Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Celestial Empire (Romance of the Three Kingdoms-ish, Updated 12/09/05)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 2550986" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p><strong>Striking Back</strong></p><p></p><p>Felonca momentarily gaped, as the sky grew orange and pregnant. As the first tiny specks of fire fell, his mind immediately jumped back to her father’s tale of what had happened to Quan-Shi’s great army, when it had confronted the Prince on the field of battle... of how fire and wind ripped it apart, how lightning had shredded its ranks, how hail had pounded it into oblivion.</p><p></p><p>“Nayu! We need out now!” she barked unnecessarily as both she and Yari Ai struggled to haul Felonxi under a stone awning, before dragging the unconscious Dian beside his dying brother. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sorcerer begin moving his hands around his battered body. Meiji finally came back, and she shoved him into the pile of people beside Nayu.</p><p></p><p><em>We need out of here!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Papa needs out of here...</em></p><p></p><p>Shakily, her father’s chest rose and fell, his breaths shallow and quick, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth even as it oozed from his wounds. Yari Ai looked up at Felonca, her eyes growing more desperate.</p><p></p><p>“Nayu hurry!” Felonca turned, as if the words would speed up his arcane magic. Inside her mind, conflict arose as she looked at him with fright. <em>Teleport now!</em> part of her shouted, wanting to see her father and uncle saved. Another part worried intensely. <em>Don’t hurt yourself! Please!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Ancestors protect me if something should happen to you...</em></p><p></p><p>She saw her Emperor flash her a look, icy only in that he didn’t want any more interruption. <em>Hu himself is here... he’s somewhere north of the wall...</em> Felonca thought grimly, thinking to herself as rapidly the wooden houses in the area began to catch alight, choking smoke beginning to grow and billow, just as the air around them seemed to grow thick, and the world began to whirl.</p><p></p><p>They materialized back on the battlements of the Inner Wall, and immediately Felonca couldn’t help but to turn her eyes skyward. Instead of fine droplets of flame falling from the heavens, the air above seemed to glow, a solid sheet of flame dancing only twenty feet above their heads. </p><p></p><p><em>The Fire!</em> Felonca’s mind panicked, and she immediately lunged, knocking Nayu over the prone body of her father, before landing on top of them both. Awkwardly, she spread herself as much as she could, trying to protect both taller people, her eyes closed tight as she expected fiery heat to incinerate her back...</p><p></p><p>“Ow,” she heard Nayu say breathlessly. She opened her eyes, and saw she was only inches from his face... and those brown eyes. They were wide open, and she felt his arm wiggle free from under her, until he began to push her off. </p><p></p><p><em>But the flames! If I move...</em> She started to protest, till she realized no fire was raining on her back, no pain was searing her body. She rolled off of him.</p><p></p><p>“Excellency, Shao Wa-Feng!” she heard Won Wei’s voice call, and soon hands hefted her back up, and were quickly helping up Nayu as well. </p><p></p><p>“Someone fetch a healer for Shang Wa-Feng and Master Wakabayashi!” Won Wei barked, before turning back to Felonca and Nayu. His face was blackened, and it looked as if the fine robes he wore were partially scorched.</p><p></p><p>“Something’s stopping the fire,” Felonca thought aloud, as she looked up at the flaming heavens above. The base of the flames seemed to lick mid-air some twenty feet overhead, but as she looked out into the outer city, all she could see was smoke and fire raining from the black clouds above.</p><p></p><p>“We have all of the available scholars trying to hold back Hu’s magic, Shao Wa-Feng,” Won Wei said. “However, this means that they are not able to provide magical support to the troops... and there are no more signal flags or messages from the Middle Wall. We can only assume the enemy is pressing onwards towards the Inner Wall...”</p><p></p><p>Felonca blinked. <em>The Middle Wall... but Quan-Shi was out there, he wouldn’t surrender without a fight... </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>... so they’ve gotten past him, and head towards us...