<Group II - Infiltration> @Jorimel @Grall_Stonefist @DeranVendar+ (Constantine) It would seem that Horst listened to Khelandria's advice as his threats were replaced by incoherent gibberish. As she slowly led him to a chair to be tied to while Harold grabbed the rope and Tugg kept himself further back, the leader of the guard's voice dropped to a mere whisper. His words made no sense however the Witch Elf's senses told her otherwise, that she heard this somewhere before. Maybe not this exactly, but something close to it. And then she realized it, although a bit too late. In Naggaroth, the Black Speech could be heard from the lips of priests of many secret cults worshiping Shornal or Tchar as well as from those Norsemen who more often than not crossed the northern wastes and invaded the Lands of the Chill, but overall, given the fact the Dark Elves used many albeit twisted forms of the language as their own phrases, it was no wonder this sort of blabbering brought Khelandria's teeth on edge. At the same time, just as Harold was about to tie the man, Horst's body went slack in Witch Elf's hands. It lasted for a second before she spotted something strange happening to man's back. It would seem that as if he had hidden snakes beneath his back plate because something was definitely squirming there and trying to get out. Khelandria shouted a warning before Horst's back armor burst and two mutated tentacles with the color of dark pink slammed into her, throwing her across the room and into the leader's wooden desk which broke under the impact, showering Khelandria in splinters (OOC Imagine Tech Priest's mechandrites but only chaos ). Horst, or whatever that thing was opened his eyes and they shined with unnatural purple. He screamed, the voice coming out like a hurricane and the magical discharge hit Tugg like a hammer, smashing him into the row of nearby bulk beds. Horst was suddenly on his feet, the dark energies giving him strength and agility that none of them expected or were warned against. His tentacle moved and caught Harold by his neck, raising him from the floor level and into air and slowly inducing pressure in order to make him suffocate. "How does it feel?" Horst asked Harold (and of course not really expecting an answer), "How does it feel to know that your soul will be sacrificed for the glory of our true masters? Do you feel exalted? You should be, not every man gets to have such high honor." Enemies: Horst (Chaos Mutant) - Boss OOC I'll write the parts for the rest of the teams tomorrow, feeling really sleepy atm
<Group III - Tournament> @Keidivh OOC Hope you don't mind, I did a combat roll as well as the one for magical effect (since you didn't state that you plan on attacking your opponent) and since both of them were crit hits, I decided to end the combat right there but will leave you space for another post before pitting you against the Sentinel & the rest All of the sudden, a fierce wind began blowing around the arena, completely opposite to what Estalian was used to just moments ago. Despite this being a mere start of the November (OOC I know that in Warhammer fantasy months are called with different names but I decided to not change it in order not to bring more confusion to the table), the weather wasn't yet this sour and it only added to Manuel's surprise when an actual snow began falling. Of course, this was hardly the surprise for Kristoff, the Wolf Priest thankful for the small blessing his patron provided him in this critical moment and he launched himself at the southerner, fangs bared. His hammer came swinging and it connected with Estalian's body twice, both times in chest, and Manuel fell in the snow, bleeding and defeated. Despite the sudden cold, crowd around the arena cheered for Kristoff and they didn't stop it until he left the battleground behind him. Final score: Kristoff 3 - 2 Manuel De Santos Inside the preparation chamber, Kristoff was congratulated for the win by the arena organizer, who tapped him on the back and gave praises to Ulric's chosen. Sir Arnold was also there, standing like a statue and nodding towards Kristoff. "Good work on the southerner there, brother Kristoff. Come, the last for combatants are ordered to meet with Baron himself for his grand party in front of his very Estate, probably the duels will be fought there in front of all of those esteemed guests," his tone was without emotions but he had a certain body stance that betrayed his anger when mentioning Baron and his guests. "Also, Lord Schwarzhelm is waiting for us outside." And indeed, once they left arena they were joined by towering presence of the Emperor's Champion, who also gave a curt nod to Kristoff upon seeing him. "Glad to see a Warrior Priest joining us here. I take it Sir Arnold updated you on the situation?" he asked as they began moving towards the Baron's house, the crowd clearing the way in the hurry at the sight of the Sword of Justice. "Your position and experience with rooting out heresy will be needed here but I also want to remind you - do not let your feelings get the better of you. I know your friend died by the hands of Baron's chief henchmen and there will be a reckoning, but rein in your emotions until that moment and you will have your vengeance."
