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Myth: A New Age CYOA
- Thread starter Fangshi
- Start date
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
But he wasn't even there! He arrived to them what, two days ago? Where would he get them? Or if he already did earlier, where did he keep them while he was gone? How did they avoid being detected without his guidance?The answer is that he already had them. He was holding out on his boss like a proper mage should.
Ah, well, I should probably stop asking questions, lest I learn that the spiders created by paranoid illusionists have an intelligence on par with an average human or something.
tuluse
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 11,400
I think he means the blues had them, and Misoguinn took charge when he arrived.But he wasn't even there! He arrived to them what, two days ago? Where would he get them? Or if he already did earlier, where did he keep them while he was gone? How did they avoid being detected without his guidance?
Ah, well, I should probably stop asking questions, lest I learn that the spiders created by paranoid illusionists have an intelligence on par with an average human or something.
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Nevill said:
Nah, if you want to know I have no problem telling you now that it does not matter. Miosguinn immediately grasped the importance of what he had found and the process is very quick, can't tell you how it works yet but the hardest part is finding volunteers. He also had help, one of the other four mages was in league with him and she had been building up secret reserves for the last week. They were going to betray his boss and rule together (yeah right, one week and they would have been at each others throats
) but you altered things when you blew up all of his competition.
Last edited:
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Chapter 17: Casualties
Two days... two days of constant preparation.
It is Gareth's belief that Miosguinn will only give you a few days before he closes in for the kill. You spend this time healing the wounded and making weapons, casting runes and setting up satchel charges. You even manage to transform one of your Heaven Stones into a sort of anti-magic grenade which should help with any illusions you encounter.
Nine trains the assembled mages in techniques to more quickly recognize illusions and you even have a few moments to spar with Gareth and work on your knife play. It won't win the battle but if it comes to hand-to-hand you will at least be prepared.
Tyrvard spends the time building fire bombs. Even now the man refuses to reveal the hiding place of his still to anyone, even Serpent, but he dutifully manufactures ammunition for your dwarven allies.
The plan, as Gareth put it, is to draw out the enemy force by offering battle and then faking a rout. With any luck this will draw your enemy into the offices and into your kill zones. In such a confined space illusions would count for little and it is your belief that once Miosguinn loses line of sight to his targets his illusions will also disperse. You are fairly certain that he is hiding somewhere at the back of the enemy camp and projecting his own image forward.
Once the Blues are all inside you will then slam the doors shut using an improvised dwarven mechanism and slaughter them all and destroying Miosguinn's remaining strength.
To do this you will have to expose some of your forces.
The Reds, the Silver and the dwarves will all have to assemble in front of the building if their "last stand" is to be believable. They will have to advance away from the building but hopefully they will not have to go far. Based upon the earlier advance of the Blues you think they can make it back before the Blues reach them.
The question of who would stay and who would go is a matter of heated discussion as evidenced by the may arguments that play out around you. Casgair talks to his girls, Serpent and Christine argue with Neith, while the dwarves gather round discussing something in Dwarven.
"Father! You have to let us go!" the two girls demand in unison.
Casgair shakes his head and lets out a deep laugh, a roar from the gut, "Normally girls I would. It will be a glorious victory and we Reds will once more stand triumphant! But no, someone must remain to protect our people. You girls have a duty to the children in there to see them through this. The Goddess willing this plan will succeed and I will see you both soon."
He drops to one knee, lowering his colossal frame to look his daughters in the eyes, "Biliku, until I get back you are in charge and Uttu I expect you to help your sister. You will both aid Mistress Derryth to the best of your abilities and I better not hear about any whining, do you both understand?"
The girls nod as he grins, tousling Uttu's hair. Casgair draws himself up to his full height as the girls enter the chapel.
The Red leader waves you over, the bravado he demonstrated in front of his daughters disappears almost instantly, "Mistress Derryth, I have no claim on you," he shakes his head, "I can't ask you for anything, I don't have the right. Hell, if you had arrived a week ago we would probably be enemies. Still I must ask you for a favour... If I don't make it my people are for all purposes dead. A dozen children will not survive for more than a week down here by themselves. If I die I ask that you take them-"
You fold your arms, "If you start thinking like that then you definitely will not make it. Think about your daughters, you have a duty to them. I can't do-"
He raises his hand to stop you, "I appreciate it Derryth and I have no intention of dying today but I hold no illusions. I am old, I am tired..." he stares a his feet and sighs, "I miss my wife. By the Goddess, Derryth, I only have one arm. Even if this succeeds I truly doubt I will survive to see it-"
"FINE!!" you both turn as Christine storms past you. Serpent and Neith exchange a few words before he sets off after her into the chapel.
Neith shakes her head as she watches the two figures retreat into the chapel. She notices you both staring and walks up to you.
"What in the name of Wyrd was that about?" you ask, a little worried about this new development.
She sighs, "It was nothing. I simply told her that she was to stay and watch the children. She was not visable when the Blues first attacked and they will not notice her absence. It is simply too dangerous for her to come with me. In time she will come to accept the wisdom of my decision."
Casgair chuckles, "I would not be so certain of that Neith. I don't remember you ever being reasonable when we were younger."
She smiles, memories of better times forcing their way into her mind, "Well Casgair you were just so good at driving me into a rage. I can't even remember what I saw in you..."
You raise an eyebrow at this, "Oh, so you two..."
He gives you a wink, "The paths not taken Derryth. I was a young man once and Neith here had her charms."
She frowns, "Ancient history Derryth, hardly worth bringing up. But I did not come over here to talk about my misspent youth. I know I have no right to ask-"
You interrupt her, "You want me to look after the remnants of your Order should you die."
She is genuinely surprised, "Yes, I-"
Casgair beams at her, "I just finished asking her to do the same thing for my kids."
Your frown, "Do I really look like a Wyrd-damned orphanage?"
