Forest Plateau (Location E)

[Max Dirks]

The Forest Plateau is an odd mountain area. Along the top are miles of thick forests. The cliffs (which offer few "safe" paths) overlook the central coast. Only the bravest of generals will bring their entire armies along the plateau. The rest would be wise to find alternative means of travel.

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

[Twisted Infinitum]

I’m assuming that it’s proper form to note this here.

Three floating eyeballs, the size of bowling balls, have flown into this location from the Central Coast (Location B). They are flying high enough to appear as a threesome of birds in the classic v-formation, but they will still be recognizable as round objects for anyone who studies them from the ground.

They will travel across this location until they enter Location D. If attacked, they will react with the reflexes of a bird and attempt to dodge.

[Io Beauregard]

The single Dragoon Officer has made it to this location from Piston Lake (Location D)

The forest was thick, which was a problem. From what Dragoon Unit Officer Daniel could tell this was the only means of getting out of that tight lake area he and his army had been forced to start the tournament in. If this were a Giavintine cedar forest the trees would be far enough apart for his horse, Jai, to make a dead sprint through the area. Here Jai had to settle for a jog as Daniel held his left hand up to shield his face from the giant elephant leaves and cut nearby branches with his right hand. This was ridiculous. He’d much rather not loose the sharp end of his blade on wood, but he had to. For a few moments he’d made an attempt at traveling without cutting and he quickly realized how much good it did.

Jai saw everything before he did, so Daniel had to trust her with avoiding hazards. He had no idea what lurked in this forest. Some forests in Giavinta had patches of quick sand in them. Could this forest have quick sand? If so then coming across one would mean certain death. The intricate but small tattoo behind his ear throbbed as he mentally opened a communication stream with his Strategos.

“I’ve got no room here, boss. I can’t see a thing. These branches are slapping me like an uptight whore at a brothel. If this is the only way out of that lake then we’re screwed. The thick canopy may help us out a bit. For a few minutes there I couldn’t even see the sky. Some scientist told me it’s a sign you can support a person up there.”

Rosangely’s deep but youthful voice rang quietly but clearly in the Dragoon’s ear. “We’re in luck either way. It looks like an opponent of ours is scouting the area. They may open up a path for us.”

“Well if we do use this path I may have an idea. We could escort some scribes through and make a teleportation glyph…” Daniel’s horse came to a sudden stop and made his objection to move forward clear. Was it quick sand? Daniel dropped down from Jai and moved to his front with caution. He was glad to see that it was something much better than quick sand. ”Report!”

”I’m listening.”

”One army of approximately nine hundred strong located in the coastal area south west of our location…” Daniel narrowed his eyes in disbelief. ”Um… they’re bunnies! And that’s not the end of it.”

[Twisted Infinitum]

One Shadow Cat has entered this area from the Central Coast (Location B). It is much like a leopard, though sleeker. It appears to be colored exactly like the night sky, making it difficult to detect. It will enter the region near the middle of the night and move deep into it until spotting enemies. Small groups or solitary figures will be attacked from the shadows, as cats tend to do.

The eyes have left the region and are entering the air over Piston Lake (Location D).

[Io Beauregard]

The entire Giavintine Rosangely Force has entered this area from Piston Lake (Location D) in a tight shallow band formation as mentioned in the previous move.

[Twisted Infinitum]

The beast of night stalked lower through the undergrowth as morning sunlight broke through the canopy like golden streamers. Just enough shadow remained along the forest floor to keep the starlit obsidian skin from being obvious. Even the natural creatures seemed not to notice, for birds of dawn still sang and clouds of insects still drifted about.

The cat had been trailing the scent of a lone human since it had scaled the rocky western edge of the forest. Time and the thick presence of nature had weakened it, though, leaving the cat to cast back and forth over the trail through the night. It was in the very depths of the forested plateau now. The hunt for that one individual had been abandoned. It was too far away, especially with the sun diluting the cat’s supernatural speed.

