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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 927877" data-attributes="member: 1674">Battle for Scorched Rock - part 3 of 4There was something like a soft laughter in Ben's head before the voice answered:" I am the Warden and I have been here for all eternity. Once, there was a city of orcs on top of this rock up there, but it was destroyed by humans, since even though I was their warden, there is only so much I can do above the surface.""When was that? And what was your relationship with those orcs?", Ben asked."I was their friend and protector. They gave me gifts- jewels, gold and other sacrifices and I would grant them wishes if I felt like that. I was the kind spirit of their city. But then humans came and destroyed the city and since this place held no special meaning for them, they never settled down on the rock."The voice paused shortly: „For you humanoids, expect for incarnates like you, of course, it was long ago. Long before what you call the titans war.""And I was there, too?"There was something like the telepathic equivalent of a nodding:" Yes, when the city fell, you were here and we talked. And you said that one of these days you would return and lead orcs back to the rock."Ben was surprised. He had indeed come here with thousands of orcs, yet he had never seen it as part of a mission. In a strange way, he seemed to have been destined to come here with orcs... Or was it just a strange accident? That seemed unlikely in a world so full of destiny shaping powers.For now, Ben pushed the thought of the reason of his presence aside. He communicated further with the being that called itself the warden, and he promised it to bring Donnangar close to the water site, since the warden had a little surprise. The Warden was looking forward to new sacrifices, however this time, he told Ben, he wanted none of this sacrifice of sentient beings. After all, all they did was rot here in the water, and what was the point of that?Before Ben went back up to the surface, he asked the Warden for one look at it, and the tentacle gently lead the shark down to where his body was. There, Ben looked into an eye that was bigger than himself and a beak that could swallow whales whole. The Warden was an octopus the size of a mountain.Back on the surface, Ben told Donnangar and his friends about his encounter, and suddenly they all heard the voice in their heads."DONNANGAR", it boomed, apparently aiming for effect. "DONNANGAR, NOBLE LEADER OF THE GRAVELFISTS! STEP UP TO RECEIVE A GIFT WORTHY OF A LEADER LIKE YOU!“Donnangar stepped to the waterhole and just then a head-sized object shot out of the water, which Donnangar, with his well-trained reflexes, caught immediately.It was a long helmet, which seemed to be made of platinum. It had no visor and the only protection for the face was a ridge that went down between the eyes. It was long and over the top of the skull, there was a sharp edge and at its neck, there was a mesh of mithril chain.Donnangar put it on, and for all those around him, there was an immediate effect. Donnangar had always been unique because of his majestic posture and his magnetic personality. Now, however, he looked like one of the heroes of old: much larger than life.At the same time Donnangar felt a strange connection to all his subjects and his officers. He knew where all of his officers were and he even had a feeling for the general mood among his followers (which was excellent). When he had recovered from the surprise of the feeling, he looked around and mirrored in the eyes of his followers he saw the majestic figure that he was now.And then the Warden explained the other powers of the helmet to him.The next few days, the weather improved remarkably. Throughout the day, the sun kept shining, offering a first taste of its summertime splendour. As the warriors relaxed and waited, enjoying the sun on their fur like body hair, their bodies weren't the only things affected by the change of season. Just like the sun was heating up the people during the day, it did the same to the plains- turning the frozen earth into mud.Soon, mosquitoes and other insects were bothering the soldiers who grew more and more restless. For five days they had been waiting now, and still there was no sign of the enemy.  But then, on the afternoon, the scouts returned, reporting that the army of the Scorchskulls was approaching, and that in spite of the heavy losses they had sustained, they still had twice as many warriors as the Gravelfists.When the army came into sight, it was truly mortifying to behold. The Scorchskulls marched in close ranks, making it lock like one huge monolithic block of flesh and steel, and the lances and banners stood out like a leafless forest.As the defenders prepared themselves for battle, the army kept on marching evenly until they had gotten almost close enough to get hit by arrows. Then the one army split up into four evenly sized portions which then proceeded to build up camps about five hundred yards from each of the pathways that lead up the scorched rock.There was a general feeling of nervousness among the defenders. It was clear to them, that Shikh Yarr, the leader of the Scorchskulls had his people well under control. Normally, the orcs would have simply charged up the hill, oblivious of the dangers of such a course. Yet now, all the Scorchskulls did was building up small camps while their drums were beating a slow but steady rhythm.Hours went by while four small forts went up in the plains. Then, as the sun was setting, torches and fires lit up the night at each of the camps, and the volume and speed of the drumbeat was slowly rising. Belsameth's moon was a cold sickle in the sky and the countless stars were mirrored by the countless fires lit by the armies on the ground.Since they were not hampered by the lack of light, like human armies would be, all four armies advanced as one towards the Scorched Rock. Their war drums were hammering a frenzied beat now, and the defenders almost felt how the earth was trembling as the enemy ran towards them.Arrows, rocks or spells like Trepat’s lightning felled many of the attacking orcs, but that didn't slow the Scorchskulls down. After all, for each one who fell, two would fill up his spot and even though dozens died, they hardly mattered among the thousands who came through.When they reached the fortifications, those Scorchskulls who weren't killed by the defenders tore down the feeble fortifications. Still, they were limited to the small spaces of the paths that lead up, and so they weren't able to apply their superior number. Instead, one-on-one melee ensued.</blockquote>

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