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| Thread: * PRP * Tales of Nordmark | |
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TDL
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The weak suffer. I endure.
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posted June 13, 2006 01:01 AM |
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Edited by TDL at 16:13, 13 Jun 2006.
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* PRP * Tales of Nordmark
INTRO - THUNDERSTRUCK
"Captain, what is happening to our ship?!"
An enormous wave of bursting water encased the large ship, right when it was about to turn. Water completely covered its upper deck, forcing everyone to fall on the slippery floor and slide down.
As the flag of the ship was being torn into pieces and continuously battered by the wind, the captain stood silent, eyeing the storm as if it was his fiercest enemy and it was a matter of life and death - life of his crew or of that of his enemies.
"Nestor! We need your help! The sea has already swallowed Mark and Dead-Eye. We need not suffer more casualties, else we are going six feet under... Or shall I say six miles?"
The man was holding the main ship's broadside as he shouted to the man he called Nestor. He could barely stand on the floor and with every breath he was feeling weaker and weaker.
"Our lives for theirs will not help me in times like these, so it seems."
The captain, who was Nestor without a doubt, grinned with a desperate grin. His pale scarred face reflected the moonlight and he looked as if he was an undead being of some kind.
"Codswallop, Martin." Nestor said as calmly as he could. "Do you imagine me being a murderer of some kind or what? There is no such thing as a casualty. It happens merely by accident and only the stars of the Fate itself can predict - if at all - what will happen when we are sailing in the greatest seas that are to be found in the whole of Tamerland. I am not a god, neither a goddess, and, heavens curse me, a so-called magician, who could prevent us from being killed by a storm."
The thunder cracked through the sky, followed by consequent flashes of lightning, which seemed even greater and more vivid in the open seas. Captain's speech surely encouraged his crew members to continue their vain attempts to hold on, even though the broadside itself was starting to crumble into pieces.
"Hand me a keg of beer, please."
The demand echoed through the deck as the sound of the thunder itself. The crew mates were astonished by this unexpected action, yet, being obedient and respectful towards Nestor, quickly followed his orders.
"And here-" he took a quick sip from the keg, as it was half-opened. Even in times of trouble, Nestor could not forget the taste of the Tamerlandian beer. "-I must say that this beer is good."
The crew burst into laughter. The captain was never into jokes of any kind, but this one was definitely the best one they had ever encountered while travelling with him.
"Hand me an apple, and quickly!"
As if it weren't enough, the captain got mad, they thought. Indeed, his actions could not be explained in a sane way known to any person on board, except perhaps for the very same Cap'n.
The thunderuous bolts shot through the sky, piercing the impenetrable veil of darkness. For a quick moment, the deck was lit by a dazzling a light which embodied the whole ship in fire.
"Drat! And why cannot I at least eat something before something terrible happens, for heaven's sake?!"
Everyone - well, six remaining survivors - jumped out of the ship and dived into the dark water before another lightning bolt shattered their "sanctuary" into pieces.
"And I thought our adventures had already reached their end, hmph." He grumpily shouted as they got to the surface of water, where their ship was shining from fire and getting torn into pieces as a firecracker fire-work.
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TDL
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The weak suffer. I endure.
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posted June 13, 2006 04:13 PM |
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Edited by TDL at 17:26, 14 Jun 2006.
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TROUBLES YET AGAIN
The dawn was already nearing as the wary travellers reached the coast. Nestor along with the ship's former crew were holding onto treasures they managed to scavenge from the shipwreck.
The waves gently transported the three of them onto the sandy beach. The remaining three survivors - Nestor, Martin and a youngster that somehow evaded the fire when the lightning disintegrated the ship - stepped onto the sandy dunes, picking up their last clothing and the remainders of treasure.
"The breeze blows gently, so it seems..." Nestor took out his redwood pipe that somehow remained dry and took out his tobacco leaves. "I wonder, where did the Fate send the three of them to? I really doubt they died."
"As do I, Cap'n..."
"I am Cap'n no more... It seems the sea was always against me and no wonder I got into trouble..."
He discontinued Martin's speech right in the middle. It never occured to him that he was a great captain or could lead even the smallest group of them into battle like he had always dreamt of. This was a perfect example of what could happen while this unlucky man was leading them.
"Nestor am I... Nestor..."
The third of the party was silent throughout the whole conversation. The youngster even seemed not to listen to what they were talking, and was rather into his thoughts than into watching the surroundings. He was in his early twenties and suffering such tremendous losses was what shoudn't have gotten in his way.
The three of them packed their bags - well, even if the three of them didn't share their possessions equally, it would not make up a single bag - and after having stood up, they left for the great unknown.
"And here the three of us start yet another journey." Nestor said to them while fastening his old sword he inherited from his father. "If it weren't for the amount of us who survived, we could rest here for a while and only then choose to go for the nearest town, but my insides are already rumbling."
