The Land of Wolves

Ok, me and Newarthur have been working on this for a fair amount of time, so hopefully it will work out well.


PROLOGUE:

The winds swept across the land, howling fiercly. The gale would have been enough to destroy even the most sturdy tree, but there were none. The gale would have been enough to destroy the most solid house, but there were none. there was nothing, except barren wasteland. once the area had been fruitful, and could be again, if the right measures were taken.

A lone wolf howled into the sky, a powerful sound cutting through the wind. a reply came faintly. soon after a silouet appeared on the horizon. a short time after another wolf joined the first, walking up to it, standing next to it. after a moment they stood alert, as a blue crackling light headed for them. in their minds a voice sounded. 'Head for the east, inturders have been sighted'. the wolves immediately headed off, there strong bodies moving forwards, huge figures standing out starkly against the surrounding area, their shapr claws digging into the ground. Soon they reached the area in question. they saw a figure, and leapt towards it. the last thing that dwarf saw was two huge wolves heading at him, the mouths open wide, displaying huge, glinting teeth.

Far away in a small fort, A magician let loose an evil laugh. he raised his arms, and let loose a stream of words. blue crackling light sped from his fingertips, and headed for the wolves. soon the wolves had deoured the dwarf, and were back patrolling. The magician sat back. No-one came to his lands. No-one.

Away in the country of Efresil, a lone dwarven woman wept. her husband had insisted on leaving for the wolves land, and she knew that none survive a trip to that place. She knew that he was dead.

In another part of Efresil, the entrance to a tavern opened, and a elf went inside. there were representatives for all the races there, from the dwarves, short and stocky, to the trolls, large and brutish. This was the place where the elf was meant to meet the others who had volunteered to go on the quest. she looked around, and saw a man sitting with his feet on a chair, and five glasses arranged in a strange symbol on the table in front of him. that was were they would meet. she saw that only a few people were there. she walked over, and sat down.


THE PLOT

The Lands that were once inhabiteded by every race imaginable, and still more, has now been deserted after a magaician took over. he created a race of wolves, which he controlled through magic. these wolves are larger then any other, have huge teeth, their claws are as long as the largest swords, and just as sharp. But those lands are needed, for the area they cover is huge, and there is not enough room in the rest of the countries to support all life. is something is not done, then war is sure to break out amongst the different races as they fight for space. so a group of six people gathered together, to journey to this nation, and attempt to defeat the magician. many have tried and failed, but these people are the elite of their race, and will stop at nothing to complete their goal. They will meet first at a tavern they chose as the meeting place, and decide when and how they would undertake this journey.

THE RACES

Human: The humans are the largest race that inhabits the world, they have many times gone to war with the others to gain more land to grow the food they need and have become hated by many races. But still they did bring much needed trade to the country that have gained them valuable allies in the elfs and dwarfs, as well as a healthy friendship in the centaurs.

Elfs: The dieing race as they are called, some say they have been here since the beginning of time and it was them that stopped the wolfs from destroying all. They now are a dwindling race, and that there time has come to leave this land and make there home somewhere else, in a more peaceful land.

Dwarf: The mountain Lords. The Dwarfs, control the mountain kingdoms, and are in constant war with the goblins that infest some of the Dwarfs older strongholds. The dwarfs are built like rock, that are immovable in any fight. Stubborn and don't know when a fight is lost, which unnerves there enemy.

Gnome: The Gnome race are between the height of a dwarf and a human. They are known to be cowards in small groups, but when a big group gathers they can spur each other on to great heights, they live in forest and mountains and depending wear means a different color of skin. The darker the color the more high ranked they are.

Minotaur: Half man with the head and strength of a bull, one of the biggest creature that roam the world. A full grown male can cause much destruction, and they are hard to kill. The Minotaurs move around in nomadic groups, always on the move. They often fight against each other, as it is part of their culture.

The Armand: They are a race of which little is known, only that they love to go to war. their name means of the army in the ancient tongue, and describes them perfectly. over the years their skin has become hard and scaled, and is perfect armour. They fight together mostly, but will fight alone when needed. they look much like humans, in shape and size, but their faces are never seen, as they are covered at birth by a metallic mask, that is changed throughout their life to fit their heads' growth.

