Order of the Dark Flame: The Adventures Continue (no spam-story)

scully1 · Post by **scully1** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:04 am

{OOC: ROFL @Nippy!! I taught high school for a very brief period a while back, and I can think of many words to describe the 16 year-old mind...but "fragile" is far from one of them

}

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 9:40 am

"Ok, looks like we found our way out," remarked Thantor. "Let's find Anomen, get your people, and get out of here. What have you found there?" Anicka was holding what looked like a miniature model of the clockwork device that had been worked into the shape of a staff. She looked at him, puzzled. "Some sort of key?" she guessed. "No, probably some sort of remote emitter, so that the device can be triggered from a distance," mused Thantor. He hefted the staff, noticing its considerable weight. "It's too heavy to drag along with us. We'll come back for it." They existed the room, continuing down the corridor to the cells. All of them were empty. However the holding area, which was little more than a cave, revealed a prostrate form. "Grab me one of those torches," Thantor asked as he move to attend the unmoving form. Halfway there, everything moved sideways and the ceiling began to crumble. Anicka froze in the doorway. As if in slow motion, Thantor yelled, running toward her, shoulder-butting her so that she fell backwards into the corridor. Then everything went black.

jennabard · Post by **jennabard** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 3:05 pm

OOC- @thantor- what have you've been eating when you posted and where can i get some!

IC-

when dragon wench greeting them back, jenna try to shy away from her friendly embrace. jenna still felt so ashame of her past that she feel she did not deserve such a warm welcome from DW.

jenna quickly went to her room and decided to play on her lute to calm herself.

scully1 · Post by **scully1** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 5:30 pm

{OOC @JB -- Err, don't you think you shoudl ask, what had Thantor been drinking??

}

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:19 pm

*Coolio steps into the thread* Excuse me, ladies, but let me clear this up for you. Rather than asking what Thantor eats or drinks, better to ask what is flowing through this man's jeans. That's what I'm sayin'. It saddens me to hear about the dearth of romance in the men you are accustomed to, but the suave of Thantor's writing requires no external augmentation. What you are seeing here? Pure, one hundred percent, Thantor mojo... Oh yes. Not for the faint of heart.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 10:13 pm

Georgi's eyes flew open. "Thantor!" she breathed, barely audible, a whisper torn away on the wind. It had been him, somehow, she was certain of it, she felt it instinctively in the quickened beat of her heart, in the blood that raged through her veins, in the void that ached deep within once more, as he had been snatched away.

What had happened? She was unsure. For a few minutes, it was as though she was inside his mind... a mêlée of emotions had washed over her. A strong repulsion grasped at her, something terrible and unnatural... but the source of the sickening feeling evaded her, images flitting from shadow to shadow, always veiled from view. Suddenly, a sense of impending danger had flooded through her, and everything went black.

And that was when she opened her eyes. He's unconscious, she realised, unwilling to consider the possibility of a more grave implication. And in danger... As if on cue, a rap came on the door, and she heard Loner's voice calling her urgently.

scully1 · Post by **scully1** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 1:32 am

{OOC @Thantor: Oh no, I think you believe I meant to imply that you had perhaps imbibed mind-impairing quantities of alcohol. What I meant was, you must have been enjoying a mellow, full-bodied wine at the time. Only a smooth, well-aged Cabernet, I think, could bring out such...inspiration. Cellared three to five years, I think.

}

Nippy · Post by **Nippy** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 2:28 am

OOC: Nippy starts drooling......

IC: A thunderous roar was heard in the distance and Nippy felt ill. He had heard about this creature, the Tarrasque was a hideous creature with many hideous powers. It was immune to certain forms of magic and the only way to kill it is to use a Wish spell. Nippy searched his belongings. He had one but he could not read it. He needed a powerful mage and quickly.

Nippy sent a teleported to the keep. He rang the bell and hoped that everyone would assemble in the kitchen.

OOC: Come with me guys, I have a plan to get to Thantor if no one objects. If so post and I'll edit.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 9:25 am

Still riding her stallion through the woods Dragon Wench felt something stir within her, and wondered why she was hearing Ravel's Bolero in the back of her head. Guided by her intuition, she turned her animal back in the direction of the keep. Althouh still distracted, she marvelled at the beast's power as she felt it's muscles ripple beneath her. Her black steed melded into the surounding night, becoming one with inky darkness. After a short time, the keep loomed ahead of them, almost a hulking monolith against the moonless velvet of the sky.