The sunny circle was shining brightly in the sky, high above the travellers. The sea seemed to have thrown them out into the most unpleasant place in Tamerland - the Eastern Plains. No shelter for travellers in case it rains, no defence against the pounding rain. And more than enough till the nearest village.
"The nearest village is about five miles from here - Gatherham, if I recall correctly."
"My stepfather lives there and I know the surrounding area quite well. Might as well visit him there when we arrive."
For the first time, the fair-haired lad had said anything to them, as he replied to Martin. Good heavens they had someone who had studied the map of Tamerland before they left, Nestor thought. It never occured to him that a map might prove to be a necessity while travelling, whereas the current situation they had gotten themselves into was a perfect proof for that.
"The place is somehow different though." He said while he was eyeing the plains in the horizon. His cold tone somehow gave Nestor a sudden shiver, as it was highly unexpected. He knelt down on the grassy ground and grasped a bunch of it. "The soil is covered with ashes and that could mean that something foul happened here."
"It better be not!" Martin grudgingly replied, drawing out the cutlass he got hold of while scavenging the remains.
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RedSoxFan3
Admirable
Legendary Hero
Fan of Red Sox
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posted June 14, 2006 02:24 AM |
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filler post
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Go Red Sox!
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TDL
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The weak suffer. I endure.
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posted June 14, 2006 05:23 PM |
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The merciless wind soared through the vast plains the three travellers were about to cross. They still were two miles away from Gatherham, and the suffocating air, as well as dark tumuli, forebode a heavy rainstorm. The swallows were flying just above the heads of the three of them, hunting various insects and bugs. Every single plant and every single living creature were intensely preparing for the upcoming rain.
While Martin and the young man were sharply eyeing the horizon, in order not to get shot by an arrow from afar, Nestor was enjoying his free time by looking around and watching the nature. He was an aged man, most probably in his early thirties or late twenties, who saw many things in his life. The experience he acquired during his journeys when faring over seas and land, even though both pleasant and foul, was of great value to him and taught him a great many things in his life. Yet, being quite a rash person, always doing things unexpectedly, the experience "burned his feet" in every possible way.
"Towers! I see Gatherham's defensive towers already."
"Humph.." Someone's speech brought Nestor back to reality from his daydreaming. He took out his spyglass to see what lies in front of them. "Ah, alright then. What do we have here?"
He gazed for a moment at the defensive barriers of the city before letting out a sudden gasp-, curse-like sound, throwing down the spyglass and suddenly falling on the grassy soil.
"Drat! Why is the trouble always following me?"
"What is happening?" Martin crouched on the ground and clutched Nestor's shoulder. "Is something evil happening there?"
"Lie down, you idiots! They might notice us!"
Deafening silence besieged the land as they lied down and started crawling through the grass. No one knew yet what Nestor had seen just a few minutes ago, yet they both sensed that whatever it was, it was up to no good.
"Do you see the smoke down there? It is surely coming not out of chimneys. I sense there was a fire a day ago and that it was done on purpose."
"That explains the ashes we had seen earlier."
"Surely it does. Nothing more, nothing less - the town is taken over by brigands." Martin interrupted.
"Both of you are right, yet both of you did not see the guards they left standing. Either I am as blind as a mole or the invaders come from even farther territories than the southern steppes. I have never seen people like these before - taller than you Martin, considering you are the tallest of us, twice as broad as heavens-bless-him Dead-Eye."
The listeners had their eyes wide open. Dead-Eye was truly a large one and someone twice as broad as him surely proved to be a menace.
"We will have to spend the day here and crawl at night. I doubt we could overcome them, even if we were six. There are surely more of them down here."
"Blasted storm!" the lad cursed and hit the nearest rock with his dagger. "A bow we have here, yet the arrows are soaked with water."
"Pity of course, but that would not help us. We will have to sneak anyway and to avoid getting seen in a plain is surely somewhat I find impossible."
The night was already nearing, so they did not have to wait long for it to overcome the land. Shadows were already disappearing, as the night, along with a set of thick clouds, was about to reign. It was a perfect night for people like them who were trying to get safely hidden in the shade.
"Lads,-" Martin commanded, "-arise! A suicide awaits us!"
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RedSoxFan3
Admirable
Legendary Hero
Fan of Red Sox
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posted June 17, 2006 12:00 AM |
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Quote:
filler post
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Go Red Sox!
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TDL
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The weak suffer. I endure.
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posted June 18, 2006 02:43 PM |
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The three of them started crawling through the grass. Merely a whisper of whishing grass was to be heard when they slowly moved towards their goal. The guards stood alert, yet were busy chatting, thus making it easier for the travellers to not get spotted.
"Hey!" One of the guards took out his dark red bloodstained crossbow. "Who's there?"
