Sherman's question echoed inside your skull again and again. With each repetition, it would change, be stripped of a word after word, of its intended meaning, of the look into the future. All too soon, her voice was asking something else entirely, something that touched you far more.

"What do you want?"

This wasn't a hard question to answer. You've known what you wanted perfectly well. You wanted the time to turn back. You wanted the skies to rain fire once more. You wanted that war back, you wanted your prince to lead you onwards. You wanted to hear orders and bark back a word of acknowledgement, and as you did, you wanted to see that look of quiet approval.
You wanted the chill of the Netherstorm to pierce you to your bones, to force you to the campfire, and you wanted to see your brethren there. You wanted to hear them sing the songs you wouldn't hear anywhere in the world anymore, so you could sing along. You wanted their faces to contort with smiles, for someone to suppress a laugh and say that yours was the most tragic performance that ever graced this hellhole.
You wanted to take lands, storm keeps, conquer worlds - all of it, for another medal or two. You wanted to hear the prince speak of what you've done, just once more, and then return to your unit, where you'd hear no end about how your expression was clearly the highlight of the ceremony. All of them would be there to see it. The living, and the dead, each face you cared to remember.

You wanted the Sunhawks back. You wanted to know who your people are again, and for your people to know you for one of them. There must have been some word to describe it all, come to think about it. And oddly enough, it wasn't actually "a war", or "an army", or "nationhood", not even "camaraderie". "Friendship" and "brotherhood" were close, but after a moment of consideration, even those felt off, despite how noble they sounded.

"Love.", it suddenly hit you.
What you truly wanted was love.

You could not tell for how long you were away, but it mustn't have been too long - as you could discern no traces of either annoyance, or worry on the human woman's face.
"Well. If you really want to know...", you smiled very faintly. The corporal's eyes widened a little in surprise, and anticipation gripped her despite herself. Your reaction was completely unlike what she expected it to be. She must have known that whatever you were going to say, it would be quite the revelation. "I'm actually..."

But you did not get to finish. The door to the barracks swung open - and immediately, both of you would leap from your places in surprise - one of you with significantly more ease than the other. Words of a spell were already fevereshly racing through your mind, and your hand was prepared to draw a symbol in the air, before you've even managed to see who was it, standing in the doorframe.
And that was neither an enemy soldier, nor an assassin. It was a man in an orange mask - one of the Syndicate's people - trying his best to catch his breath and speak.

"Take a moment.", the corporal commanded. She knew from a look of the man's eyes alone, that whatever news he's come to deliver, they weren't good. "What is it? Are we under attack?"
The man nodded quickly, raising his hand and pointing to the distance.
"At the border...", he forced out of himself. "The horn. They're calling for reinforcements. Mercer says... Everyone goes, now."
No stupid questions followed from the corporal - and neither would she waste a precious second to apologize for your interrupted conversation. Immediately, she'd rush to the door...
But what were you to do?

>"Everyone" includes me. This will be a chance to prove myself, and a stepping stone to my ambition, which is apparently "love".
>What I've just heard is, I'll have the town almost to myself, private chambers included. Really, how am I expected to keep up with a lame leg?

Sorry for the wait.

Good to see this quest again, OP. I was starting to worry.

>>4929348
>"Everyone" includes me. This will be a chance to prove myself, and a stepping stone to my ambition, which is apparently "love".

>>4929348
>"Everyone" includes me. This will be a chance to prove myself, and a stepping stone to my ambition, which is apparently "love".

Time to prove our worth. Our actions today could go a long way to proving we are both useful and worthy of trust.

As for why I prefer not to stay and snoop around Mercer's chambers, it is simple, if we stay and people know we stayed and the grimoire of Jarad goes missing, we are the obvious culprit, far more so than otherwise.

Once we gain some trust we could simply ask to see it. Or we could simply steal it or sneak in for a quick peek at it while Mercer is elsewhere in the keep. It'd be harder to accuse us if there are other possible culprits in the building or once we have obtained some social capital. Though of course we'd still be the obvious culprit, just less so.

That, and our Twilight stat is relatively low, I don't want to have to make a difficult lie later on.

>>4929349
No worries, real life takes priority. That, and some time away from questing can be beneficial for QMs, lest they burn out.

Quick question, I checked the google dot and noticed the changes to the flaw benefits, and I also recall (perhaps incorrectly) there being a Fate Point counter of our typical 3 starting FPs plus my 1 special one. To balance out the buffs to Flaws were our Fate Points reduced or removed? Or was there never such a tracking of FPs in the google doc and I'm just misremembering?

Wait, one more question for QM. What are the limitations of Eyes of Kilrogg or other Scrying-esque abilities in Warcraft? Like, do you have to be nearby? Can you "spawn" a eye far away in the location you want to observe? If they can travel away from the caster, how far and how fast can they travel? Can you trace the eye back to its caster? Can you spawn one, then not look through it without "despawning" it and leave it up like a camera and then go into it and observe from it remotely whenever you want? Can you record stuff with it?

I acknowledge that we seemed to have travelled pretty far when using our eye-thing to the capital of Alterac, so if that was an Eye of Kilrogg it gives me some idea of how it works, but I have no idea if it is different for every user or if there are more advanced things you can do with them.

The reason I ask all of a sudden is because I wonder how the eye we saw with our eye is being maintained. Like, is there a nearby caster who has to stay hidden and observe us from it all day? Or can a Shadow Council goon just put one up and check up on it every once in a while like someone remotely checking a camera wirelessly connected to their phone?

I kinda of got paranoid all of a sudden after rereading the dream we had just before our second level up. Now I'm convinced that one of the court members is secretly a warlock spy or that there is one hiding nearby, so I'm semi-tempted to change my vote so we can investigate the rooms of all the court members.

>>4929348
>"Everyone" includes me. This will be a chance to prove myself, and a stepping stone to my ambition, which is apparently "love".

Read through the whole quest, gotta say, I’m really loving the choice of ambition. I hope our elf finds love, or even friends.

>>4929348
>>"Everyone" includes me. This will be a chance to prove myself, and a stepping stone to my ambition, which is apparently "love".

>>4929514
The fate points are still in, they were never listed in the document itself.

>>4929755
Just like the Unnamed Sunhawk, warlocks need have an out of body experience whenever they control the Eye. They do not see (but they can still hear) everything that's going on around them, and each time they cast the spell, the eye appears right before them. If the spell is interrupted, it needs to be repeated again from the very beginning. For how long the Eye can be controlled, how far away it can travel, depends on the caster (specifically, the caster's Prudence, which is high in the "Lynestra"'s case). In short, the warlock who scouts and observes with the Eye is either doing it for a short bit, literally to look behind a corner, or needs to be really dedicated to it.

Of course, there is a caveat. Fel magic is pretty young in academic sense, and has been introduced to this world only a few decades before. The Eye of Kilrogg is also about this new. It's possible that some enterprising mind could have improved upon the spell.

Does this change the votes of the public in any way?

>>4929755
>>4930806
Considering that Lynestra was apprehended fairly quickly by people interested in her talents, that she seems to be something of an unknown element, and how our "predecessor" died under mysterious circumstances, I'd say that it wouldn't be strange at all if there were actually a handful people that were told to keep a close eye on her and report any funny business. Not that this is necessarily the case, but it wouldn't be a surprise.

That said, I'll be keeping my vote. Whatever's happening just seems like a pressing issue.

>>4930806
This does not change my vote, my apologies for responding so late, I was busy. Though, even if it did I would still be outvoted.

No change for my vote, didn't notice that the qm needed anything

File: 0edb60e8db4e43f0a2e1b8634(...).jpg (128 KB, 1200x938)

128 KB JPG

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: Condition stable
Consequences: None
Fate Points: 3 (1 special)

Maybe you could...
No, you've cut yourself off before this thought even ran its way. Even should you toss everything else aside, you were not certain you could take a peek into Egmund's chambers without leaving a trail. Even should this grimoire be something of incredible importance, there will be opportunities to investigate it later. This isn't your last sunrise.

"Hold on!", you shouted, scurrying to the door with as much speed as you could. "I can keep up! I just need a few..."

Moments. That's all it took for you to bring about a felsteed at your level of skill - less than half a minute of incantations and careful visualization of now obsolete warding circles and runes. The unholy power rushed through your entire being, giving you a high you've rarely felt in the last years - but this time, you caught yourself, you wouldn't allow this sensation to compromise you. Cold mind would be kept, cold heart - otherwise, you would risk embarrassment yet again.

When the incantation came to an end, you were already stood outside, with plenty of space for your terrible mount to manifest - and when it did, in a cloud of sulfur and with a wave of heat, you were perched in your saddle already.
You've managed to suppress a grin, once you've turned and saw the alterac's finest rushing to the stables. It looks like this time, it's you who would have to wait.

Even although you rode side by side with those, who either could not stand you, or couldn't care less, there was no denying that the experience managed to be exhilarating regardless. The duke's force - led by sir Egmund Mercer the boy lord's absence - numbered in twelve excluding yourself, and more than fifty hooves beating against the cobblestone in a maddened rush produced the most wonderous sound dear to your ear, not totally unlike that of a cavalry charge. Maybe, that's exactly what it was already - most of the riders already had their spears and sabers at the ready, although your destination and your enemy were still some distance away.

"Any idea who we're going up against?", Sherman was forced to shout against the wind.
"Falconcrest's fucks, I'd wager.", Egmund answered rather ignobly. A moment of thought later, he contradicted himself. "But there's no way to know. All we know is, the horn was sounded. So be prepared for anything."
His next comment was clearly directed at you - maybe he even turned his head, although you did not bother to look and check.
"As for you, don't get in the way, and don't mess it up. If you kill my men, I'll have your head. You understand, witch?"
You did not dignify that with a response - the road to the imperiled brigands was too much of an excitement for you, and Mercer's unkind comments did even register in your head. The man did not hammer at you, saying something "I've said, did you understand?" - this was not a fitting situation to assert his authority.

Your journey was finished relatively soon - and then, your steeds would slow down, come to a stop, as no obvious enemy has presented itself to you. But your friends had - grisly sight as they were.

"You five.", Mercer gestured widely. "Stay mounted. The rest of you... Let's go take a look. And watch the flanks."
Three dead laid in the dirt. One of them with his weapon drawn, facing forward - he died battling the enemy. The second was made still, having never reached for his saber at all - you would be tempted to say that his death was too sudden for him to even understand that he perished, had it not been for an expression of pure terror on his face. He must have seen the attackers - and the sight of them made him forget how to wield a sword. The third did not end in a much nobler fashion - he laid by a tree, perhaps trying to hide or run, but at least he held onto his mace with such a grip, his hand would have to be cut off to remove it.

"Girl.", Mercer spoke shortly. He was not addressing you. "What do you think?"
"I think...", the corporal dallied with an answer for a moment, as she took in the sights. "...that there's less of them than there's ought to be. And that I don't see the horn. Maybe they managed to retreat."
"Maybe they're being pursued, right now.", the rogue knight had his own take on the situation. "Or maybe that's where they retreated to, and were struck down like the rest."

>[Prudence] The tracks are fresh, but confusing. Try to make sense of them. Who came from where, and where did they all go?
>[Mind Palace] Inspect the bodies, their wounds, try to figure out what killed them. I'm a combat veteran, and I should be able to tell an axe wound from a sword wound.
>[Dazzle] As the most competent person in this whole rescue effort, it's clear that I must lead it. From the way Mercer speaks exclusively in "maybes", he is out of his depth. I'm not.
>[Prudence] Watch my surroundings. The enemy may still be here, and we may have just walked into an ambush.
>[Write-in]

>>4931943
>[Prudence] The tracks are fresh, but confusing. Try to make sense of them. Who came from where, and where did they all go?

It would be good to know who caused this and how many of them there were. There is also the chance that we could catch up with the culprits or potential witnesses if we move quickly enough.

>>4931943
>[Prudence] The tracks are fresh, but confusing. Try to make sense of them. Who came from where, and where did they all go?

>>4931943
>[Prudence] The tracks are fresh, but confusing. Try to make sense of them. Who came from where, and where did they all go?

We're good at this, I think our priority should either be finding where they are now so we can go deal with them, or watching for an ambush and making sure our immediate surroundings are secure so we can conduct a more thorough investigation. Since Mercer order his men to watch the flanks I think we are safe enough to investigate.

I'm not too concerned with what killed them unless there is some important but obvious difference like if they were killed with a specific type of magic or if it seems like they were hit with poisoned arrows or dagger rather than normal weapons.

I also don't think we need to contest Mercer's leadership, he's doing fine and I doubt we would succeed on the roll anyways.

Rolled 3, 5, 2, 1 = 11 (4d6)

Are you? Are you good at this?

Prudence +3

Once you forced yourself to dismount and take a closer look, one thing became clear from the barest of inspections - there were too many tracks here to be left just by these unlucky three. It was all as Mercer has theorized - these three seem to have retreated here from another position further down the road. Then, they must have been chased down - two decided to give fight, while the third died a coward. None of the alteraci managed to escape - not from here, at least. If they scattered, ran into different directions, and right now you're standing at only one of their final destinations, there was a possibility, however slim, of survivors.
But what about their attackers? Those were more numerous, there must have been about six of them, maybe as many as eight. Three of them, perhaps even at once, fought the brigand by the tree over there - and judging from the lack of bodies left behind, overwhelmed him quite easily. One was enough to slay the craven - slit his throat with something sharp. The others... Their movements were quite chaotic, which made their numbers not entirely clear. And while the question of numbers remained a mystery for the time being, it was evident that they've elected to return the exact same way they've come here. There was something odd about this whole scene, something you could quite put your finger on just yet. Maybe if you could spend a bit more time...

"Witch.", Mercer barked. "I've told you to stand back and not get in our way. This is hard enough without you trampling all over the place."
"This isn't difficult at all.", you countered swiftly, raising your head. "There will be more tracks to follow further down the road. There's a good possibility we can pursue the enemy and catch them off guard."
"They've heard the horn, and instead of running off into the woods, they decided to just walk back the way they came and wait for us?", the rogue knight raised an eyebrow, staring at you with the most skeptical glare.
Perhaps, they're simply not afraid of a glorified gang of ruffians, you've thought, but did not voice your theory. Brooks was right there, listening.
"You're an expert tracker now too?", sir Egmund continued.
"The tracks are there to follow.", you countered. "But if you think that they retreated into the woods, we could follow these tracks instead."

He wouldn't. Nobody would. While there were some trails left leading away from the road, those were clearly older - even someone not as eagle-eyed as you would be able to tell. There was simply no way Mercer could argue with the fresh trail of the attacking party leading right to this spot, and then away from it, no matter how contrarian did he wish to be.

Rolled 2, 4, 6, 3 = 15 (4d6)

"Good job.", Brooks muttered quietly, as she passed by.
You nodded, but did not end up saying a word - every witty response you've had in mind would take too long for this short moment, and this time-sensitive situation. In truth, you would consider this a job done well only once those tracks led the party to the enemy, which you would proceed to destroy. Until then...
Until then, you were stuck riding with Dryden's men, desperately trying to recall just what seemed odd to you before Mercer distracted you with his bruised ego. Something about the blood? Were the blood spills at an odd distance? It certainly seemed that way now, but without having had the opportunity to explore the field of slaughter thoroughly, reconstructing the events was entirely out of the question.

It was not long before you've made another stop - and this time, it was before a truly puzzling picture. Blood, in significant amounts, clearly told the story of an even more terrible slaughter than on the last spot - and the trail you followed started from here, and returned here too. It was quite simple to add two and two, and call this place the spot of the original confrontation. The attacking party came, slaughtered Dryden men, one of them managed to sound a horn. Three of them retreated down the road, and were cut down there. A few ran off into the wilderness, clearly chased down. The others were killed.
There was just one detail that did not fit into this wonderful theory.

Where are all the bodies?
(Mind Palace +2)

Undead maybe? They resurrected the dead and made them follow them away. They left the other three that managed to retreat because it had taken too much time to pursue them and kill them and they knew the response was coming.

A chill went down your spine, once the simple realization came to you.
Why, of course you knew where the bodies went. They rose up, right where they were felled. Then they would give chase after those that stilled lived. Then, they've returned here. And after that? They would pursue those that ran off into the other direction.

And those who helped them rise, the leader of this terrible host, his nature was clear as day to you as well. You needed only one look at those hoof prints for you to connect the dots, and recall the terrible black riders you've scryed through your magical eye. The necromancers have now come here - at least one of them has - and they've come to wage war against your gracious human hosts.

This was not just a theory that came up in your feverish mind - at this point it was almost a solid fact, too much about this has instantly made sense. No, the identity of the enemy was not in question - his loyalty was. And now the time has come to truly think on that question - for the time was short, and too much depended on the answer.

