RAID ON PORT MINAS

[Xarkly 17299]

 

ISSUED BY THE

ON THIS 11th DAY OF MSITZA AND DARGUND OF 527 E.S.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

For on this day, the forces of the Order of the White Comet in tandem with the Brotherhood of Saint Karl did ride north through the frozen glens of the Karenina Mountains, where they sought out the bleak stone towers of Port Minas through the curtains of snowfall. So it was but one week prior that the White Comet - aided by the warriors of the House of Colborn - did vanquish he who was called Volkov, a skeletal merchant who did impart unto them the location of Port Minas.

 

 

 

 

The expeditionaries’ horses grew haggard and tired as they endured the Karenina’s slopes, her unrelenting winds, and her biting cold. Some twelve hours after their departure from New Valdev, though, the towers of their destination appeared beneath the Harrower-cursed skies. The campaign was led by Rhys Bishop Westerwald, whose skills as a huntsman of the Shadow have earned him the moniker of Bloodhound of the Light, while the Brotherhood soldiers marched beneath the command of Ser Caspian Leyland. Infiltration of the towering keep was a short and simple affair; through a piled snowbank, the expedition leapt to a buttress, where a smashed window led into the castle’s vestibule.

 

 

 

 

The castle’s host of Shadowspawn scattered like bugs beneath an overturned rock. One woman - with the given name ‘Halatir’ - was apprehended in the keep’s vestibule, where the White Comet secured and opened the main portcullis. With one half of their force left to guard the vestibule, the rest fanned through the keep. The highest towers were infiltrated by Bishop Rhys, where several rooms were marked with the names of their inhabitants. Note these names, and let them be condemned throughout all Canondom as servants of the Shadow:

 

SIRU

 

SARIEL

 

Alas, it was to the keep’s bowels, not its height. A detachment led by Ratibor Radovanic abseiled the steep cliffs upon which the keep stood, and discovered a fortified harbour built into the mouth of the rocks below, flanked by enormous sculptures. Therein, Radovanic’s detachment located the remaining Shadowspawn - all but one had turtles behind a portcullis. As Radovanic himself ascended back to the keep atop the mountain to pass word to Patriarch Villorik and Ser Caspian, while Davyd Colborn did battle with the one exposed Shadowspawn - it was later learned this one bore a cursed name, one that invokes pain to speak and write. He shall be referred herein as ‘D’, and his true name recounted once below.

 

 

 

 

Bid by Radovanic, the bulk of the expedition descended to the harbour to assist Davyd Colborn, while Tatiyana vas Ruthern and Karl Weiss were dispatched back to New Valdev with Halatir as their prisoner. Below in the harbour, ‘D’ was defeated and bound by Davyd Colborn, while beyond the gate, a Shadowspawn who proclaimed himself ‘Kryndomere’ invoked the title of ‘Gravelord’. To his aid, Kryndomere called two monstrosities of warped flesh, but no battle would follow; for the gate that separated Kryndomere and the expedition would not open. The expedition searched what parts of the harbour remained open, and discovered a shrine to a being dubbed ‘Mordring’.

 

 

 

 

To New Valdev the expedition withdrew, with two captives in tow and some foundational knowledge of Port Minas, which is now confirmed to be the redoubt of some fell necromancers. Once returned to the warmth of the city, ‘D’ spurned salvation offered by the Patriarch Villorik, and he was put to the sword by King Ivan of Haense .

 

So it is that the first of Port Minas fell, and so it is that their masters shall follow. Hark, all Canondom, and know the names of these Shadowspawn, to be spurned and slain should they ever step within the Light:

 

KRYNDOMERE

VOLKOV

DAAZHUKT

HALATIR

SIRU

SARIEL

MORDRING

 

 

 

[Mescaffier 6197]

One battered warrior, who'd just escaped the battlefront of Tor'galend, squinted at the flier. "AH, yes, Mordring. If I ever see the behemoth, undead, dragon lich, I'll surely give him a piece of my mind." Still, he pinned it to the board in his home to memorize the names.

[HogoBojo 4725]

Henrik-Otto Ludovar would have a smirk on his face as he would glance towards his new weapon, curtesy of a resident of Port Minas. "If vy don't lock it, lose it." He'd murmur to himself with a chuckle.

[MadOne 4945]

Caius I nods, pleased to receive the news as he had been presiding over a meeting with John of Aaun and Caius of Lemon hill during the time which the raid had occured. He felt as though his mind was about to explode from the politick, but the news of the Saulician's defeat brought the High Pontiff some solace.

[MunaZaldrizoti 8037]

For all they had seen, Milena vas Ruthern could only recall all those entrapped souls she had witnessed, frozen and terrified of that ominous mountain fortress. That had been enough to instill a hatred within her, praying for the day she might witness that blackened structure crumble into dust. For her, nothing was more accursed than those who would enslave the dead.

[Kitomine 902]

Mochou sipped some tea as she read about her friends being exposed as darkspawn. Oh how amused was she! 

[Legoboy7984 3155]

Sigmund Ludovar looks at the new book that wasn't finished he took from it.
"Interesting stuff this has."

[Departed_Delmar 1302]

The Gravelord sat upon his throne, the upper castle of those lessers of his, scavenged and attacked. An annoyed huff leaving the now eldritch figure. Gravelord Kryndomere looked about the ports, an annoyed sigh escaping the lord. 

 

"A Duel or a Tourney? Whatever shall they decide?" 

[winterblood 11181]

Rezalisa puffed out a ragged sigh of her fatigue, as she returned home after the excursion; no doubt harrowed by the sights she'd seen within that gelid port.  What manner of sorcery could twist flesh so?  Her dreams were filled with dark and putrid shapes, such visions would only turn her prayers more fervent.

[Karina 1901]

The Prince Formerly Known as Sermi, now O'zen, briefly regarded the list of names. In the dull candlelight of her dusty, overpacked study - a claw was scrolled down along the list of names. The creature of rotting flesh managed the closest thing she could to a laugh, something raspy and hoarse. An utterance, guttural. 

"It has been long overdue since you returned to the fold, Laelia. Perhaps this will motivate you. Let us not forget your true nature, nor mine." 

Something akin to sentimental longing. Though no emotion truly settled into her heart. Just something numb, and dispassionate. A fraction of a whisper of a breath of what perhaps she'd felt before. Next, came a quill.

And so did ink flow, the first of which were simply: "Dear Patriarch,"

[Cheese 8899]

"I told them so," Juniper lamented, gazing over the names with disdain. Her tone was filled with distaste as she spoke to no one in particular, except maybe those that lived with her. "Some people are just beyond salvation.”

[marikandaperc 1818]

"This shall be my revenge against the Haensemen." came to shriek an Adrian cultist while preparing to defend the port

[ContestedSnow 1435]

The young Radovanic sat before the hearth of his Valdev home, rubbing his hands together; though not for any fear of cold, for his family was well-accustomed to ice and to snow. Instead, he recalled the ride, the climb, the discovery, and... the fear, and the unnatural.

 

Ratibor knew he could not let such feelings rule him forever, but... how does one defeat something intangible?

Edited April 30, 2024 by ContestedSnow

[Xarkly 17299]

OOC Note: The name of one character has been removed out of courtesy due to that name being placed on a sign left over from an LC paste.