- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Tally:
AAA 1
ABA 1
BBA 1
BBB 2
CAA 3
CAB 4
CBA 2
CBB 3
***
Chapter 2.6: Cautious Commander
The head of a rotting, shambling corpse tumbles to the ground as you dispatch it; you have lost count of how many you have disposed of so far. All around you, men fight, scream and die. Your decision to have your men mixed in with the warriors from the client-states helped to bolster morale all around, but your formations were shoddy and porous as a result of that. The dead warriors of the Egyptians swarmed through holes in your ranks. Your position at the rear of the formation was overwhelmed quickly, and you found yourself in the thick of the battle soon enough. Your army was split up into pockets of resistance amongst the enemy horde, though they fight tenaciously to survive.
Luckily, the rain of arrows you ordered had thinned up the Egyptians enough that their living warriors, riding in chariots, pulled back to allow the mindless zombies to stream ahead and do the dirty work. Your archers had retreated to the back, barely a few metres away from the wall, and there you had ordered them to remain still. Most of your chariots were dismounted around you, as they bat away the oncoming horde. You duck as a curved blade whizzes over your head, and destroy another Egyptian zombie with a swing of your sword. The enemy was fragile and unskilled; a good, clean hit would return them to a state of death, same as it would for any living being. Their numbers were the only real problem. You realize your men will be tired out before they run out of undead to return to the grave. In more rested and disciplined conditions they might have been able to outlast their opponents, but the brutal melee was taxing on a human body. The casualties were beginning to rack up, and you sense that the flow of the battle may tip against you very soon.
You gesture to one of your guards to blow the horn.
You had to reform the lines now, or risk losing your army. As the horn rang out over the battlefield, you see your army beginning to rally together and cut their way slowly through the horde, executing a fighting retreat. The Egyptian commander notices it too, and in the distance you note the torches of the charioteers moving. With another gesture, your own charioteers get back on their carts, and your archers raise their bows. The Egyptian chariots begin to charge. It appears that they have learnt to fear the range of your bows, as a darkness, blacker than the night itself, envelops the chariots to throw off your archers. The first volley does not catch many of the chariots, as they fade in and out of the shadows.
You order the horn to be blown again.
Your army, caught within the undead horde, start jostling around and hunkering down into position. The presence of the un-drilled client-state warriors makes the progress slower than you would like, but soon they were all huddled up behind their shields. The darkness melts away from the Egyptian chariots, and they smash into the melee indiscriminately, attempting to cut down friend and foe alike. Right on cue, your well trained archers release the second volley, this time right at the chaotic battleground itself. Your tactic appears to have kept friendly fire to a minimum, though executing this at night has its risks. The arrows fell both zombies and chariots easily. You feel the alien presence again, this time right in the thick of the battle.
The horn blows a third time.
You charge, leading your chariots in. You head right for the presence. Your chariots trample down all in their way as you lead the formation to weave between the pockets of your own men. You spot the distinctive headgear of an Egyptian priest; without pausing, you run right over the man wearing it. A few dozen chariots follow after, crushing bones and tearing flesh. You wheel around to finish the job. Suddenly, your sight is blinded as everything goes black, and you feel something smashing into you. You hit the ground and roll to your feet almost instantly. As your sight recovers, you see the black tendrils again. The broken body of the priest, moving according to the will of the monster inside it, crawls towards you. You feel the palpable disgust and fear from your men.
The monster pounces at you again and you have no time to draw your axe. You grapple with it. The tendrils wrap around you and begin eating into your flesh, but knowing that those wounds will heal, you press ahead, attempting to reach its back and rip the core out. This one proves stronger than the one you engaged outside Memphis, though, even with the serious wounds your chariots have inflicted upon it. You lose your grip, and the tendrils manage to secure your limbs, holding them apart. Even with your mighty strength, you are unable to break free. Your men rush to free you, but they are captured by the tendrils themselves and begin screaming in pain as their flesh is devoured by the creature. You grit your teeth and focus.
