The room is dark, except for an area surrounding two lit candelabras near the padded chair by the window. It smelled of smoke, dried blood and old papers. The blood scent is from an orc, killed in the hallway outside. The body might be gone, but the blood stench will probably not be gone for a few days. The old paper scent is less misplaced considering the room is the Black Roses library. As dangerous as smoke sometimes can be in such a place, this was harmless. The smoke is comming from a pipe, holding the pipe is me, Captain Saben Evans. Once a religous man, now someone to be bought and sold for gold. One can argue that I had changed considerably, I certainly did sometimes but more often than not I took the stance that I stilled held true to my beliefs, if not to my god. I still valued purity, justice and honor, even if it was in a refined form. It might sound like an oxymoron coming from a mercenary, but in truth, there was nothing purer than gold. It was always there, it didn't change, it didn't betray you, in a chaotic world, it was a point of stability. Place your loyalty with it, and you will never be disappointed. Of course there were other reasons, reasons I didn't care to think too much about... \- TO ARMS! The Amazons are attacking Necropolis! Ah.. Payback time, Northwood was under constant attack by the Crimson Alliance, by the Coven of Evil, by the Shadowclan orcs and lately by our former allies, the Ordo Malleus. Mostly their great numbers determined the outcome, but here they were under attack, maybe our support would sway the outcome in the evil city's disfavour? Taking the stairs in three steps, I try to make up for time lost phillosophising. The Stable doors are still open since the last person made it out. Grabbing the gear I try to hastily make Fury ready, Damn horse don't like the reins so he snaps at my left hand in his playful manner, normally reserved for all but me. It bleeds a little but when I strap the gauntlet padding on, it stops. Snickering at the possible cliché regarding biting the hand that feeds you, I take an apple from his basket and deliberately look into Fury's eyes when I take a big bite from the juicy apple. We enjoy tormenting each other, even at the expense of arriving late for battle sometimes. Then he gives me the look.. damn! I feed him the rest of the apple and get up. Fury stirs while I put on the right gauntlet and then we are away. Outside I notice the absence of troops, seems they went ahead, I curse and hope someone capable is there to provide some tactical advice, instead of the organized chaos the younger Roses have been guilty of lately. Taking Fury inside I head to the tact room and open the rune book. \- Kal Ort Por, crap! I arrive in the middle of a circle of trees west of the dark city, without one Rose in sight. I don't know if it is my imagination, but the sky looks darker in this part of Brittania. Looking back to the town, I decide that if my swordbrothers would haven been here, in an organised fashion, this clearing would have served as a fallback point. Heading into the city I spot no Roses, no Amazons and no enemies.. \- Kal Ort Por There is a glow a bit south of the old Templar hall, now a trade and stable house for the Shadunes, the glow expands and transforms into a heavily armoured Saben wearing a white tunic and sturdy boots. I take the eastern path around the old Templar hall, where it used to be a hall of equal proportion owned by a man named.. hm.. Dues? We had tried to buy it back in the days, but never got hold of the owner, until one day he shows on the steps and declare his intent to become a Templar. Heading for the Rose's Tower I cut through the forest making my way around bushes and trees. This is normally the calmer area of Northwood. Suddenly there is a noise, sounding like several horses somewhere in front of me, I speed up and see a black clad man, resembling what is normally worn by the Coven of evil. He seems terrified and slightly damaged. \- Kal Vas Flam Kain! Behind the poor sucker is a mounted Kain, Rose veteran and a good friend that I haven't seen in ages. The smell of burned flesh finds it ways from the black robed man to my nostrils. I kick my heels back and get Fury into a.. a.. Furious pace! I catch up with the man in a matter of seconds, few horses can match the speed of Fury on a good day, and his days are almost always good. I don't bother with holding the sword in front of me like a lance, it would surely pierce him but the time needed to get the weapon out of his body might prove enough for him to get off a spell, or even worse, get away. Instead, the sword falls heavy onto his back, tearing through flesh and reaching bone. He doesn't scream, just twists his body in ways you can only achieve when you desperately are trying to get away from something. Only, there is no escape. The sword falls again, hitting his spine making an icky crunching sound. Magic goes through the air and the mage is hit by an energy bolt.. good old Kain. I see the mage waving his hands fiercely, and uttering the words of power for a greater heal so fast he sounds like squirrel. He lights up and some of his