Frostbite Forest
Three hours later
As the two suns set the forest was full of life other than it's usual inhabitants, hundreds of adventurers stood or lay around on the side of a hill on the path from Frosthold to Carn. This was the Apokalypse guild.
Karnage stood at the top of the steep hill with Zaahr standing by her, she overlooked her entire guild and dreaded to see any of them leave tonight. She glanced through the more familiar faces before going through the others, most of her friends were part of the guild and she'd hate to see it all fall apart. ("But I cannot let things continue on like this…It's just not right, someone has to step up and it might as well be me.") she thought while gazing off.
Zaahr put her hand on Karnage's shoulder "Are you sure about this? There will be no going back." She asked once more, for what felt like the hundredth time today.
"Yes I am, I've thought long over it and the other options we have just don't sit right with me." Karnage replied without a second to think, her mind was set and there was, no going back.
Zaahr sighed but smiled "Then address your people."
Karnage nodded and stepped forward to stand on the edge, a short drop below her. She cleared her throat catching everyone's attention and began to speak "I know you must all be wondering why we're here. Why we're no longer assisting this country with it's invaders. Why I was absent these past few days…" she straightened herself and looked forward "I've been given a lot to think about, I've been slapped awake from my ignorant daze. And today I hope to wake all of you.
To keep it short…we were lied to, not intentionally but I guess if you're going to fight someone in a war then demonizing them is just a given…The Dezol aren't the monsters we were all lead to believe to be, they are intelligent and emotional beings like any one of us here today. Both soldiers and citizens. We've been fighting blind and now we need to open our eyes to reality.
The reality that this isn't a game, that our actions will have repercussions and it's damn time we start thinking ahead. I've gathered you all today for a decision to be made. My mind is already made, I know what I must do and where I shall take my swords. Here I will ask you to decide that for yourself. With the information I just gave you, with that in mind…What do you want to do?
Will you continue to fight with Esfelt and their allies? Will you side with the racist Elven Empire when they arrive? Or will you side with the Dezol and their monstrosities? Each has it's merits and down sides, but you must decide once and for all. Yes siding with Esfelt may be the safest choice but how far can they take us? They cannot get us back home nor can they shelter us anymore. If you want to go home then you must pick from two choices, side with the Empire and risk their treatment or side with the Dezol and risk theirs."
She glanced around her guild as the members looked at each other and either conversed with each other or gazed off thinking alone "I will not make this choice for you, it is for you to pick." she ended her speech.
A sudden question reopened the silence as Jacky appeared from the shadows within the crowd "And who did you pick if you've already made up your mind? Who will you, the guild leader join arms with? You cannot hide the affect you have on your guild, your choice will affect theirs no matter what and keeping it to yourself…well that's just not possible now is it?." He asked with a knowing smirk.
Karnage closed her eyes as she smiled and nodded "I know, guess we'll do it that way then…" she looked over the entire guild and took a quick breath before speaking again "I choose to side with the Dezol." whispers turned to chatter "Any who choose the same stay here, the rest you are free to leave and that means the guild as well." chatter turned to quiet consideration.
A dreadful quiet spread through the crowd as Karnage overlooked them all, her heart dropping as she waited to see their response that seemed to never come.
"Then it's obvious isn't it?" spoke Silent one of the guild's officers, he stood up from where he lay and faced the hill "No matter which side you pick, this guild is my family and home. I will never leave and you betcha I'll take on an entire empire if that's what it means!"
"Yeah!" came a chorus of responses of agreement.
"Same here." said Kiritoohh, another officer "Even if it means dealing with you assholes for another week, I'll be damned before leaving the guild."
Jacky snorted as he looked back up at Karnage "Well boss, looks like you've got your answer."
Karnage's hands clenched as her eyes watered with tears, her lips shivered as she grimaced "Fools…every single one of you…"
"Hey watch it now, you might hurt my feelings!" joked Silent causing a series of chuckles in the undiminished crowd.
Karnage wiped her eyes with her sleeves and readdressed the crowd, her guild "Thank you…I know it has been a difficult week for everyone, to suddenly be used as soldiers in a war we have no business in…Sincerely, thank you."
"Aw shucks now I'm gonna blush!" declared Silent creating more chuckling in the crowd.
"So what now?" asked someone in the crowd.
Karnage straightened out her emotions as she glanced at the forest behind them, more adventurers were approaching their position.
"We'd love to know that too." Asked Regina as she appeared next to Karnage out of nowhere, Dherik strolled around and up the hill soon after as his and Regina's remaining guild members joined the crowd almost tripling their numbers.
