Oh MAN it has been a heckin’ minute since I did a lil’ update post. Like, months! Rest assured we are still very much alive - and very busy! In the months since the last ginormous update we’ve partaken in two (2!!) large server campaigns (Warcraft Conquest: Tropic Sunder and Coalition of the Horde’s Homefront) and had many mini-campaigns of our own!
Warcraft Conquest: Tropic Sunder (04 APR - 10 APR 2021)
Summary
Stranglethorn, the everblooming jewel of the southern Eastern Kingdoms, is lush and rife with flora, fauna, and people of all cultures. As the Horde and Alliance have settled their war and the shadow of Death looms over the world, threats have risen deep within the tropical wilderness. Skirmishes with the remnants of Colonel Kurzen's rebellion have brought the attention of the humans of Stormwind. The Zandalari's new allegiance to the Horde has sparked dissent among the Gurubashi Trolls; slights and years of war against them are not so easily forgiven. Dark forces are afoot, stirring these tensions and preparing for a dark ritual. The jungle holds many dangers, but those who know where to look will find riches beyond imagining.
Through it all, the Cult of the Damned continued their dark machinations, taking advantage of the chaos and complacency of the two major factions…
Battle of the Vile Reef (Vehicle Battle - 04 April 2021)
Reports of a large pirate fleet harassing merchant vessels off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale have led the ACAS Resolute to respond to the call to arms, joining the navies of both Horde, Alliance, and even an airship from the Kirin Tor. While Commander Kul'therin and the bulk of the Advance Crusaders ventured into the jungle to investigate the claims of the blood plague, Captain Athelar Valaryon commanded the Resolute while Crusader Nightwish led the hippogryph riders of the Guardians of Honour into battle.
It did not take long for the pirate vessels to make their presence known, a haphazard collection of all manner of captured and retrofitted ships, bent on vagrancy and ill will.
Pirates, on the backs of massive parrots, took to the skies to harry and harass the aerial units. The Guardians of Honour engaged the enemy, taking heavy casualties in the process.
While the battle raged and the Resolute’s cannons blasted, Captain Valaryon ordered the Solace Brigade - the contigent of healers and medical personnel (priests of both light and shadow, bearers of nature magic in the form of shaman and druids, and practitioners of chi) took to the port side of the Resolute’s deck, mending the wounds Crusader Nightwish and the Guardians had suffered.
Below the aerial battle, the navies of Alliance and Horde began increasing hostilities against one another as they fought the pirate vessels. When the pirate flagship, a colossal vessel known as the Dread Raven, arrived to the battle a race for both Alliance and Horde to board and capture the ship ensued – throwing all caution to the wind.
The Resolute and other aerial vessels targetted and eliminated the pirate vessels left behind in the mad scramble for the Dread Raven, preventing the navies of Horde and Alliance from being flanked and surrounded. But in their blind greed, the boarding vessels were rocked by ocean mines, tearing holes in the hulls of their ships.
A stand off between Horde and Alliance occured on the deck of the Dread Raven, ended only when the Kirin Tor airship delivered a fatal blow to the colossal pirate vessel, ultimately sending the behemoth to the depths of the Vile Reef. Horde and Alliance boarding parties were forced to withdraw, much to their disappointment.
The Guardians of Honour were recalled to the flight bay of The Resolute and rescue efforts were made for any sailors - Horde, Alliance, or even pirate - before the Resolute returned to the coastline and the newly recaptured Grom’gol outpost.
Sanguine Internecine, Part 1 (05 April 2021)
Having received intelligence that the Cult of the Damned is present and working in the area, and more disturbingly, might be working on the blood plague themselves, Cdr. Mirchea Kul'Therin-Soltair and Cdr. Rease Stoneheart gathered up willing volunteers from the Horde and Alliance as well as their own Crusaders to sally forth and gather more information on their operation in the jungle.
Upon landing on the beach, burned-out pyres could be seen, with scattered, charred bones buried by the tides, along with scraps of armor from the Grom’gol garrison. As the team investigated these remains, movement was spotted in some ruins to their north, and the team was assaulted by a group of trolls, unaffiliated with the Blood-Singers, that fought to delay the task force and aide a cultist in their ranks with escaping. Both endeavors failed, and the cultist was taken captive, with Domarck taking a peek into his mind and revealing that there was more activity beyond, in the Ruins of Zul’Kunda. His vision, coupled with the presence of fragments of crates, brought into question possible Venture Co. involvement.
