Turn 23: Discovery
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Fire.
"With this, may they learn of their plight."Earth.
"Those who have slumbered in the depths, awaken once again."Light.
"They denied us for an Age and more. My brethren, commence the ritual!"Shadow.
The StockadesAdil: Try to discreetly heal without killing everything.
Noshtath: Stay in the shadows.
Mass of Flesh: Coherently inform Adil of the current state of its mind.
Put a hand on Adil's shoulder, try to convince him to stay. Whisper to him, or better yet (if I can) message him telepathically using my magic. Then ready my pike to attempt to fight.
Attack if we're attacked... or if it would seem too suspicious to not attack.
Take position in front of the caelondian guard, fight alongside the men. Initiate the new charge by taking the head of the caelondian formation with a sweeping attack to damage all of the enemies and proceed to engage one of the fiends in single combat. Inspire the troops by silent example! Do not back down, do not bow down before the enemies blows.
The Guardsmen were in retreat, their weaponry seemingly useless and the Fiends were as much, if not more, lethal than when first encountered.
Adil's pupils widened at the sight, they were larger than when he first sighted them. The Dwarf scrambled from his position towards the manhole.
"
Not good! Not good at all! Have to run! Have to-..."
"Don't leave."
Adil turned around at the sound and
felt a leather glove clasp itself on his shoulder. It was Leon's hand. "It will be suspicious. As long as we're with Ast, we won't be called out. Do your best to survive and not attract attention," he said, smiling as he hefted his pike around to face the Fiends. The Dwarf could see Ast grin in the distance, before turning to Leon and them readying their weapons for the coming battle.
Adil shook his head and turned to look at the Mass of Flesh which was also nearby - as Noshtath was finishing on the bars. It was pensive in nature, but open to his presence.
"...have to listen...""Chaos.""...have to think...""Master, stay your thoughts. The Fiends-""...have to...Heal.""-...connected to their minds."* * *
"Shall I begin?""Together, as one- did you feel that?" Leon interrupted. He felt a slight prick on the back of his neck, like a tingling sensation. "That felt like...A-Adil?" It was magic.
The merchant-mercenary spun around to see his Dwarven friend wreathed in dark energy, shrouded by the fog and darkness. He could barely make out faint surges of multi-colored sparks snaking around his body, his eyes turning a darker shade as if covered by the same darkness itself.
"What are you doing? Keep down!"
Adil just stood there, muttering to himself.
"...Heal...must heal...Must Heal."Ast spat to his side and adjusted his axe, stepping forward while nudging Leon's shoulder.
"Alright, forward!"The pair charged forward, weapons raised and movements brimming with confidence - partly from the fact that the fog shrouded any sign of undead, including Adil, and met with the oncoming Caelondian Squad, including it's leaders, who seemed to work in tandem with their coordination. Together, both forces crashed down on the Fiends, who were as statues in their position, only animate due to the liquids moving around them in their capillary action.
* * *
Enidri sighed in relief. The woman was clumsy, but thankfully she was not as weak as he thought. But now...those creatures had appeared and seemed hellbent on eradicating life. The smith could feel it, they would be destroyed before that happened. Enidri moved to the front of the Caelondian Guard, spinning his halberd into a ready stance. His gaze skimmed over the soldiers and he saw no one had a halberd, causing him to giggle a bit. Few people used what he believed to be the ultimate weapon, a mix of pike, axe and hammer. He would show them would a dedicated young smith fights.
From the other group's view, they could hear his voice coming from right beside them, though they could see his mouth barely moving at all.
"Fornax, as soon as you get here, start to circle my armor and heal me. I have the ominous feeling the enemies this time are much stronger."The smith smiled. Restoring the name of his family back from the gutter was important, but who wants to live forever? Worthy enemies denoted a worthy risk.
The Sergeant regarded Enidri with a
grim expression and gestured to his men to form a closed rank and file.
"A'right Merc, show us what you've got, we attack once more," He stood up from behind the debris.
"For Caelondia!"They was echoed by several other cries behind them as the other soldiers sprung out of their cover and began readying their weapons for another attack. Enidri could spot the longbowmen's armor covered in the liquid, their failed attempts to get it off led them to discard any armor they had on them. A sickly stench came from their direction.
