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Post by Broken Warrior on Jun 29, 2013 15:23:36 GMT -5
As the group made their way down the hall, a small puddle of water had formed in a corner. As they walked by, , no one really seemed to pay attention. Before anyone could react, the puddle stretched along the nearby walls, freezing, and suddenly shattering the wood and stone, exposing the outside world.
Everyone had been thrown from the hall, but seemed safe, if not slightly rattled. The dust in the area blew about, and the hole in the side of the fortress looked as if it had been perfectly cut out. Water dripped down the side of the building, forming once again into a puddle. The puddle rose, taking the shape of a man, it's eyes glowing with hate, malevolence, and a hunger. The figure looked around at the various people, and it's eyes fell upon Elestirne, and the scepter she held. The figure began to towards her, paying no head to the damage it had already caused. Out of nowhere, an elven blade pierced the watery being. One of Elestirne's guards, who had come clearly due to the noise. The elf stared at the figure it had stabbed, standing between it and his Queen.
The watery figure looked at the elf, tilting it's head to the right slightly before laughing. It's arm shot straight up, and held there for a moment. Those that looked upon it would notice that it had taken the shape of a blade. No word was heard only the shock as the finely crafted elven blade snapped in two, and fell to the ground. The elf didn't say a word, his arms simply fell to his sides, and then as if two pieces of wood had just been split, the elf fell into two, split evenly from groin to head. The blood that sprayed from the opening wound created a rain of blood in the area. The figure gave a grin, a smile of an evil sort, showing that it enjoyed the carnage, and the look of horror on the people before it. As it moved to take another step towards Elestirne, it paused at the sound of a voice. It turned to see Storm, holding the katana hilt in hand.
It quickly turned and started to move towards it's new target.
((sorry for the delay))
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 29, 2013 6:46:04 GMT -5
Within the dwarven city, a constant echo rang through the abandoned delve. The sounds of pounding metal against metal, the grinding sound of stone against stone accompaning it. Within a forge, the dwarven statue was seen pounding away on a metal bar. It moved with purpose, striking with power and strength with each blow. A sensation caught it's attention midswing, and it paused, it's glowing blue eyes staring off into the distance, unblinking. "The players are set. The pieces are in play." With that, the statue returned to its work.
******
Within the great hall of Mittelmarch, slithering about the the support beams, a single word rings out, grabbing the attention of the "Water." A single word, spoken by the soft tone of a female elf, though quitely spoken, is "heard" on the other side of the building. The creature quickly begins to head towards the one who said "katana." The rush of battle and murderous intent fill the being as it slithers towards it's prey.
******
Several miles outside the old kyuden, an elk lazily nibbles at the grass, his head bowed down, but ears up, listening for any sign of danger. The screech of an eagle catches it's attention. It looks up, only to suddenly drop, the impact of the arrow quickly taking him down. Nothing felt as it hits the ground, the blow was percise, clean, and quick. The ragged figure moves toward his kill, bowing his head in reverance and thanks to the downed elk. He looks up into the sky, a sense of dread over him that he can't explain. He sees the eagle, the one that grabbed the attetnion of the elk. He watches it fly around for a few moments, and then dive to the earth, dissappearing into the nearby trees. Suddenly, two eyes open from the woodline. The imposing figure of a powerful grey and black wolf stepping out. sitting on the wolf, is the eagle, it's plumage a vibrant gold and white, standing out against the grey/black that it's talons rest on.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 2, 2013 20:35:00 GMT -5
The maids moved about in the outer quarters, getting ready for the day's work. A young girl walked in with two buckets of water for the cleaning that was to soon begin. The young girl set the buckets down, and moved to grab a mop from across the room.
