City of IF

[Jack_D.Mented]

The Story So Far...


Forenius is the lone survivor of a failed crusade against the lands of the wicked demi-goddess Lady d’Grorathia. He is captured after a ferocious skirmish with her troll shock troops.

Defeated, he approached by her and nearly seduced in his cell. She attempts to seduce him, but instead offers him command of her armies in return for a simple favor: he must slay her current general, Lord Jeryon and his minion the alchemist Alestro.

He soon discovers that Jeryon is in fact the world’s oldest living grey dragon but with all that age and power also comes the curse of blindness. He slays the servant, disposing of the beast’s guide and then kills it too, tearing down a large section of the Lady’s castle in the process.

The hero awakens in a well furnished room, where once again, the temptress offers herself to him and Forenius almost succumbs to her whiles but at the last second is granted a vision from the gods as to her true plan. Knowing that her purpose is to murder millions to impress her father, the god of murder and plague and to gain divinity for herself while leaving a mortal progeny behind spawned by no other than he, the paladin seizes a rapier from the mantel and stabs her, but to no effect.

In horror, he flees, escaping the fortress and heading out for his homeland. He is forced to stop for a short time in an eerily abandoned city, which ages before was single handedly wiped out by a vampire known as Damek.

The knight is preparing for his last stand and heroic battle with the forces of evil when he discovers both a suit of pristine golden armor and a magical portal. He leaps through the teleporter and is promptly back in his homeland, but is arrested on the spot and thrown into prison as a traitor.

The Lady and her host arrive not long after, their ruckus awakening the sleeping vampire, who forms an unholy alliance with her, but making it clear that he will not hesitate to kill her if necessary. Forenius begins to come back around in his cell, forming a bond with his cellmate, a half elf bounty hunter known as Larson.

Escaping from the prison, the duo head right back in to gather their belongings after they discover that the enemy legions are in the city, unaware that they are entering the vampire’s den. They slay massive numbers of ghouls on their way to the armory, where all their gear is currently locked up at.

Finally reaching the armory, they are offered the services of a barbarian named Cynyr the Devout and his enchanted hammer, Thunderer, which he claims speaks to him. They politely decline.

Not long after they don their armor gather their supplies, they are attacked by Damek. During the struggle, the undead villain bites Larson, but is stopped when is struck by Cynyr’s hammer, who returned to help them. He is promptly killed with a fist through the brain.

As the nosferatu is distracted with this, Forenius is spoken to by Thunderer, and seizing the moment, strikes Damek full force with the magical mallet. Defeated, the vampire vanishes in a cloud of bats.

Larson has only three days before he becomes undead but luckily, Forenius knows of two men who were working on a cure for the disease. One is a mage in a small hamlet outside the war torn city and the other is a priest hiding somewhere within.

Making his way to the hamlet, Forenius seeks out the mage, but is confronted by a bandit army. Slaying their leader, he claims authority over the horde.

Once he has arrived within the town, he conscripts every man of fighting age and bashes in the door of the mage's home, only to find him dead. After a vicious battle with the murderer, he discovers it to be an evil version of himself.

Larson arises from his coma around this time and discovers, much to his own discomfort, that Forenius's beautiful twin sister Valonia has taken more than a little liking to him.

A troll in the army of the Lady named Jad- Bal- Rhun plots revolution and has a brush with the mysterious Trickster, a servant of the Lady's godly father, and the Forenius's evil doppelganger.

A subtle romance begins to blossom between Larson and Valonia, Forenius's twin sister, much to the paladin's chagrin. He, in spite of his anger, cures his friend of vampirism just as the emperor arrives upon his doorstep with news of a peace treaty with the dark army, on the condition that the paladin will marry the Lady.

In a fit of rage, Forenius murders the king and proclaims himself the ruler, as he is next in line to the throne. The god of murder and plague calls the Great Hunt, whom he places the Trickster in charge of.