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>...but past us is only the Jade City itself...</em> She blinked again, all eyes looking at her. <em>Nayu is hurt, father is badly wounded, so is uncle, Quan-Shi is no where to be found... they’re looking at you...</em> Part of Felonca shuddered at the thought, but quickly, her mind forced the fear away, focusing on the problem at hand.</p><p></p><p>“Won Wei, inform our people in the Jade City to finish gathering as many of the tomes as possible,” she said finally, “and tell them to be prepared to burn what they cannot carry. “And tell the Emperor and his Court that they should prepare to gather their things, and be ready to teleport in a few hours time.” She looked out across the burning city, towards the unseen hordes marching between the flames towards her.</p><p></p><p><em>We HAVE to hold them for a few hours! Just a few hours!</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“There,” a weary Yari Ai said an hour later, and Nayu winced as the cleric pulled the bandage on his stomach taut.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you,” he whispered, “You are a miracle worker,” he added, before looking over at Felonca. <em>Poor girl...</em> he thought, watching her loom over her father, constantly hushing him and keeping him flat on his back as Yari Ai asked. <em>I know what it feels like to lose a parent... and she almost watched her father die back there...</em> Silently, he shook his head, a fierce anger boiling in his chest. <em>My father was killed... and Hu tried to kill hers...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>...he will pay... just as the Councilor that killed my father paid...</em></p><p></p><p>“Am I cleared to walk about?” Nayu asked, looking back at Yari Ai with a pained smile. She said his pain from the electrocution would die away in a few minutes... poor Felonxi would suffer aches and pains for days after his ordeal of being brought back from the brink. </p><p></p><p>“If you’re careful,” the cleric replied, as she put away her bandages and gave a suitable frown. “You, Felonxi and Dian have worn me out,” she said, a smile of relief breaking through, before she gave a sigh of exhaustion. “You cannot hurt yourself more tonight,” she added with a stern finger-point, her smile destroying whatever command those words held.</p><p></p><p>“Is he alright?” He turned, and saw Felonca headed his way, that strange look in her eye again. He frowned for a second, then dismissed it as concern when she came over and knelt beside him.</p><p></p><p>“I’m fine,” Nayu lied, looking at the bandages. <em>Just burnt a bit, and in a tad bit of pain for the next couple hours. That’s all.</em> By her eyes she didn’t believe him, but she merely sighed, the concern momentarily flickering into something else he could tell... what it was for sure, he didn’t know.</p><p></p><p>“Good,” she said, her face and eyes once again hidden behind her mask. She helped him up, and he noticed her eyes carefully checking each and every bandage, almost as closely as she examined her father’s bindings.</p><p></p><p><em>She’s really worried,</em> Nayu assumed</p><p></p><p>“Really, I’m fine,” he held his hands up and gave a tense smile. Despite the pain that came from moving, he evidently hid his discomfort well... she stopped her examination.</p><p><em>She wasn’t this picky with me earlier, at the camp battle... something’s changed. Maybe getting so close to losing her father has made her worry...</em> Mentally, he shrugged. <em>If its something important... she’ll tell me.</em></p><p></p><p>“Good,” she gave an overly tense nod. “Then I assume you’d like to come me and Won Wei develop some kind of plan to keep the Prince at bay?”</p><p></p><p></p><p>“The situation is rather dire,” Won Wei began the meeting about ten minutes later.</p><p></p><p>“Rather dire?” Felonca snorted, looking up at the flames dancing above their heads, held at bay by the combined arcane might of thousands of scholars. “That’s an understatement. Hu’s forces are pushing past the Middle Wall... soon they will be before us on the Inner Wall, and once they get here in force, there’s no way we can hold them,” Felonca said with finality.</p><p></p><p><em>Great...</em> Nayu thought. <em>An army of walking dead, thousands of soldiers, and burning men all headed directly towards us... and nothing we can do...