Thinslayer

The Faraway Land

The Storyteller had found himself a nice bench in town and had sat himself there to talk the ears off of anyone who would listen, be they on the street, in his head, or beyond the grave. He had just finished telling the tale of The Cardsharps and The Crone when he heard the screaming. 'Well, Storyteller' the voice said 'It's been fun, but I've got to run. See you soon!'. With that said, the cold faded away, leaving only the warmth in his left hand that signified Erudessa's presence.
"We haven't even left yet, and people are already screaming" The Storyteller said to Erudessa as he stood up and took off in the direction of the screams.

The Storyteller arrived just in time to see the hulking shadow flee the scene. He would have gone after it had he not noticed the girl. Within moments, The Storyteller was at the girl's side, a healing spell already forming in his left hand. "I've got you" The Storyteller said as he cast his spell on her wounds "You're going to be alright, don't worry".

@rush99999

The warmth in the ring began to turn icy cold, followed by a burst of ethereal energy enveloping his body. The ring had formed a protective shield around him.

The Faraway Land

Should I just make my entrance now?

@Cuccoruler

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Maybe introduce yourself to the orc warband or to the Champs of Hope. Whichever supports your story better.

The Faraway Land

The captain of the 300 orcs will be either your greatest nightmare or your strongest ally. You guys are gonna have to do some 'politiks' to make them work for you! ;)

The Faraway Land

Ok sorry, I've been obsessed with pokemon Moon for the past couple of days, but I'll get to posting later tonight, I promise xP

@tex

Awesome video games do tend to take precedence over everything else. I should know, I do that all the time. :P

The Faraway Land

Meanwhile, several hundred miles to the north along the banks of the Lonely River in Fellmore, were three hundred orcs stopping for water before crossing the river to their next target. It was the first water they'd found in days, and it was a godsend for the drought-stricken army. Their captain, a slender figure clad from head to toe in form-fitting steel armor, stood with her arms crossed as she watched her soldiers fill their canteens with life-giving fluid.

"You're shivering," said a gruff voice.
She glanced back at the orc who spoke. It was her lieutenant, a powerful orc called Gorman. He couldn't see her scowl, no thanks to the visor and hood she kept perpetually over her face, but her tone gave it away. "Shut up," she retorted crossly.
The orc grinned back. "Suit yourself."

The captain decided she'd waited long enough and moved to fill her own canteen. She dipped the leather container into the icy water and sealed it off before turning to face her men. Their faces looked so gaunt, so weary, yet so filled with determination that she couldn't help feeling a sense of motherly pride in them. She trusted them, and they her. Today, she would test them yet again. Once the last of them finished filling their waterskins, she cleared her throat and raised her left hand, a signal for their attention.

Their murmurs faded into obedient silence. The chilly wind seeped through her gauntlet. She swallowed hard, knowing that these orcs, her orcs, would obey her next command without fail, even to the death.

"You boys ready?" she barked.
"Oi sir!" came the resounding reply.
"Then let's ride!"

The captain slung herself onto her warg with the rest of the army and charged through the river. There was no more time now left for doubts. These soldiers put their faith in her, and she vowed never to let them down. Their war cries and the shrill shrieks of their enemies pierced the air until the dawn.

The Faraway Land

@XenoCyanide
Sadron withdrew his pipe for a moment to chuckle. "A fool I am indeed, old friend. Their dwarven alliance is fleeting, at best. The orcs and dwarves have been feuding for decades, and even Arandur has been unable to dissuade them. No, I smell a rat. I think it is a ruse to distract us from orcen territory. Fellmore used to pose little threat because it was so fragmented, on the order of nearly a hundred separate states at one point. If they ever united, they would be a grave threat. Already, a hundred has condensed into two. The Warlock is primarily responsible for this, but I have reason to believe other forces are in play stopping him. Rumor has it that his attempt to reunite with northern Fellmore was like hitting a brick wall. The northern orcs were never very influential, leading me to believe that they have found some considerable outside advantage. And it is not the dwarves, because those mountains are nigh-on impassable in either direction."

