Thormun's Journal continues.....

[TheMainMan]

There is a ton of new journal entries. Thanks TRUTH!!!
The question really is, who at WOTC is giving these the okay to put online??
Here are the two links below plus the journal itself.

-TMM


http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-game...rnal&chapter=4
Heroscape - Thormun's Journal
CHAPTER 4: The Swarm of the Marro
Journal Entry #44
Slowly, I turn myself around in a circle. I let the air move in and out of my lungs in a deliberate and steady rhythm. I take in all that is happening around me.
Shiori fights a pair of marro drudge, nimbly avoiding blasts from their weapons and sending a barrage of shurikens back in return.
Sonlen stands on a patch of raised ground where the Marro Hive has pushed itself up out of the swamp. Lightning comes screaming from the mouth of a stinger’s gun, headed straight for him. The elven mage pulls his arms up and catches the leaping bolts of light in his hands. With a push he sends the electrical energy back at the awe-stricken marro below. The marro falls face first into the ground, smoke rising off of its lifeless body.
Q10’s hydraulics whine and stutter as he grapples with the giant skinless-creature. The marro that rides on the giant’s back thrusts its spear down at Q10, cutting through a thick bundle of wires in the soulborg’s shoulder. The severed wires spit out black fluid and Q10’s arm goes limp.
The nagrubs, teaming about the giant’s feet, begin piling on top of Q10, they bite and claw, struggling to find holes in his armor. He manages to shake one of them off and spray it with a round of machine gun fire, but another takes its place and the powerful machine falls backwards.
I start toward my wounded Soulborg ally, but a squad of marro block my path. The marro open fire on me. I spin around and fall to my back, narrowly evading the bolts of light that fly overhead. I flip over onto my stomach and fire my grapple, wrapping it around the feet of one of the marro. I pull the trigger and bring the grappled marro reeling in toward me. I grab the thing around its neck and use its body to shield me from the incoming fire of the others. My marro shield quickly goes limp in my arms after it sustains a blast to the chest. One of its guns drops loose from its hand and swings from a line of purple tubing that connects the gun to the marro’s body. I grab the dangling weapon and start firing back at the other marro, downing them one by one.
Sonlen is down on one knee, his head is bowed, and his eyes are clenched shut. He’s putting all of his effort into restraining the marro giant, who he has anchored to the ground by a series of magically woven vines.
Q10 has managed to kill off two more of the nagrubs that have wrestled him to the ground and Shiori hurries to his aid.
The marro giant and the nagrubs are the only threats remaining. I start to hobble in Sonlen’s direction to help him fight the giant but freeze in my tracks when I see what’s going on behind him. The Hive drops three larva sacs to the ground. Out of each sac crawls a newly born, but fully developed, marro. I fire at one of the marro but miss it as all three of them dive into a pool of nearby swamp water and disappear from sight.
My poorly aimed gunshot whizzes by Sonlen’s head, breaking his concentration. The marro giant frees himself from Sonlen’s vines and runs at the exhausted elf. I turn my pistol on the giant and begin firing. Fwwap, fwaap, fwaap, three bullets beat against its bony hide. It’s enough to make him angry. He turns his attention toward me.
I holster my pistol and ready my sword, gripping it with both hands. The lumbering giant shakes the ground with the planting of each foot as it makes its way steadily toward me. Its tooth-lined face seems to grin at me, sensing my fear. My mouth feels dry. Using my sleeve, I wipe away the beads of sweat from my forehead and re-adjust my grip.
Just as the giant comes within striking distance, its back bursts forth with smoke and fire. The creature stumbles forward, stunned from the blast. I leap and lunge. I drive my sword deep, burying it in the giant’s chest. The giant sways on its thick legs. Its glowing eyes dim and then go out. It falls backwards, crushing its rider underneath its own weight.
With the giant fallen, Q10 comes into view. He stands there with one arm dangling off his body, hanging by a few thin cords. Smoke rolls out of the cannon on his other arm. The sides of my mouth tug themselves up in a cynical grin, but quickly fall flat again as bolts of marro gunfire zip past my head and land in Q10’s chest. I spin around to see that a marro drudge has come, seemingly, out of nowhere. Both of his guns are alight, sending their blasts in my direction. I stoop low, shifting my sword into my robotically aided hand. I extend my arm and with a powerful swing I send my blade wheeling through the air.
The blade plants itself in the ground directly behind the attacking drudge. The marro stands frozen for just a second, its bony fingers no longer pulling on triggers, and then it falls, its body split in two halves.
Next to the broken marro, two more drudge pull themselves up out of the swamp. These two, and the two halves of the other, make up the three marro that the Hive just gave birth to. They seem to have tunneled their way under the swamp water to re-emerge there, where my back was turned. The two living marro crawl on their hands and feet, making their way to the lifeless bodies of their fallen comrades. The newborn marro pull away tubing and weaponry from their dead and attach it to themselves. They are re-arming, continuing the fight.
“ENOUGH!” I cry out in a mixture of exhaustion and rage. I draw my pistol back out of its holster one last time and fire two shots. Both marro collapse to the ground. I drop my gun and fall on my knees. Fatigue overtakes me. I lie down and stare up at the sky.
I hear Shiori tending to Q10. I hear a loud cracking noise like the breaking of bone as Sonlen destroys the Marro Hive. I listen for sounds of Raelin stirring, when I hear none I force myself to crawl to her side. She leans her head towards mine and opens her eyes. I reach out my hand and lay it on top of hers.

