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Celebcalen 
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 Topic: The Voyage Of The Revenge
Posted: 30 Oct 2011 at 16:59 |
The Voyage Of The RevengeA saga of sun, sand and swashbuckling in the Southern Sea of Illyria! WINGED WANDERER From Melders in the west to the easternmost tip of the Sirens peninsula in Larn. the seas of southern Illyria astound the onlooker in shades varying from azure to the deepest turquoise. Their nature can vary from a flat placid calm to a raging swell of foaming breakers five times taller than any vessel that plies it trade along the coasts inlets and islands of those regions.
The depths of those seas contain all manner of creatures from the little to the leviathan, but the endless skies above could sometimes appear empty from horizon to horizon. The expanse of those seas and the stormy nature of the winds offered small chance of survival to any but the most skilful and enduring of winged creatures. Most sea birds seldom ventured more than a few leagues from shore. Something that they shared with the longshore boats and coastal trading vessels that moved along the coasts and hopped from island to island. Seldom could reputable mariners be seen roving the deep ocean and seldom could birds be seen flying over it. Except occasionally, one might catch glimpse of a winged wanderer gliding low along the troughs of the waves and skilfully using the sea to take advantage of the updraft of air created by swells and motions of the ocean.
The Albatross, although rarely seen, were known to glide and traverse many leagues across the expanses of the seas. One such wanderer was moving in a deft and agile glide northwards between the major islands of Trome and Kem in the south eastern parts of the seas. As it glided along the silver crests with consummate ease, it moved it sleek head from one side as if searching with intent. Suddenly it fixed its eyes on a distant speck which although not necessarily visible to the human eye at that distant was clearly identifiable to a winged wanderer such as this.
The great wanderer of the seas had located what it had been searching for. It had spied a vessel of particular elegence that appeared to glide through waves rather than ride over them. A vessel crafted in Parlantis by famed dwarven shipwrights working on behalf of a Grand Duke of Parlan many years ago. A craft as rare and beautiful as the winged wanderer itself.
Propelled by the wind this vessel appeared to be in flight itself. This ship was a trireme with a sleek central keel bristling with three layers of banked oars. The main keel carried two large masts each with a billowing sail in Blue and white colours. Upon the sides of the bow were two magnificent azure eyes and the keel extended before the bow into a formidable battering ram.
The wave wanderer turned into the wind and let out long wailing cry so that it drifted on the wind away from the ship and to wards the south west. Down below the Albatross could see the sea come alive with 50 or so sleek marine like tails that thrashed and hit the water launching themselves towards the wake of the fast moving and powerful trireme
The albatross continued in the wake of the ship keeping its distance and flying low and stealthily along the breaking waves and swells
Edited by Celebcalen - 05 Nov 2011 at 14:44
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Celebcalen
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Posted: 30 Oct 2011 at 20:43 |
The One Who Vanished Exactly 28 days earlier the peace of the relative peace of Illyriad was shattered by a declaration of war. Within chaos of the ensuing battles, sieges and razing of cities a mysterious event occurred which could have grave consequences for the entire world of Illyriad.
Azreil, founder of the Order of the Valar was until recently one of the most powerful of the alliance leaders in Illyria. As a valarin he had attained the unparalleled status of "Seeker of Ulmo". Ulmo the unseen power who was also known as Lord of the Waters and whom the Parlenese of called Nereus or Old Man of the Sea. Azreil had led his Order to great feats until the recent disasterous war against Coalition of the Seven. The disaster was all the more poignant because Azreil had unaccountably disappeared in mysterious circumstances, some three days after the after the major opposing commander HonoredMule had announced the declaration of war. Without their Lord the Order of the Valar became paralysed and despite some valiant efforts were overcome and made to surrender after suffering heavy losses. Of Azreil nothing was heard of or seen ever again
As a seeker of Nereus, Azreil uncovered much knowledge and a few important rare artifacts which related to the powers which held sway over the oceans and their depths. Chief amongst these was the Orichalcum which he himself had brought from Middle Earth. A necklace of an obsidian metal crafted with rare skill and beauty the Orichalcum had set in its centre a jewel that glowed so with a purity of light that some believed that to gaze upon it was to behold a star. The history of the Orichalcum is both long and involved and known to only a few most of whom are scholars of the Grand Duke of Parlan and reside in the library of that city. The Parlanese have ancient bonds to the sea and their city is situated on the coast of the undefined lands south of Tallimar. Suffice it to say that the artifact was linked to creation itself.
