"I'm not sure whether to be relieved or worried now. Pearl can ill afford to be without those troops. On the other hand, we really need the help. Any advice? So far all none of our tactics have made so much as a dent. How can we change that? Where are they vulnerable?" she said, half to herself, studying the advancing enemy.
"I'm not sure whether to be relieved or worried now. Pearl can ill afford to be without those troops. On the other hand, we really need the help. Any advice? So far all none of our tactics have made so much as a dent. How can we change that? Where are they vulnerable?" she said, half to herself, studying the advancing enemy.
"How long do you think this new leader can keep the nomads acting in concert? They're not usually so compliant."
"How long do you think this new leader can keep the nomads acting in concert? They're not usually so compliant."
"No. No, they're not. They're usually prickly and proud. So how has he convinced them all to follow him? And what happens if he's gone?"
"Any ideas on how we can get to him? Even if the attack doesn't stop without him, we might at least catch a breather while they debate who's in charge."
Joren lies abed, deep in the throes of Eel poisoning. Melusine nurses him around the clock
"How long do you think this new leader can keep the nomads acting in concert? They're not usually so compliant."
"No. No, they're not. They're usually prickly and proud. So how has he convinced them all to follow him? And what happens if he's gone?"
"Any ideas on how we can get to him? Even if the attack doesn't stop without him, we might at least catch a breather while they debate who's in charge."
"Do the nomads accept personal challenges? I'd like to get a shot at this 'veiled one'."
"Do the nomads accept personal challenges? I'd like to get a shot at this 'veiled one'."
"They used to. I'm not sure any more. They've been acting so strange. It's worth a try."
"They used to. I'm not sure any more. They've been acting so strange. It's worth a try."
"Do the nomads accept personal challenges? I'd like to get a shot at this 'veiled one'."
"Maybe the son of a Sahuagin Malenti can be provoked. The bigger they are the faster their body floats to the surface."
"Maybe the son of a Sahuagin Malenti can be provoked. The bigger they are the faster their body floats to the surface.""They used to. I'm not sure any more. They've been acting so strange. It's worth a try."
"Do the nomads accept personal challenges? I'd like to get a shot at this 'veiled one'."
She grinned. "Yes, I think that can be arranged."
She sent for a spellcaster. A gangly youth arrived, the only caster who could currently be spared from the fighting."Can you make my voice carry? A long ways. Like all the way to the enemy commander?"
He thought for a moment before nervously nodding. He was obviously imtimidated by her, but she was totally oblivious to the fact.
"Good. Get ready to cast then."
In a loud ringing voice that echoes over the battle, carrying over the enemy troops:
"Look at yourself! Look at what you have become. Not just what you have done to my people, but what you have done to your own. Your outside may have become ugly as a result of the attack on you and your brothers, but that's nothing compared to the ugliness of your inside. We didn't attack you. But rather than face me yourself and hear the truth you have instead chosen to kill innocents. Face me now, coward! Or are you still too afraid that you might be beaten by a woman? Go ahead, keep hiding behid your veils and behind your troops. We all know that if you were a real man you'd accept my challenge!"
The spell fades and she murmurs to Tempest, "Well, hopefully that was provoking enough."
The spell fades and she murmurs to Tempest, "Well, hopefully that was provoking enough."
"Well it will certainly bind his fins a bit. And embarrass him in front of the nomads. Though I had hoped to be the one to provoke him to a challenge."
"Meh, there's still time for that."
The spell fades and she murmurs to Tempest, "Well, hopefully that was provoking enough.""Well it will certainly bind his fins a bit. And embarrass him in front of the nomads. Though I had hoped to be the one to provoke him to a challenge."
"Meh, there's still time for that."
She smiled grimly. "Indeed. I knew it would put more pressure on him to accept the challenge if it came from me personally. Hopefully that doesn't turn out to be a mistake."
And how many times in wars (real world as well as fantasy) have excuses for starting wars actually been little more than window-dressing to try to convince non-belligerants to stay out? So long as his troops are more afraid of him than they are of Nimora and the others, the only things I can think of which may matter are whether or not the masked one is actually bothered by Nimora's words, and if so whether he decides he feels the need to respond in person, or to give orders 'take her alive, if possible, so that I can deal with her at my leisure'.
Further Edit:
Smurf. Not my alias however, anyway, so my thoughts are probably irrelevent.
The spell fades and she murmurs to Tempest, "Well, hopefully that was provoking enough."
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.
"Well, well. I knew there was more to her than she was letting on."
Nymphaea continued on through the organized chaos that was the army towards her granddaughter. It was possible that what she brought would not be needed. It was also possible that sharks would grow wings and fly above the water. Possible and likely were two very different things.
She nudged Nimora in the back. The girl whirled around, prepared for anything.
"It's alright. It's just me. I brought you something. Hopefully you won't need it, but I would be shocked if there weren't treachery of some sort afoot. So, just to be on the safe side."
She gladly handed the heavy shield over to Nimora. She was well aware that what seemed heavy to her would be light as a feather to the girl.
"Don't look at me like that, child. I borrowed it. It's not like it was doing any good where it was. And it's rightfully ours anyhow."