Staggering backwards in a crushing path, Tugg allmost had to get back up again for the second time with such a short notice, but just barely kept his balance as he got a hand on a nearby wall that luckily seemed sturdy enough for now to keep part of the massive weight he rested on it. After a few grunting breaths from the staggering magical sucker punch he had just recieved, Tugg reared back up, fully intent on repaying the favour, as he pulled out some asorted teeth from one of his pauch pockets, since a good butcher allways carried something. Throwing the teeth into his mouth with the sound of creaking and craking as he bellowed "TOOTHCRAKER" and pointed a meaty finger at the changed guards captain, sending his own version of tenderizing kinetic magic at the changeling man.
<Group I - Diversion> @matt23 @BuriasDempsey @Maleth @Virgil_Corbec (@Casavay ) Nodding in understanding, Captain York ordered his men to bring the artillery piece forward. They still hid in the darkness of the street and the experienced crew managed to place the Helblaster in such a way it would allow them the first shot. Mariah stood close by, flanked by Xiuhcoatl and Tuska, while Alozia and Ebba stood at the side, ready to unleash their magic and the rest of their force, the soldiers brandishing swords and axes, prepared for the signal to charge. And then the Helblaster began opening fire. To those who didn't know how such weapon worked, instead of the usual "one shot then reload" mechanism like how most of the cannons behaved, the creation of the deranged engineer von Meinkopt, fired not once, not twice, but multiple times. The sound of ammo escaping ten-barreled killing machine was deafening. The fusillade of hot lead impacted across the unsuspecting ship guards, destroying most of their barricades and killing a score of them before the gun crew had to reload. "CHAAARGE!" Mariah cried and led the men into the fray while Alozia's doombolts flew overhead, smashing into two guards with crossbows who were still reeling from the blast and annihilating them both on the spot before the Druchii felt the magical energies swirling on the deck of the ship and a familiar form of a mage, engulfed in shadows, appeared on the main deck. Like before, Tuska was the first one reaching the enemy and with a swing of his axe, another guard fell. However then a number of shadowy arms began grasping at him from all sides as if he suddenly walked into a living grey mist. His toughness withered (Grey Wizard successfully cast "Withering"), slowing his movement down significantly which was all the guards needed to take him down. First, the two remaining guards with the crossbows shot him, at such close distance his heavy plates offering no protection, before the Greatswords drove in. First one swung his sword and the Black Orc managed to block it with his own weapon, however it made him open for the attack of the second Greatsword, who brought down his giant weapon with an experienced hand and smashed it into Tuska's head, splitting the Black Orc's skull in two and killing the Greenskin on the spot. Xiuhcoatl, seeing what happened to his comrade-in-arms, swung his exotic weapon at the Greatsword who killed Tuska but the human saw it coming and barely managed to fall back, the Lizardman's weapon only grazing his plate armor and pushing him backwards towards the ship. But before he could press the advantage, the second Greatsword drove his own sword forward, forcing Xiuhcoatl to raise his shield and block the strike. Obviously, two elite soldiers fought as one and were harder prey than these simple guards surrounding them. (@BuriasDempsey you can kill 1 Greatsword with your next post). The rest of the guards solidified their line next to the Greatswords as the rest of the force hit them, but they arranged their line in a semi-circle with their backs against the ship, somewhat nullifying the numerical disadvantage. Upon the ship, cries of alert could be heard as the sailors grabbed their weapons and surged on the deck while those guards with the bows began opening fire, the arrows finding purchase in two of the friendly soldiers' bodies and killing them from afar. Both Alozia and Ebba felt another surge in power as the magic user on the ship once again harnessed the might of the Wind of Ulgu, betraying him for one belonging to Grey Wizards. However he was still recovering from the previous spell so the next one was yet to manifest. Friendlies: - Captain York - Scout Derrick - Helblaster volley gun (3 crewmen) - 13 soldiers If one of the crewmen for the Helblaster dies, one of the soldiers will replace him. Helblaster needs at least 2 crewmen to function. Enemies: In front of the warship: - 4 guards armed with swords and shields - 2 guards armed with crossbows - 2 Greatswords (Elite) Inside the warship (on the main deck): - 5 guards armed with bows - 1 Grey Wizard - Lore of Shadows (Elite) - 7 sailors (lightly armored troops) Guards from the ship can fire on you from the ship without the trouble of getting attacked by melee weapons. In order to get to them you need to cross the wooden walkway that connects the dock with the ship itself. Walkway can only be crossed by one person at a time. You can also try to jump from the dock onto the ship but I'll do a roll for that and if you fail, you'll drop in the water.