wounds are healed, but at least he won't be able to throw that spell again, not with his left hand in the grass and my sword already on the way up to strike again. \- Corp Por My sword falls again. I don't know if Kain is barbequing a dead body, or if I am carving some nicely roasted beef, but the mage falls off his horse, dead. Then there is an incredible, metallic roar and several incantations. Two more mages that have been speeding to their now dead friends rescue. One is mounted on a Nightmare, it might be that Vampire.. What's his name again? No time to check properly, distracted as I am by the dragon that accompanies him. Deep in me there is a burning desire to leave, but we do the next best thing, we charge. The spells finds home, my right arm oozes and it feels like I put my head in a pot of boiling water. Team coordination, brought by numerous battles side by side makes us take a collective decision, we move from battle speed to unorganized retreat, speed away from the battle, from the fire, from the dragon, and from the nightmare. The mages, or in some cases vampires, have caught that oh so sweet scent of blood that easily turns a pitched battle to chaos. No sense, no thought, just the chase and the kill. The one I think is that Vampire seems to be slacking of, slowing his speed to get the dragon to follow. I heard that a dragon unattended can go berserk in a blink of an eye sometimes, I wonder if that is true? Both me and Kain turn right and start heading back to the square in front of the tower. This is what separates warriors more than the skill of their blade, or the power of their spells. The ability to control their bloodlust, the ability to retreat, and more so, the ability to exploit the bloodlust of others. The mage riding a ordinary horse catches up, alone. Snickering, we turn and while Kain utters the familiar Kal Vas flam, my sword starts biting into the poor fellow's flesh. The Vampire, seeing again a friend in agony from bleeding and burning, no longer seems to care about his other, larger friend. He speeds the Nightmare forward, but it has an even worse temper than my beloved Fury, and the Vampire is thrown off. He charges forward anyway, now on foot, out of reach of his dragon. Out of reach of his bad tempered Nightmare. So while the battle is ended with a dead mage by Fury's hoofs, a new one commences between a Nighmare and a Dragon with a Vampire trying to calm them both. In the end, the Dragon stands victorious, the corpses of a Nightmare and a Vampire by the feet of the beast, faithfully guarding its master's corpse. A few silent seconds passes as we contemplate our victory. \- Been a while Kain. \- Yes it has. Then we go back to feeling smug, with the odds we just beat, we have every right to. A blue light in front of us starts expanding into a gate, it has the look of trouble about it. With most people escaped to that other facet, Northwood stands pretty alone in battling the forces of the Guardian. If it were our boys coming home, I would likely have known. Then the gate is finished, and the head of a horse can be seen stepping through, when the creature is fully through we sigh, the rider is of the Ordo Maleus, the vampire must have used his power to call for help...or vengeance. Next person through wears the black and red of the Crimson alliance. We move our horses a bit west, toward the rougher part of Northwood. The enemies keep stepping through, the previously arrived guarding the operation. The chilly air is filled with the noices of armoured men and eager horses. At a headcount of 15 I no longer bother to stay, Kain lets off a spell and we are both on our way. A few of the arrivals break of to follow while the other stays behind to guard the army still going through, I make a sharp turn and hide by the Shadune manor's western wall, they ride by, but returns to reform right infront of me a few seconds later. Silently cursing my bad luck I notice a few monsters that live in the area closing in to bother them. For a few moments they are distracted. Squeezing the handle of the sword, I see my chance and attack a mage that is standing close by. \- Damn, damn, damn. The Sword hardly bites, too few Weapon smiths in Northwood have slowly made all my weapons all but useless. She manages to survive the assault, and I have to break off and flee, a rain of arrows and spells. I pass around the southern corner but the spells are still hot in pursuit. I have so many holes in me now I should by all rights bleed to death instantly was it not for the magic assault of the mages closing them with fire. It reminds me of what field healers sometimes do when they lack the time to use bandages, or a wound is risking infection. Then an energy bolt strikes true and all pain is gone. I can see my body falling from the back of Fury, landing in a patch of green grass. I drift now, the world loosing colour, but not it's beauty. How could everyone leave this? Abandon this? The question echoes in me, concealing a deeper fear that this death may be the last, that this time I will not have the strength to find my way home. A fear that is often felt in Northwood. The Winter is here.