"This is far too much like old times, you lounging back while everyone else does the work! Make yourself useful and do something about the skeletons about the abomination!" -Alexandria, Page 4.
Kingdom of Renalta - Heart of Madness
Murderok's counter-attack came swiftly, presumably before he could hear the shouted orders of others around him. As he removes the pin manually and allows it to fire, only one hand is able to fully sustain the recoil of the shot however. His bolt ends up flying past the purple robed magician as she steps aside just before it fires, causing it to land some few feet behind her, harmlessly. The magic-breaker is irreparably damaged as it impacts with the hard ground underneath it. The robed figure chuckles quietly, and continues weaving further spells.
Abjaar turning away to engage Marcus left nobody to stop the wolf and the Illusory Kouri, who proceeded to both focus their attention on Eric. Eric finishes reloading just in time as the wolf leaps for him: Instead of immediately firing, he slams the crossbow into the wolf's chin and then pulls the trigger, sending a bolt straight through its skull and killing it as its corpse tackles him. He's sent sprawling backward, dropping his crossbow as it slides a few feet away to Murderok's hooves. He shoves the wolf's body off and starts rolling onto his feet, his attention focused on the Illusory Kouri as she charged a spell. Then, merely a few feet from Murderok, a small projectile pierces cleanly through the Rheinfelder's torso. Looking up at the robed figure, she had prepared a deadly attack that neither Murderok nor Eric could recognize, but whose effects were clear as Eric wavered, blood quickly pouring out of his two wounds and soaking his clothing.
"Es tut mir leid... Mein Sohn... Ich werde nicht in der Lage, die Flöte für Sie spielen zu können... Vergib mir... (I'm sorry... My son... I will not be able to play the flute for you... Forgive me...)"
Eric falls onto his back, dead immediately thereafter as the shock of losing multiple internal organs finally caught up to his mind.
Murderok would notice a ball of fire heading his way from the Illusory Kouri, and manages to evade it in the last second, though it was clear from the way that her hands were wreathed in increasing amounts of fire that she was now fully prepared to start doing significant damage.
Cen's attempts to gain the upper hand were slowly starting to work: Kicking out the Illusory Marcus' wounded knee dropped him down to one knee so that Cen had the upper hand. Though Cen attempted to swing his blade to pierce the Illusory Marcus' elbow, he seemed to notice the attack coming and instead locked Cen's blade up with his own blade's guard. They were at a stalemate momentarily, but it seemed as though the Illusory Marcus' strength would allow him to shove Cen off once he was back on both feet. The tiefling, however, never got this chance, as half of a fur-coated body slams into him and sends him sprawling a few feet into the approaching Abjaar. The two are knocked off their feet and land beside each other, both retaining the grip on their weapons, though the Illusory Marcus appeared to be cradling his left arm, and Abjaar would find that two of his ribs cracked upon impact with the heavily armoured juggernaut.
One glance to Mikan would make it clear what had happened: Dean's magically-imbued weapon had connected with the wolf's torso, ripping it in two and sending both halves flying off of Mikan. With her chest covered in blood, the woman shudders with disgust before rolling onto her feet and looking at Dean with a big smile.
"Hey! Just like old times! Except, you know, you didn't explode things back then." Mikan then glances to Zin and winks: She noticed what Zin did, and appreciated it. She then moves quickly to pick up her daggers off the ground, and looked over the battlefield. Spotting Eric's corpse, she grimaces, but otherwise coldly showed no other emotions. Before any of them could do anything more, she notices the mage heal the Illusory Marcus' wounds, like she had with the Illusory Kouri before...
Imperium/Amazons - The Dream of Empire
The flurry of blows came all at once against the undead. As Sonia's magical spell flew out the Agent of Greed dispelled it as predicted, having been attracted to it as a potentially powerful spell he immediately seemed to show regret for his action. The combination of bola and wind magic strike by Veira sent the remaining crossbowman off his feet, and plummeting for the ground. Armerza's shield strike finally connected with the ceiling.
The entire ceiling for approximately eight feet in each direction collapsed, sending everyone on the ceiling sprawling towards the ground. A large amount of dirt also followed before the floor of another room several feet above their own could be seen through the newly made hole in the ceiling. Dust chokes the air in the room, but before anyone could attempt to enter the dusty field to investigate what happened to Armerza and her foes, a throwing knife goes flying through the air toward Sonia. Fahim blocks it with his body, taking it in the chest and stumbling back. Glancing at the dagger with a dire lack of amusement, Fahim pulls it out and tosses it to the ground.
"Unfortunate he struck the only one immune to his poisons. This Agent's fortunes are obviously poor." A shriek of anger comes from the Agent of Greed, and the longsword wielding undead suddenly bursts from out of the cloud of dust and attempts to attack Fahim, appearing relatively unphased by the fall. Fahim blocks the blow with his sheer strength, and holds the undead's arms to prevent it from moving.
"Child's play. If one of you wouldn't mind killing it, give it a good blow to the head would you?"
