction. Nystramo nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention elsewhere. Around him and his gaurd the battle raged. Suddenly, a voice boomed out, filling the caverns with an unnatural intensity. "I SHALL FEAST ON THE SOULS OF MANY DWARVES THIS DAY!!!! FOR I AM THE KIN-SLAYER, AND THE KING-EATER. I HAVE SLAIN A THOUSAND DWARVES, AND MY HUNGER IS UNABATED. LOOK UPON ME, DWARVES, AND TREMBLE! I AM H'RATHN'GON, BORN OF THE ABYSS." Nystramo felt his kin waver, ever so slightly. There was no rout, no panic, no sudden call to retreat; these were dwarven kuldar after all, no weak kneed tree huggers or ganglies. Still, he could feel the slight hesitation that meant his kin were beginning to know fear. It would have been imperceptible to any but a dwarf, but it was enough to mean trouble for his forces. He felt it himself. The Storm That Has Broken (2) By: Nystramo The power radiated from in from of the goblin lines, dark and menacing. It gnawed at the souls of his kuldar, and at his own. Whatever or whoever this H'rathn'gon was, it had to be stopped. The goblins were in a frenzy now, the dark power giving them strength and fire. The already embattled dwarves fought bravely, but their numbers were beginning to fall alarmingly. The tide of battle was turning against them. Nystramo ordered The Ten in the direction of the power, and they cut a swath through the goblin forces in their way; D1amond whirling her blade with a ruthless efficiency, all the while muttering oaths and curses at the enemy; Tigguhr, incomprhensibly bouncing while maintaining his position in the circle, shouting a gleeful "HAR DE DOO!" with every goblin that fell before him; Baldar maintaining a grim silence as he quickly dispatched any goblins that would dare try and approach his chief; Dorgan bashing in skull after skull with his morning star, singing a dwarven battle song, bellowing it with all of his considerable dwarven might. Nystramo, heartened by Dorgan's song, took it up himself. His voice boomed in the caverns, a counterpoint to H'rathn'gon's vile boasting. Soon, all of The Ten were singing. Within moments all of the kuldar in the cavern were singing, every dwarf in unison with his brothers and sisters. The song gave the dwarves courage and strength. Just as importantly, it gave them rhythym. Dwarven weapons cut, thrust and parried in time with the song. Every kuldar knew instinctively what his shield mate was going to do and timed his own actions accordingly. Ferocity was replaced with a deadly and fearsome efficiency. The dwarves fought as one, singing all the while. The goblins, who just seconds before had been in a frenzy for dwarf blood, faltered. The power of the dwarven song overwhelmed them, pounded into their brains. They didn't know what to make of this magical song that gave their enemies such power. The, suddenly, horribly, the song became even louder. Nystramo grinned as Moradinson and his forces smashed into the battle like a wave, all of his kuldar singing in unison. The goblins began to buckle in spite of their still superior numbers. A cowardly lot, they didn't have the stones to face an army of dwarves, all singing and battling together as a single kuldar. Finally, The Ten neared the source of the power. Nystramo's eyes widened as he saw the goblin chieftan. He huge beyond all of Nys's expectations of a goblin, and he held aloft a glowing sword that the chief could feel thirsting for dwarven blood. Rorn Norogh's own golden glow brightened in response. These two weapons would do battle this day, he knew. In a line in front of the goblin chieftan were what remained of the Hammer Warriors. Nystramo recognized them from the reports his scouts had given him. Huge, formidably armed and armored, they could be nothing else. There were a dozen of them, charging toward The Ten in well drilled formation. Nystramo shook his head in amazement. Well drilled goblins. It was almost too alien a thought for his mind to accept. "RAUGH AR DUN!" he shouted, and The Ten surged forward to meet them. Gunklob turned, feeling the presence of the other weapon and hearing the dwarven war cry. His eyes filled with rage as he saw the golden axe held aloft by the dwarven chief. He felt the blade urging him forward to slay his enemy, and he advanced. Ahead of him, his Hammer Warriors closed on the dwarven chief's personal gaurd. With them out of the way, Gunklob could face the dwarf chief personally, as he wanted. In the back of his mind, the goblin in Gunklob shouted and struggled. Leading a battle from the front? Seeking personal combat with the dwarven chief? Who had a powerful magical weapon of his own?? He cursed the drow for their "gift", but struggle as he might he couldn't weaken the sword's control over him. He watched in a combination of excitement and dismay as his Hammer Warriors clashed with the dwarven chief's gaurd.... And Darkness Is Found By: Niord They had been walking for