Forums / Roleplaying / The Stormborn

[[OOC: Aye, but that overpowers you a bit doesn't it? Anyway, I'm a mage too, so lets just keep it that I can.]]

Meowman saw that Erunion, though helping Revenge, was drawing himself closer to death with every second. With only a moments hesitation, he began to sap his own strength, channeling it into Erunions body. And with his power, he sent a thought: "If you are to die, or I am to die, then let us die friends" He waited for a reply, even as he felt himself weakening...

*Might lifted up his noes and smelled something.*

"Ragnarr, there is something following us..."

[ Erunion, I did, but my character rushed forward. With out paying attention to what is happening behind. I do not reject what you wrote, it is actually a very important part of the whole storyline what you wrote, but I just wanted to show with what haste and chaos everything happens. Let the "reinforcments" hold off the guards while the work is done. I guess that is why they appeared... ]

{Thanks for clearing that up. That's what I was thinking too. And yes Might, you can smell them...}

[ My last post in this RP, Its been a pleasure people ;) ]


Even with the amulet reversing some of the effects, the arrow itself had done enough damage, punchering his kidney,
Revenge lay flat on his stomach with his face on the deck
Blood dribbled from his mouth, nearly black, his eyes creeped open for perhaps the last time
He looked out to the shimmering ocean with the sun setting, it had been a shorter journey than perhaps he would of liked, but he had made more friends, and gave his life for one....

[ Might,..... no comment. ]
[ It was great having you here Revenge. ]

Part II: The Northern Way



Yet Ragnarr and the other great warriors, except for the elf Erunion and the mage Meowman, were not at the deck of the Stormborn to witness the end of their dear friend. They had left behind the stone guardians, summoned by the amulet to dely the elf-like creatures while they headed towards the southern port, were the Coastal Fortress was located.
They ran and ran down a marble-tiled alley, until the towers of the sea castle were visable. They turned left at the first large stairway and continued upwards, passing through a few column-flanked passages, a few bridges and many more stairways, until they were a height of at least thirty to fourty meters above the sea level - it was easy to estimate, for they were right by the docks, in front of the gates of the fortress.
It was all so silent and quite - no movements, no guards - obviously all were expecting them else where or distracted by the summoned ones.
The gates were symbolic, there for a decoration - the engineers of the fort didn't expect someone attacking from the inside. They simply smashed through them...

[ Next post to be expected very soon (after 2-4 hours, explaning about how we find Silverwind. ]

[ It happened a bit messy, but I'll try to arrange things again. ]

... and they entered a small room with two doors and a staircase upwards.
"Where might he be?" asked Eyjolf, who Ragnarr didn't notice had come.
"Damn! If Erunion was with us, he might have helped,..."
That moment the door infront of them crashed open and ten guards poured into the room. They didn't seem to expect someone would stand in their way while in the fortress, and certainly not the ones they where sent to capture. Or slay.
A quick command from their captain and they reformed into battle position, as much as the room allowed it, but the warriors were already hammering blow after blow onto them, and three of the guards fell dead and the rest fled the room, calling out in their strange tongue. There was a sudden ring of a bell and alarmed voices.
"Quick, through here!" Septim yelled and ran through the other door, entering some small hall.
It was obvious that Loki the cheater was distracting Odinn from him wathcing over the warriors, as they had entered, with out realizing until it was too late, the main hall of the garrison. Many of the elf-like ones had been sitting a while ago around ebony tables over a cup of delight and splenodor. Now they were running towards the arches that lead out, obvioulsy to fetch weaponary. And then they saw that they had been attacked in their own grounds.
Ragnarr, with out wasting much time, grabbed the nearest table and lifted its edge, letting it fall on the ground as a barrier between him and the ones who still haven't left to get their weapons. They jumped over the table quickly with short blades drawn, but were not able to stand much resistance.
"The doors! Lock them, or this place will soon be flooded of them!"
Septim ran to lock the northern doors, Baccardi ran for the one they had entered through, Verll and Might went for the Eastern one. The rest stood around Ragnarr, waiting for orders.
As soon as the gates were blocked, from the outside the troops started banging on to it and kicking in hope to enter. It was an absolute trap and a mess.
"No, wait, these stairs here!" Baccardi pointed at the far end of the hall. As soon as everyone was convinced he was right, they rushed up them.
"Erunion, where are you when I need you!..." Ragnarr told himself,...

