Old World Monsters Act One: Of Pagans

[Marcao]

With his spell weaved and anchored in place he continued on his path towards his eventual destination. He had to assume that the others knew what they were doing, but assuming too much could prove to be detrimental to his own plans. He owed them little and hoped that if nothing else they managed not to get in his way. The sound of cannons surprised him as it resonated in the air, he had not expected that. A few seconds later and he felt the impact of the attack against his ward, he was not linked directly to it of course but he was aware of the state of his spell.

“This won’t do.â€

[The Silence and I]

The guards at the gate ducked low for cover again. "Cannons?! They didn't have Pit be damned cannons before!" cursed one of the guards as a young man ran up to John, carrying the wheellock gun, ammo, and powder for it.

"Here sir, m'lord wished you to have this for the battle."

"Praise God, I thought I would have to do with this lightweight!" He says, shaking his short bow slightly. He takes a place beside the gate and quickly gets a feel for the weapon and its workings before loading it carefully with as much haste as was safe for an unfamiliar gun. He will load faster in the future, no doubt, but he is still fast now. Once ready he shifts over slightly so as to be able to look over his shoulder out the gate into the forest. He holds the weapon upright, ready to spin about and take aim at the first sign of movement, but for the moment he is pretty well covered by the wall.

"What has shown itself thus far and where should I look for it?" he calls to the guards about him.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred could not see the enemies, but the cannons were easily noticable. Not good, that artillery would do unpleasant things to any defenses he wove to defend himself, thankfully they were not particularly accurate and he would not be easily directly targeted. The biggest problem was what they signified, cannons did not come from nowhere. They had to be built, crewed, transported... that took master engineers and craftsman, trained crews, and the wherewithal to either sneak cannons over rough terrain, no easy feat, the ability to use the roads without being noticed or stopped, or slaugher anyone who tried to stop you. Manfred did not know which was more disconcerting.

Ill tell you what is more disconcerting, the fact that the Magistrate did not report these cannons to you before

"be that as it may, they need to be overcome" manfred said to the voice of his old master

He wove a spell, he withdrew a sphere of water three meters in diameter from the moat and hurled it in the direction of the cannon, when it reached them, at three meters from the ground, it would explode in a a rain of razor sharp ice-shrapnel in a shaped hemispherical blast facing toward the ground and out (basically a perfect hemisphere from the blast point)

If that failed, manfred braced himself to defend against incomming attacks, from any source, to use the moat as an ice-wall, and jumped back behind the embankment to use it as cover from gun or arrow fire

[The Village Idiot]

Standing quickly, Visria gently scoots his satchel completly under the table. Setting his hat upon the table, he pulls a triangular black cloth from his coat pocket before removing it to, and placing it on the table next to his hat. He pulls his hair back to a tight pony tail before tieing the bandana around his face, leaving only his piercing eyes. Tightening the straps on his armor he steps out the open door drawing his blades he pauses for a moment, closing his eyes and focusing on himself.

"Let them come and let them rage, for they will faulter to the tireless and I shall never fall."

Breaking out in a full sprint, he heads to the front gate. Leaning opposite John he peers over his shoulder waiting.

[Charon]

Manfred's ball of water flew deep into the woods and exploded into shards of ice, that much he could tell. But he could not see if it had done any damage in the dark of the woods. The only evidence was the lack of any sound coming from where Manfred had attacked. That was not all however, Manfred's assault had apparently stirred a group of birds which flew quickly from their wooded cover and directly towards the town.

John's discerning eyes caught the sight of a shorter man appearing at the edge of the woods. The man was wearing apparently normal clothing with the exception of a chestplate, and he carried a large axe. The smaller man knelt down at the forests edge and placed his hands on the ground. Yelling something in Nordic as the earth began to quake and the water began to rise and spill out of a long section of Manfred's moat.

[Cynical Cat]

Paul peeked out over than the wall and then ducked back down. This was bad, very bad. He climbed down the stairs quickly and hid behind a stable near the gate. He couldn't fight any of these things heads up, but if they broached the wall it became a different matter.

[The Silence and I]

"Magic!" John says to anyone listening. "I'll test him!" By the time the words are out of his mouth he has already spun himself around and lowered the barrel, taking aim. Nothing fancy, he's aiming for the center of mass only. Just as soon as his hand steadies and target is lined up he fires.

"Manfred, you've got work to do!" he shouts out to the wizard as he spins back behind the wall and begins to reload with full speed, glancing over his shoulder to see the results of his shot.

