Keepers of the Glade

Upon sneaking to the watch tower, Merrdok noticed Dvinn laying skewered by a spear of ogre origin and said aloud, "dude, wtf?"

about this time a small Halfling ran by and Pickpocketed Dvinn and ran off chuckling about "Silly Grapes....."

:twisted:

The small Halfing, Redbeard, jumped in the air clicking his two feet together--smirking, knowing of the plan already set in motion.

"With all this stolen loot", the Halfling going by the name Redbeard thought, "I'll be able to pay off the Game Programmers to turn EVERYONE into Halflings!!!! BWUAHAHAHA!!!!!"

:twisted: :shock:

Little did Redbeard know, Merddock the assassinator, was in earshot of the little Halfing's plan.

But a good assassin Merrdok was not; overcome by greed in his pursuit of Redbeard toward Crushbone's exit he failed to hear the distant shout of a certain, fear inspiring five-letter word.

As the word got out of Redbeard return and all the loot he had took peeps started to form group to get the little halfling and signs that read "Run Run as fast as you can for the pickpocket Redbeard is back in town." :roll:

But Redbeard was a crafty fellow, and had a hide and sneak skill both of 200; he knew he could get past anyone in that crowd as they were unlikely to have a see invisible item, his only worry was meeting Merddok face to face---he may have not been the most intelligent person, but he certainly did look like a force to be reckoned with.

Merrdok, due to his s l o w thought processes, was stuck behind the frenzied mob searching for Redbeard.

The crowd quickly rushed toward a mystical white and blue light, congregrating around what appeared to be the opening of a mystic portal of unknown origin.

Brilliant light and flames flashed out, and the crowd fell to the ground as the Grand Vizor for Queen Upunostrol, Basher Pittiputti, who was a Troll of considerable girth, and acute uglyness, with a stench of used, o'de toilet water, stepped out into their midst, and said "Sumtums burnin! ", with breath that made the weak and feigh of heart pass out.

Redbeard instantly recognized the ugly troll---his mortal enemy, the bain to his existence.

Having a nose too big for his face and unable to see, not that it matterd, Pittiputti stepped forward smashing a few faces of the crowd into the hard, blackend soil, as his protegious nostrols dialated and sucked in the tainted air around him.

The commotion alerted Merrdok to the presence of another important visitor to Crushbone, he wondered what mischief there was to come.

'Ohhhhhaaaawww" shouted Pittiputti so loudly It made Murrdok's gold fang rattle ominously in his normally snarly mouth, putting him in a foul mood at the thought of another trip to Matron Nastine's dental clinic and her instuments of torture, a true expert on pain and extortion....or was that extraction?

"Merrdok, you do bidding my queen she, with permission from da Elven thrown, have task you do," the ugly troll snorted, in barely comprehendable fashion, that somehow gave Merrdok the impression that "or else" should have soon followed in the sentence.

As "Redbeard stealthily Picked everyone's Pockets and took down Jane's "Beware of Thief!" Signs he Snuck over and listened to the Troll and the "Assassin" talk as he cleaned out their wallets and went to sell the Information gained to the highest bidder.....

Luckily for Merrdok, he spotted the greasy rogue from the corner of his eye, ensuring the thief lifted nothing more than a few copper from his pockets, as well as a misleading clue.

Redbeard, knowing he could not take two fighters both of immense powers rivalling his own, decided to do that which rogues do best---flee!

As the oh-so-Tricky Rogue Escaped from Combat he yanked off his beard, put on his red, pointy hat, and yelled "Run, run as fast as you can, the Pickpocketer Grriffon is on the loose!", revealing himself for who he truly was. :twisted:

Pittiputti instantly recognised the eivil little jokester as Redius Skeltonious, the infamous impersonater and most wanted of rogues on Queen Upunostrol's list of cads and cutthroats, so he hastely picked up the nearest object at hand and gave chase, hurling the unfortunate Merdock madly around in circles above his head, shouting " rub a dub scum I smush joo wif hum"!!

Merdok was very unhappy with the current situation.

Targeting the mobile rogue, the massive Pittiputti was about to hurl the very unmerry, hapless assasin when his massive nose, once again to his great consternation, caused a misstep and he tripped over one of the groveling crowd only to flip Murrdok like a pancake onto the wily Redius who was squelched like a belch in a full Trolls tummy.

Somehow slithering away from the scene, Merrdok managed to drink a potion and sighed, "Momma said there'd be days like this." as the chaotic forces of mana returned him to Nektulos Forest.

PittiPutti howled with rage, causing nearby halfling females to faint dead away, squirts (halfling children) to squawl, and stray cats to yowl in fear!

Redbeard, hidden safely behind a tree, wondered why Halfing children would be running around in the Greater faydark anyway.

Clambering back up and shaking the halflings off, Pittiputti came to the slow realization that he was not in Nektulos forest, where he had specifially told that dum de wizard, Cabydar, to send him, but where in da dickens he found himself was beyond his foggy intellect to pick up on, but it difinately did look promising, lunch wise, and he could hear his stomoch growling out messages to feed it, and well, halflings do taste very good to all hungry Trolls no matter where they find them.

Aramir, a wood elf Warrior who was one of Kelethin's mightiest gaurds, had brought a team along with him to search out what all the commotion was that was heard all the way from his treetop city...could the Orcs of Crushbone be on the move again?

Redbeard, sneaking from tree to tree, overheard the halflings, having recovered from their fright, speak about their migration to a nearby misty moore.

Peering dimly around him, and trying to shake da cobwebs out of his great head, Pittyputty saw the cute liddel halflings running dis way and dat way trying to get out of his way, but being a wily and interprising Troll he soon came up with a plan, smoosh dem.

