Krlnkir Yrlvnt
1) Take amphibious or flying form and personally attack that damned ships
2) When (if) there are will be enough evil and fire around - create fire elermentals to join the battle. Use flames, sufferings of mortals, and our demonic rage as a source material
Dal'Kahh the Avaricious
Start an assault
Spies
Start some fires
WARNING: THIS UPDATE BE CRAZY LONG, YO. Grab a drink and make sure you have some time to spare!
It was late at night when I heard the unearthly roar, and knew that this time, it meant battle would soon be joined. I swiftly rose from my slumber, and donned my armour; well made chainmail, a steel helmet with leather flaps, and steel greaves and bracers. I took my sword- a masterwork lovingly forged by my uncle, blessed by the priesthood, and strapped it to my belt. My fellow soldiers did the same, and at a word from the captain, we left the barracks.
Ten men went to secure the gates, and the rest (myself included) ran for the docks, to oversee the evacuation of the citizens and ward off any attacks. When we arrived, the docks were in chaos, but the captain's loud voice and commanding presence soon had the masses boarding the boats in an orderly manner. Just as we were preparing to cast off the first boats, I felt a... presence.
I felt like a tainted darkness was pressing against my very soul, whispering foul things and making empty promises if only I would join it. I saw that everyone else felt it too. And then we heard it- overhead. The sound of massive wings beating. All looked to the sky- and there it was. Outlined against the darkness, a man, or some beast in the guise of the man- with four arms of unnatural length, burning blue eyes, and from his shoulders, two large wings made of an azure flame. I could not see clearly its torso, and I am thankful for that, for what little I saw resembled the swirling madness I remember from my dreams, and I have no doubt staring too long into the cavity that beast had for a chest would have driven me as mad as those poor souls we had to lock into their homes to prevent them from running wild.
The beast made to land, and we drew our swords, as the priests- who had now joined us- raised their staves and chanted scripture designed to ward of evil.
But in the darkness and confusion, we had not seen the beast clearly. For though it resembled a man, albeit taller than average, it was in scale far greater. The beast did not land on the shore, but plunged feet first into the lake, causing large waves to rock the boats in the harbour, knocking a few unfortunate souls overboard. And then we looked upon the beast and realized our folly; for though it stood upon the bed of the lake- surely as deep as two men- its torso rose clear of the water, and its fiery eyes stared down upon us with a rage and malice that could not stem from any natural source.
The beast roared, specks of blue fire emanating from where its mouth should be, the incoherent fury fortunately masking the words it spoke, for even hearing a single syllable clearly caused me a fear I have never felt before, and froze me in my boots. All the others, with the exception of the priests, seemed equally affected, to their great misfortune, for the beast raised its four great fists into the air, and brought them down upon the docks like a man squashing a fly, smashing the ancient woodwork, squashing the people who stood upon it, and sinking many of the boats in a single blow.
Now I felt myself capable of movement once more, so I ran towards the nearest fist with my sword held high, but the captain held me back, saving my life, for now the beast shot blasts of fire from its eyes, leaving a trail of flames and burnt corpses along the ground.
The head priest stepped forwards, and recited the Oath of Manalan, his body glowing with righteous light. Upon hearing the oath, the beast seemed briefly shaken, but not banished or slain as it should have been; rather, it seemed even angrier than before, and snatched up the priest and brought it towards its indescribable head, where tendrils of the twisted darkness reached out, grasped the priest, and pulled him screaming into the dark maw.
It was clear that no force we had could best this beast, and the captain realized it too, for he ordered the civilians to retreat for the gates, and make their escape that way. Many listened, and fled up the streets away from the docks, but a few tried their luck, casting off and rowing away as fast as they could. The beast grabbed each boat in his hand and... well, 'swallowed' it whole, a sight which caused myself and many others great duress; I could not help but retch, spilling my evening supper onto the cobblestones.
Still people tried to escape, some even leaping into the water and swimming away- but none could avoid the fire from the beasts eyes, or the grasp of his many hands. The captain turned to us, and told us to go help the civilians to the gates; there would be attackers there as well, and we would be needed. I asked him, already knowing, what he would do. Stay here, he said. Someone must distract the beast, prevent it from attacking the rest of the city.
