Legends of Eroris: Arrival |IC|

[Albertae]

Aracia couldn't dodge both of the attacks so she put up a fire forcefield. It was a weak one, but it withstood the two attacks. She thrusted her sword to pierce Larek's stomach and intestines.

Meanwhile, Abus ducked the slash and stomped the Captain's ankle in an attempt to knock him down and break his leg.

Larek moved away slightly to avoid the thrust and snarled. He then said to the mage in a angry voice," I will smash you!" The two orcs then charged the mage at the same time.
Burghealm avoided the stomp of Abus and yelled down in anger. Burghealm then said to Abus in a angry," Ye want to play dirty do ye? I will show ye." He then tried to stomp on Abus' foot.

The big captains foot landed easily on Abus' foot and it hurt. He yelled out in pain and slashed at the leg that stomped on his foot attempting to take it off.

Aracia was scared. Two bulky Orcs were charging her. She quickly got a hold of herself and when the orcs were wishing accurate range she shot lightning from both hands at each Orc.

[The Tophat Empire]

Atlas, Ashen Empire
Reach - Ashen Border

---

The Army of the ashen empire had been on the move for a long time, and now it lay in wait in the region of atlas. Waiting for the orders to start the invasion, but, unknown to them, on the hills, and the woods overlooking the massive army camp, after all, hiding several thousand men in tents is impossible. where several small groups of Reachen Rangers hidden, laying, spotting, watching. Using innovative tactics such as camouflage to stay hidden, the attire of the Rangers blending in with the green brown ground.

For many days did they lay there, until finally, they noticed larger bodies leaving the camp heading for the Nation of Reach, their home, and the Legions targets. Quickly the rangers sent back a message with this new info, resorting to sending a message bird, for it would be faster than sending it by foot. Then most of the rangers started to move as well, staying a distance behind the Ashen legion, they were to collect information and keep note of the legions movement.

Several tens of kilometers away, in one of the border forts Wiking stood in a room together with some of his generals and other officers, The men stood around a large table with a highly detailed map of the Ashen - Reach border. They were planning on where to face the enemy, once he came. They had placed several iron markers on good locations, as well as notes on the area. Along the border they also had several green metal markers denoting Reachen regiments, and any notes about said units attached as well. Lastly, several red markers in one big cluster noted the Ashen Legions.

As they stood there and debated the tactics, furthering the plans they had, and refined the plans further yet, a clerk entered the room and handed Wiking the message from the rangers, as wiking read it the clerk moved the pieces representing the legions that had started marching, as well as the rangers, to represent the new situation, for only a few minutes had passed. Wiking had given the Ranger premission to use a rare tool to allow for fast communications; the use of White-throated Needletails as messageing birds. They were not easy to train, and it was a rare bird to start with, so they were the rangers trump card, with this they could communicate extremely fast.

"So the time has come, they are moving along road number 53, that means we can incepted them on this field, they will have no other way to move the supply train then by this road. they will also have to fight on a narrow front, so any number advante will be neglected. If they try and flank us they will have to fight in the deep forest that surrounds the field. Transfer all units we can, i want light infantry as well." Wiking ordered, he would lead this battle from the front, and he would depart with the 22nd Regiment as well as 50 men out of the golden Company, Later on that day. In two days time, the first battle would start, as that would be when the legions and regiments meet one another.

[Greater Corea]

Arlen Varian
Atlas, The Vale
The Ashen Empire

Marching for days was not an easy feat, for a Legion of 5,000 men Arlen would have to stay near a field or village to restock on supplies to ensure that supplies were plentiful to retain high morale. Arlen rides ahead of his men looking out into the distance noticing the tents of the Legion he grins, his orders were right other Legions had been stationed here too. He stops for a short break as his men take sips from their canteens and cool off as they wait for the scouts to return. Soon enough the scouts return confirming that the camp was indeed a Legion camp. Arlen leads his men the final kilometre finally reaching the camp. Once at the gates the soldiers demand to know who he is. Arlen stops this troops speaking quickly. "General Arlen Varian, take me to your commander." he commands as the legionnaires salute and open the gates for him. Arlen steps through watching the legionnaires turn around from their duties to see the new troops. Their shields shining in the evening light and their marching synchronised the troops march in and then stop. Arlen steps off of his stead raising his hand. "Pitch tents and report for duties within the hour!" he orders. His men split off to find spots to pitch their camps. Arlen himself is led to the Camp commander. He enters the commander's tent giving a salute. "Arlen Varian reporting as ordered."

[Shark isle]

Larek moved away slightly to avoid the thrust and snarled. He then said to the mage in a angry voice," I will smash you!" The two orcs then charged the mage at the same time.
Burghealm avoided the stomp of Abus and yelled down in anger. Burghealm then said to Abus in a angry," Ye want to play dirty do ye? I will show ye." He then tried to stomp on Abus' foot.

The big captains foot landed easily on Abus' foot and it hurt. He yelled out in pain and slashed at the leg that stomped on his foot attempting to take it off.

Aracia was scared. Two bulky Orcs were charging her. She quickly got a hold of herself and when the orcs were wishing accurate range she shot lightning from both hands at each Orc.

The captain screamed in pain when he was slashed in the foot. Burghealm then stumbled on the ground and was about to give up when he saw another one of his crew members, a raj named Shui step in in front of him. Shui then snarled at Abus and said with a hiss," You will not kill the captain, not while i'm still standing!" The raj then pulled out a rapier and started to make quick thrusts at Abus
The two orcs, seeing Aracia about to cast lightening, fell on the floor before the spell was finished. After the lightining passed over their heads, the two orcs let out a bellow and continued their charge.

[Albertae]

The big captains foot landed easily on Abus' foot and it hurt. He yelled out in pain and slashed at the leg that stomped on his foot attempting to take it off.

Aracia was scared. Two bulky Orcs were charging her. She quickly got a hold of herself and when the orcs were wishing accurate range she shot lightning from both hands at each Orc.

The captain screamed in pain when he was slashed in the foot. Burghealm then stumbled on the ground and was about to give up when he saw another one of his crew members, a raj named Shui step in in front of him. Shui then snarled at Abus and said with a hiss," You will not kill the captain, not while i'm still standing!" The raj then pulled out a rapier and started to make quick thrusts at Abus
The two orcs, seeing Aracia about to cast lightening, fell on the floor before the spell was finished. After the lightining passed over their heads, the two orcs let out a bellow and continued their charge.

Abus furiously attempted to keep up with the raj, but his thrusts were too quick. One pierced his armor and cut into his flesh right under the left lung, but right above any other organs. He regained himself and made a slash at the Raj's arm to attempt to disarm the Raj by cutting his hand off so that he may finish off the captain.

