As the raucus celebration begins to die down, Gandalf and Atreyu take positions near the front of the dining hall to address the gathered heroes.
"It is good that so many of you are still with us." Atreyu says, his voice even and humble. "When the Childlike Empress put out her call to arms some months ago, it is clear that the message was heard by the greatest warriors in all the lands. Regardless if you were here from the beginning, or found your way to us like Kit-Tik and Wo-Dan Lassk, well after the call was issued, it matters not. What matters it that you're here now, you're with us. One of us.
There is no denying that we have had our fair share of setbacks and losses in our endeavors. The death of Ralik Two-Knives. The loss of Ro Aleron the False Knight. The death and rebirth of Greko the Green, now Greko the White. The betrayal of Slade. The corruption of Lelith Iathrana, and her freeing from the grasp of the Lord of Darkness. And these events don't even highlight our military losses and setbacks, or the enemy's capture of so many of the sacred items scattered the world over. The loss of the Lady Amalthea, the unicorn mare. The loss of the Childlike Empress and the capture of the Ivory Tower. And the plunging of the world into infinite twilight."
He gazes sadly for a second, only a second, at Schmendrick the Blue, sitting forlorn near the wall.
"But we have had great victories too. We have the Triforce of Courage. We have the Stallion's Alicorn. We have Thea Eaglecleft...who Gandalf has discerned to the the true last Unicorn, a mare trapped in a human body, whose patronage is the lineage of her own people who we will restore. We have Aughra, who has told us the general location of the Shard of Division, and we have a plan to retrieve it. Our surviving forces are rallying, and that should uplift all of you, for Lord Vader, the mastermind behind the Imperial Army that fought for Ganon, has been felled by your own hands, killed and buried beneath Aughra's Observatory. We have the forces of Celestia behind us too, and so much more. We have destroyed the Red Bull and put to an end Ganon's plan to fuse with it.
New adventures await you, AURYN Chosen. And Hyboria depends on your more now than ever."
Atreyu continued his oration, discussing how the Triforce of Courage was retrieved from the Crater and how the Tarrasque as subsequently set free. He spoke of the heroes delving into Atlantis, their battle with and assumed destruction of the Gmork, and the freeing of Godzilla, who was even then pursuing the Tarrasque in the direction of Argos and the Gerudo Desert. He covers the brief talks with King Haggard, how they had gone sour, and how Haggard was subsequently killed.
He eyeballed Ward for a moment and vowed a private conversation about the negotiation.
"Most distressing was that King Haggard's skeleton army seemed to be more than we had bargained for. It seems he had made alliances with forces we don't yet understand. We don't know what happened to the remnants of that army, but we at least got the survivors of Hagsgate to safety before the army fell upon them. Still, I suspect that we are not done with the undead army, and I fear what it may do next, or whose allegiance it may swear to. It would seem that between the dead, and the things that Ro Aleron called from elsewhere, we have some worrying developments in our future."
He takes a pause, collecting himself.
"Our future is shaky and uncertain. One thing I can say without pause is that Hyboria will never be the same. But a new morning is born from every night. Night is upon us, my friends. You've all heard what we've learned before we divided the teams, and have now heard what we accomplished while the teams were deployed. Soon you will all return to the battlefield. But tonight, I hope you enjoy your feast."
As the raucus celebration begins to die down, Gandalf and Atreyu take positions near the front of the dining hall to address the gathered heroes.
"It is good that so many of you are still with us." Atreyu says, his voice even and humble. "When the Childlike Empress put out her call to arms some months ago, it is clear that the message was heard by the greatest warriors in all the lands. Regardless if you were here from the beginning, or found your way to us like Kit-Tik and Wo-Dan Lassk, well after the call was issued, it matters not. What matters it that you're here now, you're with us. One of us.
There is no denying that we have had our fair share of setbacks and losses in our endeavors. The death of Ralik Two-Knives. The loss of Ro Aleron the False Knight. The death and rebirth of Greko the Green, now Greko the White. The betrayal of Slade. The corruption of Lelith Iathrana, and her freeing from the grasp of the Lord of Darkness. And these events don't even highlight our military losses and setbacks, or the enemy's capture of so many of the sacred items scattered the world over. The loss of the Lady Amalthea, the unicorn mare. The loss of the Childlike Empress and the capture of the Ivory Tower. And the plunging of the world into infinite twilight."
He gazes sadly for a second, only a second, at Schmendrick the Blue, sitting forlorn near the wall.
"But we have had great victories too. We have the Triforce of Courage. We have the Stallion's Alicorn. We have Thea Eaglecleft...who Gandalf has discerned to the the true last Unicorn, a mare trapped in a human body, whose patronage is the lineage of her own people who we will restore. We have Aughra, who has told us the general location of the Shard of Division, and we have a plan to retrieve it. Our surviving forces are rallying, and that should uplift all of you, for Lord Vader, the mastermind behind the Imperial Army that fought for Ganon, has been felled by your own hands, killed and buried beneath Aughra's Observatory. We have the forces of Celestia behind us too, and so much more. We have destroyed the Red Bull and put to an end Ganon's plan to fuse with it.
New adventures await you, AURYN Chosen. And Hyboria depends on your more now than ever."
Atreyu continued his oration, discussing how the Triforce of Courage was retrieved from the Crater and how the Tarrasque as subsequently set free. He spoke of the heroes delving into Atlantis, their battle with and assumed destruction of the Gmork, and the freeing of Godzilla, who was even then pursuing the Tarrasque in the direction of Argos and the Gerudo Desert. He covers the brief talks with King Haggard, how they had gone sour, and how Haggard was subsequently killed.
He eyeballed Ward for a moment and vowed a private conversation about the negotiation.
"Most distressing was that King Haggard's skeleton army seemed to be more than we had bargained for. It seems he had made alliances with forces we don't yet understand. We don't know what happened to the remnants of that army, but we at least got the survivors of Hagsgate to safety before the army fell upon them. Still, I suspect that we are not done with the undead army, and I fear what it may do next, or whose allegiance it may swear to. It would seem that between the dead, and the things that Ro Aleron called from elsewhere, we have some worrying developments in our future."
He takes a pause, collecting himself.
"Our future is shaky and uncertain. One thing I can say without pause is that Hyboria will never be the same. But a new morning is born from every night. Night is upon us, my friends. You've all heard what we've learned before we divided the teams, and have now heard what we accomplished while the teams were deployed. Soon you will all return to the battlefield. But tonight, I hope you enjoy your feast."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ward sighs as they get to the part about King Haggard, muttering to the Dawn Guard, "I made a mistake, but he swung first, and poorly at that."
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
Travin giggles at Ward's statement and gives him a thumbs up and nod of approval.
Wo-Dan raises his tankard high and calls out to the assembled Auryn.
"To the fallen! To Victory!"
He then drains his tankard.