[Shark Bait]

As the commotion began outside Per snapped back to life the sun continually dipping lower was bringing his strength back. He cracked his knuckles loudly and gave an almost predatory grin as he stood up, gathering his sword and shield but leaving his pack behind he stepped out of the bar. Two small explosions sounded in the distance and stone cannon balls ripped into the town, “Hrmph, cannonsâ€

[Comrade Tortoise]

"I noticed!" shouted the wizard as he opened himself to the flow of magic around him, discerning two things. He pinpointed the point of origin for the spell, and the spell itself, he was trying to form a land bridge. He would need to be tested. Manfred heard the gunfire, and assumed the other wizard was being fired upon. Now to test his concentration, could he defend himself and keep using his spell.

He lifted his hands into the air, pulling water out of the moat

"ARCHERS TARGET THE ENEMEY WIZARD!" he screamed

He sent the ball of water toward the flock of birds, flak-bursting it into a shower of deadly ice. But that was not all, he redirected as much of that ice as he could into a shower of death flying at the enemy wizard from his flank. He did not count on its effectiveness at killing him, he probably had some sort of defenses up, or would stop his current spell to defend himself, either one would accomplish Manfred's objective.

[Rukia]

The night was tingling on Krystyna's undead skin. She could feel the power of it rising up as the sun sunk below the horizon, the last rays of light defying the impending darkness. The attack came quickly and threw her off guard. She used the distraction to slip out of the in and head toward the city border at a unnaturally fast pace. She did not speak to anyone, but instead pushed into the mind of a guard from the shadows. She got the information she was looking for just as the house next to her seemingly imploded from the cannon ball.

She ran toward the gate once more, unseen by the untrained eye. Moving so quickly she was a blur. Stopped for a split second behind the other mercenaries follow their eye trains and weapons fire. Looking up she saw the showoff Manfred floating several feet above the air. She then looked to the gate and saw his creation. -A damned moat?! I'll never be able to cross and live through a fight.- She thought for a moment and decided that her current attire wasn't suitable for battle. She turned quickly and ran back to the inn. This time at a pace that she could be seen "fleeing" the attack.

She ran back up to her room and pulled items out of her chest. She spoke to her guards who had woken up as she entered the room. [Rom.] Get your weapons, we're going to battle. Young one, I need you to wear this. The climb under the bed after we have left.[rom/] She slid off her dress and handed it to the boy. He put it on without question, and with a certain aire that he had been asked to do this more than once. As she put on the dark, tight fitting pants and shirt she spoke to the others. [Rom.] As for the rest of you, I need you to go to the gate, take the main entrance out of the inn as I leave through the window. Make me proud."[/rom] Slipping on a thick vest with a hood she tucked her braided hair back and tied her daggers to her waist, then climbed out of the window onto the roof of the tavern.

She jumped down at the back of the tavern in the small alley. Sticking to the shadows once more and moving very fast she made her way back to the other mercenaries.

[Charon]

The man did not look up from his work at all as the loud bang from John's gun filled the air. Nor did he budge as the bullet struck the upper right portion of his armor, denting the armor before streaking off into the forest behind him. The water continued to spill out and land could begin to be seen.

Manfred was a skilled wizard, but his recent taxing creation of the moat had left him slightly weakened and maddened, and a maddened wizard was not particularly good at multi-tasking. So attuned to the magical world however, Manfred could feel that the subtle field from before had been joined by a second far more obvious field, and that the first field was affecting his spell. The water flew in among the birds and exploded into ice, slaughtering many of the creatures and shattering many of the shards to fine mist in the process. What Manfred could redirect on the man that was ruining Manfred's moat was nothing particularly dangerous, and many of the shards bounced off of the man's armor while others only ripped deep gashes in his clothing with only little blood coming from wounds. The man had not protected himself, but neither had his concentration been broken and there was now a landbridge to the town.

Deep within the forest the cannons fired again. Those who had seen the first flashes noticed that from the first time they had fired the guns had moved an incredible distance. The cannons were also seperated by a distance now, making certain that an attack on a cannon could only take out one at a time. The first stone ball flew truly into the defender's gate, smashing through the overturned cart and ripping through one of the guardsman's legs. Blood splattered across the dark ground as the cannonball skipped a few more times along the ground before impacing against a house. The man's leg flew a good ten feet before landing on the ground, spewing lifeblood onto the dirt as it's former owner screamed and collapsed to the ground, grabbing at his stump of a leg. The second stone ball tore through the air towards Francesco, missing him, but still tearing a chunk out of the roof he was standing on and sending splinters everywhere.