Once the lightning strikes failed Aracia took up her Shortsword and waited for the exact moment to stab the sword all the way through the Orc charging her left, so that she may maneuver him with her sword as leverage once punctured to knock the Orc charging her left down.

[Vanquaria]

Shimazaki Haruna
The Divide, Orc Stronghold.

The battle maiden dusted herself, seeing the orcs staring at her, stunned for quite a while. A while where she could pull out her battle skirt in a single move and attach it around her waist, effectively covering her legs all the way to the lace of her boots. Just as she rearranged her weapons belt, Haruna looked up to see the giant orckind finally reacting to her presence, weapons readied and shields surrounded her. Large curved blades were held by the vanguard of the orcs, warg cavalry and orcish crossbows were aimed at her as Haruna wore a scowl on her face, seemingly unaffected by the intimidation. Indeed, if she was so easily intimidated by merely thousands of orcs, Shimazaki Haruna would not have taken up the mission to the Divide in the first place.

Some shouting, and Haruna looked up to see a large orc, wielding a giant axe. The trace of mana could be felt on him, as well as every other orc around Haruna, that she was confident that a clash of energies through her Spellbreaking could earn her an escape route if needed. The orcs would be wounded, some severely, but nothing to guarantee them death except for the shamans whose proficiency in magic would probably be the death of them. Still, it would be quite a feat, for these orcs were no stranger to battle, even against a battle maiden.

"Warlord Balthazar. My name is Shimazaki Haruna, coming in place of Lord Wiking of the Reach." Haruna replied in a calm and steady voice. "I have come to parley with the contents of negotiations in my pack, and I am sure that we can discuss civilly. Have your soldiers lower their weapons, and things would be much easier. By not drawing my blades, while your raiders were outside, you can see that I mean you no harm."

Barog snorted, replying, 'Hump, I know you mean no harm considering you are so small, a young female no less!''

Laughter erupted as the Orc warriors lowered their weapons.

Continuing Barog said, ''I have read the Reach's message...and I snort at it! There is big problem with message! You say give Orcs more land? But what is point of land if there is no one to live in land? I am sure everyone by now has heard of the armies of Orc slaves down in Valyaria, the Valyarians are the first enemy we Orcs will fight before the Elves of the Ashen Empire!

And what is point of weapons if Reachman make weak, human swords and spears and no big, strong Orc scimitar huh? Already two of the bargaining points you humans make are gone! Only the food offer remains but it is too brief, Orcs are not the dumb slaves everyone in Eroris thinks we are! You may trick us by sending just dog scraps then take advantage of our proud moral code to force us to be your slaves like the Valyarians!

All the Orisyaar warriors growled in hostile manners when they thought of the Valyarians and how the Orcs were forced down on their knees by them. When their Warlord pointed out the gaps in the Reach's offerings some raised their weapons slightly at the sight of the human before them then lowered it again.

[Shark isle]

The captain screamed in pain when he was slashed in the foot. Burghealm then stumbled on the ground and was about to give up when he saw another one of his crew members, a raj named Shui step in in front of him. Shui then snarled at Abus and said with a hiss," You will not kill the captain, not while i'm still standing!" The raj then pulled out a rapier and started to make quick thrusts at Abus
The two orcs, seeing Aracia about to cast lightening, fell on the floor before the spell was finished. After the lightining passed over their heads, the two orcs let out a bellow and continued their charge.

Abus furiously attempted to keep up with the raj, but his thrusts were too quick. One pierced his armor and cut into his flesh right under the left lung, but right above any other organs. He regained himself and made a slash at the Raj's arm to attempt to disarm the Raj by cutting his hand off so that he may finish off the captain.

Once the lightning strikes failed Aracia took up her Shortsword and waited for the exact moment to stab the sword all the way through the Orc charging her left, so that she may maneuver him with her sword as leverage once punctured to knock the Orc charging her left down.

Shui, seeing this attempted, made a jump to the left and managed to avoide the slash. Shui then said to Abus," You want to play dirty? Okay then, try this." He then reached into a pouch buckled to his belp and took out a handful of sand and threw it at Abus' eyes.
Larek and his brother blindly continued their charge not noticing Aracia pull out her sword. Larek's brother was then stabbed in the chest by the sword, giving him a severe wound. As Larek' brother fell to the floor in pain Larek let out an angry bellow, which summoned two more crewmembers. The three men then started their charge towards Aracia.

[Albertae]

Abus furiously attempted to keep up with the raj, but his thrusts were too quick. One pierced his armor and cut into his flesh right under the left lung, but right above any other organs. He regained himself and made a slash at the Raj's arm to attempt to disarm the Raj by cutting his hand off so that he may finish off the captain.

Once the lightning strikes failed Aracia took up her Shortsword and waited for the exact moment to stab the sword all the way through the Orc charging her left, so that she may maneuver him with her sword as leverage once punctured to knock the Orc charging her left down.

Shui, seeing this attempted, made a jump to the left and managed to avoide the slash. Shui then said to Abus," You want to play dirty? Okay then, try this." He then reached into a pouch buckled to his belp and took out a handful of sand and threw it at Abus' eyes.
Larek and his brother blindly continued their charge not noticing Aracia pull out her sword. Larek's brother was then stabbed in the chest by the sword, giving him a severe wound. As Larek' brother fell to the floor in pain Larek let out an angry bellow, which summoned two more crewmembers. The three men then started their charge towards Aracia.

Abus was blinded by this and just stood there trying as calmly as possible to get the sand out of his eyes which left him vulnerable.


Aracia having seen what happened pulled her sword out and charged to Abus' help. The three pirates who were charging her however were catching up so she cast three fireballs from her right hand to put holes into the deck in an attempt to stop the charging pirates and make them fall through the holes. She continued her charge to Abus not looking back at the pirates

[Shark isle]

Shui, seeing this attempted, made a jump to the left and managed to avoide the slash. Shui then said to Abus," You want to play dirty? Okay then, try this." He then reached into a pouch buckled to his belp and took out a handful of sand and threw it at Abus' eyes.
Larek and his brother blindly continued their charge not noticing Aracia pull out her sword. Larek's brother was then stabbed in the chest by the sword, giving him a severe wound. As Larek' brother fell to the floor in pain Larek let out an angry bellow, which summoned two more crewmembers. The three men then started their charge towards Aracia.

Abus was blinded by this and just stood there trying as calmly as possible to get the sand out of his eyes which left him vulnerable.


Aracia having seen what happened pulled her sword out and charged to Abus' help. The three pirates who were charging her however were catching up so she cast three fireballs from her right hand to put holes into the deck in an attempt to stop the charging pirates and make them fall through the holes. She continued her charge to Abus not looking back at the pirates

Shui, taking advantage of his opponents temporary blindness tried to punch him in the face to knock him out.
The three pirates saw the holes in the deck and skidded to a sudden halt. The three pirates then proceeded to jump over the holes and continue the chase. Suddenly, another pirate who was below deck came up to investigate and, seeing Aracia running towards Shui, rant towards her to try to tackle her.