The two leaders laugh as Neith begins again, "I had a whole speech prepared and everything... I will simply say this, my people will likely die without aid. Even if the Blues die here, my Order is finished. I would rather see Christine live a long and happy life than die in the dark..." as she says the words their meaning hits home for her rendering Neith speechless.
You mumble to yourself, largely about what a pain in the ass it would be to have to raise a bunch of orphans, "I will consider it."
They look at one another and Neith speaks, "Thank you Derryth, that is the most we could hope for I suppose."
Jori walks up to you as they leave to rally their warriors.
He gives you a slight nod, "Well Derryth, we are all ready to do this. I am assigning Ari and Bari to your group. They would be wasted as a diversion and I would feel safer knowing that they are back here handling the explosives. I have instructed them to follow your orders in all things..." he hefts the glowing, rune encrusted maul up onto his shoulder, "Well, I guess this is it. If we both make it through this I insist you come to visit me in Myrgard. You will get to see proper dwarven hospitality! If... if we don't make it through this I just wanted to say.... well... thank you Derryth. I would never have gotten this far without you."
You are left standing alone as Jori returns to his group.
Wyrd, you hope this works...
Two days... two days and you are ready. Well, as ready as you are ever going to be.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Well Casgair, are you ready to surrender?" Miosguinn, or rather Miosguinns, stand in front of their army. One hundred mutated Blues and another two hundred loyal spiders drawn up behind him. Most are illusions, well you hope most are illusions.
Your allies stand in formation, their wounded healed, the older children armed. All told there are twenty of them. They have drawn themselves up as close to the building as they could get without tipping your hand. The Blues need to believe that the battle is real or the whole plan will fail. You observe the unfolding scene through your spyglass.
"We will never surrender to you mage!" Jori shouts out as his four dwarves each draw a smelting rod, the restored relics of the Damned.
Neith lets out a confident, melodic laugh, "I am afraid the rest of the true faithful must echo that sentiment!"
Miosguinn sighs, "Very well then! I had hoped to avoid yet more pointless deaths but if you wish to do this the hard way-"
Casgair cuts him off, "I have an idea mage! Why don't you surrender to us before we level your entire army!"
The Miosguinns give out a high pitched hiss and order their army forward. If Gareth's plan works the Blues will struggle to cross the battlefield and your people will have time to withdraw. As the Blues close on your allies they begin to rout.
The Blues will chase them inside and you will spring your trap. It is all going so well...
And then it all falls apart...
Miosguinn gestures to a nearby Blue who raises a strange horn and blows a single note. As one, six Blues stationed on a nearby overlook raise their limbs. They stand on the tips of their legs as they let out a number of thin threads. The Miosguinns reach into their robes and draw out a broken stone... no, not just any stone...
Your stone, the bastard has the Halcyon Stone.
He raises the stone and begins to chant, as a breeze begins to blow. The Blues on the overlook let out screams of triumph as the wind grabs a hold of their threads and carries them into the air with tremendous speed, ballooning along. They dive at your fleeing allies, dropping down towards them faster than they can run.
The six Blues each choose a target and you are powerless to help them. Neith turns letting out a blast of silver energy as she covers the retreat of her fellows. She saves Casgair's life though he does not notice as he runs.
She manages to drop half a dozen illusions and two real Blues before she is overrun. She makes no sound as she falls. The Blues swarm her and with a simple twist they pop off her head.
Less than half your allies now remain as they struggle to get back inside. Miosguinn finishes chanting and orders his lackey to once more blow on the horn. Two sharp blasts echo out into the dark and the second stage of Miosguinn's plan begins...
----------------------------------------------------------
The creature waits in darkness. Its new master has promised it meat, more meat than it could ever hope for but it has to sit in this burrow and be very still, very quiet.
So close to the surface now, all it has to do is wait. Wait for the sound of the horn... two blasts, then attack.
Two sharp notes ring out. Now is the time to hunt! Now is the time to kill! Now is the time to eat!
The creature bursts forth from the ground and grabs a hold of the nearest target. He is large, he is powerful, he is covered in the blood of its siblings. Thankfully he only has one arm to fight back with. He is tough, yes, but he will make a good meal though he struggles so.
Still slowly but surely the creature draws its captive back underground. As it does so it bites... over and over again it bites. Injecting its venom into its meal, dissolving its prey, softening it for dinner.
As its captive gurgles beneath it the creature lets out a happy scream and digs in...
------------------------------------------------------
Well so much for the Damned.
Dead to the last man, woman and child. You will have to break the news to Christine and the girls but not now. They need to be functional for what is to come.
The dwarves are doing better. Under Jori's leadership they are making slow progress back to the doors. The smelting rods keep the Blues at bay as Jori lays in with his maul. Everywhere the hammer swings Blues, both real and illusion, drop and spiders scatter. Flame spits from the maul as Jori swings it back and forth, warding off the Blues.
Still, you do not like their odds. You leave the window to consult with Gareth, you whisper "Should we do something? Jori is alone out their, both the Reds and Silver are gone."
The veteran shakes his head, "We stick to the plan. If Jori makes it great but if he doesn't the Blues will rush in to devour the children now that their defenders are dead. The plan will still work."
Brigit starts in, in a whisper, "Bit cold isn't that? They are our friends we should do somethin'."
He has trouble meeting her stare, "There is nothing we can do. People die in battle, no way around it..."
Your group sits in silence as the sounds of battle echo from outside. Jori and his dwarves fight for survival and you must wait.
Ari and Bari fidget but they know as well as anyone that there is nothing they can do.
Jori bursts through the door alone, a smelting torch in one hand and the maul in the other as the Blues pour in after him.