Trolls: The trolls are the smaller cousins of the rock trolls, they live in the damp and Dark areas of the world. They are solitary creatures and are very territorial and will fight to the death to protect it. There has been times when they have banded together to go to wars but these are rare occasions.

Rock Troll: The largest creatures in the world they look as if they are made from stone, are are extremely strong and muscular. They are feared among the lower races. The Rock trolls unlike there smaller cousins they live in tribes and have many mountain cities that are unreachable by most roads due to the dangerous terrain that needs to be crossed.

Ogre: Ogres are strong and tough, they are hermits to the most part, living on there own in desolate places, but when they need to they will raid villages or attack caravans. They are ruthless in what they do, and are known for the cannibalism.

THE WOLVES

The giant beast that roam, the unnamed lands, they are larger than most wolfs and are more powerful and smart, they are said to be the strongest creatures on the planet but most races say that is wrong. They recieve their orders from the magician, who also created them. He makes them hunt in packs mostly, but will somtimes send only a few to deal with a problem. When not being given orders, they roam freely. you cannot be a wolf.


NPCs (non player characters)

1)
Name: Korinich
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Weapon(s): A large battle axe, and two knives tucked into his belt.
brief history: Joined the party of people headed for the land of the wolves after parents died there, wants to avenge their death.

2)
Name: Enistrael
Age: 146 (this may seem old, but it fairly young for her race
Gender: Female
Race: Elf
Weapon(s): an elven bow she has had since she was forty, and a sword with a slim blade
brief history: Is a member of a fighting family, who traditionaly send their children to war for a year, Enistrael stayed on and then heard about the trip to the wolf lands she immediately signed up.

3)
Name: Krestal
Age: Unknown
Gender: Unknown, thought to be Male
Race: Armand
Weapons: carries only a simple sword, which is used rarely, for the claws he/she posses are more than enough defence
Brief History: little is known aobut him, as his race is secretive, but rumours say that he heard of the trip to the wolf lands, and thought it a opporutnity for war

4)
Name: Roltund
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Race: Rock troll
Weapons: has a large club, and has a knife that is rarely used.
Brief History: Lived in a tribe of rock trolls, but was banished. has lived alone for a long time, and is going on this quest to redeem himself in the eyes of other rock trolls.

[[Some NPCs may not be used, depending on how many people join]]

RULES

1) no godmodding
2) keep swearing to a minimum
3) Do NOT stop yourself from dying when it is inevitable, if you die then you can come back as another person, someone who has somhow survive in the wolf lands, or has followed the group of people.
4) dont post one line responses

CHARACTER SHEET

Name
Age*
Gender*
Race
Weapons
Brief History
Any particular skills

*= if you are a Armand (see races) then you do not neccesarily have to put these, as the Armand are a secretive race.


SEND A PM TO ME OR NEWARTHUR INCLUDING CHARACTER SHEET WAIT FOR OUR APPROVAL BEFORE POSTING THE CHARACTER SHEET HERE. DO NOT POST BEFORE DOING THAT. ANY QUESTIONS ARE TO BE ASKED IN THE OCC THREAD

Name: Ghaldur Klon
Age* 23
Gender* Male
Race: Rock Troll
Weapons: Sword/Axe, 2 throwing axe's, chain mail (all sized to a Rock Troll of course)
Brief History: Ghaldur Worked as a smith before his family was killed by an unknown plauge, having nothing left to keep him attached to the others, he left to become an adventurer
Any particular skills: Skilled Tracker & Fighter, knows a great deal about plants and animals, and was a smith in his villiage before he left-knows how to make & repair metal items.

[OK, I will post everyone elses character sheets so we can get going]

Newarthur:

Name Arthur Grant Holunds
Age: 40
Race: Human
Weapons: He carries a two handed Broad sword, as well as a array of throwing knifes.

History: When he was young Arthur rebelled against his father, and they both had many fights, he got his brother in to trouble and once nearly got him killed. All this lead to him leaving home when he turned 18 never to return to the place he was born.

He soon joined up with a group of bandits and learn t to use a sword and to ride horses, but this time was short, when he was 24 they were ambushed, many were killed but he survived and was sent to jail for 10 years. During this time he learn t how to pickpocket, pick locks and to use throwing knifes.

