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Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (4 days, 3 hours ago)
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"So this is the empire dedicated to the Blood stars?"

Urtagoth who traveled from a faraway land to serve in Dwilight asked his soldiers.

"Yes, Sir. We are in Muspelheim, once the proud capital of Morek Empire. I heard Morek has moved its capital back to Nifelhold, the capital of old Morek."

"I see. Who is the lord of Muspelheim? I need to see if he is worthy of my service."

"Sir, there is no lord of Muspelheim. I am not sure who was the last lord but the city has no lord thus no knights serve the lord."

"A city without a lord?! I must talk to the duke then. Can't let the city fall to anarchism and chaos!"

"There is no duke either, Sir. You will have to Grandmistress Eviera herself."

"Would she even talk to a lowly knight such as myself?"

"Well you need to talk to somebody."

"Indeed. To the capital then! Oh and send a letter to Good Hadron. Maybe he is interested in joining me in my journey to the capital"

Roleplay from Og Hagakure   (4 days, 2 hours ago)
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Og a seven foot tool thug more beast than human set foot off the boat at Muspel.

"Og found nice new home for thugs. Og go smash some skulls and get shiny coins for brothels"

He was an enormous wretch of a man with a large dented nose. A large mole with hair growing out of his left cheek stood to attention like a lieutenant in stark contrast to his bulky frame. With him came the worst kind of scum, thieves and pirates from the high seas quick to set out and make a quick gain by "trading" steel for gold.

Og had set his eyes on one of the large estates at Muspel and now his men set about breaking into the locked gates.

"Og, it seems nobody lives here at present!" said his first mate. "Time to set up camp in this fine new estate!"

"Go to the cellar and bring Og all the snacks you can find!" barked Og

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (4 days ago)
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Sitting in his estate in the city of Aegir, Hadron reviewed the few recent letters that had arrived for him. Several had recently arrived, some personal, and some of a more general nature. The letter from Urtagoth was especially interesting. He summoned a scribe and began dictating a reply:
Sir Cragtooth,

I would be honored to join on your journey. Since my path to the capital runs through Muspel, I shall meet you there.

I must apologize, however, if I do not travel as swiftly as yourself. For some reason my family sent me an infantry squad, rather than the cavalry that I requested. Rest assured that I shall be sending a rather hotly worded letter home expressing my displeasure with this decision.

Once I arrive in the capital, I shall send this poor excuse for a village militia home and hire a proper cavalry squad. After that has been taken care of, perhaps we can go looking for some of these dead monsters you mentioned. Surely if they are dead then they cannot present as much of a difficulty as you imply? Nevertheless, we shall soon find out.

Having answered that letter, Hadron set it aside, then reviewed the remainder of the letters in the short stack. One from Ordermarshal Helm, and another from Duchess Katrina. It looks like he had several more letters to send tonight. He summoned a servant, and then sent him off in search of a few more bottles of wine. Dictating all of these letters was going to be thirsty work.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (4 days ago)
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"Sir, a noble from the Hagakure family has joined the empire today as well. That makes three new nobles for the empire."

"Three new knights on the same day. That can only be one thing! The stars must have blessed three of us! Three knights serving the three stars! Now I must seek three ladies as well!"

"I am confused to why you must seek three ladies but Sir Hadron has sent you a letter. Well at least I think he is mentioning you."
Sir Cragtooth,

I would be honored to join on your journey. Since my path to the capital runs through Muspel, I shall meet you there.

I must apologize, however, if I do not travel as swiftly as yourself. For some reason my family sent me an infantry squad, rather than the cavalry that I requested. Rest assured that I shall be sending a rather hotly worded letter home expressing my displeasure with this decision.

Once I arrive in the capital, I shall send this poor excuse for a village militia home and hire a proper cavalry squad. After that has been taken care of, perhaps we can go looking for some of these dead monsters you mentioned. Surely if they are dead then they cannot present as much of a difficulty as you imply? Nevertheless, we shall soon find out.

"I don't remember seeing Sir Cragtooth among the list of Morekians. But I do like the name. Cragtooth! This crag creature must be a frightening creature!"

"Uh, Sir. Crags are big rats that feed off of dead people. They sometimes invade rural villages here in Dwilight."

"Are they at least frightening?"

"Well they are 2 ft tall so yes. 2 ft tall rats are quite scary, Sir."

"Well good. At least I know good Hadron wants me to be as frightening as those creatures. Anyway, send a letter to our newest knight. What is his name again?"

"Og of the Hagakure family, Sir."

"Tell good Og to join me and Hadron in Muspel! We will ride together to Nifelhold!"

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (3 days, 14 hours ago)
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"So what happened to Good Hadron and Og? I do not see anyone here in Muspel."

"I am not sure, Sir. They might have gone without you. You should have marched faster like I said."

"Well I thought with all of us being on horses would make us go ahead of Hadron and Og. I didn't realize they would march faster on foot! Curse these fat horses!"

"I am not sure why you think our horses are fat, Sir but we better march faster. We have a mountain to climb and if you are correct, our fat horses will not help us catch Sir Hadron and Sir Og."

"To the mountain then. I will beat them to Nifelhold. Just watch!"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (3 days, 4 hours ago)
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Hadron rode through the gates of Muspel just as the sun was setting over the western plains of Nidhogg's Mark. The town was bustling and thriving, busy even at this late hour. Over the buildings, he could see the mighty walls and tall towers of Muspelheim in the distance.

A quick search of the city turned up no sign of Urtagoth or Og. A quick inquiry at the local government offices was fruitless. It seems that news of his arrival in Morek had not yet circulated very far, and the officials refused to speak to him, fearing he might be a "Lurian spy" or some other such nonsense. Bah! He, Hadron, a spy? He restrained himself from chopping off the man's head, and went back to the inn he had reserved for the night.

He sent his men out to search for any signs of Urtagoth or Og. By the descriptions he had heard, this Og was a giant of a man, and throughly disreputable in appearance. Surely his men would quickly turn up word of any noble of that description.

However, his men returned after several hours with disappointing news.

"Sir Hadron, we have learned that a noble matching the description of this Sir Og was seen departing Muspel this morning. He took the road toward the mountains."

"Well, that is a bit disappointing. But no matter, we weren't really expecting to meet him anyway. What of Sir Cragtooth?"

"Sir, we have not been able to find anyone who goes by the name Cragtooth. There is no word at all. The locals here say they've never heard of him."

"Bah! They must be mistaken. Sir Cragtooth's letter said he would meet me here in Muspel. Surely he wouldn't have agreed to meet me here, and then left without waiting for me. Unless..."

Hadron tapped his chin for a minute, then suddenly stood up.

"That's it! The two of them took off for the mountains in search of these undead monsters that Sir Cragtooth has been rambling about. They want to get there first, and steal all the glory for themselve! Quickly man, roust the men and prepare to march!"

"But, Sir Hadron, we just got here, and the men..."

"Yes, we did just get here, and now we're just leaving! Tell the men to drop all of their useless junk, and get moving! We march hard for the mountains. I want to be there by first light."

"First light?! But, it's 40 leagues to the mountains!"

"Then we better stop talking, and get marching, right? We're not getting any closing to Nifelheim by standing here yammering."

"Nifelheim, Sir Hadron? I thought we were heading to the capital"

"Right. Nifelheim."

"Sir Hadron, the capital is in Nifelhold."

"What? It's not pronounced that way. It's pronounced Nifel-HEIM."

"Sir Hadron, Nifel-HEIM is a city to the northwest of here. Nifel-HOLD is a stronghold to the northeast. The capital is in Nifel-HOLD."

"..."

"Shall we start for Nifel-HOLD then, Sir?"

" ... whatever. Just get the men marching. We have to reach the mountains before Sir Cragtooth kills all of the undead monsters."

After the poor guard left, Hadron picked up the wine glass and drained it.

He shook his head. "Foot soldiers!" he muttered under his breath.

Then he picked up the bottle, and drained that, too.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (3 days, 3 hours ago)
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As the sun began to set, Urtagoth the 'Cragtooth' and his men arrived at Mt. Black Nastrond.

"Sir, we will have to camp before we enter the mountain. It is a suicide to climb a mountain of that size at night."

"No need to be afraid. The blood stars are watching over us! And I'v heard crusaders of old once took this path to fight infidels that used to reside in the northern lands."

"Yes, Sir. One of your family members traveled through this very mountain to join the crusade."

"I wonder what it was like. Marching with faithfuls to burn fools. It must have been glorious. Unlike now, the true faith once covered the northern half of the continent. Now it is nothing more than a shadow of its former self. Just look. We've marched for a full day yet we haven't encountered a single noble. I doubt I will get a chance to ever join crusades of old but maybe I may find myself being on my own crusade in time. Enough chitchat. Order the men to march. The sky is clear and the stars are watching us. Can't let Sir Og and Sir Hadron beat me to Nifelhold!"

With a heavy sigh, Urtagoth's oldest soldier ordered his fellow soldiers to march through the narrow path of the mountain

Roleplay from Og Hagakure   (3 days, 2 hours ago)
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"Og no understand map of moutain! Why Og lost!?" moaned the brute that was Og.
The captain had asked twice already to see the map of Dwilight and been refused on the grounds of possibly being bludgeoned to death, but as it was already starting to get dark and the howling of wolves could be heard in the distance he felt it was in his interest to once again try for the map.

"Sir Og! If you might lend me the map I can see if there are any mistakes," he pleaded changing his tone substantially from the last time he had asked.

"Og is not pleased but Og agrees to lend you his map"

The captain thankfully ushered over one of the other thugs who look exhausted, "Here bring me that torch so I can see!" he snapped. The Torch was brought flickering in the dark and he held the map up to the light.

"Oligarch..." he muttered, "what on earth..."

The men looked to their leaders impatiently becoming all too frustrated that no stabbing or acquisition of coins or whores had been achieved today. At length the captain turned to Gog a little worried.

"Gog, this map... where did you get this? It's over a century old and I don't think this is even the correct land"

"Og head to moutain. This is mountain why you complain? Og said capitol city is past mountain so we go to mountain!!"

The captain stepped away worriedly, "Calm down! It's okay we will figure something out!"

A scout interjected coming back from what they had thought was the road ahead of them, "Sir I heard some voices down in the crags below. I think it's one of those nobles on horseback that we were supposed to meet back in Muspel.

"Og is very happy to hear this. Maybe Og can eat hossies and we walk to City together!"

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (2 days, 13 hours ago)
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With the rising sun, Urtagoth and his men finally arrived in Nifelhold, the capital of old and new Morek. Despite being besieged few times, the stronghold still stood tall. Although it was the heart of the empire's administration, it functioned more like a military structure rather than an administrative one. People residing in the capital were mostly family members of soldiers, bureaucrats, and minor nobles.

