The Beetle Crisis

[Crazybloxer 38]

Varin Frostbeard would perch upon a seat, ink and quill beside him.

 

For days, the Duchy of Courland was rocked to it's very foundations by a terrible coordinated swarm of beetles. What the beetles held apart from the common garden pests, was that they themselves were extremely organised, taking orders from a Queen, and coordinating their attacks; so as to cause huge amounts of devastation to the city. The purple Iblees spawn held many similarities with their harmless counterparts, aside from the fact that these beetles possessed huge pincers, capable of tearing through wood; and an overly aggressive attitude.

 

It was so, that the inhabitants of Riga, the capital of Courland, found themselves suddenly besieged by the hordes of beetles. Men at first fought valiantly on the walls and on the gate - but alas! The gate failed to hold eventually against the sheer number of beetles, and their Queen. Made worse the situation was the presence of "Burster" beetles, as they had been nicknamed. They were huge, bloated beetles, which lumbered about the place and when directed to a specific area, were capable of blowing themselves up, creating huge openings for the creatures. The "Bursters" proceeded to blow a large hole in the portcullis, and surrounding walls - allowing the beetles to swarm into the city. It was at this moment, that the greatest loss of life was caused. Men, and women alike panicked as they were struck down by the beetles. Blood, crimson ran through the streets of Vydrik that day.

 

Eventually, however, Duke Percival Staunton managed to regain control of the people. There, he rallied the people to the keep, and it was so. The brave Varin Frostbeard, constructed wooden fortifications  within the keep, and had food supplies quickly moved there. So that the people of Riga might easily hold out in the keep, if need be.

 

Hurriedly, a council was set up consisting of some of Courlands officials and soldiers. Together, they concluded where the beetles' nest was located, and the due cause of the beetles' attacks. No doubt, a book will be written on why the beetles attacked, but currently, it is not fully known.

 

Eventually, after much debate and discussion, the council denounced that the nest of the beetles must be located under William Staunton's castle, beside a geyser. However, during the council meeting - the beetles attacked, and, in the ensuing panic that followed, Cassandra was slain by the beetles. Eventually, the rest of the beetles were dispatched. The rest of the council managed to flee safely, and tell Duke Staunton of the news. At hearing word of the news; Duke Staunton gathered a force of men, and rode to the nest. The nest itself was easily located, due to it teeming with hundreds of beetles. Varin led the way, with Conan not far behind, as the group cut through the swarms of beetles. The group battled valiantly, as they descended further and further into the caves - until finally, they found the Queen. 

 

The Queen herself, reared tall above all the other beetles, and had pincers able to cut an orc clean in two. Behind her, stood a throbbing rock, which seemed to pulse with light. Lord Staunton (who had taken the liberty of travelling into the depths with his party), divided the force into two. One part was to distract the Queen, whereas the other was to lay waste to the peculiar rock, which provided the Queen with power. 

 

Lord Staunton put his plan into action, and the heroes threw themselves into the fray. The heroes, with great effort in their endeavor, distracted the Queen beetle, all the while dodging it's pincers - whilst the two dwarves, and a handful of Staunton's other men, took to bringing their picks down upon the stone. At first, the stone would not give way, but in due time, it cracked, and then shattered. The Queen beetle faltered at this moment, as did the other beetles in the nest. Using this window of opportunity, one of Lord Staunton's men brought their sword down upon the Queen's neck, shattering it - and decapitating her. As the Queen slumped, dead. The remaining live beetles took the opportunity to scurry away. The heroes smashed the Queen's eggs, and returned to Riga triumphant. It was as so, that Courland had been saved.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Crazybloxer

[Sky 0]

"What."

[WoodenApples 382]

George Staunton would wipe sweat from his forehead, sheathing his longsword after decapitating the Queen.

[idiot 502]

Wait but, we killed the queen when we followed the straggler beetle to the nest? and then I took the head and aload of specimens. :') <--- Classic Garsto Leaf right there.

[_Stigwig 1510]

Varin Frostbeard would perch upon a seat, ink and quill beside him.

 

Cassandra was slain by the beetles

A small peasant boy in Riga pipes up after reading the story,

 

"At least one good thing came about from this attack!"

[Neon123 126]

 William Staunton smiles triumphantly, as he glares at the Queen's head above his mantle piece.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Neon123

[Vege 4804]

"Cassandra Staunton is dead." 

 

Percival would continue with the matters of state.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Vege

[Neon123 126]

"Cassandra Staunton is dead." 

 

Percival would continue with the matters of state. ((She did not PK))

[perses 158]

Thorburn twists his greatsword, the bloodstains leaving the blade.

Drops of sweat fall from the openings of his helmet, but a smile rests upon his face.

 

[argonian 14254]

 William Staunton smiles triumphantly, as he glares at the Queen's head above his mantle piece.

George Staunton would wipe sweat from his forehead, sheathing his longsword after decapitating the Queen.

"Neither of you decapitated her." Tylos would say if he heard their claims.

[Jake the Dog 290]

Jakir pulls the arrow our of the back of his armour, after the battle. Seemly he had been shot by the Queen, but she had no hands. It must of been one of the other masses of people fighting!

[Aqua Vita 136]

Camryn Lucimore would mutter a single sentence, having seen grown, armored men retreat from the "Mighty" swarm. "The North has gone soft."

Edited October 11, 2015 by Arcadeist2

[Lotoke 25]

Enedor chuckles as he recalls the battle. 

"Oh yes, it was certainly a surprise to me seeing Duchy of Courtland swarming with hundreds huge beetles."

[Lizellan 25]

Rune looks down at the large gap in the ground near the gates of Riga, pushing hair out of her eyes.

"Damn... I thought people were bluffin' bout this"

[SodaiKamikaze 652]

((Queen was slain in the small nest outside of a keep.))

((The Empress Beetle was slain inside of the large nest. But whatever it's called IC is more important than what it's referred to as OOCly.))