CMP

"They look like these weird shadow dudes. I....I don't know where they came from." The golden sphere did indeed seem to open further. Jeaux could now see the chain was caught under the one of the corners, and could only be removed if the sphere was fully open. Wally gave the small brown sphere a weird look. "I recognize that shape there. That's the High Kingdoms. And there's Moone, and Uland....I think it's supposed to be Olegaia."

I'd pick up a boxed set Blu-ray of the OT. I was astounded at how the picture looked when I popped in Desolation of Smaug for the first time, and I lost the original version of A New Hope from the Special Edition a few years ago. Would totally be worth it in my opinion, even moreso than seeing the 3D versions in theaters. I don't think the PT should be ejected from canon. It's not that offensively bad.

I know, I'm saying it's probably for the best that these places don't really exist, because walking anywhere would be a death trap.

The Quests are pretty much over. If you go with the troupe it's just a different way to end it. You'll all end up back at the hall when it's over, except for Haldor who's going on hiatus.

True. Road to the nearest city? Blue Assassins. Dinner party? Red and Blue Assassins. Abandoned house? There's a dragon living underneath it. Staying at an inn for a night? There's a necromancer next door. Crossing a bridge? You're walking into a warzone.

"It's no easy thing to walk away from all that you've known to help serve something you do not. I left Baltarok to seek help from half a world away, and you came half a world away to give it. There are none better suited to help us though such a tumultuous time, Mr. Skovgaard." Olmstyr turned to look at the rest of the party as well. "That goes for all of you. It may be your job, but nonetheless you answered the call that few others had the mind to answer. It was an honor to work with all of you. You've given Baltarok hope. That's a debt I can never hope to repay, but I'll spend the rest of my days making sure it was worth it." The ship finally sailed up to the side of the bridge. Lines were tossed up onto the ramparts, a gangplank set between and steadied by them. Captain Illdria walked across it, and dropped down onto the bridge. The Magpie had clearly seen some combat, as had the crew, but none of them seemed too much worse for wear. Olmstyr pulled a pouch of coins from his belt and tossed it to Illdria, who caught it deftly, looking around. "Well, well. Kings and orcs having a chat, bridge still intact, heroes in the middle of it all surrounded by a slew of corpses. Doesn't get any more successful than that, eh?" "We heawf fhewe waf oim' 'o be a baffle-" "And it looks like we weren't wrong. Seemed as though some nords wanted to get in on the action. We figured you could use a hand, and we could use some target practice. Evidently Attina had the same idea. The Bonies sent the right person up to this frozen hellhole, I'll give 'em that much. Anyway. I'm feeling generous and the cargo hold is already full of enough barbarian plunder to keep this trip profitable. If anyone wants a free ticket back to Eubric, well, all aboard." Don't feel like you're being rushed here. Just once you're done saying goodbye to everyone note you're ready to go.

The sphere opened somewhat more, and the gem that the shaft of light hit twisted, its beam focusing downward, right on the top of Wally's head. "I think this thing would shoot down into the sphere if I wasn't, ya'know, stuck here. But the chain is still caught....I think it could open more." There is a staircase spiralling downward in the side of the room. The books in the shelf over the desk were inscribed with elvish runes, and there were no windows to speak of other than the one that led toward Zylstra. If that was any indication, the tower was probably mostly sunken underground. "If they really wanted the town, they could've just stolen the whole damn thing days ago. I think they're after something else. Can't imagine what, though."

We'll save that for Plan C.

"Boomingham and Nyx could probably walk right in. This is a damn good hat but it won't be able to hide the fact that I look like a drunken mercenary. You and Ellaria could probably get in through the alley. Maybe Nyx could whip up some kinda stairs for you if ya' can't get up the pipe. I could hit the sewer. Mortimer, Russus, and Purple could stick around in the alley if anyone tries to make a break for it with Zoe."

"I was gonna go drop a bomb somewhere to get these guards out of here. Far enough away so the club guards and patrons won't get suspicious, but close enough so Glendar takes his men to go investigate."

