Skirmish at Base Camp
Beasts of lightning, answer my call. Thanks to your previous casting of Gigadyne, the ruins have become a scorched wasteland marked by the occasional pile of rubble, with none of the lush greenery that used to overgrow the area in sight. Lazing on top of the tallest pile that you can find, you summon your wolves. A sharp, acrid smell fills the air, accompanied by loud crackling as one by one, the elementals manifest and take on lupine forms. One for each human at the ruins. Thirty five in all. With a flick of your wrist, you send them sprinting at the patrols and the camp itself before the enemies notice their presence.
The pack goes on the hunt, the only noise that they make a low, steady buzzing. Moving smoothly, they split into four groups. They hit three of the patrols simultaneously, while the remainder of the wolves charge into the middle of the camp. Not the smartest or even the most effective tactic but you really can’t be bothered to do more than a simple charge when the aim is only to draw out your opponent’s abilities.
You hear the soldiers shout about being under attack. To their credit, they rally even under ambush from a pack of electrical monsters. These are not some green troops on their virgin outing. You see a soldier thrust his spear at one of the wolves. It sinks in right up to the shaft. His eyes widen at the lack of resistance. Then they widen further when the wooden shaft of the spear begins to smolder. The wolf turns, ignoring everything, and goes for his throat. His scream is cut off halfway. The patrols, having lost a few men, begin retreating towards the camp.
There, the wolves are flinging themselves in vain against a barrier that the mages have erected. An anti-lightning barrier? No, after some careful observation, you realize that there is also a physical component to it. Before the wolves can get together for another try, small pillars of earth erupt from the ground, hurling the wolves away. These begin raising in defense of the humans, disrupting the wolves whenever they try to attack. One of the mages raises his staff high and shouts out, “The fires of Asshimar burn eternal; Bountless Forges of the Second Divine Finger!” As one, all of the humans’ armor and weapons begin to glow a faint, pale blue. As they consolidate their positions and retaliate against the wolves, you note that their attacks are actually hurting your summons now. Imbuing the weapons and armor of multiple targets with magic. These are new types of spells that you have never encountered.
“Robust, quill and ink.” Nodding loyally, the goblin brings out an inkwell and a quill that you had brought in his pack. You dip the quill in ink and begin to make some notes on a blank scroll. Earth magic. Mass enchantment of equipment with a single spell.
With judicious usage of their rather interesting spells, they begin to gain the upper hand over your wolves. They have only lost around five soldiers, while your wolves’ numbers are already down by half. Physically the humans do not seem to be far superior to your summons, but they are well-trained and have fine tactical insight. The wolves are faltering, unable to make any headway. It looks like in such an engagement, they are definitely inferior to the combined tactics of the humans once they lose the advantage of surprise. Sighing, you give them their last order.
The wolves howl. With a mighty leap, they cling onto their nearest target, regardless of the wounds that they suffer, and explode in sparks of electricity. That last attack takes down seven more soldiers. Three swords, six spears and four bows left. The commander, his three knights, and the six mages remain unscathed behind their barrier. As the smoke clears, and they realize that they have survived the assault, the soldiers begin to cheer, sending shouts of victorious relief up to the sky. “Keep your guard up!” shouts the commander. “The danger might not be over!” The barrier remains up. You attempt to mentally calculate how many more wolves you can summon for today. If you take into account the powers of the strange disc above your head… maybe five hundred or so?
Rin acts before you can decide whether or not to literally drown the enemy in electric wolves. Perhaps she thinks that your attack is over, and it is her turn. Or perhaps she is just impatient. Regardless, she leaps high into the air, spinning her battle-axe over her head. “Over there!” shouts one of the mages. They act quickly, pelting her with firebolts and arrows while she is still airborne. The spells and missiles explode against her armor, doing no real harm. With a yell, she lands, bringing her weapon down on the hapless mage who had shouted first. The axe shatters the barrier with no real resistance, bisecting the mage vertically. He falls apart, his organs emptying onto the charred ground with a wet squish.
You shudder involuntarily, wondering if that could happen to you if you took a hit from her head on.
Without stopping, Rin spins around, slamming the flat of her axe right at a spearman’s head. There is a loud splat, akin to one of a bug flying too fast into a window – or perhaps it is the other way around, a window travelling too fast into a bug – and a burst of red that stains her black axe an even darker shade. A dark, round shape flies off into the far reaches of the ruins as the headless corpse topples over. Rin takes two playful steps back and curtseys, taunting the survivors.
One of the mages quickly casts a spell. “Stone Coffin!” The ground around Rin rises upwards and wraps around her in an attempt to constrict and crush the demon princess where she stands. The rocks creak, tightening their prison. The newly formed pillar entombing Rin shivers and trembles, and then holds still. But only for an instant. One of the rocks gives way and is launched directly at the mage casting the spell, hitting him with enough force to blow an open hole in his stomach. As he vomits blood all over his robes, Rin breaks free of the pillar, balancing a few rocks in her free hand. She swings her huge axe casually in the other, laughing demonically.
The remaining rank and file soldiers try to make a break for it. Rin tosses the rocks: they impact some of the fleeing soldiers right in their backs, and you can visibly see them fold in unnatural ways, their spines broken. “Rally to me! We will defeat this monster in our Confessor-Princess’s name!” shouts the commander. The three knights around him ready their swords and they charge at Rin. With an agility belying her armoured appearance, she vaults over them before they can react, heading towards the fleeing soldiers.
That’s right, you did tell her to prioritize anyone running away if she could.