As Urtagoth entered the capital through its massive gate, a child blocked Urtagoth's path. Before his mighty steed trempled the child, Urtagoth stopped his horse and looked down on the child. Before Urtagoth opened his mouth to speak, the child began to scream for his mother. Before long, the child's mother appeared before Urtagoth with a shocked and pale face.

"Sorry, Sir. I was too busy with my work, I forgot to keep my eyes on him"

"I almost ran that child over."

"Yes mom. Sir fat stopped just before crushing me."

A certain word raised Urtagoth's right eye brow.

"Thank you, Sir. I will never let this happen again."

"You better not. I doubt I am good enough to pull the same thing twice. Now clear the path."

"Thank you again, Sir."

"Thank you, Sir fat."

Before Urtagoth could react, his oldest soldier stopped him.

"Sir, he is only a child. He is just being hones- I mean..."

"Did you just say he was being-"

"Sir, look! The white spire of Nifelhold! We must be close to the palace!"

"Wait a minute. Why are you mentioning the spire now? We were looking at the thing all the way from-"

"Time to move out! To the spire!"

With the march order, the soldier slapped Urtagoth's steed, Crag's side, making the horse run toward the spire.

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (2 days, 10 hours ago)
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Somewhere on the trails in Mt. Black Nastrond:

"Are we there yet?"

*sigh* "No."

"Why not?"

"Because this is a mountain, and the trail is long and steep."

"Did you tell the men to drop all of their useless junk? They could march faster without all that junk they're carrying."

"Yes, Sir Hadron, I did. And they did."

*pause*

"You know, if this were a proper cavalry unit, we'd be there already."

"Doubtless we would, Sir."

"Have you seen any of those undead monsters that Sir Cragtooth  is obsessed with? If there are any around here, I want to get to them before he does!"

"No, Sir Hadron, we haven't seen any yet. If we do, we will surely let you know."

"You do that. I don't want to miss it."

*pause*

"So ... are we there yet?"

*sigh*

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (2 days, 6 hours ago)
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"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (2 days, 4 hours ago)
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"Are we there yet?"

"YES! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! We are finally here!"

*surprised stare* "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"..."

"Well, anyway, i don't see Sir Cragtooth here. Looks like we made it before them. Now, send out the scouts. I want to find these undead monsters."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (1 day, 2 hours ago)
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Urtagoth arrived at the white spire palace but the guards did not recognize him as a knight of the empire.

"Who are you again?"

"I am Urtagoth the 'Cragtooth' of Muspelheim! I want to see her holiness Eviera and discuss the matter of Muspelheim. I also need her to knight me as I have not sworn oath to anyone as the seats of the city and the duchy are both empty."

"Hahaha. You are a funny man, 'SIR' Cragtooth. You are a knight? But you look like you can hardly swing a sword? Do they let anyone become a knight these days? I mean we don't see as many knights as we used to around here but someone of your physique would never have been even considered a knight in our golden days."

"What do you not like about my physique? Are you daring to insult me like a child I met in this city?"

"Well I am not sure what the child said, but if he said what I am thinking right now, I think we saw the same thing. You are living up to your name, Sir Cragtooth. Whoever gave you name did a fine job. I would have just called you a crag to be honest."

As Urtagoth's face began to grow red, his oldest soldier, stepped forward.

"Guardsman. You dare to mock a noble? He may not look like a knight but he is still a noble. You do know the punishment for mocking a noble as a commoner?"

"My apologies. Sir Urtagoth of Muspelheim. I will send a word to the palace.

As the guard entered through a small gate to send a word, Urtagoth, who was trying to calm down, looked at his soldier.

"Once our business is done here, I want to see this crag creature as soon as possible."

"You will have to travel quite a bit, Sir. I heard monsters don't appear as often as they used to anymore since the invasion."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (1 day, 2 hours ago)
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Hadron was bored.

Bored. Bored. Bored.

He had been waiting all day for the scouts to return. In the meantime, he had done nothing at all, other than wait. Well, he ate, too, but that hardly counted. Everyone had to eat sometime. And out here in the wilds of the mountains, it wasn't really an even, or anything. It was just food, and something to do. As he walked around the camp for what must be the thousandth time, something *finally* happened.

"Sir Hadron, the scouts have finally returned! Here is the report for Mt. Black Nasrond."

** Scout Report (Mt. Black Nastrond): Scribe Note **

Hadron perused the report. "Hmm... still no sign of Sir Cragtooth or Sir Og, eh? I wonder if something happened to them. Perhaps they got waylaid by the undead monsters?"

"I don't beleive so, Sir. Here, look at this report as well."

** Scout Report (Nifelhold): Scribe Note **

"Nifelhold? What's the big deal with Nifelhold?"

"Right here, Sir, this name".

"Sir Og? He's in Nifelhold? What's he doing there? We were supposed to meet in Muspel, but he never showed up. Do you mean to tell me that he went to Nifelhold without us? That scoundrel! Have the scouts located Sir Cargtooth yet?"

"No, Sir, there is now word of any noble named Cragtooth."

"That's odd. Something must have happened to the poor man. Should I write a letter of condolence to his family? I wonder who they are. I don't recall his family name. Avalanche, maybe? Cragtooth Avalanche? Huh.. that name does have a good ring to it. Very rugged, and mountainous. It just sounds... manly. I wonder if I could change my name. What do you think: 'Look! Here comes Sir Cragtooth of House Avalanche! He's so manly! Here, Sir Cragtooth, take my sister! No wait, take both of them!' "

The old soldier looked dumbfounded at Hadron. "Sir, I ... No. I don't think that would work, Sir."

"Hmmm ... perhaps not. I'll have to think about that. Maybe I can make it work somehow. In the meantime, let's get moving. We should head to Nifelhold and catch up with Sir Og. Maybe he knows what happened to Sir Cragtooth."

"Sir Hadron, that's the other thing I wanted to tell you about. The local bureaucrats have decided that you really are a noble of Morek, and have begun to talk to us. While the scout was in Nifelhold, he talked to the local officials, and asked them about Sir Cragtooth. They say that there is not now, nor has there ever been, a noble of Morek named Sir Cragtooth."

"What? That's impossible. This official was obviously incompetent. I got a letter from him just after we landed. We were supposed to meet him in Muspel."

"Yes, Sir Hadron, you did. But maybe that's why the officials were so hesitant to talk to us. Maybe they knew that there was a spy impersonating a Morekian noble. Maybe Sir Cragtooth is ... a Lurian."

Hadron gasped. "A Lurian spy? By the gods, man, you're right! A Lurian spy tried to waylay us in Muspel! He must be afraid of us, and tried to lure us into a trap. He probably wanted to assassinate us."

The old soldier nodded. "Probably, Sir Hadron. And now here we are, sitting around in the wilderness, all alone, in these godsforsaken mountains. Why, the assassin could be anywhere. We'd best get moving. We'll be safe in Nifelhold."

"Yes, yes, you're right again. Get the men up and moving! We'll march through the night. I want to be in Nifelhold by morning. We have to warn Ordermarshal Helm of the Lurian spy in Muspel!"

As Hadron ran off to find his horse, the old soldier chuckled and shook his head. He could barely believe that Hadron had fallen for the whole story. Lurian spies... Well, at least they'd make it to Nifelhold, and proper beds and hot meals, by sunrise.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (17 hours, 41 minutes ago)
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After sending a request for audience to Grandmistress Eviera, Urtagoth sat down on a chair close to the courtyard to dry his sweat.

His oldest soldier Bon, who has managed to stop Urtagoth from displaying his obnoxiousness several times, told Urtagoth he would wait in the barracks near the palace. Commoners were not allowed within the halls of the White Spire which gave Urtagoth no choice but to venture into this unknown territory made of white marble. As he waited patiently for hours, several people passed him by. Some looked curious to know who he was while some looked at him with disgust.

Few of those passers were kind enough to stop by to talk to Urtagoth. Out of those few, two nobles left Urtagoth with impressions of what Morekian nobles were like within the walls of the capital.

A lady in red dress emerged from Urtagoth's memory first.

"So you are the fat man who dare to call himself a knight serving the empire? Does the empire let just anyone be a knight these days?"

"I do not know you are lady but if I were you I would watch my mouth.  You never know what will happen to young knights! I may one day become someone of high status!"

"Well at least you have a sense of humour, Sir KNIGHT. If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up. You look like you can hardly swing a sword. Is there even a horse that can withstand your weight? You should ride an ox maybe?"

"What family are you from? I must challenge your house for mocking me in this fashion!"

"I have no family name to tell someone as lowly as you. Begone from the courtyard before her holiness calls her guards to drive a crag like you away."

With that the lady departed the courtyard.

"I swear to the stars I will exterminate all crags from the surface of this continent!"

An hour later, a well built knight passed by the courtyard, stopping at the sight of Urtagoth.

"I recognize that emblem. I haven't seen it since Astrum's last war against western realms. Are you from Astrum, Sir?"

"I am surprised to see someone who recognizes my family emblem. Who might you be, Sir?"

"I am Sir Garanolg. My family is only a minor family but I've had my fair share of battles. I've even served under Strategos Lapallanch. I believe that's where I saw your emblem from."

"Ah, you've probably seen Sir Kihalin. He has gone missing ever since his sudden resignation. With the western regions overwhelmed by monsters, I doubt he is still alive but you never know. The man was known for his swordsmanship and he may yet be living somewhere even monsters can't reach. I may journey west soon to find out what happened to the western continent. Would you be interested in joining me?"

"No, Sir. I am too old now. I am just content with guarding the palace. However, I might be able to convince my son to join your cause. I have many sons and at least three of them are adventurous. You may find one to assist you in your journey. And I am sure you will find some of your fellow knights to be interested as well. I've heard there are few new faces around."

"Indeed. I am just waiting for Sir Og and Sir Hadron to arrive in the capital. We were going to meet in Muspel but both of them tried to outrun me to Nifelhold. Too bad none of them made here yet. I've been waiting for them for almost a day now."

"Interesting. I think I've heard Sir Og and Sir Hadron somewhere. You might find them somewhere in the capital. It is time for me to go now. Can't relieve myself from my duty for too long. I hope to see you again, Sir Lapallanch."

"They call me Urtagoth the 'Cragtooth'. You may call me Urtagoth."

"Eh... Cragtooth? I am not sure who called you by that name but-"

"You don't have to say. I've already been compared to this crag creature for too long. One of my reasons to travel west is to exterminate these creatures."

"I doubt you will ever be rid yourself of crags. If you let even a few get away, they will return to you by hundreds before a season passes."

"...."

"Anyway, I wish you luck, Sir Urtagoth."

"See you around, Sir Garanolg."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (just sent)
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After waiting until night at the courtyard, guards showed up to show Urtagoth way out. Although they did not say it to his face, Urtagoth felt Grandmistress showed no interest in meeting a noble who has not yet been knighted. With a bit of disappointment, Urtagoth left the White Spire.