A few paces in, and they were met by two of the other group, a pike-wielding man and a giant. It would be but only a few more steps until both sides were in range of each other's blades, if not for the Fiends that stood in the middle. Right before the two forces met, a fierce white light flashed from straight behind, followed by a calming wave passing through them.
Then the battle commenced.
* * *
The night was calm in the streets of Caelondia for the warding barriers were still active on the walls, powered by the crystalline trove held deep in the Upper Sector, guarded in the city keep. Only rain and fog passed through the invisible shield, the storm had little effect on the city other than the noise and damp it gave.
Deep in the Lower Sectors, events were different. Reports came in, by word and eye, of multiple attacks in the city. Children's tales coming alive, killing and devouring whomever stood in their way. Not even the metals of men could handle most of their spawn, for the shadows themselves began to turn on their owners.
Hope was present however, the Guard was alerted early on by a trusted source. Squads were sent out to priority areas, ensuring the safety of the citizenry and trying to keep the peace.
In minutes, most of the problems were easily dispelled by the Wardens of the Grey League and their Scryers, who were both weapons of ethereal might, and a dependable communication source when the feet of a messenger was found lacking. Every place was quelled of the unknown for, every place but for the Stockades. This was an integral part of Caelondia, holding more than ninety percent of the city's goods, weaponry and supplies. If it fell in a siege, the city would soon follow.
A tiny blue light flew through the air past several structures and stalls, far over the heads of messengers and runners in it's passage, stopping directly above the Eastern gateway. Below the light was a terrible scene, one of nightmares that only dreams or war may bring. Several men and a Dwarf were in it, converged on three giants of bone and blood. It hovered in place, intrigued by the event before diving downwards.
Moments before this, the light was present in a different scene, one of a lesser intensity but just as crucial. It was with four others - humans, and barely managed to escape on orders from their leader. The humans promised to follow the light after they were finished 'wrapping up', it was needed there anyway.
Fornax surveyed the scene from it's viewpoint - just several meters above the middle of the road. It could make out Enidri, the young smith and
two others facing off against a Fiend. The
rest of the humans were taking the other two.
Both sides weren't faring well in either of their work, other than the soldiers who were fighting with fervor and bravery, despite having lost part of their force to incapacitation. There was also faint traces of dark magic about, having subtly worked it's way onto the people below and draining them of their lifeforce to
fuel itself. The spirit flared up in anger at the severity of the fight, gathering it's reserves of
inner energy and released, feeling it's essence drain as waves of pearlescent blue emanated from it's form. It saw several of the men below turn upwards to see the spirit, not noticing their wounds mending and healing. It could also feel several entities of itself get both healed and burnt from it's force.
Fornax plunged itself into the nearest lantern post, bathing in the flames in it's rest, ignoring the wail that came from the
Fiends.
"Enidri, help is arriving. Hold fast!"Health: 25/25 5/10 (Fear)
Inventory:
Bronze broadsword | Copper Mail | Grey Cloth tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Three Pikemen (Disciplined)
Health: 120/180 0/100 (Stalwart |1/4)
Inventory: Steel Pike | Tempered Steel Plate | Grey Tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Two Longbowmen (Disciplined | 1/3 | Afraid)
Health: 65/120 0/75
Inventory: Oaken Longbow | Corroded Light Steel Chainmail Discarded| Rimmed Helmet | Grey Tunic | Iron Dagger
Guard Sergeant (Disciplined | Afraid)
Health: 60/65 0/25 (Rally Cry)
Inventory:
Bronze Greatsword | Gilded Steel Plating | Grey Tunic | Winged Helmet
Health: Fine ; Fine ; Wounded (Flanked | Boss | Ethereal | ?)
Inventory: ?
Fire!
Forward! Charge!
Attack! Re-rally the men!
The Sea of TearsEveryone follows the plan. The fish are to lay low in the water and restore their strength, so that they'll be ready to follow me as soon as that business with the Tower is over. Barracuda has specific orders to bury itself in the silt, so I can use it as a marker for my Necromancy.
I concentrate on a pile of sea silt around Barracuda and raise a Silt Golem. Crand's knowledge should make raising things somewhat easier than any other form of magic.
Ima chewed on her lips for a moment, thinking of anything she could do to disarm the trap they were riding into. Nothing came to mind, in part thanks to the thinking difficulties she experienced after that lightning-strike. Ima lowered her staff and said,
"The Diviner didn't mention anything about the docks, so I guess it's merely their armor that's shining. Carry on as planned. I'll tell you if anything changes.