Could the black riders be the agents of the Scourge, the enemies of all that lived? Even though it was felled, its remnants were still strong in the north of the continent, strong enough for the paladins to still muster their forces in the Plaguelands. Could it be that they not only remain strong in the Plaguelands, but even spread beyond them? Could the Scourge, much like a cancer, has only been driven back temporarily, only for them to return once more, as dangerous as ever?

Could it be the Banshee Queen and her forsaken? Her "free" undead, from what you've heard, could be just as dangerous and wicked as the Scourge ever was. The Banshee's people were members of the Horde, and thus allies of your homeland - but they were not friends to Alterac. In fact, you've heard disturbing rumors of them laying claims to the lands not far away from here - although you've always heard their chief enemies were the people of Strom, not Alterac. And even more disturbing rumors of them finding a way to raise more dead somehow, create more of their numbers. Was this what happened here?

Could it be the Knights of the Ebon Blade? You've heard tales of death knights who manage to somehow fracture themselves from the Scourge back when it was at its height. They turned against their masters, and even were instrumental in the victory of the living over the dead. But what happened to them after? You've never heard the answer, but for some reason you always assumed they just disappeared once the war was over, faded into irrelevance, maybe walked into the sea to cease their cursed existence once their terrible vengeance was had. But what if..?
That possibility was the least disturbing of all three, and also raised the most questions. The biggest of those questions was: "But why?". You had no idea what possible motivations could drive these cursed warriors now.

Or actually, it could be the gnolls we spotted with our Eye of Kilrogg spell. They may have taken the bodies for food.

I was rereading the posts from when we cast our spell and scouted the capital, I think the warlock that is spying on us may be staying in that cellar we found.

If it is undead I kinda wish we did inform someone about it now, if this is going to be a persistent thing we are going to have to deal with them anyways. I know we had some thoughts about using them to fuck over the Shadow Council and we didn't want to do the SC's work for them or whatever, but honestly I think that fucking the SC is gonna have to be done proactively by us, we can't really ignore someone attacking Alterac just because it screws over the interests the SC.

"By all that's holy.", the rogue knight muttered, staring at the very same thing you were looking at. It was a blessing he could not see your expression right now.

At this point, it was impossible to say which banner the necromancer and his ilk belonged to. It could be either of the three - it could even be some unknown enemy, one you've had no knowledge about.
There were only several facts that you could truly operate in. One - the black riders from your scrying were certainly the culprits. Two - you knew of their existence, but not much more. Three - you did not know if the alteraci know of their existence or not. Four - the alteraci had no idea that you've known of the black riders.
Now, possibilities. There was a non-insignificant possibility that those were the followers of the Banshee Queen. Regardless of how reprehensible she and her people were, if you are still a citizen of Quel'Thalas, and not a citizen of Alterac, you are, strictly speaking, on the same side. There is no telling what consequences would follow, should you decide that you are not, in fact, on the same side.
There was also a non-insignificant possibility that this was the Scourge, the undead menace that destroyed your homeland, and almost destroyed your people. If you decide not to engage, be it out of cowardice or pragmatism, it would mean you allowed them to win. If that does not disturb your sensibilities enough, it would also mean you allowed them to grow.
There was also a non-insignificant possibility that this was the Ebon Blade. You knew so little of them, that perhaps it was better to not even dwell on the possibility. It will only frustrate you, and confuse your decision making.

Why do you always have to decide what to say, and how to act, operating on a limited information like this?

>Write-in

>>4935386
>Urge the party to immediately pursue and seek retribution, there are undead walking about in Alteraci lands, growing their numbers at their expense, weakening their border forces for them or others to exploit. If we don't take decisive action now we allow the enemy the freedom of action to continue their military maneuvers unmolested, an enemy that adds the deceased fallen to their ranks if the battlefield is left open to them afterwards. The enemies numbers do not seem overwhelming yet based on the foot traffic, but that could change in literally a matter of minutes, hours at most.

>If a roll is required, spend a Fate Point.

If they are Forsaken we can talk to them, perhaps our citizenship can be used to make it diplomatically impractical for them to continue hostilities with someone allied with a Blood Elf. If this causes trouble for us with Quel'thalas we can claim misunderstanding or blame the Forsaken for their flagrant hostilities and lack of diplomatic overtures or whatever, say they were the aggressor and that they didn't care that we were in the line of fire so to speak, so our counter-attack was in self defence. Not that it matters, we aren't welcome at home right now as it is anyways.

If they are Scourge or Ebon Blade, fuck em, who cares, undead gotta die.

I dunno why my ID changed again. I'm >>4932143 just so you don't think I abandoned the quest.

>>4935386
>>4935405
>Supporting
Here's hoping Mercer doesn't get pissy

>>4935532
Lets hope not, you'd think he would be favour in aggressive action in the defense of his people, but who knows maybe because he is a military man he'll have a nuanced opinion but express it in a pissy way because we were the one to put forward a course of action.

>>4935386
Give the others the abridged version of what we now know for the sake of time, perhaps omitting the fact that we were aware of the existence of the undead prior to this. Politely suggest that Mercer should dispatch someone to share this information with everyone whom he feels should be made aware, while we pursue them as >>4935405 suggested.

Try to remain cordial and show the knight some deference, even if he ends up disagreeing with us. If the plan is still to stick with the court politics angle, it's important to show that we are willing to be cooperative.

I'm fine with >>4935718 with the caveat that we don't reveal that we know they attacked the capital yet, that way we avoid the awkward question of why we knew of this a couple days prior and didn't share it until now. We can reveal the knowledge about the capital attack and the black riders once we return home and have some alone time, that way we have the plausible excuse that we just learned of it just then after using the Eye of Kilrogg. I'm fine with revealing our speculation about which faction the necromancer may belong to.

Remember, most of "what we know" that is relevant is actually the stuffed we observed with our Eye, the rest is just seemingly our speculation or stuff anyone with access to some textbooks could learn.

We'll still ideally reveal the fact that undead are making major incursions today, just later.

Besides, I don't want to deplete our limited combat strength of 13 persons (us included) to send a rider out with this info when we are confronting a similarly sized opposing force.

"What happened here?", Sherman spoke into the emptiness, staring at the bizarre scene before her. "So much blood. But where's..."
"Necromancers.", a voice sounded suddenly, and you were surprised to realize it was your own. Turning on your place, not without some pressure put on your cane, you announced again, now facing the humans and speaking louder. "We're dealing with necromancers."

There was a surprise written on some faces - but no shock. A glimmer of fear in some eyes - but no outright dread. The north was no stranger to the undead. All of the Syndicate men must have at least seen the Scourge's terrible hosts before - maybe even faced its shambling soldiers in battle. Good. Good, they would not scatter at the first sight of the enemy.

"Necromancers?", the corporal inquired quickly. There was no disbelief in her tone. For some reason, she just needed to hear you say it the second time. "The Scourge? Are you certain?"
"Scourge.", you allowed with a quick shrug of your shoulders. "Forsaken. Maybe someone else. I'm not certain. But I know that we're dealing with a host of undead, about a dozen strong now, I would say - led by a single horseman. They've slain at least parts of your..."
Our.
"..our patrol, and then headed west, chasing the rest."
"A horseman.", the corporal blinked. "Our people don't have horses. By now, they must be..."
"By now, we've lost even more time than we had ten seconds ago.", you pressed. "Even if the patrol is dead, we must give chase immediately. The undead have a tendency to grow their numbers. We're dealing with a dozen now, soon we may be dealing with a hundred. There's no time to wait for reinforcements or ride for help. We must..."

"Witch.", the rogue knight barked. "You're fogetting your place. You do not command my men, and you do not make decisions. Never forget this again."
Another precious five seconds, wasted. You've imagined an alteraci man getting sliced in half by a runeblade, in the exact time it took for Mercer to say these words. Maybe that was exactly what was happening right now, somewhere not here.
"That being said, she's right.", he allowed just a moment later. "The signs are consistent with the undead. And we damn sure can't allow them to get away with this. We follow them, and we give battle."

"West...", Sherman would mutter. "There's an old troll crypt west from here, not far away at all. Maybe our people tried to hide there. It's empty, but it has narrow..."
"We follow the trail.", the rogue knight interrupted her. "If it leads us to this crypt, good. If not, we'll fight somewhere else."

You've had doubts that the alteraci, no matter how fast, would manage to outrun a horse for long enough to take shelter - but you did not have a single doubt that you would manage to track the undead menace and get into a fight. The results of this fight...
You liked to think that you'd win, with your presence on the battlefield. You've fought undead before - and since then, you've grown even stronger. But that was years ago, before your injury too. Do you still have it in you? Did you manage to keep your skills sharp, in the four years of neglect and rust?

There was no time to dwell on doubt and self-pity. There was no time to dwell even on the suicide you've just signed yourself up for, should this be the Banshee's hordes you're rushing to meet. There was just one matter to consider now - just one.
The choice of backup.

>Imps, expendable, yet numerous. People often forget that quantity is a quality of it's own.
>An indomitable voidwalker. The enemy will break against my impenetrable aegis before it gives them an inch.
>A ravenous felhunter, the fearsome wizardbane. Even I, a master of the dark arts, would prefer not to face off against one of these hounds.
>A succubus will provide this battle a personal touch. What she lacks in brute strength, she makes up with controlling the flow of battle.
>A felguard is a great combination of offense and durability, the very definition of a perfect footsoldier.

>>4936585
So, is this a permanent choice of "Lynestra"'s preferred familiar or do we know how to summon all of these and it is just a choice made for this battle?

Regardless, it seems that we will either be giving battle either somewhere in an open road or in the narrow confines of the troll crypt, Sherman seemed to be saying that it has some sort of narrow entrance or passage way deeper inside before being interrupted, so we should take into account that we may be either having one of the more heavily armoured soldiers going ahead of us or we may want to go in front with an appropriate familiar so we aren't trapped in the narrow space.

We probably won't need an AOE familiar if there is such a thing, because we'll presumably be forcing our way through a narrow space or in an open field or cave, and in the open spaces deploying our numbers shouldn't be a problem and hopefully we have numeric parity with our enemy.

>A felguard is a great combination of offense and durability, the very definition of a perfect footsoldier.

Seems the most balanced option, good for this situation of breaching a chokepoint or defending us while we rain fire and shadow. If our Exertion were higher, I may have gone with the voidwalker to defend us while we act as the DPS.

Though, if this is a permanent choice of familiar, the felhunter may be good for when we confront the Shadow Council.

>>4936585
>An indomitable voidwalker. The enemy will break against my impenetrable aegis before it gives them an inch.

Looking for good defense atm seeing as we're crippled

>>4936585
>An indomitable voidwalker. The enemy will break against my impenetrable aegis before it gives them an inch.

>>4936585
>A felguard is a great combination of offense and durability, the very definition of a perfect footsoldier.

>>4936585
>>A felguard is a great combination of offense and durability, the very definition of a perfect footsoldier.
We're taking the initiative to the undead, so I'd rather we have offensive backup than relying on a defensive summon.

Can't believe i hadn't seen the new thread sooner, was worried it meant ded quest.

>>4936646
It's a temporary choice, but it might influence things.

>>4937651
Glad to have you back. Five players is pretty good for this quest.

Probably no post today. My new PC just arrived, please understand.

>>4936585
>>A felguard is a great combination of offense and durability, the very definition of a perfect footsoldier.

File: Tzerak.jpg (677 KB, 1024x768)

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You followed the trail for quite a short while - it seemed that after the first minute or so, Mercer decided that he had a pretty good idea as to where it was leading - and the procession started moving with great speed to chase the black rider down. Your path was punctuated by an encounter with another corpse - of the dead sort, not living - but you did not dally by it for a moment. Everyone knew that each second spent without necessity could cost lives - or, should all lives be spent already, would still mean letting the foeman get away. The corpse meant one thing only - you were moving in the right direction.

Very soon, you were by that old troll crypt you've heard of from the corporal - an ancient remnant of the times when their empires covered every continent. Nowadays, just a pile of overgrown rocks, with faded, incomprehensible carvings on them - made not without some artistic talent, you had to admit - but still, the location of your fight inspired little dread in you. Whatever curses were laid on those stones to ward off the graverobbers have been certainly long stripped away with centuries, just like the tomb itself was stripped of its treasures. You were certain that even whatever king or high priest laid there once upon a time was moved out - buried in the ground, if he was very lucky. The evidence was in the stones itself - half of the entrance was clearly pillaged, as the locals reused the old stone.

All those musings calmly occurred to you, while you were busy with an entirely different matter - opening a rift for another of your servants to pass. The brigands quickly parted, more afraid of the tearing seam made by your magic, than the screams and the sounds of the fighting coming from the inside - and you've enjoyed that sign of respect for your power briefly. Merely seconds later, a figure stood where there was nothing before, a grey-skinned titan in armor forged from otherwordly metal. A barbaric yawp sounded from its monstrous maw, as its demonic essence struggled against your binds. Felguards were brutes, aggressive and indomitable, infamously difficult - and truth be told, you hesitated just a moment as you applied the binding charm. If your magics diminished over the years, the result could be...
"Obey, Tzerak!", you shouted, more so for your own confidence than any practical effect.
Your fears, however, were unfounded. The fight for dominance was won by you - and when you forced the creature to bow its head, a sigh of relief left your lungs.

The titan gripped its monstrous hammer, instinctively knowing the exact reason he was called here. Although it could speak, it refrained from doing so - instead emitting a proud and defiant hum of someone, who was utterly subjugated and could do little else to save face.

The alteraci respectfully waited for you to bring their secret weapon forth - both to this reality, and into the front of the ranks - before even thinking of descending into the darkness below. One of them lit a lantern he thought to bring with himself - while you simply conjured a flame.
"There's fighting going down there.", sir Egmund spoke quickly. "And this probably means that we surround them, and they'll have nowhere to retreat to. I want that necromancer dead, and if someone breaks rank, I'll have his fucking head. Understood?"
The sound of agreement was unanimous - and without a moment more wasted, you hurried to assist the trapped and surprisingly resilient brigands against their attacker.

You didn't have much time and opportunity to look around and take in the sights of the long desecrated burial, but the tomb was oddly small. A narrow entrance stretched for a short while - the glorious human army of thieves and murderers had to fold to pass through it - but once you were inside, you were quick to see both the Syndicate men, trapped and cornered, and their scourge.

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The undead was not present in quite enough numbers to be called a horde, but they outnumbered the humans three to one until you have come along. After, you would like to say that the forces have been made equal...
If not for the leader of this fearsome host. Standing in the back, watching the bandits desperately wave their swords and clubs to keep the undead at bay, was a large, armored figure armed with a flail of terrible implication. The creature slowly turned on its place to face the arrivals - and the bone-chilling glare of its dead eyes froze the humans in their places. Even sir Egmund and Brooks visibly hesitated to attack, despite their eagerness to fight just moments later.
And for that, there was a good reason. Standing there, surrounded as he may have been, clad in black steel from head to toe, was no mere necromancer, one of countless dark wizards from the days of the Scourge. You were not that fortunate.

The death knight made a step towards you, the faded colors of his torn tabard, bearing the sigil of the closed fist of Stromgarde, brought into the feeble light of the lantern. There was no surprise in his tone - he heard the sound of the horn as well as your scout has.
"You've halted your bold advance.", the voice of the grave itself sounded. Another step forward made. "Do you wish to parley?"

He did not attack immediately. No matter your intentions, that was good news. While it was unlikely you stood before the creature of mercy and reason, it could have been an intelligent idea to answer. You could win yourself some time - perhaps, to think of a way to defeat him, perhaps, get precious seconds for you and yours to banish fear from your hearts and steel yourselves. Or perhaps, you could rattle him. Make him angry, make him sloppy.
Or, some fearless spark within you spoke, you could shut him up right then and there - with force instead of words. In his arrogance, the death knight lowered his guard. His plate armor did not make him invincible, and his magic did not make him immortal. If you managed to get the first hit in, before he realized the battle has begun, it could be the decisive moment you're looking for.

Whatever your decision, it was up to you to act. The humans have been made still, their words stuck in their throats, their bravery diminished.

>[Prudence] Start with questions. "Parley"? Whose authority exactly does he represent?
>[Exertion] I am willing to negotiate with worms writhing inside his flesh. Them, I respect more.
>[Twilight] Despite his confidence, he's actually in a disadvantaged position. Attempt a trick.
>[Dazzle] We can not fight when our spirits have already been defeated. Shout something inspirational, something to drive the humans out of this stupor.
>[Movement] He is unwise to lower his defenses. While there's still a chance, I attack!
>[Write-in]

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: Condition stable
Consequences: None
Fate Points: 3 (1 special)

Sorry for the wait, I finally got my hands on a good gaming PC.
Remember that difficulty of different rolls may vary. The highest stat does not always mean the easiest solution.

