With a snarl of frustration Miri leaps on the first of the automatons blocking a path to Cassian, tearing into it with spectacular savagery.
Claw
Claw
Bite
Rake
Grapple
Di
Smitties airship angles over the gatehouse, despite taking fire she appears to be holding together as you survey the area below you.
A entire company of Thrall warriors holds the gate while four large platoon's of Thrall warriors hold off a small platoon of battle clerics that appear to be trying to retake the gate. The Clerics battle hard despite being flanked on two sides and continue to try and push towards the gates despite the knowledge that they may not make it there alive...
One of the four thrall warrior platoons holds back in reserve, ready to intercept any stragglers that get past the main battle line.
The lone Raker is still coming around, it'll take them at least a minute or more to reach Smitties airship. Your rifle troop have moved into position and appear ready to fight on your word.
As you stand assessing your situation the speaking tube rattles as the somewhat muffled voices of the gunner turned bomber team calls upto you. "In position marm, it'll take time to get another batch ready but we are ready just give the word!"
Joey's voice joins the chorus as the speaking tube for the crane rattles. "Ready to give them hell!"
Her men in place, her decisions made, Diyeana stands at the prow at yells out her final commands for the moment "Bombers! Two of ya drop yer barrels on tha company by tha gates! You other two, one each fer tha platoon o thralls in front of, and behind tha clerics. As soon as yer done, get yer next barrels ready! Gunners! Groups of two, aim fer tha leaders, n' don't stop shooting till their dead! Continue ta fire when ready! Joey! Up in tha crane n' keep that d&%n Raker offa our backs!" commands given, knowing the tide of battle will carry them where it will, having already prepared her spells, the gunslinging mage searches for whatever undead spawn of hell seems to be leading the platoon in front of the clerics. Once her target is selected, she carefully lines up her shot and fires. A wide, devil-may-care grin plastered all over her face.
Perception to find thrall leader:
(Long distance attack)FRA- Rifle shot vs Touch AC:
Damage:
(In Bomber Range)FRA- Rifle shot:
Damage:
Mir, Ael, Bera
Mir's claws tear into the Sentry and her savagery nearly batters the hovering machine to the floor. However it remains aloft, albeit lopsided and sending sparks towards the floor as it bleeds off its life energy. Its nimbus orb was cracked in the assault and was now pulsing dimly as the light inside danced erratically sparking off the cracks that Mir's claws had left in the side of the orb.
Her attack elicits an immediate response from the other Sentry's who move to intercept her advance. Their eyes glow a dull red as the converge on Mir. Cassian however remains kneeling, every muscle straining and his veins clearly visible as whatever he was suffering through continued.
Bera remains motionless save for her breath increasing as she too appears strained. Her breath was clearly visible now as well.
The air is considerable colder around her, something strange was going on and she remains unresponsive and glassy eyed as well...
Despite superior numbers, the sentries are uncoordinated in their attacks and all fail to connect with the agile Mir...
Crosses
Taking the safer route brings you closer to one of the entrenched enemy rifle units, these thralls are a bit slow in their thinking but armed with longrifle and necrotite ammunition makes them just as nasty as living soldiers. However with the distance between you still and the chaos across the beach they may just miss you all...
Yours hopes are dashed when Biggs, the merc in the lead is hit hard by a rifle round in the shoulder, he makes it to the next hole and for a few moments the position is pummeled with rifle rounds before the thralls get distracted by Piette and the Red Dog airship. However as he dashes for the next crater he's struck again in the thigh and causes Edge to be spotted as well. Edge is grazed along the neck, but the injury bleeds profusely as the necrotite turns the skin necrotic...
Vincent however proves to be as graceful as the wind and strangely avoids notice entirely. by the third set of craters you are halway to your goal and within a hundred yards of the enemy platoon that is targeting you. Roughly ten thralls comprised the unit, armed with long guns and traditional trencher knives and bayonets. They wear the traditional armor of trencher's and are clustered tightly in a small fortified position on the beach.
Despite their injuries the two mercs don't complain, they just wrap bandages around their injuries quickly and ready to press on. Each of them eyeing the foxhole and its death rattle of chaingun fire still pounding your fellows airship in the surf...
Trencher Thrall Rifle Unit
Type Troop
HP 60/60
AC 24
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will -
Foxhole (Distance 160)
Total Concealment - No line of sight but position is known.
