So if Iīm not mistaken then this is the very first turn log of the 2010 mapmaking competition, ha!

at least one achievement on my side so far

Gruumsh,

the rebellion started as Gruumsh had planned it all along.
Well - being a creature of minor wits, his masterplan was basically to kill everybody who opposed him rather then having made any real strategic upfront plans but at least he was fully convinced of his deeds.
The authority would soon fall - one by one.
Of this, mighty little Gruumsh was sure!

TS

So if Iīm not mistaken then this is the very first turn log of the 2010 mapmaking competition, ha!

Nope, I beat you

Nope, I beat you

damn 5 minutes... letīs call it a tie itīs only because my internet is so slow ...

Furio, day 1

Militia: My lord, where should we head to?

Furio: We will march to where the wind blows!

Paladin: But sire, there is no wind down here in the caves!

Furio: Oh really?? Then, what was that? :: pffruggg :: Oops... sorry, eheh!... Let's inspect the prison, I say!

everybody: :: no, not another inept... again! ::

ts

Furio, day 2

Furio: Ok, that prison should be well inspected! Where shall we go now?... Hmnnn...

Dwarven Veteran: Argh! may I suggest that we explore that golden room ahead, my king? They say it is full of treasure and gold, haay!

Furio: That old chamber?? It is filled with spider webs, yuuk! Plus, we don't need a few changes, now: we have a kingdom of our own! At least I do, hahaha! Nonsense, you midget! Better keep those silly ideas for yourself!

Paladin: But sire, we...

Furio: Stop at once!!! I know what we will do: let's inspect the prison all over! Like mum used to say: you can't be too careful about Trolls and pirates!

everybody: :: good lord, have mercy... ::

ts

Furio, day 3

Financial adviser: Lord Furio, with all due respect, we are incurring in a great danger!

Furio: :: nham-nac-nham :: Ahhn... What? What?! Danger?? Nonsense! Just keep away from my Temple Virgins and you should be able to keep your head over your shoulders!

Financial adviser: No mylord, I mean our coffers. They are depleting, fast!

Furio: Money?! You come to my quarters, bother me while I'm having my meal, to talk about money?? Hahahaa! Don't worry too much, my friend, you will live longer! Besides, if things go that bad, I have an old friend who lives in this region. He wouldn't deny if I'd ask for his help, for sure!

Financial adviser: Oh really?? That's good to know! Where does he live? What's his name?

Furio: He lives around... And he should be "loaded" too, eheh! His name? Hmnnn, let me see if I can remember... Gruunpf or Schmuumsh or something... he is a goblin and he's alright! :: pffruggg :: Sorry about that..

Financial adviser: :: sigh ::

ts

Furio, day 4

Paladin: So, do we finally have some orders?

Avenger: Yes, at last! A message just came from down below. Funny that it is written in some old prison form paper...

Paladin: Nevermind where it is written, what does it say, what does it say?? Should we pick those mana piles? Or perhaps take the friendly settlements and income structs?

Avenger: "Get your arses down here STOP Having a hard time inspecting cold and damp places STOP Need urgent reinforcements! STOP PS: Pick some flowers along the way: need a tea for my gases STOP Yours truly, Furio"

ts

Gruumsh, day 5

First spies of Furio were discovered while Gruumshīs armies were marching.
Other special forces were taking care to switch certain lights off.
All in all little Gruumsh the mighty was satisfied with the development of his revolt.
He was already starting to dream of the many women he would have when Furioīs harem was taken...

TS

Furio, day 5

Paladin: Sir, great news: we grabbed a Spy!

Furio: Counter-espionage, hey? Most excellent! Bring him to the prison, we'll make him talk! Oh yes, we'll make him talk like an hairdresser!!!

Paladin: Eeer... no sir, I mean we have a Spy WITH us!

Furio: I understood the first time, young man. Now, stop pushing my patience! We'll do what everybody is supposed to do with a Spy when they get him: make him talk! You see, to provide us useful information about the enemy - I know so little about it that I'm not even sure if there is an enemy! And the recently inspected prison is just the right place to question the little bugger! Bring him in. We won't be leaving so soon.

ts

Furio, day 6

Efreet: Look! A nice wooden 7-seat boat! What a sight!

Other Efreet: I don't know... Should we burn it with everyone inside?... That would be bloody.

