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Post by Stormwall on Jan 29, 2017 3:35:13 GMT
The armies of Vaundsburg have marched on the neutral kingdom of Therien and been rebuffed by the powers of central and northern Ardell. Now the people of Vaundsburg have risen up against their vampiric overlords and their millennium-old Empress, Eleonore Rousseau. All across Vaundsburg, angry serfs with torches and pitchforks are ramming stakes through vampiric hearts. Assistance has come to Vaundsburg, foreigners supporting the uprising, and great armies have marched on the capital -- Untergaung.
Professional soldiers, undead legions, and vampire hordes have clamped down on rebellion within the walled city. The Empress is believed to be within the core fortress of Ubergrad, at the city's heart. The city has sufficient supplies to outlast the siege: the only way to win is to defeat or circumvent Undergaung's high walls and towers.OOC/ The scale of this thread is large, meaning anything up to and including full-scale armies. (Individual characters are totally fine.) Consider the defenders to have roughly twenty or thirty thousand troops, both living and dead, so feel free to step up the scale of your forces if you feel it's warranted. Just have fun. The walls and towers are high and strong. The city is roughly circular. There are four heavily fortified gatehouses - north, south, east, and west - and two towers in between each one. Each tower-top and gatehouse mounts a ballista or mangonel. The city has a variety of other anti-siege measures. PLEASE TAG YOUR LOCATION RELATIVE TO THE NEAREST GATEHOUSE AND/OR TOWER.
I have no intention of DM'ing this thread. Spoiler: yes, the Empress has fled in secret. As far as anyone knows, she's probably still here, but there are plenty of elder vampires and necromancers here instead.
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 29, 2017 3:58:16 GMT
And the Host of the Gods marched forth for the first time since the uniting of the tribes, long, long ago. Beasts of war walked the forests north of Vaundsburg alongside warrior and commander alike. Massive Triceratops, covered in glittering scales, feathers, and silk pennants formed the bulwark the siege beasts the Crokodon were set to use, several fitted with great bows or primitive catapults and howdahs carrying several of the smallest Crokodon with bows, atlatls, and javelins. Each was the size of a small building to accommodate the lizard warriors. The largest individual, a Bond-Beast with the Scarblood elder Dor-rak, bore a large yellow glowing gemstone on its back known as the Sunstone of Totutl, casting rays of the sun’s light from its heart. At the shoulder the creature matched the height of Undergaung’s walls but carried only the Elder and the stone on a stone altar. The packs of warriors that marched were loosely organized, with the massive Beastspawn carrying their Great Bows and clubs longer than the average man was tall, Scarbloods with their stony hides carrying stone slabs as shields and maces. Godspawn moved in packs with primitive stone and wooden clubs, macuahuitls, and axes, javelins and atlatls on their backs, heavy spiked shields carried by each warrior. Cavalry riding domesticated beasts of burden were sparse, however most of the commanders rode giant jungle apex predators, beasts straight from the nightmares of civilized society ridden by ancient reptilian warriors directing the hordes of their kin with some form of feral strategy. A single group of Sunbloods, with their skull helms and gold decorated armor marched in the center, alongside their eldest, Taun-Lok, Priest-King of the Golden City. He rode a smaller triceratops, much like another race might use an elephant. The twin banners of the Queztacoatl flowed behind the Priest-King, his mount decorated almost as ornately as he with colorful feathers and golden tablets. The Priest-King’s obsidian armor and cloak of feathers matched, having replaced them with raven’s pinions for this battle. His left arm was adorned with gold and silver all the way from the shoulder to the tips of his fingers, covered in the Hand of Totutl, God of the Sky and King of all Creation. Totutl’s right eye blazoned bright in his palm, a subtle glow radiating from his arm. The army approached the edge of the forests, the sounds of revolt were faint from this distance. Taun-Lok stood in his saddle, the low growl in his chest rising into a feral roar, asserting dominance over the land and the host at the top of his lungs. Every warrior and beast in the host lifted their voices alongside the Priest-King in a deafening, earth shaking roar that resounded and echoed across heaven and earth. The War on the Dead had begun.
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Post by Elrid Acfream on Jan 29, 2017 5:26:37 GMT
BETWEEN NORTH-EAST TOWERS
Acholt was not a major power in the affairs of Ardell. In fact, it barely even counted as a minor power. Just a loose group of woodsfolk known for their oak-carvings, their skills at the hunt, and ruled by a queen barely into her full womanhood. Yet here they were, a warband led by the queen Elrid herself. Hardly more than three hundred strong, they were stout folk with thick oak bows taller than themselves and axes and shields of oak.
Oakwood is what their name translated to, and their personal name for themselves meant to be People of the Oak. And so they were. They had traveled hard once word had reached them of what was happening in Therien, and then even further when the armies had gathered to overthrow the vampire kingdom.
Elrid knew little of war and had no desire for such a thing, but an expansionist vampire power in the region was more than she could turn away from. She traveled now at the head of her forces, her wolfhound Gerafel at her side. All the warriors had their wolf-hounds with them. Three hundred dogs that stood taller than humans and elves on their hind-legs, bred to hunt wolf and bear and troll. Fiercely loyal to their master and ready to tackle foes far larger than themselves.
Elrid raised her hand and the war-band came to a halt within sight of the walls, but of range of the defenses. They hadn't come prepared for a siege. A skirmish, sure, but not to overthrow a city. And even if they had, they had nothing to use against it. Given time, they could build siege engines. Elegantly carved and crafted siege engines, even.
She pushed a strand of hair from her eyes and retied the braid, coiling it on top of her head, and frowned. There was no way they could conquer a city of vampires and who knew what else. Not without working with other armies. One was to the North, formed of giant lizards.
