STGOD 4 Game Thread

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-05-19 02:40pm

"Send a message to all ships on incoming vectors. Tell them that we are fully justified in our actions. If they wish to help us, let them know they are free to do so. Warn any others to keep away... this is none of their business."

NRS Enterprise, en route to Toril several hours ago

"Admiral, incoming message from the Krell fleet. They're over Toril and... Sir, you'll want to respond to this personally."

"Route it to my console, Lieutenant." He read quickly. "Damn those mercenaries. I'm transmitting the response myself. Route this through." He reached over and activated his recording unit.

"This is Admiral Fisher, commanding Fifth Fleet, Republic of Nashtar. Our responses to your statements are no you aren't and yes it is, respectively. You will not fire on Arcane forces or bombard their worlds without proof of your outrageous claims, which, your flawed opinion to the contrary, you do not currently have. Fisher out." He set down the transmitter. "Bridge to engine room. Redline the drives. I don't care what you have to do to get power. I want us at Toril as of five minutes ago."

Aber-Toril, present time

Fifth Fleet emerged from hyperspace to see the devastation and multiple foreign ships swarming the Arcane capital world. Fighters poured from the carriers.

"DAMN it all to hell and back! Open a channel to all ships in the system!"

"Channel open, Admiral."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU ALL THINK YOU'RE DOING?!? We are under orders to ensure peace in this system and we are prepared to do so. Stand DOWN at once. The Republic stands by its assessment of the situation. All ships on both sides will stand down. There was no need for this."

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2004-05-19 03:29pm

Alyrium Denryle wrote:
<<Attention, Arcanist forces. This is the first, last, and only time I’m going to say this, so you damn well better listen up. Stand down your forces and surrender. Talk to the Monacorans for conditions. Failure to comply will result in disabling your ability to resist. We don’t want to be fighting you, but you are leaving us with no other option.>>
(We dont have shipson Krynn)

Sent to Monocorans and the Alpha Fleet
{{"Our people are 70% evacuated. Can you wait a few hours to land? We sill tender a surrender only after our civilians are gone. The military well then open the shields, and you may inspect our facilities. Then, our military will withdraw from this plane as well"}}

"We will not let you destroy information pertinent to our investigation, and we will not let you remain a viable power to support the Arcanists. Lower the shields or we will lower them for you."

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-05-19 03:36pm

Straha wrote:
Alyrium Denryle wrote:
<<Attention, Arcanist forces. This is the first, last, and only time I’m going to say this, so you damn well better listen up. Stand down your forces and surrender. Talk to the Monacorans for conditions. Failure to comply will result in disabling your ability to resist. We don’t want to be fighting you, but you are leaving us with no other option.>>
(We dont have shipson Krynn)

Sent to Monocorans and the Alpha Fleet
{{"Our people are 70% evacuated. Can you wait a few hours to land? We sill tender a surrender only after our civilians are gone. The military well then open the shields, and you may inspect our facilities. Then, our military will withdraw from this plane as well"}}
"We will not let you destroy information pertinent to our investigation, and we will not let you remain a viable power to support the Arcanists. Lower the shields or we will lower them for you."

{OOC: The Arcanists supporting themselves? Ya think?]

"Monacoran forces, I'd hate to have to stop you by force so soon after Earth.

"Whoever's in charge on Toril, we recommend that you allow inspectors onto your world. We do not believe that you are allied with the Mechanoids, but these people will apparently not be satisfied until the negative is proven. If all warships pull away from the world before the shields are lowered, I think the situation can still be resolved without further bloodshed."

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-05-19 03:38pm

Toril space

My, my, my, what a pompous prick... she thought as Admiral Tjoerhom listened to the Nastharian Admiral.

<<Open a channel.>>

"This is Vice Admiral Tjoerhom of the Imperial Navy of Gladsheim. Admiral Fisher, we would advise you against making hasty claims. If you cared to look on your sensor readouts before bringing yourself into untoward situations, you would have realized that not only are we not taking part in any fighting, but also that there seem to be more than two sides. Tjoerhom out."