"With our siding against the Dezol already, what gives us the right to join them? What can we offer to regain their trust?" asked Dherik as he came to stand to her left with Regina.
"Man-power." said Karnage before glancing at Zaahr who nodded.
Zaahr took a step forward "Not just our numbers, but their own too. As we speak the military is still forming lines around the Dezol prisoners, their defenses are scattered and weak. If we strike tonight then they stand no chance with our numbers and strength." The chattering had continued, she cleared her throat a couple times and regained the quiet "That is, their defenses currently won't but this operation will be much more than just that.
For this plan to be successful we are required to not only break through the military's barricades and free the Dezol prisoners but also accompany them to Devil's Eye with minimal causalities." Zaahr straightened her tone and spoke louder "I expect you all to take this very seriously, this is no dungeon raid and it is no guild war. This will determine whether we get home and in what state we leave this world behind, whether we leave with a dirtied mind or a clear conscious." She glanced at Karnage as stepped back with a nod.
She faced the enlarged crowd once more "Apokalypse, Lost and Predators. We are no longer three separate guilds of wandering mercenaries, from today onward we are a single military organization. This will require a new name for our group, neither guild name will be kept as it wouldn't be appropriate for the other two but…Me, Dherik and Regina have agreed over a name, as the three joint leaders of this group."
"You know…about that…I've actually had it of leadership? Think I'll step down from that seat there K." said Regina with a smirk as she glanced at Dherik.
Dherik snorted in amusement "Yeah I'm with you there, can't have an even number of leaders either. We wouldn't get anywhere then, guess I'll step back too." he shrugged.
Karnage glanced between the two completely baffled "But…"
Regina moved behind her and held her by the shoulders "So everyone, greet your new guild master. Come on, tell them what we decided." she urged her on.
Karnage felt her body freeze as she studied the numbers ahead of her, far more than she was used to leading. Every single one of them was her responsibility now, whether she liked it or not she saw Regina and Dherik's faces, they had decided this beforehand and wouldn't back down. She straightened herself and tried to regain somewhat of a pokeface, only to fail and remain anxious as she spoke "Alright then…A…"
She looked over the entire crowd as everyone watched and waited for her, glancing around herself she saw Regina's mischievous grin, Dherik's amused smile and Zaahr's perfectly plain expression. Karnage put herself back together and faced the crowd of adventurers once more "From today on." She continued to speak "We fight for nobody but ourselves, we aid those that will aid us back or pay us back. Our goal is the end of what residents of this world call the Grand Quest, for us to go home with a clear conscious of what we did here."
She took a deep breath "People will die as that is a given in life, but this world just isn't right and I cannot leave with it as it is. So we'll fight to make it right, we'll use our strength to fix what over so many generations of war has been broken. Not just for the people of Chaoz but for those of us that will stay behind, for our friends and comrades that wish to remain we will fight as well.
As one people, as one guild."
The adventurers cheered as night fell.
"We are, the Adventurer's Guild of Chaoz."
And so, the Adventurer's Guild was born.
Carn outskirts
Esfeltian Military temporary blockade.
Four hours later.
General Fey stood outside her command tent receiving a constant stream of reports from her spread out officers, the Dwarves had set up barricades with their machinery around the large group of prisoners while the Esfeltian military herded them. The Dezol were still armed when they had respawned but were too terrified of the Drakes to take action, when the Drakes left chaos had fallen upon the outskirts of each town and the guards and soldiers on hand had to quickly engage combat.
The Dezol were short on numbers compared to the alliance and the two groups of prisoners were even less compared to the soldiers the towns had at the ready. They were easily surrounded, outnumbered and forcefully disarmed or killed to be disarmed after respawn. Each prison was tied up and gathered inside camps quickly built by the Dwarves for holding them, wooden walls and metal reinforcements kept them inside while several more guards stood by the perimeter and above the walls watching them.
Dozens had escaped before the Drakes had respawned and even more when they left so Fey had her hands full recapturing the runaways as they hid within the towns or tried the forest. She had sent out the remaining adventurers to re-capture those that took to the forest while her own men searched the towns.
("This is going to be a hectic night…") she thought to herself while quickly listening to reports of the search, reports on the respawn point's lock down and reports on the hunt going through the forest. She sighed while gazing off into the forest, her worries far off from Barik itself ("What will they do…what will they decide…") she thought while clenching her sword's sheath.
"Ma'am? General? General!" shouted her subordinate, a male middle-edged half elf with short crimson hair and brown eyes.
"I hear you Nel, what is it captain?" she faced him with an annoyed expression.
