[Balanor]

Amazing stories - everyone! Lovin' it!!! :D

[Yma23]

I didn't take part in the battle, but Channa has been comissioned to write a song in their honour. Here's the work -so far-. It may be subject to a bit of change. Expect it to be sung in the city too, onece it's been checked over by *ahem* certain people...

Listen to my song, those of Bezantur
To the tale of those that protected her
This city within which so many reside
And those men that saved all those inside


‘Twas when sweet day turned to evening time
That our men of Bezantur fell into line
For Ryech Voralt, Protector of Bezantur proud
Proclaimed that for our city war was bound.

‘Twas the turning of evening into night
When the dreadful hoard came into sight
The Scouts reported demons dread
Cold hearted brigands, the walking dead!

No parlay was given, no banner was flown
No reason for this attack was shown
But their purpose was clear, they desires bloody
To attack all here and burn this fair city

Bezantur’s fine forces were put into place
Lining the walls, sword, axe and mace
The despicable host drew closer still
Each abomination baying for the kill.


Once, twice, thrice forward they came
And each time repelled, each time slain
With ladders the undead thought to scale
But their foul assault was doomed to fail.

Their foes seemed to endless be,
Their assault like the pounding of the sea
For each foul monster that met it’s demise
Three more from the throng would arise.

As the bodies piled high against the walls
All followed fine Tribune Rhyech’s calls
To head from gate to besieged gate
To hurry, to fight, lest they be too late.

The Dreadlord Maurin with spells he fought
And much destruction by him was wrought
Pillars of acid, fire, stone and ice
Cut through the monsters, slice after slice.

And sing I of Omnipotence Kaiser too!
Who decimated the enemy through and through!
What foe could stand before his power?
Could not waver under his missile shower?

But not so easily would the foe abate
Against those they sought to devastate
Winged demons they sent over the walls
To drop onto defenders and kill them all

These creatures caught defenders unaware
And it was all on the wall, not a man to spare!
But not so easily would Bezanter;s hero’s fall
Not whilst there was one man left to hear the call!

No sooner had winged demons met defeat
Than another command called from the east!
A new attack, greater than any before
Could they continue? Could they take any more?

It seemed they could, it seemed they must
Fighting though weapons could turn to rust
Through the sheer amount of blood they had shed
Yet still they fought, ‘till the last one was dead.

Host upon host did the enemy send
As yet more winged beats did descend.
And at their heels a cloud of bats
Soon to be send driven away like rats.

But even this battle was not without at cost
And for a moment all seemed lost
As Dread lord Maurin nearly met his defeat
But swiftly was bought back to his feet

Beholders, fiends, spinning winds of pain
They fought them all, and now few remain.
The Valiant Heroes of fair Bezantur city
Who met each attack without any pity

Dawn was coming swift upon the land
And it seemed the battle was well in hand
But whiles moon was high and night held sway
The dreaded foe had another hand to play.

A cunning plan their shrouded enemy devised
And south from the harbor a new foe did arise!
The Sauhaguin from their fetid sea lair
Came to cause more doom and despair

To distract them from the Northern gate
To force them into a half hearted state.
But the Great Vortar, Maurin and Kaiser stood tall
And before their power the fish people did fall

Some fell to the magic of a wizards spells
Some to blade, but all tumbled to the hells.
Those foolish fish turned the water red
Their bodies falling to the cold sea-bed.

Dawn came fast, and hope came anew
And this time it was the city’s turn to pursue
The Tribune called the cities finest forth
For one final push out into the north

A small force of the finest of all Bezantur
To repay all that had been done to her.
As the final wave of foes charged hard once more
This powerful force did bravely ride to the for


Mounds of corpses enmeshed in golem design
Even this was flung against brave Thayan lines!
But Vortar the Mad sliced out their knees
And the creatures fell like hewn oak trees.