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-05-19 03:52pm

The Hajr Speaks to All Unbound
-course, you flatlanders will hear it too, via hearsay and whatever freecasters you've looted.-

<<Over a century ago, the Unbound of this Sphere were broken, hurled asunder by the violence of Flatlander fleets. The great city-clusters were shattered by the might of the Beijing Alliance, the wisdom and beauty of the legendary Jewels of the Void turned to ruin in only a year of brutal fighting. Since then, you, the Unbound survivors of this holocaust, have wandered the spaceways, taking shelter where you could. Some have found succor, living peacefully at Shiva and Inisha, alive, but reduced from the glory of old.

Over four hundred years ago, our forefathers sent the first Dreamships into the nether, with the promise of seeding the galaxy with our teeming life. The children of these vessels have returned, awakened from the Dream, and we have come bringing deliverance.

In exchange for certain trade concessions, largely concerned with the funneling of raw materials to the Hajr, the systems of Ravenloft, Edean, Camaro, Ja'Del, and the three former Arcanist colony systems of Esgaroth, Seiben, and Chul'suroth, have been opened to colonization by any "Floater" groups. Those who accept will receive the full protection of the Hajr's War Clusters.

This is our gift to our cousins in Known Space who have suffered for so long, lurking at the edges of space, feeding off of scraps and bare remnants. Once again, under the aegis of the Hajr, you may know greatness.>>

admiral_danielsben · Post by **admiral_danielsben** » 2004-05-19 03:53pm

The Union offers to negotiate a treaty between the powers over the Arcane situation.

We also offer a safe haven for innocent civilian refugees from Arcane territory, but will return war criminals to the nations that wish to prosecute them.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2004-05-19 04:02pm

Arcane Empire Space
Arcanist Home System
Toril

ALPHA FLEET

<<This is Fleet Admiral Radim. Your Republic should re-think that re-assessment, pronto. If you want to stop the Monacorans, you'll have to burn through me first. I suggest you cool your thrusters before you make any decisions you'll regret. I'd suggest listening to Vice Admiral Tjoerhom. Strongly.>>

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-05-19 04:13pm

Hotfoot wrote:Arcane Empire Space
Arcanist Home System
Toril

ALPHA FLEET

<<This is Fleet Admiral Radim. Your Republic should re-think that re-assessment, pronto. If you want to stop the Monacorans, you'll have to burn through me first. I suggest you cool your thrusters before you make any decisions you'll regret. I'd suggest listening to Vice Admiral Tjoerhom. Strongly.>>

"And I'd suggest not launching a full invasion of a world that has done you no wrong. You have not proven Arcane involvement in the Rape of Terra, yet you are punishing them anyway. We are not going to allow this injustice to stand lightly."

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2004-05-19 04:21pm

Arcane Empire Space
Arcanist Home System
Toril

ALPHA FLEET

<<What the fuck is wrong with your sensors? Don’t you see the planet over there, the one crawling with mechanoids? The one the Arcanists gave to them? They’ve kept a major Mechanoid installation secret from the rest of the fucking galaxy for over a MONTH after the Rape of Terra. There is obviously something going on here, and we need to find out what. The very survival of all life in this galaxy depends on stopping these damn robots as quickly as possible.>>

<<The Arcanists have done wrong. They provided assistance to a known enemy of sentience. The existence of that machine-infested world is proof enough of that by itself. If you can’t see that, you’re either blind or brainwashed by the Arcanists.>>

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-19 04:37pm

Post withdrawn due to people who are incapable of actually posting information in a readable fashion.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-05-19 04:38pm

In the main naval yards of the Realm at Temesvar and Iskenderun hulls were being laid. The number was as follows:

Casimir Class Dreadnought (1)
Temesvar Class Battleship (3)

Titan Class Cruiser (8 )
Krauser Class Frigate (10)

30 Parasite Class Destroyer Leaders
80 Iskenderun Class Destroyers

In addition, berths for very large military vessels, at least 3 kilometers long, entered construction.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-05-19 05:16pm

To the Covenant Occupation Authorities

In the interests of international cooperation and securing the safety and stability of the planet of Ix'agal, the Realm of the Blood King has dispatched a fleet led by the dreadnought Szeged, together with a large force experienced in occupation and counter-insurgency tactics.

