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#Post#: 1222--------------------------------------------------
429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two: Dark Covenant
By: Dungeon Master Date: August 13, 2025, 2:35 am
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[center]Knights of Nerka
Lords of Nerka II
vol. I
Story Two: Dark Covenant
Chapter One: Jelek
The Knights of Takhisis was created by Tracy Hickman[/center]
Eastern Ansalon
Taman Busk
The Nerakan Road
Jelek
Jelek (Large Town, 2,760)
The humiliating forced march retreat to Jelek was a necessary
order to keep the Knighthood alive, but they can’t see that at
the moment; all they know is their leaders have lost Neraka. The
leaders hope they can find a way to redirect the men’s
resentment.
Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold, Lord of the Lilly Army looks
around and when he regains his breath he orders the engineers to
see to the fortifications of the City and he gives a majority of
his troops time to recover and orders up several units that have
proven to be loyal to a fault in the past and has them stand
guard. He sends for the Company commander, stationed at Jelek,
to report at once and put his men on alert for an impending
attack by an Ogre and Undead army.
When Donovan Malakar, the Protector of the Lilly, stationed at
Jelek, arrives, and even though he had heard the army of Neraka
was outside, the shock of seeing it overwhelms his senses, and
he is immediately confounded as to what could have happened to
have this happen.
Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold explains, and looks to the
Lord Adjudicator, Galen Nemedi, his counterpart of the Knights
of the Skull as the Lord of the Skull to confirm his story- See
Lords of Neraka Story One (The Attack by the Giants, and the
army of the Ogre Titans).
The Lord Adjudicator Galen Nemedi grimly smiles; it almost makes
him appear crazed in the Red moonlight. “He speaks the truth;
they were right behind us.”
Lord of the Night, Baltasar Rennold, adds, he wanted to save
what was left of the Knighthood and fight back with fresh
levies, speaking of which. My troops are going to rest, and your
troops are headed to the front of the line. We will join you
there when they attack, but the last 45 hours have been hell.
The Protector of the Lilly snaps to attention and orders his men
to take positions at the gates and prepare to repel attackers.
Soon,
The Protector of the Lilly wakes the Lord of the Night carefully
and tells him it is two in the afternoon. He had been moved in
the night, and many of the troops had been given fluids and a
sedative by their Medicus because he was dehydrated. The Lord of
Night is only partly annoyed to be drugged and moved against his
will, but he understands the Medicus has their jobs to do as
well. Baltasar Rennold asks tentatively, “Any contact this
morning, today?”
The Protector of the Lilly answers, “No. It is curious, so I
sent out a forward recon team to scout the road, and if possible
up to Neraka.”
The Lord of Night tells the Protector of the Lilly that he is
pleased with his actions. He asks about his men. Protector of
the Lilly reports that they have been given leave to eat and
take rack time in the barracks. The Protector points the
direction and tells the Lord of Night that they are well taken
care of.
The Lord of Night tells him Good job, and now all we do is wait
for contact to find out what the Abyss is going on?
#Post#: 1227--------------------------------------------------
Re: 429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two:Dark Covenant Chap
ter Two: The Missing Enemy
By: Dungeon Master Date: August 17, 2025, 10:13 pm
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[center]Knights of Nerka
Lords of Nerka II
vol. I
Story Two: Dark Covenant
Chapter Two: The Missing Enemy
[/center]
Eastern Ansalon
Taman Busk
The Nerakan Road (Between Neraka and Jelek)
Twenty-three miles from Jelek
The Forward Recon Team was sent out on the orders of Donovan
Malakar, the Protector of the Lilly, Commanding Officer of Jelek
Garrison. The recon group is made up of knights from the Jelek
garrison.
Knights of Neraka Jelek garrison.
Knights of the Lilly
Team Leader Night Warrior Malack 9th level
Forward Recon Team competition
Night Acolyte Faelora Blackwinter 8th level
Novice of Night Lucan: 7th level
Warrior. Sgt Jharel 6th level
Warrior Lierina 5th level
Believer Grevell Whitefall 4th level
Follower Ekrin Orestagg 3rd level
Plus, fifteen more Knights of the Lilly Warriors, 5th level and
below, Believers and Followers
Warrior Lierin is a part of a small scouting group that is far
ahead of the main group
The forward recon team is on the road to Neraka and has had no
contact yet with the enemy. But they have found dead knights.
