The Black Throne

[Oddood198]

Durek was a bit taken aback by Kiani's speech at first, but then he sighed resignedly. "Yes, of course, that is the world we live in, isn't it? No trust, just suspicions of deceit and plots. The only thing that sets us few apart from anyone else on Kargeth is the fact that we can think farther then the wetting of our blades to when our children inherit this world and all its troubles."
Durek focused his attention on Kiani, which wasn't difficult considering the old Dwarf's proximity. "My wife died trying to bring about peace for our kind. I want to carry on her dream, and the only way to do that short of double genocide... No, even that wouldn't be enough. The only way is to bring peace to all the races, and the ancient verse says that once the Black Throne is filled, that is what will happen. 'All people will unite', it says. No more war, no more conflict. Peace."
Durek stepped back and looked down the row of dirt and stone houses, "I have a friend near here who can help us wait out the storm. Elf, good man, not like that Mis'tha brat. After that, your paths are up to you. Do what you feel is right."

[Wolfsong]

OOC - sorry it took me so long to get around posting in this thing. I almost completely forgot ab8ut it XD

Hikiera just listened, then shrugged and crossed her arms.
"Can't say I care," she replied. "Why do you worry so much about it? If you intend to do it, just do it, and heck with what others may think. If you were wrong, then you will be forgotten as another foolish dreamer. If you were right, then it will all work. So quit sounding so idiotic and do whatever the heck you're intending to do."
Crossing her arms, she turned away.

[Oddood198]

OOC - sorry it took me so long to get around posting in this thing. I almost completely forgot ab8ut it XD

OOC: If I say "^this," am I gonna get lynched? Hehehe, anyways. I'm gonna speed things up a bit, jump ahead in the story to some kind of interesting part, because looking back we haven't had many of those. Maybe that'll help this thing a bit.



The group walked through the dangerous, razor-rock flinging storm for a good two hours, pausing briefly to rest and tie up especially bad cuts a few times, but never staying still for long. Durek's friend, Vilmes, had just big enough of a hole in the ground to shelter them all for a full day while the storm blew. The Elf was wary of the strangers, but he took Durek's word they were trustworthy, and when the storm had subsided he gave them what supplies he could spare and sent them on their way.

The group traveled onward for over a month through the wasteland that was the surface of Kargeth. Miles were eaten up under their feet, and they drew ever-closer to their goal. At no point was the journey easy; they were constantly in danger from primal savages, mindless beasts, and war parties from all sides, but they doggedly persisted on. Finally, at the top of a tall hill, the group gathered, Durek standing in the forefront. The Orc seemed to have aged a decade in the past month from the harsh journey, but he was a warrior full of willpower, it would take more than walking and fighting to exhaust his strength. The leader stretched his arm out, pointing out in the distance, "Look." The old Orc said.
There, miles out still, but closer than ever, was a giant stone structure, the house of the Black Throne. From this distance, the group could see it only faintly, identifying a huge wall and a single spire stretching up to the sky, but there was no question; that was it.
"It's right there." Durek said, lowering his arm. His voice was full of emotion, and his face was strained as the muscles received mixed signals whether to laugh or cry. "Come on, from here, we can get there in a couple days." With that encouragement, the Orc made his way down the hill, his energy renewed from finally seeing his goal. At last, it was going to be over. At last, he would fulfill his wish.
"We should be careful, though." He added after a few minutes of trekking, "That castle is a mighty fortress; if no army has claimed it yet, then there must be a very good reason, most likely something else already has. We should stay on guard, now more than ever."

[Wolfsong]

OOC - then we'll be lynched together, I forgot again XD

How long had passed? Hikiera had given up trying to tell. Every day felt the same, had the same grinding routine of walk, walk, hide from hostile tribes, and more walking. She felt dead. She wished this...this nightmare of walking with these people would end. How, how had this happened to her? Why had fate such a twisted sense of humor?
Even the announcment of their goal couldn't raise her spirits, and she stared at it through vague, rather empty eyes, like she couldn't really see it. As she continued to follow, though, hiss warnings made her force herself to wake up. He was right. Goodness only knew what waited for them inside.
The nasty orc she'd met first could go in before her, just in case. Her hands crept slowly to her knives, a grin stretching across her face. The prospect of a fight, of finally stretching out her unused muscles, was reawakening her.

[ClaecElric4God]

Kiani trudged along, lagging in the back of the group. She wasn't ready to admit it, but she was tired. She'd been hungry for so long she could hardly remember what food tasted like. There had even been a time she'd given thought to taking a bite off of her beloved potato. But the thought had barely crossed her mind before she smacked herself upside the head with the hilt of her sword in a strong rebuke. That spot still smarted...
"So that's our goal, eh?" Kiani grumbled. Somehow, seeing the object of all their journeyings and exhaustion only served to make her more irritable. She shrugged her shoulders as she climbed laboriously up the hill to stand by Durek. "I hope that's worth all this trouble; for your sake as much as anyone, Durek."

