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       #Post#: 1222--------------------------------------------------
       429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two: Dark Covenant 
   DIR By: Dungeon Master
       Date: August 13, 2025, 2:35 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [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
       Chapter Two: The Missing Enemy 
   DIR By: Dungeon Master
       Date: August 17, 2025, 10:13 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [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  
   DIR By: Dungeon Master
       Date: August 25, 2025, 1:00 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [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.”
       #Post#: 1342--------------------------------------------------
       429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two: Dark Covenant Chapter
       Three: The Return to Storm’s Keep Part Two
   DIR By: Dungeon Master
       Date: March 27, 2026, 12:29 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [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 Two [/center]
       Storms Keep
       Located in the Turbidus Ocean.
       The Tower of Thorns
       In all, the Knights of the Thorn lost four due to the curses and
       trapped rooms that were left behind by the Knights of Takhisis
       when they left to conquer Ansalon; they left behind instruments
       of death to guard their secrets. It is true, trove after trove
       has been uncovered throughout the Tower, all hidden by magic.
       Some of the deaths came from uncovering some of those very
       troves.
       We have established secure living quarters within the Tower of
       Thorns. They hear dreadful noises emanating from the Tower of
       the Skulls. The Undead Problem, as they have come to call it,
       all stems from a story of Skull Knights leaving behind prisoners
       to go crazy and starve to death. These dead have risen as undead
       and are a threat to anyone who gets free. The clamoring has
       interrupted their sleep for many nights now.
       Lord of the Thorns Tiberius closes his logbook and puts it to
       the side. He has already sent back messages to the mainland with
       a Status Report, including a call for the Skull Knights to send
       a contingent to their tower to put an end to their mess.
       Other than that, Lord of the Thorns Tiberius has given his
       assessment that the strength of the location was a combined
       force garrison able to withstand any attack. He recommends they
       should garrison a sizable reserve force here post haste, or word
       will get out, and the Conclave will try to wipe out their hated
       enemies again. I will remind you that it was only the united
       front that saved the day.
       Tiberius has been cataloguing the treasure troves of caches that
       have been brought to the Lord of the Thorns' chambers. Although
       he keeps an eye out for anything good, he truly has no wish to
       hoard. He truly plans to redistribute the items from the caches.
       He wants to build up a strong Knights of the Thorn.
       Tiberius is interrupted by Master of the Thorn, Magnus Darkstar,
       “My Lord of Night, we may have to do something about those
       undead after all.”
       Tiberius looks up and asks, “Why? What’s happened?”
       It appears the guards downstairs are missing from their posts in
       the Central Tower.
       [center]…[/center]
       Eastern Ansalon, The Nerakan Valley, The Nerakan Road
       The Army of Neraka is on the Nerakan Road once again, headed in
       the other direction. The Lord of Night has told the Company
       Commanders to take it easy on the men going back; they gave
       their all during the forced march. He tells them the shortened
       intervals of breaks and lunch, and their planned times to break
       to set up camp for the night. One of the officers points out
       that it sounds as though you want us to coddle them.
       “No, the forced march nearly broke them, they have more than
       proved themselves to me. Berate any slackers but allow for a
       leisurely march back.”
       
       The Army of Neraka is made up of, at the current moment, the
       Knights of the Lilly and the bulk of the Knights of the Skull
       that came with them when they evacuated the army.  The Lords of
       Neraka do not know what they will find in Neraka. The reports
       from the advance team have stopped coming in. That in itself is
       worrying to Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold. Their last
       message was about a mob of survivors seeking aid, and that was
       the only message all day. The Lord of the Night has occasionally
       scanned the skies, looking for his mount, but thus far, it has
       stayed away.
       The Army of Neraka continues on the Nerakan Road.
       [center]…[/center]
       In the northern sections of the City of Neraka
       Knights of the Lilly Forward Recon Team, led by team leader
       Night Warrior Malack, has met up with the Recon Team led by team
       leader Warrior Lierin and his five troops. The Knights of the
       Forward Recon mission are all Knights of Neraka from the Jelek
       garrison.
       A large segment of the civilian population of Neraka has formed
       into a half-moon around the knights; they part when the Forward
       group arrives.
       Night Warrior Malack finds Warrior Lierin and has him give his
       report.
       “Sir, They say the ogres came into town and just disappeared
       into the mist.  A company of undead troops has taken the
       southern pass, and sir, they say a Death Knight is leading
       them.”
       #Post#: 1366--------------------------------------------------
       429 AC Lords of Nerka II vol. I Story Two Chapter Three: Dark
       Covenant The Return to Storm’s Keep Part Three
   DIR By: Dungeon Master
       Date: May 14, 2026, 9:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]Knights of Nerka
       Lords of Nerka II
       vol. I
       Story Two:
       Chapter Three: The Return to Storm’s Keep
       Part Three[/center]
       Far in the Turbidus Ocean, Northwest of Ansalon, lies the remote
       Fortress Storm’s Keep. High above in the Tower of Thorns, Lord
       of the Thorns Tiberius, and the Master of the Thorn, Magnus
       Darkstar, peer down the stairway to Storm's Keep Central Tower.
       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 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.
