Knight-Captain Velantium's page

I demand order!

I have a lovely bunch of coconuts

Is that them all lined up in a row?

After the funeral for the Sandreef fighters, the troops from Pearl withdraw. They have their own funerals to attend, their own farewells to make. The companies will likely be consolidated, to fill in for the losses. Portals open, and they flow through.

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

"Err...excuse me Lady?"

The Knights seem to have just come out of a stupor, and are just noticing that the cocoon has opened

"The cocoon is open. No boom. Tempest is gone. She has a chance to start over after a fashion. I think. The elf with the green eyes took her with him."

"What elf? What..."

"Wizard stuff, eh?"

"Gather her regalia, Knights. We'll return it to Pearl. This war is over."

"What has happened?! Where is Tempest?!"

"Err...excuse me Lady?"

The Knights seem to have just come out of a stupor, and are just noticing that the cocoon has opened

a new day dawns. the Knights have taken to shifts, 4 on duty at all time, adding Knights from different sects.

hours pass, the Knights do not move

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

The warriors enter the healers' tent. Velantium stations guards outside

"What is the meaning of this report, that you are considering sending the cocoon with Tempest's body to another plane, or far awaw?! Explain yourselves!"

avoiding looking at the Knight

Cleric in charge "General Olbereth! Examinations of the cocoon have had strange results. *I must admit, we are not well versed with druid magic.* Anyways, detect spells have shown life and death, law and chaos, but detect magic levels are off the charts. And growing. All of them. All extremes. We fear that the cocoon will break and the sudden release of the magic building within it will be catastrophic. I've never seen the like."

"We think only for the safety of our city, my lady."

"I will not have her sent to another plane. Move her to an open area away from the city. Then I want everyone to withdraw. I will stand guard over her."

"Don't even think about arguing with me," she said to Velantium, seeing the objection about to come. "If what they fear comes true, I need to be there. I have the means to protect the city. And no, it shouldn't be fatal. Uncomfortable, if the accounts are to be believed. But I can live with that. So unless you have some other brilliant suggestion that will keep my people safe, this is what we're going to do."

"The Blue Eels will stand watch with you."

with that the cocoon is moved to the kelp plains where so much blood has recently been shed

The warriors enter the healers' tent. Velantium stations guards outside

"What is the meaning of this report, that you are considering sending the cocoon with Tempest's body to another plane, or far awaw?! Explain yourselves!"

avoiding looking at the Knight

Cleric in charge "General Olbereth! Examinations of the cocoon have had strange results. *I must admit, we are not well versed with druid magic.* Anyways, detect spells have shown life and death, law and chaos, but detect magic levels are off the charts. And growing. All of them. All extremes. We fear that the cocoon will break and the sudden release of the magic building within it will be catastrophic. I've never seen the like."

"We think only for the safety of our city, my lady."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

"No! Our sister goes nowhere alone. Alive or dead."

"What is it? Why do they want to send Tempest away?"

"They fear what is in the cocoon isn't Tempest. That it poses a danger to your people."

seeing the nomad army withdrawing, the Knight-Captain and 4 Blue Eels head to the hospital tents

"No! Our sister goes nowhere alone. Alive or dead."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

"She was dead before you touched her. Sorry."

"By the way who put the cocoon on her? My men saw no healers."

"A sea elf with green eyes. I didn't recognize the face, but I swear I've seen him somewhere before."

He turns to the kinights closest to them. They shake their heads. He looks confused for a moment, then shrugs.

"Maybe a good spirit watches over you, Lady."

"She was dead before you touched her. Sorry."

"By the way who put the cocoon on her? My men saw no healers. Your shield?"

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

Nimora Orlbereth wrote:

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

the Knights return, and one relates the details to the Captain

"What did you, Lady? After Tempest removed the curse? What caused the explosion?"

"She was dying. I tried to help her. The touch of a lawful aligned object...let's just say it didn't go well."

"Was it a Hunter's Orb?" sounds like he knows the answer

She looks at him blankly. "I don't really know what it was called. But I'm pretty sure that it got an extra kicker from my shield. I was trying to use the shield's healing properties to help her. I was going through my pockets trying to find anything that might help, and well, obviously it didn't."

"More likely that shield saved your life, or more."

"Bah...wizards' and their toys..."

"Who knows what it did to Tempest's body."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

the Knights return, and one relates the details to the Captain

"What did you, Lady? After Tempest removed the curse? What caused the explosion?"

