As Xanderghul backs away his limp lash sucks the rest of the babau's life from its body. The demon vanishes in a puff of black smoke, and the lash dissolves into the air.
As the vrock is distracted by Anevia's exploits, Hinagiku pummels the Vrock from below. Racked with the results of her blows, the vrock wilts and begins to fall slowly downwards. It feebly swipes at Hinagiku one last time before falling onto the ground at her feet.
Meanwhile, the giant wasps lash out against the griffon until it falls unconscious in the snow.
The heroes stand together with Ayavah. Valaria flies 5' in the air above them. The vrock lies unconscious at Valaria's feet.
The heroes stand 125' away from 3 giant wasps flying 10' feet in the air, hovering above Ehren's unconscious griffon.
Umestil and her army are now far away from the heroes and are completely out of sight. The cavalry has run past, and is out of sight, due to the heavy snowfall. The sounds of battle can be heard to the south.
Round 7!
Ary & Anevia are up!
"Remember, if you get close to Umestil, hold your breath. It may not protect you entirely, but it should help." Ary says as pulls out Faith and begins strapping it to her arm.
Anevia nods, "Right, boss." and immediately disappears into the snow, following after the cavalry, shortbow in hand with an arrow nocked but undrawn.
Anevia moves out into the snow, moving slowly and stealthily she manages to cover fifty feet before completely vanishing from sight.
The heroes stand together with Ayavah, except for Anevia, who is 50' to the south. Valaria flies 5' in the air above them. The vrock lies unconscious at Valaria's feet.
The heroes stand 125' away from 3 giant wasps flying 10' feet in the air, hovering above Ehren's unconscious griffon.
Umestil and her army are now far away from the heroes and are completely out of sight. The cavalry has run past, and is out of sight, due to the heavy snowfall. The sounds of battle can be heard to the south.
Valaria is up!
"So... after the army then?" Val suggests. "I think we still have a brimorak to kill before we're done here." She flies off a bit, but doesn't want to get going until the group is moving.
"We need to get to the army immediately," Isilme says as the Vrock finally falls to the ground. She nurses her wounds before spitting on the Vrock's limp body. "We need the cavalry to finish their charge, otherwise our infantry is going to be overwhelmed. You need to get over there immediately Ary and command them to charge."
With that, Isilme takes off running towards the army, not bothering to grab her bow from the ground.
"Do not forget to pick up your weapons if you dropped them," Isilme calls as she heads off towards the army.
In anticipation of having to fight Umestil, Ehren takes a brief moment to recall his snowball spell with his pearl of power. He then takes off after Isilme with a slow start, walking along the surface of the snow.
The oni has barely fallen unconscious that Hinagiku bends down to pick up her weapon before following her allies toward the sounds of the battle. Isilme was right, they needed to hurry to help their army, the oni leading the cultist could not be left alone.
Isilme sprints out ahead of the group, running so far out that she disappears from sight from Ary as she slowly reaffixes Faith to her arm. She catches up with the force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are standing still and firing their bows to the south.
The rest of the group follows more slowly, with Hinagiku and Xanderghul moving out the furthest ahead. Xanderghul pauses and casts burst of radiance on the cluster of giant wasps ahead, enveloping them in an explosion of holy light. Two of the wasps fly in circles, blind and confused. The single wasp that was facing the wrong way angrily flies towards Xanderghul. Its longsword sized stinger connects, leaving a gory wound in Xanderghul's abdomen and pumping him full of poison.
Isilme sprints out ahead of the group, catching up with the cavalry ahead. They are standing still, firing with their shortbows into the conflict ahead, though the strong winds are rendering this tactic rather ineffective.
Visible to Isilme is Fort Ahari, a small assortment of military buildings meant to help protect the now defunct Ahari bridge.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - a force of about 125 crusader infantry (a mix of fighters, paladins, clerics, and rangers) are engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber them The infantry are being forced back by the sheer numbers of it all.
Umestil stands above the battlefield, roughly 30' in the air.