Armerza, meanwhile, would stir after a few seconds of being dazed. Blood ran down from her forehead, but it was a minor, fairly superficial cut. Overall she, too, was in fairly decent shape, though bruised in several places after landing on her shield. Her weapon-arm was buried in the dirt mound at the center of the room, but she was still able to easily break her arm free of it. She had lost her weapon in the confusion, and it was very possibly buried within the mount of dirt somewhere if it didn't fall elsewhere. Still, what likely held her attention within the thick cloud of dust that made it hard to breath was the Agent of Greed and one of his minions: The disarmed crossbowman. Both were standing only five feet away, and their attention was focused to her party members outside of the cloud: They either hadn't noticed her there, or thought she was dead...
Kingdom of Liveria - Ancestral Bonds
Princess Helénē was holding back her total strength as she choked the orc, avoiding eye contact with it as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to kill, it wasn't in her nature. She didn't hear Kasim's approach, but it wasn't necessary as Kasim reached her side and deftly slew the orc beneath her with a single, impaling strike. The orc underneath her twitches, his eyes roll up into his skull, and he dies. It takes the princess a few moments to finally let go of his throat and stand up, turning to see what had become of Kraclaw and if the rest of the group needed her aid.
Kraclaw watched as everyone descended upon him. With surprising agility given his size he avoids Rayvon's attempts to strike him and responds with the superior reach of his spear, faking her out with a feigned strike for her torso before switching course to her right thigh: He was a highly skilled combatant, likely from years of duels with his own compatriots. He twists the spear in her leg, causing her to fall as he then pulls it out. Before he can strike again, Haruuk leaps onto his back and buries his maw into Kraclaw's neck. The wolf's fangs manage to pierce and cause Kraclaw to bleed, but not enough to stop him from reaching up for the wolf. He seems highly confused however as his own shadows seem to crawl up and around him, slowing his movements. Before he can turn his spear and shove the tip of his spear into Haruuk's skull, Gabriel's blade rams itself through Kraclaw's stomach. The orc growls and pulls himself up along the blade, grinning savagely.
"Do it already, angel." Gabriel doesn't hesitate in letting go of his blade's handle and grabbing the orc's head with both of his hands.
"Gladly." He replies coldly as he snaps the orc's neck, the sound echoed through the large chamber as he dropped dead. Without another second's pause, Gabriel then looks to Rayvon and kneels beside her, examining her wound with open concern breaking through his stoic guise.
Zoe seems to hesitate at the sight of Rayvon being injured, but moves past her and Gabriel quickly to free Xerois. There was no telling what her expression was underneath her mask, but her tone betrayed some level of pity.
"You've been here too long." She raises her crossbow to the point where her chains were connected on the wall and pulls the trigger without warning, breaking the chains.
"Go get the keys off Kraclaw's corpse and free yourself. Then free the other prisoners. We will need to wait here briefly to interrogate our prisoner. Actual armour and weapons should be located in a treasury room." Zoe points in the direction of the treasury room.
"That area is clear of orcs." Reloading her crossbow, she pulls a dagger out from underneath her robes and tosses it to Xerois.
"Take this and keep it for the interim. If you want revenge, I won't stop you, but I recommend staying out of my way. I'm an assassin, not a babysitter."
Andrea's attempt to raise the dead was delayed, as she found herself exhausted. It was perhaps unwise to start immediately casting magic after being freed from enslavement. Nonetheless, one of the dead orcs responded to her call, climbing back onto his feet with a lethargic stupor to his movements. Princess Helénē looks to Kasim and the others, and then looks over her form.
"I should be tied down, or otherwise left immobile, before I leave his body... Just to be sure he won't escape our custody."
Goblin Holds - Antiqua Scientiam
Aslo's attack was unexpected, but the Agent of Gluttony lifts one of its minions to take the oil hit instead. The ghoul screeches in pain as it is lit aflame, but the Agent of Gluttony tosses it away like a toy, completely callous about it. The Agent runs its tongue over its sewn lips, looking at Nyla with a deep, insatiable hunger in its eyes. Aslo's second bottle attack is followed quickly by Daevon's daggers, which rips through one of the imps like a pack of Amazonian piranha. All in all, one ghoul dead, and four imps.
Before any celebratory bragging could be had, the Agent of Gluttony screeches with an inhumanly high pitch, causing Nyla to cover her ears in pain. It then bolts forward at a surprising pace towards them as Aslo rolls along the ground. Nyla then pops out of cover, grabbing Aslo and dragging him behind the fallen golem just in time to avoid the Agent, though it passed them without hesitation to charge into the building.
It impacts the Venatrix golem, being slowed just enough for Unamo to activate her trap as the golem struggles, losing a few feet of ground attempting to hold the sewn abomination back. Unamo has a light blue glow surround her as she reaches out towards the creature with both of her hands. The glyph at the doorway lights up, the materials burning with a spiritual blue flame that gave a light hymn: A little girl's voice hummed in a manner that could only be heard by Child, Esyllt, and Unamo. The shaman's eyes close momentarily, then open with a bright blue glow. Her voice had a dozen different tones as she lifted slightly into the air.