Dead of dehydration. They prepare a marker near the Carin that
they built for them. The crows have already rendered their faces
unrecognizable.
Jelek
The Taman Massif looms to the northwest above Jelek
At his own Manor in Jelek
The Lord Adjudicator Galen Nemedi is supremely pleased with the
developments. The blame rests on the Lord of Night’s failures
and cowardice. He wonders what more he can do to weaken the Lord
of Light politically further. He is not happy with the level of
the state of discontent among the troops. They should be
outraged, but they are looking at things in hindsight, and the
men are becoming more loyal to him. The modicum of joy he was
riding deflates as he learns all of his hopes and plans from
last night are all for naught.
The Command Post at the Jelek
Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold is looking over the detailed
physical map of the region that was intricately carved and made
by contract with the accountant, the disgraced former Lord of
Night Morham Targonne, when the Knighthood originally moved to
Jelek during Targonne's reign. He looks down the area where the
Forward Scouts are bound to be located.
Donovan Malakar, the Protector of the Lilly, enters the room and
brings a dispatch from the forward Recon Team.
The Lord of the Night reads the Protector’s face for anything he
can glean before he reads the missive. The Protector’s face did
not betray the import of the message’s contents. Not finding
what he was looking for, or rather, he did, he did not like what
it implied. Baltasar reads the message:
Have traveled twenty miles, going to travel a bit longer on the
Nearakan Road. Have down bodies of knights that fell on the
forced march because they could not keep up. Animals have gotten
to the fallen Knights. We buried them under a cairn of rocks
that are marked. We have had no contact with enemy forces as of
yet, but have found the first signs of evidence of barbarian
ogre and hobgoblin spears and arrows. We have found footprints
and signs that Ogres have come through both directions. We have
found blood on rocks. We are camping tonight and moving out to
Neraka tomorrow.
Baltasar looks to the Protector and asks, “Have any dragons
returned from the Dragon Army in Khur?”
The Protector answers, “Three Blues have been seen in the area
flying around, no riders are seen on their backs. They have not
landed yet.”
The Lord of Night tells the Protector to have them signaled
down. “I would hear of their news about their mission.”
The Protector nods and leaves the Command Post.
The Blues finally come down, and the Lord of Night comes to meet
them.
He hears that his own Blue Dragon, Kerrilastian, got into a
brutal physical fight during the Fight over Khur.
He must be off licking his wounds, the Lord of Knight thinks.
The Lord of Night hears that the Battle ended in no joy. The
Elven Nation survives; they apparently stole the Eggs that were
most precious to Vermomax the Red, the leader of the war effort.
Negated… the Lord of Night thinks, wait, “Did you witness an
Ogre Titan Army in Neraka?”
The Dragons answer differently. They lost track when the battle
began, but according to what he can glean, Neraka is clear, and
the Ogre army has disappeared; the missing enemy has left the
battlefield. They could be hiding in the mountains; that’s a
remaining possibility...
Continued failures... On his watch... Baltasar is not pleased.
#Post#: 1249--------------------------------------------------
429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two: Dark Covenant Chapter
Three: The Return to Storm’s Keep
By: Dungeon Master Date: August 25, 2025, 1:00 am
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[center]Knights of Nerka
Lords of Nerka II[/center]
[center]vol. I
Story Two: Dark Covenant
Chapter Three: The Return to Storm’s Keep
Part One [/center]
Eastern Ansalon
The Nerakan Road, Northern Outskirts of the City of Neraka
Knights of the Lilly Forward Recon Team
Team Leader Night Warrior Malack is waiting. His scouting team
is up ahead.
He looks down the line at his troops. He told them to get some
sleep. He has sentries out on the perimeter, but he is wide
awake. It is just after midnight. The Moons’ travels across the
sky in their phases of the month. He is a warrior and spends
little time thinking about the moons. He is on the lookout and
listening for any possible signs of wild dog pack activity. They
are known to roam this part of Neraka.
Heat lightning streaks in the sky as five Knights of the Lilly,
known best for their skills of reconnaissance, led by Recon Team
leader (5th level) Warrior Lierin. Sgt. Lierin is from Sanction
but has not seen it since she was a little girl. Known for her
skills of owning the night, being quieter than the rest of her
company. They have seen dead bodies. They have had to kill some
wild dog packs that are feeding on the dead bodies.