[Cheetah]

Sendre stared ahead at the distant wall, groaning at the thought of another few days walking. Even as a scout, he wasn't used to just tramping on endlessly like this. He couldn't tell how large the place was that they were heading towards but he could imagine at least a small force inside. The thought of fighting for it was not appealing. He turned to the others to see what their opinions might be. He cringed at the sight of the elf grinning with her hand on her knife. At least one of them would be up for a fight anyway. He edged away from her and quickly followed after Durek.

[Wolfsong]

She glanced over, noticing Sendre moving up towards Durek, glancing back fearfully at her. Grinning, a spark of humor rekindling, she moved up a little closer herself.
"Hey," she said to Durek, coming to stand practically next to Sendre. "So what's the plan, if something's in there? Or do you not have a plan?"

[Oddood198]

"We need to get to the throne room, that's all that matters." Durek said, "I don't have any plan yet; I haven't seen the keep close enough, nor do I know anything about a defending force there to devise a plan against it. With just the four of us, it will probably be tricky. We'll likely need to find a way to sneak in and avoid detection." He was aware that, at present, he was holding the loyalty of the group on a thread and dangling it over very thin ice, and telling them that he had practically no battle plan to speak of wasn't the best way to lift spirits, but there was nothing else he could say. At this point, he could only hope they were with him to see this through to the end; he couldn't do it alone, someone had to stay with him to the end. It was almost over now, his journey...
Rishal, it's almost done.
Durek looked behind them, down the other side of the hill, and movement on the horizon caught his attention. He squinted, peering back the way they had come at it. It looked like a dust cloud, a large group moving. Beasts, savages, a warband, he couldn't tell, but it looked like they were headed in the same direction.
"We need to move, double-time." He said, "There's something behind us, and I don't want them to get close enough to attack."

[Wolfsong]

Hikiera glanced back curiously, then glanced ahead. Strangely, or maybe not, the spring in her step had come back. Plan or no plan, thrre was finally something to do, wven if it was just run for your life.
"Shall I scout back, see whats following us? Or shall I scout ahead, and see what waits? Since you lack a solid plan, a little foreknowledge would surely help you."

[Cheetah]

"That's a good idea." Sendre faced Hikiera. "Why don't you go one way and I'll go the other? We can check both out."
Part of Sendre hoped he'd be turned down. Whichever way he went could be extremely dangerous. But at this point he was ready to do anything just for a change of pace. Getting some time to himself for a while sounded refreshing.

[Oddood198]

Durek thought for a few moments. Yes, having some information, a bit of foreknowledge, perhaps, of what they would be dealing with inside the castle would certainly be helpful. Maybe he would even be able to form a proper plan.That certainly would help, he was sure. "Very well, you can both go scouting." He said, "Just be careful; try not to be spotted, and get out at the first sign of danger. No information is worth your lives. And if you're being pursued by something, try to shake it off before leading it back to us, I'd rather not have a fight sprung on us with no warning." When he had finished giving his instructions, Durek clapped both Sendre and Hikiera on the shoulder, giving them a firm, encouraging hand. "Good luck, both of you." He added.

[Wolfsong]

"Yes mom," Hikiera replied with unexpected humor before rushing off towards the big building.
The lack of vegetation and cover bothered her, a constant itch she couldn't ignore. She kept moving, however, running fast as she could towards the building. She glanced back once, checking their progress, before she continued.
The building became more and more clear as she neared it. A tall building with its rising spire, discolored and chipped away at by time, but still an imposing structure. She felt something stir inside her; it could only be awe. She slowed as she neared it, however, coming to an almost complete halt. Crouching down, she started slowly forward, all her senses coming alert as she came up apongside it.
Its so quiet , she thought, squeezing up against the wall. She listened carefully, but there was no sound. Slowly, she started moving around, away from the dor. There had to be another entrance tothis place besides the door.

[Vio13]

OoC:((Are applications still being accepted for this roleplay? And if they are, is there a character limit? (Story character, not letters) I'm new to this, sorry))

[Cheetah]

OoC: I'm all for new characters. Hang on a sec. I'll call the GM. Odd! You're up! Do your GM business! Odd!!!!

Sendre watched the elf dash off, a bit annoyed that she hadn't even discussed who should scout where. He grudgingly turned back the way they'd come. It was guaranteed that he'd find something dangerous following them. It was practically impossible to travel any distance in a group without drawing attention from predators, or worse. All he could do was find out how many, what species, and how far behind they were.
Judging by the cloud of dirt, there were quite a few and Sendre suspected they'd have scouts of their own, if they weren't a pack of beasts.
It felt like ages since he'd been on a routine scouting mission, but it was a familiar task and strangely refreshing. And once Sendre was away from the group he felt more at ease. Scouting was something he could do well. He hoped the threat wasn't too great, so he could take his time before returning to the others.

