The Last War on Kehra

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

< @Heyitsjiwon @Decimate >

Caelis dashed through the streets towards his family's warehouse, leaving a trail of wounded creatures amidst the dead citizens. Although he was quickly joined by many people who knew of the Wolff family, or who were simply believing that there was strength in numbers. All in all, he picked up six others: One young man who was holding a sword he was clearly not comfortable with, Another young man running alongside a young woman and an infant, and a woman who seemed older, in her 30's or 40's. Others might join in time, but by the time he arrived at the warehouse those would still be with him. His guard would be fighting off a trickle of the monstrous humans. It seemed that many had been killed, but the largest waves had not gotten out that far yet.

And along with the warriors that were on his payroll, was another very skilled soldier. Raython Caenholdt, a veteran of the Tehen Legion, was in full combat gear, and in combat against a trio of the beasts, the hired hands fighting three others. The Wolff's steward had already prepared the wagons as he figured Caelis would have ordered, and a number of people had already taken shelter, with the steward waiting inside to give his master the report.

< @Quiet One @Silvir @Sairen >

Even as Moradin and Zipper fought, more and more swarmed in from all around, but most flowed around them to get deeper and chase the civilians out and towards the three gates that the main roads led to. Zipper would be hit in the head by a thrown sword, but nothing would come of it. Soon enough, a break would appear to which they could move towards the rampaging, giant monster of stone which stood where the holiest temple was mere minutes ago. His path would lead him towards another Demet, Deckard Kane who was beset by two of the things. One of the swords cut very slightly against Deckard's left arm, the barbs ripping out a slight more flesh and causing a sort of dark, slimy burning feeling for a second before it passed.

Once they had finished off the things and started to move again, it would be a few minutes until they nearly ran into Nuriel, who had been led into the same road by Le'avi. By that point, they were halfway towards the ruined temple where the generals would most likely have been.

< @Quiet One @Kraveing_Volkf @Boba Fit >

The rooftop was safe for now, but wouldn't be too safe. It seemed that these pseudo-men were able to use their clawed fingers, or even their cruelly barbed weapons to climb up even the smoothest stone. It was obvious that the three acrobatic warriors would soon need to move from their perch and get moving, or they would be overrun. And yet, they had some time to plan, and the vantage point to do so from. Even as they would keep fighting those who were climbing, they could see the multitude of civilians getting slaughtered. They could see the soldiers fighting and dying to protect them.
They could see a small group that seemed to be getting closer to the giant stone monster and impact site, and they could see a warehouse that more people seemed to be moving towards. They could see that it seemed the majority of people and soldiers were caught off guard, and were dead.
That would number hundreds dead in only a few minutes, not counting those killed instantly by the impact. And finally, they could see that the monstrous humans seemed to have numbers beyond reason, clearing the city from the center like a ripple from the stone creature. They had the ability to choose where to go, what to do, but the window of opportunity was closing quickly.​

 

[Boba Fit]

Marikoth & Armakek

It seemed the 3 had been able to fashion themselves a bit of an opening. It was opening that Marikoth was not going to waste. He looked at Armakek and spoke out loud to him.

"Go. Spread the word to every Spirit animal and have their partners spread the word to non Vetna. Fall back to the nearest gate and form a defensive perimeter to allow the civilians to evacuate. As soon as the horde approaches, retreat out of the city." The eagle squawked in approval and flew off at an amazing speed. He could cover the whole city rather quickly. He immediately started turning his head and squawking the instructions indiscriminately.

Marikoth then looked at his 2 new companions. "Closest to the North Gate. We move. Run. Stay along the rooftops. Stop for nothing. If available, shout for those on the street to fall back to the gate. Gods help us. Go. I will follow, provide overwatch. No stopping if you want to survive." He immediately began moving toward the North Gate along the Rooftops.

He could see the way the horde was moving. The only chance they had was to reach the gate. The only chance of having any kind of army and civilian population left, was to fall back to the gates and form up then retreat. It was quite clear to Marikoth, that as soon as the attack started, the city was already lost.

He began shouting as he moved. "FALL BACK TO THE GATES. DEFENSIVE PERIMETER!!"​

 

[Kraveing_Volkf]

Reia's rooftop perch allowed her to loose her arrows as far as she could, though her main targets were those scaling the building she still aimed to put a few into some of the rushing creatures perhaps save some unlucky civilians.
She could see some soldiers trying to get to the temple, and that made sense to her it was where their commanders would have been and duty said they had to find out if anyone survived. But duty also said she should keep these civilians safe.

