NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2819964" data-attributes="member: 1210">“It has come to our attention that you are attacking the halflings of Valonia,” declares Baron Lillamere.  “You have to leave them alone.  Why are you attacking them?  What is your problem with them?  Perhaps we can help you seek a different solution.”Ragash Zelgar, Warlord of Orokeuse, regards our heroes impassively.  The twenty orcish paladins in splendid array around him look ready to strike at a moment’s notice.  The two dwarves apparently accompanying the orcish warlord exchange a glance.  Chakar stares at them wrathfully.  Dwarves working with orcs, he grumbles to himself.  It’s terrible!  A disgrace!“You will leave my people alone,” warns Gerontius. Ragash Zelgar, the Warlord of Orokeuse, sneers at him.  “’Your people’ are my unruly subjects.  They do not pay their taxes, they refuse to swear allegiance to me.  What would you have me do?" he shrugs.  "I cannot let such an insult go.  It would undermine my authority over the rest of my people.  You must understand that they are a... rough race.”“They are not your subjects!” Gerontius says hotly.  “What makes them your subjects?!”While the conversation is going on, Alcar casts detect evil.  He frowns.  The paladins are not evil; however, the warlord is.  He’s evil, I’m going to kill him, the Angel of Food announces over the telepathic link.“They’re my subjects because I said so, and because I have the power to back up my claim!” the warlord states flatly.  He rumbles deep in his chest.  “I am the Warlord of Valonia!”“You can’t just declare them your subjects,” Chakar objects. “You need to relax!” Alcar shakes his finger at the warlord.  “Do you know who we are?”  His halo darkens momentarily as his hostility grows.“No,” the warlord admits.“We’re the slayers of Asmodeus,” Baron Lillamere declares grandiosely.  It is a claim of such weight that it would be ludicrous were it not true.  And yet-“Who?” the warlord asks.“The... the people who killed Asmodeus.”  No response.  “Asmodeus?  You know-““Never heard of him,” the warlord shrugs.“Nonetheless,” Inoke urges, “trust us, we’re quite powerful.”“We could destroy you and your entire army here,” warns Alcar.  The warlord frowns.  “What is it you want?”“We want you to leave ze halflings alone!” Gerontius cries.“Perhaps we could negotiate an arrangement,” Lillamere offers.  “What if they agreed to pay taxes, but not to acknowledge you as their sovereign?”“You can’t bully me,” Ragash Zelgar snorts.  “You want me to undermine my own authority?  Forget it.”“Enough of this!” Alcar shouts angrily, and invokes a fire storm.  White-hot fire licks out over the circle of paladins and the warlord and his two dwarven advisors.  It scorches them, and they scream in pain as they burn.  He adds more fire to the mix with another one, as well as a flame strike on the warlord and one of the dwarves next to him.  The dwarf collapses, overcome.  “Wait!” cries Horbin, but it is too late.  The dice are cast.  The rest of our heroes launch themselves into action as well.  Gerontius begins stabbing the orcish paladins, cutting them down one by one.  Lillemere chants the words to a spell and a crushing fist of spite smashes down on Ragash Zelgar.  He gives a cry of pain as it deals him a mighty blow.  Pulling out his greatsword, the warlord shouts, “False angel!”  He glares at Alcar.  The charge makes the Angel of Food furious. Inoke swings his club gently, striking not to kill, but rather to knock his foes unconcscious.  In a single blow, he knocks over all of the paladins that he can reach, bowling them over like tenpins.*  Yet another fire storm from Alcar blasts the enemy.  Those paladins not already disabled by the rest of the party are slain.  Fires explode amongst the first ranks of the army behind them, too, who are staring in shock.  In only seconds their warlord’s advisors and his elite guard have all fallen!  Then Chakar springs, leaping upon the warlord.  For a moment there is a flurry of movement as Chakar wrestles with the orc- and then he savagely snaps the neck of Ragash Zelgar.   From the ranks of the orcish soldiers there are screams of shock and disbelief as their warlord falls at Chakar's feet.  They begin to break in panic.  In moments it is a complete rout, and the entire force of 1000 orcish soldiers is running full tilt away from the party in a chaotic mass.“Well, as negotiations go, that left something to be desired,” Lillamere admits.“I don’t understand,” Inoke objects.  “We came here to talk, and ended up fighting; but against Seclaidra, we went to fight and ended up talking?  Something is backwards here.”Alcar picks up the warlord’s body.  “I’ll be back,” he says, and flies away with it. Where are you going? Lillamere asks telepathically, but Alcar isn’t listening- or answering.  The Baron sighs in frustration.  “We should make a tomb or grave for the paladins,” Horbin says sadly, surveying the carnage.  Most of the bodies are blackened and burnt.  The rest of the party agrees, and with a combination of huge and large characters digging and magic (such as stone shape), our heroes inter the corpses.  “We’ll have to raise them all later, of course,” Horbin muses.  He frowns.  What is Alcar doing with the body of the warlord?  The party waits for about half an hour for Alcar to return, but whatever he’s doing is taking longer than that.  Finally, getting bored, Baron Lillamere suggests, “Well, why don't we go check in on the halflings?”Thirty seconds later the party superior teleports away.Next Time: Alcar brings the warlord back!  Our heroes hang out with the halflings and ponder the consequences of instituting a regime change on an orcish nation!  And Sybele states her conditions for storming the Bastion of Law!*Great Cleave.</blockquote>

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