Tod
(OOC: Page is still under editing. Quotes have been pasted, but to make a storyline out of them Tod's narration is still needed in between RPs)
You decide to visit Tod, to hear about the tales of Sir Adam, the cunning coward of Coimbra. After a few hours of search you find him in a quite unique art-studio. As you approach him you can see that he knows what you're here for
Tod: "Well met, good knight. My name is Tod, I'm an artist who was in the service of Sir Adam until his death. So, you want to hear some of his stories, do you? Well it all started in Krimml, capital of Coimbra, which was invaded by Oligarch's and Perdan's armies..."
8 shadow attempt to sneak out of the city using the cover of darkness. They climb down the city wall on a rope, walk another 500 meters away from the city, and finally turn around and shout:
"Here we go, come and get us!!!"
Once the city gates start opening they can only recall one single sentence from their memory. The sentence they use the most often (and which gave them their name):
"AAAAAA, run!!!"
sees a dog running after them
"Why on earth are we running, men? It's just a stupid dog! I say we stop!"
all of them stop running, take deep breaths and watch the dog coming closer and closer and closer and closer and closer..., and further and further and further...; suddenly they realize that the dog passed them
"Stupid blind dog! We smell pretty bad already, how come the stupid dog did not smell us? Nevermind, lets go!"
they bump into a big sign: "WELCOME TO BRAGA!"
"Wow, we actually ran this much? Hm... we did practice running a lot recently, didn't we?"
Tod: "Adam got a lot of letters from several nobles of enemy realms asking about his unit and their habit of running..."
"Well, you see my unit is not even close to being perfect... But that is the key to our survival. And our name truly reflects us.
It is also a family tradition. My two brothers who live on another continent (Atamara) call their units 'Sudden panic' and 'Run-away unit'. There is also a recent story about me and my men, about an event in Krimml. You should ask other troopleaders of Oligarch about that. I'm sure they'll gladly inform you :)
Excuse me but now I have to return to my original business... We need to practice running ;)
You can join our 'marathon for peace' if you want to ofcourse..."
Tod: "He also infiltrated enemy territories (disregarding orders) to scout those regions and to keep his health balanced."
"Join the 'around Oligarch with Adam' supermarathon! Visit Oberndorf (Scribe Note), Oligarch (Scribe Note), Hagley (Scribe Note), or Westmoor (Scribe Note) while enjoying a healthy run!"
"Still haven't decided yet? Well here is a special offer just for you then. With just running a few extra kilometers, you may also go and see Poitiers (Scribe Note) and Gadlock (Scribe Note) in Rancagua. Fastest way from your position will definitely go through Greatbridge (Scribe Note) as well, the place whose mystery of why it is called 'bridge' you can now solve yourself! I already activised several locals, most of them are running behind me though..."
Tod: "During these super-marathons, he was not only chased by the local peasants, but by some enemy units as well."
"I hope I will. Oligarch sent a TL after me, but he just gave up and returned into a city. I fooled the poor guy with all kinds of misdirections, eventually changing regions with him.
I have two tactics in maneuvering:
- running away
- distracting the enemy with anything out of ordinary
So, are you ready to join me? I'm thinking about running through the enemy capitol right now, but that might be a bit too much at the moment. Climbing over the wall and all that stuff is not fun..."
Tod: "And of course the time came when my abilities had been put to good use. I sneaked into a hostile city with my master."
5 shady characters in dark cloaks walk past the gate guards of Westmoor. One of them burst out laughing after they got a few hundred meters away from the gate. After a few seconds he calms down and calls one of the other shades.
"Hey, Tod! Come here. You told me some time ago you were an artist before you joined me."
"Yes, Sir Adam, that is so..."
"Well you now have the honor of drawing a picture of us standing in Westmoor, an enemy city."
"Are we in an enemy city? You never told us that! You said we sneaked in here to fool the guards of whom one was your childhood friend..."
"Of course I didn't tell you! The first thing you'd have done seeing the city is turn around and run if you knew about it. But now that we are here, you could just as well draw that stupid picture! Here's a piece of charcoal and my handkerchief. You may draw on it, since this is an event of major importance. This is the first time we faced an enemy city without running away from it."