"Oh, and... tell your people that if a pile of silt rises from beneath the enemy's boats, it's mine. Make it extra clear that I'll be sure not to raise any corpses in the process."With a nod from Montago, the Elf closed her eyes and pointed her Cutlass at the base of the docked ships, beginning to channel what little she had left, combining her thoughts with those gleaned from Crand as the deceased necromancer's essence ebbed away.
As she opened her eyes, she felt the exhaustion fade, replaced by a link of another entity from deep within the seas - it was of a stern tone, but calm due to the waters it resided in.
"Who hath awakened me? Show yourself!"Ima composed her thoughts, and directed it to her companions to rest, ending it with a short dialogue to her golem.
"I have. Ima Erifithili, Elf of the Wood of Rainbows. Golem, I command you to rise from your slumber and heed my call! Your home has been tresspassed by the humans. Look now! They have built stone fortresses and wooden supports all around it! Who are you to take that, creature of the earth? Rise now, and seek vengeance for they have done these all with impunity.
"Arise!"Ima could hear a gasp coming from Montago behind her as she gazed upon the dock. The shining figures were alarmed, and
seemed to be in utter confusion as the waters below their ships churned and sloshed around, with great effervescence forming in the waters.
Moments later, a fine blanket of sand wrapped itself along the keels of each ship, slowly moving upwards to envelop them in mud and sand.
Ima could hear the cries of the crew on board one of them, as the hold was split in twain by her golem's power, dense seawater rushing in to capsize the ship. The other five were stable, but their crew was visibly frightened. They did not expect this kind of attack.
Montago unloaded his spyglass and raised his pistol, pointing at the ships. "You told the Diviner that you wanted to liberate whoever was under the Roaring Wheels' fist of iron, did you not? You also asked for guidance in doing so, am I correct? Look now. The first step in dealing with an enemy that vastly outnumbers your own forces is to know him, including yourself. You have an impeccable taste in strategy, milady, they were not expecting that. But we have greater problems at hand, it doesn't look like my bribe went through and...we're in range."
He turned towards the other ships and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Archers, ready your longbows! Musketeers, take your positions! We may only have one shot here, make it count! Aim for the Ginean Watchguard, the ships are taken care of!" He quickly took one more look through his spyglass. "They're prepared for an attack and the mages are busy dealing with this storm. Let's show them what we're made of! For Darius!"
His cry was met by countless others, including his own crew before he turned back to Ima. "Every other mage is busy and we need your guidance. The Port Watch is now very much aware of our presence, but seems unsure of what exactly is happening. It seems those crewmen were actually...men and not spirits as I guessed. Don't let your guard down Ima. We're aiming for the marketplace."
"
I have a contact there, he knows we're here. The problem is, the marketplace culvert is guarded by two ballistae and about four whole squads of guards with assorted weaponry. I'm ordering the oarsmen to take it slow and form a close formation. Last I checked, our warriors are only as good the guards we see in front of us, no match for the high guard. Luckily, I'd bet they won't be sent on such a half-assed job such as dock patrol.
. . .
"Oh, wait. Make it two ballistae, and two loaded catapults all to the east of our destination. I think they're lighting up their payload. Hold on, ah, right.
"Lit payload it is."
BlackmarshHead to guild, look for two from earlier. See if I remember them like the apparition said I would.
"...I guess not," Shalla responded, thinking about the dream. "I should probably go see what they're up to, though."
Rufus nodded,
"Keep watch, Shalla. Take these, too. You may need it on your journies, wherever it may take you." He tossed both the pin and the crystal over, with she catching them before turning away as the library doors shut. She could make out a faint image of a person's face as she looked into the crystal, but it must've been a trick of light as the crystal was evidently lustrous.
Shalla moved through the streets,
encountering no resistance or hostility like the shades she saw earlier and quickly arrived at her destination. The door was ajar as she stepped inside, only to see the same person she'd met earlier in a battle with four of her previous companions!
Though, she decided to test the apparition's word and began casting her spell, the crystal lit up along with her staff in her hand as the first words were uttered. Beneath her closed eyelids, she could feel the presence of the same forms earlier - Zakroff and his armored friend, but something else was there, and it was foul. Other than the undead skeleton, which gave off no aura other than it's outline, the three necromancers she had converted hours ago were giving off a radiant black, just like the shades'.