AC 24
Chaingun crew Hp 40/40
DI
Crosses
The last leg of the journey is more chaotic and strained then the beginning. Bigg's makes a move to run to the next crater and is hammered by the unseen sniper far up on the far hill. The surprised look on his dead face shows he never saw it coming. As he collapses back into the hole you all start to try and move out just as the thralls start opening fire again, riddling the crater with rounds as they worked to keep your movement suppressed.
The last leg of the journey is rougher than expected, Vincent breaks off to tackle the thrall riflemen and as you crest the 3/4 mark of your journey a resounding boom drowns out the rifle thralls noise. Vincent is making their way back, leaving behind a smoking crater where the thralls used to be. As you press forward trying to span the last bit of the gap Edge goes down an already cauterized exit wound in his back as he slumped to the ground. Laying heavily on his ammo bandoleer and letting go of a grenade he had in hand. However, luckily the grenade wasn't primed and its pin was still in place...
Vincent emerges minutes later, her short is torn and apparently she survived being shot by the sniper as well. She gives a sad look when she see's edge dead on the ground before looking back at you both and signaling towards the Foxhole in a How are we hitting this?
hero
Krrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee churnk!!!
The sound of grating metal shook Cassian back to reality. The first thing he noticed was the Soul Node resting on the floor in front of him. The transference… It makes such perfect sense now.
He cautiously picks the node from the ground and attempts to push to his feet but immediately feels a sudden blood rush to his head forcing his vision white and sending him backwards into a heap of nearby debris. He sits there as if it was the move he was making for and watches the tabaxi shredding into one of three Sentries hovering between him and his fellow prisoners. ”Enough,” he says dryly as he massages his temples with two fingers. ”You three, power down or destroy yourselves. I could care less which you choose.”
He casually looks over his shoulder and regards the clockwork angel thoughtfully. He casts a weak smile and the girls, Bera especially, before speaking. ”Apologies for my brief absence, I had a bit of a dispute with MoG – well, some variation of her at least – but I believe the worst is over. This machine should be helpful with our current problems. The Shadow has accrued an army, we’ll need to follow suit if you wish to see the stars again.”
Joining in with her gunners in a Fusillade, Diyeana remembers why she had so loved being a member of a crack, fighting force. Watching their bullets punch and tear through the enemy, she continues shouting orders while she reloads and fires again.
When the bombers release their fuel drums and they land amongst the enemy, erupting in massive gouts of flame and body parts she lets out a mighty whoop and hollers "Yeeeeeaaaah boys! Lookit 'em burn! That's tha way ta send these undead spawns o' hell back ta where they came from! Hit 'em again boys!"
Fusillade (Everything in each line, up to 200', DC26 Ref for half):
Line 1 Damage:
Line 2 Damage:
Line 3 Damage:
Line 4 Damage:
Bomber Fuel Tanks (DC24 for half):
Tank 1 Damage: +Burning
Tank 2 Damage: +Burning
Tank 3 Damage: +Burning
Tank 4 Damage: +Burning
Cassian, Mer, Ael, Bera
Bera collapses in a heap like her legs twisting as she falls on her side to the metal unforgiving floor. Moments after her collapse Cassian comes to, his command causes the three servitors to glide down to the floor and their eyes return to a glowing golden color as they stand by...
With his usual bravado and smile he moves over to the Winged Clockwork Woman and begins to work on removing the soul node from its container. The soul node was pulsing weakly now, its motions were slow and erratic like the fluttering of a dying heartbeat. He works with an ease that baffles you all, with a swift and dexterous touch of his fingers the chest plate on the clockwork woman splits into two pieces that slide putward and apart as it opens. Immediately revealing a cavity inside that appears to be made specifically for the item in his hands.
He starts attaching several wires into what were once hidden holes in the surface of the sphere. Everything he does is done with such care and precision that it's hard to understand how he was doing it...
He finishes what he's doing and carefully places the now wire wrapped orb inside the chest cavity of this machine. After placing it carefully back inside he grips two plates, pushes them back together and presses them back down into the chest.
Then a lot of things happen at once...
As soon as the chest plate shuts, Cassian is nearly knocked off his feet from a very sudden and concussive force that cause the air to shimmer around the Clockwork woman. The wings expand, instead of purely metal wings the wings were now sprouting shimmering plates of energy akin to that of a birds wings, each plate of brilliant light shimmered like the sunrise at dawn. As the wings formed the air in the room started to circulate faster and faster as an unknown force pushed the surroundin air away from the machine.