Then the odd man...she should really ask his name, told his bird to tell everyone to go toward the gates and protect civilians. Reia was faced with a choice, go toward the gates as well and do everything she can to help civilians, or go along the rooftops toward the temple with that group.
"I hate moral questions." Reia grumbled to Yuki.
'Make your choice quick, these things are climbing fast and so if you don't want our life forces to end here I suggest we get a move on.'
Reia gave a loud groan, made sure Yuki was secure in her shirt, before turning toward Vi, "I'm going toward the North gate." She put her bow away and drew her dagger, she needed something to make sure if those monsters jump in front of her she has a way to take them out and shes not quite skilled at running and shooting. Yet another thing she should start practicing later. "If you wanna race I think this will be a fun challenging course." She didn't think there was time to wait for an answer from Vi so she started to rush off.

 

[Quiet One]

Vi nodded to her companions. The North Gate made as much sense as anywhere else. And civilians were getting mowed down left and right. If she could help escort people out of the city, she might just save their lives. As the taller Vetna ran off she briefly reflected on his little prayer. Gods help us. She looked back at the horror at the Temple and fingered her palm. Gods...dark monsters...something about this nagged at her.

Then one of the monsters found its way to the top of the roof. She wrapped her ribbons around his legs and whipped them out, forcing the creature to do the splits in midair and then land crotch-first on the roof. As soon as Viola kicked him off she turned and saw Reia and the other Vetna were already far ahead of her. If that little Vetna wanted a race, this was cheating. She whipped her ribbons into spirals behind her and pushed forward, shooting her like a human arrow across three rooftops. When her acceleration died down she was right next to Reia, and passing. She grinned at her, then looked down at the people, running for their lives. Her smile left her at them, running around with no direction, full of fear.

She spotted a mother and daughter cowering in an overturned cart while one of the monsters approached them. A line of blood dripped from his blade to the horse that lay dead further on.

"Hey Reia!" Viola called back. "Think I'm about to lose my lead!"

She leapt off the roof, rolled, and clung to a sign with her ribbons. She swung around and kicked into the monster's back, sending him flying, but doing relatively little damage. That was fine, though. It was just to buy time.

"Get yourselves to the North Gate. My friends and I will protect you from above," she said to the frightened mother. she sounded much braver than she felt in that moment. "Anyone you meet along the way, tell them the same."

"Thank you."

Vi ran alongside the fleeing family until she leaped up again and was back on the roof. Again, next to Reia. "Bonus points for every stop like that during our race."

~<~>~
​

Zipper jumped back as the sword hit his head. It didn't hurt, of course. Golems had no nerves, therefore could feel no pain. But it'd scared him, like so many other things that were happening today. Another of the strange grey men advanced on him. Zipper turned his hand around and placed it on the attacker's head. He spun it back, twisting its neck instantly.

The golem seemed to shrink before the stone colossus they had been steadily moving towards. He didn't question Moradin's leadership - he hadn't let him down yet - but being this close to the living mountain was scary. In this one instance, metal wasn't stronger than stone.

On his back, Moradin spotted another Demet being attacked by two of those things. Just as the monster cut Deckard's arm with its barbed blade, he opened fire with his Ironshooter, destroying the creature's elbow and separating it from his body. Two more shots and it had holes in its heart and its head. Thankfully, the second wasn't an issue Moradin had to contend himself with, as it was soon laying dead.

"Let me see your arm," he demanded of Deckard. The cut looked nasty, but not tainted. "I'd purify that when you can, lad. There's something off about their weapons. There's something off about all of this."

As he got ready to re-saddle Zipper he had the wind knocked out of him by a passing Vetna. He watched as he sprinted towards the temple. "Ah. A Vetna with a sense of direction. 'Ey! Slow there, Tree-Walker. You'll be needing some firepower if you want to get closer." He rested his Ironshooter on his shoulder to prove his point.​

 

[Silvir]

Kane cursed and looked at the arm "No arguments there" He tilted his head as he had a moment to take in the situation again. "Fascinating though, like some kind of demons?" Kane muttered to himself.
As his fellow Demet spoke to someone passing by Deckard Kane looked up and nodded. "I think i will tag along on that to, but it would be nice if i could get a chance somewhere to done my full armour rather then run around in this half finished state"

Having said that he put his staff over his back again and pulled up the Crossbow that folded out showing it's larger size. The Rune on it pulsated in a dim light until he put a large bolt into the holder with a click. In a moment the rune lit up and a spinning sound could be heard as it was loaded in seconds.
It was time for a field trial on this beauty now to hope the contraption would hold up to the power in the string on release. Luckily no stress sounds had been heard so far.

Turning he took aim at the monsters that once more closed in on them and fired a bolt. A large chunk sound could be heard and the bold sent the creature flying backwards the bolt barley visible as it tore into it's chest and spine. "Excellent first try shall we head of?"

 

[Kraveing_Volkf]

"Cheating." Reia yipped as Vi suddenly blasted ahead of her, before giving a confused one when Vi suddenly dropped from the roof. She slid to a halt and looked, seeing the woman had stopped to help out a mother and child. As she continued running Vi arrived next to her saying that there was bonus points for stopping to help someone along the way.
"Ha, bonus points for not having to stop." Running and shooting was not something she was skilled at, but hey no time like the present to practice right?

