"O-lliance?"
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 5:41 pm*Covenant Atei*
Late last evening, after I returned home from a long day of battling the elements (OOC work and traffic), I received an urgent message from Malakim. He asked if I could join him and Rocks at once in Ice. Malakim had gone there to "play" with the local Orc population and was immediately accosted by several Ophidians, including Matriarchs, Deathguards, Executioners, Magis, Mages, Warriors and the always fun Avengers. Rocks joined him soon afterwards but the place was literally packed with Ophids, so Mal asked if I wanted to help kick some snake-butt. Of course I agreed, buffed, and gated right over.
When I arrived, the entire dungeon was filled to over-flowing with the smelly snakes and so the three of us, along with Rocks' Dragon "Volan the Great," decided to get some snake-hides as souveniers. We set out from the entrance and began inching our way inside. The Deathguards, Executioners and Avengers were thick as thieves here. However, we did not see very many of the "normal" inhabitants of Ice: Ice Trolls, Snow Orcs, polar bears, ice skeletons etc. Had the Ophidians taken over Ice?
We fought our way through--Rocks with his magery and Dragon, Mal with his sword and shield, me with my magic, until we came to the northern exit that leads to the snow fields beyond. We found a Matriarch there, yapping away about how the humans were going to die. We didn't, she did. 'Nuff said.
Once outside, we found even more of the slime-mongers, and again, very few "normal" inhabitants. We waded through the Ophids until we came to the portal that leads to Cove Orc Fort, and the sight there took our breath away: an Ophid Lich and an Ophid Zombie. So the snake-heads have been breeding new members, eh? The Zombie was no big deal, but the Lich proved to be formidable. I would hate to have to fight one alone, or several of them without a LARGE group to take them on.
After they were finally dispatched, Malakim decided to take a peek at Cove Orc Fort. He stepped through the portal and came back in under five seconds, immediately followed by a couple of Deathguards and Executioners. He called the fort "ugly" and said that we would have to go to Cove and the long way around.
As we prepared to do just that, the death cry of Terus Magnus rang out across the lands. We immediately found out he was in Cove. Mal and I gated over and the Outpost was seething with Ophidians. Mal jumped back through the gate to get Rocks while I stayed.
A Deathguard decided it liked my staff (I guess) and wanted it for his very own. Deathguards may not be that bad for you warrior types, but for us mages in our studded armor, they can be very tough indeed. The problem was, there were several there. I began picking on one and one of his brothers decided to join in the fray. I was able to kill the first but the other one was beating on me pretty good when Mal and Rocks came through a gate nearby, and they immediately set to saving me. They did that very well, thank you.
Terus Magnus was rezzed shortly thereafter and gathered his gear. Rocks opened a gate for him back to Brit and safety. At about the same time my lovely (and deadly) wife Sholeh ( )messaged me that she wanted a piece of snake-butt too, so I gated her in. Randell also joined our group and soon we were ready to clear Cove and the forest beyond.
As we stepped through the large wooden gates we were met by Deathguards and Avengers, along with Orcs. So here at least, the Orcs and Ophids were working together, and that thought didn't comfort me at all. An "o-lliance" between Orcs and Ophids would be most deadly, methinks. Once outside we were attacked on all sides by Orcs (mages, master mages, archers, darn marksmen) and all of the Ophids. A new stench filled the air from the South, and we soon found out why: an Ophid Queen, surrounded by her Deathguards. As tough as Matriarchs are, the Queens are just a bit worse.
After she was finally defeated (with the timely arrival of Nicodemus aiding greatly), we cleared the woods around Cove. Sholeh and I have been hunting together for quite a while now and there isn't much the two of us can't handle on our own. I know her style and she is a GM healer (110), so while I always keep her health bar up, I rarely have to heal her. For a mage that enjoys inflicting pain and discomfort on the enemy, that is a very nice bonus. In addition, she is a most-talented fencer (110 again) and so many Ophids tasted her steel last night.