As (1) the Arcane Empire has abandoned its obligations in this territory, (2) your forces there are insufficient to maintain your foothold, and (3) the situation on the surface is becoming more strained daily and threatens to spiral out of control, we suggest that you accept our offer of help.

In exchange we request the current authorization to pursue our peace-keeping operation with minimal oversight from the overall occupation authority and negotiations for our incorporation of that territory formerly administrated by the Arcanists at a later date. We expect your response presently, the fleet is already en route.

Casimir the Demon
Blood King
Ruler of all Vampires

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2004-05-19 05:18pm

------

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-05-19 05:44pm

Ezekiel System
Arcane Occupation Zone, Former Covenent of God (Border)

Risha su Miitgar surveyed her crew. They had extracted from Ix'agal in the chaos following the dissapearance of the Arcanist troops; their work there was done. the second phase of the operation was ready, and it would require Risha's personal attention.

From terrorist to nation builder. Such is the life of the Blackeyes....

Ezekiel, along with Rebekah and Sacrament, were border-worlds in the former Covenant of God. They all had been part of the Arcanist occupation zone, worlds patrolled by Draconian troops and mageblades. They were all worlds of small to moderate populations, with large rural sections and vast countryside parishes. They had resisted the occupation along with the main Mujahdeen on Ix'agal, but had recieved far less attention from the primary groups, the groups armed and trained by Ouster covert operatives.

Now, with the worlds left bereft of leadership, they were degenerating into chaos. A handful of priests were attempting to reassert control of the recently abandoned systems- not something the Blackeyes could accept. This opportunity was too good to be true.

Risha looked around at her new headquarters- a dusty basement in Resurrection City, Ezekiel's capital. Along with her were a dozen other agents, most of whom had already began dispersing across the planet, and a handful of her Ix'agal Mujahdeen.

"Brothers. The time has come to begin the reconstruction of our precious covenant- but first, this cadre of usurpers stands in our way. Where were they when we shed our blood in the streets of the Temple City, fighting the Arcanist killers? They rotted here in their peaceful country parishes, ignoring God's will, waiting for such a time that they may take the reigns of God's nation from our cold, bleeding hands. For that, they must be eliminated. We move tonight- tomorrow, the old guard will be gone, and we can raise a new Covenant, starting on these three worlds- a humble start from which the City on the Hill can arise!"

They set to plotting.

Marcao · Post by **Marcao** » 2004-05-19 06:15pm

Arcane Space
Toril System

The fifth fleet settled in its position and waited for the scene to unfold. The weapon systems of the fleet were fully powered, their shields active and drones were in position. Nonetheless, targeting sensors were inactive as the fleet positioned itself in a purely defensive stance at the time being. This situation with the Arcane empire was not a direct concern of the empire, but their presence here would hopefully show where the empire stood when it came to the matter of the siliconoids.

The channel which the Grand Empire forces attempted to open was accepted immediately. The admiral’s lips curling upwards to a small smile as the hologram which had materialized in front of him showed him the image of his grand empire counter part. “It is a pleasure as well. The Veithan empire is concerned about the allegations leveled against the arcane empire. Our presence here is to show that fact. I hope that in the future, we will be able to meet in person. Until then, let us see how this situation develops. Stone, out.”

It took a bit of time after his communications for the Nashtar taskforce to arrive. Their faster than light signatures noted as the task force approached; a few eyebrows were arched at the speed involved, it was faster than any Nasthar military vessel ever recorded. Either the Nashtar had developed new drive systems or they were really pushing their engines. It mattered little, although the message from the Nashtar commander was a bit rude.

”Welcome to Toril space Nasthar forces. As you are no doubt aware, the allegations of collusion between the arcane empire and the siliconoids have aroused a great deal of concern. We are here to ascertain if those concerns are warranted or not. It is admirable that you have come to ensure the peace, and in that regard we welcome your presence. However, all that we can promise is that we will take your suggestion into consideration. We have as of yet not fired a shot, if all goes well that will continue.”