She wanted to jump up and down in excitement at meeting these beings that their stories held no record of, but now was not the time. Afterwards, perhaps, but she needed to be sure there were no complications between them that would present her people as the enemy.
They hardly looked it, dressed in leather and fur, with some iron armor scattered about. Not at all compared to what she could make out of the much more expensive armor the guards were wearing. Steel, perhaps. Mail and plate. Nothing their arrows wouldn't pierce, but would be a problem in closer ranges. Their axes were good, but perhaps not that good. And the Acholt armor certainly wasn't. Only Elrid and her house-hold had chainmail.
"Make camp!" Elrid called out, "We need to make some defenses of our own."
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Post by Mirielle Merlon on Jan 29, 2017 18:10:56 GMT
LOCATION: Approaching with Taun-LokIn the reptilian army's dusty wake came their loose equivalent of camp followers, those who managed whatever strange supply chain and services they might require. One of the large, non-sentient lizards carried Her Royal Highness, Princess Mirielle of Ashdell. Nobody back home would have recognized her. In mirrors, she didn't recognize herself. Something about the eyes, she'd decided. Sure, her clothes were relics of outlandish travelers who'd stumbled across the lost city and never stumbled out. Sure, for all her scrubbing she kept finding dried blood in her hair and the creases of her skin. Sure, she'd gotten more sun and weather lately than she ever had, even while studying in bright Perona. Sure, she'd picked up scars in the last stand against the orcs at Ethenveld. But the change certainly lived in her eyes. So she'd stopped looking in mirrors, and she knew that had changed her appearance too. Clad in faded silks, looking not much like she ever had, she rode the saurian mount reasonably well. It walked with a different rhythm than a horse or a mammoth, but she'd adjusted over the course of the trek to Vaundsburg. Now she could write and sketch steadily as the mount ambled along. With a stick of charcoal, she'd drawn the saurian’s huge flat teeth, the army’s strange forms and weapons and armour, their varied species and subspecies, and the great sunstone. She'd obtained a much smaller one and sketched that as well. Now she found herself drawing the gigantic city of Untergaung. Twenty thousand soldiers, four gatehouses, many towers, a population in the six-figure range, and enough magic and food to outlast any passive siege. But Untergaung had been fortified to repel men, not the saurians of the City of Gold.
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Post by Madog Hier on Jan 30, 2017 0:50:06 GMT
From the southeast of the city came the sounds of fifes, drums, and the rattle of marching troops. Pikes could be seen first, their steel points glinting in the light, the men that carried them walking in time to the merry tunes played by the regimental band. Among them marched more soldiers, swordsmen and crossbowmen who fought in support of the pikes. Banners and pennants fluttered in the wind as they came, their bright colors and emblems representing their country, king, and company designation; the Empire of Arlek had arrived. Here and there more men could be seen, soldiers uniquely armed from their compatriots. Men clad in heavy armor, massive swords hefted over one shoulder. The men themselves were easily as tall as their huge, two-handed blades and their armor polished to a shine. Between companies and units ground constructs of wood, steel, and sometimes glass pushed along by men in leather garb or pulled by teams of horses. Engineers and artillerists and their machines, their task was to breach walls and conquer cities. A wide menagerie of men and material had come to Vaundsburg for a single purpose: to conquer Untergaung city once and for all. Arlek and Vaundsburg had spent decades, if not generations, in flickering conflict. Wars had become commonplace between the two and, with Vaundsburg at its weakest, the King had determined it was time to bury the hatchet and end the rivalry once and for all. A sizable portion of Arlek's martial might had been committed to the task and command given over to the monarch's more adept military leader: his sibling, Madog. He had to admit, this was perhaps the largest command he'd been given in an official, offensive setting. A full army, not a simple cluster of companies or some reactionary border force, but an organized martial machine with a singular purpose. It was heady, but also nerve wracking at times, and the weight of the responsibility was not lost on the Arlekkian. His scouts had reported other groups had arrived, his Rangers having moved ahead of his main force as they usually did. Frowning, Madog grunted once to himself as he took in the city before him. "Colonel Vaughan, I want battle formations hemispherical facing the city. We don't know where the other groups are outside of being nearby and not behind us," the officer in question nodded once and disappeared, barking orders as he went. "Where's Merricks?... Merricks?... There you are. Blasted brown uniforms you boys where. Makes it hard to see you. I need your men to keep an eye on the rear and flanks. Anything happens, send a signal bolt up. Usual routine, first bolt for danger, second bolt showing direction." As the Ranger commander left to complete his task, Madog turned to a rather short individual dressed mainly in leathers to his left. The man was small, squat, and stout with a massive and fairly singed beard sporting an eternally scowling face. If it wasn't for the fact that Madog had met the man's wife and children, all of whom where far taller than he was, he would have mistaken the Chief Engineer of His Majesty's Siege Corps as a Dwarf. "Idwal," catching the man's attention with his first name. The two were fairly decent friends and often shared a mug or two of Arlek's finest on a frequent occasion. Besides, Madog knew the man was almost always lost in his own mind, usually concocting a new siege engine or explosive device. When the man's bushy eyebrows bounced up, he knew that he had the engineer's undivided attention. "Idwal, I need your boys to start setting up and getting their range calculations set." "Fine," the not-Dwarf growled after a moment. "Ye'll be wanting the wall leveled then? Or just a big bloody hole?" "A big bloody hole will be more than sufficient, Idwal." "Spoil-sport," came the only response the engineer gave before turning and stumping off. A moment later he could hear the bawling and swearing of orders as the Master Engineer went about his work in his usual manner. Grinning, Madog turned to the rest of his officers gestured to the rest of the army and, by extension, the city beyond. "Standard procedure, gentlemen. Battle formations, see to your companies, and get your men ready. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can plant a flag and enjoy a pint or five." Mirielle Merlon Elrid Acfream Taun-Lok *** OOC LOCATION: SE of city between S and E Gatehouses ***
