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To Ageven Deriam, Sixth Centurion of Ulandus, In the hand of Sir Uridius Dratiphe My dear Ageven, I hope you and your men are doing well despite the constant assaults perpetrated by the dastardly Desert King. All is well here, though even here the Desert King has been at work. I regret that I have to tell you of an attack upon the robust traders and shepherds of the area who prosper on the rocks and cliffs on the ocean side. Unfortunately a pirate, taking advantage of the confusion of the war, and flying the colors of "His Highness", went in for what he figured would be an easy raid. However, he seemed to have found it more difficult than he thought to attack the traders, and was already fleeing with all sails flying when our patrol ship came on the scene. Sadly, the pirate refused to heed the Captain's summons, and he (the captain, that is) ran him down, quite contrary to his orders. Altogether it is quite a regrettable incident, save for the traders, who enjoyed their bacon and hamburgers. Truly yours, Sir Uridius Dratiphe A picture of the pirate before he was run down My counter to robuko's guerrilla, thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome!
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The Ulanders closed in on the rebellion's last hideout, one of the many caves which dotted the Nestlands mountainsides. Unfortunately for the rebels, they stood no chance against the trained legions of Ulandus and were speedily defeated. An more head-on view: I would pick K12 as the next warzone if I win. Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome!
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Ageven has teamed up with Uridius to bring in a few of Mitgardia's Wild Shag-bulls. No Desert King mummies can stand up to these, and their arrival in the B8 square might well spell the end for DK control of that area! On a side note, the fig is completely attached - to itself, not to the beast. A figless shot That would be about 16x6 studs, if you count the tail. C&C welcome!
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Sir A. Liddel Studd, To the Most Honorable, Magnificent, Exalted, etc., etc., Lord First Centurion, Greetings! I write to inform Your Highness of the completion of our treaty with Lord Abrim Kar’dani. As you well know, he has challenged all factions to a mass melee, in which I – solicitous as always for the rights of Ulandus, the unity of Kaliphlin, and the glory of Your Most Honorable Highness – resolved at once to take a part. As the battle progressed, it became very evident that the essential point of all was a small tower – perhaps a shrine, at all events with heavy Eastern Kaliphlin influences. The three factions were closing around this tower, and almost at the same moment all realized that it was the key to the Lonely Mountain, to a treaty with Lord Kar’dani, and perhaps even – who knows? the fortune of war is often strange – the conquest of Kaliphlin. In a flash the warriors from each side began a race toward the tower. I am reminded of my childhood, when I played king of the mountain with my brother – my long lost brother! But I will not sully this document with my own reminisces, except so far as to thank you again for all you have done in that respect upon my behalf, and to once again assure you that my loyalty is now, as ever, always with Your Highness and the island of Ulandus! To return to the battle. Three of us – as destiny or fate would have it – outstripped the rest. The first was a High Council partisan – poor, misguided folk. Them – and him – I can afford to pity. The second was a supporter of the Desert King, as his mummy costume made clear. The third was your humble and devoted servant. We reached the tower in that order, and as they reached it the other two began to climb. I had just arrived at the foot when a strange hissing sound caused the air to vibrate, and a lurid glow flashed out on the horizon, rivalling the sun itself in brightness. The next instant a fireball reached the top of the tower, knocking down the higher sections and setting the rest aflame. The poor High Council man and the mummy were to be seen no more, and their respective teams, demoralized at the sudden catastrophe, left the field in disorder. Of the rest I have little to say, save that we speedily finalized and signed a treaty with Lord Kar’dani, which treaty I have enclosed in this dispatch. Wishing you all health and success, Your most humble, devoted, loyal, etc., etc., servant, Sir A. Liddel Studd Fi-yah! Yeah, when I said you need to think height when it comes to 8x8s... I meant it! Comments are welcome! As you may imagine, I had a deal of fun with the fire ball... Thanks for checking it out!
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Having heard that a man with a treasure chest wanted to talk to him, the Ulander official, who was working at his desk, was quite quick to admit him. "So," he asked, "you hope I will turn over my town in return for the contents of this chest?" "Precisely!" answered the other, opening the chest's lid and revealing a bunch of gold and sparkling diamonds. "Hmm," replied the official. "You know, though we have been separated for the mainland for two thousand years we still know your tricks... the good part is that you don't know ours! Goodbye!" The official pressed a button on his desk and the spy disappeared through the gaping hole in the floor. Walking over to the hole the Ulander laughed "Thanks for paying in advance again!" My counter to MKJ's guerrilla on G13. Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome!
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"In yon straight path a thousand May well be stopped by three; And who will stand, on either hand, And keep the way with me!" --Lays of Ancient Rome Note that this is the old English straight, which means narrow. Anyway, in this case, unfortunantly for themselves the insurgants had never heard that lovely poem, so they were quickly beaten by the Ulandians, who graciously gave permission to the one survivor to return to his home upon promise that he would not take up arms against them again. Just the rockwork, insane as always. If you're interested in seeing the other version of this MOC... it's a lot funnier. Comments and criticism welcome! Thanks for checkin' her out!
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Warzone 8: The Battle for the Trade Lanes Location: L11 Who Can Participate: Ulandus and High Council (Unless A path is opened up by the Desert King before the end of the minichallenge) Terrain: This is the very tip of the Qar-Akhen River Delta, the wetlands often change, and there is no solid ground for long. The deep swamps have reeds and small trees, but usually nothing large. This zone is also part of the Great Southern Ocean. There are few outer islands that stand beyond the delta, some of these have rudimentary lighthouses to help guide ships to Ras-El-Akhen or into the river so that they may journey to Qarkyr. The location is important because it helps control river traffic, and troop supply. History: This region has been part of the maritime trade-ways longer than there has been a written language to record the ships that have passed by and up the Great River of Life. Although no major settlement is within this region, it has always been important strategically. Mini-challenge: Whereas large armies really cannot make their way through the swamps, and large troop transports try to avoid the shifting outlets of the river unless they have to, this battle will be fought by small parties. The High Council is looking to expand out from Ras-El-Akhen, and fight back against the large Ulandian wave that has engulfed the Southern Coast. Small boats travel amongst the reeds to take out temporary camps of First Centurion’s men within the delta. At Sea, the Ulandians dominate, as their navy has dispatched many small water craft to the region to stop all merchants and determine their loyalties. The builders should depict a battle within the reeds of the delta, or just offshore in the slightly deeper waters. It should be clear that your side has won the battle. Secondary judging category: Best water. Winner of this title will become “Aquanaut of Kaliphlin” Restrictions: High Council: 16x16 Ulandus: 32x32 Due Date: April 19th WARMAP318 by skaforhire, on Flickr
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Just before actually entering the lush area of the Nestlands, the Dwarves and the settlers there are having a small conflict. Who knows what the case may be. It could be the fact there are Dwarves trespassing or it's because of the newly built Dwarven Oil Extractor there. Either way, the settlers aren't going to give up without a fight but the Dwarves are trained for war and so they'll give these degenerates a war. The armed settlers are outnumbered in this small skirmish and seem to be less trained for a situation like this. Under the command of General Comstock, the Dwarves put up a rather impressive fight. Ulandus by The Goliath, on Flickr Some additional pictures at different viewpoints. Ulandus by The Goliath, on Flickr Ulandus by The Goliath, on Flickr Sorry for the potato-quality on these, especially the last one. I was experimenting with the zoom on my iPod's camera.
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This is a counter to MKJoshA's Monkey Business guerrilla. Shortly after a new city pledged their allegiance to Ulandus and the First Centurion, a Dwarven officer has been stationed their as a recruiter and as a defender. Surely enough, he's spotted something rather peculiar - a monkey running around with what appears to be stolen gold. His first instinct was to put down the monkey, which he has down so with a single swipe of a steel longsword. Surely enough, it was revealed that the monkey was in a scheme to steal gold from Ulandian sympathizers. The monkey's owner and trainer has not been found. He has probably crawled into a cave like the rest of the Desert King scum should be. Here's an additional picture with a closer view.
