Eternal
“I’ve had to work around those svelk for a while now. If they’re going to help us attack the elves, it might be a good idea for me to go on that one so I can keep an eye on them, captain.” You say.
“Yes, you do have a reputation even among those shifty bastards, though they’d never admit it. Okay, sounds good. I shall send another officer to lead the mission against the Wendigo tribe. I may even just go along on that mission.” Captain Krozer replies.
“You are captain?”
“Yes, I find that I’ve been getting stuck behind the desk too much lately. It’ll be good to be back out in the field. Don’t want to become like one of those fat self-important generals that do nothing except point to maps and make equally fat musings on tactics. A true leader should lead from the front, I’m sure you agree.”
“It is preferable yes…but I do understand the need to keep those with keen military minds safe from major war zones. Such people have their place as all do in their service of the Emperor.”
“Why lieutenant, are you complimenting me on my intelligence? It’s not like you to flirt.” Captain Krozer asks in a tone slightly friendlier than usual, it catches you a little off guard.
“I…no! I mean yes, you are very intelligent, but…”
“Relax lieutenant, just having a little fun, didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Anyway, we’ll pick this up later, you better get prepared for your mission, and good luck.”
You do exactly that. You know that this is going to be a tedious mission. The elves rarely ever fight in straight up combat. It’s typically a series of ambushes and hit and run tactics with some traps thrown in for good measure. Attempting to locate their hideout is going to be equally as tedious. While the dark elves will certainly be helpful, you wish you had a few battle wizards, but most of those have been assigned either at Fort Defiance or on the frontlines of the Felkan War.
The first thing you do is talk with the leader of the dark elven mercenaries about how would be the best way to track down the elves. Eldolith normally is outwardly disdainful of humans, but she manages to just barely contain that distain in your case. She’s typical of her kind, arrogant and acts like she’s doing you a favor just by being in your presence. Reminds you of the days when Mistress trained you.
“Ah the Bane of Rask, if it isn’t my favorite mon…human. What do I owe this dubious pleasure?” she asks while polishing one of her leather boots.
“We want to find the elven home and destroy them for good.”
“Finally ready to destroy those sveld eh? About fucking time. The whole time we’ve been playing around with your semi-evolved barbaric kin, I’ve had a few of my men out scouting this entire forsaken frontier. We got a lead a few months ago and we’re pretty sure it’s good.”
“Wait. Hold on. You’ve known where they’ve been hiding and you didn’t report it to us?”
“As I recall your superior isn’t paying us for reconnaissance. We’re just here to fight. Besides, it’s still not necessarily a one hundred percent sure thing.”
“If you’re so opposed to doing jobs that you aren’t being paid for, why’d you do this secret scouting mission anyway?”
“We’re also not just here for YOU, human. We have our own agenda. The only reason why we have not followed up on this lead, is because we’ve been busy helping you monkeys, not to mention we all felt it would also be best if we had more warm bodies to distract our hated kind with. Congratulations.” Eldolith sneers.
In typical dark elf fashion she’s attempting to provoke you to get angry for her amusement and to put on a show for her men. Won’t work though.
“Wise decision Eldolith. No way you could’ve handled them yourselves.”
“We could have, but as I stated we were busy helping YOU.”
“If you say so. Anyway I’ll expect to your group to be ready in a couple hours.” You say and leave, but your own dismissive behavior annoys Eldolith so much that she boldly grabs your arm. This is all the excuse you needed.
“Don’t you turn your back on…ack!” Eldolith is interrupted when you quickly turn around grab her arm, spin her around and twist it behind her back. You other arm is wrapped tightly around her neck.
Her men grab their crossbows and point them at you, but it’s a futile gesture, she’s in front of you, they’d be more likely to hit her than you.
“Put your bows down you fools!” she struggles to yell.
“I advise you all to heed your leader’s orders. Even if you did manage to kill me, not one of you would make it out of this fort alive. I might remind you that you initiated this by putting your hands on me in the first place, surely I had the right to defend myself correct?”
“(Sigh) Yes, it would’ve been foolish to react in any other way I suppose. The mistake was mine. Ugh, I’m going to have the stench of human on me for days. Release me!”