Forenius orders the murder of the entire merchant class in an attempt at unifying his kingdom, much to the shock of his childhood friend Vitellus, who is master at arms of the king's bodyguard.

Jad-Bal-Rhun is captured by some of Damek's ghouls and thrown at the feet of the Lady, and the fate of he and his revolt hang in the balance as she considers her response to his schemes.

Jad is sent to the mysterious Catacombs for experimentation at the hands of a malevolent spirit known as Josephus. Larson and Valonia share their first kiss, but it is observed by Vitellus. Worried, this lone knight rides out to the countryside to clear his mind and think.

Under the weight of the past weeks, Vitellus's mind snaps and he is driven mad. The Trickster takes advantage of this oppurtunity and enlists his aid. Larson informs Forenius of an ancient Elven prophecy that seems to be fulfilling itself. Lady d'Grorathia assassinates Damek with the intention of stealing his powers for her own.

Larson is sent as envoy to the Elven nations to discover more of an ancient prophecy in great secrecy. Valonia is not told and worry weighs heavily upon her mind, even more so when she discovers that she is with child.

She tells Forenius of this and although he asks for time to gather his thoughts, he is interupted by Vitellus, who warns him of a plot against his life. The general leads him away, escorted by a small contingent of the royal guard into the moors, where they are attacked by the Trickster and his infinte legions of hellhounds.

A ferocious battle ensues, during which Vitellus is mortally wounded and the Trickster looses an arm. The Trickster seeks out his sister for aid and Forenius runs to his friend, not knowing of Vitellus's betrayal. With his dying breath, the traitor rams a dagger into Forenius's back, killing him.

A captain in Forenius's bodyguard and one of the skirmish's few survivors, Anaxandrias is a prior mercenary without a homeland. The King had shown him kindness and respected him, granting him this high postion. It is he who discovers Forenius's body. For what he sees as the good of the kingdom, he invents a story in which the Emperor names him regent in his dying breath. The rest of the guard accept the story and the foreigner assumes power.


....................................................

Intro- Disaster

The expedition had failed. The crusade was a disaster. Dead men lay in awkward postions, arms and legs twisted at the most heinous of angles. Forenius lay pinned beneath his war horse, the armor adding almost an extra hundred pounds. In the start, he attempted to avoid the attention of the trolls that moved from corpse to corpse, removing their heads and then adding them to the mounting tower in the center of the blood-soaked battlefield. But as the situation became more and more helpless, he began to struggle to free himself from beneath the great brown beast. The trolls drew closer, dragging great obsidian axes behind them as they hacked a crimson path through both survivor and cadaver.

Forenius rammed his longsword deep into the enriched earth and began to pry himself from beneath the priceless steed, using the ancient heirloom of a blade as a lever. The steel began to contort and bend as he was gradually towed from beneath the massive hunk of meat he had once cherished above all things. The trolls were closer, so now as to accomodate his view of the horrid creatures. Their yellow eyes glowed in the dusk, hovering above wicked hooked noses plagued with warts and oozing sores and mouths that did nothing to conceal great rotten brown fangs and tusks, pieces of raw meat and carrion still clinging to them.

The sword snapped cleanly in two with a loud twang, half of it hurtling off at incredible speeds and the other staying firmly gripped in the hand of the fallen warrior, but not before it had done it's assigned labor. The trolls, being barely sentient, but by no means braindead, heard this echo across the empty valley and turned to the source. Forenius, clearly shaken, rushed to his feet as best he could with the encumberance of the armor. As he did so, he so happened to glance upon the body of one of his fallen comrades. The armor was a shelter for a fool. Against other humans, it was effective to a shocking degree, but when employed against trolls, it was simply suicide. It prohibited any real mobility, which was usually but a small sacrifice as compared to the fact that to most weapons, it was invincible. But this was not so. The troll axes sliced through it like a hot knife thru butter.