As the palace gate closed behind him, his men, led by Bon, gathered around Urtagoth asking about his day in the palace.

"I was insulted few times but that was expected. After all, I am not even a knight yet. Ordermarshal Helm told me to become his knight but even Grandmistress did not bother to meet me. I doubt someone who is so far down south will bother knighting me."

"What will you do now then Sir? "

"We meet up with Sir Og and Sir Hadron to see what they are up to. If they are interested, we can maybe form a expedition to fight crags in the western lands."

"Didn't Ordermarshal Helm mention something about a crusade?"

"Bah! Do you really believe a crusade can be called with only a handful of people joining the cause? A crusade can only be successful as long as all faithfuls want it. Not even half of the empire is interested in taking a part in it. Let's call what it is. A raiding part of Luria. Well at least that is what those fancy nobles in the palace were saying. Mockery of the golden days of our holy faith if you ask me."

"Well you will have to join an army, do you not Sir?"

"There are only two active armies. I will just join the imperial guards. I've met a member of the group. I believe he called himself Sir Garanolg. Maybe I will see him again. But for now, let's find Sir Og and Sir Hadron. Send them letters to find out what they look like."

Roleplay from Katrina Dragul   (12 hours ago)
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Katrina was leaving the temple in Nifelhold when she noticed three nobles headed for a tavern near where she was.  She did not recognize them, and she was sure she knew all the nobles in the realm.  She certainly knew all of those from Morek in the church.

She motioned to her aide, Thorrson, to join her as she followed them to the tavern.  She was curious about their business here in the capital.

As she entered, she spotted them in a corner ordering drinks.

Katrina and her aide moved to a table close to the men and she overheard some of their conversation; it sounded like old friends reunited after some time.

Katrina motioned to Thorrson to remain at the table and she walked over to the three men.   "I am Katrina Dragul, Duchess of Aegir.  I see that you are new to Morek.  May I inqure your names and your business in the capital?"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (3 hours, 36 minutes ago)
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Hadron sat at the table with Urtagoth:

"So if your Cragtooth, then why didn't you wait for me in Muspel, like you said you would? I searched for you for two days on that mountain. I thought that those undead monsters must have gotten you and Sir Og. Where is he anyway? And if your name is really Urtagoth, why did you call yourself Cragtooth? I'd that a pseudonym to keep your real identity a secret? Did you send those assassins after me? Why did you want to kill me? Are you really a Lurian spy?"

As he finished the last question, somewhat louder than he should have, he heard a voice behind him he turned to see Duchess Katrina standing there. Belatedly, he realized how bad what he had just said must sound.

"Oh! H.. h.. hello Duchess. I didn't know you were there. Ummm... Nice weather today isn't it?"

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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"So if your Cragtooth, then why didn't you wait for me in Muspel, like you said you would? I searched for you for two days on that mountain. I thought that those undead monsters must have gotten you and Sir Og. Where is he anyway? And if your name is really Urtagoth, why did you call yourself Cragtooth? I'd that a pseudonym to keep your real identity a secret? Did you send those assassins after me? Why did you want to kill me? Are you really a Lurian spy?"

"I thought both of you left without me. Thought you two wanted to make it into a race to reach Nifelhold! I even had to climb a mountain at night to get to Nifelhold before everyone. As for Sir Og, I've tried to find him for the past two days but I haven't seen anyone with his name yet. I even went to the palace. I don't remember calling myself Cragtooth first! You specifically addressed me as Cragtooth and I thought it was your way of showing respect by giving people a title! I only realized it was an insult  when I got here! You compare me to a crag? CRAG? Out of all things?! And what? Assassins? I can't even afford one if I wanted to!"

Urtagoth's face started to resemble a big tomato as he answered Sir Hadron. As he began to raise his voice and shake his fist in front of Sir Hadron, an old lady approached their table.

"I am Katrina Dragul, Duchess of Aegir.  I see that you are new to Morek.  May I inquire your names and your business in the capital?"

"Uh... Duchess Dragul? It... it is a pleasure to meet you, your grace. I am Urtagoth, the one you sent a letter to. I am not sure if you received my reply."

Urtagoth immediately got up from his chair and addressed the duchess. He could not believe he showed his loss of control over such trivial matter in front of Duchess Dragul out of all the people.

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Running through Urtagoth's response in his head while waiting for Duchess Katrina's response, Hadron took exception to some of Urtagoth's statements. Momentarily forgetting the Duchess' presence, Hadron turned back toward Urtagoth.

"A race to Nifelhold? Why would I want to race to Nifelhold? I wanted to see some of these undead monsters you keep ranting about. And why would I be insulting you when I'd never even met you yet? I thought you were just trying to be more manly, calling yourself 'Cragtooth Avalanche'. What in the world is a crag, anyway? But if you weren't trying to kill me, then who was? Someone tried to get me lost in those mountains so they could stick a knife in my back. Wait a minute..."

Hadron started looking furtively around the inn.

"If it wasn't you, then that means ... the Lurian spy is still out there somewhere. We need to inform Ordermarshal Helm quickly, before the spy has a chance to betray the expedition!"

Over in the corner, at a table occupied by a few soldierly types, one of the men looked up sharply, then rose quickly from the table. He tried to intervene in Hadron's fast-paced tirade. "Sir Hadron, wait! There's no need to..."

Hadron cut the man off. "Not now Gilbrecht! This is vital information!"

Suddenly Hadron remembered the Duchess standing there next to them.

"Duchess Katrina! Thank the gods you're here. You'll know what to do. We have to inform Ordermarshal Helm about the Lurian spy now, or the expedition is doomed!"

Gilbrecht slowly sank down into his chair once more. His little jibe about a Lurian spy, with which he'd hoped only to prod the young Hadron into hurrying quickly to Nifelhold rather than tarry in the mountain, had suddenly gone horribly wrong. He buried his face in his hands and prayed this wouldn't end up with all of them getting tossed in the dungeons.

Roleplay from Katrina Dragul   (15 hours, 58 minutes ago)
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Katrina smiled, "A Lurian spy you say?  Hmmm first  I have heard of it, but I will have my man Thorrson take care of it right away."

As she motioned to her aide, she turned to Sir Hadron, her newest knight.  "Sir Hadron, I have some duchy business that I would like to discuss with you.  Do you have a moment to speak with me?"




Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (just sent)
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Hadron was greatly flattered that the Duchess had come here to find him. Even so, he did not want to neglect his duty to the realm.

"Of course, Duchess Katrina. I am, as ever, at your service. But truly, I think that this spy issue is quite important. We should..."

Thinking furiously, Gilbrecht saw a way out of this. Maybe he'd stay out of the dungeon after all. He quickly rose and called out.

"Sir Hadron, please, if I may. The Duchess must have quite important things to discuss with you. Perhaps I can be of service, and let Thorrson know everything about this ...uh... spy. There is surely no need to trouble the Duchess with it."

Hadron was taken aback by Gilbrecht's intervention. He wasn't usually willing to take such a direct role when dealing with other nobility, especially thos of such high rank.

"Well, I suppose that would be good, Gilbrecht. If that's acceptable to you, that is, Duchess."

The Duchess nodded. "That would do, Sir Hadron."

A man stepped forward from the Duchess' retinue. With a relieved look, Gilbrecht stepped toward him, and the two of them turned to go. Gilbrecht started talking softly to Thorrson, quickly fading as they walked away. "You see, there we were in the mountains and.."

His responsibility having been discharged, Hadron quickly put the matter aside. "Duchess, how may I be of service?"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (10 hours, 17 minutes ago)
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Hadron returned to the table at the inn where Urtagoth waited. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and seemed preoccupied.

"Sir Urtagoth, I am afraid that I must leave Nifelhold, and return to Aegir's Deep. Duchess Katrina brought some of the regional officials with her, and they have been going over some of the rough details of the region status. It is ... not ideal. It will require much work to restore the region to a suitable condition. You and Sir Og, if you can ever find him, are welcome to join me. I have purchased horses for my men. We leave by nightfall, and will be riding hard the whole way."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (1 hour, 15 minutes ago)
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"Wait what is this talk about Duchess Katrina appointing you as a lord?! I haven't even yet been knighted yet you are already a lord? Stars! Why do you test your poor servant!"

Urtagoth, who overheard the appointment of Sir Hadron, collapsed on his seat. His weight almost broken his chair but the sturdy thing once again managed to withstand Urtagoth.
"Sir Urtagoth, I am afraid that I must leave Nifelhold, and return to Aegir's Deep. Duchess Katrina brought some of the regional officials with her, and they have been going over some of the rough details of the region status. It is ... not ideal. It will require much work to restore the region to a suitable condition. You and Sir Og, if you can ever find him, are welcome to join me. I have purchased horses for my men. We leave by nightfall, and will be riding hard the whole way."

Sir Hadron, looking quite excited by the appointment, spoke to Urtagoth.

"I will leave with you as well. Hell with Sir Og. The man is impossible to find! I need to return to Muspel at once and talk to the new duke of Muspelheim. His grace will definitely knight me! I am fed up with this place! Bon! BONNNNNNN!"

"Sir, I am right behind you. I am not old enough to not be able to hear someone yelling in front of me."

"Get ready to leave! I want to talk to his grace, Duke Kenshin, and see wants to knight me. Obviously Grandmistress is not interested in knighting me. Time to leave!"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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As Hadron approached Aegir's Deep, he realized that the situation was just as bad, if not worse, than the local officials had described. The rising sun revealed that the walls were in very poor shape. It looked like any good hit with a battering ram would knock a hole clear through. The militia was disheveled and dispirited. Almost hostile, in a way.

Word of the arrival of the new Margrave quickly spread. The commoners lined the streets to get a look at their new lord. There wasn't much cheering. Most of the commoners appeared skinny and malnourished. No doubt due to the half rations on which the peasants had been living. Well, that was done, anyway. His first order to the local officials had been to restore rations to normal. It had only been a day or two since then, so there hadn't been much time to for it to have an effect. The officials were telling him that it had at least stabilized morale in the region.

Hadron had attempted to find out why the rationing was still in place. The answer didn't really make much sense. Something about the warehouse managers reducing the food supply during a past drought, and no one having the authority to rescind the order. But why couldn't the person who decided to send out half rations also decide to return to full rations? It sounded foolish, but that's why the commoners needed the proper guidance of a true noble.

Hadron spent the first half day in the region holding some courts, getting the feel for the status of the region. He did his best to dispense justice. Most of the disputes were about pasturage, food stores, and other such mundane things. Food was obviously the major issue in the region. Well, that would change. The people received their decisions stoically. They weren't especially happy about it, but they did seem to have a bit more confidence in the way things were going to be run from now on.