The guards were busy themselves, those armed with bows began to take apparently poorly aimed shots at the man who had created the landbridge. Two others acted quickly, grabbing the man who had been hurt and beginning to move him away from the battle.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred focused on the enemy mage. He needed to kill, and then he needed to work his spells to repair his moat. The fields would lower his magical power, and he was already fatigued. He would have to rely on the easiest tasks.

He raised his hand, and concentrated. Almost ignoring the world that was not in front of him, threatening him. he ignored the screams, he ignored the darkness, he cared only about that mage, and other things that could attack him.

"Entonen krast liralis" He brought out two spheres of water, two meters in diameter, and threw the first one at the other wizard, ready to freeze it when it struck so that the man would either be hit by a sphere of water that massed at over two metric tons, or be encased in ice. The second sphere he held in reserve, either to use as a shield, or to use as a weapon.

[The Village Idiot]

"Remind me to kill someone with a gun, or a bow for that matter!" Visira shouted as he ran to the side of the injured guard. Placing his hands upon the screaming man, he pulls on the threads of life to try and heal the leg. Just enough to stem the flow of blood from the leg, giving him a better chance, but not enough to betray his true nature.

Before the possible fruits of his work could be fully realized he sprinted back to the gate. "The bridge is up, the assault is near", he said, retaking his position at the gate.

[rhoenix]

To the untrained eye, Agrilos simply seemed to gaze into the distance intently. Little things like a fogbank coming in, or a breeze coming up at a steadily stronger pace toward where the attackers were coming from would seem like mere coincidences.

In contrast, to the eye sensitive to magick, his human form seemed to split and strain at the seams in somewhat subtle ways as his magicks were woven into activity; it was as if the winds themselves were pressing out of him. The dense fog seemed to move liquidly, beginning to make visibility at long range an impossibility.

Once the wind began picking up, his intent look stopped, and the look on his face changed from concentration to more calm. Agrilos began to jog at a ground-eating pace toward where the cannons were coming from, zigging here and zagging there as he went. As he got closer to the attackers, his jogging pace slowed to a quick walk that was surprisingly quiet.

[Marcao]

He had not noticed the actual positions of the cannons before; he had not had the proper vantage point to have done so. Still, he had known that somewhere outside of the town itself cannons were in place and from the information that his ward had returned to him correlated a rough indication of the attacker’s position. The flash of the twin cannons was difficult to miss in his current state of awareness. His spell had been formed slowly and with care and now simply required a target. It was wonderful for his adversaries to volunteer.

He paid no attention to where the cannons themselves landed the spectacular effect of the first cannon shot utterly ignored. The second proved to be a bit more difficult to overlook as it screamed through the air, hurtled near him and made its way to the very roof that he was currently residing in.

“Thanks for volunteering! Enjoy Samael’s kiss!â€

[The Silence and I]

"Just what we need" John says bitterly as a dense bank of fog rolls in over the forest, starting to block all useful sight. "I thought the weather had cleared! And with night falling as I speak on top of that!"

He steps further behind the wall, continuing to load the gun, and calls out to the guards and anyone else:
"Can anyone see what that mage is doing, or anything at all, or should I just shoot with my eyes closed?"

EDIT:
Moments later he sees Agrilos running somewhat towards him and as he watches this the man continues past him and out the gate, when John loses sight thanks to the wall in his way. Apparently curious, John moves over to look outside as he has before in time to see Agrilos moving off into the distance.

"I didn't exactly mean to do that..." he mutters to no one in particular.

[Charon]

As Manfred threw his first ball of water the fog bank began to roll in, he could see the ball of water flying true towards the smaller man when his target began to sink into the earth quickly, leaving the water ball to fly over the man's head as he disappeared beneath the earth. Manfred was left without his target now, and noticed that with all the water he had taken from his moat he was beginning to run low in his area. He would have to wait for gravity to send more water his way, or draw it to him faster.

Visira's quick work on the man's leg seemed to go unnoticed by the others that were moving him, but the revenant's fast action was enough to stem the flow of blood and meant the man might not die of blood loss.

Agrilos' fogbank swept through the trees, obscuring the attackers from the defenders and likewise. With the disappearance of the smaller man and with the fogbanks help Agrilos was able to slip into the woods unmolested.