No please or begging of course, just more orders. Still, you’ve made your point. You let her go by shoving her down on the floor. As you leave you can hear her verbally abusing her own men. She’s going to have problems maintaining her leadership position now after looking so weak. You’re going to have to be careful as well, lest you “accidentally” get a bolt in the back during the heat of battle, but then again you’re always alert while dark elves are around.
Eventually you set off on your mission. For a while it’s a simple uneventful march through ice and snow. Eldolith mentions that the Alabaster Pines are where they think the elves are making their home, but not in the traditional sense. There is evidence that they are actually making their home underground.
“Can you believe it? Members of our kind actually living like those disgusting rock eaters? It shames me to even think that these sveld were actually even related to us at one time.” Edolith says.
When you reach the Alabaster Pines, you remind your company to keep alert for traps and potential ambushes. You also tell them to keep alert of your so called “allies” as well.
It doesn’t take long before you’re attacked. The elves predictably engage in their guerilla tactics. These attacks might’ve taken a greater toll, but with the help of the dark elves, the long range attacks that they favor are less effective. The deeper you go into the forest, the more desperate the attacks become. They begin to attack you directly in hand to hand combat and to the death. They scream curses and obscenities in your language and their own calling you all murderers and evil.
The dark elves of course are enjoying all this. You and your company on the other hand aren’t. Not due to any sort of sympathy they are the enemy after all, but this is just another mission to you. Funny that you should have a more “detached” attitude than the mercenaries themselves.
Soon you enter a part of the forest where the trees are so tall that they completely block out the sky. There isn’t even that much snow ground. Almost a “warm” feeling encompasses the place.
“One of my scouts said they made it this far before and that’s where he found evidence that these sveld had an entrance to an underground lair. Should be near an odd blue rock. Let’s look around.” Edolith says to you.
“Where’s that scout of yours, shouldn’t he be able to show us directly?” you ask.
“The useless bastard is lying dead with two sveld arrows in him a mile back. Now come on, we’ll be able to find this place better if all us look.”
“I’m not sure. Something about this seems too easy. Why don’t you look, and we’ll stay alert to make sure this isn’t an ambush.”
“If the sveld were going to ambush us, they would’ve done it by now or haven’t you noticed how desperate their attacks have gotten? They probably already know we’re coming and building up defenses as we speak. The longer we take, the tougher it’s going to be to root them out.”
“Yes, you do have a reputation even among those shifty bastards, though they’d never admit it. Okay, sounds good. I shall send another officer to lead the mission against the Wendigo tribe. I may even just go along on that mission.” Captain Krozer replies.
“You are captain?”
“Yes, I find that I’ve been getting stuck behind the desk too much lately. It’ll be good to be back out in the field. Don’t want to become like one of those fat self-important generals that do nothing except point to maps and make equally fat musings on tactics. A true leader should lead from the front, I’m sure you agree.”
“It is preferable yes…but I do understand the need to keep those with keen military minds safe from major war zones. Such people have their place as all do in their service of the Emperor.”
“Why lieutenant, are you complimenting me on my intelligence? It’s not like you to flirt.” Captain Krozer asks in a tone slightly friendlier than usual, it catches you a little off guard.
“I…no! I mean yes, you are very intelligent, but…”
“Relax lieutenant, just having a little fun, didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Anyway, we’ll pick this up later, you better get prepared for your mission, and good luck.”
You do exactly that. You know that this is going to be a tedious mission. The elves rarely ever fight in straight up combat. It’s typically a series of ambushes and hit and run tactics with some traps thrown in for good measure. Attempting to locate their hideout is going to be equally as tedious. While the dark elves will certainly be helpful, you wish you had a few battle wizards, but most of those have been assigned either at Fort Defiance or on the frontlines of the Felkan War.
The first thing you do is talk with the leader of the dark elven mercenaries about how would be the best way to track down the elves. Eldolith normally is outwardly disdainful of humans, but she manages to just barely contain that distain in your case. She’s typical of her kind, arrogant and acts like she’s doing you a favor just by being in your presence. Reminds you of the days when Mistress trained you.
“Ah the Bane of Rask, if it isn’t my favorite mon…human. What do I owe this dubious pleasure?” she asks while polishing one of her leather boots.
“We want to find the elven home and destroy them for good.”
“Finally ready to destroy those sveld eh? About fucking time. The whole time we’ve been playing around with your semi-evolved barbaric kin, I’ve had a few of my men out scouting this entire forsaken frontier. We got a lead a few months ago and we’re pretty sure it’s good.”
