I'll do without spoilers this time, because when I wanted to post spoilers, my ISP decided to do some maintenance on its servers.
Anyways, you are now knee-deep in the elves. All you unimproved people should get into the keep fast, and preferably by air.
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Turn 27 ------------
i try to reach boksi to heal him. i hope elves won't go near elfzilla.
| With as much haste as you can muster while tired, you run towards elfzilla to help Boksi. You make it to the beast without incident, but cannot hope to reach Boksi.
I go into a high level of concentration, allowing me to easily counterattack large groups of pointy eared bastards with wooden weapons.
| Seeing the approaching elves, you concentrate yourself. Your heartbeat jumps to unseen before levels, your brain unloads gallons of adrenaline into your bloodstream. You feel ready to surf down a tidal wave, let alone evade a few pointy-eared pansies with wooden sticks. (+1 to your agility and anti-elf rolls)
I suppose I'll try to use it to heal myself as well.
| Overcoming your pain and constricted position, you manage to concentrate your mind on your TK power. You feel the power flowing freely through you. Using your TK manipulation you push the earth around you away from yourself, freeing up enough space to reshape your body back to its original form. It takes you a lot of time, but eventually you reform and mend your mangled skeleton, bind together torn muscles, and patch up the several torn wounds across your body, including the one left by your halberd. You are now standing in a rather cramped and dark spherical space with a narrow opening at the top. You can see bits of wood around, from the broken floor of the crushed building. You feel more experienced with the usage of healing.
I leap onto the roof of the keep.
| Your scramjet jump augmentation must've been damaged after that rough landing. You attempt to launch yourself upwards, but manage to jump to second-floor level only.
OK, I go right.
| You turn into the right passage and crawl along. After a while the light shafts suddenly disappear, but you decide to plod along. A few more minutes in, and you reach a dead end. Groping around in the dark, you feel a hatch directly above you. You open it, and climb up. You are on the first floor of the keep.
| For some reason, you are instantly recongized as one of the team that are here to vanquish the elves. People greet you kindly, though you cannot understand what they actually say.
I convince the haulers that I'm a ballista bolt and should be transported to the roof.
| Using sign language, you get the attention of a passing dwarf and try to convince him that you are a ballista bolt. He seems to have understood what you said, thinks about it for a moment, then looks at you
looks at you some more
unable to constrain himself further, he then bursts into laughter and goes back to his business.
I tell Elica to go hide in the tavern and wait for me there, as I run to the keep itself.
| Elica obeys your command and runs out the door. Fortunately, he is himself an elf, and so is unlikely to be attacked. Then you run toward the keep, and reach it without anything trying to stop you. You see the doors of the keep already repaired and even further fortified.
I'll go to the 4th floor.
| You ascend the stairs. Quite as you suspected, the fourth floor is a large stockpile of siege ammo, from specially polished round catapult stones to ballista bolts of various metals and wood. To your surprise, you also see a large amount of barrels occupying a good amount of floor space, and wonder if the dwarves use them as ammo as well. Dwarves periodically lug batches of ballista bolts or single round stones up the stairs.
I again help, or go to the keep, whichever is more useful
| You turn to go to the keep, but suddenly several elves jump on you from the back, trying to push you to the ground!
| You not only remain on your feet, but throw the offenders off of your back as well. You turn around to see a group of 4 rather angry swordselves. They seem determined to take you down.
(AI) I run inside the keep.
| Suddenly the elves overrun the keep. They stand around the walls, shouting and periodically shooting arrows at the defenders up on the roof. You don't dare to wade through this crowd.
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NPC Actions:
Elica is a swordself. Recently hired by Frelock. He's armed with a wooden longsword, and dressed in (somewhat pierced) green-grey close-witting clothing with scarce leaf-shaped decoration.
He runs to the ruined tavern. In retrospect, having him go there and see the barricade made of elven corpses
It's a good thing DF does not model psychology to that extent.
This is a massive, ten meters high beast made of elven bodies. It's mindless now, but still driven by rage and desire for flesh. It is, for all intents and purposes, a giant elven flesh golem. Currently impaled on the wreckage of an apartment building. Blind, face is a bloody mess, a wooden splintery scimitar stuck into the socket. It has a -4 to dodge, -2 movement, but still +1 against all damage, except for the head where its skull is cracked.
| The beast hollers in rage, grabs a few passing elves and devours them! It suddenly regains its strength and rips itself off its spikey prison! (no more -2 to dodge and movement)
A single ballista operator notices the threat reappearing and launches a ballista bolt in its direction.
| The bolt strikes true, right into the mangled upper body of the thing!
| It endures the hit without a flinch.
A sizeable threat to anything wearing leather or sleeping in wooden beds, this force of several thousand elves now surrounds the keep, and pretty much occupies the entire town. The ravenous horde rains arrows onto the defenders on the roof!
| The arrows find their targets, many dwarves are hit, but the siege operators are unharmed, protected by the siege engines.
| At least a dozen marksdwarves suffer grievous injuries and fall.