"Yes, Sir, I now realise how important this event is. Maybe Oligarch was a bite too big for us yesterday. I'm sorry but I just couldn't look at those big walls with all the enemy soldiers on them, who were just waiting to massacre us. An artist's nerves are not made for these kind of things." looks at his commander nervously, not knowing what response to expec
"Look, Tod. I must admit I'm no brave man either. Better said, I'm a coward. But a cunning one at that. Do not be afraid to show your fear! thinks for a second That was kind of a paradox, wasn't it? silence Well, okay, nevermind. You just do the drawing. Where do you think we others should stand?"
"I think that place in front of the palace should be satisfactory..."
"The governor's palace you mean? Great idea! We'll show those Oligarch nobles what a cunning coward is made of! Be sure to send copies of the picture to them if you've finished. We are spending the night in that brothel over there."
The 5 men slowly walk over to the palace, and the 4 of them begin a silent conversation about their recent adventures in Oligarch, while the fifth concentrates on a handkerchief and the charcoal in his hand. As it gets darker, their outlines slowly fade away but their silent conversation can still be heard from far away...
Tod: "But Coimbra's council did not like the liberal spirit of Sir Adam. He had not been punished, but it was requested that he behaves like all the other knights of the kingdom. He also had to explain his actions..."
"Running away is in my nature. There is not much I can do about it. I was hoping to divert some troops from Krimml, but because my unit was so small they didn't see me as a threat. Also when I asked for permission to loot, none of the council members answered, so I received even less attention in Oligarch than I could have. The mass capture of other nobles and the passivity of Sartan Morningstar also worried me. I would have stayed near our capital, if there was a safe spot, but all regions were full of Perdan, Oliarch and Avamar armies. Sorry again. I hope there will be no situation where I feel the need of running again..."
Tod: "Eventually the war came to a halt, a peace-treaty was signed. With nothing to do, knights of Coimbra thought that a tour to Oligarch might just be the thing to do. As my master knew those lands the best, he received requests to show people around in the once-hostile realm."
"Yes, that's a good idea Thomdril. Although you might want to ask Tod, the only survivor of the previous tour from my unit about his opinion... Tod is the artist guy, who drew the picture of us standing in front of the governor's palace in Westmoor. The copies of the picture are sold in shops in Krimml as postcards. I recommend them if you want to message someone in Oligarch. Their reaction when seeing the picture is interesting. They probably didn't see it before the ceasefire, otherwise the war would still be on. How did I get into this? Ah, the tour! So the tour starts from Braga. It's path depends on the number of people participating. The city of Oligarch is only included in the tour if everyone in the realm and most of our allies participate. The tour is free of charge, but I recommend bringing your unit with you for 'self defence'. I almost forgot: if you want to join the tour you need to be a good runner. It's like knowing how to swim when you go on a boat trip with a broken down yacht... That's about it. If anyone has any questions they may ask me in Braga before we take off."
Tod: "The peace was short-lived however, it only lasted a few days. Oligarch wanted Coimbra off the map, and a minor conflict between a Coimbran and an Oligarchian unit gave them the excuse to re-declare war."
(NEXT WAR:)
For those who were not in Braga this turn, we received the following message:
Roleplay from Peggy (19 recipients) (1 hour, 6 minutes ago) Message sent to: Everyone in this region Lord Adam of Coimbra, I am addressing you because I regard you as a clever Troop Leader and one that he might be willing to talk.
Why did you challenge your own fate?
I am aware that time will be the judge of our actions and will characterize them as succesful or not, however I would like to hear your opinion on that.
Didn't you know the rules of the game? Did you suddenly turn to be so arrogants? Did we left something unclear?
Peggy General of Oligarch
My reply was:
Roleplay from Adam (19 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in this region General Peggy, As you request I'm going to state my own opinion, but I can not speak in the name of Coimbra since I have little say in realm businesses.
We did not wish in any way to challenge Oligarch. The peace between our realms is understood by the troopleaders of Coimbra. As far as I know we are permitted to travel through Braga, and so we were, but the presence of a Fontan unit and the carelessness of one of our nobles dragged us all into battle. As I already said I can not speak for all of Coimbra, but very likely an investigation is going to take place on this issue, and those responsible will be punished.
