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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 5483483" data-attributes="member: 9546">WAR OF THE RIVER KINGS“You know I’m not comfortable with this, don’t you?” Velox asked.“I don’t know what you mean,” Mox replied innocently.  “It’s not like you’ve never ridden into combat before.”The queen and the general stood at one end of the jousting lists that had been erected in the coliseum. It was midnight, yet the stands were full of revelers and spectators. The other jousters were milling around as well, waiting for the even to start.“That’s not what I mean,” Velox snapped. “It’s not the jousting part that bothers me, it’s the ‘drunken’ part.”Mox waved his complaint away. “You’re such an uptight stick-in-the-mud,” she said. “It’s all in the name of fun, and all the participants will be drunk. From the looks of things, most of the fans are too. Besides, with your lack of experience, I don’t think it will take much drink to qualify you.”Velox shook his head. “Fine,” he said. “Give me the flask.”The Midnight Joust was the final event of the Rushlight Tournament, and the many of the fans looked forward to it, as it promised the best chance at seeing the competitors actually hurt each other. The joust itself would take place in three stages. The first would consist of each of the contestants, with the exception of the previous year’s champion, jousting against a Pitax Warden. The stage would continue until only two competitors were left. The second stage would involve those two facing off against each other, and the final stage would be the winner versus the previous champion, which was none other than Pitax’s own Villamor Koth.One by one the jousters took to their mounts, some of them a bit more clumsily than others, depending on the amount they had imbibed. The Warden, on the other hand, seemed cold sober. Even so, the sheer skill of the individual kingdoms’ representatives far surpassed that of the soldier, and he was unseated again and again. Finally, however, the luck of the rider from Tymon, Damanjot, the same half-orc who’d competed in the archery competition, ran out, and he was knocked from his horse to the roar of the crowd. The next competitor unhorsed was Gralton’s champion, a knight named Sir Briannel Paulson, and the third was Khristel Cotoio, a warrior from Mivon. That left Velox and Daggermark’s rider, fierce female named Chantal Urena, to face off in the second stage.Little did Velox know, as he mounted up for the second round, that Windchaser had also decided to partake of a bit of the Libixyten mead that had been sent along from Veritas. Consequently, the stallion reared eagerly and pawed at the air as he faced his opponent on the far side of the lists.“Whoa!” Velox hissed, his head already swimming. “What’s gotten into you?”“Just ready to show this nag what a true stallion can do!” the horse laughed. “Let’s ride!”With no urging from Velox, Windchaser hurtled down the lists. He was already halfway down before Chantal Urena could even get her mount moving. By the time the jousters met, Windchaser’s momentum was unstoppable. Velox’s lance struck Chantal like a battering ram, and sent the woman flying. She hit the ground unconscious, and the crowd sounded like a tornado with the ferocity of their applause. Velox would be advancing to the championship round.“Look at that ape!” Windchaser taunted as he glared across the field at Villamor Koth. “I’m surprised he can mount anything other than his sister!”“What’s wrong with you?” Velox snapped. “I’m barely able to keep my own seat as it is! That mead is potent!”“Amateur!” Windchaser snorted. “Just leave everything to me!” “Ladies and Gentlemen!” Nunzio announced from the center of the arena. “This will be the final competition of the Rushlight Tournament, and it will be for the overall championship! As of this moment, the kingdoms of Kardashia and Pitax are tied! So let’s hear it for our challenger, Velox of Iomedae, and our reigning champion, Villamor Koth of Pitax!”The crowed redoubled its roar and the tension mounted.“On my mark!” Nunzio called. “Ride!”“Llllllllettsss get ready to rummmmbllllle!” Windchaser roared as he surged ahead into a full gallop.Villamor Koth was quick of the mark as well, however. At the last moment, just before the two combatants met, Koth lowered his lance just a fraction, and when he struck, the lance head pierced Velox’s mail between the plates, and plunged deep into his flesh. He rocked back in his saddle, and almost fell. It was only Windchaser’s excellent agility that kept him in the saddle. Still, when he reached the far end of the lists, he was bleeding profusely.“Did you see that?” Windchaser snarled. “The bastard did that on purpose! Next pass, run him through!”“No…,” Velox groaned. “I won’t stoop to that. I’ll win fairly, or not at all.”“Humans!” Windchaser snorted. “It’s no wonder you only settle for one mate!”Velox turned and readied himself for the second pass. Windchaser leaped forward, and Villamor Koth came at a full charge. Velox could see the barbarian had lowered his lance again, and this time was aiming it for the oracle’s heart. At the last moment, Velox twisted in the saddle and took the lance tip in his side. He didn’t move his own lance however, and it struck Koth full in the chest. The big man reeled and overbalanced, crashing to the ground. The crowd went wild at the stunning upset. Villamor Koth got up slowly and dusted himself off. He nodded once at Velox, but his eyes did not convey congratulations. Instead, they promised a second meeting some other day.