He unbuckled his breastplate and let it tumble into the puddle of mixed blood, mud, and waste at his feet. He began to disassemble the entire suit as the monsters drew closer. By the time they were fifteen feet away, the entire steel enclosure, handed down thru four generations of his family, lay upon the field, sinking gradually deeper into the soiled land. He cast aside the remnant of the blade, forged ages ago by a hero king far back in his line. He plucked up a massive troll axe from the field and hefted it in one hand, getting a feel for the weapon as the enemy approached.

It was painfully obvious that on this field, in this war, there was no room for tradition, nobility, nor even chivalry. This was a new war and what it needed was new heroes.

[LordoftheNight]

sounds to me like he's about to be slaughter or captured by the trolls at the very least - there's two of them and they are used to using there weapons - they'll have greater experience with them

[jarcor]

Its a good story. One thing though. You constantly made a mistake in spelling through. It's through not thru.

Anyway I think he will be captured by the trolls. He is outnumbered and has no weapon.

[LordoftheNight]

he does have a weapon, he picked up one of the troll's axes

[Chinaren]

Is running away an option? A new kind of hero needs to live to fight another day!

Welcome to IF Mr Mented! Nice to see a new poster! One fairly standard comment first: Try and leave a line between paragraphs, it makes it easier to read.

You may also leave the chapter up for a while to gather comments before putting up a poll. Sometimes these twisted readers think of things you haven't. That way you can add more options to your poll when you do do it.

Anyway. Voted! Look forward to more. :D

[Crymzon]

I think we should let him be captured myself ... that way we can learn more about the trolls camp and erm .. well the big green ugly blighters themselves. That might be a good place to throw another character into the mix to ... and make her female. Well just an idea. :)

[Shady Stoat]

Good start. I don't think he's got a chance against the trolls, though. Get him captured for now. Then we'll see what chapter 2 brings :)

[Smee]

Hey Jack,

I agree that he has no hope against the trolls, unless he's some awesome fighter.

With no other options I've voted for him to be captured.

Happy Writing. :)

[AreonK]

Yo Jack, are you sure your not some inborn professional artist like Key and Smee are? Dude your stories are tight man. Look forward to readin the next chapter.

Oh here's my suggestion. Take some of those Trolls to Hell with you!

[Chinaren]

Nice new avatar there Jack!

[AreonK]

Yeah, your Venom is sweet.

[Jack_D.Mented]

Thanks. For that, you both earn goblins... :grin: :grin:

[Smee]

Quote: not some inborn professional artist like Key and Smee are

You're kidding right :shock: I can't draw to save my life.

[Jack_D.Mented]

Ok, guys, I'm getting a little impatient to continue my epic saga of blood, guts, and glory. So, I think that I'm going to give the poll about another three days or so.

[AreonK]

You already have 7 votes, that's a lot already! Plus, you've given three or so days, write the chapter!

[Jack_D.Mented]

Daaamn, boy... you just wanta see some troll heads roll, huh? Ok, I agree. Screw the poll. Time for the next installment.

[AreonK]

WOOHOO! And about the boy, don't call me boy, my older cousins call me that and I have grown to hate it! :-D !

Yes I do want to see troll heads roll! Blood and gore! *licks lips appreciatively*. Anybody seen Scarface? Anyways, how old are you?

[Jack_D.Mented]

WARNING- VIOLENCE AND ADULT SITUATIONS


Chapter 1- Duality

Standing there, abandoned, it struck Forenius for the first time how alone he was here. There would be no shelter, no quarter, no mercy. There was only one way to respond to the vile abominations advancing steadily forward.

It was in his hand. It was the solution to the troll problem. It was a blood-soaked obsidian axe of massive proportions. At normal strength, he would have weilded the death dealing device with but one arm with ease, but now, already, he was battle ready and tired. It would take both hands.

One of the trolls grinned and acidic bile dripped from within its wicked mouth and onto the saturated field with an audible hiss. A low guttural laugh issued forth.

