Secret Hunting Mission

[General Pang]

Pang De arrives with a small consort of 100 archers. "I will destroy the bandit leader and take his head myself," yells Pang De to his troops. Little did they know that he secretly harbored evil designs...

[Ma Teng]

Ma Teng arrives to his rear, his sword hanging within the air as he rode up still in his robes yet upon a fine white steed. One thousand horsemen took to his rear and lined up in small groups. Five hundred skirmishers took to each flank, prepared for the worst. Ten inquires about their target, is voice filled with a certain vigor far from before..

"Where is this bandit Pang De? I do not want to be up all day running around in circles.."

[General Pang]

"Lord Ma Teng, I had set up camp in this very location, but as you can see, the tents and such are in less than decent condition," says Pang De as he waves his hand towards a slightly battered encampment. "Nevertheless it will have to do for now. As for the bandits, they are slightly southeast from here. I have a map of the area in that tent over there. Come with me and we can relax and plan our strategy my liege," finishes Pang De.

With that General Pang dismounted his horse and grabbed a simple spear from one of his peons. "Can't be too careful in these parts Ma Teng. Best to arm yourself. Who knows what kind of highwaymen and other shady characters are present here. The bandits could have spies or assassins lurking all over these parts..." says Pang De to justify his reasons for grabbing a weapon. Then General Pang walked into the tent with two of his guards, waiting for Ma Teng to follow. While he did this, Pang De's men scurried into any available shelter, while a few looked for materials to construct better lodging to accomadate Ma Teng's troops. A few of Pang De's troops were running to try to find a place to stay...or so it seemed.

[Lu Bu]

Wind brushing his face,Lu Bu and Lu Pu rushed to the encampment,hoping to see this so called "hunt."Lu Bu held his Halberd high in the air as he came to a stop.He,Lu Pu,and ten of Lu Bu's horsemen all saw the encampment where lord Pang and Teng reside."Today shall be a day of virtue,and yet we need the patience to care on with our duty" said Lu Bu to his followers,yet speaking quietly.Lu Bu then sent his horsemen to encircl the main camp,to patrol it along side of Pang's troops.Lu Bu also hoped everything was going to plan in Tian Shui with Zhao Ping and the rest of his troops.

When Lu neared the main site itself,he dismounted Red Hare,while Lu Pu dismounted White Demon.Lu Bu gave his halberd to the guards,yet kept his swords in reach,just in case.He walked in,clutching his tribal sword,and sat down next to general Pang,Lu Pu next to Bu.Lu Bu called for some wine,drank it,and began to question.

"Why are we exactly here for,Pang De?I mean bandits cannot just walk right into our territory and attack such a city such as Tian Shui.The only bandits that could do that is the Yellow Turbans of Shang Dang.I could destroy these bandits all by myself.But need I ask,what is our condition and strategy for this battle"?

[General Pang]

Pang De approaches Lu Bu but only speaks to him with a whisper. "There are no bandits here. We will be heading southeast and attacking Wei's city of Xiangyang while keeping up the illusion that we are campaigning against criminals. If necessary we can explain to Ma Teng that Wei has joined the bandits and is sheltering them in their city. The real tiger that we are hunting though is Wei's Empire. It's time for a new hero of chaos to rise, unite the barbarian tribes of the northwest and revolt against the Han my friend..." says Pang De.

Pang De then looks both ways to make certain that Ma Teng is not near. With an even quieter voice he says, "Remember that if Ma Teng impedes us we can always hunt him too. For now though, it is not necessary. We shall assault Xiangyang and attempt to curry support from Shu."

[Lu Bu]

Lu Bu shook his head and whispered the most recent information to Lu Pu.Lu Bu placed his right hand on his right knee,while drinking with the other hand.He then called one of his horsemen up to the tent.Lu Bu gave a letter to the horsemen and told him to take it to the battlefield of Jiang Xia,to lord Liu Bei.It was raining out,the lighting sent shivers within the hearts of the men.Lu Bu arose from his seat,bowed to both Pang and Ma,walked toward the exit.He called over a servant and washed his hands.