       The sounds are no longer coming from Skull Tower. There are
       noises below in the central tower.
       Tiberius asks Magnus, “Who is down in the central tower, and how
       do you know they are gone?”
       Magnus answers that he was scrying on the sounds below, and our
       own troops are acting strangely. “Moving with a slight stiffness
       and acting as if their minds are gone. They howl, there is
       another one, not one of ours, there is not much to his emaciated
       body. They all have claw marks, which must be important.”
       Does not sound like any Undead I know of, and you did not answer
       me about who was down there.”
       “Who knows what kind of hate was cooked up in those Skull Knight
       prisons. The emaciated may be the original, or one of the
       carriers that turned. I have not answered about who was down
       there because I don’t think that it is productive to think of
       them as those people any longer if they have turned, as I think
       they have.
       They share a look, and even if the Lord of the Thorns hates it,
       he agrees. We have to bar this door and seal it and figure out a
       way to fight these creatures off, without being touched.
       
       More scrying shows that the reason the group of six is feasting
       on the provisions in the Central Tower is that they have not
       moved fully into the Tower of Thorns.
       Very soon after, the rest of the group has been assembled, and
       most everyone has been scanning their spellbooks to find out
       what they might do to stop these things. Fire? Barring the usual
       ways that are useless against the undead, surely Evrard’s Dark
       Tenacles will hold them, and Lightning Bolts will eliminate
       them, one of the wizards exclaims.
       “Hold Undead should work. Too bad not enough of know how to
       Charm Undead we would only need to send them to the Bailey; the
       Dragons would do the rest.” Magnus puts forth.
       Tiberius nods, it would be the most sensible, but as he says,
       not enough know the spell. An oversight that will be remedied
       for the future.
       The Grey Wizards prepare their spells.
       [center]…[/center]
       City of Neraka
       Knights of the Lilly Forward Recon Team, from the Jelek
       garrison.
       Team Leader Night Warrior Malack and Recon Team leader Warrior
       Lierin travel amongst the throng of undead footmen standing in
       formation that have opened ranks to the Death Knight, Lord Rage,
       astride his mount, a Nightmare. When seeing them, he dismounts
       and walks toward them. The first thing they notice is the fire
       in the eye behind the mask. They have never seen or come into
       contact with a Death Knight before; nothing can prepare them.
       They see his blackened, ancient Solamnic armor.
       “Which one of you are in Command.” It asks.
       The wave of cold evil that emanates from the Death Knight
       affects a zone around it. The Death Knight has stepped so close
       that they are within that zone.  Night Warrior Malack answers,
       as strongly as he can, to the Death Knight, “I am, Night Warrior
       Malack, that um, the Forward Recon Group from Jelek.”
       “I see, he looks to the other soldier, then back at the Team
       Leader, he then steps away from them, taking his zone of cold
       evil with him. The Knights are shaken to their core, despite
       their defiance.
       “Tell your Lord of Night that the City is ours, I will meet with
       him when he arrives.”
       The Knights nod and are dismissed. The Knights of Neraka walk
       away from their encounter, passing by the Undead skeletal
       footmen.
       “Lord of the Night Rennold will need to be warned about this.”
       Night Warrior Malack tells his subordinate.
       Night Warrior Malack sent a messenger on horseback to the Lord
       of Night on Nerakan Road with a report.
       [center]…[/center]
       Eastern Ansalon, The Nerakan Valley, The Nerakan Road
       The Army of Neraka is camped for the night, the sun has just
       gone down, and a rider comes in with messages for the Lord of
       Night.  He dismounts and is allowed through.
       The Command Tent has been erected.
       The Messenger is brought into the command tent, whereupon the
       messenger gives the customary salute and offers his message from
       Night Warrior Malack.
       Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold, Lord of the Lilly Army and
       Lord Adjudicator, Galen Nemedi, Lord of the Skull, were inside,
       and eating at a large table when the messenger entered the tent
       and the servant moved his dishes out of his way to read. From
       what Baltasar sees, the city is clear of Ogres; they might still
       be in the area. A Death Knight has arrived from the Dragon
       battle over Khur. He has more information on what transpired,
       and he says he will see you when you arrive. On that ominous
       note, Baltasar asks, “Which Death Knight is this? Is it
       Hengriff?”
       The messenger shakes his head and answers, “No, sir, he goes by
       Lord Rage.”
       [center]…[/center]
       Storm’s Keep, within the Tower of Thorns
       The Grey Wizards open the doors to the central tower.
       They find a dent has been made into the provisions, but of those
       of the feast are gone from sight. A horror show is ahead for
       those who have to hunt them down and eliminate them. They mostly
       hunt in packs but leave stragglers behind. It takes all hands on
       deck to destroy all of the Undead, and quite a few close calls
       almost end more than a few Grey Robes. A few of these
       zombie-like creatures sought to feast on the Blue Dragon in the
       bailey, which led to their demise by a lightning bolt. It takes
       all night and part of the next day to clear the central tower.
       They seal up the doors from Skull Tower, and with that, Storm’s
       Keep and the Tower of Thorns are secured.
       Lord of the Thorns Tiberius sends a report with a rider to the
       Lord of the Night Baltasar Rennold in Neraka.
       *****************************************************
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