The tale of Roland Marsilio is one of great pride in the ever-expanding realm of Branch and it began not long ago with the attempt to overtake a rival kingdom, 300 miles to the West-Northwest. In this tale, I shall attempt to retell the account of the annex of Pan-Tree and the creation of the Order of the Walrus, which had neither horn nor claw, but tusk. Here is the tale:

Roland Marsilio is a charismatic and strong man who, from his very birth, has received the finest military training in the land. Roland was born to simple peasant family, vassals to the Lord Doolan of Branch. It was a rather large family for the time. His parents had two older daughters who were both married off to make room for a male heir to the house that could keep the family farm. Later, Roland and another son were born and in that time, extra children were sent either into military service or to the monastery.

While his brother went into spiritual training, Roland received the former and was trained at the finest war school in the kingdom where he excelled through the ranks and became part of the Branch Royal Guard. Some time later, there was an attempt on the King's life and while his fellow guardsmen fell; Roland single-handedly defended his king from the four remaining assassins.

After successfully defending his lord, Roland was appointed as the king's Swordmaster and was charged with reforming the Royal Guard. As the king's Swordmaster, Roland had been on many missions for the crown and received an elegant sword and a sturdy shield to aid him.

On another mission, Roland met the tricky Aramis: mage, bankrupt count, and shifty gambler. It was with this person that Roland discovered his powers of True Sight, which allows him to see through magical illusions and to recognize invisible object and beings. This supernatural ability was recognized by the mage when Roland somehow did not fall for his magical illusions. Noting this power useful, Lord Doolan had since paired to the two together to make a formidable team. Although, weary of all magic users, Roland came to trust Aramis in their travelings and has benefited much from his company.

Upon receiving his invitation to the Queen of Pan-Tree's birthday party, Lord Doolan, King of Branch (the township that I actually live in), came up with a devious plan to annex the kingdom for his own. The king then sent his Swordmaster, Roland Marsilio, as an emissary of Branch to represent the kingdom and to honor all niceties without having to directly involve himself in the manner. Roland Marsilio's mission in the grand deal of things is to cultivate corruption in Pan-Tree from the inside and make it easier to conquer without much resistance when the Armies of Branch converge at a later date.

Unaware of any misdoings in Pan-Tree, including those of the Dragon Priest, Roland, along with his companion and fellow conspirator in the manner, departs Branch with utmost haste in order to make good time on his mission.

Upon arriving in Pan-Tree, Roland partakes in all of the festivities with a general peaceful demeanor and publicly speaks of goodwill between the two kingdoms. Unnoticed, Roland later sows his seeds of mischief in order to weaken the rival kingdom, still unaware of the threat of the Dragon Priest.

It had seemed to be, that before the emissaries of Branch arrived in Pan-Tree, there had been an evil in the realm, which had been driven off by the powers of the dragon. The land of Pan-Tree had been rescued from the clutches of the Fox and his assassins, only to be suppressed by the Dragon and his followers. The Dragon did offer its protection to the land, but in return took a hefty tribute from the Merchant King and his wife, the Gnome Queen. With such heavy taxation, the supporters of the Unicorn were unable to mount any type of resistance. Then, in a cunning move, King Fred Frederick Frederickson sent a hidden message to his daughters, who possessed the powers of the Unicorn, for aid.

Upon arriving in Pan-Tree before the birthday party, locals and distant travelers alike began to set up camp outside the town square. After a procession and a receiving line to meet the royal family, many of the guests were invited to "honor the spirit of the Dragon" by the mysterious Dragon Priest, who seemed to have more real power in Pan-Tree at the moment. Some of the travelers made token donations as to not upset the new power while others proudly proclaimed their support. Still others snuck by, upset by the new toll.

After everyone had made their introductions, the town square was open to them, but they were warned not to venture yet into the woods; told that there were many dangers (including a dragon) to be found there. The guests of the party began to enjoy themselves while some were busy scheming in order to make best use of their time.

After some time, the festivities were broken by a dazzling display of pyrotechnics, seemingly the Dragon's way to demonstrate his power over the land. Good folk coward in fear as amid the chaos, a skull demon entered the town. Brave warriors went on their guard to defend the town from the undead invader, but to no avail, since the Dragon Priest stepped forward and proclaimed that the monstrosity was under the protection of the Dragon and was not to be harmed.

Then when things seemed at their worst for the Pan-Tree loyalist, the Unicorn twins arrived and used their power to banish the demon from the grounds. Seeming defeated, but not yet done fighting, the Dragon Priest departed in order to plan his next move. The two Unicorn daughters of the king then pleaded with the people to help rid the land from the Dragon and put a warding charm around the perimeter of the town in order to protect it from further evil; evil has not since shown a developed presence inside the town. They again warned of venturing into the woods for the night, but asked that all loyal to the King to venture the next morning in order to find something to oust the Dragon.