After that, he sent his mounted soldiers to patrol the city. Reports were that they arrested a few miscreant, but nothing major. That was a good sign. As the sun set, he knew that there would be many more days like this in the coming weeks. But at least he'd made a start.

"Sir, Have you heard the news?"

"What news do you speak of, Bon?"

"Apparently, Lord Morton became a doomsayer."

"Uh, I do not understand. What is he saying? You have to tell me what he said."

"He is speaking of another monster invasion. Monsters are gathering near Astrum's northern border it seems."

"Monsters? I am assuming they are crags?"

"I believe so. No monster can gather themselves that quickly except for crags."

"After we meet Duke Kenshin, we will head north to fight crags! Send a messenger to Sir Hadron and Sir Og! Tell them to meet me in Nifelheim in few days!"

"Yes, Sir."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Hadron was exhausted from another long day of holding courts. He had held both a morning session and an evening session. It was tedious listening to all these disputes, but the results were obvious. The long backlog of petitioners had thinned out quite a bit. The locals were getting used to him, and some had even begun providing some very useful information. In the evening session he had been feeling merciful, and ruled in favor of local merchant over a tax irregularity. The merchant, grateful for the favorable ruling, had revealed information about some criminals that had been bothering him recently. The constabulary had been able to act quickly on the information and arrest several people, breaking up the crime ring. A good day indeed.

As he reviewed some of the correspondence that had accumulated during the day, he found a letter from Sir Urtagoth.

"Hmm... Crags in the north..."

Hadron quickly summoned Galbrecht. He gave Galbrecht a quick summary of Urtagoth's letter. "What do you think of this, captain?"

"m'Lord, all the locals are talking about this massed horde of monsters. Some claim they are ravaging their way across the countryside in the north, others say that they are confined to the west, and will not come across the straights of Hvergelmir."

"Well, Galbrecht, I think we may be headed north soon. How long would it take us to get to Nifelhold?"

"Do you mean Nifel-HOLD or Nifel-HEIM"

Hadron gave Galbrecht a nasty look. "Don't trifle with me Galbrecht..."

"Just making sure, m'Lord. Nifel-HEIM is about two days from here. Perhaps two and a half depending on the weather."

"Two and a half days? Come now, Galbrecht. I bought all of you horses when we were in the capital. Surely we can go faster than that now."

"Perhaps, m'Lord. But many of the men still aren't comfortable in the saddle. And most of them have never held a lance before. just yesterday one of the troopers was knocked clean off his horse when the lance tip dropped too far and stuck in the ground during a practice charge."

Hadron shook his head. "Do what you can Galbrecht. I don't expect a miracle, but I do expect the men to at least be able to ride, and not kill themselves with their own equipment. I want to be on the road by tomorrow afternoon. I want to see one of these crags for myself."

"As you wish, m'Lord." Galbrecht bowed and turned to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Galbrecht stopped and turned back. "Yes, m'Lord?"

"What about those spies? Did you give the Duchess's a man all the information we have about that Lurian?"

"Uhh... yes, m'Lord. I told him everything. He said that they will, how did he say it, 'give it all the attention that a matter of this nature deserves'."

Hadron considered this for a few seconds. "Hmm, well, I suppose that's good enough, then. It sounds like they have things well under control."

"Indeed, m'Lord. I am sure they do. It would probably be best to let them take it from here, while we focus on other matters."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Galbrecht. Thank you. Please arrange for our departure tomorrow."

"As you wish, m'Lord." Galbrecht bowed once more, and left.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (3 hours, 17 minutes ago)
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As the sun retreated from the sky, Urtagoth arrived in Muspel, home of Duke Kenshin and the current capital of the duchy of Muspelheim.

As soon as he entered Muspel, he sent a messenger to the ducal palace in the center of Muspel hoping Duke Kenshin would write him back.

"Sir, what will you do if Duke Kenshin doesn't reply to your letter again?"

"Well... then I will visit Duchess Katrina. Isn't her grace Duke Kenshin's neighbour?"

"Indeed, Sir. But that might infuriate Duke Kenshin. Then again, you need to be knighted somewhere."

"Yes. I've been treated less than dirt for too long. Just look at Sir Hadron-"

"Margrave Hadron?"

"Damn it Bon! I did't want to remind myself Sir Hadron-"

"Margrave, Sir."

"M.A.R.G.R.A.V.E Hadron advanced faster than me! Are you happy now, Bon?"

"What are you implying Sir? I just wanted to correct you in case we meet Lord Hadron. You don't want to address him like that by accident right?"

"I am done talking to you."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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Urtagoth, who failed to get a reply from yet another person with the authority to knight him, decided to depart Muspel in disappointment. Bon visited him in his room to report.

"No answer from Duke Kenshin?"

"No, Sir. He doesn't seem to be interested in your request."

"Send a letter to Duchess Katrina. I am starting to wonder if anyone in Morek is interested in knighting me."

"Sir, maybe you should take few months to lose some weight."

"You dare mock me? Are you going to call me crag as well, Bon?!"

"No, Sir. I mean maybe if you were muscular, you may look more convincing."

"What does that have anything to do with me being a knight?"

"Sir, wearing an over-sized armour won't convince anyone."

"...Just keep your mouth shut and tell everyone to get ready to depart in the morning."

"Sir, are you upse-"

Before Bon could finish his sentence, Urtagoth angrily left the room.

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (42 minutes ago)
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Somewhere on a bleak mountain path across Mt. Black Nastrond...

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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On his way to Donghaiwei, a messenger reached Urtagoth...

"Sir, I have two letters for you."

"Two?"

"Yes, Sir. One is from Lord Reylich Corvian of Donghai and the other is from Duke Kenshin of Muspelheim."

"Wait. Who? Duke Kenshin? The same man who ignored my letters twice?"

"Uh... I don't know about him ignoring your letter, Sir but yes. There is only one Duke Kenshin and this letter is from him."

"Give me the letter!"

After snatching the letter from the messenger, Urtagoth quickly tried to read through the letter. But even before he began to read the first sentence, Bon took the letter and began to read it himself.

"Bon! How dare you!"

"Give me a minute, Sir. You can't even read quickly. It will take you all day. Let me go through it quickly."

"Arghhhhhh!"

"Congratulations, Sir. Duke Kenshin is willing to knight you and even consider making you a lord of one of his regions."

"Wait, What?! I can become a lord? Like Sir Hadro-"

"M.A.R.G-"

"MARGRAVE HADRON! That is not important!"

"Well, if you can talk Duke Kenshin into granting you his former fief, then yes."

"We are heading back to Muspelheim! Everyone, TURN AROUND NOW! Muwhahaha! Send Duke Kenshin a letter quickly Bon!"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Hadron's small cavalry troop rode down the western slopes of Mt. Black Nastrond into the townsland of Nifel. It had been a hard trip over the mountains. One of the horses had thrown a shoe when it slipped on some gravel. Add that to the broken pack straps, a bridle that got caught on a branch and torn away from the bit, a bowstring that snapped while hunting, and the countless other mishaps that inevitably occur on the trail, and the small force was looking a little ragged. The respite in Nifel before traveling on to the city would be welcome indeed.

After passing through the gates, Hadron directed Galbrecht to take the men to the barracks, and arrange for repairs with the local smithies. Hadron himself headed to one of the more prosperous inns to find a good bottle of wine.

Hadron's indulgence wouldn't last long, however. Within a few minutes, Galbrecht was back.

"Lord Hadron, I have some bad news."

"What is it, Galbrecht, I'm busy here."

"m'Lord, there is no smithy in Nifel."

Hadron gave Galbrecht a blank stare. "What?"

"m'Lord, there is no smithy here in Nifel."

"Yes, yes, I heard you, Galbrecht. I'm not deaf. It's just that what you're saying doesn't may any sense. This is the townsland of Nifel, is it not? A rich and prosperous townsland, surrounding the rich and prosperous city of Nifelhold. This is not some backwater farming village. There must be a dozen smithies here."

"m'Lord, please grant that I have at least two wits to rub together. I know where we are, and what that should mean. Indeed, you would think that a place such as this would be completely capable of supplying the needs of the soldiers defending the northern reaches of Morek and Astrum. Yet, inexplicably, it does not. There is not a single smithy in all of Nifel that can repair our armor and weapons. In fact, there are no other workshops or paraphernalia of any kind to be had at all."

"Wait... none at all?"

"No, Lord Hadron. Not a single one."

"So we can't repair our equipment?"

"No m'Lord. we will have to wait until we arrive in in Nifelheim for that."

"What about banners? Can we get those new banners we wanted? You know, the red and green ones with the pointy stars..."

"No, m'Lord. Again, not until we reach Nifelheim."

"And we can't hire healers? Or purchase carts?"

"No and no, m'Lord."

"Is there at least a marketplace where I can post orders to purchase food for my region?"

"No, m'Lord. There is not."

"Then what in all the darkest hells is there in this sorry excuse for a town?!"

"Well, there is one thing. They do have scouts for hire, m'Lord."

"Scouts? Did you say they have scouts? Those skulkers I can hire by the dozen in any farming village in the realm?"

"Yes, m'Lord, those scouts."

"Oh, joy of joys! I can hire scouts here! Too bad I already hired all the scouts I needed before I came here. Let's get out of here, Galbrecht. And remind to never again waste my time in Nifel. Sir Urtagoth will be expecting us to arrive in Nifelheim any time now. In fact, I'd wager he's already there."

"That sounds like an excellent idea, m'Lord. The men are waiting near the gates."

Hadron stomped out of the inn, with Galbrecht following behind. Despite his irritation, he at least had the presence of mind to take the nearly full bottle with him.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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"Sir, we are near Muspelheim."

"Yes, Bon. I am not blind. I can see the damn city before me. No need to state where we are when we are on a road that leads to only one place!"

"Just in case you were wondering which city-"

"If you haven't noticed Bon, I have been on this road for the fourth time!"

"Alright then, Sir. No need to get upset."

"You are the one maki-"

"Oh look, Sir!"

"Damn it Bon! Look at me when I talk-"

While yelling at Bon, Urtagoth turned his head toward the direction where he was pointing. There it was. The fairest lady Urtagoth has ever seen. His head slowly followed the carriage the lady was in.
When he decided to stop the carriage, someone shoved something into his mouth.

"How dare you put this filthy- what on earth is this?"

"Your gloves Sir, and Stop drooling. You have Duke Kenshin to meet."

"That is not important! I must chase after the carriage!"

"Boys! Grab him!"

Before Urtagoth could react, his men surrounded and tied him to his horse.

"To Muspelheim!"

"CURSE YOU BON! STARS! IF YOU ARE WATCHING STRIKE THIS UNGRATEFUL FOOL DOWN NOW!"

"Put the gloves back in his mouth."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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After a brief meeting with Duke Kenshin, Urtagoth departed Muspelheim for Linhai, his soon to be new home.

"Bon, I heard a funny rumor about our duchy's name."

