The King's Orders

Only two dozen Knights were sent off on the scouting mission - King Tulloran's Orders were simple - and vauge: Go out past the borders of my Kingdom, and search the lands for suitable settlements. Claim these Lands in the name of Az'mil..."

Kenneth a' Rone, Knight-Captain of the Order of the Crystal Spire, strode proudly down the corridor leading to His Majesty's audience hall. His gold spurs clicked with each step. Upon reaching the door, he was saluted by the honor guard before they opened the doors to let him in. He entered the grand hall, stepped the the center to present himself before the King. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"Rise." The King bade him. "I have for you a special assignment. "Go out past the borders of my Kingdom, and
search the lands for suitable settlements. Claim these Lands in the name of Az'mil..."
"It shall be done, my King."
The King waved a dismissive gesture. Kenneth saluted and turned on his heels, quickly leaving. There was a page waiting for him just outside the palace proper who quickly fell in step with him as he headed for the stables.
"Go find the rest of my my men and have them meet at my estate immediately. I have orders for them."
The page ran off to swiftly carry out his lord's orders and Kenneth signaled for a lackey to bring him his horse.

A few short hours later, Kenneth sat at the head of his banquet table. His officers sat around the table with him, glasses of wine being filled by servants. Several other knights stood around the outter part of the room.
"Fellow Knights. Our gracious liege . . ." his voice was twinged with sarcasm, "His Majesty the King, has given us a special assignment."

Kenneth explained the King's orders, and furthermore his own ambitious plans. At dawn the next morning, two dozen knights, the entire Order of the Crystal Spire, rode forth from the estate of Kenneth a' Rone, in search of new lands to conquest.

Kenneth a' Rone and the Knights of the Order of the Crystal Spire had ridden for nearly a week when the storm hit; a rolling front of thick black clouds that brought with it sheets of rain and streaks of lightning. The wind whirled up and howled as it whipped at the riders. It wasn't long before they were driven off the road and into a thick forest. They were forced to build a hasty camp amid the forest trees that night and in the morning the storm had passed.
Kenneth sent his scouts out to find the trail they had taken in, but to no avail. The rain had washed out their tracks and all sense of direction had been lost. Kenneth's First Lieutenant walked over to him with a compass. "What do you make of this, my lord?"
Kenneth looked at the compass, a device he'd never really trusted, to see the needle spinning slowly, giving no direction. He shook his head. "It's a faulty device. Assemble the men and we'll ride. We can't be too far from a clearing or the edge of the wood. Once we find that we'll be able to glean direction and carry on from there.
They rode the whole rest of the day at a pace significantly slowed by the dense forest terrain. Just before sundown, they broke the edge of the forest. The land rose up from here to a large hill.
"We ride to the high ground," Kenneth ordered, "and get our bearings from there."

Kenneth a' Rone was the first to crest the hill. From there he looked down into the valley and what he saw brought him to pause. "It can't be . . ." He trailed off. He snapped out of his musing at the sound of another rider coming up next to him. It was his First Lieutenant. Kenneth raised his hand in a signal to the others to stop, which they obeyed. The Captain pointed down into the valley and asked his Lieutenant, "Do you know what that is?"
"It looks like it was once a city, my lord." He squinted against the sunlight's glare. "But now it seems to be ruins. I don't see anyone moving around down there."
Kenneth wasn't really listening. He had his own suspicions. "Have the men set up camp." He turned and pointed behind him. "Over there, this side of the hill. I'm riding down to look around."
"My lord, are you sure you want to go alone? We don't know what's down there."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. Organize camp and I'll return soon."
"Yes, my lord." The lieutenant turned and attended to his orders.

Kenneth slowed his pace as he reached the ruins. He came to a stop, dismounted and wrapped the reigns over what was left of a porch railing. The ruins seemed abandoned as he began his search, but the fading light of sunset cast odd, shifting shadows that kept Kenneth glancing over his shoulder or of into various corners. Despite any signs of life, the place itself seemed to have a presence.
Could this be . . . ? He thought.
Kenneth walked down the broken remains of a cobblestone road which lead to the crumbling remains of a large stone building. He carefully worked his way through a large space in the wall and found himself inside of a huge gallery. There were bookshelves lining the wall and scattered around the hall. Many were tipped over and books and scrolls scattered the floor. Kenneth's eyes were wide. His suspicions seemed to be confirmed. He immediately turned and left the building and jogged back to his horse.
I've found it! he thought. I'll be a hero when the King hears what I've discovered. This is more than I'd hoped.
He swung himself into his saddle and spurred his horse. He rode swiftly back to where his men camped.