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Reference to Adair's build. The stowaway in the cabin had long since filled his belly on apples and drifted off to sleep with the quiet motion of the ship in the almost windless sea. The sail billowed slowly out, then fell again, in a way that was remarkably similar to the heaving of the stowaway's chest. Presently a low sigh escaped him. A rustle on deck and a sudden babbling of orders in a woman's voice awoke him. He sat up with a jerk and spent the next few minutes righting the barrel and replacing apples. Fortunately, the noise was covered over by the lady's loud shouting. He paused for a second, just as she dropped into a lower tone. "Revenge. That is my life now. And my revenge will not be complete until every single Ulandian is dead and their island sunk back into the ocean." Revenge! On every single Ulandian?! This was really too much! Our stowaway happened to have been greatly helped on his way by several Ulandian soldiers - in fact they were the ones who had smuggled him on this ship - and he was quite willing to repay the favor. Certainly he did not wish this thoughtlessly passionate girl to get away with her mad scheming! For hours he sat there, racking his brain. What should he do? What could he do? The night began to close, and darkness crept over the ocean. The stowaway stiffened in his hiding place as the cabin door opened and Adira herself entered. "So dark in here!" she muttered. "I could really use a candle!" A candle! Fire! That was it! The stowaway had to clap his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from shouting, "Eureka!" Impatiently he waited until all was quiet. Then he snuck out of the cabin and drew a flint stone out of his pocket. By dint of long patience he finally achieved a spark. Eagerly he watched it consume the tarred canvas he fed it. Then he placed it carefully in a place where it was sure to catch. Had the watch not been so sound asleep, they might well have seen, not many minutes later, their small gig lowered over the side. But they were sound asleep. Not until the clothes of the first mate began to burn did he realize what was happening. Then instantly all was abustle, Adira rushed out, shouting orders again, the commander of the troops also bellowed orders, and so did the first mate - these orders all had to do with relieving his pain, "Bring me water! And a linen poultice! And a pot of soothing ointment!" - and the cacophony was so great that it was quite amazing that Adira and the commander managed to lash together a few spars and launch their small raft onto the water before things really started to heat up. Knowing they had to get far away before the water sucked the ship down, they began to swim and push the raft through the water, calling to those on board to jump out and help them. But all too many didn't hear. Adira looked backwards over her shoulder at the burning ship, barely bigger than the size of a quarter now. Who had done this? She sighed wearily. It must have been the crew. They had Desert King leanings. "Revenge is more complicated than I thought," she muttered to herself. "Now I'll have to postpone completing it until every single Desert King follower is dead - or whatever happens to mummies - and their king is once again locked away in his dismal tomb!" Fortunately for Adira, a ship belonging to an enterprising Kaliphlin merchant who, even in these troubled times, prosecuted his calling vigorously, passed by and picked them up. It was going to A15, which Adira thought was just perfect. Several of the crew were quite willing to join her on her mission of vengeance, so she was able to muster the same force as before. Note the curved sail. I was quite proud of that. Tried to stick as much as possible to Adair's original design! An overview: Original post (picture may not work):
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My counter to Lord Dan's guerrilla: A couple of Ulandian soldiers were walking along a quiet street in small town just northeast of Ras-El-Akhen when suddenly a ridiculously loud screech issued out of the tavern they were passing. The screech was immediately followed by a person hurrying out of the door over which hung a sign with a dragon. The Ulanders, always ready for anything, nodded at each other and winked. "Going somewhere?!" The jester - for it was he, though he had quickly put on a hood and breastplate - desperately attempted to slid between them. However, his attempt was a signal failure. As one of the Ulanders tackled him to the ground the other commented, "I've always said that you should never get too close to a jester!" I would like to receive UoP credit for: Architecture - roofing Anthropology - city scene Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome!
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A response to Lord Dan's Assassination. Things looked pretty bad for our minor lord, after the juggler turned assassin had driven a sword through his gut. Pain shot through his body as he slumped to the ground. His wife broke out into hysterical screams, and then - finding that screaming took too much energy - began to sob. Her little drama ended with a few gyrations on the smooth floor and a sudden, sliding fall on the other side of the room. Our minor lord gathered his failing energy and made a half plunge, half slide across the room, crumpling into the wall. Wincing, he struggled to a reclining position. The frequenters of the inn - inmates, the minor lord called them under his breath - were screaming and wailing - at least, those that were sufficiently "with it" were. One stumbled toward him, fumbling with the knots in a dirty neckerchief. Another looked on, giving vent to his lamentations with great volubility. "Our great lord, to come to this! *sob* To be stabbed by a dirty, worthless, no-good jester off the streets, the scum of the city..." "Don't just stand there, you, you..." The minor lord fell back gasping. The half-witted "inmate" paused in his lamentations. "Get a doctor! A doctor!" the minor lord spluttered, sinking to the ground again. The inmate dashed off. "What had gone wrong?" wondered the minor lord. A dull sort of stupor began to steal over him. He sank, fainting, to the ground - overcome as much by the smell of the inmate standing over him as by his own weakness. To come to this, indeed! He, lord of Kaliphlin - minor lord, to be sure, but still - lord of Kaliphlin, to die among such... such... No! He would stay alive, at least, until the doctor came! Full of this resolution, he raised himself on one arm and waited. At last - it seemed like an eternity - the doctor burst into the room. "Now, I can die!" thought the minor lord. He dropped back into a swoon. His wife, who had just recovered, sprang up in consternation. "Oh!" she began, but the doctor stopped her short. "Hold your noise until we know whether there is a reason for it!" he exclaimed roughly. Walking over to the dying man, he shoved the inmate standing over him out of the way. He gave the minor lord a quick inspection. "Jugglers turned assassins don't seem to have a good knowledge of human anatomy," the doctor soliloquized. "He'll live," he announced, turning to the group. The uproar of hysterical shouts and laughter that instantly filled the room made him wish he hadn't said anything, just yet. Comments are welcome! Thanks for checking it out!
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Failing the Peace (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 20) Chapters so far: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Failing the Peace guildhall by skaforhire, on Flickr “But, if we give up the city, we will have no leverage to get it back!” Mikeo complained. “The battle at the Wither Woods will be for naught!” petera by skaforhire, on Flickr “Let me remind you that we LOST that battle. Perhaps we should have retreated to Gearsport after the battle. We would have had less deserters.” Petera said calmly. He knew this was the right decision. The longer Dugal sieged Eastgate, the longer valuable High Council troops would be in the Wither Woods doing nothing to stop the march of the Desert King or the Ulandians. Petera knew Dugal was too stubborn to abandon Eastgate for the greater good, so Petera would have to do it. Petera also knew that Dugal had maneuvered for a seat on the High Council for the ruler of Gearsport, which was supposed to go to Paulos. Petera would be legitimately back on the High Council, if he could clear the claim to the other GEAR Co. run city. “You are just upset about your friend. Why don’t we surprise attack Dugal or DaMaximus’s forces and kill a bunch of them – that will make you feel better.” Mikeo said. Petera was grieving the loss of his good friend, Lord Folston, but bloodshed never made him feel good. Ever. Mikeo was still young, he had died when they were 11, and Petera had only rescued his twin from the underworld a little over a year ago. Needless to say, Mikeo was much like a young teenager and did not think things through. “What would that do, but put the Council in even poorer position?” Petera said. Often he had to point out strategy that did not sit at the tip of his brother’s nose. “Besides, what has changed that we could force our hand like that? We would get tired and no one would be able to stay in the city and keep the protective shield up. If we lose, then the city would be lost too.” Petera had constructed the great shield to protect Eastgate from Revolword’s elementals. Now he used it to keep Dugal out. It was a system of amplification crystals and a few ancient relics. A mage of great power had to be operating it at all times. Right now Avona was controlling it. “Well, you wanted to abandon the city anyway; we might as try to win our own war before we go fight another!” Mikeo replied. Petera could see his logic, but knew it was flawed. “Again, keeping both armies intact would be more beneficial.” Petera said. “I don’t want to move to Gearsport, it is a backwater!” Mikeo said. “Perhaps you should lead my troops against the Desert King, while I concentrate on First Centurion and his Ulandian legions.” Petera retorted. Mikeo replied, “Do you think I am ready? I feel like I have so much to learn.” He did. Besides the stunting of his personality and emotions due to his premature death, Mikeo still had not fully reached his magical potential. He could have been as strong as Petera, but he probably would never hit that mark. Magic needed to be developed early, or else a sorcerer would miss out on some of his power. That is why Petera was apprenticed to Revolword so early, his power was predicted to be greater than any mage that was currently in the Eastgate College of Magic and Navigation. Mikeo, had he lived, could have been just as great perhaps. “Perhaps a little more experience in battle would help you hone your abilities.” Petera replied. “I seriously doubt the Desert King has much that can stand up to you. “ and he believed that, but he then added, “do not engage Raa by yourself. You are not ready for that, it is likely it will take both of us to defeat him, or perhaps even more mages.” “Or a well-placed blade, “ Mikeo chuckled. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- DSC_1640 by skaforhire, on Flickr Dugal and Gideon stood at the window in the small council room. “He says that he will leave Eastgate, move his headquarters to Gearsport, and relinquish his claims.” Dugal was telling Gideon about the strange message he had received from his brother. “He would then welcome me as a brother in arms again as we fight our common enemies.” “What about after the war?” Gideon asked. “It says that we would negotiate a settlement of monies and armies.” Dugal replied. Dugal knew that Petera wanted a legal seat on the High Council, perhaps this was the only way he thought he could get one without killing two of his brothers, and somehow making them stay dead. “Perhaps this would be the best way to heal your family and help Kaliphlin at the same time.” Gideon said. Petera had done a lot to hurt the Macleans. He had had Dugal Murdered, kidnapped Merith, tried to kill Paulos at Queenscross, fought one of the largest battles in recent Historican memory against his brothers, raised their third brother from the dead to turn him into a warrior puppet, and held Eastgate hostage. On top of that, he had sided with Revolword in secret, although he later claimed that he had left Revolword’s apprenticeship as soon as he found out that the old mage was waging a war on the King. Still, there was a lot to forgive. “Perhaps he realizes that he cannot call your axe, and knows that he is not destined to rule Eastgate?” Gideon continued. He was referring to the Golden Axe of Eastgate, which could be called by the city’s rightful ruler at any time. Dugal had been able to call the axe as soon as he left the underworld, apparently Petera had never been able to get the axe to come to him while Dugal was dead, but neither could Paulos. “He may realize that this is the only way out for him. You and him fight each other, and the Desert King or First Centurion kills you both. He wins, he is too weak to protect Eastgate. The rest of the High Council don’t accept him, and it falls. You win, you are too weak to protect Eastgate. IT is lose, lose, lose.” “I suppose with the most recent report from Knightsbridge, that we cannot stay out of the war any longer. The peacekeeping has failed, and we will need all the troops we can get.” Dugal was pretty sure that Gideon would side for the High Council, but nowadays no one could tell. He glanced down at the report in his hand. aDSC_1948 by skaforhire, on Flickr It came from a soldier who was at Knightsbridge when the Ulandians took it. He said that Lord Folston had beaten back a wave of the Desert King’s forces, but had to turn around to fight the Ulandians immediately. The soldier saw the Ulandians winning overwhelmingly, was told by Lord Folston to try and get a message to the council, then watched as Folston was killed. He was able to shed his armor and jump into the river below. The Ulandians shot arrows at him, but he managed to escape. aDSC_194a9 by skaforhire, on Flickr As if he was reading Dugal’s mind, High Lord Bain Ba’Elder walked up to the next window and said “ Shame those ruthless Ulandians killed every single soldier except one. I am just glad the Desert King’s men were there to take back the position. The real enemy are the Ulandians!” Lady Phlici was not too far behind him. “Are you serious? The Desert King attacked High Council peace keeping troops first! He is the enemy! We don’t know if this soldier wasn’t sent by him to fool us all. They are now in possession of the town, it is likely that they wiped out both sets of troops before taking it.” “You should be careful when talking about our rightful ruler.” Bain had clearly sided with the Desert King and was now just trying to drag the majority of the Council that direction. The rest of the council was in confusion. Three sides had emerged, those who thought that Kaliphlin should follow Pharaoh Raa to glory, those who thought that the Ulandians provided stable and strong partners to grow Kaliphlin, and a new third party, the High Council that wanted to keep Kaliphlin the proto-republic it had been under Dextrus Flagg, which Dugal supported. The High Council faction had seen that blood would have to be shed, they would have to fight to achieve a peace. Not knowing who started the bloodshed at Knightsbridge had led the council in the three directions. Some of the High Council faction had come to that side because they desired to punish both sides for bringing war to Kaliphlin. The High Council still refused to pull the trigger and begin operations against either side, there were still too many unanswered questions. If the Ulandians wiped out Folston and Knightsbridge, how did the Desert King get control of it? Reports were starting to come in that both sides were looking to take Queenscross, and operations were already on the way on the banks of the Arkbi river. Peacekeepers would soon be full-blown soldiers if the council had to fight to hold Qeenscross. But still, the council did not move to protect what territory it still held. Dugal looked out the window and sighed. He tried to tune the two out as they continued to argue. It was a beautiful day in Kaliphlin, but how long until war touched the capital? He looked down below him at the Lion Door, one of the main gates of the Kaliphlin Guild Hall. Many people went about their day below, some waited for news of the brewing civil war, while others were out for a walk, and some were just curious about the giant golden lion shields that adorned this part of the building. DSC_1644 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1626 by skaforhire, on Flickr Then ground began to quake. The building shook violently. The ceiling began to bow and pieces fell around them. A rafter fell on Bain. Dugal couldn’t get to him as more of the decorated walls peeled off like a layer of fat on a good cooked roast. Gideon and Dugal ran down the corridor to the stairs. Phlici was nowhere to be found. Dugal could hear the centuries-old supports crunching and gnawing at one another. The walls continued to crumble, and some of the stairs gave out, but the two high councilors made it out the Lion gate in time, with only moments to spare. The whole structure fell on itself, and dust flew into the air. DSC_1660 by skaforhire, on Flickr As the dust cleared, Dugal could see Phlici, being escorted by her Centurion friend, Lat’ve. He was coughing, but both of them seemed to have made it out unscathed. What was he even doing here? Gideon yelled to Dugal, and when he turned to come to his friend, he saw why Gideon had yelled. One of the great shields of the Lion Door had fallen on a young child. Dugal ran over to help Gideon. DSC_1664 by skaforhire, on Flickr They shoved with all their might, but it was too late. The girl was gone. So was the little boy that Dugal had seen from the window. A rock had fallen on his head. His mother dead on the stairs to whatever was left of the Guild Hall. dest by skaforhire, on Flickr Bain appeared in the rubble. “You guys need to let it go, she is gone.” Dugal had not even realized he was still trying to move the shield. “What happened?” asked Gideon, “ was that another earthquake?” Dugal looked around. “No. this was an attack.” Dugal pointed at the other buildings surrounding the Guild Hall. They were all in perfect shape. The ground had not shaken anywhere but here. “Was this magic?” Bain asked, but Dugal felt that Bain was playing coy. “I can only think of one entity that has the ability to smite something this large.” Dugal said. “Your buddy, the Desert King.” “That is ridiculous.” Bain said. “Besides, why would he try to kill some of his followers? I was standing right next to you!” he shouted. Then he turned to Phlici. “What is he doing here? “ Bain motioned at Lat’ve. “Perhaps he put flammable liquid or used some sort of Centurion magic on the Guild Hall!” Lat’ve began to speak, but Phlici overrode him. “HE does not have to take this from you! You mummy loving sack of cat hair!” she growled. “Clearly, the council can’t protect us from the Desert King. I will throw my full support behind the Ulandians and their attempts to rid Kaliphlin of the Desert King. I fight with our brothers, the Ulandians!” She declared and stomped off. Bain, announcing to everyone who had not figured this out already, “This attack by Ulandus on the Guild Hall shall not go unpunished!” he yelled. “Raa shall avenge this deed!” He went off in the opposite direction. “You know this was a mass assassination attempt on all of us?” Gideon said. Dugal nodded. “We better see who is left.” Dugal motioned to the rubble. He began to talk as they searched “ Both sides would benefit from wiping out the council, the Ulandians would have no opposition, and likely rule the council. The Desert King would have no petty lords to stop him from ruling Kaliphlin as he sees fit” “I think you better make peace with your brother. We are going to need him.” Gideon said, as they both wandered the rubble. -
"Oh Centurion, Stedor has extinquished their lighthouse again. It will be a dark night like always..." "Hahaha, our Centurion will not hear you. We are in the middle of a sea... Come on, let's sleep some... Aisha, it's your turn to watch out for coming lights" And so the Ulandian Navy Soldiers in the Ghuba-ya Biashara closed their eyes and started sleeping... A few hours later: "I saw something in the water!! The ship is moving!!" Aisha yelled, "Shut up Aisha, it's a shark swimming around the ship. Even in the moonlight you can see it is a shark. And beside, we are anchored" Aisha was right, there was a shark in the water. But also a whole bunch of Mermaids who removed the anchors of the Patrolling Vessels so they could move them to another territory. A guerilla against Ulandus together with Bregir for Square J15 For the glory of the High Council!! Long live the real Kaliphlin!! C&C ofcourse welcome!! Also UoP for: - Hydrology : Underwater - Landscape: Sideaways Rocks
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(Early one morning in the middle of Kaliphlin. The Ulander advanced guard patrols the area.) Soldier 1: This is the most boring job ever... they could have at least positioned us closer to the river. These reeds are pesky enough to drive one mad! Captain: Ahem! What's that? Would you quit maltreating the reeds and keep a better look out already! Soldier 1: Alright, but there seems to be nothing to look at but reeds and- Soldier 2: I spy... another coconut! Captain: Would you stop that already!? You've been doing nothing else for the last ten minutes! Soldier 2: By the way, captain, do you have any idea what that gigantic coco- Captain: Arrgggg! If you mention a coconut again I'll- Soldier 2: No, seriously, check it out for yourself. (points toward to palm tree) Captain: Hmm! That does look odd, let me see (pulls out telescope and looks at the tree. After focusing it he jumps nearly his own height into the air and then rolls over laughing) Soldier 1: Well? What is it? Captain: (still laughing very hard, hands over the telescope) look at that for a second! (A little later, creeping up to the tree) Captain: Shh! Sounds like he's talking to himself. Mummy: (sipping his coconut juice, enjoying the swaying motion of the tree) Ahh! This's the best spy mission I've been on for a long time! Slurp! Quite a nice vantage point as well, ha! I would like to recieve UoP credit for: Landscape Design - trees (3) Geography - grasslands If I win I would pick L8 as the next battlefield. Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome!