On learning of the disappearance of Azreil, the librarians were mortified, since he currently held one of the secrets of the world which could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. The Orichalcum was a stunning artifact to behold and whilst few new of it's true purpose many more were aware of its existence and indeed of its priceless material value. The Grand Duke immediately dispatched a small party of two scholars and two body guards dressed in the robes of acolytes under the leadership of Chief Librarian Leucippe Seafollower who successfully and discreetly travelled to Azreil's capitol of Ellyndeil. A fair and wonderous elven city located in the region of Arran some 450 leagues to the north.
They arrived to find that Ellyndeil had been invested with siege but that this had been broken. With discretion and stealth they entered the former Lords apartments and observatory by means of a hidden passage and quietly obtained the sacred necklace of the ancient ones.
Leucippe and her party quietly prepared to commmence the return leg of the journey to Parlan attempting to travel as inconspicously as possible. She was indeed completely convinced that since she had succeeded in obtaining the Orchichalcum by negotiating a war torn city and passing through the countryside with out being noticed that their would be little difficulty in returning it to Parlan . In this she was very much mistaken.
BAD NEWS TRAVELS SWIFT
The terrain of southern Arran can be very difficult to navigate. It is a series of rocky crags and ridges covered with dense forest which extends for about seventy five leagues. This is the territory of the alliance which goes by the name of Toothless?. Outwardly this alliance poses as a trading and training alliance but it has other roles also. It is one of the foremost intelligence services in Illyriad and its contacts reach far and wide. It's reputation for proficiency in observation was so highly regarded that King Sigurd himself had been heard to exclaim that "One seldom sees Toothless? but they always see you"
So it was that Leucippe Seafollower's travelling party came to be spied in the forest that very afternoon by two scout lords, Razbhaat and Wizzo. These expert scouts had long been close friends and travelled many lands and fought many battles together. Each carried two pair of birds . Two Ravens , and two goshawks. They were both expert trackers and well versed in camouflage and concealment. It was the goshawk's of Razbhaat that spotted the party and returned warn their master. I think we have company Wiz" he quipped and both moved off at a speedy but quiet lope up the ridge to gain high ground. As both spies topped the ridge they could see a party moving on foot below. Both of the hawk eyed adventurers recognised the travellers as Parlanese immediately. Some of the folk from Parlan, especially those of noble birth have distinctly bluish patterns on their skin. "Hey Wizz that's their Chief Librarian! I recognise her" whispered Razbhaat. "What is she doing out in the woods on foot and without a caravan? We had better report this to her worshipful ladyship. She'll have the skin off our backs if we don't. You track them and I'll catch up with you later" replied Wizzo and with that he moved back down the slope and released a raven
Barely one hour later the raven glided towards the battlements of the topmost tower the Elven city of heart on the borders of Lan Larosh and Tor Carrock. A noble ladies arm wearing a falconers glove reached out of a window under the eaves and the great bird immediately settled upon it . It moved its head from side to side and bobbed once. The falconer took a message that had been attached to the birds claw and immediately ran the length of the corridor to the door of the Chancellor's private apartment. She stopped, gathered her breath , smoothed out her rumpled gown and patted her hair into place. Even before knocking she felt that her presence had already been detected and then she heard the Chancellor's voice. "Enter child"
In an effort to impress, the falconer started to explain about the importance of the message. "It is just as you predicted My Lady the Chie..." but the Chancellor cut her short with a curt " Leave the message on my tray and begone". After she had left the chancellor pressed a panel in the wall to reveal a secret room that housed a raised black marble font full of liquid which gave off luminous liquid reflection to the walls and ceiling of the room. She began to chant...