When he got out he did many petty crimes robbing houses rich nobles and trade caravans till he was 30, when he was again arrested and sent to jail, this time for only 6 years. When he came out this time he was a different man, he soon became a bodyguard for caravans and the nobles he once robbed.

When his brother sort him out and told him of this adventure he signed up as a way to wipe clean his slate, and have another go at life.


White Dragon:

Name: Ekanal
Age: Unknown
Gender: Unknown-is thought to be female.
Race: Armand
Weapons: Two simple swords. Uses them only when need be.
Brief History: Not much is know about her, except she heard of the journey and quickly joined.
Any particular skils: Can easily hide herself, because she is natuarally silent.

Vengence:

Name: Craultus
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Race: Elf/Human
Weapons: a bow that he has had since a child, and twin swords, both with thin sharp blades
Brief History: He stayed with his family for a long time, until he was 26. Throughout that time, he was unhappy, for his brother and father often fought with each other, and often he was dragged into things as they argued. Then he left, after mastering the skill of using the bow, and having reasonable proficieny at swordplay, he became a weapons master in a military academy. After that he heard of the quest to the wolf lands, and after alerting his brother, they both decided to join the others who were a part of this
Any particular skills: He is skilled with the bow, and fairly skilled with his swords. knows a fair amount about healing people, knows what plants are good for what and such, but his skills in this have never been put to the test.



NPCs we will be using:

Name: Enistrael
Age: 146 (this may seem old, but it fairly young for her race)
Gender: Female
Race: Elf
Weapon(s): an elven bow she has had since she was forty, and a sword with a slim blade
brief history: Is a member of a fighting family, who traditionaly send their children to war for a year, Enistrael stayed on and then heard about the trip to the wolf lands she immediately signed up.


Name: Korinich
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Weapon(s): A large battle axe, and two knives tucked into his belt.
brief history: Joined the party of people headed for the land of the wolves after parents died there, wants to avenge their death.




We will not be using the others. Me and Newarthur will control the NPCs

Craultus Looked around from his seat. He checked the pattern of Glasses in front of him for the sixth time, and once again saw that he had arranged them in the correct way. He looked around, and saw a elf walking towards him. He pulled her up a chair, and nodded at her. she returned his greeting in the way that was polite in her culture, touching her hand to here forehead. 'We will begin when the others arrive. feel free to help yourself to a drink' as he said this, Craultus gestured a group of drinks nearby. The elf nodded, but did not take a drink.

Once again Craultus looked round, watching as a dwarf told a tale, pausing as his audience laughed occasionally. On the other side, two trolls talked quietly, heads pressed together. the room was warm, and the smell of food hung heavy on the air. Craultus felt uneasy inside of himself, for he was nervous about seeing his brother. though he knew that he had changed, he was still unable to shake off the feeling of unease that came with the mention of him. Trying to put this aside, he slected a drink for himself, a mead, and took a sip. he sat back and waited. The elf next to him did likewise. Craultus stared at the door, his heart jumping slightly everytime it opened. soon he would meet his brother again.

A calm wind blew down the street fluttering the brown cloak of Arthur as he stood looking up at the tavern in front of him, inside he would find his brother, who he had not seen since he was 18, and this scared him.

Arthur moved towards the tavern door, pushing the door open he stood there in the light of the sun, blocking his features from those inside, he wanted to see his brother before he saw him. Looking around the room, he soon settled on his brother sitting jumping at every person that came through the tavern door, it seemed he to was nervous about this encounter. After a minute Arthur stepped out of the light so his features could be easily seen. He wore a leather tunic with a knife belt stretched diagonally across it, across his back his broad sword stuck the handle clearly seen over his left shoulder. At his belt he carried a curved elven long sword, and his lock picks.

He moved across to the table and looked at his brother Craultus, he gave an uneasy smile, then spoke

"Hello Brother, Long time no see"

Ghaldur strode down the street, his heavy stride moving him along quicky-though not exactly quitely.
He soon came into veiw of the tavern he and his companions had chosen as thier meeting place, he inwardly hoped they had troll proof seating, but was'nt particularly worried. He pushed the door in as he entered, his hulking frame filling the doorway. His companions were easy enough to spot, and he greeted them with a quick nod and half smile
as he noticed they had troll seating, he pulled himself up to the table and looked around to see who was missing.