"Hey, I said to get two bucket fulls," the shrill command from the head maid. The little girl walked over to look down and see that only one bucket had water in it. "Bu....but...I know I." Before the girl finished, she was cut off by the maid, pointing outside for her to fill the bucket. The girl made her way out to refill the bucket. As she walked out, the last drips of water on the floor suddenly disappeared into a mouse hole into the interior of the great halls of Mittelmarch.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Apr 26, 2013 11:04:17 GMT -5
The Spirit pondered about the the elf and her yojimbo kami before her. She said nothing as she hovered justly slightly above the ground. Without the rage for the winds around her, her seeming unnatural beauty could be seen, her features soft and elegant. She raised her hand slowly, and the scepter began to glow brightly, then the light faded to it's calm glow that it had before the spirits arrival.
"I see the truth in your heart, and will do what I can to help. When I am needed, I will appear to you. Know this, another step forward, and there is no turning back. You may learn things, things that you may wish better left alone, not only about Tenkazu, but about yourself."
The spirit looked to Olore with a look as if she knew something, and gave him slight bow. The winds rushed instantly inwards toward the spirit, and then stopped; the spirit was gone. The only thing left was a echo of a voice, in the strange lanugauge the spirit had been speaking.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Apr 18, 2013 12:05:02 GMT -5
The figure took a step forward, her voice raised with an indignant tone to the pair before her. The winds and snow suddenly shifted from randomly blowing around to radiating from the spirit. The temperature suddenly dropped to well below freezing, and shards of ice began to form on the trees, and “grow” from the ground. “Just as nature cares nothing for the issues of men, neither do I care for their comfort or the urgency of mortal issues; I care only to find Tenkazu.”
The spirit stood there, the visible power she possessed for all to see. She stood there as the calm center of a storm, despite the furious winds, her kimono simply hung lazily around her. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. She felt through the winds, the kami of the Land spoke to her, telling her of the elves, and of the ones before her, they spoke the truth. As she opened her eyes, they gave off a visible white flash. Just as suddenly as the storm had moved into the area, it ended. The winds ceased almost immediately, the remaining snow in the air fell lazily down to the ground. The air around most of the area began to noticeable warm, except for the 10 feet around the spirit.
The echoing “common” rang out, the tone was even, but still guarded “You claim that a friend gave that to you? I find that hard to believe. Kakita Tenkazu had no friends. Yet, it is clear he made that. Strange, you clutch it as if it were a fading memory. As if you release it, you’ll be in pain. I wonder; do you even know what it is you hold? What it is my son gave you?”
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Post by Broken Warrior on Apr 16, 2013 19:59:56 GMT -5
As the two approached, the winds and snow blew harder, and the voice became more menacing, "I said where!?!" As Elestrine made the peaceful gesture and exposed the ice scepter, the winds died down slightly, and the softer voice rang out again. At this range, her "common" words seemed echoed, and did not match the motions of her lips. In fact, faintly heard is a language unfamiler to them, even more exotic sounding then Rokugani, but every word carrys weight with it, and power. "You carry a tsangusuri...no, it has grown beyond a simple fetish, it is a Nemuranai now."
The figure looked between the elf and her horse, clearly studying both of them. The figure points at Elestrine, "I don't know who or what you are, but you carry something that has brought me here. And why do you walk with a kami?" The figure turns her gaze to Olore, seemingly looking past the form of the shimmering horse, and deeper within, into what it really is.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Apr 16, 2013 8:20:32 GMT -5
The elven camp sat in darkenss and silence. The skys were cloudy, and a cool breeze had settled on the wind. the area grew cooler, forcing the travelers to bundle up more, though the silver-white stallion seemed to stand there unaffected by it. The temperture suddenly dropped from cool to freezing, and snow began to fall, and quickly accumulate.
A few yards from the camp, a figure appeared, a stunningly beautiful woman of Rokugani origin, wow hovered a few feet above the ground. Her long hair fell down the entire length of her back, stopping just above her ankles, except for a small bundle on the top of her head, held in place by a exquiste hairpin with the image of a crane on it Her hair was raven black, except for a few strands and the lower half, which was bleached white. Her flowing white kimono fluttered in the wind lazily around her. Her skin, as pale white as the accumulating snow and the kimono she wore, stood in stark contrast to her hair and piercing ice blue eyes. The nearby ice scepter glowed brightly, illuminating like a small star.