Forenius couldn't help himself. It was absurd. It was amusing. He crooked a smile and began to laugh in turn. His, however, would have been recognized by any holy man in existence for what it was- either the hoot of a complete madman or the ranting of one possessed.

The first monstrosity closed to within reach and began to slowly raise its well-toned arm to render the smiting blow upon the human. He was still laughing, unanticipating the extra mobility and speed that the lack of armor afforded his prey.

Forenius leapt in a blur of motion, taking but one swift stroke with his cruel instrument. It struck him as odd that the idiot creature still had a smile on its hideous face when its torso slid from its hips and collapsed in the grass with a disgustingly moist sound. The legs still stood for a second before finally tumbling over.

Its companion screamed and pulled at its long, stringy almost dreadlocked hair in response, hysterical at what had just occured. The gorgon quickly transitioned into rage, yelling at the top of its lungs and spraying spittle as it charged forward in a maniacal charge.

The knight had seen this sort of rage before. He knew that it would be unwise to let the galloping enemy draw closer than absolutely necessary. He turned at an angle, balancing the gigantic axe behind him. Then he waited.

Just a few more steps...

And now! He heaved the weapon with all the strengh that his body could muster. The mighty weapon tumbled, twisted, turned, and finally, struck its mark with the blade, cleaving the crazed opponent's head cleanly in two.

The body continued onward a few steps, then abruptly stumbled, halted and slumped to the ground.

The spectacle had drawn attention from others. More trolls approached. Seeing this, Forenius fetched two longswords from his fallen friends. Taking one in each hand, he prepared for the inevitable.

He was wading in a legion of monsters, hacking and slashing, blood spraying everywhere, arms, legs, and heads flying. The sound was defeaning what with the harsh warcries of the trolls, the constant screams of Forenius in his berserker rage, and the pitiful sobbing cries of the dead from both battles, one waged by two armies, and the next fought by but a singular soldier against too many to count.

At one point his blade snapped from overuse. Forenius discarded of the useless hilt and shattered remnant by ramming it deep into the eyesocket of one of his many foes and twisting with all his might. The other he jammed so far into the chest of one unfortunate that he was unable to withdraw it.

And so he was down to his fists and teeth. He used them for some time to great affect (in later times, he would claim that the taste of troll flesh never truly left him). The knight knew this was a hopeless endeavor and that, at best, he would end up as dinner for some uncouth savage that spoke in grunts and slept in excrement.

Then, suddenly, he noticed, that as if afraid, the craven giants were withdrawing from him, almost as if in fear. It was too good to be true. He thought that perhaps he had won, maybe even carried the day and redeemed the mad ambitions of his king on some level...

And the lightning struck. A white bolt landed solidly in his kidneys and carried him at least three hundred feet, whereupon he flipped and tossed until he rolled over the side of a hill and down into a gully. After that came darkness...

When he awoke, he was imprisoned in a crude cage with bars constructed of chiseled dragon bone, knee deep in only the gods knew what. It smelled horrible. He dry heaved a few times before sitting up, which set his whole body aflame with searing pain and turned his vision red.

It was then he noticed perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld. She was lovely, with gleaming green eyes much like a cat's, ruby lips that pouted and could easily make any man weak in the knees, and long flowing crimson hair that shined. She was clothed in fine silk robes, sitting on a bench across from him.

"My lady, why, pray tell, would you be here, in such a dreadful place when your manners and divine features surely speak of better?" He asked as he bowed, being a firm believer that courtly manners applied even when surrounded by barbarians. The simple motion almost caused him to black out for a second. He gritted his teeth, determined to not show weakness in front of such a lovely creature.

She giggled. "Oh, me? I just own the place. And you are my guest, my lord."

"What? Do you mean to say that somehow you command this... this plague upon the lands?"

Her expression soured. She extended a slight finger toward the warrior and he instantly suffered from a lack of breath, choking.

"This is not a plague. This is the future. These are my children and I will lead them into immortality. I am the Lady d'Grorathia and my lineage comes directly from the gods."