I do not know much more about this problem. Perhaps my queen and general can inform you in more detail. I thank you for addressing me personally in this matter.
Adam
Message from Adam (19 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
War? Not good...
My unit preserved it's habbit in the last battle as you can see...
AAAAA, run!!! (6) are shocked, causing panicked flight among the survivors, 2 additional men get slaughtered during the retreat.
...so I don't think they are going to do any better in the rest of the war.
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (45 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- Hiding in the shadows of the city, Adam remembers his last words to his soldiers*
"Today we are not going to act like cowards! For once we are going to lie to the world and pretend to be fierce soldiers. Anyone who runs I'll kick in the butt personally..."
- Now he wishes he hadn't ordered his men to act against their nature. Now they are all lying dead on the battlefield...*
"Well at least Tod is still alive somewhere. I left him at the healer some time ago. I'll go and check if he's still there. If he's okay, we could make that group picture in Oligarch this time." *grin*
Adam
Message from Adam (45 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
Then my laughter shall be the strongest defence of Coimbra... ;)
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (40 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
Hey, you peasants there! Come 'ere! I need to do a headcount. Someone told me there are 505 of you, but I have my doubts...
Okay, stand in 10 lines please. Okay let me see...
1,2,3,4,5,...,203,204,205,206,...,321,322,323,...,461,462,463,... ,502,503,504,505 and 506...
What the hell?!?
Is there anyone who does not belong here?
- all peasants point at a scared little man*
Tod?!? How did you get here? You come with me right now! How dare you hide between these brave and noble warriors! We don't belong here. Lets go!
(OOC: for those who don't know Tod: he's an artist guy from my previous unit, whom I left at the healer some time ago; the adventures of Adam and his unit, 'AAAAA, run!!!', are probably not known by Perdan troopleaders --> ask your allies if you're curious)
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (40 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- a dark character sneaks towards ][osferatu's tent, but suddenly realises that there's no-one scattering behind him*
whispers Pss, Tod, are you here?
- looks around, but sees no-one, but sleeping Perdan soldiers*
whispers Where is that good-for-nothing-except-drawing man now?
- turns back and disappears in the darkness*
...
- a few minutes later he returns again, this time acompanied by another dark character, but as he gets closer to the tent again, he realises that there's nobody scattering apart from himself nearby*
whispers Tod, did you leave me here again?
- he hears the other person whispering from 1 meter behind* "I'm not Tod, Sir! I was just standing there at the city gates when you came by and threatened to take my paintbrushes away if I didn't follow you to the enemy camp. Being the owner of a paintbrush shop I saw this as a real threat, so I figured it'd be better if I followed you, as you so nicely asked."
- puts his face in his palms*
What did I do to deserve this? You get back to the city and find Tod for me right now! You know Tod, don't you?
- the shopkeeper thinks for a few seconds*
"Tod the artist?" Yes, yes, him! "Ah yes, he's a regular costumer of mine. Ok, so go and find him and tell him that I'll take HIS paintbrushes away if he doesn't join me at ][osferatu's tent.
- the guy rushes off towards the city; Adam sits down on a two-legged chair left there by enemy troops after some of them broke camp and left; he waits for a few minutes but he can't take the silence anymore, so he starts whistling some random tone which he was making up just there; this he does very silently obviously, there's no point in waking up the soldiers; eventually he sees someone running towards him*
Ah this must be Tod! He's almost as good at running as I am.
- even from a hundred meters away Adam can already hear the worried voice of Tod*
"Oh, no, not my brushes. He can't take away my paintbrushes. He can't!"
- Tod keeps running and almost passes his master, when Adam stands up and orders him to stup running*
Tod, are you nuts? You might wake up the soldiers with your constant mourning! Obviously I don't want to be here either, but I have something very important to discuss with ][osferatu.