The figure landed on the fresh snow, her bare feet uneffected by the cold. As she took a step toward the camp, a single arrow was loosed at her. The arrow moved toward it's target only to disintigrate into a thousand small snow flakes as it hit it's target.
The words that followed came out with a soft voice, but unexplainablly carried the weight and fury of a blizzard, "Where is Tenkazu!?!"
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Post by Broken Warrior on Apr 10, 2013 19:46:49 GMT -5
On the outskirts of Mittelmarch, in the shadow of the woods, a pair of patrolling guards had found themselves in a trap. A simple pit with some water in it, probably a relic from the recent wars, or a hunters trap for dangerous prey. The two guards attempted to climb out, but their armor cut through the dirt and mud, stopping them from effectivally climbing.
"This is great, how did we get into this mess?" "No idea. At least the routes are known, someone will come looking when we haven't reported in," the guards spoke with such confidence. The confidence was broken as one guard watched as the water below their feet retreated to a single point, and formed into a vaguly humanoid form. In the reflection of the guards helmet, the clear translusant form of the figure was only broken by the two points of red that sat where a man's eyes would be.
The guard moved to pull his sword, but found himself smashed against the wall. The other guard turned at the thud, only to find himself thrown from the pit. He stood up as quickly as his shakey body would let him, drawing his sword as the watery figure climbed out of the pit like a snake, and charged at the Mittelmarcher. The man thrust his blade, hitting his mark, stopping the charge of the being. He looked up at the two points of red, and for a moment swore he saw it smile.
The guard yanked his blade out the side of the being, and looked on in horror as the thing seemed uneffected. He swund his blade at the creature, cutting right through it, but the strike seemed to do nothing. The figure held up his "hand", a shard of ice flying from it into the guards sword hand. The screams that should have followed were gargled as the being snatched the guard by the throat, lifting him from the ground with ease. He carried his prey back to the pit, to see the other guard coming around. It released his grip a bit to allow his prey to breath, and the figure spoke.
"Katana ha doko desu!?! Imasugu oshie kudasai! (Where is the Katana, tell me know!)"
The guard in the pit looked up from the pit in bewilderment, he didn't understand the being. "IMASUGU, (now)" the figure yelled before tightning his grip again choking the defeated guard. "I don't know what you are saying! Are you speaking some form of elvish?"
The figure placed his hand next to the head of the guard in hand, it lossened it's grip for a moment to let the guard take a deep breath, then the sudden shock on his face. The guard in the pit watched as a shard of ice flew out of his friends head, an instantly lifeless lump that was dropped into the pit. The figure looked up into the sky as if talking to someone far away.
"Watashi ha anata gamiteiru kanojixyoha-elf nanimo watashi wo teishi suru okonau koto ga deki masu shitte iru I know you are watching she-elf, and there is nothing you can do to stop me)"
The guard had only a moment to yell as the creature lept into the pit.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Mar 20, 2013 18:43:48 GMT -5
The figure had made the kyuden his home for the winter, coming and going unnoticed by the rest of the world. The snows were melting, and the signs of spring finally beginning to come forth, bringing the renewed life of the Land to be seen after it's long sleep. When the figure wasn't hunting for food, he sulked about the halls of the abandoned pagoda attempting to find something, anything.
He had been drawn to this place, but he had no understanding why. For nearly a year, he sifted through what remained of the former stronghold. His body had grown stronger, no longer the skeletal figure that had came out of the dwarven mine a year prior. Today, he went to what appeared to have been the stables. He looked about the broken place, a few of the supports had given away. He kicked a bail of unused hay that remained, it fell apart at the slight force. The figure began to walk away when a glint caught his eye.