Nel saluted "Ma'am a suggestion from Royal Advisor Darkness, to put out scout groups around the camp in case the Dezol make an assault."
Fey grimaced "We don't have the men for that, Helix will hold with the Avians, Mer, Fae and Dwarves holding it without us."
"But Ma'am…Permission to speak freely?" Nel asked.
She glared down at him "Frankly I don't have the time to listen or care Captain, return to your duties."
Nel straightened himself "Ma'am with utmost respect we mustn't-"
Fey's eyes narrowed as her glare intensified on the man "Take your company and replace 3rd's watch on the wall then. I'm sure Solice will be relieved to end their standing around." She ordered him with mana infusing her words.
Nel's expression paled as he nodded, saluted and quickly walked away.
Fey sighed again as she watched him leave, only to return to listen to others as several more soldiers came to stand by to report.
Nel climbed the makeshift wall's ladder reaching the top a few moments later, he glanced back and watched his company of a hundred dozen soldiers relieve another company of their guard duty. ("If only I had kept my mouth shut…") he thought to himself bitterly, nobody liked guard duty and definitely not combat tested soldiers. Everyone was still on edge from recent events making it all even worse.
Wordlessly he took up position watching the hundreds of prisoners inside the camp, a mere five meters high wooden wall keeping them inside. Glancing behind him again he saw the tents that surrounded the wall, after the tents was another much smaller and less effective barricade that seemed more like a fence than anything.
He sighed at the seemingly quiet atmosphere, knowing all too well just how tense everything actually was. With the Empire at their necks even he had thoughts of abandoning his post and taking a ship to Hasharr, even a soldier like him who knew little of politics knew how the Empire would abuse these events to take control of Barik. They would use it all as an excuse to cover their asses from the Elven population and questions from Hasharr.
"At least…now all three courts have an excuse to send the entire Empire after the Dezol…" he spoke to himself in a whisper, sighing once again he turned back towards the prisoners and studied them.
"Look at that one still struggling with the rope." Mused one of his squad captains.
"Yeah…" he replied simply while gazing off.
"Still bummed out from getting yelled at?" the other soldier asked with a smirk.
"Say what you will Jeneth, paranoia has never killed a man if not saved him." said Nel as he massaged his forehead and closed his eyes.
Jeneth chuckled "You thinking about the twigs?" he then asked.
"What is to befall us next…I just cannot see a way out of this nightmare. What the hell was Draxxer thinking…getting involved with the quest, just look at where that took us." Nel groaned in frustration.
"The churches and the alliance didn't do much better either, kept the quest all nice and hidden hoping the Empire wouldn't notice until it spread to Il'tel and away from us." argued Jeneth.
"Well we're involved now, there's no going back or denying it. Fuck…we should have reported it to the Empire the moment we saw it dawn down on us…" said Nel bitterly as he glared down at the prisoners "It's all those fucking Dezol's fault, the Fae are to blame as well. If only they had kept their shit together, if only…" he clenched the wooden fence keeping him from falling inside the wall.
A shout reached Nel's ear making him quickly turn and face the forest over the planes between, a lone rider above his sabretooth rode at full speed towards camp. "Who's that?" asked Nel as he squinted at the still far off rider.
Jeneth lazily turned away from the prisoners and followed his captain's eyes "Messenger from Frosthold if I had to guess, what's he in such a rush for?"
Nel unconsciously reached for his sword "Something doesn't feel right…"
Suddenly the wind picked up as a blizzard of snow engulfed the planes between Carn and the forest, Nel watched as the wall of pelting snow stopped forming a few feet away from camp. He watched and watched waiting to see the rider appear out of the blizzard at any moment.
A fiery red glow illuminated through the blizzard as through it flew out several dozen fireballs. They flew up into the air catapulting towards them, the rain of fire fell down upon the walls and it's inhabitants and all hell let loose around Nel.
Author: Annddd…shit's hitting the fan in three…two…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYHJvh0-DdY
Soldiers ran to shut off the flames while others hurried to stand outside of the camp, many ran out of their tents and more away from their guard duty to stand ready with sword and shield.
"Shit, who's attacking!? The Dezol?" exclaimed Jenneth as he stomped over a flame nearby.
Nel unsheathed his longsword and took great care in watching the edge of the blizzard "Is it?..." he asked more than unsure.
The quiet after the rain of fire permeated the air as more soldiers from the other side of camp ran to form a line of defence. Suddenly the blizzard's end burst with movement as the attackers revealed themselves in a charge of several hundred warriors of differentiating equipment and abilities.