>>4940653
So, this death knight is written as having some degree of gravitas and I get the impression that he is supposed to be more than just a "mere" necromancer, whatever that means.

That being said, I haven't read about the death knights yet, so I have no idea how dangerous this guy is supposed to be, I thought that the death knights were just another player class.

I'm guessing that in MMORPG terms a death knight would be some sort of hybrid tank/DPS or conceptually would be some sort of necromancer/warrior archetype. Heavily armoured in plate it seems, so hard to put down.

>[Movement] He is unwise to lower his defenses. While there's still a chance, I attack!

>Spend a fate point

Hell, I think we should spam fate points this entire encounter.

My reasoning for my choice is that while it would be good to get information out of him and our Prudence stat is our highest, I simply think that in the end there is no negotiation to be had. He evidently works in service of Stromgarde, or at least did so in life. (are death knights undead?) He is attacking Alterac, to let him go is folly, if we come to agreeable terms and get him to leave and he acts in good faith he essentially gets away with killing some of our men and taking their bodies to use as cannon fodder, but in reality he could simply turn around as soon as he is out of our sight and raze another village and increase his numbers by an order of magnitude.

As for why I choose movement, I think a fast, precise attack is needed to take advantage of him lower his guard, conjuring a fireball would surely be deadlier but it would also be telegraphed.

Though perhaps going with twilight and bluffing that there is a full battalion just outside this cave could work, just enough to get him to hesitant in indecision for us to get an easy blow in.

>>4940657
No worries, I hope the setup wasn't too hard.

>>4940653
>>4940688
Actually, rereading the last post I think Twilight may be the way to go, we aren't a charismatic leader, so I think we need to buy time for our allies to regain their senses.

We all surround him as he was at the back near where we came out, his undead are behind (previously in front of him) him still killing our men as we speak.

Once our men are back in the fight we can easily swarm him, I'd rather not try and fight a magic dude in plate armour alone even with the benefit of surprise.

Switching vote to...
>[Twilight] Despite his confidence, he's actually in a disadvantaged position. Attempt a trick.

>Spend a Fate Point.

File: The good old days.jpg (398 KB, 1920x949)

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>>4940688
In the strategy game, death knights were hero units, the elite. Lynestra, meanwhile, was not the elite, she was mass produced and costed 155 gold and 20 lumber. Whether she's the elite now is an open question, and we may soon find out the answer.

File: WhyQMwearetoteselite.gif (1.04 MB, 500x532)

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>>4940706
W-w-w-why you gotta put it like that QM? ;_;

>>4940653
>[Twilight] Despite his confidence, he's actually in a disadvantaged position. Attempt a trick.

We're probably gonna have a bad time in a straight fight, considering that death knights are both sturdy and capable of raising up minions.

>>4940653
>[Prudence] Start with questions. "Parley"? Whose authority exactly does he represent?

I want to fish for info

Since the previous prompt received 5 replies, I'm going to wait a little. It would be great if that became the regular level of engagement in this quest.

>>4940653
>>[Prudence] Start with questions. "Parley"? Whose authority exactly does he represent?

Now we need a tiebreaker.

Also, if you guys agree that we should use a fate point, it'd probably be best for you guys to actually say so, otherwise QM won't know that the use of a FP actually has support.

>If no one supports the use of a FP, then use my special one.

>>4940653

>[Twilight] Despite his confidence, he's actually in a disadvantaged position. Attempt a trick.

Lurker guy here, posting for the first time. Am I doing this right?

>>4941558
Yes. Welcome to the quest, we are very glad to have you.

I welcome all new posters to this quest, your presence brings a tear to my eye, and the time we struggled to get 3 responses to my memory.

That being said, lying to a death knight may be a tough order, when you can barely think. Can such a feat be achieved?
(Twilight +1)

Rolled 3, 5, 6, 2 = 16 (4d6)

And now, the actual roll.

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: Condition stable
Consequences: None
Fate Points: 2 (1 special)

Different options were like maddened fleas inside your skull, as you quickly considered everything you could do. Attack right then and there? No, it would probably end poorly. Your human allies were not quite as bold as you. Try to parley? What for? There was nothing you could offer him, yours was not a position of strength.
Unless...

It was the point where Fate itself must have intervened on your behalf, clearing away the smoke of the burning city from your memory, wiping away the chill that grasped your heart, quietening down the pulse in your temples - but most of all, making your lie even halfway convincing.
"Indeed, you would be wise to parley.", you answered boldly, trying to sound as calm, even bored, as possible. It was a tall order - but perhaps, you've managed. "While our forces are still equal."
You were never quite so aware of how frail you are, of how the only reason you were even standing on your two feet was the feeble cane in your grasp, than when the death knight's attention drifted away from the alteraci and towards you. You've felt his stare from somewhere behind the helmet, as even his horde quietened down.

"Equal?", the dead man would laugh, if he could muster enough life in him. "I see nothing but wretches before me: highwaymen and a cripple. Do you believe yourself equal to me, broken one?"
"The salient point was the word 'still'.", you countered. Now that you've had his attention, you prayed to all supernatural forces, light and dark, so they would let you get into his head. "What we're facing right now is your entire force, not even numbering twenty souls. What you are facing, however, is but the vanguard. Reinforcements are already on their way. and will arrive shortly."
There was a pause - it lasted just a second, but you sensed that the dead man considered your words.

"A clumsy lie, and a desperate attempt to save yourself from the inevitable.", the inhuman creature countered. "There will be no reinforcements. Your warning itself betrays your deception."
It does not. There are plenty of arguments you could make here - and no matter what, you got him talking. Even should you fail to persuade him, the longer he speaks, the longer he hesitates, the more his aura of invicibility shatters.
You stole half a glance at Brooks standing not far away from you, and noticed how badly she is trying not to look in your direction. Even one confused look thrown at you would immediately tell the death knight that you alone believed in this mythical back-up.
"Your honeyed can not save you here, elf."

>[Exertion] Appeal to authority. Specifically, the authority that the amulet on my neck signifies. Reinforcements ARE on the way, and we're not speaking of brigands.
>[Twilight] If he thinks he caught me on a lie by saying that I only spoke of reinforcements to save my life, he's got another thing coming. Let the mind games commence!
>[Prudence] Keep him talking. Meanwhile, try to send the humans a message. Involve them into my schemes.
>[Movement] He's hesitating. Now is my window of opportunity!
>[Write-in]

>>4941942
This is tricky, when I wrote in that we should pursue I wasn't expecting to be so supposedly outmatched qualitatively. Ideally we would destroy him and his force entirely, not merely escape with our lives and those of the border force and get him to leave since that would leave us in the same position as before just with less men in the future. So, therefore our goal should be either to destroy him and his minions OR project strength so much that we bluff our way into getting him to agree to fuck off and not return in any meaningful timeframe, probably by talking up the Argus Wake or making Alterac seem more united than it is.

Either way we need to move to a clear goal lest we waste fate points talking in circles, spinning lies only to either fail a roll leading to combat or deliberately attack after we've used a bunch of fate points thereby leaving us with an initial advantage in surprise and regained nerves but leaving us without a FP reservoir. We don't want to spend half our FPs on one approach then fumble into switching to another approach.

>[Movement] He's hesitating. Now is my window of opportunity!

I think we should pursue the simplest approach and go for gold and try and win decisively. Attacking and injuring him successfully ought to reinvigorate our allies. The difficulty should be easier too now, and our Movement stat is decent.

Even if we trick him into leaving successfully, he could have allies or superiors who could be more wise and knowledgeable and inform him that we are bluffing.

If anons do decide to go for trickery I recommend using the Exertion prompt and telling him the Wake are on the way. We may get a bonus from our Aura flaw too.

>Spend a Fate Point. If no one else supports the use of one, spend my special one.

>>4941946
>[Exertion] Appeal to authority. Specifically, the authority that the amulet on my neck signifies. Reinforcements ARE on the way, and we're not speaking of brigands.

We've already pursued deception, may as well play up the Evil Sorceress act as hard as possible. And if there is support for it, use a fate point.
>"Attack me at your peril, for I am but one of many. The souls of these rabble are already spoken for, and you lay claim on that which is not yours. The audacity of such an act ought to earn you a deluge of fire and shadow. But you need not be afraid, for you are not a threat to us, and we have no desire to divert precious assets to put you down. Return to your master, and tell them to seek out weaker prey."

>>4941942
>[Exertion] Appeal to authority. Specifically, the authority that the amulet on my neck signifies. Reinforcements ARE on the way, and we're not speaking of brigands.

Just need to keep him talking

>>4941946
>>[Exertion] Appeal to authority. Specifically, the authority that the amulet on my neck signifies. Reinforcements ARE on the way, and we're not speaking of brigands.

Yeah I reckon we might as well lean into it - the felguard was probably a bit of a giveaway already anyway.

>>4941946
>>[Exertion] Appeal to authority. Specifically, the authority that the amulet on my neck signifies. Reinforcements ARE on the way, and we're not speaking of brigands.

Rolled 1, 1, 3, 4 = 9 (4d6)

A death knight is not someone who can be intimidated with a clever choice of words alone. A threat has to be backed by strength.

Exertion +2, Dark Omens +1

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: Condition stable
Consequences: None
Fate Points: 2

"You misunderstood.", you spoke. You hoped that it was iron that sounded in your voice, and not something else. "I am not in need of being saved. You are."
You've made a step forward, and you've managed it with ease that surprised you. The crypt has become awfully silent now - and the strike of your cane against the stone resounded within like a growl of thunder.
"I was not referring to the Syndicate rabble when I spoke of reinforcements. You are to deal with the true masters of this land, the Argus Wake. In minutes, they will be here, and you will be destroyed. I suggest running back to your masters."
You've put just a spark of arcane power into your amulet, so it would shine in the darkness with a sinister gleam. This little piece of showmanship clearly impressed the cornered brigands - who have clearly almost forgotten that their lives are at stake here, and watched your stand off against the living corpse as it were the most thrilling thing they've ever seen in their lives. In the hindsight, you will probably view it the same way - if you live that long.
But what of the death knight himself?

"I know of your breed well.", the creature made a noise that almost sounded like a huff. "And I have not come here to tremble in fear before the remnants of the Shadow Council - I've come to challenge and destroy it."
"You've come to die, the remnant of the Scourge.", you corrected less than a heartbeat later. "You are an unwanted bastard of our order, your entire existence can be traced back to us. And just like an uppity bastard, you will be removed from the family tree, lest you remember your place."
A second of silence stood between you - and in that moment, you truly wished to see behind the helmet of the death knight and know what expression his cadaverous face is contorted in. Behind his bluster, was he doubting at all?
But you couldn't - so you've snuck another look at those by your side again. The Syndicate men were standing firmly, their weapons were at the ready - and by now, whatever fear they've still felt was nothing compared to the paralyzing dread that bound them first. Brooks had her feet planted firm in the ground, and her polearm directed forwards, ready to take on whatever creature was in a hurry to meet its second death first. Mercer narrowed his eyes, as he was thinking, weighting his options. Your demon, bound by your magics still, impatiently straightened his back - he alone in this tomb did not hesitate even for a moment.

"Brave words.", the corpse answered then, his head raised. "I can feel the darkness within you. You will be a worthy challenge."
That was not your intent, not at all - but perhaps, the confrontation was unavoidable.

Then again, maybe not. Perhaps, there was still something you could say or do to avert this fight - or at least fish for advantages before you clash, or perhaps some information. He's still talking instead of fighting. That surely meant something.

>[Write-in]

>>4943712
Fucks sake, not a good roll.

>>4943740
>Take a very quick glance up at the ceiling, are there any stalactites conveniently placed directly above the Death Knight's head? One that we could drop on him with a quick spell or ordered command to Tzerak? If so, then try distracting him with some some scornful speech about how he isn't worthy to lick our boots let alone fight us in honourable combat, then drop the rock on him.

>If there is no such convenient rock formation, then can we use the do the same thing as above but then suddenly send Tzerak forward with a surprise attack and then cast some debuffs? Looking at the wiki, things like Curse of Weakness and Curse of Exhaustion seem like they'd be good, though I wouldn't know, maybe they suck, but I'd like to cast some not-sucky debuffs on him so he doesn't murderblend Tzerak and/or us.

Or, for a non-violent solution...

>Break the tension with a laugh, then say "Truly? You aren't some puppet of the Alliance or the Horde? You've come here to destroy the Shadow Council remnants? Then this is an auspicious day, for we seek the same thing. My previous words were merely meant to intimidate you into leaving peacefully so I could continue my infiltration of the Shadow Councils ranks uninterrupted. The only thing I take issue with is your indiscriminate murder of Alterac's protectors. No doubt you consider them an acceptable sacrifice for the greater good considering you seem to have been a knight of Stromgarde in life, in your mind these soldiers are your enemies twice over, enemies of your nation and unknowing allies to the Shadow Council. But, I can't have you killing my allies, people just trying to rebuild their broken country. Let the remaining border soldiers leave with my companions and kill no more of the locals and then we can talk about how we can work together to destroy the Shadow Council.

If this succeeds automatically or we win the roll for this, then I'm fine with telling this dude everything we know about the Shadow Council and their plans. We should also later come clean to Sherman and Mercer and the Duke, but outside of prying ears and Fel eyes.

Part of why I prefer this option is because it gains us an ally, prevents further conflict, rectifies the problem of the DK revealing to Mercer and Sherman that the Wake are part of the Shadow Council, and we don't have to fight with only 2 Fate Points left.

>If any of these require a roll, use a Fate Point.

>>4943751
Also, please guys, I know earlier I said we should fight and I even wrote in a couple of plans for a surprise attack just now, but seriously, lets not fight.

According to "Lynestra" his force consists of "not even numbering twenty souls", which I think is still slightly more than us. Not to mention I'm pretty sure this Death Knight is stronger than us.

Plus, we already used 2 of our Fate Points of deception and intimidation in an attempt to gain time for our allies to calm down. If we fight now, there is a good chance we get fucked, we don't have a huge Fate Point reserve.

Not to mention, he is no longer distracted by our words, a surprise attack now will in all likelihood not be surprising at all, he is expecting a duel and in fact desires it because we revealed ourselves to be a member of the Argus Wake, which is in fact his objective, he WANTS to fight and kill us and the other warlocks too, there is no chance of intimidating him with the threat of the Wake, he intends to just kill us and then the supposed reinforcing warlock army.

In regards to my non-violent solution write-in, I kinda wrote it in a hurry, since I just happened to be checking the thread and wasn't expecting QM to have just posted just as I checked. There are some odds lines that may not seem conducive to the core idea that I meant to get at of "Oh, really? You wanna kill the Shadow Council? Well, so do I and here's how we can work together, just don't kill my Alteraci homies anymore.". The line about him not being a puppet of the Horde or the Alliance is because I want to be sure that as a Death Knight serving the Order of the Ebon Blade he isn't working for either of the two superpowers, because I don't want him to try and take over Alterac for either of them, I think we still sort of want to build up Alterac as an independent nation-state. If he is working for either, I think that puts us right back into conflict with each other even if he opposes the Shadow Council.

>>4943740
The roll hurts, a LOT, but we're just going to have to live with the pain. We made a threat, and now it's time to back it up. He has acknowledged Lynestra as a worthy opponent, and she must not disappoint. We fight.

We're still in a better position than we were initially. Our comrades have regained their composure, and they're waiting on Lynestra to lead the charge. If we start flip-flopping, that confidence may waver.

>>4943751
>>4943762
I initially wanted to steer clear of a fight since signs point to their overall fighting force being equal to or slightly greater than ours, but that train has sailed. I am not totally against this, but it means both showing our hand and trying to weasel our way out of this after he's called our bluff.

>>4943740
>>4943751
Supporting the combat writein

>>4943740
I don't think walking back the declaration of argus wake allegiance will work at this stage, it would just come across as desperate, pathetic bargaining. No one trusts someone whose professed loyalty changes so quickly depending on situation.

I think our best bet is to distract the DK with the fight he wants - send in the felguard and maybe some environmental hazards as in >>4943751, and get the others to rescue the trapped Alteraci out from behind the undead. Our goal here is denying further casualties / recruits. We'll see about contacting him about undermining the wake when we are approaching him, not acting like a rat in a trap.

Well, so be it, I guess I'm fine with fighting, I did write the combat write-in after all.

I just would've preferred to do it with more fate points, since in my mind, successfully injuring him would've boosted our allies morale the same as giving them time to regain their composure.

I wish I would've read up on DKs and The Knights of the Ebon Blade so I could've anticipated the complications of failing the 'appeal to the Wake' prompt.