He reached down, picking up a fine pouch that had been hidden by the hay. Inside, he found a silver mirror. It seemed untarnished, a beautifully accented piece of work apparently of elvish make. He looked it over, and stared at his own reflection for a moment. His pale skin, nearly as white as the snow that was melting around him. His long unkempt black hair that hung around his body, and his facial hair, which was just as wild. He stared at his reflection for a moment, a single question flowing through his head, "Who am I."
As he locked his violet eyes with his reflection, his mind raced to an image. He stood in the middle of a swirlling blizzard, a torrent of purple energy resting in his hand, staring at a demon-elf. And then, the blizzard collapsed on the two.
He snapped to, dropping the mirror that simply thuded on the ground. What was that he had just seen? He gathered the things up, and headed inside the pagoda to attempt to go to sleep. In a far away land, sitting in a silent hall of memories, a scepter of ice sitting on it's resting place, began to glow brightly.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Jun 18, 2012 8:09:01 GMT -5
As an occasional thing, I don't see the harm in Friday practices. As a full time thing though, don't do it. We've learned the hard way that Friday's always get hammered do to the active "Campaign Season" that is all the events of the year. As for this Friday, I won't be able to attend as my cousin is getting married that night.
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Post by Broken Warrior on Jun 1, 2012 13:12:06 GMT -5
I'll be there, noon sharp.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 25, 2012 20:01:55 GMT -5
Some of us would be there...not all of us got an invitation
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 16, 2012 10:46:05 GMT -5
I can think of one thing ....well maybe two.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 2, 2012 13:02:10 GMT -5
The village had been abandoned some time before, though it was impossible to tell how long it had been. The homes and shops of the main village were in disrepair. Most of anything that would be useful for a scavanger had been taken as well. The lone figure had been gaining strength over the last year to survive a trip out of the Iron Mountains where he awoke, his hair was still long, and hung around the furs and hides that now covered his body. Something had drawn him here, but he didn't know why, nor did he know what this place was, but something simply called to him.
He made his way through the village, as if he were walking in a dream, as if he had walked these pathways before. But no matter where he walked or where he looked, there was nothing, and no answer to why he came here. He made his way up the hill to the mighty pagoda that once housed the powerful Lords of Kyuden Tatusmura and their warriors. Inside, there was nothing of value, save 5 chairs that sat in the middle of the main hall. Everything had been taken, but yet, there were no signs of theft, or struggle. It was as if the people simply picked up and left.
The figure made his way to the chairs, sitting down in the middle one, and simply looked around the empty room, and attempted to rest for a moment.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 2, 2012 11:02:24 GMT -5
The spring rains had been coming down hard for the last few days. Many of the pathways through Mittelmarch where covered with Mud, as people continued to move here and there, attempting to continue their work despite the weather. At a nearby well, three Defenders were talking, lamenting on the peace that had managed to be secured recently. With the Jovians gone, things seemed like they may finally settle for the constantly besiged city. Of the Defenders made his way over to the well, pulling up a a bucket of water to get a drink. The other two continued their discussion giving little to no notice of what their friend was doing. Suddenly, the drinking guard fell to his knees, clutching his throat. Before thetwo could do anythign to help, the guard fell to the ground, his eyes glassy and some of the water that he had just tried to drink pouring from his mouth. The two looked over their friends body in bewilderment, how could this have happened? One of the guards looked at his friends mouth, seeing that water still was coming out. The other one, turned at the sound of a sloshy footstep. He had no chance to say anything, as his lifeless body crumbled against the well, several blade thin shards of ice protruding from his chest, which began to melt immediatly. The final Defender dove away and reached for his weapon, but there was nothing there. He turned to begin to make a run for the guardhouse, only to turn and see what could only be described as a mass of water that had a simblance of a humanoid form. It reached up with a single hand, and before the guard could swing his blade, his chest was opned up by a large shard of ice, that just like it's previous victim, began to melt instantaously. The Defender collapsed to the ground, the three deaths virtually silent, and it would be some time before someone realized they hadn't reported in. The mass of water dropped down into a puddle, and began to make it's way through the village, a task made easy by all the puddles and heavy rains through the village.
