Against All Odds

[Fluffy]

The sky hadn't smiled for days; just frowning upon the lands and seas with the occasional rain of tears. Even now, it was drizzling with an icy rain upon the town of Glenarm. The place was eerily quiet. Women and children had been evacuated, along with any men incapable of battle. Otherwise, the majority of the town's males aided their home's call to arms. Hope was not lost in all parts of the planet. The odds were against Glenarm, but they were determined to fight until there was nothing left of them.

Among them was Winnifred Cartwright, an idolized paladin from the Order known as The Devoted Defenders. She lent support wherever it was needed, granted she was close by. Fortunately for this town, she happened to be passing through on her way to investigate the snowy mountains beyond them. Doom was upon them, but not of the demonic sort. More the dark lord with minions sort. Oddly, that was not outside of her experience level...

A proud looking war horse colored like winter, with grey mane, walked up and down the rows of armed men, carrying his rider as she inspected them. These footmen were going to have one hell of a time. Their upcoming battle was not going to be like anything they'd ever seen. Hours prior, she did her best to educate them on this.

Droplets slid down the charcoal colored metal that protected her feminine form. Be that as it was, she had quite the build of muscle, else she would fail to support the weight of the armor. There was a classic theme of blue and golden adorning the woman and her steed. She was basically a decorated servant to a being mightier than herself. Winni knew that fact; she embraced it.

There was a lot on her mind at the moment. Her face wore a serious mask, brows knit together as a show of contemplation. Sapphire eyes looked upon the horizon while a whistling wind swept up her hair and left it in tangles on her back. Well that thought process didn't last for long. The lady paladin shook her cream colored mane with annoyance before getting it properly tied up to fit under her helmet. A pair of armored hands patted at her sides, double checking that her swords were indeed there. Everything was in its proper place.

In silence with her allies, Winnifred watched for what was to come. Now all her mind could focus on was praying; may the Goddess give her the strength to lead these souls to victory.

Winnifred then felt an ominous vibe strong enough to make frigidness settle in her bones. It both scared and excited her that this could be the day she dies.

 

[Z'Greel]

Long before the town could even see the source of it, they could hear the drums of war. It was a slow rhythm, yet all too soon, it was joined by the sounds of an army. A thousand feet, marching without order, the clattering of arms and armor, the howl of wolves. And as the sounds came closer, the clouds seemed to darken and the very air itself seemed to grow cold.

Then a tall, armored figured strode into sight. In his one hand, he held a mace almost the size of a man, glowing with fiery energy, while the other glowed with foul energies. His eyes were glowing with pure malice, and though he stood far away from the town yet, his gaze seemed to pierce the very soul of every man touched by it.

Slowly, he raised his hand, and signaled towards the town.

At his signal, huge rocks were sent flying towards the town, flung by catapults behind the hill. Then a cry of war rose out, before the horde stormed across the hill. Hundreds of small creatures, some mounted on beasts, all clad in armor and armed to the teeth, passing by the tall figure, rushing to attack the town.

Evil had come.

 

[Fluffy]

Winnifred could see that the heralds of war were unnerving her army. There were quite a few paladins in her Order that thought too highly of themselves; they wouldn't want to bother with a puny town like this one. This one was different, though. Holding her helmet against her side, she used her other hand to raise an armored fist in the air. "Do not be afraid! I know how much your hearts are hurting. I know that you're feeling small. But that's not what I see! I see brave men, ready to defend what's theirs. Right down to their very last breaths." She had a powerful voice that demanded attention, heavy with emotion and confidence. Fiery passion burned in her eyes as she talked on, getting everyone's attention immediately. Winni had a way about her that inspired people to be their best. She grinned at the sight of them raising their weapons in agreement, shouting in a rhythm as they cheered on their loyal leader.

The lady paladin put her helmet on and turned her horse around, watching as the horrid creatures charged towards them. Their walls quickly got crumbled by the work of the catapults. Meanwhile, streams of arrows went zooming towards the closest creatures before their towers got knocked over.

Winnifred withdrew one of her twin swords so she could point it at the oncoming stampede. Their voices sang of war as they charged towards the enemy, the mob of humans clashing with the mob of monsters. "Let's go, Thorne!" The horse neighed valiantly and stormed into the battle, trampling smaller enemies in the process while his rider swung her blade. She would have to face their leader sooner or later. Just beyond the bloody mass she was tangled up in, she could see the dark, armored figure...

