Among the Shadows

Fahamel

As always, it was a dark day in Fahamel.

Galdur's twisted magics have not only destroyed the inhabitants of the country, but polluted the air and killed the land itself. The sun has not been seen in months and the once-vibrant fields of Fahamel are dead and decaying. Few of the living roam the land that aren't members of the resistance, though that has changed in recent weeks.

From all across the continent, mighty warriors and powerful wizards were making their way to the last bastion of life in the dying land of Fahamel. Among the shadows of Galdur's foul magicks stands a beacon of hope and light.

That beacon is Highcastle, a heavily defended and well-lit fortress situated on a cliff with no feasible approach outside of heading straight towards the front gates (Crail chose this position since the Undead have little strategy outside of running forwards).

It is at these gates that you find yourself waiting amongst several other travelers.

edited 13th Jan '15 2:52:14 PM by Eachiunn

Rhialis rode upon a strong, dark brown steed, one of the finest wild touched steeds of the forest lands. His quick, tireless pace was to carry her as quickly as possible to the bastions of light, upon this dead land.

And those tireless hooves finally deposited her upon the gates of the shining mountain fortress, Highcastle. Stepping off the saddle, she pats her steed on the neck softly and in sylvan tones thanks him for his service. With that she lets the horse move away, return as quickly as he had brought her here towards her Ranger Brothers and Sisters, for this was a land of dead and such a fine creature couldn't unwittingly be brought to this dread. Only Rhialis, so far, had volunteered, and it was her courage and drive, that made her stand against the darkness.

She then began to walk towards the gate, letting her green hood fall back, revealing her face and hair, her living figure to the sentries "From the Silver Forest, I come. A Ranger of the Grey Oak Order, Rhialis Strumkeep! I come to pledge my blade in the fight against the Darkness of the Necromancer!"

Merely walking through the forest was the famous Phantom. Having been hired to Crail in order to join his resistance, the Warforged made his way through some of the undead that plagued the land without many issues, especially due to the fatigue that would be the downfall of many a warrior being completely ineffective on him. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but knew he should be arriving at his objective. From within the forest he spotted the fortress known as Highcastle, it was clearly a well thought out place to be their main base of operations, as expected from the leader of the resistance.

Phantom calmly made his way to the gates where the sentries were going to greet him. Just before he arrived, however, it seemed someone had arrived earlier, it was hard not to notice the woman as she made her boisterous introduction to the sentry. A ranger, one from such a prestigious order even, among their ranks would certainly be of help while exploring those devasted lands and judging from what he could hear of her, she certainly seemed to be of the honorable kind.

The Warforged, dressed only in his red cloak that covered a portion of the black knight armor he had for a body, approached the sentries almost as soon as the ranger had made her introduction, he stood next to her though his eyes were focused on the guards "I'm the Phantom, I have been hired by your leader to serve among your ranks." he bluntly said, trying to be as to the point as he could.

edited 13th Jan '15 6:12:42 PM by FullMoon

edited 14th Jan '15 1:43:22 PM by deadpool616

Behind the newcomers, a grey mare snorted as she clopped to a halt. She stood with purebred dignity as her rider—a man hidden behind a less-than-modest zaffre cloak—glanced from one stranger to the next. He said nothing for a moment, perhaps expecting his appearance to be enough to prove his importance. When the guards failed to immediately open the gates, the man scoffed and removed his hood. His stately face shifted into its familiar scowl.

"Alert His Majesty that Pan d'Hausier, son of Ser Klaxon d'Hausier, has arrived. Remember this moment, for it heralds the sun's return!"

edited 15th Jan '15 8:48:11 AM by TheodoreHastings

A girl stood among the ramparts of the solitary fortress, Highcastle. It wasn't as though she was part of the regular watch. Rather, fairer to say the soldiers simply tolerated her, but she wasn't quite one of them yet. If the fact concerned her, one could scarcely tell by looking. Indeed the girl, Calis Wyrn, seemed oddly at ease with her surroundings, though whether this spoke of her true concerns was anyone's best guess.

Humming softly to herself, Calis peered through the telescopic enchantment of her dagger. "It's certainly an interesting cast assembled for the grand show," she remarked, seemingly to no one in particular. "What sort of show do you think it will be?" she asked, again seemingly to no particular person, though a few of the guards nearby gave her a peculiar glance. "People seem to expect something of a drama. They haven't been here long. Tragedy brings with it a great deal of drama, but it's not something worth expecting when you're in the middle of it. Maybe satire? Hff... Not with this bunch. Personally, I'd like it if the show was a comedy. ...But, the jokes wouldn't be very funny, I guess..."