</em></p><p></p><p>“I’ve already told the scholars still in the Jade City to prepare the Imperial Family to leave immediately,” Felonca said, before her voice grew sharp, “but the Dowager Empress is refusing to leave, and she’s causing all sorts of obstacles...”</p><p></p><p>“Leave her behind then... get the young Emperor out,” Nayu interrupted her. <em>Right now the Empire needs stability, and Yuandi can at least provide a person to rally the Empire around. In the long term... I’ll need to think of something. The Empress can rot in the Nine Hells, as far as I’m concerned.</em></p><p></p><p>“But if she...”</p><p></p><p>“The Emperor is your friend?” Nayu asked, before adding, “If so, then he’ll listen to you, not his mother, and leave. If she wants to die a fiery death, so be it.” <em>I doubt anyone is going to shed a tear for her...</em></p><p></p><p>“That still leaves the problem of evacuating the tomes and scrolls from within the Imperial Library,” said Won Wei. “We will need several more hours to gather them all together, and burn those we cannot take, and with Hu’s army approaching...”</p><p></p><p>“We need a distraction, or a miracle,” Felonca finished the sentence. Her eyes were grave, but Nayu noticed yet again that something was peeking from behind her tiredness and concern...</p><p></p><p><em>A distraction...</em> Nayu closed his eyes, and thought. <em>An army needs many things... but this army isn’t normal. It doesn’t need food or water... but...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>...leadership...</em></p><p></p><p>His eyes flashed back open, a plan in his mind.</p><p></p><p>“Okay... so,” Nayu put his hands on his hips as he looked at the maps laid before them, “does anyone know how far this damn fire spell goes from Hu?” <em>Someone should know... these people are the arcane masters of the entire Celestial Empire...</em> When silence greeted his ears, he looked up, confused... </p><p></p><p>...and saw all the eyes looking at him were also confused.</p><p></p><p>“Anyone know?” <em>If they could tell me, and we could figure out the furthest area affected by this spell... its a spell, most definitely... I could pinpoint where Hu is on this map, and surprise the bastard, maybe slow him down, maybe kill him... cut off the enemy’s head before they strike...</em> When there was no response to his second question, he gave a quiet growl, before asking another. “So no one has heard of a spell, or something, that can cause this fire?”</p><p></p><p>“Um... no, Excellency,” Won Wei said quietly. At Nayu’s brief look of anger, the scholar quickly added, “We know that the fire can be resisted by standard arcane magic, as can the hail, lightning and wind. Our problem is that it is requiring all of our efforts...”</p><p></p><p>“You already said that, Won Wei,” Nayu replied, a little more sharply than he intended. <em>Dammit... so we can’t pinpoint him...</em> “Won Wei,” Nayu sighed after a moment, “I understand the scholars are stretched to the limit trying to hold this off. For that, I thank you all. But,” he added, running a finger along the map, “if I can’t get information on this spell, we can’t get to him!” </p><p></p><p>“Maybe,” he felt Felonca’s hand on his shoulder and squeezing slightly, “we could just teleport even further north, and sneak behind his army, and maybe ambush him...”</p><p></p><p>Something about her hand managed to catch his mind, even as the air only twenty feet above their heads continued to glow with repelled fire. He’d felt that kind of touch only a few times in his life... his mother, most often, and something about it stuck with him. As Felonca spoke, he felt heat rushing to his face.</p><p></p><p><em>No... she’s not thinking that. Get that from your mind,</em> he told himself.</p><p></p><p>“...and a good commander will know when to lead the advance and when to hold back. Hu’s a brilliant commander, to use my father’s words...” she continued.</p><p></p><p><em>What if she is? That would explain the looks she’s been giving you, the blushes and all that... aw hell...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Nayu!</em> he suddenly shouted at himself. <em>Focus!</em></p><p></p><p>“...probably not leading from the front, but holding back, directing his troops,” Felonca said finally. “Now... let’s think about this. He’s going to want a vantage point with excellent visibility... some place high probably.”</p><p></p><p>“He’s a mage... an arcane user of immense power,” Nayu heard himself say, “He can probably spy on us and our troops through numerous magical means.” <em>If that is how she feels...