They find no threats, and in fact, some civilians are coming to
see if help is coming. They send a runner back to the main
group to see how to proceed.
Knights of the Lilly Forward Recon Team
(8th Level) Night Acolyte Faelora Blackwinter has taken over the
watch by the time the runner has arrived. She reads over the
missive, and she safely wakes Team Leader Night Warrior Malack.
He sits up from forty minutes of sleep he managed to get and
reaches out and takes the missive and reads it over. “Rally the
men.
Knights of Neraka Jelek garrison.
Knights of the Lilly
Team Leader Night Warrior Malack 9th level
Forward Recon Team competition
Night Acolyte Faelora Blackwinter 8th level
Novice of Night Lucan: 7th level
Warrior. Sgt Jharel 6th level
Warrior Lierina 5th level
Believer Grevell Whitefall 4th level
Follower Ekrin Orestagg 3rd level
Plus, fifteen more Knights of the Lilly Warriors, 5th level and
below, Believers and Followers
Far away to the West and North, out across the ocean blue,
Hundreds of miles, far from the tip of Palanthas, and further
west, you come to a place called…
Storm’s Keep
Located in the Turbidus Ocean.
Storm’s Keep is a fortress located on a small island located in
the Turbidus Ocean. The island is a remote and rocky locale,
which was shown to Ariakan by his mother Zeboim when he was
first setting about founding the Knights of Takhisis. On the
island, Ariakan gathered a number of his followers, and through
the magic and might of a group of renegade mages and blue
dragons, the fortress of Storm’s Keep was constructed. A large
storm constantly brewed over the island, the elements obscuring
it from prying eyes, except for those who were already aware of
its existence.
Originally, the island was home to a large volcano, which last
erupted during the Cataclysm; however, it has long since become
inactive. The outer cliffs of the island are jagged pieces of
pumice and obsidian, and the waters around the edges of the
island are shallow. The waters hide black coral and large rocks,
which make approach by sailing vessel almost impossible. The
interior cliffs of the island possess a large number of caves
and tunnels, which have been home in the past to the blue
dragons of the knighthood. The keep itself is built from black
marble, which is kept shining and polished by the constant spray
from the ocean.
In the Age of Despair, for the first few years, Storm’s Keep was
a burgeoning base for the Knights of Takhisis, which saw large
numbers of young men become drilled and trained in the art of
war. The fortress was split between the three orders of the
knighthood, with mages, clerics, and fighters all developing
their skills. In 381 AC, a cadre of powerful Wizards of High
Sorcery, led by Dalamar the Dark, Highmage Justarius, and
Karnea, attempted to infiltrate and conquer the fortress.
However, the mages were quickly attacked, leading to Justarius
being killed and Dalamar and Karnea barely escaping with their
lives.
Later in 383 AC, the keep was abandoned when the Knights of
Takhisis left for the mainland of Ansalon to launch their
invasion of the continent. Following the death of Ariakan and
the defeat of many of the knights against the minions of Chaos,
the knighthood chose to remain on Ansalon and not return to the
isle.
In the Age of Mortals, following the fall of Ariakan and the
decline of the Knights of Takhisis following the Chaos War, the
keep fell into disrepair and became the prison of Ausric Krell,
who was raised as a Death Knight by Zeboim in retaliation for
murdering her son. The goddess then created a wild storm to
constantly rage over the keep, as a reminder of her dark rage at
Krell for killing her beloved child.
In the years following the War of Souls, Krell finally left the
fortress after several decades. The Dark Knights have returned
to Storm’s Keep once more, set about reclaiming the site as
their base of operations to recover several powerful artifacts.
Lord of Thorns Tiberius 17th Level (LE male civilized human
Knight of the Thorn /Vision partisan. Tiberius has sent a wing
of Dark Knights to scout out the island-fortress in order to
determine its viability as a base of operations, if not the
headquarters of the Knighthood itself.
With the reemergence of the Tower of the Blood Sea, the Thorn
Knights hope to reclaim the lost artifacts of the Tower of
Thorns.