I assume we're all good with spamming FPs?

The decision is made. There is no way out for you, but through blood. Only one choice remains...

>NO MERCY!
>Wait! Let's settle this with an honorable duel.

What do you think anons? One on one honourable duel? Hope the DK treats the alteraci okay if we lose? Or all of us versus the DK and his goons? I think escape would be easier in the chaos of a grand melee than a duel if things go south and I think Sherman and Mercer could take more than one zombie mook even with DK buffs but I dunno...

I'm open to be talked into the other choice, but for now...

>NO MERCY!

>>4944973
>>NO MERCY!

>>4944973
>NO MERCY!

Although, I am willing to change my vote if the other option gains some traction...

>>4945118
For once, our Crippled flaw may come in handy. If we choose to fight the duel, the injury will almost certainly net us at least one fate point (and potentially more), especially if we both agree to dismount, as we'll then have no choice but to stand our ground. The real question is, would Lynestra be haughty enough to do this?

The summons that she has access to suggest that her magic is actually pretty damn formidable in-character, and her stats indicate that she's no weakling despite the injury. Meanwhile, the death knight that we're facing off against wouldn't have his army of minions as backup, which would deny him one of his greatest advantages. Victory would also considerably boost our reputation around here and let us flex on Mercer as an added benefit.

I wouldn't imperil the entire quest by trying to convince everyone that this is the optimal choice, but I'm admittedly a sucker for this kind of drama, and the prospect is exciting.

>>4945330
Oh no, I understand the appeal of the one on one honourable duel. It would just be a cool moment, assuming we weren't curbstomped right away.

One quick thing though, I think both us and the death knight are already dismounted despite his picture displaying him on his horse, the cave probably didn't have a high enough ceiling for us to bring our horse in and the first mention of the DK says he is "standing" and that he "turns in place" and there is also mention of us striking our cane against the floor. So, running will be difficult no matter what.

Yes, Crippled will thankfully gain us a fate point, however on the roll that it comes up on we will have a -2 penalty, so we either have to immediately use it to counteract the penalty to avoid taking either Stress or a Consequence or just risk possibly taking the hit and save the fate point for our next crucial roll under the hope that the hit will cause Stress instead of inflicting some debilitating Consequence (if I am understanding how Stress and Consequences work in this system), which will add further penalties to our rolls thereby necessitating the use of the Fate Point just to negate our penalties. This is why at the end of last thread I mentioned that Flaws needed a slight asymmetrical buff of some sort, and why I was pleased at the beginning of this thread to see that my exact suggestion for the changes to our Flaws had been adopted.

>>4944973
>NO MERCY!
Totally fine with using FP

>>4945440
I am not sure how much the QM has modified this, so take this entire post with a bucket of salt, but this is the short-short version. Stress was aptly compared to "health" in the previous threads, though abstractly it's more like a buffer of how much bad luck one can take without being seriously affected. Consequences can be taken in place of Stress, which do give penalties, but also "absorb" more numerical punishment than stress, and more importantly, can potentially go away if actions are taken to get rid of them. Being surrounded on all sides after failing a roll could be a Consequence, but escaping to a more favorable position would remove that Consequence.

It's worth remembering that the causes of Stress and Consequences aren't necessarily like taking hits in a fight. Being cursed by magic, terrified after an enemy withstands what should have been a sure-kill spell, or distracted by a chaotic melee are all examples of Consequences that the QM can choose to subject us to in this situation which would hamstring our ability to hang back and do damage, and force us to adopt a totally different approach.

This will likely be an unpopular take, but this is good, since being debilitated both incentivizes taking actions that we otherwise would not, and forces us into situations that we do not want to be in.

>>4945646
Okay, thanks for the explanation.

Honestly I should probably know this. FATE is one of the most popular "narrative-style" TTRPGs and I watched several Actual Plays years ago, not to mention I have the pdfs somewhere on my old broken laptop.

When the High Kingdom was despoiled and ruined, his kind made it happen. They've seen to it, so your kin would die, your homes would burn, your land would die. All the while these very same lips probably uttered these very words about worth and challenges, while he remained comfortably seated on his horse, looking from afar at how his minions rip apart the defenseless and the weak. You've done them no wrong, made no slights against them - you just happened to be in the way.
And now, destiny itself placed him in front of you - without his steed, with a token force not even two dozen strong, in an empty tomb where he would find no helping hand. All that bluster, all that confidence - none of it could protect him from reality. He was surrounded. The prince's army of vengeance torched his kind countless times before - and each time, you recalled, they'd let out cries of pain and shock, betrayal and despair, the first and last genuine emotions these monsters would feel. In their last moments, even those that tried to be bold and defiant only looked pathetic. No one could manage to seem imposing, when unhorsed and driven into the mud.
Even without an army of elves by your side, this time would be no different.

The death knight rose his sword hand, and the chain of his flail rattled in the silence of the crypt. The undead horde shuffled in the dark - not yet throwing themselves on the human steel in a maddened rush, but preparing for the assault. The brigands were mostly silent - there were no fearful mutterings, no treacherous second thoughts. Brooks muttered something under her nose with only her lips, and you've wondered if it was a prayer. You wondered if you should pray too. There was no time anymore - even should you decide to. This calm, this eye of the storm would only last a second more.

You breathed in...
"NO MERCY!", a voice sounded, just a moment before all hell broke loose.
It was not your battlecry that heralded the fighting - it was sir Egmund, rallying his people with a hammer raised high. Of course it was him. Why on earth would it be you? Why would this moment of glory, potentially the last one in your life, not be stolen from you?

As the army of the damned pounced at your ranks, shrieking and growling in inhuman tongues, your thoughts dwelled not on your impending demise, but on this exact matter.

The time for vengeance has come. What must be done?
>Time to behead the snake!
>Without his minions, he's nothing!

What should Tzerak do?
>Focus on the horde!
>Bring down the death knight!

>>4947912
>Without his minions, he's nothing!

>Bring down the death knight!

I kinda wish I had voted for voidwalker for what I have in mind.

Also, fuckin' Mercer, stealing our thunder.

My logic is thus: We need Tzerak to duel the DK to prevent him from "apply strength against weakness" or in other words to prevent him from slaughtering our allies. Meanwhile we'll scythe through his minions with fire leaving him outnumbered and surrounded. It may seem unwise to separate our attack power, but I don't think we'll be able to focus down the Death Knight easily and focusing entirely on the minions leaves our allies open. I think we can heal our summon at the cost of some of our life as well as drain life to heal ourselves if the wiki page I'm reading is accurate, though relying on a wiki about a game (WoW) about a universe (Warcraft) that includes both RTS games and WoW plus novels and comics and possible game/lore separation and using it to inform myself about what our character can do in a quest using the FATE system is dubious at best. I just assume that if we can do it in lore or it is an ability in any of the games, that we can do it.

Warlocks are supposed to be ranged dps in WoW, DKs are tank/dps hybrids with abilities to buff minions, themselves, and put out decent damage at least before being nerfed, or so I've read, so hypothetically we should be able to kill faster than him, though again using WoW logic to inform my decisions instead of strictly in-character logic is probably dumb, though my logic wouldn't change even if only using tactical/in-character reasoning.

>>4947912
>Oh, and whatever we do, use a Fate Point.

>>4947912
What must be done?
>Time to behead the snake!

What should Tzerak do?
>Focus on the horde!

Demons are strong, but Lynestra has the real nasty stuff at her fingertips. Everyone else just has to keep the chaff off of her while she works her magic to put the enemy down. An attrition battle is what we want to avoid, since death knights are comfortable with crowd control magic and can raise up more minions. The latter is especially worrying, since he can increase his forces with our fallen in a group fight.

>>4947912
>Time to behead the snake!
>Focus on the horde!

Urgh I wish we had summoned a tank, but it's too late now. Gotta zap the DK and protect our allies with our minion.

Rolled 3, 4, 5, 3 = 15 (4d6)

In the interests of brevity (and sanity), much of the battle will be automated, with rolls being done by me in private.

That being said, the time has come to attack the death knight with force. You outspeed him, and thus land the first blow - but can your magic match his defense?

(Exertion +2)

Rolled 3, 3, 5, 5 = 16 (4d6)

Can it?

(Death knight defends! Exertion +3)

Rolled 4, 1, 5, 6 = 16 (4d6)

Tzerak attacks the horde... (Exertion +3)

Rolled 3, 1, 2, 4 = 10 (4d6)

And the horde defends (Unholy aura, +2).

File: Burn him in fire.jpg (651 KB, 958x1000)

651 KB JPG

>>4948926
Well, at least we didn't lose successes for once.

Rolled 2, 3, 6, 6 = 17 (4d6)

The brigands attack (Got them surrounded, +2).

Rolled 6, 6, 3, 5 = 20 (4d6)

Horde 2 defends. (Unholy aura, +2).

Rolled 5, 1, 3, 1 = 10 (4d6)

The death knight seeks you out as his opponent. He attacks!

(Exertion 3, +2 for Butcher of Silvermoon)

Rolled 4, 4, 6, 2 = 16 (4d6)

And Horde 2 also attacks. What you're seeing before you right now is a great example for why I don't plan to make every single roll in this thread.

Rolled 1, 5, 4, 5 = 15 (4d6)

Brigands defend!

>>4948952
I have some thoughts on this on how we could solve this but I'll hold back until it is time to give feedback at the end of the thread. I don't have time to write out my thoughts today anyways, I'm getting my second vaccine shot today.

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: You feel fine. For now.
Consequences: None
Fate Points: 2

Although your heart yearned for a bloody and decisive battle, with undead being cut down the moment they dare to approach the wall of steel the brigands have raised, what transpired instead was a far more realistic, indecisive back and forth that happened every time the forces were roughly equal.
Spurred into action by Mercer - as in, not you - the brigands readied themselves for the frenzied assault of the dead, and did not fall back even when the dead have finally shown themselves in the feeble lantern light - and the alteraci could finally see familiar faces in the ranks of the enemy. The Syndicate men had a tactical edge in the fight - they were able to press the dead from both sides, but sadly, this was never to be a battle in which flesh, steel and boldness of men was to be a decisive factor. Animated by dark magics, the dead had no need for hearts, limbs and sometimes even heads - despite their reckless assault, each soldier of this unclean horde could take an absurd amount of punishment before being put down for good. Worse than that - now that they've finally approached, you could sense a power reinforcing each of them - the death knight's doing.
You could not back a brief satisfied grin, however, as you've seen the demonic titan you've brought into this world charge into the enemy ranks and smash the head of some accursed filth into paste with one blow. It was a small victory - there were many more minions of the dark to fell, but it was still more than Mercer has done so far.

You could hear Brooks shouting something very brave and very cliche, as she thrust her polearm into the flesh of some ghoul - but you could not dwell on that - not once you've seen the armored frame of the death knight charge into your direction. With your hands raised, you've chanted a brief incantation and conjured a stream of flames to deter his advance - but your foeman refused to be intimidated. Your spell broke against his armor - while his flail spun through the air with a terrifying whistle...

>[Movement] No time to think, no time for spells! DUCK!
>[Prudence] It's a good thing I've already prepared a teleportation circle. I'll be able to disappear from under his blow, just this once...
>[Dazzle] Oh no, no, no, no, no... Brooks, help me!

And should you survive this terrible assault, your next plan of action is...
>[Exertion] Tremble before the might of the elves!
>[Mind Palace] Can I disrupt his protective spell somehow?
>[Twilight] I would need to recall Tzerak for that, but I can catch him in a pincer attack.

>>4948999
Uh...

Is the teleport circle nearby or does it go back to the keep?

If it goes back to the keep I say we save it for an emergency escape. Even if it was an abstraction of an ability that just lets us do a battlefield escape-dodge somewhere else in the keep I think we should save it for if we have to run.

>[Movement] No time to think, no time for spells! DUCK!

>Spend a Fate Point.

Please someone echo the usage of a FP, I don't wanna die.

>[Twilight] I would need to recall Tzerak for that, but I can catch him in a pincer attack.

This dude is focusing on us, we cannot fight him alone.

>>4949009
>Is the teleport circle nearby
Nearby, otherwise the prompt would read something along of "I'll be able to leave those losers to die".

>>4949009
somewhere else in the cave*

>>4949009
>[Movement] No time to think, no time for spells! DUCK!

>[Mind Palace] Can I disrupt his protective spell somehow?

We are in top condition right now, and perfectly capable of handling ourselves at this moment in time. Taking on Stress and Consequences during a fight is a perfectly natural and expected facet of play, and we should not be afraid of it unless our opponent's rolls somehow beat ours by an absurd margin or the fight is dragging on.

Unless this has been modified, we can also opt "give up" before being totally defeated and have a say in what happens next rather than being totally at our opponent's mercy, but I seriously hope everyone in this thread is elf enough to fight to the bitter end.

>>4949036

Meant for >>4948999

>>4948999
Very well, I'll switch my vote to line up with...>>4949036

>>4948999
>[Movement] No time to think, no time for spells! DUCK!
>[Mind Palace] Can I disrupt his protective spell somehow?

I'd rather teleport, but I suppose the consensus is to dodge.

>>4948984
>>4948999
>>[Movement] No time to think, no time for spells! DUCK!
>>[Mind Palace] Can I disrupt his protective spell somehow?

Hopefully a successful dodge on the bum leg nets us another FP.

Rolled 3, 1, 6, 1 = 11 (4d6)

Ducking out of the harm's way? WIth your leg? Optimistic. Let's see if it pays off.

(Movement +2, Crippled -2)

Rolled 4, 5, 1, 4 = 14 (4d6)

A singular strike! But you are not dead yet, and even with your head ringing, you can still try to suppress the death knight's aura.

(Mind Palace +2, Dazed -2)

Rolled 6, 4, 4, 3 = 17 (4d6)

The death knight tries to protect his enchantment...

Rolled 2, 5, 5, 2 = 14 (4d6)

Tzerark continues fighting the undead...
(Exertion +3)

Rolled 6, 1, 3, 4 = 14 (4d6)

The horde defends. (Unholy aura +2)

Rolled 6, 1, 2, 4 = 13 (4d6)

Thanks to the combined efforts of Tzerak and the brigands, half ot the undead horde lies defeated.

The Syndicate attacks the death knight...
(+2, got him surrounded)

Rolled 1, 1, 3, 2 = 7 (4d6)

When the enemy can strike from behind, even a champion of darkness should really watch his back.

(Prudence +1)

Rolled 4, 1, 3, 1 = 9 (4d6)

Furious, the death knight strikes back. But you are his primary target - he hopes to brush the alteraci off quickly.

(Movement +2)

Rolled 4, 1, 6, 2 = 13 (4d6)

The brigands do not just stand there.
(+2, hit and run tactics)

Rolled 2, 6, 1, 5 = 14 (4d6)

The second half of the undead horde tries to swarm Tzerak.

Rolled 2, 3, 4, 3 = 12 (4d6)

Tzerak is just going to block it all with his abs. Because he's cool like that.

(Dazzle +2)

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: 1
Consequences: Dazed (2), Stars Above, MY RIBS (4)
Fate Points: 3

You have been in close combat before - and even received training with melee weapons. Thus, you were familiar with the concept of dodging - it's fair to say you've done it a few times before. However, your glory days were before your crippled leg, not after.
To say that your plan was not a success was to say nothing. The spiked ball did not slip by somewhere to the side, leaving you the opportunity for the counterattack - it has hit its target dead on, and the death knight's mighty blow has flung you to the carved stone wall. You flew like a ragdoll - and when the back of your head met the granite, the onlookers would be quite justified in assuming you've just died.
But you didn't - although this blow would certainly kill an ordinary man, your protective spells still warded you, hardened your skin, toughened your bones and left you merely wishing you were dead.

Somewhere in the distance, the fight continued - in the blur that the combat has become, the vague silhouette of the demonic giant was being swarmed by what you assumed to be the undead dreg, and thankfully, showed no sight of faltering. A body was launched into the air each time the felguard swung his hammer - so, you were pretty certain the demon was winning. Good. That was good. You needed to help. You needed to remain in the fight.
You raised your hand in a feeble gesture, tried to gather your thoughts into a cohesive spell, attempt a necessary gesture - but your body was failing you. There would be no unweaving spells now.

You could only watch the black shadow approach you, try to listen to the rattling of the chain somewhere beyond the ringing in your ears. You needed to rise. Needed to meet him face to face, to look him in the eyes and die standing and unafraid.

And then the shadow cried out. It was not a shout of triumph, not a battlecry, not some horrific curse that would strip flesh from your bones - it was a cry of pain and annoyance. Somewhere in the gap between his armorplates, an addition - a steel speartip, piercing his necrotic flesh through from the back and coming out on the other side. Corporal? No. Someone with broader shoulders, black hair.