Between the wall and charging heroes caught
The army of evil fell under this onslaught
Demons, devils, ghosts and vampire
Brigand, mercenary, all doomed to expire

Their leaders tried one final attack
But Bezantur’s men would never fall back
Each one was slain with our blade and spell
Until not one foe upon the battle plain did dwell.

Dawn light surged over the Bezantur ground
Upon the dead piled mound after mound
The enemy fell into terror, loss and doubt
And those few that remained fled in a rout!

Bezantur still stood proud, firm and strong
Because of the work of those within this song
So lift you mug, and raise a great cheer!
To these great men of Thay who we all revere!

[Balanor]

Despite lethal attempts to keep word from spreading, the secret gets out:
Less than a tenday ago Szass Tam, the greatest archwizard in eastern Faerûn, had his master plan for becoming emperor of Thay foiled by a band of lowly adventurers. His attempt to bind control of Thay’s ancient and deadly ‘ally’ -Eltab- to his will has failed. Amazingly, the band of adventurers penetrated the Citadel itself, braved the Paths of the Doomed, and reached Tam’s inner sanctum to disrupt his Ritual of Twin Burnings. At least some of these adventurers were also said to have participated in the defense of Bezantur.

Upon word escaping of his failure to complete his plan, Tam found it a political necessity to call a rare meeting of all the zulkirs and tharchions, whereupon he was besieged from all sides about the danger of his plan, how such a powerful wizard could allow such a petty force to cause such damage, and how his failure means that Eltab appears to have now escaped Red Wizard control entirely - no doubt to return some day and exact vengeance upon his long-time captors.

Many conspiracy theorists surmise that the zulkirs Nevron, Lauzoril, and Thrul commissioned the party that disrupted Tam’s plans. Just as they surmise Tam was the individual behind assault against Bezantur in an attempt to keep those zulkir’s focused on defense and protecting themselves so they could not mount an expedition into Tam’s stronghold and interrupt the final stages of his plan. But just as Tam could no longer take credit for an attack against Thay’s largest city (which could have precipitated all-out civil war) meant only to gain time to complete his ritual, the triumvirate of zulkirs could not take credit for the interruption of a ritual which caused the freedom of the dreaded Eltab.

At this meeting, virtually all tharchions and several of his allied zulkirs expressed their reservations that Tam was not the all-powerful leader they thought he was. Support for his becoming emperor of Thay withered with each word they spoke, while the three zulkirs of the previously disgraced triumvirate were lauded for their successful defense of Bezantur.

With Tam’s plans now in shambles and the three zulkirs of the ill-fated Rashemaar invasion returned to their previous (or even elevated) position, the meeting broke down to arguments and petty bickering. Thay has now returned to its original state - that of a land of near-anarchy, with power divided between squabbling wizards and tharchions and a threat more to itself than any neighboring lands.


This marks the conclusion of the Runes of Chaos campaign. Thanks to everyone who participated! Keep an eye out for a thread with all of the details of this campaign sometime in the near future.

[Bertram Anders]

OOC: Hope this submission isn’t too late. I’ve been meaning to work on it for awhile
now, but just haven’t had the time or the drive lol. Also anything in italics is a thought.

IC:
The talk of war had been about for weeks, Duston Conners had been antsy for quite a while from being cooped up in the city for so long. Being a faithful Sergeant of the Priador he didn’t mind staying in Bezantur to keep her safe, but oh he did long to be outside the walls. He was not accustomed to being confined by the walls of a city, at least
not on the commands of others. He continued his patrols regularly. He finished his patrol on night and slept soundly. The next morning he awoke in a cold sweat, he knew it, today was the day. The war would come on this day, or it would never come at all.

I can feel it, today is it, no more waiting...

He hastily sprang from the bed, donned his trusty armor and helm, threw his shield on his arm (a fantastic gift from Vortar if you were to ask him), and sheathed this rapier. With a joyful spring to his normal stride he went to the market. No one special was there so he
continued on searching the city. Nothing was out of place and he found no one interesting to talk to so he decided it would be a good idea to go and check on the siege equipment.