A somber air hung about the girl as she continued to observe the new arrivals for a time. Casting her gaze down upon the newest arrival, an impish grin spread across her face. "Look upon me, peasants!" she cried, apparently attempting to imitate whatever she expected the man below to be saying. "For I am the distinguished Lord Fancybottom of Gilded Spoon Worthington the Third, twice removed. Fear not, for my sheer importance shall save you all!"

"Oh, Lord Fancybottom!" she cooed in an almost sickeningly feminine, overdramatic tone. "By the glory of your name, we shall never fear death or dead again! Surely the radiance of thine countenance shall banish the dead like the sun, for the glorious rays of its light have not been seen for such a long time, yet your face parts the clouds!"

"Aha! Yes! Glorious isn't it!?" replied faux-Fancybottom.

...Of course, she couldn't actually hear what they were saying. It was just fun to imagine.

edited 13th Jan '15 10:20:31 PM by Daecion

From above the gate, a sentry called down to those gathered outside of Highcastle "We're sending a man down to make sure you aren't some of the Necromancer's creations"

With a fair bit of commotion, the gates to Highcastle opened just enough to let one heavily armoured Dwarf outside of the keep before slamming shut behind him.

Approaching those gathered before him, the Dwarf's eyes began to glow with a bright white light as he attempted to detect any sign of Galdur's work on them.

After thoroughly investigating the three before him, the Dwarf bellowed "THEY'RE CLEAR! OPEN THE GATES" and began heading back inside the safety of the walls.

Rhialis let out a little chuckle at the voice coming from the ramparts, though she shook her head... while she could see how the man in the zaffre cloak might seem pompous, he was still a noble it seemed, and worthy of some respect.

The Half-Elven Ranger nodded her head in salute at the warforged at her side, before she stepped forward into the opened gates, her leather boots making nary a sound with each of her steps.

edited 13th Jan '15 11:58:55 PM by daltar

Death. Decay. Destruction. Seeing her beloved homeland in this sorry state always made her heart twist in pain. This unholy blight that stole the life from her home, her parents and her sister...

But she did not despair. Could not despair, for even in the darkness of night, the light of hope remained.

She was returning from her daily rounds, walking along the paths near mighty Highcastle, bringing aid to nearby villages, vanquishing straggling undead, and making prayers for the dead.

The paladin rode atop her stallion, Goldflame, a magnificent beast. She wore the pure white cloak of a priestess of the Shining One over her armor, the hood obscuring her face.

As she arrived, she noticed the newcomers to the resistance. A small smile appeared on her face as she approached them. "My lords and lady. I welcome you to our humble home. May we drive out the darkness together." she greeted.

Then, she turned to the sentry. "It is I, Alexia Vale, paladin, returning from my rounds!"

She drew her blade, letting Serena's golden light verify her identity.

Gregor Blackhand sat on a stone bench at the far end of the courtyard, looking over the newcomers with a jaded eye. They'll be dead before the end of the week, he mused.

That was as long as young Helmut had lasted. Helmut of the twinkling eyes and warm smile, friend to all dwarves, armed with a wicked pike and a joke for all occasions - all except the ambush that had claimed his life. The jokes turned to screams, gurgles and finally silence as a swarm of ghouls ripped his throat out. And when they next met, not a single sound escaped his undead lips, not even when he burned in Gregor's withering flame.

Blind optimism hadn't helped Helmut one bit.

The dwarf took a sip from his hip flask, the dwarven brew washing the bitter taste from his mouth for a brief moment, and wondered how far they'd get this time.

Nearby, atop a crate of supplies, a young man curled up napping stirred awake. Dressed in light traveling clothes of a cloth jacket, thick pants, sandals, and a scarf, he brushed an errent braid back into place and looked around blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Could have at least brought me in with the cargo," he pouted. "I thought I paid well enough, and threw in a free dance to boot. I knew I should have ridden with the hay cart."