Lu Bu made a motion to Pang De to come to the exit.Lu Bu also sent the nine other horsemen and Lu Pu back to Tian Shui.Lu Bu then whispered into the ear of Pang De,making motions as though to be debating with him,so Lord Teng would not get any suspictions.

"Ah,Lord Pang.Here's my motion.I sent a horsemen to Liu Bei,and ask for reinforcements to aid us against Xiang Yang.I'm going back to Tian Shui.You and Ma Teng move against Xiang Yang and seige it,Zhao Ping and Ma Chao shall move against the barbarians of Xi Liang.I shall stay behind,and defend Tian Shui.'Lu Bu mounted Red Hare and took his Trident Halberd.'Remember,dispose of the barbarian if you have to.I am off,I shall see you at the victory banquet."

With that Lu Bu rode back to Tian Shui.With the storm surrounding him,he was unnerved.His and Pang's plan must come to fruition,if they indeed would like to make names for themselves.

[~Traptz~]

A Problem Brews?

As King Duosi and his men stopped on a mountain near Ma Teng and his officers Duosi walked to a ledge to see what was going on. From no were in any direction could a bandit army be seen, nor could any signs of recent bandit activity. Becoming fast suspicious Duosi got his men to gather up. Dawang mounted his new steed and began the arduous journey down the slight slope.

King Duosi and his 200 men neared the camp just as Lu Bu and his unit left. Duosi Dawang asked a nearby soldier were Ma Teng was and he was pointed in the direction of him. Duosi quickly moved through the camp and found Ma Teng. King Duosi ran towards Ma Teng and bowed low.

"My Lord Ma Teng. I saw that you Lu Bu, and General Pang left with very few troops, so i came as reinforcements. For when dealing with rebels who knows what they may have planned. If you do not mind would you allow me to advise you in this campaign, for I am in your army to advise..."

[General Pang]

Reinforcements come from the west. They are led by De's son Pang Hui and they carry glistening banners in addition to their equipment. The Xiongnu Confederation archers in particular have a lot of flags, for Pang De's Shadow guards already carry shields and spears and thus would have a hard time doing other tasks in the army. Meanwhile Pang De gazes at the other barbarian reinforcements, those led by King Duosi. Staring at awe at King Duosi, Pang De realizes that he must not let the clever ruler interfere with his plan. Starting wars was something the Pang family was infamous for. De wasn't going to fail now; his clan had an illustrious past as instigators of conflicts ranging from the Han-Chu War to ancient wars between northern states and barbarian tribes. Pang De couldn't fail. The fate of the Ba and Ma clans hung on his shoulders. He would pit the two kingdoms off against Wei but Wei would be unprepared, for at the moment they had begun concentrating on Wu according to spies of Pang De that were living on the border. With reinforcements from Shu, the Zen army would deal Wei a crushing blow, but only if Pang De first tricked Ma Teng into launching the first assault.

"Ah King Duosi...so nice to see you here," lied Pang De. "The more the merrier right? I have heard you are a brilliant tactician, and the forces of Qiang would do well to have you along on the expedition. I challenge you to a contest though. Whoever can first bring their unit to battle with the enemy and successfully execute a brilliant tactic will win 20 or so gold. I'll even give you a head-start, although I warn you that the competition will be difficult, for my scouts have reported that the bandits have moved further southeast than was expected. Apparently they ravaged the area of Xiangyang and have taken Xiangyang castle and allied with Wei. Defeating Wei and the criminals will be a difficult feat, but I assure you there will be grand rewards of spoils inside the city of Xiangyang if we can wrest it from the hands of those evil-doers...." said Pang De.

[~Traptz~]

A Rebel Possibly?

