Shastak's Great Cruade - Chapter II

[Lune]

Shastak's Great Crusade

Previous: Chapter I - The Sewer Baby

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Emperor Crush peered out the window of his keep, surveying the band of elves gathered across the moat laying siege to his citadel. His trusted consigliere, The Prophet, stood across from him. They shared a concerned silence, which was interrupted by the entry of a royal guard.

"My lord, I bring word from Lord Darish. He believes the elves are preparing to storm the gates and enter the citadel!"

Emperor Crush's eyes went wide, and he turned to shout at the guard. "What!? What of the legion I recalled from the Faydark?"

"Only a handful remain in fighting condition. The potent diarrhea that has afflicted our people has only intensified. Their children are going missing, only to turn up mutilated and defiled. Their food, fresh the day before, is found rancid and teeming with maggots. Families whisper of sightings of a shadowy lizard-man, cloaked in darkness, who attacks the young and feeds on beloved family pets. The people a--"

The guard was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash, followed by numerous footsteps and orc screams.

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Chapter II - The Crushbone Campaign

The only thing more appealing to an iksar than brutalizing children is casual sex. And behind those, slavery. When word reached Cabilis that the Crushbone orcs were keeping slaves, Arch Duke Xog was personally offended. Only the iksar were fit to enslave other beings! And these upstart orcs were making a mockery of the prestigous institution of slavery! It had to end. But who was wretched and disposable enough to undertake such a hopeless and suicidal mission?

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Shastak awoke, delirious and dehydrated, to the feeling of waves washing against his body. He scrambled onto the shore and collapsed. Much of his clothing was torn apart or missing, along with most of his provisions. His last memory was of hiding aboard an elven ship he had boarded in the Timorous Deep. Bits and pieces began to return to him-- being found by the crew, fighting for his life, jumping overboard... drifting for days.

Due to the Crusaders of Greenmist being an abysmally poorly funded branch of the iksar military, Shastak was required to secure his own passage to Faydwer. The road was dangerous and unkind, but he had eventually found his way to The Overthere, having narrowly avoided the clutches of a burynai pedophile ring and a band of hungry forest giants. From there he was able to stow away until his discovery off the coast of Faydwer.

Shastak arrived in Crushbone to find that it was already under attack by bands of elves and dwarves. The orc citadel itself was too well guarded for him to deal serious damage to the Crushbone by himself, so he had to resort to guerilla warfare and terror tactics. He lurked in the mountains and crags of Crushbone, striking orc patrols like an explosive device improvised out of pure brutality and malice. He collected belts from the slain orcs, and found the locals had a strange interest in procuring them. He funded his operation with the profits, selling his belts to elves and dwarves. Using his fledgling shadow knight abilities, he tainted the orcs' water and food supplies.

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Shastak took great pleasure in terrorizing the children of Crushbone. Word began to circulate among the orcs of a terrible man-serpent who lived in the mountains and preyed on the spleens of orc youth. Unable to penetrate the castle itself, Shastak ate babies like any good Iksar, leaving the remains strewn on Emperor Crush's doorstep.

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The iksar knight was gaining strength. With each passing week his attacks on the Crushbone grew more vicious, his diseases more potent. He acquired a great deal of wealth plundering the orcs and trading with other adventurers, and through his interchange with them he was able to learn much about Faydwer. His contacts notified him that raiders were able to breech the castle and kill Emperor Crush along with most of his entourage. As instructed, they delivered his head in exchange for a crate of belts. Shastak would be able to report that he had slain Crush for the glory of Cabilis, and it would all be the same to Xog. His mission complete, Shastak gathered his treasure and documents and began his long journey back to Cabilis.