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Post by Taun-Lok on Jan 30, 2017 4:58:13 GMT
Northern GatesThe Host of the Gods surged from the trees following the feral war cry of the Lizard Men. The spearhead consisted of almost a dozen commanders, Dor-Rak and the Great Beast carrying the Sunstone of Totutl, and lizard warriors in the thousands. Mighty Beastspawn carrying bows that stood almost as tall as they, firing obsidian headed arrows as thick as a man's wrist and taller than a man stood fired their first volleys aimed for the Gatehouse before them at the extreme range. Stone cracked and small shards of stone and splinters of wood flew in all directions where the great bows struck the wall. Where they struck defender, they sent impaled warrior, both living and dead hurtling into the city. The Catapults and Ballista born on Triceratops fired as the advance began, shattering stones in the ramparts and flinging men and undead off the tops of the walls where they struck, the thundering bulk of the siege beasts pushing across the darkened earth. The army surged in a tide across the fields as the Lizard Folk prepared to breach the city walls. Dor-Rak began chanting, holding the Hand of Grom-Taq up over his head on the stone altar born by his massive bond-beast, the Sun Stone beginning to turn in its contraption, spinning slowly but picking up speed. Its rays shined brighter and brighter as the warrior chanted in his feral tongue, calling out the Power of the Gods. The revolutionaries fled from the Northern side of the city upon seeing massive, nightmarish beasts burst forth from the forests. Talk of Lizard Warriors had always been mythical, legends told by old men and women that had been told them when they were children. Talk of a lone Lizard Warrior stealing careless fishermen or stalwart adventurers. There had never been even a rumor of an army of such size. Despite being significantly outnumbered by the army of Vaundsburg, even outnumbered by Arlek, it was a fearsome sight to the revolutionaries. The Undead however formed perfect ranks and the human regulars, despite their fear, maintained their battle positions. Arrow volleys were readied, catapults and ballista already beginning to fire at the horde as it approached them. Taun-Lok commanded the main force directly, riding his war triceratops with his black feathers showing on his armor, surging lizards about him. Arrows and ballista bolts pelted at the lead beast, a large armored Triceratops with large caps on its horns in the shape of battering rams, its purpose very clear. The beast galloped as fast as its legs could carry it, leveling its head at the main northern gates. Behind his swarmed a force of Lizard warriors, both on foot and riding other war beasts. Directed at the North Western wall, Lizard warriors charged with some Beastspawn carrying grappling hooks affixed to great arrows, while the infantry carried ladders of bamboo. Several commanders rode their predatory reptilian mounts whose long claws would leave furrows in the stone when they climbed the walls, and many of the lizard warriors themselves intended to simply climb over the wall as well, though the grappling hooks and ladders would only speed the process. To the North East, Dor-rak lead a large portion with his bond-beast. The spinning gemstone, roughly the size of a man increased in speed until its facets were little more than a blur. Bright white rays of light shone from its housing, rays of holy light building. To look directly at the stone was to be blinded temporarily, the silhouette of a lizard priest-warrior black upon the light of the Gods. The army surged closer and closer, some falling to arrows, others continuing forward with arrows sticking out from their bodies and shields. Some died to catapults, some beastspawn took ballista bolts with a roar and continued forward. In the rear, the baggage train consisted mostly of parasaurs and aquatic animals to carry supplies from the City of the Lost up the river to the army, though Mirielle found herself flanked on either side by a Skull helmed Sunblood guard, brothers of Taun-Lok whom he trusted with her safety. Madog Hier Mirielle Merlon Elrid Acfream
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Post by Mirielle Merlon on Jan 30, 2017 5:11:42 GMT
BAGGAGE TRAIN NORTH OF THE SAURIAN ARMY AND THE NORTHERN GATES Nobody had made the sunstone's role or abilities explicitly clear to Mirielle, but she'd gotten the general idea. Perched on a tamed herbivore, she flinched and rocked back in her saddle from the brilliant glare. A much smaller version warmed against her breastbone in response. She flipped back in her sketchbook and added a couple of notes to a drawing she'd done while leaving the lost city. (image source: Dinotopia by James Gurney) Perhaps she'd erred by guessing that all his gods' prophecies referred to the same mechanism of defense. Though she was no enchanter, and though she doubted your average one could do much with the power of the saurian gods, the stone beneath her shirt offered a kind of reassurance. Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to replicate it and arm Ashdell against the vampires all around. She paused and stood up in the saddle. Far away, across the army, was an armoured lizard-man on a gigantic black three-horn. She'd recognize Taun-Lok and his mount anywhere. At the head of an army, they appeared to be charging the northern gate headlong. Miri bit her lip and busied herself with drawing. Taun-Lok's fate had nothing to do with her. For a moment she considered finding something or someone to sacrifice, in hopes of drawing the attention of his gods again, but revulsion filled her.