Her dagger was put back and her bow drawn once more. She made one quick shot to test how her running would alter her accuracy, aiming for a lone monster which was attacking a dead body. Her shot went wide hitting the wall about three foot off. "May need to slow down to shoot, start off easy." Reia stated to herself. She made another two test shots, grasping that the best time to shoot was either after her foot makes contact and her leg is passing forward, nice stabilized position. Or when both feet were off the ground, no shake at all. With that grasped the only thing she had to contend with was the fact that she was in motion not just her target.

Her first actual shot would find its mark in the neck of a monster about to attack a woman. "Missed." Reia cursed because she hit its neck rather than its eye.

 

[Sairen]

Every time one of these creatures go down it felt like three appeared. Nuriel couldn't face every single one of them on his own. Even if he was disarming them rather than killing felt futile. His raven wasn't having much luck. He could see that there wasn't any easy roads. Most were blocked by rubble, fires and of course the endless swarm vile beasts.

The raven cawed as it started to circle its way back to lower heights. This wasn't good and the more he thought about it the more he went on auto pilot. If it wasn't a creature then he wasn't going to think about it. There had to be a way to avoid all of them because killing each one wasn't an option.

Nuriel felt a bump to his left but didn't think much of it until he heard the words 'fire power'. At that point he skid to a stop and turned around with a smile of curiosity. "Did someone say fire power?" He questioned and seeing the large three barrel gun gained his interest. Demets were amazing craftsmen and it certainly showed with companion. "I see you've brought company, but its pretty important that I get near the temple. So extra fire power would be much appreciated." Now he was getting somewhere. More people meant more chances for survival and with another Demet on board things seemed set.

The awful thuds of a creatures stomping was coming quite close but was handled by Kane. His crossbow held a rune inside it and the arrows were more than capable of piercing through the creature. "The roads closer to the temple are covered in rubble but we should be able to make it through in some way. My raven can keep as a guide."

 

[Quiet One]

Vi raised her eyebrow at Reia when she said she could help them without stopping. Then smirked when she missed. "You don't get points if you can't hit the target. Here - let me try."

She jumped, lashed her ribbon around a lamppost and then the other around a spare monster on the street. She whipped her arms, stinging her right shoulder as it carried the weight of the creature and chucking it through a window. She kept her upswing and landed back on the roof. She rubbed her shoulder and grinned at Reia. "You need to keep up, Vetna."

~<~>~​

Moradin nodded at his fellow Demet as he demonstrated the power of his crossbow. Now that was an impressive tool. He looked at the Vetna accepting their help, then jumped and shot his gun. His bolt of molten iron hit a monster who had jumped up behind Nuriel.

"Looks like we're all headed to the same place," he concluded. "Name's Moradin, by the way. This here's Zipper." The golem, having no real sense of the urgency of the matter, offered his hand to the Vetna to shake.​

 

[Decimate]

Prior to the commotion, Captain Raython Caenholdt had been sitting on the uppermost step of the Wolff family warehouse spooning down a meager ration of soup. His heavy cloak was wrapped around his shoulders and his eyes had been on the sky above where the sky was likely to open up and threaten operations at a moment's notice. It wasn't unusual to see rain along the border region during this time of the year, but all the same it made him feel slightly ill-at-ease. Try as he might to lock his troubles in the desolate corners of his mind, he couldn't help but remember it had been a day just as grey and gloomy as this one when his leave of absence ended and he was summoned back to the front.

Since then everything had changed. His duties, his responsibilities. He'd once thought being promoted would be the core of something bigger and better still yet to come.

Then he received his first assignment straight from Abernathe himself.

Captain Caenholdt,

Congratulations on receiving your first command. I understand from your many accomplishments in the field that this promotion is long overdue. In other circumstances, we would commence with the ceremony forthwith without delay, but in these troubled times, the Tehen Legions require your service on a matter of upmost urgency.
You will accompany your unit to the city of Mecca and from there assist the city guards in keeping the peace until the meeting has ended. Your men will be responsible for apprehending any suspicious individuals as well as securing the safety of important personnel operating within the city. You will find the list enclosed along with your new insignia of rank.

Sincerely,

R.F. Frantzner
Secretary in Chief, Legion Command.

There was no arguing with orders.

And so, glorified bodyguard or not, he reported straight to the Wolff family upon his arrival to the city and since worked closely with them in the efforts that business proceeded smoothly despite the increase in activity.

A boring job, a boring month.

Ah, but I guess that is life, he thought begrudgingly to himself as he lowered his gaze from the sky down to where two of the guards were contesting one another at dice.