That evening, when plotting became thicker, two groups emerged: the followers of the Dragon Priest and the Loyalists of the Unicorn. The Dragon Priest was seduced into the woods where the warding charm was ineffective and was met by the Loyalists who had procured a few new temporary allies: some of the outsider-travelers and a demon of their own. The Dragon Priest was trapped on the bridge right outside the town and the Unicorn's demon moved in to make a vengeful kill. Suddenly, just as the demon's knife began its piercing decent, the priest burst into flames and was gone. The Loyalists returned to the town proclaiming, "Wes hail! The Dragon Priest is no more!" There was much rejoicing since the woods would be safer the next day when adventurers were meant to travel and find a way to drive the remaining presence of the Dragon away.

Unnoticed by all but one, the Dragon Priest's spirit drifted slowly back into town.

"Those fools," thought the spirit, "they did not know that I intended to crossover in order to complete my plan."

As the spirit moved on, eyes did not follow him as he was invisible to most, but one man's eyes were determined to gaze upon what shouldn't be seen. Roland Marsilio approached, intending to make contact with the unseen, but found that although he could see the mystery, he could not yet converse with it. Roland then sought out his fellow conspirator, Count Aramis in order to find an arcane solution to the communicative problem.

"Two more souls for the Ferryman to deliver into the realm of Ęther," recited the mage as both Roland and Aramis turned from the material plane to the one bearing the priest's spirit.

The pair walked defiantly to the Dragon Priest and demanded an audience. Knowing that Roland had seen him even from the other plane, the Dragon Priest was impressed and sought to convert the two to his own order. He explained to the Swordmaster and the Mage how he had escaped the demon's attack by at the moment of his alleged death, he allowed himself to be consumed by magical dragon fire which freed his spirit from the material plane, thus allowing himself to search for the magical shards which the Unicorns also sought, but he now needed mortal allies to help in his quest.

"Shards?" questioned Aramis. Neither of the travelers from Branch had yet heard of the ancient enchantment residing in the land.

"Yes. The magical shards of the great Glass Lake," pronounced the Dragon Priest as he began the tale of ancient lore:

'Many ages ago, before Pan-Tree had been named, before Devil's Kitchen had been settled by the dark ones, when the Ents were still Saporlings, before the world moved on, this very valley had once been a great lake of magic. Two creatures came to it, sensing its power, the Dragon and the Unicorn. The wondrous Dragon dripped his claw into the magical water and begun to draw energy from it. The Dragon grew and all prospered in its presence. To spite the Dragon, the jealous Unicorn then dipped its horn into the lake and tainted it so that Dragon could no longer draw power from it. The Dragon became angry and the when the Unicorn withdrew its horn; the entire lake had turned to glass. The pair became engaged in an epic struggle and during the battle, the lake smashed and the land below was revealed. In the dust following the battle, neither side emerged victorious. The Dragon went off in search of other lands to spread his influence while the Unicorn remained and tended the land and its bloodline is still present in Pan-Tree to this day. The magic shards were scattered across the land and were never found.'

"These shards are what the Unicorn seek and they must not find them, lest the Dragon be defeated. This I beg of you, help me recover the shards first, for the sake of the Dragon and for the safety of Pan-Tree. The Unicorn Twins are corrupt and dangerous and if they recover the shards first, the Dragon will not be able to protect the land!" The Dragon Priest appeared to be sincere in his request and to Roland at least, did not seem as evil as the royal family had portrayed him.

Evil, yes. Still evil, but not a reckless evil; probably even less than the Fox and his gang of assassins that had briefly held the realm had been. Just as the Dragon claimed, he probably was the lesser of the two evils and Roland realized that he would need allies if he was to complete his mission and annex Pan-Tree. One thing was apparent to Roland and it was that if the Unicorns obtained the shards, Branch would never rule here. He had to make a deal.

Roland revealed his mission to the Dragon Priest who was astonished at such boldness, but he did not want to give up his hold on Pan-Tree. A bargain had to be made. Both sides agreed the Unicorns should not possess all of the shards and it was agreed that in any case, the Dragon should remain in Pan-Tree to offer its protection in exchange for the continued tribute of raw materials, gold, and crops. The bargain was struck and if all went well, Branch would rule Pan-Tree with the Dragon's continued presence and the emissaries would help spread the Dragon's influence to other lands as well. The deal seemed acceptable to both sides and as they swore upon the deal (and also the spirit of the Dragon), Roland Marsilio played his trump card and magically bound the priest to his word. The Dragon Priest was astonished to find he'd been tricked, but he had no choice but to aid the newly formed third party in its search for the shards. Realizing that his fate was now bound to the success of geas and that his new allies were mortal he gave up his last secret, the Dragon Scale Armor.