Veithan Space

The hordes of drones that had been launched began to transmit their information, the data collected and analyzed by a myriad of means. It would be difficult to weed out the siliconoids, but it would not be impossible especially if they developed orbital constructs such as shipyards or significant planet side installations. However, not all data pertained to the siliconoids. That information was carefully gathered and analyzed before passed along the chain of command.

lazerus · Post by **lazerus** » 2004-05-19 06:25pm

A cargoshipe, a stealth cruser, and about 100 heavy troop transports fully loaded with spoils of war return home.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-19 06:35pm

The Overseer task force was in place for one reason; to stir things up and destroy the more stupid nations and their ability to wage war. The fleet dropped into orbit over Halo, a devastating first strike of railgun fire ripping the defensive platforms apart. The planetary cannons were the only worry, but remaining at extreme range and using the predictability of the orbiting facilities to target was keeping the fleet largely unharmed. A pair of daring Destroyers were harrying the shipyards, though the massive Battlecruisers were keeping their distance.

A broadcast began.

++ This system will surrender all assets to the Overseer. We possess Stargate technology, and if denied, we will destroy the star which you orbit. That was the only warning. You have two hours. Any arrival of reinforcements will be treated as hostile, and your star will be obliterated. ++

Marcao · Post by **Marcao** » 2004-05-19 06:38pm

Monacoran Space
Sol System
Earth

The data arrived through the usual channels, the mission relatively straight forward. With the devastation of Earth, many of the Veithan agents in the planet had perished. Monacora was not an enemy, her lack of a powerful navy and relative small bouts of expansionism had won Monacora many friends along the Veithan upper echelons. One of those friends had been Magdalena Hyrt, and with her death in Monacoran soil the ties that bound Veitha and Monacora were stronger than ever. There was no alliance between the nations, but there was perhaps an understanding. Monacora would be approached in the near future in order to hire some of their ground forces in order to help train Veithan ground elements. Monacoran ground forces were the best, and Veitha wished to have her forces trained by nothing less.

It took a day to prepare for the operation, the proper clothing and accessories donned as he moved down the street and slipped into a data net café. The siliconoids had caused massive damage to earth, but some parts had recovered more quickly than others. The data net of the planet had returned to usable state, and data net cafes such as this one had become quite popular. He paid for an hour of time, using a fake identity and monacoran credits. The information was accepted, his terminal designated with a smile. He walked to the terminal, sat down and used his gloves hands to retrieve a single data crystal. The data crystal inserted into the usual slot, the information accessed as the process began.

It was nothing terribly original, an email to various news organizations and government agencies. The information which was attached to the simple message was the heart of the matter. It was information gathered from drones, coordinates leading to Ouster held territories as well as data recordings which suggested the emission levels of the planets and clusters. As well as any information that the drones managed to discern about the preponderance of vessels miltary or otherwise in the systems. In essence, the data which was meant to be shared with the world would finally reveal the location of Ouster controlled space outside of known space. All the usual precautions had been taken with the information, and as soon as the data finished loading the message was sent. After the message was confirmed to have been sent to its various destinations, all that was left was to clear his tracks. A virus was activated which insidiously buried itself within the data structure of the café itself. In two hours, it would activate itself and delete the customer records of the day. It would also delete the digital recordings of the café itself, erasing any trace of his visit.

A final command erased the data both in his terminal and the data crystal itself; scrubbing the hard drive eighteen separate times to make sure that nothing remained. The data crystal was removed from the computer and slipped into a pocket. He stood from his chair and walked away, aware of what the desired effect of the revelation should have. The Ousters had been expanding steadily into known space, and perhaps now that their home space was revealed they would be a bit more careful with their expansion. They did after all have to worry about minding their garden now. Exactly two hours after the virus had been planted; it activated performing its task before seizing to be.