The cultist secured back at the Horde camp now thanks to Uolin, the team moved onward, but soon realized it would not be an easy apth. Risen soldiers of Grom’gol, pirates, travelers and even a few Kurzen rebels here and there met them in fierce battle, blocking them at the archway-guarded path while more undead forces rained munitions and magic upon their heads. With their combined might, Team Argent managed to break through and decimate the undead forces, but not before they knocked a huge stone head loose that was sent tumbling down the path towards them, exploding against the arch - and taking it out with it - in a shower of stone shards. Several were injured, and time was taken to patch their wounds before recovering.
After a short bout of mending, the group moved on into the Ruins proper. There, they discovered a tree covered in bloody, tainted manacles, and a scrap of enchanted sin’dorei cloth, like what a magister might wear, before the sound of breaking glass drew their attention up top. Rushing, they caught three goblins in the act of teleporting themselves to safety, but a fourth was left behind - Glitzi Gearstopper. She was subdued and also sent back to Grom’gol. An orcish soldier of the outpost was also recovered, though very ill, as well as tainted, hastily ‘sanitized’ lab equipment. All were sent back to Grom’gol to interrogation and study.
Sanguine Internecine, Part 2 (06 April 2021)
Working off of information gathered from the interrogation of Glitzi Gearstopper, the Argents mustered forces and friends to head forth and investigate - and raze - the Venture Co. Base Camp...along with most of the rest of the Horde and Alliance forces that eve. Being a smaller and therefor quicker force, they arrived somewhat ahead of the faction's main forces, and swiftly got to work.
Lead Liaison Cdr. Kul’Therin-Soltair issued his orders - the group was to split, with Cdr. Stoneheart’s seasoned Onslaught and their attaches from the Alliance camp heading up a distracting assault on the Base Camp, while Cdr. Kul’Therin-Soltair’s Advance and their attaches from the Horde would use their efforts as cover, sneaking to a building marked by Glitzi as an entrance to this ‘underground’ she had mentioned. Despite their attempts at stealth, the Advance and Friends came under moderate fire as the commotion - and very obvious approach of the rest of the Horde and Alliance forces - drew the goblins and their ilk out. Nevertheless, they made it to their goal, and cleared the building out.
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Cdr. Stoneheart’s group snuck along the beach, taking out any who stood in their way, meeting much heavier resistance. Their goal was to destroy as much of the Venture Co.'s equipment and property as possible, and end any who stood in their way. In the process, one life was lost - Merry rogers of the Kul’tiras Tenth Fleet was pulled under by a crocolisk and did not resurface.
Meanwhile, Cdr. Kul’Therin-Soltair’s group found the not-so-well hidden entrance to the ‘underground’ and hacked their way through the floor and down into the tunnels. However, as they were regrouping, a poorly timed shot from one of the vehicles that had arrived to decimate the Venture Co.'s holdings…well, did just that, and demolished the building they’d just been in. Now trapped, their only way was forward, and so they proceeded. Along the way they found manacles secured to the wall and cages large enough for tauren - or many people - crusted with old, dried blood, and a scrap of Thalassian cloth. Pressing further on found them the exit, though as they reached it, the tunnels collapsed due to the explosion of an oil stockpile above.
Back out in the field, Major Shin was able to recover and take captive a fleeing Cultist, while the the rest of Stoneheart’s crew took the lumbermill as a defensive refuge and continued their objective of destruction. In the process, they found azerite munitions, and decided to use them for their explosive purpose…against a nearby refinery.
While the tunnel network had collapsed, Kul’Therin-Soltair’s crew managed to use its distraction as cover - the exit had led them into Zul’gurub, right near the Temple of Bethekk, where an argument between a dark-robed man and a troll was briefly overheard. They then witnessed the man murder the troll, and after that decided it was time to go, and so made their way to the entrance - and straight into hell on Azeroth.