some time now. The small scouting party had heard echos of battle through the mount. Only four of them, but all kin would help. They had quickly picked up speed, running as fast as their small legs could carry them, towards the battle. Drinking potions and reading from scrolls, I prepared myself for the comming battle. My speed and strength increased, and I quickly outpaced my kin. I could see the battle now. There it was. In the middle, some huge goblins in armor of fine construct were fighting the Ten. The two forces collided with such power I could feel the shockwave. And there was the chief, and the goblin chief, and much to my surprize, the goblin was advancing toward Nystramo. I entered the antichamber before the inner hall where the battle was being pushed to. The darkness and evil in the air was so heavy, I suddenly stopped cold. I looked around, and there were drow! A whole squad of drow! But they paid me no attention, intent on the battle ahead, waiting for their moment to strike. I silently thanked Moradin for the detect invis scroll that had been in my pouch. I looked around, till I saw the drow I wanted, the evil eminating so strong from him it had to be one of their feared Jabbuks. I acted as if I were going to charge into battle, pulled out a scroll, and with a cry of "Fer Moradin, and fer me kin!!" I read from the scroll and saw a flash upon the Jabbuk. His sirprize was warming to my heart. My cry momentarily stopped the battle ahead, as all eyes turned back, all song stopped. The drow looked at me in amazement as he started muttering, but nothing happened! My scroll had worked, the drow had the intellegence of the cave walls! No time for gloating, I quickly pull out another scroll, axe in one hand, shield over my back, reading. The Ten had used the distraction well, and the goblin Hammer Warriors lay smitten before them. Reading from the scroll, I pointed a finger at another drow, nothing! I felt the raw energy of a magic missile slam into my back, thank Moradin my shield took most of the blow. A curse of Gordul! as I fell forward, another magic missile tore into my shoulder, and I dropped the scroll in a scream of agony. Dwyvyrn and the others were almost there now, my heart raced, I screamed NAE KIN, NAE COMES! for I knew the drow would kill them quickly, and they would never know. I saw a drow turn toward them, a fire starting in between his hands. Nae! Nae! On my knees, I drop my axe, my left arm hanging useless. I pull one more scroll, hold it toward the cieling as I read it, then close my eyes tight as the paper disappears, and a blinding flash fills the chamber, the screams of suddenly blinded drow all around.. Niord Thunderstrike Dis Nae Bees Gud By: Niord Slowly I look around....what have I done? All cohesion between units are broke. Dwarf, goblin, and drow wander around aimlessly, bumping into each other, not being able to see. What a mess, everyone is mixed into everyone else! I spot members of the Ten, seems the Hammer Warriors really tore them up, alot more than I had figured. What worried me more is I didn't see either of the chiefs. Quickly I look for the Jabbuk. There he is...what is he doing? The Jabbuk looks at me, then swallows a vile of black liquid, I swear it was alive! He smiled at me; my heart sunk. I picked up my axe, just as a pillar of flame shot out from the Jabbuks hand. It hit me in the chest, I felt ribs breaking. It seemed an eternity before I hit the wall 30 feet behind me, the impact cutting off my howl of pain. What was in that vile? He negated my scroll. The tought went through my head over and over again. Vision was returning to everyone. The looks of surprize as they found themselves amongst the enemy in melee momentarely froze all. Dwarf, goblin, and drow looked at each other stupidly, before raising their weapons and going at it. Quickly the sounds of battle rose to new peaks.... The Report By: ZYXOS ::: ZYXOS was once again before his Queen ::: Jhaelryna sat upon her ebony throne, surrounded by the heads of the 3 schools of the University and her closest advisers ::: ::: From his kneeling position, ZYXOS offered forth the books, drawings, maps, and diagrams ::: "My Queen, I present you and the University with the information you charged me bring before you. There are maps of the upper and lower tunnels of the Underhalls of the Dwarves, drawings of the workings of many of the traps that will be used, locations of the known traps, and my notes regarding the fighting style of the Dwarves. I ask thee to please pay special attention to what I feel to be the foremost of my findings... the Dwarves are using magic in much greater quantities than I have seen before. Their clerics are growing in numbers and their thieves have become quite proficient in fighting with magic. We cannot underestimate their ability to mount a magical defense as well as magical attack. The Dwarves still seem to put all they have into