***
A. You summon all your mental strength and attempt to hammer the creature with a tremendous telekinetic blow.
B. You plunge your mind into the alien creature's, seeking to rip apart its mental psyche with a psionic assault.
C. You command your body to change its shape, allowing you to slip free of the tendrils' grip.
AAA 1
ABA 1
BBA 1
BBB 2
CAA 3
CAB 4
CBA 2
CBB 3
***
Chapter 2.6: Cautious Commander
The head of a rotting, shambling corpse tumbles to the ground as you dispatch it; you have lost count of how many you have disposed of so far. All around you, men fight, scream and die. Your decision to have your men mixed in with the warriors from the client-states helped to bolster morale all around, but your formations were shoddy and porous as a result of that. The dead warriors of the Egyptians swarmed through holes in your ranks. Your position at the rear of the formation was overwhelmed quickly, and you found yourself in the thick of the battle soon enough. Your army was split up into pockets of resistance amongst the enemy horde, though they fight tenaciously to survive.
Luckily, the rain of arrows you ordered had thinned up the Egyptians enough that their living warriors, riding in chariots, pulled back to allow the mindless zombies to stream ahead and do the dirty work. Your archers had retreated to the back, barely a few metres away from the wall, and there you had ordered them to remain still. Most of your chariots were dismounted around you, as they bat away the oncoming horde. You duck as a curved blade whizzes over your head, and destroy another Egyptian zombie with a swing of your sword. The enemy was fragile and unskilled; a good, clean hit would return them to a state of death, same as it would for any living being. Their numbers were the only real problem. You realize your men will be tired out before they run out of undead to return to the grave. In more rested and disciplined conditions they might have been able to outlast their opponents, but the brutal melee was taxing on a human body. The casualties were beginning to rack up, and you sense that the flow of the battle may tip against you very soon.
You gesture to one of your guards to blow the horn.
You had to reform the lines now, or risk losing your army. As the horn rang out over the battlefield, you see your army beginning to rally together and cut their way slowly through the horde, executing a fighting retreat. The Egyptian commander notices it too, and in the distance you note the torches of the charioteers moving. With another gesture, your own charioteers get back on their carts, and your archers raise their bows. The Egyptian chariots begin to charge. It appears that they have learnt to fear the range of your bows, as a darkness, blacker than the night itself, envelops the chariots to throw off your archers. The first volley does not catch many of the chariots, as they fade in and out of the shadows.
You order the horn to be blown again.
Your army, caught within the undead horde, start jostling around and hunkering down into position. The presence of the un-drilled client-state warriors makes the progress slower than you would like, but soon they were all huddled up behind their shields. The darkness melts away from the Egyptian chariots, and they smash into the melee indiscriminately, attempting to cut down friend and foe alike. Right on cue, your well trained archers release the second volley, this time right at the chaotic battleground itself. Your tactic appears to have kept friendly fire to a minimum, though executing this at night has its risks. The arrows fell both zombies and chariots easily. You feel the alien presence again, this time right in the thick of the battle.
The horn blows a third time.
You charge, leading your chariots in. You head right for the presence. Your chariots trample down all in their way as you lead the formation to weave between the pockets of your own men. You spot the distinctive headgear of an Egyptian priest; without pausing, you run right over the man wearing it. A few dozen chariots follow after, crushing bones and tearing flesh. You wheel around to finish the job. Suddenly, your sight is blinded as everything goes black, and you feel something smashing into you. You hit the ground and roll to your feet almost instantly. As your sight recovers, you see the black tendrils again. The broken body of the priest, moving according to the will of the monster inside it, crawls towards you. You feel the palpable disgust and fear from your men.
The monster pounces at you again and you have no time to draw your axe. You grapple with it. The tendrils wrap around you and begin eating into your flesh, but knowing that those wounds will heal, you press ahead, attempting to reach its back and rip the core out. This one proves stronger than the one you engaged outside Memphis, though, even with the serious wounds your chariots have inflicted upon it. You lose your grip, and the tendrils manage to secure your limbs, holding them apart. Even with your mighty strength, you are unable to break free. Your men rush to free you, but they are captured by the tendrils themselves and begin screaming in pain as their flesh is devoured by the creature. You grit your teeth and focus.
***
A. You summon all your mental strength and attempt to hammer the creature with a tremendous telekinetic blow.
B. You plunge your mind into the alien creature's, seeking to rip apart its mental psyche with a psionic assault.
C. You command your body to change its shape, allowing you to slip free of the tendrils' grip.
behaviour, and it would behoove us to see what have befallen them. We might have to deal with Shulgi upon our return, but in Egypt we'd probably be facing tentacle monsters and who knows what's north of us?