The crusaders have felled roughly 20% of the cultist army. Likewise, about 20% of the infantry have fallen.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. The heroes can hear sounds of a great battle to the distance.
60' away from the core conflict is Isilme. She is amidst a force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are firing on the conflict using their shortbows. She and the cavalry are too far away for Ary to see.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. They are adjacent to an angry giant wasp 5' in the air.
250' away from the core conflict is Anevia and Ehren.
260' away from the core conflict is Valaria.
300' away from the core conflict is Ary.
Round 8!
Ary and Anevia are up!
Ary, now at least partially armed, rushes across the battlefield as quickly as she can, taking her into view. She groans audibly when she sees the cavalry firing into the melee. She had no idea they were going to be so green... but at least they followed orders.
Ary and Anevia move past the giant wasps to regroup with the main army. Ary catches up with Isilme and the cavalry. Anevia, who is moving slowly and stealthily, is still a good seventy feet back from her. She narrows her eyes and peers into the melee ahead. She quickly identifies her wife, just as she plunges her sword into the chest of an enemy cultist. She fights the urge to let out a cheer.
Ary catches up with the cavalry and Isilme ahead. They are standing still, firing with their shortbows into the conflict ahead, though the strong winds are rendering this tactic rather ineffective.
Visible to her is Fort Ahari, a small assortment of military buildings meant to help protect the now defunct Ahari bridge.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - a force of about 125 crusader infantry (a mix of fighters, paladins, clerics, and rangers) are engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber them The infantry are being forced back by the sheer numbers of it all.
Umestil stands above the battlefield, roughly 30' in the air.
The crusaders have felled roughly 20% of the cultist army. Likewise, about 20% of the infantry have fallen.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. The heroes can hear sounds of a great battle to the distance.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary. They are amidst a force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are firing on the conflict using their shortbows. She and the cavalry are too far away for Ary to see.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. They are adjacent to an angry giant wasp 5' in the air.
250' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
260' away from the core conflict is Valaria.
Valaria is up!
Val picks up the pace, swooping over the battlefield and looking around for the enemy commander. She sees Umestil floating over the battlefield and gets ready to challenge the enemy leader to a fight to the death.
Valaria flies quickly overhead, flying directly over the cavalry, Ary, and Isilme and coming to a stop just short of the battle at the Ahari Bridge.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - a force of about 125 crusader infantry (a mix of fighters, paladins, clerics, and rangers) are engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The infantry are being forced back by the sheer numbers of it all.
Umestil stands above the battlefield, roughly 30' in the air.
The crusaders have felled roughly 20% of the cultist army. Likewise, about 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary. They are amidst a force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are firing on the conflict using their shortbows. She and the cavalry are too far away for Ary to see.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. They are adjacent to an angry giant wasp 5' in the air.
250' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
Ehren is up!
Ehren grimaces when he sees Xanderghul garroted by the giant wasp, but decides to leave him in Hinagiku's more than capable hands. Instead, he directs his attention to the two blinded wasps. More than a little eager to get to the main conflict, he points a hand at them and draws on the power of the ley. A column of white flames suddenly erupts from the ground directly beneath them, shooting up and engulfing the wasps in purifying fire.
Ehren moves ten feet past Hinagiku and Xanderghul, raising a hand and simply setting them alight with white flame.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - a force of about 125 crusader infantry (a mix of fighters, paladins, clerics, and rangers) are engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The infantry are being forced back by the sheer numbers of it all.
Umestil stands above the battlefield, roughly 30' in the air.
The crusaders have felled roughly 20% of the cultist army. Likewise, about 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary. They are amidst a force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are firing on the conflict using their shortbows.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. They are adjacent to an angry giant wasp 5' in the air.
Isilme is up!
Isilme comes to a stop amidst the cavalry, quickly digging up her wand of haste. The wounds she'd taken from the Vrock were painful enough that she doubted she would be able to cast haste on her own, but she had a couple charges yet on her wand. Working her magic, she calls forth the spell from the wand, imbuing the leaders of both the Everbright Crusaders and the Order of the Flaming Lance with it, along with Annabelle.