I nodded, and left with the rest of my comrades, as the captain took up a loose cobblestone and hurled it at the beast, cursing it in the name of the twelve gods. When I last looked round, I saw the captain jumping barely dodging the beast's fist, then hacking at it with his sword, still cursing. I would never see the captain again, but I know that the beast remained by the docks for the rest of the battle, and I like to think the captain played some small part in that.
As we ran up the streets towards the gates, I saw fires burning across the town, though I could not imagine how they started. I did see a small child carrying a bucket full of lantern oil and a burning torch, but he ran off before I could stop him.
We arrived at the eastern gate, where a crowd was desperately pushing at the doors. The bar was raised, why would the doors not open?
Of course- the enemy had blocked the gate. We were trapped within the city. On the other hand, the enemy still couldn't get in.
It was as I thought this that I heard a loud crash, and an inhuman screeching, coming from the northern gate. I knew at once that the gate had fallen. I led my fellows along the wall to the gate- and sure enough, a horde of monstrosities was pouring through. I saw three great lumbering... things covered in plated steel, smashing through the assembled crowds with ease. These; I presumed, had been responsible for breaking the gates. With their strength, I doubt a gate of solid iron would have stopped them. Alongside them ran about a dozen... humans, though their gait was strange and what little detail I could make out in the flickering torchlight showed their skin was diseased and burnt, and their nails claw-like. These lept upon those who the larger monsters missed and- I swear to gods- bit into them with relish, clearly enjoying the taste, and swallowing their mouthful with a satisfied grin before moving onto the next victim.
However, before I or my fellow soldiers could go to help fight those monsters, we would have to deal with the monsters before us; skeletal beasts- dogs, I think- given form by what looked like burning ashes, whose eyes in mimicry of the beast at the harbour burned blue, and whose growls reminded me of the crackle of wood burning. I lifted my shield from my back, and held my sword high, not knowing what these beasts would do- and then they leapt, skeletal jaws open wide and aimed at my neck. I knocked one aside with my shield, and brought my sword down into the jaws of another. The blade stuck in long-dead bone, but I gave it a violent twist, and the bone shattered, leaving the creature jawless. My fellow soldiers faired equally well, and the beasts fell back, cautiously.
I thought us victorious, when they unleashed their second assault. No rash leaps this time; they barked- or in the case of one which had the form of a goat, bleated- blasts of coherent fire towards us. I raised my shield just in time, and the blast burst over my shield, only a few flames passing over its edge- though the heat was unbearable, and were it not my only means of defence, I would have dropped the shield lest my fingers burnt.
My comrades, this time, were not all so lucky. One took a blast right in the chest, and now desperately beat at the flames that covered his tunic and licked at his flesh, filling the air with the horrible smell of skin burning. One turned towards him to help him, and the beasts took advantage; diving for his legs, biting deep into his flesh and tearing muscles. The man screamed, hacked at his leg, and struck the beast a decent blow to the skull. With a burst of blue flame, the skull exploded, slaying the beast, but further burning the man's leg, causing him to fall to the ground.
Before the remaining beasts could overwhelm him, I and the other survivors charged forwards, shields up, swords raised. The beasts shot more fireballs towards us, but our shields held, and with a few heavy strikes from our swords, we slew the beasts, suffering no more than a few minor bites and burns in the process.
By now it was clear that the battle for the gate was hopeless. The... non-humans were settling down to feast on the corpses, and visors on the larger thing's armour were opening up and- I shuddered as I saw this- faces set into the billowing flesh cried out in hunger; a hunger which was sated, again, by the beast taking the corpses of the fallen, and handing each head a limb or two to munch on, whilst the larger head on top feasted on the head and torso. The beasts were messy eaters, and flecks of gore and torrents of blood spilt over the ground as they crunched away.
Then more people arrived- humans this time, and armed. But not armed in our regalia- their armour was made of a dark metal, inscribed with a symbol which I recognised as some crude representation of the monster by the harbour. Nine warriors in all marched in, wielding shields and axes, and amongst them- a head taller, and exuding an evil influence, strode who I presume was their leader. He wielded a double-handed axe, made entirely out of a dark steel, through which seemed to run veins of blood or fire. In a harsh tongue, he commanded the monsters to cease their feasting, and go out into the city. He referred to them as 'Ghouls' and 'Baneghouls', and told them to aid the 'Amberärshs' in slaughtering the cities inhabitants.