Efreet: Not everyone. There are some folks who stepped into land. Do you think it would be wiser to ask Furio first?...

both Efreet, looking at each other: NAAAAH!!!

ts

Gruumsh,

The small leader was upset!
Due to a silly rookie mistake he had lost a valuable spy - not a mention a transport ship which would cost him a fortune to replace.
The only thing which kept him from strangling his fellows was the fact that some other things went pretty fine but losing a valuable spy was something he couldnīt afford to repeat.

TS

Furio, day 7

Furio: "Dear and beloved Gru... eer... Fruumgh... no... Shru... goblin: I understand that you are doing quite fine in the eastern lands. I was even informed that you became a fan of slavery, which certainly raises my consideration for you! I can't remember exactly when we first met, but should have been at some wild party or so. The thing is: my coffers are kinda of empty, and even if my men informed me that we are enemies (when did THAT happened??), you would be a sport if you could lend me some money. Just a couple of hundred gold coins would be enough, for the moment. I'll repay every debt when this money-consuming war will be over. What do you say? For the old times sake!

ts

Gruuuuumsh, day 8

Today some smoke signs could be seen in the far distance.
Rubio was asking for support - little Gruumsh was wondering what Rubio was actually smoking... For sure it was way better than the stuff his shamans gave him for his evening relaxation...
Anyhow, he seemingly had his informants which somewhat startled the rebel-leader.
Maybe he had underestimated the old tyrant?
It didnīt matter after all.
HIS coffers were full at least and several other lovely beasts and men were enlisted today in the ranks of Gruumsh the mighty!

TS

Furio, day 8

Zephyr Bird: Now, where did it go, that Sloop we saw yesterday?... There it is! And it carries a Builder! And it will be ready to carry a Snow Troll!! :: starting to sound like a Stuka ::

smoke signals at a distance: From Furio, stop all aggressive maneuvers STOP all aggressive maneuvers... damn! STOP start gathering information about every weed that could possibly be used by goblin shamans in order to provide evening relaxation STOP

ts

Grumsh,

Puffing his evening pipe, he was digesting todayīs happenings.
Another boat was sunk - boatīs didnīt have a huge life-expectation in these lands he found out as they werenīt able to defend themselves or they were simply destroyed in on of the countless currents and his army was not exactly specialized in swimming.
Not at all to be precise.
He took another deep puff watching the exhaled smoke as it was changing forms...An old shaman friend of his once told him the basics of reading that stuff...
'Way better than throwing bones or reading guts, ye know?' he had said...
Well, he was not so sure what to make out of these strange forms... But so far his OWN gutīs told him he would finally be successful given the fact that again, todayīs losses were less than the wins although he didnīt like losses at all.
The stuff started to calm him down a bit, he had taken twice as much as usual.
Sleep came fast, the dreams were as weird, wild and chaotic as the smoke exhalation had been.

TS

[This message has been edited by morgul666 (edited 09-12-2010 @ 01:56 PM).]

Furio, day 9

Paladin: My lord, I bring you these from the Library. I... we think that it would be useful if you would read them... sire.

Furio: Library? What library?? I didn't ordered the construction of no library!

Paladin: Eer.. you're right, sir. Of course you didn't. I mean... the prison library! Yes, that's it, the prison library. We managed to save these books and perhaps you could find them interesting.

Furio: Books? Dear Lord, I don't use a book since I tried to reach that top shelf in the kitchen. Very well, let me know what you have there.

Paladin: Right... Let's see... Eer... "Politics for dummies"... "Economics for dummies"... eer, "War for dummies"... the best seller award winning "Manage your kingdom for dummies", of course... Eer...

Furio: Stop, I get it. Tell me, what exactly is a dummy?

Paladin: :: heeeeelp... ::

ts

Gruumsh,

The slaver proved today how damn worthy it is.
An extremely powerful unit could be enlisted - Gruumsh men couldnīt believe that it actually worked.
He earned his gold medal well!
Elsewhere, things were going equally well, a perfect day the little goblin decided and doubled the dose of the stuff heīd been granted by his shaman.
If he continued to increase the doses like he currently did, he would soon run out of the potent drug and what this would mean, nobody accompanying him would really like to experience... So they decided they had to be fast with their undertaking.

TS

Furio, day 10

Furio: That proud little stingy goblin is boasting about his conquests! And what do we have to boast back?? Nothing, I say, nothing! This is not admissible!!!

