The Akamar Herald The Alliance Retaliates

Following Ron's attack on one of his countries, Mike gathered his armies and fleets together for an attack on the Misty Isles.   He also added a special card that aided in sieges to his force.   In order for an army card to invade a country by sea it must be transported by a navy card.   Mike's invasion force had to conduct a siege against the defenses of the Misty Isles as the Misty Isles only had Silidon and a fortification card.   Sieges can last any where from 2 to 12 turns depending on the score of two dice.   Mike scored a seven for the siege/   Using the siege rules Mike's attacks failed for the first six turns, but finally succeeded in destroying the fortification on the seventh and final turn of the siege.   Mike provided accounts of the events in The Alliance before and after the siege for this newsletter.  Although the Wearwall had been destroyed on Ron's turn and placed in the discard pile, Mike had enough funds to get the two cards he normally would from the deck and purchase others from the discard pile and the deck including the Wearwall.  Mikes invasion and conquest of the Misty Isles now brought the number of countries he controlled to six of the twelve.   Since he did not have a better political control card to replace Silidon he kept Silidon as the leader of the Misty Isles along with the other political control card that Ron had melded.

THE AKAMAR HERALD

EVENTS IN KETOS

The great room borne the lingering stench of death.  Smoke from the wall torches drifted slowly and swirled along the grey stones.  The smell mixed with the lingering sweetness of the foul poison that had devastated the Capitol.  Rolf the Rough glared at his chief advisor. 

“And what is this rubbish you tell me?  Without a word from me this Kingdom is on the move.  The Generals, the guards and the peasants are gathering in the streets.  This Poison has wrecked havoc upon the country, but it has also boiled the blood of all Ketons.  The entire country will soon be on the march to Aquila.”

            “But your highness, we know Prince Nicholas was not behind this cowardly act of terror!”

            “We do, but the people don’t.  They want action now”

            “But the truce!  We cannot attack Nicholas….”

            “And what would you have me do?  Wave this treaty in front of them and say ‘go home.?  They would soon have both of our heads on a pike.  No, this act of terror cannot go unpunished.” 

            “Your Highness, if we attack Nicholas we will have the other nations upon us.  Our Wearwall is gone and we would be defenseless.”

            There was the sudden call of bugles from the courtyard.  A crier announced the arrival of a King Faelrud from Argos.  It was only a matter of minutes before the clatter of boots on the stone floor brought King Faelrud into the Great Hall.  Rolf rose and embraced his ally.  Rolf requested his chief advisor to bring wine and then dismissed him. 

            “So, Faelrud, what do you make of this?”

            “It went badly?”

            “Not so bad as it could have been.  Next time could be worse.”

            “Aye, and it may not be just you.  My Nobles bring word from the Gulf.  They tell me this is the work of Silidon.”

            “But why, we were under a truce.”

            “Truces mean nothing to such murderers, but if we are to survive we must not break our word to the others.  You must stop your army from attacking Aquila.”

            “Not so easy friend.  The army is demanding action.  They want to strike the nearest opponent.”

            “Tell them we will!”  He tuned to the table upon which lay the Treaty of Truce.  He drew his sword and in an instant sunk the point into the oak table pinning the parchment map through the outline of the Misty Isles.  “Tell your army to rebuild their wall Rolf.  My Nobles will deal with Silidon.”

FLEET SAILS FROM ARGOS

THE ALKES NOBLES LAUNCHED THEIR FLEET OF WARSHIPS FROM THE PORT OF NEKKAR THIS MORNING.    PRIOR TO THEIR DEPARTURE, THE CARGO HANDLERS WERE SEEN LOADING HUGE ENGINES OF WAR ONTO TRANSPORT VESSELS.    THE GREAT INVENTOR LEONARDOS OF MIRACH DESIGNED THESE MIGHTY SIEGE ENGINES.   IT IS SAID THAT NO CITY WALL CAN WITHSTAND THEM    THE RUMORS ARE THAT THE EXPEDITION IS BEING MOUNTED TO BRING JUSTICE TO THOSE WHO CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WEARWALL IN KETOS.  

