The Prophet (All) [Epic Quest] {PAUSED}

[~ Hero Nemesis ~]

It was a fine day in Lebonwaith. The sun was shining, canceling out the frosty morning air. People were going about their everyday chores - going to the market, opening up shops, visiting neighbors...

The day went smoothly till about noon. At the city square, an old Seer stood up on a large stone and began to speak.

"Inhabitants of Minas Rithes!" He began. Some people turned to listen, others ignored him. He continued: [yellow]"In two days time, an army of Orcs and Goblins will attack the city!"[/yellow] There were gasps. Those who had ignored him before returned to hear him speak. [yellow]"They know of our status; weak and undefended. With the Warrior Guild in tatters, we will not be able to withstand them."[/yellow] He looked around at his fearful listeners. [yellow]"Those of us who are capable must arm and prepare; strengthening the city's fortifications! We must try to rally the Warriors to assist us. Without their help we are lost. We must prepare!"[/yellow]

He looked around, hoping to see someone who was not only taking him seriously, but willing to do what he said.

[Cyrus Hakim]

The people of Minas Rithes were always going about their business, shopping, sleeping, talking...it was rather peaceful to Cyrus. He was actually going about his own stuff, intending to eat lunch at an inn he always liked and afterward, walk about and see if he could find someone to have a nice conversation with. He wore his usual armor, his father's blade against his back and his other sword at his left hip. He wore a black cloak for today out of habit but considering the nice weather the city has been getting for the last while, it seemed okay. At least it wasn't cold or anything like it. It was rather warm really for this time of year. He just hoped that the rest of the day was like this for he needed a day off for once. He's been doing jobs like crazy due to the condition of the Guild and it would be a shame to have this perfect day of his ruined. The week had been hard enough as it is. After eating at the inn, he walked around for a while, wondering what and all was happening because he heard an old man in the distance at the square. Walking in that direction, he found him and people nearby, some ignoring what he had said earlier.

Cyrus wondered why he was up there because it seemed rather pointless right now. What he said next though surprised Cyrus, his eyebrows raised in suspicion. Orcs and Goblins attacking the city now? Any hope of having a perfect day today was suddenly thrown out the window as he listened to the Seer's speech. Once it was over, talk of the attack spread through the crowd like wild fire and in simply an hour's time, the whole city is going to be like this. There's going to be panic and chaos throughout the entire city and worst of all, this was not going to help organize the Warriors. The Warriors were not in the best of shape right now, maybe the worst seen yet and right now, this was going to throw any order they had left out the window. What they needed to do was stay calm for right now until they could organize themselves. They had two days, which would be plenty of time to organize everyone and enough time to send scouts to find out the strength of the army and also to call for aid from the different guilds.

After thinking about it, this was all they could do right now under the situation and with all the panic going about. He wasn't happy about it but there were things he could do. Pushing pass people in his way, he got on top of the white stone the Seer was on and turned toward the crowd. This seemed a rather open position for him, just standing here above the crowd. However, they didn't appear to notice him at all. "People of Minas Rithes, listen," he called toward the crowd but not a word reached their ears. This annoyed him slightly as he stood there, taking a deep breath. "Everyone, please listen!" He called again and this time, even louder but still, not a word could be heard over the noise the crowd was creating. This really made him annoyed as he stared at the crowd, his breathing steady as he watched. Taking a deep breath, he yelled out at the top of his voice. "SILENCE!" He yelled, holding onto the vowels a little longer than normal. The noise of the crowd seemed to stop almost instantly with some whispering going about.

He had finally gotten their attention and he was glad of that at least as he stood there, watching them turn their eyes toward him. "People of Minas Rithes! If this attack is really going to happen, I ask that you all stay calm so that no further chaos may happen. We, of the Warriors Guild, are disorganized as it is without trying to keep order in this city because of this news. If you really wish to help, all of those that are capable of using a weapon, go to the Warriors Guild and wait for instructions. Everyone unable to use a weapon, please go home for now until a location can be made to protect everyone. At such time, you will be moved to that location. As for the rest of the city that has no knowledge of this, tell them of these instructions and inform any Warriors you find to report to the Warriors Guild." With that said and done, he jumped off the stone he was on and began walking toward the direction of the Warriors Guild, the people parting in front of him as he walked. There were whispers within the crowd and they began to walk about, maybe doing as he said or maybe something else. Whatever it was, the only thing on Cyrus's mind at the moment was just to get to the Warriors Guild and start organizing the forces, as well as send scouts to call for aid. This Guild has been disorganized for far too long. It was about time someone started taking up responsibility and if no one else wanted it, it might as well be him.