Holy Priest: Calm down, my lord, calm down. We have a huge faith, remember. The Gods are on our side, and so it is the mighty holy damage.

Furio: I'll tell you about mighty holy damage, you white robe!!! And what is the church doing for us these days?? ...well, apart from the most excellent Temple Virgins providing service, of course, eheh!... So?? What does the Church plan to do???

Holy Priest: :: pray. we shall be praying that our enemy will be gentle and honor us with a swift and painless blow... ::

ts

Furio, day 11

Temple Virgin: I bring a message from Gruumsh, master Furio.

Furio: YOU bring a message from Gruuf... eer... the goblin?? But how the hell... Nevermind. What does that infidel says?

Temple Virgin: He says there will be a 2 weeks truce starting next Saturday, but that things may be settled until then if we both haste our war efforts.

Furio: What efforts? Eeer... forget it. Very well. Let's make things simple, then. I will challenge the stinky creature for a duel, a battle of generals, just me and him, with the weapons of our choices! That will put an end to this ridiculous war and then we can all start thinking about rebuilding this old prison to lock up all the rest of that scum. Perfect!

Temple Virgin: I will gladly take that message back to him, master! Can I, can I??

ts

Gruumsh day ?,

TS

Furio, day 12

Paladin: Look! An enemy Zephyr is standing over that obstacle!

everyone, running in panic: Where, where??

Dwarven Veteran: I see it! But my GoretexĐ mountain boots won't allow me to reach up there...

Efreet, coming from a distance, sounding like John Wayne: Calm down everybody! What seems to be the problem here? That little feather bag? Pfff... That's nothing. I'll kill him in 2 blows, just wait and see.

everyone, rejoycing: Hurrah! Hurrah!! The Efreet will save us!

Efreet, reaching for the animal: Ki-ri-ki-ri, ki-ri-ki-ri. Come to daddy, you stupid bird, come to daddy.. Daddy will provide you a nice funeral.. Ki-ri-ki-ri, ki-ri-ki-ri.

:: @*#!%*&# ::
:: cloud of dust, feathers and flames ::

Paladin: Hey, Efreet, what you're doing down here?? The bird is still there!!! You ran away???

Efreet, fully health: Are you kidding me?? That thing is a wild killing machine! It almost stole my flaming sword! Uuuf!...

ts

lol

Gruumsh, day 13

as expected, our special trained elite task-force Zephir bird who already had survived several secret-goblin-service suicide missions chased that damned efreet away.
It had time now to prepare for the upcoming 2nd try tomorrow which it face with a new special zephir-weapon no efreet had seen so far... Two weapons to be precise: First was some kind of bomb which was attached to itīs feet and the beast was trained to calculate the perfect angle/altitude proportion when to drop it down on itīs unsuspecting enemy and the second was a crossbow installation on it back right behind itīs head bewtten the wings (first prototypes were quite disastrous when the unfortunate birds shot themselves in their heads but this defect was already fixed in this brandnew model).

... Wideeyed, Gruumsh smiled like a little child on christmas eve, sitting crosslegged in a cloud of smoke guiding his imaginary bird into the kamikaze attack against the efreet and afterwards against the whole stack of Furio... after the bloody battle, he fell into some deeper kind of slumber heīd never experienced before...
no doubt, this time he had overestimated himself - the last dose was by far to high...but he was in no state anymore to understand it so he simply let go and continued to dwell in his vision...

TS

Furio, day 13

Furio: Greetings, young Efreet! Nice to see that... wait a minute, you're covered with feathers. What the hell happened to you??

Efreet: That's exactly why I was coming to see you, my lord... eer, you see, this morning I had a terrible fight... with a...a bird... a strong enemy bird... a Z... no, an Eagle Rid... I mean... a Roc... yes, that's it! A mighty powerful Roc!

Furio: Oh reeaaaly?? A Roc, ein?... And you were victorious!... That must have been a hell of a fight, my flaming warrior!... Truly remarkable, a young Efreet bringing down such a great opponent!... And tell me, what do you to discuss with me?

Efreet: Well, sir, since I know you award commendations to all our brave soldiers who display an outstanding performance in battle, I... well, I was thinking if you could... eer, award me, say... an elite medal, perhaps?... :: standing in anxiety ::

Furio: An elite medal, you say?... Good, good... Why not? :: pause:: I'll tell you why not!!! Because the Dwarven Veteran already told me all about it!!! Yesterday, you fled from a wounded Zephyr, without a scratch yourself, and you only finished the job today, you yellow bastard!!!