MISTY ISLES INVADED

WARSHIPS FROM ARGOS WERE SIGHTED OFF THE NORTHEAST COAST OF GRUS.   WITH NO FLEET TO OPPOSE THEM THE ALKES NOBLES WERE ABLE TO SAIL INTO WEZEN HARBOR AND PROCEEDED TO UNLOAD THEIR TROOPS AND WAR MACHINES.   SILIDON AND HIS FOLLOWERS RUSHED TO THE FORTRESS CITIDAL KNOWN AS THE CRATER AND WERE SOON BESIEGED BY THE INVADERS.   FOR SEVEN MONTHS THE SORCERER SILIDON HELD OUT AGAINST THE BESIEGERS.   USING ALL THE POWERS AT HIS COMMAND, SILIDON HURLED GREAT BALLS OF FIRE AND LIGHTNING AT THE WAR MACHINES OF THE INVADERS AND WAS ANWERED IN TURN BY THE BOULDERS AND FLAMING MISSILES FROM THEIR CATAPULTS.   AS THE WALLS OF THE CRATER WERE BATTERED TO RUBBLE SIIIDON WOULD WEAVE HIS SPELLS TO REPAIR THEM.  FINALLY A GREAT RAM WAS BROUGHT UP TO THE WALLS.   IN DESPERATION THE SORCERER SILIDON ATTEMPTED TO DESTROY THE RAM, BUT EACH TIME ONE OF HIS FIREBALLS STRUCK THE RAM THE INVADERS WERE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THEM.  THE INVADERS HAD JUST REACHED THE LIMITS OF THEIR FOOD SUPPLIES WHEN THE RAM BROUGHT DOWN THE WALLS OF THE CRATER.  BEFORE SILIDON COULD REPAIR THE DAMAGE HE WAS KNOCKED UNCONSIOUS BY FALLING DEBRIS.   SEEING THE WALLS OF THE CRATER COLLAPSE THE ARGONAUTS RUSHED IN AND QUICKLY CAPTURED SILIDON AND HIS FOLLOWERS. A SPELL WAS PLACED UPON HIM BINDING HIM IN SERVICE OF THE ALLIANCE.

WEARWALL REBUILT

RECOVERING FROM THE SHOCK OF SEEING THE WEARWALL DESTROYED, THE PEOPLE OF KETOS HAVE CHANNELED THEIR ANGER INTO QUICKLY REBUILDING IT.   SURPRISINGLY IT WAS FOUND THAT MIXING THE DUST OF THE DESTROYED FORTRESS WITH WATER AND GLUE THAT A HARD AND STURDY MATERIAL COULD BE MADE.   FOR SEVERAL MONTHS A STEADY STREAM OF BLOCKS CAME FROM THE MOLDS AND WERE ASSEMBLED INTO THE NEW WEARWALL.  A GREAT FEAST WITH MUCH FOOD AND SPIRITS WAS HELD TO CELEBRATE THE COMPLETION OF THE NEW WEARWALL.

VICTORIOUS WARRIORS RETURN FROM MISTY ISLES

There was a great celebration as the Noble fleet returned to Argos.  They told of how they had battered the Crater and then humbled the Sorcerer Silidon by poisoning his favorite rat with the same poison that had been unleashed upon Ketos.  They raised the Argonian banner above the spires of the Isles and after obtaining a signed oath of allegiance from Silidon; they left him with his shattered throne. 

The next day King Faelrud and Rolf the Rough were seen in Ketos raising goblets in toast atop the gates of a new Wearwall.  In an address to the Ketonians Rolf acknowledged the bravery and honor of the Alkes Nobles, the friendship of Argos and the strength of the Alliance.  A joint statement signed by Anndoquat, Inwhar III, Faelrud and Rolf noted that their Alliance has stood by the Treaty of Truce, but let it be known that justice will prevail to those who dishonor their word.  Beware those who would do harm to the Alliance.

KEN	RON	MIKE	RAY	GARY	HAL	DISCARD
3 talents	7 talents	6 talents	6 talents	12 talents	0 talents	Kaelum 4
HOROLO. 8	SAIPH 1	HYDROS 1,6	AQUILA 4	PISCIS 3,4,7	PESUS 1,3	ZORMESE
SAD AL BARI	SYRMA 3	MUSCA 5,4		ERIDAN. 1,8	MONOK. 1,6	F.M. Max v. Bumb.
	WU	KAELUM 1,5, S.A.				SHIFT IN LOYATIES
		KETOS 1				MONOKEROS 5
		ARGOS 1,6				MISTY ISLES 8
		M.I. 2,7				PLAGUE
6 cards	10 cards	6 cards	11 cards	7 cards	13 cards	ERIDANUS 2