Duosi Dawang turned his head to look at Pang De. He looked the man over. A grand warrior from looks, and probably not stupid. But Duosi Dawang was smarter. And Pang De was careless.

"Ha ha. Lord Pang De, please walk with me."

Duosi bowed to Ma Teng.

"If you don't mind I will take my leave of you Lord Teng. I wish to discuss a few things with Lord Pang De first."

Duosi Dawang turned and began walking away.

"Come Pang De. Let me begin. Your contest, I decline it. I have never been the competing type. Your bribe of spoils? I did not come here for riches. I scouted the area before I joined up with the main army. There are no signs of bandits for leagues in any direction. The only movement I was able to see was that of our forces. Xiangyang? Let me bring that to Lord Ma Teng first. It would be best we do not start any wars without his full consent first. Right Lord Pang De?"

King Duosi stopped short and turned to Pang De.

[General Pang]

"My scouts have not confirmed 100% that the rebels have made it to Xiangyang. They know for a fact, however, that a small band of insurgents have fled the area carrying war loot and riches stolen from local villages. They have escaped northeast. Xiangyang is a while away from here you see, so you would not have been able to see them from atop an elevated position. My son Pang Hui has also recommended to me that it is possible that the main body of their army has moved northeast to pillage and rape while a few small bands are hiding out in forests relatively nearby waiting to ambush.

A threat like this cannot be left to stay alive. We have come this far already, I believe it is now necessary to continue trudging on. If the miscreants really allied with Wei then we may have quite an enemy on our hands. After all, the Black Mountain Bandits of the Northeast, who aligned themselves with various factions there, caused quite a bit of damage to Cao Cao when he was campaigning. We cannot let another bandit sect rise...." says Pang De.

[~Traptz~]

Who Does He Think He Is

Duosi just laughed at the man. Does he really think that a few rebels could pose a threat. He really must have not paid attention to anything during his life.

"Pang De, if your so certain as to these bandits wereabouts then you deal with them. Cao Cao only had a problem with the Black Mountain bandits due to his own incompetance. If eh ahd sent one of his better generals, and a good number of men, and halted his advance they could have been dealt with. So Lord Pang De, go out and deal with these bandits, I will remain and guard the camp. What say you?"

[Ma Teng]

A man upon a single white horse rides up, shouting father, he is one of Ma Teng's sons.. Ma Teng greets him, holding back his archers, noting that this man is with them.

"My son, why have you left Chang An unguarded?"

"Father, a note, from the man who you trust as much as Liu Bei and the grand Shibo! Ba Zeng! It is of most importance!"

Ma Teng oddly looks at the note and then back to his son, he retrieves the note from his son and then turns, walking slowly in another direction, reading the note as he follows. He goes off for what seems like an hour, the parchment gone as he saddles up his horse. He calls out to Lu Bu.

"General Lu Bu! You shall reside here and appear upon the Xiang Yang border. Do not attract attention, our actions will be watched by our enemy and read. Hurry off."

"The rest of you, follow me!"

The armies mount up, take down their supplies and tents and speed off toward the Hong Nong border.. Ma Teng's son leaves now again with another parchment, from Ma Teng this time. He heads off to Han Zhong.

*In Han Zhong*

Armies across Qiang have been reported mounting up. It seems that it is a grand test of sorts..

[Jorge]

Lø¢k from a couple of miles away on a enourmous cliff looks down above the Allies takes his sword out and points it out toward where there allies are heading and behind him a large army of Archers and warriors pop out screaming in gloryful valiant screams. The men then rush toward the allies to try to accompany them. Lock stays behind looking at the cliff pointing outward toward the allies then pulls back his blade puts it in his Sheath and then turns around and walks away from it. After a while he is nowhere to be seen but his men are catching up to the Allies rapidly. Yet the soldiers head over to Luo Yang City and a whisper in the wind is heard

"It's time to Dance with Shadows..."