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The 13th Legion Color: Dark Tan Nickname: The Pirates By far the greatest portion of the legion is composed of these heavy infantrymen. They bear the brunt of any attack! Generally termed "recruits" derogatorily by the heavy infantrymen. Their main job is scouting. They compose about a fifth of the legion. You may be wondering how on earth the Legion got such a bizarre name. Well, keep reading! Far, far underground. A sudden scuffling of feet and a power of violent exclamations. A small group of Ulandians come crashing through a hole in the cave wall. Behind them rolled a boulder that showed the reason for their haste. With a thud that made the rocks tremble, it stuck in the doorway, completely blocking it. “You little! What were you thinking!” “Yeah! I had even just mentioned booby traps!” “I’m sorry…” the recruit began to mumble. “Sorry! You’ll be a lot more sorry three days from now when we’re still stuck here without any food!” The heavy infantryman turned and started complaining loudly to his buddies, “We were going to impress everyone too! Man, we have a name to make for ourselves, and then some… some noob like this comes along and messes everything up!” His companions agreed with him heartily. Meanwhile the recruit stumbled into his friend. A few bumps and scrapes ensued, followed by a loud splash and a gurgling cry. “Water!” exclaimed one of the others, peering round him nervously, afraid to move. Everyone else froze, until someone managed to strike a light. The poor soaked recruit was promptly pulled out by the three infantrymen. “Where is the noob, anyways?” one asked. “Why isn’t he helping to fish out his buddy?” They turned and saw him, another torch in his hand, looking around him in awe. “Maybe this won’t turn out so badly after all,” he drawled. They all looked at the walls around them. “Gold. Tons of it!” muttered one. “Just what we need! I even heard the commander mention the need for funds. We’ve made our fortune, friends!” “Here, hold this,” commanded the infantryman who had been holding the first torch, handing it to the soaked recruit. “Keep it steady.” He peered closely at the gold. “It’s the real stuff all right! Gentlemen, I propose to you that we will no longer be known only as the 13th legion! We will be known as the Golden Legion! Three cheers for the golden legion!” Everyone cheered and threw their helmets into the air. Of course, since they were in a cave, the helmets clanged against the roof and then ricocheted into the water. The soaked private was deputed to fish them out, since he was already wet anyways. The rest set themselves to filling their pockets. “Now,” said one of the infantrymen, his pockets full, “if we could only find out how to get out of here!” Fifteen Hours Later: "Sir Centurion, here is a messenger from that nameless, unlucky 13th legion. He tells a rather far fetched story but insists he be brought to you." "Show him in," sighed the Centurion. The messenger ducked into the tent. With gleaming eyes he dumped his pockets out in front of the Centurion, quickly telling his story. "And there's more where this came from!" he finished. "This is excellent!" the Centurion exclaimed. "Well done, thirteenth legion! You have earned your place, if this be true!" Later that day, on the parade ground, the Centurion called a few of the men of the thirteenth legion over. "Who was it that found the gold first, you say?" Half reluctantly they pointed out 'the noob' as he was already called throughout the legion. "Excellent work, my boy," the Centurion said to him. "We will have to make you captain now!" The infantrymen's faces were a sight to behold! After all, they didn't get their pet name of "Golden Legion." Instead they were just called, "The Pirates." Another view! Comments and criticism are welcome! That rockwork... insane. Learn from my mistakes. Don't try to curve your rockwork. Thanks for checking it out! For the record, it is considerably smaller than the 32x32 max.
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Now that Ageven is an apprentice, he's been temporarily given his own little squad! Anxious to impress, he's decided to take on Ras-el-akhen! Ready! Aim! Fire! Overview of just the crossbow. Actually works! As this is a two pointer, Garmadon will be helping out with a build that actually can go along with this one. Comments are welcome! For purposes of response, I'd say this should be taken as a 20x16, if the respondent wishes to include a base.
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Challenge IV FACTION MINI CHALLENGE To kick off Challenge 4, we will have a quick mini-challenge for each of the factions. The winner of the faction will have the right to call themselves a certain title (depending on faction). They also get to pick the location of a battle in Category C. Deadline: before the end of Sunday March 22nd, anywhere in the world. FACTION: Ulandus CHALLENGE: The 13th Legion. If you read Bannihal’s Report, you may have noticed that there is a 13th legion of Ulandus, but it is brand new. Because of this, it has not earned its name or its colors yet. Your challenge is to create this 13th legion, design a few of their uniforms, give it a backstory and show members of this legion performing a heroic feat that would gain them the attention of First Centurion. You also should pick the nickname the legion will be granted. (IE: The First legion wears red and its nickname is The Thousand Suns.). The only restriction is that you must use a color that is not currently used by one of the legions. The largest MOC for this quick challenge is 32x32 studs. But, besides minifigure only pictures / builds, you may have up to two MOCs to show the feat. TITLE YOU CAN WIN: Exalted Centurion of Ulandus FACTION: Desert King CHALLENGE: Making War. The Desert King is in need of good lieutenants to run his war effort. Show your character (or the character you are using in this challenge) commanding a military action that would get the notice of your faction’s leader. You will probably need a unit under your command, so make sure that they look sharp! The largest MOC for this quick challenge is 32x32 studs. But, besides minifigure only pictures / builds, you may have up to two MOCs to show the feat. TITLE YOU CAN WIN: Warlord of the North (or Northern Kaliphlin if you are not Kaliphlinite already) FACTION: High Council CHALLENGE: Protecting the Councilors. The High Council is busy in this time of war, and need help guarding their person at important meetings. One member is often designated the Lord Protector of the Council when the council is in session, but since Kyban Wh'Ali of Khar'dek, current Lord Protector, was injured, a new Lord Protector must be found. Task: Depict a scene where your character (or the character you are using in the challenge) and his/her men prevent an attack on the council in a random location (Must not be Petraea). It should be clear that they have either saved the lives of the councilors, or prevented a plot altogether. The largest MOC for this quick challenge is 32x32 studs. But, besides minifigure only pictures / builds, you may have up to two MOCs to show the feat. TITLE YOU CAN WIN: High Lord of Kaliphlin (if you are not already one), Lord Protector of the Council if you are already part of Kaliphlin. JUDGING: After the deadline I will compile the entries into a voting thread, and each faction will vote for their favorite entry. That winner will earn the title.
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A NOTE to all those who have not signed up yet: Please still do so!!! Even if you feel as if the challenge has already started, there is plenty of time to build for all three categories! Ulandus needs members the most, followed by High Council, then the Desert King. choose by skaforhire, on Flickr Kaliphlin Civil War Book 2, Challenge IV Starts March 1st, Deadline for Category A &B: July 1st Aftermarket products that cannot be replicated in LEGO are accepted, but should not be the defining element of a MOC. Weapons / armor from aftermarket sources is always fine. (Final Preludes will be up soon (ish), but I thought we could get rolling on general signups.) Chapters so far: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 The Civil War is a three way battle between the Ulandians, the Desert King, and the High Council of Kaliphlin. You may sign up for the civil war on this page. The roster is at the bottom of the post. When signing up, please note your first and second choice. We will attempt to put everyone on their first choice team, but if the teams get too uneven, some people may get their second choice. choosingsides by skaforhire, on Flickr There will be three categories to this challenge. The winning and runner-up side of each category will earn points towards determining which faction won the civil war. Category A: Consequences In this category you will show something that has changed since the war started. For example, It could be a MOC about a boy becoming a man because he has to work his dad’s farm, a MOC of a person turning to a life of crime after their livelihood has been destroyed, refugees, the aftermath of a battle, etc… Anything that shows how a individual(s) life has changed because of the war. The build should clearly represent a defining moment in a person or person(s) life. Story is not a major factor here, but it may help you clarify for the readers. Restriction: 32x32 studs with reasonable overhang. Challenge B Unlimited Build / Story Challenge The story of sir Brick-a-lot. It is your job to chronicle Sir Brick-a-lot’s journey in the Kaliphlin Civil War. Sir Brick-a-lot can be your sig fig, or another fig you used for the war (no, don’t actually name him Sir Brick-a-lot). The fig does not have to be a soldier, but you should have at least a couple builds to tell their story during the Kaliphlin Civil War. Each side will be judged on the quality of the builds presented and the quality of their Heroes’ tales. If you use your Category C builds in your storyline, there is a limit of ½ of your builds may be from Category C builds. IE: If you want to use 3 of your category C builds, you must have three additional MOCs to add to your story. Category C – Dynamic War and Map Challenge Please see this thread for now on the rules. This is the actual "game" thread. It has links to the mini-challenges for each week. Please do not sign up on the preliminary rules thread, please sign up here. Also, all discussion for Category C should happen in the category C threads, that is where you will report MOCs for that category also. Category D - Victory Parade Although it may be premature, each side is throwing a victory parade in their regional capital. Builders should put together a parade in no more than six pictures. There should not be more than six parade groups (bands, floats, military units, Zem Zem go-cart formations, etc...) in your parade. Although this category will impact the outcome of the war the least, it does show to some extent the pride your side has. There is no limitation in sizes, but remember to photograph carefully for detail so that all of your parade is covered well. Finally, there should be a final picture that shows the Grand Marshall of the Parade's stand with all the dignitaries inspecting the parade. The winner of this category will be known as the Grand Master of Ceremonies of Kaliphlin. LDD - LDD will be allowed in Category C and D, but not in Category A or B (as it has always been with official challenges). Since Category C is voted on by the public, there may be people that have some bias towards digital bricks, but we will let that play out. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Supporters declared: Ulandus Goliath Gunman Infernum Kai NRG Garmadon Narbilu Andrew Spader Lord Robin Alfadas Elostirion Gabe Bacon Potatoes Kayne Rconn0 Marcu22 Rogue Angel Dragonfire Igunnuk Eelu Desert King Hammerhand MKJoshA Tomsche Lord Vladivus MassEditor Emma Sir Gareth Blufiji Disco86 LordDan Jacob Nion Robuko The Lego Dwarf DrCogg Umbra-Manis Brick Man Studios Captain Braunsfeld High Council Carson Haupt De Gothia Gedren_y Soccerkid6 LittleJohn Mike S TheUtilityBelt Gideon Maxim I mrcp6d SarahJoy Mccoyed Bregir Adair Jakorin Scarst BrickCurve Graham Gidman MiloNelsiano J031 Ty3r IF I missed someone from the other thread, please let me know.