He reached out and pointed to a rocky region south of the Fellmore pass. "There's good copper here, useful for bronze weaponry. The southern orcs have taken it and used it to upgrade from stone to bronze equipment. The iron mines are not far away, just a few miles west of here, held by a small contingent of dwarves. If I were an orc leader, I would make some kind of trade agreement with the dwarves for the iron, but I'm not sure what the orcs are giving in return, as Fellmore is pretty barren of natural resources. One way or another, we need eyes and ears up there."

The Faraway Land

As their leader's words The Storyteller nodded and departed down a nearby empty. As he walked towards the exit, The Storyteller looked at the silver ring on his finger. "I wonder if you can hear us speak when we aren't trying to make our wish" The Storyteller said "I hope you can. The council promised to listen to my stories at the end of the meeting, but I think Sadron and Arandur have had enough of me for now. And that leaves just you...If you can even hear me, that is".

@rush99999

A little glow of warmth spread through his hand around the ring.

She was listening.

The Faraway Land

@XenoCyanide
Sadron and Xen moved to a more secluded building around the corner. It was sparsely decorated, with only a table, a few chairs, a map, and a crystal ball. Sadron threw another log into the fireplace and sat down in one of the chairs.

"So tell me, Xen. What do you know of our enemy so far?"

The Faraway Land

@Lord Zee
@Hawlin
@MissCapnCrunch
@Darkmoon Angel
@rush99999
@Rekaigan
@ineffable
@XenoCyanide

The Story So Far

Tiberius Longshadow, Kaite J. Elzbrn, Dionaea Sycamore, The Storyteller, Zenovia Almire, Laina Silverstide, and Xen'Desh Idlindra were selected to become the Champions of Hope. It was widely noticed that Lady Erudessa Durvain was not present among the High Elf Leaders; Sadron claimed that she died attacking the Warlock. The Warlock was allegedly sending orc warbands to invade the surrounding countries and enslave their inhabitants. The reaction to Erudessa's death was primarily shock and dismay, but the latter was somewhat muted as most of those present hardly knew her. After the briefing was adjourned, they were sent to the chests to collect supplies. In each chest was buried a mysterious silver ring with the name 'Eru' inscribed on the inside of it. At first, they thought Sadron put it there, but he was as shocked as they were. The instructions he received in a letter were to call the name on the ring and state your wish, so at first, people thought they could wish for anything. Tiberius wished for the creator to teleport there, but what they got was the illusion of an angel overlaid on Tiberius' body. Then the Storyteller wished for Lady Durvain to never have perished at the Warlock's hands. Nothing happened, and he concluded that this was because his wish was impossible. Once the experimentation ended, Sadron suggested they depart for their quest.

In terms of character development, Kaite appears distrustful of the High Elves and has taken everything with a grain of salt. Tiberius, on the other hand, seems quite the opposite, taking everything at face value and reacting accordingly. Ivan wished upon the ring for the return of honor to his family's house, and though the ring did not visibly react, he didn't know that his wish was heard and that forces were now at work to make it happen.

Xen was named leader of the party, Storyteller the recorder, Tiberius the paladin, Kaite & Ivan the brawlers, Zenovia the mage, Dionaea the scout, and Laina the healer. Do what Xen says.

The Faraway Land

@rush99999@Darkmoon Angel@Hawlin@Thinslayer@Lord ZeeA wish? Laina thought to herself. She turned the ring in her hand, watching it catch the light before she slipped it onto her index finger. She hears one man explaining about the ring while the others all try it out. I must keep it in case of an emergency Laina gets off of the floor when she hears Sadron's order and brushes off her skirts. She should've worn something more for an adventure than for a tea party so she raises a pale hand as if she were in a student in a classroom and asks "Would it be fine if I could go and change into something more suited to this adventure?"Her face burns, she hates being the one to stop everyone else but unless she was going to slow them down when they were running this was the only way that she could avoid the situation right now.

@ineffable

Sadron ignored her and continued walking.

Arandur decided to pick up the slack. "I wouldn't worry about clothing," he said. "There are a collection of spells we could cast that are dedicated to clothing preservation. For most other hazards, the cloak we provided should be sufficient, and that ring should provide adequate protection against enemies if it works like I think it does. You're fine. I'll cast the requisite spells shortly."