“Wait. Hold on. You’ve known where they’ve been hiding and you didn’t report it to us?”
“As I recall your superior isn’t paying us for reconnaissance. We’re just here to fight. Besides, it’s still not necessarily a one hundred percent sure thing.”
“If you’re so opposed to doing jobs that you aren’t being paid for, why’d you do this secret scouting mission anyway?”
“We’re also not just here for YOU, human. We have our own agenda. The only reason why we have not followed up on this lead, is because we’ve been busy helping you monkeys, not to mention we all felt it would also be best if we had more warm bodies to distract our hated kind with. Congratulations.” Eldolith sneers.
In typical dark elf fashion she’s attempting to provoke you to get angry for her amusement and to put on a show for her men. Won’t work though.
“Wise decision Eldolith. No way you could’ve handled them yourselves.”
“We could have, but as I stated we were busy helping YOU.”
“If you say so. Anyway I’ll expect to your group to be ready in a couple hours.” You say and leave, but your own dismissive behavior annoys Eldolith so much that she boldly grabs your arm. This is all the excuse you needed.
“Don’t you turn your back on…ack!” Eldolith is interrupted when you quickly turn around grab her arm, spin her around and twist it behind her back. You other arm is wrapped tightly around her neck.
Her men grab their crossbows and point them at you, but it’s a futile gesture, she’s in front of you, they’d be more likely to hit her than you.
“Put your bows down you fools!” she struggles to yell.
“I advise you all to heed your leader’s orders. Even if you did manage to kill me, not one of you would make it out of this fort alive. I might remind you that you initiated this by putting your hands on me in the first place, surely I had the right to defend myself correct?”
“(Sigh) Yes, it would’ve been foolish to react in any other way I suppose. The mistake was mine. Ugh, I’m going to have the stench of human on me for days. Release me!”
No please or begging of course, just more orders. Still, you’ve made your point. You let her go by shoving her down on the floor. As you leave you can hear her verbally abusing her own men. She’s going to have problems maintaining her leadership position now after looking so weak. You’re going to have to be careful as well, lest you “accidentally” get a bolt in the back during the heat of battle, but then again you’re always alert while dark elves are around.
Eventually you set off on your mission. For a while it’s a simple uneventful march through ice and snow. Eldolith mentions that the Alabaster Pines are where they think the elves are making their home, but not in the traditional sense. There is evidence that they are actually making their home underground.
“Can you believe it? Members of our kind actually living like those disgusting rock eaters? It shames me to even think that these sveld were actually even related to us at one time.” Edolith says.
When you reach the Alabaster Pines, you remind your company to keep alert for traps and potential ambushes. You also tell them to keep alert of your so called “allies” as well.
It doesn’t take long before you’re attacked. The elves predictably engage in their guerilla tactics. These attacks might’ve taken a greater toll, but with the help of the dark elves, the long range attacks that they favor are less effective. The deeper you go into the forest, the more desperate the attacks become. They begin to attack you directly in hand to hand combat and to the death. They scream curses and obscenities in your language and their own calling you all murderers and evil.
The dark elves of course are enjoying all this. You and your company on the other hand aren’t. Not due to any sort of sympathy they are the enemy after all, but this is just another mission to you. Funny that you should have a more “detached” attitude than the mercenaries themselves.
Soon you enter a part of the forest where the trees are so tall that they completely block out the sky. There isn’t even that much snow ground. Almost a “warm” feeling encompasses the place.
“One of my scouts said they made it this far before and that’s where he found evidence that these sveld had an entrance to an underground lair. Should be near an odd blue rock. Let’s look around.” Edolith says to you.
“Where’s that scout of yours, shouldn’t he be able to show us directly?” you ask.
“The useless bastard is lying dead with two sveld arrows in him a mile back. Now come on, we’ll be able to find this place better if all us look.”
“I’m not sure. Something about this seems too easy. Why don’t you look, and we’ll stay alert to make sure this isn’t an ambush.”
“If the sveld were going to ambush us, they would’ve done it by now or haven’t you noticed how desperate their attacks have gotten? They probably already know we’re coming and building up defenses as we speak. The longer we take, the tougher it’s going to be to root them out.”