"She was dying. I tried to help her. The touch of a lawful aligned object...let's just say it didn't go well."

"Was it a Hunter's Orb?" sounds like he knows the answer

the Knights return, and one relates the details to the Captain

"What did you, Lady? After Tempest removed the curse? What caused the explosion?"

"Then we shall be ready."

to the knights "Take her to the hospital tent, then return here. Muster all troops."

The Knight-Captain meets the entourage halfway.

"What in Poseidon's name happened?! We were about to mount a rescue attempt!"

"What...who is that? Where is Tempest? Did she fall?"

The knights recover quickly and usher Nimora back to Sandreef, bringing the cocoon with them.

the Knights of the Blue Eel advance, pulling Nimora away from Tempest.

"My Lady. We must withdraw. We will gather her up and bring her with us."

"Lady? We must withdraw."

the hideous form of Tempest is placed upon a litter, as they try to withdraw.

The area around The Lady Nimora and Tempest quickly empties, as troops decide to take up position some distance away. Only the Knights of the Pearl stay near, mounted on nervous war eels, but wisley add a bit of distance.

... wrote:

Nimora Orlbereth wrote:

The spell fades and she murmurs to Tempest, "Well, hopefully that was provoking enough."

Sorry for not posting sooner, this thread change has me all messed up ..

An angry rumble comes from the nomad horde. A loud voice, spell augmented, rises above the din.

"You would face me betrayer? Oath breaker? Then face me! Send your champion forward and he shall taste my trident's tines! If I should win, you will surrender your city to the Free Companions and yourself as my concubine! If your champion wins then we shall disengage our siege and return to our kelp plains! What say you?

The waters around Tempest roil as if a fireball had exploded.

"FREE Companions!? Weak-minded fools shackled to a madman?! So ugly that he has to rely on CONCUBINES?! When will these FOOLS learn that women are not PRIZES to be won!? The fool thinks that all champions are male. How archaic, and foolish! Thinking with his loins. This creature has no HONOR to name such a term!"

Electricity flows up and down Tempest's trident. Her form seems to take on an elemental's fluidity. From out of nowhere her sea serpent steed appears, and she mounts. She pulls forth an ancient banner from her saddlebags ands ties it to the center tine of her trident. The tine expands to the length of a lance. Upon a red field a creature part dragon/part mermaid swims proudly, holding a trident in one hand and a pearl of blazing light in the other. The creature's eyes seem alive, glowing with a light bright enough to match the orb.

The troops from Pearl observe the transformation and move away. Even the Knights of the Blue Eels are taken aback.

The Knight-Captain smiles sadly. Is it too much to hope for that this battle could be settled in single combat?

He calls the Knights to assembly, and issues orders to the regular army. If one Knight rides to battle it is the duty of the others to bear witness. Knowing Tempest's reputation, from a safe distance.

He waits for the General's answer, fearing that Tempest will not be contained.

The number of nomads grow steadily but the seasoned veteran knows that you rarely get to choose your enemy. He musters his fastest cavalry for a probing assault against the enemy's right flank. The company's spellcasters boost the troops with spells of speed and endurance, but they hold their potent attack spells for defense of the city itself.

The attack is routed quickly. Almost too quickly. The nomad force is bolstered by dark power.

Back at the company's tents the reports of troops lost continue to pour in. The Knight-Captain sends missives describing the foe to his commanders via several sources, refusing to trust one courier, magic or otherwise.

"And, while I agree that the idea of pairing veterans and new recruits is sound, it has one real flaw. I'm the only one from Sandreef with any real combat experience. But I'll try to use some of the older guards. They've at least occasionally arrested people and broken up the odd fight."

"First commands can be rough. It'll disappear as soon as tridents are crossed."

"Just a word of caution. Many a soldier has been wounded by a panicked rookie from their own side. Hold them in reserve if possible. The nomads aren't about to be cowed by our numbers, even if you add a thousand rookies."

"Thinking out loud here but the nomads might be a bit overconfident with their own numbers, so I'll try to hide some of my own. Do you think that they'll try to raze your city, or capture with little damage? Assuming plunder before destruction buys us more time. It also might limit their desire to gate in large numbers of planar shock troops, and open the seagate for us to do so against them."