As she finishes the spell she calls out to the crusaders as she traces a rune in front of her. She releases the rune and it floats up flaring brightly and imbuing the cavalry with courage.
"Ha ha! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Annabelle grins, feeling the magic of Isilme's rune and spell wash over her. She drops her shortbow and readies her glaive for a charge.
Xanderghul is up!
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Xanderghul pouts, waving a finger at the giant wasp. "No! Bad insect!" he shouts. "Stinging people like me is not allowed!"
While he shouts, he weaves a spell around himself, and a number of illusory duplicates appear. All of the Xanderghuls shift around, disguising the location of the "real" Xanderghul. After that, he points at the wasp that stung him and yells, "Hinagiku, sic 'em!"
Xanderghul steps back, Ehren's magic allowing him to barely leave any indention on the snow beneath his feet. He creates three illusory duplicates of himself to befuddle the demonic wasp.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - a force of about 125 crusader infantry (a mix of fighters, paladins, clerics, and rangers) are engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The infantry are being forced back by the sheer numbers of it all.
Umestil stands above the battlefield, roughly 30' in the air.
The crusaders have felled roughly 20% of the cultist army. Likewise, about 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary. They are amidst a force of 50 mounted crusaders. They are firing on the conflict using their shortbows.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. Hinagiku is adjacent to an angry giant wasp 5' in the air, Xanderghul is 5' away from it, just out of reach.
Hinagiku is up!
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As soon as she had noticed the wasp coming toward Xanderghul, Hinagiku had made her way toward the wizard, trying to deflect attacks made against him. Failing that, she stops in her tracks, and, spurred by Xanderghul's comment, tries to strike the insects eyes, the only part of it which looked somewhat vulnerable.
"I will take care of it now. Feel safe, and.." she smiles her kitsune's smile "use your mastery of magic to help the crusaders." she says evenly, a flick of her tail denoting amusement at Xanderghul's expression.
The speed and accuracy of Hinagiku's blows catches the giant wasp off guard, and she manages to land four solid hits on the creature. It reels from the impact and attempts to ram its stinger through her torso, but the kitsune is light on her feet - she dances around the insect's slowing movements.
The other two wasps recover from Xanderghul's spell. Unaware Anevia is close by, the first thing they see is Ehren, so they charge through the air at him, stinger-first. Their barbs pass through Ehren's body silently, missing anything vital but leaving painful fissures in his flesh. The young druid grits his teeth, resisting the effects of the wasp's poison on his body.
Meanwhile, Xanderghul feels the wasp's poison slowly numb his muscles. The wound in his abdomen throbs dully.
The three heroes can barely see the cavalry in the distance through the steady snowfall. They drop their bows down onto the snow and draw their weapons, then charge into the fray.
Meanwhile, above the battlefield, Umestil turns to face Valaria and smirks. She cracks her knuckles - unlike most brimorak, both her fists and her hooves are aflame. She paws the invisible platform she stands on with a hoof then charges recklessly straight at Valaria. The small goat-like creature leaps into the air as she closes ground with her and attempts to strike the swashbuckler across the chin.... but Valaria deflects the little creature's spiked cestus with her daggers and counterattacks. Umestil fails to defend herself against Valaria's well timed and clever strike - she stabs the little creature clean through.
Below Umestil's army is not fairing much better. Now properly surrounded by the crusaders, the cultists are outnumbered. After the cavalry's devastating charge they are down to nearly half of their fighting force, but, out of fear more so than bravery, they continue to fight on.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren. He is flanked by two wounded giant wasps.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. Hinagiku is adjacent to a critically wounded giant wasp 5' in the air, Xanderghul is 5' away from it, just out of reach.
Round 9!
Ary and Anevia are up!
Unable to bridge the gap between herself and Umestil, with an entire army in between, she wades into the conflict, drawing Radiance which flares into light as she goes, focusing her attention on the Schir.