- Tod gives him an empty look*
][osferatu is a Perdan noble. He should be around here somewhere. "Sir, could that tent with the big scary-face banner be his?" No that looks more like ours. We lost it in the previous battle. "I think I have an idea, Sir"
- Tod crawls over to a sleeping soldier and wakes him up by poking him in the shoulder*
"Sorry for waking you up. I'm looking for some Perdan noble's tent *turns his head around and whispers to his master* What was his name agai, Sir?" ][osferatu. I have no idea how to pronunce it though... "Ah, okay. *turns back to soldier* So, we are looking for Lord ][osferatu's tent. Do you know where we could find it?"
- with a dizzy look the soldier answers*
"Well you should go about 53.2 steps in that direction, turn left at the green elephant and walk till you see a tent with towers and walls. Or you can also go THAT way, in which case you'll have to fight a big red dragon, but at least the route is straight."
- Adam and Tod look puzzled; the first to break the silence is Tod*
"Ehm... thank you mister soldier. Have a wonderful sleep!"
- the soldier goes back to sleep*
That was odd. But maybe he said the truth. But we should split up, just in case... "Okay, Sir Adam. Which way should I go?"
- the enemy troops spend the rest of the night putting out the fire caused by the dragon, and trying to figure out how a human being can run as fast as a dragon can fly after him; Adam somehow reached the castle-tent after turning left at the dark-green elephant; he even got into ][osferatu's bedroom and woke him up*
Lord ][osferatu! I have something very important to ask you. What does PMW stand for???
Adam
Message from Adam
Sorry, but I can't talk about changing realm or emmigrating while my country still exists. I'm dedicated to whatever country I serve. If I'd start planning where to leave in case Coimbra gets destroyed, then Coimbra would be destroyed anyway... For now I have hope, therefore I'm not planning.
Just a quote: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right!"
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (30 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- Tod approaches Krimml in the darkness dragging something big and red after him; Adam is already waiting for him at the city gates*
Where have you been all day? "Sorry, Sir. I had that huge red dragon chasing me." So is that the dragon you are dragging with you? "Yes, Sir. We were just about to reach Evora, when the dragon started coughing and dropped dead a few seconds later. I couldn't just leave it there like this. I thought it could be of use somehow"
- Adam starts thinking*
Maybe we could... hm... no, that would be cruel. "What, Sir?" I just thought about making shields from its scales. But I don't want to see a naked dragon lying around our city. Nice work though. It seems running has its advantages. "Well what do we do with it then?" I think we should take the dragon to the healer. Maybe it's not dead, just tired of all that flying and asleep. "If you say so, Sir. I shall bring the dragon there now. By the way, did you get an answer from ][osferatu yet?" No he fainted when I woke him up. Probably it's not a nice thing to lean over someone and ask a question while staring at his face like an idiot. Or maybe the answer to my question is just so obvious that he tried to save me from getting into an embarrasing situation, so he pretended to faint. "Ah, I see. But at least you found him." That I did. Now lets not talk about this unfortunate accident. Did you know that half of their camp burnt down? "No, Sir. I was busy concentrating on the dragon and the flames coming out from its ugly face." I'll tell you about it later then. Come on, I'll help you drag this huge thing to the healer's headquaters.
- the two of them grab the dragon by its tail and pull it into the city...*
(OOC: sorry, I wasn't really in an RP mood now :/ )
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (30 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- Adam hears someone shouting his name on the streets of Krimml, so he goes over to see who is looking for him. He sees a tiny little man on horseback trying to look through the shadows of the street corners.*
"What business do you have here, little man?"
- with a surprised face the man holds a letter towards Adam*
My master, ][osferatu sent me to give you this message.
- wants to hand the letter over to Adam*
"Read it for me please."
- the messenger looks at Adam rather puzzled*
I'm... I'm not supposed to. You see it has this stamp and everything on and should only be read by you. "No, you read it." I'm not supposed to. If I read it, it might cost my head. "Well, I'm sorry but either you read it or no-one. I can't read. I'm illiterate, and so is Tod. So he couldn't help the problem either."
