Dandelion Forest (Location E)

[Max Dirks]

The Dandelion forest connects the eastern half of the river. The trees are thinly spread apart, and sun beams down to the forest floor in several locations. There are three main paths leading out of the forest. One to the Eastern Mountains, one to the Eastern Valley, and a third to the Wayward Bridge.

The tournament will begin when 6 threads have been posted in this subforum. Good Luck!

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

“Report.” Eddie, Kelly and the General tossed a glance between as if it were a ball none wanted to be the first to hold. I sighed and wondered what the reluctance was for. At long last Eddie cleared his throat. The look he cast at the others made me raise an eyebrow. It was a chiding look mixed with more than a little irritation.

“The LA&C troops are stocked. I have eight cases on stand by. On top of that, the void is carrying its full capacity.” Eddie handed me a sheet detailing what supplies we had, what could be created by dawn and what had already been used. I nodded as I skimmed over the list. I was a little surprised that given what Eddie had made today, he had not dropped from exhaustion so far. Laying the sheet on the map, I looked up between the General and Kelly.

“Kelly, report on the DDP’s. What the status with your group?”

“The DDP’s are a functioning group. We had a slightly rocky start in setting up the chain of command. Currently they are positioned two hundred yards from the main camp. They are due for shift change in a little over an hour.”

“Alright, General? The girls?”

“The LA&C are as ready as they will ever be for a fight. Currently, I have them into thirds. Each group is assigned to different duties. The group currently rising from a rest is due to exchange places with the DDP’s. Also, I have assigned a core group to help me manage the Mandas. You’ll be able to spot them almost immediately.” I thought about asking the General exactly what she meant but the expression on her face made me think other wise.

“Okay, you guys go get some rest. In the morning we will hold a meeting. We need to decide if we advance or if we stay in our current position. Retreating at this time is not an option.” A round of murmured agreements came from everyone, quickly they headed out. Eager to reach their own tents and catch as much sleep as possible before dawn, no one lingered.

Looking down at the map I sighed. There were three paths through this forest and in my opinion that was two too many. I needed more information about the surrounding areas and I needed it now. Heading out of the tent I headed for the LA&C, several of the Mandas stood out. Oddly enough they wore head bands with flowers, feathers or the shiny labels from the tequila bottles stuck in the back of the band.

“The general wasn’t kidding they stand out like a sore thumb.” I muttered under my breath. I waved to the first one that looked at me. After several minutes of nudging and pointing they finally walked over to me.

“Whatcha want Boss lady?” I had to fight against laughing for a moment. I guess my amusement was visible, several of them grinned at me as if wondering what the joke was. I shook my head; it would do to tell them that the headbands looked ridiculous. They might come up with something worse, like covering themselves in mud or running around naked.

“I need three of you to volunteer. We need the three paths that lead out of this forest scouted.” Oddly enough, as soon as I stopped speaking the twelve of them started clamoring for me to pick them. I had to wave my hands to get them to stop shouting at me and at one another. At random I pointed out three of the Mandas.

“Locate one of the Shadows; you’ll be able to travel faster while the night holds. If you encounter an enemy army, hold back and watch them for a while. If you think it wise, and I mean use the brain the Ai’brone gave you. Enter the camp and speak with the commander, see if an alliance would be possible. We don’t yet know who or how many we are up against. Be cautious and keep the Shadows with you at all times. If need be they can carry you away under the ground.” The three bobbed in agreement. I worried at the gleeful expression in their eye.

“Come on, I want to supervise the shift change and set up the next perimeter shift.”

~~~~~
With the three girls and their Shadows heading along each path I felt a little more secure. The LA&C on guard shift were pulled back to only 100 yards from the main camp. I spread the Red Wolves out the farthest from camp, confident that they would provide the swiftest alert and the best front line of protect. The Shadows filled in the ranks. Even when I knew where one ‘stood’ I had trouble picking it out from the shadows under the trees.

The small campfires beckoned to me through the trees. With the Shadow and the Red Wolf I had appointed as my personal guard by my side I returned to camp. If felt good to simply set down and eat the stew like concoction a Manda handed me. The fact that I sat within a Shadow, using it as a chair help out a lot too. I looked up at the obscured sky, watching the few stars I cold make out and wondered at the outcome of tomorrow.

~~~~~
Just as the sky began to lighten to the East twin shrieks and a bellow out outrage cut through the air. I looked away from the tents the noise emanated from, hiding my grin. Moments later several Manda’s ran up to me, identical maniacal grins plastered on their faces.