[Albertae]

Abus was blinded by this and just stood there trying as calmly as possible to get the sand out of his eyes which left him vulnerable.


Aracia having seen what happened pulled her sword out and charged to Abus' help. The three pirates who were charging her however were catching up so she cast three fireballs from her right hand to put holes into the deck in an attempt to stop the charging pirates and make them fall through the holes. She continued her charge to Abus not looking back at the pirates

Shui, taking advantage of his opponents temporary blindness tried to punch him in the face to knock him out.
The three pirates saw the holes in the deck and skidded to a sudden halt. The three pirates then proceeded to jump over the holes and continue the chase. Suddenly, another pirate who was below deck came up to investigate and, seeing Aracia running towards Shui, rant towards her to try to tackle her.

Aracia didn't stop in her charge. She continued to strike lightning at the pirate who had come up to investigate.

Abus took the punch to the face and stumbled a bit, but retook his balance. He wiped his eyes off and slashed his sword at Shui.

[Shark isle]

Shui, taking advantage of his opponents temporary blindness tried to punch him in the face to knock him out.
The three pirates saw the holes in the deck and skidded to a sudden halt. The three pirates then proceeded to jump over the holes and continue the chase. Suddenly, another pirate who was below deck came up to investigate and, seeing Aracia running towards Shui, rant towards her to try to tackle her.

Aracia didn't stop in her charge. She continued to strike lightning at the pirate who had come up to investigate.

Abus took the punch to the face and stumbled a bit, but retook his balance. He wiped his eyes off and slashed his sword at Shui.

The pirate was struck by the lightning and fell to the ground dead. Larek and the two other pirates then let out a yell and continued their charge towards Aracia.
Shui managed to doge the slash and then said to Abus," I'm to fast for you am I?" Shui then continued his slashes with his rapier trying to hit a vital organ.

[Zanera]

Kharden Axeheaver, Hulmir, Ginli
The House of the Baroness
Onyx, Valyaria

---

The door silently opened.
The door silently closed.
The Nagi crept at night.
He crept while most in the house were sleeping. He had hidden in the shadows until a Onyaar ally alerted him to the presence of these dwarves and their affect on the council, and how they were able to successfully urge most to actively gear for war. The Nagi was sent to infiltrate Onyx, and after a month, had finally been successful after finding somewhat of an ally, an Onyaar willing to get him through the gates, and further, as one to slide him information. It was the useful kind most of the time, occasionally it was useless, but this time it was juicy. Very juicy.

It had taken one more day after finding out about the Council-stirring Khurdar and where they were residing, and finally he had received the information. He took another day and another night to inspect the house. A very fine house, with a few fine guards, and even more less fine servants. He saw the Khurdar in question once, and he noted each of them separately. The Nagi would be able to take the heat better than a Raj and an over-excited Drakon might have decided to just burn the city down. A Nagi, though, was stealthy, and could take the heat. It was no desert, but the Dreadlands upon Eroris. A Raj would eventually submit to the heat, but the Nagi would persevere it, and he was a good fighter, and a good spy. This would be one of the only times he acted on intelligence. He was confident he would get it right.

The Nagi decidedly slid in through a side door, defended by one guard, hardly noted, and passed through after a thrown knife. Security of this house was small compared to others of the aristocracy. The orc slid down to the ground in front of the door. It was admittedly a little hard to move the giant oaf's body, but the Nagi spy managed. He got the key off the guard, drew his knife from the guard's throat, and opened the door. He curtly stepped inside and closed the door as silently as he could right behind him, though right before it was closed it gave off a small squeak, that seemed to echo a little ways down the hall before dissipating. The door was now closed though, and since he had heard talking that immediately stopped when the squeak had rung out, Nar'zhan stepped into some storage closet, which was half full of preserved food. He heard foodsteps going towards the door of the room where he had heard people talking, but after a few seconds he heard them walking back again, then more talking. He opened the door, stepped out, and looked around. To the left of the side door of the house was a wall, to the right was a short hallway, and the pantry he had leaped into was on the hallway just in front of the door. Down that hallway, he could see a telltale banister, which meant stairs. the dwarves were supposed to be on the second floor. It was hard to get to that point since the room the open door and the talking people was also on that hallway.

As far as Nar'zhan knew, there were only two people in that room, but he drew out three throwing knives just in case. He began moving towards the door, staying close to the wall, his back hugging it without actually touching it. He passed one, two doors, and had finally arrived at the open door. Suddenly, someone walked to the door. Nar'zhan tensed up. He readied himself for an encounter, but the lights only went out from inside the room, and the door was closed. It did not seem they had noticed him, so he continued, although he still wielded his three throwing knives, still ready in his right hand. He finally reached the banister that extended until he was able to have initially seen it. He slowly crept up the stairs. He walked around the flat space, and up another several stairs, before stopped just before someone on the second floor would be able to see his head. Suddenly, he leaped up, and eyeing a guard down that long hallway, he threw a knife. He crept up the stairs, and the guard was on the floor holding his throat. That took skill that even Nar'zhan did not have. It was almost pure luck. But Nar'zhan would take full advantage of the situation. He began ascending the last stairs, trying a locked door, before moving on to another. That door opened, and when Nar'zhan peered inside, he had finally found the dwarves.

He spotted each of their weapons and an unoccupied bed. They were all sleeping on the floor. Each dwarf had their armor laying out on the bed, or at least Nar'zhan guessed it was the dwarven armor. It seemed like it would, the dwarves seemed to like to keep their weapons and armor close to them, unless it was ceremonial. Each of their weapons was within their reach, so if they woke up, they would have a split second to repel Nar'zhan's attacks. They might be formidable. Nar'zhan only received so much information, but he was sure a sleeping warrior was the easiest one to kill, if they didn't wake up. The closest was a dwarf with a beard shorter than the other two, with a waraxe nearest him. He did not look rugged like the other two, but still had the customary ruggedness of any dwarf. Nar'zhan stalked over to this dwarf. It was Hulmir, sleeping peacefully, and full of dreams he would never share. Nar'zhan slid a dagger out of it's hilt, bending on one knee to look over the snoring dwarf. He was the only one snoring, and Nar'zhan couldn't guess why. He grasped the dagger tightly, in then plunged it into the dwarve's throat, straight through and making sure he hit the spinal cord. The dwarf woke up, looking into Nar'zhan's eyes with a look of sheer terror, unable to move or cry out for help. A few seconds past, and he was cold.