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Bannihal’s Report (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 13) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Bannihal’s Report Leovetus had left the council with Dugal’s assurance that at least Eastgate would support his side of the order. The MacLeans had had many non-human allies over the years, and he felt odd about Lord Kral ever since he had met him. Leovetus left the chamber with a written report by Bannihal, and the council had adjourned formalities to go over the papers. The first was a report about a sabotage mission that the Leander resistance had pulled off. (Thanks to Kai for this build!) Shipwrecked! by gid617, on Flickr A 12th Legion ship, apparently the 12th Legion, the Sea Serpents, were the naval force of Xersia, had left a city called Catarlacus headed for Mpya Stedor with a company of Thousand Sons. According to Bannihal, their mission was to unload near the city, take plain clothes, and infiltrate the city. Once inside, determine if DaMaximus was willing to champion the Ulandian cause for the Rejoining to Kaliphlin. If not, they were to take down the Golden Windows factory to hurt the city’s economy. Damaximus was not happy when this was read out loud, but Erudhalion reminded him that they should stay as objective as possible here, as they did not know if Bannihal was telling the truth, or even if he was a Desert King agent. Phlici seemed to think that the latter must be the case. The ship left Ulandus, but had one Leander rebel stowaway in the cargo hold. As it neared the Lesser Spice Isles, the agent began drilling two large holes in the hold. This caused the vessel to take on water, and in an attempt to make land, the ship was crashed upon a rocky reef in front of the Isle of Krag (their name for the island, Dugal had no idea which Lesser Spice Island it was.) The Leander got to shore where he hid himself to watch what unfolded next. Shipwrecked! by gid617, on Flickr The Isle of Krag is apparently inhabited by an isolationist tribe, for when they saw the boat crashed upon the reef of their island, they went on the warpath. Storming the beach in full war paint, the men of the island shot arrow after arrow into each 12th Legionnaire trying to make the beach. Many of the soldiers were lost in the wreck, and all of their supplies lay on the reef or at the bottom of the sea. Eventually a few survivors made it to the rocky shore of the island where they attempted a last assault on the beach. Shipwrecked! by gid617, on Flickr In the end, the islanders were too strong for the depleted crew. Shipwrecked! by gid617, on Flickr As the islanders recovered much of the 12th Legion’s goods, the last of the bodies floated back out to sea. Shipwrecked! by gid617, on Flickr At nightfall, the Leander agent snuck back onto the reef and took the ship’s boat back to Ulandus. “Well they are brake, no matter who they really side with, I will give them that. “ Dugal said. “If it is true” Said Siedna “Agreed.” Dugal said. Ageven put down the scroll, “If this is true, these Leander may be actually working for the Desert King. If that is true, we may be playing into his hands by supporting the rebellion.” “I think it is best that we stay neutral, and post an army in Western Kaliphlin as a peace keeping force.” Gideon said. “We have two distinct problems, the Desert King in the North, who has yet to make his intentions clear, and the Ulandians in the South who have stated that they are enemies of the Desert King.” “Why would we need any army? Let them fight it out, and if we have to, we will destroy the winner.” Lord Bain said, he had entered into the council chambers after the Leanders had left. Isabella had come back too. “Lord Bain, your lands may sit cozy on the other side of Kaliphlin, but if those two armies want to fight each other, they are going to march through what little fertile land between Ulandus and Sultan’s Gate. They are going to have to eat, they are going to cause trouble, and likely they will grab any fortified town they can along the way to hold an advantage over the other. Once they get dug in, they will be impossible to get out. We need to set up a road block.” Said Ageven . “Auner has already been shaken hard by the Great Disturbance. We can’t afford any more trouble.” “We could always take Lord DaMaximus’ army to his home city, that would surely stop the two forces.” Bain chimed in. Here we go again… thought Dugal. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= There was one other piece of intelligence from Bannihal that interested Dugal – it was an overview of the Legions of Xersia and what their current missions were. It also described their uniforms. He learned that even though there was a uniformed color for each legion, the armor and appearance of soldiers within the legion varied from company to company, and even squad to squad. Untitled-4 by skaforhire, on Flickr Untitled-5 by skaforhire, on Flickr
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An Order Divided (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 12)
SkaForHire posted a topic in Guilds of Historica
An Order Divided (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 12) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 An Order Divided Thanks to Mike S. Who built these two awesome builds. Petitioning the Kaliphlin Council by -Mike S-, on Flickr Octo Vargood of Dunladeen was still hungry. That Small Council Meeting took it out of him. All the screaming, the Ulandians kicked out by Bain Ba’Elder, Bain Ba’Elder got slapped by Phlici Maderni, Kyban had to separate them, and all the while it seemed that everyone had forgotten Flagg was dead. Now he was at the emergency High Council meeting, and nobody could forget Dextrus Flagg. Seven long memorials read by various members of the council, even a poem was read! When he died, Octo just wanted someone to dump his body into the ocean and use their time to wine and dine on jumbo shrimp and the finest wine in the realm! Finally they had resolved to come back to the issue of Flagg later. The real reason for tonight’s meeting was Ulandus. Apparently, at Masa’s behest, the council was entertaining a group from the Knights of Aslan. Octo was not so interested in this, as he only cared about merriment and money, like any good Kaliphlin lord. He often thought these high lords had too many morals, and were not the quality of the generation before them – now those men knew how to turn sand into ducats. It was sad to know that Flagg, a master of the oil industry was no longer, but it also meant that Octo’s own holdings would grow with Flagg’s business out of the picture. Someone had done him a favor this afternoon. Octo despised non-humans, and he could smell the Leander before they came through the door. “I am General Leovetus, we come to you as friends, as allies, and look for your support against Lord Kral.” “Kral? Your order’s master?” Dugal said. “Yes, but in name only. He has begun to favor human members of the order above all others.” Leovetus said. Sounds like a good guy, thought Octo. Octo could see Kral’s representative, Lady Isabella, start to fidget. It looks like there may be more trouble at this council meeting. “Why in the name of Aslan, would we help you?” She finally said. The other lords looked at her sideways, it was not often that a proxy led a conversation in these higher meetings. “I suppose you will not support us Isabella, but I speak to the rest of the Council now, as I bring forth evidence that Kral has long been associated with Ulandus. I bring with me the Leander revolt leader, Bannihal.” Leovetus presented the hard-looking Ulandian to the council. Octo yawned. “Revolt?” asked DaMaximus, “Ulandus is not united?” “I am Bannihal,” Bannihal began. “And no, there are factions within Ulandus that fight against the First Centurion. We are one of them. For almost 220 years, Leander have been forced into slavery by the Ulandians. This is our punishment for the Leander Revolt.” He cleared his throat with a small roar. “I know that Kral has been associated with Ulandus for quite some time. You see, the elite guards of the First Centurion are in fact, Leander slave warriors. Most are his trusted guardians, but we have spies amongst them. They have seen Kral come to Xersia, the capital, and meet with First Centurion many times over the years.” “This is ridiculous! There was no way to get to this island before a few months ago!” Lady Isabella objected. Petitioning the Kaliphlin Council by -Mike S-, on Flickr “That is not quite true…” Duc LeStrange said. They all turned to the often quiet Councilor. “the Petraea General Trading Company has, for some time, been in contact with Ulandus. There is a small town on the west coast of the island called Wreckton, it used to lay outside of the Void Tide.” He looked around, just noticing he had the room’s attention. “Well, we didn’t know about a First Centurion, we just knew it was where some of our sailors ended up when shipwrecked. They also supply coal and Skyfruit. You all like skyfruit! Well, that is where it comes from.” He seemed to bow under the pressure of so many eyes upon him. “We were not going to give away the secret of our monopoly! None of you would either.” “Are you saying there is a way we could take a navy to Ulandus, and your pilots know this course?” DaMaximus asked. “Yes, but I know the town is bordered by mountains, I am not sure…” LaStrange was cut off by Bannihal. “It is possible, but there is only one road to the heart of Ulandus from Wreckton. Wreckton makes its own rules, and they stay away from the Centurions. The First Centurion allows them to live in obscurity. They are not important, but you would not be able to move troops from there. The ten legions would crush your forces. If your whole navy even got to Wreckton.” “Let us back up to Lord Kral.” Isabella interrupted. “While we are divulging trade secrets, I will admit, Kral has been to Ulandus, recently, but not for years! His dealings are the same as those with Varlyrio or the other guilds. The order has business everywhere. The order IS everywhere. He is only continuing the work of Bishop Jamon, Creator rest his soul.” There were a few repeated murmurs of the phrase amongst the council. Octo sniffed. Jamon had one good quality in his mind, he dressed well and made much gold. Petitioning the Kaliphlin Council by -Mike S-, on Flickr Isabella, who Octo had now decided to woo, he liked his ladies feisty, began a new course: “Now we can see what the real motive here is. Whatever cat Leovetus dragged in from Ulandus, it does not hide the truth here.” There were a few sighs, as the lady used the racial slur, cat, to describe a Leander. Feisty and arrogant indeed, Octo could already imagine his dinner plans. “ Leovetus is power hungry. He defies the order by leading its non-human members in rebellion against its anointed leader, Lord Kral. He has courted the Desert King, and for all we know, has already signed a pact with him. He has send his ambassador to Shadowmere, and met with Lord Vladivus to bring Nocturnus against the other half of the Knights of Aslan. This is no more than an additional power play. What is wrong, Leovetus, did the nightdwellers turn you