...Barely 20 minutes later and 500 leagues distance the Commander of the Coalition of the Seven, HonoredMule stepped out of an identical room with an identical black marble font. This proud and somewhat rugged elf wore a look of earnest expectation. He looked at his closest confidente, his aide de camp, the human female known as Starry and said " You know I have just been told something that may earn us more "kudos" from King Sigurd than we have ever had before BUT I am going to give it to the King of Larn instead...he pays better" and with that both doubled up in gales of laughter.
Meanwhile back in Arran the Chancellor of Toothless? had just finished issuing instructions to the Captain of her Diplomats. She then added something as an afterthought..." Oh and Captain I will be needing a new falconer - immediately .See to it personally at once!!!"
Edited by Celebcalen - 05 Nov 2011 at 10:38
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Celebcalen
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Posted: 30 Oct 2011 at 20:44 |
TROLLS! ZAU BRILK! The Librarian's party had almost cleared the hill country of Arran and were intending to make for the Lannigolds trading port of Eyepool in order to embark onto a trading lugger for Parlan. The Lannigolds were the principal noble family in this area although through their own intrigue and ambition they had fallen out favour with the royal court of King Sigurd. Leucippe Seafollower and her escort were only about just over a day's travel from the Eyepool. Meanwhile above them and about 200 paces to their rear, Rabhaat and Wizzo, the scouts of Toothless?, kept pace with the party unseen.
As the party rounded a large fallen tree set below a crag like rock a cry went up "Trolls! Zau Brilk! To arms!" The scouts saw that party had been caught in a narrow defile between three massive hunter trolls who were swinging their massive clubs. They had surprised two of the escort knocking them unconscious and were now closing on the Chief Librarian herself. Deliberately isolating her from the rest of the group.
The scouts of Toothless? who were by rights decent souls, and had a pathological hatred of Trolls, drew their Shortbows without a second thought for their mission but they did not have time to loose their arrows as two strange and apparently miraculous events occurred which stayed their hands. The first was that the librarian had started chanting holding her left hand to the necklace around her neck whilst pointing her right directly at the Troll immediately in front of her. Suddenly there was blinding flash as a pure stream of light engulfed the troll and it literally disappeared. Leucippe then collapsed to the ground as if drained of all energy but before she had fallen there appeared, as if from nowhere, an elven wardancer who closed upon the second troll in poised dance like steps with blades extended behind . The hunting troll then recovered his rage and stamped the ground. He prepared to rush the elf but he was too late because in blur of flashing steel the elf had struck first. in two movements he had both hamstrung and then decapitated the the troll with what appeared to be consummate grace.
The final troll lumbered lumbered towards the prone librarian enraged at loss of his brothers but he did get more than three steps as both the scout loosed there arrows, as one, with deadly accuracy . The troll took one in each eye and the monstrous Zau Brilk let out a howl agony before crashing to the ground - stone dead.
The Elven wardancer moved immediately to Leucippe cradling her in his arms. She opened her eyes and appeared startled as she gazed up at the elf. She started to speak but he gently placed his finger on her lips and told her to "Be still and recover your spirit". By now the two scouts had descended into the ravine. Rabhaat came to elf and whispered that the other three Parlanese had been had not survived the ambush. Wizzo added that "From the way those trolls were behaving it looked like they were trying to take you alive, my lady." As he said this he was gazing at the Orichalcum as if trying to make sense of what his eyes had just witnessed.
A while later the elf and the two scouts had taken the fallen and laid in them shallow graves in the Forest. They had been joined by a now partially recovered Leucippe which caused Wizzo to remark to his friend that "She must be made of stern stuff". Both scouts looked at each other and then at the librarian, noticing that the necklace had been covered up. Immediately Rabhaat addressed the Elf saying "Those are some moves you have got there stranger . It was indeed lucky that you happened a long when you did. By the way what did you say your name was?"
The Elf paused studying the scouts with an appraising gaze and then he replied "I did not say." and added "I am called Truth."
An examination of the belongings of the trolls had revealed that they had recently acquired gold from the Lannigolds and the leader carried a seal, marked "He who weeps first". A title reserved, in ritual, for the King of Larn. It was now that Leucippe asked the scouts if they would reconnoitre the road ahead to Eyepool. Wizzo agreed immediately thinking that this would give him both an opportunity to release a messenger to her ladyship and to escort the librarian to her destination keeping her under observation the whole time.