The man filled me with an almost unbearable anger, and I knew- knew- that it was my destiny to kill him. However, before I could act, one of the soldiers spotted me, alerted the man- whom he referred to as Dal'Kahh- to our presence. The man laughed, and ordered one of the Baneghouls- the lumbering monstrosities- to deal with us. He told it that it could eat our corpses, and all of its heads- I believe there were six, or possibly seven- shrieked in delight, and the beast started down the narrow street between the wall and the houses with a surprising speed. We ran, of course, as fast as we could, hoisting the injured between us. I could feel the baneghoul's horrid breath on my neck when a sidestreet opened up before me, and we ducked into it. Inertia carried the beast past the junction; it grabbed onto the corner of a house to slow itself, but merely tore down the house without stopping. It roared in frustration, and we could hear it slowly turning itself around and coming back towards the junction, so we wasted no time in running further.
Where to run to, though? I could still see the wings of fire rising over the harbour, the gates were held, and Amberärshs rampaged through the city. In between gasping breaths I discussed it with my colleagues, and eventually we settled on the temple- a solid stone building, and a holy place- the wounded could recuperate there, and perhaps the beasts would be held at bay, or at least weakened, by its holy influence.
We arrived at the temple. Many others had had the same idea as us; we met up with some more surviving soldiers, some brave citizens who had taken up arms against the invaders, and the surviving priests, who were doing their best to aid the wounded, with the aid of the local witch. Now, there's something I didn't expect to see- priests and witches working together. Truly these were strange times.
I spoke with the priests, the witch, and one of the townsfolk who had armed himself with an old set of armour, and told them of what I had seen. Stories from around the city were the same. The western gate was blocked as well, and the fire-beasts -Amberärshs, I corrected them- were causing chaos throughout. As well as that, there were reports of the fire itself coming alive and attacking people, as rage-filled spirits who could not be harmed. And somehow- some spoke of the ghosts who had been driven away from the harbour- the mad men had been released from captivity, and had joined the invaders, attacking citizens and laughing manically, claiming that all would die before the wrath of 'Crinkle Yearvent'.
For sure, death roamed the streets. No one could stop the invaders. At this point, the armed citizen spoke up. The invaders could be stopped, he said. Or at least the amber-ashes could. A bucket of water, he said, and they turn into a pile of bones and ash. This useful advice was passed around, and gave people some hope.
However, I pointed out, no one could best the baneghouls, let alone the beast in the harbour. If we stay in the city, we shall surely all die. People agreed, dejected.
Which is why, I continued, we must fight our way out. How, they asked? The north gate, I replied. Only ten men hold it, confident that the monsters in the city will prevent anyone from getting to them. If we gather all our forces, we should easily be able to force our way past them. It took some more convincing, but eventually, everyone agreed. Hopes ran high again.
It was at that moment that the entire temple shook. A pounding could be heard towards the back, where the shrines were. The noise stopped briefly, and then there was a far larger shock, which came accompanied with the sound of mortar cracking and timber groaning. People started to run towards the doors, and then, bursting through the wall like a giant pitcher of fruit juice, crushing the shrines beneath it, roaring in triumph, came the Baneghoul. The people broke into a run, pushing open the great doors of the temple and fleeing out onto the street, where a troupe of Amberärshs awaited them. Twelve of us stayed- Three priests, the witch, the armoured citizen, and six of my fellow soldiers. All others fled, or were crushed by falling masonry or the rampaging baneghoul. The entire building shuddered, tiles falling down from the roof, adding to the chaos. The Baneghoul shook itself, and looked at me. The large, twisted head that sat upon its- for want of a better word- shoulders licked its lips with a grotesque black tongue, and with considerable effort, spoke two words:
Found... you...
Then the rest of the heads shrieked, and the beast broke into a charge. We scattered, and the dumb brute crashed into one of the temple's pillars, crushing it under his weight. As it struggled to extract itself from the broken masonry, we hacked hacked at every available surface- for though armour plated, much of its hideous flesh was exposed, and into this we sunk our blades- or, in the priests case, their holy staves.