down? Why are you really here?” Leovetus responded in a fierce tone. “This is absolute nonsense and slander. I have never had contact with the desert king. I have not sent anyone to Nocturnus. I am here on the subject of the Ulandians, whom Kral has at least allied with, and who are not here just to bring peace! I bring Bannihal as proof.” Now Phlici went on the defensive. “ You are wrong!” Octo liked Phlici, it was too bad that she had fallen for a Ulandian, her new status as a High Lord made her a suitable match for Octo. Maybe if Lat’ve had an accident like Flagg… Phlici continued, “ The Ulandians are here to rejoin with Kaliphlin, nothing more. Their two legions are here to help us. The First Legion, the Thousand Suns, have been tasked with rebuilding Kaliphlin after the Great Disturbance. Right now, they are out giving out food to our hungry and rebuilding our homes! The Second Legion, the Salamanders, are here to protect our borders and bring peace and order to the realm. With so much disaster, our troops are spread thin from slavers, raiders, invaders, and drow! We need our brothers from Ulandus and their troops in our time of need. There is no question that they should be brought into the fold and reunited with Kaliphlin.” She really had gained some confidence since Flagg died and made her queen of the northern something or other… actually Octo had never paid attention to whatever title Flagg was supposed to hold over this town or that town. He didn’t care in the slightest. “I agree,” Isabella said, “We have no proof that they are here for any other purpose than the one they say. We do have proof that Leovetus is a sniveling coward that is trying to backstab us all!” And with that outburst, Siedna, a newer member to the council herself, said “I put forth a motion to remove the proxy of Lord Kral from the council session. Her personal attacks are out of hand, with no evidence, and she is bringing too much hostility to the chamber. We all know where Kral’s opinion stands, we don’t need her here right now.” “Seconded.” DaMaximus said. “All in favor” Siedna said. About nine of the fourteen presence said “Aye.” Isabella got up and stormed out of the room. Octo saw an opportunity and followed her out. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Dugal had cautioned Phlici to hold her tongue in this meeting, but that had been ignored. She had tried to find holes in Bannihal’s story for some time now, but without luck. The rebel Leanders had taken the fight to the northern most cities of Ulandus, these cities were not under the direct control of the First Centurion, but were controlled by warlords that seemed to have a culture very similar to Southeastern Kaliphlin. They dressed similarly, they fought similarly, and they even ate some of the same strange delicacies as those Kaliphlinites across the Rakath Mountains. Bannihal thought that these northern cities were weaker, and that the ten legions rarely operated in the Northern cities. Still, the Northern cities were loyal to First Centurion, who they also addressed as Emperor. Dugal saw a problem at this juncture with this Ulandian plan for a “rejoining” to Kaliphlin. Kaliphlin was ran by a High Council, and this was even more true now that Flagg was dead. There was no direct leader, although they may have to elect a wartime leader if the Council takes a side in this war between the Ulandians and the Desert King. Dugal wanted to stay neutral. Bannihal was describing First Centurion at this point “He is tall, seemingly ageless, and has a pair of wings like an eagle.” The 1st Centurion by -Mike S-, on Flickr “So he is not human?” asked Gideon. “In every other way he is” Replied Bannihal. “Although he is immensely powerful, we know not if it is magic, natural ability, or something else.” “Tell us more about Ulandus, do they really have 10,000 troops? Ten Legions?” Asked DaMaximus. “More. Xersia alone has ten legions. The northern cities have at least 4,000 men at arms between the two cities. The Xersia is the guardian of the southern cities, so they only have a rudimentary guardian force.” Bannihal said. “Then there is the navy.” LeStrange nodded to this, apparently the PGTC had encountered the fleet of Ulandus before. The Leander continued to describe the throne room of First Centurion, the opulence, the grander, and the demand for total loyalty within Xersia and the other “sister cities.” It was clear that First Centurion ruled the whole island… making it hard again for Dugal to swallow letting five new high councilmen into Kaliphlins inner circle – considering rarely do 15 show up to meetings, this would give them a sizable voting bloc. And how many lower lords did they want to add to Kaliphlin’s ranks? The 1st Centurion by -Mike S-, on Flickr “The people of Ulandus are generally honorable, yet steeped in history. Whereas people of the mainland have forgotten the sinking of Ulandus, the children of the subcontinent know every story of the Great Breaking, and learn about the prophecies of the Rejoining. They have prepared 2000 years for this day. And I tell you, they don’t just want to be part of Kaliphlin, First Centurion means to rule.” Bannihal finished. The 1st Centurion by -Mike S-, on Flickr “This is nonsense.” Phlici said, “You are obviously scared from your time as a slave. We need a second opinion, if we just invited Lat’ve in here…” Bannihal cut her off. “Lat’ve is here?!? He is one of their highest intelligence officers! This guild hall could be crawling with Sand Wolf spies!” “Sand wolf?” Dugal asked. “The third legion is the subterfuge and spy arm of Xersia.” Bannihal said. “If Lat’ve is here, the First Centurion knows exactly what we are talking about.” He looked panicked. “I must go, my men are in trouble! I opened my mouth up about the spies to the wrong chamber.” He turned to Leovetus “You should have told me there were Ulandians in the capital, I fear this was a foolish errand indeed.” He turned and rushed out of the room leaving the Aslanic Leanders looking at one another in disbelief. -
Falling Apart (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 11) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Falling Apart They immediately reconvened the small council, there were many matters to discuss with Flagg’s death looming over them. Dugal though that it would have been wiser if they combed Petraea for the other high lords to make sure no one else had been assassinated. However, the circumstances surrounding Flagg’s death did not sit well with him. Dugal knew a thing or two about being assassinated, and he figured that there just was something odd with the Sorceress’ story. DSC_1504 by skaforhire, on Flickr One of the reasons that they reconvened was because there were ambassadors from both Ulandus and the Desert King to see the council. Procedure said that these emissaries had to be invited by a High Lord to speak in front of the High Council, since both sets of emisarries were associated with low lords, they had to be introduced to a Small Council first. First up were the Ulandians, who were the guest of Phlici Maderni. But, High Lord Bain Ba’Elder would not yield the floor. “I believe this is even more evidence that we need to take troops from Eastgate and distribute them to the rest of the Realm. We should also make a formal request that Lord DaMaximus bring his troops back to Western Eastern Kaliphlin, where we now know the Ulandian threat originates from. They have assassinated our leader!” Bain was beginning to get into a bellicose raving now. Phlici got a word in. “The last I heard, it was a Dark Elf that killed Flagg. Not a Ulandian, unless you know something we don’t?” she paused, but laid it on him. “Perhaps you are associated with the killer? And, why would we talk about removing troops from the West, this is the Small Council for Western Affairs! What are you plotting at?” Bain was outraged. “You care challenge a High Lord? We all know where you loyalties lie, we know the stories!” Dugal threw a glance at Gideon to see his reaction; they had spoken about Phlici’s “closeness” to the Ulandians before this meeting. Sand’s End was important for protecting the border, and neither of the two high lords wanted to see Ulandians doing that protecting. DSC_1595 by skaforhire, on Flickr Gideon seemed lost in thought, he had just told the council about the grain shortage in Barqa – Dugal knew that part of the shortage was due to his army needing supplies over the last year. Everyone had been stretched thin. Phlici roared back “And we know that you have taken money from the Desert King! You are not neutral on this council either.” That made Gideon, Lord Octo(who had joined for this second session), Kyban Wh'Ali, and Dugal’s eyes bulge. Bain was taking money from the Sand King? She continued. “And I bow no longer to you, high lord. With Flagg’s Passing, his title of Guardian of the North Gate passes to my family, for he has no heir. I am your equal, but I suspect in reality, your better.” She smirked. For the first time that Dugal could recall, Bain was speechless. Kyban, in his slow Petraean drawl filled the silence. “You are taking money from the Desert King?” Bain quickly rebounded, and began to beat around the palm tree. “Do you know this famine spreads further than the Arkbri Valley? It is not only Barqa’s storehouses that flounder in this drought. Let me tell you the tale of Sin’ta-da’Leen. “ (Builds by Goliath – Thank you! ) Kaliphlin Challenge - Starvation by The Goliath, on Flickr) “The people of this village, that all of you have stepped through at one time, are starving. It has gotten so bad that food vendors outside the town will not bring their dwindling wares because of what happened two weeks ago. The populace so hungry that they had turned to eating their racing ostriches finally succumbed to the madness of hunger. “ Kaliphlin Challenge - Starvation by The Goliath, on Flickr “They became cannibals! Two weeks ago they attacked a food wagon and even ate it’s driver and “guards. Kaliphlin Challenge - Starvation by The Goliath, on Flickr “Money in their pocket, they couldn’t buy food! They couldn’t even wait to make a transaction. Clearly Madness reigns in the outskirts of Kaliphlin.” He cleared his throat letting some of the more squeamish lords try to keep their lunch down. “So, if I have entertained an offer from our former King, who promises stability, who OWNS one of the greatest legends of all Kaliphlinites, who has the money and the might to put together our salvation, is there really a wrong here? Are we bound to a leader, especially without Flagg being present for the last two years? How… how dare you ask me in an accusing tone if I took his money? We are Kaliphlinites, we seize every opportunity!” His cronies clapped. Clapped! Even Kyban seemed to nod to this logic and Bain’s tirade. But that was not all. Bain surely seized the moment again. “It is not just food shortages, and warlords, but slavelords are starting to emerge from the sands. We all signed Flagg’s pact, no Kaliphlin citizen shall be slave, and all slaves must be taken on raids outside of the Guild or from prisoners. Well, without might, without troops – troops that Dugal hogs in his precious war for inheritance – Kaliphlinites can’t travel the oil road without protection. The illicit slavers are bolder than ever, even coming into Petraea! We need strength. We need a king again. You all know your history, Kaliphlin was the most powerful nation in the world at one point, and we owned all of Historica! Cedrica was a sapling to our mighty Kaligem! And now, our great Pharaoh has returned, and you hesitate to throw up the old banners in support?” By Kai: (Thanks, Kai! ) kai by Kai, on Flickr Slave Gang by gid617, on Flickr Slave Gang by gid617, on Flickr Everyone began talking at once. Dugal lashed back at Bain, “Do you work for Petera? Why are you so keen on seeing Eastgate stay in his hands?” But, Bain probably did not hear it over the screaming from Kylee at Octo, who was making crass comments about how perhaps Kaliphlin needed a few more slave girls to spice things up. Kyban was trying to contact the guard about something. Gideon was speaking across the table to Ral’ai, a minor lord and Bain crony. Gais Elmore, awoken from his sudden nap, nearly slapped Bandari Milsion, for a reason Dugal could not determine. The council was breaking down. DSC_1513 by skaforhire, on FlickrDSC_1513 by skaforhire, on Flickr Then came a voice that was not of the council. “There are other means to order. Your Sand Prince, is fooling you. Take his money, and you will see it sift through your fingers like the substance he beds in.” Dugal turned to see Phlici bringing three men into the chamber. Ulandians… The one in blue armor, a man late in his forties, but still with distinguishing good looks spoke. “I am General Latrix Veringetrix, but my sand name is Lat’ve. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.” “Who said you could enter this chamber?” Bain cut of Kyban before he could do his duty and Lord Protector of the Council. “I did.” Phlici said. “These men are the ambassadors from Ulandus.” Although the man in the blue uniform was talking ,Dugal could sense that the one in red was in charge. “This is Captain Castrix,” she said motioning to the one in green, “and this is General Royce Ponce, the representative of the First Centurion of Ulandus.” DSC_1522 by skaforhire, on Flickr Ponce, in red, began to speak. “ We understand that we must be presented to the High Council by a high lord. Thus we seek one of the High Lords in this room to champion our cause.” “There is no need Royce, I am a high lord now.” Phlici said. “We seek another.” Ponce said coldly. Dugal watched as she pulled her hand off Lat’ve’s arm. Perhaps the Ulandians were not a keen on the lady’s quick love connection with their general. Dugal figured Phlici was not politically viable to them because of this romance. “So what do you want? Why do you come to Kaliphlin with armies?” Gideon said. DSC_1517 by skaforhire, on Flickr “We do not come to Kaliphlin, we are Kaliphlin!” Ponce began. “Our separation nearly two thousand years ago was because of the Pharaoh Ark'Mora Raa. He sunk the great mountain, and rose the Void Tide to separate us from our brothers and sisters in Kaliphlin.” Dugal had always heard that it was a volcano that sunk the island city of Ulandus. Most scholars at the university said Ulandus was a myth. “If he destroyed your city, how did you come to be today?” asked Gideon. “Ulandus is not just one city, it is a region the size of Or’loral.” Castrix replied. “Or’loral?” Kylee said. “Er, I mean Gorr. I think that is what you call it now.” Castrix replied. Gorr!?! That was a sizable island. “We seek to rejoin our guild, our people, and be equals once more. We want our cities to have representatives on the high council.” Ponce said. “How many cities are on Ulandus?” Dugal Asked. kaliphlin-south-east by skaforhire, on Flickr “ Five that would be considered High Lord status.” Ponce replied. “Five? Surely they are not all great cities?” Bain said. “Xersea, First Centurion’s Throne, is as large as Ancient Kaligem.” Lat’ve said. Everyone sat in silence for a second. Bain was the first to open his mouth. “The real question is, if the Desert King can sink cities, and you are the 2000 year old enemy of the Desert King, why would we side with you?” “Because the Desert King seeks to control you all, not live with you as equals. This is why he destroyed Ulandus, because we rose in revolt as our freedoms dwindled.” Ponce continued. “We are your natural allies. DSC_1519 by skaforhire, on Flickr
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Traitors at Trade Day (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 5) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Traitors at Trade Day sandsend by skaforhire, on Flickr sandendonmap by skaforhire, on Flickr Lady Phlici Maderni of Sand's End stretched as she exited the Crown Inn. This was what was left of the Maderni fortune, her husband, killed at Queenscross during the battle against Revolword’s forces, had spent most of it trying to rebuild Sand’s End and defend its people. Now, the current drought in southern Avalonia and Northern Kaliphlin left the region a ghostly semblance of its former self. All her money was tied up in this Inn, that nobody ever visited. She was still the Lady of Sand’s End, and she still sat on the Council of Lords of Kaliphlin, although her husband had once been a High Lord. However, by the look of today’s trade day, perhaps Sand’s End would no longer qualify for even a spot on the lower council. One the first defense against northern aggression, Sand’s End had lost that importance and the council money for defense, when Northwall – a smaller, yet more fortified town to the north -- was annexed over a hundred years ago. Now the guild soldier called that town home, and kept the borders safe from bandits. Except… they weren’t. The Revolword War, the drought, the Drow, and now the Great Disturbance had taken a toll on Kaliphlin. The council sent less money and soldiers to Northwall, not at all to Sand’s End. The Lord of Northwall, Pryor Rhodes, barely sent the troops at his disposal out on patrol, and now Avalonian raiders, Centaurs from the Cedrican plains, and sand bandits cropped up all over Northern Kaliphlin. Her own men, the few she could afford, had to stay within the formable walls of Sand’s End to keep order within the town – they could not be spared to save the countryside. The Trade Day was the most recent casualty to the ongoing troubles in the region. DSC_1540 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1533 by skaforhire, on Flickr As she strode out the door she was met by her Clerk and Mayor, Ronalo Suarn, a Varlyrian immigrant. He was always asking her to tighten her wallet, or else “the city will surely fall without due frugalness.” Today was no different. “My lady,” he said without bowing, “The payment for the guards is overdue!” W “I know, you will find we have this month’s wages in the strongbox in the inn.” She walked past Stelvin Crow, the last farmer within her domain. Stelvin was still trying to sell his gigantic carrots, but everyone in Sand’s End was sick of Carrot stew. When she ignored him, he almost attacked Ronalo. “Sir! These are the best Carrots in all of Historica!” He shouted in the mayor’s face. She tuned them out and noticed a strange pale man bowing to her. She had never seen him before. She moved to talk to Olgie Artsonbrose, the local fine craftsmen and jewler. Every week he swore he was not coming back to the market day. “No customers worth a grain of salt! And I haven’t seen a ducat in weeks, so I would be happy to receive salt!” He claimed last week. She looked around the market, nobody had even rented the large wall stalls and many tables were empty of wares– this was getting bad indeed. DSC_1543 by skaforhire, on Flickr She finally noticed her one-eyed guard captain, Smaley Al’Green, behind her. He was her only bodyguard nowadays. Olgie’s wares were fine, but also the same wares she had seen last week… and the week before… and the week before that. It looked like he really hadn’t moved any merchandise these last few trade days. She turned to Smaley, “Do you know who the man with the funny hat was? Where is he selling from?” “M’ladee” he said in one drawn out word, “ I am’nt aquainted wit da place he claims to call home, Ulanta I think?” he cleared his throat, “ But there’s ‘nother merch from tha place too. He brings books.” Books? She thought, incredible! She had not had a new book in her hand since her last visit to Petraea. She next went to Nelva’s table. DSC_1545 by skaforhire, on Flickr Nelva’s pitch was new. “I’ve got what this town needs, a baby mummy! He is the son of the risen Desert King!” She exclaimed. “ Only 100 Ducats! Think of the power you will bring to this town My Lady!” IF Only Nelva knew that Phlici barely had 100 ducats left, and by the turnout today, it looks like nobody would be staying in the inn tonight, and the receipts from table and stall rentals will be almost non-existent. Instead of answering Nelva directly, she turned to Ronalo, who was still being harassed by Stelvin, and said “Check if Nelva has the proper permit to sell ‘mummies’ within Kaliphlin Borders.” Nelva breathed quickly, an audible snort and blurted “well, maybe it is not a real baby mummy.” Phlici moved on to the Avalonian selling wine and beer. She hated that the only trader making money today was from Avalonia. She knew that Kendrick had free passage from the Avalonian raiders who now controlled the Cedrica Road. The same raiders that have kept her from making the last two council meetings. She turned to Smaely and said “Make sure that we collect all the taxes from this one.” DSC_1546 by skaforhire, on Flickr She bypassed the funny man with the weird hat’s table, it was basic prettys, but nothing she desired, and moved to the book cart. DSC_1553 by skaforhire, on Flickr “Greetings M’Lady, a caped man with a hook said with a very heavy southern Kaliphlin accent. “Are you a fan of the great works? I have many indeed.” He gave her a quick smile, but she was already thumbing through the titles. Edwin Kalphrate’s Seven Great Battles of Kaliphlin --- first edition!!!! Kaliphlin Proverbs and other short stories, author unknown. 1001 Tales of Princess Ali’De Shek Curlzon’s Greater Plane of Existence Smaley interrupted her. “I don’t like his slave.” He whispered to Phlici. Smaley didn’t like slaves in general, and Phlici refused to let them be traded within the town limits as her own distaste for the institution was widely known. However, they were allowed to come into the city. She glanced over and noticed a Leander man staring down Smaley – He had many scars, and did look on edge. However, she went back to look at the titles. Finally she asked “ Where are you from?” “I am one of First Centurion’s subjects.” He replied. “Who?” “I am from Ulandus” She looked at him hard now. “The sunken city?” “Much more than a city my lady, and we were never sunk, just lost. But that has all changed.” He smiled. Well, wherever this fool came from, he had some great books – many that had dates of publication hundreds of years ago that she had not heard of! He glee was then interrupted as Smaley threw her to the ground. DSC_1555 by skaforhire, on Flickr From the copse of trees came a very quick man, Phlici could not get a good look, but she was fairly sure he was Avalonian. Smaley parried the man’s blows as the Leander Slave jumped in front of his master who hit the ground also. Before she knew it the would-be assassin was dashing away with Smaley in pursuit. DSC_1556 by skaforhire, on Flickr Ronalo grabbed her and got her back inside the inn, where they bolted the door – definitely not making any money today, she thought wryly to herself. choose by skaforhire, on Flickr