Forty five minutes later the scouts returned to the edge of the forest finding absolutely no sign of the librarian nor the wardancer. Rabhaat looked at his friend and they both said in unison " We've been had" and fell about in laughter at the humour of it all.
Edited by Celebcalen - 05 Nov 2011 at 10:50
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Celebcalen
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Posted: 30 Oct 2011 at 20:44 |
SAFE PASSAGE? Leucippe and her new found enigmatic travelling companion had indeed deliberately evaded the scouts and were by now headed for a new destination. The town of Port Sands within territory of the Invicta alliance. This territory was within the region of Turalia and lay along its southern coast. The elven lord of Port Sands was also the leader of the Invicta alliance and although still comparatively youthful was known to be both courageous and wise beyond his years. Nonetheless Truth counselled the librarian to neither involve Lord Sloter nor seek his protection. The wardancer reasoned that since evidence showed that the Trolls had been deliberately sent to waylay the Parlanese party by either the King of Larn or the so called noble family of the Lannigolds, that it would be best to continue travelling incognito for the time being. Moreover he was keenly aware that the two scouts of Toothless? had witnessed the power of the atrifact and that concerned both Truth and Leicippe greatly.
That Truth knew so much about the artifact and appeared so actively involved in both its protection and transportation to a place of safe keeping, came as no surprise to Leucippe. The wardancer explained that he recently renounced all material wealth and status and had been accepted into the "The Seven" - an ancient society devoted to enforcing the justice of the deities and preserving the balance of Illyria. He then informed the librarian that the Parlanese Trireme was in fact at anchor not far from Port Sands and would bear both her and the sacred necklace to her destination. Truth escorted the Librarian of Parlan to the gates of Port Sands . He turned to her and told her to make her way to the docks where another member of the society would greet her and escort her to the ship. Their eyes held each other for a moment in a way that would have been clear to any onlooker that they were not strangers and she known him well before he renounced his previous status. Indeed she had. Her eyes filled with tears as he turned away and moved towards the country road from whence they had travelled.
Leucippe quickly moved towards the harbour as instructed looking neither right nor left nor stopping for any reason. Standing on the quay was a solitary elf, lean and cloaked in a grey mantle. He had striking silver grey hair which he wore down his back. He bowed formerly and said "Greetings esteemed librarian. I have the honour to escort you to the Trireme. Your berth awaits you"
KINGS OF KINGDOMS AND KINGS OF PIRATES News and reports of the sighting of the Orichalcum or the Girdle of Infinite Purity as it was known in the east had, as we have already seen, been circulated to wealthy individuals both high and low by those to whom information was a valuable commodity. Only a few of the recipients had the merest inkling of the true nature and purpose of the artifact but all were fully aware of it's material value. Its value amounted to riches beyond the imagination of even the most greedy of the inhabitants of Illyria.
As we have seen The Kingdom of Larn had already mounted one indirect and failed attempt by engaging the Lannigolds ( who in turn engaged the Zau Brilk) to obtain the necklace and the Arch Librarian of Parlan. This failure was reported to the ruler of Larn or to give him his full and revered title "the King of Our People, Hand of Order. Our Hope in Continuity, Our Champion of Peace, He Who Weeps First Among Us etc..." according to the time honoured rituals of the Royal Court of Larn. Suffice it say, the news of the unsuccessful mission caused one royal tear to well and fall from the royal eye. Unfortunately this climatic shedding of royal angst also resulted in the death of the Royal Adviser on Foreign Intelligence and all his family.
The following day Admiral Jayavarman of the Larn Navy assembled the entire compliment of crews of all naval warships of Newharbour and personally read the Royal proclamation. This was of course preceded by the "ritual of weeping" which was customary indeed obligatory before any event that would lead to bloodshed. the entire fleet had been ordered to put to sea and to recover the "Girdle of Infinite Purity" for the king.
