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      | Welcome       || 
Lore: The Siege of Nightfall City
|| _ ___ _o | | Announcements || || | | |...| |.| | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ || The history of the early days of Nightfall is a history of wars and mas- sacres, || | | |.o.| |.| | | Web Client || for in these days the orcs felt an urgent desire to rule the world. There were || '-' '---' '-' | | Clients || uncountable numbers of orcs and they poured into the land from everywhere. At || \| | Quickstart || first nobody was able to stop them. Their murdering and looting armies went || | | Wait, What? || through the land and burned down every single village they ran upon on their way || | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ || to Nightfall-City. || | | Races || || |/ | Guilds || They planned to lay siege upon the town until the defenders of the capital of || | | Map || the world would die of starvation. The orcs themselves did not suffer from || | | Lore || hunger because they ate the multilated bodies of the humans they killed on their || | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ || way to Nightfall-City. || | | Who's online? || || | | Finger || King Deepthought and all the humans that survived the massacres and were able to || | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ || make their way into the city before the orcs arrived at its gates and were || | | The Guide || trapped in the capital of the world. They were too few to risk a fight against || | | Player Help || the superior forces of the orcs on the plains outside the city. Their situation || o| | The Sky || was desperate. They knew they would be slaughtered if they would leave the town || | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ || to face the armies on the open fields, but if they would stay in Nightfall-City || | | Imprint || they'd sooner or later starve. || o| | || || | | || Their only hope was that the messenger that left the town through a secret || | | || passage had not been caught by the orcs. They had sent the messenger to the || | | || caves of the dwarfs to ask them for help and a day later they had sent yet || | | || another one to the elves that lived in a forest near Crescent Lake, but none of || | | || them ever arrived. || \| | || || | | || When the defenders of the city sent out their messengers they didn't know that || | | || the orcs had split their forces and a second army under general Romulus had || | | || marshed down to Crescent Lake while the army of king Veltins stayed on the || | | || plains before Nightfall-City. || | | || || \| | || || o| | || The first messenger who had been sent to the caves of the dwarfs had bad || | | || luck. On his way he crossed a bridge under which a troll was living. The unlucky || | | || man had left all his money at home, because his wife needed to be able to buy || | | || enough food for her and the three children. The troll became very un- friendly || o| | || when the messenger could not pay the appropriate sum for crossing his || | | || bridge. The end of all this was that the poor man ended up in the trolls || | | || stomach. || |o | || || | | || The second messenger who had been send to the Crescent Lake ran into an am- bush || | | || of a troup of general Romulus' orcs and was slaughtered. A week after the || | | || second messenger left Nightfall-City the defenders of the capital of the world || | | || came together in the Hall of Wizards to confer about the future of their || | | || town. The conference lasted two days. After the first day a negotiator was send || | | || to the tent of king Veltins to offer him all the treasures of the city if he || | | || would draw back his forces from the city and would never come back to fight || | | || against the humans. || |/ | || || |o | || A few hours later a messenger of the orcs arrived at one of the cities gates, || | | || dropped a package and went back to his camp. The package was brought to king || | | || Deepthought who opend it. A moaning went through the hall when the present || | | || people saw what the parcel contained. Lying inside the ugly package was the head || | | || of the ne- gotiator and a piece of dried skin. Deepthought took the skin out of || | | || the package. Written on it was only a single word: NEVER! || | | || || | | || After the failed attempt with the negotiator the mood of the defenders reached || \| | || its deepest point. Some wanted to kill their wives and children and bury them, || | | || for they didn't want them to be raped or devoured by the orcs. Nobody knew what || | | || to do. The only chance they had was to abandon the city, but they coudn't figure || | | || out how to leave it without being seen by the orcs. While the other wizards kept || | | || on discussing, the master-mage Tares left the room having a thoughtful || | | || expression on his face. He went to his chamber and took a very old and dusty || | | || book from a shelf. He leafed through it for a few hours and then suddenly jumped || | | || up from the chair he was sitting on. || | | || || \| | || Very excited he ran out of his chamber to seek Ploi, the master of the mage's || | | || guild. He found Ploi in the top room of the tower of mages sitting in a || o| | || rocking-chair and smoking a pipe. Ploi looked surprised when the usualy || | | || deliberate master-mage rushed into his chamber, but he soon realized that Tares || | | || had good reason for being so excited, because the mage had found a long || | | || forgotten spell which could be the key to the survival of all the