General Janar

Bishop

Royal Spymaster Magnus Grey assembled the Royal Spies at their headquarters this evening with news from Michael of Moonglow.  “Michael believes he can make a connection to another of the prism worlds,” Grey announced.  The mission for the evening was simple:  travel to the new world, perform reconnaissance, and assess any threats to Britannia.  The Royal Spies departed to Lord Blackthorn’s castle to meet with Michael.

Michael of Moonglow awaited the arrival of the Royal Spies in the courtyard, standing next to his Ethereal Detector.  Warning that the detector was in need of repair, Michael informed the group, “I will need help from the other mages in your group to get the power,” securing passage to the next world through the prism gate.  Michael also warned, “[The prism] seems to pulse with a strange malevolent energy.”

The Gate to Tarna

Standing at the gate point near the blackrock dome, the runes now changed from an icy blue to a deep crimson, and a more triangular prism in place of the Anodunos prism, Michael instructed all of the mages to chant with him, “In Ort Vas Rel Por.”  It took quite some time to establish a connection to the next world, but once the connection was established, Michael ushered the Royal Spies through, waiting himself in Britannia near the gate.

On the other side, a strange, red goblin known as General Janar seemed most perplexed at the appearance of the Royal Spies.  “You look like a human to me, in spite of those silly wings you’re wearing,” Janar told a nearby gargoyle.  As more of the Spies appeared, Janar called out, “Halt!  Why are you not on your labor detail?  Humans!  Why are you not working?  All of you, why are you outside your area?”  Ra’Dian Fl’Gith of the Spies explained, “We’re from a distant land.”  “We conquered that,” was Janar’s reply.  While Fl’Gith tried to explain the situation, Janar became more incredulous, refusing to believe the incredible lies being told by the humans of various types (otherwise known as humans, elves, and gargoyles) before him.  Finally, Janar seemed to be done with the discussion, stating, “When humans get out of line, I always believe it is best to beat them back into place.  My mother taught me that saying and it is very wise.”  With little warning, many red-skinned goblins set in to attack the Royal Spies.

Perhaps it was Janar’s belief that the guards could not be felled by simple humans, or perhaps that he witnessed the tide going poorly, but after the guards had been felled, there was no further sign of the General.  Instead, the Royal Spies found a tunnel that led to a prison camp deeper in the complex.  One of the prisoners within, a man named Bishop, seemed surprised to see us.  “Shhh… don’t let the goblins on the walls see you,” Bishop warned.  “Why are you here?” he then asked.  “I told you not to come and rescue me.”  Again, Ra’Dian Fl’Gith took the lead in explaining the Spies’ situation, informing Bishop that the group was from off-world, seeking a blackrock prism that links the two worlds.  When Fl’Gith noted, “Sadly, we are facing a battle with Mors Gotha,” Bishop echoed her name.  “Has your world fallen too?” he asked.

Between Fl’Gith and Lady Martyna Z’muir, the pair filled Bishop in on everything to date regarding Anodunos, Beatrice, Mokpo, and the affairs with Mors Gotha and the blackrock prisms.  “So many of my allies are dead,” Bishop noted, and after the explanation of the pair, asked, “So you wish to close your world off from the others with this prism?”  Fl’Gith explained that the prism would be used to help defeat Mors Gotha as well, and Bishop pledged his aid.  “I am willing to help fight our mutual enemy.”  Bishop informed the Spies that he would go ask around for additional information in the camp, and advised the Spies to talk to others within the camp.

Goblin Attack

The tongue of one of the prisoners, a man named Marcus, had been cut out by the goblins.  Another prisoner, a goblin named Milenus, spoke of the last war between humans and goblins, noting that the goblins worship an unknown power called the Red Idol.  “It taught us dangerous blood magic,” Milenus spoke, “that let us wage war by famine and plague.”  The death and destruction brought by the plague prompted Milenus to aid Bishop with information, at least until he was caught.  Simon, a human prisoner, spoke of Bishop’s laughable escape attempts that ceased to be amusing to the goblins when Bishop made threats against the goblish Dictator Borne.  A final prisoner, Prince Felix, the last noble of the human kingdom Fyrna, spoke of his people, telling of their long plight against the goblins, which ended in the Crogus Mountains.  Only he and Marcus remain that he is aware of, though he hopes other knights remain.