She manuevered closer, floating above the filth, until she was close enough to the helpless man to where he could feel her aura of darkness as if it were a tangible prescene. But at the same time, he could smell her and her delicious fragrance, blessed with only the best perfumes in the land. It was contrast, pure and simple. He was repulsed on one level, yet overtaken with lust on another.

"I can kill a million men and have not a problem sleeping. That was proven today. But you are... special. You are different. So, for now, you live... until I tire of you."

And then she kissed him, passionately, madly in a way that made him both retch on the inside and his blood boil with desire. It was over in an instant, all at once he had just had the most terrible and most beautiful moments of his life. She smiled coquettishly and vaporized into thin air.

She left him with some parting words.

"I see you for what you are, Forenius. And make no mistake, you are mine until death. How long that it is until that time is up to you."

[AreonK]

Yes, first to read and first to post!

[AreonK]

K, is this a linear chapter or are you going to put up choises later?

[Jack_D.Mented]

Oh, choices, you know it. Mainly about what choices that the dark misstress intends to offer him.
SCARFACE IS THE MAN! TONY MONTANA, THE WORLD IS YOURS!

[Chinaren]

Interesting indeed. And yes, you need a d-point!

Keep it coming...

[AreonK]

:shock:

Uh..yeah...I'm not that much of a Scarface fan *quickly hides all Scarface posters and anniversery DVD's as he says this*

What do you mean what she has to offer him... :shock: ...wow, I know what chinaren's going to vote for. :cool:

[Jack_D.Mented]

I'm thinking along the lines of her general and lover, her gladiator and slave, or just plain troll food. Any ideas?

[LordoftheNight]

i think he should choose the first option then

[Chinaren]

Maybe she needs him to do a certain mission for her. Otherwise I am for the General and Lover option. Seems like the only way to go.

[AreonK]

Translation:LOVER!LOVER!

lol, I'm kiddin' Chinaren.

I vote the first one, the General part sounds cool!

[Shady Stoat]

Good chapter, although I found the fight scene a little unbelievable. One tired man with someone else's weapon, against an army of trolls - and it takes a stray bolt of lightning to bring him down? Hmm... I don't think we have the same type of trolls in mind, mate :D

Decision point: If you're going to include magic, how about Forenius having the potential to be a great magic-wielder, and the evil woman wants to leech off him to make her magic stronger?

If nothing else, it's another poll option :)

Keep it coming, you've got good atmosphere here... :cool:

[Smee]

Did we actually vote to fight - I thought run away was winning? :?

Anyway she doesn't seem to have General and Lover in mind. He's caged, and hardly just about to leap up and lead her armies in battle against his own people.

At best I think slave for now, unless Stoat's idea about the magic is feasible.

Happy Writing. :)

[Chinaren]

'ted.

[LordoftheNight]

there was no option to run smee - it was either kill the trolls or be captured

[Jack_D.Mented]

Wow, a tie so far... somebody needs to break it. Preferably several somebodies voting in the same direction. That would be good. A healthy strong lead.

[Chinaren]

If no one breaks the tie then vote yourself and do it. Quite allowable in this situation.

[Jack_D.Mented]

Ok- Chapter 2 then. Rock and Roll...

[Jack_D.Mented]

Chapter 2 - Decision

The next morning, the alluring temptress awaited the warrior once again. And once more, Forenius rendered her the appropriate courtly greetings. She was smiling, beaming at him on this day.

"I think I have figured out what to do with you, charming," She purred seductively as the warrior listened intently, hoping that somehow it would result in him being removed from the pit that he was currently locked within.

"Well, of course, there's what I want to do with you, and what my advisor tells me should be done with you."

"A woman so beautiful and capable as thou should not be restrained by the short sightedness of adivisors," Forenius replied, thanking his father for his constant insistance upon a class in oratory in his younger years.

"Yes, the old snake is a singularly unpleasant creature. It is unfortunate that my armies are under his inept command," the lady pouted, bringing to bear all of her feminine charms.