the first battle... with limited reserves held back. Their traps are as deadly as we have ever heard and many may die in passing them. Most importantly, I have mapped several ways into the lower levels of the underhalls from the underdark itself. If used properly, with the goblins and your shock troops fighting at the mountain entrance, this might give you a second front which could trap the dwarves with their escape blocked not only by your troops, but by the very sealed doors of the Mount itself." ZYXOS remained kneeling as the University and the Queen discussed the materials he had brought to them.... ZYXOS Rilynt'tar Dark One of the Drow Jabbuk Faern Rilynt'tar Chaos Reigns... By: KAGIS As a scout I've always taken my duty of gathering information as paramount. So I spent a good bit of time examining the fisure where the drow had obviously disappeared through. It wasn't wide enough for me to get through without the aid of magic, and none of the scrolls I currently carried would be much help. I had been prepared for battle, not movement. "Har! Dat 'bout does it. I cannae very well go bashin' through dis whole. I best be gettin' back ta da mount fer when da fightin' starts." Just to take a quick check, I went through my scrolls. Most of them were geared for fighting drow one on one, but I had a few mass damage scrolls that would look rather spectacular; especially if dozens of goblin were stuck in the middle of it. Replacing the scroll case carefully on my belt and hefting Fulcrum I headed back toward the mount. It wasn't long before I began to hear the tell-tale sounds of battle ahead. This was no scirmish, there was just too much noise. Above the din of battle I heard a sound that made my heart leap within my chest. Nothing I'd ever heard in my days ever held the joy of hearing the entire clan singing as one. I would've gladly joined my voice to my kins', but that would not be possible. I was behind enemy lines... that much was obvious. I didn't wish to be discovered right away so I took out one of my many scrolls and began casting a few spells to keep myself well hidden. "Firs' a spell ta makes me faster dan lightnin'." I took out one of my mithril crossbow bolts and placed in on the ground a good distance away. Casting my second spell only took a heartbeat. Finally I finished my third spell which made me disappear from sight. Grinning from ear to ear, although no one would've been able to see me anyway, I walked quickly to pick up the enspelled bolt and place it in my Axebow. I noticed that I couldn't hear any more signs of battle, but that didn't worry me... it ment my enspelled bolt was working like just like it should. I rounded the corner in the cavern and nearly fell over as a bright flash blinded me briefly. I recovered quickly though and noticed several drow standing almost in a circle around me! A young dwarf I'd never met before stood before me rubbing his eyes painfully, the tattered remains of a scroll crumpled at his feet. Three of the drow near me quickly began to recite spells but stopped immediately when they realized they couldn't hear themselves speaking. They immediately began signing to each other in their wierd sign-speak hand language. I would've loved to know what they were saying, but there just wasn't time for that now. "De gonna fig'er ou' soon 'nuff dat young dwarf dinnae cast nae silence," I thought to myself. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the goblin hammer troops engage the Ten and Nystramo. All I could do was mouth a silent prayer to them, and then I set to action. One of the drow outside the current range of my bolt was beginning to move his hands in an odd weave. He had placed his back against a stone wall and his concentration was complete. So it was that he didn't even realize why his spell hadn't worked until he looked down and saw a mithril bolt stick through his left shoulder, pinning him to the stone wall. He called out an oath, as a dwarf appeared out of nowhere in the center of his fellow drow troops but realized that he could no longer hear his own voice. I laugh a hearty chuckle (glad to be able to speak again), and began firing bolt after bolt from my Axebow into the temporarly confused ranks of drow warriors. Two bolt sent one drow to his knees. He quickly fell over never to rise again. But these were seasoned drow warriors, and they reacted quickly. Two lunged at me; knocking me to my feet and sending my axebow flying through the air. "Arghh! Ya durn pointy ears!" I twisted and flailed my mailed fists connect with a drow nose sending him backwards through the air. The second warrior was stronger than the first, and his longer reach was making it difficult to get an advantage over him. We rolled and tumbled on the ground. I was glad we weren't near the goblin hoard or we would've both been trampled to death. I twisted and shoved with my feet against his chest. His hands were locked on my