The surviving marksdwarves rain pointy death on the pointy-eared menace! The guards on other floors procure crossbows and shortbows and fire through arrowslits.
| The volleys fly especially thick. Several hauler dwarves took the catapult stones and just threw them over the battlements on the heads of the elves. The blacksmiths pushed up two of the ballistas, and their operators fired them straight at the horde below!
| The elves directly near the keep are decimated. (Rooster, being invisible, just hugged the wall and was unscathed) The ballista bolts skewered four. All in all at least four dozen fell.
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Elven assault! (any attempt to move through outside now will go with a -2 penalty unless it is in a way that bypasses the elves)
andrea:[1] At least six elves take an unhealthy interest in you, jump on you and pin you down!
| You throw them away and get up. Swinging your maul wildly, you keep them from attacking.
chaoticag:[4+1] You charge headlong into the tidal wave of elves! In your martial trance, you throw punches and kicks in every direction!
| The elves are too busy doing their own charging headlong at the keep and don't bother to dodge. You break a few arms and deal out lots of bruises, but don't kill anyone yet.
Jay Kayell:[5] In your mighty rage you array your weapons outward and spin around, crashing into the elven tide like a slashy tornado of death!
| Only the first few you hit suffer damage, and are now on the ground with heavy slash wounds on their chests and lower bodies. The rest notice you in time and dive out of your way. You stop right amid the elves, ready to deal death all around.
Kashyyk:[4] Throwing mighty punches at your assailants, you keep them at bay.
| Your iron fists shatter the head of one, and break the ribcages of three more. The rest flee
for now.
Rooster is invisible.
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Status after turn:
Boksi: Standing upright in a small sphere in the ground right under Elfzilla.
Wearing a reddish-black jacket of Karl Moebius leather, underwear, and slightly torn jean shorts. Wielding a
masterwork steel halberd. Holding a wooden arrow covered in andrea's blood.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Basic TK Manipulation.
Basic TK Healing.
Big Bully. Special status:
Carbon Flesh Interweave.
Can only speak goblin.
Activated Visual Omnisensor.
andrea: Standing upright near elfzilla.
Wearing underwear and
fairly comfortable greyish trousers. Also wearing a
armor set: -Iron splint-mail-, a shirt of leather, Bronze plated greaves,
<<Iron high boots>>. Wields a +Steel maul+.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Shrapnel Self.
Basic TK Healing.
korora: Standing upright on the fourth floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear, and makeshift bra-scarf clothing. Also wearing the
armor set:
<<+Iron breastplate+>>, a soft leather shirt, an Iron helmet, some hard leather greaves and -Aluminum high boots-. Owns an Iron handaxe and a -Black bronze warhammer-, both on the floor for now. Wields
The Ashcraver.
Legs and arms bruised.
Abilities:
Mighty.
Extremely Agile.
Basic TK Healing (!).
"A massive, massive, MASSIVE sword. It is three meters long, 1'3'' (~40cm) wide, and dazzingly bright. Its fine steel has been polished to reflect light like a mirror. Its one edge is curved, jagged at the hilt, the other is straight and so sharp it could probably slice adamantine blocks like salami. Down the center of the sword, which is at least 2'' thick, runs a hollow slit 3'' wide, in which yeat another, smaller and straighter sword is concealed. The entire surface of both swords, except of course the sharp cutting edges, is finely engraved with uncountable images, among which the launching of the Challenger, world war II, a nuclear explosion, a trainwreck, and a rotary excavator. The hilt itself (being at the same time the hilt of the smaller sword) is decorated with gold and emeralds you can only assume you've taken from someone, arranged in beautiful patterns, and the handle is woven with three lines - one is a scaly snake with two small rubies in the eyes, and two seem awfully like DNA strands. You get a feeling you could decipher the human genome if you looked closely enough. The guard of the hilt is exquisitely detailed as well, but right down the senter of it, spanning the breadth of the sword, is a solid rectangular golden plate, with the single word: ""ASHCRAVER"" deeply embossed onto it. The entire thing is so immeasurably brilliant, you almost don't want to touch it fearing it'll stick to your hand and corrupt you like some magic ring. Overcoming this fear, you pick it up. Despite its size, it is relatively lightweight, relatively, of course, to anything else so large and made of steel.
The second form is a smaller (comparatively) blade, that together with the folding hilt guard looks like an overgrown sai. It's also exquisitely detailed, but lighter. (+1 to damage, -1 to agility)."
chaoticag: Standing upright, somewhere near the keep.
Wearing the
armor set: +Steel Chestplate+, -Copper chainmail-, Aluminum cap, hard leather leggings and
<<Copper plated boots>>. Wielding a useless chunk of wood that was the handle of his scimitar not long ago.
Concussive damage to internal organs, large bruise on left upper arm. Bruised back.
Abilities:
Basic TK Healing. Special status:
Martial Trance (will wear off in 2 turns).
Gantolandon: Standing upright on the first floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear and a thin silky sweater. Covered in dried vomit. Right foot covered with elven blood and brains. Holding a paperclip and a nice pair of white socks. Wielding an Iron dagger.