“You are on your own ladies. I only suggested you wake them up with water. It was never an order.” I chuckled at the crestfallen expressions that quickly grew into panicked expressions. I looked over my shoulder to what they were staring at. Kelly stood just outside of her tent, looking at them. I grinned at her, recognizing the look that promised doom. How often had I seen it aimed at me growing up? Then again, while that Kelly looked like my mother she wasn’t, it was just a copy created from my memories. I looked at Kelly again and decided that the Ai’brone had done a good job. Too good of a job.

“Boss Lady.” The title caught me by surprise. A Manda I had sent out stood before me. I stared at her for a moment.

“Why are you back? Where are the other two?”

“The path I was on paralleled to the path the other Manda was taking. There was no sense in both of use heading east. Up until I turned back, there was no sign of an enemy army or any occupation of the forest.”

“Well, done. Go eat, then turn in. You are relieved of duty until this evening.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The Manda headed towards the nearest cooking fire. I hurried for the command tent. The General stood outside the entrance waiting for me. She opened the flap for me and ducked in right after me. I found Kelly as well as Eddie waiting for me inside.

“Right. While you were sleeping I sent out three of the group you recruited, General. They were accompanied by a Shadow. So far one has come back. The other two I presume are still scouting out the paths before us. For now, while we are secure in this position, we stay.” I looked around at each of them. I was pleased when none of them looked like they wanted to protest.


One Manda/ Shadow pair enters Eastern Mountains (location B) another pair enters the Wayward bridge (location A) Rest of the army retains its current location.

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

Noon came and went, I found myself very nervous and worried about the fact that neither Manda had returned yet. I needed the information about the areas ahead and I also worried that I may have lost two indispensable troops. The Shadows.

I had just come to the resolve to move my army further on. Staying in one place seemed too risky to me. Minutes after giving the order to begin readying for a move an undulating howl broke through the noise of my army packing. Beside me the wolf that accompanied me every where howled back before it started a low continuous growling.

“Right. Its probably to early for anyone to attack but they definitely smelled someone.” I muttered as I looked down at the wolf.

“Change of orders! I want half of you to keep packing. The other half form ranks, we might have visitors, people.” I yelled the orders as loud as I could in order to be heard. Surprisingly, there was no panicking, no one tried to flee the up coming fight. I knelt on the ground beside the wolf.

“Okay, I need you to spread the other Red Wolves out in the forest. I don’t want any groupings. You guys stand out too much when you form a huge tree. If you encounter a group, take out as many as possible but I would like a few prisoners. Send back one wolf to report. Also have the Shadows move into positions to ambush what ever is coming our way.” The wolf beside me stopped growling for a moment, I could see agreement in its cunning eyes. Wagging its tail once it shot off into the cover of the trees.

“Move faster ladies, I want everything packed up in five minutes. DDP’s move to the perimeter you’ll be the front line within the camp. Eddie, break into the void and pull out the emergency crates. If we are attacked I want the girl’s to be able to throw Molotov cocktails before they have to actually fight. General, I want a group of twenty working at making the cloth strips for the cocktails. Tear up a few blankets for the strips needed.” I watched everyone jump to follow orders for a moment. The amount of noise from the items being spilled carelessly into the trucks worried me. It seemed obvious that we were in a hurry.

“Try to keep the noise to a minimum. Five Mandas need to be stationed around each truck to load it quietly. Hand off your items to them.” From the trees came the first cry of surprise along with the chainsaw snarl of one of my wolves. Around me everyone tensed and slowed what they were doing, straining to listen to the small battle being waged in the trees.

“Move people, you’ll find out what battle is like soon enough. DDP’s advance twelve paces into the forest. I want you to have room to fight.” An explosion deafened me for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the bright flash of fire. Ah hell, explosives. Great, there go a lot of my wolves. I hope the Shadows are okay. Around me, all talk died out the Mandas practically ran as they hurried to get everything loaded. The rest of the group watched the forest surrounding us, a grim expression reflected on every face I looked at.

“Change of plans. We move now. Mandas I want you to hop in the trucks and go. General, Kelly and Eddie will go with you. Find a place to stop at least five miles from here and return for the rest of us.”

Eight of the ten cases went back into the void. Eddie had to help me force the General and Kelly into trucks. My ears rang a little with the duel protests from the two. I grabbed a cross bow from a Manda as she passed me by.

“Kahlina, one of us needs to stay here.” The General yelled at me from the window of a truck.