You're completely right. This building lacks any kind of emergency exit. We'll burn the whole damn thing to the ground.

The track screeched slightly as Jeaux dragged the sphere down it. As he did so, the quarters of the golden sphere separated slightly - but not enough to let the chain loose yet.

"That's....true." "I'd love to have your company here. I need someone like you - orcs aren't half bad at getting results, obviously, but an outside opinion is always a valuable thing to have, especially if we're going to see more contact with the outside. I think we'll make an excellent team here." "Of course. Gor is leading our forces as we speak. Perhaps he'll be best suited to commanding the garrison. I fear there may be issues with Clan Aj-Kahr in the future. But most of their army followed Gor when he left. They will be trouble, but not a threat." "One way or another, it will."

Atramor returned to where Ellaria, Nyx, Mortimer, Purple, and Russus stood. "Yeah. Subtlety ain't workin'. I'm gonna go plant a bomb somewhere. Any objections?"

Sorry. Was still funny. "I can offer you increased reputation with the Bon-" "NOPE"

"There's only one paladin around to hear you. I've heard tell of just what the Order thinks of orcs, and of Baltarok. I don't know if they'll appreciate us killing one of their number and rooting out their influence here. But I don't think we have anything to worry about, at least at the moment. They're a world away and don't have the numbers they used to."

"They've tried getting me to say who and where my leader was. I thought for sure they could, like, rip it out of my head or something, but I guess they never did 'cuz they had to abduct the entire freaking city first." The sphere has lines, showing that it could open. Just how it would, though, was unclear. Around the edges were inscribed numbers, from 1 to 360, in a perfect circle circling it. Sitting at the nine o'clock position was a smaller sphere, smaller and colored brown. It sat on a disk with markings identical to the golden sphere, and at its nine o'clock position sat a small white sphere. The disc which the smaller spheres were on looked to be on a track circling the golden sphere. "I was knocked out when they dragged me in here, sorry. I don't know why I'm up here, though, all the others are down below." Wally nodded at a darkened staircase on one side of the room, that descended downward.

Hoke was able to see a small, broken fleet of longships sailing off into the distance, with the two larger ships parting ways, the Bonaparte ship chasing down the longships, the white brig heading for the bridge. Bastala stood with Haldor's help, her lip curled in unbridled ferocity, then loosened into a sigh. "I respect you, father. Do not doubt that. But don't expect me to be the model, traditional orc Naltar and Erunolaz were. They were your sons, and they died trying to protect you, but I will not do the same simply because it is expected of me. I have my followers, and they know who their leader is. I won't stand in the way of you driving our clan into the ground because tradition dictates it, but when you and your council start dwindling in the face of change, I want you to know that I won't give you so much as a single word of advice. You died once to me already, and I mourned you. I won't waste time doing so again." With that, she turned her back on Grishnod, returning to Haldor. "I have no patience for dealing with them. None of the clan leaders are going to choose me over a tried-and-true traditionalist like Grishnod. Change is staring them in the face and they still won't acknowledge THEY have to change too." She shook her head. "You're pretty much the only direct support I had in the Clanmeet. For that, I thank you. But it's not all for naught yet. If Karstaal is willing to acknowledge change...perhaps I can convince him to take a more immediate approach to it. His council's dead, after all. If I help him...maybe this is not a lost cause after all. And I suppose I could help out in the rebuilding of Imaestym. Dear Rook still owes me a few favors." She grinned slyly and looked at Haldor. "What of you? Scratch saving a country off your list and go kill a dragon or something?" "Your death eases tensions. But it is worth nothing." Tra-Serral walked behind Raguel, bringing her katar across his throat in one fluid motion. The paladin crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood. There's silence for a moment. "Good." "If that is all....it is time I returned to my men." He turned to Olmstyr's party. "Heroes, you've done what three centuries of isolation could not. You have brought together the orc clans under a single banner. We remain independent, but stand united against any that threaten our homeland, thanks to you. You are the first outsiders in countless decades to have helped my people, and will be remembered among the warlords of old as if Tarok had granted you His own favor. I speak for all my race when I say we would be proud to call each of you Orc-kin." Karstaal handed Guts, Thormanil, Haldor, Dyric, Alexandre, and Alexis 50 gold apiece. All six of them also gained a full level of experience. "My thoughts exactly! I hear I have all of you to thank for helping rescue me and bring vengeance on those who devastated my people. It will take time, but Imaestym will be rebuilt and renewed. Once everyone's got a bed and a roof over their heads, I'm thinking of commissioning a mural as a monument. The Battle of Augustus Bridge....the first of many orcish works to be seen by any who venture into our fair country." Olmstyr leaned back against one of the bridge's ramparts and sighed. For once, it wasn't in despair over Baltarok or the quibbling of the clans. It was in relief....and accomplishment.