Upon feeling his eyes on his back, one of them turned and shot him a grin.

"Oi, Cap'n! Fancy a drink and a game? I imagine your coin purse could use a little lightening!"

The corners of his mouth twitched up into a reluctant smile.

"No thanks, friend. I've seen you play too often not to know by now that you're a notorious cheat."

"Cheat?! Now wait just a goddamn minute ---"

His companion seated across from him chortled and rolled the dice in his hands so that they made a click-click-clicking sound.

"Ah shut up, Chett. You know the man's right. Besides, he might want to save that gold and have a go at that sister of yours. Why, I heard just the other day she and that fat fuck Quillas --- "

The man's hand started to open and close in a vulgar gesture. He never quite got around to finishing, however, as the other threw down the tankard in his hand and fell on him in the intention to rip the teeth right from his skull.

Raython was on his feet in an instant.

"Alright, that's enough, fellas. You've had your fun. The next one of you that throws a punch will be cooling their heels in the stockades."

He started to progress downwards towards the brawling individuals with his halberd in hand, but the next instant the sky erupted.

What the ---?

It was just an instant, a flash at the corner of the eye. Then all at once the ground trembled and crows lifted from the trees with a raucous caw-caws of alarm.

Raython hurried to the bottom of the stairs.

"Captain, what was that?"

"I'm not sure," he began, but in the next instant the alley seemed to erupt in a torrent of sound as the shockwave battered through. He was thrown backwards and crashed against the wall. The world swam in a torrent of sound and he remembered nothing more for a time.

. . .

"Captain! Oi, Captain! Wake up, dammit!"

"It's no use. Someone draw water from the well and rouse him quick!"

He opened a bleary eye, the world sliding in and out of focus. He was vaguely aware of someone crouched over him with their hand on his shoulder. Another shadow, this one more unsteady looking, was a few yards in the background. The closer of the two noticed him first.

"Ah, wait! I think he's waking!"

The hand clapped him steadily on the shoulder and he winced.

"You lucky son of a bitch. We got worried there when we saw your head hit the pavement. It doesn't look like you're concussed, thank the stars!"

Recognizing it as one of the two Wolff guards he had just finished chastising, Raython smiled ruefully before extending his hand. It was seized in a powerful grip as he was helped back up onto his feet. Rubbing the grime from his cheek, the Legionary looked around the alleyway.

"What the hell happened?"

"Not sure," Chett the Cheat grunted at him. "Someone was spouting bullshit about a meteor a while ago. Another swears a building collapsed. You believe that happy crappy? Buildings don't just collapse out of the blue."

Ray grimaced and stroked his beard. Guards weren't known for their brilliance, but he couldn't argue with that logic.

Was that feeling from earlier more than just an illusion?

His momentary reflection was ended by the sound of boots thudding in his direction.

"Captain Caenholdt! Captain Caenholdt, sir!"

There was barely a pause before the runner, his eyes rolling in fright, sank to his knees.

"Monsters! Hundreds of them! They've invaded the capital! There's fighting all over the city, and it's pushing out this way! They'll be here within the hour."

As the courier broke out in sobs, the guards looked at each other in disbelief. Some clearly thought it was a hoax. Others looked nervous. Whispers broke out around the warehouse like water hissing upon open flame.

"What if it's true?"

"Monsters, did you hear ---?"

"Gods blood, we'll be killed if we stay!"

Ray slammed the butt of his halberd on the ground for silence.

"Listen up! Monsters or not, our orders have not changed! We will set up a perimeter around the warehouse and adjacent districts and hold it until Wolff arrives."

He turned back to the man closest to him.

"You. I want you to go door to door right now. Rouse as many able bodies as you can and scrounge up weapons for them. I don't care how you get them. Tell the rest to evacuate out the south gate. Do not let them cross the perimeter. If you see any of my men on the streets, I want to divert them here."

The guard hesitated, but eventually caved before the authoritative tone and sprinted off to spread the word. Once he was out of sight, Ray turned to the others and motioned them to follow so that he could begin setting up a formidable defense around the warehouse. He was soon greeted by the sight of the Wolff family's steward preparing a small train of wagons on the street side of the house. Though it couldn't have been more than ten minutes since word of the monsters had been spread, the wagons were already almost full of civilians and supplies.

Relieved, he nodded his approval at the man in passing.

A fellow humanitarian! At least someone has his head on straight …

And it was just as well that he did. The guardsmen barely had time to fall into position before the crowd at the very head of the street suddenly began to scream.

"Don't panic! Don't ---"

He never got to finish his sentence as his words were snatched away by a caterwauling so high-pitched that it could be heard clearly over the noise of the crowd.

He exchanged a look with the guard nearest to him. Then he looked ahead again.