[ You have more freedom to post here (don't await posts to know how to continue), but I'll post about how we find Aeron.after you people post some (:   ]

Septim sprinted up the stairs and drew Firengard and a shortsword he called Weswyr. He held his longsword facing upright and his shortsword downwards, he saw that the hall ahead was filled with ten guards who were running to ambush them.

"Attack men! It's either down to the masses or through the few!", yelled Septim as he ran into combat, a soldier attacked Septim and he blocked the blade with his shortsword while stabbing him with his longsword. He blocked two blades with each of his swords and parried them after, he then plunged both blades into each of the two soldiers.

As Septim rushed into the inevetable battle ahead of them, Ragnarr spotted a captain among these elf-like troops and, killing a few in the way with two slashes, reached him and charged. The captain parried the hack with a long, thin, slightly curved blade, supporting its end with the palm of his hand. He smiled with irony at Ragnarr's straight forwards attack, and then pushed him away. Then he charged, slashing high, then low, then spinning and an attempt to stab through. This Ragnarr averted, but not with ease, for if he had learned something by now, it is that elves, or elf-like creatures are extremely quick and elegant with their attacks.
However, Ragnarr lacked elegance in combat when needed. He simply kicked the captain in the belly, leaving him fly to the ground, then placed the sword edge above his neck.
"Where is the prisoner Aeron Silverwind?" Ragnarr asked, him being the one smiling this time, though it was an icey shadow of a smile.
"Main keep,... the triple tower,...." the one murmered.
Ragnarr raised his eyes and saw what lay before them - a long archway corridor, leading to what seemed to be three towers, connected in the base, then dividing one from another, with numerous bridges in between them.
He raised his blade and let the wretch stand up clumsily and run away to some direction,...

[Ragnarr. Remember what im becoming? This is where it gets useful!]

*Might grabbed a chair and ripped off the leg and proceeded to smash a a unfortunate elf into a bloody mass on the floor. Might looked up and growled and lept over the crowd of elves.*

[Whats behind the crowd of elves?]

Septim blocked a blow with his shortsword, kicked the elf in the stomach and plunged his blade into the soldier's throat. Septim then blocked another blow with his longsword and slashed the hand off of the elf, he kicked that enemy into a crowd of enemies and suddenly felt a blade from behind. He turned to see that the blade was that of a northman, and saw that one named Versung had stabbed him.

Versung: "I am sorry Septim, but the glory of battle is nothing compared to the gold of your enemies..."

With that he pulled the blade out and kicked Septim out a window, as Septim fell he saw a light, and then he fell through the roof of a straw roofed building.

***

Versung watched his former ally fall into the darkness below and turned around.

"One down, only a few to go...", said Versung slyly.

[ A lot. And sorry for not posting recently, I got a lot of work recently.]
[ Septim and I had a quick conversation about the storyline. I need to tell it to you in order no misunderstandings occur. They outnumber us and there is already a traitor among our ranks (Versung, as Septim wrote). We are taken into captivity and escorted to the triple tower, were we meet Aeron. Septim, somehow survives from his fall, sneeks in and then we go back to the longship. ]

"On me!" yelled Ragnarr, who ran forward towards the towers, trying to break through the elf-like ones' grip. He raised his sword high and made a powerful hack at the enemy infront, swirling the sword on its way, taking two foes down. Then followed a stab and a parry, and he undertsood that this battle was over. They were surrounded. And the others knew it too.
They formed a circle, keeping each other's back and defended the space with furious slashes and charges.
As Ragnarr blocked a sword coming for him, he suddenly felt a dull object striking him on the head from behind. He fell to the ground, unconsious, still gripping his sword.