Efreet: But-but-but... the animal was heavy armored!... It had bombs attached to its claws... and a crossbow... yes, a powerful crossbow just above its head!... and it knew a lot about angles and physics and stuff!!!!...

Furio: Sure, sure!!! That surely sounds like a Roc to me!!! :: cooling down :: Now, I will award you some experience, of course. After all, you actually killed the great beast! Let me see... I'll give you... five, yes, five experience points! That should do it.

Efreet: Five experience points?!... But that's not even enough for reaching veteran stat...

Furio: Leeeave!

ts

Gruumsh,

The Kamakaze Zephirīs still had one significant weakness, Gruumsh found out: Fire-weakness!
He had to work on that on the next model-change!
He didnīt care much, though. His armies were marching in their destined directions, no one - neither man or beast nor efreet or Killer-Zephir would stop them now.
His elite Slaver repeated itīs unbelievable deed from two days ago and ensalved another of these remarkably powerful units - he couldnīt believe it again.
But he had another problem.
A REAL dire problem...
He was running out of his potent drug and his damn shamaness was nowehere nearby.
He was starting to get nervous.
He shouting at his men to proceed faster...

TS

---
given the so far game-speed and turn frequency this will most probably be my last turn before my vacation because Iīll leave very early tomorrow and will have no PC and/or Internet during these two weeks.

nice logs

Furio, day 14

Furio: Mommy sent me a letter, asking how things are going in my realm. I want you to sit down and write my answer with your beautiful handwriting.

Temple Virgin: Very well, master. I'll do my best.

Furio: ŦHello mom! Things are going as smoothly as a tyrant-driven kingdom allows. There have been some problems with local insurrection, leaded by a goblin I met in last uncle Pete's anniversary. You should remember the creature, he was the one who smelled so bad.

Anyway, he managed to take control of all the eastern surface and central island. A group with a Slaver (you never got me one for Christmas...) is preparing to explore the haunted crypts in the north of the isle as we speak. We saw 2 Spectres with that group, so his Slaver is really good! Eeeer... I guess I shouldn't be that enthusiastic about it...

He also did fine in the underground, reaching Naktakk and Soktokk. We now believe he is in person near those settlements.

We, on the other hand, are a bit limited to our own corner of the world, controlling the west of the surface and the region around Heart of Hope's End. The goblin is having most of the initiative, but I believe I can turn that around soon. You see, some really nice friends of mine got me these dummy books or the heck their name is! I'm learning fast A LOT of stuff! Imagine, I found out that there is something called gold income, and expenses too! The trick is to keep the first above the second while you... but wait, I'm boring you, of course!

All this to say that the sun is shinning for Furio and I will make you proud really soon! I guarantee!!! Yours truly blablabla, Furioŧ

There. Got it?

Temple Virgin: Perfectly, master. :: must run away from this deranged old man! he has no idea... gotta run for my life, fast!!! ::

ts

Well, I can't say I'm happy about a 2 weeks pause, but still, I wish you some very nice vacations, Marc.

@Charx: Very, very, very nice map! Congratulations!

- Morgull will be away until 2nd of October -

Gruumsh,

He awoke from what had seemed like an eternal slumber...
he tried to rise but his muscles prevented it, prevented any movement and even trying caused him to cry out with pain.
How long had he been in that state he was wondering? It feeled like heīd been in that vision-like-state for almost two weeks ?!...
He remained in his statue-like position for several more minutes until he tried first slight movements...
'Youīre awaken master?'
he turned his head and regarded one of his fellow soldiers who obviously wore a worried look which now seemd to somehwat relax given the fact the Gruumsh seemed to have regained his wits ..or rather his very life.
'Yes. I am... and what I saw showed me greatness beyond anything what you can imagine in your weak mind...
I saw mountains of gold, mana, women....I saw Rubio enslaved being presented to me for his daily punishment session together with a fine set of torture instruments.,,
. I saw myself flogging the old bastard...hehehe...'
'That sounds very...glorious...master, heheheeee... but tell...when...when will we overrun the old tyrant and enslave him??'
'Soon... very soon... now off with you...I have to think...and to,erm, regain some more of my strength and wits...'
'yes master'...(salutes and trots off...)
'Oh - wait! '
'Yes master?'
'erm... tell, whereīs that damned shamaness...?'
'Oh, sheīs collecting herbs and stuff she said... she mentioned something like you might ask for certain...things... when you finally awoke....'
'Heheee... thatīs true my friend, thatīs true... Iīm in dire need of that that special stuff of hers...
I fear I have used up all my stock for the last session...'
'Tell her to return - and immediately!'
'Yes sir!'