The Horde and Alliance’s battle against each other and the Venture Co. raged before them, and as they looked on in stunned awe, a massive explosion rang out, battering them back and causing several injuries even as far away as they were. Stoneheart’s crew had succeeded in their endeavors and blown up a refinery, nearly blasting themselves to bits were it not for Pipsqueak Brightfuse and her shield of Light. Similarly, Captain Athelar, Trooper Arcu’lerith and Crusader Tagghart Rhaines sought to protect the Advance in their allies with shields of light, arcane and ice. Their efforts enabled Uolin to mass teleport them to safety at great expense to herself, but all made it back in one piece.
Sanguine Internecine, Part 3 (07 April 2021)
After days of searching and interrogation of captives, the Horde, Alliance and Argents finally had found the Cult of the Damned's den in Stranglethorn at the Temple of Bethekk, and with great glee, they mobilized to eradicate the threat they posed. However, the fight wasn't easy, and the team suffered several casualties and two technical deaths. In the depths of the Temple they found deathly ill captives - a female draenei and a gnome - but they were able to be saved. Deeper and deeper they descended, facing horrifying abominations, constructs of bone, flesh and sinew that bludgeoned, cut, sliced, diced and bile'd their way into the attacking forces, but ultimately all were cut down. Sadly, true victory was not in the Crusader and ally's favor. As they reached the bottom of the temple's interior, they found Cultist experiments much further gone which attacked them and had to be put down - including Sartor Luneth Dawnseeker, who had gone forth to rescue Magister Solen Summerhall, who was recovered alive, but very, very ill. Additionally several memebers of the team suffered the effects of the experimental blood plague the Cult was manufacturing, but all were cured before leaving thanks to supplies gathered earlier in the campaign...and the Cult foolishly incorporating the Blood-Singer's own into their experiments.
Regardless, the Cultists managed to waylay the team enough to make their escape after hiding behind a magical shield like cowards - and take most of their research notes and equipment with them. This will likely not be the last Azeroth sees of this particular sect…
Episode One: Broken Arrow - 21 APR 2021
The Argent Advance arrived at the recently retaken Horde Outpost, repairs still being done to refortify the position and medical aid being performed on the survivors. The crusaders were met by a tauren Shaman, Haruuk Ironhorn, whom brought them to one of the delirious survivors - an orcish warrior named Krongar.
The crusaders discovered that the Outpost had been overrun by a force guided by a cultist of the Hand of Domination, and as they began to realize that the force had used weapons in the style of murlocs, an all too familiar battle cry came from the darkness over the ocean.
~MRRGLRLRLRMGRRR~
The outpost was assaulted once again, though as the crusaders were met with the scent of rot and decay, they realized that these murlocs had been risen in undeath.
The assault was beaten back and Horde soldiers captured the Hand cultist. The Advance learned that the Hand had a greater presence here than just on the surface and dedicated themselves to investigating.
Haruuk Ironhoof blessed the crusaders with a boon of tides, strengthening their bodies for the pressures of the deep ocean, fashioning gills at the sides of their necks and forging a mind link that the crusaders might project the sound of their thoughts to one another.
The Advance made their way into the ocean, swimming down into the depths as they became accustomed to their new surroundings and the new gifts provided to them. As they ventured further into the darkness, the ocean life seemed to fade away into nothing but a cold, silent darkness devoid of life. Something terrible had happened in this place.
The crusaders became aware of a massive, dark shape ahead of them, moving towards them and took refuge, hiding in the giant coral near Nespirah. As the shape loomed nearer the crusaders recognized the figure as a giant squid and, to their horror, realized that it had been scourged.
The undead giant squid became aware of its prey’s presence, probing with its massive feeder arms. It seized hold of Tagghart and dragged him towards its beak, ready to devour him, spurring the crusaders into action. A desperate fight ensued, the Ranger Cernai Eawyn gravely wounded and the Tidesage Caleb McSwain nearly devoured as others were battered and beaten by the squid’s massive tentacles.
But the squid was slain, releasing Caleb from its maw before he could be consumed. Badly injured, the crusaders were stabilized and led to the nearby refuge of Legion’s Rest to recover from the evening’s horrors and contemplate the destruction that the Hand of Domination had wrought upon this place.
Episode Two: The Ruins of Vash'jir - 22 APR 2021
Following the disturbing revelations made by the Argent Advance the previous evening, finding that the Hand of Domination had been wreaking havoc and destruction in the depths of Vashj'ir for some time now, the crusaders began preparing for a reconnaissance mission into the nearby Ruins of Vashj'ir under the presumption that the Hand would likely have a presence there to find hidden knowledge of the depths or to seek and secure lost objects of power.