Isle of Kem lies some thirty leagues off the coast of Larn and provides one the infamous refuges for pirates of the Southern Sea in the harbour known as Windypigeons Roost. Long had they troubled the Kingdoms and Duchys of the region with acts of piracy on the high seas and bold raids on coastal ports. Recently the pirates of the South Seas had become united under a ruthless tyrant whose name was was not known but had taken the title "Pirate King". Now the pirates of Illyria were drawn from all manner of ne'r do wells, thieves and cutthroats and also gave sanctuary to any who were on the run from King Sigurd's law or displeasure. They included amongst their numbers a fearsome orc of trollish reputation named Bragdush who was the lieutenant of the South Seas pirates and the Pirate King's right hand man. By bragging about his acts of piracy, wrecking and fire raids he earned the title of "Pirate Lord" of Kem .
Upon the quay of Windypigeon's Roost stands a disreputable hostelry frequented by pirates and mariners down on their luck - The Howling Monkey Tavern. Here, crews can be bought or pressed for any manner of enterprise for just the promise of ill gotten gold coin or a flagon of grog. The tavern was never closed and always rowdy with the air filled of tobacco smoke , the smell of grog and bawdy sea shanties. Few sights or sounds could still the revelry of The Howling Monkey but one of those rare moments was about to occur.
It was a stormy night and in the midst of chaotic and drunken carousing within the tavern the main door flew open with a crash and framed in the door way was the burly silhouette of the Pirate Lord himself.
"Aharr! Look lively ye drunken swabs and heed my words or ye will be feeling the sharp end of this here cutlass, ". The Pirate Lord drew a fearsome blade with a serrated edge from the sash around his waste and pointed it at the hapless cutthroats. All shifted uneasily, for the blade was well known in Kem as Braggiez " Sausage Slicer". It was a very unwise deckhand who would ignore the Pirate Lord.
" Every man jack of ye is volunteering for my crew to set sail on the next tide in me ship "The Red Maw" as we have a special cargo to collect from them mermaid lovin' Parlaneez" This statement was met with a low grumbling and muttering from the pirates in the tavern because the Parlanese were extraordinary seafarers and not an easy target for any pirate. However the Pirate Lord knew his men well. " I'll give a Pirates Pledge for this here voyage me bucco's! When we captures the prize I pledge that each and every one of ye gets an equal share of the booty, a barrel of grog and three months paid shore leave." Now a pirates pledge spoken in public is binding on any captain according to the pirates code so all of the tavern gave a loud cheer when they heard this generous and guaranteed offer. Seeing that he had gained what he wanted the Pirate Lord turned to his bo'sun " Alright Pegleg get this lot aboard afore they sober up and starts asking stupid questions"
Edited by Celebcalen - 05 Nov 2011 at 11:05
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Celebcalen
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Posted: 30 Oct 2011 at 20:45 |
ENTER THE REVENGE Some twenty leagues to the north west of Kem and heading south along the coast of Larn and towards the royal post newharbour sped a low sleek dragon ship in full sail and its oars were currently shipped. This was the " Revenge" and she was gliding over the waves in full spate but in her wake was a larger vessel of austentatious elven design and carrying purple sails trimmed in gold. The pursuing ship was named "Conquerer's Star". It was newly built and was to be the first of its kind for the Elven alliance of the Eternal Champions. For this particular voyage the leader of the Eternal Champions had joined the expedition for he was after a particular quarry.
AmrothAnguireal an elf of boundless ambition had brought with him a gilded cage which had been fitted to the quarter deck of his proud vessel. Inside the cage was a chain with manacles and a collar made especially for the quarry that he was pursuing. The object being that the prisoner when captured would be taken back to his nearest stronghold, The Abbey of the Fountains, and placed on display for all to see. As ever the Elven prince was confident that capture was a foregone conclusion as he himself had conceived of a superb scheme to achieve these ends. As usual it would be foolproof
In communication with the Harmless? alliance AmrothAnguireal had set a brilliant scrategem to snare his quarry. He was anticpating the conclusion of the trap that he had set with some relish. Indeed at that very moment the lookout announced that he had identified three Harmless? galleys, to the west, off the starboard bow which had appeared on an intercept course with dragonship named "Revenge".