Captain Durn and Gwen were on the wall, they started carrying on a small conversation of nothing of note.

That’s when the runners came flying through the city’s north gate with their shouts and warnings the army was approaching.

Finally. It’s about time for talk to be over and we settle his with some steel.

The announcement was made that The Protector was going to be giving a speech to the Legion before final defensive preparations were to be put into place. Well that was the plan anyway.

Ahh, I do so love my conversations with The Protector. *slightly hinted with sarcasm, but mostly a true statement*

Gwen was waiting by the message board on in the northern square, Duston had asked her “Where did the Captain go?” Then Gwen responded in kind “To go get supplies.”

A fine idea, I shall to while we have time.

“I shall to, I will return shortly.” So off he went to fetch many bandages, for there could never be too few of them during a battle.

After returning to the square, Durn had not returned. Both Gwen and Duston awaited him. Vortar showed up shortly after Durn.

Surely this is not all that Bezantur can muster in defense.

Durn said to Vortar. “Did you put in a good word the the All-Father for me?”

Vortar, to the effect of. “Gruumsh shows his blessing on his most honored son. He shall protect me during battle and help me slay my enemies. As for you all, your all fucked.”

Likely right on that one...

Vortar continues after a moment of silence. “But the the All-Father revels in bloodshed and battle, if you are able to stay skull for skull with me, then he shall shine his blessing on you also.”

Duston and Durn look to each other then to Vortar and responded simultaneously in kind. “Then we're all fucked.”

A short burst of laugher ensued. Finally, Master Kaiser joined the scene follow with Elvita in tow. Shortly after Dread Lord Maurin came into the northern square.

*as he sees both Reds enter* Much better.

Vortar suggested to Durn that it would be a good idea to make a line of the legionnaires to present them to Ryech. So all the legionnaire made a nice formal line, and they were joined by Vortar.

A conversation starts about if any banners being flown by the approaching army, which one were.

Before he knew it the square was full of people. Then lo’ and behold The Protector entered, and he began his speech. Dante showed up and come in right behind Duston. Duston tried to shoo Dante off, but it didn’t work so both began to whisper:

Duston. “Playing legionnaire now, are we?”

Dante. “No, I just don’t know where to stand.”

Duston. “Anywhere really.”

Now that that’s over with... *he pays full attention to Ryech*

A quick run down of what defenses were in place and what was needed where was the majority of the speech.

Orders were given to Durn to issue to the defenders. Duston was put in charge of the siege equipment on the northwest wall. He was to be joined by Sarin and Reesa. He set off immediately, with a quick salute to Durn, not wanting to waste time.

Thank the gods Gwen wasn’t assigned to the siege machines...She’s AWFUL with them.

As it turned out orders had been changed, so that only Duston and Sassy, the temperamental elf sorceress, were operation the -3- machines! It was even worse since Sassy has never used one...

Who in all the 9 hells worked this out!

So Duston gave her the run down on how the use the balista she was on and told her to take a few practice shots. He also told her to make it quick on figuring the thing out. He manned the catapult and the right side balista, both at once, he loaded both, set them for
different coordinates.

Dusk began to approach. It wasn’t long before the army began the attack. His wall was the first area to be under siege.

*grumbles* Couldn’t ask for anything better. Undermanned and being the first danmed
place attacked!

A whole horde of ladder carrying zombies came on in full.

Zombies carrying ladders!?

Shots were fired by both Sassy and Duston, but it wasn’t enough. Manning both weapons at once was proving to be quite difficult. Soon the began to come up over the walls.

Duston dropped any ammo he had on him and then drew his rapier, he began swinging at the zombies, taking each out in a few swings of his faithful companion. With only Sassy and Duston on the wall though, it soon proved to be more than they could hold off. Easy
enough a few at a time, but a whole wall full was a different story.