The crusaders departed from the camp of Legion’s Rest, taking caution to remain unseen as they swam near the ocean floor, using coral for cover. They entered the ruins and soon spotted the lone figure of a humanoid cultist - quickly determining that the man was in the process of preparing Naga corpses for reanimation. The cultist was dispatched to the Maw with deadly efficiency by Corporal Soulfang, but the crusaders discovered that other naga had already been reanimated and buried strategically beneath the ocean floor.
The Advance found off the ambush, giving the scourged Naga their true death, and continued their search.
They moved further into the ruins but were detected by cultist above. They were fired upon by harpoon guns, one injuring but passing through the Tidesage Caleb McSwain, while the other pinned Crusader Halandor Nightwish to a pillar. The crusaders moved into action, some seeking to engage the cultists in melee, while Corporal Anguis’ana Soulfang freed Halandor and attempted to move him to safety.
During the battle, Ranger Cernai Eawyn became gravely injured and Captain Athelar Valaryon swam to her aid. Each were struck down by powerful eldritch blasts by what appeared to be the leader of the cultist forces in the ruins, their bodies left floating lifelessly in the ocean.
The battle was won and the crusaders moved swiftly to recover their fallen comrades, rendering aid and bringing them back from the brink of death. While Caleb and the Shaman Maguura worked to save their lives, Anguis’ana and Tagghart became aware of other cultists in the nearby temple readying to escape, grabbing all manner of scrolls and parchments. They rushed towards the entrance, barring the cultist’s escape, with Halandor and Caleb not far behind.
Anguis’ana, Tagghart, and Halandor went into a murderous rage, cutting down nearly all of the cultists. The Tidesage managed to imprison some. They found that not only were there cultists present from the Hand of Domination, but that there were Twilight’s Hammer cultists present as well - an odd finding.
Collecting their prisoners and the scrolls, the crusaders moved their wounded to the nearby Tenebrous Cavern at the edge of the Abyssal Depths. There, they would be able to research the scrolls they had found, tend to their wounded, and begin attempting to decode the cipher they had found on one of the cultists.
Twilight Hammer Cipher:
Jxu Jycu yi Dywx! Secu qdt ruqh myjduii, rhejxuhi! Jxu ikccedydw mybb ruwyd ed jxu vkbb ceed qj jxu Qroiiqb Rhuqsx. Jxu Udt yi Secydw!
Episode Three: The Lightless Reaches - 24 APR 2021
Having taken refuge in the Tenebrous Cavern from the previous evenings reconnaissance in the ruins of Vashj'ir, the crusaders began sorting through the various scrolls captured from the slain cultists of the Hand of Domination and Twilight's Hammer. There was also a message written in a secret code, requiring the crusader's to decrypt the cipher to determine the cultist's end game in the region.
Through researching the scrolls, there were multiple references to a being known as Shar-Narath, the Herald of Madness, a champion of N’Zoth. The crusaders learned that there had been attempts to summon this creature in the past, but that none of these attempts had been successful. Additionally, working together, the crusaders were able to decode the cipher and discovered that the cultists meant to begin their own summoning at the Abyssal Breach that evening.
The Advance and their allies left the cavern and descended down into the black depths of the Lightless Reaches, the darkness obscuring their vision and making it difficult to determine what threats lay in wait for them.
They came across a cultist scouts of the Hand of Domination, riding scourged great white sharks as mounts. Under Corporal Soulfang’s direction, the group split into two teams and used the darkness of the depths to obscure their approach as they moved to eliminate the scouts. As they crafted their plan of attack the sound of a conch being blow could be heard echoing across the ocean floor and the earth beneath their feet began to thrum with dark energy. They needed to move.
Soulfang’s team moved swiftly to dispatch their targets with ruthless efficiency, whereas Cernai’s team was detected and entered a pitched battle with their initial target, the scourged shark snapping at them with its gruesome maw while the cultist stabbed at them with a vicious trident. The crusader’s rallied however and eliminated their foes before a call was made to notify the cultist forces in the region of the Advance’s presence.