"Foul knave!", the living corpse seethed, and turned on his place. An annoyed swing of his flail missed the mark entirely - an entire row of brigands would leap back, dodging out of the way with enviable grace - and immediately, the counterattack began. A saber would do nothing against the creature's armor - but a forceful blow of someone's hammer has. Then - a thrust of a halberd, a flash of blonde hair. Brooks. You've even heard her voice - and Egmund's too - but you could not quite tell what they were shouting about.
With half the pressure off them, the brigands were able to swarm the death knight as well as any undead horde could - and although so far they were more of an annoyance to him than a grave danger, they were a very severe annoyance.
"You gnats...", the black beast roared. Another swing - and not even a glancing blow.

He was not even looking at you anymore, you realized suddenly. Another realization has come soon - some semblance of vision returned to you. If you could make your shot count...

>[Twilight] That armorplate looks loose. I'll open you up like an oyster!
>[Exertion] Conjure a powerful curse - but first, I would need to put myself together.
>[Dazzle] I can not have Mercer take credit for this. Time to make a clear and obvious impact.
>Too tired... Take me, darkness.

[Whatever your roll is, the death knight received a Swarmed consequence. You receive +2 on your next roll.]

>>4949743
>[Exertion] Conjure a powerful curse - but first, I would need to put myself together.

Oh boy, two updates in a day, really cool, wish it were the norm.

Both healing ourselves somehow and cursing him sound wonderful.

On one hand, that one anon was right, losing a roll in a fight was hardly the end of the world, on the other hand immediately suffering consequences and having it affect our own rolls makes me super regret not just going for our teleport to avoid the damage, it'd be cool to be in good shape on top of winning the mook fight.

The Syndicate is certainly pulling their weight.

But seriously guys, please don't be so cautious with our Fate Points.

>Use a Fate Point before I start renaming them to Destiny points or Sidereal Points or InsertConceptofPredeterminationPoints.

>>4949750
To clarify, the exertion prompt is not about healing, but more of a "force myself to stand up", "get my shit together" choice. Hence why it's exertion - it's pushing your limit and using strength (of will).

Another detail that I may have mentioned in previous threads, I may have not - your consequences giving you penalties on your rolls is not automatic, I have to spend my own fate points on that.

>>4949752
Ah, okay, well my vote will stay the same, I think weakening our opponent is the most worthwhile action at the moment. Thanks for the clarification though.

I vaguely recall in the first thread another anon asking if we could make health-stones or soul-stones and you answering in the affirmative, would it be possible in the future for us to preemptively prepare some? If so, how long would it take to prepare them and would we need special materials or could we just use mana or something?

>>4949757
Ah, okay, again thank you for the clarification, I don't think you mentioned it before.

I wasn't expecting an amazing success, but we haven't been on a winning streak with these rolls, either. On the other hand, we should still have access to the teleportation circle which is the main benefit of risking the dodge, Lynestra is not being targeted right now, and we got a fate point on top of that, so failure was not a complete loss.

>>4949743
>[Exertion] Conjure a powerful curse - but first, I would need to put myself together.

I am fine with using a Fate Point. We should have enough to see us through the rest of this.

>>4949743
>>[Exertion] Conjure a powerful curse - but first, I would need to put myself together.
Yeah let's drop a fate point on this.

And hey, at least Tzerak has pulled our combined weight.

>>4949743
>[Exertion] Conjure a powerful curse - but first, I would need to put myself together.

Yeah this is why I wanted to dodge earlier, ouch. Also, FP time.

Rolled 6, 1, 4, 1 = 12 (4d6)

This may be your last ditch effort...

(Exertion +2)

Rolled 1, 2, 5, 5 = 13 (4d6)

Curse or not, the death knight does not intend your magic to slow his slaughter down...

(Movement +2)

Rolled 4, 4, 5, 6 = 19 (4d6)

Tzerak swings his mighty hammer...

(Exertion +3)

Rolled 6, 4, 3, 2 = 15 (4d6)

Such mighty assault can not live a single foe alive... Can it? Horde 2 tries to defend.

(+2, Unholy Aura)

Rolled 3, 2, 3, 1 = 9 (4d6)

With the death knight's minions being mostly out of the picture, the Syndicate men can focus their efforts on bringing down the death knight.

(+2, got him surrounded)

>>4952246
Not a great roll, but with our fate point it is decent.

>>4952248
Ha! How do you like getting your successes canceled!

>>4952249
Tzerak MVP. I nominate our loyal demon for King of Alterac and Overlord of the Burning Legion!

>>4952253
Meh roll.

Rolled 2, 5, 6, 1 = 14 (4d6)

Yet the death knight's armor is mighty... Can mundane weapons pierce it?

(Exertion +3, Saronite Armor +2)

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: 1
Consequences: Dazed (2), Stars Above, MY RIBS (4)
Fate Points: 2

Casting a spell - any spell - in your present condition was not a matter of skill, training, education. It was a matter of will, of forcing yourself into action - no matter how much pain you are in. The entire upper half of your body cried in agony, as you raised your hands and attempted the necessary gestures. In your dazed state, you could barely understand if your pronunciation was off - you knew well that any mistake at all could potentially result in the curse failing to manifest entirely.
But you had to try. Giving up, closing your eyes and letting someone else finish the fight for you would be easy - but it was not the elven way. Even from the ground, you must have fought to the bitter end and then some.

When you felt the magical power rush through your fingertips, you knew that the spell just barely worked - and it was purely your resolve, your willpower, that made it happen. Even in the blur that the fight has become, you could see the fruits of your efforts - the death knight's movements becoming sluggish, more restrained, as if an invisible force chained him, forced him to fight with it every time he moved a muscle. He yelled out something - and you thought he was looking at you.
The brigands were moving around him like a swarm of bees fighting for their hive with a hornet - each time he so much as moved, one out of his sight thrusted his steel first, seeking to sting the creature - but with their surprise element gone, you knew that the fight has become so much more difficult for them. Landing a hit on a part not protected by his magical armor has become a matter of luck.

That fortune, however, did not seem to be smiling on the death knight either. When you've seen a spot of red rapidly approaching the fight, you knew what was the only thing it could be - Tzerak considered his task finished, and now rushed to meet the bigger target.

The fight that seemed hopeless to you not even a minute ago now seemed to be far more even. Outnumbered as he was, the death knight was still a deadly threat - and each sluggish swing of his flail would earn at least one brigand a plot in the ground - yet robbed of his minions, and having become a sole target of your entire efforts... This could be his end.

When you've felt a wave of magic wash over you, and recognized exactly what it was, you could not believe it. This must have been a hallucination, a dying dream. It was portal magic - your foe was trying to tear open a portal. To summon help, even the odds? No. He was no warlock, you fought enough necromancers to know the difference between your soldiers.
He was... Retreating. Having been outmatched by a crippled, washed up has-been and a regiment of thieves and whores, the specter of death itself was running away.

>The battle is won..!
>[Twilight] You are not going anywhere.

>>4952266
>[Twilight] You are not going anywhere.

He'll just be back to kill more of our buddies and raise them as his pawns, lets finish him. As cool as he would be as a reappearing character, he is too much of a thorn in our side if he isn't going to be an ally, he could literally be back the next day to raise an army.

>Spend a Fate Point.

>>4952266
W-washed up has-been?
>[Twilight] You are not going anywhere.
>Fate Point

>>4952269
Not to worry. His friends will assuredly come looking for him once they realize he's gone.

>>4952337
You disagree with this assessment?

>>4952363
It was just a rough patch. The best years are right around the corner. Really!

>>4952363
>You are a woman - brave, tough, dedicated. A veteran of a doomed cause

From thread 2 and I'm sure there are many other such self-assessments that speak the truth of our fabulousness.

We are totes awesome, have some confidence Lynestra! If we had 1v1'd him we'd have totally curbstomped him into his component soul-stuff and taken his armour to wear as a hat. Think positive!

For real though, washed up or not we can certainly at least do more than the average person even as a washed up cripple. I doubt the average peasant is summoning platoon-killing demons or cursing Death Knights to move like molasses and most importantly, slowly learning to kinda-sorta make friends.

>>4952266
>>[Twilight] You are not going anywhere.
Also backing the fate point.

https://www.sunhawkconsulting.com/

Don't worry, bros, we canonically make it

Rolled 4, 2, 1, 3 = 10 (4d6)

The fight ends when you say so!

(Twilight +1, The Nail +2)

Rolled 2, 6, 3, 3 = 14 (4d6)

The death knight attempts to escape...

(Movement +2)

Rolled 2, 2, 4, 2 = 10 (4d6)

The death knight's plan is foiled. Can Tzerak capitalize on it?

(Exertion +3)

Rolled 6, 1, 4, 4 = 15 (4d6)

The death knight's armor remains an issue...

(Exertion +3, Saronite Armor +2)

Rolled 6, 6, 6, 2 = 20 (4d6)

The felguard can not match him. What could the brigands possibly do?

(+2, got him surrounded)

Rolled 2, 4, 4, 3 = 13 (4d6)

Only luck can bring them victory...

(Exertion +3, Saronite Armor +2

Rolled 4, 2, 6, 4 = 16 (4d6)

The death knight swings his flail with fury. Now fighting to the death, he intends to take everyone with him to the other side.

(Exertion 3, +2 for Butcher of Silvermoon)

Rolled 6, 5, 2, 1 = 14 (4d6)

The Syndicate defends!

(+2 for hit and run tactics, +2 for tie boost)

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: 1
Consequences: Dazed (2), Stars Above, MY RIBS (4)
Fate Points: 1

No.
There would be no stalemates today, no indecisive victories, no retreats. For everything he and his ilk had done, he would die. Today.
Breaking his spellcraft was not the easiest thing in the world - not at all - but you've had vast experience in sabotaging of all sorts. Diverting the gathering energies away by introducing a little chaos, making his own spell explode in his face, was the most satisfying thing in the world - even though the damage to the dark warrior was regrettably minor.

The portal was not going to save him, the exit from the tomb was blocked - and now the long overdue second death was approaching. The footsteps of Tzerak were like a thunder each - the demonic warrior charged forward with a terrible battlecry, his hammer swinging through the air...
...and stopping dead in the air, the shaft grabbed by the foe's clawed gauntlet. With unbelievable force that must have come to the death knight with desperation, the champion of ruin threw the felguard to the ground.

Being surrounded from all sides, stung with sharp steel each moment must have given your enemy the second wind - there was no other plausible explanation for how the tide of battle shifted in a single moment. Immediately after humiliating your demon, the warrior has turned his attention towards the Syndicate men - and this time, their cockiness did not pay off. Some brave soul has tried to dodge just half a moment too late - and in a blink of an eye, he lost half of his head. Another brigand was falled immediately after, collapsing on the stones after a seemingly glancing blow. Alive? Dead? You could not tell. The brigand ranks recoiled with fear - no, worse than that. In the corporal's eyes, you saw primal, animal dread.

You needed to intervene, now - or else this momentary setback would turn into slaughter.

>[Exertion] Dodge this, bastard! This is for everyone you killed!
>[Prudence] Direct attacks clearly are not working. I need to aim for the parts that are not protected by his armor. It's an extremely difficult shot...
>[Mind Palace] Think! Think! Is there any weakness I can possibly exploit? Any weakness at all?

>>4953928
>[Mind Palace] Think! Think! Is there any weakness I can possibly exploit? Any weakness at all?

We need to CREATE new weaknesses or otherwise reduce his bonuses, not attempt to brute force someone who clearly has higher stats than all of us.

Also, please don't even think of using Prudence just because it is our highest stat, the text clearly states that "It's an extremely difficult shot...".

QM, is it still possible to use Twilight to yank off his armour plating? It was an option earlier. I'm just wondering whether it would be better to try and create a weakness from an opportunity we spotted earlier or if we should try and think up an entirely new vulnerability.

What do you think guys, should we use our last fate point of this or no?

>>4953971
Sure. I suppose.

>>4953928
>[Prudence] Direct attacks clearly are not working. I need to aim for the parts that are not protected by his armor. It's an extremely difficult shot...
>Fate Point

The time has come to prove once and for all that we are not a wash-up has-been. Risk of death: considerable. But rewards of glory: who can measure?

>>4953971
I am inclined to agree that trying to find a new weakness to exploit is the reasonable option, since we're about to lose the benefit of having him distracted. As for Fate Points, it may be worth saving the last one if we intend to alter our strategy and try a different approach. I can see us netting one more during this battle if we cut it close, but it's not a guarantee.

Very well.

>Use a Fate Point, regardless of which prompt wins.

How much Stress can we take before dying? I'd like to know when it is time to cut and run, just in case.

>>4954051
That's a complicated question to answer. Your character has three stress boxes - 1, 2 and 3, each can take as much stress as its number.
You also have consequences - 2, 4, 8, which work by the same principle.

You can't tick more than one stress box at a time, but you can take multiple consequences. If you can't absorb damage through either stress boxes or consequences, you're out.
One another detail is, if you get even 1 damage, but the only way to absorb it is to tick stress box 3, or take a 8 consequence, you must either take it, or take the loss. You can't partially fill a stress box - which is how Tzerak dispatched the ghouls, despite doing mostly scratch damage.

>>4953928
>[Mind Palace] Think! Think! Is there any weakness I can possibly exploit? Any weakness at all?

FP as well

Rolled 2, 4, 5, 2 = 13 (4d6)

Well? Any bright ideas?

(Mind Palace +2, Fate Point +2)

Rolled 3, 4, 3, 2 = 12 (4d6)

Suddenly, for the death knight it has become a matter of speed...

(Movement +2)

Even without his deadly hammer, Tzerak is still an epitome of strength...

(Exertion +3)

Rolled 5, 5, 3, 2 = 15 (4d6)

...even when he forgets to roll!

Rolled 3, 2, 4, 3 = 12 (4d6)

The death knight's armor can not protect him from this, yet he will struggle yet...

(Exertion +3)

Finally, something goes our way!

Also, I saw that second post without a roll.

When the realization came to you, it has hit you with the strength of a flail to the ribs. His armor protected him from any direct attack, and even some spells. Even Tzerak's glorious hammer would be hard pressed to damage the one hiding beyond the magic steel.
But there was one force, against which saronite could not defend. And it was no arcane force, not a force of fel corruption, nothing that complicated. The force that was to bring down the dark warrior was gravity.

All you needed was to set it up. Shake him for just a splinter of a moment, before someone else finished the job. You put your hand against the smooth masonry of the tomb, as you finally forced yourself to stand up, fully. When putting your weight against it, you could remain on your feet without collapsing. You needed a clear line of sight for what you were planning.

Just as the creature was making a step forward to attack - that's when you acted. A short, but powerful burst of shadowflame aimed for his leg, meant to cut into his movements, disturb his balance - and that is exactly what you've achieved. A short, furious cry that the fiend produced was a sign that your efforts did not go unnoticed - some of your spellfire must have got through. An icing on the cake, really.
The real victory came when the felguard, swift to recover from his humiliation, bull rushed the undead devil from the back, shoved him to the ground - and then made sure he remained there, with his entire weight. Oh, how the death knight struggled - and you were certain, that if he had just a little bit of time to recover, his predicament would not last forever.

However, he did not have that luxury. His time has just come to an end. The Syndicate did not stand idly when the opportunity was presented - and Tzerak, it seemed, would not rest until he tore his enemy's head clean away from his shoulders.
Oh, how much you would give to watch him die his final death, hear his last curse, uttered in anger and disbelief at being bested by such fleas. This was your victory - perhaps the greatest in your life.

But you would not be there to taste it.

It can't be said with certainty what contributed to it more - the pain that you could no longer bear, complete exhaustion of your magical reserves, you simply not being used to a fight anymore, or perhaps, your adrenaline wearing off, now that you knew that you've won.
Either way, you slowly slumped down that very same wall, suddenly finding yourself powerless against the deep slumber that was took you. The sounds of steel beating against the saronite would be your lullaby for a long time, even long after the death knight finally stopped struggling.

You would still hear echoes of it all in your dreams. But what did you dream of?

>Of my childhood.
>Of brotherhood.
>Of love.
>Of the prince.
>Of the future.
>Of what could have been.
>[Write-in]

>>4955407
Hmm, all of these are relevant consider our ambition and what we know of our past. It would be interesting to get to know more of our backstory from our perspective rather than hearing "Lynestra" relay it to people we don't fully trust yet. Maybe we could even hear our MC's real name being dropped.

I'll write-in something else but I'm fine with any of these.

>Write-in: Of our past failures contrasted with our current success.

We did it, Reddit!