Ekanal walked down the road looking for the building where she would meet the others. Seeing a troll enter a tavern she figured that was the one she was looking for. Entering she quickly spotted the group and swiftly walked to the table and sat at an availiable chair.

Craultus looked at his brother, and, trying not to let his voice tremble, replied. ‘Aye, indeed, it has been a long time’. He did not trust himself to say more, so he didn’t, instead sitting in uncomfortable silence. He counted how many were crowded round the table, and noted that there was one person left to arrive. He looked round the table, and saw four pairs of eyes looking back at him. He quickly looked away, and stared intensely at the entrance to the tavern. Many came and went, but none approached his table. Eventually he decided to start, but as he prepared to speak, a dwarf approached the table. He pulled up a seat, mumbled an apology for being late, and helped himself to a mug of beer. After taking a huge gulp of beer, and sat back in his chair, eyes fixed on Craultus.

Deciding not to mention the dwarf’s late arrival, and the way he behaved when he did arrive, Craultus at last began. He spoke softly, so that none except the people gathered round the table could hear his words. “Well, all of you know why we are gathered here’ he began, his voice sounding a little shaky. ‘We are to set out for the wolf lands, in the attempt to gain back the great area that was lost when that magician took it over. No doubt it will be the hardest journey any of us have ever undertaken.” Craultus began to speak more confidently now, as he got further into his speech. The nerves melted away, and he now spoke with authority. “Now, although I have taken control now, I do NOT intend to do so when we are out there in the wolf lands. We will all have separate jobs to do, although if the rest of you want it then I suppose we could elect a leader. I just wanted to point that out to start. We are nearly ready to set off, although there is one thing I need to attend to, which I will do after this meeting. You are all welcome to join me. I have asked the elves for something that will help us, at least for a while, hide from the magicians sight. They have come up with something, and I must go to collect it. Once that is done, we are free to start our journey.”

After saying that, Craultus paused, and took a sip of mead, moistening his dry throat.

“My name is Craultus. I suppose I should have said that to start with. What might your names be?” he asked. After saying that, Craultus stopped speaking, and sat back in his chair. He was now feeling more nervous than ever. Have I put them off in some way? He thought. He would soon find out.

The tavern was warm and comfortable, and the sound of conversation filled the air with sound. Craultus relaxed slightly as he took the surrounding area in. If they would no longer come, then so be it.

[The next part is as a NPC]

The tavern filled with noise. In a far corner, a group of people, from all the different races were gathered. An elf began to talk timidly. “My name is ,and I am with you all the way” she said. A man sitting slightly apart from the others nodded slightly. Then silence fell over them, as they waited for the next person to speak.

"I am Arthur Holunds brother to Craultus" Spoke Arthur "And i am there to the end, what ever may befall us"

He then sat down, opposite his brother, and wondered what this item they were going to collect was, he had been to the edge of the wolf, domain, and almost instantly they had appeared to guard there lands, never steeping foot out of there territory, just watching and waiting for Arthur to step across.

Take a sip of drink Arthur waited for the next companion to talk.

((ooc: now for the dwarf))

Soon after the dwarf stood up and spoke "I am Korinich, and i will join your quest", he then sat down and downed the pint he held.

((This is pretty cool, I'll join soon if you don't mind! ))

[[Errrm...well, we have sort of gotten started already..although I guess you could meet up with me when I go to collect the item from the elves. help me out of trouble or something. If you want to, PM me your character sheet, and I will put it in the same post as the other ones are in.]]

Ghaldur nodded in response to Arthur and Craultus "I am Ghaldur, and I to will help you in your journey." he rumbeled, adjusting his weapons a bit so he could sit better. He drank his rum quitly while he watched the people around him. His mind went over all the things that he'd heard about the wolf lands and it's mad ruler.

"Ekanal" she responded quietly, she hoped that nothing ill would come of her telling so many people this.

Craultus looked around at everyone in turn, murmuring each name to himself, memorising the names, looks and clothing of each person. He needed to be able to tell them from enemies. once sure he had memosrised each name he stood up to leave.