- Just as his name is mentioned, Tod rushes in from the next dark street*
Did you call me, Sir? "Well, you could say that. Can you read?" I don't understand, Sir. Do what? "You see, messenger? I think you can make an exception with us under these special conditions." Yes Sir, I understand. I'm still not allowed to open the letter, but I remember what it said. Lord ][osferatu asks for your apologies for not welcoming you in a proper manner in his tent. He also sent you the answer to your question. Pee-eM-doubleU stands for Perdan Murderous Wrath, as it is obviously very well known by all the people on this continent. He urges you however, to tell this to all Coimbrans as well, just in case they forgot about it. "Thank you for the message. You may leave if you have nothing else to say for now." Actually, I HAVE to give you the letter, even if you can't read it. "Very well."
- Adam takes letter from the scribe and throws it immediately into the rubbish bin standing 3 meters away from him. Tod in the meantime is dragging something huge towards the healer's headquaters through the crossroad where he first appeared*
"Anything else?" No, I think that will be all. Except... I can't stop wondering what this horrible smell is. "Oh that... ehm... well that'ssss... TOD! He keeps farting a lot resently. It's an artist thing. Sorry about it." Ah, I understand. I have the same thing. But I can distinguish mine from this one. This is horrible! Give Tod my regards. I can't imagine how someone can master this skill to this extent. I hope he'll tell me his secret sometime. "Ehm... sure, I'll tell him. Bye."
- the messenger leaves in the same direction as he came from*
"Phew, that was close." shouts "Hey, Tod! This dragon gets smellier every minute. Maybe we should just burry it somewhere. I don't think the healer can help anymore."
- Tod shouts back*
I'll bring it to the city junk-yard, Sir. Although I doubt that the junk-yard's smell has any chance against this thing's here. I'll be back in a few hours.
- Tods runs to the other end of the dragon and starts pulling it by the neck in the direction he brought it from. SLowly he disappears into the night.*
"Now what did PMW stand for again? Holy ][osferatu, I forgot! I'll have to ask him again someti..."
- suddenly the roar of a dragon interrupts him*
"What happened? Is the dragona live again?"
- Adam hides behind some peasants who were just paasing by, obviously returning home from a party at their friend's house. A second later 44 men and a big orange dragon arrive at the crossroad from the direction of the healer's quaters. Adam is really good at counting (he has much experience from counting peasants), so he is definitely positive that there are exactly 44 men approaching. He is not so sure about the number of dragons though. He is not used to counting THOSE things. He loses confidence due to this uncertainty and quicly makes his grand escape through a sewer trap door.*
(OOC: I could have continued this for much longer, but it's 4:45 AM here and we have guests in a few hours, so I need to get some sleep. Sorry.)
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (81 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- The gates of Krimml suddenly open and 3 messengers ride out from the city. They go in the same direction as Adam did during the first siege of Krimml, because the main camp of the enemy is set up at the same place where Adam and his soldiers bravely turned around and shouted insults at them. Okay, it wasn't insults, they were just taunting the enemy, who in reply let a dog loose to chase them. But that's not the point. The point is that the 3 riders headed towards the enemy camp and...*
"Shut up, stupid narrator, you can't even talk properly! Come here Tod, you continue the story."
- I drink... I mean TOD drinks a glass of water to clean his throat, and then cotinues the story:
The three horsemen arrive at the main camp of the Oligarch and Perdan forces and split in order to find Peggy, ][osferatu and Shadow Thief and hand them thier messages:*
Letter to Sir ][osferatu, big castle tent after turning left at the green elefant
Sir ][osferatu, I welcome you to Krimml, but only as a guest. I have to warn you that Coimbra despises conquerors and greedy men. Please leave now, so that we may greet you as a friend in our city when the hostilities are over. I'm sorry about not visiting you personally this time, although I'm sure I'd have found my way to your tent. The reason being is that I had to take security precautions since that assassin attempted to kill me.
I hope to meet you very soon, Sir Adam
Letter to General Peggy, Oligarch camp, shouting at Jenny's unit
General Peggy, I ask you to stop shouting at Jenny's unit, we in the city can't take it anymore. They'll eventually move when Jenny comes back for them, but until then: patience...