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Post by Jack on Jan 31, 2017 5:20:19 GMT
Location: In the middle of it all. "Oh, Jack, what have you gotten yourself into now." Muttering to himself per usual, he ducked into an alleyway and dodged a pair of very concerned individuals who were paying more attention to getting anywhere but there than what was going on around them. He couldn't blame them if he was honest; he didn't want to be there either. Warning bells and shouting guardsmen, the human ones at least, were quickly sending the word that the city was under attack. Not that they didn't know beforehand, that is. Not even the poorest kingdom with the most inept and incompetent leadership ignored scout reports and even then, travelers passed on the word. A lone person on a horse will always outrun an army and, from personal experience, there was almost always someone with a horse on any given road. "Where to go... where to go..." Jack muttered to himself, his hands white knuckled as they grasped his satchel and walking stick. Part of him wanted to wait it out in the inn he'd found earlier, pass the siege over a mug or eight of ale, but most of him realized that even if the tavern owner was going to stay open that it was only a matter of time before something crushed, smashed, trampled, or burned the place down. Being quite attached to his own skin and maintaining his upright, mobile, and breathing status - emphasis on the breathing part what with standing in a vampire's kingdom and all - getting squished under debris or creature was not high on his to-do list. Neither was standing around and waiting for whatever was attacking them to show up on the streets with sharp and pointy objects. He scrubbed at his face and beard a moment, unsure of what to outside of the general concept of escape the city. Or, at least, hide and wait out the siege, though that was the last resort in his book. In a world with monsters galore, he wasn't entirely sure if hiding was an option. If whatever was attacking intended to, say, eat everyone within the walls then hiding was more or less hopping out of the fire and into the frying pan, so to speak. For once, he wished he'd looked for a map of some kind when he'd arrived instead of trying to woo the lovely street vendor girl with the pretty trinkets he'd never use and would probably lose within the week. If the place had a mage's guild, he'd go there, but unfortunately that would require him to be a little more on the cold and not-breathing side of the scale for entry. "That's it," he muttered, eyes now scanning what skyline he could see from his place at the alley entrance. "Tower... Need a tower..." Towers meant visibility, visibility meant that he could see the city. If he could figure out where he was and how the city was laid out, he could feasibly find a safe route to flee the city through. Or, at the very least, see who was assaulting the place. He knew Arlek was a rival neighbor and a likely candidate for a siege, but rumor had it that some sort of monsters were spotted on their way. Hearsay and tales flew faster than truth and fact, so he had no real way of knowing which was true, false, or if both held reality, but seeing was believing in Jack's book. He spotted a small tower, if it could be called one. More a sliver of stone and wood against the sky and probably more a lookout post for... something, possibly messenger pigeons if the stains of white where anything to go by. At least, he hoped it was pigeons. He'd seen what oddities the place had when he'd arrived. For all he knew, it was a flying skeleton roost or a strange form of gibbet, but from where he stood it looked big enough to stand in, which meant there was probably an access somewhere. Gripping his satchel and staff, he picked up the pace and willed his booted feet to go faster as he bolted towards the tower and dodged panicked city folk. Besides, who knew? There might even be an escape in the tower. Not that he was optimistic, but stranger things had happened before. Not to him, unfortunately, but he'd seen it happen to others. With luck, it was a good-strange and not a bad-strange like the last few times... Mirielle Merlon Taun-Lok Elrid Acfream
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Post by Taun-Lok on Feb 1, 2017 4:49:43 GMT
North Gatehouse Area In an attempt to protect the gatehouse the Vaundsburg forces poured boiling oil before the great gates in the hopes that the scalding fluid would deter the lizard warriors and their ceratopsid war beasts for a time. For the most part it worked, keeping the Crokodon warriors themselves from rushing the gate, however one could only slow an elephant sized triceratops so much when it was galloping at full speed. The creature roared in pain as it hit the oil but still kareened into the wooden gate, throwing its weight against the locks and bolts. With a loud creak and crash, the beast fell forward through the broken gate, stumbling and collapsing inside, wounded and injured. In response to the breach the forces of Vaundsburg lit the oil aflame and gathered their strongest Undead knights in the courtyard to repel the main force of the lizard warriors once they inevitably came through the fire. Large square shields locked and ghastly enchanted blades readied for the saurian warriors to advance. Beside them human archers and crossbowmen prepared to assist, standing with ranks and ranks of pikemen. At the wall between the North West Tower and the North Gate the Lizards had begun scaling the wall, some with just claws digging into the mortar, some with bamboo ladders moving up the rungs in quick lunges, and others still climbing robes attached to grappling hooks. The first beasts to hit the top of the wall were of course the monstrous Beastspawn who launched a furious assault on the defenders using teeth, claws, prehensile tail, and massive stone club thrashing wildly to scatter the defenders. The humans and undead of Vaundsburg found that the Beastspawn were very difficult to slay, taking numerous arrows into their thick hides and several spears each. By the time the first of them could be put down, the walls were assailed by the Godspawn and fresh Beastspawn to the battle, fighting along the ramparts. To the North Eastern wall, Dor-rak and his massive triceratops approached the wall with his section of the army, primarily consisting of heavily armored scarbloods wielding thick slabs of rock as shields. The spinning Stone of Totutl grew bright, and then the lenses slipped into place at Dor-rak's command, angle the rays of light towards the wall. The undead caught in the rays of light burned slowly, a persistant decaying of the weakest undead, the more powerful able to withstand it though noticeably weakened, and the Vampires having to cower behind the ramparts to avoid becoming engulfed in flames. Dor-rak's chant ended as it reached a crescendo, lowering his hand until the Eye of the Gods touched the