"Oh, I am guessing you are talking about the rumor from Nifelhold?"

"Yes. I heard minor nobles call our duchy something related to some fruit from the southern lands."

"It is called 'banana'. Sir."

"Babana-"

"No, Sir. One 'ba' and two 'na's Sir."

"Banana?"

"That is correct, Sir."

"I've never seen a such fruit. What exactly is it?"

"I've only heard rumors about it as well, Sir. It is unimaginably expensive. You have to give gold twice its weight I heard."

"What?! No fruit should worth that much!"

"It is that hard to get them to the empire, Sir. Also it is probably even more expensive since it is almost impossible to get them here thanks to the war."

"Hmm. Since I will be living in Linhai, maybe I can get some from Donghaiwei."

"You probably can, Sir. I heard bananas are only sold there within the empire. Not even Grandmistress herself can get them anywhere else."

"What does it look like?"

"I heard some strange stuff about its shape but nothing good. It apparently resembles something between your trouser. Sir."

"That is ridiculous! Who would eat such thing!"

"It is rumored to be very delicious. Very few things are as sweet as banana."

"If it is indeed that sweet, I must try it. Maybe I can give some to Si- I mean Margrave Hadron."

"Like I said, Sir. You can only get it near the old capital. You can't just send it to people. It would go bad."

"Well, I can tell him to come join me in Donghaiwei! I never said I would actually go to him."

"He might go through Linhai to get to Donghaiwei, Sir. He will be able to compare his land to yours."

"Damn him! Forget about it! I will eat it all myself!"

Ooc: this should go before the most recent post from Urtagoth.

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (3 hours, 13 minutes ago)
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After arriving in the city of Nifelhold, Hadron once again sent Galbrecht off to see to the horses, get the troops some housing, and see to the repairs. This time Galbrecht did not come back mere minutes later. Hadron was able to enjoy his wine without any unpleasant interruptions.


Later that evening, Hadron sent for Galbrecht.


"So, Galbrecht, have you located Sir Urtagoth yet?"


"No, m'Lord. We've been asking around, but no one has seen him. And, if you don't mind my saying, he's a hard one to miss."


Hadron nodded. "That is true. Well, have the men keep an eye out for him. He was supposed to be here already."


"Of course, m'Lord. The men already know to be on the lookout for him."


"Good. Have you heard any more reports of this crag invasion? Things have been very quiet lately. You'd think that if there was a crag invasion, we'd have heard something by now."


"No, we haven't. Not even any rumours from the stablemen, and they're usually a pretty talkative lot."


"Hmm... that's what I thought. I've been through the reports for the entire Duchy of Starhammer. Not a single report of crags anywhere. Maybe Sir Urtagoth was mistaken, or perhaps they've been vanquished already."


"Perhaps, m'Lord."


"Well, keep your eyes open, Galbrecht. Maybe Sir Urtagoth got lost in the mountains, or something. If he doesn't arrive in another day or two ... Well, we'll see what happens then."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Somewhere in Nifelheim.

"Is he here yet?"

"No."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Somewhere in Nifelheim...


"Is he here yet?"


"NO!"


" ... Well, if he's not here by morning, we're going home."

Galbrecht shook his head. They'd only been in Morek two weeks, and he was already beginning to hate that damn mountain.

Urtagoth arrived in a small village located somewhere in Bohai. The village only had 100 or so people living in it which made cartographers think too inconspicuous to be on any map.

Bon decided to take one day break due to Urtagoth refusing to ride any longer than 8 hours a day.

"Sir, we should really keep on moving while the sun is up."

"We were moving while the sun was down! We have to take a break at some point! Look at our men. Look at how filthy they look. This is unacceptable!"

"Wouldn't it be better to let our men wash themselves once we arrive at Linhai?"

"No! I can't stand the smell any longer! Tell them to clean themselves. Also, go talk to the head of the village to see if they have a nice place for me to stay."

"Just don't expect much, Sir. After all, this village isn't even on our map and I bought this map for 10 gold. That is a hafty sum of money."

"You what?! Who paids that much for a map?!"

"If you want a quality map, you have to pay enough, Sir."

"Why didn't we just get a cheaper map?!"

"Sir. It was between this map and a map with nothing but a straight line connecting Muspelheim and Linhai."

"May Maddening shine upon the damned! Why can we never find anything useful for cheap?"

"Because there is no such thing as cheap and good, Sir. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go meet the head of the village."

After an hour, Bon returned with a relatively young looking man. He introduced himself as the head of the village.

"Aren't you too young to be leading this village?"

"My father has passed away recently, Sir Knight and people didn't really object to me inheriting the position."

"Althought then. Show me a place to stay and send me a woman or two to serve me while I stay here."

"Sir Knight. Please, no one in this village is good enough to serve you. As you can tell by looking at me, we are just simple farmers."

"I don't care if you send your wife. Just send women to serve me for the night. No more excuses."

"I-"

"Sir Urtagoth has spoken. Now get things prepared for him."

Bon stepped in to stop the head from pleading. Bon knew Urtagoth would not change his mind.

The head led Urtagoth and Bon to his house. His family left the house to stay in another villager's house. His sister was left behind to serve Urtagoth for the night.

Bon had to endure a night of constant moaning. After a sleepless night, Bon entered Urtagoth's room to wake him up.

"Uh, Sir. Why are you alone?"

"Hmmm? What do you mean why am I alone?"

"What was all the moaning last night?"

"I asked the woman to massage me since my muscles felt stiff from the long ride to here. I never thought I would recover in just few hours. I was so satisfied with her service, I gave her 5 gold."

"You what? So the one who was moaning last night was..."

"It was probably me. Why?"

"Nothing, Sir. Just that when you moan, you might not want anyone around you. Because you sounded too much like..."

"Like what?"

"Nothign."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Somewhere in Nifelheim:

"Is..."

"NO!"

"You don't have to yell, Galbrecht, i can hear you. We're not waiting any longer. Get the men onto the road back to Aegirs Deep right away. I will have to consider how to deal with this."

"As you command m'Lord."

Somewhere in Mt. Black Nastrond...

Hadron road along the mountain path. As usual, he was bored with these long rides through the middle of nowhere. Galbrecht had been dreading the inevitable question for at least two or three hours now. Just as he had been starting think that Hadron had been toying with him by NOT asking it, the troop of men came to a halt.

There in front of them, cutting completely across the path, was a palisade. They could clearly see that the path went right up to the palisade, and then disappeared under it.

Hadron looked at the palisade, then at the path, then over to Galbrecht.

"Galbrecht, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there was a palisade here the last time we rode through these mountains."

"No, m'Lord, I think you're correct. This palisade wasn't here a few days ago."

"So someone was inconsiderate enough to build a wall right across our path, and not put a gate on it."

"It seems that way, m'Lord."

"Well, that is most rude of them. Now what do we do?"

Galbrecht was just about to suggest sending a trooper in each direction to look for the gate when a guard appeared at the top of the wall. "You there! Approach and be recognized!"

Hadron's troop of soldiers approached the wall. Galbrecht took the lead. "I am Galbrecht, captain of Hadron's Colliders. And this is Lord Hadron, Margrave of Aegir's Deep. Why have you built this wall across the trail? How are we supposed to get through here?"

"Get through? Well, you don't. What are you doing here, anyway? I mean, don't think I've ever seen cavalry here before. How come you're not on the main road?"

"What ... main road? I thought this *was* the main road!"

The sentry chuckled form atop the wall. "This the main road?! Ha! This is just an old game trail. The main road comes through from the northwest. You must have missed the turn a few miles back. You must have had a hell of a time trying to get those cavalry through these hills. He he he ..."

"Well, which way is it to the gate?" Galbrecht called. "We need to get through."

"Oh, you can't get through this way. The wall runs from a cliff on the north side clear through to a sheer drop in the south. There's no gate here. You'll have to go back down the trail to the main road, and then up the main road to the gate."

Galbrecht closed his eyes and shook his head. "And how far is that?"

The sentry chuckled again. "For me? Well, it's only a couple hundred yards to the gate. For you, on that game trail down to the main road, then back up to the gate? Oh, say.... 8 miles I think."

Hadron's face flushed red. Without a word he turned his horse around and headed back down the game trail. Galbrecht brought the men around behind, and they all headed back down the game trail. As they road away, they could hear the guard calling after them: "I'll walk over and let them know you're coming! He he he... Hey Frank, come 'ere! you're not gonna believe this!"

Galbrecht started swearing under his breath. "I hate this !@#$ing mountain!"

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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After sunset, Urtagoth and his men finally arrived in Linhai.

"Here we are, Bon. This is the land I will be ruling. Now I can call myself equal to Margrave Hadron!"

"Eh, I wouldn't call you and Lord Hadron equal but you both are lords indeed."

"What do you mean you don't consider Lord Hadron and myself equal?"

"Well, maybe you should visit his land first, my lord. You will understand why I said that."

"I have as many peasants under my rule as Lord Hadron!"

"That is true, Sir. Except your peasants are mostly farmers and his peasants are mostly rich peasants working on something else."

"When we visit, my liege Kenshin again, we will definitely visit Lord Hadron's region. You better be speaking the truth, Bon!"

"Your farmers can become rich as well, Sir. If you know how to trade well. Then again, you are not the best man when it comes down to anything that is written with ink."

"I am born to be a knight, Bon. I know how to swing a weapon not a pen."

"(I highly doubt you can swing your weapon more than once or twice, my lord.)"

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing, my lord. Why don't we head toward your manor?"

"Good idea. We need to settle down to see what my new home is like."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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From his manor, Urtagoth looked over his new land. Bon told him of Linhai's history briefly as he did not know much in depth except the fact Linhai was one of original regions colonized by the forefathers of old Morek.

"So, this land was once ruled by Legendary Brance of Astrum?"

"That is what I heard from the locals, my lord."

"I've heard people mention his name every now and then. Who was he exactly?"

"He held many titles until his death, my lord. As you know now, he was once the lord of Linhai. He once was a regent of our holy faith. Under his guidance, our holy faith covered half of Dwilight and Astrum, one of the three pillars of the Blood Stars became the most dominant realm on the western Dwilight. Before you wonder, he was a vasilif of Astrum as well. Your relative, Lord Kihalin served him as a duke."

"Ah, the Shrine. I've heard of him bragging about his recruitment centers during our family gathering. I was too young to attend it but I remember my father's rather annoyed expression after the meeting. It is rather good to see the main house thinning out these days. I believe only one member of the main house is active. Lady Selis was it?"

"Yes, my lord. She is the only active main house member. Once she retires and none of their descendants decide to emerge, you will have to compete with Lord Duregal's branch for the title of family head."

"That old fox. He has way too many sons. Anyway, continue with Lord Brance."

"That is all I know of him, my lord. I believe there are few records of him in your library."