[ 08-05-2001: Message edited by: dragon wench ]

Darkpoet · Post by **Darkpoet** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 9:28 am

The Shadow Master, was very pissed. With the escape of Thantor and the other paladins. He had already killed his bodyguards and anyone else, that was in the room with him. With his fury, he either used magic or his sword. Body parts and blood was everywhere, the slaughter, somewhat calmed him, but he needed more. After loosing Jennabard, then Thantor, someone has to pay. Upon hearing the reports of the DarkFlames being stronger, infurated him more. He wanted to know, who was behind their power. The Shadow Master kick a head against the was, it made a sound, like a pumpkin falling on the floor.

There was a knock on the door, "Enter." he replied.
Two of his black knights, came in with a naked and dirty person. "Master, we found him in the wood, wandering around. When we approached him, he killed three of us before we were able to detain him. His name is Brink, he is a ranger, a quick one at that."

Just as the knight finished his sentence, Brink spun around and grabbed the kight's sword, thus killing him. Brink, cut the head off the other knight, just as quickly. He then, turn to the ShadowMaster.

Who looked amused. With his arms crossed, he watched Brink, circling him. A smile, came forth, showing his perfectly white teeth.
"Finally, someone who is not afraid of me, someone worthy of combat."
The Shadow Master, pulled out his sword. Brink charged, but before he could swing his sword. Brink felt something burning in his chest, and warm liquid streaming down across his stomach. Questioning himself, Brink looked up at the ShadowMaster. The last thing Brink saw was the death grin of the ShadowMaster. As the ShadowMaster's sword came across Brink's neck, he watched the two parts fall to the floor. He felt saddness, because there was no challenge at all......

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 12:23 pm

OOC: @Loner: LOL! It was a collaborative effort, really. But yes, I could see where DW's influence could easily be compared to smooth, well-aged, and fine Cabernet. With an excellent finish, of course.

He was disoriented for some time in the blackness, until the throbbing in the back of his head reminded him where he was. Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, he did a cursory scan of his body and found nothing broken. The sticky wetness on the back of his head seemed to be his only injury. Grouping about in the dark, he made his way over to the other occupant of the room. They were breathing and had a pulse. Quickly working some healing spellings, he heard the figure groan and begin to move. "Where...?"

"You are in the Shadow Master's liar," said Thantor quietly.

"Who are you?" the man asked slowly.

"It's me, Anomen. It's Thantor."

"Torm be blessed," the paladin replied. "What is our situation?"

"Grim. There has been a cave in and we are trapped on one side. I don't know how long the air will last. The commander of the paladins you assisted, Anicka, is on the other side. I am hopeful she was not injured and will be trying to dig us out from the other side. But we must help her. Are you able to move?"

"You healing ministrations are quite powerful. I'm not at my best, but I am fit for duty. Let's start digging." As they worked to move the rumble away from the doorway, Anomen told Thantor of his decision not to return to Order straightaway but to go off to a cabin his family owned in the hills. Coming upon the attack of the paladin party, he had joined the fray, only to be taken prisoner. Thantor heard the heaviness and defeat in Anomen's voice as he said this, and Thantor empathized with the young paladin's pain. Looking to change the subject, Thantor asked Anomen to tell him about how he came to know the Dark Flames. Anomen laughed in spite of himself. "Oh, it wasn't the Order of the Dark Flames in the beginning," he chuckled. "It was more of a harem tent, really. What blissful days they were," he said wistfully. "Each one of them like a priceless jewel: the intensity of Loner, the innocence of Vivien, the passion of Dragon Wench, the alchemy of Jennabard." His voice trailed off. "And then there was Georgi... fiery in all things but virginal in her love. Georgi, who offered me a piece of her soul. There are no words..."

Thantor had stopped digging, as his stomach caved in and he found it hard to breath. A wave of terrible loneliness and loss swept through him, as if someone had died. "No," he said slowly, "there aren't..."

Anomen said nothing for a moment, continuing to dig. "You have feelings for her too, don't you?" he asked.

Thantor chided himself for giving in to childish sentiment. His life would go on, as it always had. Was he not the chosen of Mielikki? What more fulfillment did a man need? "I feel that she is a remarkable woman who deserves to be happy, Anomen." He paused. "After you left, I had gone up to Loner's room to meet with her. Georgi was there, holding a letter you had written to her. She was... very distraught, crying and such. It appears she still cares for you a great deal."