"Sandreef is located near a river. We often go back and forth between salt and fresh water. We're acclimated to it. But those who aren't can find it uncomfortable. And with no walls or other such defenses, we can use every advantage we can get. I'm planning to have some of the druids and clerics use their spells to reduce the salinity around key points within the city. The nomads are deep-sea dwellers, and if it throws off even a few of their attacks, then it's worth the trouble."
She sighed.
"And any other suggestions you might have would be appreciated. There's not much of a military here."

going back a LOT of years here, so I may be wrong, but isn't salinity reduced at great depths? it'll work either way storyline though.

"I'll send someone over to inspect the artillery. The last thing we want is to be caught in it."

"Any ways to limit their mobility. Entangles readied in the kelp farms, jellyfish traps, coral blocakdes, drums to disrupt communications, and light spells. The deep-swimmers aren't happy with near-surface light. Also, whirlpools tend to mess them up. They don't usually reach down to their home turf."

"Put your less-experienced warriors and conscripts in groups led by veterans. It'll keep them steady, and keep them out of the way."

"What about your surface friends? Any warships up there? They could help corral the nomads with nets, especially thin-line, but that will come with a lot of risk and it only buys us time."

"Has anyone succeeded in contacting the Free Companions or the Brightwaters? A battle avoided is a battle won."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

Nimora is directed to a simple command tent adorned with magical sigils, and displaying the flag of Pearl. The Captain is inside, looking over area maps with his staff. The rest of the company has yet to be given orders, so they await in loose formations.

"Yes, Lady Olbereth?"

"I came to let you know that my grandmother got the writ from the king signed this morning. So I am now empowered to officially grant you permission to be here. Also, I have a drop of siege weapons happening just outside the north gate this afternoon, so you'll probably want to stay clear of that area. Oh, and how well can any of you tolerate freshwater?"

Assuming you have a copy of the writ with you for perusal

The Captain looks over the writ and seems satisfied.

"Though we lose some speed due to the reduced buoyancy and it tastes funky we can manage fine. What do you have in mind?"

Once her grandmother got the official writ from the king, the work really began. She spent a couple of hours going over what resources she would be able to draw on with her father and grandmother before going to speak with the Knight-Captain.

She swam out to the camp of the troops from Pearl and asked to speak with Knight-Captain Velantium.

Nimora is directed to a simple command tent adorned with magical sigils, and displaying the flag of Pearl. The Captain is inside, looking over area maps with his staff. The rest of the company has yet to be given orders, so they await in loose formations.

"Yes, Lady Olbereth?"

The Captain sets up scattered bases around the perimeter of Sandreef, but not nearly in the numbers he would prefer. Selecting his most stealthy skirmishers he posts them in various locations with orders to observe and report. He hopes they can give warning without exposing themselves.

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

watching the abrupt departure of the Nimora's parents.

"Didn't sound like any of your other allies are sending aid."

"Oh well, if the nomad forces split their focus we should be able to hold them off. Hopefully, their shamans will be smart enough to sense the taint behind these attacks, or better yet leave the Brightwaters to deal with their own anger. But soldiers don't deal in hope, so we need to prepare for the worst. At least buy time for reinforcements, should they attack in mass."

"We have allies who would be willing to send aid, but they won't be able to get it here in time. The ones most likely to be willing to help can't because they live above the waves. And with the recent deaths of the surface dwellers in Pearl they are understandably skittish to assist with an underwater battle. I'll talk to my father about what resources we do have and see what plans we can come up with from there. I'm sorry you had to see that er, family argument. We, uh, have a few personal differences."

"If I had an oyster for every person that has wasted their energy fighting their own instead of the enemy I could have my own oyster farm."

watching the abrupt departure of the Nimora's parents.

"Didn't sound like any of your other allies are sending aid."

"Oh well, if the nomad forces split their focus we should be able to hold them off. Hopefully, their shamans will be smart enough to sense the taint behind these attacks, or better yet leave the Brightwaters to deal with their own anger. But soldiers don't deal in hope, so we need to prepare for the worst. At least buy time for reinforcements, should they attack in mass."

"Blurghoot is dead? We knew about the surface delegates, but this..."

"And two of his brothers. The taint of Chaos was strong in all of the attacks. We know not who is responsible, and auguries fail to help."

Turns to Knight-Captain Velantium and Tempest

And who are these fine worthies?

"Knight-Captain Velantium, Order of the Blue Eel."

"This company is the aid your city will be receiving. We are very experienced with mobile tactics."

"As for Blurghoot, he is dead. Under very bizarre circumstances. Also, a great number of surface delagates have been attacked and killed, under bizarre circumstances yet again."