Heroscape - Thormun's Journal
CHAPTER 4: The Swarm of the Marro
Journal Entry #45
I have no time for the feelings of satisfaction after the destruction of the Marro Hive and its Hivelord for, far above us, the large carrion birds that have followed us for so long through the mountains are finally descending. As I prepare myself for battle, Raelin points out (with her far-reaching eyes) that these are not birds. They are Kyrie of the Moon Tribes.
Raelin continues in a weak voice, sapped of her strength as a result of her injuries, “My father would sing to me when I was small, a lullaby made up from parts of the ancient songs of lore.” She begins singing in a soft and longing tone,

“On the wings of Thorian
Across the fires Volcarren
Flies a blade that hides
From wicked eyes
The champion
Of the great Moon Tribe

Your sword Drake, it was forged here in the south and brought to us in the north, at a time of great need, by the kyrie champion of old—Thorian, of whom there are many more songs that can be sung. These Kyrie that descend upon us now, they must be remnants of Thorian’s people.”
Three tall kyrie, garbed in animal skins and bird feathers, fly down out of the sky and land before us. One of them steps forward and begins to speak but the language is foreign. I look over at Raelin and can tell that she doesn’t understand them either. I stand and try to signal to the strange kyrie that we cannot understand them, but Sonlen interrupts me.
The rarely heard voice of the elven mage cuts cleanly through the air, “They say that they have been watching us and that they know us to be friends of Aquilla.” Sonlen begins speaking in the odd language of the foreign kyrie as if he has spoken it all his life. After a short dialogue between the kyrie and elf he speaks up again, “They are taking us to a place of healing waters, where we will be able to quickly recover from our wounds, and then they will take us to their leader … the one they call Aquilla.”

Heroscape - Thormun's Journal
CHAPTER 4: The Swarm of the Marro
Journal Entry #45
I have no time for the feelings of satisfaction after the destruction of the Marro Hive and its Hivelord for, far above us, the large carrion birds that have followed us for so long through the mountains are finally descending. As I prepare myself for battle, Raelin points out (with her far-reaching eyes) that these are not birds. They are Kyrie of the Moon Tribes.
Raelin continues in a weak voice, sapped of her strength as a result of her injuries, “My father would sing to me when I was small, a lullaby made up from parts of the ancient songs of lore.” She begins singing in a soft and longing tone,

“On the wings of Thorian
Across the fires Volcarren
Flies a blade that hides
From wicked eyes
The champion
Of the great Moon Tribe