Dante came and Duston immediately ordered him to man the other balista. After another conversation about someone never using siege weapons, and an explanation of how to do so, Dante was operation the second balista.

Great, where the hells are all my damned trained legionnaires!!! *rather pissed*

Then as if an some prayer to the gods had been answered; Kaiser, Marun, and Vortar were there. Others poured in but Duston was too busy with the battle to notice faces. The enemies kept piling up, on the wall and more came in on the ground to climb what ladders were in place. Ryech shouted that the bulk of the forces were on the northwestern wall.

Ha, isn’t so bad with all this help!

Drakenbeasts started attacking, flying over the wall, and onto it.

Hmm, spoke too soon.

The wall was cleared, and the streets as well. A momentary pause followed. With a moment of rebuttal Duston caught his breath, and then flying demons hopped upon the wall. They were cut down in force.

Dawn began its approach across the horizon.

More enemies came on, Duston forgot trying to remember what he was fighting, he just shot the siege machines, or swung his sword at them, in hopes to kill whatever came his way, though he still maintained his sensibilities not to attack comrades.

Sometime during the battle, when something rather big and powerful had attacked, he noticed two red robed figures on the ground. He rushed to bandage both of them, asked if
they were well after the stood back up. Although the deed heroic, he never mentioned this in any of his war stories, not wanting to tarnish either of the Reds' reputaions.

As dawn began to brighten the sky, the enemy neither retreats or marches for another assault, as if unsure how to proceed.

The Protector called out for those with less than 10 seasons to go to the northwest wall, and those with more than 10 to go to the northern gate. Ryech came and began issuing orders. Whoever was on the wall was to use the siege machines and keep the enemy distracted and focused whilst the others at the gate were waiting to launch a counterassault to finish the battle.

Great, almost over.


So the enemy came and Duston fired the catapult and fought off whatever climbed the wall. When the time was fight the counter force charged and started decimating the two corpse gathers that had appeared, one looked to be taken out by Vortar himself! After that
the leaders of the foe’s forces appeared. Two powerful death bringers, but the were no match for Bezantur’s powerful offensive force.

The battle was over, and the word was that the Zulkir and Tharchion himself was to give a speech.

That's a first.


So all the defenders gathered around the northern square again. The legionnaires formed another line, and Vortar and Ryech went to fetch the 3 Zulkirs.

Hmm, three of them...Likely never to happen again.

Sometime during the battle Sergeant Brognar and showed up on the wall. Diego congratulating him on his work during the battle. This rather irked Duston, being as the northwest wall was under his command...

Damned Deigo. Bastard never did like me. *continues to grumble about Diego for a few more moments*

The showed up, and everyone kneeled except Masters Maurin and Kaiser. They gave their speech and left. Aznur Thrull final words being of being futher rewared depending on each individual’s contribution to the battle. Vortar distributed gold the Zulkirs had given
him to everyone, and he left.

*Duston looked around* Ahh, Channa, a welcomed sight. I’m glad she’s safe. *smiles at that thought*

As tired, hungry, and thirsty as he was Duston, likely about to die from any of the three, still had time to ask Channa out for dinner. She agreed and so they went, she inquired about the battle. Duston weaved a tale of the battle to her between bites of bread and sips of wine. After Channa had to leave, Duston ran for the barracks and collapsed into a bunk for some much needed rest.

[stronglikesumo]

*claps* awesome bertram :D
Durn said to Vortar. “Did you put in a good word the the All-Father for me?”

Vortar, to the effect of. “Gruumsh shows his blessing on his most honored son. He shall protect me during battle and help me slay my enemies. As for you all, your all fucked.”

Likely right on that one...

Vortar continues after a moment of silence. “But the the All-Father revels in bloodshed and battle, if you are able to stay skull for skull with me, then he shall shine his blessing on you also.”

Duston and Durn look to each or then to Vortar and responded simultaneously in kind. “Then we all fucked.”
hehe