SHRREEEEEE ---

The first monster rounded the corner at a near-impossible speed. It lunged towards an elderly farmer straggling at the back of the crowd and only missed by inches. The man fell with a hefty smack to the cobblestones, his cane skittering away under one of the wagons. His terrified sobbing sprung the legionary into action.

"Move! Get that man to the wagon, and kill that fucking thing!"

Dropping his halberd and going for the shield and shortsword, he charged forward, banging the handle of the sword on his shield noisily all the while to draw the beast's attention. It turned on a dime and charged straight at him like a bull, it's crude axe swinging like a windmill in front of him. He met it dead on, the blade smacking on the wooden shield with a hefty thunk, but then he bashed it forward to send the creature bodily to the ground.

It took a single thrust from there to end the thing's life.

But there was no rest from there. No sooner had he turned than he was set upon by two more just like it, these circling him like wolves on the prowl. He backed up quickly in order to keep them out in front. After all his years in the Legion, he didn't need to be told that letting them get behind would be a deadly mistake.

The monsters were relentless and hounded him at every turn, snapping, lunging, and clawing at him even as he jabbed at them from behind his shield. Soon, his sword arm would be scored with marks from their teeth and claws even as he wrestled them down one by one and gutted them for swift repayment.

But more will come, he thought grimly as he stood and retreated towards the wagons. We won't be able to hold them off forever.

 

[Silvir]

Kane raised an eyebrow at Moradin but still nodded with a glance at the golem "fascinating then we better move now and fast as i sadly unlike your metal slugger there have less space for my munitions." Having said that he backed up towards the rest of them his crossbow making wiring sounds as the second bolt loaded. He motioned for the Vetna to lead as they where after all supporting him. "Moving now pleasantries later lads, you can call me Kane for now." Firing his next bolt the creature that it hit spun around as it almost managed to dodge the shoot. Deckard clicked his tongue and kicked it as it got to close.

He really wanted to put on the rest of his armour and capture one of those things for studies. But for now survival was a priority.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

To Caelis' dismay, the monsters had already reached the warehouse, but thankfully it appeared that the guards were able to hold them off especially under the guidance of the Legionaire. There was a considerable amount of the dead monsters around the area, which gave Caelis hope. Still, there were still some more around the area and Caelis arrived swiftly to whip some of the demons and draw their attention. This was just enough for the guards to take the opportunity to lunge forward and stab them. With the immediate threat dealt with, Caelis let out a deep breath and said to the men who protected the warehouse "Well, I never imagined that I would ever say this, but you lads are a sight for sore eyes, especially you, Captain. Thank you as always for your service." Caelis then proceeded to enter the warehouse. The warehouse already had quite a number of civilians waiting for salvation. "Master Wolff!" a familiar voice called out.

"Mr. Graves, I see everything is set and ready?" Caelis asked his steward. "Yes sir. We are ready to depart on your mark." Caelis looked around at the civilians in the warehouse. They were quite numerous, which was concerning. "Can we fit everyone?" Caelis asked. "I am not too sure, sir. We might over encumber the wagons." "If it looks like it then the children, the women and the injured have priority. Me, the guards and any able bodied men are going to jog alongside the wagons and make sure that none of those demons get close. Get everyone ready to depart immediately!" Mr. Graves nodded in acknowledgement and ran off to get the caravan moving. The hordes were going to be here at any moment, and Caelis didn't want to think about what would happen if they reached the warehouse before everyone left. Still, he had a job to do. He went about the warehouse and gathered everyone who could fight and got them weapons that laid around. In fact, they had to resort to picking up the crude weapons dropped by the dead demons. The Wolff warehouse was far from an armory, but he wanted to give everyone at least a fighting chance.

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

< @Heyitsjiwon @Decimate >

As Wolff worked with his steward and the people, Raython was given time to work with the fighters, and come up with plans and tactics for them all to use to escape. As he would do that, Caelis could finalize the plans of the wagons and make sure that everything was clear for them all. The closest gate to the warehouse would be the northern one to the lands of Tehen - which was a good thing for Raython especially since he would have to report back - and Menaan would be the easiest pat and place to take in all the refugees that they would be transporting.

Yet before they even set off, there was a snag. The men who picked up and held the weapons that the monsterous creatures used slowly turned grey, and began to feel weak. Eventually, one of them - an older gentlemen - screamed and collapsed, his flesh pulling in as if the man had been mummified in moments. From there, no one would dare touch the weapons again. At least those who had been using them recovered quickly enough.

< @Quiet One @Boba Fit @Kraveing_Volkf >

The swift movements of the three of them got them quickly towards the northern gate, with a few extra civilians being saved. By this point, the mob was a good while behind them, and the streets were generally clear of the creatures and other humans. That changed when they actually got to the gate, which was still closed; the hut which housed the turnwheel to open it blocked by a mob of the creatures. A number of soldiers from each kingdom were sandwiched between the mob blocking the gate, and the people that they were protecting from said monsters. Reports of Demetian gunfire were loud, as were the clashing of metal on metal, and bow to grey flesh. They were holding their own, but if they couldn't clear and open the gate soon, both they and the people would be surrounded and summarily destroyed.