Enjoy these few days of peace. Sir Adam
Letter to Shadow Thief, west of green elefant, close to the (new) little red dragon's cage
Sir Shadow Thief, I ask you not to call me 'Sir' instead of 'Lord'. Thank you for your compliments. I'm sure you were being sarcastic when you said I'm uglier than you thought. I know I'm very handsome, it's obvious. I didn't know I had a reputation however... Does this 'reputation' thing hurt? If it does, I'd rather turn my back on it and run. I don't really like pain. Tod is the least vulnerable to the threat of pain in my group, so you could imagine what the rest of my soldiers are. Have you ever had this feeling that even though your men seemed to have died, when you recruit new ones, it seems as if though they are the same people that you thought you lost? I hope I can solve this mistery someday. Well, I have to go now. My narrator, Tod wants to go to the toilet...
Hope to meet you personally, Sir Adam
- I'm... #]!&#ł!÷!!!... TOD is talking really fast now:
So the 3 riders quickly left the camp and went back to the city. The End. May I go now?!?* Yes, but finish narrating what I'm sa...
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (97 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- Tod is sitting on the toilet when he hears noises of battle.*
Has it began?
- Suddenly he hears something hitting the building.*
What the hell is going on here? A man can't even 'do his duty' these days...
- Suddenly the walls around him collapse, all at once. He sees hundreds of Perdan soldiers running towards him.*
If I wasn't on a toilet already, I'd surely piss in my pants. This is so embarrasing.
- Pulls his pants on and runs into the darkness of the city.*
Adam
YSSARIA
one is missing (arrival to Hamadan)
Roleplay from Adam (60 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- On a small hill next to the battle field two men are standing next to eachother. Huge clouds prevent the rays of the sun from reaching the earth's surface, making the battlefield look like a death valley. The two are staring at the field, as several people are still searching for survivors among the soldiers down there. One of the two is facing a big canvas sort of thing, which is placed on an easel. He has a paintbrush in his hand and is on the edge of fainting as he tries bringing this horrible sight onto a small, white surface and attempts to maintain the impact of the view at the same time. The other man is just standing there watching the field and talking to the other person. Although not very obvious at first sight, the two understand eachother very well. They've endured much together, and are still together facing a new challenge yet again. As the wind stops blowing for a few seconds, the man's sad voice can be heard, and from a closer distance even his words can be understood.*
"... and it's such a waste of time. I much preferred my Coimbran troops to these new recruits. At least they knew when to retreat, and when they hit, they hit hard. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to spend a whole day looking for the bravest soldiers of Isadril. They might be brave but they are incompetent. They just stood there to be slaughtered. Look at them!
- Points at a big tent a few hundred meters away, where 10 soldiers are standing with incredible discipline trying to ignore the tremendous pain caused by their wounds. The painter looks at them for a few seconds and then returns to his painting.*
I mean why are they doing this? They don't even have a sense of humor. How's the painting, Tod?" "Well, I have a problem with blood. I'm allergic to red. Would you mind helping me a bit, Sir Adam?" "You want me to paint? I can't paint. That's what you're here for. Remember your first painting, Tod? You drew the whole unit standing in front of the governor's palace in Westmoor. Even postcards were made of it later on. I never thought we would eventually end up in Yssaria. What do you..." "Sir! There's someone coming this way!"
- Far in the distance a messenger on a horse is riding towards the small hill.*
"It's a messenger. Maybe the view of the battlefield is copyrighted or something. He certainly seems to be in a hurry. Hide your painting just in case."
- They watch as the rider as he approaches the hill. In a few minutes time the messenger finally arrives and looks puzzled at Tod's square-shaped kevlar.*
"I've brought a message from Quinn, Duke of Akesh Temple to Sir Adam." *Looking at the two the messenger quicly recognises Adam. He had never seen him, but he knows he's not as stupid as to hide a wet painting under his shirt. He gives the letter to Adam.* "My master has recognised your banner, and sends his greetings. He has heard of your adventures from his brother."
- Adam opens the scroll and reads aloud.*
"Well, well. Adam of Coimbra. I have heard some things about you from my brother, but I never expected to see you here... Quinn, Duke of Akesh Temple" "My master expects a response, Sir Adam." "Well, tell him I might visit him in his tent tonight."
- Adam looks at his soldiers still standing disciplined near the tent.*
"No, first I have to get rid of these. Tell him that I'll talk to him personally the next time we meet." "I will. Hope you have a pleasant journey on your way back."
