Good stuff. I think Moloch covered the most important part for the timeline. Some of this might find its way into "Winter 1381: The Vision - Siege of Arabel" as well. I still don't know what all this Vision business was about though, so I can't write that up yet!

If anyone's interested in writing about a particular character, as a diary, short story or whatever format you wish, feel free to make a topic with your character's name in here and update in your own time. Basically this is for going into more depth than the timeline does, and especially for telling the tales of past characters - preferrably of their IG activities but whatever it is you feel like talking about.

eg. (even though it is just a character background, and quite a detailed one at that, this would be the sort of scope/focus I have in mind: Xenthym Kane.

Not that I know my way around it, but eventually all this would likely get put onto the CoA Wiki, so if you've got anything like character portraits or illustrations, go ahead and include them.

Do Not Make Yourself at Home

“Aldara? Is that you?â€

Folly

The last few weeks had left Brannus more beast than man. His hair ran shaggy and uncut from head to chin, and muck and worse had made homes in his armour in more than a dozen places. Crawling through tunnels and racing through the upperdark, fighting in the streets and deep beneath the city against everything from adventurers to the undead had taken their toll. His armour was black and brown more often than not rather than the blue he used to wear, and his sword notched and going blunt.

“Shh, someone’s coming.â€

Departure

The steel on his skin felt cumbersome, but at the same time there was a feeling of freedom in his spirit. Brannus’ old uniform lay on the table in a passably neat manner, down to the cloak, while he tied on his new gauntlets. The armour was dwarf steel, but tailored by himself, and not an easy piece to assemble for it; but that was alright, he wasn’t planning on removing it any time soon, not where he was going. Bhaliir was gone; Laura was dead; why should he have to dwell in the empty space left in their wake? He had no more reason to stay, no more reason to defend the actions of either one at risk to himself. With one last tug, Brannus secured the heavy glove to his left hand, and looked at his new helmet. It was a dyed green so dark as to nearly be black, just like the rest of his armour, and fairly plain though well made. There was a grate for breathing, two slits for eyes, and that was all; no visor, he did not plan to remove his helmet or show his face much either in the coming days.
The sound of footsteps brought him out of his brooding. Since Bhaliir’s unsuspected departing, Calvin and Temblo both had taken to longer stints out of the estate, namely because of the surviving retainers’ mutual agreement to lock and bar the door at all times and not allow any visitors in, with the now total lack of guards. It was Calvin coming down the stairs as it turned out.
“All packed?â€

Three Schemers in a Tub

“These are dangerous times,â€

The cool, sleek metal made the tiniest of squeaks as Brannus opened and closed his hand before his eyes. Feelings of disbelief, of awe, of amusement all ran through his mind which was too blank at the moment to comprehend any of them, so he just let his face grin like it wanted to. In seconds, everything else had been forgotten – the long trek east over swamp and mountain, the mithral, the murders, the exile, all in the past and forever beyond tormenting him – and all that mattered was the present.
“Nice, isn’t it?â€

Chapter V
Judge, Jury, Executioner.

Michal tried to make sense of the recent events in his mind while his feet carried him across the narrowing stone alleys towards the northwestern part of town, towards the Wild Goose inn. The same inn where Bradley Larks – a former retainer to Lord Fezznick himself – once backhanded a man in the face for making a suggestive magical sending across the city; besides that one incident it had no real claim to fame.
Since the Sharpened Shield broke off from the other Helmites, it had only become clearer that people seeking protection would sooner approach Lenik and his sect than Sarah. One such person was the merchant Trystan, who had indeed asked both groups for aid; Sarah had offered him Helmite bodyguards to combat the threats on him and his wife; Michal could only imagine what Lenik had offered, or done, but he had not heard much from Trystan since.

Barging through the doors, Michal remembered why he had come. The sending - much like a rogue had done long ago, a boast and a bluff, which had brought Larks’ iron gauntlet to the culprit’s face. Trystan and his wife stood at the bar, ordering some drinks while Lenik stood alongside the man named Khasim – the only other member of the Sharpened Shield Michal knew of. It took a while for him to realise that, again, he had arrived in full battle-array whereas Lenik and the others had garbed themselves in casual clothing… all but Khasim. Before he could wonder if that piece of information was significant the doors burst open again behind him, and three men entered, the target of Lenik’s sending: Banites.
“You’re walking a thin line, Trystan,â€

@AchiElo:

Bhaliir is not ended!! :O

That's why I suggested changing the central plot to the Orcus Cult. Read the post, you ninnyhammer! If that's the way it goes, I'll change the topic title to something more fitting. Maybe The Life and Times of the Power-Hungry.