Anevia spots Irabeth, then looks back behind her. She spots Ehren becoming a pincussion... looks back to Irabeth... and back to Ehren. "Eh... she can take care of herself. Time to go save a twiddle-fingers." she mutters to herself as she crosses half the space between herself and the wasps, before flickering into view less than twenty feet away, launching an arrow into one of the exposed wasps, but all she really manages to do is cause it to careen, slowly, its course slightly diverted.
"Or... not..." she grumbles.
Ary sweeps into the battlefield, deftly sidestepping a schir that aims its halberd at her stomach. With a tricky chop she takes advantage of the demon being caught off balance - it melts beneath her blades. She spins around, chopping another two schir in half. Her very presence lifts her troops' spirits.
"The Commander is here!" cheers a nearby soldier, maneuvering himself instinctually to cover her back.
Ary peers around, taking in the battlefield. She notices the following things:
There is a critically wounded ranger nearby that is being flanked by two schir - it doesn't look like he will be able to hold out for much longer.
The Underfolk are struggling against a group of particularly nasty looking cultists wielding mighty great axes - 6 tieflings in total. Although the Underfolk outnumber them, they appear to be outmatched in skill.
"Aughhh!!" cries a ranger as a horrific looking ghoul clad in full plate rips a chunk of flesh out from his neck. Blood dripping down his chin, the ghoul wields a magnificent longsword and wears a tabard of the Crusades, as well as a light steel shield inscribed with a roaring lion. Affixed to his cloak are a set of badges that mark him as a Commander...
Meanwhile, a little further from the conflict, Anevia fires on one of the wasps attacking Ehren. Though she catches the creature off-guard, her arrow fails to penetrate as deeply into its carapace as she would have hoped.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
60' away from the core conflict are Isilme and Ary.
130' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
175' away from the core conflict are two blinded wasps, flying around in confusion.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren. He is flanked by two wounded giant wasps.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. Hinagiku is adjacent to a critically wounded giant wasp 5' in the air, Xanderghul is 5' away from it, just out of reach.
Valaria is up!
"One of the crusade's champions fighting the demon commander in mid-air above a great battle," Val chuckles. "This is going to be one for the history books. I'll make sure to compose a lovely ballad for your death!" Her blades go to work, carving in to the demon's flesh with brutal speed.
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Xanderghul crouches near Hinagiku taking down the wasp. "I rarely feel unsafe, but let me get this straight..." he grins mischievously, wiggling his fingers teasily. "...You want me to cast detect magic on the wasps?"
Despite his rather painful predicament, Ehren knew that he was at least in a position to exploit the wasps' aggression. Grasping awkwardly with his buckler hand, he tugs his scimitar out of its sheath and slashes at the wasp that Anevia shot.
"I will aid the underfolk," she calls to Ary as she takes off. Isilme moves into the grand melee, working her way towards the underfolk. She weaves and dodges around the various pairs of combatants, attempting to avoid drawing attention until she is within range of their group. Bringing up the wand, she proceeds to use another charge from it to aid them, enchanting Wendaug, Lann and three others of their group with haste.
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There is a slight pause in Hinagiku's attacks when Xanderghul answers her, one of her ears twitch, marking her puzzlement. Still, she recovers quickly, and while fending off the wasp, answers to the wizard.
"I was expecting something more helpful for mr. Ehren." she answers lamely, in the same even tone as he previous sentence.
Using a cunning underhand swing, Valaria catches Umestil completely offguard, scoring yet another deep blow. Umestil's blood is red-boiling hot - it splashes on Valaria's skin as she strikes, but the tiefling barely feels it. Her second swing snags on the brimorak's chain shirt, giving the little demon the chance to catch Valaria into a vicious headlock, her strength greatly disproportionate to her size.
Isilme quickly moves into the fray - the Underfolk are just barely within reach for her to cast Haste on half of them using her wand. Further away from her still is the ghoulish former Commander, chomping on the neck of a man Ary knows as George Arkel - a former squadmate of hers under Ser Ilivan. Longsword in hand, George pushes the hulking ghoul off of him, holding his breath against its vile stench. He parries one blow, but the former commander uses his weapon like a club, thundering in and dashing his sword aside to deliver a sidesplitting blow. The ranger screams, rivulets of blood pouring from his side and down his leg.
