The Trap
by Ahriman

Best laid plans and all that. This night proved to be a mix of bitter sweet lessons learned and a glimmer of what will be held in store for those that seek their demise.

It all started with the map. Yes sir, the MAP. A simple thing, so simple. Garnished from their informant, it detailed a location not generally considered within the grasp of their protection. Not being the lair of one of the Champions of Evil, they often let it be, a place with no purpose. This night it would be different however. Tonight they would use the excursion of the forces of Good into their lands as a training exercise. This map would point out an opportunity for Ahriman to see just how well their new recruits could handle direction, meet their enemies on the battle field, and to gain some experience fighting as a cohesive fighting force. The Map. It will be their compass Perhaps where they go this eve, to the dungeon Shame, will have more than one set of ironies to its namesake.

Ahriman had watched over his motly sort thinking to himself that he is too old to be undertaking a task of this nature. He watched as his recruits ready their battle gear. Too late had he received the map. Too late to prepare the magics that would have protected them from each others spells. They were hampered that evening and it bothered him. A lot of things bothered him. There had been a bad feeling in his bones and his bones rarely spoke without reason. Proud though he is as well. Proud to see new faces. Proud to see people being drawn to the banner that represents the denizins of Evil. Sometimes Pride overwhelms caution. Sometimes Pride is a snare waiting to entrap its owner. It had taken two days to prepare and 10 minutes to unravel. The traps so well laid, built with a specific purpose, has been tripped not by sheep but by wolves.....

*A few days earlier*

This would be a training exercise for the new recruits. Designed to give them the maximum number of engagement that could be had, I have devised a scheme that would allow my forces the opportunity to engage the enemy multiple times. I had scouted the forces of Good in the previous weeks and knew how they operated, knew how they moved. It would not be hard to guide my men and still harrass the enemy. Their goal this night would not be the annihilation of the opposing force, but instead a chance for the recruits to gain experience in unit warfare. Good men they were, but most had only wandered the wilds solo, picking off prey as it presented itself. Fighting in a unit is a whole other affair and they needed time to learn and to adjust. This was to be the first of many training encounters.

Following the Map and trails carefully marked by Poison, Jester, and myself, our small band got to the dungeon of Shame far ahead of the slow moving horde of do-gooders. Setting up station we waited. After what seemed like centuries, the advance guard approached the bridge as Ahriman had expected. More so than I had hoped, I noted Lord Rich with them as well. Our band would stand fast to their plan and attack according to instruction. As the group crossed the bridge the attack was launched. An e-field separated the group in 1/2 and we began our work, quickly dropping Lord Anev and a long bowman, lastly moving on Lord Rich himself as their forces began to counter. They dropped Jester and myself as we concentrated on Lord Rich, taking advantage of our zeal for the ultimate kill. We accepted this, as we had already prepared a location for resurrection and resupply. It would be painful, but it would keep us in the action. As the e-field dropped and we fell back we heard a second clash of battle and witnessed another force of Fel defenders attacking from the rear.

Keeping to our plan, we dropped back to the next trap point. After a short pause a number of individuals came to the entrance of our locations. They were not dressed as the Army of Good had been, so we assumed them to be Defenders. One of our number exposed himself in order to engage them in conversation and determine their motive. It had been our belief that the Defenders of Fel should be allied and thus far it had not been our policy to combat those that would aid us in our Defense. In this case however, we were wrong. The two opportunist dropped our member before he could heal and we were forced to push them back. We then saw Tinsel, a known Defender ally, moving in and out of range of the door and assumed the first killers to be with her. We moved down into the Elder Gazer area, released them, and waited to see if the Defenders or Attacker would approach next.

Twice those in the garb of Defenders probed our location and twice we fell back into the shadows. We had no wish for conflict with those working to the same purposes as ourselves, and if they had made it this far ahead of the forces of Good then it could be predicted that they had probably finished off those who has survived our simultaneous attacks at the bridge. We agreed between ourselves that we would not do battle and that on the next probe we would cast a single warning volley and retreat deeper into the dungeon. Our forces were not yet prepared for the demands and rigors of a straight up conflict. That decision proved to be a fatal mistake for a number of us there. The next advance was not a probe but a full on attack by almost twice our number. As agreed, uppn with the cast of the reveal, we exposed ourselves and prepared to retreat through the gate. Three of our number fell in the first volley. The other 3 were able to exit and escape the hounds. We slowly worked our way back up through the battlefields, passing both the other force of Defenders and what was left of the Armies of Good. Rejoining outside, we moved off and waited on our companions in ethereal form to join us. Painfully they pulled their ghostly forms to our location, and we gated back to Chaos to exercise the passages that would result in their return to flesh and blood.

Back to there, here and now...

A trap laid for sheep and sprung by wolves, Ahriman thought to himself once again. How can one be disappointed by his unit staying with the plan, with them making an excellent showing of themselves first by the damage done to the Armies of Good and then to have survived the directed attack of hardened mercenaries and cuthroats. One can not. One can be angered however by the rumors and the stories that followed. Tales of cowerdice attribibuted to his ranks. Turning to his men Ahriman speaks:

"Yesterday we accomplished a great many things my friends. Most of these things will be directed inward and those who choose to wag their tongues on the streets will have no understanding of how far they are from the truth. You have shown to be that you can execute a plan of attack with precision and with results. You have shown to me that you can follow orders even when the temptation to do otherwise is strong. And you have shown the ability to survive in order to fight another day despite being beset upon by a superior force in both number and experience. Listen not to those that call us cowardly, or who question your abilities. This past day we accomplished those things that we set out to do. Even more so in that our attacks not only harried the Armies of Good, but unknowingly at the time put them in such a position between the two Defender units as to be decimated. As has been shown with our success over the past few days, the altars of our dieties are still controlled and protected as our own. You have carried forth the lessons learned within Shame and we have decimated forces greater than our own. When next we hear of the Armies of Good coming back to our lands, we will not be using that opportunity for training. My companions shall have returned from their leave and you will be given full chance to impress upon them your skill and dedication to the protection of the Dark and to of our lands. Next time we shall not be laying in wait passively as does the snare, we shall be moving forward and destroying as does the arrow. We shall be the arrow that pierces the heart of our opponent, whether they be proponents of Good or mercenaries and cutthroats."

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