Nar'zhan looked around, and he saw one dwarf with a battleaxe and another with a warhammer. One was a rather clumsy weapon, but good for blunt force when it did hit, giving someone even with the best armor a rattle. Nar'zhan became too focused on his next target, the one with the warhammer, to remember that Hulmir's waraxe was there. His foot rolled it all the way over, causing it to clang on the floor. The dwarf with the warhammer was suddenly up and moving, and once he saw Nar'zhan, he grabbed for his warhammer. Nar'zhan threw another knife, but Ginli was able to block it with the handle of his warhammer. "Dammit, you damned lizards!" shouted Ginli, now waking Kharden, who was soon grabbing for his battleaxe. Nar'zhan was now in an unfavorable situation. He decided he'd slip out the room and try to make his escape. Closing the door behind him, Ginli rushed over to the door to bash it open with his warhammer. Kharden grabbed his helmet and put it on, then grabbing Ginli's. He ran to just out of range of Ginli's warhammer swing, which knocked the rare wooden door off it's hinges and split it into three pieces. Kharden looked over at Hulmir, and he turned his sorrow into hate. The door now no longer an obstacle, Kharden slipped Ginli's helmet on, whilst Ginli took his own look at Hulmir. Ginli did not know Hulmir like Kharden did, but Ginli knew Hulmir was a rather good Khurdar. Once his helmet was screwed on right, they both ran out into the street. They looked each their own way, and Kharden spotted Nar'zhan to their right, unluckily having to address two guards. Kharden alerted Ginli and they both ran to engage the Nagi assassin.

The Nagi was just finishing the second guard when he had to duck for a swing at his chest from the warhammer. The dwarf open, he began his thrust with the dagger towards the dwarve's stomach, but had to disengage after a swing from Kharden's battleaxe. Nar'zhan took a leap backward, using his tail to aid him. The dwarves rushed him again, so the Nagi assassin couldn't pull out the throwing knives. He did not leap very far back, just enough to get out of the bad position. Ginli began swinging for the Nagi's knees, to which the Nagi leapt up. Unable to do anything from there, Kharden was open to give the Nagi a slash across the chest. Nar'zhan came back down, holding his chest. Ginli primed himself for an overhead swing, with Kharden to back up the swing. Nar'zhan drew a throwing knife and threw it to a point directly behind him, and threw himself towards another spot. The throwing knife was plunged into Ginli's left side. He could still fight, and it was only the dagger that was poisoned.

The overhead swing only hit cobbled avenue, smashing stones and breaking apart mortar, sending shards flying. Kharden rushed forward, doing an overhead swing himself, although only the dagger was left to block the axe in Nar'zhan's place. Nar'zhan drew back the dagger and struck towards Kharden's side. Kharden broke the attack with the hilt of his battleaxe, but the dagger still managed a small incision on his right side. Ginli, breathing hard, with the throwing knife ripped out of him, came over, going for a lower hand swing of the crouched Nagi, who tried leaping out of the way. The warhammer still got the Nagi on the left shoulder, and with the sound of crushing bones, he was thrown to the pavement, his dagger clattering away. Kharden was still waiting for the effects of his wound. He had experienced a few diseases and venoms and poisons in hunting for nuisance monsters. Kharden knew assassins heavily favored highly potent poisons, and he noticed a gel-like liquid sticking to the blade when they first began battling the Nagi assassin. Ginli, meanwhile, was bringing his warhammer down on the Nagi, who rolled out the way, him giving a loud hiss rolling onto his highly injured shoulder, while Ginli gave a wail upon his warhammer hitting the cobbled stones again. The Nagi lunged for his dagger while Ginli was trying to pick up his warhammer. Nar'zhan practically flew at Ginli, who began his sideswipe with his warhammer. The dagger was buried into Ginli's stomach, while the left thigh of the Nagi was practically shattered. He could hardly stand up, although Ginli finally collapsed.

Kharden stared at the scene, holding his battleaxe and grasping his numb side. Kharden walked over to the Nagi and brought his axe down. The Nagi rolled out of the way, but did not get up. Nar'zhan was enveloped in pain. "Damn you, dwarf. Damn you all," uttered the Nagi, between gasps of his final breaths.

Kharden brought his battleaxe over his head, preparing to finally end the battle. "Get off my bloody continent," commanded Kharden Axeheaver, before bringing the axe down on the Nagi's throat, beheading him. All of a sudden, he found himself on the road, panting heavily. His body below the cut was numb, and part of his body above it was burning like it had been dowsed in lava. The baroness rushed over to Kharden, her nightgown still on, and knelt beside him. "You tell the rest of my comrades, in Cronis, to get their bloody tails moving. Tell them to complete the mission, without us three, but that we were successful," said Kharden, between more than a dozen gasps for air.

"I'll have a letter with the news sent to them immediately. You have my word," promised the Baroness, nodding.

"And I want your word," began Kharden.

"My word?"

"That Mirfuhn and my people will be free."

The baroness nodded, choking while keeping the tears down, promising to the dying Khurdar," You have my word that they will be freed."

And Kharden Axeheaver lay still.

[Albertae]

Aracia didn't stop in her charge. She continued to strike lightning at the pirate who had come up to investigate.

Abus took the punch to the face and stumbled a bit, but retook his balance. He wiped his eyes off and slashed his sword at Shui.

The pirate was struck by the lightning and fell to the ground dead. Larek and the two other pirates then let out a yell and continued their charge towards Aracia.
Shui managed to doge the slash and then said to Abus," I'm to fast for you am I?" Shui then continued his slashes with his rapier trying to hit a vital organ.

Aracia had finished her charge and threw herself at Shui. From her angle it was hard to see her coming.
Abus saw her charging and got ready to riposte vital organ attacks. Abus tried his best to keep Shui focused on him by aggressively striking him.

[Everhall]

Legion Headquaters
Atlas, The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"Excellent, General." the commander, General Garth Durrendon nodded at the enterance of the Varian prince, "I hope you are doing well after the death of your father. My condolences. Now, General, we need you and your cohort to report to the front immediately. I've already sent the hawk to the Rosefort and Riverrun to advance, and another to Lenora issuing our declaration of war. Soon the drums of war will pick up again."

The General pointed to the map of the Reach on his table marked with locations and unit positions.

"Our primary goal is Herrath and Lenora. Once we take those cities Calfon and Summerset will be easy targets. Once we take Herrath I want a force less than a thousand to take Ancalen, it's a small city and will be a threat to our rear guard if we march on Lenora without it. The forces in Riverrun will outflank the Reachmen and make a push for Summerset. I've already got confirmation from the Redbeard in Norravägg that he is prepared to seize Ceureon. Do we have anything else to discuss General Varian?"

---

Meanwhile...
Ruins of Riverrun
The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"General Hawk, we've got a hawk from Atlas, it says we can begin sir."

"Thank you Auxiliary, rally the men in the courtyard and prepare to move out."

