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Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Fire Emblem on Forums (FEF), IC/Game Thread
« on: February 11, 2013, 02:31:14 pm »Spoiler: Story Recap, part 2: Chapter 10B onwards! (click to show/hide)
~~Chapter 10B: The Ballet of Lies~~
When they have arrived, Gregor tried to bluff his way in, but the guards at the gate were looking for Gregor von Hexham - not the exact name that paranoid sentinel have given, so they didn't let him in! Some hilarity ensued whilst Gregor tried his hardest to persuade the guards that he is really Gregor von Hexham, and the guards relented after some angst was thrown in.
Then, Gregor went on to meet with Count Heinrich von Grummel (1st pic), and there he learned that apparently the Count and Gregor's father have arranged for a marriage between Gregor and Alexandra (2nd pic), Count's daughter, way back when the two were merely kids.
Fortunately, the girl wasn't that keen on the marriage at all, and Gregor managed to avoid further complications. However, when the talk went on to the silvery box that Ernest took to the Count, Grummel denied any and all involvement in the affair. In the end, he couldn't really help Gregor but invited him to stay for the night.
Shortly after Gregor have left the Count's office, the latter was startled by Ernest (pic), the very dog of Prixima, who was apparently standing behind the curtain during the conversation between Gregor and the Count. His stay wasn't long, though - he have managed to open the box and take the stone stored inside. The last orders he gave to the Count was to kill Gregor and his friends, to which, Count Grummel agreed, albeit without much enthusiasm. As the spymaster left through one door, someone was eavesdropping behind other door.
When the night came, Alexandra (pic) went to visit the mercenaries and there she informed her of her father's orders - turns out she was the mysterious eavesdropper. The chaste girl came up with a plan to save the team without needless bloodshed in the castle.
At the early morning, the plan was set in motion, and the group began to sneak out the castle via side corridors.
In one of the side cells, Chris have found Dalban, (pic) the accomplice of Leo Kesselring, the very son of the hated Prixima. After some interrogation, Dalban was freed from his prison and joined the rest of the escapees.
Unfortunately, certain heavily armored knight stumbled upon the last door in their way and startled up some guards in a guardsroom. Which meant that they had to be killed, but the group managed to put to sleep one of the guards and bound him, thusly sparing him from death.
But just as they have managed to sleep the sentry at the gate, a group of wyvern riders swooped down from above, led by Estbrigg (pic), who was tasked by Ernest to keep an eye on Gregor and intervene if the Count wouldn't be able to kill the mercenaries.
Unfortunately for him and his riders, the mercenaries had few powerful magicians on their side; most of the wyverns were burnt to crisp and Estbrigg himself was electrocuted to death.
Then the group managed to get to the gate, and after some rescue and staff-waving shenanigans, they left the estate.
After Chapter 10B battle:
Alas! Mounted pursuers went after the wagon. The situation was getting a bit tense before Salvatore took his wyvern and sent a wooden log onto the pursuing group, knocking them over like a bowling ball topples pins.
Few hours later they were in Fezzan.
Matilda (1st pic) went to meet with her sister, while Dalban, after learning most of the story and getting a sword from Chris, ventured on to find his master and friend Leo Kesselring. Shortly afterwards Matilda returned, bearing news that her cousin met a certain Berebian bishop a bit earlier the same day. With instructions provided by Matilda, Gregor, Charlotte and Chris rushed to an inn where said Bishop was supposed to be resting.
Lo and behold, Danya, Dag and Mannan (1st, 2nd, 3rd pic respectively) were there, along with Syrea (4th pic), commander of the Fezzan guard, Matilda's cousin and incidentally the same woman they fought along half a year earlier, during Berebian attack on Fezzan.
In the meanwhile, Valor Inara (BladeMasterModel42) was bothered by a young boy who asked him to retrieve his lost puppy. Not having much to do, Valor agreed and went into the alleys.
Gregor and Charlotte have spoken with Mannan who have planned an attack at Kesselring Fortress to bring down Prixima in direct combat before the matters turn even worse.
In the same time, Valor found out there's no lost puppy - it was a illusion made by Ernest (pic), Prixima's right hand and a master spy. Ernest blackmailed Valor into poisoning Christopher Shields (SeriousConcentrate) or else Valor's girlfriend, Seyena Ikane (Gamerboy4life) would fall victim to unfortunate accident. Valor had to agree.