[~ Hero Nemesis ~]

After Cyrus' speach, talking began once again, only this time the crowd seemed to be moving with a purpose. Talk of both the Seer's warning and the Warrior's orders spread through the city like wildfire. People told everyone they saw until the news was practically all over the city.

Someone passing Cyrus suddenly stopped him and tried to tell him what was going on, unaware that Cyrus was the Warrior who told them to do this. After Cyrus was able to get moving again, a group of three Warriors hurrying through the crowd caleld out to him.

[green]"Hakim!"[/green] one called out his last name. [green]"Hakim, wait!"[/green] After a moment, they were able to meet up with Cyrus. The Warrior in Cyrus recognized to be Gildan, a Guildsman in the Warrior guild. The other two looked to be merely Orderlys.
[green]"Hakim, what in the name of all the gods is going on!?"[/green] he exclaimed breathlessly.
[limegreen]"We've heard rumors, but nothing concrete,"[/limegreen] one of the other two added.

[Cyrus Hakim]

It seemed that the speech Cyrus just gave was spreading around faster than he thought it would be. He thought it would be a good hour before everyone heard the rumor but only minutes went by. 'Sometimes I wonder if gossip goes this fast too,' Cyrus thought to himself, continuing to walk along the road toward the Guild, hopefully to get there before too many things happened. The person who stopped Cyrus surprised him some what. He didn't expect him to just stop him but the person was explaining what Cyrus said quite nicely. This made Cyrus glad that at least they were getting the information right and so, said nothing about him being the one that said it. Best let them do their job and not realize they told the person who gave them the information their talking about than to realize it and not do their job afterward. Once he was done talking, Cyrus merely nodded his head and replied a thank you before moving on.

While continuing onward to the Guild, he suddenly started hearing his last name being called out. Looking to the side while continuing to walk onward, he wondered who called for him. Hearing his name called again and asking to wait gave Cyrus a reason to, curiousity in his chest to find out who was calling his name as he looked around. Soon, he found three Warriors coming his way, one of which he knew by the name of Gildan but only in passing as a Guildsman. The others he didn't know but could tell they were Orderlys. After listening to the question and the comment by the Orderly, Cyrus nodded his head in agreement. "From what I've heard from a Seer, an army of Orcs and Goblins will attack the city in two days. I've given orders for all those that can use weapons and all Warriors to go to the Warriors Guild, the rest to stay at home. But now that you three are here, maybe you can do a job for me," he said to them, glad that they were here as it would be easier on himself. "This rumor of an army attacking the city comes from a Seer but I want to make sure there is actually an army coming, just to be safe. Find two scouts and order them to check it out but to not attack any Orcs or Goblins if possible. Find out their location and the size of their army if possible and return back to the Warriors Guild for me or another Elder. Once you've done this job, return to the Warriors Guild. Is that understood?" Cyrus certainly hoped it was because as the minutes go on, that's another minute gone. They had two days but every moment would have to count for something.

[slayeroevil2]

Morose had been traveling quite a while from his homeland to reach this city,
only to find it soon to be under siege. His armor had some scuffs on it from travel and his boots were worn a bit but his spirit was bright indeed.

Morose pushed his way through the crowd until he was in sight of the man
who had made the announcement. "Master swordsman," said Morose "You have expressed a need for warriors, and I offer my services to your cause"

The city was still very much alive and the people were rushing around them but
his time in the army allowed Morose to concentrate on the man.