Francesco's spell struck out through the air, striking at it's target dead on and quickly withering away a group of the giant trees. Under this new weight the trees collapsed, many of them falling towards the town and being caught in other trees where they shattered or bent those trees and cracked branches which fell to the forest floor. Above all that noise though could be heard a gutteral scream of pain which pierced the night sky.

Agrilos was walking as quietly through the forest as he could when the sound of trees crashing above him reached his ears, a mass of giant splinters and fifteen foot long branches began to fall towards the Djinn.

For those at the gate, all was quiet for an eerily long period of time before from the close by mists emerged two figures moving so quickly that they were almost blurs to the human eye. The first stopped for only a moment, long enough to throw a very large throwing axe at Manfred before it made it's last dash into the waiting gate. The second flashed past Manfred, levelling a large pistol at Visira and firing. The bullet crossed the intervening air before one could blink an eye and struck the Englishman in the chest, smashing easily through the chain shirt and leather that served to armor the man. The bullet dug through his skin, shattered one rib on it's way through into the right lung and passed through that, slipping between a pair of ribs and shattering through the back of Visira.

The first creature had it's shortsword drawn already and was beginning to pull out it's own pistol as the second figure drew out it's own broadsword and axe. Neither seemed to be wearing armor from the way they moved, and both were wearing long heavy clothing that kept the eyes from verifying the lack of armor.

[The Silence and I]

Reacting to the sudden appearance of the attackers with all his speed John levels the now reloaded wheellock at the first creature, the one drawing its own pistol, and fires the moment his sights line up.
This done John drops the weapon down against the wall and starts moving towards towards the creature he shot at, ignoring Visira as the man is obviously done for. As he moves he places his shield in his right hand and draws his long sword in his left.

"Choose your targets and encircle!" He calls out just before the distance is closed. Upon getting to the creature he attacks with all his strength and skill, mindful of warding off counter strikes. He hasn't reached his 40's as a mercenary by being sloppy or careless, or anything other than exceptional.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred reacted very quickly, setting his second water sphere to spin and interposing it between him and the axe, it should ruin its momentum and direction. He used the air to jump up to get line of sight then he sent the water-sphere hurtling toward the other creature, as others were attacking the axe-thrower at close range, using the same tactic he tried to use on the other mage, but this thing could not dive into the earth to escape. He would either slam into it with 4 metric tonnes of water then encase it in ice, or he would slam into it with 4 metric tonnes of ice, depending on how good his timing was. He landed on the ground inside the walls.

[rhoenix]

Agrilos' fogbank swept through the trees, obscuring the attackers from the defenders and likewise. With the disappearance of the smaller man and with the fogbanks help Agrilos was able to slip into the woods unmolested.

As he gained the forestline, Agrilos cursed to himself silently. He had realized too late that the fogbank he'd formed would be as much a hindrance to the unnamed attackers as it would be the defenders. However, he merely concentrated on increasing the strength of the wind gusts, which would press the fog through the trees. It would be useful for covering his exploration of the forest, at the very least.

Agrilos was walking as quietly through the forest as he could when the sound of trees crashing above him reached his ears, a mass of giant splinters and fifteen foot long branches began to fall towards the Djinn.

Diving out of the way, a branch still scraped his back as he moved to get out of the way of the falling goliath tree. Getting somewhat painfully to his feet, and re-arranging the weapons he had on his back, he gained his bearings once again before continuing his search for attackers in the forest.

[Rukia]

For those at the gate, all was quiet for an eerily long period of time before from the close by mists emerged two figures moving so quickly that they were almost blurs to the human eye. The first stopped for only a moment, long enough to throw a very large throwing axe at Manfred before it made it's last dash into the waiting gate. The second flashed past Manfred, levelling a large pistol at Visira and firing. The bullet crossed the intervening air before one could blink an eye and struck the Englishman in the chest, smashing easily through the chain shirt and leather that served to armor the man. The bullet dug through his skin, shattered one rib on it's way through into the right lung and passed through that, slipping between a pair of ribs and shattering through the back of Visira.

The first creature had it's shortsword drawn already and was beginning to pull out it's own pistol as the second figure drew out it's own broadsword and axe. Neither seemed to be wearing armor from the way they moved, and both were wearing long heavy clothing that kept the eyes from verifying the lack of armor.