- The messenger gets on his horse with a gri on his face and rides off. His shouts can still be heard in the distance:*
"Peasant journey. Hehehe, I'll tell that to the others, they'll alugh their heads off..."
- The rider disappears from sight as it slowly gets darker. Adam turns to Tod.*
"Do we have a banner, Tod?" "Yes, don't you remember, Sir? We have this huge scary-face banner. We even lost it once in a battle next to Krimml." "Funny. Others know my banner better than I. AT least they weren't after your painting... What's the matter?" "Well, you see, it was still wet. So now the colours on my chest would suggest that I'm an indian getting ready for battle. But at least the painting can still be fixed." "We still have a few hours before leaving. Finish it off... (No, I will not help you!) ...I'll tell these guys to sit down. I just can't stand to watch them standing and suffering."
- Adam slowly leaves the small hill, while Tod reamains there looking disqusted at the sight. The people who were tracking the field for survivors also head to their camps as complete darkness slowly overcomes the gray day.*
Adam
Roleplay from Adam (48 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in the realm "Oh, look, Tod! It's Eleran's son over there! Come on, we'd better protect him. We don't want to lose him too."
- Tod and Adam run over to Eleran, put on a sooted pair of glasses (giving the impression of sunglasses) and take up 'bodyguard-position' in front of Eleran. The poor prince can't even see from behind the two tall overreactive bodyguards, and definitely can't see where he's walking. The two men stroll in front of him keeping eachother's back and the prince's sight covered, and they're performing strange moves with their hands and legs companied by sound effects they're trying to simulate with their mouth. Eventually Eleran stops and starts crying:*
"I just wanted to go to the bathroom!"
Adam (Noble)
FONTAN
Roleplay from Adam (85 recipients)
Message sent to: Everyone in the realm
- Several messengers arrive to Krimml with orders from Sparky and Lycastus. One of them enters a mansion which has a toilet lying in ruins next to it (OOC: There's a funny story behind this back from the days of the fall of Coimbra ^_^). The house used to belong to Adam Estrall, a former Coimbran troopleader, but even though the house had a priestess as a new owner (and she fixed the place quite well, to be honest), she let him stay in the guest room, and his soldiers in tents in the garden of the house. Tod, Adam's companion, was spending most of his time examining the ruins of the toilet and wondering how he survived that impact. He'd sure have crapped his pants if he wasn't already sitting on the toilet that time.
So, as I, the narrator, was saying: a messenger arrived from south with military orders. He knocked on the door, and the priestess opened it, in a rather exciting 'dress', although you can hardly call it a dress.* "Yes, what do you want?" "I have brought orders from Marquis Sparky to Sir Adam." "Very well, just give the message to me, I'll make sure he gets it..."
- With that the messenger gave the message to the priestess and left. As she closed the door, she took a torch off the wall and burned the message. Just as she was putting the torch (a shiny force of major destruction) back to its place, Adam came rushing in from the next room.*
"Who was it, Deborah?" *So it turns out I gave a name to the priestess, how generous of me... - the narrator* "Oh, just a beggar. I gave him a few copper pieces and he left." "Oh, I see. Well, I'm going to check on my men if you don't mind. Actually I much prefer spending my time with them than alone in this big house." "But you are NOT alone. I'm here to help you,you only need to ask." "I see that, but you have to understand that we are warriors. We fight together and fall together. I thank you very much for your kindness but from tonight on I'm going to sleep outside in a tent myself. I will be hoping to see you later than."
- Without waiting for any answers Adam leaves the building through the front door, and just then another messenger arrives looking for him.*
"Sir, are you Sir Adam, Sir?" "Yes youngster, but quit 'sirring' so much. What have you got for me?" "Orders from General Lycastus.He wants you and your unit to be in Braga by tonight."
- Adam reads the message and soon realises that there must've been one that preceeded it, since the text clearly refers to it. Several reasons run through his mind as to why he didn't get those orders, but there's no time for an investigation. He dismisses the messenger and quickly gathers his men. He doesn't want to inform the priestess about their departure, because she's also under the suspicion of getting rid of the first letter (although that's hardly likely in his opinion).*
- In an hour a small group of horsemen ride through the main street towards the gate of Krimml. During their march they sing great tales about the re-conquest of Krimml from Oligarch and under the influence of the (t)ales many common folk start singing with them. From time to time Adam shouts...*
"We're riding to Braga to make way for Oligarch's fall... who's comming with us?"