We may as well have flicked its nose for all the pause our efforts gave it. Though the beast bled profusely- a dark red blood which flowed slower than human blood should-, the injuries did not cripple it in the slightest, and in fact, as we withdrew our weapons and backed away, I was horrified to see the wounds slowly closing themselves. So horrified by the sight was one of my comrades that he did not notice the fist bearing down upon him until he lay crushed on the ground. The baneghoul then picked up the corpse and- clearly struggling to overcome its eternal hunger- hurled it at one of the priests, who was bowled over and unable to extract himself from under the mangled body before the baneghoul got him, and bit off his head in a single vicious motion.
I did something then, that was either very stupid, or very brave- possibly both. I positioned myself between the beast and a pillar, and shouting loudly, hurled a piece of broken stone towards it. The stone rang off its armour harmlessly, but still caught its attention. It turned towards me, snarled, and charged. I waited till the last possible moment, then leapt aside- and as I hoped, the beast crashed through the pillar, once again rendering him briefly immobile. We set upon him again, with swords and staves- for what else could we do?
One of my comrades knew what else we could do: climb up the struggling beast, until level with its 'main' head, then plunge his sword into its eye. And it would have worked, were it not for the arms. For as the beast saw his intention, their rose from the billowing flesh of his 'shoulders' a pair of arms- regular, human arms- they looked like, and as he plunged his sword downwards, the arms grabbed him, pulling him off balance and into the beasts maw, where he was bitten in half. Nevertheless, before dying, his sword achieved at least something- it stabbed into, but not through, the beasts left eye, which caused all seven heads to cry out in agony. Once again the beast recovered, and we retreated- three down, and for what- a single eye.
I stepped aside as a piece of masonry fell from the ceiling, which grew ever more unstable as the pillars fell. And then it hit me; of course! I gathered the survivors behind a statue of Imber, god of the sea, and explained my plan. They called me a crazy. Crazy?, I said. Crazy enough to work, I said. So we agreed.
The witch used her powers (the priests muttering softly about heresy) to light a fire amongst the broken wreckage of the shrines; a fire which spread quickly, and was soon licking at the wooden beams which held the building stable. I then sprang out before the beast, who was searching in vain for us in the opposite corner, and called him a series of names which upon reflection were not suited for the building I was in at the time, though the priests later forgave me.
Again the beast charged, again I avoided with ease, again the pillar crumbled. As the beast struggled, the rest of my companions snuck out the door, leaving me alone with the beast. When it rose, I taunted it once more, and again it ran headfirst into a pillar- learning nothing from its experiences. Four of the six pillars were now naught but rubble. The back wall had a baneghoul-shaped-hole in it. And fire licked at the supports. Now the temple was visibly shaking, and the smoke and fire was filling the air. The baneghoul was unconcerned- more annoyed by its constant failure to catch me.
Once again I taunted it- at this point, I almost enjoyed the experience. But the beast, slow as it was, had learnt at least something from my actions. Though it still ran head-first into the pillar, it also swung out its arm as I dodged, catching me a glancing blow which sent me flying into the wall, causing a noisy crack and a sharp pain in my ribs. I got up; coughed blood, and limped over to the final pillar. Tiles rained down in clumps now, along with some of the smaller wooden beams, burning as they fell.
I reached the last pillar and tried to shout, but all I managed was a horrible cough which sent a disconcerting amount of blood flying through the air. I picked up a stone and hurled it, but it fell short of actually hitting the beast. And now it realized I was injured. Now it had learnt. It did not run for me, but strode towards me with a confident leer in its one good eye. The lesser heads chittered in what I realized must be laughter.
And it was right to laugh. Surely I would not be able to avoid the beast? Surely I would become just another snack, and it would escape to slaughter yet more of the city?
Perhaps so, if not for a piece of luck which must have been god-given. For at that moment, a large segment of the wooden framework holding up the roof collapsed, and the burning masonry fell directly on top of the baneghoul, knocking it down just before it reached me. The beast roared in frustration as I backed around behind the pillar, and pulled itself forwards with its two great arms, and then swiped at me, ignoring the pillar between me and it.
Its armour-plated arm tore through the pillar like a matchstick, and its flabby-faux-fingers struck me, sending me flying through the room- to land, with another piece of god-given luck, right before the doors. As my consciousness faded, I pulled myself towards the gap in the doors, praying that I would make it- and then friendly arms grabbed mine, hauled me through, and slammed the door shut behind me as the entire temple collapsed in on itself, burying the beast below the rubble.