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The Serpent’s Crawl. (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 4) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 The Serpent’s Crawl. Fred’Ae Farsin was praying that this strong wind kept its force throughout the rest of the afternoon, he had not sailed this quickly between Berigora and Ras-el-akhen since the time he was caught with a typhoon to his back. With the time he was making, he almost sailed north to check out the wares at Mpya Stedor, but he did not know what effect the Great Disturbance had had on that city, and decided to stay his present course. It was odd, a minor tsunami had hit the region known as Peregrenis, but the bay that Berigora is settled in received minimal damage. However, reports had already flooded in from the mainland stating that not only was the Tsunami much greater there, but volcanic eruptions and an earthquake that lasted for hours had decimated much of the Kaliphlin landscape. Well, that was unfortunate, but good ol’ Fred knew profit where profit could be had, and natural disaster screamed gold duccats. He had loaded up his PGTC vessel, the Walrus, with foodstuffs, and decided to sail right for the middle of Kaliphlin in the hope to unload quickly before others took up the task too. This wind was a true blessing. It was getting to be late afternoon when one of his sailors screamed “Land Ho!” This was strange, as Fred had cut out wide from the mainland, hoping to just skim the Void Tide – The no man’s land of the Southern Ocean – and still take advantage of the off coast winds. This meant that he should be out of sight of land. Perhaps his Crossstaff was broken? He ran to the helm and gasped. crawl by skaforhire, on Flickr Across the water in front of him from north to south, as far as his eyes could see, lay a large piece of land. The rock formation seemed covered with fresh grass, as if it had been there years, and the formation twisted and turned, but remained north and south oriented. It reminded Fred of a large snake made of rocks, cliffs, and sea caves. As he sailed closer he noticed a wrecked ship among the rocks. The poor saps in that crew must have approached this area at night and missed this new formation altogether. Although he was unsure of it, he knew that this formation had something to do with the Great Disturbance. If he had to make a wager, he would say that all of this had to do with some sort of ancient magic. His thoughts turned to his current predicament. DSC_3867 by skaforhire, on Flickr He sailed closer to cliffs to investigate the wreck. There were no survivors. It was at this point that he saw what seemed to be the last light of day shining from within the sea caves. There must be a way through!!! Fred’Ae Farsin swallowed hard and gave the order to sail for the largest cave. If he found a navigable way through the caves, he would be a very rich captain indeed. DSC_3872 by skaforhire, on Flickr And so it was that Fred’Ae Farsin was the first man to navigate the Serpent’s Crawl, the new land bridge that must have been created by the Great Disturbance. Not only had the University of Petraea credited him as the first navigator of the sea caves, but he also has been credited with naming the new formation. Of course, Ol’ Fred soon quit his job and became a pirate in that same sea cave. That is truly a way to make money in this dire time. ------------------- On a OOC note... I had to put together a build to introduce the next story portion. I am not the best Micro builder, if anyone else wants to do a take on this story, I will gladly add your builds too! Oh yeah! NM's Map! kaliphlin-south-east by Map, on Flickr
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Forging Alliances (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 6)
SkaForHire posted a topic in Guilds of Historica
Forging Alliances (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 6) Previous Prelude chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Forging Alliances fortifying by skaforhire, on Flickr It was a long night at the Crown Inn for Lady Phlici Maderni of Sand’s End. Smaley had not caught the would-be assassin, and the town was on high alert. So it was even more disheartening when she awoke near dawn to the shouts of the guards, and the ringing of the warning bells. Three Bells, army spotted. She grabbed her dress from the previous day and hurriedly put it on. She was met in the common room of the inn by Ronalo Suarn, the mayor, he was frantic. “A man in blue marches in front of a host of green soldiers. The identifying marks are foreign to me, my lady!” He belted out. This was disturbing, Ronalo was one of the smartest men she knew, he also knew every major sigil in Historica. She prepared for the worst…. =+=+=+=+=+= Three hours later Phlici was standing in front of her inn with General Latrix Veringetrix, but he had told her his ”high sands name” was Lat’ve. He was a good looking man, in his 40s, strong, confident, and somewhat attractive. It was not his looks that got him through the gates of Sand’s End though. Phlici had been hailed by this foreign army when they approached the city. They flew a flag of truce and she was accompanied by Smaley to the parle. Before she left she made sure that every troop she had was on the front wall – she had to look like she had many banner men. She met the leader, dressed in Green. He said his name was Castrix, and he demanded she open her gates to his army, the Salamanders of Ulandia – the sunken city? She asked herself. He looked to have about fifty men at his command… but 20 of these were no man at all… they were insectoid creatures, stuff she only heard rumored from the Rakath mountains. As she was lost in thought, Castrix snapped again “We demand water and shelter, and that your gates are open to us.” She was about to call the whole parle off, when a man in a similar uniform, but blue walked up behind Castrix. “Captain Castrix, there is no need for this, I am sure Lady Maderni will be happy to have a few extra Kaliphlin soldiers held up in her town.” He introduced himself as Latrix, and then. She had 28 men, most of them fat and old, she had no choice. She could not afford a siege right now. So now, just a few hours later she was playing host to a military spectacle. The Salamanders, actually, only one twentieth of the whole legion, as Lat’ve was quick to point out, stood in her market displaying their arms. DSC_3863 by skaforhire, on Flickr “The bug things seem to have no order to them” she said to her guest. “They do what their masters bid in combat, and nothing more, my lady.” Lat’ve said. “ It would be waste of effort to have them line up in squares like the human troops.” He had explained earlier that these were a bug people from Ulandus, and that they were sworn into the Second Legion as harsh melee fighters. He also explained that most enemies surrendered before the “Kalcheta,” swarmers in the modern tongue, before they had to face them. He concluded with a line about the swarmers eating their enemies in the middle of battle. This sounded to her like the fierce battle gnomes of the Witherwoods. She took a quick inventory of the 1st company of the Second Legion. 20 swarmers, ten heavy fighters, 10 pike, and 10 tritons. An interesting compliment. “Where is the rest of the Legion? How many are there?” Lat’ve was slow to answer, as if he was deciding what to divulge. “Each legion has funding for 1000 soldiers. There are twenty companies in this legion.” Twenty companies??? More than one legion??? She was amazed at the numbers – how did they get all the way up here without being noticed by the eyes and ears of the Kaliphlin intelligence agencies? He continued “The Salamanders have been tasked by First Centurion to defend Kaliphlin during the Rejoining, their companies are scattered to all ends of the Guild for this purpose.” She had been told earlier that the Rejoining was the name for the process of bringing Ulandus back into Kaliphlin, as it was 1000 years ago before its sinking. She also learned that “general” and “captain” were just ranks that they were calling themselves to not sound foreign to the Kaliphlinites. Lat’ve’s real title was Third Centurion, while Castrix was a Fourth Centurion. As far as she could figure, there were many Second, Third, Fourth, fifth, etc… centurions, but only one first centurion – the leader of Ulandus DSC_3861 by skaforhire, on Flickr She watched as Castrix took his position on her walls to deliver a speech to her town, her troops, and the Salamanders. She started to wonder if it was her town anymore. Castrix began to speak. “Legionaries, centurions, fellow Kaliphlinites, lend me your ears.” He had a booming voice. “We come today as friends, as Kaliphlinites. In time you will know us as long lost brothers. Be not afraid, for we come to help take care of your border trouble here in Sand’s End. Tomorrow we will march out and take care of the bandit problem, the problem your leaders have not had the strength to handle.” She began to speak, but Lat’ve put a hand on her arm and whispered “He is one for theatrics.” She let it go. Castrix continued, “we will put down the Avalonian Scourge on the King’s way, tame the centaur menace to the north, and we have already put the sand bandits of the south in their place – the grave. Rejoice now that your brothers have come, eat, drink, be merry, know that peace has come to Kaliphlin again, and that the Great Disturbance is over. We are the Salamanders, we are your blood, and we shall spill our blood with you in the name of Kaliphlin!” Cheers went up from his men, and to her surprise, her men. Not her town anymore… She turned to Lat’ve, “what do you want from me?” He smiled, “your introduction and backing to the council. We wish our cities to be fully represented on the high council.” She had a feeling that this was not everything, but she could come to appreciate his smile. DSC_1563 by skaforhire, on Flickr =+=+=+=+=+=+= Three days later the Salamanders made good on their promise. salamanders by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1577 by skaforhire, on Flickr At Wagner’s Glen in the Cedrican Plains, the Salamanders met the last of the Centaur raiding parties. In phalanx formation they slaughtered almost every rogue centaur. DSC_1583 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1587 by skaforhire, on Flickr They didn’t even have to take the swarmers, and they left them in town. Phlici found this very disturbing as the they mingled with the populace. hey girl by skaforhire, on Flickr Lat’ve stayed in town too, and she learned much more about Ulandus, but by this time she was more interested in the man himself, although she could not get over his and other Ulandian’s use of Leander as slaves. DSC_1597 by skaforhire, on Flickr
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