Nimora shook her head, and thanked her grandmother, hurrying to catch up to the action. She wasn't sure what was going on with Tempest, but she wanted to be near enough to see for herself. She absently strapped the shield to her arm.
Amidst the underwater storm that roils around her, Tempest awaits the order to accept the challenge with a look of deadly calm. Her eyes have begun glowing with white light. Even the banner of the Sea Furies waves calmy, untouched by the chaos.
Her sea serpent mount begins to take on a metallic sheen. Smooth lines become sharp.
"Say the word my lady and I shall see if we face beast or man. And IT shall feel what it is to be a concubine before it dies."
In the City of Pearl, Telestial's face goes pale.
Small black items; plant, stone, bits of coral, begin disappearing from around the encampment.
At the other end of a scrying portal, "This might be a good time to find another battlefield my pets."
Without changing the determination on her face, Tempest's form and that of her mount, takes on a less-threatening appearance. The seas calm around her, but those attuned to her sense no lessening in the power that has been summoned.
It is only a matter of who accepts the challenge, Nimora or her Champion.
Without changing the determination on her face, Tempest's form and that of her mount, takes on a less-threatening appearance. The seas calm around her, but those attuned to her sense no lessening in the power that has been summoned.
It is only a matter of who accepts the challenge, Nimora or her Champion.
Nimora's shield begins to glow with a soft, golden light. It is a plain, ordinary looking shield, the holy symbol of Aventurnus painted on it in faded, cracking paint. She reaches out and gently touches Tempest's shoulder. Any wounds that Tempest still had are healed and she is infused with extra life energy.
"The blessings of Aventurnus go with you, my Champion. Though I will stay nearby to guard against treachery. I do not trust him to behave with honor."
Tempest smiles
She nudges her mount towards the enemy forces. Slowly, proudly they head straight to the center of the Free Companions. Her pennant floats freely above her, announcing her progress. Falling in behind her, 4 knights on each side, the Blue Eels take up their positions. Each flies his family/personal crest in a display of honor.
If any Knights are amongst the Free Companion forces they will recognize the procession as a formal response to the challenge, but the champion is simply a smallish female knight. Hardly imposing. Save for the few souls that recognize the ancient banner, and realize that a storm rides into their midst.
The procession continues until it reaches the enemy's headquarters, ignoring any attempts to distract it. Tempest's voice carries easily above the assemble host.
"I am Tempest, Champion of the High Lady Nimora Olbereth, Sister of the Trident. I would cross tridents with your leader, to prove false the claim he has made upon the peoples of Sandreef."
"Free people of the Seas! Blurghoot of the Brightwater Clan has made claim to Lady Nimora's hand. Against her wishes she agreed to a wedding. We have heard that this one is dead, albeit under troubling circumstances. If so, so dies the claim! This is a false pretense to wage this attack on a peaceful people. The Free Companions have not been dishonored. This war is without basis! Why lay claim to land when you roam free across all the Seas?!"
"I will meet your Champion in combat if that is your desire, but if you fight for Chaos know that the Lady of the Sea blesses those of noble heart and extracts a large price from those that cannot live in Balance."
A fearsome hulking figure comes striding from the ranks of the Free Companions. Somehow he has grown and changed since he rode with his brother to claim Nimora's hand. He wears a helm that covers his face in a leering demon mask.
The large figure takes up a martial stance, swirling his trident about his head.
Tempest dismounts, hangs her pennant on the saddle of her mount, restores her trident to normal, and draws a curved dagger of coral. As she takes up position the Knights of the Blue Eel form a half-circle around the combatants. Her aura remains hidden, and her size remains small.
"If you were true of heart Chaos would not have been able to touch your body. If you were honorable it would not have been able to stain your mind. You seek revenge, not vengeance, and would chain the Free Companions to the Sea Bed where they would no longer be able to roam free. As they have done since Time began. Those are your crimes. Those are your sins. I would set you free from your pain."
"In death, the Sea will take you to her bosom and restore you."
She kneels and closes her eyes, praying to her mistress, the Sea, her weapons laying on the sand before her. She stands and gathers her weapons in one smooth action, almost flowing like the water around her. Both trident and dagger spin easily in her hands, as she approaches the brute.
Tempest moves in to attack the Veiled One, her trident probing his defenses but not striking deep if an opening appears. She puts strength behind the slashes of her coral dagger, hoping to hamstring the big opponent or at least reduce his mobility.
She says no more as she begins her dance, watching for signs of madness behind the demon mask. She circles as she fights, moving a bit faster with each orbit. Jab, feint, duck, slash, in an increasingly rapid succession. Her hair flies out from her unprotected head in a flowing crown like kelp caught in a waterspout.
Crossing tines at one point she shows a hidden strength and redirects her dagger slash at her opponent's forearms and the gap between his armor and gauntlet.
The brute scores several hits, knocking the smaller fighter back a step each time. Each time she quickly returns.
Unsure of the chaos taint inflicted upon the nomad leader, Tempest mixes up her attacks. High, low, front, back. Not settling into a routine and not underestimating her opponent. She holds off on calling her magic but keeps anti-chaos spells at the top of her mind.