Well it's more likely that I'll be able to fit in something here than play CoA, so let's get this ball rolling:

What are your thoughts on start/end points if you guys still have nothing better to do than this? Personally, I'm thinking…

That the main focus of the story (setting-wise) should be the Cult, since from my PoV, that's really what everything was centered around in the end. (for Brannus at least, Calvin for the most part I'd imagine, and afaik Laura got her hands dirty with the Wulf business too at least)

The theme of never being certain who was friend and who foe: for instance, Laura's suspicions about Calvin being a cultist, which ultimately were revealed to be warranted when Calv had his talk with Brannus. It would be nice if that revelation was kept 'till that talk. Same regarding Laura; where rumours were abound about everything from bloodstone smuggling to murders and whatever else was floating about, yet she remained politically correct until Wulf dropped by, if you maybe didn't delve into the character so much as to make it obvious Laura's nature until that part where she gets revealed for the cunning, mocking evil she was at the core.

As for the ending, I had three in mind, one for each central character.
Laura… well, there's only so much that can be said for dying on a DM miniplot you got involved with a week or so before, but I'll leave that up to you. It may be better to finish on a different note where Laura's being Laura, rather than duelling ogre berserkers in a cave, and Calvin can wrap it up with a note on seeing Laura's body arrive at the estate, and I can do the funeral-preperations etc.
Calvin: Oooee, not sure if this is possible. The sewers-chase is a good point, and being left top-side to the crows by Brannus+co. Devious as he was, it must still have been something of a hit when Brannus left you to your death, but ah.. unfortunately, I'm guessing that's as far as can be written regarding Calvin's untimely demise. <_<
Brannus: I want to go on and write about the gang-life he got involved in, with Natascha and M. Parish. It does go off-track for a long, long way from Bhaliir and the Cult (last mention of either would be when he left for the Bottle) but when it comes back it -is- very much involved with both factions, or what was left of them: (reaching a climax in the mass-ruins-mugging, fleeing through the upperdark. When he gets back to Arabel the next big event is returning to the estate to kill some hunters and run off with the Red Tome of Bones and Ashes, the Cult coming back into focus with V-something's offer, Calvin's capture, Harthoon's offer, the ill-fated hunt for Jon Ermyn, Natasha's escape, Mickey going blind in a lab, entering Harthoon's sanctum and Mickey+Brannus' last shot at life, Natasha's return, Mickey's paranoia where the gang finally split through a series of unfortunate events, making up with Canderous outside Arabel, and likely end it there when he let himself be arrested.

I know Paula will likely be up for adding a bit herself, most like with Natasha's spy-work into the Cult and the underworld for Bhaliir (or vice-versa.. <_< never did find out) and then from when Brannus left Bhaliir.

I don't really know what Calvin was up to until near enough when he got his retainership, and no doubt Laura had some other plots going on that might be worthwhile adding in (ones that arn't likely to expose anyone still around, I hope) so if either of you have anything else your characters were involved in or master-minding, post them!

But as a round-up of the main portion of the story that all three characters are involved in:

Proving yourself - Calvin earned his spot IG, so did Brannus, and Laura pointed both along the right path. I'm sure you both know the relevent details better than me.
Cult/Eclestians - A great big can of whoopass we managed to open on ourselves. Probably for the most part Brannus and Laura's scheming to get more information, Calvin being on hand to answer any queries or provide missing pieces for any plans, but also Laura's arrests, setting the trap for Wulf (Calvin's wooing of Belladonna), swearing her oath of truth, fight with Evander etc.
The War Council - Long schemes and hare-brained nights, but an exercise in lateral thinking that was fun all the same. There must be something that can be sorted out from that to be put in. Bhaliir's little hints maybe?
Laura's funeral - before and after. The arrangements would obviously be covered by Brannus, what happened after in the estate Rooster can handle.

And the rest is me, Rooster, possibly Paula, and maybe others if they want to 'sign up'.

Also of course, there's the Lite option, which is to choreograph a brief of the whole thing into paragraphs instead of chapters, and insert more detailed chapters from the view of one or the other central characters as their time to enter the limelight comes (eg. war council would be covered in a brief, whereas Wulf's murder would be in an actual story)

EDIT: and if a DM's reading this, if the Bhaliir forum is no longer in use, could we be given access to it? (–lizard-man--, RoosterG, Olouth)