___________________________________________________________With the end of the Midnight Joust, King Irovetti and his master of ceremonies took the field,  and invited all of the contestants to join them as they awarded the winning River Kingdom, Kardashia, the grand prize…the promised Rod of Lordly Might. Once the ceremony ended, the crowd dispersed quickly, eager either to attend one of the many post-tournament celebrations, or to get some much-needed rest. For the Kardashians, it was the latter, for in the morning, it would be time to return home.____________________________________________________________Veritas was in flames.  The journey from Pitax to Kardashia had been instantaneous for the companions via Selena’s magic, but when they arrived in their capital city, it was to find total chaos. People were screaming and crying in the streets, militia rushed about trying to keep some semblance of order, and many buildings burned. “Soldier!” Velox shouted as he seized a militiaman by the arm. “Report! What’s happened here?”“Sir!” the young soldier snapped off a salute to his general. “We’ve been attacked!”“Attacked?” Velox snapped. “By whom?”“Trolls, Sir!” the soldier replied. “And dragons, and warriors from Pitax, all working together!”Velox let the man go, and turned to Mox and the others.“That bastard!” Mox hissed. “It was all an elaborate ruse to draw us away from home! He planned this all along!”“And we played right into his hands,” Davrim shook his head.“Yet it’s Irovetti who will come to regret this day for the rest of his short life!” Mox spat. “I swear it!”_________________________________________________________As it turned out, the actual damage to the city was much less than had originally appeared. Several buildings had been damaged, and a few actually destroyed, but the death toll had been limited to a few dozen. The attack had been more of a hit-and-run than a full-scale assault. The marauders had indeed been a combined force of trolls, regular army from Pitax and, as it turned out, wyverns, not dragons. The entire attack had lasted barely an hour, and then the armies had retreated back into the grasslands. The companions lent their exceptional abilities to quickly putting the city back to rights, and in the days that followed, the fears of the populace were allayed by the reassurances of Mox that the declaration of war by Pitax would be answered in kind. Yet time was short. As each day passed, rumors of raids by the invading army on smaller towns and villages continued to grow. Volunteers from across the kingdom flooded into Veritas, answering the call to arms, yet Mox knew that even more forces would be needed. She sent word by couriers to the far corners of Kardashia, and due to the goodwill fostered by her reign, her call was answered. From the eastern lands of the Nomen, Aecora Silverfire sent 1,000 of her finest centaur warriors, while from the north, the Sootscale kobolds sent 1,000 skirmishers. All swore their fealty to Mox and vowed to serve her unto death. Velox and Davrim each took command of half the centaur outriders, while Selena volunteered to lead the kobolds. Mox herself rode forth at the head of 1,000 Kardashian soldiers. Within a week of the assault on Veritas, the forces of Kardashia set out to rid their homeland of the foreign scourge. The two armies met shortly after dawn on a beautiful summer’s day. On one side of the field of battle stood the forces of Pitax: battle-hardened soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder with brutish trolls while above them giant wyverns swooped and dove on their leathery wings. Facing them, mounted militia, wolf-riding kobolds, and savage centaurs stood grim-faced and fearless. For just a moment, an eerie silence reigned. The wind was still, and no birds called. A moment later, horns sounded and battle cries rang out. Velox’s centaur warriors drew back their bows as one, and then released a flight of arrows that momentarily blotted out the sun. As the arrows fell towards the massive trolls, the oracle himself brought his own powers to bear. At his call, massive walls of fire sprang up in wide circles around the giants, hemming them in and keeping them bunched as the arrow swarm fell among them. They fell in scores, and most of them did not rise again.Davrim’s centaur contingent added their own arrows to the flight, but theirs were aimed high, where the wyverns circled the field. The shafts tore through the wings of the creatures, sending them spiraling to the ground. As they fell, Selena ordered her kobolds forward, summoning up a cyclonic wind storm that prevented the wyverns from taking to the air again as she did so. The fierce little warriors charged in atop their wolves, driving swords and spears into the downed dragons before they could recover. Unfortunately for the kobolds, trolls had the inconvenient habit of regenerating. While the Sootscales were finishing off the wyverns, many of the trolls lurched to their feet and began tearing into the kobolds. At Mox’s command, Davrim and Velox sent their centaurs charging into the fray. The Kardashian soldiers rode hot on their heels, all three contingents heading directly towards the Pitax regulars. Mox sat astride