((Finally, it's done. I may have to make a point of not getting into so many battles: this thing was an all-day affair.))
Hearing a shout ring out through the ranks of men high above him, Flavvius and his men knew immediately the current circumstances. The guardsmen made ready to lay waste to Madara, only to find that he had gone, likely off into the sky with his men. Instead, Flavvius called out to them, "Come quickly! We are no longer needed here. And now begins the best part." He said, grinning. Far off, from the face of the cliff, came the clear blaring of a horn.
-----
"Righ' lads, There's th' signal! Inta' th' streets! Go, go, go!"
The soldiers under captain Callidus' command burst forth from their hiding place within the sewers, up into the blazing inferno above. They were all immediately hit by a wave of sweltering heat, but not one of them faltered.
High above them, from within the black clouds that now roiled above Zurinth, came the whoops and bellows of scores of Tengu warriors as they swooped above the flaming rooftops. Suddenly, their battlecries swelled, and twenty warriors burst forth from the smoke, swinging their staves menacingly. Callidus' soldiers raised their crossbows.
"Steady lads, take yer aim nice an' easy..."
The approaching warriors swooped low, almost touching the ground as they sped forward.
"FIRE!"
Twelve bolts sailed through the air towards the approaching warriors. All but one found their marks, and half of the attackers faltered, fell and skidded across the cobblestone street before laying in a heap at the crossbowmen's feet. The remaining nine Tengu veered straight up, back into the shelter of the plumes of smoke, then dropped in again, this time coming straight down upon Callidus and his men.
"SWORDS! Gut th' bassards! Slice their 'eads from their shoulders!"
The soldiers all cast their crossbows aside, drawing their swords from their belts. Just as the nine warriors fell upon Callidus and his men, they all scattered, leaving the Tengu warriors to slam into the ground, disoriented. Two of the Valtan warriors were not quite fast enough, and fell to the enemy's staves. The remaining warriors fell upon the Tengu, slashing and stabbing furiously. Callidus himself was invisible, lost in a flurry of steel, gore, and severed limbs. As the fighting thinned out, four of the Tengu lay dead at the soldier's feet. Each of them turned to look at their captain, to behold an impressive sight: Captain Callidus stood, drenched in blood, atop no fewer than five mangled corpses.
"Y'see that lads? Bleed th' same blood, an' die th' same death, these bassards do. Now les keep movin'."
-----
"'Ere they come, cap'n!"
A dozen of the enemy warriors swept over the flaming docks out towards the small warship. Captain Aramis barely hesitated.
"Alright lads, this is it. Run out those ballistae, scatter shot into th' 'eart of 'em. Make 'em bleed, for House, Guild an' Nation!"
Immediately, the crew sprang into action. The ballistae were readied, and dozens of large, hollow glass spheres were brought up on deck.
"Pick yer targets, make ready lads..."
The attackers swooped in low, ready to drop their volatile payload on the ship.
"FIRE!"
With a mighty twang, three of the ballistae loosed their projectiles into the oncoming force. The first fell short, landing in the water. The next two found their marks, shattering on impact and maiming or decapitating their targets, greivously wounding the rest in a cloud of razor-sharp shards. All but one fell into the flames that now crept out across the waters of the bay. This last warior, upon seeing his companions so brutally struck down, fled off towards the shoreline, only to return moments later with an even greater horde of his allies trailing behind him.
"Starboard, bring those ballistae about! Everyone, reload with firebombs! Aim high! Ready? FIRE!"
Five flaming projectiles soared through the sky towards the oncoming force. And this time, none of them missed their mark.
Perhaps it was a fluke of the wind. Perhaps the timing had been absolutely perfect. Perhaps even Lord Imp himself had blessed those five flying bombs with holy fire, but in any case as each struck it's targets, it burst open, spraying them with flaming oil, and igniting the incindeary bombs they carried. One by one, each of the approaching Tengu warriors flew into the conflagaration, feeding it, until the entire sky was awash with burning rain and scorched corpses.
-----
Across town, the soldiers under the command of captain Rulinda weren't faring quite so well. She and her six two-man heavy crossbow crews were trapped in one of the few stone buildings scattered around Zurinth. They were beginning to run low on ammunition, and more and more Tengu warriors were arriving every minute.
"Ma'am, that was th' last o' th' firebombs!"
"Then switch to scatter shot! Don' let up, lads! We hafta hold 'em off!"
Suddenly, a razor-edged staff sailed in through one of the windows, felling the soldier manning one of the heavy crossbows. Instantly, Rulinda sprang into action, taking up his position and loosing another glass sphere into the throng of Tengu warriors that swarmed around the building. There was a chorus of shgrieks, and another three warriors fell out of the sky into the flaming wreckage. They fired volley after volley into the swarm, whittling them away a little at a time, even as their ammunition began to dwindle. Then there was a flurry of movement: one of the warriors was attempting to crawl through the window. It raised it’s staff high, and brought it down on the head of her crankman. There was a resounding clang as the blow glanced off the soldier’s helmet, and he fell to the floor, stunned. The Tengu stood there for a moment, staring into Rulinda’s eyes with a look of pure bloodlust, before raising it’s staff to strike once again. Reacting quickly and with unnatural strength, Rulinda heaved her heavy crossbow up from it’s pedestal and swung it at the warrior. There was a loud crunch as the warrior’s head was crushed flat against the window frame, leaving a bloody smear as it slumped to the ground. Her crankman, now recovering, stared at her in shock. Rulinda Glared at him.
“Th’ Hell’re ye starin’ at? Get yer arse over ‘ere an’ load me up another shot. This fight en’t over yet!”
-----
Lord Madara sneered at the battle raging far below. Things were not going quite as well as he had planned. Somehow, these... these filthy dogs had managed to defend themselves quite well. Perhaps he had underestimated them? No. These were filthy beasts, hardly capable of putting up much of a fight. All he needed was more men, more resources, and he would return here and wipe them from these lands. He would exterminate them, to the very last snivelling child. He would make them pay for their impudence, they and their heathen god. But not now, not yet…
Madara sounded his horn, and the remains of his army lifted into the sky and flew off to the south.
-----
"Milord, look!"
Lord Flavvius and the remnants of his royal guard were recovering from their latest - and bloodiest - skirmish. They had lost three men, leaving only Flavvius himself, the captain, and two others. One of these two was now pointing off to the south. They all turned, and whaat they saw filled their hearts with pleasure. For sure as the sun was rising from out of the sea, a cluster of tiny specks, all that remained of the Tengu army, was now dwindling into the distance.
“They’re runnin’! Do ye see that? We bloody did it!”
“So we did.” Flavvius answered. But at a terrible price. A massive inferno still raged across much of Zurinth, and only now were the people able to attempt to extinguish the flames before they spread any further.
“Come lads. Now is not the time for rejoicing; we have work to do yet.”
-----
In the year of the White Wheel 1, on the 15th of Dulis, The Siege of Zurinth, First conflict between the Valtans and the Tengu, Widely known by the people as 'Jreengus' took place. Many of our numbers were lost, and much of Zurinth was destroyed, but thanks to the brave actions of the fledgling nation's military, the remnants of Lord Madara's armies were driven out towards the sea.
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((No, I'm not going to bother explaining the Valtan calendar.))
[ June 01, 2008: Message edited by: Impending Doom ]
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Topic: Battle of the Gods II: an RP Thread (Read 106440 times)