As the Royal Spies investigated, a Tarnan ogre and several Tarnan trolls set upon them, however, the battle allowed for the final bits of information to be gathered.  Shortly after the humanoids were defeated, Bishop returned with information.  The prism, he noted, was not in the camp, but based on the proximity of the gate from Britannia, Bishop suggested it was likely within the goblins’ keep.  Bishop warned that with the chaos caused by the Royal Spies that the camp would be locked down soon by the goblins, so it would be difficult to enter the keep this eve, and suggested the Spies leave, and return another day when all had settled.

Returning to Britannia, the Spies informed Michael of the world beyond the gate.  Michael noted he would speak with King Blackthorn, and let the Spies return to their headquarters.  Much the same report was given to Spymaster Grey, but then a large debate over the next appropriate action broke out between various members of the Spies.  Some, like Lady Z’muir, Malag aste, and Ra’Dian Fl’Gith, stood fast that aid should be given to the peoples of Tarna to help them rise up against their goblin masters.  Others, like Lightning and Lord Neptune, felt that the focus should remain fully on the prism, and that if the opportunity presented itself to be of aid after Mors Gotha was no longer a threat to Britannia, then aid should be given.  With the discussion growing heated, Lord Grey suggested the debate be tabled until after the debriefing was over, and promised to speak with the King on the matters before the Spies.

History of Tarna by Bishop
I never expected to spend my final days writing a history of the world, but I never expected to waste away in a prison camp in the Crogus Mountains either.  Tarna was home to many different intelligent creatures, but the two largest populations were the goblins and humanity.  Centuries of war and uneasy peace had set up a tension between the hordes of goblins and kingdoms of humanity.  There was always a balance between the two, so neither could gain advantage.
      That changed a score and a half years ago.  The goblins started a brutal war with humanity, one that was different than all that came before.  The goblins had terrible magics, taught to them by a malevolent being from another world.  When this voice first called out across the Void, several sensitive monks of my order dropped dead from the raw power behind it.  I left my training to help.  Human kingdom after kingdom fell to the goblins, until only Fyrna remained.  I lead a small Resistance out of the barren wastes near the Crogus Mountains, hoping that Fyrna could turn the war around.  I had some information from Milenus, a goblin who served one of the dictators of his people, that led me to learn more about our enemy.
      His people had been visited by an emissary of their Red Idol, a human woman named Mors Gotha.  She claimed that with humanity almost conquered it was time for the goblin hordes to pay the tribute that was required.  The goblins paid for this with the blood and sweat of human labor.
      I spent this time trying to learn more about this Mors Gotha, reaching out to worlds and making allies.  Of these, Fissif and Beatrice are dead.  Mokpo has disappeared.  Only Altara and Zoranthus remain.  None were able to help my world as their own faced similar perils.  Eventually, the last human prince, Felix, was captured, and Fyrna fell to the goblin hordes.  With the final front of the war won, the goblins focused on every pocket of resistance.  Most of us were killed, but those deemed interesting or with useful knowledge or skills were put into prison camps.

UPCOMING EM EVENTS:

Royal Britannian Guard:
Tuesday, March 12th, 8:00 PM CST

Royal Spies:
Tuesday, March 19th, 8:00 PM CST
Tuesday, March 26th, 8:00 PM CST

Other Events:
Spring Flowers, Saturday, March 23rd, 8:00 PM CST
Farm Boy, Saturday, March 30th, 8:00 PM CST

Meeting Krett

This past Tuesday, February 19, Royal Spymaster Magnus Grey assembled the Royal Spies to continue investigating into the affairs surrounding Mors Gotha, the blackrock prisms, and the icy world of Anodunos.  This week’s mission was straightforward:  Find a way to break through the icy barrier separating the Britannian gate into Anodunos from the remainder of the world.  To that extent, Lord Grey had enlisted the aid of Krett, an expert on Exodus-style golems.  “You are to provide protection and support to Krett,” was Grey’s final order on the matter, though he echoed a question by Ra’Dian Fl’Gith that locating filanium was still a secondary goal of the Spies.