Mannan described the attack plan more thoroughly; it was going to involve teleportation and a Kesselring officer working for them in the inside. After Gregor agreed to help with the attack, they've obtained some gold from the bishop. Then, Gregor proposed to Charlotte and were quickly wed by Mannan.
After the group rejoined with the rest of mercenaries, Valor told Chris about Ernest and the poison; the assasin got rid of the latter and had a talk with Valor about this whole affair, as well as taught him some lessons about women.
Then, the group procured a Restore staff and few other items in preparation for the siege, before going to sleep. Charlotte by pure accident appeared in Mannan's room at very wrong time and startled at least two people.
Alas, in the night, an assasin attacked Valor and Seyena through a window. Whilst no one was killed, the assailant shot Valor in the thigh with a crossbow bolt.
In the morning, they were joined by Magister Tiron (pic), the one who was going to provide them with magical transportation - and yet another person whom they've met last year. With the group numbering almost twenty, Gregor and his companions went to the final destination of their journey - to the Kesselring Fortress.
~~Chapter 11: House of the Witch~~
The mercenaries arrived in a small ruined manor south from the Kesselring fort and there they've learned that Magister Tiron cannot send more than twelve people with his magic; the group had to split over:
Gregor, Charlotte, Christopher, Ami Storm (scapheap), Derick (Furtuka), Raquel Torriani (Culise), Riven (IronyOwl), Edwin Westbringer (Zako) and Tantallos Forsaken (Praefectus Screptum), accompanied by Mannan and Dag, were to storm the fortress.
In the meanwhile, Valor, Seyena, Olison Eul (CrimsonEon), Salvatore Vaughan (Xanmyral) and Alexander Jorinn (Powder Miner) were to stay with Tiron, Matilda and Danya and wait for the rest to return.
When the teleporation was completed, Gregor&company found out that the officer working for them is Captain Marpa herself (pic). She told them that Kesselring was now a nest of hired thugs, loyal to Prixima... including Marpa's husband, Aaron.
All hell broke loose shortly afterwards. The thugs patrolling the upper floor clashed violently with the intruding mercenaries. The combat only started and already turned into bloody mess, warriors falling down left and right, soaking the stone corridors with blood and guts. Magic blasts and dark energies thrashed around as many dramatic duels went forever unnoticed by bards and troubadours.
Few minutes into the combat, Ernest himself appeared, with a trio of swordmasters materializing out of thin air. He soon shown his 'miraculous' powers by cracking down some walls which his swordmasters brought down, nullifying the 'chokehold' plan Gregor and his friends had.
The swordmasters and Ernest didn't fought well, though. They were soon down... yet Ernest rose up after a moment! Fear struck into hearts of the mercenaries - at least momentarily until Dag got an idea and sent a bolt of fire at Ernest. The spymaster burst into flames and turned into a pile of ash and glittering powder.
Meanwhile the combat raged across the corridors, with more and more reinforcements incoming, including a pair of rogues who wanted to 'secure' Prixima's treasures before mercenaries would plunder them. However, both the reinforcements and rogues were dealt with, and the treasures, including the sacred book, Lumen, were obtained.
The corridors were soaked in blood and filled with corpses of the Kesselring defenders, and the mercenaries had a brief respite before continuing their death march across the floor.
However the moment they've moved closer to a door leading to small tower, a hulking monstrosity broke through said door, wielding a massive axe. The mysterious 'giant' gave Gregor's group small trouble, especially that Hexmasters began to arrive from the south, their berserking staves endagering everyone. However, the mercenaries prevailed and soon the 'Hulk' was down along with the other soldiers - again, magic had to be used to destroy the corpse. The group was now well aware that some necromancy or other sort of body-controlling magic was going on here.
The battled went quiet as remnats of the Prixima's thugs were killed. Gregor&company continued marching toward her study while Chris went long way to pilfer one more chest; getting a anti-magic ring out of it.
After brief tactical conversation, the group smashed the door open and barged into the study.