Your sword Drake, it was forged here in the south and brought to us in the north, at a time of great need, by the kyrie champion of old—Thorian, of whom there are many more songs that can be sung. These Kyrie that descend upon us now, they must be remnants of Thorian’s people.”
Three tall kyrie, garbed in animal skins and bird feathers, fly down out of the sky and land before us. One of them steps forward and begins to speak but the language is foreign. I look over at Raelin and can tell that she doesn’t understand them either. I stand and try to signal to the strange kyrie that we cannot understand them, but Sonlen interrupts me.
The rarely heard voice of the elven mage cuts cleanly through the air, “They say that they have been watching us and that they know us to be friends of Aquilla.” Sonlen begins speaking in the odd language of the foreign kyrie as if he has spoken it all his life. After a short dialogue between the kyrie and elf he speaks up again, “They are taking us to a place of healing waters, where we will be able to quickly recover from our wounds, and then they will take us to their leader … the one they call Aquilla.”

http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-game...rnal&chapter=5

From the pen of Sgt. Drake Alexander:
“We’re going to die out here.” The voice is foreign. The words are rough and low, rasping softly past a dry throat. Raelin looks over at me through red-rimmed eyes. Her limp hair clings to her face. “We’re going to die out here.” The strange voice comes again from Raelin’s lips.
My tongue is swollen. My cracked lips try to form words, but nothing comes.
“Eight days we have been in this lifeless land. Our water runs dry. We’re not going to make it through. We have failed.” The desperation in Raelin’s voice is complete. Never before have I heard her accept failure as an option.
I hear a dull moan from behind. I turn just in time to see Shiori stumble and fall to her knees, then collapse face-first into the sharp volcanic rock that makes up the terrain here. Just as she hits the ground, the stones at our feet begin to shake and move. It’s as if the land itself sees we have been defeated, and prepares to deliver its final deathblow. A loud crack and boom beats against my ears. I look to my right side to see a distant mountain bloom with fire and ash. Turning back, I see the others looking up at the erupting volcano, awestruck. The distant fire reflects off their glassy eyes.
“MOVE!” Shouting, I snap them out of their daze. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Fire begins raining down out of the sky. Raelin strikes the ground with her staff, and her protective blue bubble surrounds us. The falling flames dissipate when they hit it.
“I’m too weak to keep this up much longer,” cries Raelin. Q-10 reaches down and scoops Shiori up into his robotic arms. The sound of hydraulics pumps loudly as the Soulborg takes off in a full sprint, leaving the safety of Raelin’s aura behind, arching over to protect Shiori from the fiery rain that bounces in loud pings off his metallic back.
“Go! Get out of here!” I yell to Raelin. I half expect a brave argument about staying to protect us, but surprisingly she speaks no words of rebuttal. She lets down her protective aura and takes to the sky, nimbly dodging the falling rocks of flame as she twists and rolls through the air. Sonlen raises his arm and his miniature pet dragon leaps skyward as well, following Raelin’s path to safety. I look over and meet Sonlen’s grim eyes. With a nod we both run in the direction that Raelin flew and Q10 ran with a broken Shiori in his arms.
Up ahead I see Q10 raise an arm. Two rockets launch from his wrist in quick succession. The first one flies straight and steady, finding its fiery mark in a bright explosion. The second rocket sails through the midst of the fireworks created by the first. It then changes its path in midair, twisting off to find another chunk of the volcano’s blazing spittle and send it blasting into a million pieces.
Running, I catch a flash of red and yellow out of the corner of my eye. A piece of the volcanic rock hurtles toward me, fixed on taking me out. I have no time to dodge, but react by lifting my seemingly indestructible right arm and knocking the rock away with surprisingly little effort, never breaking pace.

