Inn-world Combat: The Dread Reign

[st_aff]

At the crest of the mountain, Coc'zac sat atop Nazu's head looking through a glass that Hotor held to his eye. Vokva sat beside them, little more than a pile of bones atop a pile of rocks, and Hafur paced behind them, holding the troops in check. They milled in the pre-dawn gloom, skeletons, wights, zombies, wraiths, and all manner of undead creatures. Periodically, Nazu swept the space behind them with their tail bowling over anyone who'd gotten too close.

The first pinpoint of light had Coc'zac's teeth chattering with excitement in his disembodied head. Today was the day he'd been planning for. Soon, soon the Inn and its occupants would be his. Nazu unleashed a heavy sigh tinged with poison and necrosis. Fortunately the troops were all dead already, and Coc'zac didn't have anything in the way of arms to hit them with.

It fell to Hafur to gesture the troops forward as punctuation to Coc'zac's 'rousing' speech, and together they crept through the portal, avoiding its fizzing and popping edges demarcated in what would be neon blue, if they could still see in color. They couldn't properly hear either, but they were aware of the noise and the danger it marked.

Once they were all through, the advance scouts, four bands of skeleton archers swept quietly as they could through the shadows to take up position around the main buildings, prepared to pick off anyone who exited--for example for a pre-sun jog. And once they'd settled into wary, silent waiting, occasionally interrupted by the pop of a joint or the clatter of toe bones on stone, the next wave rolled in finding shadows to hide in until the residents emerged with the wights taking point.The bone naga and three flameskulls slipped through the lobby doors and stealthed toward the offices, assuming to find the command center there.

It wasn't long before the invaders caught the notice of the residents, and then shouts began to echo through the grey light and journals filled with messages and reminders of siege plans. Several strongly worded messages urged the kids and those without weapons or fighting skills to head for the Temple where the Hallow spell would protect them from unholy undead things.

And so the battle for the Madonna Inn began...

Comments

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_eampunk]

"Making sure someone you care about doesn't get hurt definitely helps you focus." Molly had to agree but then a mischievous grin came out and she waggled her eyebrows, "It also helps focus the yay we survived, let's celebrate with fun sex after the battle."

Or that was just her.

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie laughed, a laugh that had a nervous edge to it since there still wasn't any guarantee that they weren't all about to die. Her face going pink was something else entirely. "Well, wouldn't be the first time I met a soldier in need of a good fuck. I just never expected to be one."

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_eampunk]

Molly snickered, "you and me both."

Then she got a little more serious thinking about what they'd just done, "but it's good to feel useful. I mean sure I've helped out Harry before but I always felt useless being the defense person, but this was different. This felt like I added value and not just something to do."

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

"I only got to spook some horses for a diversion at Summerdown," Corbie murmured in agreement. "I mean, not that I really knew enough to do much else and Felix didn't know what the fuck he was doing, but." She shrugged.

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_eampunk]

"But this feels like accomplishing something." Molly replied again. "Maybe it's that it's something bigger. Mostly I've been helping Harry and it's pretty much helping to keep his ass out of the fire, this is..." She turned her head to look at the kids and others in the Temple, "bigger."

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

"It's... more real," Corbie murmured. Summerdown had been big. Summerdown had been about saving a whole country. But it hadn't felt real, not all of those people and all that land. But she knew all of these people by name, by habits, by story some of them.

And that, she supposed, counted as bigger, too.

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_eampunk]

Molly dragged her gaze back to Corbie with a nod of agreement. "Yeah. I wouldn't say the stakes were higher because the fight in Mexico with Harry had some pretty high stakes. It's just that these stakes were more meaningful."

At least for her. She knew that for Harry, saving his daughter was a hell of a lot more meaningful, but she had just been a name then to Molly. This was different.

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie nodded, then she glanced around the space at the people here. "I think I'm gonna check on Annie," she said. The little girl hadn't been one of the first people here, and she was wearing that hero costume she'd worn on her first day. Corbie would bet money she didn't have--and didn't need here--that Annie could use an adult. Or someone who could pass for one.

Re: Molly & Corbie

[st_eampunk]

"And I promised that I would check on Miguel when I got back." Molly nodded at Corbie. "See ya later. Let me know if you need anything."

After checking on Miguel, Molly would distance herself from the others. The emotions were heightened all around the inn and it was beginning to take a toll on her.