Inside, four thugs were guarding Aaron (pic), Marpa's husband. Unfortunately, the group quickly realized that he was just another 'programmed' revenant. After brief skirmish, the guards were dead and Aaron was reduced to ashes, much to Marpa's sadness.
After Chapter 11 battle:
Gregor obtained Avalon, Aaron's powerful lance as well as the key to Prixima's sanctum. The group went onwards to meet with the witch...
~~Chapter 11x: Splits and Reunions~~
However! The focus have shifted to the other group: Alexander Jorinn (Powder Miner), Seyena Ikane (Gamerboy4life), Valor Inara (BladeMasterModel42), Olison Eul (CrimsonEon) and Salvatore Vaughan (Xanmyral) and their allies; Magister Tiron, Danya, Matilda and Anja.
They opted to wait for their comrades but the fate had different plans; soon Seyena spotted Kesselring soldiers marching upon the ruined manor. After brief consideration, the group holed in a small room in the south-eastern section of the building.
The first wave was comprised of various troops, from heavily armored spearmen through swift killers to mages and healers of high degree - split into two groups, they attacked from south and north. A lone operative, named Shimnir (pic) appeared in the west, grumbling about his assignment.
His unwillingness to fight whilst hungry turned to be a boon when Olison intercepted the sneaking mercenary. Whilst battle raged several feet behind the two, Shimnir agreed to fight for the mercenaries after Olison gave him some gold...
...and the very first moment possible, Shimnir ran away!
The battle, whilst gruesome, began to slow down, with miraculous dances and impossible bullshit happening on the way, involving Magister Tiron. Alas, soon Alexander spotted a swam of wyvern knights coming from the east, whilst, unspotted by anyone, two more groups came from south and north; the latter being Falconknights and the former...
Silverio's mercenaries! Gleipnitz, June and Silverio himself (pics, respectively) joined the fray. Not only that, but suddenly the thigh wound from earlier crossbow attack overwhelmed Valor's pain receptors and sent him down.
Soon, the combined might of the wyvern knights and falconknights began to press hard at the chokepoints held by Valor and his companions. Gleipnitz smashed through a wall and the Silverio's troupe appeared at he back of the defending mercs.
But then, Valor, whilst spitting bile and blood, rushed at Silverio and with his killing edge, he greviously wounded Silverio the swordmaster. His fellow assasins, shocked at the bold and very effective strike, teleported away in haste.
One could say it would be over - it was all the matter of killing the leftover wyverns and falconknights, right? Wrong!
Hegen, a half-brain berserker, appeared on the scene with even more of soldiers and magicians! He rushed forth, protected from magic by a Black Pearl, one of the Dragonstones.
But then miracle happened.
A patrol of Kesselring horsemen, led by no one else but Leo Kesselring (1st pic), with his bodyguard Dalban and vassal Alexandra von Grummel (2nd and 3rd pic) came to help!
With the reinforcements crushing the Falconknights and Alexandra's long-range healing, Valor managed to score another boss kill - his blade almost cut Hegen in two. The Black Pearl he got from his body diminished the strange poison coursing in his body.
Slowly, soldier by soldier, the thugs of Prixima were turned into bloody corpses; the few remaining fled.
~~After Chapter 11x battle~~
With tension still high in the air, Leo and his companions met with Valor's group; the healing powers of Matilda and Alexandra brought the exhausted and bleeding mercenaries back into shape.
Alexandra then took interest of Valor's illness and with great deal of pain, she managed to purge his body from, as it turned out, powerful curse that was tied into a tiny piece of bolt's metal that remained in Valor's leg.
Leo Kesselring in the meanwhile asked where the rest of mercenaries are - and upon learning they were teleported to Kesselring Fortress to battle Prixima, he rushed everyone and together, they rode forth to his mother's keep.
This is the end of the recap! If you wanna know what happened afterwards, click here to view Final Chapter, and read the posts!
When they have arrived, Gregor tried to bluff his way in, but the guards at the gate were looking for Gregor von Hexham - not the exact name that paranoid sentinel have given, so they didn't let him in! Some hilarity ensued whilst Gregor tried his hardest to persuade the guards that he is really Gregor von Hexham, and the guards relented after some angst was thrown in.