 

[Z'Greel]

The Minions charged in through the holes in the walls made by the catapults, ignoring the losses from the arrows. The charge was lead by Minions on wolves, ramming into the human frontline, causing carnage on both sides. The brown troopers followed to assist the cavalry, closely followed by red minions lobbing fireballs at whatever humans were in range.

The human Paladin charged through the horde, trampling and slashing any Minion in her reach. The Minions could hardly touch her, moving too fast for the fireballs, and too high up for the browns. The only ones able to do anything were the greens, who were following the reds, to protect them. They leaped towards her, slashing wildly, attempting to sink their claws, both natural and armaments, into both the paladin and her mount.

The dark figure saw the paladin charging through his ranks. He abandoned his position at the top of the hill, starting to march down towards the town with heavy steps, with his elite bodyguards in tow. Sometimes if one wanted something done, one would have to do it oneself...

 

[Fluffy]

Brilliant rays of gold made her sword shine the further she got. She struck minions with her holy blade as they threw themselves at her. They weren't fortunate enough to claw past her armor. The one who she had to worry the most about was her mount; he was getting scratched and cut where metal plates couldn't be placed. Thorne was bred for battle like she was, though. The animal's cries of pain were followed by angry stomps, having been conditioned to react as such anytime he was taking too much damage.

One of the zooming creatures successfully latched itself onto Winnifred. People insulted the intelligence of these critters, but she was pretty sure they were fast learners. Especially if they were influenced by a competent leader. While trying to beat the damn savage against the head with the hilt of her sword, she felt her weight fall to one side as a second one flew up. "Thorne, scram!" the woman barked, making a cough when her body hit the ground. The horse was expected to flee if the fight got too heavy. She watched as bodies went flying as he stormed off, leaving the woman to roll on the ground with these hell spawn.

The woman burst from a pile of minions that was forming on top of her, roaring powerfully as she did. Both swords were now drawn, her eyes settling on the overlord who was charging at her. He was significantly larger than her; that mace might even be bigger too! The odds were against her and she knew it. But she's surprised herself in the past. Taking an aggressive stance, she prepared for their weapons to clash.

 

[Z'Greel]

The Minions kept jumping onto both the horse and the Paladin until the one fled and the other burst from a pile. A few tried their best to hold onto the horse, but only the one who had managed to land in the saddle managed to not be thrown off. The Minions surrounding the Paladin pulled back as she swiped towards them, hearing the order from their Overlord clearly in their heads.

The mighty armored Overlord was charging now, grasping his mace firmly with both hands as he approached the circle with his enemy. As he approached, his aura of evil could almost be tasted in the air. And then he was upon her. He leaped into the air, swinging the mace overhead with both hands, roaring as he descended upon her!


~~~~~~



A lone man was sitting in his run down little cabin, muttering to himself and was desperately searching through an old tome with his one hand and the stump of the other. "The paladin has come for me, to smite me for my dark deeds... And on the same day, the dark lord comes, wishing for my tomb for his own use... But they are too late! I might not have gotten all the preparations I wanted, but I have no time to wait any longer!" He gibbered as he finally found the page he was looking for.

He laid the tome in the middle of a pentagram drawn with salt, making sure to not disturb the five candles. Then he grabbed his ornamental dagger with his good hand, and held the stump over the tome.

Then he drove the blade into his flesh, letting the blood flow down onto the worn pages...

 

[Fluffy]

Deep breathing echoed in her helm as she spun slowly, noticing that the fiends were stepping back. She growled a warning, though she didn't expect them to think anything of it. No matter how intimidating she tried to look, they weren't going to flinch. Minions weren't like men.

The thunderous steps of their master went quiet as he leaped into the air, ready to smash her like a bug. Winnifred jumped out of the way just in time, landing clumsily on her side. She felt debris shower over her from the impact he made with the ground. The paladin scrambled to her feet, swords at the ready while she spoke through her teeth: "Holy Goddess, give me the strength to vanquish this monster..."

A medallion around her neck glowed brilliantly, emitting a soft warmth that may or may not be so pleasant to her surrounding foes. That's when she charged ahead, ready to test her twin swords against her challenger.

 

[Z'Greel]

The Overlord glared at the Paladin as she jumped aside, before ripping his mace free from the ground, and turned to face his opponent, who was quickly getting up, emanating pure goodness. He growled deeply as she approached, raising the mace with his right hand to block what she was doing, and raised his left hand under it, making the orb attached to his wrist glow with dark energy. Pure, dark energy shot out from the orb, traveled along his fingers, and shot out like lightning towards the paladin. If she was going to use her powers of good, he was damn well going to use his powers of evil!