"You belong to us." Several hands, visible to everyone, outstretched to the Agent of Gluttony, grasping at it and dragging it back as it swiped and gnashed at Maeven. The hands dig into its flesh as some of the sewing lines across its body snap. The veins underneath its body course and writhe, the ethereal fingertips digging into its skin didn't seem to stop its incessant attempts at reaching the Mechanist.
After being pulled back a few feet, it suddenly bursts open: Several hundred vein-sized tendrils start reaching out for several feet as the hands end up ripping off its head. It didn't seem to need it however, as the tendrils continued reaching out for nearby objects. A few of them grasp onto Essylt's shield, but Venatrix intercepted them, preventing her from being dragged in. Blood started to run down from Unamo's nose as the ethereal hands got a good grasp around the Agent's form.
"Power Word: Kill." The hands suddenly and unceremoniously rip the Agent into several smaller pieces, blood spraying across the room as a result. The smaller pieces of the Agent
still persisted with their tendrils reaching out for anything living they could find. However, elements of Essylt's necromantic magic could be seen as a poison, quickly spreading through the tendrils and killing them. The Agent of Gluttony's several pieces died seconds later.
The trap ceases functioning as Unamo falls onto the floor, on her hands and knees. She coughs up blood as the blue glow fades from her eyes and body. Esyllt was able to recognize the signs immediately: Unamo had cast a spell above her normal abilities and was now paying the price for it. It seemed the remaining demons would be on the Queen's Blades and Nyla alone.
As all of this occurs, the seven remaining ghouls and eight imps howl in surprise. They momentarily hesitate as Nyla gets back onto her feet, keeping her shield close to her body to give the enemy no weaknesses to capitalize on. As an imp attempts to close the gap she kicks it away like a small toy, then drags Aslo to his feet.
"Inside! NOW! I'll watch your back!" The seven ghouls all start to run for the entrance, moving with a surprising pace given their starved look. The remaining imps seemed to be waiting for the ghouls to go first.
Maeven feels the controls starting to respond to her, but it seemed like it would take at least a few more seconds for her mind to catch up to what the spirits within the controls were attempting to convey to her. The controls started to glow underneath her touch as she was fed information: There were kill switches of a sort, and she could swear that some of the controls were made to move parts of the city around. It was difficult to concentrate with the violence nearby...
Kingdom of Tuleria - Unto the Breach
Quar looks to Yuri and shakes his head at her offer. He had already mostly finished healing his own wound at that point and didn't see the need. As the Queen's Blades and Buccaneers regroup, four Imperial Scouts arrive. Under Aeyr and Quar's directions, three scout ahead. The group moves, staying behind three of the scouts as the fourth goes off to scout the army on his own. It only took a few minutes to reach one last, large sand dune between themselves and their target: The portal. The scouts quietly glance over the hill, take count, and then slide back down the dunes to the group.
The trio of Imperial Scouts walks over to the Queen's Blades, though more specifically Aeyr, and report their findings. The dunes gave way to a large space of flat sand, stretching several hundred yards in every direction. The gate was protected by a pair of fifteen foot tall doom guards, four winged creatures that seemed apt for snatching people in the night, about a dozen foot soldiers, and an Agent of Lust which matched the description of the Agent of Lust that was previously in the Free Holds. There was also a burrowing creature of some sort, though it was difficult to ascertain what it was: It was likely related to the scorpions they fought earlier. A fairly formidable defense for their small group to bypass, though only one mage had to reach the gate and maintain contact with it for a few seconds to close it. That, or the Templar could do it--though the Templar would die in doing so.
Given the circumstances, the three Imperial Scouts look to Quar, and stay for the battle instead of leaving. The final Imperial Scout returns, giving the group updated information on the armies. It seemed the Tulerian force was fairing well, and the demons were sufficiently distracted so that it would be unlikely that reinforcements would reach the gate defenders in time. It was even possible the Tulerian force might win by itself if they failed.
Quar and Otto look between the Queen's Blades. It seemed they each had a suggestion. Quar spoke first.
"It's clear that we should use these Imperial Scouts and our Mages to attack their bigger targets first, use the element of surprise in combination with our ranged firepower. If we can take out those Doom Guards and whatever that burrowing creature is, at least one of our wizards will be able to slip past and reach the gate with due haste." Otto shook his head.
"We don't have time to pick them off one by one like common bandits! We need to use the majority of our forces and two of the three mages to distract them on one side, seeing as how this flat oasis of sand stretches off in every direction for several hundred yards. A second, much smaller force of about three or four people can then make a break for the gate once we signal that we've drawn their defensive forces away from it. If they try to run back across several hundred feet of sand to stop the second force, the first force can cut them down."
Mas'ud Campos looks between the Queen's Blades, eagerly awaiting their answer about what to do next. Every second that passed was another of his fellow soldiers cut down.