spinning stone array. A great beam of light fired from the lenses like a pulse, slamming into the wall around its middle, burning the stones and blasting them backwards into the city with a formidable explosion creating a hole in the defense of the city. Once the smoke cleared, the Sunstone of Totutl shone much dimmer, its rays now more of a mild annoyance to the undead to weaken them rather than kill them, and only covering the immediate area around the stone altar. The Scarbloods stone shields filled the gap and their war beasts followed them into the breach. At the Gatehouse, the Godspawn and Sunbloods had little they could do to prevent the defenders from throwing rocks, spilling oil, or burning pitch around the gatehouse other than simply return fire with bows and atlatls supported by the Great Bows and catapults of the Beastspawn and those mounted on their Triceratops and carnivorous beasts. They simply had to wait out the lit flames and prepare to charge through as quickly as they could, which did not appear to bode well with one hundred Deathknights standing on the otherside supported by human archers and pikemen to either side in the courtyard. The raven feather adorned Priest-King and his arrow pinioned mount arrived as the fires were dying down enough that they could be trampled out, however one of the issues of not wearing shoes was having to run over flames. The priest-king and his Sunbloods lead the charge into the broken gate, but just as he appeared on the other side, blinding white light burned from his left hand. The Eye of Totutl opened wide, blazing forth with his heavenly wrath of divine light into the company of Deathknights, purging the undead and blinding their tainted servants. What handful of fallen undead knights remained were stunned, and the formation was broken, stumbling against the light. When their vision returned, skull helmed warriors were smashing into what was left of their formation lashing out with sacred weapons and followed by the hordes of lizardmen and war beasts as they funneled into the courtyard. Back at the baggage train roars of triumph errupted as the riverscales watched their brethren breach the walls and enter the gate. One of the Sunbloods guarding Mirielle handed her a note, knowing that she would likely have questions about the bright lights of the Sacred Stones. Totutl blessed the people with Two of his Sun Stones empowered with his divine light, One sits at the top of his great golden pyramid to forever shine bright, The other sits on that stone altar for when the people go to fight.
Its light burns the wicked and the indecent, And empowers the righteous and radiant. Mirielle Merlon Jack Madog Hier Elrid Acfream
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Post by Jack on Feb 1, 2017 6:18:01 GMT
The sudden shaking sent him stumbling to his knees, the stone steps barking painfully against his shins through the fabric of his trousers. He was almost certain that he'd only tripped up a bit, but the shaking continued on a moment more before subsiding telling him it wasn't his sense of balance. Jack pushed himself to his feet and ran onward. Or, at least, as much as one could run up a steep, narrow, and twisting stairway. The tower, if it could be called such, had no real purpose that he could see outside of being relatively old and sufficiently worn to warrant concern towards its structural integrity. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to question the intelligence of throwing himself up the steps of the thing and had to trust to anything, even pure luck, that it wouldn't collapse on him halfway up. "Almost.... Almost..." he muttered as he took the steps two at a time. "Almost... Alm- Mother of Pearl!" He'd caught his balance just in time to keep his feet, but only barely. The top of the tower was far, far from safe for anything short of birds. He'd slid to a stop before going over the edge and into midair. The floor was small, covered in debris, and slick with bird droppings. There was no railing, or at least nothing left of the railing, and only his own balance and prudence kept him from splattering on the rooftops and streets below. The young mage gulped once and stood still, letting his heart slow down from the near-lethal shock it had suffered. From here it almost seemed like he could see for miles, or at least a short bit beyond the city walls. Frowning, he looked around at the horizon in sight, attempting to see what was going on. It seemed like something had exploded or collapsed at one end of the city if the dust and debris in the air was anything to go by, but there was something more. Something less tangible, more ethereal. It made his eyes water slightly and he could smell traces of burnt air. He might not be a world-class mage, but he wasn't unfamiliar with the telltales of his trade. Someone was using magic. A lot of magic in this case, especially if he could feel it from here. Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly see very well from this distance outside of vague shapes in the dust and the strange roaring from before. He tried cupping his hands around his eyes to cut out the glare when the realization hit him: his satchel. Scrabbling at the flap of the bag while careful to keep his balance atop the precarious position, he rummaged through the various odds and ends he toted around with him in his travels. After a moment, he pulled out a pair of smooth, flattened crystals. Normally he used them for focusing light to make fires, but their primary purpose was to magnify things to see them better. At least, that was what the note inside the desk in his former masters' study had alluded to their purpose. He distinctly remembered the term magnification, though whether that was by making the target appear larger or actually making the target larger he wasn't sure. Magic was rather odd that way sometimes. Jack took the two crystals and held them up and over his eyes before ripping the things away from his face. He had to admit, they worked. Unfortunately, they seemed to work too well and gave him the beginnings of a headache in the process. Frowning and blinking to pre-headache away, he brought the things back up to his sight, slowly this time. It took a few moments of adjusting the lens distance and angles, but eventually he managed to get the things to work properly. Or, at least, he hoped they were working properly because he was seeing a great deal of green. Mottled greens and browns and other colors, to be exact. He sighed internally at the sight of great, reptilian beasts breaking into the city. His forlorn hope of perhaps hiding in a tavern and letting the whole thing blow over was, indeed, too optimistic. Escape was the only hope for now unless he wanted to end up as something's snack. Jack tucked the lenses back into his satchel and turned to leave the way he'd come. Unfortunately, where he'd planted his heel was far less than stable footing. He managed to avoid