"I will just ask Lord Hadron later if I feel interested. Although I doubt he bothers himself with his old family history."

"My lord, it is a duty of descendants to remember the family history and inherit their ancestors claims and grudges."

"Why bother pass down grudges anyway?"

"Because they come with claims. All claims come from grudges and disputes, my lord. If you wish to maintain your claims, you must offend those who have the same claims as you."

"It seems I better manage this land well so I can impress my liege. I can't just rule this farm land forever."

"That will be up to your lordship's management skill."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (just sent)
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Hadron jumped up when he heard the news.

"A tournament? In Swordfell? Galbrecht! Get in here, now!"

Galbrecht came running in, sword half drawn, looking around wildly.

"What is it m'Lord? Where are the intruders?"

"Intruders? What intruders?"

"The ones you were yelling about."

".... Are you feeling alright today Galbrecht? Have you been working too hard?"

"I... um... no m'Lord." Galbrecht let his sword slide quiet;y back into its sheath. "What can I do for you, m'Lord?"

"There's a tournament being held in Swordfell in 6 days. I want you to get everything ready for my departure. I mean to be on the road before sunrise."

Galbrecht's face lit up in excitement. "A tournament m'Lord? I've never been to a tournament before. The men will be thrilled to see a real tournament."

Hadron looked at Galbrecht like the man had just said the sky was green. "The men? They're not going to the tournament."

Galbrecht stopped and blinked in confusion. "But m'Lord, you said we were going to the tournament..."

"No, Galbrecht, I said I was going to the tournament. You and the men are staying here. I can't show up at my first tournament with a gaggle of soldiers in tow. By the gods, what a scandal that would be. Now, hurry along and get those bags packed. I will be leaving within the hour!"

Galbrecht's face burned red in embarrassment. He bowed stiffly and mutter a quick "Yes, m"Lord" before hurrying out the door.

Hadron shook his head as Galbrecht left the room. A second or two later, though, he had forgotten about the whole thing, and  excitedly started making plans for what he would do at the tournament.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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In his new home, the Indirikan Manor...

"My lord! I have an important message!"

"Bon. What is it. You are starting to sound like one of those crazies out there screaming about important messages of random things. The most crazy thing out there now is some worship of a red fruit I heard."

"Bloodfruit is indeed crazy but I am not here to tell you about something as silly as that, my lord. There is going to be a tournament soon in Swordfell!"

"What?! That backwater realm is hosting a tournament? I don't even remember when the last time our empire hosted a tournament. How dare they! Get ready! I must see this tournament myself!"

"I have already ordered everyone to get ready for the tournament, my lord. This is an excellent opportunity for you to find a bride as well!"

"What? Whose bride?"

"You, my lord. Lady Selis sent you a concerning letter about your marriage."

"Why does she care?"

"Because you are the current representative of your family on this continent."

"Well, I am sure I will find a fine young lady if I bothered to look."

"The last time I checked, no one sent you a letter asking for a marriage."

"Damn it Bon. You are keep-"

"Anyway, you have to get ready right away! We can't follow you since this is going to be a long journey and somebody has to defend your land while you are gone."

"And I am supposed to put you in charge?"

"Who else is there?"

"Good point... Fine Bon. You will be in charge. I need a squire to follow me, however."

"I have already found a squire for you, my lord. A minor family  living in Linhai decided to send their son to you."

"Good choice. Nobody can train him better than-"

"They originally wanted to send him to Lord Hadron but his land was too far from Linhai."

"STARS BE DAMNED! I won't accept this son of theirs!"

"Well who else is there for you to take as your squire to the tournament? You have to leave now and you have no choice but to take  him."

"ARGH! Fine! I will deal with this insult after the tournament!"

"Do what you wish, my lord. But please leave as soon as possible."

After the grand tournament,

Urtagoth returned to his Indirikan manor in Linhai where his men eagerly waited for his return.

"You are back, my lord! Now I need you to pay us so we don't have to beat you to take what you owe us."

"Wait what?! Did I hear that right?!"

"Indeed, Sir. It is the honoured tradition of Battlemasterra. You would be surprised how many nobles were beaten or stripped naked to pay their men."

"Did I hire bandits or soldiers?"

"Anyone with a weapon can turn into a bandit, my lord. That is why you keep them happy."

"Fine. Take what I owe you from my vault."

Bon opened Urtagoth's vault and took some gold.

"How on earth did you manage to open my vault without my key?"

"My lord. Your vault has two keys. Do not worry, however. I am the only one who has the exact copy of your key. And you know me. I am your faithful right hand man."

"While I pay you well, right?"

"Indeed, my lord. So how was the tournament?"

"I was defeated in the first round. But I am not too disappointed. Lord Hadron lost with me. So there was nothing to be ashamed of."

"Well, after all you just started your career. There used to be a knight who mastered his sword in Morek within a year. Maybe you should try to do the same?"

"That sounds like an awful way to waste gold."

"It probably is but at least no one will run their mouth in front of you, my lord."

"Even Lord Hadron?"

"Eh. I don't think he likes running his mouth but unless he trains himself as well, I am sure he will be less enthusiastic about things before you."

"It is something to think about."

"Well, I will leave you to it, my lord."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Hadron's return from the tournament was even quicker than the trip there had been. For some reason riding northwest seemed to be faster than riding southeast. Prevailing wind patters, maybe? Well, no matter. Those kinds of trivial things were a matter for scholars, and of all the things that Hadron fancied himself as, a scholar was not one of them.


Galbrecht and his troopers had still been grumbling that they didn't get to go to the tournament. In fact, Galbrecht had said the men nearly revolted because he hadn't been able to pay them while Hadron was gone. Hadron gave Galbrecht a few extra gold to take the men out for a night on the town, and the men had drowned their complaints in ale. Or wine. Or whatever it was that common soldiers did to forget the fact that they were merely common soldiers. Disaster adverted, and things were back to normal.


Which brought Hadron back to the matter of Urtagoth. He had been thinking quite a bit about this while at the tournament. He'd seen Urtagoth a time or two from a distance, but had deftly avoided him. He hadn't yet figured out what to do about that incident in Nifelheim. Until finally, while the miles blurred quickly past on the trip home, he'd hit upon the answer. He summoned his scribe, and quickly dictated a letter that should be sent to Urtagoth.

-----

Count Urtagoth,

I am sorry to have missed you at the tournament in Balance's Retreat. I had heard that you were there, but I could never seem to find you. I see that you were eliminated in the first round, as was I. It is of no importance, though. Swordfighting was never much interest to me. I prefer jousting, the true sport of nobles.

Now that we are back in Morek, I have to apologize for ruining your plans in Nifelheim. I was unavoidably detained, and wasn't able to make the journey to meet. I hope you didn't wait too long there for me.


However, my man Galbrecht has ferreted out some news that maybe of interest. You've no doubt heard that Marshal Orris is worried that the crags in Yggdramir might cross the straights and invade Astrum lands. Well apparently crags are capable swimmers, able to swim long distances, though not very quickly. Several peasant villages along the northern coast report seeing some crag swarms headed east. Perhaps we should meet in Storm's Keep. The northern coasts are rugged, and it will take the crags several days to make the journey. If we hurry, we may be able to get there ahead of them, and attack them as they come ashore. If not, them we will be able to ride to the rescue of the locals.

I look forward to meeting you in Storm's Keep. Ride swiftly, or there may not be any crags left by the time you arrive.

-----

When he was done dictating the letter, Hadron had the scribe read it back to him, to make sure it was perfect. It was, of course. "Very well, scribe, sign it with all the usual titles and embellishments. Then send the fastest courier we have to deliver it."


After the scribe left, Hadron relaxed back into the comfortable chair by the fireplace, and smiled at the thought of Urtagoth sitting around in that godforsaken coast waiting in vain for him and the crags to arrive.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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When Urtagoth was enjoying watching his peasants working on the field, a messenger from the western border of the empire arrived. The messenger handed Bon a letter then departed.

"My lord. Lord Hadron sent you a letter."

"Good. Read it for me."
----
Count Urtagoth,

I am sorry to have missed you at the tournament in Balance's Retreat. I had heard that you were there, but I could never seem to find you. I see that you were eliminated in the first round, as was I. It is of no importance, though. Swordfighting was never much interest to me. I prefer jousting, the true sport of nobles.

Now that we are back in Morek, I have to apologize for ruining your plans in Nifelheim. I was unavoidably detained, and wasn't able to make the journey to meet. I hope you didn't wait too long there for me.


However, my man Galbrecht has ferreted out some news that maybe of interest. You've no doubt heard that Marshal Orris is worried that the crags in Yggdramir might cross the straights and invade Astrum lands. Well apparently crags are capable swimmers, able to swim long distances, though not very quickly. Several peasant villages along the northern coast report seeing some crag swarms headed east. Perhaps we should meet in Storm's Keep. The northern coasts are rugged, and it will take the crags several days to make the journey. If we hurry, we may be able to get there ahead of them, and attack them as they come ashore. If not, them we will be able to ride to the rescue of the locals.

I look forward to meeting you in Storm's Keep. Ride swiftly, or there may not be any crags left by the time you arrive.

----

"Nifelheim? What is he talking about?"

"Maybe he is mentioning about your plan of fighting Crags?"

"Well I had intention of doing it once I had finished organizing things in Linhai."

"To be honest you are not really doing much in Linhai, my lord."

"While that is true, my presence alone should-"

"Your presence doesn't really help peasants harvest their crops faster, my lord."

"Well in that case, I will simply have to go ahead with my plan to fight crags."

"You probably should, My lord. You've gained even more weight over the past few weeks. One would assume a tournament participant to lose weight but you, my lord, have shattered my assumption."

"It wasn't my fault! There were just too many people tossing free drinks all over! I couldn't disappoint those generous nobles. Enough of this talk! We are getting nowhere. Why are we even talking about my weight? Send a letter to Lord Hadron. Tell him I will meet him in Storm's keep. Also, send a letter to marshal Orris. Ask him about his experience with crags."

"Will you head out right away, my lord?"

"Yes. Get my horse ready as well."

With that Bon left Urtagoth's chamber.

After a long march from Linhai, Urtagoth finally arrived in Storms Keep.

"Now, we wait for Lord Hadron!"

"Indeed, my lord. I hope he will come to the keep quickly. Northern lands of the empire are too underdeveloped. There is literally nothing in the keep. We won't be able to self-sustain for too long."

"I am not sure why but unlike the rest of the empire, northern regions seem awfully undeveloped."

"Maybe Liberans destroyed everything before their fall? I am not sure what happened to the northern lands, my lord. Now the northern lands are just left abandoned mostly. If crags invade the north, they will just run over the north without any resistence."

"It is indeed worrisome. That is exactly why Lord Hadron asked me to see me in Storms Keep."

"Well I hope he isn't trying to get you."

