4 - 007: The Fourth Piece

[K Man]

The crowd remains hushed, though - even in this darkest that you have seen it - little sparks of light begin to light in the faces of the Ravenshead people. The words fall like soft raindrops on their ears; the crystal returned from hell, a promise of loyal servitude, newcomers to the fight also willing to lay their life on the line...it is a good thing for the people to hear.

King Sturmguard, mighty protectorate of all under his reign, steps slowly down the castle facade to mere inches before you. He reaches out, aged hands touching your faces each in turn, trying to prove to his eyes that you are real. He spends a moment, just absorbing your presence, listening to all you have to say. He finally comes around and speaks, his usually regal and commanding voice faltering.



"If I lived another hundred lifetimes I wouldn't think I'd ever see a day as miraculous as this. The finest warriors Ravenshead has every called her own, returned when the land thought them dead." He moves to the crystal, running the same fingers over it in disbelief. "And with yet another shard in tow...apparently pulled from the depths of hell itself!"

He stands back, taking his place at the front of the castle steps. The 'Faceless Knight' moves with him, giving small commands through the sides of his helm. Some soldiers trot to and fro, the castle abuzz with activity and adapting quickly to the return of its heroes.

The clerics continue to move about, fulfilling their duty as promised, healing the wounded and creating bountiful feasts for all to enjoy. It is as though, in one shining moment, the entire city was lifted and placed on your shoulders. King Sturmguard waves you over, leaning in close to speak with you above the dull roar of the crowd.



"I cannot express the joy my heart feels to see you all alive again...and most importantly working together. Many things have come to pass, which will sadden you."

"First and Foremost, I had Master Theld's machine shut down, fearing that its magicks were the cause of your disappearance."

"I sent many of my finest scouts and warriors to the far corners of the land to search for you. They had contacted the druids of 'The Glade' as you stated that was where you were headed, but they had not seen nor heard from you in months. None of the scouts returned."

"We recieved word after word of cities falling to the endless might of the undead armies, and so many refugees sought shelter that - to my ever-lasting shame - we had to close the city gates for the first time."

"King Grandil's people did arrive, but badly beaten and bruised...their trek from Bazakrak to here was not an easy one and was laden with attacks from 'The Master'. It was almost like he had troops waiting for their exodus from the mountain."

The King takes a deep breath.

"When I declared you dead, the city itself wept for days. Our hopes were laid to rest in the ground with empty coffins, scribed with your names on them. The 'Faceless Knight' gave such a stirring speech that not a single eye in Ravenshead could remain dry...not even my own."

He raises his head, snapping out of his disdainful memories.

"And now these damned sea creatures at our doorstep, warring with us, claiming the the killers of their king were traced here, to this city. We have tried talking peacefully with them, explaining that no such killers are here - but all the negotiators have been murdered. It's too much to bear."

"I wish I had better news for all of you, but your mere arrival is the best news we've had."

"Garor, King Grandil is alive and well. He spends much of his time with me, going over the defenses of the city. You will find him in the war room should you desire to meet him."

"The rest of you I leave to the 'Faceless Knight', for he is in charge of the men now and will gladly do your bidding."

He pulls the 'Faceless Kinght' closer, both paying attention to you.



"Tell us, do you have a plan?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Romar - As you mill about, listening to the King speak, all you can think about is Veya. Try as your eyes might, they cannot seem to find her in the throng of people. [Spot Check] It is then, about a second before you think about giving up the search, that you notice a figure in the doorway of the castle.

The figure is female, stands back a bit, and even from here you can see she is shaking. Cloaked in the shadows, the figure is the right height and frame for Veya...

...could it be her?
__________________________________________________________________________________________

[GeneralMHB]

Yuri listens to the King's compelling story of how these five years have passed them by so quickly, yet so dire in hope. He then speeks of his idea to the King.

Myself and Romar have found The Hidden City and they offer sancturary to all within its walls. "The Master" and his troops will have a difficult time breaching its walls. We can seek shelter there. They have also found a way for the living to venture into the Deathspew Swamps with a special suit they have designed. If we can venture forth into the Swamps and possibly recover the other crystals in his possession, maybe even possibly slay him, we will surely have a chance at winning this war.

We also must find out who is behind the killing of these sea-creature's leader, as fighting them is what 'The Master' wants us to do, and anymore allies will be a welcome sight.

I also must ask of what has happened to your nephew Mordrid. The last we have seen him, he fled by making himself invisible and leaving us to rot at Boon's Freehold.

And what is this "machine" you speek of my Lord?

He then turns to the party.

I know all may seem bleak and little options lay before us, but this is the best I can come up with. If anyone has any ideas other than this, speek now.