"It feels fuggin' awful it does. " Not the first time Harold had been suffocated, not the first time he had encountered Chaos either. It was his first time encountering them together and up this close though and suddenly that vibrating pain in his eyes was back as he looked upon the loathsome abomination. Held up high and with a loop of mutant tentacle snaked around his neck he wasn't in the best of positions to do too much, but that hadn't stopped him from surviving this far! The key to escape was to not panic and make the best of his limited move set. As such he drew up a knee and attempted to smash his heel into anything resembling an eye, while his hands balled into fists and worked at trying to tear the tentacle in half, aided by his own gnashing teeth.
With the Greenskin dead thanks to the Greatswords, Alozia silently cursed how badly things were going if they had already lost him to battle, but at least the cannon seemed to be working well. Still, there was the issue of the other magic user of the Wind of Ulgu that wasn't on their side to worry about given that he was the most dangerous person, if Tuska's demise was anything to go by. So she prepared her Doombolts again, aiming to let them loose upon the Grey Wizard before he caused anymore havoc among her lot's ranks which could likely turn their attack into something approaching a rout.
Xiucoatl gave a low hiss at the two swordsmen, been frustrated by the teamwork between them. They were responsible for killing his comrade and he wasn't going to let them get off lightly for doing it. Going for a bit of strategy instead of just brute force. Moving forward in a feint shield charge at one of them, he swung low his sword at the other as the guard tried to swing for the Saurian's flank with his sword raised above his head. The obsidian teeth dug into the knee joint of the man's leg, cutting and sawing through ligaments, tendons, and muscle as the Macuahuitl ripped its way through to give an impromptu amputation. Giving a cleaver like downward strike on the down swordsman shoulder so he couldn't swing his sword at him, he was content to let the man bleed to death now as he faced down the other greatsword user.
It was never a good time to find oneself up against the servants of Chaos. Khelandria was flung across the room before she could react, the breath knocked from her in a gasp. She felt her eyesight blur for a moment as she lay amid the splinters, too stunned to act. Forcing herself to get to her feet, she dived out of the way as the creature that had been Horst attacked Harold. But the Bride of Khaine was not acting just to save her own skin. As she ducked down, she grabbed for one of her blade-venoms and quickly started to apply it to the wound. It might give her an edge against the monstrosity. She didn't waste time but immediately turned and tried to attack, keeping her blades low in order to hamstring the beast if she could. It might tower over her, but maybe she could bring it down to size. Aiming one blade for the back of its limbs she tried to get the other into its spine. Attacking from the rear while it was distracted was her main goal. Harold might be a smelly, unwashed Human, but he was not a spawn of vile Chaos. "For Kaela Mensha Khaine!"
<Group I - Diversion> @matt23 @BuriasDempsey @Maleth @Virgil_Corbec (@Casavay ) More arrows flew from the boat, the archers killing off two more friendly soldiers before crew manning Helblaster reloaded and fired upon the ship. This time the volley was cut short by a jam of the mechanism but not before three of the guards aboard the ship died by getting ripped to pieces. Grey Wizard once again started chanting and was welcomed by a sight of another charge of Doombolts, courtesy of Alozia. However her casting was somewhat interrupted by a sudden feel of primal violence and dark rage coming from the ship's interior, the burst of emotions that were until then no where to be seen, or more probably, concealed by whatever magic the enemy wizard used, and she only managed to cast one Doombolt which still hit Grey Wizard's magical shield and began overloading it. But before he could die he vanished in the puff of smoke and reappeared dozen of meters further down the deck. He raised a finger towards their Helblaster and a magical pendulum appeared on its side, swinging towards it. But similarly like Alozia, his spell wasn't a complete success as he was aiming to destroy their cannon. Instead, the magic equivalent of a body suspended in air which swings back and forth under the influence of gravity slammed into two crewmen and sliced them in half before evaporating into thin air. Then the Grey Wizard was met with yet another magical projectile as Ebba cast her own fireball, the blazing orb smashing into him and despite his shield still somewhat protecting him, half of his face was gone as well as most of his robes, forcing him to fall back. (OOC Grey Wizard cast the Penumbral Pendulum and used his lore's signature spell as well - to move around). While all of that happened, Xiuhcoatl led the charge in front of the ship. Remaining Greatsword was put on