Heading to the blackrock dome in southeastern Britain, the Royal Spies met up with Krett and passed into Anodunos.  “You need me to work with unknown tinkering to get you through an unknown task.  Sounds like a lot of fun,” Krett said enthusiastically as the group travelled through to Anodunos.  “[L]ook for control panels under the ice,” Krett instructed as everyone spread out through the entry hall on Anodunos.  Many of the spies set out to work on decoding puzzles that locked control panels along the walls, and as more and more panels were brought down, a strange sentinel appeared, identified as Sentinel 868.  After the last panel was brought down, the sentinel attacked, but was quickly reigned in by the Royal Spies.  “Hmm… I hope it isn’t broken,” Krett noted as he began to tinker with the subdued sentinel.

Sentinel 868

Having the Royal Spies search for various pieces that had exploded off of the sentinel during combat, Krett was finally able to restore Sentinel 868 to working order.  In short order, the Sentinel was able to break through the barrier, allowing the Spies to proceed further into the icy world.  While the drilling proceeded, the Spies defended both the sentinel and Krett from Dire Ghosts.

Once through, the Spies encountered a corpse that was enshrouded with strange moving vapors of cold.  As the Spies fought off more Dire Ghosts, a friendlier ghost appeared by the name of Beatrice, presumably the ghost of the former Queen of Anodunos.  “Another world.  Hmm… Interesting…  The last one from another world doomed us…  This cold is the true evil…  Killed us all…  Why are you here?”  When told it was to search for the prism to help Britannia, Beatrice answered, “This world is dead.  No answers.  I haunt my failure.”  However, as the conversation continued, Beatrice seemed to understand a great deal more as to what was at stake, and also saw a glimmer of hope.  “Maybe you can set us free from this curse.”

Beatrice also explained that the reason the ghosts were attacking the Spies was because they felt the Spies had brought the doom upon them, however she understood that the Spies were in no way connected to the fate that had befallen them.  Finally, Beatrice revealed what she knew of the blackrock prism Mors Gotha had brought to her world.  “It is east of here, down a southern tunnel.  We tried to bury it.”

Filanium

Proceeding further, Sentinel 868 broke through two additional walls, one housing a great deal of filanium, an icy-looking ore, and the other protecting the Spies from a horrific fiend.  The battles were fierce but finally all was calm.  Beatrice informed the Spies that the golems continued to mine for filanium and that agents of Mors Gotha still returned monthly to retrieve what had been mined.

When finally the wall was reached in which the blackrock prism was encased, even the mighty sentinel could be of no aid, its gears cracking and grinding against each other, ultimately causing the golem to explode.  Within the icy prison, the blackrock prism sat, awaiting freedom, pulsing with the cold, but the Spies could tread no further.  It was time to return to Spymaster Grey and inform him of the eve’s events.  Galen spoke of a plan with which Lord Grey seemed to agree:  “Seems Mors Gotha’s minions arrive monthly to get filanium.  I’m thinking… if we can figure out the cycle… we lie in wait.  And, with any luck, end this right then and there.”

The Royal Spies meet on most Tuesday evenings beneath the Counselor’s Hall in western Britain, starting at 8:00 PM Central.  Tuesday, February 26, 2013, however, will be a meeting of the Royal Britannian Guard, which will convene at the Warriors Guild in western Britain, on the  opposite side of the bridge leading from the West Britain Bank.