Ayavah follows Isilme into the battlefield, staying so close to her that she can feel her breath. She winces, clearly unsettled by all of the carnage around her - she's never experienced a battle like this before.
Meanwhile, further away, Ehren draws his scimitar and beheads one of the giant wasps in one clean stroke.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, standing in the outskirts.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
160' away from the core conflict is Anevia, invisible.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren. He is engaged with a wounded giant wasp.
240' away from the core conflict are Hinagiku and Xanderghul. Hinagiku is adjacent to a critically wounded giant wasp 5' in the air, Xanderghul is 5' away from it, just out of reach.
Xanderghul is up!
"Annabelle! The Nabasu's Ghoul is just up ahead. I want for you to focus on taking it down for me. Be careful, as it appears to be Commander Bataari. You should be immune to the worst of his abilities."
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Xanderghul's eyebrows raise as Ehren manages to skillfully take down one of the two wasps attacking him. He hadn't thought the young druid had it in him, but there he was, fearlessly chopping at fiendish insects with a sword. Bravo, young man!
Xanderghul reaches out with one hand, his thumb and first two fingers extended while his pinky and ring finger are curled up. Each finger hosts a small blink of light, and when Xanderghul flicks the blinks forward, then they turn into sizzling purple missiles and rush forward to collide heavily with the other wasp attacking Ehren.
After his spell, Xanderghul takes advantage of his speed spell to rush towards the combat, giving his two allies a jaunty salute as he disappears into the snow.
Xanderghul's magic missiles slam into the other wasp, blowing off several of its legs and leaving enormous, gaping holes in its exoskeleton. It manages to barely hold on. Xanderghul then takes off, moving past Ehren, but not quite catching up with Anevia. He can see the two armies clash in the distance, though he cannot make out much detail due to the snow.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Xanderghul, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, standing in the outskirts.
Within the battle are a number of scenes:
A ranger is flanked by a pair of schir. He is heavily wounded.
The Underfolk are struggling against 6 elite tiefling cultists with greataxes. They have been enchanted with haste.
Commander Darvan Bataari has risen as a ghoul. He is fighting ranger George Arkel, who is in critical condition.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 20% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
160' away from the core conflict is Anevia.
180' away from the core conflict is Xanderghul.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren. He is engaged with a critically wounded giant wasp.
240' away from the core conflict is Hinagiku. Hinagiku is adjacent to a critically wounded giant wasp 5' in the air.
Hinagiku is up!
"That's what I had in mind." Hinagiku says to Xanderghul before the wizard leaves her alone with the wasp. No matter, it seemed like Ehren and her would be sufficient to kill those insects.
As those thoughts pass through Hinagiku's mind, she lifts a foot over her head and brings it down toward the her foes forehead.
Hinagiku pummels the wasp in front of her mercilessly. For her final strike she slams her foot down into the wasp's head - her blow impacts the insect with the force of a carpenter's hammer, driving it to its death.
Meanwhile, the last giant wasp lunges at Ehren. Anevia fires off a quick shot, disorienting the creature and giving the young druid enough time to get out of the way. Xanderghul finally shakes off the effects of the wasp's poison, though his muscles still feel sore and achy, slowing his reflexes somewhat.
Further away from them, within the battlefield itself, the ranger flanked by schir - a young man named Richye Brene, struggles to fend off the two demons attacking him. He holds off one of their halberds with his sword, then manages to chop out a small weal from his foe. Unfortunately this leaves his back unguarded, and the schir behind him carves out a V-shaped chunk with his blade.
"Thank you!" Lann calls back to Isilme.
"Pay attention, Lann!" Wenduag snaps. In reality it was she who should have been paying attention - a fast, neat slash from one of the hulking tieflings opens up a jagged wound on her shoulder. It spins its greataxe around and nearly beheads another of the Underfolk.