Ragnarr opened his eyes.
At first he only saw a blur and unclear images, and there was a deafning sound in his ears. Then he heard Versung the Traitor's voice.
"The job was done quite well, as you required. Now reward. And, oh yes, I keep the longships."
Ragnarr now saw that he was talking to an elf-like commander, who had an aura of egoism and arrogance.
"Once a traitor, always a traitor."
He drove his fine sword right through Versung, who made a surprized yell.
Ragnarr tried to move, but noticed his hand were tied at his back. The he jumped to his feet, that were still free.
A guard strook him with the staff of the spear in his belly. Ragnarr fell down again. He saw his battle commrades, leaning to a wall, with hands tied behind their back and numerous guards near them. Verll nodded sadly at Ragnarr.
"You fought bravely, but everything has an end." he turned to a guard who was holding a fine longsword. "You may proceed."
Two guard picked up the closest warrior, leaning to the wall. It was Halfdan. They made him kneel, with his neck streched out. The elf with the longsword made a clean cut right through the neck.
Ragnarr by instinct reached out to touch his charm around his neck, but his hands were tied.
"What in Zelmos are you doing? Their commander first! He must die now!" yelled the elven commander angrily.
Two pairs of hands picked up Ragnarr and threw him near the elf with the longsword.
"One last wish," Ragnarr spoke. "My hair is my pride. The cut of the sword will cut it too. I wish some one to hold it so it doesn't get damaged."
The commander was amused. "Fine. Arlem, hold his hair."
An elf gathered all the hair in his grasp and held it so that it was streched before Ragnarr's forehead.
"Now strike!" the commader yelled.
The longsword cut the air downwards gently and quickly.
Ragnarr pulled his head backwards with his whole force and the one holding his hair was pulled forward, surprized. The blade went right through his hands, cutting them off. The elf screamed and was taken away by some otehr guards.
"You northmen,...so damn,...take them to the dungeons,..."

[ Yes, the act just now is from the legend of the Jomsvikings, I know (:   ]

They were taken up the stairs of the triple tower dungeon. Ragnarr had the chance to look several times out of the narrow windows - they were very high above the city, and the clear view was magnificent. There was a calm sunrise above the water and the sky was again in an orange-yellowish colour.
On their way up the cold stone stairs, they passed by numreous doors. Behind some there was silence, behind others,...
They reached the highest chambers. A steel door was unlocked and teh dungeon keepers pushed all the warriors inside. Baccardi resisted and punched one of the guards in the face, but the other quickly kicked him inside.
 They had taken away all their armor and weapons. They then locked the door behind them.
The chamber was dark, save for the soft light coming from two narrow windows. The corners were black from the dark.
"This isn't quite bad for a dungeon. At least there is some space." one of the northmen tried to cheer up the others.
"We came here for Aeron, and this is what we found - darkness."
"Who said my name!" someone yelled in the northern tongue, from the darkness in the corner. "Who is it?"
They all fell silent, surprize enscribed on their faces.
"Aeron? Aeron Silverwind?" asked Ragnarr.
"I haven;t heard the northern tongue in ages!"
A figure came out of the shadows. Tall, yet thin from the long stay in the dungeon. His blond hair was uncut from ages and it reached his waste. Somehow he had managed to keep his moustache and beard trimmed neatly. His green eyes had a spark of joy, seeing friends. Increadibly pale, but he still had muscles on him and looked as if he could enter a battle any time now.
"Ragnarr!" he yelled and rushed forward. The two friends handshaked and gripped the other's shoulder.
"What the hell brought you here?"
"You." said Ragnarr, this time smiling.
"Well, you found me. So,... you came here to set me free?" asked Aeron.
"Things didn't work out very well."
He turned to look at his battle commrades. There was Erunion, whispering some spell - obviously the elf-like ones forgot that he was a mage, or simply didn't know, and that is why they didn't place him in an anti-spell chamber.. Might, Verll, Baccardi and Meowman, standing together, looking at Aeron with wonder and slight satisfaction that their quest was half done. Others as well. Septim,...Septim wasn't with them.
"Where's Septim?" Ragnarr asked.

Meowman tried to summon his power, but he wasto tired to summon anything worthwhile, and the gods had forsaken this wretched place. Later, when he tried again, he realized that this prison was anti-spelled, and he couldn't break out, even at the height of his power. He hoped mildly that erunion would be powerful enough to break out, but he had a fearful suspicion that it was not so; this was one strong cell. Meowman sat there, feeling no satisfaction in the fact that they had half finished they're quest, for he knew that they would likely never fini*beep*. And so he awaited the doom of them all...

*Might stared at the wall with his eyes glowing yellow in the night. Strangely they resembled wolfs eyes....*

[[to fit in with the supposed storyline, lets assume you dont find a crack in their defence, unless septim hasnt rescued us in like, 3 days or somethin...]]

[ I already posted!]

{ Your missing me! }

[[If septim doesnt post by the end of tomorow, lets just get on with it, and assume he died when he fell]]

"Erunion, that won't be necessary."
The door was unlocked and Septim came in, with a ring of keys swirling around his finger.
There hardly was a time when Ragnarr saw everyone so happy to see Septim. True, he was second in command, a great warrior and a good drinker, but in that moment, everyone jumped to their feet and rushed to tap his shoulder, laughing.
"Someone here said you were dead." Ragnarr spoke, smiling.
"I guess I'm quicker than death then." Septim grinned.
Ragnarr turned to the rest. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Septim explained briefly about the situation in the tripple tower dungeon - he had neutralized a few guards on the way, but they would have to walk quietly and hide behind the shadows, as the fort was overcrowded with elf-like ones.
"At least they won't be expecting us."
They quietly walked out of the dungeon cell, along with Aeron Silverwind, who had a green fire in his eyes - the fire of freedom.
"We have to pass through the guardhouse to get out armor and weapons back, though."...