Finally you spring your trap as the bulk of the horde forces its way into the room. As they leave Miosguinn's line of sight the illusions disappear leaving the real Blues and spiders to face your onslaught. You unload on the horde with everything you have and you personally account for fifteen Blues and half a dozen spiders. As you massacre the attackers the front doors slam shut cutting off the bulk of Miosguinn's army from any escape. Ari detonates the satchel charges by the door. As the satchel charges go off underneath your enemies the room is bathed with blood and spider chunks. That should do it you think. His army should be broken...
You can hear Miosguinn screaming in rage from outside and then you hear three short blasts of a horn.
From beneath you, you hear a great crash and the sound of many feet on stone.
You turn your attention to the ramp leading up from the lower levels. You can here the sounds of spiders but you can not see a thing.
You grab the anti-magic grenade in one hand and pitch it towards the ramp. As the illusions fail you are confronted by Isolde and thirty giant spiders. As they rush towards your barricade you detonate the satchel charges by the ramp and manage to wipe out more than half of them.
Isolde, however, easily clears the explosion. She skitters across the wall and launches herself through the air at you. You have no time to cast, no time to draw your weapon, no time to even react as she flies through the air at you.
Mere moments before she hits you she is intercepted by your Berserk. Tyrvard hurls himself at her and sends her sliding across the floor. She quickly springs back to her feet and lets out a high pitched whine as the two begin circling one another. She bobs and weaves around his sword, moving so quickly that he is unable to hit her and slowly she wears him down. Striking at him with fang and knife.
She is good but the Beserk is better if only just. She has the speed but he is a warrior born and bred for battle and he begins to manoeuvre her into a trap. He traps her, stops her, and drives his blade through her chest.
She collapses as Tyrvard lets out a feral roar, as if challenging the heavens. Then he staggers... then he falls... he collapses next to her bleeding from dozens of wounds.
You do not have time to come to his aid as more spiders rush up the ramp towards you. These are no giant spiders though. These are simply regular spiders in every shape and size, the largest are only slightly bigger than your fist. Miosguinn's forces must be spent if this is all he has left. Still, there are at least thousands of them and they surge towards you like a wave. You are skilled, you are prepared and that is all that saves you. Working together you slow their advance.
Your group focuses fire on the ramp, thinning out the invaders but a few make it through. One reaches Ari and she screams as it bites deeply into her neck. Bari swats it off and stomps on it before turning to his wife. She gasps twice and then is silent.
Overcome by grief and rage he collapses to the floor, holding her corpse in his arms...
Your group fights on as Serpent drags Bari into the chapel. You, Christine and the Lost distract and misdirect your attackers while your archers and warriors attempt to thin them out by throwing fire bombs but there are simply too many.
The truth of it is that you will be overrun eventually. Your group redoubles it efforts as Gareth orders you to fall back into the chapel.
You and Gareth cover the retreat hurling your remaining fire bombs and you are the last to cross the threshold. You move to close the doors but Jori, resting to the side of the door, staggers to his feet. He has other plans; he throws you the maul as he runs past scooping up Ari and Bari's packs and he charges the horde of spiders while wielding the smelting rod. Running into the sea of chittering arachnids he disappears. You instantly grasp what he is going to do.
You slam the great doors shut and dive behind cover. A moment later an explosion blows the doors clean off and singes you slightly but fortunately no one is seriously injured.
As you stand you peer back into the room, your ears ring slightly. The roof has collapsed burying much of the room but you can make out a single figure lying in the rubble... Tyrvard.
You race to his side as you call out to Serpent for help.
You sense someone staring at you through one of the new holes in the wall. Miosguinn stands with half a dozen blues in the middle of the battlefield. You stare at one another. Shock, betrayal and hatred are written plainly on his face. He turns and flees with his small entourage.
Even as you attempt to save your friend you know he is too far gone. Serpent joins you at his side. The massive warrior mumbles something weakly. It is amazing that he is even still conscious. Serpent leans in and Tyrvard pushes his sword into the physician's hands as he whispers something in his ear. Serpent weeps as he takes the blade and Tyrvard weakly motions for you to lean in.
You place your ear near to his mouth and he speaks his final words as he slips away.
You dust yourself off, stand and walk away. Your head bowed, just barely holding it together...
Thaïs stops you, quietly she asks, "What did he say?"
You look her in the eyes and let out a slight laugh, a weak thing filled with bitterness and sorrow, "He told me where he hid his still."
She hugs you as you both break down...
-----------------------------------------------------
"So I guess we won?" it is a cold morning. Much of the previous night was spent burying the dead and tending to the living. You sit with Gareth as he pokes the cooking fire. Neither of you much feels like talking but the silence is unbearable.
He forces a grin, "Any battle you can walk away from is a victory in my books."
You grunt, "Except some of us did not walk away this time. I-"
He cuts you off, "Stop. I know what you are going to say and this is not your fault."
"But I led him down here Gareth!" your temper flares a little.
"Yes you did," the look he gives you is filled with profound sympathy, "But you can't let it stop you boss. Do you know how many men I lost during the war?"
You shrug.
"Shit boss, I can't live your life for you but trust me here. If you want to command people in battle you have to be willing to lose them," he sighs, "You just have to make sure their deaths aren't in vain. Understand?"
You look up at him, "Does it get easier?"
He does not even have to think about it, "For some people yes. For people like me... people like you... never. Frankly, I would not have it any other way."
"When I lost Henry it hurt... but this..."
"Yeah, I know... People die but when it is your decision that puts them there it really hurts," he stirs the fire again, "But you know Derryth the way I see it you got two choices in a situation like this."
"Yeah... what?" you ask, all weariness and doubt.
"Give up, go home..." he lets the idea hang in the air for a moment.
"Or?"
He jabs at the fire and it flares up. Flames dancing in his eyes as he speaks, "Or we find that son of a bitch and we put him in the ground..."
The conversation dies as you consider your options. You just sit there together staring into the fire...
The rest of your group slowly wakes up, a lot of red eyes and dry throats this morning. It has been a rough night for them all but they are alive and free thanks in large part to your efforts.