Cassian was close enough to see it rise off the floor by a few inches as the machine actually started to take off. The shimmering wings were not the only thing that was changing but the clockwork gears throughout it's body started to take on a light blue, bright white glow as the entire machine started to surge with power for the first time. Finally the final transformation was skin or something equivalent to it started to from from the shoulders up. Giving this machine the appearance of a woman wearing clockwork armor.
The skin expands giving her arms that are clad in pauldrons and gauntlets that end at her hands with dexterous fingers. By this time she is off the floor by nearly a foot with her head back and her back arched. She gives a loud shout as a final burst of energy causes the entire room to flash white for a moment. Stinging your eyes and leaving you all blinded for a few moments...
The loud landing is the only indication shes on the floor and Cassian is shocked when a warm pair of lips meet his own in a rough kiss. She pulls away far too soon and as your eyes adjust once more she greets you all. Unable to hide the excitement in her voice. "I had feared I'd never see again! Ages spent in quiet contemplation and now I can use my skills once... more..." Her eyes fall on the walls around you, her glow adding to the little light that you all had brought with you.
She turns to Cassian, grabbing him by the shoulders. "This can't be... No. Don't tell me they won!"
Her voice had been clear and clarion in its sound, like an angel come down to earth in mortal form. That was until she stay the terrible state the temple was in.
So caught up in his work, Cassian doesn't realize Bera's collapse until he finishes the transference and turns to inform the others of his progress. He rises to move to her side but is stopped by the sudden awakening of the clockwork angel.
Cassian offers little resistance to the angel's kiss until he realizes that he was locked in the false lips of a machine. Where are my senses? Damn you, MoG...
He waves a hand to the others to signal that he didn't feel overly uncomfortable with the angel keeping him in her grasp. "Who do you mean by 'they'?" He asks her softly. "What do you remember before the transference?" It was a rhetorical question to say the least but he was most interested in the events leading up to the temple's fall. This proved to be an opportunity to sate his curiosity.
Crosses
With Vincent wounded, Biggs and Edge dead, it was upto the three of you to take down the first of the enemy foxholes. Which lies up a steep bluff with few ways to get too without climbing up.
It is located twenty feet above your position and they apparently aren't able to see you as no one is firing down on your location. The chaingun continues to spray rounds at the Red Dog ship mercilessly as whoever is manning the Red Dog's gun returns fire. Loose dirt rolls off the bluff face as the Red Dog's gunner's shots go wide.
They're are some hills to your left and right where the sand hasn't been totally swept away, It will take you further from the target but you could circle around. Or you could climb the loose bluff as well.
I rush to Bera's side, only half taking in the incredible scenes as I make sure she is okay.
Leon examines the lead blasted beach and decides the best way to go is the long way no reason to walk out in the middle of both chainguns. He makes a quick hand signal to Vincent pointing towards the hills. "You ready Aurora?"
Aurora nods to Leon the Skyblade humming in her hand shadow whip in her other. Her eyes crystalline anger still fresh at Leon almost being shot.
DI
The flaming bombs strikes into the rear rank of the reserve Thralls, which barely react at all to being wreathed in flames. The sudden unforgiving barrage tears through the ranks of left flanking undead thrall soldiers. There Liuetenant and most of their formation is torn apart by hail of lead raining from above.
However the remaining two units keep the clerics hemmed in as the burning reserve unit turns to deal with the enemy airship.
The unit defending the gate continues to hold its position, turning its guns to bombard the airship as well and initiate a crossfire to suppress and pin down the gun crews on deck.
The Raker continues coming about, fully loaded with mad cryxian reavers that eagerly lick at their blades, hoot and holler as they prepare to board the undermanned Salvager they have set their sights on.
Crosses
Vincent nods as she heads towards the hill opposite of the one you two choose to climb. As you make your climb up the hill you have to avoid the prying eyes of the enemy....
Ael Bera, Mir, Cassian
Ael rushes to Bera's side and finds the Ibxian exhausted and unconcious on the floor. Her fur is matted in sweat as if she had been performing some tremendous amount of labor or feat of strength. Other than that she appears unharmed.
Cassian feels that the reborn machine woman is genuinely speaking the truth as she responds. "The separatists and the Shadow were on the move and I remember..." She shudders for a moment before responding. "We were attempting to get the emergency generator's online and aligned to the Ley Line before things went completely mad... But who awakened you Chosen? Fellow priests perhaps?"