---

Fort Rose - Near the Reachmen-Ashen Border
The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"Sir, we've gotten orders to advance towards Herrath."

"Have we've gotten any back any word on enemy positions?"

"Yes sir."

"Ready my horse."

---

The Oakenfort
Lenora, The Reach
The Kingdom of the Reach

---

Cedric Gardener sat eating in at the table along with his family and a group of nobles when the message arrived. The news was greeted with the clank of royal armor and the panting of knights running into the dining room of the Oakenfort. The knight walked to the side of the King and handed to him a parchment, the seal of the Ashen Empire closing the document.

Cedric looked to his knight and nodded, breaking the red seal and reading the document, his eyes darting from side to side from the parchment,

"Send a Hawk to Count Wiking. We are at war with the Ashen Empire once more."

[Albertae]

The pirate was struck by the lightning and fell to the ground dead. Larek and the two other pirates then let out a yell and continued their charge towards Aracia.
Shui managed to doge the slash and then said to Abus," I'm to fast for you am I?" Shui then continued his slashes with his rapier trying to hit a vital organ.

Aracia had finished her charge and threw herself at Shui. From her angle it was hard to see her coming.
Abus saw her charging and got ready to riposte vital organ attacks. Abus tried his best to keep Shui focused on him by aggressively striking him.

The Pirates

Shui fell to the ground, rapier falling out of his hand from the tackle. He looked to see a vicious Aracia continually beating him in the face.

Order of the Phoenix Pact

With Aracia occupying Shui, Abus brought his broadsword up in the air and slashed at the Captain to cut him in two.

Aracia continually beat Shui in the face with her fists at first, but then took her sword and hit him with the pommel.

The Pirates

Shui laid pinned down taking the hits to the face. It hurt with intense pain and he continued to struggle. He grabbed her and threw her to the side. Having done so he got up.

The Captain brought his arm up to protect himself. He lost his hand because of that. He looked at his sliced off hand with horror. With his other arm he rammed his fist into Abus' face. The pain of the punch subsequently dazed himself, because of Physical Twin.

Order of the Phoenix Pact

Aracia grunted having been thrown and got up. She thrusted towards him obviously trying to end the fight, because of the exhaustion.

Abus took the opportunity to run his sword through the Captain's intestines. The captain fell to the ground dieing within seconds. Due to the captains death, Physical was taken off.

The Pirates

Shui also tired attempted to deflect the thrust, but failed to his demise. He hung in the air on Aracia's sword dieing quickly.

Several pirates had by now made their way around the holes in the deck to kill Aracia and Abus.

Order of the Phoenix Pact

Aracia pushed Shui off her sword and looked to the oncoming pirates.

Abus also looked at the chargin pirates.

They held hands and charged at the pirates, swords in the other hands.

[The Tophat Empire]

We shall defend our land, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Count Wiking, Master-Of-Arms to the king of reach, and supreme commander of the armies under it's command. True be that, for below Conrad's Hill, that he had selected be the army supply depot and logistical base, he saw his army. Or at least he saw parts of it, many of his men were hidden in the thick forests that surrounded Fort Raven and the river of the same name. It was no mistaking it, several thousands of banners and tabards carrying the insignia of the White Tree, symbol of both Summerset, and wiking. He returned his gaze to the table in front of him, adjutants constantly moving around in the large command tent. Interestingly enough the guard around the tent where not in the steel plate of the reachen forces, nor were they carrying the black tabards. They instead wore golden shining full plate, with a golden tree emblazoned on the chest, Wikings personal guard and staff, the golden company, at least 50 men of it. They served in this situation two uses, one as his guard and messengers, and secondly, as a moral boost, after all, this unit was known far beyond the borders of reach as the elfen unit that joined the men of reach, and help them turn the revolution in their favor.

He look at the enemy forces, he knew that they were forty-thousand or so strong, almost double that of his men. But they had some aces up their sleeves, one was that they were defending a fort, and it was on a river, however the enemy moved, they would be at a disadvantage, and unless they wished to try and create a ponton bridge they would have to take the fort before moving further into reach. With that in mind wiking had ordered his soldiers, and engineers to create fortifications along the smaller waterline, sharpened poles had been placed on the shoreline, pointing at the enemy, and traps had been dug, it would not stop them totally, but it would slow them, and lower the moral hopefully. In essence he had made two more layers to the fort already present. One on the enemy side of the bridge, focused on holding just that, the bridge. Another on the other side of the bridge. This extended fortification was supported by archers stationed on the peninsula to the west of the fort.

Behind that a smaller 4th line was located, and here wiking had a hidden trump card, in the cover of the night he had ordered the assembly of siege engines, trebuchets, ballistae, Polyboloses and the such. The two latter would be used if the enemy took the fort, but the trebuchets had been put in such that the they had coverage over the friendly infantry lines at the bridge, And in the forests to the west and east more men laid in wait to reinforce or counter attack.

"Colonel La'havre" Wiking said, bringing upon him the attention of the commander of the western mounted regiment, whom had placed his horsemen just on the road by the Hill Conrad "Yes, sir?" the man replied, wearing his full plate armour he was more like a walking talking mountain himself. "Take your best archer and have him deliver this message by way of arrow" Wiking replied and handing the man a yew tube, attached to a green arrow, the symbol of a message arrow. Not waiting for the man to move out he turned his head to another person, a young man with a small beard, sitting a corner of the tent, buried under books, paper, parchment and wax tablets. "Scribe, confirm that all the villagers of Cemred have been given a iou for the value of their homes, and confirm that they have arrived at the lodging we provided for them, instruct the Gendarmerie to remain there for the future, they will be vulnerable for the next few weeks. After all, we burnt the houses down and bought everything we could consume" he said.

The scribe nodded in reply before setting about noting down his orders, wiking kept on talking to himself "If the imperials think they can live of the land here they are mistaken, it is january, the new have just melted and everything is just starting to come alive, they need to move quick, and hope for a short war, for supply lines will not hold forever... " he said, making a small chuckle before finishing in thought "Now them you imperials, show me what you have, and i will pit it against the collective might of my armed forces, for two hundred years have i waited for this, all of branches i command shall now work like the body to remove this sickness, once and for all"

His thought was interrupted when a messenger quickly made his way up to wiking, handing him a note, he quickly read it and nodded "So, now it is official, how nice of them to be courteous, but it changes nothing. We hold here, worst case we will receive reinforcements in 48 hours time, i know for certain that the first Mercenary Organization Group will arrive in force..." he said

Meanwhile out on the field between the two armies a lone ride galloped so he was some three hundred meters from the imperial lines, he quickly fired of the messaging tube, before galloping back to the friendly lines. The tube would land just a few meters from the men from the Ashen Empire. The message was short and simple, it gave the men and commanders a choice to negotiate, to spare the lives of the invaders.