>>4955407
>Of what could have been.
>Of the story of our greatest defeat.

We've learned a little about our early life and the difficult years. But what about those precious final hours? That last struggle, before the cause was truly doomed? Why did we not join our comrades in death?

>>4955407
>Of love.

I want to dwell on our elves truest ambition

This is an important choice, so let's see if more people share an opinion.

>>4955407
>>Of love.

>>4956292
Changing my vote to support >>4955514

Come out lurkers, we need a tiebreaker.

>>4955407
>>Of what could have been.
Also backing >>4955514. I like the sense of tragedy.

Dreams. The interstice between real and ethereal, what was and what could have been. You've heard that soldiers often dreamt of terrible battles, most terrible losses - of friend vanishing in the scorching spellfire, as if they never were at all, of terrible magics thundering in the skies and getting closer with each sound. You've had those dreams too, at times - you've woken from them in cold sweat, shivering in your own bed. You've spent the rest of the night drinking tea to soothe yourself, sitting at the table and staring out of the window at the city, listening to the sounds of the night life. By morning, you would often forget.
But there was another kind. One that made you shroud the windows in curtains, for you would not wish to look outside, ones that left you with desire to drink something stronger. Ones that would often drive you to that unremarkable plot of land, where somewhere in the dirt, you've once buried an equally unremarkable box. The pain from those would never leave. It would stay with you until your grave.

File: Netherstorm.jpg (145 KB, 1600x704)

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Outlands. The swirling chaos of Netherstorm. You were there again, treading upon its barren grounds, looking at the madness on the horizon. It was a broken land, shattered, bereft of life - in some way, thousands time worse than what has become to your homeland, what became to human kingdoms. Even the Plaguelands allowed some manner of life to thrive within - twisted and malformed as it might have been. The Netherstorm was not simply an affront to life - it was a flat denial.
Behind you, the plains of Farahlon stood as they once were - lush and green, an inexplicable paradise in midst of the broken world. Gardens and forests floating in the nether, and there, in the grass, beasts, fallen fruits, nests and hiding holes for little critters. But the future of elvenkind had no place for such sights.
In front of you, rocks floating through the colorful nothingness, and cosmic chaos raging above, now revealed to plain sight. As far as the eye can see, strip mines and manaforges. The end of this corner of the world, constructed by elven hands.

But for the greater good, yes?

>We destroyed it all. If we weren't stopped here, we could have destroyed this entire world.
>It was necessary, but still regrettable. If survival didn't call for drastic actions, none of this would be allowed to happen.
>It was going to happen regardless. We did not shatter the Outlands - the blame lies on the orcs. We merely accelerated the inevitable.
>It was either us, or little squirrels, and I will never prize flowers and critters over the good of my people. How else were we supposed to collect magic?
>I don't dwell on it at all. Land is not my concern.

>>4958035
I had to do some more wiki diving to understand what this is even about. That, and reread one of my write-ins from the first thread to make sense of our motivations.

>It was necessary, but still regrettable. If survival didn't call for drastic actions, none of this would be allowed to happen.

I think we would still consider it necessary even with hindsight and knowing that the blood elves would get their magic addiction sated through the restored Sunwell. After all, had we not consorted with Illidan to learn mana draining many of our already dwindling people would've died, the same goes quadruple for the mana forge construction.

As for reconciling it with our rant to Sherman, I think it makes sense for us to regret associating with the Burning Legion and for not saving Kael'thas from going crazy from fel magic, but I think we are willing to bite the bullet and admit that although we wished we could've found another way to supply our people with magic without harming Outland and its denizens, at the end of the day we did what we had to do to save our people, we are never going to put the well being of our people beneath that of some doomed strangers on a dying world.

>>4958035
>>It was going to happen regardless. We did not shatter the Outlands - the blame lies on the orcs. We merely accelerated the inevitable.
Too much dwelling on the past isn't good for anyone

>>4958035
>It was necessary, but still regrettable. If survival didn't call for drastic actions, none of this would be allowed to happen.

>>4958035
>It was necessary, but still regrettable. If survival didn't call for drastic actions, none of this would be allowed to happen.
We've done literally nothing wrong. Or at least cope by justifying everything to ourselves.

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Here's a write-up about stuff that is relevant to us that we (the Sunhawks) did in Outland and what this choice is about. Just to inform any anons who don't understand this part.

Some quick background. We, the Blood Elves at the time lost our Sunwell, our home was full of undead, (I think?) we were suffering from magic addiction and couldn't get our magic fix so we suffered withdrawal symptoms which were sometimes fatal. Our king, Kael'thas made a deal or something with Illidan who taught us how to drain mana. Sun-daddy Kael'thas wanted to get more magic faster and thought he could control fel magic like Illidan and the demon hunters, the fel magic made him crazy. Sun-daddy made a pact with the Burning Legion apparently in return for alliance, knowledge of how to control fel better, and a promise to save our people or something and maybe some other stuff.

We went to Outland. Outland is the shattered remains of Draenor floating in the Twisting Nether. (space) Draenor is the homeworld of the Orcs before the Orcs fucked their planet or something, it is also the refuge of the Draenei who fled there from their own planet. Some Draenei, Naaru, Kirin Tor mages and people and probably some other folks I was too lazy to look up live in Outlands. The Netherstorm is a region of Outlands that is full of swirling magic storms and magic lightning and shit.

Anyways, we committed a bunch of war crimes here. Basically I'll sum it up quickly by saying we murdered a bunch of the local inhabitants of every variety. We also crashed some space ship that tried to get away from us. When some Blood Elf pilgrims came here (because Kael'thas promised to find us a new home because our old home was fucked at the moment) we enslaved them.

Now to get to the matter of what the prompts and the "greater good" question are about, though this also fits under the warcrime category. Essentially when we took a Naaru stronghold we found some technology that let us siphon magic from the Twisting Nether and package it into mana-cells for easy consumption, with this technology we made the Manaforges which let us do the aforementioned siphoning. We also made strip mines, presumably for the crystals we need to make mana crystals and fuel our experiments with making better mana crystals and also to get materials for our manaforges. Also, manaforges destabilize Outland and threatened to destroy it.

Remember, this was all so we could save our people who had recently been genocided, had their homeland invaded by undead, were literally wasting away from weakness or in some cases dying all because of our withdrawal symptoms from magic addiction. So the question is as the story post asks, was it worth it, was it all for the greater good?

I probably missed some stuff, but I just wanted anons to make an informed decision. Any mistakes are my own, I only did like an hour of skimming some wikis and I have never played WoW.

>>4958219
That's...uh...pretty spot on actually.

>>4958035
>>It was necessary, but still regrettable. If survival didn't call for drastic actions, none of this would be allowed to happen.

>>4958219
Elves enslaved other Elves?

>>4958406
I'm relieved that my telling of it was somewhat accurate then.

>>4958646
Yes. Elves enslaved other Elves.

Back in thread 1 when I wrote that write-in when talking to Sherman I didn't understand why we did this, so I rationalized it as dwindling supplies and inability to support those pilgrims and made the excuse of 'we did it because they needed to pull their weight and we couldn't support them with handouts' and the QM included the bit about the dwindling supplies at least, so I guess regardless of the real rationale for enslaving elf pilgrims it is sorta kinda-sorta-maybe canon to this quest that lack of food/supplies may arguably had something to do with it, I guess.

>>4958989
Yeah like the only thing you missed was that part of our warcrimes was that Netherstorm became the way it is *because* of what the Sunhawks did with Tempest Keep and the manaforges. It was a fertile area full of life before the arrival of Kael'thas.

Many apologies, no post today. Fighting with the new router.

As for this post...
>>4958219
There'll be plenty of time to reflect on all sorts of war crimes, and have them explained. The salient point of this particular moment is, the Sunhawks have destroyed (or, charitably, greatly accelerated destructon of) a massive landmass, and killed almost all life there. How does the protagonist feel about causing an ecological catastrophe?
From what the votes seem to imply, a little. But it's not a terrible burden on the conscience.

The plains of Farahlon were not wiped out in a blink of an eye. The first steps were made when the orcs in their carelessness destroyed their own world - the legends say, that as the army of humanity were on his doorstep, having slaughtered Ner'zhul's army, the orcish shaman was in too much of a panic to control the power of the Scepter properly. Other stories tell that the weapon of the Dark Titan was never meant for mortal hands, and it was an inevitability. The most cynical version was that Ner'zhul knew how much he was sacrificing - but did not care. He did not intend to remain in this world for a second longer.
In less than a minute, armed with the scepter, the tome and the Eye, the orc has managed to shatter the entire world. But Draenor was resilient - even after, wholesome nature still persisted in this world. The plains, the forests, even the marshes of Zangar. The bad might have outweighted the good by a significant margin - but compared to the scorching heat of the Hellfire Penisula, Farahlon was a paradise.

Then came you. Sunhawks searched for sources of magic, something to feed the hunger of your people - and you've found it. And as for the cost...
There were always going to be sacrifices. Nobody ever said that they had to be paid in elven blood each time. Once the locals were driven out, the grim work could finally begin. ith each manaforge built, with each month the lifeblood of Farahlon was drained from the earth, your surroundings would shift. The trees would wither, the grass below your feet - die. The animals who could not adapt to the harsh conditions imposed to them would starve, quickly - and in the end, the earth itself would split and shatter.
It was harsh - not just on the land, but on the people. No one wished for the creation of Netherstorm, no one prided himself on being the bane of all life - but each understood that what was being done, was necessary. Somewhere, in your homeland, people were starving, dying on the streets. They needed this. Would you be the one to sacrifice hundreds, thousands of your people, so birds could weave their nests in peace? So orcs could have their holy sites? So you could have a clean conscience?

No. Not you, not anyone.
No one ever said the right thing would always be the easy one.

Your leaders were right there, on the ground - they knew what it was like. Morale had to be maintained - so alcohol in your rations was nearly doubled. Discipline had become laxer - and quickly, you would find that most of the especially grim work was being given to demons. Few elves were willing to be overseers of destructions of such magnitude - the yesterday's Legion, however, cared little. It was a natural measure, and few protested as demons began running more and more affairs.
For those who did, however, this was the first time the prince's judgement was questioned. And as history would show, not the last.

As your feverish thoughts departed from the fate of this paradise, and towards the fate of your people, so did your surroundings shift. An elven structure grew around you, faded into your dream as if it was always there. It was a place of rest, a place of leisure, earnesty, companionship, brotherhood. It was a place where of music and wine, of dice and figurines - away from the nightmare outside, from the war, from your grim duties.

It was a place for you and yours. You could already see their silhouettes, although your addled mind still stuggled to remember the faces correctly, place each insignia, each medal where it belonged. Everything here should have been proper, just as it once was.

Your insignia...
>...one of the squad's leader. The highest honor I have ever achieved.
>...rather ordinary. I was plainly not leadership material.

It meant something special, not just to you. It meant...
>That it was a badge of honor. All of us, amidst the sun king's best and brightest.
>That we were misfits, and in desperate need of both discipline, and a poltiical officer.
>What if I want some middle ground between those two extremes?

>>4961965
Your insignia...
>...one of the squad's leader. The highest honor I have ever achieved.

It meant something special, not just to you. It meant...
>That it was a badge of honor. All of us, amidst the sun king's best and brightest.

We may have an extensive list of quirks, but even now our loyalty is exceptional. And maybe we have a little selective nostalgia too.

>>4961965

Your insignia...
>...one of the squad's leader. The highest honor I have ever achieved.

I don't think we were a very charismatic leader for obvious reasons, but we certainly have the conviction and the brains to be a leader.


It meant something special, not just to you. It meant...
>That it was a badge of honor. All of us, amidst the sun king's best and brightest.

I don't really see "Lynestra" as a whacky type, maybe if we had chosen to involve Sherman in some hijinks earlier I could see it.

>>4962084
In fairness, anons did kick off the quest by choosing to take a demon on a joyride when keeping a low profile was a concern. The occasional hotheaded stunt is certainly not beneath her.

>>4962142
True, and then there was her delusional bit after we came back from the Shadow Council meeting when she came out of her room and talked to Sherman. And there was her hilarious degree of elvish arrogance while tied up and at the mercy of Sherman, Church and a couple Syndicate thugs.

>>4961965
>Your insignia...
>...one of the squad's leader. The highest honor I have ever achieved.

>It meant something special, not just to you. It meant...
>That it was a badge of honor. All of us, amidst the sun king's best and brightest.

>>4961965
>...one of the squad's leader. The highest honor I have ever achieved.

>That it was a badge of honor. All of us, amidst the sun king's best and brightest.

If the other option was chosen, imagine if Lynestra was the political officer.

Lynestra the Jannie. She's certainly autistic enough to be one. It's not just me, right? She seems immensely autistic.

>>4962388
I could see that.

>>4962672
It depends on what you mean by autistic.

File: Magister Aldanis.jpg (253 KB, 1920x2298)

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It was shameful, how many breaths have passed, before your mind finally gave them faces and voices. They were not merely your people - they were your men, in their prime, at their best - and you've hoped that you would never forget them, their betrayal be damned. The feeling of horror that washed over you, as you've thought of forgetting the struggle, would only pass when the thalassian speech began forming into words, ones that you could understand - and remember.

"...speaking of the subject at hand, I passed by magister Sundown on the way here."
These words were spoken by a gaunt, tall figure that held on to a glass of wine in an aristocratic manner. Magister Aldanis. His bloodline was at least four times as ancient and noble as yours - and when you've met this sheltered patrician, your dislike was immediate. He was not a beautiful man, nor was he often pleasant company. And yet, people have had a habit of being more complex than they first appear to be.

On the other side of the table, paying little attention to the board and the figurines stood between them, was another figure. Armed, armored, with a sigil of the Blood Knights clear in the view. Claemora - another face you knew all too well.
"I'll be thrilled to hear your opinion of his fate.", the woman's voice sounded without a shade of interest or humor. "Truly, there is nothing that interests me more. You have only opined on his demotion around six times. I'm sure the seventh will be just as riveting."

"I believe you'll be surprised.", the gaunt-faced aristocrat huffed through his nose. "If a man is to call himself a man, he should be able to admit he's wrong."
The room fell quiet in an instant. In the silence that came over, you could hear breathing - your breathing, coming from behind the closed door. Each present soul would look to the magister in unfeigned interest, waiting for his next word - but the elf was holding a dramatic pause.

"Well?", Claemora demanded, her gaze suddenly gaining in sharpness, and her tone - in impatience. "Are you going to do that? Were you wrong?"
"Perhaps, my celebration was somewhat premature.", Aldanis rolled off his tongue. "Although my distaste for the man and his brood is hardly a secret..."
"This is exciting.", the blood knight interrupted him. This time, without a hint of irony in her voice. For a moment, she would even forget what she thinks on the subject herself. "Go on."
"If you want me to continue, you should stop interrupting me.", the magister twitched his nose. "Although Sundown's breeding is highly doubtful, he is still nobility. I think that some measure of privilege should apply. It is unseemly for a magister to engage in manual labor."

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There was something in his expression - something so utterly hilarious, that your imagination failed you. The present Sunhawks, the ones blessed with the chance to see it with their own eyes, would chuckle with some intensity.

"It happened, my lords.", someone said from the sidelines. You could not recall, who. "It's snowing in Hellfire."
"Kazzak is skating his way to work!", Claemora could not keep a straight face either. "The hero of Lordamere pier can stare down a lich, but watching a fellow blueblood get some dirt on his cuffs? That's a bit too much for him."
"Getting a little nervous, your lordship? Too close to home?"

The door creaks - and another one enters. You. Not willing to stand on the outside, listening in, not at a time like this. No one notices the arrival of their commanding officer. Not yet.
"Sundown is a fraud, and his credentials are questionable.", the aristocrat would defend his position, undeterred. "He had no place in a leadership position of any capacity. But mining? I believe that's somewhat excessive."
The response from the blood knight was immediate, and it came like a crack of a whip. Any semblance of a smile was wiped from her face, as she heard an echo of dissent.
"Sundown has made it very clear that he's incapable of filling any other position. We're at war. Survival of our entire nation is at the stake. If we're to survive, everyone must contribute, no matter their blood."
Claemora was a true believer in the cause - so much, that occasionally she scared even you with her zeal. Humans who wielded the power of the Light had strong faith - the blood knight, in its stead, had strong convictions. The mission of the Sunhawks was holy. The Sun King's strategy, outlined in his famous theses, was a holy scripture. Deviation, no matter how small, amounted to nothing less than heresy.
"Besides, his work is still an important one.", she added a moment later, in a slightly softer tone. "The crystals are very sensitive. If this work could be automated or delegated, by now it would be."