The last gift of the Dragon was imparted to Roland. The Dragon Priest revealed that the armor could only be pierced by the Dragon Sword, a relic that had long since been lost, and so it was that Roland Marsilio no longer feared death from a mortal blade. After a few more words concerning their alliance, the three parted way and the two from Branch reentered the material plane and began playing the other side of the board.

After agreeing to the Unicorns to also help them, the two met others and became five. The other three also were neutral between the Unicorn and the Dragon and a new brotherhood bent on finding the shards was formed. The group was neither horn nor claw, but tusk. Thus, the Order of the Walrus was formed out of common belief. Its members included Roland and Aramis of Branch, Norian, a potion master and ambassador from another land, Ork, a strong, but slightly. orcish Orc, and Roden the Wandering Warrior who became the Half-Prince of Pan-Tree after releasing an ancient staff from the earth. Together, the order made plans to venture out the next day.

Thaloc, the God of Rain, was in a giving mood the following morning. Although the land needed the water, the wetness made traversing the land difficult for the adventurers. Hidden among the tress were scatter many capsules, each containing a bit of map of the land and a word or two to a great riddle that had not yet attempted.

Several groups of adventures traversed the land all day, each searching for the fabled shards and pieces of map. Groups included the Order of the Walrus, the followers of the Dragon, and The Arrows, a band of righteous bow-wielding females that had sworn allegiance to the Unicorns. Other marauders that moved freely between the groups included an invisible Jee-dii, Puck, the Gnomish Town-Crier, a half-jester/half-wizard known as a "Jizard", and a few other adventures.

These groups encountered each other many times throughout the day. A few memorable encounters included an ingenious escape when the Order of the Walrus was surrounded by the bow-women of the Arrows. The encounter ended when Count Aramis casted a powerful time-stop spell and disarmed all of the archers and hid the arrows. Before restarting the hands of time, Aramis also slipped one of his exploding balls into the ruck of the lead Arrows member and ran off. The woman exploded in a gory mess.

The Order also encountered the Unicorn's demon on the bridge before the day ran out. The potion master Norian slew the demon, but was then possessed by it and had a strong urge to kill.

After most of the map pieces and clues were gathered, the separate groups began working together to solve the riddle as the rain continued to fall. Once the clue of a checkerboard was mentioned (a corner where dark meets light), the Order of the Walrus quickly departed to the familiar area to search for the shards. But it was not one of the Order that found the relic, but the spirit of the Dragon Priest, but since he was still incorporeal, he could not handle the relic so he told its location to the only person who could see him.

Roland was quick to recover the artifact and once it was secured, the Order of the Walrus marched triumphantly into the town square to examine the relic. A crowd gathered and the Order chanted its mantra, "Crush 'em, Burn 'em, KOO-KOO-CATCHOO!" The crowd drew closer as the artifact was unveiled.

Behold! It was a statue of a grand Unicorn! Whether the tale of the shards was made up, or they were already collected long ago by the Unicorn and sculpted into the artifact, or the shards simply referred to the pieces of map and riddle is unknown, but the artifact did indeed hold the power of the Glass Lake. Many desired such power. One of the twins approached and thanked the Order, telling them to remember their promise and return the object.

The rain seemed to be at its worst. Suddenly, the Dragon Priest, in a ball of fire, emerged into existence and announced, "By giving the power of the Unicorn to me, all will be safe. Remember our bargain, Roland!"

Roland remembered all right. Never was it stated that once the power of the shards was found would it become the property of the Dragon. Many more tried to persuade Roland to do different things with the power. Then something unexpected happened.

In a loud voice, Roland Marsilio announced, "I claim the power of the Unicorn for the Kingdom of Branch!" But also: "I have not forgotten my friends, long live the Order of the Walrus!"

"Crush 'em, Burn 'em, KOO-KOO-CATCHOO!" The chant of the order blared out across the town square.

The rain stopped and all were appalled by this sudden turn of events. The power of the Unicorn Twins was reclaimed, Pan-Tree was annexed into the Kingdom of Branch, and the presence of the Dragon remained for now as was agreed for Roland was a man of his word. Thus ended this tale of Horn, Claw, and TUSK. For a while there was a bit of political dispute about the land, but in time, the Armies of Branch arrived and all was settled. The former royal family and their subjects were allowed to stay and even to keep their honorable titles as king and queen, but they became merely ceremonious soon enough as Branch's government was set up within its new boundaries.