Sitting up cross legged on the crate, he turned and gave a soft smile to the gathered party members. "Sorry you had to hear my dispair. I'm sure you all have had harder journeys than I." Reaching behind him and grabbing his pack, the youth seemingly boucned off the crate to his feet. "I am called Gale," He said, his smile unwavering, "And I have to say Lady Vale, your people's humble home looks quite lovely. Though I would like to hold Lord Fancybottom up there to his word, I would enjoy a little more sun." With that he looked up at the small figure on the ranpart and winked. This task might not be as enjoyable as being the favored pet of some gossipy Lady, but Gale figured it would still be quite interesting.

edited 14th Jan '15 3:36:54 AM by GIG

Alexia gasped softly as she heard Gale speak and saw where he was. The paladin removed her hood, revealing her golden hair and emerald eyes.

She walked over to Gale. "Sir...Gale, was it? She had a frown on her face.

"It is not right for you to sleep atop boxes like a mere dog! Sentries, why have you not let this man in?"

"Sir Gale, please allow me to escort you inside our Highcastle. I will make sure you have a warm bed to sleep in. Perhaps, meal as well?"

She looked at the others. "Of course, my offer extends to you as well, my Lords and Lady."

A bit ways away from the gates, a pair of blue eyes watched the scene. Well, they weren't really eyes, not anymore; the little, dim spots of light might've provided Rarkell vision, and did emulate the appearance of pupils in his otherwise empty eye sockets, but they were not real eyes.

From his hiding spot, the undead spellcaster contemplated through a train of thoughts. He didn't really care about these rebels all that much, but they were enemies of Galdur just like himself, and much as Rarkell hated to admit it, he probably couldn't take on Galdur and all his minions alone. Besides, Rarkell could technically fulfill his obligations by checking to see if his master was at Highcastle, right?

The sight of the dwarf coming out the gates and magically scanning the travelers assembled there did make him rethink slightly. It does not seem like my master would have been welcome here. Or have even managed to get in Rarkell thought to himself, not really paying attention to the scene anymore; he couldn't even hear them from here anyway. Even if she is here, I am not sure how I could get in he thought further. Rarkell had learned, from the few living people he'd rarely encounter in Fahamel, that they didn't usually respond well to the lich inquiring about a vampire. And that was only when they bothered to listen to him at all in the first place.

Rarkell couldn't exactly blame them for preemptively reacting to an undead, given the circumstances, but he was still finding it rather inconvenient. Maybe I should get a sign to put on my staff that says, NOT GALDUR'S Rarkell mused half seriously, trying to imagine approaching the gate just like that. He could picture it almost clearly; a group of living mages blasting him with spells of holy light before the rampart guards hit him with a catapult fired boulder. Rarkell dismissed the idea.

Phantom studied the new arrivals at the fortress one by one. The one known as Pan seemed to be just your typical snobby noble, probably was going to be just a nuisance to deal with most of the time as his pride was likely to make things more difficult than they needed to. The girl who made fun of him seemed to be very strange and the warforged couldn't help but wonder what she was even doing there, on the other hand, she did amuse him at the very least. The dwarf's jaded look was a clear sign that he didn't have high hopes for the resistance, maybe due to plain pessimism, or perhaps it was the result of a great loss as he certainly gave the impression of having gone through traumatizing experiences. The one who called himself Gale seemed to be a dancer judging from the way he introduced himself, further making Phantom question his utility for the quest. Nonetheless, those were just the first impressions so far and the warforged at least had hopes for some pleasant surprises.

The one who interested him the most was Alexia, not only did she have connection to the desolate land, she was a paladin just like his deceased friend. Her way of speaking certainly fit with the typical formal speech used by the paladins and in general she seemed to fit the typical qualities of one and even her looks seemed to match the ideal image of the paladins. The talk about driving out the darkness was interesting to say the least, the mercenary wondered whether she would be able to notice Nyx, as his sword had quite a strong dark aura coming from it even if it was sheathed.

More importantly, Phantom felt something watching over them. It wouldn't be surprising if the enemy was already trying to scout for information. Without a word, the warforged started to walk off to try and scout the premises himself. The others would probably be too busy getting to know each other and he wasn't feeling like engaging on casual conversation currently.

The trek along the road had been long, and alternated between dull and perilous for Hawk, but at last her goal was within reach.