"I am well aware that we're at war.", the magister responded coldly. "I am not, however, so certain that every one of our new arrivals has been made aware of that, before they made the journey. Magister Sundown came here expecting the promised land, and now he is digging through the mud with a crude instrument..."
"Pickaxe."
"...and he has no choice in the matter, because of the martial law. There is a word for such a situation, my lady. Would you like to hear what it is?"
"I'm all ears.", the blood knight spoke through her teeth.
"Slavery. A nobleman has been enslaved."

The air cracked with tension. You've had to do something. And you have.

>Write-in, unless you really want options.

If you want any additional information, I'll present it.

>>4963224
Is there a cost to be transported from Azeroth to Outland. Like, I mean, if the transportation is done via portal, does the portal need an influx of energy everytime it transports someone? Also are there major transportation costs in time or other resources to transport someone from whatever population center Sundown came from to the portal, and then from the other side of the portal in Outland to the mine or where ever we are now?

I'm just asking because if there is no reason why Sundown couldn't just leave, then it doesn't seem like the whole slavery thing is very defensible, but if it cost resources to send him back and let him be free, or he'd need protection from enemy forces on the way out that could cost lives, then I could see us rationalizing it as us "making him earn his keep", especially if food or resources are low.

>>4963224
Also, how far into the timeline is this in Burning Crusade? I kinda want to know how many other crazy warcrimes that we are aware of have already been committed and how aware we would be that Kael'thas is acting kinda nuts.

>>4963255
The effort required is immense. When the orcs were invading Azeroth, they've had to build a gigantic portal powered by souls, and needed a collaborator helping them on the other side. When the elves ran away here for the first time through a temporary portal, the effort pulled into it was less grandiose, but still significant enough to be a focus of a whole mission in TFT. Travelling between worlds is not easy.

>>4963260
Very early. The Scryers have not seceded yet. There are a few oddities, but overall it's the new normal. By now, the Sunhawks have been here for four years.

>>4963268
Um, so this is before the Dark Portal was reopened, right? Or is it not and Sundown is one of those pilgrims?

>>4963223
>"Surely this is an assessment made in haste, Magister Aldanis. You understand as well as any that we've no choice but to endure a necessary hardship here. Even I am guilty of accepting a double-ration of strong drink to lessen the burden. We should not be so vain as to compare honest labor to slavery when faced with onerous conditions such as these."

>>4963223
>Wrong! As you say, Aldanis, Sundown is a fraud, a criminal, he intentionally misrepresented his credentials to obtain a position of leadership that he was not fit for, in addition to obtaining the material benefits that come with such a position that he didn't deserve, he endangered the lives of those who put their trust in him by deceiving all of us in regards to his pedigree and capabilities. As such he is simply performing penal labour. He is not a slave, his term is limited just as any soldiers or indentured servant has a limited term that they must serve, nor is he forced to abide by the every whim of his keepers, no one is demanding with the threat of violence that he serve them wine or dance for them, he is simply earning his keep, the food he eats, the bed he sleeps in, the mana he consumes, or would you rather we provide all of that to him for free and ignore him deceiving us?

I think if we are reconciling what has already been established about "Lynestra" with choosing what we think about specific issues that arose during our time in Outland then we should find a good balance between displaying our fanaticism and devotion to Kael'thas and the cause and our slowly coming to accept that Kael'thas was crazy by the end of it all. We probably shouldn't defend him trying to bring Kil'jaeden into Azeroth or him allying with The Burning Legion, or any blatant murders that could've been avoided, since our rant to Sherman reveals that we do realise that "we did terrible things" and that "his solution drove him mad", but we can probably find kinda-sorta-maybe-not-really legit reasons to rationalize the slavery and mana forge stuff among other things.

>If Aldanis pressures us about us also being a noble and asking how we can say that Sundown deserves this we should echo Claemora and say that everyone needs to do their part. If he pressures us about the slavery, tell him that they have to earn their keep, we aren't housing and feeding the pilgrims for free, they have to work like anyone else in a normal society and it just so happens that the job market is rather restricted at the moment and so those with limited skills will have limited opportunities and will be forced to work what jobs they can.

Sorry if this isn't accurate to the actual situation, all I could find about the slave thing was some quotes from a certain Foreman Sundown (whats he complaining about, he got a leadership position after all) about being treated like slaves.

>>4963223
Backing >>4963428's write in, though I think it's in the same spirit as >>4963418 - continuing to rationalise as the Sunhawks backslide into desperation. It'll be interesting to see the point at which we can't keep it up any more.

>>4963428
To offer my opinion on things, the quest began in a time where most of the players had no idea what is going on, and what the protagonist should and should not think on things. Things like her personality were also not established.
With that in mind, I don't consider anyone to be under a strict obligation to keep continuity with the first thread. "Lynestra" might have had an outburst under extreme stress, where she said things she didn't mean.
Or you can keep strict continuity, if you want.

Also, post soon (TM).

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"Magister Aldanis.", a voice sounded. It was yours. "You're wrong."
The elves, one after another, would turn to you - a few of them were striken by genuine surprise, as the excitement of their conversation has left them totally unaware of their surroundings.
"Your honor.", the nobleman mouthed with a short, lazy bow of his head.
You remembered this look, this almost mocking gesture. It was lifelike, clashing with the foggy, half-remembered, half-imagined dreamstate, that for a moment you've become almost lucid enough to wake.
Few of them truly respected your authority, you knew in your heart, then and now.

"Magister Sundown is a criminal - a fraud at least, and at most perhaps even a wrecker and a saboteur. He intentionally misrepresented his credentials to obtain a position of leadership that he was not fit for, in addition to obtaining the material benefits that come with such a position that he didn't deserve. He endangered the lives of those who put their trust in him by deceiving all of us in regards to his pedigree and capabilities."
This speech sounded almost prewritten, memorized - but you remembered well that every word you've said, you've come up with on the spot, every word was coming from the heart. The men listened to you in silence, as you spoke further.
"We live by law, all of us, noble and common, and even a magister must pay for his misdeeds. So, Sundown is performing penal labor. We do not humiliate him, do not degrade his dignity - we simply ask that he pays back what he owes us, earns his keep, as a criminal should. Would you prefer him to evade the consequences of his own doings?"

An answer came. Not from the magister - but from another. A striking figure of what you were not certain could be called an elf anymore, a nightmarish creature with a body ravaged by corruption. One could be forgiven for assuming that what covered his skin like a web was a collection of scars - you, however, knew better. The very same chaotic force that left him with a pair of horns sprouting from his head, that same force that burned away his eyes, was not meant to be contained by flesh. It struggled to escape it, each time those markings would pulsate. The sight was unwholesome, to say the least, even to your eyes. There were good reasons for why the demon hunters mostly stuck to their own.
"Pilgrims arrive here, expecting paradise.", he spoke shortly, not wasting a word. Keeillan rarely indulged himself with long speeches, instead preferring to use language on the illidari manner - as a bludgeoning instrument.

Before you've managed to as much as open your mouth, someone intervened on your behalf.
"And they find it.", Claemora rose up her head and glanced at Illidan's disciple. "This is a paradise. It may not look like it anymore, but you should know about judging the book by its cover. There's magic everywhere - not fel, but accessible, pure, distilled magic. It is the solution, the only solution, and everyone here has the immense privilege to be the first in line."
"Thank you, your ladyship.", you waved your hand in her direction. "After all this time, we've found the promised land, the one that would feed our hunger for decades to come, maybe centuries. We just have to work for it. There was never a time in our history, when something was received in exchange for nothing. In all honesty, I don't understand what the debate is even about. Should people just lie around, doing nothing?"

The demon hunter did not answer - whatever was on his mind, he would neither share it, nor change his mind. You cared little at the time - you considered yourself fortunate to even have him assigned here. As long as he did not speak or do any outright treason, his free thinking was of little concern.

"I'm certain we were just having a conversation.", Claemora regarded the magister and the illidari for a moment. "And on the matter of Sundown, I'll petition for him to be muzzled. It is bad enough that he set the schedule back, now he's polluting minds with his incessant whining."
"No one actually listens to him.", you assured. A short pause was spared, before you changed the subject. "I'm here for a reason, in truth. I was just at a war council."
"Physically?", the blood knight rose her eyebrow in surprise.
"...I saw a war council in the magic mirror.", you admitted, before returning to the point. "We'll be attacking Shattrath."
"'We'?", magister Aldanis inquired. "We're moving out?"
"No, we're staying here and overseeing Netherstorm. The second army will be attacking the city, commanded by Voren'thal."
"The Seer?", the aristocrat's face was twisted in a grimace of disbelief. "I was under impression his rank was an honorary one. He's old and frail."

"He volunteered for the task.", you explained shortly. "The discussion on the matter was a short one. There was barely any discussion at all."
"Was there a discussion on the matter of... Casus belli?", the magister inquired. There was not a word more to his question, but even at the time, you knew exactly what he meant.
"I do not know the exact reasons...", you inhaled and paused. "But it's lord Illidan's will. The sun king's banners were called to action, and he answered."

"Then lord Illidan has finally lost his goddamn mind.", Keeillan snapped back. "It is a peaceful city, and they are enemies of the Legion."
"I'm certain there are strategic reasons...", Claemora tried to intervene.
"He aims to wipe out anyone who doesn't kneel to him.", the illidari growled back. "That's his only strategy. I've seen him a year ago. He isolated himself in the inner chambers of the temple. He's talking to shadows, plotting against non-existent enemies. Our defeats have driven him mad with fear, and now we're seeing the fruits."
"We all swore loyalty to him. ", the blood knight stood from her seat. "You became his disciple, his illidari. He delivered us. "
"And now he's driving us to the edge of a cliff. I've trained in his arts. It does not mean I must indulge in whatever butchery his ailing mind thought up."
"Without him, we'd have starved.", magister Aldanis pointed out softly.
"Are we starving now?"

>Aldanis has a point. It was lord Illidan who led us here. We owe our lives, all of us, to his knowledge and wisdom. Should we doubt this same wisdom now?
>Claemora is right. There are too many things we can't know - even an illidari. Lord Illidan has never been keen to share his motives, but if Kael'thas still follows him, so should we.
>Keeillan echoes my fears. Ever since we've returned here, lord Illidan has made one questionable call after another. Now he's attacking a peaceful city that has never been any threat to us. Why?
>Before we make any snap judgements, we should wait until a formal announcement from the Sun King. He will make sense of it.
>We are soldiers. You are soldiers. We do not question orders, we follow them.

>>4964974
>Before we make any snap judgements, we should wait until a formal announcement from the Sun King. He will make sense of it.

We may or may not be able to trust Illidan, but we can trust our king.

>>4964258
Well, I'm happy with how things have turned out, so I'm more than happy to keep continuity. That, and a lot of our characterization comes from the first thread, not to mention several of the quests' best moments.

So even before she became a hobo, Lyn was still as personable as a brick. The more things change, it seems. I guess she earned her rank by being a massive girl scout.

>>4964974
>Before we make any snap judgements, we should wait until a formal announcement from the Sun King. He will make sense of it.

>>4964974
>Before we make any snap judgements, we should wait until a formal announcement from the Sun King. He will make sense of it.

>>4964974
>>Before we make any snap judgements, we should wait until a formal announcement from the Sun King. He will make sense of it.

Rolled 3, 1, 1, 6 = 11 (4d6)

It is one thing to speak, and the other to be heard.

(Dazzle +0)

>>4966274
I don't suppose we have past-Lynestra fate-points do we? lmao

You needed to reassert control over the situation. You were their leader - even though each of them thought he'd be a better one, they weren't. You were - by the grace of your medal. You've felt it burn on your chest, right where your heart was, it always gave you strength and certainty.

"Everyone...", you shouted over the rest, but suddenly you've found words turning into a garbled mess in your mouth. Whatever speech you were prepared to give was hopelessly lost in the mind fog of the dream, and the confusion that has overtaken you.
It didn't matter. None of it mattered - they weren't going to listen to even the most inspiring of messages, not from your mouth. Nobody ever cared about what you've had to say - not since you were a child. So often, you would walk into gatherings and try to speak on the same matter as them, only for the conversation to die, move on, slip past by you. You would repeat the jests you've heard - when others told them, they'd have people rolling from laughter. You only had people talk over you. Everyone always talked over you.
You never understood what other people have, that made it different for them. What made them inspiring, what brought them friends and comrades, what won them love. You only knew that you lacked it.

A terrible, shameful feeling of self-pity washed over you, as the surrounding figures started fading into pale shadows, and whatever argument they've had became nothing but white noise. A part of you tried to remember if this argument really happened, exactly like that, or if your mind imagined it, assembled it from many different talks and impressions, from things you knew. Maybe the matter didn't even lie in lord Illidan and the city of Shattrath at all. You certainly cared little about both right now.

"Please, just...", you muttered helplessly.
Stop talking? Listen to me? Love me? They won't love you. That's why they abandoned you. They're out there, somewhere, drinking and laughing, and they've never thought about you once in those four years. And you are somewhere in the human world, being carried, lying in the bed, dying. Nobody will ever remember you, or love you.

File: Auberon.png (1.27 MB, 1000x1420)

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"Everyone!", a voice boomed, captivating every soul present in an instant.
A figure rose amidst the Sunhawks, an armored man with features chiseled by gods themselves. A single scar crossed his face, marking him as a fighter and a veteran. His eyes were sharp, and his tone - commanding, without the need for him to even try. The troops fell into silence, as he made a step forward.

"I understand that the news might come as unexpected, even troubling. I know that they trouble me just as much as they do you. But what matters is, we must stay true by our king. I don't know if we can trust lord Illidan. I don't. It's true that things have been strange recently."
An admission made with a heavy heart, but with strength in his voice. A momentary allowance that will only serve the counterattack. The number of people around him grew - and it did so at least twofold. Someone in the newly formed crowd nodded at his words.
"But I do know that we can trust his majesty, the king. Everything we have, we owe to Kael'thas. It's his wisdom, his judgement, that kept us safe, that allowed us to survive and prosper. Without him, our people would have been ended years ago. He's led us through the darker times before - and I know that whatever is coming, this time he's also going to steer us right. So we should wait - wait for his word, for his orders. Same as we did before."

He did not even speak his last word, before the warriors cheered. With just a few sentences, he managed to shift the entire mood, bring the men to order. Perhaps, he should have been the leader all along. You knew that everyone thought that - him, most of all, even though Auberon never said so himself.

"Hi, sister.", suddenly, you would find him before you. His eyes, glowing with the calm verdant light, looked at you sadly. He sighed. "You don't look so good."

>Traitor!
>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>I'm alone. I feel like I'm dying. Find me. Please, find me. I'm in Alterac.
>You always made it look easy. Why can't I do it? What do I lack?
>I didn't need you. I never needed you, then or now.
>This is not how any of this happened, is it?
>I've embarassed myself enough. This is a terrible dream, and I must wake.

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>>4966373
>This is not how any of this happened, is it?
>I'm alone. I feel like I'm dying. Find me. Please, find me. I'm in Alterac.

>>4966373
>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>I've embarassed myself enough. This is a terrible dream, and I must wake.

>>4966373
>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>I've embarassed myself enough. This is a terrible dream, and I must wake.

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236 KB JPG

>>4966373
>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.

>You always made it look easy. Why can't I do it? What do I lack?

I read a bit of this when it was in chargen but was driven off by not really understanding WoW lore. But I read the first post of this thread and it was compelling enough to convince me to read through up to here.
>>4966373
>>Traitor!
>>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>>You always made it look easy. Why can't I do it? What do I lack?
Some combination of these. Viscerality and vulnerability.

>>4967140
Welcome, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're glad to have you. There aren't many of us.

>>4966373
>>Traitor!
>>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>>I've embarassed myself enough. This is a terrible dream, and I must wake.

>>4967140
Very glad to have you, and also any lurkers who are now taking a more active role in the quest. By the standards of this thread, six people is a huge success.

Now that we're having lots of people, we also have lots of opinions, especially when it comes to multiple choices. I'm going to approach the subject very simply - if an option got half the votes, it goes through. I consider anyone who doesn't explicitly pick response A, to be implicitly against option A.

>>4966373
>>Why did you abandon me? We are family. We are supposed to look out for each other.
>>I've embarassed myself enough. This is a terrible dream, and I must wake.

An entire whirlwind of emotions awakened in you the moment you've seen that face, heard that voice. You closed your eyes tightly, and nodded, faking a smile.

"Yes. Brother. My good, loyal kinsman.", the words left your mouth, as your lips and tongue didn't move. "Always reliable, always true."
Through your closed eyelids, you've seen Auberon's features fail to shift, as he still looked at you with the same saddened expression on his face. He knew what he's done. He knew, and he still wouldn't explain it. You hated it. You hated that you had to torture the answer out of him, even now, years later, that you had to bring yourself so low, that you were crying.
"Tell me why!", you heard your voice crack, as you stepped to him. "Either give me an explanation, or admit that you hate me, and you always did! The rest of them - fine, I would survive it. But you? You too?! We're family! Does this mean nothing anymore?!"