The Underfolk rangers coordinate their attacks together and manage to bring down one of the six elite fighters, but not before one of their own number falls to the ground, unconscious from an enormous axe wound.
"Tu magnus medela" intones Markus from a short distance away, crimson eyes blazing. The fallen Underfolk stirs, his wounds slowly closing over.
"Gotcha, Commander!" chirps Annabelle. Still blazing with Isilme's magic, she guides Blossom with her knees and makes her way to the fearsome ghoul. With a deft swing, she sends her glaive spinning into the ghoul's neck, but her second strike bounces off of his shield.
Ayavah suddenly disappears from sight.
At the same time, above the battlefield Umestil lets go of her headlock. "There'll be no one left to sing for you when we're finished here, mortal!" She cackles, a throaty bleating sound, filling Valaria's nostrils with foul-smelling black smoke, then unleashes a flurry of punches and kicks from mid-air. Valaria counters the first one, but leaves her flank vulnerable to its own counterattack. The tiefling recomposes herself, smoothly dodging the rest of the brimorak's onslaught.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Xanderghul, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, standing in the outskirts.
Within the battle are a number of scenes:
Ralphye is flanked by a pair of schir. He is critically wounded.
The Underfolk are struggling against 5 elite tiefling cultists with greataxes. They have been enchanted with haste. One of the Underfolk has fallen, though Ser Markus saved him.
Commander Darvan Bataari has risen as a ghoul. He is fighting ranger George Arkel, who is in critical condition, though Annabelle has arrived to defend him.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 25% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
160' away from the core conflict is Anevia.
180' away from the core conflict is Xanderghul.
230' away from the core conflict is Ehren. He is engaged with a critically wounded giant wasp.
240' away from the core conflict is Hinagiku.
Round 10!
Ary and Anevia are up!
Ary and Anevia are up!
"Rocky, you really gotta get to the fight, they need you!" Anevia calls out as she shifts closer through the snow. As she's eclipsed from view by silver-white light... another arrow flies through the air towards the wasp.
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"Isilme, Wenduag and Lann need to get their men to spread out! They're leaving themselves wide open to the cultist's follow-through!"
"Stand strong, Soldiers!" Ary announces as she pushes past the fighting to get nearer to the young man's side. "To my side, Brene." she calls as Radiance arcs through the air towards one of the Schir.
Hinagiku turns and swiftly heads to Ehren's side, dodging the final wasp's angry lunge at her as she gets into position. Just as soon as she arrives, Anevia fires a terminal shot that causes the wasp to collapse onto the ground, twitching madly in its death throes.
Meanwhile, out of sight from them and at the battlefield, Ary approaches the two schir Richye was fighting, noting that these two demons appear larger and more grizzled than normal. She slashes with her sword - CLANG! - only to be rebuffed by the demon's filthy halberd.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is visible to Ary, Xanderghul, Valaria, and Isilme.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, standing in the outskirts.
Within the battle are a number of scenes:
Richye Brene is being pursued by a pair of schir. He is critically wounded, but Ary Bishop stands at his side.
The Underfolk are struggling against 5 elite tiefling cultists with greataxes. They have been enchanted with haste. One of the Underfolk has fallen, though Ser Markus saved him from death.
Commander Darvan Bataari has risen as a ghoul. He is fighting ranger George Arkel, who is in critical condition, though Annabelle has arrived to defend him.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 25% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
180' away from the core conflict is Xanderghul.
200' away from the core conflict is Anevia.
230' away from the core conflict are Ehren and Hinagiku, side by side.
Valaria is up!
Val twists in mid-air, beginning to feel the fatigue of battle slowing her reflexes. Knowing that she won't be able to keep up this parry game, she launches in to a full attack, hoping to bring the demon down before it breaks through her guard.
"Right. Come on, Hinagiku," Ehren says to the monk, before finally breaking out into a run, crunching motionless exoskeleton beneath his feet. He nods to Anevia as he passes her by, likewise to Xanderghul.