Adventurers charged out of the blizzard and crashed into the soldiers utterly destroying their formation, the battle had began and it already descended into chaos as the enemy spread out and dug through their defences with their numbers.
Karnage charged through the raging blizzard with both blades ready, quickly she dashed through the remaining planes before leaping over the makeshift barricades and directly into the defender's ranks. Her people charged through alongside or behind her, easily going over or through the wooden defences.
Like an eagle she descended upon one soldier with shield at the ready, with her left she slashed the shield aside and with her right she pierced down into his neck while kicking him down. Without a second thought she continued forward as chaos let loose around her, soldiers being thrown around as her frontline hard hitters ran through them like a pack of mad bison.
She dashed forward entering a quick dance of sudden slashes and stabs as she bobbed and weaved around and through the defenders. She glanced from side to side at times to see her guild closing in their charge and piercing right through the defenders as magic projectiles rained down on the side and back lines.
Looking ahead she saw the defender's campsite and behind it their objective, an average wooden wall with several dozen guards working on the flames. "Push forward!" she shouted with mana infusing her voice, continuing onward herself. The camp was riddled with soldiers causing her to enter combat more than once as she ran by multitudes of tents.
She spun, evaded, dodged and parried whenever possible while cutting down her opposition without mercy or pause. Her blades flicking around like serpents as her athletic body bent like one's and moved with sudden and erratic movements.
All around her the adventurers easily broke through the confused and unprepared defenders quickly making it through the campsite as the defender's ranks fell before they could even be sorted. Karnage reached the wooden wall and slammer her back to it as bowmen rained arrows on them from above, allowing herself a quick breath she turned and faced the wall.
"Take flight as per my will alone, with my movements dazzling my foes enhance my leaps and give me wings! Flyer's Dance!" Green wind-like mana raged around her entire body while forming around her blades, with incredible weightlessness she leaped up several meters and landed on top of the wall. Many other adventurers followed her up using their own differentiating methods and the fight for the higher ground began.
Guards charged with their swords and shields while bowmen abandoned their bows for shortswords, she made use of the tight space to jump over and around the fence using her weightlessness to leap around the wall and descend upon her targets.
A sudden hand grabbed hold of her leg as she leaped up, the soldier pulled her down and slammed her to the wooden floor. She groaned in pain as the air left her lungs, causing her vision to blur and her thoughts to grow hazy. She watched as a red headed soldier raised his sword above her.
Blades flashed behind the soldier as a shadow appeared out of nowhere, the soldier's blurry outline fell down and off the wall as the shadow took form and her vision began to return.
Jacky stood above her with a wide grin, he winked before turned to shadow and clashing with three soldiers behind him.
Karnage quickly stood up and glanced around her, Jacky was to her left dispatching soldiers that got near with a simple flick of his wrist while Regina stood to her right shooting down any that got anywhere near with her dual pistols.
She then turned her attention to the inside of the walls, several hundred prisoners lay tied up on the ground in groups of three or more. She turned to the outside of the wall and gazed over the battlefield that took over the entirety from the first barricade all the way to the wall itself. She raised her right sword up into the air as it suddenly and briefly blazed aflame three times in quick succession.
All the way back at the first barricade, a thick wooden fence that lay broken and burned was further destroyed as a single adventurer charged out of the blizzard and straight through it as if it wasn't even there. Dherik charged like a bull as a blue aura engulfed his body, he sent foe and friend alike flying as he charged through the corridor that was made for him as he pulled a large wooden carriage behind him.
Yells to stop the charging adventurer went through the defender's ranks but the adventurers kept them at bay from even getting close to Dherik's path. Adventurers above the wall spread out all around it taking up ranged weaponry to keep defenders from climbing back up while dispatching any that still stood above it, the rest fought down on the ground keeping the defenders out of Dherik's charge.
Little by little some trickled behind Dherik and joined his charge following behind the carriage until a squad of over four dozen adventurers ran behind him. Dherik roared out in challenge as his aura spread a few meters further as he crashed headfirst into the wall, wood splintered on impact as the measly wooden material shattered under his raw strength.
Four meters of the five-meter-thick wall of logs and planks was bashed open, Dherik and his squad continued inside as two battles continued to rage outside. One battle to keep the wall's upper section and one battle to hold the line and keep a clear path for the prisoner's retreat from inside the wall.
Karnage turned to inside the wall and jumped down, landing slowly with her weightlessness. Quickly along with everyone else who charged behind Dherik she dashed to cut the prisoner's bindings as Dherik himself lay on the ground groaning and holding his forehead.