tumbling out of the tower and into the streets below, but as with all things involving possessions and falls go, his luck just didn't quite hold out. Most of his things stayed in one piece and either half in or just by the satchel as it spilled open on the floor. Most, that is, aside from a few pellets of various colors that he'd made a few weeks before. They were an attempt at making a magical form of dye that could be applied and removed from clothing at will. He'd attempted to create the things after hearing a pretty seamstress lament at how her patrons never wanted the same color of clothing, making her job excessively tedious. Unfortunately, the attempt yielded no dye, but a rather bright and cloying series of brightly colored smoke when the pellets were broken. And much to Jack's usual, poor luck, there now poured a kaleidoscope of colors from the tower he occupied, something that would be extremely visible to... just about everyone within eyesight. "Oh, I'm so dead," was Jack's only reaction as he sat in the midden that was the floor of the tower. Taun-Lok Mirielle Merlon Elrid Acfream
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Post by Aldacer on Feb 1, 2017 8:58:29 GMT
The army of Idmidum did not come to war this time. There was no great airship from the sky to spew holy fire and vengeance. After the first true pitched battle it had experienced, Aldacer had sent it back to the City, engineers in tow. Refitting, design consultation, revamping. It would need something to combat the annoyances like the swarms of bats and other such. And something again to possibly counter other aerial threats, like the dragon it had recently encountered battling the Orcish horde. A glaring oversight, that was, to have no counter for such a beast. However, one dwarf did show... For what it was worth. Although he now sat on the Lords Council of the Kingdom, he also had an Oath far older, given to Irodil himself. He was a Venator, and one of rare talent and skill. In him, many old ways were seen anew. Powers long thought only myth were uncovered during his younger travels, and they required not only regular research and thought, but bonds and oaths that tied him tighter to his spiritual liege. These powers also left him as somewhat of an outcast, even among his own order, and so the attempt to name him to the Council was both honor and way of meaning to sideline the questing dwarf. However, he had swiftly set up his own Steward to attend meetings and largely left the Order to the task of the Council themselves. He sat astride a giant dire ram, horns bound in silver and black iron, and barded the same. The only device or sigil borne was a foreboding hand with an eye in its palm, the iris of the eye a seven pointed star. A mixture of both Irodil's sigil and Aldacer's own personal device. For his own protection, the ornate plate and scale of his peoples make had been donned again, burnished to a high sheen, with the ancient crown like helm of before atop his brow. His sword had been lost above Therien, countering the dragon, and so now in his hand, he clutched a new blade, shield on the other arm. Raising a curled sheep horn to his lips, he blew a mighty call on it. Runes branded along the length glowed subtly as he did. Whilst the call would shatter no stone, nor banish any spirits, it would carry across the battlefield in an almost unnatural echo. Blue surcoat flapping slightly in the breeze, Aldacer let the horn drop to his side and kneed his mount forward gently, sword held at rest on his shoulder, and reins to the beast gripped lightly in his shield hand to the left. There was, of yet, no holy glow or prayers uttered. This would be a long fight, and bloody, and his strength would need to be saved unto the utmost. Whilst he was not at the head of a great host, a warrior of his particular skills could easily turn the tide of this battle, and so he made towards the North Gatehouse at a brisk pace, cobalt eyes narrowed and ready. A sense of danger and fury hung in the air around him, a palpable aura that was almost more than a singular mortal could have done on their own. Death had come for the Deathless. Taun-Lok | Mirielle Merlon | Jack | Madog Hier | Elrid Acfream
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Post by Thraka Warchanter on Feb 2, 2017 0:46:43 GMT
Taun-Lok Mirielle Merlon Jack Madog Hier Elrid Acfream West of the city. The oracle, the seeker. It was a difficult position, delving for turth, finding lore. But the omens had led him to this place, at this time. He did not have a grand army or a masterful cavalry. He instead had fifteen men and woman, all minotaurs, all warriors, all fellow seekers of the new Labyrinth, hoping for a new home. The Labyrinthine banner was not flown. These actions were not taken. The city was at war with itself. Thraka walked, slowly and solemnly, as each of his comrades advance along side him. Fifteen minotaurs were worth a thosaund men, he thought to himself, waiting for the barrage. He knew it would come, soaring in. Wit his meager numbers every risk had to be calculated, carefully, deliberately. However, this camp would have fewer guards, provided the other armies and militias provided sufficient distractions. The minotaur was not here to liberate the empresses subjects, or slay the living dead who claimed this region. The seekers were here for but one prize, and they would achieve it. The rulers of this land hoarded many things in long, unaging reign. Sercrets, power, and weapons. Thraka desire but oen prize: The Imperial Library of Vaundsburg. Stone tower shields were raised in formation as they moved behind a fairly large boulder for cover, looking as though a wall of stone hand sprung up between them and the seige engines. It was not arrogance that made him guess at those numbers. There were so few left, so few able. To him, every minotaurs was a thousand humans, a thousand elves, an untold number of vampires or dwarves. It was not cruelty. The only time he could trade the lvies of his people was if it was for thousands. The only sacrifices taht coudl be made were great ones. To risk their lives for less was to throw away the future. At the eedge of the weapon's range, and not close enough for arrows, the oracle stood, infront of the wall of stone shields. His bellowing rang across the area. "We have come for the library! If you stand down, we shall not harm any amongst you! Should you oppose us, your deaths will be many, hundreds for each of our own lost!" His voice rang out, like the lowing of a bull mix with the scream of a wild maniac. "So stands my oath of stone and blood! What say you!" He knew taht there was likely no chance in Ardell fifteen minotaurs, even well-armed and armored ones, could cow the entirey western gate into submission without a blow being made. Still, he had to try. And the other kingdoms layign seige to this city woudl also be drawing more ire. This would prove a long, difficult day.