A implosion of flame inside the ranks of the creatures would draw especially Viola's attention, as that was the rather showy trademark of a young summer-borne that had been in Viola's team. He - named Kaer - had always been good with causing explosions or big rolling flames, although his control was rather lacking. If they could reunite, perhaps they could use their powers to do something greater and wreck the enemy ranks.

< @Silvir @Quiet One @Sairen >

The wave had passed by the three (five, counting Zipper and Le'avi) of them, leaving them with only a rampaging giant beast of obsidian slate to worry about. As they walked, they would see that the buildings were ravaged, slain humans and the slain creatures all were quickly becoming only skeletons.Sounds were muffled, and color was dark. That, along with the greyed-out sky cause by the impact, made Mecca look like it had been a ghost town for decades at the least. The shining jewel had become a grey, dead, dreary place now. Getting to the remains of the temple was dangerous, as it brought them nearer to the towering thing of stone - which was nearly as tall as the temple itself had been.

Corpses and severed limbs were strewn about the area, as were weapons, armor, and many other things that had been scattered by the crushing of the building. What was most ominous was the fact that the three statues of man, as well as Furia and the dragons, were all in large chunks that were slowly eroding away into mere dust. Fortunately, the giant stone creature's rampage brought it farther and farther from the temple. Unfortunately, there was no sign at all of any of the three generals. Abernathe, Domoran and Yutaro were all simply... gone, it seemed.​

 

[Sairen]

A small glint appeared in Moradin's eye as the odd sense of something was approaching behind him. It was quickly taken care of by the demet as he was quick to shoot the monster down. Nuriel looked behind to see the creature covered in the molten iron. With one threat taken care of, the Vetna looked back over to Moradin with his golem named Zipper. He nodded but noticed that Zipper had his hand out awaiting for a shake. "Aren't you an interesting one." He said with a small sense of surpise as he shook the golem's hand.

The group had caught the attention of another monster but Kane already took the shot. "Try and find any sign of the higher ups. Maybe we'll get an explanation or even a small clue about all of this." With those words Nuriel motioned his raven to start searching for anyone who might be alive as they headed forward.

The three moved in closer to the flatten temple, closer to the giant raging beast. He could feel the soft shakes of the ground as the monster continued to rip the city apart. It was certainly concerning. What was even more concern was the rubble that laid before them. The smoke and dust has filled the sky creating a blanket and blocking out the sun. The bodies that laid on the ground looked as if they had been there for years instead of mere minutes. None of it sat well with Nuriel. They were suppose to be fresh carcasses and yet the look as if their flesh had shriveled up, almost mummified. What caught his attention the most was seeing the these statues turn to dust.

The statue of Furia and the dragons were smashed but they were quickly turning into dust. Even the three statues of man, all crushed but somehow being eroded into nothing. "This isn't good." He stated simply as he stood before what was left. "Stones don't disintegrate like this..." He began to look around but again nothing but rubble and corpses. Nuriel motioned for Le'avi to come back and the raven landed comfortably on his shoulder. "Found anything?" He asked but the raven merely gave a few squeaks and kept his head low. "He hasn't seen a soul move. There's not much of anything beyond the corpses." He said with disappointment. There was a single sign of a higher up or really anyone. With the giant stone making his way through Mecca it was safe to say it was time to leave. "We might have to start making our way out. Nothin's left out here besides that thing and I frankly don't want to get his attention."

 

[Boba Fit]

Marikoth & Armakek

Armakek had made the rounds shouting the order to retreat to the nearest gate and form a defensive perimeter. Every Vetna who was told by their spirit animal would know now, and the Vetna's would be passing the orders along. Armakek came back and landed on Marikoth's shoulder. Marikoth still had his throwing knives. He was good taking out individuals and groups, but not when they were so close like this and in such high numbers. He had a plan, though. He put his knives back.

"Reia. Use the bow. Start from left side. Kill shots as possible, quickly. Controlled. Stay on rooftop for shooting over mob." Marikoth then turned to Viola.

"Viola...find flame user. Combine flame and wind clear the right flank monsters. Once both sides clear, soldiers will move around flank to finish." Once Marikoth finished with the most detailed explanation he wished to give the pair, he hopped off the building, landing on the ground and rolling to lessen the shock. Armakek leaving his should and however till he finished the roll, then landing on his shoulder again. He made his way to the mob and forced his way through till he was at the back of soldiers. He began to shout orders again.