</em> Nayu paused for a moment, looking into his own heart, before the moment seized him again, and he growled in frustration.</p><p></p><p>“He’ll still need a vantage point for his signals to be sent to the army! His army is supposedly as vast as the oceans,” Felonca exclaimed, “which means that it’s got to have a damn good communication system! And I guarantee you, that either him, or a large contingent of signal bearers, will be on this hill!” Her finger stabbed at a location about two miles north of the outermost city walls, and she looked up at Nayu, triumph showing in her eyes, bright and blue.</p><p></p><p><em>She... </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Dammit, Focus!</em> he snapped to himself, giving another audible humph. To his chagrin, she gave one of those smiles she always gave when she was trying to cheer him up. The smile that made her face light up. He turned away quickly.</p><p></p><p>“That’s the highest hill north of the city,” Won Wei said, looking at the map and providing a good, convenient distraction. “It would be an excellent place to command from, I suppose.”</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps,” Nayu replied, his mind wrapping itself around the task, attempting to avoid where it would otherwise wander. <em>I can’t teleport an army back there... and the scholars are all busy trying to keep this fire away long enough that they can salvage the tomes in the Jade City... not to speak of all the Imperial Court...</em> </p><p></p><p>“We’re going to have to teleport back again,” Nayu said quietly, before turning to Won Wei, “though I want some kind of magical backup... give me a scholar, at least! Someone competent, too!” As Won Wei bowed, then turned to search for someone free, </p><p>Nayu looked sideways at Felonca. <em>God knows she’s been through enough already... if something else happened to her father or uncle...</em></p><p></p><p>“We’re headed back out again?” she asked, her features suddenly clamping into the iron look of blankness he knew so well... the look she always took when she was covering up what she felt. Her eyes did not lie nearly as well, and he could see fear in them, as the danced quickly towards her still bandaged father, then to Nayu’s own bandages...</p><p></p><p><em>She’s worried.</em></p><p></p><p>“Your father is a bull... he’s going to be fine,” Nayu said with an awkward smile. <em>Does she...um...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Nayu! Focus!</em></p><p></p><p>“I... I know,” she replied, her voice slightly shaky before she brought it back under control. He watched as her eyes looked worriedly at him.</p><p></p><p>“I’m okay,” he lied again , and her dark skin suddenly darkened again. For a moment, Nayu’s mind tried to deal with the question nagging his mind, but he forced it back, focusing himself without words on the present...</p><p></p><p>...there was a battle yet to fight...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 2550986, member: 15043"] [b]Striking Back[/b] Felonca momentarily gaped, as the sky grew orange and pregnant. As the first tiny specks of fire fell, his mind immediately jumped back to her father’s tale of what had happened to Quan-Shi’s great army, when it had confronted the Prince on the field of battle... of how fire and wind ripped it apart, how lightning had shredded its ranks, how hail had pounded it into oblivion. “Nayu! We need out now!” she barked unnecessarily as both she and Yari Ai struggled to haul Felonxi under a stone awning, before dragging the unconscious Dian beside his dying brother. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sorcerer begin moving his hands around his battered body. Meiji finally came back, and she shoved him into the pile of people beside Nayu. [i]We need out of here! Papa needs out of here...[/i] Shakily, her father’s chest rose and fell, his breaths shallow and quick, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth even as it oozed from his wounds. Yari Ai looked up at Felonca, her eyes growing more desperate. “Nayu hurry!” Felonca turned, as if the words would speed up his arcane magic. Inside her mind, conflict arose as she looked at him with fright. [i]Teleport now![/i] part of her shouted, wanting to see her father and uncle saved. Another part worried intensely. [i]Don’t hurt yourself! Please! Ancestors protect me if something should happen to you...