However, the hunt would soon go from abandoned to unnecessary as the cat detected a great force ahead of it. An entire army could not move quickly or quietly through such a dense forest. It broke through like a ship churning the sea. Wildlife fled above and plants wallowed underfoot, both powerless. The cat’s ears laid back at the harsh wave of sound, and it began moving faster. Staying as low in the undergrowth as possible, it darted out of the army’s path, giving a wide berth to erase any chance of being seen. At the edge of the formation, where the sound of it turned from a crashing wave at the side to a weak pulse dissipating behind, the beast turned and traced its way completely around the mass of two-leggers.

Here, in the shadow of their travel, the forest was horribly changed. All the undergrowth was trampled; a carpet from what had once been a low maze. The trees stood as rigid as monuments over the devastation, though they each seemed alone and disconnected without the life that had once brush their trunks like children with grasping hands.

The cat felt its master’s sympathy, but all it cared for was the prey. Padding forward carefully, it moved into the army’s footprint. They were still deafeningly loud to its ears, and the sunlit gaps in the trees ahead showed the flickers of metal and solidness of cloth. The cat tensed its legs and began moving toward them, faster and faster, always keeping the trees between them. The sunlight shone down thicker, now, and the beast avoided those strong beams as if they were as solid as the trees. As quietly as nature’s wrath, it closed on the rear of the formation. Pale fangs appeared in the dark mouth. The feet padded harder. Then, the cat lunged for its first taste of Althanas-borne life force.

The cat is attacking the weak civilians at the rear. It will attempt to grab one by the throat, quickly kill it, and dart back into the trees without bothering to take the body.

The eyeballs enter from Piston Lake (Location D) and will attempt to stay over the army, though tree cover will make it difficult.

[Tiberius]

Five Light Scouts, trailing the main force that had just left Piston Lake (Location D) enter into the Forest Plateau (Location E), still trailing the advancing army.

[Tiberius]

Under the cover of darkness and silence, twelve men enter onto the Plateau from the Southern Rift (Location C). They do not know of the presence of the army, or the five other scouts. They set up a small camp on the southern most edge of the Plateau, with no fire and very little noise. Come morning, they will begin to scout the region and whomever may be in it.

[Io Beauregard]

The elements and the spiked wall wrapped around them to protect the back and sides, and the shallow band formation was complete.

”Man, this is going to be one sloppy ass ballista. That is if we get it done.” The one member of the engineering corps looked behind him at the pieces of the siege weapon on his back with despair. He looked up to see the Strategos giving him a cold look. Rosangely did not tolerate such comments, and the engineer apologized immediately. The master returned his focus to the path ahead, and out of respect and a little bit of fear, so did the nearby artist. Having witnessed all this the Master Scribe felt it necessary to explain the situation.

He kept his volume at a whisper. That was all that was permitted in on the march. “Comments such as the one you heard are considered destructive. They indicate a conflict minded nature, and if he allows such a comment to go unchecked that’s one less soldier focused on a solution to a problem.”

“So instead of encouraging his men and women to be positive minded, he absolutely forces it upon them?” Io said with a suspicious look.

Vitale could see that Io disagreed with this policy. “Well you don’t see the man striking anyone down do you? That engineer better not expect a promotion anytime soon though, and if he keeps it up to a disgusting degree he’ll be discharged. A solution based mindset is a prerequisite of employment in the Rosangely force.”

Io didn’t make any objections to that. It was a brave little policy, creative too. They had been in the thick of the forest for quite some time now. Io was never a great time teller, but he could be certain that it had been at least two hours. Two hours of walking, two hours of this humid forest that managed to retain the mist of the sunrise, two hours of a canopy thick it seemed like sunset. As much as he didn’t want to admit it Io was now anxious to see battle. So far the Giavintines had proven to be an intriguing people, with a graceful language, eye for style, and beautiful women. Would they prove to be a powerful people as well?

Speaking of beautiful women. “Where’s Giada?” Io said with wide eyes and a volume almost too loud for Vitale’s comfort. As far as Io knew, they had left her behind.