[Fangor the Fierce]

"How soon can you get Theld's machine back up and running? It is something that would gain us another advantage in this war. As for dealing with this threat at your doorway, I am sure we can come to some form of plan. I believe the new cleric may provide some information later on the threat outside. If we are to get to the last few shards left out in the world, then that machine is the best bet."

Krysta turns to the group, and Yuri's idea plays in her mind. "The machine is one of great mastery, allowing a person to vein-ride through the ground itself, to a place that you imagine. Only thing is, it can only travel through earth, and nothing else. As for the plans, I believe the one outside is the one that should be dealt with first. Then we will think about what to do after that in turn."

"These things outside. Has anyone ever dealt with this kind of threat? What kind of race are they? Surely with the clerics here, and with pulling our resources, we would gain some information on the tendancies of this newfound threat. I will not call them enemy, until that time has come that nothing else can be done about it. Yuri is right, as if we can gain them as an ally, then that is one more step closer to ridding this world of the Master."

"Negotiations seem to have gone severly wrong, with the negotiators being killed. If we can just get a chance to find out all that these sea creatures blame us for and what really happened, then I am sure we could get to the bottom of it. But that chance is what we need to work on. Anyone have any idea on how to get there to talk with their new leader? As their old one is obviously dead..."

~~~~~

Mordrock simply shuffles about, letting the others decide on what to do. He scans the crowd, just for the hell of it. He then takes out his necklace, looking at the pearls on the thread that gleam with power. Surely they might come in handy someday.

~~~~~~~~~~

Adelia turns to Mordrock, and brings him out of his staring trance. "Hey, make sure I don't fall over, as I have something to take care of."

With that, she closes here eyes, and focuses. Her sight is gone for a breif few seconds, at which time she opens them, but spies something different. (Using Chain of Eyes as standard action to activate whomever the rat touched in the enemy's army outside. KMAN, your call on this)

Once she does this, she will try and find out who is leading this army outside, and get their description and as much information as she can. Other than that, she is content with letting the other, more adept at planning come up with the master plan.

[VemuKhaham]

Short fragments of speech from both his king Sturmguard, his old companions and his best friend Yuri reach Romar's ears, but he does not pay attention to them. Is it his imagination running wild, or is the figure in the shadows truly Veya? From the moment Romar noticed the shaking woman standing in the corner, the last shreds of information that did reach his ears before are barred out completely, and his eyes stare into that direction as if hypnotized, trying to pierce the cloak of shadows that she carries around her.

It doesn't take long for Romar to allow his imagination to fill in the missing details. This figure, withering in the shadows at a distance, is the delicate flower that he once plucked in that garden of solitude that was New Rocroost Bay. Slowly his own feet start carrying him away from the crowds, from his companions and the king, but his eyes do not stray away from the figure. To the bystanders it looks like he isn't even aware of the surroundings anymore. It looks like Romar simply floats away in some dream. A trance.

Romar approaches the woman. All the fears that he had grown since he heard five years had past up until this confrontation had gone. If she, the dark figure, is indeed Veya, he will take her hand and speak to her in a soft tone:

"Don't be afraid, Veya. You have been alone for too long."

[BluSpecs]

"Perhaps we should atempt to call a meeting with their diplomats according to the rules of war. At least we can get a better idea of why they have gone to such trouble to get here."

Garor looks for Grandil while he is speacking hopeing to get a minute to talk with him later.

[VemuKhaham]

From the castle doors emerges King Sturmguard - the family jewel around his neck glittering in the midday sun. Behind him are a group of more people, including King Grandil Battlehammer of Bazarkak. Both Kings look upon you in disbelief, there eyes unable to absorb the scene.

Just an out-game note: King Grandil was standing behind king Sturmguard in the previous post, not in the war room. I'll drop out of this discussion now; this might've been brought up a bit late, so handle it however you wish. Just something I thought needed to be said.

[Japic]

Listening intently to th King speak Girud offers up his own suggestions.

"Yes, Theld's machine would be very helpful if we are to continue collecting the shards. Besides, it gives us an edge in this war that no other has."

"I too agree that this siege army need be dealt with, and with as little bloodshed as possible. The city is weakened now, this I can see; there would be little point to fighting an unecissary foe."

He rubs his chin for a moment, apparently deep in thought then turns to regard the king again.

"If it pleases your Highness, I would like to try speaking to these creatures. Where other negotiations have failed, perhaps we can prevail."

He looks to his companions including Romar and Yuri as he meets the eyes of those assembled.

"If we can triumph in Hell, these frogs should be a walk in the park. Whose with me?"

---

Standing with the others Alton is amazed to see how highly the Giant and the others are held in regard by their King and his people. They were great heroes indeed. With what he witnessed about their exploits in Hell, he found it easy to believe they were capabale of anything. So when the giant suggests acting as negotiators, Alton feels confident that it will work. Without hesitation he steps up to the side of the Giant.

"I'll go."