[/i] She saw her Emperor flash her a look, icy only in that he didn’t want any more interruption. [i]Hu himself is here... he’s somewhere north of the wall...[/i] Felonca thought grimly, thinking to herself as rapidly the wooden houses in the area began to catch alight, choking smoke beginning to grow and billow, just as the air around them seemed to grow thick, and the world began to whirl. They materialized back on the battlements of the Inner Wall, and immediately Felonca couldn’t help but to turn her eyes skyward. Instead of fine droplets of flame falling from the heavens, the air above seemed to glow, a solid sheet of flame dancing only twenty feet above their heads. [i]The Fire![/i] Felonca’s mind panicked, and she immediately lunged, knocking Nayu over the prone body of her father, before landing on top of them both. Awkwardly, she spread herself as much as she could, trying to protect both taller people, her eyes closed tight as she expected fiery heat to incinerate her back... “Ow,” she heard Nayu say breathlessly. She opened her eyes, and saw she was only inches from his face... and those brown eyes. They were wide open, and she felt his arm wiggle free from under her, until he began to push her off. [i]But the flames! If I move...[/i] She started to protest, till she realized no fire was raining on her back, no pain was searing her body. She rolled off of him. “Excellency, Shao Wa-Feng!” she heard Won Wei’s voice call, and soon hands hefted her back up, and were quickly helping up Nayu as well. “Someone fetch a healer for Shang Wa-Feng and Master Wakabayashi!” Won Wei barked, before turning back to Felonca and Nayu. His face was blackened, and it looked as if the fine robes he wore were partially scorched. “Something’s stopping the fire,” Felonca thought aloud, as she looked up at the flaming heavens above. The base of the flames seemed to lick mid-air some twenty feet overhead, but as she looked out into the outer city, all she could see was smoke and fire raining from the black clouds above. “We have all of the available scholars trying to hold back Hu’s magic, Shao Wa-Feng,” Won Wei said. “However, this means that they are not able to provide magical support to the troops... and there are no more signal flags or messages from the Middle Wall. We can only assume the enemy is pressing onwards towards the Inner Wall...” Felonca blinked. [i]The Middle Wall... but Quan-Shi was out there, he wouldn’t surrender without a fight... ... so they’ve gotten past him, and head towards us... ...but past us is only the Jade City itself...[/i] She blinked again, all eyes looking at her. [i]Nayu is hurt, father is badly wounded, so is uncle, Quan-Shi is no where to be found... they’re looking at you...[/i] Part of Felonca shuddered at the thought, but quickly, her mind forced the fear away, focusing on the problem at hand. “Won Wei, inform our people in the Jade City to finish gathering as many of the tomes as possible,” she said finally, “and tell them to be prepared to burn what they cannot carry. “And tell the Emperor and his Court that they should prepare to gather their things, and be ready to teleport in a few hours time.” She looked out across the burning city, towards the unseen hordes marching between the flames towards her. [i]We HAVE to hold them for a few hours! Just a few hours![/i] “There,” a weary Yari Ai said an hour later, and Nayu winced as the cleric pulled the bandage on his stomach taut. “Thank you,” he whispered, “You are a miracle worker,” he added, before looking over at Felonca. [i]Poor girl...[/i] he thought, watching her loom over her father, constantly hushing him and keeping him flat on his back as Yari Ai asked. [i]I know what it feels like to lose a parent... and she almost watched her father die back there...[/i] Silently, he shook his head, a fierce anger boiling in his chest. [i]My father was killed... and Hu tried to kill hers... ...he will pay... just as the Councilor that killed my father paid...[/i] “Am I cleared to walk about?” Nayu asked, looking back at Yari Ai with a pained smile. She said his pain from the electrocution would die away in a few minutes... poor Felonxi would suffer aches and pains for days after his ordeal of being brought back from the brink. “If you’re careful,” the cleric replied, as she put away her bandages and gave a suitable frown. “You, Felonxi and Dian have worn me out,” she said, a smile of relief breaking through, before she gave a sigh of exhaustion. “You cannot hurt yourself more tonight,” she added with a stern finger-point, her smile destroying whatever command those words held. “Is he alright?” He turned, and saw Felonca headed his way, that strange look in her eye again. He frowned for a second, then dismissed it as concern when she came over and knelt beside him. “I’m fine,” Nayu lied, looking at the bandages. [i]Just burnt a bit, and in a tad bit of pain for the next couple hours. That’s all.