AmrothAnguireal who was being shielded from the suns rays by peacock feathers, rose from his gilded throne and staring at the fleeing dragon ship. He allowed a satisfied smile to play upon his lips as he observed " Of course just as I had predicted. He pointed at Revenge at threw back his head in laughter as he exclaimed. "I have you now"
---------------------------------------Meanwhile aboard the Revenge the crew prepared themselves for a fight. They were armed to the teeth and battle hardened mariners each one. Their former lives had been left behind them and their cities, farms and homes burned to the ground by the Coalition of the Seven. They were the warriors of ICON whose former founder BaughB had fallen in the fighting and now they were led by a charismatic dwarf with a price on his head in seven different regions of Illyria - StJude. Amongst the crew were several other different warriors with a reputation including ICON's second in command Zork, a huge warrior named Borg and the deadly elven trueshot Darpandas... StJude stood upon the prow of the dragonship staring into the distance he could see the three galleys to the west closing fast . On her landward side, the "Revenge" was directly abreast of the headland that shielded the port of Newharbour from the north while dead ahead StJude spied a bank of fog. Peering into the mist StJude made out the masts of several more ships flying the red pennants of the Kingdom of Larn. Zork had seen them to and stepped for' ard. His face broke into a big grin as he said " Jude. I hate you . You've gone and got us surrounded again" The dwarf turned and grinned back and replied "Well then I'll just have to get your sorry rump out of this won't I?" He then shouted to the crew "Borg trim the sails sharpish. Everyone man the oars! Darpandas get those firebrands lit!" he then quickly outlined his plan. We are going into Newharbour port through fog but our visit will be lightning quick. I am sure AnalrotsStinkalot will follow and I hope the Harmless? captains will do the same but we must begone by the time they arrive ..." ---------------------------------------The flotilla under the command of Admiral Jayavarman of the Larn Navy was already putting to sea from Newharbour when they sighted the three unidentified galleys some leagues distance. Before the fog rolled into encompass their vessels they sighted two more craft rounding the headland and moving into the mist covered sea outside the harbour. Straight away the Admiral knew his duty. No foriegn vessels were allowed to enter the harbour without the express permission of "He Who Weeps First". The alarm was sounded and the cry went up Pirates! To Arms! Pirates! The helmsman of Jayavarman's flagship was startled as a sleek dragonship came out of the mist and cut across the bows of the flagship. As the two ships closed a volley of fire arrows came from the dragon ship setting the main sail alight, but before the flagship could react the dragonship was enveloped by the mist and disappeared. Next the Conqueror's Star came out of the mist and collided with the Admiral's vessel amidships on splintering grinding crash. As the three galleys entered the fog there was confusion, shouting and fighting all aournd . Fire arrows, ballistas and catapults were discharged indiscriminately. Two of the Larn craft closed on a galley that had become separated in the fog and tried to board it with bloody consequences. The sea battle intensified and fog, confusion and pandemonium reigned for at least two hours...  By this time the Revenge had already cleared the fog bank , hoisted sail and was running before an easterly wind in the direction Kem. Darpandas who had been responsible for directing the volleys of fire arrows came to the prow and stood before StJude. He took one look at the dwarf "Well it was my archery that got us all out of that" he said but Borg stepped forward protest "No it was my seamanship" then Zork " Without my hand on the tiller we would not have escaped". StJude looked at them and burst out into a holws of laughter and everyone joined in. Just then, to the astonishment of them all a large albatross glided up from a trough in the sea and landed on the deck . It then made a cackling noise and hopped into the tent that served as StJude's cabin...
Edited by Celebcalen - 05 Nov 2011 at 17:33
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Celebcalen
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Posted: 05 Nov 2011 at 03:26 |
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Next instalment is due shortly
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Belthazor
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Posted: 05 Nov 2011 at 14:05 |
Looking forward for the next chapter. Keep it up. 
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We work in the Dark to serve the Light
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Gemley
Postmaster
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Posted: 05 Nov 2011 at 14:21 |
This is a pretty good story. 
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�I do not love the bright sword for it's sharpness, nor the arrow for it's swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend� - J.R.R. Tolkien
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The Voyage Of The Revenge
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