Vitale laughed as he made a soothing gesture. “Calm down. She’s on the other side of the formation. She reunited with us right before we entered the forest.”

“Why wasn’t I told?” Io said with a saddened face.

Vitale crossed his arms. “You’re not the Strategos.”

“I understand that, but there’s no language barrier anymore!” The artist waited for the scribe to figure out what he was getting at. Vitale was seemingly less intuitive than Io initially thought. If he caught on to the artist’s immediate infatuation upon introduction with Giada, he should have been able to understand this aspect of courtship. “I can successfully hit on her now.”

“Oh.” Vitale said with a laugh. “Well you’re going to have to save that for later. Perhaps if you’re good I’ll allow you to go to the front line with her for a while. She’ll be your mistress. Just don’t get killed.”

A sinister grin appeared on Iorwerth’s face. Having intentionally misinterpreted Vitale’s statement, dirty thoughts arose in his head. Since he was an artistic person, several unconventional ideas and scenarios were conceived in a split second. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t resist the thought. What he could resist was making those thoughts vocal, “So what’s the report?”

”We’re being followed, of course.”

Io’s jaw dropped at the statement not necessarily because of the statement itself, but because of the casual light hearted fashion in which it was delivered. Vitale took a tone not unlike a patron at a restaurant as he ordered the daily usual. ”Is that not something we need to fear?”

”If they were strong enough, they would have taken several opportunities to attack. If they were smart enough, they would not have been heard. The only threat they pose is information. We’d much rather keep them alive and observe them observing us.

”What if they have tools for advanced communication like you do?”

”We’ll take our chances. Anyways if they pose a true threat the Strategos needs only to make a simple command.”

”It looks like we’ll have to.” The voice that Io could only describe as superior emerged from the direction of the Strategos. With a quick word the entire army halted. ”Vincenza, You’re needed at the rear to evaluate a wound.”

With a quizzical look but without question Vitale took Io by the arm and pushed his way through the ranks of the layered shallow band formation. They twisted through the bows, stepped over the dwarves, and around the shields just as the legionaries on the outside were turning. Until now the rear legionaries left their shields on their backs, and the pikemen held their weapons backwards so there would be something to the effect of the spiked wall in the front. The two moved well beyond the pikes and jogged along the wooden colonnade of the forest. The scene appeared in the distance. A legionary lay on a moss mattress as two of his comrades stood at his shoulders looking into the forest, presumably in the direction from which the hazard came. What was that hazard though?

Several calls echoed along the formation, and the spiked wall subsequently kneeled down. Vitale suddenly grabbed Io by the collar and threw him to the safety of a shield. ”Close your eyes and kneel!” The Half Elf said as he practiced what he preached. The artist did the same. Merely a second later he could hear a volley of arrows passing over him. The sound was unmistakable, like a flute player inhaling on his instrument creating an ill tone of the vacuumed air. Immediately after the shot was a light so great that it pierced Io’s eyelids like the sun. The Scribe Master came and snatched him up once again and they reached the scene of the injury.

”That cat was smart enough to get the boy right between the pieces. Hopefully one of our pikemen gave it a good poking.” A scribe said to Vitale. He had beaten the master to the scene, and had already stripped the soldier of his breastplate and helmet. The claw marks on the legionary’s tower shield indicated that the creature had tackled the soldier from behind. The wound near his collar indicated that the legionary was pierced only by one tooth, but the longest one. ”Maybe that volley of luminous arrows gave it a head ache.”

Without a word Vitale began the healing. He lifted his sleeve exposing an organic shaped tattoo on his forearm. With his bare hand placed over the bloody wound, the healing began.

The Rosangely Force has stopped moving.
50 Luminous Archers have shot a luminous volley towards the rear.
Vitale has activated his Healing Touch.

[Tiberius]

During the early hours of the following morning, the twelve men who had just arrived the night before, break camp and begin to advance deeper into the Plateau. They start by heading toward the western most region, in a northward direction.