They are looking to you for leadership. Question is what to do?
1. Miosguinn: He leads the handful of remaining Blues and he has your stone. Bari intends to track and kill him to avenge his wife, his lord and his friends do you go with him?
A) He is beaten and is not really your enemy, you let him go.
B) This is not over. You will avenge your dead, you will find him and end this.
C) freeform
2. The Reds: Casgair asked you to look after them if anything happened to him. (8 children aged 6 to 8.)
A) You decide to take care of them.
i) you send them to the tower (they will need an escort)
ii)you leave them in the chapel while you hunt for Miosguinn.
B) They are not your problem.
C) You make them fight to the death for your amusement... yeah...
D) freeform
3. The Silver: Neith asked you to look after them if anything happened to her. (5 children aged 7 to 10.)
A) You decide to take care of them.
i) you send them to the tower (they will need an escort)
ii)you leave them in the chapel while you hunt for Miosguinn.
B) They are not your problem.
C) You make them fight to the death for your amusement... yeah...
D) freeform
4. The Relics: The Blues wanted them for some reason, though you do not know why exactly.
A) You will take the relics
i) you load them up now
ii)you leave them for now while you hunt for Miosguinn
iii) You immediately take the relics that seem important and easy to carry (the book and the fang). You can always come back for the rest.
B) You will leave the relics
C) You take those that are immediately useful/important looking (and light) and load up the rest.
D) freeform
5. Anti magic grenades: You have time to make 1 without slowing down too much. Do you?
A) Yes
B) No
Two days... two days of constant preparation.
It is Gareth's belief that Miosguinn will only give you a few days before he closes in for the kill. You spend this time healing the wounded and making weapons, casting runes and setting up satchel charges. You even manage to transform one of your Heaven Stones into a sort of anti-magic grenade which should help with any illusions you encounter.
Nine trains the assembled mages in techniques to more quickly recognize illusions and you even have a few moments to spar with Gareth and work on your knife play. It won't win the battle but if it comes to hand-to-hand you will at least be prepared.
Tyrvard spends the time building fire bombs. Even now the man refuses to reveal the hiding place of his still to anyone, even Serpent, but he dutifully manufactures ammunition for your dwarven allies.
The plan, as Gareth put it, is to draw out the enemy force by offering battle and then faking a rout. With any luck this will draw your enemy into the offices and into your kill zones. In such a confined space illusions would count for little and it is your belief that once Miosguinn loses line of sight to his targets his illusions will also disperse. You are fairly certain that he is hiding somewhere at the back of the enemy camp and projecting his own image forward.
Once the Blues are all inside you will then slam the doors shut using an improvised dwarven mechanism and slaughter them all and destroying Miosguinn's remaining strength.
To do this you will have to expose some of your forces.
The Reds, the Silver and the dwarves will all have to assemble in front of the building if their "last stand" is to be believable. They will have to advance away from the building but hopefully they will not have to go far. Based upon the earlier advance of the Blues you think they can make it back before the Blues reach them.
The question of who would stay and who would go is a matter of heated discussion as evidenced by the may arguments that play out around you. Casgair talks to his girls, Serpent and Christine argue with Neith, while the dwarves gather round discussing something in Dwarven.
"Father! You have to let us go!" the two girls demand in unison.
Casgair shakes his head and lets out a deep laugh, a roar from the gut, "Normally girls I would. It will be a glorious victory and we Reds will once more stand triumphant! But no, someone must remain to protect our people. You girls have a duty to the children in there to see them through this. The Goddess willing this plan will succeed and I will see you both soon."
He drops to one knee, lowering his colossal frame to look his daughters in the eyes, "Biliku, until I get back you are in charge and Uttu I expect you to help your sister. You will both aid Mistress Derryth to the best of your abilities and I better not hear about any whining, do you both understand?"
The girls nod as he grins, tousling Uttu's hair. Casgair draws himself up to his full height as the girls enter the chapel.
The Red leader waves you over, the bravado he demonstrated in front of his daughters disappears almost instantly, "Mistress Derryth, I have no claim on you," he shakes his head, "I can't ask you for anything, I don't have the right. Hell, if you had arrived a week ago we would probably be enemies. Still I must ask you for a favour... If I don't make it my people are for all purposes dead. A dozen children will not survive for more than a week down here by themselves. If I die I ask that you take them-"
You fold your arms, "If you start thinking like that then you definitely will not make it. Think about your daughters, you have a duty to them. I can't do-"
He raises his hand to stop you, "I appreciate it Derryth and I have no intention of dying today but I hold no illusions. I am old, I am tired..." he stares a his feet and sighs, "I miss my wife. By the Goddess, Derryth, I only have one arm. Even if this succeeds I truly doubt I will survive to see it-"
"FINE!!" you both turn as Christine storms past you. Serpent and Neith exchange a few words before he sets off after her into the chapel.
Neith shakes her head as she watches the two figures retreat into the chapel. She notices you both staring and walks up to you.
"What in the name of Wyrd was that about?" you ask, a little worried about this new development.
She sighs, "It was nothing. I simply told her that she was to stay and watch the children. She was not visable when the Blues first attacked and they will not notice her absence. It is simply too dangerous for her to come with me. In time she will come to accept the wisdom of my decision."
Casgair chuckles, "I would not be so certain of that Neith. I don't remember you ever being reasonable when we were younger."
She smiles, memories of better times forcing their way into her mind, "Well Casgair you were just so good at driving me into a rage. I can't even remember what I saw in you..."
You raise an eyebrow at this, "Oh, so you two..."
He gives you a wink, "The paths not taken Derryth. I was a young man once and Neith here had her charms."
She frowns, "Ancient history Derryth, hardly worth bringing up. But I did not come over here to talk about my misspent youth. I know I have no right to ask-"
You interrupt her, "You want me to look after the remnants of your Order should you die."
