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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 17, 2017 23:22:22 GMT
Just as the Second Holy War had begun its initial preparation, and the Age of Isolation had come to an end when Priest-King Taun-Lok declared it was the Will of the Gods that the Undead be cleansed from the world, the City of the Lost had been founded as well.
The Crokodon knew why the war hadn't begun in earnest. They were not stupid or foolish, but primitive. Such a war required preparations, staging grounds set, routes to be discovered, armies fed, and fortification built. The City of the Lost was the first of such fortifications in preparations for the Holy War.
Jag-nar lead his group of Riverscales through the lakes to the north of the City of the Lost, following the leader of the City's wishes to map every stream, every pond, every river, and every lake in the initial scouting phase. However, this party had been given special instructions regarding their old enemies in the Antarran Necropolis.
Find it. Know its location, know its strength, and leave. Cover their tracks and come back in the longest route. Pass copies of any scouting information to any other Riverscales they encounter.
So far, Jag-nar had been unsuccessful in locating the ancient swamp valley as they moved through the rivers and lakes in central Ardell.
(Antarran Necropolis Scouting)
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 18, 2017 1:44:46 GMT
The Riverscales slinked through muddy water and dark murk slowly, ever slowly as the continued into the north-west of the Lake Country. They avoided confrontation at all costs, surprising given the normally feral nature of Hetan and his monster, Ghanzrabah. Normally they were all for the wholesale combat of the Warmbloods, enjoying sacrificing them and feeding them to the massive Dragon-Turtle that now haunted the lakes. Instead Jag-nar suspected his orders came from the Priest-King himself, who was far more accepting of the warmbloods after his two year exodus across Ardell. He had brought back maps and travelers, but no map was complete or beyond scrutiny until the Riverscales finished marking the one they had been ordered to compile. The most important kingdoms to mark the location of was then Antarran Necropolis. While it hadn't existed during the War of the Dead, its remnants were likely responsible for the centuries long conflict and thus it was imperative that it be investigated fully for the Gods and for the planning of the Second War of the Dead. Jag-gar slithered through murky mud, sliding underneath lily pads. His Mage-Sight could see the faint stench of necromantic magic in these parts, tales that echoed he was coming close. Swamp-land was good, it would provide the army a means to travel unseen if they had to. It would also keep them from having to carry an abundance of water to remain hydrated. theophenes
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 18, 2017 13:51:30 GMT
Jag-nar slithered through the swamps north of the Lake Country, travelling on land only when the absolutely had to, and then only in short darts traveling on all fours. The ancient maps didn't really detail anything beyond the mountains and so this was uncharted territory as far as the Crokodon were concerned. The creation of the initial maps was important to the war effort if and when it ever took place. Given that they had yet to encounter some enormous swarm of undead stretching as far as the eye could see, Jag-nar was beginning to doubt that their ancient enemies had fallen to the so called Antarran Necropolis. During the first war of the dead the undead armies had managed a constant siege for several centuries. Perhaps it was that that army had been destroyed by the war and the restoration of the fog. The riverscales stopped outside the stone hewn valley. Yes the stench of undead and necromancy was powerful in these swamps, but it was NOT their ancient enemies. It simply didn't have the size to manage the type of armies the Crokodon had encountered all that time ago. Jag-nar made a note of it as eyes looked into the valley from outside it, doing their best to gather information about rough population. theophenes
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 18, 2017 20:44:01 GMT
Jag'nar peeked his head through the water, glancing into the swampy Necropolis. From the far outskirts he could only tell that it was very small in comparison to the enormous armies the Crokodon had fought off in the distant past. Small enough that it had been difficult for them to find even with the minimal maps they had been provided. "This is not the source of the Armies of Old." Jag-Nar scoffed. It was large enough to post a threat if it marched to war against the City of the Lost, and could pose a threat to supply lines if left untested, though as there were not packs of skeletons, ghouls, or ghasts roaming the swamps in large enough numbers to bother the supply route. They could be an ally of the true enemy, but it was unlikely that they were the true enemy. "Make notes of it and mark it on the map." The lizards skimmed closer and closer to the valley, though were careful not to actually go inside it. They just wanted to observe the Necropolis, not encroach upon it just yet. They observed, trying to make rough guess estimates about its population and visible military, using Mage-Sight enough to see that it was a very magically resonate place. Dangerous to risk attacking with more present military threats if it would remain within its own walls. theophenes
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 19, 2017 17:57:19 GMT
Jag-Nar and the other riverscales took turns looking down into the valley at the Undead and Humans living in the swamps, gathering what information they could about it and the surrounding area. It wasn't much, but it was useful to them and to the Priest-King.
Taun-Lok would be pleased to know that the initial stages of his war wouldn't be starting against two mega-empires of undeath that each outnumbered him twenty to one. Instead this was a relatively small city built into a stone hewn valley. It appeared small enough that it could be taken if necessary, but would be a costly venture especially with a much larger, much more aggressive undead empire in the same region.
Jag-Nar marked the information and advice for his leader on the wooden bark he carried before turning he and his scouts away from the necropolis, back towards the lake country. There was still much to be done there before anything aggressive could be done. Preparations, war materials gathered, strategies to formulate, and armies to muster. All Jag-Nar could do was ensure his elders had as much information as he could provide unto them.
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