She'd been lagging behind the main group, and she picked up her pace to catch up with them. She'd kept her distance, desiring to avoid potential conflicts when she first saw any of the others, and so had no knowledge of any of them in particular. Also, her evening rituals which involved honoring the Dragon Queen were usually met with disfavor in civilized company, and thus, she didn't particularly feel like sharing a camp-site if it came to that.

Lady Tiamat, grant me favor, she pleaded silently as she slipped in just behind the others, close enough to call herself part of the group.

edited 14th Jan '15 9:33:52 AM by Dragon573

Gale turned his smile towards Alexia. Of course sleeping on a box wasn't exactly comfortable, but this wasn't the case for any longer than a few days. He had quite a purse to start with, and often arranging to dance in various inns between here and his homeland to bring in customers to cover his bill meant that warm food and bed wasn't too rare. In fact his only real expense was bribing the supply caravan for a ride, and that was mostly because his feet were tired from dancing so much while traveling.

Alexia didn't need to know that though.

"I would love that. It has been quite the journey for everyone here, I would imagine." Giving her a friendly nod, he began to follow her. Being able to enjoy a warm meal while listening to the tale of the land would be a nice start to this mission. Getting into the town while explaining to as few guards and small time leaders as possible who he was and why he was the only Irhai Mal to show up outside the desert for miles and miles was just a nice bonus.

edited 14th Jan '15 10:15:33 AM by GIG

"You are most kind, Lady Alexia Vale. It heartens my soul to see a Paladin in our midst in such a dark time" says Rhialis with a small bow to the lady "However, if possible I'd like to meet with command as soon as possible. I long to hit the fields and see how we can recover this land for the Light... My spirit cried as I raced through this land that has fallen to darkness and death"

Hm? Why do they keep looking at me? Calis wondered. She tilted her head, then letting it sink as her cheeks burned red. It was as though she was realizing for the first time that if one's mouth speaks, others with ears may hear. Deciding to initiate damage control, she made her way from the ramparts down toward the courtyard. She was in no rush, as the newcomers seemed to be getting along well enough, but she had to make sure no one had the wrong idea about her. It never hurts to keep all available bridges open!

Arriving in the courtyard, Calis noticed an unusually dour looking dwarf sitting upon a bench. While he wasn't the reason she had come there, Calis felt compelled to speak to him. Low morale was dangerous, for both merchants and soldiers! The others could wait.

Approaching the dwarf with a bright grin, she greeted him. "Hi-dee oh-kee loh-kee!"

Those in the courtyard would notice just how incredibly well-lit it was, massive bonfires were burning all over the place within the walls, though few soldiers were gathered around them. In fact most of the resistance were standing atop the parapets, most were humans, elves and dwarfs armed with crossbows and javelins as well as a few men and women easily identifiable as mages of some variety. On the ground stood a reasonable force of pikemen and men-at-arms with a few priestly types scattered between them. It was one of these priestly types, a tall and ancient elf with a gray beard reaching his belt, that approached those recently let into the keep "A messenger has been sent to Crail, he will see all of you shortly"

Outside, Rarkell would notice that there were few feasible ways to enter Highcastle. The outside of the keep was nearly as well-lit as the inside and as far as one could tell, the walls had no visible cracks in them. However, in one of the more shadowed parts of the wall, nearby Rarkell there was a small drain guarded by little more than a heavily rusted grate.

edited 14th Jan '15 2:40:55 PM by Eachiunn

Messere Hausier ignored the "Lord Fancybottom" comment the strange man on the crate mentioned. This costume was designed to impress Crail; what others thought about it hardly mattered.

The group of newcomers seemed in equal parts diverse and uninteresting. The only person that even slightly caught the gentryman's attention was the paladin: Alexia Vale. Someone with such an impressive cloak, steed, and blade could not help but be in His Majesty's inner circle. She could be a useful ally.

"Your generosity warms my heart, Lady Vale, but I must refuse; should so many sit at your table, there'll be nought for you to eat."

"Lord Fancybottom" rode through the gates behind the others. Once inside he steered his mare to the side of the wall and summoned a nearby page boy to bring her to the stables. As the lad grabbed the reigns, the gentryman pulled him close by the shirt and offered a word of advice: the horse was worth at least three page boys—each sign of neglect would be compensated with one of his fingers.

With the horse taken care of, Hausier wandered the courtyard to pass the time. He took extreme care in avoiding the fires that seemed to burn everywhere; no telling how much heat would ignite the materials on his person.

edited 15th Jan '15 8:53:37 AM by TheodoreHastings

"Hi-dee oh-kee loh-kee!"