Nestor commanded them to lie flat on the floor and try not to breathe loudly, even though the tension made it impossible to do. The guards stepped down from the watch tower, weapons at ready.
"Roghok, you miserable maggot!" The other guard punched his mate. "Always hearing things... Maybe Ugrok needs to know about these...hearingsof yours.".
Nestor was right from the beginning. The brigands were from somewhere else than this region. Their names, as well as their awkward appearance, was a perfect example.
"Malediction take them down!" Martin cursed and spat on the floor, either from disgust, either from happiness that soothed him when the bandits started moving back to the outposts. "Who are they? I wouldn't be able to lift my hand against them."
"Yes, foul beings they are." The gust of wind discontinued Martin's speech and that was a perfect cause for Nestor to speak. "Maybe we'll find an explanation inside, come on!"
The moon reached the zenith when they reached the wooden wall. The clouds disappeared as if there were none at the beginning. Yet, this was a difficulty they had to surpass in order to get inside. The wall was too high for them to climb and the front gate was guarded.
"Heaven's sake!"
Martin thrusted his dagger into the ground. All of their efforts had gone to waste. They reached Gatherham, so what? They could not get inside - maybe that was even better, as they might not get outside afterwards. But the stomachs were rumbling and the throats dehydrated from thirst.
"Maybe they will not notice us next to the wall. Let's walk!"
Stealth games continued. They silently moved towards the back gate of the town.
"Look!"
The young lad pointed at a flaw in the barrel wall. The high wooden wall was much shorter here and was a perfect place for unwelcome people to get in.
"And now we enter the village of Gatherham!" Nestor pompously exclaimed, drawing his blade out. "Let's just hope we do enter our graves.... Err, I mean do not." He blushed from the nonsense he had just said.
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TDL
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The weak suffer. I endure.
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posted June 22, 2006 07:57 PM |
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Edited by TDL at 02:56, 03 Jul 2006.
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REBELLION
The phrase Nestor had pronounced just a few minutes before still echoed in their heads. The tension tightly grasped them with its claws, as they silently moved from shadow of one house to the one of the others. The very same tall beasts were patrolling the streets, their heavy blood-sucking weapons at ready.
"I get the feeling I am constantly watched by someone. Though I am not, I feel as if."
Martin was the most worried of the three and constantly shifted from one foot to another. Nestor, who seemed to be as calm as a grave - even as pale as a gravestone, watched him with a dumb smile, knowing not if to laugh or to cry.
"Calm down!" He whispered when Martin fell over a log. "Can't you ever be quiet..."
"WHO IS THERE?!"
The roaring voice echoed between the streets as its owner ran towards the place he heard something. The travellers successfully hid themselves in the shade and the only thing that could have given them away was their intense breathing.
"Maggots, where are you hiding?"
The creature entered the shade and sniffed the air.
"Humans-s-s..."
His foul voice made their bodies shiver and the presence of the beast itself gripped their souls, rendering them unable to breathe normally. They silently crawled through the garden behind the house, as the sound of the footsteps of the follower silenced.
"What the...?"
"Come here!"
They ended up in a barn which seemed to be still in use. Nestor took a deep breath and lied back on the floor, as the sword he threw down quickly hid itself in the straw pile.
"Guys, come here!" Martin could not resist the temptation to see what is happening outside and asked them to come with him.
"LOOK OUT!"
SWISH! The beast guard fell down on the dirt with a thumping sound. Three arrows stung his forehead as he was about to cut Martin's head off.
"Whoa." Martin let the word go out out of sheer amazement. "I did not know he can be killed." He instantly looked at the bow that their lad was holding. "Good job, Torek. Might as well now be indebted to you."
"I do not think so..."
A candied laugh reached their ears, as they surrounded the beast. In fact, only one wooden arrow was on its head - staring at them out of the eye, to be exact. The two remaining arrows shone in silver and had red-white feathers attached to their end.
"Argh, those blasted orcs."
The very same voice surrounded the travellers and they saw its owner. They quickly drew out their weapons, but the man lowered his weapon and had a seat on the straw pile.
"There is no need to be afraid. I am of the same kind as you are." The man grinned and put his bow on the ground. He was already nearing its fifties and had his face impaled with bruises and cuts. The tightly-knit cloth covered his muscular upper body which reminded Nestor of the hunters he saw in the harbor city before their unlucky journey began.
"Are you a...?"
"Hush! Am a hunter, by the name of Hunter in fact." He smiled at Nestor, seemingly guessing what was on his mind. "I would ask you to be silent for a while, as soon reinforcements will find the dead body over there."
And he was right. Merely a few minutes past and two dozens of those so-called orcs surrounded the corpse. Their long swords shone in the moonlight, giving off a strange bloody color, whereas their armor seemingly absorbed every ray of light it could and enchained it within the darkness inside.