[Cyrus Hakim]

Cyrus heard someone's voice, a deep one at that like a drawf might have and it sounded like it came toward Cyrus's direction. Turning his head, he indeed saw a drawf before him and as he listened to what the drawf had to said, a smile appeared on his face. "I am not a master swordsman yet," he said, "But I am thankful for your services." Reaching toward the drawf, he offered his right hand to shake the hand of the drawf. "I am Cyrus Hakim, an Elder of the Warriors Guild," he said, introducing himself to the man. On the inside, he found it amusing to be called a master swordsman. That was something he hasn't been called for quite a while but it sounded good to be called that none the less. And it appeared that this drawf was a fellow Warrior in the Guild and from noticing that, Cyrus wondered what rank he was.

[Ke'ntear]

Kent was in the guild when everything started happening. He didn't know about it until a young apprentice ran in and started telling the news. Kent immediatly buckled on his armour and strapped his two swords to his back and left the guild, entering the crowded streets. He made his way quickly to the wall West wall of the city. As soon as he arrived, he climbed the steps two at a time until he reached the top. He ran to the side and looked over onto the plains below. There wasn't any army of Goblins or Orcs. He turned and called a nervous looking guard over.

"What's going on?" Kent asked, a little too loudly. The guard muttered something about chaos in the streets, but he didn't know what was happening. Kent thought quickly for a moment. Everything was disorganized and chaotic. They had to do something, but they couldn't if they didn't have any idea what was happening.
"There'll be an emergency meeting at the Guildhouse!" Kent called. If there was a meeting, they would figure out what was happening. He turned, going to head down the stairs. He turned once more. "Spread the word to all the Warriors!" He descended the stairs and re-entered the streets. He made his way down the streets until he saw a group of Warriors together. He made his way towards them.

He assumed they didn't know what was going on. "We have to get back to the Guildhouse for an emergency meeting. We have to figure out what's going on," he stated, making his presence known.

[Cyrus Hakim]

Cyrus was suddenly starting to get annoyed with all of these people just showing up like this. The first time with the three Warriors was helpful because they would save Cyrus a job he intending on doing. The second was not so much an annoyance because the drawf offered his services in helping this city and the Warriors in the upcoming battle if there was one coming up. But a third time was really annoying. Cyrus thought that either the rumors got mixed up so much that the facts are making sense or something else is up. In any case, Cyrus turned toward the man, realizing that the man before him went by the name Kent but if Cyrus's memory served him well enough, his actually first name was Ke'ntear. "A meeting can't be held without the Warriors of the Guild, which is what I'm trying to do, Ke'ntear," replied Cyrus, trying to not sound slightly annoyed about what Kent said but it must have been noticeable anyway. Looking toward the three other Warriors, he spoke to them briefly. "You three have your orders." He then turned toward Morose and Ke'ntear, almost glancing at them for a moment. "Master drawf, please follow me and Ke'ntear to the Guild. And Ke'ntear, ignore the three Warriors you just saw for now," he said in passing, his comment toward Ke'ntear seeming to be meant for a little humor before motioning for both of them to follow Cyrus as he began walking toward the direction of the Guild. "I'm sure you have questions so start asking while we walk. Saves time that way," commented Cyrus, wishing the distance he had to travel to get to the Guild by foot was shorter.

[Ke'ntear]

Kent shrugged, allowing Cyrus to take the lead. As they walked, Ke'ntear asked Cyrus what was going on. After a brief explanation, Kent shook his head. "That doesn't sound good. I went to the city wall, but there wasn't any sign of an army."
Suddenly Ke'ntear remembered about the Goblin spy.
"Cyrus, a few weeks ago there was a Goblin here in Minas Rithes. He was disguised, but after I cought him he said he was spying on our fortifications," Kent explained quickly. "It has to be connected."

[Cyrus Hakim]

"I didn't think you would see anything of the army, at least now anyway," commented Cyrus, the wind blowing into his face as the air's cold chill hit him. A sunny day it was but now, in the distance, dark clouds began to form, flashes of lightning seen clearly across the sky in that distance, the sun overhead begin covered by the passing of clouds. Pulling tighter on his cloak to keep the chill out, he hoped this wasn't an omen of what was to come. In all honest truth, he was worried, worried that maybe the Warriors wouldn't be able to protect this city. It was this worry that drove him, to do what he could. And if that wasn't enough, he hoped that some higher being was watching over him, who ever that might be.