One of the five original scouts is dead, caught in the chest by a stray arrowed fired by the occupying army. The other four scouts are not aware of his death, but are aware of the arrows being fired. They are now acting in a more cautious manner.

[Twisted Infinitum]

Sorry about that. Thankfully, the only statement I made about who was at the rear was the OOC note. The cat would have attacked either way.

The cat hissed, a sound like midnight wind over jagged mountains, as it fled from the humans. It had tasted blood, but nothing more. Before the vital pipes could be crushed, a giant metal tooth had gouged a piece out of its side. The wound ran from the shoulder of the front legs to the bulge of the haunches, and deep enough that a normal animal would have succumbed to blood loss in minutes. A beast of the starlit void was stronger than that. Its stride only showed a slight limp, though it did swerve erratically to avoid the blades of sunlight that pierced randomly through the shifting canopy. If it could only find the shadows, the deepest at the belly of the forest, it would last until the next night.

The whistle of arrows sounded behind like a flock of birds in mechanical synchronization. They wouldn’t pierce the layer upon layer of trunks that the cat had placed between itself and the prey. It allowed a moment of relaxation and a drop in its pace. Then, light blasted the cat as if the sun had fallen into the forest. It turned and stared with frantic eyes to see nothing but glare. The feline’s body arched as if struck with a kick to the ribs, and it fell to its side. In that inferno of glory, it was but a wild animal. The wound, once bloodless, gushed forth an inky fluid that coated the trampled undergrowth in heavy, clinging obsidian.

Silently biting at the air, the cat became more and more lethargic. Then, it was still. As the glare of the arrows faded, so too did its body. The shadows native to the forest took its place, leaving no trace of the trespasser other than the spray of midnight oil.

The eyeballs moved forward, zoning in on the source of the brilliant flash. They didn’t even notice the fall of the beast, though the anguish of its master filled the nearby field.

The three eyeballs are now tracking the army with the visuals and sounds that come up from gaps in the canopy.

EDIT: A force enters from the Central Coast (Location B). They are lead by Edgar, then Sergeant Puddles Butterworth (I love saying that name in full), and have one eyeball floating overhead. The formation centered behind them is 3 bodies deep and 100 wide. The first row is 100 spearhares, then 50 gravitopologists spread out to the same width, and finally 100 crossbowhares. They will track the enemy army using the three All-Seeing Eyes already in the region and place themselves at the foot of the high, rocky forest border.

[Tiberius]

Having traveled for most of the morning, as well as most of the night, the men of the twelve unit scouting contingent under the command of Korvs, were rather tired. Not exshausted, just tired. If caught in a fight now, they wouldn't last more than fifteen minutes apiece. That is, if their horses survived that long. They topped a low, tree covered rise and suddenly the plateau opened up beneath them.

Korvs, at that point, called a halt and told his men to rest for a bit. Then he grabbed one of the scouts and pushed him toward the nearest, and seemingly tallest, pine tree.

"Climb," was all he said before vaulting himself up into the branches of the great tree. The scout didn't question the order, as they had long since given up questioning the veteran’s orders. To do so as such, usually just resulted in having a sore head and memory loss of the last four or five hours. The scout soon followed Korvs into the tree and they both set about climbing the great beast until they were near the top.

Korvs looked down to the scout and then out to the landscape. "Tell me what you see," he said quietly.

Below him the remaining ten men were getting a small fire going, probably to boil water for their middle meal. A few of them looked up, wondering what was going on, but most just went about their daily middle meal tasks. Two of the men hobbled the horses to various trees and then began removing their saddles. These they stacked near to the horses tether trees, so that if the need arose, they could be saddled quickly. Having removed two of the horse’s saddles they proceeded to give it a quick going over and then a quick brush, to even the coat and remove any dirt or debris. That being finished they threw the blanket over its back and then moved onto the next pair of horses. After they had finished their fifth and sixth horses they once more returned to the first pair, and reattached their saddles. This allowed at least six horses to be saddled at all times, just in case a fight came their way.