- ...and they slowly leave Krimml as they've done the last time over a year ago.*
Adam (Noble)
Roleplay from Adam (90 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- As Adam slowly reviews the events of the past battle he decides that mounting the horses backward wasn't such a good idea after all and that Tod shouldn't be riding a donkey. These two factors made his unit the subject of laughter among both enemies and allies. Not that he wasn't being used to that kind of thing, but sofar he managed to deflect these things and put the blame on Tod, his life-long companion, who drew the first postcard on the East Continent (the picture of Adam's unit in front of the governor's palace in Westmoor over a year ago).
As he sees messengers running between the camps of the two armies (and wonders if Oligarch still place green elephants in their camps to help troops find their way from the battlefield to their tents), he decides to take a quick look through the list of nobles and knights in the enemy camp. He doesn't see anyone who was there at the fall of Coimbra on Oligarch's side, so either his memory is failing him, or Oligarch changed a lot since then. Eventually he calls for his scribe, so Tod comes rushing in with a pen and some paper, and starts dictaating:*
"Highly honoured Ladies and Knights of Oligarch, *completely ignoring Ubent's presence in the region* I have no business with you, so I kindly ask that you leave Braga for good. It once belonged to Oligarch for a short time, but neither before, nor after. It is a forest region, and we know quite well how to fight a guerilla war in this kind of terrain. Braga is not worth the effort, for it shall not fall, and nor will Krimml, not anymore. With this in mind, please concentrate on what you have and not what you want to have.
Yours in honour and glory, Sir Adam, a Coimbran at heart
P.S.: I send my best wishes to Peggy and Lysander, who were general and ruler of Oligarch at the time of Coimbra's fall. I also want to extend my greetings to Julia, former Knight of Sacrifice of Avamar, who I have a personal respect for and who was also there at the fall." (OOC: Please forward this message to at least the three of them.)
- With that Tod waits for the ink to dry and then wraps the message. Soon one extra messenger can be seen running towards the Oligarch camp, which is a hardly noticable addition to the days messenger-traffic.*
Adam (Noble)
Roleplay from Adam (90 recipients) Message sent to: Everyone in this region
- Standing on a small hill just between his camp and the battlefield (obviously raised to prevent the enemy from having a direct peer into the camp) Adam watches as a messenger comes running towards him between the bloody corpses of the day's fallen soldiers and heroes. The battlefield is huge and there are only a few corps-free roads between the two camps, so the young boy with the message only arrives after several minutes of running. He opens the message and after reading it through he smiles. The name of the sender doesn't mean anything to him, probably because it shouldn't mean anything to him anyway. Adam quickly gets a pen out and writes a few sentences at the bottom of the message:*
"Sir Eversio, I am a noble of Coimbra... and therefore I have nothing but my life to lose. I only came to Fontan a few days ago after a year of retirement from a soldier's carrieer in Yssaria. I don't fight for Fontan, and as bureaucrat I never fought for Yssaria either. I fight for the rebirth of what was once my home country, which means I fight those who once destroyed it. I'm sure the nobles of Avamar feel with me there. Personally, all I ask you is to let everyone know that I'm back..."
- Adam folds the message in three, so that when Eversio gets it back he'll know it'd been read and not just sent back, and sends the boy back with it. As the boy vanishes into the distance Adam calls for Tod.*
"Tod, do we still have our old banner with us?" "Yes, it must be somewhere on the cart with my sculptures and paintings, but I can't guarantee that I didn't spill any paint on it." "That's okay, just bring it here."
- Tod walks off to the camp and returns with a dusty piece of cloth on a rod a few minutes later."
"Sir, it seems to be paint-free."
- Adam takes the banner and pins it into the ground there, on the hill. The banner showing a terrified face can probably almost be seen from the enemy camp too.*
"This will let them know that the 'cunning coward' is back..."