When the mention of the Goblin spy in Minas Rithes came to his ear, he sighed outwardly, nodding his head. "Most likely," he said to Kent, agreeing with the connection between the spy being here and the army. It wasn't hard to figure out now that the spy was here to look upon the strength of their forces and with the army coming this way, the Warriors must not have acted fast enough to this threat in the first place. What Cyrus wanted to know though was how it was able to get here in the first place? Goblins don't like humans and it would be pretty easy to notice one in the day light, maybe even the night time too. And the more important question of all is...why? Why attack the city?

Well, that would seem like a pretty easy question but Cyrus wasn't always one to just accept the first thing that comes up. The Goblins and Orcs might want to take the city and destroy all the humans. Problem was that they aren't smart enough to organize themselves to form an army of massive size and attack. They might be a small army but for now, Cyrus couldn't tell anything until he knew the size of their army. Continuing to walk along, they finally neared the Guild, dozens of Warriors going about getting weapons, issuing orders of this kind and another. Mostly Guildsman and below with a few Elders commanding everyone to do this, that and the other. They seriously needed to call for aid. It's what Cyrus intended to do in the first place.

[~ Hero Nemesis ~]

Not only were the Warriors equipping themselves, but several of the townspeople who were coming in to help. An older Elf Elder was trying to organize all the new millitia into groups of tens, while another Guildsman was telling the rest the basics of swordsmanship.

Two other Guildsman noticed the arrival of Cyrus, Morose, and Ke'ntear, and headed over to them. The Warriors were apparently looking to the Elders for leadership.
"Cyrus Hakim!" the first one spoke. "We're trying to organize the townspeople, but it's difficult. We have too many new recruits than we can deal with; we can't arm and train them all in two days. What should we do?"

[Cyrus Hakim]

As Cyrus watched the organizing of the Warriors, he noticed that there were a lot more people here that didn't seem to know much about swordsmanship. This worried him but it couldn't be helped right now. There wasn't much that could be done for right now when it came to training. As he watched them all, walking along toward the Guild not very far away, he noticed that two Guildsman were coming over to him and so, he stopped to listen to what they had to say, which wasn't very good news at all. Sighing, he looked toward the recruits that were coming before looking back toward the Guildsman in front of him. "For now, do what you can in what two days we have. Arming them all comes first. Aftward, they would have to be taught the most basic of basics in swordsmanship and weaponry. Spread word of these instructions to all the Guildsman and tell all Elders to meet me in the meeting room in the Guild. We'll be lucky to get done with the training by the time the battle comes, so waste no time standing here. Go!" Cyrus then turned toward Kent and Morose, hoping that they at least heard the instructions that had been given to them so that he didn't have to waste time explaining to them as well. "Both of you, help the recruits and the training that is going to be given to them, as well as everything else. I wish you luck." With that said and done, Cyrus turned back toward the Guild and was off, walking very quickly as he parted through the mass of people before him. He really needed to meet with the Elders to discuss their battle plan, as well as many other things.

(I'd really like it if some people would control a NPC Elder(s) for the meeting. Since there seems to be a few Elders {I'm guessing about nine Elders in total, that's including Cyrus}, I'd like maybe two, three or four others RP, controling either two, three or four Elders, depending on how many choose to RP. Reason I'd like it like this is because there would be more conflicting ideas as to what to do, rather than just one or two ideas)

[~ Hero Nemesis ~]

((Elder is just the second highest positiong (next to Guildmaster), and there isn't a set amount. There isn't a specified number right now, so we'll just leave it alone. As for other people RPing for Elders, we won't do that. I'll RP as any Elders you need to talk to. Everyone else involved in this Epic Quest can still RP, but it might take awhile to actually get something going here. Cyrus, we're going to have to finish this meeting as fast as we can, so we don't hold everyone else up. I think you'd agree though that they will need to send scouts out to find the size and strength of the army. ))


Cyrus didn't have to wait long before several Elders started arriving. One of them was the Elf who had been drilling the new soldiers.
"Cyrus Hakim," Òtnan started, taking a seat opposite him. "I see why you called for a meeting. We should get right to the point." He looked over at all present. "Let's start with what we know we have to do. Does that sound acceptable?" he said, looking over at the other elders.