She is genuinely surprised, "Yes, I-"
Casgair beams at her, "I just finished asking her to do the same thing for my kids."
Your frown, "Do I really look like a Wyrd-damned orphanage?"
The two leaders laugh as Neith begins again, "I had a whole speech prepared and everything... I will simply say this, my people will likely die without aid. Even if the Blues die here, my Order is finished. I would rather see Christine live a long and happy life than die in the dark..." as she says the words their meaning hits home for her rendering Neith speechless.
You mumble to yourself, largely about what a pain in the ass it would be to have to raise a bunch of orphans, "I will consider it."
They look at one another and Neith speaks, "Thank you Derryth, that is the most we could hope for I suppose."
Jori walks up to you as they leave to rally their warriors.
He gives you a slight nod, "Well Derryth, we are all ready to do this. I am assigning Ari and Bari to your group. They would be wasted as a diversion and I would feel safer knowing that they are back here handling the explosives. I have instructed them to follow your orders in all things..." he hefts the glowing, rune encrusted maul up onto his shoulder, "Well, I guess this is it. If we both make it through this I insist you come to visit me in Myrgard. You will get to see proper dwarven hospitality! If... if we don't make it through this I just wanted to say.... well... thank you Derryth. I would never have gotten this far without you."
You are left standing alone as Jori returns to his group.
Wyrd, you hope this works...
Two days... two days and you are ready. Well, as ready as you are ever going to be.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Well Casgair, are you ready to surrender?" Miosguinn, or rather Miosguinns, stand in front of their army. One hundred mutated Blues and another two hundred loyal spiders drawn up behind him. Most are illusions, well you hope most are illusions.
Your allies stand in formation, their wounded healed, the older children armed. All told there are twenty of them. They have drawn themselves up as close to the building as they could get without tipping your hand. The Blues need to believe that the battle is real or the whole plan will fail. You observe the unfolding scene through your spyglass.
"We will never surrender to you mage!" Jori shouts out as his four dwarves each draw a smelting rod, the restored relics of the Damned.
Neith lets out a confident, melodic laugh, "I am afraid the rest of the true faithful must echo that sentiment!"
Miosguinn sighs, "Very well then! I had hoped to avoid yet more pointless deaths but if you wish to do this the hard way-"
Casgair cuts him off, "I have an idea mage! Why don't you surrender to us before we level your entire army!"
The Miosguinns give out a high pitched hiss and order their army forward. If Gareth's plan works the Blues will struggle to cross the battlefield and your people will have time to withdraw. As the Blues close on your allies they begin to rout.
The Blues will chase them inside and you will spring your trap. It is all going so well...
And then it all falls apart...
Miosguinn gestures to a nearby Blue who raises a strange horn and blows a single note. As one, six Blues stationed on a nearby overlook raise their limbs. They stand on the tips of their legs as they let out a number of thin threads. The Miosguinns reach into their robes and draw out a broken stone... no, not just any stone...
Your stone, the bastard has the Halcyon Stone.
He raises the stone and begins to chant, as a breeze begins to blow. The Blues on the overlook let out screams of triumph as the wind grabs a hold of their threads and carries them into the air with tremendous speed, ballooning along. They dive at your fleeing allies, dropping down towards them faster than they can run.
The six Blues each choose a target and you are powerless to help them. Neith turns letting out a blast of silver energy as she covers the retreat of her fellows. She saves Casgair's life though he does not notice as he runs.
She manages to drop half a dozen illusions and two real Blues before she is overrun. She makes no sound as she falls. The Blues swarm her and with a simple twist they pop off her head.
Less than half your allies now remain as they struggle to get back inside. Miosguinn finishes chanting and orders his lackey to once more blow on the horn. Two sharp blasts echo out into the dark and the second stage of Miosguinn's plan begins...
----------------------------------------------------------
The creature waits in darkness. Its new master has promised it meat, more meat than it could ever hope for but it has to sit in this burrow and be very still, very quiet.
So close to the surface now, all it has to do is wait. Wait for the sound of the horn... two blasts, then attack.
Two sharp notes ring out. Now is the time to hunt! Now is the time to kill! Now is the time to eat!
The creature bursts forth from the ground and grabs a hold of the nearest target. He is large, he is powerful, he is covered in the blood of its siblings. Thankfully he only has one arm to fight back with. He is tough, yes, but he will make a good meal though he struggles so.
Still slowly but surely the creature draws its captive back underground. As it does so it bites... over and over again it bites. Injecting its venom into its meal, dissolving its prey, softening it for dinner.
As its captive gurgles beneath it the creature lets out a happy scream and digs in...
------------------------------------------------------
Well so much for the Damned.
Dead to the last man, woman and child. You will have to break the news to Christine and the girls but not now. They need to be functional for what is to come.
The dwarves are doing better. Under Jori's leadership they are making slow progress back to the doors. The smelting rods keep the Blues at bay as Jori lays in with his maul. Everywhere the hammer swings Blues, both real and illusion, drop and spiders scatter. Flame spits from the maul as Jori swings it back and forth, warding off the Blues.
Still, you do not like their odds. You leave the window to consult with Gareth, you whisper "Should we do something? Jori is alone out their, both the Reds and Silver are gone."
The veteran shakes his head, "We stick to the plan. If Jori makes it great but if he doesn't the Blues will rush in to devour the children now that their defenders are dead. The plan will still work."
Brigit starts in, in a whisper, "Bit cold isn't that? They are our friends we should do somethin'."
He has trouble meeting her stare, "There is nothing we can do. People die in battle, no way around it..."
Your group sits in silence as the sounds of battle echo from outside. Jori and his dwarves fight for survival and you must wait.
Ari and Bari fidget but they know as well as anyone that there is nothing they can do.
Jori bursts through the door alone, a smelting torch in one hand and the maul in the other as the Blues pour in after him.