I laughed, flecks of blood coming from my mouth, a laugh of victory; a laugh of 'yes, I just did that'. But my laughter failed as I looked upon the rest of the city.
Blood ran through the streets. Half-eaten corpses lay all around. Three quarters of the city was on fire; the rest was already destroyed. My companions had waited for me, and fought off a two dozen insane citizens, two ghouls, and a dozen amberärshs- but had lost another of the priests, and two of my companions in the process. We were down to six, now: A witch, a priest, a simple citizen in rusty armour, two soldiers, and a madman coughing blood.
The witch suggested we head for her laboratory, where she had potions that could heal injuries. After that, they said, we should head for the town hall, where many of the survivors gather. And then charge the gate. For truly, the city was lost.
We made our way through the streets. My companions carried me between them, as the other three fought off the occasional Amberärsh or ghoul they found despoiling corpses along the route. We encountered no other survivors. The witch's laboratory was mostly intact- something she assigned to the silver horseshoes over the door. We entered, and she busied herself with her strange equipment for a while, whilst I lay upon the table, feeling sorry for myself. Eventually the witch emerged, with a small flask of 'healing potion' for everyone, a large one for me, which she made me drink (it tasted like strawberries), and an additional flask for me. I asked her what it was.
She told me it was a solution of silver, and that a blade coated in it would do more damage to these eldritch monsters who plagued our streets. I asked her how knew of such a thing, let alone made it, and she told me that a friend of hers had given it to her some months ago, but refused to say more.
Soon I felt better- by the witch's magic, my bones had set themselves, and my blood replenished. I coated my sword in the solution, and we made our way towards the town hall. We encountered more Amberärshs along the way- who we extinguished with a well aimed splash of water. We made to continue, when the bones and ashes reformed themselves, steam rising from them. We had but the briefest of moments to worry about this, for at that moment a being of flames appeared as if from thin air, and roared fire at us. My fellow soldiers and I raised our shields as one, deflecting the blast, and we struck at it with our swords. My companions swords past right through it, but mine left a glowing gash through its ethereal form. I know not whether it was the silver solution or the fact that my blade was blessed, nor did I care- all that mattered was, it worked, and the elemental seemed as surprised as I at this development. It hesitated a moment longer than was safe, and I plunged my sword into its 'torso', whereupon it let out a hideous screech, and the flames of which it was made dissipated harmlessly.
We made short work of the Amberärshs, and soon reached the town hall. The building was packed, and a dozen remaining soldiers and one remaining priest were standing by the door, holding off a horde of madmen, amberärshs, and ghouls. We hacked our way in, and helped them finish them off. Then we explained my plan. After some discussion, it was agreed. Every man who could hold a weapon- be that weapon a family sword or a knife tied to a broom handle was called to follow us, and we formed a group which forced its way through the streets, myself at the head, striking down elementals and amberärshs and even once an elusive spectre who sought to stop us, until we came to the north gate.
They were still there, all ten. Looking almost bored, despite the corpses of soldiers and citizens arranged around them, indicating that they had been doing their share of fighting. They had even started a campfire and were roasting what I believe were live rats.
We stood before them. They saw us. They stood. Their leader strode forwards.
DAL'KAHH!, I shouted, I CHALLENGE YOU.
The men laughed. I commanded everyone to charge. There was... a battle. It is a haze now. All I remember is that man- Dal'Kahh- slaughtering dozens on his own, that axe screaming horribly one time and chanting praise of Crinkle Yearvent another.
And then the fight was over. I looked around. All my friends were dead. Dall'Kahh looked around. All his friends were dead. We nodded to each other, acknowledging the other's skill....
"And then what happened", prompted Dall'Kahh the Avaricious, as I kneeled before Krlnkir Yrlvnt.
"And then you soundly beat me, tied me up, and dragged me before your dark lord Krlnkir Yrlvnt to offer me as a sacrifice to Him."
"And there we have it", says Dall'Kahh to you. "We suffered many losses, my lord, but the town is ours, and none escaped. Of the citizens, some thousand lie dead, two hundred wounded, but some seven hundred are yours to do with as you wish, oh dark one."