Gruumshīs armies were marching further on - another powerful undead joined them and an extremely powerful artifact was salvaged.
His grin couldnīt have been broader.

TS

------
back from vacation and eager to go ahead!

Furio, day 15

Spirit Puppet: Run awaaaaaay! Run awaaaaaaaay!!! The rebels are coming in!!!

Furio: Now, calm down, little fellow. Calm down. Where exactly are those rebels?

Spirit Puppet: Right there, over that corner, in the underground! They are many! And big! And strong!

Furio: Pfff! Nonsense! They are rebels, remember? They would be in MY place if they were that powerful. And then, WE would be the rebels, capice? That's how life works. But that is not the case. So, they must be proceeding with inspections. After all, prison is the place where they will be spending the next, say, errr... many, many years. Yes, they must be worried about the prison facilities. Finally someone answered my call on that!
You go there and tell them to look around, take their time and then close themselves inside and throw you the key. Got that? There, go! And take a few troops with, just in case rebels are smarter these days. You never know, with all these self-help books available...

ts

Gruumsh, day +1

an impressive number of weak - but numerous...- defenders presented themselves as blockade in the tunnels.
Exactly like genious Gruumsh had expected.
But his timing was bad - as usual - so they had to retreat before another foul magic strike would have harmed them.

their time would come - sooner than Furio might expect.
More important was that his damned shamaness was nowhere about which somewhat distressed him...

TS

Furio, day 16

Paladin: Good lord, they turned around! It seems we made an impression!

Avenger: Baaah, I'm sure they'll be back soon. And not fewer, for sure.

Paladin: Maybe. But this will give us some time.

Avenger: Time? What for?

Paladin: Shush! I'm trying to concentrate here! ŦDear Mr Gruumsh: I've been an admirer of your work for a long time...ŧ

ts

Gruumsh, day 17

'Ahem, master... itīs not that Iīd ever dare to doubt you in any way but... according to what our underground-army reported, all they met was a heavy stalemate in a tunnel system guarded by heavy defending forces in a fortress combined with foul magic.... what do you propose to do, oh greatest of all living, magnificient, glorious...'

'shut up! Donīt you see it you fool? Donīt you see the great plan behind it all?' (he puffed out then. Anothoer cloud of strange smelling smoke in the same greenish color his face had adopted since he was smoking this strange lokking and smelling herb he discovered himself behind one bush which he deemed likely do have some special... effect...which it did in fact but not exactly on his mind but rather on his intestinal tract... anotber heartful fart was underlining it.'

'know what? because I like you Iīll tell you the truth behind it all. The armies in the caverns are only the beginning. The beginning of the greatest raid that fool Furio deemed possible!
Only today, our surface armies took another of his towns and found various additional powerful allies, one new general among them.
They will squash whatever will come their way already but theyīll grow stronger still whilst friend Furio just hires more of his weaklings and loses structure after structure...
Weīll bleed them out first, then weīl crush them like Iīll crush my shamaness' head if she doesnīt return within the day!'

'Oh...that sounds great, my omniscient, unbeatable, glorious warlord!
But when exactly do you expect the final victory to take place?'

'In no later than five days!'
make it three if they dare to strike first.

TS

Furio, day 17

Efreet: Well fellas, things don't look so great, do they?

Avenger: Nope!

Pegasus Rider: They sure don't!

Temple Virgin:Nay.

Archer: Niet.

Dwarven Veteran: We're doomed.

Paladin: It's over.

Furio, just arriving with a large smile on his face: 'morning troops! It's a lovely day, even in here, in the dungeons, wouldn't you say?

Efreet: Great!

Avenger: Beautiful!

Pegasus Rider: So nice!

Temple Virgin:The best!

Archer: Super!

Dwarven Veteran: Aaargh! Majestic!

Paladin: Gorgeous!

Furio: :: pffruggg ::

ts

pfff...itīs a damn bad feeling when you start a game hoping yur PC doesnīt crash... Itīs running now since 3 hours without crash - I can only hope that the precautions I took solved the problem...