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Post by Mirielle Merlon on Feb 4, 2017 4:41:04 GMT
BAGGAGE TRAIN NORTH OF THE SAURIAN ARMY AND THE NORTHERN GATES
Even from this distance, Mirielle found it desirable to cover her ears. Armies had closed in around Untergaung from all directions, assailing and sometimes breaching the walls. The crack of stone on stone, the grating thud of battering rams, the twang of the occasional ballista or the swishing roar of a trebuchet -- a siege, the active kind, could be painfully loud in the critical hours. Off to the east, a couple of hundred wardogs bayed; up on the walls, a tower exploded in colour. She withdrew her scaly mount by a couple of hundred yards, right to the edge of the river, enough distance that the noise didn't disturb her.
She'd lost sight of Taun-Lok in the dust thrown up by his army and the wall-breach. Taun-Lok's army was pouring into the city now, through the broken north gates. Part of her wanted to head in there, see what there was to see, but she'd promised Taun-Lok she'd keep herself safe. Later, she might poke around and see what there was to learn about the weaknesses and limitations of the undead. Them and the vampires.
For the moment, however, she felt supremely useless.
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Post by Madog Hier on Feb 4, 2017 5:20:28 GMT
The creaking of ropes and wood were deafening, only drowned out by the roaring woosh of air and thunderous crack of stone as the trebuchets and other siege engines did their dreadful work. As Madog watched, another stone smashed into the walls of the city sending up a cloud of dust and debris. It had taken some time, but the effort had paid off. Here and there along the wall stones slithered down, knocked loose by the bombardment. It was a strong wall, but even a few stones falling free told of plenty of damage underneath. Around him, the army had maneuvered into position and awaited only the command to attack. Madog had every ounce of faith in the men placed under his command. They were composed mainly of garrison units guarding the northwestern border, each a veteran of skirmishes and prior wars with the vampire kingdom they now attacked. Many had lost friends over the years, others had lost much more, and most were eager to bring the fight to Vaundsburg one final time. He knew that the problem he faced wasn't to urge the men onwards into danger, but to keep them focused and together. Men itching for revenge were hard to control and it wouldn't take much to turn a siege into a massacre. His musings were interrupted as a rider approached the position. His men intercepted and a quick glance showed the man wearing the browns of the Rangers. He knew that they sometimes rode, but almost always to make quick progress alongside a fast army or in dire need. They were stationary and in the start of a siege which told him that the man had something important to pass on. Madog watched as the Ranger commander, Merricks, helped the man off his horse as the two spoke fervently. The Ranger officer clapped the man once on the shoulder and gestured to an area nearby where the baggage train was setting up. Madog figured Merricks had told the man to grab a bite or a drink. It was what he would have done in such a case. "My lord, one of my men brings us news," Merricks said as he drew near the ad-hoc general. "An army nearby, north of us. They're not human, but appear to be reptiles. They've already breached the walls and have entered the city in areas." "Lizard-people?" Madog asked, mildly curious. He knew they existed, but they were normally content to leave the world alone, so much so that most folk didn't know if they were truly real or not. "How did they already breach the city?" "Well, that loud roar followed by the massive explosion is probably what did it," the Ranger commander said with a shrug. "Man that came back said that there was a smoke on the air, like they'd been burning something, but nothing aflame. Said it made his eyes sting and it stank something horrid." "Magic," was Madog's only response. Merricks clicked his tongue in his cheek in agreement. Madog had some knowledge on it and had seen it, Merricks had fought against it. They knew the routine and what was at stake. Something that could breach the walls with ease was something very dangerous to let roam around the battlefield. "Thank you, Commander. Keep your men out and about. I need eyes and ears more than ever today. And tell your man he has my personal thanks." "I will, sir. There was one more thing he mentioned, thought you might like to know it," the Ranger added after a moment. "He said that there was something odd going on in the ranks. Something not quite like the rest. He mentioned there was a critter moving around with someone on top. He wouldn't say one way or the other, only that there was someone, or something, riding it and dressed all in silks. He didn't see nothin' else like it there." "Your thoughts?" "Never fought lizards, but my first decade or so of Rangerin' was up this way. Mages and Wizards and them folk like to look different. Robes and hats and shiny armor, that sort of thing. I'm guessing that they saw a mage or whatever the lizards have for mages. Might be the one what knocked down the wall, might not be. Never seen one person wield that much magic, but you never know." "Thank you, Merricks, I'll keep that in mind." As the Ranger commander moved on, Madog's brow furrowed in thought. It might just be some lizard noble watching things, but it could also be what Merricks thought it was: a mage. It might also be their commander, though he doubted it. Despite that, the general rule of thumb in such days and times was the concept that if it looked different and acted different, it was potentially valuable to kill it or capture it. If he was lucky, it was the mage. If not, it might be some lizard nobility they'll want back. "Kendrik!" Madog shouted after a moment longer. "Someone get me Kendrik!" "I'm right here, my lord. What is it?" came the condescending voice he so recognized a moment later. Madog turned and jabbed a thumb to the north, ignoring that the noble had managed to not only gilded his armor from the last time Madog had seen him, but that it had maintained its polish despite days of marching. "Get your men together, ride north," he stated bluntly. "I know you have about one hundred, take all of them." "And do what, my lord?" Kendrik asked, his tone clearly stating his opinion on having to do anything other than polish more armor. The two had a history together and none of it pleasant. Madog thought Kendrik a pompous ass more focused on playing soldier than being one while Kendrik believed Madog to be a brutish tyrant suited more to pulling a cart than leading men. "One of the Rangers has returned and given his report. He spotted an individual in silks or robes among the lizard-people armor north of us. I want you to ride out, hit their rear or flank as hard as you can, and find that individual. I want them captured, but if they start flinging magic all over the place or endangering your mission, then do what you have to, understand?" "Of course, my lord. We'll leave at once." Madog turned back to the siege as more stones impacted against the wall. Behind him, he heard the sounds of hooves moving quickly as Kendrik followed his orders. He was fairly certain that were he not the brother of the king that Kendrik would have simply ignored him, but that was a concept for another time. As the fighting went on, Madog knew it was all a matter of time. At least, until it wasn't. At that point it would come down to who fought the hardest and smartest the longest. With luck, it was Arlek that would prevail. Mirielle Merlon Taun-Lok Elrid Acfream Thraka Warchanter Aldacer