"It's up to you Ragnarr...", said Septim.

"At last," thought Meowman as Septim opened the door. As he walked along, he felt slightly guilty for doubting Septim's abilities... but only slightly. After all, he was one of those who had led him on that wild goose chase to find the source of his troubles. "So now we're even," he thought to himself. As they opened the door to cell 8 and released the boy, who introduced himself with the name Strandotalent, he realized that he had 2 goals and a question. His goals where to first get back to the ship alive, and second to make sure the amulet was safe. For although he senced that this reality was strong enough to hold it's own against the power of the amulet, he also knew that if left unadended for too long it would disrupt the continum of reality around it, and he only hoped that they could get back in time for Erunion and himself to cast the spells around it that would hold it's power, the spells that had been cast on it for hundreds of years before Septim found it. His question was this: Why? Why had Silverwind braved this land? What had driven him to come here, and bring us in search of him? Then it struck him: He wanted to know, but he didn't need to. These people had saved him from the sea serpent and fought by him as one of their own. He trusted them so much that he had come to a decision: he was going to tell them, tell them what he swore he would tell no-one. But not now. When they got back to the ship...

"We're trying to escape from a dungeon and you think of food?" asked Ragnarr slowly, looking directly at Might's eyes. "You can have all the food you want when we get back to the longship,... if it is still there,..."
Everyone picked up from something from the pile and put it on him. Soon they were all ready.
They walked quietly along the corridor until they reached the staircase, which had two guards. Ragnarr made a sign to Baccardi, pointing at one of the guards, and he himself headed to the other.
The elf-like one never expected the blunt strike on his head, which threw him to the ground, unconsious. Ragnarr saw that Baccardi too had dealt with the other in a similar way.
They then went down the stairs, down, down, until they seemed to reach the ground level. Two more guards were neutralized and then Ragnarr spoke quietly to the rest.
"We are too much to get out of here unseen. We should split into groups of two-three each and get the hell out of here. I, Aeron and Sigurd will take the northern way, leading to the port. When we clear out the way, we'll send you a signal, so you can pass. Silently. The darkness of the night will help us. Now wait for my signal..."
Ragnarr, Silverwind and Sigurd ran silently across the courtyard, staying close to the walls, then passing through a gate and leaving the others' sights.
It was a small bridge, which lead to a small tower, stairs, and the way to the port.
Three guards had gathered on the bridge, looking at the sea's horizon and speaking softly.
They're speach was silenced in the black night. Three soft thumps on the cobble stone, then a light rattle of  "objects" dragged away.
Ragnarr ran silently back and spoke to the others quietly.
"Let's go."....
As they slipped through the courtyard, a patrol of five emerged from out the citadel keep, speaking with each other, not aware of the warriors escaping. Yet they would soon if nothing was done...

[Agreed!]

[[OOC: I have a plot all layed out for the amulet, the ring, and the egg. They will come into play in a naval battle that Ragnarr and I have scheduled...]]

"For the love of the Gods, what am I doing?" The words came from Meowman's mouth as he dove into the sea, arrows flying around him. He took in the fact that some of the arrows were tipped with the poison that had killed Revenge, and they seemed to come from the best archers, for a few of them whipped startalingly close to him, with one banging luckily off the sheathed Gladernora, whom had been recovered from the weapons sack, and landing with a splash in the water. Meowman was glad when he hit the water as he realized that the effects of the poison would be neutralized in contact with with water. However, they were still deadly arrows... Meowman's thought was interupted by his task: To get out of their alive. As the water splashed around him, littered with arrows, he put all his energy into putting on a steady rhythm, pull, kick, pull, kick, occasionally looking up to make sure he was on course. Just as he thought he was out of accurate arrowshot, he noticed a new patrol of guards, on the shores near to them. As they started shooting, it became clear that hese were far better trained then the others. An arrow thudded into Meowman's arm, and he let out a cry of pain as the blood flowed into the sea. 'Oh gods... I hope this place doesn't have sharks...' He wrenched the arrow out of his arm, swimming on as best he could...