On the short gallop back the rider noted that the two big pieces of timber were still located on the middle of the field. It meant nothing to the ashen imperials, of course. But to the men of reach it marked the four hundred and two hundred meter mark from the arches semi-hidden on the peninsula

With that the Empire made its move

Empty map
Temporary map showing Imperial lines at the start of the battle
Map showing Reachen lines at the start of the battle

[Relikai]

Barog snorted, replying, 'Hump, I know you mean no harm considering you are so small, a young female no less!''

Laughter erupted as the Orc warriors lowered their weapons.

Continuing Barog said, ''I have read the Reach's message...and I snort at it! There is big problem with message! You say give Orcs more land? But what is point of land if there is no one to live in land? I am sure everyone by now has heard of the armies of Orc slaves down in Valyaria, the Valyarians are the first enemy we Orcs will fight before the Elves of the Ashen Empire!

And what is point of weapons if Reachman make weak, human swords and spears and no big, strong Orc scimitar huh? Already two of the bargaining points you humans make are gone! Only the food offer remains but it is too brief, Orcs are not the dumb slaves everyone in Eroris thinks we are! You may trick us by sending just dog scraps then take advantage of our proud moral code to force us to be your slaves like the Valyarians!

All the Orisyaar warriors growled in hostile manners when they thought of the Valyarians and how the Orcs were forced down on their knees by them. When their Warlord pointed out the gaps in the Reach's offerings some raised their weapons slightly at the sight of the human before them then lowered it again.

Haruna's eye twitched at their taunts, but just as they raised their weapons, Haruna triggered a spell, allowing her hands to move faster as she flipped a katana out of her sheath, and flung it at the closest Orcish scimitar. The blade striking the scimitar true as it shattered the orcish steel. Haruna's katana flew on for a little bit, before she summoned it back to her hand, snapping it back into its sheath, everything not exceeding six seconds.

Patting her blade back to the side, Haruna looked at the Chieftain once again, folding her arms as she stared hard.

"Do you wish to parley in proper fashion? Already your enemies the Valyarians grow stronger by the day and yet all you orcs do are waste your manpower on peasants who cannot fight back. You call this orcish honour? More like living up to your reputation as savages!"

[The Intergalactic Russian Empire]

Thorvald Nordskov
Army of Nør

---

The man nodded "I'm not the commander, but I'll gladly introduce you to him." he turned back and called "Thorvald! This man wishes to have a word with you." there was some shouting before another man rode forward. He was considerably shorter than the first man, and certainly short for a Nord, bearing simple armor that barely denoted his rank. And he was young for a commander, too, but he despite all this he still held a commanding presence in part due to his piercing blue eyes. "What is his name?" the commander asked, and the warrior responded "He is Sven Lindholm, sir." the commander nodded "Well Sven, I'd dismount my horse to greet you but as you can see I am in a hurry and I hope you make this quick. I am Thorvald Nordskov, heir to the Jarldom of Nør. What is important enough that you seek audience with me?"

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Thorvald Nordskov
Army of Nør

---

The man nodded "I'm not the commander, but I'll gladly introduce you to him." he turned back and called "Thorvald! This man wishes to have a word with you." there was some shouting before another man rode forward. He was considerably shorter than the first man, and certainly short for a Nord, bearing simple armor that barely denoted his rank. And he was young for a commander, too, but he despite all this he still held a commanding presence in part due to his piercing blue eyes. "What is his name?" the commander asked, and the warrior responded "He is Sven Lindholm, sir." the commander nodded "Well Sven, I'd dismount my horse to greet you but as you can see I am in a hurry and I hope you make this quick. I am Thorvald Nordskov, heir to the Jarldom of Nør. What is important enough that you seek audience with me?"

Sven Lindholm

"There's no need to dismount. I'll be straight. Everyone seems to know that your army wants to reach Tarnak, but Last Refuge is on your way. As I have... Interest on your so-called Revolution, I'd like to help you reach the city. Simple as that."

The man was surely shorter that most of the man he saw, and even mounted Sven had to barely lift his head to look at the man's face. However, he knew better to not judge a man by its height, so he simply ignored the fact and thought about his goal: Meeting the leader of the said revolution, and discern exactly what he wanted.

[The Olog-Hai]

Do'virr Xakar

Do'virr had been listening to their conversation. It was really too much for this Raj. All the talk about military stuff, and crowning kings, he just couldn't possibly understand it...

Ha! Who was he kidding? He was bright, a lot smarter than the vast majority of people on this world, he believed. He could handle military stuff, he could handle kings. Generals and kings could die as easily as other men. Well, he didn't know about kings. He hadn't killed kings. But when ambushing military convoys, he had most certainly killed some of the more foolish generals, who had actually tried to fight with their men. Who had heard of a general who fought? They usually were pallid weaklings with almost a good idea of basic strategy, but not really. No, to have good strategy, you needed the best. And everyone knew who the best were: the Raj!

Of course, that's kinda being a little.... self-centered, but then again, it wasn't too much so. Raj really were the best of the best when it came to strategy, and stealth too. No wonder the Akounate did so well! They had the Raj!

Well, they had the Drakons too. Those guys were big, and the natives here had a hard time dealing with them. But, you know, he had been thinking about a strategy to take one down, anyways. Just as a side thought, of course. If he ever knew one was in the area, and not for sure on his side, he'd high tail it. But maybe, just maybe, there would be a way to take one down...

Do'virr pushed that thought away, and fidgeted. Hanging off the side of a boat was harder then it looked. With a grunt, Do'virr pulled himself over the side, joining the conversation of the princess and the Jarls.

"So, you need a way to open the gate in Tarnak to let in your armies?" Do'virr asked. "Have no fear, then, because this Raj knows of a few... well, more than a few, ways to get back and forth through Tarnak. I'll just add this to the tab then, eh?" he said, jokingly.

[Everhall]

Phaerl the Sword
The Great Sea

---

Action flashed through the eyes of Phaerl, as he eye lids slowly opened to the clashing of steel and will between Abus and the Pirate captain. He eyes widened when she remembered what had transpired, the which, the ship, the Pirates. Phaerl attempted to move only to resize she was tied up. What was going on?

"Abus!"

---

General Durrendon
The Ashen Legion
Battle of Cenred
The Reach

---

General Durrendon overlooked a map of the battlefield along with his top Legates discussing the strategy of the upcoming battle. The Legion had arrived in Cenred three days prior and had been preparing for the upcoming battle that approached. The Key to the Legions strategy lied in taking Fort Raven which controlled passage over the Raven River, which lead the Herrath in the west of the Reach. Control of the fort also enable an downriver advancement of the forces to Lenora. The Raven river could pave the way to the capital.

As the general began to speak a axulliary entered into the command tent.