I will leave now to visit the elven magicians that have come up with the item we require. anyone who wishes to join me may, although I do not want everyone coming, you never know who might be lurking around.

With that, Craultus turned away, and made his way to the entrance of the tavern. he pushed his way past dwarves, elves, rocks trolls, and every other race imaginable as he headed for the door. As he reached it a chill wind greeted him as he stepped out into the might air. he walked forward a little way, then heard footsteps close behind him. he turned round, thinking that it was someone who he had been talking to. He stood patiently, waiting for the figure to reach him.

Arthur sat there for a few seconds as his brother stood up to leave, he then got to his feet and proceeded to follow him pushing past a Tall Rock troll, that seemed to growl at him as if the constant pushing was beginning to get to him, but this didn't worry Arthur he had dealt with many creatures the size of the rock troll, and come out on top.

He moved further pushing through the tavern door into the blinding sun light, that made him blink and cover his eyes. Looking ahead he saw his brother standing there looking at him.

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and looked back before he spoke "Brother we have not seen each other for more than twenty years with out contact" Arthur spoke sincerity in his voice "I know i have done bad things in my life, but please tell me that i have not lost you as my brother, that you just didn't get me on this quest to see if i was still evil"

All around the two brothers the world continued people pushed past them on the street, and the sun kept turning, but for Arthur time seemed to slow as he waited for his brothers response.

Craultus looked at his brother, feeling slightly worried. he had known that his brother would follow, but even so he was not prepared for this encounter.

"I did not get you on this quest to see if you were evil. I got you on this quest, because I wanted to see you again. it has been too long, and although are relationship was never exactly a happy one, I still missed you."

Craultus quickly looked away, his face burning. He had not meant to reveal so much. He set off at a slightly faster pace than before, determined not to show such emotions again.

The chill wind blew through the streets, making Craultus shiver. he drew his cloak more tightly around him, and continued onwards. He knew that he was nearing his destination now. He stepped round the corner, boots slipping slightly as he did so, and he only just regained his balance in time to stop himself from tumbling to the ground. It was just aswell he hadnt, as he needed to be on his feet.

In front of him stood five men, all cloaked in black, hoods covering their faces. they wlked forwards, all drawing identical swrods as they did so. Craultus drew his twin swords, weilding one in each hand, the blades glinting, reflecting the light of the moon. Craultus took the initiative, running forwards, effectively disabling the first person with twin strikes either side of the neck. the second proved trickier, and they sparred for a short while, before Craultus found a gap in his opponents defence and sunk his sword deep into the persons stomach, as he did so seeing that it was an elf.

He backed away from the remaining three, who were moving towards him as one. Where is Arthur? thought Craultus desperately. where is he?

Arthur followed his brother and watched him turn into a ally way nearly slipping, he quickly caught up and turning saw his brother being harassed by cloaked men, two lay dead or dieing but three looked health and were bearing down on Craultus, with out losing stride two knifes were flung one after the other hitting one man as he lifted his sword hitting him square in the shoulder making him drop the sword, then straight after the second knife, went through the figures hood and sent his head flying back as the hood feel back, He saw an elf the knife impaling him straight between the eyes.

Moving forward, he drew another knife and his elven curved sword and moved next to his brother,

"I am not back more than ten minutes and you've already got yourself into trouble " He laughed "Now lets see what they can make of Holund brothers, shall we" a wicked smile reached across his face as he eyed up his next target,

"well my boy lets see how good who are with that blade" He spoke, moving forward.

Ekanal left shortly after the two brothers had. Once outside she heard the sounds of fighting. Quietly and swiftly she went to where the noise were coming from, and there, in an allyway were the two brothers, fighting off some people that were in hoods. It seemed that the fight would soon be over, but Ekanal stayed in the entrance of the allyway, just in case.

Ghaldur watched as the brothers left, one after the other-this was most unusual.
He followed them outside in time to hear the sounds of battle, he cursed softly as he rushed to the scence of the fight, the Elf, Ekanal was watching the two brothers fight off several thug types..it looked like they had things handdeled, "Is there a problem here?" he asked as he dropped his hands to his weapon hilts crosswise.

[[Guys, can you please try to make longer posts, thanks.]]