The teams reconverged on one another and proceeded to the Abyssal Breach. A loud drumming had begun causing strong reverberations to assail them on their approach. The depths were filled with a loud and insistent drumming, growing louder and louder to a deafening roar. As the crusaders set eyes on the Breach they saw that it had become enveloped is a swirling miasma of void energy as cultist summoners were posted all around the perimeter. Massive tentacles broke through the dark energy and the crusaders knew that the summoning had begun.
They moved into action, targetting the summoners and beginning to cut them down. A massive hand rose from the void, claws carving into the rocks surrounding the breach as it began to pull itself into the waking world. It rose, revealing a kraken-esque face, the colossal creature impossibly large as gargantuan tentacles splayed in the ocean and a pair of bright, crimson eyes turned on the crusaders, assaulting their minds with horrific visions of their worst nightmares.
Steadfast, the crusaders continued the fight, cutting down the summoners until only one remained. Shar-Narath, the Herald of Madness, nearly fully entered into Azeroth to wreak havoc and destruction, sensed the danger to his summoning and enveloped the last summoner in a shield of void energy to fend off the crusader’s desperate blows.
The fight was dire, their dark fate seeming assured, when a familiar voice echoed in their minds and as they looked up they witnessed the sight of the Argent Advance’s airship - The Resolute - surrounded with a shimmering violet shield of arcane energy cast from Saccageur’s Gift, the crystalsong engine core, cleaving through the depths. Captain Valaryon ordered the massive twin wolfhead heavy cannons to fire, blasting the Old God’s champion with righteous fury.
The crusaders shattered the void shield and a bolt of electricity lanced from the Tidesage Caleb’s fingers, silencing the final cultist and cutting the summoning off before it could be completed. The Resolute battered Shar-Narath with its full complement, raining destruction on the creature as it was dragged back into the world beyond.
Crusader Uolin Ren pinpointed the location of the battleworn crusaders and teleported them to the deck of the Resolute before the mighty airship ascended from the watery depths, the Hand of Domination’s plot ended and the fate of Vashj’ir secured.
Delivering Supplies - DM: Mirchea - 13 JUN 2021
The supply caraven set off with minimal drama from the camp outside of Orgrimmar. A few bum wheels, some axels that needed greasing, and one young elven scamp that made off with some jerky and some of Mazen's tea and coinage, but lived to see another day, were all that plagued the group at first.
As they approached the canyon, refugees from the conflict in the south passed them by, hollow-eyed and hungry, some weeping; mostly the old and infirm, or expectant mothers or those with young infants or children. It seemed many of the able-boded farmers and other such who made Durotar home had stayed behind…or perhaps met an untimely end. As the group passed the refugees by and entered the canyons, they saw evidence of the unfortunate fate some of those who were fleeing the fighting met to the harpies that called the place home, with bloodstains and belongings scattered across the road.
The harpies knew better than to pester the caravan, despite their jeering from their cliff nests. The caravan was far too much of a beast for them to handle and they knew it, keeping to themselves even when the road was blocked, forcing the caraven to halt.
Brambles, thorns and vines had grown down from the cliffs, blocking the way with terrible herbacious spikes. A small group left the wagons and sought to clear the way, suffering a few injuries of their own for their efforts, but in the end they prevailed, once again allowing supplies to traverse the hard-packed road. No more issues halted them until Razor Hill; all wagons were circled around behind the Command building and oriented for ease of getting them back onto the road to Orgrimmar or elsewhere.
However, along the way, a discrepancy was noticed amongst some of the cargo; items not listed on the inventory. Fortunately they were indeed supposed to be there, though suspicious minds resulted in their contents being exposed to air and creating a small but ultimately not harmful fireball. Thus the Horde now has one less weapon to use against the Quillboar’s thorny fortifications, should the need for it arise…
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Corta Nosesplitter and Senior Medical Officer Caleb McSwain established the base camp’s medical bay in the Razor Hill in, with, upon entering the building, critical and surgery patients off to the right, supplies in the center, and urgent patients to the left. Security Officer Abaddon also took reports of a potential avenue for infiltrators to be put under extra guard, and also moved the wagon full of explosives away from the others.
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All in all, an eventful day for the Horde at Razor Hill.