"We are no children. Lord Hadron would never do such a thing!"

"Are you sure about that, my lord?"

"Eh... I certainly hope so!"

When his men were about to depart the mountain to head back to Nifelhold, Urtagoth saw Galbrecht approaching him.

"My lord, that is Galbrecht. He serves Lord Hadron."

"Lord Hadron? In this mountain?"

"Well they are probably here for the same reason as us. Lurians."

"Yes. Lurians. I heard they could only be compared to crags. They must be driven off from the northern lands. Can't let them breed there too."

Galbrecht soon arrived and delivered his lord's invitation which Urtagoth decided to accept.

"Well who would thought those southern crags would bring Lord Hadron and I together."

"To Lord Hadron then my lord?"

"Yes!"

Grr... Forgot to send a couple. Chronologically, these two belong before Urtagoths previous message.


Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (2 days, 22 hours ago)
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Somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Black Nastrond...


Hadron was bored. This mountain was the bane of his existence. It seemed like no matter where he wanted to go, the damn thing was in his way. Just as he was sure he was going to go insane, the line of troopers came to a stop. Since he wasn't really paying attention to anything, he had no idea what was going on. He quickly looked around, trying to figure it out before it became obvious that he had been daydreaming. Galbrecht was galloping back along the trail toward him.


"Ah, Galbrecht, are we there already?"


Galbrecht gave him a strange look. "No, m'Lord, we are not. A messenger from Nifelhold brings news, and a letter from Ordermarshal Helm himself. The Lurians have landed two expeditionary forces on our lands. One in Valldir, and one in Corlandt."


"Valldir?! But... that's on the northern shore! How did the Lurians get there?"


Galbrecht gave him a second strange look. "I assume by ship, m'Lord."


"But... that's near Storm's Keep. That's where I sent Lord Urtagoth! We have to hurry. We have to get there as quick as possible!"


"No, m'Lord, we cannot. The letter from Ordermarshal Helm contains orders for all Morekian nobles to rally in Nifelhold."


"But if the Lurians move down into Torrent's Breath, he'll be cut off and trapped in Storm's Keep."


"Aye, m'Lord, that he will. But there is nothing we can do about it. The messenger's will have reached Lord Urtagoth with news of the landing, and Ordermarshal Helm's orders. He should be traveling back toward the capital himself, as quickly as he can. Perhaps he can take ship from Storm's Keep over to Rye. Or at the least, the stronghold has stout walls."


"That is true, Galbrecht. Well, we had better get on the path to Nifelhold ourselves. We have our orders."


"At once, m'Lord."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (2 hours, 48 minutes ago)
Message sent to everyone in your realm (27 recipients)
Somewhere in Mt. Black Nastrond...


Hadron was riding through the impromptu encampment that had sprung up on the slopes of The Mountain. The current irritation in his life was the disappearance of the scout that was supposed to have been reporting on the troop buildup, as requested by the Ordermarshal. He'd finally given up and sent a second scout, but he hadn't forgotten about that deserter.


As he rode along, absorbed in his own thoughts, Galbrecht suddenly gave a shout. "Lord Hadron, look over there! Isn't that the banner of the Holy Inquisition?"


It took Hadron a moment to figure out what Galbrecht was talking about. He'd all but forgotten that his own troop was flying the banner of the Holy Inquisition, too. He'd been flying it partly as a protest against the Imperial Wolves, but mostly just to have a banner to fly. The white field crossed by the vertical black stripe was quite striking. Simple and clean, as a banner should be.


"Who is it, Galbrecht? Can you tell who's pennant that is below it?"


Galbrecht spurred his horse on, and galloped ahead a short distance. Then he turned and called out "It's Sir Urtagoth!"


Hadron was immensely relieved. He'd been wondering whether Urtagoth had been able to skirt around the Lurians and make it back from Storm's Keep. "Quick, Galbrecth, go and catch him! Let him know we're here!"


Galbrecht knodded, then rushed off in the direction of Urtagoth's pennant.

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Black Nastrond...


Two men rode side-by-side through the mountain pass. They were both dirty and disheveled. Their clothes were bloodstained, and their horses covered in mud and blood.


"So, Galbrecht, are you ready to talk about what happened back there?"


Galbrecht kept staring straight forward, but his eyes dipped down toward the raod. "Not really, m'Lord."


"Well, I'm not giving you a choice. What the hell happened? We weren't supposed to attack until sunSET, not sunRISE!"


Galbrecht shook his head a few times as he struggled to find the right words. "m'Lord I... it's the mountain, m'Lord."


"The mountain? Look, Galbrecht, this isn't really the time for jokes. I lost 15 cavalrymen in that fiasco. You and I are the only ones that survived, and we were BOTH wounded in that rain of death. And you're blaming the *mountain*?"


"m'Lord, there's no way we could possibly have arrived that early! We even got delayed by that washed out trail. You remember where we almost rode right over the edge into that ravine in the dark, right? It took us over an hour to find the way around. But we *still* arrived hours earlier that is possible. And how about where we came out? We came down that rocky slope, through the screen of scrub trees, right as the sun was rising, and the entire Lurian army was right there in front of us. When they started coming after us, there was no way we could escape back up that rocky slope with the horses. I had no choice but to sound the charge. I prayed that maybe we could have broken through to the city and joined the garrison or something."


"So you're saying that the *mountain* is ... trying to kill us ..."


Galbrecht looked around furtively, eyes darting from place to place. "Aye, m'Lord. It's the only explanation. It wants us dead. Remember that road that led us right up to that wall last time? It was a test. The damn mountain was testing us then. And now it knows what it can do. Next time, we may not survive."


The two men rode in silence for a few minutes.


"Galbrecht?"


"Yes, m'Lord?"


"You've gone completely insane, haven't you?"


"Umm... maybe, m'Lord. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong."

Sorry for interrupting, but is this still happening? I have an advy sitting around on Dwilight looking for a purpose in life :)

Yes. Urtagoth and Hadron are still there, still kicking. They are nobles in Morek.

Perhaps my advy should make the long trek, then. I've been curious about Morek for some time now.

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch
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After fighting several battles over a week, Urtagoth's unit was almost wiped out. Urtagoth looked around the battlefield while sitting on a dead Lurian soldier.

"My lord. We should probably head back to Nifelhold."

"Why is that, Bon? I can still fight. My hammer is thirst for more Lurian blood!"

"Your hammer hasn't been cleaned in days, my lord. It will rust soon. Also, we only have two healthy men. We would be lucky to stay alive on the field."

"Fine. Let's head back to Nifelhold."

"We should, my lord. Once your horse can walk again."

"What do you mean?"

"Your horse has been limping since the last battle, my lord."

"My horse likes to limp. What about it?"

"I didn't know your horse had an arrow head sticking out of its leg, my lord. Your horse must be enjoying the pain."

"My horse is one of the finest horses around. It can handle few arrows!"

"It will slow you down though."

"Well..."

"When we charge, you will fall behind the rest of us, my lord."

"Umm..."

"You will want to get a new horse when we get to Nifelhold, my lord. I am sure they still have those rare horses from the western continent. Although I doubt they will be any cheap."

"I am sure our empire is rich enough to fund me some gold for a horse!"

Sorry. I've slacking off. Mostly because I am running out of ideas to write RPs on. But with Lurians constantly invading us, I am sure I can come up with things to write >:D

As the sun rose above the battlefield, Urtagoth and his men readied themselves for the coming battle.

"Bon, prepare our men for a charge. I will smash those filthy Lurians with my new captain Meinolf. It will be a glorious charge."

"My lord, look! They are here! The peasant mob!"

"What can peasants do? They are leaderless. This is why we need to charge ahead of them to show how to fight!"

"You are right, my lord. They are leaderless. Just look. They are already charging with their pitchforks."

"Get on your horses! Time to charge!"

"My lord. Unfortunately, we can't charge. We came too ahead of our main army. We need to wait for them."

"What are you talking about Bon! It is now or never! Men follow me! We shall crush these Luri- ACK!"

Before Urtagoth could even get on his horse, arrows rained on them from the Lurian side. With no one to lead them, Urtagoth's men quickly scattered.

After two long hours, Urtagoth recovered his consciousness with an arrow sticking out from his thigh.

"My lord. We won the battle. Lurians have ditched the field and we are safe."

"Wha... Did the main army arrive?"

"No my lord. Peasants ate Lurians alive. They simply overwhelmed them."

"With pitchforks?"

"And other farm tools."

"..."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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"Urtagoth, what happened? Sir Reylich was preparing a feast for us, when all of a sudden we noticed you were missing. Next I hear you're charging across the fields in Caiyun, leading an army of peasants against the Lurians."

"I have to say, as impressive as your charge was, it was a bit rude of you to ride off and charge the Lurians leaving us behind waiting for you to show up for dinner. The least you could have done was warn us that you weren't going to attend dinner. We must have waited for nearly an hour for you to show up. Dinner was cold when we finally found out you were gone, and had to eat without you. I mean, I never expected that you, of all people, would pass up a meal."

Roleplay from Urtagoth Lapallanch   (3 days, 1 hour ago)
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"You have my apologies, Lord Hadron. But I never received an invitation letter. So I decided to attend a feast prepared by Lurians. It was one bloody feast I must say with a lot of chopped body parts being served. As my gift, I give you this interesting fruit. Some of those filthy Lurians called it a bloodfruit. I haven't tried it myself but I've seen Lurians eat this and be as happy as a baby on funny herbs."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Hadron sat in his private office, reading the correspondence from the past few days. He still wasn't sure how it had happened. Somehow, without any specific intention, he had become the spearhead for the nobility's discontent with the war. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He'd just asked a simple question. But then Urtagoth had sent that letter telling the nobles to contact Hadron to help fight crags.

The problem was that he didn't know where the crags were! He wasn't even sure he'd ever really seen a crag at all. There were those beasts in Nimh a few weeks ago. They were nasty enough, but were they crags?

How was he supposed to organize a hunt something when he didn't know where to look? Astrum was working to reclaim the west. Perhaps they would have some advice. He'd have to send them a letter and see.

Damn Urtagoth for setting him up for this! He'd have to find some way to pay him back for it. Sooner or later...

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Hadron rode through gates of Aegir's Deep to the cheers of the crowd. He had become used to the adulation of the commoners over the past many months since his appointment. As lord of the region it was, after all, his due.

There was something different this time, though. Maybe there were a few less people than normal? Perhaps the cheering was a bit less enthusiastic, or some of the faces a bit more uncertain?

Hadron frowned a bit, and asked Galbraith if he noticed anything different.

"Aye, m'Lord. There is indeed something different today, though slight. Some of the merchants we passed along the road were the same way. Though they were hesitant to admit it, a few coins and some select provisions we obtained in Aegir were able to coax it out of them. It's the exile. While no one truly believes the accusations, it casts a shadow. Under that shadow, doubt creeps in. I fear it will only grow worse over the course of the next few months."