~~~~~~~~

"I've sacrificed so many things for this..." The crazed man growled to himself. "My fortune for the book! My hand for a pact! MY EYE for my mistake!"

The blood was spilling from his wrist, yet the worn pages beneath the flow did not get even a single stain. It was absorbing it all, opening a connection to a different plane...

"And now... I'm sacrificing my very life... for the ultimate... power!"

 

[Fluffy]

Gritting her teeth, the paladin pushed with all her might with both swords. Mostly to keep the mace from breaking through them and then crushing her. She was in the middle of deciding what to do next when he prepared another attack, this time using the foul energy that could be unleashed through an orb on his wrist.

The glowing pendant she wore was suddenly brighter, emitting a warmth that would feel as though you were sitting in front of a campfire. It wasn't visible, but she was being shielded. To a point. The air was filled with crackling noises, from the dark lightning damaging her temporary holy armor. Once it took as much as it could handle, there was a small explosion of light in between them. The force was enough to knock her on her back, one sword getting knocked from her grasp in the process. Winnifred then rolled into a crouching position, her breathing heavy in her helmet as she eyed this lord of war. She wanted to attack again, but the back pain made her hesitate. She'd use a healing spell if she didn't already put so much magical energy into her recent move of defense. There would be a bit of a wait until she could cast something else.

Suddenly, something got her attention. Something...sinister. Winni couldn't help but notice that whatever was about to happen, it was putting her senses on high alarm.

 

[Z'Greel]

The Overlord raised the free hand when the paladin's shield exploded, to shield his face from the explosion, more out of reflex than for fear of being hurt by it. Yet as he lowered his arm, he found his opponent to be lowered as well. Quickly, he raised his mace again, to crush this maggot before she had a chance to stand in his way again! He grasped it firmly with both hands, and readied to crush her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tome started glowing with pure dark energy, before it seemed to explode outwards with hellish, fleshlike stone, which absorbed the crippled man in a moment, before rapidly expanding outwards. The small shack exploded in a rain of planks, and kept going, smashing apart the nearby buildings as well, emitting a truly foul energy to be felt far and wide!

The stone formed itself into a huge portal with spikes protruding from it's sides, and the middle glowing with a bloody red, with movement flickering behind it, as if something was about to rush out of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Overlord was thrown off by the sudden surge of infernal energy, making him lower his mace to his side, and look towards the big structure that had suddenly erected itself in the town. It was such a pure, infernal energy, that he didn't understand how it could have appeared so suddenly.

"Sire, I think a tactical retreat would be your best option... Let the paladin deal with this new opponent, and come back once one of them have wiped the other!" Gnarl advised helpfully through the Overlord's helmet.

He ignored the Minion's advice, and simply stared at the portal, raised his orbed hand, and recalled his Minions with the howl an unnatural battle-horn.

"Not until I'm done here..."

 

[Fluffy]

Twin swords raised to prepare for another clash of steel. The Overlord was stronger than her physically, but the paladin would be ever resilient. Winnifred could be surprisingly fatal to another in times of crisis and near death experience. She prided herself on having a will that would be difficult to shatter.

The opponent's weapon went to the side though, as did hers. Eyes widening from within the helmet she wore, Winni scrambled to her feet as she witnessed the horrific events that transpired. Before that gate could so much as show itself, she knew they were damned. Cursing under her breath, she turned to face the city, watching as the festering depths of evil were about to rise with chaotic intention.

Briefly she looked to the Overlord, followed by a polite bob of her head before she hurried off to support what of the footmen were left. Even in the company of her enemies, she tended to be formal. She would have liked to finish what they started if this third player hadn't come about.

A voice in her mind whispered that every last one of these men were doomed. It might not even be worthwhile to try saving them. Winnifred wasn't one to bail just because it was logical, though. Not to mention something should be done about that gate... And if there was one, surely there would be others in who knows where. 'Great. Juuust great.'

 

[Z'Greel]

The Paladin charged down towards the town again, having given the Overlord a curt nod, obviously hoping to help the defenders of the town against the new threat. And by the looks of it, if he wanted to have the town added to his little empire, he'd have to make sure these infernals didn't have a chance to destroy it!