Your blood, your kin, born of the same source, would not answer you. He would remain there, passively, looking at you, as if expecting you to know the answer yourself. Your hand reached for something to throw at him - and you were barely quick enough to do it. It was disappearing, all of it. The Netherstorm, the chamber, your people, him too. The dream was coming to an end, and maybe so were you. it was good. You could barely tolerate a moment more in this terrible place.

With the last desperate flash of anger, you've tried to cast forward a glass you managed to save from the darkness of oblivion - but your arm barely managed to move, as if submerged into the water. Your fingers wouldn't unclench.
"You've said we'd look out for each other!", your voice was muted too, as if coming not from within you, but from somewhere very far away. It barely reached you - and you knew it could not reach him. You tried shouting louder. "Look at what I've become now! Why did you leave me like this?!"

He did not hear. All those who promised to stay with you through the war have abandoned you once again - and so did the last of them who remained. He walked into the nothingness with nary a word - and after some time of solitude, this same abyss would claim you.

EX 2, MOV 2, TWI 1, PRU 3, MND 2, DZL 0
Stress: You'll live.
Consequences: Fought a death knight in melee (4)
Fate Points: 3


Your awakening was not like something out of a book, where you suddenly opened your eyes, cold sweat running down your skin, and a shout escaping your lungs, as you snapped back to reality and catapulted yourself into a sitting position. It was a slow, gradual proccess of both joy and disappointment coming to you in turns, as your mind sluggishly struggled to process one thing after another.
For example, the very first thing that occurred to you was not the fact that you've just seen a terrible dream, but instead the horrible pain that you were feeling. Then, you recalled the reason for it - you were struck with a flail to your ribcage, and magic alone was the reason you still breathed. You survived, then. In all earnesty, that was more than you hoped for. The ceiling above also looked somewhat familiar, so you also had a pretty good idea as to where you currently were.
Although your night was terrible, in truth, it wasn't anything you haven't seen before. You've been through this many times - and by now, it was more unpleasant than dramatic. When you've tried closing your eyes and returning to sleep once more, it was not because of an unbearable need for closure that you now realized you would have no way of getting, but because you held out hope that you now you would spend a sleepless night, far removed from the awareness of your ailing body.

But the sleep was not coming. Not for the lingering bitterness of being left behind, and not for the terrible sensation that seemed to take over each time you dared to take a breath. No.
It was the accursed amulet you've received from Nagaz. Every few seconds, it would screech in what felt like the insides of your skull, demanding your immediate attention. It was also probably the reason you woke just now.

>It's probably important... Must answer...
>The amulet and the Wake can both burn.

>>4967580
>>It's probably important... Must answer...
You're a soldier, aren't you? Get up, trooper.

>>4967580
>It's probably important... Must answer...

Ah, the old ball and chain.

Sad we didn't get to finish our dream and see our greatest failure or what could've been, but with how it was going we probably needed the break.

Though lets make sure to grab our cane and check that we aren't attending a Shadow Council meeting in our pajamas before teleporting.

>>4967580
>It's probably important... Must answer...

>>4967580
>>It's probably important... Must answer...

>>4967580
>>The amulet and the Wake can both burn.

This was not the first time you've woken exhausted and wanting to immediately fall back to sleep - and this would not be the first time you've resisted the urge, powered through the pain and forced your mind completely awake.
Before you've communed with whatever was trying to get your attention through the bloodstone, there was one thing you've needed to be certain in. With great effort spared, you've pulled your body up from the bed and sat, silencing whatever pain you have felt - and only then, half a moment later, you've realized that if you wanted to make sure you are clothed, you could have just craned your neck a little, or even felt the dress with your hand.

No matter, no one was here to laugh at you - and at the very least, you've clarified a few things. First of all, you were capable of sitting up - maybe even standing. That was good news. Secondly - despite your intial assumptions, you have not been, in fact, in the room the duke has granted you. The ceiling looked remarkably similar - which made you guess that it was either the same building, or the one very much like it. But none of your belongings were here with you - and all the furniture stood in different spots. Why have you been brought here..? A riddle for another time. You have kept your amulet waiting for long enough.

Truth be told, no one really explained to you in detail how this trinket works - but you've had your guesses. Arcane schools had plenty of time and opportunity to diverge, gain in quirks and differences for each culture that abused it - but you've had serious doubts that bloodstone was used for such squeaky clean type of sorcery, and fel... Fel was still new, and all of you - elves, humans, orcs - drew from the same well.
Just one little spark of magic power was enough to bring your trinket to life.

>But none of your belongings were here with you - and all the furniture stood in different spots. Why have you been brought here..? A riddle for another time.

There is probably a couple of simple solutions to this riddle. One, we trapped our bedroom, so they probably can't go in safely. Two, it was revealed by the Death Knight to our allies that the Wake are "Shadow Council remnants", so we could be under house arrest.

File: Staffron Lerent.jpg (262 KB, 480x720)

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The amulet was, if nothing else, remarkable to see at work - its magics reminded you of a toy you used to have when you were a child. It was a simple thing - a lantern in a metal casing. The casing would come alive when you wanted, shift its shape, so the shadows cast on the wall would move like living figures. It was much like a puppet show - several short ones, actually. It did not come with voices - only music - but when you were very young, it would still be enough to captivate your attention. It could make brave knights, funny animals and ugly monsters - what's not to like?

In some way, perhaps, the bloodstone amulet was your childhood toy perfected. Not only its creations, constructs of crimson light, were capable of making noise, the monsters it made were far more terrible than some lantern could ever hope to manage.
"Sunhawk.", the creature's tongue clicked. "Your repeated failures to answer the call of the Argus Wake have been noted. Nagaz may have made a mistake in bringing you to the fold."
Much like the death knight, the creature you were speaking to now was neither alive, nor dead. A twisted amalgamation of flesh and bone - the former of which was barely attached to the latter. Death has robbed this monstrosity of much - lips, nose, eyelids all were missing from the creature's face, but somehow, you were more disturbed by how thin it looked, like a natural philosopher has drained all the fat from below the skin, before throwing the body back into the coffin. The burning eyes of the living dead looked at you with clear, cold judgement.

"I've answered as soon as I was aware of the need.", you answered back. In the ideal world, this amulet would cause no projection at all, and neither would you need to speak out loud to reply. You had little doubt that at some point of your life, perhaps even the current one, at least one of those critical flaws would haunt you. "Until this very moment, I was unconscious. I've battled a death knight, and..."
"I will inform you, once I desire to hear your excuses.", the corpse cut you off. "Your problems are entirely irrelevant to me. Moving on to the relevant information - if you have not been informed yet of my identity, I am Staffron Lerent, a senior member of the organization. From now on, I am your immediate superior in the Argus Wake."
You've thought you recognized him from somewhere - and now that his name refreshed your memory, he certainly was at the Wake's sabbath. Him, a night elf named Tyranis and a swarthy woman by the name of Iresoul, were all personally called by Nagaz to his chambers. You might have been told you were in the inner circle - but this creature actually was.

"I am now allocating time for all your inane questions and reports...", if there was something you would compare Lerent's voice to, it would be dry wood. "...before we move on to the matter at hand."

>Write-in

The protagonist is not the only one who suddenly received social media. Now that I have whole seven (at times) players, I want to keep them, by updating them on the quest's state. Quest-irrelevant posts will not be tweeted.

https://twitter.com/SunhawkQM

>>4971386
>"My ribs hurt."
>"... Would you happen to know how much time has elapsed since I - allegedly - failed to answer the Wake's call?"

>>4971386
>Report on the broad details of our encounter with the Death Knight and his stated intent to rid Alterac of our kind. If possible, leave out the fact that the Death Knight specifically called out the Wake as Shadow Council remnants in front of our Alteraci allies. (I'd rather not have him do something like order us to kill them and I'd also like the opportunity to explain ourselves to them and the nature of the Wake if that is something they payed attention to and care about) Tell him about what we observed in the capital of Alterac, but fudge the date of our observation to hide the fact that we knew this information but did not give it to the Shadow Council upon our induction into their ranks.

>If he corners us in regards to the aforementioned issues, risk his ire and distract him by putting on some haughty airs, act like we consider him beneath us and we took Nagaz flattery to heart, point out our so far limited material compensation (where are reagents, weapons, libraries of ancient tomes, property, etc) and make it seem like our goals align with theirs but that we seem full of ourselves and are looking to do the whole "summon Kil'jaeden" thing not only for the purposes of becoming an immortal conquerer or whatever but for the purposes of Elvish nationalism. (Essentially risk pissing him off to justify our "restrained dissemination of information" or wanting to keep him from doing something to our friends and allies. Basically, while we may have given off the impression of an obedient soldier, this only goes in so far as it furthers our own goals. We can give them some idea of a motivation of ours so they think they understand us instead of thinking we may be a spy and also so they know what sort of carrot to dangle in front of us when they aren't busy waving the metaphorical stick in our face.)

The second write-in maybe kinda dumb or entirely unnecessary or risky, I dunno. I just don't want them to think we are withholding information because we are a spy, but rather because were full of ourselves and concerned with our own goals and are shaky on how much we ourselves trust them.

>>4971392
Good, this should help you retain players better and reassure us that you aren't letting this quest die. I don't have a twitter account to follow you with, but I'll check the account or /qst/ manually to look for if there is an update.

>>4971386
Also, supporting >>4971465 in addition to my own.

>>4971386
>>4971470
>>4971465
Also supporting these.

Where to begin...
You breathed in, and immediately realized this might have been a mistake. Twisting your face in a pained grimace and bringing your hand to the side of your body that seemed intent on killing the rest, you've groaned a pitiful:
"My ribs..."

The projection of Staffron Lerent, your immediate superior in the Wake, barely changed in the face. Perhaps, in a grim jest, or perhaps, with utter seriousness, the figure demanded:
"You need to speak up, if you wish to be heard."
"No, it's...", you shook your head quickly, annoyed at the ridiculousness of the need to explain yourself. "My ribs hurt, and I have trouble speaking. I was not addressing you."
"This kind of information is the one I would classify as 'irrelevant', Sunhawk.", the abomination replied dryly. "The status of your failing flesh is not of any concern to me, or the Argus Wake. The amulet's energy is precious, and must not be wasted on further frivolities. Is that all you wished to discuss?"

First Mercer, now this. Even if Church was right, and Alterac was the only place you could survive and prosper in, by now that prosperity seemed to have a suspicious, rotten stench. One saving grace of this conversation was, it was highly likely that one day you would end up responsible for this man's death.
"No.", you sighed very carefully. "As I've mentioned, I've faced a death knight in combat. It was not a figure of speech - an actual death knight has shown himself, a scion of the Scourge. He fell by my hand..."
Not entirely an inaccurate statement. Your contribution was significant, perhaps even fateful.
"...but I have reasons to believe he was not acting alone.", you finished then. And then waited - glanced at that necrotic face, watched for the slightest twitches of muscles. What thoughts did your revelation provoke in him?
"You are a bearer of old news, Sunhawk.", the corpse's voice rattled. "The organization has been aware of the Death Knights of Strom for some time."

So, the Wake knew. That was disappointing - but one thing that didn't escape your attention was the fact that not only the Shadow Council neglected to share this valuable information with you, Mercer and his ilk seemed to be taken entirely off guard by this menace. Either they were being economical with such insights with their allies, or "some time" has not actually been that long at all.
In the most charitable explanation of the events, it could all first become known to the Wake after Jarad - your predecessor, that is - perished.

Death knights of Strom, then. The name alone clarified quite a lot of things - but at the same time, it sounded terribly wrong. You've always had some admiration for sheer resilience of stromic people - despite every disaster that struck their corner of the continent lately, their nation managed to stubbornly cling to existence on an almost an elven manner. If every nation in the world was to be ground up, oversimplified and forced into a single stereotype, then for Stromgarde it would be "heroic" and "valiant".
And while it was true, that as long as you stood by people like Sherman and duke Dryden, warriors of Strom would be your enemies, for some reason the fact that they've now had death knights has upset you greatly. Stromgarde was simply not supposed to sink that low.

It took you a second to awaken from that line of thought, and focus on the important matters. It was time to push him a little. Not only it would likely result in him spilling some more precious information, it would also improve your mood.
"The Wake was aware of the enemy, and did not think it was important to inform me?"
The undead thing looked offended at the very notion being suggested:
"Your failure to educate yourself on the precarious position of Alterac is on your conscience, Sunhawk, and you will not blame it on the organization."
If any argument ever seemed flimsy and weak to you, then this was it. Just another careful prod.
"I was given information on every little conflict between the local robber barons, without the need for me to even ask.", you narrowed your eyes. "I have assumed that those are the most important matters the Wake is dealing with, but I do apologize for assuming wrongly. My mind should have jumped to death knights immediately."

The sheer look of annoyance on Lerent's face demonstrated clearly that you've hit your target perfectly.
"This matter was not considered important at the time.", the drained body was forced to admit sourly. "Not for those stationed away from the border of the kingdom."
'Considered' by whom? Him, of course. That was it. It was his responsibility to brief you on the matter. He didn't, because he did not assert the danger properly. Maybe, no one in the whole Shadow Council has.

"But they did not strike at the border, like a reasonable military force.", you hoped that your words sound like just an educated guess. It would be quite unfortunate, if your entire struggle for dominance in this conversation would be nulified by the revelation that you knew of the danger first, and failed to inform anyone on the matter. "They've gone for the heart, as their first order of business."
"Supply lines mean nothing to them, and they do not fear being surrounded.", the undead sorcerer confirmed. "Should they find their situation desperate enough, it's certain they will exfiltrate the capital the same way they came - on flying beasts."
"And everyone left behind, those without flying beasts, will serve as a garrison of completely acceptable sacrifices.", you concluded grimly. The more you thought on the manner, the more fighting these dark riders seemed like a nightmare. Should they show even a modiculum of patience and tactical acumen, they could bleed the entire Syndicate dry without losing a single thing. It was almost darkly hilarious how the Shadow Council seemed like the only possible salvation for these people.
Of course, you reminded yourself suddenly and sharply, there was the matter of the death knight you've killed. He was a difficult foe, one who was almost the death of you, but he did fall, and his foolish overconfidence greatly contributed to it. One down, twelve to go?

You blinked.
"How did they manage to slip in undetected?"
"It is yet to be determined.", the answer came. "Two leading theories are the usage of an old, forgotten portal, and simply using the snowstorm as a cover. Regardless of the way they've used to enter the capital, they are there presently."
And they are not in a hurry to leave. The one you've fought was a one man raiding party, one of many to follow.

Once again, something is stirring within. It is an opinion.


>I feel like the situation may be more complicated than I'm led to believe right now. I must learn more facts before I make any judgements.
>Facts? Fact is, this is just a continuation of the old war - the one I've already fought in. Not a matter of banners or nations, but life against death. I've thought it's over, but apparently there are some remnants to finish off. As an elf, it's my personal duty to fight.
>I am finally in a situation where any reasonable man can see that I'm the hero, and I'm on the right side, and it feels very vindicating. Who knows - the news might even reach the homelands. I'll have that statue yet.
>This is significant - for my personal affairs. I have already proven myself to be a match to those death knights. The alteraci already know who their saviour is, and it's not the Wake.
>I'm not upset about death knights fighting in wars between human nations - I am gravely concerned. What happened to common decency, rules of warfare? Where did chivalry go? We went wrong somewhere, all of us.
>The alteraci should have known what they're getting into, when they aligned with the Shadow Council. Stromgarde getting their own monsters was just a natural result of this arms race.
>Strom crossed a terrible threshold, when they aligned themselves with the death itself. It's not something to be forgiven lightly, and they must pay for their transgression.
>If I knew what kind of devil's contract I was signing up for, I would not be here right now. I was supposed to cross Thandol Span. How did it come to this?
>Mercer has already claimed the credit for the victory, and whatever I do in the future, it will still be a thankless job.
>Somehow, this will win me love. I can feel it in my heart.
>[Write-in]

A random idea: team up with a goblin shortstack who has invented a mobile televiser device, and make pornographic material pleasuring Ogres, Tauren, and Centaur.

>>4974087
>This is significant - for my personal affairs. I have already proven myself to be a match to those death knights. The alteraci already know who their saviour is, and it's not the Wake.
>Somehow, this will win me love. I can feel it in my heart.

>>4974137
+1

Who doesn't love a beautiful heroine? If we play our cards right, our deeds will win us many friends and suitors.