And then she was gone, her hips swinging as the knives jostled her thighs, passing by guards with her head held high, a haughty smile upon her lips.
- Posts:
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- #1
- Joined:
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Chapter Three: The Night Has Come
At the junction between winter and spring, creatures made of shadow prowled Soto, carrying letters to all those who had sided with Aniketos' cause, even to Evalee, who was in the refugee camp. Each letter bore the same words, reading simply:
"In three days time, the Night will come.
-A.H."
So it was that the raiders gathered in Aniketos' home in Reine to prepare for the attack, and so it was that the refugees knew they were coming, preparing for the attack by strengthening their defences and waiting in the camp for the attack. All of this was under the direction of the refugees' newfound leader, Yangin, who gave a speech to his fighters, inspiring them to stand strong against their attackers.
But Aniketos had heard of the traitor who had told the refugees of his plans, and so at the last minute he revealed a different plan for attack. The refugees would be expecting the raiders to come in from the south after an explosive blast from the north. So they were surprised when both of their gates were blown to pieces, with explosives supplied by Gozrik, and even more distressed when the raiders came out from a portal in the north and advanced through the gates.
The refugees struggled to turn about and keep a firm line and their morale was weakened by the unexpected change in plans. The sides exchanged rains of arrows; the raiders' ranged attacks were strengthened by fear-inducing arrows that caused several ranks to break and fall within minutes.
Then, the two sides met.
Though Aniketos specified that killing should be avoided, casualties soon began to occur. It's impossible to tell which side killed first, but anger from these events soon boiled over. Bloodshed was rampant, the camp was burning and magic was soon at play, conjuring monsters from the flames and bringing darkness to the minds of either side.
Towards the end of the battle, Aniketos and Yangin became locked in combat, and it seemed that victory would hinge on who won this fight. A few minutes into the struggle, however, Aniketos was hit in the calf by an arrow and it seemed he would fall. He fought through it though, and continued to fight with Yangin. The refugees began to flee, their lines breaking and their fear taking them over. Finally, one of the watchtowers, which had caught on fire, fell between the two sides and cut them off from each other. The last of the surviving refugees dispersed and victory went to Aniketos and his raiders.
The conflict is not over yet, however. The refugees are regrouping and Yangin has begun to think of a plan to head into Madrid and join up with the outlaw's guild Argos and wage the war for equality from there.
There are many stories that occurred during the raid, each with an important contribution to the events of that night.
On the refugees' side:
- Yangin led the refugees into battle after learning about the plans from Evalee. During the fight he came face-to-face with Aniketos, and despite a good effort, was unable to defeat him. Instead, he was forced to watch the camp burn as the refugees were routed from their homes. They have since set up a temporary camp and begun to pick up the pieces and recover from the assault, which took a great toll on them. They have been recently offered land by Dirge, as well as making plans to approach Argos for an alliance.
- Evalee hadn't planned to get too involved in the raid. She had planned to split once the raiders arrived at the camp, but when Aniketos changed plans she was left to fight her way out. Before escaping she came face to face with the man she was trying to avoid: Aniketos. She barely made it out with her life, but has since been keeping herself hidden, not making contact with anyone if she can help it.
- Lana was a lurker of the raid, attacking from the sides rather then getting herself caught up in he middle. She was given an enchanted arrow by a mysterious stranger, shooting it at Aniketos himself. After escaping the raid, she has decided to stick around for as long as she can before she eventually leaves to track down Aniketos and ask for the arrow back.
- Tekun caught wind of the raid through Evalee and offered to lend his assistance in the matter before departing to the Ruins of Storms. With prior knowledge and knowing of what was to come, he tried to assess how he could handle the situation; fortunately, it didn't involved slaying anyone. During the actual raid, he became a target and was held off by Shrista. Tekun, having not seen Shrista in some time, ceased hostility and began wrestling her as though it were a spar. In the end, Tekun's presense made no difference. They were still too weak to repel their invaders even with some key figures on the other side who retreated. Unlike the rest, Tekun refused to leave. Instead, as everyone retreated amongst the blazing wreckage of the camp, he watched Aniketos and Yangin duel. When that was done, Tekun left and watched the remainder of the camp burn to the ground.
- Wolf (and by proxy, Forest) stood and fought in the raid due to Forest's stubborn refusal to abandon his newfound friends. He focused on crippling raiders and lending support where he could, helping both Sinadryn and Fevorn. After rescuing Fevorn, Wolf took a heavy club to the abdomen and passed out, whereupon he was rescued by Sinadryn and carried to the secondary refugee camp. After recovering from his wounds and learning the refugee's next plan of action, Forest reluctantly left the group, not wanting to get involved in any further violence.
- Sinadryn was mostly near the front lines and kept close to Yangin as he charged towards Aniketos. He was wounded on his right side, just below his armpit and close to the bottom of his rib cage. After protecting Yangin's back, he moved to help Wolf (and Forest), who had passed out. He carried Wolf to the temporary camp, where he collapsed. Sin is still with the refugees, but he's somewhat detached at the moment; he's worried about Evalee and he's not sure where the camp is planning to go from here.
- During the raid, Fevorn and Palan were behind the front lines as they pushed on. He got trampled on by the refugees caught in one of Aniketos' magic arrows, leaving him weary. Palan had run to the side, but caught the attention of a large raider with a large club. Fevorn had tried to attack the raider but was overpowered. Wolf saved Fevorn from the raider's attack but when he was wounded, Fevorn made a second charge at the raider. He eventually killed the raider, but was so shocked by what he had done that he ran away from the camp by himself (and Palan). He hasn't felt the need to return to help the refugees, but is looking for the family that took him in.
- Dalim was on the front line in the main charge, spotting Aniketos early on and trying to charge him. He was side tracked by Gozrik, who he proceeded to throw, much to the dwarf's dismay. He threw a shoe at Gozrik (on request), was almost blown up and tried fervently to crush Gozrik's head. He was stopped and eventually dragged off by Shrista to be interrogated and tortured by her and Aniketos.
On the raiders' side:
- As the leader of the raid against the refugees, Aniketos Hesperés masterminded the change in tactics prior to the attack. At the head of the raiders, he faced several attackers but eventually found himself locked with the opposing leader, Yangin Kanruh. During this fight, Aniketos was hit in the calf by an enchanted arrow shot by Lana Eithne. This nearly felled him, but he persisted until the refugees were chased away. Afterwards, Aniketos ensured that the camp was burned and that the bodies of the dead were gathered, including that of his friend Lord Rathurn. With the help of Shrista Barriurden, he interrogated Dalim Wolfborn before removing the arrow and, some time after that, falling into a near-fatal fever. He survived this and came out with a new determination to live his life and achieve his goals, but also to hunt down the traitor Evalee Aislinn Scott.
- During the raid, Shrista provided the portals that made the attack so unpredictable and allowed the raiders to alter their plans, moving to another location without being seen. Realizing the threat in full as the fight began, she moved to engage Tekun and thus put him out of the action where he couldn't tear through their small company. When it was apparent that he wasn't going to fight after their rendezvous, she disengaged and left him on the field, and prevented Gozrik from getting his head squashed by Dalim Wolfborn. On a spur of the moment decision she then took Dalim prisoner to be held at the house of her employer, Aniketos Hesperés, for interrogation on the refugees.
- Gozrik was more than a little drunk from the start. He operated a little behind the front lines and shot at or blew up whatever took his fancy. He was never especially aware of many of the goings on, and eventually got bored and walked away. He thinks shoe throwing is the lamest combat method of all time.
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