[CoR] Corporation of Radicalization

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Goker said:
Rule 203. Turambar is a Clan Destroyer. (see articles "Downfall of AB", "Near Annihilation of CoR and the Start of a New Era: Crypt of Reveran" and "Einherjars loss of member activity, resulting in departure from competitive Warband") All those clans suffered greatly after Turambar joined them. Be very careful if he wants to join your clan. OR ELSE!  |:<
I want my rule to be added and I am gonna abuse powers to make it happen.

Arch3rbabe? :razz:
 
Goker said:
Goker said:
Rule 203. Turambar is a Clan Destroyer. (see articles "Downfall of AB", "Near Annihilation of CoR and the Start of a New Era: Crypt of Reveran" and "Einherjars loss of member activity, resulting in departure from competitive Warband") All those clans suffered greatly after Turambar joined them. Be very careful if he wants to join your clan. OR ELSE!  |:<
I want my rule to be added and I am gonna abuse powers to make it happen.

Arch3rbabe? :razz:
I would like to refer you to my friend and lover Inoxbabe, as he is the upholder of rules as well as the rulelistmakeguy.
 
Tales of Nightwatch, First Book



Chapter I

The moisture condensed on the ceiling, here and there forming into droplets large enough to fall down. In the dim, red light, I could see them landing heavily on Goker's concentrated face. "What's wrong with it?" I asked. Through clenched teeth he replied: "The cryptation key was set to update too late, darnit." The radio felt heavy in my weary arms as I stood there holding it for Goker, but we all knew what would happen if we lost communications for too long. Mahud and Fredelios probably had no idea of the current issue though, Mahud sleeping in the driver seat and Fredelios scanning the night for dangers through our tank's top cupola.

"HQ, this is the Night Watch. Communication check, over," Goker spoke to the radio. Some seconds of looming silence, apart from the generator noises, went by. "This is HQ, you are loud, but unclear, over," the radio fizzled back. "Same message in return. Otherwise nothing to report. End. Inox, you can put the radio back now, well done." I placed the behemoth device back in its bracket and shared some of my precious water with Goker. We sat in our seats for a while and gave our eyes some rest. Just when I was about to fall asleep, Goker told me to wake Mahud and tell him it was time to get rolling again. Oh well. I crawled through the oily passage to the driver compartment and knocked on Mahud's helmet. He didn't need to be told what to do, and I didn't really bother to tell him either. I found my way back to my seat and he started up the engine. Goker had taken the position at the cupola and sent Fred back to his seat by the gun. The brakes were undone and the combustion of diesel propelled our tank forward.

"What's that thing on the road ahead?" Mahud asked on the internal communication system. Fredelios leaned over to take a look through the night optics. "Uhm, it looks like some sort of roadblock. Want me to blast it, Goker?" I did a quick scan of the ammunition racks, confirming that the right shells were in the right place. Nobody dared mess with my system, ever. This I did in the split second it took Goker to figure out his response...



Chapter II

"Destroy it! Roadblocks don't belong on roads, I tell you," Goker told Fredelios. By the time he finished talking, I was loading an explosive shell into the gun. Stepping aside, I gave the signal to Fredelios, and he sent high velocity destruction into the roadblock. Our tank leapt forward and swept aside the remainders. Victory! Goker reported the incident to the HQ and our patrol continued. It was a night of little activity; few wanderers were seen, and none bothered to approach us. After a couple hours, we stopped for routine maintenance. Fredelios hopped up in the cupola to keep an overwatch, Mahud and I tightened the bolts on the tracks, and Goker wrote in the journal.

The tracks were at first visible only by the dim, red light of my headlamp, but at some point I suddenly realized there was another light source around. I tilted my head upwards and was overcome with awe. The dark clouds had given way, and celestial curtains of green light ranged across the sky. The northern lights; the Aurora. I almost jumped up on the tank and opened the hatch and said with excitement in my voice: "Goker, the sign is here!" Without a word, he pushed me aside to see for himself. Fredelios and Mahud too, were looking at the vast, playful bands in the sky. Goker was the first to speak: "Skip the maintenance. This is what we have been waiting for, men of the Night Watch. We can all now see that the Aurora originates in the west. Mahud, take us to America!"