Rin lands in front of the terrified humans, cutting off their path of retreat. She puts both hands on her axe and swings it once, cutting the remaining soldiers in half at the waist with one gigantic slash.
There’s… not many of them left now. You guess you better make an appearance before she actually kills them all. A slight twinge of guilt runs through your mind. When did you become so callous to human deaths? You had been a rather indifferent person before this, but not to this extent. After all, you were – are? – human… you fought for them against non-humans. Shaking your head, you banish the thought from your mind: it will do no good to dwell upon this now. As you get up, you stretch your back and your limbs. You will have to get there before Rin continues the slaughter. Curling your wing around you, you cast a teleportation spell.
In the blink of an eye, you land in the midst of the camp. The first thing that hits you is the strong scent of blood and guts. It seems to seep into the very depths of your body, igniting a fire you never knew existed. Your heart begins throbbing painfully. You are… excited. It is an emotion that you have never felt before – at least, not on the battlefield. The blood that has been shed all over the camp is a brilliant, dazzling, beautiful red to your eyes. There is a desire; a simple yearning to see more of it spilled across the ground.
You close your eyes, trying to fight the sudden bloodlust. Is it part of your transformation? You manage to stabilize yourself before a second has passed. When you look at the humans again, they are staring at you in shock.
“A… A winged demon? Is it the leader?” mutters one of the knights.
“No, that wing… that shining halo… it is not a demon,” gasps a mage. “It’s a… it’s a Carnage Pigeon!”
You blink and scratch your head. Did they just say pigeon? Is the Universal Translation spell acting up? You quickly dismiss and recast the spell.
“An angel? Here? That is impossible!” You are uncertain whether this ‘angel’ that they are talking about also means pigeon.
“Believe what is in front of you! We were told that the Methussians might have one! Kill it! Kill it quickly before it kills us all!” shrieks the commander in desperation. There is an intense fear in their voices that was not present even when they were being slaughtered by Rin.
“S-Shining One! Robust is here to protect you!” From out of nowhere, Robust darts in front of you, taking two arrows to his shoulder. As you push the foolish feline down, the other arrows snap harmlessly against your shimmering Mage’s Armor. Then come the spells, a rain of countless elemental bolts that dissipate the moment they come into contact with your Globe of Invulnerability.
As the storm of attacks slows down to a halt, you ask them: “It’s getting to be a pain just standing here doing nothing. Can we talk now? I would really like to get back in time for a nap.”
“Never! As a proud paladin serving the Gods, I will show you the strength of my faith, angel!” The tallest knight, clad in full plate, steps forward. His gleaming sword bursts into divine flames, raised high above his head. “Behold, the holy sword of-“
He never gets to finish introducing his weapon, as Rin lands right on top of him axe first. The paladin is crushed underneath her in a mangled mess of flesh and metal.
“Dammit, Rin.”
“Nothing like a good workout,” she giggles in that distorted voice she has whenever in armor. “Well? How do we butcher the rest?”
Behind her, the remaining survivors are huddled together in fright, unable to move their legs. You walk past Rin, scratching your hair absent-mindedly. This could be a bit of a hassle if they are too frightened to talk. Perhaps the carrot might work. “Look,” you say, “if you just answer a few of our questions, we may be able to work something out.”
“There is little to answer,” says the commander, trying to keep a brave face and almost succeeding. “We are Galbaldian forces sent here to spy on Methuss. If… if you are in any way a sla... a subject of Methuss, by the Concord of Loum we submit to your forces as prisoners of war, and expect to be treated accordingly.”
“Hm. Interesting.” You look over at the goblins, where wounded Robust has cut Boss down and is freeing his comrades. “Were the goblins signatories to that concord?”
“Gob… what do you mean? Of course not!” the commander shouts, offended by the very thought. “To have non-human scum be present at the signing of a holy pact… that is unthinkable!”
“Well, I am non-human scum,” you remind him, stretching your wing. He shrinks away, his face pale as he eyes the white feathers.
“The Ca- the angels are… did they not…” He falls silent, a suspicious look passing his face. Are you really who you appear to be? That is what his eyes seem to be asking.
“What is your name?”
“We are Galbaldian forces sent here to spy on Methuss,” he repeats, his voice quavering. “We expect to be treated accordingly as per the rules of engagement, now that we have announced ourselves. We offer ourselves into your hands in promise of safe and legal treatment.”
“You are not entitled to any expectations. The only thing you lower life forms should offer are your filthy necks, stretched long so that I can reap them with a single blow,” declares Rin coldly.
The commander winces, but he does not give way. He only repeats that he is from Galbaldy. You cast an eye at the other survivors. They are as uncooperative as their leader. It looks like they are resigned to their fate: they seem to expect death at your hands.
***
A. You let them go. You have taught them a lesson today with overwhelming force, and they will not be too keen to repeat the experience.
B. You take them into custody. As per whatever silly accord that they signed, you will treat them as proper prisoners of war, locked up in whatever jail cells you can get the goblins to build, with three meals a day. Perhaps respectful treatment might get them to talk, although should they try to escape the village might be in danger.
C. You take them into custody. You will allow Rin to treat them as proper prisoners of war, as if they had actually been captured by her demon army. You are certain that this will get them to say something: you have seen the demons’ dungeons, and they have some rather... effective practices.
D. It is too risky to bring them back to the village. You will kill them off on the spot and be satisfied with searching their bodies and their camp for any clues as to their presence here.
E. You kill off the mages and the commander, and let the two remaining knights leave, to spread word of your power. Perhaps the tales that they tell will swiftly draw this world into a maelstrom of conflict.