"General Durrendon, we've gotten a message from Lord Wiking, he has called for a meeting between th commanders at dawn." Said the soldier

"The traitor reveals himself? Better to have him down here that up North. Should make the invasion easier if we can tie up his forces in the south. Legate Amon, do you have a report from the forces of Lord Ospray?"

"Yes, General. The Lord's army is moving North towards Summerset at Lenora. He left Riverrun a day ago."

"The Lord's a good commander. His army lives off the land, makes them useful especially in this place. You can head back to your commander Legate, I must speak with the auxiliary."

"Yes, sir!" The legate saluted leaving the tent.

Durrendon turned to his soldier, "Send another message back. I agree to his meeting. With luck he will surrender and avoid this bloodshed. If not, gather our mages and send the signal to the spys. He need them to do their duty in on this day."

"Yes, sir."

---

An archer walked to the edge of Legion lines and shot an arrow towards the lines of the Reachmen forces. The arrow landed inches from the feet of one of their soldiers bearing a message from the General.

[Albertae]

Phaerl the Sword
The Great Sea

---

Action flashed through the eyes of Phaerl, as he eye lids slowly opened to the clashing of steel and will between Abus and the Pirate captain. He eyes widened when she remembered what had transpired, the which, the ship, the Pirates. Phaerl attempted to move only to resize she was tied up. What was going on?

"Abus!"

---

General Durrendon
The Ashen Legion
Battle of Cenred
The Reach

---

General Durrendon overlooked a map of the battlefield along with his top Legates discussing the strategy of the upcoming battle. The Legion had arrived in Cenred three days prior and had been preparing for the upcoming battle that approached. The Key to the Legions strategy lied in taking Fort Raven which controlled passage over the Raven River, which lead the Herrath in the west of the Reach. Control of the fort also enable an downriver advancement of the forces to Lenora. The Raven river could pave the way to the capital.

As the general began to speak a axulliary entered into the command tent.

"General Durrendon, we've gotten a message from Lord Wiking, he has called for a meeting between th commanders at dawn." Said the soldier

"The traitor reveals himself? Better to have him down here that up North. Should make the invasion easier if we can tie up his forces in the south. Legate Amon, do you have a report from the forces of Lord Ospray?"

"Yes, General. The Lord's army is moving North towards Summerset at Lenora. He left Riverrun a day ago."

"The Lord's a good commander. His army lives off the land, makes them useful especially in this place. You can head back to your commander Legate, I must speak with the auxiliary."

"Yes, sir!" The legate saluted leaving the tent.

Durrendon turned to his soldier, "Send another message back. I agree to his meeting. With luck he will surrender and avoid this bloodshed. If not, gather our mages and send the signal to the spys. He need them to do their duty in on this day."

"Yes, sir."

---

An archer walked to the edge of Legion lines and shot an arrow towards the lines of the Reachmen forces. The arrow landed inches from the feet of one of their soldiers bearing a message from the General.

Abus heard Phaerl as she yelled to him. He cast Physical Twin on Aracia and a pirate and continued the charge with Aracia. When they finally were in reach of the 8 pirates, they knocked one down onto the deck with their interlocked arms, ran two each through with their sword and then they did something neither of them expected. Abus used both hands to grab Aracia by the torso and arm, bring her up in the air for a kick in another pirates face.

Now 4 pirates laid on the ship deck unconscious, grievously wounded, bleeding or dead and another 4 stand shocked at what they'd just done. One took action immediately and brought up his sword to strike Abus on the head. Aracia thrust her sword to block the overhead strike, while Abus took the advantage and thrust his sword through the pirates chest. Abus and Aracia were occupied with the pirate and a pirate took the chance to run his sword through Aracia's back. This was a fail however and the pirate only moments later fell front forward eyes struck with fear and obviously paralyzed and dieing. Physical Twin broke as the pirate intertwined in Physical Twin with Aracia died.

She turned to see the pirate on the ground dead and three more in a rage. All three started to attack Abus and Aracia and it was hard to keep up with three swords coming all at once. Abus suffered a wound to the thigh were a deep cut laid, but he nevertheless did his best to keep up. Aracia thrusted her sword into one of the three pirates and missed as the pirate shifted out of place. Another pirate took advantage of her missed thrust and attempted to cut her arm off. Abus struck his sword on that pirates leg and cut it off. The pirates fell over quickly dieing from major blood loss. The last two now looked around to see dead crew members lieing everywhere and other crew members cowering. He surrendered and for a few minutes Aracia and Abus just stood there exhausted from the fighting that seemed like hours, but only drew on thirty some-odd minutes.

They gathered all of those cowering or surrendered and tied them together and put them at the bottom of the ship. After doing so Abus told Aracia,"I need you to back me up when I use Optical Twin. I'm going to make it seem as if we've been dealt with and you need to kill the Mage that is holding Phaerl and Syn right now."

She nodded and started to concentrated hard to have enough magicka to throw a fireball. The fight had drained them severely mentally, physically and magically. She got ready and it was now up to Abus.

Abus looked around for the pirate captain and finally found him in the dead bodies. He too had to concentrate and with great difficulty as he used Optical Twin to disguise himself at the Pirate Captain. Aracia stayed close behind and behind the big burly figure that Abus disguised himself as. He walked over to the side of the ship where the Mage, Syn and Phaerl sat in a lifeboat. He said to the Mage,"It was a bloodbath up here, but we outnumbered them. Who are these prisoners? The others were killed."

[Everhall]

Anora Varian
The Lightning Sea

---

Anora looked back at the Raj, who for the most part had remained silent during the journey, "We're gonna need them if we're to get into the city. Even so, I'm not sure how we can do it under the nose of the Empire and its spys. Stay vigilant."

Anora stood up from the chair that she sat on and began to head above deck. Before she disappeared above the floorboards she said, "Prepare yourselfs, we will arrive in Tarnak shortly."

---

Thirteen Hours Later
Tarnak
Tarnak Hold
Norravägg
The Ashen Empire

---

The sun had set, and the seas were calm. Since the small fleet of longships slipped through the fierce tempest the group had made good time sailing into Broken Bay and inbound towards the city. It was not until well past midnight that they arrived.

"Eh, you lot." were the words that Anora and the others woke to, Ragnar having come down to wake them, "We've arrived in Tarnak, about to head into port. Get your clothes on and come up."

---

Cenred
The Reach
Kingdom of the Reach

---

Night had fallen across the golden fields of the Reach. Both armies sat on the other side of the Raven River, poised for battle. In the middle of the night, three people, one from the lines of the Reachmen, moved to the river bank under to cover of darkness.

"Godwin. Good to see you haven't been compromised. The others?" a legionnaire said with a whisper to his associate who had crossed the river

"They're all well and good. What the Empire may lack strength in numbers, we make up in espionage. Dear Lunara, what is that smell? Is those the bodies?"