Then, Gregor went on to meet with Count Heinrich von Grummel (1st pic), and there he learned that apparently the Count and Gregor's father have arranged for a marriage between Gregor and Alexandra (2nd pic), Count's daughter, way back when the two were merely kids.Fortunately, the girl wasn't that keen on the marriage at all, and Gregor managed to avoid further complications. However, when the talk went on to the silvery box that Ernest took to the Count, Grummel denied any and all involvement in the affair. In the end, he couldn't really help Gregor but invited him to stay for the night.
Shortly after Gregor have left the Count's office, the latter was startled by Ernest (pic), the very dog of Prixima, who was apparently standing behind the curtain during the conversation between Gregor and the Count. His stay wasn't long, though - he have managed to open the box and take the stone stored inside. The last orders he gave to the Count was to kill Gregor and his friends, to which, Count Grummel agreed, albeit without much enthusiasm. As the spymaster left through one door, someone was eavesdropping behind other door. When the night came, Alexandra (pic) went to visit the mercenaries and there she informed her of her father's orders - turns out she was the mysterious eavesdropper. The chaste girl came up with a plan to save the team without needless bloodshed in the castle.At the early morning, the plan was set in motion, and the group began to sneak out the castle via side corridors.
In one of the side cells, Chris have found Dalban, (pic) the accomplice of Leo Kesselring, the very son of the hated Prixima. After some interrogation, Dalban was freed from his prison and joined the rest of the escapees.Unfortunately, certain heavily armored knight stumbled upon the last door in their way and startled up some guards in a guardsroom. Which meant that they had to be killed, but the group managed to put to sleep one of the guards and bound him, thusly sparing him from death.
But just as they have managed to sleep the sentry at the gate, a group of wyvern riders swooped down from above, led by Estbrigg (pic), who was tasked by Ernest to keep an eye on Gregor and intervene if the Count wouldn't be able to kill the mercenaries.Unfortunately for him and his riders, the mercenaries had few powerful magicians on their side; most of the wyverns were burnt to crisp and Estbrigg himself was electrocuted to death.
Then the group managed to get to the gate, and after some rescue and staff-waving shenanigans, they left the estate.
After Chapter 10B battle:
Alas! Mounted pursuers went after the wagon. The situation was getting a bit tense before Salvatore took his wyvern and sent a wooden log onto the pursuing group, knocking them over like a bowling ball topples pins.
Few hours later they were in Fezzan.
Matilda (1st pic) went to meet with her sister, while Dalban, after learning most of the story and getting a sword from Chris, ventured on to find his master and friend Leo Kesselring. Shortly afterwards Matilda returned, bearing news that her cousin met a certain Berebian bishop a bit earlier the same day. With instructions provided by Matilda, Gregor, Charlotte and Chris rushed to an inn where said Bishop was supposed to be resting. Lo and behold, Danya, Dag and Mannan (1st, 2nd, 3rd pic respectively) were there, along with Syrea (4th pic), commander of the Fezzan guard, Matilda's cousin and incidentally the same woman they fought along half a year earlier, during Berebian attack on Fezzan.In the meanwhile, Valor Inara (BladeMasterModel42) was bothered by a young boy who asked him to retrieve his lost puppy. Not having much to do, Valor agreed and went into the alleys.
Gregor and Charlotte have spoken with Mannan who have planned an attack at Kesselring Fortress to bring down Prixima in direct combat before the matters turn even worse.
In the same time, Valor found out there's no lost puppy - it was a illusion made by Ernest (pic), Prixima's right hand and a master spy. Ernest blackmailed Valor into poisoning Christopher Shields (SeriousConcentrate) or else Valor's girlfriend, Seyena Ikane (Gamerboy4life) would fall victim to unfortunate accident. Valor had to agree.Mannan described the attack plan more thoroughly; it was going to involve teleportation and a Kesselring officer working for them in the inside. After Gregor agreed to help with the attack, they've obtained some gold from the bishop. Then, Gregor proposed to Charlotte and were quickly wed by Mannan.
After the group rejoined with the rest of mercenaries, Valor told Chris about Ernest and the poison; the assasin got rid of the latter and had a talk with Valor about this whole affair, as well as taught him some lessons about women.
Then, the group procured a Restore staff and few other items in preparation for the siege, before going to sleep. Charlotte by pure accident appeared in Mannan's room at very wrong time and startled at least two people.