Finally you spring your trap as the bulk of the horde forces its way into the room. As they leave Miosguinn's line of sight the illusions disappear leaving the real Blues and spiders to face your onslaught. You unload on the horde with everything you have and you personally account for fifteen Blues and half a dozen spiders. As you massacre the attackers the front doors slam shut cutting off the bulk of Miosguinn's army from any escape. Ari detonates the satchel charges by the door. As the satchel charges go off underneath your enemies the room is bathed with blood and spider chunks. That should do it you think. His army should be broken...
You can hear Miosguinn screaming in rage from outside and then you hear three short blasts of a horn.
From beneath you, you hear a great crash and the sound of many feet on stone.
You turn your attention to the ramp leading up from the lower levels. You can here the sounds of spiders but you can not see a thing.
You grab the anti-magic grenade in one hand and pitch it towards the ramp. As the illusions fail you are confronted by Isolde and thirty giant spiders. As they rush towards your barricade you detonate the satchel charges by the ramp and manage to wipe out more than half of them.
Isolde, however, easily clears the explosion. She skitters across the wall and launches herself through the air at you. You have no time to cast, no time to draw your weapon, no time to even react as she flies through the air at you.
Mere moments before she hits you she is intercepted by your Berserk. Tyrvard hurls himself at her and sends her sliding across the floor. She quickly springs back to her feet and lets out a high pitched whine as the two begin circling one another. She bobs and weaves around his sword, moving so quickly that he is unable to hit her and slowly she wears him down. Striking at him with fang and knife.
She is good but the Beserk is better if only just. She has the speed but he is a warrior born and bred for battle and he begins to manoeuvre her into a trap. He traps her, stops her, and drives his blade through her chest.
She collapses as Tyrvard lets out a feral roar, as if challenging the heavens. Then he staggers... then he falls... he collapses next to her bleeding from dozens of wounds.
You do not have time to come to his aid as more spiders rush up the ramp towards you. These are no giant spiders though. These are simply regular spiders in every shape and size, the largest are only slightly bigger than your fist. Miosguinn's forces must be spent if this is all he has left. Still, there are at least thousands of them and they surge towards you like a wave. You are skilled, you are prepared and that is all that saves you. Working together you slow their advance.
Your group focuses fire on the ramp, thinning out the invaders but a few make it through. One reaches Ari and she screams as it bites deeply into her neck. Bari swats it off and stomps on it before turning to his wife. She gasps twice and then is silent.
Overcome by grief and rage he collapses to the floor, holding her corpse in his arms...
Your group fights on as Serpent drags Bari into the chapel. You, Christine and the Lost distract and misdirect your attackers while your archers and warriors attempt to thin them out by throwing fire bombs but there are simply too many.
The truth of it is that you will be overrun eventually. Your group redoubles it efforts as Gareth orders you to fall back into the chapel.
You and Gareth cover the retreat hurling your remaining fire bombs and you are the last to cross the threshold. You move to close the doors but Jori, resting to the side of the door, staggers to his feet. He has other plans; he throws you the maul as he runs past scooping up Ari and Bari's packs and he charges the horde of spiders while wielding the smelting rod. Running into the sea of chittering arachnids he disappears. You instantly grasp what he is going to do.
You slam the great doors shut and dive behind cover. A moment later an explosion blows the doors clean off and singes you slightly but fortunately no one is seriously injured.
As you stand you peer back into the room, your ears ring slightly. The roof has collapsed burying much of the room but you can make out a single figure lying in the rubble... Tyrvard.
You race to his side as you call out to Serpent for help.
You sense someone staring at you through one of the new holes in the wall. Miosguinn stands with half a dozen blues in the middle of the battlefield. You stare at one another. Shock, betrayal and hatred are written plainly on his face. He turns and flees with his small entourage.
Even as you attempt to save your friend you know he is too far gone. Serpent joins you at his side. The massive warrior mumbles something weakly. It is amazing that he is even still conscious. Serpent leans in and Tyrvard pushes his sword into the physician's hands as he whispers something in his ear. Serpent weeps as he takes the blade and Tyrvard weakly motions for you to lean in.
You place your ear near to his mouth and he speaks his final words as he slips away.
You dust yourself off, stand and walk away. Your head bowed, just barely holding it together...
Thaïs stops you, quietly she asks, "What did he say?"
You look her in the eyes and let out a slight laugh, a weak thing filled with bitterness and sorrow, "He told me where he hid his still."
She hugs you as you both break down...
-----------------------------------------------------
"So I guess we won?" it is a cold morning. Much of the previous night was spent burying the dead and tending to the living. You sit with Gareth as he pokes the cooking fire. Neither of you much feels like talking but the silence is unbearable.
He forces a grin, "Any battle you can walk away from is a victory in my books."
You grunt, "Except some of us did not walk away this time. I-"
He cuts you off, "Stop. I know what you are going to say and this is not your fault."
"But I led him down here Gareth!" your temper flares a little.
"Yes you did," the look he gives you is filled with profound sympathy, "But you can't let it stop you boss. Do you know how many men I lost during the war?"
You shrug.
"Shit boss, I can't live your life for you but trust me here. If you want to command people in battle you have to be willing to lose them," he sighs, "You just have to make sure their deaths aren't in vain. Understand?"
You look up at him, "Does it get easier?"
He does not even have to think about it, "For some people yes. For people like me... people like you... never. Frankly, I would not have it any other way."
"When I lost Henry it hurt... but this..."
"Yeah, I know... People die but when it is your decision that puts them there it really hurts," he stirs the fire again, "But you know Derryth the way I see it you got two choices in a situation like this."
"Yeah... what?" you ask, all weariness and doubt.
"Give up, go home..." he lets the idea hang in the air for a moment.
"Or?"
He jabs at the fire and it flares up. Flames dancing in his eyes as he speaks, "Or we find that son of a bitch and we put him in the ground..."
The conversation dies as you consider your options. You just sit there together staring into the fire...