He started charging down the hill, ordering his Minions to do the same. He also ordered them not to attack the humans... At least until this new infestation was cleared! His large, armored form was stronger than the Paladin, yet she was the quicker of the two. Which would mean that she'd be the first to get down there, which he probably could use to his advantage, should she happen to become a casualty.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The portal started shimmering oddly, seeming to bulge outwards, before huge, horned creatures, covered in armor seemingly made of human bones! They roared in a infernal tongue, and started swinging the huge claws of their right hands at whoever was too close, be they Human or Minion, cutting, flaying and maiming anyone they touched. As the brutes advanced outwards from the portal, smaller creatures, barely the size of a malnourished child, also emerged, to drag the dead from all three sides back through the portal...

 

[Fluffy]

The horrific sights before them were sickening. Not enough to overturn the strong gut of the paladin, but the allies around her weren't quite as strong. There were those who were too stunned to move, and those who could barely make a scratch in their efforts to hurt these goons. Winnifred felt helpless to stop the fiends from killing the men and dragging them away.

Of course, this wouldn't stop her from trying.

Brilliant gold light shined from her sword as she raised it, giving a powerful war cry while she brought it down on a trio of demons looking to challenge her. Blinded by the warm glow, they yielded and suffered some injury from the second one that swung at them. It looked like she was easily handling the bone clad monsters, but it was far from that. Winni just happened to be able to handle times of crisis with graceful maneuvers. Truthfully, she was starting to feel worn down up to this point.

Feeling a desperate need for a big breath of air, and for her head to cool off, the helm was torn off to land amongst the corpses she made. Platinum hair shook freely while her lungs took their fill, a growl in her throat as she charged towards another target.

 

[Z'Greel]

The waves of demons kept pouring out from the portal, almost as if they were noticing the humans' weakening resolve and pressing their advantage! And a many of the demons flocked towards the beacon among the humans, shining of light and cutting down the demons!

And as the wave was about to hit the paladin, a wave of Minions came rushing alongside her, smashing against the onrush of demons. The Minions were far smaller than the demons, yet they were far more agile and ferocious! While the demons were strong and almost tactical, the Minions cared nothing about their own safety, leaping onto the larger foes, clubbing, slashing and stabbing at whatever parts they could reach, using the skeletal armor as handholds!

The Overlord came up beside Winnifred, his eyes glowing more brightly as he commanded the Minions more closely, exploiting any weakness he could see. As his eyes normal, he turned towards the paladin, looking down at her. "You should control your troops better." He growled.

 

[Fluffy]

The butt of her sword came down to smash into the head of a crippled demon that was gnashing at her feet, allowing her to set free one of her men the dastardly fiend was trying to subdue. She stepped aside so the intimidated, but not stunned, soldier could run past her to counter the mayhem some more. That's most of what she was doing. In between slashing through the more crowded areas of the town, she did her best to give her men more of a fighting chance in this mob of chaos.

Instinctively, her weapons raised with the expectation that this armored brute she was recently fighting with was going to bring down his mace down on her. She wore a fierce expression, already smudged with dirt and blood, however it softened just a touch upon seeing the normality of his eyes. The comment earned him a scoff. Winni wasn't going to explain herself to him, though. She didn't have the luxury of endless minions to command, all she had was this ragtag team with limited war experience and no knowledge of their new enemy. And, admittedly... Filling the role of General wasn't her forte'. Winnifred functioned better solo with no mind to consider but her own. Which she would have to get over quickly, because the innocents needed her to step up.

"Yeah, you think?!" The usual formality in her tone was dropped without her noticing. Winnifred was a foul mouthed, not-so-lady-like person at heart but by now, she'd forgotten that with how hard her superiors hammered her training into her head. However, fragments of her old self had a tendency to show in times of stress.

Like now, for example.

With them having a common enemy that was a huge threat even to the overlord, they ought to be working together. Winni loathed the idea, but wasn't against it. Would he agree, though? She supposed she would have to just try. "Dark one!" The title was barked out to get his attention while she continually fought off the creatures jumping at her, proving to be more effective on her own than the human army as a whole. "What do you know of these gates from hell? Honestly if you have a better idea than me, by all means, tell me what I should do." Surely he'd have some knowledge of...whatever these were. The paladin had been faced with plenty of different enemies but this was... Dramatically different. Winnifred was willing to follow this overlord's instructions if he had any and would be cooperative with his commanding ways. Anything to get this situation dealt with, if it could be at all.

 

[Z'Greel]

The Overlord studied the gate for a moment, ignoring the paladin's reply, both to let himself see the portal and for Gnarl, his advisor, to have a look, at the off chance that he knew of it.

One of the demons swung it's claws at him, beliving him to be distracted. The Overlord grabbed it by the wrist, kicked it's feet away from under it, and smashed it's head to a paste with his mace.