To: USN,VNN,GCN,GWN…
From: rjordan@eurocafe.earth.mc.net
Subj: Ouster Holdings in Unknown Space [attachment]

~~~

edit 1: clarified a point

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-19 06:46pm

"Monacoran forces, I'd hate to have to stop you by force so soon after Earth.

"Whoever's in charge on Toril, we recommend that you allow inspectors onto your world. We do not believe that you are allied with the Mechanoids, but these people will apparently not be satisfied until the negative is proven. If all warships pull away from the world before the shields are lowered, I think the situation can still be resolved without further bloodshed."

Transmission to all parties:

We had agreed to allow Monocoran investigators, however that was not enough for their allies. They opened fire, not us.

Even if we do manage to prove a negative, charges like this stick around like the Tarrasque. Much like Iraq in the early 21st century, where weapons of mass destruction were never found... we will be continually searched, sanctions will be placed, and an occupation will be undetaken. Nver again will we regain our sovereighnty, nor will we even be able to secure our own borders... not for mny years after the Krell cut our already weakened fleet in half.

The best thing for our people, is to retreat from this plane. We have enough territory and vibrant enough trade there to keep us living comfortably until the rest of your civilizations go the way of the Right Whale(they would be extinct by now)

Unless further attacks are made on our worlds, we will evacuate our civilians, then, our military will stand down, open the shields, and allow inspectors. When that is done, Our military will retreat to the planes Karsus will remain as the sole arcanist on this plane of existence. He has diplomatic immunity granted by the Atlanteans and will stay with them for as long as they will allow. But certainly long enough to see the looks on your faces when ou find no evidence of any collusion with the siliconoids.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-19 06:49pm

"Also, we cede control over our planetary assets to the Atllanteans, pending our withdrawl"

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-19 06:52pm

As to the "desroying of equipment... you iwill notice on your sensors that people are moving through the portals. And you will also note that our entire infastructure, save where that hellball was used to counter the Jardanian scum, is completely intact.

InnocentBystander · Post by **InnocentBystander** » 2004-05-19 06:53pm

Toril

The Baeloaren taskforce poured into realspace at the edge of the system, not long after the Ravenlock ships arrived.

After brief communiques were sent the Baeloaren Fleet jumped in system to support the Ravenlock ships, mostly as a rearguard.

When the Nashtar warfleet jumped in system and threatened the Monacoran ships the Baeloaren Responce was merely in support of the Ravenlock admiral.

Sol

The constructor fleet had arrived a little ahead of schedule. While the main body of constructor fleet sat in orbit around earth, waiting for the foundations to be completed the fleet's head engineer headed down to the planet to speak with the Political Prince and his core of engineers about specifics of construction.

(ooc: you should announce where you want them, perhaps in "uninhabitable" regions.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-05-19 09:25pm

Arcanist Home System

The naval forces arrayed in the Arcane capital system detected the approach of a large fleet at high speed. They began to wheel towards the new threat. A flotilla of warships dropped out of hyperspace over the moon that had once housed the Siliconnoid embassy.

From aboard the Vampire dreadnought Szeged, a short message was sent, "Stand down your weapons, allied vessels, we are friendly. This is Admiral-Marquis Belisario de Valencia, and I speak for the realm of King Casimir the Demon. We have been diverted from our original destination and will be landing troops to assault the nest of the Machine-beasts and seize whatever evidence of Arcane treachery that may be present. Take care not to get in our way."

The Admiral-Marquis switched his comm to the public address system of the many troops transports in the fleet.

"Hear me, orcs," he bellowed, "now is the day for which you were born--the day that you will die! We are death incarnate, you are our servants. Many of you will die. Of those who volunteered for the first wave, none will survive. Death and ruin! We will drown them in their own blood!"

Belisario couldn't hear their response, because they were located across kilometers of void and any return communication was unnecessary. But they were orcs, and he knew what they were doing. They were cheering. It didn't matter, for example, that robots didn't bleed. The enthusiasm was there all the same.

It was going to be a glorious suicide for the first wave, and probably the second and third as well. When the Admiral-Marquis thought about what he would accomplish and how many petty lives he was about to sacrifice, he felt a little shiver of joy. People never understood how good it felt to know and understand the codes of compassion and morality just to trample them under your feet. Of course the orcs didn't see it that way. Since time immemorial they had worshipped the forces of death and destruction; it had been a simple matter to warp them to worship the Vampire lords. Now they longed for nothing more than death in service to their gods-on-earth. It was a good arrangement for both parties, really...