As she opened her eyes, the enormity of the situation took over her. Her 'accomplice' was dying in front of her. His eyes were locked with hers, reflecting pain and confusion. She felt the necromancers beginning to cast another spell.
Surprise Attack the skeleton, and have Pallas aid me in fighting them.
Zakroff sneered as he stepped forward,
"I take it your the ones who summoned the Shades, and tried to kill everyone in this town?" He clenched his fists, feeling his daggers form at his will. He looked at the skeleton and spat at it.
"Kill them Pallas.""He's armed! Activate th-aaaaaarrrgh!"
With a leap, Zakroff charged at the skeleton, knocking it down and
executing a double strike at it with diagonal sweeping movements. The Rogue was surprised to see both his blows parried by it's knife, and see the same knife make it's marks on his wrists, in clean cuts. It moved with the litheness of a cat as it struck back, easily passing both attempts of defense before increasing the wounds of his arms, but not deep enough to cause substantial bleeding. It didn't look like the fires of his blades made any mark.
To his right, Pallas hewed through the unexpecting necromancers with ease.
Due to Zakroff's crafty wording, the three did not expect the sudden attack without any sort of diplomacy. But what was there to be expected from intruders? Where was Ria - The Guardian of the guild when they needed him?
No matter. The singed body of one of their own made the difference, slowly turning ash black and into shadow, fading into the floor. The remaining two look at each other with fear in their eyes and begin casting their spells in retaliation. Zakroff could make out an inhuman expression in their faces. Maybe this must be what fear really looks like.
They raise their hands in unison, before a loud explosion is heard around the Knight, knocking it backwards and into Zakroff, stunning them both but leaving no lasting injury.
Before the remaining three could make any move, a woman appeared at the door entrance holding an azure staff. It was glowing brightly at her side. Zakroff could only moan as he tried to recognize her, pushing the Knight off his bloody arms.
Undead Skeleton
Health:36/40
Inventory:
Sacrificial knife 2x Necromancer Apprentice
Health: 15/50 ([Necromancer A 5/20] (Necromancer B
-7/10
Dead) [Necromancer C 10/20])
Inventory: Bloody Basic Robes | Bloody Basic Staves | Bloody Clothing
Arach GroveGet cog out of the web and stab the spider staring at him in his eye
Undead Human: Do somethng useful
Fluffy: Attack!
Cog: Raise bones, and make bone armor from them.
Ghouls: Throw stuff at the spider. Stay away from the web!
Spectre: Free me from the web!
"Great."
Tyver raised his pike at the sight while looking at his latest companion, "Hey you. Pampered dead guy, do something useful for once would you? If you won't speak, then act!"
"He's got a point, sir. I'll be helping him with the only way I know how, through my teeth!"
The canine rushed over to the Dwarf to aid him, leaving the undead human behind in their haste. Before they could reach Cog, the spider leapt from it's position and onto the poor man.
"Oh
HELL no. I AM NOT FOOD,"
The spider pressed down on his arms with it's legs, stopping him from casting any spells before adjusting it's position to strike. Close up, Cog could see it's hairy mandibles rearing up to strike.
As he glanced at his companions, he could see the ghouls just staring slack-jawed at him, as if this was a show for them. He felt the tendrils of the Spectre move towards him to free him from his prison, but they were useless with the size of the spider blocking it. It was just too huge to even carry, no less strike at due to it's chitinous backside.
Cog could see his allies rush to his aid, but it was too late. He could feel the fangs latch themselves deep into his neck and feel the hairs on them brush against his tender skin.
Hours later, he could feel the fangs loosen from their grip and see the spider jump off of his body, leaving him wobbling like a string due to the webbing.
The spider stays still as Tyver lashes out with his pike, jumping away and smacking the Dwarf's face with one of it's legs as it crashes into Fluffy in it's escape. The pair tumble together in a ball for a few meters, with the spider's legs curled up around the skeletal dog before remaining still. Soon, they disengage with both duelists looking worse for wear.
Cog looked up, and saw many more pairs of eyes above him. They flashed with the lightning and seemed much like the first one he'd seen. His arm went numb, it was no good using his left arm now, along with anything with it.
Forest Spider(s)
Health:
Wounded (
Swarm |
Feral) | ?
Inventory: ?
Author
Topic: Kings of Death - A Necromancy RTD: Turn 24: Blood and Honor (Read 39076 times)