Right Under Our Noses - DM: Rease - 14 JUN 2021
At the beginning of the mission, the group came upon a dilapidated farm with cultists and elementals. The Coalition forces started strong, with Halenko and Halandor leading the charge. Once they approached the cave, the group chose a stealth approach and a strategy crafted by Aelenicus. With keen urgency, they used a pincer tactic to sandwich the enemy and plow them into the dust.
Without having time to stop and mend, Halenko led the forces through. A red wave of death, ripping and tearing through occult forces who had little time to prepare for the assault. Once deep in the cave, Rease radio’d the group to warn them of quillboar approaching their flank. Hazan, Halenko, and Etzlii stayed behind to hold the stampede off while the rest of the forces came toe-to-toe with the leader of the cultists, Threkk Stonescream. Aelen and Asire delivered near mortal blows, and Stonescream was forced to retreat, artifact in hand.
The cave then started shaking. What quillboar and cultists were inside began to retreat. Thorns started piercing the cave walls and breaking through, making the whole underground system unstable, threatening to collapse. The group then evacuated to go headlong into an absolute melee between quillboar and cultists. The Coalition slaughters them, with Jade becoming an onslaught herself. Hazan was trapped in the cave in.
Rruark sniffed around and found documents with an encrypted language which was handed to Halenko to translate. Devito, Hynote Draconis, and Halenko began trying to dig the vulpera out, but to no avail. Halenko flew to town to get reinforcements. With the efforts of Jade and Dev’ito, they were able to pinpoint where he was within the cave and helped keep him alive. Back-up arrived, and thanks to Hynote and her pup, they found a path for Irridessa to crawl through and get to Hazan before portalling them both out safely.
Race Against Time - DM: Mirchea - 17JUN2021
Horde and Argent forces headed south to the Valley of Trials in the final push to route the Twilight Cultists and secure half of the Scourge of Agamman - an quillboar tusk turned powerful artifact. Having raised a similar hideout the day prior to last and recovered several pieces of intelligence decoded by Advisor Oakrune, Commander Kul'Therin suspected they might be being lured into a trap, since any competent organization would have changed their cipher or burned or destroyed older documents vital to their operations.
However, there was little choice for it. The cultists needed to be routed, and the tusk needed to be recovered. So the intrepid group headed into the depths, facing a minor frontal assault that was easily squashed with the first rush in. The entire cave felt wrong, suffused with suffering, agony, and terror; the place was unnaturally dark, and the fighters could hardly see where they were going. Further in at a three-way antechamber, they faced a new assault, with physical combatants rushing them while casters hung back, seeking to trip them up with pools of void and shadow. Even further back in two of the tunnels, enslaved elementals worked to collapse them on top of themselves. Ultimately they succeeded, and took one of the cultists with them; the rest succumbed to the warparty’s blades and magic.
They met traps that sought to trip them up, disgusting creatures of the Void slithering from crevices in the ceiling and the Earth Mother’s pure waters. But nothing compared to what they found within the main ritual chamber. Six civilians, captured from the surrounding area, bound, enslaved, used as batteries and sacrifices for the tusk, overseen by a foul k’thir and Threkk, the cultist many of the group had faced the day before last.
Threkk fell quickly with little fanfare, befitting of one such as he. Then the civilians were freed, as the group fended off assaults from the k’thir and more tendrils from the water. Then the real fight began, with the k’thir descending and plunging them all into personal, individualized hells where they faced mental and physical assaults from loved ones, and a twisted, surreal sense of reality that left many reeling. Even so the k’thir fell, with Hazzarrak dealing the killing blow, ripping the foul beast to shreads in the maws of several of his animal forms.
Just as the enemy was defeated, a call came from Ranstrom, warning of impending quillboar attacking the cavern. Fortunately, the cultists had not yet collapsed their own escape tunnel and the group gathered up the surviving civilians (only four out of the six lived through their ordeal) and booked it for Razor Hill after Halenko took up the tusk.
Hex Gon Give it to Ya - DM: Jab'trah
A party of Horde and Argent forces headed South from Razor Hill, escorting a caravan of supplies deemed important for the continued defense of Sen'jin Village. Prior upon arrival, Chieftain Jab'trah had cautioned the group of possible infiltration and to be alert just in case and with their full on arrival to the Village, Master Gadrin welcomed them gratefully for the assistance and supplies brought on the Caravan to continue arming and repairing arms, defenses and the like given Quillboar raids and the circumstances of their invasion of Durotar.