defense and he began preforming a fighting retreat while the rest of the guards around him died to the friendly force organized by Mariah, who herself slayed two guards with quick work of her sword. They only lost one man during this fighting while another one ran back to the Helblaster in order to replace the fallen crewmen. Smashing his way through the main deck of the ship and crossing the wooden bridge first, Xiuhcoatl kept on hitting the Greatsword who by now was showing some signs of fatigue although once they reached the deck he fell back, letting various sailors jump on the Lizardman from the sides in hopes that these men would slow this monster down. But in truth, their short swords and hatchets were not really suited to cause a greatdeal of damage to tough Saurian's skin, especially not when he wore a custom made dwarf armor. (@BuriasDempsey you can kill 4-5 Sailors with your next post). Following Xiuhcoatl, Mariah and the remaining men stormed the ship, pushing the remaining Baron's forces to the other side of the vessel. Only a small step was required to take this victory, the battle short and decisive although only Alozia was the one who knew that something was amiss here, given the fact the feeling of rage was growing stronger and stronger as she approached the ship. Friendlies: - Captain York - Scout Derrick - Helblaster volley gun (2 crewmen) - 9 soldiers If one of the crewmen for the Helblaster dies, one of the soldiers will replace him. Helblaster needs at least 2 crewmen to function. Enemies: In front of the warship: - Enemies defeated Inside the warship (on the main deck): - 2 guards armed with bows - 1 Grey Wizard - Lore of Shadows (Elite) - 7 sailors (lightly armored troops) - 1 Greatswords (Elite) <Group II - Infiltration> @Jorimel @Grall_Stonefist @DeranVendar+ (Constantine) Tugg's magical discharge smashed into both Horst and Harold, although chaos mutant's bulk soaked up the bigger part of the damage, leaving Harold with only a feeling as if he was slapped in the head with a heavy object, dazing him a bit but doing nothing that he couldn't recover from in couple of moments. Horst on the other hand swayed on his feet, the strength of his hold on Harold fading which allowed the Badlander to rip free of the tentacle and stab the corrupted Guard in the head, pulling out his eye in the process and drawing a tide of black blood. However Horst was still alive and his second tentacle came around, hitting Harold in the stomach and causing enough damage to stagger him good this time. But then Khelandria interfered, her dagger cutting the muscle on Horst's left leg after which the mutant fell to one knee, giving the opening the Witch Elf used rather skillfully and plunged her other dagger into his back and punching through armor. Mutant screamed in pain as the Hanged Man's venom began working its magic down the mutant's blood system and prevented his wounds from clothing. The creature trashed around, trying to grab Khelandria with one of his tentacles but the Witch Elf was much faster than him - especially in his wounded state - and she simply danced around, weaving with her blades (@Jorimel you can execute Horst with your next post). As the small battle raged on, the doors to the guardhouse opened and six figures entered it. Five had the armor of the guard but were also wearing black robes now, covering every symbol they used to have with it and mercenaries would probably have a hard time guessing who's who if not for the sixth figure. Tugg's counterpart Gog was with them, brandishing a massive mace and looking hungrily at the Butcher. "I see you met Horst," one of the cultists spoke and all of the drew longswords, "It saddens us to see the Blessed One brought down so ingloriously but the ways of the Raven God are mysterious and holy. We also met one of your own," he said and threw a severed head at Harold's feet, the head belonging to Didier, the (Witch Hunter) stranger who gave them this job - seems they won't get the second part of the payment after all. "You brought snakes into our lair and for that you will pay!" they screamed and charged the mercenaries, three of them going for Khelandria, two attacking Harold and their Ogre went for Tugg, swinging his mace at Butcher's head. (@DeranVendar you can kill 1 Cultist with your next post. @Jorimel you can also kill 1 cultist (alongside Horst) with your next post). Enemies: - Horst (Boss) - about to die. - 5 Cultists (Elite) - Ogre (Elite)
Tugg did not even have time to try and taste the mutant human before they where interupted by more people, this kind of stealth mission was more his thing. The maneater was with them, and apparently set his eyes o Tugg, witch offended him greatly, yes cannibalism was essential to the ogres, but Tugg was a butcher, easily seen by his lack of gut plate, Gog the maneater had no right to just eat him right now, but he had the right to eat Gog. "YOU DARE TRY EAT BUTCHER, DA MAWS WRATH ON YOU" Tugg yelled as he ran to clash with the maneater, swinging his own hammer-cleaver to meet Gogs big mace, Tugg believing himself the greater and better ogre clearly.