[Cyrus Hakim]

(True, but since Cyrus already gave an order for it before this meeting, I'm just waiting for you to RP it out and stuff)

The meeting room was rather large for its size and grand in many ways as Cyrus has waited for the other Elders to come into the room upon the orders he had given out. They were more like requests though rather than orders but in any case, Cyrus didn't have to wait long at all for other members of the Guild began showing up. Cyrus greeted a few, passing words of welcome and seeing how some were for the minute they had. Cyrus stood at the middle of the long table, looking at a few other Elders until the Elf Elder called Òtnan spoke, Cyrus's eyes looking toward him as he spoke. He welcomed him with a nod of the head. Once that was done, Cyrus took his own seat, many of the other Elders following until all were finally seated at the table, listening to what Òtnan had to say.

From what he said, many of the Elders nodded their heads, Cyrus one of them. "Indeed," he replied to the Elder, not bothering to pass a glance at the other Elders for now. They would be watching anyway without Cyrus making sure they were. "I've already given orders for scouts to see about this army of Goblins and Orcs and I've done what I could at the moment the issue rose about the following of new recruits, the arming and training of them." Cyrus made sure that his voice was loud enough for all the Elders to hear him, just to make sure everyone would be able to hear him. "The next three issues I believe we should turn our attention to is that of calling for aid from any and all guilds that will answer, the battle plan for dealing with the coming army and the re-location of the men, women and children that can not fight."

When Cyrus mentioned the calling of aid from all the guilds, some shuddered at the thought. Others began to whisper. It seemed that the assassination of Alisa Riot, one of the late Guild Masters, was still fresh on their minds. Who could forget it? But this only seemed to annoy and possibly anger Cyrus as he spoke again. "There are some Guilds that we will not be able to reach directly but they will hear of what is happening if scouts are sent one way or another. Some may not be able to help us in time when the attack comes. But I will not allow personal feelings toward other Guilds to influence our actions! I'd rather trust an army of an enemy that comes to our aid early than that of an army of a friend that comes to our aid late." It seemed that what he said got their attention real fast for the room fell silent immediately. Cyrus didn't know for sure if everyone was looking at him or if a few were looking else since he only glanced at times.

From the louder voice he had used before was not much more quiet, not the booming voice from before but just a plain voice. His plain voice. "We are not the Guild we once were. Sometimes we must seek strength from people that we don't trust. I've done that before. I've been there before. Yet ask yourself this. Would you rather live, knowing your enemy helped you to live? Or would you rather die, having not asked them for help that would have helped you live? Which would you choose?" Cyrus remained sitting where he was, holding his breath slightly at times as he listened. Total silence. Everything was quiet to the point you could hear the breathing of all the Elders. 'How much more serious can I get?' Cyrus asked himself in his thoughts, finding it slightly odd and funny at the same time that he even got such as reaction to this speech. Almost sounded like he had been preparing it for some time. Luckily, he didn't allow his outer appearance to change, just so that nothing else happens to influence their next actions. He just hoped he got everyone's mind to change about something, or lean more toward what they had been thinking before hand.

[~ Hero Nemesis ~]

Òtnan raised his hand, silencing the other elders. "I believe Cyrus Hakim is correct. We must call for aid from the other guilds. It will be in their best interest to help us, I believe. Minas Rithes is a large city, and if it were taken by Goblins and Orcs, it would be dangerous to the whole of Lebonwaith. I have no doubt that the other guilds would not wish this. I believe they will come to our aide. We have but to ask them."

Again, the rest started to talk. It was now clear that Òtnan and Cyrus were taking the lead in this meeting, and they were both in agreement. Cyrus' speach, along with Òtnan's agreement, finally won the rest of the elders over. They agreed to the plan of calling the other guilds. One of the Elders stepped out of the room to issue the orders.

One of the other Elders, a middle-aged man with a short red beard stood up. "I can start working out a battle plan for how we defent Minas Rithes. I'll need alot of help with it though, and we'll need reports on the armies strenght, as well as how many new recruits we'll have," he spoke. Several other Elders volunteered to help him.

Òtnan spoke again. "Cyrus, I think you should get together a party of scouts and head out to inspect the enemy army. I will assist with the training of the new recruits." He looked over at everyone else. "There are many tasks we all must accomplish, and we don't have very much time to do them in. We must hurry."