Elsewhere in the small camp, three men were crouched down, preparing the middle meal of dried meat, fresh vegetables and grain. They would also have some bread and cheese, but they would only hand this out in limited amounts, as this supplement made for a great meal while on the ride. The three of them silently chatted amongst themselves, mostly about home and what was going to happen if they did find someone out here, while they went about preparing the meal.

As for the other five men, they mostly sat in their own corners, silently watching the surrounding forest, or idly chatting with one another. The other scout had decided to take a look around and had disappeared into the trees a few minutes earlier. He returned presently, but only to say that there wasn't anything out there except some deer and a cougar.

Back up in the tree, with Korvs and the first scout, things were a little bit more tense then the relaxed mood below. Having given his scout his orders, Korvs too had set about looking down at the rolling landscape, searching for anything, something that was out of the ordinary. It was the scout who saw them first.

"There, just north west of us. I'd put their number at around two to four hundred, but these trees have a way of masking numbers. I only saw them because of the glint of their weapons."

Korvs nodded and then pointed north and east. "What do you make of that?"

The scout, having been on the wrong side of the tree, maneuvered his way around to stare in the direction indicated.

"Well, looks almost like that section of land has been marched over. By a goodly amount of people too." He squinted. "Looks fresh."

Korvs nodded and then pointed down. "Let's go."

Once down, out of the tree, Korvs gathered his men around him and told them what they were going to do. "We head north east. We have reason to believe that there is a very large body of people in that section of the woods, as well as a small contingent just to the north west of us. We're going to go take a look at that stretch of trampled ground, see if we can't get anything from it."

The men all nodded and after eating their meal, they quickly finished readying their horses and then mounted up. One of the scouts tamped out the fire before mounting and then, in silence, they all rode slowly back into the forest.

The twelve man group is now advancing to the furthest rear portion of Io Beauregard's army.

[Io Beauregard]

It was strange to see magic working without all the bells and whistles. There were no fireworks here, no glowing energy, nothing of that sort. It was just a hand applying pressure to a wound and an exposed work of black ink sitting on top of rivers of veins and under a light terrain of arm hair. That’s how Io could confirm that Vitale was a Half Elf. Full blooded Elves didn’t have hair on their arms, and if they did they’d shave it off every day. The legionaries stood guard around the scene. With his free hand Vitale slapped his patient into consciousness, another reminder that he had some of the abrupt tendencies of a Human.

Io watched as they exchanged quick and quiet words, then an auburn steed pushed through the ranks. Mounted on the top was the Lady Giada. Her ruby aura graced the scene as she gracefully dropped from her horse. She paced around the scene several times with her hands on her hips before she spoke. ”How goes the healing?”

”It’s just a flesh wound now.” The legionary grunted as he lifted his head off the pillow of leaves with great effort. ”Still hurts like a severe puncture, though.”

The group erupted in a calm chorus of laughter, all but Io. He assumed the reaction to be an inside joke. The artist was not the type to lie unless he was on stage, so he didn’t laugh. It provided for an awkward moment where the others looked at him in a strange puzzled look. The glorious end of that uncomfortable moment came from the Strategos, who relayed a command to all his officers. Vitale and Giada tilted their heads and twitched their eyes. Io was blown back at the nasty look on the otherwise beautiful warrior’s face.

A few simple calls echoed throughout the forest, and once again the great creature of the Giavintine Rosangely Force acted. Vitale lifted his hand from the wound of the legionary to expose a wound that looked only slightly different from what it did before. It wasn’t nearly as deep as before. Blood no longer poured out of the crimson canal. The Scribe’s job was done now, so he rose and the two made their way back to their spot with just as much haste as before. A low rumble resonated from the earth. It was simply the remobilization of the force.

The Giavintine Rosangely force is on the move again. This time southwest towards the Central Coast.