Many miles away, a lone figure, wrapped in animal skins of various type, took a soft step into the ruins of what had been once called Kyuden Tatsumura
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 26, 2011 17:53:04 GMT -5
A small fire crackled, the coal burning as if it had just been dug up. The emancipated figure laid next to it, attempting to stay warm. A rat had the same notion, moving towards the fire wearily. The sudden lurch froze it just long enough for the figure to grab it.
The figure bit down into the rat, tearing at the fur and flesh as best he could. It barely had the strenght to even catch this meal, let alone wait to cook it. Blood splatered the face of the figure, and the crunching of bone, and tearing sound of the sinew and tendons simply added to the gruesomeness of the scene.
The firgure fell to it's back, blood running from his mouth and down his face. It had not been much, but it was still food. The figure wiped it's mouth, turning it's head to look out to see what it could. The air was heavy, which made it hard to breath. Outside the reach of it's fire, it was pitch black. The figure had found it's way into one of the tunnels leading out of the city. Both the way he came from, and the way he was heading, were shrouded in absolute darkness. The figure sat up gingerly, it's hair falling around his body. It shivered, before moving closer to the fire.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 25, 2011 17:25:55 GMT -5
The emancipated figure stumbled back and forth as it mades it's way to the exit of the temple. It's body more bones then skin, it's face sunken driving the look of a skull. Long straight black hair fell swung about the form, reaching to grab the ground in it's length. Hardly any clothing covered the form, only the scraps of what once could be called pants covered parts of it's legs. It moves about slowly, looking to fall with each heavy and exhausting step.
As it exited the temple, it looked out to see deathly silent city, given shape and form to it's eye's by the light from the hole in the ceiling. Rubble was strewn about what could pass as streets. Stones, carts, weapons, skeletons, a myraid mix of a thousand things not disturbed since who knew when. The form moved slowly through the abandoned delve, each step a strained effort to not collapse.
Back in the temple, other things moved about, the pool of water seemed to have come to life. It moved about the room, until finding a crack in the endless stone wall. The pool squezzed itself into the crack, disappearing from the room. On the other side, the silence was truly broken, by the grinding sound of stone against stone, as the dwarven statue took it's first steps. The temple reverberated with the sounds of the grinding stone, as the statue moved it's legs, it arms, even it's fingers made a grinding screech load enough to drive a orc to it's knees. It opened it's eye, a blue glow from them lit up the empty temple.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 25, 2011 13:30:44 GMT -5
Water slowly leaked down the wall of the above the alter, the beams of light bouncing off every small bead that made it's way down the wall. A small pool had formed at the base of the wall.
The sudden thud and splash of the water broke the eternal silence. a simingly formless mass moved about slowly, appearing to push itself up. A hand placed in the water, was followed by a sharply bright light, before the mass dragged itself from the point of landing. It made it's way slowly towards a statue of a dwarf, mumbling incoherently. Reaching the statue, the mass gave way to a humanoid figure, agonizingly attempting to stand up while leaning on the statue. A final hand placed on the head of the statue allowed the figure to stand, another flash bouncing off the face of the stone dwarf.
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Post by Broken Warrior on May 25, 2011 11:04:18 GMT -5
The halls of the dead dwarven city sat silent. The denizens had died off or left long ago. The great pillers and quiet forges sat as a silent monument to a people long since gone, and an age long since passed. The forgotten city simply sat empty, hidden away within the depths of the Iron Mountains, seemingly untouched for an age. The only light in the cold dark tomb shown through a break in the roof of the city, an opening straight into the world above, into the cold open air of the mountains.
The light shown onto the damaged dwarven temple. The beams of light fed through a hole in the upper wall of the building, which rested on a crater in the wall above the alter.
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