The long dragonflight across the Northern Turbidus Ocean finally
arrives at a remote and rocky locale called Storm’s Keep. Lord
of Thorns Tiberius’s Black Dragon Black Wing (Vorthrax) circles
the Keep, and they take in the buildings here…
The Armory
The Bailey
The Barracks
The Central Tower
Storm’s Keep’s Watch Towers
The Temple of Dark Stars
The Queen’s Temple
The Tower of Dragons
The Tower of Isolation
The Tower of Lilies
The Tower of Skulls (The tallest tower on Storm’s Keep)
The Tower of Thorns
“Six Towers… They look intact enough, possibly lightning strike
damage… Take us around again.” Tiberius says. Tiberius takes
it all in and says, “Okay.” The Tower of Skulls will need a new
lighting rod. No telling the damage inside. Not going anywhere
near that tower to find out.
…and the Black Dragon comes in for a landing in the Bailey. The
Advance Team of Gray Knights has already secured the position
and is standing by.
The wind whips around Lord Tiberius as he dismounts from Black
Wing's back and is met by armored and armed Gray Robes. He
knows two of them by sight.
Mortimer Blackbriar, 16th Level Protector of the Thorn
Tall and thin
Magnus Darkstar, 15th-Level Master of the Thorn
Solid Medium Frame
The girl he barely remembers.
Calista Nightshade, 11th Level Wizard
Female Dark dark-haired and Pale
Protector of the Thorn Mortimer has secured the fortress. “This
lower Temple appears closed to us for some reason. We cannot
enter with magic. It is believed Zebolim uses it for some fell
purpose.”
The Lord of the Thorns. “We will leave it to her then. You say
the above is clear?”
Master of the Thorn Magnus Darkstar answers, “the way is clear
my lord.”
They enter the Central Tower to get to the entrance of the Tower
of Thorns.
Tiberius passes by more Grey Robes guarding entrances along the
path to the Tower of Thorns above.
Storm's Keep Central Tower is a large spire that stands in the
center of Storm's Keep, just south of the Storm’s Keep Bailey.
The tower stands over two hundred and fifty feet high and
stretches to almost sixty feet in diameter. Within the tower,
there are several dining halls, meeting rooms, kitchens, servant
quarters, and general utility rooms.
The central tower has direct access to almost every other tower
and building within Storm's Keep. At the pinnacle of the tower
lies Ariakan's Chamber, the private chambers of the master of
Storm's Keep.
Waiting at the entrance of the Tower of Thorns is the Nightlord,
14th Level Malachor Grimhollow, and the Seer, 12th level
Morrigan Blackthorn, who report “the Wizard Lock is intact.”
The Lord of the Thorns pulls forth a scroll that he uncovered
recently from a secret pocket in the Robes of his dead Master.
The moment of truth… He reads the Scroll, the spell builds at
his words, and the Door opens.
The Tower of Thorns is a large tower located in the central
southern part of Storm's Keep, just eastwards of the Tower of
Lilies. The tower was the headquarters of the Knights of the
Thorn and had a series of tunnels underneath it that connected
to a number of laboratories, libraries, and vaults.
The tower was loosely considered by some to be the equal of a
Tower of High Sorcery, as well as containing many magical
treasures that were collected by scavengers of the past.
The Lord of the Thorns takes his time as his advanced team walks
ahead of him. They have to disable a series of traps, and then
some more.
They have to secure the Tower before more Gray Robes can join
them. There are some deaths among the advanced team due to
unaccounted-for traps. Troves of items have been left here. The
chambers within the actual tower itself were the sleeping
quarters of the Thorn Knights, with some floors obviously set
aside for planning and the Master’s research. A Library, a lot
of books missing, still several books left. They secure enough
Chambers for the Advanced Team and post guards on rotating
shifts.
Eastern Ansalon
The Nerakan Valley
Jelek
This is Six Days later, after the Advanced Team set out. They
have reached Neraka and have found many dead among the
civilians, at least two hundred—no sign of any Ogres or
Ogre-Titans left in the area.
Forward Recon Team sent back the message, and Donovan Malakar,
the Protector of the Lilly, Commanding Officer of Jelek, handed
the message to Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold, who soon
shared it with The Lord Adjudicator Galen Nemedi.
“Very well,” Lord of the Night says. He calls for his chief of
staff, who arrives a moment later. “Call the Company Commanders
together for a briefing, Give the men tonight, but we are moving
out tomorrow, we are going back to Neraka.”
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