"HOLD THE LINE! ARCHER WILL SOFTEN LEFT. FIRE WILL SOFTEN RIGHT. ON MARK, PUSH IN SIDES & FLANK!!" He raised his voice loud enough that he knew the soldiers heard the order. Armakek left his shoulder to overwatch and alert him on the status of the flanks.​

 

[Quiet One]

Moradin dismounted Zipper and walked into the carnage. The debris, the destroyed statues of Gods and Men, all the death around them...it was somber indeed. He turned the safety on his Ironshooter and placed it over his lap as he sat on a toppled piece of the temple. There was simply nothing living here. Zipper grabbed two curved pieces of stone from one of the temple's many fantastic archways and tried to join them together. But as they disintegrated in his hands the golem realized there wasn't a point and sadly set them down.

"Stone doesn't do this? We never would've guessed that," Moradin replied bitterly to Nuriel's comment. What could he say? This was horrific and heart-breaking and would wear on any man's nerves. "Sorry. This place is tainted now. Some kind of dark magic. It's the only explanation for things falling apart like this." He got up. "I hope it doesn't affect the living."

He patted Zipper and started looking around at the floor. He kicked a stone here and there and directed Zipper to move those he wasn't strong enough to. Finally he found what he was looking for: a sewer grate.

"Domuro's contribution to Mecca," Moradin explained. He gestured with his hand for Kane and Nuriel to come over while Zipper was pulling the grate free. "Tehens don't have the best waste system and you Vetna...well, you're not used to ground-work living in the trees, right?" He paused to smile a little at Nuriel before continuing. "But Demets have some of the best sewage systems in Kehra. You want to get out of the city and avoid that monstrosity, this is our best bet." He frowned as the cover came off and wrinkled his nose. "The only downside is the smell."

~<~>~​

The explosion at the gate immediately caught Viola's attention. She rolled her eyes at Marikoth's instructions since she'd figured that out herself already. But there was no time to start something. She ran off the roof, skipped across the heads of a couple villagers, and somersaulted into the fray right beside Kaer.

"Vi!"

"Kaer! Enjoying your first time in Mecca?" She wrapped her ribbons around a monster and leaped into the air, flipping around until she launched the creature at another of its allies.

The summer-borne swung his Demetian hammer, which was runed to channel his fire powers, and a monster's head ignited into flame. "Honestly, it's a little crowded!"

"Swing my way and I'll thin the herd!" she called over the din. Kaer swung his hammer and Viola pushed out a current of air a half second later. His blast turned into a wave when it hit her air, taking out four monsters perpendicular to the swing. She waggled her finger between them. "Me + you = get that gate open. Come on!"

She ran for the turn-wheel hut, Kaer right behind her. "Everyone back!" she cried to the knights trying to get through the creatures. Kaer came up behind her, his hammer glowing red from heat. Viola crossed her arms in front of her chest, hands splayed out. He swung and she spun her hands around. Her hands created a twisting air column, and when it combined with his fire blast it through the entire mob of beasts out of the way. And blew down the door for good measure. Both she and Kaer staggered after the blast. It felt like their arms were going to burst. Vi dropped to her knees, the world getting fuzzy around her. The last thing she saw was the ground going sideways as she passed out.​

 

[Kraveing_Volkf]

Reia was not overly surprised to see the gate blocked off she had suspected as much. However she was surprised to see the explosion, which was shortly followed by Marikoth shouting an order to kill the creatures blocking the gate. Reia was about to say that was obvious but bit her tongue. "Just keep them off me. Use your daggers to stab anything that climbs up here."
She crouched down and adjusted her quiver drawing multiple arrows one between each finger, making sure her quiver was close to where her bow string would be upon arrow release.

Taking aim Reia nocked an arrow, drew the string back its full length wood bending completely straining with the desire to return to its original shape. She loosed the arrow, and before the string had even popped back into place was already adjusting the arrows between her fingers dropping one and catching it between her thumb and pointer, nocking it and loosing it toward another foe.

Eye shots could wait, right now throat shots were just as effective and far easier to rapidly aim for. This was especially true as the wave of fire came and hit the mob of monsters. Though when Vi suddenly opted to rush toward the creatures Reia gave a toward Yuki. "Looks like we have to protect her." She stated loosing another arrow toward a creature close to Vi.
"Yea especially considering she's feinting right now."
"Lets hope the soldiers take the opportunity to try and get that gate open."

Reia's new main goal being to protect her downed new friend and shoot any creature that even looks in Vi's general direction.

 

[Silvir]

He didn't say much as the other two presented his own thoughts well enough to leave the rest unsaid. Instead Deckard stood silent and studied his surroundings with a neutral expression. The wind carried the distant sounds of screams, clangs and crackling in between the sounds of the giant moving. It was a heavy atmosphere weighing down on him and Kane began shaking his head in silence.

