2003 SEASON

SCENARIO SUNDAY and BIG GAME

day one...

THE PORTAL CUBE...The Gatekeeper's forces arrived in the Realm of Splatmandu and swarmed upon the Knights of the Painted Orb. They searched the Painted Forest for the Portal Cube (which, if they had found it, would have substantially increased the number of entry points the evil forces would have in future games). The Knights of the Painted Orb located the Portal Cube and returned it to the safety of The Knights Tower.

day two...

THE GATEKEEPER'S ESSENCE…Even though the Knights of the Painted Orb prevented the Gatekeeper's forces from acquiring the Portal Cube, the original portal WAS OPEN and the Realm of Splatmandu overflowed with the evil forces. The Knights made a valiant effort to regroup and gathered the information necessary to understand (and possibly defeat) the growing menace. The Gatekeeper's forces in the end succeeded in locating the vessel containing the Gatekeeper's evil essence and returned the jar to their portal. Two Knights who came too close to the Gatekeeper's evil essence were incapacitated and taken prisoner.

day three...
THE SCROLL OF DURHAM…The Gatekeeper telepathically guided his General to bring to him the Scroll of Durham. The General ordered the Gatekeeper's forces, his Warriors of Darkness, to bring the Scroll of Durham to the original portal. After searching through hundreds of decoy scrolls, the Gatekeeper's forces completed their task. Meanwhile, the two Knights (Sir Nate and Sir Karl) escaped from the Gatekeeper's elite guards. They managed to evade being recaptured. Sir Nate returned to the safety of The Knights Tower. Alas, Sir Karl was the victim of friendly fire.

day four...
THE STAFF OF MAHEM...The mystical Staff of Mahem would only appear for a brief time in the Realm of Splatmandu. Both the Gatekeeper and the Oracle knew where it would appear and its value. As lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the sky opened up in a torrent, the Knights of the Painted Orb and the Warriors of Darkness clashed in a desperate "winner take all" search to acquire the Staff. Whoever had it in their grasp at sunset controlled its power.  Meanwhile, Sir Nate and Sir Eric succeeded in their quest to return the Elixir of Life to The Knights Tower and in time to save Sir Karl. 

Dark Warrior Jon was the first to the Staff and Darkness controlled the Staff most of the day. In a stroke of luck, Sir Joe intercepted the Dark Warriors - gaining control of the Staff - and then assed it to Sir Karl who held it as the sun set.

day five...

THE BATTLE OF STRONGHOLD GAP...The sun rose as the Evil Hordes swarmed through Stronghold Gap. A handful of Knights, led by Sir Karl, Sir Joe and Sir John, established the first line of defense and stemmed off the initial wave. Meanwhile at the Armory, Sir Nate worked frantically to decipher the ancient writings of his ancestors and in time to awaken the Portal Cube. However, Sir Nate chose not to use the Portal Cube on this day. The Knights managed to hold the gap until sunset, but as the sun set several of the Warriors of Darkness (with the Gatekeeper's essence in hand) were in sight of the Armory.

day six...

A DAY OF DECISIONS...The sixth day dawned as the General of Darkness chose to speak aloud the magic of Durham's Scroll. The Gatekeeper exploded from the confines of the Soul Jar and immediately destroyed the Knight's Tower. As a last ditch effort to save her world from darkness, the Oracle of the Tower summoned enough power and left instructions on the only way to destroy the Gatekeeper. After unleashing the Gatekeeper, the General of Darkness moved quickly to rejoin his forces and established the battle lines for the final confrontation.

Meanwhile, Dark Warrior Jon received a telepathic summons from the Medallion of Mahem. He learned that if the Medallion was worn by the General of Darkness, it would serve as a block against the Gatekeeper's hold. He also learned that if placed around his own neck, the consequences would be unpredictable. Dark Warrior Jon located the Medallion and in the end temptation prevailed. When he placed the Medallion around his neck, he willingly accepted the outcome. He instantly became a servant to the Gatekeeper. As day six ended, the lines had been drawn and the two great armies settled in on the eve of what they all knew was their Final Battle. It was all or nothing ...Victory or Death.

day seven...

BIG GAME THE FINAL CONFLICT...

The sun rose brightly on the final day of battle---the two great armies squared off against each other in what was the deciding conflict.  As the war cries echoed across the line, the two armies collided.
 
The Knights of the Painted Orb fought valiantly against the wave of evil crashing into them, weapons flashed in the sunlight as the screams filled the air.  The Knights translated the information on the Tower and located the Dragon's Orb.  Striking swiftly and repeatedly, the Knights held, then pushed the army of Darkness back.  The Dark Woods erupted with the sounds of battle.
 
Meanwhile, The Gatekeeper and his evil crony materialized from a cloud of smoke into the Dark Woods.  The Gatekeeper began his tour of terror by cutting a swath of destruction through the attlefield.  Impervious to the weapons of men, The Gatekeeper slaughtered them by the bushel full.

When The Gatekeeper invaded the city, a group of Knights (led by Sir Eric of the Web) threw themselves at him.  Sir Eric, unarmed and holding only the Dragon's Orb, attacked...and under tremendous fire he hurled the Dragon's Orb, striking and destroying The Gatekeeper.  Alas, the Gatekeeper's Soul Jar, still in the Realm, was not found or destroyed by the Dark Forces.  The Gatekeeper's evil essence fled back to the safety of the ancient vessel (to fight another day?).
 

The Knights fought on until sunset, no quarter given, none asked.  As dusk settled over the battlefield, victory was inevitable.  The evil army retreated to their original portal, fleeing the Realm forever. 
 
The day went to the Knights.  The Realm of Splatmandu is safe once more...at least for this season.