We continued south along the edge of the woods, picking off the stray Orc or Ophid, while Mal, Randell, Rocks and Nic went through the woods. We regrouped outside Cove and decided it was time to clear the Fort. We re-buffed, checked our supplies, and headed that way.
To say it was ugly was an understatement. I swear to the Virtues that I have never before seen so many Ophids in one place, including their lair, Destard. Kale Greeneye also joined us here, and as an added bonus, Ainur Tel'Imoen was scouting ahead for us. (We didn't know that Ainur was there, but we're glad he was.) Ainur suggested luring them out the front gates a bit a time, and that is exactly what Sholeh, Mal, Kale and Nic did. Randell and I stayed back and healed the mighty warriors as they sliced through the mass of snakeskins.
Eventually the path was cleared enough that we could enter the Fort, and once inside, my blood ran cold as I realized that NOT ONE SINGLE ORC was there. The Ophids had taken over Cove Orc Fort with a variety of Deathguards, Avengers, Matriarchs, Mages and of course, Queens. The fighting was most intense here as we were assaulted on all sides. Randell and I concentrated on healing and draining while the rest fought like a well-oiled machine. (There was even a very nasty respawn in there.) Rhythm Wolfsong and his henchies also joined in the fight.
The Ophids were tough, we were tougher. Wave after wave of snakes were slain by the combined might of rapiers, swords, dragon, magic, guts and sheer determination. It took well over thirty minutes but finally, the Fort was cleared.
Incredibly, through it all, we didn't lose a SINGLE hero in the battle. We finally gated back to Brit to rest and recover. Once there I took the time to reflect on what an "o-lliance" between Orcs and Ophidians might mean. Are we going to see regular groups of Ophidians at Snow Orc and Cove Orc Forts now? Will we find them in Despise, along with the Dragons? Will we find Orcs in Destard? I guess only time will tell.
To Rocks, Malakim, Nicodemus, Randell, Ainur Tel'Imoen, Kale Greeneye, Rhythm and of course my lovely and deadly wife Sholeh ( ), I raise my cup to you. We did very well last night, folks.
Late last evening, after I returned home from a long day of battling the elements (OOC work and traffic), I received an urgent message from Malakim. He asked if I could join him and Rocks at once in Ice. Malakim had gone there to "play" with the local Orc population and was immediately accosted by several Ophidians, including Matriarchs, Deathguards, Executioners, Magis, Mages, Warriors and the always fun Avengers. Rocks joined him soon afterwards but the place was literally packed with Ophids, so Mal asked if I wanted to help kick some snake-butt. Of course I agreed, buffed, and gated right over.
When I arrived, the entire dungeon was filled to over-flowing with the smelly snakes and so the three of us, along with Rocks' Dragon "Volan the Great," decided to get some snake-hides as souveniers. We set out from the entrance and began inching our way inside. The Deathguards, Executioners and Avengers were thick as thieves here. However, we did not see very many of the "normal" inhabitants of Ice: Ice Trolls, Snow Orcs, polar bears, ice skeletons etc. Had the Ophidians taken over Ice?
We fought our way through--Rocks with his magery and Dragon, Mal with his sword and shield, me with my magic, until we came to the northern exit that leads to the snow fields beyond. We found a Matriarch there, yapping away about how the humans were going to die. We didn't, she did. 'Nuff said.
Once outside, we found even more of the slime-mongers, and again, very few "normal" inhabitants. We waded through the Ophids until we came to the portal that leads to Cove Orc Fort, and the sight there took our breath away: an Ophid Lich and an Ophid Zombie. So the snake-heads have been breeding new members, eh? The Zombie was no big deal, but the Lich proved to be formidable. I would hate to have to fight one alone, or several of them without a LARGE group to take them on.
After they were finally dispatched, Malakim decided to take a peek at Cove Orc Fort. He stepped through the portal and came back in under five seconds, immediately followed by a couple of Deathguards and Executioners. He called the fort "ugly" and said that we would have to go to Cove and the long way around.