An amusing tale, to be sure. It's nice to know how anyone managed to kill an armoured baneghoul without using siege equipment.
Now, to
-Do something with the rest of these citizens.
Pheeeewww.
Name: Krlnkir Yrlvnt
Physical might: 67 (+20 Chaos and Destruction)
Mental might: 74 (-3 Maintain Barrier)(+20 Chaos and Destruction)
Other: Maintaining Barrier (-3 Mental Might)
Followers: 80
Slaves: 68
Servants: 40 (23 Amberärshs, 9 Spectres, 2 Armoured Baneghouls, 5 Fire Elementals, 1 Red Imp)
Cults:
The cult of the Tall Man. Low organisation. 47 (of which 10 are 20 kids) members in Barrspring.
Power level: 21
Resources: 21
Cultists:
Slaves: 68 slaves
Branch-Cult: Flames of Madness. 19 members in The Church of The Flames of Madness (Dolnar Asylum)
Power level: 9
Resources: 3 (+1 Workshops)
Cultists: 6 Acolytes, 12 Armed Cultists
Slaves: Woman from Ylm.
Servants:
Other:
Branch-Cult: The Eyes of the Tall Man. 7 members (of which 5 are 10 children) in Akataki
Power level: 2
Cultists: Acolyte (control magic)
Champions:
Alyshtr Yrlvnt: Half-demon. 0.5 months old.
Physical Might: 0 (note: in an emergency, her demonic powers would protect her)
Mental Might: 1
Other: Red Imp pet (will act as bodyguard, entertain with fire magic and demonic tales)
Knowledge: Demontongue.
Dal'Kahh the Avaricious: Armed Cultist with demonic strength and Barrsdoom.
Physical Might: 9 (+3 Axe)(+1 Learnt some Fighting)
Mental Might: 4 (+1 Axe)(+1 Learnt some Tactics)
Equipment: Barrsdoom (Axe; +3 to physical might, +1 to mental might. Inspires friendly troops, causes fear in enemy troops)
Fortresses:
The Church of the Flames of Madness. Formerly Dolnar Asylum, HQ of Barrtal monster hunters.
Mighty Walls (50). Moat (5, slows attackers). Weak Wards (12). Evil Stones (cause illusions and madness to attackers, also act as a second set of Weak Wards(10)). Rampant Spectres (cause madness to attackers. May randomly attack occupants (friend or foe))
Sacrificial Chamber: An excellent location for worship and sacrifice.
Workshops: A large forge and a series of workshops allow cultists to refine resources much more efficiently. Would be more useful with a steady supply of raw materials, but lets the cultists repurpose, recycle, and repair enough to generate a small amount of resources.
Library: A (slightly empty) library and series of studies allow cultists to learn the arts of magic. Contains scrolls on: the creation of Amberärshs; the basic principles of Necromancy; the learning and casting of Dark Bolt.
Sending Circles: A pair of raised daises, linked to a similar pair in Barrspring, which can send and receive objects given a source of power.
Source of Evil: This place has a long history, and much of it unpleasant. The reserves of evil seem nearly bottomless. It has built up to such a level that it seems to generate evil on its own (in small amounts). This makes it an excellent place for summoning or necromancy.
Barrspring. Iron mining village in the eastern mountains.
Hard to get to. Stone Wall with Corrupted Steel Gate (30, may cause fear to attackers, also acts as a weak ward (5)). Cursed Steel Ballistae. Treacherous Terrain (defensive bonuses)
Barrspring Iron Mines: Renowned as a source of high-quality iron, these mines could easily provide enough ore to keep the furnace of the Forge-Temple busy. The mines are an evil place now; dark power fills the air, and infects the ore. It is currently inhabited by a host of wild spectres. Slaves work where once did miners, though not in enough numbers to fully exploit the mines.
Forge-Temple: An unholy place for worship and forging. A great furnace which takes live sacrifices as fuel, feeding liquid metal to four dark forges. Currently operating at 1/4 efficiency- nevertheless a source of many weapons and armour for your demonic armies.
Sending Circles: A pair of raised daises, linked to a similar pair in Dolnar, which can send and receive objects given a source of power.
Author
Topic: Demonhood. -Slumbering for an indeterminate number of Strange Aeons- (Read 237551 times)