By the time Kenneth reached to top of the hill again, it was dark and the camp had been set up. Two camp fires were burning brightly, one for Kenneth and his officers, the other for the lesser knights. Kenneth rode to where the horses were staged and dismounted, handing his reigns over to one of his men. He then proceeded to the largest tent, gesturing to his First Lieutenant to follow. He, in turn, gestured to a few other officers. Kenneth's senior staff met in the pavilion.
"So," Kenneth began, "Do any of you know where we are?"
"Um, yes, my lord." The First Lieutenant answered. "Once we cleared the forest we were able to get our bearings. We've ridden miles off course onto this," he pointed at a map laid out on small table. "blank area over here. We're not really sure what's over here."
Kenneth shook his head. "So your answer is 'no'. You actually have no idea where we are."
"Well, my lord, we . . ."
"Shut up. At first light assemble our six fastest riders. Strip them down to the bare minimum supplies and equipment necessary. Send them back to report to His Majesty of what we've found here."
"My lord, perhaps if you told us exactly what it is we've . . ."
Kenneth raised a hand, silencing his Lieutenant. There was a moment of tense silence as Kenneth looked around at the faces of his officers, all awaiting his answer. "Eldarus."
The men in the pavilion exchanged confused looks. Finally, one of them spoke up. "My lord, do you mean Eldarus . . . the lost city of . . ."
He trailed off as Kenneth's wolfish grin answered his question. "We've found the ruins of the ancient city of Eldarus."
"How can we be sure, my lord?" The Lieutenant asked.
"Because I've seen the Great Library."
"It's still there?!"
"We send word to His Majesty that we have found the ruins of Eldarus, the remains of the Great Library, and we have claimed them in the name of Az'mil. You are all dismissed."
The men slowly left the tent, each of them bearing a look of amazement. The First Lieutenant stayed, sitting on a small stool. "If any other man had said this to me, I'd call him a fool or a lunatic. But you, my lord . . . You're sure about it, aren't you?"
"I am." Kenneth answered. "There is no doubt."

Skizhem Sicklebell had parted from his unit early to do a bit of unaurthorized plundering in what had once been the ruined
citie's armoury, greedily he'd pick up the tarnished items, and then cast them aside hatefully, moving onto the next bit of
metal he could get his gnarled green hands on. Each time he'd find an item, he'd anounce loudly to the dust what he had
found, and how utterly useless it was to someone of his small and utterly stupid stacture ("What is this? Breastplate!
I don't have breasts!") was one such cry that could be heard from the crumbling armoury. He'd waste another hour before
deciding to return to his unit, which by his recokoning was about to feast on ill prepared garbage.

Not wanting to miss his nightly meal the goblin hurried through the strech of destroyed land,leaping over pillars
that once stood tall and welcoming to those who entered the city from the forests pathway - a pathway that no longer looked
lively with green and other brightly colored foilage, but a sickly brown, with the faint scent of decay emitting from somewhere deep
within, as if everything that once lived inside had died. The goblins even avoided the place, having come to the conclusion that it was
cursed, but Skizhem raced past it without a thought of the smell which was unsually strong tonight, the goblin came to
a sudden halt as he caught the sight of smoke billowing down from the hilltop nearest his units encampment, "Intruders! Intruders!"
he cried as he raced clumisly down what remained of a cobbled road to reach the river not more than a half hour on foot from where the Knights
had located themselves.


"Murtuk, I trust your bumbling army has found the artifacts that I am paying you to uncover by now?" The robed man asked with a sneer doing little to hide
his distaste for the Goblin commander that sat to his left, devouring an uncooked rodent.

"We found lots of nicey things! Very nicey nice. But no sheild, or pendant, or great book. Why read books when you can tear them apart! Hah! thats what I will get my men
to do if you don't give us more silver!" The goblins that surrounded the flameless fire grunted their approval of the book shredding. The robed man breathed in a deep sigh he made to rise
form the bench to his feet, effortly reaching out pluck a menial cook-goblin from the crowd that sat around the flameless fire. The man's long tinted fingernails dug into the goblins on eithersid
effectively leaving him breathless. "You'll not get a copper more untill I atleast see another artifact! Its been more than a month since you uncovered Eldarus' staff! Why should I keep any of you
idiots around if you can't even do what your race does best! Useless filth!" spat the man, tossing the terrorfied goblin onto bonfire that still emitted no smoke. The crowd of goblins stared in awe as their
comrade writhed in the flames then all at once rang up in cheer, as one of the boils that covered the beastie exploded with a sickening pop spraying the crowd with its ooze.

"I see killing off your men still has little effect, Commander Martuk..."

"Intruder! Inntruder!" The voice of Skizhem rang through the yelling of the crowd.
"On the hilltop! They're going to take our prizes! Hundreds of them! Thousands of them!"

"Murtuk! Inturders! Get your worthless men up there to scout it out! I do not trust your son's mathematical skills, but his eyes work well enough.
Report to me immediately if they prove any threat. Pick off any lone wolves, and dispose of them in the fire - or Eat them.
Whichever attest the most to your tastes. Do not let them leave with anything. I will remain here, awaiting your news."

The stubby commander nodded his head, thawping Skizhem once more as he turned
to assemble his troops within the hour, scouts had surrounded the hilltop listening intently to the conversations of the Knights, others were postioned through out
the ruined city, waiting for any curious souls to venture down for a look at what the lost city might offer the brave.
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The following morning, Kenneth a' Rone gathered five of his trusted knights to accompany him down to explore the ruins. As soon as they crested the hill, he halted the riders and looked around, as it seemed someone had been there. He shook off the feeling, and charged down the hill, followed by his men.
The riders slowed to a halt as they reached the outskirts of the ruins. Kenneth paused, feeling that something wasn't quite right. At that moment there was a loud *CLANK* as a rock struck the chest plate of one of his men. He wasn't harmed, but all the knights drew their weapons. Suddenly, goblins swarmed from the ruins.
Kenneth charged forward, his flail arcing around to connect with a goblin's skull, creating a sickening crunch as it broke the bone and splattered brain all over the ground. The knights followed his lead, driving into the swarm with their weapons picking apart their enemies.