shoulders like a vice and instead of sailing through the air as I'd intended the drow flipped in the air, landing on his back with his hand still gripping my shoulders. I heard a telling "Uumfffff!" and the drow's grip relaxed a little. I twisted hard to my side, rolling away from the drow and the open floor toward the relative safety of the nearest cavern wall. As I rolled Fulcrum, my axe, found it's way into my hand. Kagis Ironpeak Axepeak Undermount Scout Reinforcements By: MoradinSon Storm was an experienced goblin fighter. Many times he had driven so-called goblin hordes from threatening dwarven citadels and encampments. Never before had he seen the like of this massive grouping of the vile little creatures. Indeed he had believed it to be impossible for such a number of the chaotic little monsters to abide each others company long enough to be a true threat. His scouts had reported thousands of goblins dead in the tunnels from the deadly traps the Clan had set but there was still an army of at least two thousand battle crazed goblins pressing the attack. Clan Axepeak was a small clan but an active one. Although the numbers of goblins were unusual, Storm had no doubt that the hundreds of battle hardened Axepeak trops could handle them. He turned to his 2nd as the two armies closed. "We be th' designated reinforcements, we waits here in this gate till Nys calls or the battle gits desperate." The battle got desperate far sooner than any one suspected. Storm joined in the song and his trident and net began a deadly harvest as his troop of reinforcements hit wavering goblins. "Cuts of the main tunnels lads, push forward!" The fresh troops cut the goblin horde in two. A goodly number of the goblins were surrounding a well armed grouping of hammer armed goblins that were assaulting Nystramo and the Ten. Even more impressive than a well armed squad of goblins was the insanely huge goblin who was fighting stroke for stroke with Nystramo himself. "Holds the line lads" MoradinSon Bellowed. "We caint lets the horde reinforce them hammer wielders!" Morad heard an insane cackle and felt the hair on the nape of his neck rise as he saw the fierce glee with which the goblin chief fought the Olor Kuld. Worse yet. Another wave of goblins crashed against the bulwark of Storm's troops trying to reach the goblin king and the Ten. The goblins fought like maniacs, some even frothing at the mouth in rage as they attacked. Storm noticed that some of the goblins that had been cut off from the main force by his troops charge were begining to look as if they werent too crazy about being where they were, yet the goblins in the main force were rabid in thier ferocity. It was then that Storm saw the capering goblin shaman. The shaman danced about exhorting his troops as fire and sparks flew from his eyes and fingertips. "This nae bodes well" He muttered between the gutting of his 10th and 11th goblins Thunder and Lightning... By: Nystramo When they clashed, the underhalls shook. The Ten and the goblin Hammer Warriors battled with a skill and a ferocity that gave everyone nearby pause. Never had the hardened Axepeak veterans expected to meet such a challenge from mere goblins. It was unthinkable. Nystramo watched the battle in stunned amazement. D1amond, Baldar Hamr, Tigguhr, Dorgan and the rest of The Ten, battling for their lives and the life of their chief, every trick of battle they had ever learned was being played for this fight. D1amond battled with the ferocity of a cornered lioness, still managing to fit in an expletive or two between verses as she sang the battle hymn that had been taken up by the entire clan. Tigguhr managed to mystify his opponent with his bizarre bouncing fighting style, but not enough to gain a clear edge yet. Baldar simply relied on sheer dwarven determination to carry him through. Dorgan's face was almost expressionless as he measured every arc and every parry of his morning star quickly but correctly. Amazingly, however, the goblins were holding their own. They were so well coordinated, Nys almost began to doubt they WERE goblins. Surely the little tunnel creepers didn't have this kind of skill in them? His attention was momentarily drawn to a jumping, gibbering goblin on the fringe of the battle. He was too far away to hear, but he was clearly shouting something at the goblin hoard. By his look he was a shaman, and whatever magic he was working had whipped the goblins back into a frenzy. He needed to be dealt with, and the chief was too far away and too occupied to take care of it. Nys quickly caught Moradinson's eye and made a few quick hand signals. Moradinson nodded, having already noted the shaman. One way or another, he would make sure the goblins no longer had their magic to help them. Nys returned his attention to his own situation, satisfied that his Rrin Kuld would take care of his end. The Ten were beginning to tire. The sheer size and numb |