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Isilme finishes closing with the underfolk, calling out to troops around them as she falls in. "The commander has arrived, and the demons the demon army depended upon are slain. Commander Bishop has seen to the death of the Vrock, Nabasu and Babau which threatened us, now it is time to finish these cultists and demons! Fight with all you heart and strength!"
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Valaria's grip on her weapon falters imperceptibly in the roaring winds around her, and Umestil takes advantage of her slight error to lock her back down, pinning her arms behind her back to control her movements. Valaria struggles, managing to stab Umestil deep in the stomach with one of her knives while the brimorak tries to hold onto her.
Below, Isilme inspires the Underfolk, as well as many soldiers around her with her rousing cry. A bit further away from her the ghoulish commander closes ground with Annabelle, drool running down his lips - his visor is raised, revealing his hideous face.
"Such beautiful, succulent, dead flesh..." he breathes, edging closer to Annabelle. The vampire cavalier smirks - the undead monster is right where she wants him. The ghoul tries desperately to evade her strike, but as it slams home it extinguishes his last glimmer of hope. Her glaives slices straight through his neck and the ghoul crumples.
"Thank you, Chevalier!" George gasps. Annabelle gives him a quick salute then returns to the battle.
Meanwhile, Ehren runs forwards, coming within sight of the great battlefield in the distance.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is still not visible to Hinagiku.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, aiding the Underfolk.
Within the battle are a number of scenes:
Richye Brene is being pursued by a pair of schir. He is critically wounded, but Ary Bishop stands at his side.
The Underfolk are struggling against 5 elite tiefling cultists with greataxes. They have been enchanted with haste. One of the Underfolk has fallen, though Ser Markus saved him from death. They are inspired by Isilme's presence.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 25% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
70' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
180' away from the core conflict is Xanderghul.
200' away from the core conflict is Anevia.
230' away from the core conflict is Hinagiku.
Xanderghul is up!
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Xanderghul begins to run, though he keeps his movement at a solidly slow jog. While he does so, he rubs his ring with his thumb. Though the little cactus's thorns draw blood, they're only the tiniest of scratches and Xanderghul almost believes that the blood is as important as any of the rest of it. As his finger passes over the plant, he feels a rush of knowledge and magic, and the words for a major image spell come unbidden to his lips. Appearing alongside him are dozens of soldiers clad in the tabards of the Crusades and glittering full plate. A resounding cry from Xanderghul turns into the roar of battle-fervor, and the illusory soldiers charge full-tilt into the melee, moving to surround the cultist army and block off any hope of escape.
The core conflict is to the south, at the Ahari Bridge. It is still not visible to Hinagiku.
Amidst the fort is a great battle - the entire crusader army is engaged with an enormous force of approximately 200 tieflings and schir - they outnumber the opposing force. The crusaders now outnumber and surround the cultists and are inspired by the presence of their Commander, Chevalier Ary Bishop. Isilme is also in the fray, aiding the Underfolk. The cultist forces are utterly surrounded, with Chevalier Irabeth's infantry to the south, the cavalry to the north, and Xanderghul's major image to east.
Within the battle are a number of scenes:
Richye Brene is being pursued by a pair of schir. He is critically wounded, but Ary Bishop stands at his side.
The Underfolk are struggling against 5 elite tiefling cultists with greataxes. They have been enchanted with haste. One of the Underfolk has fallen, though Ser Markus saved him from death. They are inspired by Isilme's presence.
The crusaders have felled roughly 45% of the cultist army. About 25% of the infantry have fallen.
20' away from the main battle is Valaria, 15' in the air. She is engaged with Umestil the brimorak.
70' away from the core conflict is Ehren.
120' away from the core conflict is Xanderghul.
200' away from the core conflict is Anevia.
230' away from the core conflict is Hinagiku.
Hinagiku is up!
The wasps now all dead, Hinagiku follows Ehren and Xanderghul toward their battlefield, she does her best to run as quickly as possible, seemingly flying over the fresh snow thanks to the spell cast by her companions.