Heroscape - Thormun's Journal
CHAPTER 5: Aquilla’s Alliance
Journal Entry #47
From the pen of Sgt. Drake Alexander:
Warm bath water washes away the long and tiresome journey. A white robe with golden trim is given to me to wear while my uniforms are washed and patched. I don’t recognize the food, but it doesn’t taste half bad and is a welcomed change from the dry trail rations.
These people just found us wandering the swamps, and yet we are treated here as guests of great honor…
From the view on the overhang the city looked small. Here on the ground the buildings tower upwards and the gaps between them form a maze of dirt paths. The steady sound of the falls, away in the distance, fills the air. All who pass us greet us by clasping their hands together and rocking them back and forth, a bright expression spread across their faces.
Our footsteps clatter on a stone floor and echo off of a vaulted ceiling. Like the outside of most of the buildings here the inside of this one is engraved with intricate designs, only these have been preserved from the wind and rain. The engravings stretch up from the floor to the ceiling. Panel by panel they appear to tell a story, the details of which I can’t make out on my own, and no explanation is offered.
We pass through an archway into a small alcove. The room is filled with kyrie but a tall and beautiful woman drowns out the presence of everyone else in the room. My eyes are fixated upon her. Her flawless skin is a deep red brown, like the other kyrie of the moon tribe. Her hair is long and black. Several ornamented braids of varying thickness hang alongside her silky smooth tresses.
She speaks. Her voice is high and clear like the ring of a bell. At first I don’t understand her words, but then I see Sonlen make a gesture with his hand and her words become clear.
“I am Aquilla, priestess of the Moon Tribe, partaker of the magic waters.” She pauses and looks directly into my eyes. “I have foreseen your return to the city, Thorian, you will restore us. With your blade you will drive back the plague of the fleshless-ones. Tonight we feast, tomorrow we fight!”

[Hogg]

Awesome!

Rep cannon empty, watch for incoming fire in 24 hrs.

[TheMainMan]

After reading, we finally see for sure that Aquila is indeed a woman! HAGA DAGA!

[Agent of Vydar]

So they actually look like tribal indians. Can't wait for more, these are fantastic.

[Hogg]

Looks like there's a little glitch there, with the double entry, and then one old entry that is out of sequence.

But, they are awesome. Thanks Truth!

[KevinWC]

cool stuff, nice twist with Thorian and Drake.

[hivelord]

Nice stuff. Very intense. Surprising for a "kids game." Once again props to truth.

[Nadom]

A few thoughts on the new stuff:
1) Whoa, Drake just split one Marro in half with his sword and used another as a living shield. Goodbye, PG, and good riddance! Hello PG-13, sit down and make yourself comfortable.
2) Sonlen is a Stinger-blast-catching, magic-vine-summoning, Marro-Hive-destroying, Kyrie-language-translating BAMF. He's the man! Or he's the elf... either way, it makes me want to play him more. It also makes me think he should have had some kind of ranged counterstrike like Gurei-Oni's "Evil Eye Defense."
3) We've been told that we're getting Native American units. We've also assumed we're getting more Aquilla units. Having read this, could we see them going to any other general? Methinks not.
4) Shiori taking down a ranged squad? Yeah, right.
I liked her better when she was still Mileena in Mortal Kombat 2.

5) All in all, I love the direction this is going. Way to go, Truth!

Thanks for posting this, TMM!

[johnny139]

Wow, not only was there a fantastic action scene, but a real plot, a reason for Drake being the main character (well, more of a reason), and more depth for the Moon Tribe. Did I mention the fantastic action scene? Honestly. Just violent enough to make you squeal, but not enough to make you feel all squelchy. If that's a word.

In conclusion?

truth is love.

[Einar Gen.]

Great! Except... Somehow I expected Aquilla to be blond...

[guido]

Truth really outdid himself this time. Drake doesn't seem to be the meat head I originally imagined from the older journals. I'm looking forward to some good old fashioned foreshadowing of units as well as a scene with Wo-Sa-Ga in the next set. (I'll be pleased with whatever, though)

Also, so Drake has now killed two out of the three of the Hivelords? It's no wonder they offered to wash his uniform.

Looking forward to some more writings by that aging hippie Thormun as well.

[NecroBlade]

Oh man, I can't wait to read this when it's not so late...