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were donning pressure suits for combat on the airless moon; they were loading up EMP bombs and strapping explosives to their bodies, preparing armor-piercing rockets and all many of lesser weapons. The dhampir officers would not be going, it made no sense to waste them as well. They would go in afterwards, to collect the necessary evidence and examine the battlefield.

The surface weapons of the Machine installation had already been silenced, it was a matter of penetrating to the interior and killing robots until there were no more to kill. Belisario doubted that the machines had ever faced an enemy that met their total disregard for death and pain and then exceeded it with a masochistic enthusiasm for sacrifice. It would be an enlightening experience all around.

The transports descended to the surface, and infantry began to pour into the installation. Time to earn their pay.

my forces in system

Dreadnought Szeged
2 Battleships
3 Cruisers
5 Frigates
17 Destroyer Leaders
50 Destroyers

many transports

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-19 09:59pm

Pablo Sanchez wrote:The transports descended to the surface, and infantry began to pour into the installation. Time to earn their pay.

Central to the Overseer's designs was an understanding that Organics hated waste. If you could inflict heavy enough losses, they would fall back. The timid incursions of the other forces had proven this; they had no stomach for bloody battle.

The sudden press of thousands of orcs with thousands more, simply climbing over the dead and hurdling the wounded, was something of a new experience. Deathstrikes held out briefly against the crush, but even their firepower could only clear so many away, and they just kept coming.

Entire levels were detonated as traps, and still they came.

The Primary Programmer, four kilometers down at the very bottom of the complex, was a little worried.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-05-19 10:28pm

SirNitram wrote:The Primary Programmer, four kilometers down at the very bottom of the complex, was a little worried.

The first wave had accomplished it's purpose, that of pinpointing strongpoints and drawing out a significant defensive force. They had also sent back descriptions of the structure of the installation, and relayed that the near-surface levels contained no useful information.

The reply came from the fleet: "Hold position. We will see you on the other side."

Then the naval guns opened up, blasting holes in the surface of the moon. Specialized bunker-busting warheads cleared away retaining walls and bulkheads so that the main guns could reach the softer targets within. EMP bombs fried circuitry, energy blasts vaporized whatever they touched, machine and orc alike. The allied fleets observed as the second wave of infantry descended.

These orcs descended into the next level of the installation. The collapsed corridors and rubble made maneuvering difficult for the defenders' heavy tanks, allowing the attack to pick up momentum.

"Such a waste," the captain of the Szeged said as he skimmed the casualty reports.

Belisario de Valencia snorted. He was a good deal more experienced than the younger officer. "Tissue paper, Captain."

"I don't see your meaning, sir," the captain replied.

"There is a bunch of silicon snot to be cleaned out of that pestilent nostril and the orcs will soak it up. And when you're done with tissue paper you throw it away and think nothing of it. More orcs are born every day, and if we had a shortage we could manufacture more," he gestured sharply at the holographic map of the advance, "we've broken another level, there. What you're seeing is the answer to the Riddle of Heirost."

"Hmm?"

"Heirost was a necromancer millenia ago who constructed a great golem of steel to guard his shop. Thieves would come by occasionally, and the golem would ask them 'what gives the hammer its strength, the dagger its keenness, and the armor its resilience?' And they would answer 'steel' or something and be dismembered painfully. But one quick-witted elf found the correct answer," the Admiral-Marquis explained.

"And the answer?" the captain asked.

Belisario smiled, "It's easy. 'Flesh.' Steel isn't strong, the man--or orc--behind the steel is strong. I knew it, the orcs know it, and the machines are finding out. They took another level."

"No, that one was mined, it detonated and took a few companies with it."

"It's taken all the same," Belisario retorted.

While this conversation went on so nicely, thousands of orcs were dying. Their comrades advanced from behind to take up the attack from the very same spot, heedless of their losses. Fatally wounded soldiers would finish themselves with their own weapons to avoid hindering the advance.

When the occasion called for it, orcs could be clever soldiers. Their generals understood maneuver warfare, the use of tanks, artillery, and air support in concert, all the modern lessons. Orcs were natural masters of concealment, camoflauge, and ambush; their dhampir officers were quick-witted and well-trained. But this occasion called for nothing but a frontal assault. There was one avenue of approach and one method of attack for this situation.

They pressed on, and in the levels now taken but still relatively intact, dhampir officers arrived to search for evidence of the mages' betrayal.