[/i] By her eyes she didn’t believe him, but she merely sighed, the concern momentarily flickering into something else he could tell... what it was for sure, he didn’t know. “Good,” she said, her face and eyes once again hidden behind her mask. She helped him up, and he noticed her eyes carefully checking each and every bandage, almost as closely as she examined her father’s bindings. [i]She’s really worried,[/i] Nayu assumed “Really, I’m fine,” he held his hands up and gave a tense smile. Despite the pain that came from moving, he evidently hid his discomfort well... she stopped her examination. [i]She wasn’t this picky with me earlier, at the camp battle... something’s changed. Maybe getting so close to losing her father has made her worry...[/i] Mentally, he shrugged. [i]If its something important... she’ll tell me.[/i] “Good,” she gave an overly tense nod. “Then I assume you’d like to come me and Won Wei develop some kind of plan to keep the Prince at bay?” “The situation is rather dire,” Won Wei began the meeting about ten minutes later. “Rather dire?” Felonca snorted, looking up at the flames dancing above their heads, held at bay by the combined arcane might of thousands of scholars. “That’s an understatement. Hu’s forces are pushing past the Middle Wall... soon they will be before us on the Inner Wall, and once they get here in force, there’s no way we can hold them,” Felonca said with finality. [i]Great...[/i] Nayu thought. [i]An army of walking dead, thousands of soldiers, and burning men all headed directly towards us... and nothing we can do...[/i] “I’ve already told the scholars still in the Jade City to prepare the Imperial Family to leave immediately,” Felonca said, before her voice grew sharp, “but the Dowager Empress is refusing to leave, and she’s causing all sorts of obstacles...” “Leave her behind then... get the young Emperor out,” Nayu interrupted her. [i]Right now the Empire needs stability, and Yuandi can at least provide a person to rally the Empire around. In the long term... I’ll need to think of something. The Empress can rot in the Nine Hells, as far as I’m concerned.[/i] “But if she...” “The Emperor is your friend?” Nayu asked, before adding, “If so, then he’ll listen to you, not his mother, and leave. If she wants to die a fiery death, so be it.” [i]I doubt anyone is going to shed a tear for her...[/i] “That still leaves the problem of evacuating the tomes and scrolls from within the Imperial Library,” said Won Wei. “We will need several more hours to gather them all together, and burn those we cannot take, and with Hu’s army approaching...” “We need a distraction, or a miracle,” Felonca finished the sentence. Her eyes were grave, but Nayu noticed yet again that something was peeking from behind her tiredness and concern... [i]A distraction...[/i] Nayu closed his eyes, and thought. [i]An army needs many things... but this army isn’t normal. It doesn’t need food or water... but... ...leadership...[/i] His eyes flashed back open, a plan in his mind. “Okay... so,” Nayu put his hands on his hips as he looked at the maps laid before them, “does anyone know how far this damn fire spell goes from Hu?” [i]Someone should know... these people are the arcane masters of the entire Celestial Empire...[/i] When silence greeted his ears, he looked up, confused... ...and saw all the eyes looking at him were also confused. “Anyone know?” [i]If they could tell me, and we could figure out the furthest area affected by this spell... its a spell, most definitely... I could pinpoint where Hu is on this map, and surprise the bastard, maybe slow him down, maybe kill him... cut off the enemy’s head before they strike...[/i] When there was no response to his second question, he gave a quiet growl, before asking another. “So no one has heard of a spell, or something, that can cause this fire?” “Um... no, Excellency,” Won Wei said quietly. At Nayu’s brief look of anger, the scholar quickly added, “We know that the fire can be resisted by standard arcane magic, as can the hail, lightning and wind. Our problem is that it is requiring all of our efforts...” “You already said that, Won Wei,” Nayu replied, a little more sharply than he intended. [i]Dammit... so we can’t pinpoint him...