”Necessity awakened us, just as it did you.” he retorts confidently despite not knowing the actual answer. ”I’m sorry to tell you that the Shadow has overcome the grand majority of the temple. Sil has initiated a self-destruction protocol since containment seems no longer a viable action. Our last hope is to stabilize the Core and purge the remaining abominations.” Cassian pauses to give the machine a moment of reflection. ”I have the means of making the repairs but I fear we’re currently unsuited to face the Shadow openly. Our aim is to gather whatever resources that have been left in containment before going to the Core. Is there anything else in this room that would be of use?”
Her men in place, her decisions made, Diyeana stands at the prow at yells out her final commands for the moment "Bombers! Two of ya drop yer barrels on tha company by tha gates! You other two, one each fer tha platoon o thralls in front of, and behind tha clerics. As soon as yer done, get yer next barrels ready! Gunners! Groups of two, aim fer tha leaders, n' don't stop shooting till their dead! Continue ta fire when ready! Joey! Up in tha crane n' keep that d&%n Raker offa our backs!" commands given, knowing the tide of battle will carry them where it will, having already prepared her spells, the gunslinging mage searches for whatever undead spawn of hell seems to be leading the platoon in front of the clerics. Once her target is selected, she carefully lines up her shot and fires. A wide, devil-may-care grin plastered all over her face.
Cassian, Mir, Ael and Bera
She scans the room slowly before shaking her head. "Before we go much further my name is Aurora. My wings can double as illumination, if we have enough it should keep the Shadow at bay. As for the remains of this room there is nothing more we can use without proper equipment. If V was here he would be able to figure out what was and wasn't usable. However her weapon can be recovered..." She was looking at the still arcing staff wielded by the crushed machine woman where the partial collapse had pinned it.
Aurora walked over and delicately pried the rusted fingers off the weapon before picking it up and hefting it as her own. She inspected it momentarily prior to giving it a few test twirls and thrusts in the middle of the room. "Have you seen any others?" The question hangs in the stale air as she looks to each of your faces, she notes the fallen Bera but doesn't move to assist her.
Cassian, Mir, Ael and Bera
She scans the room slowly before shaking her head. "Before we go much further my name is [b]Aurora. My wings can double as illumination, if we have enough it should keep the Shadow at bay. As for the remains of this room there is nothing more we can use without proper equipment. If V was here he would be able to figure out what was and wasn't usable. However her weapon can be recovered..."[/b] She was looking at the still arcing staff wielded by the crushed machine woman where the partial collapse had pinned it.
Aurora walked over and delicately pried the rusted fingers off the weapon before picking it up and hefting it as her own. She inspected it momentarily prior to giving it a few test twirls and thrusts in the middle of the room. "Have you seen any others?" The question hangs in the stale air as she looks to each of your faces, she notes the fallen Bera but doesn't move to assist her.
”A fitting name, Aurora,” Cassian replies with a smile. ”I am Cassian Vespertine. Aelessaer, my human kinswoman, is tending to Bera,” The smile quickly fades when he turns his attention to the brave Ibxian. Help her by getting her out of this place. She’ll understand that survival is more important than sentiment. You’re better at giving wounds than healing them. After catching himself stalling, he continues, ”and the lioness, Mirrianissa, is tending to those Servitors.”
"Have you seen any others?"
”Due to some… complications, we haven’t had much of a chance to really search the room. I’ll see what there is to work with. If you can assist Ael in getting Bera back on her hooves it would be greatly appreciated.”
"Have you some smelling-salts, to bring her round?" I waft my sash over Bera to blow air over her face.
As Aurora speaks I tense slightly, "We have met V. I fear him."
Miri stares at the clockwork woman with the glowing wings warily. The fact that this was far from the strangest thing she had seen today struck her as to how numb she was becoming to the overall weirdness that was her recent life.
"I was not "awakened". I was brought here battling dark ...machines from my....world, much like the ones here."
Cassian, Ael, Mir
Aurora gives the Ibixian a dismissive shrug. "She's just tired, her ability takes a lot out of her, being the last of her kind makes the cost even more burdensome. We just need to find her a place to rest..."
She gives Mir a sidelong glance her eyes narrowing for a moment. "Dark machines? Explain, please."
She looks to Aelessaer her features neutral as she tips her head to the left slightly confused by Ael's words. "Then you must be mistaken he's the kindest person I met among the Technician's, he was Mog's second. Why... do you fear him?"