Face and most of the body bruised. Hands pierced by numerous splinters. Left wrist sprained. Nasty scratch along the head. Minor bleeding.
Abilities:
Basic TK Healing(!).
Frelock: Standing upright on first floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear, a
somewhat dirty <<*Giant cave spider silk robe*>>, and +hippo leather sandals+. Wielding a Steel Quarterstaff and a -Small Iron throwing knife- as a backup weapon.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Slightly improved strength.
Meagerly improved agility.
Can be cautious while calm.
Improved TK Healing II(!). Special status:
Activated Selective Translator.
Kashyyk: Standing upright on the street near the armor shop.
Naked. Wielding a -Steel Greataxe- and a makeshift Willow Buckler.
Flesh turned into iron, three arrows sticking out of abdomen, right leg, and left shoulder, but no serious damage is sustained.
Abilities:
Enrage Other. Enrage Self.
Basic TK Healing(!). Special status:
Activated Selective Translator.
Steel scales. Extra:
Rollerblades in the forearms. Rooster: Standing upright near the keep.
Wearing underwear, and the
armor set: -Iron chainmail-, iron chain greaves, copper boots, and a soft leather dress to wear all of that better. The chainmail is nicely polished, and almost looks silver. "Wears" illusion clothing (white garments, white robe) seen only by him. Wielding an +Iron longsword+.
Nose broken, bleeding, forehead and chin bruised.
Abilities:
Improved Intelligence.
Basic TK Healing.
Power of Trickery (+). Special status:
Blessing of Peace.
Beyond Invisible.
Beast Within. Extra: Doesn't know who he is, and calls himself Red.
LASD: Standing upright on the third floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear, and a
white/pink/yellow suit and top hat made of underwear. Also wearing the
armor set:
<<+Iron chain Cuirass+>>, -Iron chain gloves-, Iron chain greaves, and Iron low boots. Wielding a
*Aluminum tower shield* Battered head and upper body(back). Bruised left foot. Sprained right wrist.
Abilities:
Power of Peace. Special status:
Peacekeeper.
Jay Kayell: Out on the street, standing amidst the elves.
Wearing purple stretchy shorts. Useless shreds of underwear on right arm. Wielding a +Iron flanged mace+. The armor is armed with a collection of axes and swords, and its steel fists as well.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Novice Wrestler.
Basic TK Healing.
Blood of the Blood God.
Blood Rage. Special status: Wearing
Improved Corpse-steel power armor.
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Environment:
Tavern: Two-floor building. The door is blown out, the doorframe is torn out as well. Amid the room is a large barricade of broken furniture, elven corpses and trash. Half of the building's roof is gone, most of it is now smashed into the floor. A large hole is broken into the storage cellar. Another hole is busted through the building's wall. There're some weapons stuck into the first floor's ceiling. The building houses your enter/exit point.
Human/Dwarven Capital: Large city on the outskirts of hell knows where. Holds a modest amount of homes, from hovels to two-floor apartment buildings, a set of shops, a temple, and a keep. Currently being surrounded by a verily horde of elves. The dwarves are mounting a large defence using siege engines atop the keep.
Food store: Square one-floor building with long tables laden with salted and fried meats of all kinds. There's a single wide table at the far end, with a chest on top of it. There's a mighty fine hole broken through the ceiling.
Cloth store: Rolls of cloth and various cloth, silk, and leather articles of clothing are on the many shelves inside this building. There's a single wide table at the far end, with a chest on top of it. The entire building is barely standing, most of its roof is collapsed. There's a pile of elf-paste near the building, and some elven corpses.
Armor store: Everywhere in the shop various pieces of armor are thrown about, shields of different sizes litter the floor, and arrayed under the now-broken shelves and tables are enough various boots to outfit a battalion. At the far end of the building, there is a single wide table. The heavy chest is on the floor, broken, a large supplement of coins from it now covers the floor.
The Keep: Large four-floor building. The first floor is almost devoid of furniture. A lot of civilians are huddled together in groups all over the floor. At least a dozen and a half guards are also there. The second floor is a massive stockpile of wood, metal, and stone. Dwarves constantly lug the materials to the upper floors. The third floor is turned into a massive workplace, with many workshops constantly working. The fourth floor is a large storage of siege ammo and some strange barrels. The roof of the keep is fortified with ballistae and catapults.
The Temple: Tall and proud, beautiful building of white marble, a solid first floor surrounded by columns is supporting several ring-shaped floors held up by beautiful marble supports. A deep pool of shiny, clear water can be seen inside the building. Well, it probably was like that. The entire thing has recently tried to rise up in mighty wrath as a gigantic statue of a carp, but failed miserably and broke to pieces. Afterwards, the overpowered Rooster single-handedly sent the whole place into oblivion along with the elves, who now cannot be seen, heard, or even smelled by anyone other than themselves.
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Background: [6] Korora notices that whatever the key is, it is dead center on the roof of the keep. Jay Kayell, standing tall amid the elven army, sees something like a group of heavily armored warriors approaching from a distance. Standard bearers walk alongside the warriors. The rain eases up slightly.