Curious as to why a troll would be in his forest, the wood elf warrior kept close eye on the enemy---at the first stomping of the strange migrating halfing, the warrior called out, "You ruined your own homeland, troll! Now, don't ruin ours!" with blade in hand, the wood elf warriors charged.

Pittyputty looked up from the scurring halflings, who knew those liddle legs could be so fas, to see who was making all the racket just in time to see the group of meddling woodelves, all decked out to kill in ribbons, feathers, and lace, running toward him with little raised swords that looked a bit sharp, but they were hardly worth more than a cursory thought to a mighty basher like himself, especially when some of the cute, oh there's that disgustin word cute again, liddle halflings had grabbed him around the leg and were begging him to fall down again and toss them in the air like he did the dark elf assassine.

Grriffon, also know as Redbeard and Redhat, watched with Outrage as his fellow Halflings were "sqoosheded" by the Troll. He sat quietly behind a tree as he applied his Most Deadly Planar Poisons to his Ancient Daggers in plan to defend his less powerful brethren. He began to Focus deeply as the Huge Troll lumbered his way and as soon as Pittiputti was close he entered his Duelist Discipline and "Grriffon has ASSASSINATED his victim!" "You have been hit for 32,000 points of damage" , was the last thing the somewhat evil Troll heard.

Pittyputty laid very still and was emensly glad he had rememberd not to change his underware, Mudder always said, "A gud set oh crusties vill sav yoz a bunc oh griff", because the caked, hardened, +500 poison resist leather had once again saved him as the rogues nasty daggers were neutralized in the grime and sludge of endless wearins, " Naw if I cud jus get da sily liddle haflins to quit jumpin om mez belly I be out of heer" he thoght.

A lonely ranger sitting high on the trees, watching the ensuing battle of halfings, wood elfs and a giant troll---who happened to die, then somehow repop or something---decided the Greater Faydark, Tunare's last stonghold aside from the Plane of Growth, needed to be defended. The ranger loosened the string on his arrow, and began casting some beatiful green spell on the sickly green troll.

Ickibod Siphis, the big Orc comander of the crushbone brigade, wondered what all the comotion in the woods was, so he led his band of bloodthirsty Orcs quietly though the woods till he saw a little sneaky, yummy looking, guy in a red pointy hat, who was trying to hide behind a tree, but the orcs grabbed him quickly for their stew pot and carried him back to Crushbone trussed up like a nice sack of potatoes, with drool drippling down their chins.

Luckily, Aramir saw the orcs carrying away the friendly ranger who was able to snare the ugly troll---so he went after him, knowing the troll could never catch up, "FREE HIM NOW, OR PERISH!" He yelled at the orcs, who didn't listen, but soon didn't have ears---he killed all but Ickibod, "Bring this message to your so called "King," ORC. Tell him to leave the forests of the Greater Faydark alone, or he shall find my blade soon."

Pittyputty sat up slowly, scattering the halflings, and wondered why he was so slow, and wasn't that the infamous rogue, Redbeard, alias, whoever, that just got carried off to the orcs cookpot, and who was that guy in green that was muttering the strange words at him, and where did all these halflings keep coming from, and why did all the silly woodelves run off to save the obnoxious rogue, "I mus of ate soumthin bad" he thot "I is having a bad dream".

Little did he know that he was having no dream at all...for a secret Erudite Enchantress of the outer planes, who had never been seen by anyone, was watching from afar--in fact, she was doing much more than watching, as her plot began to boil to a heat.

Icabod scratched his belly and growled, allthough he wasn't too upset over the dimise of his irritable crew, the loss of the fat halfling had upset King Gutbuster, and himself, very much since halfling was a rare and delectable dish in Crushbone, and the defeat had made him look weak and stupid to his king and other officers which threatened his standing in the royal brigade.

News of the defeat reached King Gutbuster almost immediately, who was none to pleased at the horrid outcome.

In typical orcish fashion, King Gutbuster decided Icabod would take the place of the lost tasty halfling in tonight's stewpot!

Icabod croutched just inside a small, dusty, cave entrance, gritting his teeth in frustration, and bemoaning over his narrow escape from Crushbone, where he had overheard Obisky Grunt, the kings messenger telling that overfed, pig faced, cook to get the pot ready for him, when he saw a very bedragled, dirty, dazed looking troll sneaking up the hillside toward him.

"Me heard your kick'n out of da Crushbon'n, joo follow me now!" The troll said, obviosly confused after having said so many words consecutively.

"Wots it to jooz?" said Icabod, trying to appear brave and tough, because the troll still looked awfully big and mean even if he did look very ragged and beat up.

The troll, still exhausted mentally from his long speech, merely grunted and snuck back down the hill.

Knowing the Crushbone orcs had a long standing treaty with the Trolls, Ickabod decided he might as well go too, after all the Troll might be better protection than being by himself, and he needed someone to help him with his plot to seek revenge on all who had caused his demise from power, especallly Redbeard, yum, for whom the pot was still waiting.

The troll and the orc decided to make for the quickest way home, a boat from Butcherblock, despite the fact that travelling on the boat would make any Dwarf say "Over my dead body," but they didn't mind...more to eat!

Merrdok, the de assasin was not sleeping good after his bout in Butcher Block, as he kept wondering what the troll could possibly be wanting there, perhaps a new alliance with the Crushbone Orcs which may, or may not, be good for Neriak interests since the Tolls were now living in the city itself, much to Merrdok's disgust, so he decided to head to the dock of freeport and do a bit of sluthing with the underground guilds there.

The guards in Kaladim weren't so interested in why Merrdok was there.