Not only had we found the great sign, we were also allowed to skip maintenance. Overall a pretty good shift. Fredelios and I opened a hatch to get a better view. Above us the aurora danced parallell with our direction, on our sides awestruck nocturnals had crept out of their hiding places to gaze at the sight in the sky. Ahead laid the bridge to America, a construction of gold, marble, and freedom. This bridge however, was a drawbridge, and it was lifted. How would we cross to America now? As our tank slowed down to a halt, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows. Through the internal communication system, I heard Goker draw his breath...



Chapter III

Mr. NomNom adjusted the visor of his cap and displayed a haughty grin. "I have been expecting you, Goker of the Night Watch. I take it you would like to cross over to America?" "That's, right," Goker replied. "Aha, just as I expected!" Mr. NomNom cried out. "But no man crosses to America without paying a price, and in particular not you, Goker of the Night Watch. On several occasions I would already be master of Reveran were it not for the diligence of you and your Night Watch." "And what a place Reveran would be under your rule. My actions were necessary and just. Now, name your price." Mahud, Fredelios and I had been holding our breaths for a while. Above us the aurora still painted the night sky and cast an eerie light on the scene. Had we focused on it, we would have seen the glimmers of America on the far side of the bridge. Mr. NomNom finally spoke: "A chair made of mahogany. Give me this and the passage will be opened." "Very well," Goker said in return, and we withdrew a short distance to discuss the matter.

A chair of mahogany? Where in all the worlds would we get that? Fredelios humbly suggested they might have some in Zendar, but this was abruptly rejected by Mahud: "Pfft, there is not a splinter of mahogany in Zendar, nor in any of the other lands bordering Reveran. Pizzaland is the closest place we can find it on short notice." Goker scratched his head, then nodded. "To make it to Pizzaland and then to America before night turns to day is no trivial matter. Inox, how much time do we have?" I looked at the stars and did some rough calculations. "About five hours, I recon," I said, "so we have to take the shortcut if we are to make it." A few seconds of silence followed. We all knew what taking the shortcut meant, but none of us were eager to speak about it. "The shortcut it is then," Goker decided. "You get two minutes to prepare."

Two minutes later we were rolling southward. From then on, I probably scanned the ammunition racks every minute or so, and Fredelios' eyes were never far from the optics. While driving on any sort of surface was not particularily comfortable in our tank, the shortcut felt more like a rollercoaster than anything at the speed we rolled; good thing our helmets had thick padding. Not much was said on the internal communication system.



Chapter IV

Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, and the tank slightly shifted its position. What hit us? I looked frantically around, but could see no damage, either on myself or the vehicle. "We just snapped a torsion bar for the suspension, guys, don't worry," Mahud assured us. Fredelios removed his hand from the trigger, and we rolled on through the night. Soon we entered the forested strecth that made the shortcut notorious. It was here, among the ancient pine trees that so many brave men had lost something. "Lights ahead. Take a look, Fredelios," Goker commanded. "It's Pizzaland! We made it, men of the Night Watch," Fredelios cried out. Mahud's sombre comment put a damper on the mood again; "We haven't made it back yet."

In Pizzaland, there was a party going on, as is the norm in that part of the world. Men and women in all sorts of costumes, but mostly the expensive sort, were dancing and singing in the taverns, the streets, and the parks. Fredelios and I opened a hatch to get a better view of the festivities. Several of the natives offered us beer and candy, gifts we gladly received. After several attempts, we found the shopping centre, and even that store which sells furniture.

"Hello, good sirs, are you seeking a soft bed with goatskin matresses? Or perhaps a fine table that is garuanteed to make you popular with the ladies?" the costumed shopkeeper said with a foreign accent and soft voice. "We must have a chair of mahogany. Give it to us, or else." Goker replied. "Oh, I will gladly give one to you, but not before you give me the money it costs. For my finest mahogany chair, that means about a hundred coins." Oh dear, what a price. Goker bent his head down in the turret, as if to fetch the coins asked for, but instead gave a signal to Fredelios and me. I loaded an explosive shell into the gun, and he sent the shell flying. It hit the shopkeeper in the stomach, went right through, and exploded on hitting the wall behind, tearing the man in a thousand pieces. Goker jumped out of the turret and fetched the chair while Mahud maneuvered the tank for a hasty departure.