He nodded at the opened sewer gate his attention drawn towards it by Moradin. "good idea" With a sigh he looked around at the ruins "This really wasn't part of anyone's plans for today was it?" He really didn't say it to anyone in particular just had a weird look on his face as if he wasn't sure what emotion to show. Finally he turned his gaze back at the sewer muttering. "Now i understand father always saying he hoped i would never experience war" And with that Kane climbed in first his crossbow secured to his back and a torch ready in one hand to be lit once he had descended.

 

[Mythy the Dragon-Wolf]

< @Quiet One @Sairen @Silvir >

Deckard was the first to go down into the sewers, which smelled as one would expect - of raw sewage and everything that entailed. Thankfully, they were taken to concrete walkways on either side of the sewage-filled waterways. It seemed that none of the beasts had gotten down here yet, which would expedite their way. The passages were square, with bridges every once in a while to pass between sides and over cross-paths. Moradin and Deckard, as Demets, would have some knowledge of their race's architecture, and would see the signs that they had gone down the northern entrance, and thus had the best and straightest path to the northern gate, which would lead them to the gate going to Tehen lands.

The walk would give them a chance to perhaps speak with one another and learn of themselves, camaraderie being a valuable resource during war.

< @Quiet One @Boba Fit @Kraveing_Volkf >

The rest of the assembled soldiers seemed rather impressed and awed by the damage that the two season-borne were able to do, perhaps even a bit fearful of that power in some cases, especially that of the civilians. But no one could doubt the effectivness, no creatures remained after a few minutes - once the stragglers had been removed, two helpful civilians moved Vi and Kaer over to the side, keeping them with the civilians as the soldiers spread out. Once Marikoth reached the ground, a soldier who seemed to be in charge - the highest ranking Tehen footman - ran up to him and saluted. "Thank you for coming when you did, I was thinking we may have to give up the gate. Now from here, we can set up a position, get these people out and work out a plan."

It seemed that the soldier wasn't aware that the mob of creatures was on the way, so lacked the urgency to get everything going right then and there. Marikoth would see that he had about 15 footmen in total, 5 Vetnan archers and a pair of Demet gunners. The buildings were more or less intact, the highest was the three-story guard post that held the turnwheel to open the gate to the road.​

 

[Boba Fit]

Marikoth & Armakek

Marikoth was a bit irked at the actions of Vi. He told her to only take half of the monster, but she carried away and now they would all deal with the consequences. He knew that power usage took a toll on the body, and with how much she had used up to this point, he only felt confident about taking half to keep her from passing out. She didn't listen, and now not only had to figure out something without her and Kaer's powers, they had to devote attention to moving and protecting the 2 unconscious. While it may have been helpful in the short term, it was stupid and reckless in the long term. The highest ranked of the soldiers approached. Marikoth steeled himself to speak normally, something was very difficult for him. Marikoth saluted back before speaking.

"No problem. We may have a few more straggling soldiers make their way here. I spread the word throughout the whole city to head to the nearest gate. More civilians could be on the way as well. We are not out of the woods. Have the soldiers form a defensive perimeter around the civilians. The horde is coming. Hundreds of those things will be here shortly. I'll get some of the civilians to get the gate open. Footsoldiers spread out evenly with no gaps. Archers directly them. One gunner to each side of the formation. As soon as the horde is within range, gunners and archers will open fire. If any civilians or soldiers are running to the gate, give them covering fire. When the horde reaches us, and no more civilians & soldiers can be helped, we will retreat through the gate. DO NOT directly engage the horde. We are heavily outnumbered. Once we are through the gate, my eagle will cut the line, shutting the gate. We make a full retreat, as quickly as possible. We need to head out far enough to be able to regroup with any forces surviving the other gates. You give the orders to the soldiers here, I'll give the overall order on retreat. Allow the footsoldiers at the front of the formation to hinge so civilians can get through."

Marikoth explained everything quickly but detailed enough for the leader to understand. Then he saluted and began to put the plan in motion. It would be up to the leader to order the soldiers into the formation.

"Men among the civilians, come with me, now." A few men followed Marikoth into the guardhouse where the wheel for the gate was located. The manned the wheel and began turning. Since they had a good amount of people working the wheel, the gate came open rather quickly and easily. The men and Marikoth exited the guardhouse.

Marikoth began to bark orders to the crowd of civilians. "CIVILIANS MOVE OUT OF THE GATE!!! TAKE THE SEASONBORNE WITH YOU!!" The civilians began to move out as Marikoth began preparing for the defense.

He hoped Reia could take better orders than her friend, for the sake of the lives at stake.


​

 

[Kraveing_Volkf]

Once Reia was sure that her new friend was okay, and while Marikoth spoke to people Reia started to climb up the gate house getting up onto the roof. From here she could see off into the distance, and more importantly could relay information or rain arrows. "Marikoth, that mob is getting a lot closer. I can put arrows into them from here but you may want to make sure that everyone understands some of the urgency we are dealing with right now."