"Rise up soldiers of the Dezol! There is weapons inside the carriage! Take up arms!" she shouted while dashing around the field slashing free several Demons as she went. The Dezol remained confused for only a brief few moments before rushing over to the carriage, one large Demon stopped by Dherik and heave him over his shoulders while his comrades quickly looted the carriage for equipment.
Swords, maces, pikes, spears, halbereds and warhammers were thrown and passed around as the newly armed forces of the Dezol turned to face Karnage. She met their steeled gazes with her not so much one and spoke "You are free so stop standing around! Charge out! The path is clear! We will have your backs!" she shouted causing many of them to cheer.
The Dezol turned and rushed out of the opening in the wall with as much order as expected from a military unit, well expect for that one strangely larger Demon that carried Dherik who knocked over several adventurers on his way out.
Karnage glanced around at her people "Assemble behind them! Wall squad behind us! Follow the plan!" she lead them back out of the wall and watched as several of the Dezol had joined the fight themselves, taking up arms against their captors even when told to run.
Unlike the chaotic and seemingly random or lucky adventurers with strange abilities, the Dezol fought ferociously and with keen co-ordination to their surroundings.
Karnage lead Dherik's squad through the open path as they spread through and aided Silent's squad who was holding the two flanks, she stopped mid-way and glanced back to see Regina's squad who had taken the wall retreating in behind them. "Close formation! Fall back!" she called out as her squad leaders relayed the order through the battlefield.
At the order for retreat Zaahr's mage squad rained hell upon the defenders with all they had covering for their retreat. The Adventurers closed in their formation and slowly fell back while the defenders took relief from the retreating enemy and in a frenzy caused by the sudden coming of action some even chased after them.
Orders went through the defender's ranks making them fall in line and allowing the adventurers to retreat back into the blizzard along with the Dezol. Dozens of rider squads were quickly beginning to assemble as the blizzard slowly died down, the riders chased through the revealed plains as the last of the adventurers and Dezol ran into the forest leaving behind a destroyed and prisoner sacked camp.
Karnage looked ahead as she ran at a steady pace "Don't overwork yourselves! We still have another camp to free and now we have cheerful reinforcements!" she announced causing cheers from both the adventurers and the Dezol as they quickly marched through the forest.
"Riders behind us!" announced a Demon from the back causing Karnage to glance back, several dozen sabretooth riders were chasing after them and quickly gaining on them. If nothing was done they would all be run down like deer being chased by lions.
She took a deep breath and smirked before shouting "Rain hell on them!" with mana infusing her voice.
The riders were closing in as suddenly magic rained down on them from above, several mages and rangers were hidden in the trees ready to cover the guild's retreat. Zaahr's squad had fallen back much quicker and before everyone else had even entered the blizzard they conjured and had then taken up perch in the trees.
Suddenly several of the adventures turned around and charged at the riders, Regina's lightly armoured squad who was proficient with speed and ranged combat gunned down or simply unsaddled the remaining riders. Jacky in general dashed around like a vengeful god engulfed in shadows, his wraith form in full.
Undeterred by persecution the now larger army of adventurers marched forward with renewed vigour, Dezol Demons joining them in the path to Frosthold a few hours away.
Frosthold outskirts
Esfeltian Military temporary blockade.
Five hours later.
Karnage tensed as they approached Frosthold from the north, she had taken them in between two of Tri Lake's bottom and middle lakes sneaking around the alliance's nose and directly to their behind before they could set up defenses there as well. She had left the army behind, hidden in the thick forest between the lakes as she moved with a small squad of officers and stealthy adventurers to scout out the blockade first.
Running at a steady pace with her were Zaahr, Regina, Kiritooh and a couple Dezol officers. A few Dezol Shades were covering their approach along with a couple adventurers, which included Jacky.
The sight of a shadow splattering blood ahead of them told them either a Shade or Jacky had encountered a scout, as they passed by they caught a glance of Jacky covering the splatter up with snow as the corpse dissipated behind him.
"We're close." Whispered Regina from her left as they came by the edge of the forest, a short walk away from the town was an opening in the forest were the alliance had set up camp. This one was built around the opening using the trees to make the walls that surrounded them, the outer wall here was better built and higher than the inner wall at Carn. Reinforced with metal and armed with Dwarven machinery up top this told the adventurers their worst fears had come to pass.
"Helix fell back to defend Frosthold…they're waiting for us." said Zaahr as they peaked around a tree to see the wall still a couple dozen meters ahead.
"This is bad, we cannot take on that many." Said Regina as she eyed the many mages and archers above the sturdy looking wall "And I don't think Dherik can put a dent in that…"
Karnage grimaced as she considered her options "Fall back, we'll figure this out."