“I agree. That’s why I’m staying behind for now. The Longer you argue and hold up things the more likely we are all going to pay with blood for the delay. So stop arguing, sit down and go. We’ll be waiting.” I didn’t look back as the trucks moved out one at a time along the path that would take them to the Wayward Bridge.

~~~~~
Two hours later the first of the trucks arrive. I raised a brow when I noticed that the General was driving one of the trucks. From the trees my red wolves began to trickle in, several sported singed fur. Slight flickers of something dark along the ground let me know that the Shadows were also returning. A quick scan let me know that I had lost a few wolves and that the wolves had met someone. Blood on a couple of muzzles sent a spike of satisfaction through me that at least another’s blood had been spilled in return.

“This is going to be a very tight squeeze but I need every last human in or on one of the trucks. Red wolves. I want you to bring up the rear. Shadows, I want as many as possible to attach your selves to the trucks.”


Army has been moved to Wayward Bridge. (May the gods forgive me for what I've done to my army.)

[Saxon]

The ringing from the explosion still in his ears, Balsohm listened to the grind of tires and the sound of countless voices and animalistic growls as the enemy quicky left the wooded area. Caked in dirt and dried, brittle blood, the guerilla fighter wiped the sweat from his eyes as he took light, shallow breaths. Watching the gristled, furry chest of a strange wolf rise and fall slowly as it began to realize its coming end; Balsohm winced at the sight of another trying to rise only to hear the sickening crunch of its shattered bones collapsing under its weight. It wasn't until the Salvic rebel laid his eyes upon the thick, splintered branch that protruded from the center of his chest that he realized how long he had.

Still clutching onto one of the two sticks of dynamite he had been issued by his superior, Balsohm felt tears well up in his eyes as he heard the echo of footsteps ringing in his ears. The feeling of the cooling breeze brought little comfort as he sputtered to speak, only to dribble blood down his chin and onto his jerkin. Slowly as his comrades made it past the clearing, the fighter took one last glance over the debris and the piles of mashed, red meat and tried to grin but only managed to grimace. Seven.

~*~

Gritting her teeth as she wrenched the branch from the corpse of her ally, the rebel leader called Chulz let the rebel sag to the side with a thud. Turning her back to the man, she faced two bearded twins eye her carefully while others picked through the scene of painted gore with scrutiny," Report," she said with a menacing tone.

The two looked at each other for a second before the eldest of the pair extended a hand clutching a metal ornament known as dog-tags," Found 'is inna pile of meat over there, looks like Nirks went out with a bang and took seven of tha' mangy bastards with him.".

Pushing herself forward with the balance of her pike, the rebel took the proffered dog-tags and fingered them gently before stuffing them into one of the many pockets of her vest," What about the others? How many more were lost to this fucking catastrophe?".

The youngest one stepped forward spoke confidently in adequate tradespeak fit for a duke," Well, we haven't heard from Vulscezi since the explosion, and we think some of the rocks we propped up towards the east spilled under the strain. All in all, it probably set us back about three hours in work.".

Tossing back her red, amber hair in frustration, she gave an icy stare to her corporals and gritted her teeth as she considered their position. Pushing past the two twins knowing they would follow right behind her," Pick up the wolf meat and use it as bait for the pit falls and the bear traps. Make sure to note where the explosive tripwires are upon the map and make sure they are put only on the main roads, y'hear?".

The two twins gave consecutive grunts and were about to return to their work before them when they heard their leader abruptly clear her throat. Stopping dead still they didn't even turn until they felt slender hands upon their shoulders and Chulz' voice barely above a whisper," I don't know which one of you did it, but I told you both not to give the recruits dynamite, didn't I?", she continued as they nodded dumbly," This is what happens when you don't follow my orders, and if one more recruit decides to go out in a blaze of glory like this again, I will have you both tied to a pile of meat and fed to the Manuka, understand?".

The two shuddered at the thought and looked at each other nervously before uttering," Yes mam," and slinked off as fast as they could the moment her icy grip left their shoulders.

~*~

[Saxon]

40 Craz Guerilla Fighters have moved from Dandelion forest back to the Eastern Mountains.

[Saxon]

Within the dense foliage of the forest a deafening sound of gears and pistons roared as war machines that rolled upon wheels moved through the forest, paving a trail for the moving army moving about in its wake. Leaning against the crude-iron rails that protected most of the driver, or ‘Plow-Master’ as the Khazban call them, Viktor watched as trees moved quickly by that surpassed the speed of even the fastest of horses. The raider wore a rag of wet cloth about his face as crude, black smog gushed from the primitive engine and into the darkened sky above. Torches sat affixed to the tower and various other parts of the machine to enable the ogres to see where they were going, much less keep themselves from slipping into the deadly traps set by the Craz.

