1/31/00 - Report by Eve
It had taken a bribe of a tribal mask to convince the orc scout to take me before his "warboss", but after producing the item in question, the orc led me south from Yew to the orc fort of the Shadowclan. As I entered the fort, I was soon surrounded by his kin, who poked me with their weapons, with one attacking me outright. After he was calmed, a brief audience with the Clan Leader was granted. While he refused to assure me the clan would not side with the Mistress, he did promise to come if the Crimson Alliance called (and they are part of the Britannian Alliance, luckily).
Thanking him with a tribute, I returned to the city of Yew, which I found to once again be under siege. Amidst the swarm of orcs, atop the Winery, Keeonean stood, this time yelling out orders and threats to the masses around him. But it was then I noticed something, something that changed the entire battle; the guards no longer watched over him, and he was primed for targetting Witchy, one of my closest allies, and I engaged him, engulfing him in a wave of Flamestrikes that would have left anyone else dead and crisp. Instead, it hardly fazed him, and he cast a volley of spells at Witchy, forcing her to flee. Finding myself alone to face him, I spurred my mount to leap from the roof, landing a fair distance away, galloping towards the woods. Intending to get a little distance and heal, I was unprepared for what happened next...
Keeonean followed me into the forest, assailing me with his magicks. Running low on mana, I could do little but attempt to counter his damage with heals, which slowly ate away at my remaining resources. As my mount grew fatigued, I heard Keeonean laugh maniacally, and suddenly my world went black. The last words I heard still haunt me..."You asked for a battle, Eve. Now you've had one."
It was moments until I awoke, Witchy standing beside me, infusing me with the energies of Greater Heal. She quickly began to meditate to regain the mana lost with the Resurrection spell, gesturing that Keeonean still lay within the Abbey.
We rushed inside, to find him summoning orcs to attack the unsuspecting Abbey residents. Still weak from my death moments before, I gathered what strength was left in me, and screamed out to him. As Witchy cast another Flamestrike, I followed suit, finding him once again untouched. We fell back, arming our weapons as the melee warriors surrounded him...
We began smashing into him with our weapons, and soon began to notice blood trickle from beneath his armor. Whatever spell kept him safe from our offensive magic, it did not protect him from the blunt force of a weapon... Just as it seemed his death was imminent, he suddenly vanished, reappearing steps away. As we attempted to converge on him, he yelled out a few more threats, and then vanished...
A man on horseback rushed up to me then, yelling that Vesper was under siege, and G'Ruagak was attacking the citizens himself. I called forth the magics of gate, and led a small band through into the midst of another battle... It took but a minute to find the beast, who I watched bludgeon two men to their knees. I raised my arms in the air and cast Poison on him six times, but each time, the troll lord shrugged off the spell and continued on his rampage. Finding him unaffected by this strategy, I unloaded my mana on him with a number of offensive spells, and then rushed in for the attack with a number of other citizens, surrounding him quickly...
As our weapons bit deep into G'Ruagak, he suddenly teleported from out of our midsts, a battle cry escaping his lips.
The battle waged on for what seemed like an eternity, but soon, G'Ruagak disappeared into the night, his forces dead upon the cobblestone. Once again, the citizens were victorious...
Soon, word reached us that Lord British himself was sighted in Britain, where he explained Sir Geoffrey, Captain of the Guard, would be in charge of capturing someone for interrogation. He also announced that Trinsic should expect a massive attack, and that all non-combatants should evacuate the Paladin's City, for their own safety. After I searched for Sir Geoffrey for near two hours, I returned to Trinsic, to help with the evacuation.
But the announcement had had the reverse effect, drawing a massive crowd to the city's streets, where once again, Trinsic lay under siege.
After waves of undead, Juo'nar was encountered twice, once having to flee from the streets with the effects of deadly poison gripping him, another time running from a group of near twenty men assaulting him from all sides. I was able to greet him, briefly, as my energy bolt bit into him...I drew my weapon and leapt to the attack, but soon he vanished, his health failing as so many citizens lay into him with their weapons. One reassuring fact: silver did affect him, like other undead...
Doubts as to my allegiance to the Crown still surface, people questioning if I am the Mistress, or if I am allied with her. It seems that so much effort and dedication is not enough; some still question where my loyalties lie.
I must admit, though, as these days stretch on...it grows harder and harder to rise in the morning, knowing what lies beyond my front door.