"Truly?" asked Anomen, the happiness evident in his voice. "I had not dared hope."

"Well, I wouldn't presume to speak for her," said Thantor, now in control of his emotions, "but I do think you should go to her, talk to her, tell her what is in your heart."

"I will do that, good friend. By Torm, it shall be so!" cried Anomen, digging with renewed vigor.

Thantor also resumed digging, but with a heavy heart. He knew that he had acted rightly. Why then did he feel such anguish?

[ 08-04-2001: Message edited by: thantor3 ]

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Aug 05, 2001 10:32 am

As she drew closer to the keep, Dragon Wench noted that there was much activity afoot. Everyone appeared to be preparing for both journey and battle. She nearly collided with Loner, Kramor, and Georgi, and they told her of their sense that Thantor was nearer than he had been, and that they were readying to fight in the event of potential confrontation.
Dragon Wench nodded and tore to her room where she hastily donned he mage cloak and elven armour. On her way down the stairs she encountered Gwalchmai who appeared vaguely distracted and was muttering something about feathers.

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:29 am

Though Anomen and Thantor continued to dig, both of them where coughing at this point and they were both aware of the dwindling air. As he stopped to catch his breath, Thantor heard what sounded like a scrapping noise. "Anomen, over here!" The two men began working together, pulling away rocks and debris. Finally, a small hole appeared. "Thantor?" a distant voice asked. "Anicka?" replied Thantor. "Are you alright?"

"I've been injured. But I am Ok." Suddenly, a noise like a huge gong started sounding. "What is that?" Anomen demanded.

"It must be an alarm," Thantor shot back. "Anicka, you must get out of here. You must go for help. Use the dimension door."

"I don't know how to work the machine, Thantor."

"I left it running. It stays open until someone goes through one of the doors. Be sure to take the remote emitter with you. I told you about the keep where the Dark Flames are. Go to them, bring them back here. GO! NOW!"

"Ok. I won't fail you, Thantor."

And she was gone.

[ 08-06-2001: Message edited by: thantor3 ]

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 12:08 pm

Earlier, Gwalchmai had been on the roof of the keep, intent on visiting with Vivien. As he neared her, he noted that she had been whistling to the birds, trying to get them to perch on her hand to eat some bread crumbs. But with dusk fast approaching, the songbirds had mostly flown away, to be replaced by Night Hawks, swooping and diving for the small insects that gathered near the flowers. The songbirds had left Vivien a present, one small red feather clinging to her bodice. The placement of the feather drew his eye over her delightful form, and he smiled as he thought to take the feather, but bright lights in the distance caught his eye. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing toward the meadow where they had lost Thantor.

Vivien recognized the lights immediately, “Dimension Doors.” Vivien and Gwalchmai exchanged glances and understood the dire ramifications. Without further words, they ran downstairs to ready themselves to meet whatever new foe may be coming. Gwalchmai donned his leather and bracers, and grabbed his staff. As he ran through the hall, he almost careened into Dragon Wench, which made him think of that feather again, for some odd reason. Regret was quickly overcome by urgency, and he was glad to see the others also preparing. Loner and Georgi were talking about contact with Thantor, and both appeared extremely worried. Nippy was ringing a bell, so Gwalchmai had to shout, “There are lights out at the site of the last battle! I’ll head out there, the rest of you follow when you can!”

He ran to the stable and leaped upon his horse, apologizing for the rough handling that was sure to come. As he rode out into the night, his eyes darted from side to side. Those dimension doors had been opened for several minutes, no telling what may have come through. Yet, nothing attacked him as he rode into the meadow. There were five open doors, spaced in a wide arc. The white lights pulsed slightly, casting long, flickering shadows in the gloom. Cautiously, Gwalchmai walked toward the central door, thoughtfully rubbing the hair on his chin. He heard the clamor of the others approaching and glanced back to see Vivien, Dragon Wench, and Georgi riding hard. Just then, the door he was standing in front of glowed brightly, and disgorged a disheveled and wounded woman, who blinked once, then collapsed into his arms. The door evaporated. Vivien dismounted Dragon Wench’s horse, and stood with her fists on her hips, “Who’s your new girlfriend, Gwally?”

Darkpoet · Post by **Darkpoet** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 12:45 pm

Darkpoet walked up to the group, keeping a watchful eye out, for any trouble.
"DW, you might have to give that ring to Gwally now."
"Is this number four now Gwally? You are getting as bad as Anomen. If you start acting like him, I will remove something. Two somethings to be honest."
"Let's get her back to the keep, she might know where Thantor is."