But the soldier was no fool. He saw her for what she truly was. A reaver of the lands and a greivious threat to all life was the true nature of the seductress beneath all her silken robes, golden ornaments, and alluring perfumes. If allowed to acheive immortality or, worse yet, divinity, she would sew chaos and upend the planets themselves on nothing more than a whim.

"I find you fascinating, hero. And I know for a fact that you know so much more about the true nature of armies than that ancient one could ever discover, even if he spent yet another hundred years locked away in his library. I want you as my general..."

Forenius cocked an eyebrow as she shifted her lithe figure suggestively, enticing him and inviting his imagination down a path of sin. He did his best to hold back such thoughts. Lady d'Grorathia was his foe and sworn enemy, lest he forget.

She barely supressed her own girlish laugh as she noticed most visibly the signs of this inner struggle play across his eyes, clearly spelled out in body language. It set him ablaze with desire but he held fast.

"Yes, my general... amongst other things..." She pressed her figure against his, wrapping her arms around him. He felt her long crimson nails dance across his bare back, teasing him breifly with the thought of them digging deep and clawing. The paladin held his breath, catching himself before he could do something rash.

He could feel her hot breath on his neck as her lips inched ever closer. The knight attempted prayer. But this was fruitless, as his purity was nearly foiled when those flawless red lips pressed against the side of his throat. His pulse hammered away like a smith at a forge and his breath galloped along at a stallion's pace.

His resolve broke when she nibbled. Forenius seized the gorgeous villianess, picking her up by her hindquarters and wrapping her legs around him. He violently assaulted her lips with his own, not stopping until, laughing, she placed a creamy white hand between his face and her own.

"That will be enough for now, love," She meekly protested, green eyes flashing with the promise of things to come. Lady d'Grorathia slid from between his massive arms like a serpent and retreated to the cell door.

"Before you can take your new post, you will need to eliminate my adviser, Lord Jeryon, and his confidant, Alestro. After that, well, we can pick up where we left off..." And then she was gone.

Within an hour, two hulking trolls had provided Forenius with all that he needed. He had decent clothing and a good longsword along with a hot meal consisting of what was probably dog meat and wild rice. He found it inconceivable that he was about to commit murder for the position of general in an army that was dangerously close to pushing its way into his homeland.

Of course, it could carry with it the benefit of getting in close to the true leader of the barbariac horde and perhaps dismantling the army from within. But he also had the chance right now to escape in the form of the excellent claymore hung across his back. He began the long walk toward the study of Lord Jeryon, climbing the stairs up further into the fortress.

There was a window, outside of which hung a long banner. It would be possible to swing down into the courtyard, battle his way out, steal a mount, and flee to his country to fortify his people against the coming storm. But also was the potential of infiltration but at the price of being labeled a traitor by his homeland...

[Chinaren]

Excellent work Mr. M. Simply wonderful stuff.

Leave by the window? I think not. Take up his new role with relish! Conquer!! Pillage! Destroy! And so on...

[Shady Stoat]

A good chapter with an excellent decision point! :D

Now... I'd dearly love to say 'escape', because he needs to be as far away from this temptress as he can get. But I'm not going to.

She must know there's a chance he's bound to attempt that. She'll be waiting for him to try, as a test of his intentions towards her. He'll almost certainly never make it and, in attempting to escape, he'll lose any chance he had of bringing something good out of his capture.

Plus, let's face it, he's going to convince himself he can do more good here because he wants to spend a little more 'quality time' with the Lady.

[jess1561]

I go for the infiltration, maybe the suductress will fall in love with him... And perhaps he can keep the armies away from his own home...

I like this so far :)

-Jess

[LordoftheNight]

do whatever she asks - why bother running when you've got it made if you stay with her?

[jess1561]

still waiting for the next chapter to be posted... But noone but me has voted, perhaps you can let people know there us a poll up Jack, so you can get to writing the next chapter...

I'll keep checking back...

-Jess