"Our scouts reported nobody but soldiers on the bridge."

"In your eyes, maybe." "Well, even if you can't free the orcish slaves, perhaps you'd be willing to serve as intermediaries between us and the other Kingdoms. With trade open, maybe a more diplomatic means of getting them back could work." Olmstyr raised an eyebrow at his clan leader. "It heartens me to see you alive, Karstaal, but you have very high hopes." "They've already paid off, somewhat. Maybe bloodshed wasn't avoidable. But all-out war might just be. As predicted! I'll have to have some words with the king of the Four Boulders when this is over....secure reparations and rebuild our city. Hardship is in our nature, Olmstyr. All we have to decide is what to do about it. Dwell on it, fight it out...or work past it."

EA doesn't produce Call of Duty, they produce Battlefield (with two year long gaps between installments). They also have Visceral working on something Star Wars too. Them and DICE are probably some of the best developers EA has, so at least they know just how significant the license is and who would handle it best.

"We've killed no innocents, not like the princeling and his followers. Do you see a city destroyed at our hands in the kingdoms?" Haldor came across an unconscious form that stirred when he healed her at the cost of 1 ether. "...Ugh....did we win?" "Zol. No. Your Kingdoms burned our shipyards to the ground after the Invasion, and we lack the resources to rebuild both them and any significant number of ships. Maybe you don't sit waiting in the seas, but there are other Kingdoms who do. Any orc that dares try and flee their homeland dies, by land or by sea. You know well just what lengths have been taken to keep us isolated here. You fear us. Rightly." Tarvalk looked around. At David's men, his own men, and the rising sun. "But I tire of this. There is no point in letting old wounds fester. The Paladin dies here. Get my kin released from the other Kingdoms. Bring up the threat of another orcish invasion if you have to. But do this, and you have no reason to...fear us. I'm leaving a garrison on our side of the bridge, whether it stands or no. Judging by the destruction of Imaestym not everyone is under your influence in the Kingdoms." Another trio of figures came forward from the tower. Garohn Ironshin and Jaret both supported another figure, who leaned heavily on them, clearly in pain, but it didn't seem to dampen his spirits. "Now that....would be a waste of a good bridge, Tarvalk. And of good orcs, just to sit and watch. Perhaps, once the bridge is done, both forces could allow open passage between the High Kingdoms and Baltarok. No fees on its use or on trading, either, I know how you kings work." Karstaal chuckled, weakly. "Oh, of course...Karstaal, of Musalnav." Tarvalk looked sideways at Karstaal for a moment, then simply nodded. "Is this agreeable?"

"Three weeks. I'm fine, they feed me and stuff and it's not like they've been torturing me." The sphere looked to be able to open, but just why and how it was meant to do so is unclear. The chain was made of unknown material and seemed to be locked within the sphere. Oops. "These weird shade creatures took me down here. Everyone else was unconscious when they dragged them down here, but I have no idea what they're planning to do. Damn, I hope mom and Eve are okay...." In the order they were picked up, the numbers inscribed were 154, 154; 287, 124; 310, 155; and 82, 45.

"Not one orc has set foot in the Kingdoms beyond the bridge, while one of our capitals burns at the hands of these Boulders. We will defend our country to the death, but if we cared so deeply about conquering the High Kingdoms, we would have done so long ago."