It was all too clear that with their course set through a booby-trapped forest that Viktor couldn’t move an entire army to the battlefield in a night, much less a day without missing an opportunity such as this. The thought of enemy intrusion had sunk into the raider’s mind even before they had left, and it would be the efforts of the druids standing upon the backs of the mighty jotun to restore the forest back to proper order before they left. After all, what good is trapping a forest if you paved a road through it?

As the thought occurred to him, Viktor glanced back up the way they came towards the mountain, the brief visage of his new lover clinging to his mind like quick-sand. It wasn’t until the cry that the general gazed down to the deck of the war machine where various troops sat awaiting the encroaching battle. With little effort, various members of the Di’Aht were hopping aboard the sea of metal, their hunger starting to get the best of them. Pulling his eyes from the sight of several ogres moving to meet them, he glanced at the plow-master who stood pushing and pulling various contraptions that seemed far too advanced for even an ogre to control,” Speed it up. We’re being boarded by too many of those damn metal-eaters, and I want this thing in one piece before we get there, damn it!”.

The giant barbarian shrugged nonchalantly at the command and effortlessly wrenched a lever, causing the plow to lurch forward at startling speed. At the sudden burst of speed there were several roars as Viktor turned to see Khazban warriors and shaman rushing to their seats out of habit, awaiting their time to spill the blood of their foes. Various coppery tunics and robes fell out of sight into the darkness as the monks either fell or jumped off the plow into the wilderness below.

Tilting his neck until he felt a satisfying crunch, the raider felt a question panged within the general’s mind, causing him to roar over the engine to the ogre ‘engineer’,” These mechanical beetles seem too advanced for your kind, ogre. How’d you get them?”. Viktor felt his intrigue fade as the ogre glared back at him for a moment before returning to his work, the threat all too clear,” Alright, forget I asked,” the Fallienite said as he looked away, such knowledge of little importance for a raider.

~*~

Sitting within a pit of rock-like skin that was the cusp of the jotun’s shoulder, the druid known as Tnesla whipped her bare arms about in the utmost grace, the sweat beginning to glisten off of her forehead and drip onto her dark, bare breasts. Unable to see what was going on behind her, the mystic had closed her eyes and relied on the sound to be her guide. With each swirling wave a root crack from the ground and strange, precarious wood snapped stubbornly up from the benign footprints of the hungry giant. Seeds had been scattered upon the soles of the creature’s feet, and it was quite the sight to see a forest spring up within a giant’s wake.

Her companion, Ganaar, sat within the crevices of a jotun called Dhagor’s ear, over thirty leagues on the other side of the forest.. It would be a short time before they had managed to reach the battlefield, and it was up to the pair to ensure that these giants survived the battle at any cost. But as the group slowly caught up to the destruction wreaked by the plow, the more the druids felt the steady rumble from the giants’ stomachs. It wouldn’t be long now until the mystics were reunited, and it was all they could think about as their peculiar rhythmic chant snaked on into the night.

~*~

Feeling the deafening grind of trees leave his ears as the war-plow moved steadily away, Fredrick Dallinger carried on into the forest, a bow slung over his back. The sniper held a torch in his grasp as he carefully tried to read the map without burning it to a crisp. Ducking and weaving about the brush, the sniper slowly shrugged the bow higher onto his shoulder as he felt a pang of regret as his own weapon, a rifle, had been confiscated from him and his comrades before the Gisela had even started.

“ Fairness,” the sharpshooter grumbled as he stepped over a log and towards a perch stretching high enough to peer over the outskirts of the forest. It didn’t seem like much of a weapon to the member of the Ironside, but having experience in such situations; the soldiers often had to make due with bows instead of their precious rifles in training exercises in order to conserve ammunition. It’d be hard work, Fredrick knew that much, but given the opportunity, there was little in the way a target could do once he got the bead on them, and he’d make sure there that every arrow within his quiver bit into the flesh of enemies.

Or so Fredrick thought.


~*~

130 Khazban Warriors have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
50 Khazban Shaman have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
50 Salvarian Berserkers have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
20 Zamorian She-Wolves have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
15 Vezebi Combat Medics have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
2 Khazban War Plows have moved to the Wayward Bridge.
20 Syvothian Tribesmen have moved to the Wayward Bridge.
Viktor "Priest" Al-Haat has moved to the Wayward Bridge.
40 Witch-Hunters have moved to the Wayward Bridge.
2 Jotun have moved to the Wayward Bridge.
4 Uldahn Druids have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
4 Manuka Slavers have moved to The Wayward Bridge.
20 Qaltha Servitors have moved to The Wayward Bridge.