Beatrice

The Final Days by Beatrice
I think of my beautiful city:  the streets where I walked, the museums and concert halls, the great bell towers that range sweetly in the summer nights.  I think of Anodunos covered in ice, and I weep.  And I know that it is my fault.
      I cannot blame my mages and advisors.  They searched for the means to save Anodunos at my request, and in the end, I was the one who agreed to the dark emissary’s terms.  I should have known then.  Some favors come at too high a price.
      We paid more than we had originally promised and in the end, I made the decision to stand firm against Mors Gotha’s dark master.  Anodunos would still provide filanium, but not at the expense of my people.  I believed we were allies.  I was wrong.  That is when the cold started, pouring out of the prism gate.
      We tried everything to close the gate and stop the spell, but nothing could break the prism’s hold over Anodunos.  We were freezing to death slowly, and we were desperate.  We sent out scouts with appeals to the northern empires, begging for refuge.  We moved what we could underground and built great ice golems to mine our filanium, the mineral being our last lifeline against the bitter cold.  I kept back some hoping that we could appeal for mercy, but no mercy came.
      The scouts we sent out to find an end to the cold have not returned.  Whether they died to the frost or could not outrace the cold, I do not know.  This is the end of Anodunos.  Most are slipping into a final sleep.  A few like Alorik have succumbed to a madness caused by the cold and fear of sleep.  I don’t even have the strength to order the golems to stop mining filanium.  I will rest a moment.  I am so tired…

Commander Gwendolen Kincade

Michael of Moonglow

General Mors Gotha

Blackrock Dome

Gwendolen Kincade, Commander of the Royal Britannian Guard, assembled the forces of the Royal Guard this evening in the Warrior’s Guild across the bridge from the West Britain Bank.  After asking for a report of anything new in the land, Commander Kincade announced some grim news.  “The eastmost guard tower [in Britain] has become enclosed by a blackrock dome!”  The dome was completely enclosed by the dome which, as Kincade noted, had suddenly appeared, though, “Luckily, nobody was inside.”  Charged to investigate it, the assembled guard traveled via gate to the nearby guard tower.

Sure enough, the guard tower in south-eastern Britain had been completely encased in a blackrock dome.  Michael of Moonglow, a frequent aid to the Crown, was present, casting divining spells to determine the source of the dome.  As he stood near the dome, Michael cast a spell, “Vas An Lor Ylem Wis.”  Whatever he may have learned, he looked worried.  Of course, one of the assembled guard, one Mr.Bubbles, could not resist attempting to cast Armageddon.  “Vas Kal An Mani In Corp Hur Tym!” Bubbles cried out, but thankfully, he failed to ignite the assembled dome.  Michael of Moonglow, meanwhile, attempted to dig beneath the dome, determining that it was unlikely wise to dig under it.  Attempting to divine more, Michael switched to another spell.  “Vas An Lor Ylem Wis.”  Finally exhausted by results, Michael noted, “It reminds me of the other artifacts Blackthorn asked me to look at… That I shouldn’t talk about.  This was summoned.”  With that bit of news, Ra’Dian Fl’Gith, one of the Royal Guardsmen, stated, “I wonder if the strange woman who came through the gate last week might know anything.”  Michael followed that by adding that the dome was growing, but moving around things, like a plague beast, “So it won’t crush our buildings.  Just enclose them all.”  It was then that he suggested contacting the other blackrock expert.  “Please don’t tell me you mean that damn necromancer?” Galen of the Guard asked.

Unfortunately for the assembly, it turned out that Michael had indeed been suggesting Damion, who was in Umbra.  Damion was at first very busy, unwilling to pay much attention to the assembled guards, but when mention was made of the blackrock dome, he was immediately intersted.  As soon as Damion agreed to help though, members of the Bastion of Light assaulted the assembled team.  Though they were fairly quickly felled, Damion was stabbed during the altercation.  Damion survived, but was visibly shaken and angry that his aiding the Royal Britannian Guard nearly got him killed, but he seemed ready to help anyway, perhaps out of spite to those who had attacked him.  Returning with what few blackrock shards remained, and revealing that the mysterious woman from the previous week had been seen during the scuffle, he incanted a spell upon them.  “Kal Por Vas Wis Ylem.”