As we prepared to do just that, the death cry of Terus Magnus rang out across the lands. We immediately found out he was in Cove. Mal and I gated over and the Outpost was seething with Ophidians. Mal jumped back through the gate to get Rocks while I stayed.
A Deathguard decided it liked my staff (I guess) and wanted it for his very own. Deathguards may not be that bad for you warrior types, but for us mages in our studded armor, they can be very tough indeed. The problem was, there were several there. I began picking on one and one of his brothers decided to join in the fray. I was able to kill the first but the other one was beating on me pretty good when Mal and Rocks came through a gate nearby, and they immediately set to saving me. They did that very well, thank you.
Terus Magnus was rezzed shortly thereafter and gathered his gear. Rocks opened a gate for him back to Brit and safety. At about the same time my lovely (and deadly) wife Sholeh (
)messaged me that she wanted a piece of snake-butt too, so I gated her in. Randell also joined our group and soon we were ready to clear Cove and the forest beyond.
As we stepped through the large wooden gates we were met by Deathguards and Avengers, along with Orcs. So here at least, the Orcs and Ophids were working together, and that thought didn't comfort me at all. An "o-lliance" between Orcs and Ophids would be most deadly, methinks. Once outside we were attacked on all sides by Orcs (mages, master mages, archers, darn marksmen) and all of the Ophids. A new stench filled the air from the South, and we soon found out why: an Ophid Queen, surrounded by her Deathguards. As tough as Matriarchs are, the Queens are just a bit worse.
After she was finally defeated (with the timely arrival of Nicodemus aiding greatly), we cleared the woods around Cove. Sholeh and I have been hunting together for quite a while now and there isn't much the two of us can't handle on our own. I know her style and she is a GM healer (110), so while I always keep her health bar up, I rarely have to heal her. For a mage that enjoys inflicting pain and discomfort on the enemy, that is a very nice bonus.
In addition, she is a most-talented fencer (110 again) and so many Ophids tasted her steel last night.
We continued south along the edge of the woods, picking off the stray Orc or Ophid, while Mal, Randell, Rocks and Nic went through the woods. We regrouped outside Cove and decided it was time to clear the Fort. We re-buffed, checked our supplies, and headed that way.
To say it was ugly was an understatement. I swear to the Virtues that I have never before seen so many Ophids in one place, including their lair, Destard. Kale Greeneye also joined us here, and as an added bonus, Ainur Tel'Imoen was scouting ahead for us. (We didn't know that Ainur was there, but we're glad he was.) Ainur suggested luring them out the front gates a bit a time, and that is exactly what Sholeh, Mal, Kale and Nic did. Randell and I stayed back and healed the mighty warriors as they sliced through the mass of snakeskins.
Eventually the path was cleared enough that we could enter the Fort, and once inside, my blood ran cold as I realized that NOT ONE SINGLE ORC was there. The Ophids had taken over Cove Orc Fort with a variety of Deathguards, Avengers, Matriarchs, Mages and of course, Queens. The fighting was most intense here as we were assaulted on all sides. Randell and I concentrated on healing and draining while the rest fought like a well-oiled machine. (There was even a very nasty respawn in there.) Rhythm Wolfsong and his henchies also joined in the fight.
The Ophids were tough, we were tougher. Wave after wave of snakes were slain by the combined might of rapiers, swords, dragon, magic, guts and sheer determination. It took well over thirty minutes but finally, the Fort was cleared.
Incredibly, through it all, we didn't lose a SINGLE hero in the battle. We finally gated back to Brit to rest and recover. Once there I took the time to reflect on what an "o-lliance" between Orcs and Ophidians might mean. Are we going to see regular groups of Ophidians at Snow Orc and Cove Orc Forts now? Will we find them in Despise, along with the Dragons? Will we find Orcs in Destard? I guess only time will tell.
To Rocks, Malakim, Nicodemus, Randell, Ainur Tel'Imoen, Kale Greeneye, Rhythm and of course my lovely and deadly wife Sholeh (
), I raise my cup to you. We did very well last night, folks.