Nimora watched the battle closely, keeping a watchful eye on the spectators as well as the Brightwater monstrosity, alert for any sign of treachery.
Unsure of the chaos taint inflicted upon the nomad leader, Tempest mixes up her attacks. High, low, front, back. Not settling into a routine and not underestimating her opponent. She holds off on calling her magic but keeps anti-chaos spells at the top of her mind.The large foe is quick, and he presses Tempest sorely. The tines of his trident stab at her repeatedly
Tempest matches her foe's speed, and increases her own. Both combatants give and receive wounds, spinning in an ever-quickening dance of death. The sand of the sea's floor gets stirred up by the ballet, limiting the view of the onlookers. The waters themselves begin to circle the two.
The water begins to show tinges of pink, from the blood they shed.
Nimora breathes a sigh of relief. Now to see if the Free Companions would honor their fallen leader's words and leave Sandreef in peace.
The swirl of pink blood and silt from the sea floor obscures the battle. Suddenly the enormous form of the Free Companion's leader collapses to the ground. Tempest is left standing sorely wounded over the large body.
Tempest slumps over the fallen nomad leader. Ripping free the demon mask, she places her open palm upon his face.
Her form changes, turning grotesque, as she removes the taint of chaos from his body, his, mind, his soul. She faints, falling closer to death each moment.
The swirl of pink blood and silt from the sea floor obscures the battle. Suddenly the enormous form of the Free Companion's leader collapses to the ground. Tempest is left standing sorely wounded over the large body.Tempest slumps over the fallen nomad leader. Ripping free the demon mask, she places her open palm upon his face.
Her form changes, turning grotesque, as she removes the taint of chaos from his body, his, mind, his soul. She faints, falling closer to death each moment.
Seeing Tempest fall, Nimora swims forward at lightning speed. Her shield glows with power as she reaches out to help her fallen friend, providing healing energies from the shield.
Seeing Tempest fall, Nimora swims forward at lightning speed. Her shield glows with power as she reaches out to help her fallen friend, providing healing energies from the shield.The swirl of pink blood and silt from the sea floor obscures the battle. Suddenly the enormous form of the Free Companion's leader collapses to the ground. Tempest is left standing sorely wounded over the large body.Tempest slumps over the fallen nomad leader. Ripping free the demon mask, she places her open palm upon his face.
Her form changes, turning grotesque, as she removes the taint of chaos from his body, his, mind, his soul. She faints, falling closer to death each moment.
The energies are rebuffed by the transformation/corruption of the fallen knight.
The energies are rebuffed by the transformation/corruption of the fallen knight.
Seeing Tempest fall, Nimora swims forward at lightning speed. Her shield glows with power as she reaches out to help her fallen friend, providing healing energies from the shield.
Nimora frowns and bites her lip, desperately searching for something more she can do. She reaches into a pocket and pulls out the pearl that Telestial had dropped in the Sanctum. He had used one of these to fight against the Priestess of Discord. Maybe it could help Tempest now. She reached down and touched the pearl against the fallen knight, the glow of her shield increasing to near blinding as she did so.
The Brightwater nomad is restored. It is uncertain if he is alive.
Nimora frowns and bites her lip, desperately searching for something more she can do. She reaches into a pocket and pulls out the pearl that Telestial had dropped in the Sanctum. He had used one of these to fight against the Priestess of Discord. Maybe it could help Tempest now. She reached down and touched the pearl against the fallen knight, the glow of her shield increasing to near blinding as she did so.The energies are rebuffed by the transformation/corruption of the fallen knight.
Seeing Tempest fall, Nimora swims forward at lightning speed. Her shield glows with power as she reaches out to help her fallen friend, providing healing energies from the shield.
The pearl explodes in
Nimora's hand, scorching her badly and sending Tempest's body into convulsions. The knights carrying the litter are thrown off. Some to the ground, some spinning in the water.Tempest's eyes flash open, light blazing from them, then she falls still.
Nimora curses her own stupidity. She should have left things to the Knights. They obviously had a much better grasp of exactly what was going on. She struggled to her feet fighting back useless tears. It was just so frustrating.
In the confusion following the explosion of magic energy a lone sea elf swims forward. For some reason, few can see him. He places his hand upon Tempest's still form and it is encased in
a coccoon of seaweed.
He looks at the charred remains of Nimora's hand, and spreads a cooling salve upon it.
The man swims off without a word, tending to anyone wounded. Touching the ears of one knight, soothing an eel. Even touching the Brightwater nomad. He disappears into the crowd.
His eyes. Something in those bright green eyes.
"I have the oddest feeling that I've seen him before," Nimora says to herself, watching the strange elf go about tending to the wounded. She looks down at her hand. It didn't hurt. Even before it had been bandaged it hadn't hurt. She would have to give the shield back soon. It had the oddest side effects for anyone who carried it. Holy relics weren't usually so...inconvenient. But then, this one was purportedly inhabited by the spirit of an Orlbereth, and her family had never been known for being the most cooperative people.