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 12:53 pm

Fading in and out of consciousness, Anicka was vaguely aware of being held in the arms of a very attractive but somewhat distracted warrior and that there were other people with him. She could only hope that these were the companions Thantor had spoke of. Weakly attempting to lift the remote emitter staff, which she still tightly clung to, she whispered weakly, "Please... save Thantor. He is in... terrible danger." Then once again, she lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, back at the dungeon, the drow and the Shadow Master's minions has returned from the inital ritual to prepare the Abomination (of which many of the minions had not returned, having been sacrificed to satisfy the monster's growing hunger for carnage) only to be met by the Shadow Master's terrible wrath. Fearing for his life, the drow mage had ordered an intensive search of the premises to find the missing prisoners.

Thantor had to restrain Anomen from bursting out of what had now become their hiding place to enter the fray of battle "for the glory of Torm!" He convinced Anomen that Torm would probably prefer his followers in one piece rather than hacked into tiny pieces.

[ 08-06-2001: Message edited by: thantor3 ]

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 12:59 pm

Dragon Wench smiled somewhat wryly at Dark Poet.
"I don't think that this is really the time to be joking about the ring, however pleasant such thoughts might be."

Then she knelt beside the woman, touching her fevered brow.
"Can you do anything for her," she murmured to Gwalchmai.

Vivien · Post by **Vivien** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 1:19 pm

Vivien wondered where her jealous outburst had come from, being that she was usually an open minded type of woman. (

)
She knelt beside the others and studied the woman's features, trying to understand her place in all the turmoil.
"It will be okay." She whispered quietly while laying a had on the woman's arm. The ring on her finger began to warm, so she quickly took her hand back, wondering if she would ever learn to use the darn thing.

Backing up, she tried to give room for the healers.

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 1:36 pm

Gwalchmai knelt to apply healing magic to the fallen woman. Darkpoet felt a pang of unreasonable jealousy as T’lainya placed a hand on top of Gwalchmai’s, to augment the healing Gwally was performing on the wounded woman. Forgetting for a moment the situation, Darkpoet stood with his back to one of the four remaining Dimension Doors. He was soon reminded of his mistake as a blow to the back of his head sent him reeling. The blow surely would have caused critical damage, except that he had taken the time to don full armor, and his paladin’s helmet had saved him. Rolling and drawing his twin blades, he jumped back to his feet to face his new opponent. He saw an Ogre - the largest Ogre he had ever beheld - brandishing a huge club. Standing next to the Ogre, silhouetted in the fading light of the Dimension Door, was a Drow Mage. The sight of the Drow made Darkpoet’s heart freeze. He was dimly aware of the multitude of enemy pouring from the three remaining doors, but his world narrowed to only four things: the pain in the back of his head, the pain in his heart caused by the drow demon, the Drow Mage standing before him, and the huge Ogre that stood between Darkpoet and the Drow. Darkpoet bellowed.

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 3:00 pm

Looking intently through the small hole they had made in the stone and rubble, Thantor could see that the Shadow Master's minions were all heading into the room with the Dimension Door device. Fearing for Anicka's safety, he turned to Anomen and they agreed upon plan. With a running start, they burst out of the holding cell, charging the two skeleton warriors standing at the entrance to the Dimension Door room. Thantor made short work of them, while Anomen stripped what weapons and armor he could from the crumbled bones. With another party of orcs right behind them, Anomen and Thantor erupted into the room, leaping through the air, taking a surprised group of minion with them as their momentum carried them both through different dimension doors.

As he rose, Thantor caught Gwalchmai off to his left with Anicka in his arms, Vivien and Dragon Wench in a defensive position near him, Dark Poet furiously attacking an enormous Orge and off to his right….. stood Georgi. He looked at her for a moment, as he heard Anomen cry out, "Georgi!". His relief at seeing her vanished, replaced by pain and loss. Turning away from her, he catch sight of the drow mage and a terrible fury rose inside him. With a single Mind Blast, he incapacitated the mage. Mindful that he wanted something left of this maggot to question, Thantor eschewed his maces for his fists. Thantor had never gone after an opponent as he did this drow, hitting him not in a way to take him down but cause pain, intense, bone-crunching pain. Nothing else matter to him in that moment.