Gruumsh,

His favourite servant approached him, distress clearly shown upon his pale and even uglier than usual face.
'Warlord... Weīve bad news from the caverns... they say itīs almost impossible to reach Furio through the tunnels due to his wicked magic... itīs some kind of a terrible storm within the caves which causes them to get whirled about and smash against the walls and get bruised all over and....
...Master? .. ? '

Gruumsh sits comfortably crosslegged staring apparently into nothingness, a strange smile upon his face...
Itīs only then that his servant notices that his master once again seems to be in a questionable state of mind, undoubtedly having again befouled himself with whatever kind of drug...
As he starts to turn and leave, Gruumsh suddenly starts to speak...in a strange voice...almost like an oracle...
his gaze never leaving the doubtlessly non-existant spot (at least to the normal onlooker) in the far distance...

'four days left, my friend, hehehe...'

'ahem, what did you say, great master?'

'they did not attack us, so my dear sister attacked them.
Oh, I can tell ya, it was a furious battle... many a head was taken, much blood flew... I can still see and smell the pool of blood and gore... lovely...
heheheee...'

'Master, what are you talking about?'

'Their army was smshed like a bug and from herīs more than half is left...the better half...
I can see the end of the old fool, heheheeee...'

Slowly, the stupid servant seems to keep up...
'hehehe...you mean, our surface troops smashed the resistance and will now join their brothers and sisters in the caverns...?'

'heheheee---' and a slow and joyful exhalation of greenish smoke was the only answer he received...

TS

Furio, day 18

Paladin: Sir, all our surface forces have been defeated!

Furio: Seriously?? What about our submarines?

Paladin: ?...

Furio: Never mind. So, the situation is dire... What do you suggest, brave one? Any ideas?

Paladin: Well, sir, in on of the books we salvaged from the prison mold, you will be able to read a full chapter about the way the Japanese warriors put an end to their... problems. It's called seppuku.

Furio: Oh! Foreign! Se-poo-koo! Great, that sounds.. how should I express it... efficient!

Paladin: Very, my lord. Very efficient.

ts

sorry for the restart, ALbin!! Please check the pbem news for explanation, I had a lot of PC trouble but it hopefully !!!!! is fixed now.

Gruumsh, day 18

With sweat on his face and whole body and heavily breathing he bent forward in a rush.
He felt sick, so terribly sick...
In an instant he knew, this time it was more than his recent drug-consumation discomforts but something terrible had happend, something unimaginably terrible.
He knew it in an instant - his sister had perished!

He tried to regain his wits and to shake the pain away but it wouldnīt work - he cried out in vain.

'Master !! What is happening?? Are you ok??'

In a bent forward position, Gruumsh breathes hard but slowly regains some strength...

'The bastard...'

'Master - what happened..?'

'...He will pay with his very lifeblood for what he did...
I will squeece ever single drop of his liquids out of him personally...'

servant (gulps from the sheer imagination) ): 'Warlord, what did you see?'

'They stroke back! With forces that must have hidden somewhere. The killed some more units of our surface army, and they killed Gruuma!'

'They ... they killed Gruuma... how can you know all of that??'

'I feel it, you stupid fool! Donīt you understand it? Weīre kin, same bloodline! We feel if the other feels sick or if something worse happens...'

servant: (thinks so himself...feel what the other feels...did she also suffer from his drug-abuse then?? )
'ahem, that sounds so terrible, Master. My dearest condelendensces - sorry, I canīt spell it out...sorry for the death of your sister...

'Her death will be avenged! And very soon. Two powerful generals survived from the surface army - thatīs at least something.
The remaining armies are ready for the final strike.'

three more days, I tell you...three more days...
Make it one if they strike first...

TS

(Iīm more than curious about the next turn... shiver...)

Furio, day 19

Avenger: What are we doing closed in here?

Efreet: Looks like Furio is enjoying the view from the top of the Wizard Tower, upstairs. We are supposed to defend this place from the rebels. "Until the last drop of blood", he said.

Dwarven Veteran: So, we will just wait here, that's it? Waiting for our death..

Efreet: Look on the bright side: we will die with honor, and our loyalty shall be written in history books, ensuring our immortality in all glory!