The rest of your group slowly wakes up, a lot of red eyes and dry throats this morning. It has been a rough night for them all but they are alive and free thanks in large part to your efforts.
They are looking to you for leadership. Question is what to do?
1. Miosguinn: He leads the handful of remaining Blues and he has your stone. Bari intends to track and kill him to avenge his wife, his lord and his friends do you go with him?
A) He is beaten and is not really your enemy, you let him go.
B) This is not over. You will avenge your dead, you will find him and end this.
C) freeform
2. The Reds: Casgair asked you to look after them if anything happened to him. (8 children aged 6 to 8.)
A) You decide to take care of them.
i) you send them to the tower (they will need an escort)
ii)you leave them in the chapel while you hunt for Miosguinn.
B) They are not your problem.
C) You make them fight to the death for your amusement... yeah...
D) freeform
3. The Silver: Neith asked you to look after them if anything happened to her. (5 children aged 7 to 10.)
A) You decide to take care of them.
i) you send them to the tower (they will need an escort)
ii)you leave them in the chapel while you hunt for Miosguinn.
B) They are not your problem.
C) You make them fight to the death for your amusement... yeah...
D) freeform
4. The Relics: The Blues wanted them for some reason, though you do not know why exactly.
A) You will take the relics
i) you load them up now
ii)you leave them for now while you hunt for Miosguinn
iii) You immediately take the relics that seem important and easy to carry (the book and the fang). You can always come back for the rest.
B) You will leave the relics
C) You take those that are immediately useful/important looking (and light) and load up the rest.
D) freeform
5. Anti magic grenades: You have time to make 1 without slowing down too much. Do you?
A) Yes
B) No
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Baltika9
Arcane
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Heh, Gareth is right. We still live and that's a fucking win. Sucks that we lost so many people, but war is hell.
1B+ 1 anti-magic grenade. Miosguinn will be extremely dangerous when cornered, so we best go in prepared. Anti-illusion stones will be extremely useful against him.
2II
3II time to raise our extremely loyal orphan army.
AII
In short, let's find this piece of shit, take what we came down here for in the first place and leave the rest for later.
1B+ 1 anti-magic grenade. Miosguinn will be extremely dangerous when cornered, so we best go in prepared. Anti-illusion stones will be extremely useful against him.
2II
3II time to raise our extremely loyal orphan army.
AII
In short, let's find this piece of shit, take what we came down here for in the first place and leave the rest for later.
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B - Can't let him leave, I want that stone. God damn thief. (Unless he planned to take the stone to give it to us as a reward or something before he knew we "betrayed" him)
Aii - the chapel should be secure enough. We will eventually lead them to the tower hopefully. I like the idea of eventually turning them into apprentices.
Aii - likewise
Aii - We can always use more relics.
B - Not my antimagic stones
Aii - the chapel should be secure enough. We will eventually lead them to the tower hopefully. I like the idea of eventually turning them into apprentices.
Aii - likewise
Aii - We can always use more relics.
B - Not my antimagic stones
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Baltika9
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I was thinking more along the lines of handing them over to Gareth and letting him turn them into our personal commandos.
Nevill
Arcane
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Ca-ca-casualty. Now that's the Myth I know.
FUUUCK!
I hoped that at least the core members live through this. To lose a man like Tyrvard to fucking Isolde of all people is infuriating!
Who we have left? Derryth, Thais, Gareth, Brigit, Amena, Ithapi, Serpent, Christine, Biliku, Uttu and Bari?
Melee: Gareth, Ithapi, Biliku
Ranged: Brigit, Uttu
Mages: Derryth, Thais, Amena, Christine
Misc: Serpent, Bari
1B
I am afraid to leave the children, if only because there is no door, and Miosguinn, now that nothing more is left to him, will try to sneak inside the chapel for the relics.
2AI
3AI
Send Amena, Ithapi, Serpent and Christine with them.
4AIII Take with you what does not take time to load up, leave the rest in the chapel.
5A
FUUUCK!
I hoped that at least the core members live through this. To lose a man like Tyrvard to fucking Isolde of all people is infuriating!
Who we have left? Derryth, Thais, Gareth, Brigit, Amena, Ithapi, Serpent, Christine, Biliku, Uttu and Bari?
Melee: Gareth, Ithapi, Biliku
Ranged: Brigit, Uttu
Mages: Derryth, Thais, Amena, Christine
Misc: Serpent, Bari
1B
I am afraid to leave the children, if only because there is no door, and Miosguinn, now that nothing more is left to him, will try to sneak inside the chapel for the relics.
2AI
3AI
Send Amena, Ithapi, Serpent and Christine with them.
4AIII Take with you what does not take time to load up, leave the rest in the chapel.
5A
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A little of column A, a little of column B?
Honestly, I don't even want to go to the surface, except to find the other half of the Halycon Stone. There's a load of treasure and magic to be found here, and the tower is a secure enough location that we can venture out from it on short scavenging expeditions.
We should of struck at Mios when the iron was hot, before he could rally.
Also, take the artifacts that we can easily carry with us.
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Live underground until we're powerful enough to wipe out the other inhabitants. Then loot the shit out of the place. Then emerge to the surface with a wagonload of power. Then travel to hunt more power. The surface is too regulated for us to prosper with what we have and know, at least not until we're able to blast our way out of trouble.
Eventually form an Empire, and call ourselves the Lady.
Eventually form an Empire, and call ourselves the Lady.
Baltika9
Arcane
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Nahhh, with all the shit we've gathered here already, we can start sinking our roots into existing power structures, instead of walling ourselves in a cave for god knows how long. We have a secret base here, so we can return for mord relics at our own leisure, but there is more to be gained topside than just here.
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Most of the spidermen are dead. There's enough materials for Biliku and Uttu to make a few barricades while we're away. And if they do unfortunately die, then we did our best and don't lose much at all. That and sending an escort to the Tower costs us needed hands, and I would argue is much more dangerous than staying put, since this section of cave is fairly devoid of life now and the way to the tower isn't.
