The Grey Fortress
If you walk north-east from the River's bend, and keep going that way until
the rush of the water is no longer to be heard, you will notice the birds are
quieting down. A strange, dry smell drifts in among the trees. It's faint, but
it's there. A smell as of powdered bone, dry and dead. Wild animals flicker
their ears nervously. They sniff in the air and then turn around to seek prey
or grazing elsewhere.
Among the trees you notice a tent-city. Strange wolven creatures look quietly at
you as you pass them. It is an army, spread out among the trees, a city of soldiers
making their lives in the absence of war.
A few of them asks if you really want to go that way, but they do not stop you.
They are known as the Balraa and you know they were the forest's enemies
before the Hivemind was defeated in the great war. Abandoned by the Hivemind
they now serve a new master, and even though they helped the forest greatly against
the invading armies of Ryvius, their true goals under this master remains
unclear.
Past the Balraa encampment, the trees end, leaving room for nothing but dry,
dead ground. No Balraa follow you beyond this point.
In front of you towers The fortress of the Grey. This, the rumours say, is the
lair of the Greater Grey, an ancient dragon known only as the Ebb.
The lair of the Grey is a steep, barren hill. You guess it was once covered
in green, but that was a long time ago. Mere stumps and crushed pieces of
rotting wood remains, the soil flushed by season's rain. The hill is now worn
down to its stony core, a cold rock protruding from the midst of the forest.
There is about one hundred paces of virtually no shelter from the edge of
the forest to the top of the hill, where a gaping, black cave-mouth
disappears into the depth of the earth. The entrance to the fortress.
The smell of dry bones grows stronger. It's mixed with the smell of smoke and
blood.
If you choose to continue up the ragged slopes of the Fortress you walk
past scattered pieces of armour, the bones inside long since having lost
their meat to rot. The armour is blackened from fire, melted and deformed,
here and there bone and steel seem to have merged into one from the heat.
The last bit up to the entrance of the Fortress is covered with stains
of black, dried blood. The ground is dusty and dry.. A slow wind hits your face.
It's coming from the entrance. It's warm and reeks of bone, blood and death. Is
something watching you from the darkness of the entrance you wonder? Was that
really a wind, but rather a ...
...a breath ...?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This thread represents the location of "The Grey fortress", the lair of old
Ebb. Ebb might leave occationally, but will always return here.
If you dare to seek the ancient dragon, in order to ask for his wisdom, to trade,
a questor to ask him for a favour like many have before you, this is the best place
to look. The image at the top (and the thread title) will show if he is
currently here or not. The dragon is not a friendly creature, but if
you are civil you will live through the encounter. Good roleplaying is what
matters here. Remember though, that the favours of the Greater Grey are
never free ...
Woe betide those that try to enter the lair without the consent of the
dragon!
Ebb can be rather difficult to talk to, since his psychology and way to use
the language can sometimes feel odd. Help to know what to expect can be
found in the roleplaying threads where he has appeared. To understand the
basis for which the character Ebb is roleplayed, a good resource can be
found in the Draconic Encyclopaedia here (this might
also be of interest if you are interested in dragons in general).
This is an image of Ebb, showing his size relative a human-size creature,
meant to help visualisation when roleplaying against him. This is an image of the dragon in flight.