"Humane maggots. Somewhere near. Smell them. Slay every human you find!"
"Elite orc guard..." He sighed and like a fox jumped on the straws. "Hide yourselves, else they might want to burn us alive."
The torches they carried glimmered, lighting everything around. The fire spookily gazed at the barn, as if thirsty to feel the touch of straws. The orcs were marching at a quick pace and did not bother to check the "abandonned" building behind the corpse of their mate.
"What is happening?" Nestor dared to ask him when the orc squad left the surrounding area.
"A long story..." The man spat on the dirt floor. "Oh, for sake of Heavens. We have plenty of time now. The orcs shall search every corner of this village, so we might as well have some time to chat."
He took out a pipe out of his pocket and carefully lit it. Nestor remembered to light himself his as well - at least, he has company now.
"It all began when the messenger arrived two days ago. The leader of the raiders of the Southern Steppes with whom we declared peace a while ago,-" A local, Nestor instantly thought, "-decided to come here and prove his loyalty to us. We believed he did not want to raid our village as the amount of crops we produced this season was so small we did not have enough for ourselves. Yet, a feast was being prepared as another messenger came here saying that they are almost here."
Hunter's face turned pale and sorrow reflected from it.
"It was at least good we weren't fooled by them." A mad smile crept his face. "Before they could reach us, we saw something else moving behind them. And these were orcs that were coming... They mercilessly slayed every last one of them - we doubt someone survived as the orcish horde scattered and hunted everyone down. Village was soon taken over. Most inhabitants were killed, others ran away and hid."
"I pretty much understand those gorillas now. But why were you referring to "us"? Are there more of you?"
Hunter's eyes widened as Nestor discontinued his sad speech. Nestor looked as if he was ignorant of what was happening, though he actually wasn't.
"Aye, the resistance forces are scattered throughout the village. But we will not manage to get them all to rise up against the orcs - one orc can tear a mere human into parts in no time, without even using swords."
"Smells like magic..."
"No, mere brute force, nothing else. But that brute force proves to be too dangerous for us to courageously stand up against... Gatherham must be defended at all costs..."
"And my father's life!" as if out of nowhere Torek stood up and took out a steel-blue arrow...
Torek blushed when they all arose from the straw piles, exited the barn and watched the confused lad roam around. They perfectly knew it was his stepfather who lived there and not his father, but putting a stress mark on the word itself made it look as if their journey is an epic campaign.
The sun lit all of their surroundings and they could already see the orc squad in front of them, executing a daily check for humane vermins, such as the four of them. Nestor feared they will be seen, but the orcs seemed dazzled by the sunlight and seemed to get weaker with every ray of sunlight their overgrown bodies absorbed.
"Yes, the orcs are truly weaker when in the sunlight." As if proving his own and Nestor's guesses at the same time, Hunter murmured. The new acquaintance made Nestor realize he was not the only one with unlucky fate. "Hm... We shall see what shall be done..."
"Hunter, m' mate! What are you pondering about?" Nestor pretended he did not hear anything. His sharp, yet oblivious hearing often led him to thinking about something incoherent to the subject. "I noticed that those beastmen, orcs, as you referred to them, fear the light."
"Figured out yourself, eh? Curiosity killed the cat, but an undead cat can extinguish the feeling of curiosity." These words meant nothing to the listener, as he did not know the local dialect and proverbs. The grin that crept Hunter's face made Nestor smile as well. "Never mind, my friends. Old men tend to speak in riddles."
Martin, who was toying with the sand with his long cutlass, watched the two of them talk. He heard mere whispers and could make nothing out of it. Yet, the lad next to him listened attentively and had his bow at ready. Torek's fury was so immense he could not stand the feeling of bloodlust.
"Yargh!"
An orc appeared right behind them. The foursome stood dumbstruck and gazed at the bare bloody blade he (or she; they could not understand if there were genders among the orcs as well). He roared with all its voice, attracting the attention of the guard as he dashed into the four of them, knocking the lad on his back. With a thumping sound, his body landed on the dust.
"Arm yourselves! They are coming!"
A group of people jumped out of nearest buildings, wielding their weapons and armor. A long redwood arrow stung the orc's backside and another roar echoed throughout.
"Come on!"
A man grabbed Nestor by his elbow and brought him back to consciousness. Nestor viciously gazed at the dying orc and turned his face to the man. A bearded man, aged around forty, watched Nestor with keen blue eyes, out of brown bushy eyebrows.
"Quickly, the Orc Guard is nearing! Get your weapons ready and ready to drag the body of your mate! Yes, that youngster is just unconscious - lucky he was, else the orc would have torn him into pieces."
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TNT_Addict
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Beautiful Liar
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posted June 29, 2006 05:07 PM |
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