The splinters of blackrock on the ground began to tremble to an inhuman voice.  “Soon… soon… this world as with all others…” the voice spoke.  Suddenly a woman’s voice joined in with the chant.  “Vas In Jux An Lor Ylem!”  Suddenly the splinters on the ground formed themselves into a small dome.  “In Ort Tym Vas Rel Por!  In Ort Tym Vas Rel Por!” the chanting continued.  The splinters then began to swirl as if controlled by the magics of a moongate.  They then began to slither around on the ground like a snake, finally standing up and clumping into something resembling a mountain range.  The splinters then drifted to the side, forming a camp in a valley before scattering as though a wind had blown them apart.

Camp of Mors Gotha

“That wasn’t helpful,” Damion noted, “but I recognized the mountains.”  With a quick gate, the Royal Britannian Guard was off to the Serpentspine Mountains, where they quickly found the mysterious woman’s camp, and a few members of the Bastion of Light.  “An attack?” the woman called out upon sight of the Guard, “I will not allow anyone to disrupt my plans!”  Though the Bastion was again defeated, the mysterious woman was not yet done with her tricks.  “I will slay you with a creature born of my will!” she called out, and then cast, “Vas Corp Por Ort Xen!”  Suddenly an energy vortex of great proportion appeared, and though it proved a worthy challenge, so too was it felled.  “I am outnumbered,” the mysterious woman cried out, “but soon my legions will storm this world!  You will face the wrath of Mors Gotha!”

As Mors Gotha departed, a tome was found which read:  A month ago, one of the lost prisms called to us through the Void, screaming out as it was shattered.  They had been lost in time and space for so long, taken and hidden by our enemy, Hawkwind.  They were on an [sic] world that had not fallen to our shadows and demons.  I would go to be an emissary, to bring a [sic] unremarkable world into the fold.  I prepared an army to come with me when I opened the door wider.  Whoever they are, they managed to slam the gateway shut at the last moment, but not before I could slip inside.  Most of them weak, with pathetic magics, but I hav seen signs of powers.  I must bind a spell to this place to ensure our invasion plans.  The spell will grown in time, fed by the Ethereal Void, into a great blackrock dome.  Vas In Jux An Lor Ylem!  If I stay here, even with these allies, I risk my spell being undone.  I must escape back through the gateway.  For that I need a gem and another spell to unlock the door and keep it open.  I will open the door near my blackrock dome.  In Ort Tym Vas Rel Por!

Nightmare of the Eight Worlds

Realizing that most of her text had come to pass, the Royal Guard rushed back to the blackrock dome, only to find Mors Gotha there casting her spell.  “In Ort Tym Vas Rel Por!”  With a sudden rush, what can only be described as a worldgate opened.  Through the shimmering gateway, many worlds could be seen, and it was clear that Mors Gotha was about to make her grand escape.  Suddenly a massive creature, a Nightmare of the Eight Worlds, apparently born of the void itself, came crashing through and began to attack the assembled guard.  The massive, shadowy beast flashed all over the place, flames licking the grounds and guards, fiery wrath exploding everywhere, and many of the Guard struggled to fell the foul beast.  A long, hard fought battle with the beast eventually resulted in victory, and the assembled Guard immediately turned its attention back to Mors Gotha.

The Worldgate

“You have defeated two-bit demons and whispers on the wind,” Gotha taunted.  “You have not faced me.  I am General Mors Gotha.”  As she touched the dome, Gotha added, “I created this.  But it is evidence of my power.  Do not assume you are in the same league as me.  Soon…”  As she spoke her final words, she again touched the dome, and then entered the worldgate.  Shortly after her departure, the gate exploded in a rain of fire, closing.

With little else to do, the Royal Britannian Guard returned to report to Commander Kincade, where it was agreed the realm should be on high alert.  Kincade noted, “Michael and I will consult with the king and determine our next steps regarding the dome.”  Whatever threats Mors Gotha had made in passing back to her own realm, surely the last had not been seen of her.

The Royal Spies meet on most Tuesdays at 8:00 PM (Central) beneath the Britain Counselors Hall in West Britain (near the bridge leading to King Blackthorn’s Castle). Everyone is invited to attend these events. The next meeting of the Royal Spies will be on 5 February 2013 at 8:00 PM (Central).