Paladin: That would be true if: a) We were not fighting for the wrong side: a tyrant; b) Someone would survive to the upcoming bloodshed; c) The future ruler wouldn't be a junky control-freak of a goblin! Make no mistakes, my friend: we are doomed to oblivion.

Furio, entering the room in haste: Ah! There you are! I need your help, just had this crazy idea! Let's install a large speaker in the top of the Tower. Then, we can taunt our enemy, sing our favorite songs or broadcast our daily prayers, I haven't decided yet! Either way, it will be fun!

ts

Gruumsh, day 20

The armies of Gruumsh, the almighty, united.
From all corners they gathered, the two powerful gernerals from the surface as well as the heavily damaged and frustrated but still powerful armies from the caverns.
They all met at a very special place - the private estates of the old tyrant formerly known as Rubio.

well - not exactly formerly only bacause the advice given by Gruumsh was clear enough: Defeat the bastard. Donīt kill him!

Thatīs what they did.

The clouds in the sky delivered the message - Rubio was brought down at last!

The clouds were taken so far that even little - but mighty - Gruumsh could see them from his lovely vantage point in the far east where he enjoyed the mysteries of shamanism...

The clouds that were returned from his camp were simple:
Bring him to me. Instantly!

And if that had not been glorious enough, the day made him another present: His shamanes returned finally!

'Where had you been, dammit! I should kill you instantly on the spot! First you provide me with those alluring herbs and then you dissappear like a thief in the night preventing me from getting new supplies!'

'Well,erm... sorry great warlord... but may I remind you that you sent me in your stead against the forces of Rubio?'

'Did I ??..'

'You did. I was not pleased with it from the beginning but you insisted, my king...'

'Why are you here then and not with the remaining troops at Rubioīs estates?'

'Well, Unfortunately, I didnīt stand long enough to make it till the end of the battle so I was teleported back after I got hit badly and now Iīm here at your side...'

'...grmp...fair enough! I hope you brought new...supplies?'

'Of course, oh great warlord, of course...!!'

So they sat on a lovely foothill overlooking the lands, enjoying a new special recipe his shamanes had just recently discovered. Heīd never felt so relaxed in weeks.
They awaited the return of the glorious returning armies -
and of course the prisoner they would bring along...

---------
the end



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Thanks Albinscott for the by far greatest and funniest of my three games of round one! We only played two times in a pbem (including this one) and I think the courses of action were quite comparable. You proved again that you belong to the really strong players who always have surprising elements at hand and are never ever to be underestimated! I hope you make it to the next round!!

maybe see u there again, who knows?

Furio, day 20

Tower speaker: "I'm singing in the rain. Just singin' in the rain. What a glorious feeling..."

Furio: Such a lovely tune! And the cavern acoustic is great! I think I'll be spending the rest of my life in this place. I'm still a young tyrant, so I should still have, say, 30 or 40 years ahead of me and...

KABOOUMMMMMM!!!

ts

Thank you Marc, for me too this was the most exciting game of the 3... even if I only actually played 2 of them!
Congratulations for the victory, is was a really close one, but you deserved it. That super-hero with the lightning strike and huge stats really did a great job (sole survivor of the final battle, with around 5 HP, perhaps).

Usually, I'm rather peaceful with my own defeats: I know very well what my skills are and I think to know what my place is in the overall rankings. But this time there is one word sounding in the back of my head: disappointment.
I'm very disappointed with this game. At some point, after not having committed any remarkable mistakes, I created the conviction that I would win it, profiting from my previous experience in the map with zeldafreak. The problem is that I was too soft: I never bothered you in the terrain you controlled. Plus, that Slaver should have been the target of a strike, even a suicidal one, just to bring him dowm (and they usually are the first targets in FC). He took, at very least, 3 Spectres, 1 Engineer and 1 Dire Boar to your side in the last 6 or 7 turns. God knows what you managed to take control of earlier with it.

So, this to say that even if I was expecting victory, the truth is that I did very little to obtain it. Hence, I also feel you are the righteous winner.

One last question: did you have Dispel Magic? Around turn 12 or so I was preparing to invade eastern ug with Water Walking fast moving cavalry (the Zephyr episode), but once I spotted your magic domain, I chickened out, because I would have to stop over water in between turns. I decided not to take any chances... but I almost regretted this the days after.

Congrats Morgul, a great game to follow and read the turn logs, you guys did great. Sorry to see Albinscott just miss the cutoff again this year.