[Tiberius]

"Fsssh, psshsssh!" Korvs quickly held up a balled fist, his index finger extended in the universal sign of silence. This caused the other eleven men to halt suddenly, and nosily, but after a moment of calming their horses, they asked why it was they had stopped. Korvs answered them only with silence, his eyes focused on the forest ahead of him, his head slightly tilted, straining his ears.

Abruptly he dismounted and then hauled one of the scouts off his horse.

"Hey!" The man protested, futilely trying to hold onto his saddle.

"Now, is not the time!" Korvs growled, finally wrenching the man free of his seat. "Get up this tree, we need to check something. The rest of you, stay put and keep your eyes and ears peeled." Then, he turned and followed the scout up the tree.

This left the ten remaining men confused and suddenly wary.

"Do you think it might be another army?" "Don't be ridiculous, if it had, we all would have heard it." "Maybe they're really quiet, ever think about that, genius?"

There was a metallic clang as the speaking soldier rapped his arm against his comrades helmet.

"Hey! What was that for?" "Being stupid." "Will you two shut up, I'm trying to listen!" "Right, sorry." "Yeah, sorry." "Shhhh!"

Up in the tree, the mood was less confused and more worry. Korvs quickly caught up with the climbing scout, who had been quietly complaining about having to climb tress all the time; he shut up when Korvs came within ear shot. Once they had reached a clear vantage point that allowed them a grand view of the entire plateau, Korvs ordered the man to look around for anything suspicious. Also that he should listen as well, for anything out of the ordinary.

With the sounds of the world below them muted because of their great height, the silence of the world was almost deafening. The scout strained his eyes against the dark greens of the forest, searching for anything that could be. . .the tree suddenly vibrated and the scout lost his footing.

"Whooo-aack!" The scout coughed roughly when Korvs caught him by the scruff of his tunic and slammed him hard against the tree trunk, effectively pinning him in place.

"Did you," the scout hacked another cough. "Feel that?"

Korvs nodded and let go of the scout. He stayed put. Korvs grabbed the thickest branch he could find and swung himself around to the other side of the tree. It vibrated a second time, just as had secured himself to it. The scout began to breathe quickly, with a slight wheeze, his fear obvious. Korvs ignored this and squinted into the distance.

Suddenly, there was a glint. Korvs focused on where the glint had come from.

There, another. It was in a different location than the first, but still close. Then, there was another, and another and still another. There was a crackle behind him as the scout moved to try and see what Korvs was looking at. It didn't take long for him to see and then he gasped.

"What, what do you suppose it is?"

"A lot more men then we've got here, I can tell you that." Korvs growled as he reset his position. The vibrations in the ground told him that it was a lot of men, a lot of weight. They were probably all soldiers then, very few civilians or camp followers. The scout leaned a little closer to Korvs.

"Where do you think they're going?"

"Not toward us, that much is certain."

The scout blinked. "How do you know that?"

Korvs pointed toward the glints. "Just follow the glints, they're moving west, not south." Korvs shifted his gaze west and then pointed. "There, we make for that ridge, where we saw that group earlier. We're small enough that we might not be noticed."

The scout nodded. Then, with slightly less hast then before, the two descended and reported the news to the rest of the men. They then mounted up, but not before Korvs had ushered the other scout to his side. He grabbed the horses bridle and then pull himself up as close to the other man as possible.

"I want you to ride back and report to the general. You know where the ridge is, meet us there when you have finished." The scout nodded, wheeled his horse around and then set it to a canter through the trees.

The rest of the men stared after the departing scout and then went about easing themselves in their armor and loosening their weapons. Korvs saw this and as he mounted up, shook his head.

"There will be no need for that. If things go well, we won't be seeing any combat." This eased the mens minds a little, but not their actions. They were professional soldiers, it was always good to be prepared. "All right, move out!"

The eleven men slowly began moving in the direction of the ridge.

One scout has departed to report to the main camp, while the other eleven men move to parallel Io Beauregards army as it moves southwest toward the Central Coast.