"Yes, Godwin. Orders from General Durrendon. We killed these poor saps outside of Cenred, bandits trying to make away with loot. In this rat way of a town it didn't take awhile for the bugs to get to it. Now come on, we have a job to do."

One by one, the legionaries lied the disease ridden bodies into the waters of the Raven River. Not hard enough to make a sound. They watched as the bodies floated down river towards for Raven, posioning the water supply of the Reachon Armies in the process. It would be too late before they found out what had transpired the nights before the battle.

[The Tophat Empire]

Anora Varian
The Lightning Sea

---

Anora looked back at the Raj, who for the most part had remained silent during the journey, "We're gonna need them if we're to get into the city. Even so, I'm not sure how we can do it under the nose of the Empire and its spys. Stay vigilant."

Anora stood up from the chair that she sat on and began to head above deck. Before she disappeared above the floorboards she said, "Prepare yourselfs, we will arrive in Tarnak shortly."

---

Thirteen Hours Later
Tarnak
Tarnak Hold
Norravägg
The Ashen Empire

---

The sun had set, and the seas were calm. Since the small fleet of longships slipped through the fierce tempest the group had made good time sailing into Broken Bay and inbound towards the city. It was not until well past midnight that they arrived.

"Eh, you lot." were the words that Anora and the others woke to, Ragnar having come down to wake them, "We've arrived in Tarnak, about to head into port. Get your clothes on and come up."

---

Cenred
The Reach
Kingdom of the Reach

---

Night had fallen across the golden fields of the Reach. Both armies sat on the other side of the Raven River, poised for battle. In the middle of the night, three people, one from the lines of the Reachmen, moved to the river bank under to cover of darkness.

"Godwin. Good to see you haven't been compromised. The others?" a legionnaire said with a whisper to his associate who had crossed the river

"They're all well and good. What the Empire may lack strength in numbers, we make up in espionage. Dear Lunara, what is that smell? Is those the bodies?"

"Yes, Godwin. Orders from General Durrendon. We killed these poor saps outside of Cenred, bandits trying to make away with loot. In this rat way of a town it didn't take awhile for the bugs to get to it. Now come on, we have a job to do."

One by one, the legionaries lied the disease ridden bodies into the waters of the Raven River. Not hard enough to make a sound. They watched as the bodies floated down river towards for Raven, posioning the water supply of the Reachon Armies in the process. It would be too late before they found out what had transpired the nights before the battle.

The night went on, for most of the camp at least, by the break of morning, around an hour before the night would be over and all the camp would return to life, the men stationed close to the waterline would be awoken by the strong voices of officers, screaming on top of their lungs "Inspection, all men report" the small clusters of tents became lively as the soldiers fell into lines outside their tents, one body of men per tent. Usually the inspection would be headed by the commanding officer of the company, but surprised the soldiers when Redcaps from The Gentlemanly Corps of Battlefield Constabulary Services started to inspect the men, anyone who they suspected might be up to no good where but in chains and hauled over to the Redcap internment camp, little more than a camp located in the rear lines, with long chains attached to poles that could hold many a soldier.

At the redcaps stopped in front of him, Godwin knew he was doomed, his hair was still wet, as was his underpants. "Private, your hair is wet explain" the Constable in front of him asked, when poor Godwin could not produce an answer that satisfied them, he was quickly brought down to the ground by Constables and fellow soldiers alike, and put in chains. One the corpses would be discovered mere hours later, his fate, and that of any other infiltrators would be swift, ending in the gallows.

While it would take around an hour of morning before the bodies were to be found, a new order would go out, those that felt would seek the assistance of the medics, and all water must now be boiled before consumption, under penalty of death the orders were carried out.
Wiking had to give it to the Imperials, they were not totally dumb, but the plan had been foiled, he could not help but wonder what other underhand tactics they would try, and sent the order for his rangers not already on missions to patrol the borders, for if they tried anything else, the specters of both wood and mountain would know it.

[Kuhlfros]

Anora Varian
The Lightning Sea

---

Anora looked back at the Raj, who for the most part had remained silent during the journey, "We're gonna need them if we're to get into the city. Even so, I'm not sure how we can do it under the nose of the Empire and its spys. Stay vigilant."

Anora stood up from the chair that she sat on and began to head above deck. Before she disappeared above the floorboards she said, "Prepare yourselfs, we will arrive in Tarnak shortly."

---

Thirteen Hours Later
Tarnak
Tarnak Hold
Norravägg
The Ashen Empire

---

The sun had set, and the seas were calm. Since the small fleet of longships slipped through the fierce tempest the group had made good time sailing into Broken Bay and inbound towards the city. It was not until well past midnight that they arrived.

"Eh, you lot." were the words that Anora and the others woke to, Ragnar having come down to wake them, "We've arrived in Tarnak, about to head into port. Get your clothes on and come up."

---

Cenred
The Reach
Kingdom of the Reach

---

Night had fallen across the golden fields of the Reach. Both armies sat on the other side of the Raven River, poised for battle. In the middle of the night, three people, one from the lines of the Reachmen, moved to the river bank under to cover of darkness.

"Godwin. Good to see you haven't been compromised. The others?" a legionnaire said with a whisper to his associate who had crossed the river

"They're all well and good. What the Empire may lack strength in numbers, we make up in espionage. Dear Lunara, what is that smell? Is those the bodies?"

"Yes, Godwin. Orders from General Durrendon. We killed these poor saps outside of Cenred, bandits trying to make away with loot. In this rat way of a town it didn't take awhile for the bugs to get to it. Now come on, we have a job to do."

One by one, the legionaries lied the disease ridden bodies into the waters of the Raven River. Not hard enough to make a sound. They watched as the bodies floated down river towards for Raven, posioning the water supply of the Reachon Armies in the process. It would be too late before they found out what had transpired the nights before the battle.

Jarl Valdr 'Raven-Eyes' Hrafn
Tarnak Harbor

Valdr rolled himself out of bed and began arming himself, saying to the Jarl Nordskov as he began putting his armor on "Makes me think of the time before I was Jarl. Did you have adventures while you were younger my friend?"

A little later Valdr was above deck with Ragnar and asked him, "Do you believe we can maintain the trust of the Lord of Tarnak to reach the gates, sabotage them, and make way to join with my army? Your men must be discreet about this I am sure you know."

The Ravencloak Army
Before the Gates of Last Refuge

The march had been long, but finally the Army reached the mountain pass fortress. Hersir Allam's raiders had done well in preparing to take the fort, as sleds with ladders and balistas slid down the mountain and set up with main army, while at the same time balista bolts rained down from above where some turrets had been built. The best among the shock troops carried their ladders to the walls of the fort while balistas and arrows rained down to cover the soldiers to take the fort as quickly and with least casualties as possible.

The raid for Last Refuge has begun.