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Fangshi
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Smashing Axe said:
Right now? You honestly do not know. You have whatever is in the tower which is probably substantial. You have the relics which may or may not be worth anything. If you could mass produce the smelting rods they would be worth a fortune to smiths everywhere and the imperial army would also probably be interested. The Library vault could also be a source of treasure if you want to go back eventually and there is also probably a lot of wealth in the secondary vault which Miosguinn has probably cleared for you. So potentially you could be quite rich (like within the top 5% globally) but you will not know till you have a moment to actually check and loot stuff.
Nevill
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Then maybe we have to leave someone with them. We don't even know how much time the pursuit will take.
Look, there may be stray forces left that aren't under Miosguinn's control anymore. We can spare a mage and a fighter to protect them.
The Blues sought the relics, Mios will try to take them by sneaking now that the attempt to take them by force have failed.
Look, there may be stray forces left that aren't under Miosguinn's control anymore. We can spare a mage and a fighter to protect them.
The Blues sought the relics, Mios will try to take them by sneaking now that the attempt to take them by force have failed.
So that's where he spent two days. Fucking air supremacy, it's cheating, that's what it is. If we had it during the war with Balor, we would have won in a matter of weeks, not decades!
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Zero Credibility
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Well fuck. We lost almost all of our allies and have gained dependants in return. Maybe it would be better had we just left everyone inside instead, if the bastard was intending on trying something in two days (Gareth, that would have been a really useful thing to know while we were planing) he would have come to us anyway. Oh well, at least now we can have a start at that army of orphans thing.
1 B - the bastard has our stone
2 Ai - this place has no doors and the bastard is a master of illusions. We would have to leave some of our forces to guard them anyway, so why not use those forces to move them instead to a more secure location?
3 Ai - ditto
4 C - move them with the refugees and the wagon to our tower, though if we can use any of them against him, take it
5 A - fuck yes, we need an edge against him
1 B - the bastard has our stone
2 Ai - this place has no doors and the bastard is a master of illusions. We would have to leave some of our forces to guard them anyway, so why not use those forces to move them instead to a more secure location?
3 Ai - ditto
4 C - move them with the refugees and the wagon to our tower, though if we can use any of them against him, take it
5 A - fuck yes, we need an edge against him
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Erebus
Arcane
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How long will the food we currently have last ?
Killing Miosguinn quickly would be best, and not just because he has our Stone. He's not going to assemble such an army again anytime soon, but - unlike us - he may be able to rebuild his forces somewhat during the next few days. We're seriously weakened and he certainly realizes it, so he may well strike again, sooner than we expect.
On the other hand, hunting down a powerful illusionist served by horribly poisonous creatures on his home turf isn't exactly safe in itself.
Good thing we didn't let Miosguinn use his illusions on the tower. How long would it take to get there with children, approximately ?
Finally, we should keep an eye out for the trapdoor creatures. Unless Miosguinn took them with him, it's likely they're still there.
Killing Miosguinn quickly would be best, and not just because he has our Stone. He's not going to assemble such an army again anytime soon, but - unlike us - he may be able to rebuild his forces somewhat during the next few days. We're seriously weakened and he certainly realizes it, so he may well strike again, sooner than we expect.
On the other hand, hunting down a powerful illusionist served by horribly poisonous creatures on his home turf isn't exactly safe in itself.
Good thing we didn't let Miosguinn use his illusions on the tower. How long would it take to get there with children, approximately ?
Finally, we should keep an eye out for the trapdoor creatures. Unless Miosguinn took them with him, it's likely they're still there.
Nevill
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Exactly, it is easy to pretend to be one of ours. These are kids that are less than 10 years old, what do they know?Zero Credibility said:
So who do you want to send them with?
Now that I think about it:
Derryth, Gareth, Brigit, Thais, Biliku, Uttu and Bari - to pursue Miosguinn.
Amena, Ithapi, Serpent, Christine - to escort the kids out.
Since magic will not work on him all that well, we might have to use his own spiders against him, or land a cocktail on him. Or just put our archers to work.
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Zero Credibility
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I'd swap Thais for someone, as we are past the point where diplomacy is going to work and we can have her look after after the kids instead. Not sure if for Ithapi (melee fighter now that we are down our best tank) or Christine (another mage, familiar with the area).
Nevill
Arcane
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Well, the problem with Thais is that she is not going to work all that well as an escort either.
We were together with her since the start, so I decided to take her with us. She has her uses as a supporting mage. She can down some foes with a spell that Miosguinn himself have taught her.
We need at least one tank and a mage to escort the kids. The escort can't be useless.
This group is fairly balanced:
Derryth, Gareth, Brigit, Thais, Biliku, Uttu and Bari
2 fighters, 2 mages, 2 archers (one of which dabbles in magic, too), 1 dwarf.
I don't want green kids (Amena and Ithapi) with us, I can't separate Serpent with Christine, and someone has to guide all of them to the surface should we fail. And Serpent is the least useful member now, as far as the hunt is concerned - neither a fighter, nor a mage, but a healer without healing herbs.
We were together with her since the start, so I decided to take her with us. She has her uses as a supporting mage. She can down some foes with a spell that Miosguinn himself have taught her.
We need at least one tank and a mage to escort the kids. The escort can't be useless.
This group is fairly balanced:
Derryth, Gareth, Brigit, Thais, Biliku, Uttu and Bari
2 fighters, 2 mages, 2 archers (one of which dabbles in magic, too), 1 dwarf.
I don't want green kids (Amena and Ithapi) with us, I can't separate Serpent with Christine, and someone has to guide all of them to the surface should we fail. And Serpent is the least useful member now, as far as the hunt is concerned - neither a fighter, nor a mage, but a healer without healing herbs.
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