"Yes", Hadron replied. "I was afraid that was it. This will not be an easy thing to endure, Galbraith."

"Aye, m'Lord, it will not. You can still leave, though. Perhaps joining Astrum in their forays to the west ..."

Hadron cut off Galbraith's words before he could say more. "No, Galbraith. I will not give up. I have been wrongfully accused. I cannot run away with my tail between my legs. Honor demands that I uphold my name."

Galbraith nodded in assent. He knew when Hadron had dug in his heels, and would refuse to budge. "As you will, m'Lord."

"Make sure the men don't get too settled. We leave for Nifelhold almost immediately. If there's any grumbling about leaving again so soon, let them know that they can expect to have quite a bit of leisure time in the capital. The sooner we get there, the sooner they can have their fun."

"My lord! Grandmistress Eviera has left the true faith and decided to step down soon."

"What? So what is going to happen to the exiles, Bon? I want to go visit a tavern but Eviera's dogs are stopping me from entering anywhere! I can't even buy a bread off of peasants because of those damn dogs!"

"Well you are still exiled, my lord. But Lord Hadron will be holding a feast in Nifelhold."

"Where? We can't enter any buildings."

"You don't have to hold the feast in a building."

"That is absurd! We are not attending a wedding of peasants! And what is this Eviera deciding to step down non-sense? Is that old crone finally admitting her defeat?"

"I do not believe that is her reason bu-"

"Of course she doesn't admit publicly but I am sure my words have touched that poor old woman and enlightened her like our holy prophet! I now understand why she left the church! She wants to start a religion revolving the one who has inspired her to admit her sins! Me! I can't wait to be the first prophet of the Church of Urtagoth! Good job Eviera, my first servant mwuahahah!"

"Uh are you okay, my lord? Did Lurians hit you in the head?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't eve encounter any Lurians when I was down south."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik   (just sent)
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Hadron arrived at the banquet hall in Nifelhold late in the day, barely before sunset. That didn't bother him, as he knew that Margrave Zhukov had already procured the banquet hall. News of Eveira's secession had only reached him half an hour ago, when he had arrived in the city. It was quite a surprise, even more than her abdication of the throne.

He supposed that all this meant that the planned months-long party in Nifelhold wasn't really needed any more. the exile was lifted with the abdication. But with all the arrangements having been made already, it would be a shame to have them go to waste. Hadron entered the banquet hall, calling out for Zhukov.

It was only seconds later when a servant approached him, informing him that Margrave Zhukov had already left, and in fact had been spotted leaving the city headed east.

"Left the city?!" Hadron exclaimed. "Why would he do that? He was supposed to meet me here for a party."

Galbraith stepped forward. "M'Lord, the Margrave mentioned in his letter that he was traveling to join Grandmistress Eviera in her new realm. He doubtless is headed there."

At that moment, the door behind them crashed open, and a dwarf mounted on a pony came galloping into the banquet hall, chased by at least a dozen baying dogs.

Hadron stared after them. "Well, damn. Now what am I going to do with the dwarf?"

"You did promise the men a party, m'Lord. And since you already paid The Mighty Kurlock for the show..."

"I suppose you're right, Galbraith. Go invite the men in. No sense letting all this food go to waste."

The dogs cornered the dwarf, who crashed to the floor. As the dogs piled on, the dwarf cried out: "Not the toes! Not the toes!""

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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In the government sector in Nifelhold, in the dark of the night, a dwarf rode a pony through the streets. If anyone had been around to hear him, they would have heard him muttering to himself. It went something like this:

"laugh at me, will they? ... mumble mumble ... they will pay, oh yes they will ... mumble mumble ... "

After riding for a while, the dwarf stopped in front of an important looking building.

"I'll show them to mess with me  ... mumble mumble ... "

The dwarf swung a leg over the pony to dismount. When his foot touched the ground he gasped in pain, and nearly fell over. Only his frantic grip on the pommel of the small saddle kept him upright. He froze in place for a long while, desperately afraid of being seen.  After a minute of standing frozen in place, he slowly let go of the pommel. He leaned over and adjusted the bandages on his feet, adjusting the padding to cover the sore parts.

"My poor toes, oh my poor toes ... mumble mumble ..."

The dwarf made his way to the door. Once there he quickly and deftly picked the lock, barely slowing down to do so. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside.

"They will rue the day they ridiculed the great Kurlock!"

And with that, the dwarf was gone from sight.

A few seconds later there was a thump from the dark inside the building.

"Gah! My toes, oh my poor toes! Owwwwww...."

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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Upon Hadron's arrival in Nifelhold, the guards at the gate informed him that the city guard had requested he call upon them at their headquarters. They could not answer his questions as to the reason. They only knew that the request had been made.

With much grumbling about the inconvenience, Hadron altered his plans and made for the city guard headquarters. When he arrived and introduced himself, he was quickly passed along to the on-duty watch captain.

"Margrave Hadron, thank you for your coming. I apologize for the necessity, but we had a situation yesterday, and I think that you can provide some information that could help us out quite a bit."

"Of course, Captain, I would be glad to help the city watch in whatever capacity you require."

"Thank you, Margrave. The situation is this: A day or two ago, a man was apprehended breaking into the city offices. Specifically, the election offices. We don't know what he was doing there. We found a fake ballot in his pocket. It had your name on it. He won't tell us why he had it. We suspect that he was attempting to somehow interfere with the recent election for Ordermarshal. Do you know anything about this man?"

"Are accusing me of attempting to commit voting fraud, Captain?" demanded Hadron.

The captain of the guard held up his hands, in a placating gesture. "No, no, Margrave! Not at all. You weren't even a candidate in the election. That's what makes this incident so inexplicable. Were you seeking election, then perhaps there might be some suspicion. But that is most definitely not the case."

"Then why did you call me here, captain, if you don't think I had anything to do with this?"

"Well you see, Margrave, I have heard that this man was in your employ some days ago. Some say you even brought him to Nifelhold with you."

Hadron's eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "I don't recall hiring any servants of late. Who is this man?"

The captain of the guard held up a parchment and read the name to make sure he got it right. "He calls himself The Mighty Kurlock."

"Kurlock... the pony-riding dwarf?!"

"Aye, Margrave." The captain replied. "He is a dwarf. And we did find a pony outside the building he broke into."

"Why, he's just a jester I hired a few days back to put on a show for my men. He is not conducting any business in my name."

"Well, my men discovered him while they were investigating some loud crashes noises in the building. It turns out his feet were heavily bandaged, and he kept running into things in the dark. When my men found him he was laying on the floor, clutching his toes, and crying. All we can get out of him is something about dogs and his toes."

"My only business with this dwarf was concluded several days ago, at the end of the show he performed for my men. I have had naught to do with him since."

"Very well, Margrave. I thank you for your time."

"Of course, Captain. What will you do with this 'Mighty Kurlock'?"

"I will have my men toss him out the gates. He didn't really cause us much trouble, all told. But we'll make sure he knows he's not welcome back."

"Can you do me a favor, Captain? Let him keep his pony, will you? He was a fine jester, and that pony is well-trained for him."

"As you request, Margrave."

"Grandmaster, are you sure about this?"

"I am Bon. Morek has outlived its purpose. How can we, Morekians, call our realm an empire when it only has 8 nobles. This is for the good of the northern land. I must split Morek to bring it back alive later. But for now, we must split and go our separate ways. There is no other way I am afraid."

"Your greatness. This will mean the end of yet another pillar of our holy faith."

"It no longer is strong enough to bind the falling empire. Sanguis Astroism is no longer our holy faith. All religions will be retreated equally within the lands of our fair Morek. Those who do not agree can leave and form their own realm as they see fit."

"I am sorry, your greatness, but more I hear from you, the more crazy your plan sounds like."

"That is because you are a short sighted fool, Bon. A commoner like you will never understand my noble intention. Now tell my men to get themselves ready to move. We are going to Muspel."

"But your greatness. The road is no longer safe. Your former vessels may come for your head if we leave the walls of Nifelhold."

"Why would they come for my head when I released all of them from their binding oaths? They should be grateful not resentful!"

"But you just destroyed their beloved realm for your crazy plan!"

"For their own good!"

Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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In the misty mornings, Hadron rode the hired coach through the nearly deserted streets of the city of Freke toward the docks. At the docks he would board a ship for the short trip across the straights to Aegir. He would miss the city. Though he had only been here for a week, he enjoyed it. There was a lot of history here. It had been possessed by a few realms over the years resulting in the blend of many cultures. Unlike many other cities in the region, such as Unterstrom, Freke had mostly escaped the ravages of war. Because of this, you didn't just know that this city was old and cultured, you could see it, and feel it.

The coach rattled along over the cobbles. The many hooves of his escorting cavalry troops followed along behind, their tack and harness making a comforting, if somewhat loud, sound that was soothing to his cavalryman's ears. With all that, he didn't even hear the approach of the fast-riding messenger until his troopers called out the challenge. Nor could he understand the ensuing conversation that ended with the courier galloping off through the streets.

There was an immediate rap on the door of the coach. Hadron lifted the shade, saw it was one of this guards, then opened the window. "M'Lord Hadron, a courier has informed me that a deputation of the local officials wish to meet with you before you depart. They have set up a meeting at the customs office near the docks. Will you grant their petition?"

"Of course, captain. We are in no great hurry. I don't see any reason to deny their request. I do think the timing is a bit awkward. We've been here for a week, and they wait until we've practically got one foot on the deck of the ship before they request an audience? Well, like I said, we're not exactly in a hurry here. Go ahead and inform the coachmen of the new destination."

"As you command, m'Lord."

-----

The customs office was the typical government office. It was sturdy and serviceable, but the stonework was very ornate. The engraving over the entrance dated the construction back to the early years following the foundation of Corsanctum. The mark of the Bloodstars was quite prominently displayed, though somewhat worn by time.

The deputation consisted of about a dozen officials. They ranged from constabulary functionaries to palace officials all the way up to prominent, but minor, nobility. Getting right down to business, they outlined the lack of noble leadership of the city, the chronic inattention of the Astrum government, and the way that Astrum had to call in foreign troops to help defend the city from invasion. In short, they were tired of it and wanted a change. And it just so happened that someone with prominent noble lineage was right here, in their city! With some research, the Indirik family claim to city could easily be established. There would, of course, be a small expense associated with the research, but that wasn't an issue.

After discussing the matter for a few hours, Hadron agreed to their proposal. The documents were signed. Ribbons attached. Wax was poured and stamped. It was all quite impressive. They assured him it was quite official and legal.

When it was done, the senior official handed Hadron the official seals of office of Freke. "Congratulations, Duke Hadron, Margrave of Freke. May your lordship be fruitful and peaceful."

And with that, it was done.