Chapter V

The natives of Pizzaland gathered around us in astonishment, but before anyone tried to stop us, Goker had already leapt back into the turret with the chair. Our tank rolled forward, crushing no small amount of expensive furniture in the process, and only barely not flattening a few natives who got too close. Through the gate and into the dangerous forest we rushed, the police's bullets plinging off our rear armour. When we got too far into the forest, they wisely chose to stop following us. With great fortune and valour, we made it through the entire shortcut without invoking the dangers that lured.

On reaching the highway, we did a quick stop to check that everything was alright. The tank was mostly whole, and all men were alive and sane. The aurora still danced across the night sky, leading the way to America, and when Goker asked how much time we had left I answered: "Maybe we will make it, maybe not. No time to lose I guess." "Right, get back to your places then. There are still challenges ahead" There was much more activity now. Had we not been on our way to America, we would have had a busy night rounding up all the scoundrels and reprimanding them, even throwing several in jail.

As the lights from America appeared in the far distance, I asked a question I had been pondering about for many long nights: "Goker, tell me, what is the meaning of America?" "Oh, Inox," he replied with a distorted voice, the internal communication system having received quite a shaking, "America is the place we must all go to at one point in our lives. Some return, some remain." "What then, will become of us? Will there be no more Reveran? No more Night Watch?" I said with a worried voice. "I don't know, Inox. I really have no idea what will happen, but I do know it must occur. And you deserve to know that you have all served beyond expectations and restored the pride of our land. Time forbids me to say more on this now, but to the brave a few words are as good as many."

As earlier that night, our tank slowed down to a halt, and Mr. NomNom slithered out of the shadows. I handed the mahogany chair to Goker, who presented it to the notorious character. "A chair, alright, but is it real mahogany?" Mr. NomNom wondered. "As real as the crimes that stain your record," Goker answered and put the chair on the road. "Oh, no need to tear up old wounds in our relationship. Hm, but yes, this does in fact appear to be precisely what I wanted. Well done, Goker of the Night Watch. I didn't expect you to manage this in such short time. Use your time in America wisely, then." Mr. NomNom stepped aside with the chair in hand, and the drawbridge descended. We drove across under the light of the aurora and entered America.



Chapter VI

Fabulous flowers flanked the road as far as we could see, and rivers of honey cut through the smooth, rolling hills. In the combined light from the moon and the aurora, we could make out the silhouettes of griffins watching us in silence. Crossing a brink, we saw at the end of the road a small cottage with smoke belching out of its chimney. This was no ordinary smoke, though; it shone with a green light, illuminating the landscape around, and as it ascended towards the sky, it spread eastward and curved elegantly back and forth. The source of the aurora! "Stop here, Mahud," Goker said, "I think we should let our feet carry us the last distance." None protested against this, and we marched in open order towards the mysterious cottage.

Fredelios knocked gently on the old oaken door. Some very long seconds passed, and the door creaked outwards. Warm air caressed our hands and faces, and a pretty woman in a green gown smiled at us. She greetded us all warmly. When the turn came to Goker, she at first appeared surprised, then burst out in happiness and exclaimed: "It's you! You are Goker of the Night Watch!" "Uh, yes, that's right, but how did you know?" "Because it's you I have been waiting for, silly! Why do you think I made the signal in the sky?" Goker used a second to regroup his thoughts, then said: "Well, now I am here. What happens next? What about my men?" "We will explore all corners of America; from the deepest depths to the highest peaks; from the oldest forests to the merriest fields; from the whitest castles to the darkest caves. I have a sister to accompany each of your brave men, and our expedition will be full of excitement and joy." "Oh dear," Goker said, "That is just what I was hoping for. I don't know if there is enough room in the tank for so many though." The woman of the aurora laughed. "We don't explore America by tank, Goker of the Night Watch. My magic carpet will bring us from place to place in the blink of an eye."

That then, is the story of how we reached America and started our adventures in that land.
 
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