[/i] “Won Wei,” Nayu sighed after a moment, “I understand the scholars are stretched to the limit trying to hold this off. For that, I thank you all. But,” he added, running a finger along the map, “if I can’t get information on this spell, we can’t get to him!” “Maybe,” he felt Felonca’s hand on his shoulder and squeezing slightly, “we could just teleport even further north, and sneak behind his army, and maybe ambush him...” Something about her hand managed to catch his mind, even as the air only twenty feet above their heads continued to glow with repelled fire. He’d felt that kind of touch only a few times in his life... his mother, most often, and something about it stuck with him. As Felonca spoke, he felt heat rushing to his face. [i]No... she’s not thinking that. Get that from your mind,[/i] he told himself. “...and a good commander will know when to lead the advance and when to hold back. Hu’s a brilliant commander, to use my father’s words...” she continued. [i]What if she is? That would explain the looks she’s been giving you, the blushes and all that... aw hell... Nayu![/i] he suddenly shouted at himself. [i]Focus![/i] “...probably not leading from the front, but holding back, directing his troops,” Felonca said finally. “Now... let’s think about this. He’s going to want a vantage point with excellent visibility... some place high probably.” “He’s a mage... an arcane user of immense power,” Nayu heard himself say, “He can probably spy on us and our troops through numerous magical means.” [i]If that is how she feels...[/i] Nayu paused for a moment, looking into his own heart, before the moment seized him again, and he growled in frustration. “He’ll still need a vantage point for his signals to be sent to the army! His army is supposedly as vast as the oceans,” Felonca exclaimed, “which means that it’s got to have a damn good communication system! And I guarantee you, that either him, or a large contingent of signal bearers, will be on this hill!” Her finger stabbed at a location about two miles north of the outermost city walls, and she looked up at Nayu, triumph showing in her eyes, bright and blue. [i]She... Dammit, Focus![/i] he snapped to himself, giving another audible humph. To his chagrin, she gave one of those smiles she always gave when she was trying to cheer him up. The smile that made her face light up. He turned away quickly. “That’s the highest hill north of the city,” Won Wei said, looking at the map and providing a good, convenient distraction. “It would be an excellent place to command from, I suppose.” “Perhaps,” Nayu replied, his mind wrapping itself around the task, attempting to avoid where it would otherwise wander. [i]I can’t teleport an army back there... and the scholars are all busy trying to keep this fire away long enough that they can salvage the tomes in the Jade City... not to speak of all the Imperial Court...[/i] “We’re going to have to teleport back again,” Nayu said quietly, before turning to Won Wei, “though I want some kind of magical backup... give me a scholar, at least! Someone competent, too!” As Won Wei bowed, then turned to search for someone free, Nayu looked sideways at Felonca. [i]God knows she’s been through enough already... if something else happened to her father or uncle...[/i] “We’re headed back out again?” she asked, her features suddenly clamping into the iron look of blankness he knew so well... the look she always took when she was covering up what she felt. Her eyes did not lie nearly as well, and he could see fear in them, as the danced quickly towards her still bandaged father, then to Nayu’s own bandages... [i]She’s worried.[/i] “Your father is a bull... he’s going to be fine,” Nayu said with an awkward smile. [i]Does she...um... Nayu! Focus![/i] “I... I know,” she replied, her voice slightly shaky before she brought it back under control. He watched as her eyes looked worriedly at him. “I’m okay,” he lied again , and her dark skin suddenly darkened again. For a moment, Nayu’s mind tried to deal with the question nagging his mind, but he forced it back, focusing himself without words on the present... ...there was a battle yet to fight... [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Celestial Empire (Romance of the Three Kingdoms-ish, Updated 12/09/05)
Top