"These are the reasons our city has to prepare to defend itself again, and cannot spare more assistance. Have none of your other allies sent assistance?"

Melusine and Nerion swim out to the troops. Melusine is startled by Nimora and her mother-in-law already there. She surveys the small troop with a slight look of dismay on her face that is quickly smothered. She advances to the front, smile wide

Nymphaea, my dear, you look positively radiant! I don't know how you manage to keep so youthful so long. Nimora, this is quite a surprise! I would have thought you would be in the Pearl arrainging the royal wedding?

Turns to Knight-Captain Velantium and Tempest

And who are these fine worthies?

I can't remember if Melusine has met Tempest before

12 Knights of the Pearl, 200 light cavalry and infantry, with moderate spell support. Small, but mobile. Ninja mobile. ;)

Tempest, Sister of the Trident wrote:

Tempest snorts

"It seems that, aside from you, your family has failed to impress the king."

Nimora blushed. "Oh, I think they made an impression," she murmured.

"Oh, my grandmother is just going to love this. Alright," she said pushing her hair back from her face. "I think I can work around this. If my grandmother gets me a writ with the authority to give you permission...This just gets more and more tangled."

"We'll await word from you, or your cha...Tempest. Thank you, milady, for understanding our position."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

You can tell that the Captain isn't happy with this situation.

"I guess we can patrol on extended maneuvers until that permission is received."

"I know this is awkward, and it isn't the sort of politics you're used to. But this has worked for Sandreef for centuries. And no one likes shifts in power when there's money involved. Aventurnus help us if anything happens to King Orca as he hasn't any heir. But hopefully that isn't something that we need to worry about for a good long time yet. If there is anything that you need, you only have to send word. I'm sure that my family will be happy to provide it."

"But we are only to report to the King, or to you..."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

The captain pauses as he lets these tidbits sink in.

"Who is acting regent then? We cannot intrude on his sovereignty. Permission is required, lest our actions, our very presence, be maligned."

Nimora sighed. "There is no acting regent, nor has there ever been. The king is completely nutters and the job of the nobles is to keep him entertained and out of the way so he doesn't interfere with the actual work of running the city. He signs decrees giving power to the appropriate people for certain tasks and that is the extent of his authority. Well, he signs the decrees presented to him when he can be cajoled into a good enough mood to sign them. My father as the current head of the Merchant's Guild, and my mother as the High Priestess of Aventurnus are the only ones currently allowed to present decrees to the king. Although my grandmother could also as Guildmistress Emeritus. She just doesn't usually choose to. You will have your permission. It just has to go through a rather circuitous route to get there."

You can tell that the Captain isn't happy with this situation.

"I guess we can patrol on extended maneuvers until that permission is received."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

"My apologies dear Lady. I am Velantium, Knight of the Blue Eels. Currently captain of these forces."

"What do you infer by...different?"

"Well, I was under the impression that most monarchs aren't prone to wandering the corridors at night singing whalesongs, or building a shrine to a rubber duck, or showing up at a royal ball wearing nothing but bright green bubbles - not strategically placed either. That was...educational. He has also been known to hide under the throne blubbing like a baby from such hideous threats as bedroom slippers, seaweed, a baby's rattle, and my personal favorite, his own rubber duck."

The captain pauses as he lets these tidbits sink in.

"Who is acting regent then? We cannot intrude on his sovereignty. Permission is required, lest our actions, our very presence, be maligned."

Knight-Captain Velantium wrote:

Nimora Orlbereth wrote:

Nimora swims over to the banner of the Knight-Captain.

A number of Knights of the Blue Eel mill around the vanguard of the company. They cast eyes at Lady Nimora and Tempest as they approach. A sinewy elf in blue armor greets them.

"Lady Olbereth, a pleasure. Tempest, good to see you here."

"Hello. Umm, I don't believe we've been introduced?"

"I was hoping to speak to you about a few things you really should know before you get dragged into the political problems. Especially about the king. King Orca the fifth is er, shall we say....different."

"My apologies dear Lady. I am Velantium, Knight of the Blue Eels. Currently captain of these forces."

"What do you infer by...different?"

A number of Knights of the Blue Eel mill around the vanguard of the company. They cast eyes at Lady Nimora and Tempest as they approach. A sinewy elf in blue armor greets them.

"Lady Olbereth, a pleasure. Tempest, good to see you here."
Tempest, good to see you here."