...What the hell?

Gregor's drinking was abruptly interrupted by a strange greeting. The girl - young, even by human standards - had decided to end her mockery of d'Hausier and had chosen to annoy him instead, much to his irritation. She'd been with them for a while already, but he'd never got around to finding out her name... mainly because he'd been hoping to avoid this very situation.

He scowled. "You make enough noise to wake the dead, girl. Fancy yourself a second Galdur?"

edited 15th Jan '15 2:55:09 AM by Pyrite

If I still had my flesh, I could scale those walls; but not as I am now... Rarkell thought to himself as he looked at the walls. Not that it matters; there's no way my master could be here. I'm better off just leaving- he paused in thought as he spotted the small grate, new possibilities and ideas coming to mind. Could she have snuck in through there? Could she have avoided detection after getting in? The thought that he may have to check out of obligation annoyed and, just a little bit, frightened Rarkell.

Rarkell could just wait for Galdur's forces to overtake the castle in a few weeks, months, years, or however long it took; but Rarkell hated them too much to stand by idly while they did as they pleased. No, he would just have to do this the hard way, unfortunately. Rarkell prepared to move from his hiding spot towards the grate as stealthily as he could, but paused as he heard the heavy movement of a metal body; he then turned, seeing the tall Warforged walking into view of his hiding spot. Rarkell couldn't really make facial expressions anymore, so his surprise could only be seen by how his head moved back a little and his mouth opened slightly. He raised an outstretched hand with the palm facing towards the Warforged, ready to shoot a spell; but he did not shoot yet.

edited 15th Jan '15 5:27:12 AM by FirockFinion

Calis grinned (or maybe it was a bit of a smirk). "Of course not. That would be a terrible thing to fancy. It is an interesting idea though... How bad do things have to get before we release an equally menacing menace to confront the menace that's presently menacing our home? Seems like it would cause alot of trouble if you ask me. I mean, Galdur is bad, but some fifty foot tall fire breathing monster would be pretty bad too. That said... Necromancer is probably worse. All the monster can do is kill and destroy. Pff... Galdur's way worse than that. Still, I hope we never reach the Demon Threshold... It's just a no win situation..."

Calis folded her arms, continuing her thought. "Hm... That's strange... I was sure that line of thinking was going to lead to an epic battle of evil sorcerers bent on world domination! ...But it ended up on giant demonic monsters instead? Weird." Shen then placed her hands on her hips with a 'matter-of-fact' nod. "Point is, things would get really confusing with a second Galdur. Plus, I think the guy only has one set of clothes, so the other one would be naked. No one wants that!" That thought seemed to catch in her mind, and Calis folded her arms again. "Actually, do you think we could use self-image to take down Galdur? Like, if there was another one of him, and he saw himself naked, he'd get all depressed and wanna kill himself! Then we'd win! ...Except... the second one would still be alive... But we could take him out while he's still weak and unaccustomed to existence!"

With a bright grin, she declared, "I think you might be onto something there! You should really share these ideas with someone with 'clout', whatever that is, so we can expedite victory! Insight like that doesn't come along often! That's really clever of you, Mister... Huh, I don't actually know your name, do I? I'm Calis! It's very nice to meet you!"

Gregor remained seated on the bench for the longest time, his face frozen in a mask of incredulity while his brain wrestled vainly with the human's ever-meandering rant.

It remained that way long after she finished, but at length, he finally managed to croak out a feeble reply.

"Gregor Blackhand. You're crazy."

He unstoppered his flask again and gulped this time.

Gods, we're doomed.

edited 15th Jan '15 6:27:14 AM by Pyrite

"Well, that's good," Calis said with a sigh. Her eyes softened and her smile spread naturally across her face. It wasn't the bright grin it had been before, and she spoke much less animatedly. "I got your name at least, so I can be happy with that, but I'm still a little disappointed. It really wouldn't kill ya to smile, you know?"

Continuing with a serious expression she explained, "You just looked so dour sitting there. I figured I'd try to get you to smile, but everything I just said, golden material though it was, you didn't even come close. ...People should smile when they have the chance; especially these days. Otherwise, you'll just end up regretting it later."

edited 15th Jan '15 6:49:22 AM by Daecion