Alas, in the night, an assasin attacked Valor and Seyena through a window. Whilst no one was killed, the assailant shot Valor in the thigh with a crossbow bolt.
In the morning, they were joined by Magister Tiron (pic), the one who was going to provide them with magical transportation - and yet another person whom they've met last year. With the group numbering almost twenty, Gregor and his companions went to the final destination of their journey - to the Kesselring Fortress.~~Chapter 11: House of the Witch~~
The mercenaries arrived in a small ruined manor south from the Kesselring fort and there they've learned that Magister Tiron cannot send more than twelve people with his magic; the group had to split over:
Gregor, Charlotte, Christopher, Ami Storm (scapheap), Derick (Furtuka), Raquel Torriani (Culise), Riven (IronyOwl), Edwin Westbringer (Zako) and Tantallos Forsaken (Praefectus Screptum), accompanied by Mannan and Dag, were to storm the fortress.
In the meanwhile, Valor, Seyena, Olison Eul (CrimsonEon), Salvatore Vaughan (Xanmyral) and Alexander Jorinn (Powder Miner) were to stay with Tiron, Matilda and Danya and wait for the rest to return.
When the teleporation was completed, Gregor&company found out that the officer working for them is Captain Marpa herself (pic). She told them that Kesselring was now a nest of hired thugs, loyal to Prixima... including Marpa's husband, Aaron.All hell broke loose shortly afterwards. The thugs patrolling the upper floor clashed violently with the intruding mercenaries. The combat only started and already turned into bloody mess, warriors falling down left and right, soaking the stone corridors with blood and guts. Magic blasts and dark energies thrashed around as many dramatic duels went forever unnoticed by bards and troubadours.
Few minutes into the combat, Ernest himself appeared, with a trio of swordmasters materializing out of thin air. He soon shown his 'miraculous' powers by cracking down some walls which his swordmasters brought down, nullifying the 'chokehold' plan Gregor and his friends had.The swordmasters and Ernest didn't fought well, though. They were soon down... yet Ernest rose up after a moment! Fear struck into hearts of the mercenaries - at least momentarily until Dag got an idea and sent a bolt of fire at Ernest. The spymaster burst into flames and turned into a pile of ash and glittering powder.
Meanwhile the combat raged across the corridors, with more and more reinforcements incoming, including a pair of rogues who wanted to 'secure' Prixima's treasures before mercenaries would plunder them. However, both the reinforcements and rogues were dealt with, and the treasures, including the sacred book, Lumen, were obtained.
The corridors were soaked in blood and filled with corpses of the Kesselring defenders, and the mercenaries had a brief respite before continuing their death march across the floor.
However the moment they've moved closer to a door leading to small tower, a hulking monstrosity broke through said door, wielding a massive axe. The mysterious 'giant' gave Gregor's group small trouble, especially that Hexmasters began to arrive from the south, their berserking staves endagering everyone. However, the mercenaries prevailed and soon the 'Hulk' was down along with the other soldiers - again, magic had to be used to destroy the corpse. The group was now well aware that some necromancy or other sort of body-controlling magic was going on here.The battled went quiet as remnats of the Prixima's thugs were killed. Gregor&company continued marching toward her study while Chris went long way to pilfer one more chest; getting a anti-magic ring out of it.
After brief tactical conversation, the group smashed the door open and barged into the study.
Inside, four thugs were guarding Aaron (pic), Marpa's husband. Unfortunately, the group quickly realized that he was just another 'programmed' revenant. After brief skirmish, the guards were dead and Aaron was reduced to ashes, much to Marpa's sadness.After Chapter 11 battle:
Gregor obtained Avalon, Aaron's powerful lance as well as the key to Prixima's sanctum. The group went onwards to meet with the witch...
~~Chapter 11x: Splits and Reunions~~
However! The focus have shifted to the other group: Alexander Jorinn (Powder Miner), Seyena Ikane (Gamerboy4life), Valor Inara (BladeMasterModel42), Olison Eul (CrimsonEon) and Salvatore Vaughan (Xanmyral) and their allies; Magister Tiron, Danya, Matilda and Anja.