She hadn't made herself known, instead she had stayed back surveying the scene. Her eyes growing seemingly brighter as the night fell, this was her time now, the smell of blood energized her. Her guards were firing where they saw fit. The landbridge went up, but before she could make a move to cross it, the enemy creator sunk into the ground. Her eyes focused on the two men streaking across the land mass. They moved as she did, to fast for the untrained eye. She knew that she couldn't take them both, but she would be a match for one. The first was occupied with Manfred. She was too late to make a move before the second took his shot at Visira he however hadn't mad another move and she chose him as her target. She moved inhumanly fast from her spot to a shadowed spot behind an overturned cart out of eyesight of her target. She steadied herself and unsheathed her weapons. Her pupils dilated, taking in every bit of light she was more predator now than human. She started for the man at her rapid pace. Ready for a fight.

[Charon]

The creature that had been drawing its gun bent double and staggered backwards as the bullet hit it in the gut. Blood sprayed out from the front of the creature and splattered across the ground and it dropped the wheellock gun, which bounced along the ground before coming to a stop. The creature was not long delayed however and gripped it's short sword in both hands as it slowly stood up again, the blood already stopped from pouring from it's body. "Hah, is that the best you can do mortal?"

The creature struck out with it's shortsword, with all it's might, its sword striking against John's shield and reflecting off of it. Both combatants were stunned from the force of the blow for a split moment, but John was in a better position to strike.

The other figure did not seem to notice Manfred at all as the ball of water closed on it's position, and then from the earth sprang a wall of stone. The ball of water smashed against the rock and turned into a fine spray of water that filled the area briefly. As Manfred's feet touched ground the dirt betrayed him and the wizard began to sink quickly.

As Krystyna made her move, the black cloaked figure she had chosen to attack moved to meet her. Blades met with a quick spark and as the pair seperated again the black figure looked back at Krystyna and grinned, "I know that face, betrayer." The light of the fire caught the man's elongated canines as he brought his weapons up again and waited for her to make the first move.

Agrilos had some trouble getting free of the branches, which seemed to be continually catching his clothing and refusing to let go. By the time he had gotten free his quarry had found him. A man, seven feet tall and in armor that looked heavier than some horses stood no more than twenty feet from the Djinn, in its hands the monstrosity carried a small cannon. A barrel was sitting beside it, and a bag on the creature's hip seemed to hold several large stone balls. [Norse]Oh look, one of the punies has come to play hero.[/Norse].

As the battle raged on, the boom of a cannon came from the trees again, though this time it was much closer to the edge. The grapefruit sized ball whizzed through the air and smashed into one of the pallisades again, this time shattering several of the thick trunks and sending sharp shrapnel flying. The militia had begun to encircle the combatants, but dared not move closer for fear of death or fear of accidentally hitting one of the mercenaries.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred looked down and made a separation motion with his hands, trying to loosen the hold of the earth enough to escape into the air, and counterattack. This wizard was earth aspected, he could use the ground itself for both attack and defense. He would be a tough nut to crack.

[rhoenix]

Agrilos had some trouble getting free of the branches, which seemed to be continually catching his clothing and refusing to let go. By the time he had gotten free his quarry had found him. A man, seven feet tall and in armor that looked heavier than some horses stood no more than twenty feet from the Djinn, in its hands the monstrosity carried a small cannon. A barrel was sitting beside it, and a bag on the creature's hip seemed to hold several large stone balls. [Norse]Oh look, one of the punies has come to play hero.[/Norse].

He may not understand Norse, but the large being's intent was clear enough. Focusing on his breathing, he made sure he was fully free of the branches before facing the being directly, his greatsword resting comfortably on his right shoulder. He regarded the armored figure with an even look. [German]"You're a bit big to be throwing rocks from the dark, aren't you?"[/German]

[The Silence and I]

The creature that had been drawing its gun bent double and staggered backwards as the bullet hit it in the gut. Blood sprayed out from the front of the creature and splattered across the ground and it dropped the wheellock gun, which bounced along the ground before coming to a stop. The creature was not long delayed however and gripped it's short sword in both hands as it slowly stood up again, the blood already stopped from pouring from it's body. "Hah, is that the best you can do mortal?"

The creature struck out with it's shortsword, with all it's might, its sword striking against John's shield and reflecting off of it. Both combatants were stunned from the force of the blow for a split moment, but John was in a better position to strike.

John wastes no concentration on chit chat and is far too old to let bravado--false or not--give him pause when he's working. Experiencing a massive impulse on the other hand, that does give him pause. As soon as he has recovered, and taking full advantage of the moment's favor he strikes back with a full strength blow towards the creature's torso. Perhaps he could instead land a stab but small holes appear as being only a mild inconvenience to the creature; a longer cut and possible impact related shock might serve John better.