her mount on the hilltop overlooking the battlefield, but the Queen was not content to lead from afar. She raised her hands above her head, and as she spoke, fire began raining down from the sky among the Pitaxians, exploding all around them and sending hundreds of men flying and scattering like leaves on the wind. The centaurs then rode into the soldiers like waves crashing upon a beach. The Kardashian soldiers behind them diverted their charge to put down the trolls once and for all. Sadly, it was already too late for the Sootscale kobolds. The Kardashians took the time light torches and set the trolls ablaze before they moved to join the centaurs, insuring that the giants would never rise again. As the combined centaur and human forces fell among them, the Pitaxian formations faltered and broke. Their general, a gigantic, blue-skinned creature, tried to rally them, but to no avail. They were in full route, but as they fled, the centaurs loosed their arrows again, cutting them down to a man. Yet their general turned into a cloud of mist as the Kardashians charged towards him, and vanished into the sky. Mox watched the commander’s retreat as she spurred her horse down the hill to join her troops. “You have served your country and your kinsmen with honor and valor!” she shouted as she rode before the warriors. “Many have given their lives here today, and thus earned a place in the annals of Kardashia’s history! The Sootscale tribesmen, in particular, acquitted themselves as heroes on this field of battle, and let no one, from this day forward, speak anything but praise for the little folk!”With a voice like thunder, both human warriors and centaur cheered mightily at that.“Yet do not think our work done here today!” Mox continued. “We have repelled the invaders from our lands, but this affront shall not go unanswered! On the morrow, we ride for Pitax, and we shall show their so-called bandit king the mortal error in judgment he has made! We ride to wrath…to ruin…and the red dawn!”_________________________________________________________The next morning, as the others led the troops across Hooktongue Slough, Mox traveled ahead to Fort Drelev. By the time the army arrived, she had managed to raise an enormous militia among the people there, to replace the loss of the Sootscales. Before the forces moved out, however, a rider from Veritas arrived in town, breathless, exhausted, and demanding to see the Queen.  “What news?” Mox asked as the courier was brought before her.“I bring word from your Master of Espionage, my  Lady,” the man huffed as he struggled to regain his breath.“Leaf?” Mox asked. “Continue!”“His sources have brought word to him of a plot by Irovetti to develop a new weapon to be used against Kardashia,” the courier said. “The weapon is a horn that is rumored to be able to create clouds of killing fog. Reports are that it is being built in a remote ruin in the Branthlend Mountain foothills called Whiterose Abbey.”“I’ve heard of the place,” Davrim said. “It was built by the church of Cayden Cailean, and was renowned for the rich and potent wine produced by its priests, but it’s been abandoned for decades. Rumor has it that the abbot was murdered, and all the brethren poisoned by the abbey’s gardener for some slight or another. It was also said that a beautiful water spirit dwelt in a pool somewhere below the abbey, and that is was she who enabled the priests to brew such fine spirits.”“Fascinating,” Mox said flatly. “I’m only interested in who’s there now. Tomorrow morning, Tungdill and Stevhan will lead the army into the Glenebon Uplands while the rest of us will investigate this abbey to see if there’s any truth to these rumors. Now, see to the courier’s needs and prepare the soldiers to move out at dawn.”________________________________________________________True to her word, at dawn of the following day, Mox gathered Selena, Velox and Davrim. Selena had the group join hands as she spoke an incantation which transformed them all into ephemeral, misty shapes, and then whisked them into the sky, traveling as fast as the wind. Instead of days to traverse the expanse of the Uplands, it took them only hours. They found Whiterose Abbey perched upon a lonely hill, but it looked as if it had not been inhabited for years. They didn’t investigate further, for if Selena ended the spell, she would not be able to cast it again for another day. Instead, she carried them on a circular journey across the lands of Pitax, scouting out Irovetti’s forces. Along the way they passed over the wreckage of what was once a small town, and was currently an aerie for almost one-hundred wyverns. In the southern Glenebon Hills, they spotted a small army of what appeared to be hill giants and enormous wooly mammoths. Still further south, they spied an enormous force of human warriors under the banner of the Tiger Lord barbarians. Finally, they reached the city of Pitax itself, only to find it well fortified with both regular army as well as two forces of trolls. They rejoined their own army by nightfall, and Mox informed the other commanders of what they’d seen.“We’ll hold the forces here on the border for the next day or two,” she said. “Whiterose Abbey did indeed seem uninhabited, but it is my feeling that there is more there than meets the eye. We shall all journey there tomorrow.”</blockquote>

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