A flash of insight hits you, a flag with a great red + and x criss crossing its center and overlapping each other on a field of blue. This tattered banner hangs limply as it sits in a hastily built fortification in the middle of one of the temples halls. Facing you are nearly two dozen men, with the same symbol embroidered into there weather beaten dark green uniforms. They each carry a battered rifle with a nasty bayonet attached to the bottom of the rifle barrel. Your watching them from on high and one turns to look down the hall behind their fortification and you see what they are looking at. A Machine sits squatting in the center of the hall, its large double barreled turret is deployed and swiveling to aim at a battered doorway some ten paces down the hall.
"Bloody Hell they got behind us lads, hop too Wot! Move them bags I say! Man the chain and get ready."
A scream breaks your concentration, it was Sil's voice and she was in utter agony...
You return to yourself as Aurora was asking her question to Ael.
Crosses
You scramble up the sides of the the hill arriving in time to spot the entrance to the foxhole just as a pair of undead Riflemen emerge from it with rifles at the ready. Their bloody bayonets gleam in the darkness.
"We called them The Dark Ones, creatures who fly through the sky in their vile black ships. Their rotting frames reek of death and spew a horrible ash in their passing. They are part machine part dead thing and do the same to those they capture" Miri says, barely restraining a hiss of anger at the thought of her hated enemies.
Crosses your first!
Despite both sides spotting each other the only true obstacle here is the fact your opponents are in a small ditch akin to a trench with a narrow doorway, which is open, behind them. The walls of the foxhole are made up of sandbags which were cleverly buried to give them a rough camouflage, the trench however looks like it was made fairly recently and provides some cover from your attacks at your current position. If you close however it will offer little resistance...
Good Luck!
Mir
Forgetting Ael's comment momentarily the look of horror on the High ones face is clear, her once blank features twisting into fear and anger. "Cryxians, here! It's too soon. We're not strong enough to fight them. Mirrianissa what more do you know of them? How many ships, necrotechs, Iron Liches? Lich Lords?!" The alarm in her voice is clear as if what has befallen the temple pales in comparison to these Cryxian's...
Aurora wastes little time and closes the distance between her and her enemy. With naught but a flick of her wrist she sends the coils of her whip out at the undead. The deadly shadow born weapon slashes deeply into desiccated flesh. The Skyblade at her side hums almost eager to wipe the unnatural blight from existence.
Leon following close in his wife's footsteps closes in on the undead riflemen pulling two throwing knives as he does so. Throwing both blades into the undead Aurora had just damaged.
DI
The Grappler groans as the damage it received earlier shows in each movement by Joey as he readies to try and stop the oncoming Raker. The Grapplers massive claw swings through the air like the disembodied hand of an angry god. Joey continues to whip the line until it starts to whirl in a slow deadly circle far below the Smitties Salvage vessel.
You fly low over the gates and the bombs impact rocks the gates hard. Some of the ancient masonry crumbles under the simultaneous explosions and...
Coupled with the multiple explosions, the damage it already recieved during the attack and the sheer weight of so many dead things. The gates give a tremendous groan and collaps, crushing the remaining dead and removing the continued threat of quicker reinforcements through the gate.
The fire whittles down the other undead units but doesn't destroy them, despite the damage they suffered they continue to fight the clerics. The unit in reserve turns its fire on the damaged salvager and...
... fail to do little more then bury rounds into her battered hull. This time your fellow riflemen were lucky to avoid injury as the Raker continues it's forward bearing course.
The clerics fight bitterly on despite being still outnumbered. They dish out significant damage to the enemy squads attacking them but fail to destroy any of them completely.
The thralls fight on, intent to destroy the living with gun and sword as they try and bring the battered clerics low...
Across the temple districts the cries of the innocent mingle with the grueling sound of metal cutting into flesh. Gunshots echo throughout the district and the discharge mixes with the smoke from fire's burnign out of control across the district. The only bastion appears to be the Temple of Morrow which stands battered but unbreached as Paladin's of the Wall hold their ground stoically despite the undead onslaught..
Back to you DI!
My voice falls heavy and flat, "There are always too many Cryxians."
Then I whisper sorrowfully,
"Torak the Mighty, Lord of All.
Twelve Lichlords answer his call:
An army of iron,
An army of bone,
An army of flesh,
Harder than stone.
Torak the Mighty, Lord of All:
Greatest of dragons, hear his call.
Stronger than death and you are his thrall"