They opted to wait for their comrades but the fate had different plans; soon Seyena spotted Kesselring soldiers marching upon the ruined manor. After brief consideration, the group holed in a small room in the south-eastern section of the building.
The first wave was comprised of various troops, from heavily armored spearmen through swift killers to mages and healers of high degree - split into two groups, they attacked from south and north. A lone operative, named Shimnir (pic) appeared in the west, grumbling about his assignment.His unwillingness to fight whilst hungry turned to be a boon when Olison intercepted the sneaking mercenary. Whilst battle raged several feet behind the two, Shimnir agreed to fight for the mercenaries after Olison gave him some gold...
...and the very first moment possible, Shimnir ran away!
The battle, whilst gruesome, began to slow down, with miraculous dances and impossible bullshit happening on the way, involving Magister Tiron. Alas, soon Alexander spotted a swam of wyvern knights coming from the east, whilst, unspotted by anyone, two more groups came from south and north; the latter being Falconknights and the former...
Silverio's mercenaries! Gleipnitz, June and Silverio himself (pics, respectively) joined the fray. Not only that, but suddenly the thigh wound from earlier crossbow attack overwhelmed Valor's pain receptors and sent him down.Soon, the combined might of the wyvern knights and falconknights began to press hard at the chokepoints held by Valor and his companions. Gleipnitz smashed through a wall and the Silverio's troupe appeared at he back of the defending mercs.
But then, Valor, whilst spitting bile and blood, rushed at Silverio and with his killing edge, he greviously wounded Silverio the swordmaster. His fellow assasins, shocked at the bold and very effective strike, teleported away in haste.
One could say it would be over - it was all the matter of killing the leftover wyverns and falconknights, right? Wrong!
Hegen, a half-brain berserker, appeared on the scene with even more of soldiers and magicians! He rushed forth, protected from magic by a Black Pearl, one of the Dragonstones.But then miracle happened.
A patrol of Kesselring horsemen, led by no one else but Leo Kesselring (1st pic), with his bodyguard Dalban and vassal Alexandra von Grummel (2nd and 3rd pic) came to help!With the reinforcements crushing the Falconknights and Alexandra's long-range healing, Valor managed to score another boss kill - his blade almost cut Hegen in two. The Black Pearl he got from his body diminished the strange poison coursing in his body.
Slowly, soldier by soldier, the thugs of Prixima were turned into bloody corpses; the few remaining fled.
~~After Chapter 11x battle~~
With tension still high in the air, Leo and his companions met with Valor's group; the healing powers of Matilda and Alexandra brought the exhausted and bleeding mercenaries back into shape.
Alexandra then took interest of Valor's illness and with great deal of pain, she managed to purge his body from, as it turned out, powerful curse that was tied into a tiny piece of bolt's metal that remained in Valor's leg.
Leo Kesselring in the meanwhile asked where the rest of mercenaries are - and upon learning they were teleported to Kesselring Fortress to battle Prixima, he rushed everyone and together, they rode forth to his mother's keep.
This is the end of the recap! If you wanna know what happened afterwards, click here to view Final Chapter, and read the posts!
~~Prologue: Road to Kesselring~~
Sarius, leader of the Young Wolves, is dead.
He was all well and healthy when he was going to the bed at the inn in the small village of Pores. Next morning, he was found dead, his face pale grey, strong smell of vile herbs coming from his mouth. The guards quickly found out signs of struggle, and the conclusion was drawn that Sarius was poisoned.
This bodes bad to his mercenaries, a band of young men and women just making first steps on the road to glory and wealth. Normally in such circumstances, one would call mission aborted and return. But this was a mission given in the name of Menelean royalty, and thus, even with the Sarius dead, the group had to continue onwards.
Toward the Fortress Kesselring...
He was all well and healthy when he was going to the bed at the inn in the small village of Pores. Next morning, he was found dead, his face pale grey, strong smell of vile herbs coming from his mouth. The guards quickly found out signs of struggle, and the conclusion was drawn that Sarius was poisoned.
This bodes bad to his mercenaries, a band of young men and women just making first steps on the road to glory and wealth. Normally in such circumstances, one would call mission aborted and return. But this was a mission given in the name of Menelean royalty, and thus, even with the Sarius dead, the group had to continue onwards.