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Post by Taun-Lok on Feb 4, 2017 7:26:58 GMT
The fighting in and around the walls of the city was heavy, the strongest Undead were answering the saurian warriors challenge in the outermost streets with their archers supporting them from the walls while Lizard-Folk attacked them with claw, tooth, tail, and rubble as it pleased them. Wall just west of the Northern Gatehouse
On the wall the fighting was slimest, the Lizard warriors starting to press backtowards the northern gatehouse clearing the walls of archers, both living and dead, while some started descending into the city fighting with marching reinforcements. There were a handful of minotaurs, comparable in size to the largest scaled warriors, but so far seemed to be more interested in fighting the city rather than the reptillian army. As savage and feral as the reptiles were, the rank and file only say enemy and kin for the most part, making fighting side by side with strangers extremely dangerous. But the commanders understood that fact, doing their best to keep their forces clear enough from those with the same goals as they. Wall just East of Northern Gatehouse
In the east there were hounds fighting the undead as well, baying and barking, but had thus far not been aggressive. While that didn't mean they were off limits, the eastern most commanders chose to lure their warriors away from that army to prevent gaining more enemies when the goal was the destruction of the undead city. Dor-rak and his beast-bonded Triceratops lumbered into the city, armored tail lashing out at the wall as it based through the breach, following behind the line of stone slab shields that made up the Scarbloods inexorable advance. The larger, stone scaled lizards would march forward plant their shields and then fight in two or three ranks until the enemy was depleted before advancing again, archers and warbeasts supporting them from behind and on the flanks as they pressed into the city. With the explosion, the defenses were relatively scattered and unprepared for the full wrath of the Gods, even if that wrath would be days before it would be available again. Many of the undead had been destroyed or seriously injured in the blast while the humans attempted rally cavalry and infantry for counter charges against the phalanx of saurian lizards. Northern Gatehouse
At the gatehouse, all semblance of order had fallen with individuals fighting in a mass blob of combat, archers firing from the gatehouse into the reptilian combatants, war beasts lumbering through the fight, cavalry being dragged off horses to the ground. The battle here was thickest even with the sudden loss of the elite undead defenders, Vaundsburg troops having quickly reinforced the courtyard with undead and living troops. Necromancers, however rare they were, found it hard to raise troops as the lizards normally left only mutilated corpses, often without heads, chest cavities, or missing several limbs in their wake, accustomed and trained to fight the tactic of raising the freshly fallen to fight again. Taun-Lok's beast had been stabbed several times by spears and swords, bleeding underneath the leather and gold armor it were as its head and tail thrashed from side to side. Taun-Lok wielded a large spear, using it to impale his enemies and hurl them bodily into others as they arrived or attempted to press forward. His roars echoed sharp, guttural commands to his warriors. With a grunt he drove the spear through two men and lifted them gurgling into the air. A jerk of his arm sent both soldiers flung off the weapon and backwards to be dealt with by his warriors while he pressed forward. Ever forward. The Priest-King's golden clawed left hand slashed out, taking a soldier but the head and carving deep furrows in his helm. The man stumbled before he was grabbed by the venerable warrior, grasped in one hand by the gauntleted hand of the King. The pressure began building up and metal helmet began to be crushed with a scream until it was nothing and drowned out by the sounds of battle. The ruined corpse hit the stones of the street and Taun-Lok pressed deeper into the courtyard. Some of his warriors had turned and had begun to fight their way into the gatehouse, scaling the walls, fighting up through the stairs, launching bolts from atlatls upwards at archers as the defenders rained arrows into the fighting. Hopefully soon the undead forces would become distracted with the southern army, as well as the appearance of several other forces. Once its attention became split, it would fall quickly. Having been to the City of Gold, Aldacer was relatively known. At least his scent was and his visage. Though the dwarves of Idmidium were not true allies yet, the Priest-King and the Elders had made it known they intended to have a formal alliance. The Dwarves were their strongest supporters against the Undead, and the Venator was himself a beacon of Divine Energy when he chose to be. Though his outsider magic wasn't allowed within the City walls, they were not in the City walls and the Commanders knew how powerful such an ally could be in the midst of battle. Ranks parted enough for the dwarf to make his way through to the mess that had become the North Courtyard just inside the gates. Most of the DeathKnights had already been eliminated by Taun-Lok's single use of the Hand of the Gods, but some still roamed the fight alone, combating the lizard warriors where they could. Baggage Train
In the back, the siege line with the artillery and beastspawn archers, a handful reacted to the one hundred knights attempting to outflank the reptilian army. A handful of Beastspawn, giant reptiles carrying bows that were almost ten foot long and firing spears turned their attention to the Knights sending several of the large bolts hurtling in their direction but not moving to intercept. The baggage train itself was relatively small, mostly consisting of aquatic creatures such as Parasaurs, row boat sized alligator snapping turtles, and a single commander riding a relatively small spinosaurus. Most of the beings operating said consisted of the green and blue Riverscales, semi-aquatic lizard-folk that operated more like skirmishes using hit and run tactics in battle. Madog Hier Mirielle Merlon Elrid Acfream Thraka Warchanter Jack Aldacer
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