Master Gadrin did plea for assistance from the group for collection of herbs that had fallen to the wayside in the aftermath of having to be on alert and focused on defense given the raids from the Quillboar, a request that was agreed and they all paired off to collect herbs throughout the surroundings of the Village. A rather loud crash had interrupted a good portion of their accepted task which lead to an investigation that intensified with each passing moment, the edges of the crate found tinged with void energies. The Flightmaster getting wacked into unconsciousness with a club resting besides him. A pair of Troll women getting into a passionate argument over one’s apparent odd behavior.
Argent Captain Halandor and Admiral Tyrinade were able to sooth the Bat Handler’s bat, leading to the awakening of Marnlek the Bat Handler of Sen’jin who unfortunately could not reveal much aside from being sneaky and having long hair of sorts.
Rashisha was able to locate the vague location of the void energies in the Village in the tallest building, uncertain of where but encouraged the others to look more deeply into the building and what it may hold in store.
It all culminated in Munalti, the Rogue trainer having been knocked out sometime around Sunday and a K’thir having infiltrated the Village in his guise, storing the troll in a hidden locker that was in a form of stasis. Said locker was found by Golokan having found the locker after its enchantment having failed the K’thir in a moment of weakness, leading to the K’thir holding one of the arguing women hostage until Augustina was able to shield her in a bubble of holy light that pushed him away. In the ensuing aftermath, Drezziri blinded him and allowed Banxizia to destroy the K’thir into ashes.
Master Gadrin thanked the group profusely, even offering what they had in stock limited as it was before they all refused. Gadrin bowed and demanded to help Razor Hill with sending what they could, brooking no argument. Their tasks done, they headed back to Razor Hill.
The Source of their Power - DM: Halenko (Brambles)
In the early evening, a small contingent of Coalition forces. Halenko quickly devised a plan: the lighter armored sneak in, and the heavily armored try to pull the thorn-golem guards from their posts to help out. Once they arrived, the group set in motion.
Som’dami, Irridessa, Hynote, and Rythyren took the far southern edge of the compound, while Oriku and Anguis’ana crossed across the courtyard, closer to the eastern edge. The group that stayed behind, Mokron, Dev’ito, Caleb, Rruark, and Koumorie managed to pull the attention of two golems and end them, the first going without issue, and the second causing a slight stir. Anguis’ana, Oriku and Hynote were all able to assassinate golems while sneaking through the compound with the help of the diversion. It was enough that the stealth ops could sneak to the main entrance of the keep and kill the single golem guarding.
Once inside, they heard quillboar on the upper level. Moving in, they were able to ambush two higher ranking geomancers among the quillboar. While the greater group engaged, Rythyren managed to steal the documents before they were destroyed. Caleb and Rruark finished them off, and the group discussed their findings before returning to Razor Hill.
The Scourge of Agamaggan - DMs: Brambles/Halenko, Mirchea, Rease, Jab’trah
Once the High Warlord’s forces rode out, the group left defending Razor Hill knew that it would be only a matter of time until the quillboar forces were upon them. Halenko drew her spell circle around the pit in the middle of Razor Hill and used it as a well to contain the artifact while she dispelled the magic within it. Thanks to the reinforcing efforts at the beginning of the week, the town was prepared for the assault.
Just as she had suspected, the quillboar warband was soon upon them when Halenko began the ritual. The sound of hooves upon the ground sounded like thunder from the storm ahead of them. Four earth elementals sprung up from the geomancer’s efforts and threw boulders at the walls. Dust, sand, and wooden splinters went flying. One of the strikes landed true. Immediately, the Coalition forces got to work attacking the enemy and rebuilding the damaged walls. The forces clashed as the elementals further wrecked the walls and those defending them.
The Coalition was not alone. The Advance’s wolf-headed airship, the Resolute, appeared alongside DeepCore’s Easy Peasy. The Resolute fired bullets and tracer rounds, and the Easy Peasy split the sky and rained destruction with its laser cannon. Among all the carnage and destruction, Halenko’s ritual remained uninterrupted. Inspired by it, she could not leave her team to deal with the warband on their own. She managed to tap into the artifact and grow kraul to reinforce Razor Hill’s walls!