Toward the Fortress Kesselring...
~~~
The sun is shining high on the cloudless sky, the sunrays warming the spring fields and budding trees after another harsh Menelean winter. Snow is long gone, but the cold still persists. The group of young mercenaries recently passed a small caravan which informed them that Fortress Kesselring is just one hour of foot travel away.
The youngsters, slightly cheered up by the news that the long journey from Mercia will be ended, now were entering a small forest surrounding Kesselring, the road winding back and forth between the largers groups of trees, rugged and cracked terrain, and small pools and lakes.
It's still some time before they reach their destination, and there are several questions that need answers. Who poisoned their leader. Why? Who will now declare himself the new leader of Young Wolves? Will they be still 'Young Wolves', or will they change name? Who will take responsibility of the command, and what's more important, who will parley with Lady Prixima after they finish the trip?
It would be wise to sort this things now...
Sterling, Ami Storm, Henry, Derick, Daniel, Adrien are in.
Road leads generally to the north-west, the forest is rather quiet, and there are no other travelers on the road.
It is led by Arinne (pic related), who introduces herself as captain of Kesselring militia and takes the suspicious mercenaries toward the Fortress.
A commotion to the east makes Arinne flee, while she sics her henchman, Koch (pic related) onto the mercenaries. However, they get rid of him as well with some neat stabbings and fireballs.
Kesselring Cavalry arrives, under command of Captain Torres (pic). The two remaining bandits, archers by trade with armor impenetrable for mercs' weapons, surrender and Torres takes the mercenaries to Kesselring Fortress.
Countess Prixima Kesselring (1st pic) is the employer of the mercenaries, and quickly shows to be impatient, arrogant and quite distrustful of the mercenaries, until the intervention of Captain Aaron (2nd pic), who explains that the mercenaries could train with Kesselring trainers for a while to build up some theoretical experience and body strength.
Arinne (1st pic), after receiving news of attack, tells her henchman, a shaman named Bores (2nd pic), to prepare for combat. The mercenaries quickly get overwhelmed by the bandits due to the bottleneck entrance and Sterling's Miserable Tactical Planning. Fortunately, with lots of lucky rolls and 1st Occurrence of Vulnerary Group Dance, they pull it off while few other mercs break through a wall into small storeroom.
When they get there, Eor Kesselring (pic) shows up there and taunts the mercenaries before starting a fight between them and his militia, and the rain becomes a common occurrence now.
Unfortunately for the mercenaries, Eor's aide, Adarlan (pic) rushed from the east with his rather large and deadly cavalry unit. Whilst most of the people are holed in the windmill, crunching on the waves of militia, Valor, Christopher, Seyena and Taki decide to take their chances and pin Adarlan's troops at the bridge.
The village was kept in check by Captain Aaron's (pic related) soldiers. Lapis Lazuli wasn't anywhere around so the group decided to go back to Prixima and report their lack of progress.
In the meanwhile Gregor (Sirus) identified the dead rider as Roy, red-haired messenger boy from Kesselring and nephew of Captain Torres (pic).
On the way to Vilino, Seyena and Valor had a chat with charismatic Larion Rosecross (pic), leader of a small cavalry unit who was on his way to join Captain Aaron and the mercs.
The caretakers of the Temple of Scriptures, Magister Tiron and Bishop Grigorij (pics, respectively) had no real problem with the group searching through the Eor's old chambers...
Suddenly, explosions were happening in the city and hooded people dropped their disguises; they were Berebian soldiers, trying to take over the city in surprise attack. The district in which Temple of Scriptures were was left for Morko (pic) and his troops to take over.
The battle was quickly joined by local militia under the command of Captain Leon and Captain Syrea (1st and 2nd pics, respectively), and a little while later, a band of thugs decided to use the chaos and try to plunder some houses with Erkand (3rd pic) being the thug's boss.
Captain Leon showed up (pic) with an investigator, and a small reward for the mercs. Much joy was had.
Unfortunately, the very next morning the mercenary group learned that Captain Marpa (pic) is down with fever and infection from combat and her troop is staying in the city for few days. Group was advised to get back to Kesselring anyway, so they needed transportation.