The he truly joined the battle. His huge, flaming mace swung in wide arches, sending demons and at times, parts of them flying in a fountain of blood.

Then the paladin called out to him.

"I know little of it." He growled in return. "But if it is like other gates of similar kinds... There should be a stone inside it, powering it. Remove it, and the gate might close..." He had to admit that it was a long shot... But he was the one with the title "The Demon Lord" dammit!

 

[Fluffy]

There came a loud grunt as the sharp blade went sinking through the body of an enemy, blood spraying out as the weapon was forcibly withdrawn. Winnifred didn't know whether or not to believe in the demon lord's suggestion that she got into the portal. For all she knew, he could be telling her this as an easy way of getting rid of her. Also, weren't there hundreds of hellions in there!? This was such a long shot that it almost sounded better to cut her own throat, much as that would disappoint her goddess.

At the same time, the overlord had credibility. Clearly he knew more about this more than she did, despite how little he claimed the knowledge to be. And obviously, if he wanted to remove her from the battlefield that quickly, he'd be trying to do so himself. Hopefully she wasn't wrong in clinging to that optimism.

"I might need backup," Winni told him with the implication that she could benefit from some minions supporting her. Whether or not he would agree, a sharp whistle went into the air to catch the attention of a few humans who managed to stay alive. They followed the point of her swords as they directed at the demonic gate, hesitant but not unwilling to follow the paladin. Not yet did she go of course, preferring to not be rash with any decision making. Closely she studied the entrance while her arms made fluid movements to strike at monsters willing to invade her personal bubble.

 

[Z'Greel]

Of course she'd need backup. Her little force that was defending this town was little more than a peasant levy to begin with from what he could see! Had he know that, he'd probably brought less Minions...

"Of course you do!" He growled in return. "But someone has to keep the demons from spreading! And if you go in, I have to stay here! Gnasher! Protect the Paladin!" He shouted, signaling for a slightly larger, more heavily armed and armored Minion towards Winni. He stepped forward, with a small squad of other minions following suit. While neither the largest or most diverse army, it seemed to have enough to guard her without slowing her down with their numbers.

A wet crunch sounded as another demon was crushed by the Overlord's mace. "If it's not closed by an hour, I'm calling for more Minions, so I can take the damn gate myself!" He warned, his red eyes catching hers for a moment.


"Gnasher follow! Gnasher keep lady of light from being smashed!" The Minion voiced, suddenly by her side, a truly eager look in his evil little eyes.

 

[Fluffy]

"Fair enough," she said under her breath, whether or not it could be heard. With the mass of demons only getting more massive, she could see why he'd need as many numbers as possible. She had to wonder if there was an end to these monsters at all. Like the gate was continually birthing unlimited copies they couldn't hope to put an end to.

Briefly did her eyes meet with the overlord's, then attention was turned to the one called Gnasher. Sword still in hand, she gave a respectful gesture of affirmation by clanking her armored fist against her breastplate. "Let us be off, then!" She let out a breath of air as a way of helping relieve stress before making her way towards the gate. 'Goddess, give me strength.' This was unknown territory for the paladin. While she was no stranger to demons, this gate thing--it was completely foreign to her.

Once she got to the other side of the portal, weapons rose at the ready. Surely enough, beyond the oncoming swamp of demons, there was a stone that had plenty of evil energy radiating from it. Well, this was going to be fun...

 

[Z'Greel]

The Overlord stood his ground with the rest of his Minions, smashing anything that came too close with his mace, and sending his horde on anything else. It seemed like a simple task... So far. But a simple task repeated for a long time could very quickly become nearly impossible. And he knew it, which was damn well the only reason he had sent the squad of Minions with the Paladin, however much he hated her.

-------------

The other side of the portal was as most would expect of a place with such a portal. Blood red sky. Spikey rocks everywhere, sitting in lava, surrounding a huge tower with more spikes even than the Overlord's own tower.

Halfway between the tower and the portal, a raised dais stood, with a small alter, on which a orb rested, fire seemingly being kept in glass, held aloft by a quartet of spikes. Surrounding it, several figures that seemed to be robes stood, chanting in some demonic language. In the light of the orb, it almost seemed like the robes were made of skin...

And between the dais and the portal, a horde of the malnourished demon-children stood... Most of whom wore oversized bone armor. Those who didn't fled to the safety of the back lines. It seemed like all the actual warriors were outside, in the other world...

"We smash?" Gnasher asked, readying his halberd, with all the other Minions standing around them, looking expectantly at the Paladin.