inhabitants of || | | || Nightfall-City. The two wizards confered about that spell for lots of hours and || | | || then went to their beds. || | | || || |o | || || | | || Early in the morning king Deepthought was awoke up by a messenger bringing the || | | || terrible news that the orcs had stormed the walls of the city and were pouring || |o | || into the streets of the capital of the world. Deepthought ordered immediately to || | | || bring all the women and children into the cellars of the townhall. All men || | | || should arm themselves and gather in the townhall to face the imminent danger. He || | | || hoped that there was enough room for all of them in that building. The || | | || inhabitants of Nightfall-City followed his orders and managed to bar all the || | | || doors and windows of the townhall before the orcs arrived. || | | || || \| | || Thousands of people were crammed in the building, waiting for the end of their || | | || lifes, when Ploi and Tares arrived in a puff of smoke. Tares was holding a giant || | | || crystal in his hands. Ploi raised his hands and signaled the crowds to be || | | || quiet. The excited voices became quiet immediately and Tares began to speak: || | | || 'Listen to me, friends! Ploi and I have found a way to rescue all of us.' Great || |o | || jubilation filled the hall and Tares had to wait for a while before he could || | | || continue. 'With a little help of this magical crystal we will be able to open a || | | || dimension door to the realm of the halflings. All of you should leave through || | | || that door as fast as possible, but the women and children should be the first to || | | || leave this building, for it is possible that the orcs will force their way into || | | || the townhall before everybody can leave it. So would you please go and get your || | | || families out of the cellars while Ploi and I prepare our spell?' || | | || || | | || Tares put the crystal on a pedestal and Ploi started to mutter strange || | | || words. When the first children entered the room a blue glimmering light filled || | | || the air in front of the two mages. 'Quick, go through the light!' Tares || | | || commanded. The children went through the light and were suddenly gone. It took || |o | || over three hours before all the children and women left through the dimension || | | || door. Meanwhile the orcs tried to invade the building. Some of the best knights || |o | || of Nightfall-City went to the doors and windows to guard them and prevent the || |o | || orcs from entering. Two thirds of the men had left the building with the help of || | | || the two master-mages when the first orcs managed to break through a wall and || | | || fight their way through the defen- ders. King Veltins was among them and his || | | || eyes glowed with triumph when he saw king Deepthought. || | | || || o| | || Deepthought wanted to rush on the hated enemy, but Sir Marvin pushed him into || | | || the glimmering light of the dimension door. Sir Marvin was one of the bravest || | | || knights of the world. A dozen of the best fighters joined him, when he attacked || | | || the orcs. 'Leave through the dimension door!' he commanded the rest of the || | | || men. 'We will deal with that brood!' Sir Marvin and his men fought like || | | || berserkers until the last men had left through the dimension door. The floor of || | | || the hall was covered with the multilated bodies of orcs. Half of the humans had || | | || died and the others were studded with wounds when Marvin asked the two || |o | || master-mages to leave. 'Only one of us can leave. There has to be one to keep || | | || the door open', Tares replied 'and I won't go. I think Ploi should be the one.' || | | || 'Never!' answered Ploi. 'I'll stay here with you and teach those orcs to fear || | | || the magic of the mages!' || o| | || || | | || And so they closed the magic gate and fought against the orcs together with Sir || |o | || Marvin and his men. Blue lightnings burned the orcs to ashes and clouds of || | | || poisonous gas sank upon their heads. Some hundred orcs died before one of them || | | || managed to shoot an arrow into Ploi's heart. Ploi sank to the ground and Tares || | | || kneeled down beside his old friend. 'The orcs will pay for this!' he vowed with || o| | || tears of anger in his eyes. || | | || || | | || But while the mage was sitting next to his dear friend, king Veltins managed to || | | || sneak behind him and ram his spear into Tares' back. Sir Marvin and the || | | || remaining defenders fell soon after, but their deaths were not in vain. They || | | || rescued many lives and hundereds of songs about those brave men were sung in the || | | || years after the war. The names of Tares, Ploi and Marvin will never be forgotten || | o | || in Nightfall. || |/ | || || o s| | || * The writer of this story, the Vice Lord of the trolls, is very angry about || o / /x| | || that troll which hurt the reputation of all trolls. A troll should at least || \/ __o/xs| | || be civilized enough not to eat humans! We won't even speak of the fact that || \/ \xx| | || that troll used a rubberdoll as a substitute for a wife. || \ \s| | || || \ /x| | || ** It is not known who wrote these words. It couldn't have been written by king || nmsxxsx| | || Veltins, because it is well known that Veltins is illiterate. || xsxxxmxs| . | || || sxmxxxxmx| -_|= +---------------++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------++----nmsmmsmmmxmS ./_|=|_-_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{o}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~