Lo and behold, like blessing from the heavens, came Anja (NPC, pic), a traveling gypsy, merchant, dancer, mercenary and traveller with large wagon. She is quite nosy and has penchant for 'feeling' incoming problems related to her... you can see where this is going.
But not ordinary bandits, no! Dora&Cilia (pic), two bandit female twins showed up, claiming right of vengeance against Anja and her faulty merchandise; the duo was keen on speaking in faux Shakespearean. The also had one-shot magical branch that put Anja to sleep, leaving her extremely vulnerable.
In a cutscene, so-far-unidentified mage spoke with a General (1st and 2nd pic respectively), chatting on the current situation and a bit about Prixima herself (3rd pic), until a soldier reports that top floors are now accessibly thanks to efforts of Larion Rosecross (4th pic). The unidentified mage left for there whilst General, "Goering the Mountain" promised to not let anyone through.
In the meanwhile, pair of looters (and also siblings) showed up: Robert (1st pic), and Aulia (2nd pic).
Unfortunately for them, the Berebian leader, Vagor Tunhausen, took one other route and was dangerously close to Prixima.
The bridge was destroyed by mages under command of Wodan Barbarossa (pic), leader of the army responsible for this border crossing. After short interview, Wodan recognized the mercenaries and ordered his troops to attack.
The Berebian troops, mostly horse archers and pegasi riders, where under command of Captain Danya (pic related), who took Gregor and his friends captive for the time being, and then fetched them all the way to the Tunhausen Keep where her forces were stationed.
Gregor in the meanwhile found himself being interrogated by Mannan Tunhausen (pic), son of Vagor, the very man who led the failed attack against Kesselring Fortress. Mannan easily saw through Gregor's lame disguise and talked with him about Prixima and her strange goal of gathering Dragonstones. After some consideration, Gregor and his friends decided to work with Mannan for the time being, at least to discover Prixima's intentions and, if needed, to kill her.
The group led by Mannan Tunhausen (pic) arrived at Blackmoore abbey, and a soldier went to inform the rest of scholars of their arrival.
Unfortunately, Bores, a druid, have took control of Blackmoore after slaughtering most of the attending scholars. Shortly afterwards, the order was given and Mannan's group found themselves being attacked.
After the metaphorical dust settles, a group of soldiers led by Minister Rozard of Deynastia (1st pic) approaches Mannan Tunhausen (2nd pic) and the player characters. Both sides exchange information on their battles and slowly, it dawns upon the gathered people that Prixima yet again tried to kill Gregor and rest of the mercenaries who seemingly stay in her way to a higher goal.
At the morning, Mannan (1st pic) woke up the mercenaries and told them to gather at the main courtyard of the keep. When they got there, Manna explained their mission: to intercept a group of mercenaries that were employed by Prixima and were heading to ancient tomb of a Crusader, which means that there might be a Dragonstone there. The bishop couldn't help the mercenaries this time but have sent his trusted captain, Danya (2nd pic) with them. 
Zos, more often called Joz (pic), the actual leader of the group exited the tomb, showing to his companions how old he became because of one of the triggered curses. He did recover the 'item', a ornate silver box, which he then handed to Matilda. The mage knight lady then went east with her knights, whilst Zos sent Derick, Raquel and three powerful sages to intercept Gregor and his friends, who have just engaged the mercenaries at the base of the hill.
Alexander, who went ahead, found badly wounded Joz (pic) under a tree. Without much time and life left, Joz told Derick and others that the employer who sent them about box turned on them, captured Matilda and the box, and slaughtered the mercenaries. Before he passed away, Joz gave Derick a magical ring.
The man in the charge of Menelean invaders was Arvis (1st pic), who was warned about the mercenaries' approach and called Ernest (2nd pic) out of the inn where the latter was interrogating a 'woman'. The two bickered one at another, Arvis being a loudmouth and Ernest being a stoic prick.
Shortly into the fight, first batch of reinforcements arrived under command of Wodan Barbarossa (pic), the very same Wodan that tried to stop Gregor and his friends from escaping into Berebia. Wodan have sworn to personally kill Gregor as it seems that by failing to capture the soldier, he lost his rank and position, not to mention his HONOUR.
In the very same moment, Matilda, locked in the inn, managed to undo the rope tied aroudn her wrists.