[ClaecElric4God]

I love clouds.
Those same words, over and over, kept resounding in Kiani's head. No matter how hard she tried to get her mind on something different, it overwhelmed her thoughts. Shaking her head, she laughed aloud, turning to give Durek a hearty clap on the back.
"So, what do you think of our fine young friends? Little good they'll do us if they die on their scouting missions, but at least it gives them a change of pace. Young whippersnappers need to get out and see the world a bit, don't you think?"

[Oddood198]

Durek watched the two young scouts run on, one ahead and on behind, eventually disappearing among the jagged, uneven terrain. Once they had faded from view, he turned to Kiani, a slight smile on his face. "That's right." He agreed, "It doesn't do them much good to hang around dusty old relics like us all day."


The great castle sprawled out before the Hikiera. Gigantic, one of few structures to survive the endless war, the castle was impenetrable and ominous. It sat on the other side of a wide ravine stretching all across it, and the only obvious way across was the massive drawbridge, the thick wood speaking of the castle's age, constructed in a time where finding such materials was possible. Even if the Elf could find a way across the ravine, the enormously tall walls stretched high above her, and there was no clear way to scale them. A formidable structure, to be certain, so much so that it seemed impossible to gain entry.



Amidst the silence of the wasteland, the cloud of dust from the pursuing party grew larger slowly and steadily. Soon, he could hear the clamoring footsteps, stomping along heavily. If he craned his ears, he could tell that, whatever was following them, there was a lot of it. He was close to them, almost close enough to peek over the rocks and see, when a knife whizzed by him and clanged off the stone by his head. From behind him, a warrior in all black clothes and a mask leapt out from the cover of the rocks, brandishing a pair of knives.

[Cheetah]

For a moment, Sendre thought it was all over. Still, he responded automatically and spun around, pulling out his own knives and raising them to block the attacker's blades. They locked together. Their activity brought the attention of the other warriors. A hurried command sent a group of them rushing over.
Sendre was trapped, without any potions left, or allies to rush to his rescue. His only hope was to get past this warrior before the others reached him. Then he could try to out-distance them. As a scout, he avoided combat as much as possible. It was more important to be quick than strong. So, despite his attacker's small size, Sendre didn't even consider trying to best the stranger. He only needed to slip past him.
"Sendre?"
The warrior's muffled female voice speaking his name surprised Sendre, enough that he let his guard down for a second.
"Sendre! It's you!" The warrior lunged forward and engulfed Sendre in a suffocating hug.
Before he could be properly alarmed, Sendre recognized the voice.
"Laesha?" Sendre grabbed the female orc by the shoulders and pulled her off of him.
She pulled down her mask, grinning ecstatically. Sendre felt a rush of relief at the sight of an old friend. She had pale gray skin and almost violet eyes. She looked away from him and waved to the others rushing towards them.
"It's Sendre!" Laesha called out. She shoved her knives back in their sheaths and spun Sendre around to face the others. "He's alive!"
They continued forward, but instead of drawing their weapons and screaming war cries they shouted victoriously, welcoming him and expressing their happiness at seeing him again.
Laesha quickly ordered that the commander be informed and sent the rest to set up camp. It was getting late and they'd have to stop soon anyway.
"Sendre," Laesha grasped his arm again and hung on him like a kid sister. "I'm so glad we found you. We thought you were dead."
Despite his overwhelming relief that this was a band of his fellow orcs, Sendre also felt a growing sense of dread. What if they found and killed the others? Or if they found out he had teamed up with a dwarf, an elf and a banished orc? This was not looking good.
"What are you doing so far out here?" Sendre looked over the company of orcs and noted that this was much more than just a raiding party. And not even regular scouts traveled this far from the firemountain.
Laesha's eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists. "The dwarves attacked us. They wiped out a whole encampment. When we went after them, we found your scouting party and the elves who killed them."
"What?" Sendre reluctantly recalled in his mind the image of a savage monster in his camp, and the bodies of his comrades.
"That's not all." Laesha lowered her voice. "It seems rogue orcs have allied themselves with the elves. We're chasing a party of them now. The elders have ordered that any rogue orcs must be hunted down and killed immediately. Our secrets must be protected."
"You're hunting rogue orcs?" Sendre nearly shouted the question.
"But what about you? What are you doing here?" Laesha asked, frowning at Sendre. "When your party was attacked, why didn't you return to the encampment? What are you doing way out here by yourself?"
Sendre's brain scrambled for a believable answer that was nowhere near the truth, but he came up blank. Well, he'd have to settle for something that used to be the truth. "I'm spying on the enemy. Could you spare some potions?"

[ClaecElric4God]

Let's do this thing.

[Wolfsong]

Let's do this thing.

LETS DO THIS THING!

[Oddood198]

Absolutely not. Get out of my thread.

[Wolfsong]

Absolutely not. Get out of my thread.

You'll eventually give in or start a new one.