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The forces continued to clash with one another. The Coalition managed to keep the walls up and kept the warband at bay. Ar’groka called her proto-drake, Razorwing! It dove down and roasted the quillboar with a gout of flame! In the distance came the whooping war cries of trolls from Sen’jin! Head hunters with sharpened spears accompanied by a witch doctor and shadow hunter! Again, Halenko was able to keep her focus and dared use the artifact again! Kraul burst forth from the ground to swat at the quillboar.
As the battle raged on, cannons were wheeled out for the allied forces to use. The quillboar were on the losing end! It was at this point, Halenko did call for help to help her speed along the ritual. Halandor, Aelen, and Hynote stepped up to assist her first! Catapults barreled stones against the battlements, but thanks to some swift craftsmanship and repairs beforehand, they remained standing, albeit splintered. Once again, the Easy Peasy fired rounds onto the quillboar army. Mirchea called to his frostwyrm, Karvistraz, to aid the Coalition. With an ear-splitting roar, the wyrm swooped down and unleashed a gout of blue flame from its maw.
Halenko called for assistance again! She could finish the ritual with just a little more help! Eagerly, Ellorynth. Rease, and Dev’ito assisted with the ritual. A swell of void magic burst from it, followed by two quakes as desert flora filled the pit and ran along the lines drawn for the ritual. Seeing their holy relic robbed of its magic, some quillboar stopped completely, while others turned tail and ran to retreat. Whatever quillboar remained were slew swiftly, and the ritual declared a success.
This series of events is ongoing! :D Keep an eye on this post for further updates! Ventrius/Jarindo is DMing it and he's proven to be a really skilled storyteller and writer!
Summaries for Homefront were written by their respective DMs; Tropic Sunder and Homefront title images created by the lovely Sonceri, @lorioliodraws on Twitter. Operation: Broken Arrow summaries written by Athelar, and all other title and divider images created my me.
In other news, the guild has had some promotions and structural changes!
Corporal Halandor Nightwish was elevated to Captain, and now serves as our recruitment officer and another secondary IC leader! Contragutaltions, Hal!
In addition, the following divisions have been created, with several people elevated to the rank of Lieutenant to head them up!
- Restorative Division: Caleb McSwain
- Shadowblade Division: Anguis’ana Soulfang
- Vanguard Division: Tagghard Rhaines
- Adeptus Arcanum: Uolin Ren
We look forward to seeing what creative things those four can do with those divisions, and seeing what new events they can cook up for us! Tagghart and Anguis’ana have been running Combat Synergy events, teaching members of the unit how best to work together and use our diverse skillsets most efficiently!
Next week we plan on having an OOC guild meeting with our members to discuss any changes people would like to see, brainstorm ideas, and address any concerns anyone may have about, well, anything!
After meeting up near Crystalsong Forest, the Argent Advance received a briefing on their objective - recover a chunk of crystalline material from the forest to power the lift engine of their airship. Additionally, there was news of the Scourge being quiet in the area, unusual for Northrend. Sonceri relayed that there may be a guardian waiting down there that might be able to assist them.
Quickly realizing none of them had experience flying mechanical constructs - at least, not enough to pilot a massive airship - Cdr. Mirchea quickly hired a friend to show them the ropes. That friend? None other than the lovely Dinkee Dropwrench. Rental planes were quickly secured, as well as a suitable airstrip for practice, a date and time set aside, payment sent, and they were off!
Captain Valaryon had approached the Consortium seeking to make a bulk purchase of mana cells to provide power for the engine core of The Resolute when he learned from the ethereals that Manaforge Ara in the Netherstorm had very recently come back online after years of inactivity. Athelar called the Crusaders to arms over the Advance's communicators, knowing full well the consequences of allowing Manaforge Ara to continue operations unchecked.
The Taunka of Camp Tunka'lo have been mining titanium ore for the Argent Advance for some time now, providing the crusaders with much needed materials for the armour plating of The Resolute. However, now the crusaders have been called to aid their allies as the taunka have begun disappearing. Listening the Chieftain Unaloq's passioned plea to rescue his people, the crusaders departed the village and headed towards the titanium mine.
Thank you very much Sonceri for DMing our vehicle battle, and for making this truly magnificent vehicle token for us! You can find her on Twitter @lorioliodraws; she's an amazing person to work with.
Hmm need to think of some campaign ideas…
Oh hell yes, you are always welcome!