Siege on the City of Heroes - North, Part 1(EVENT)

[Orcleous]

"Arrows inbound", shouted someone as the bandits let loss a volley of arrows. It was all Orcleous could do to grab the dead body of the mage and cover himself before the rain of arrows. His friend however was not so lucky. The arrows fell upon him like drops of rain water. The iron arrows heads pierced through the gaps in his armor and soon left the man a pincushion of iron and wood.

"Shoot", spoke Orcleous as he stared at the man's riddled corpse. Things on the northern wall were starting to get really dangerous. The archery attack had taken out quite a few of their men. A few more were rushing out the gate to join the fight, but Orcleous had enough at the moment. The mercenary, despite being a mercenary, did not carry a shield with him. Without a shield he would stand no chance against the enemy arrow volley. He got lucky this time, but luck always had a tendency to turn around.

"curses I am going to have to pull back", spoke Orcleous as he retreated toward the gate. As new soldiers pored out Orcleous began to squeeze back in.

"Where are you going you coward", spoke one of the men as he walked out.

"To get a shield", spoke the mercenary as he forced his way past the man. "Orcleous did not like being called a coward, nor did he like the idea of falling back. However he was not going to stand a chance on the front lines without a shield. No amount of skill with his sword could defend him from a wall of arrows. "Anybody has a spare shield", shouted Orcleous as he moved back into the city.

[Rogus]

Something special? Rogus didn't enjoy the sound of that. The possibilities of what was in store for him were nigh on infinite. The first thing that popped into his head was target practice for Nacht's latest spell. Maybe some kind of other punishment for Rogus's lack of "team spirit" for the bandit cause. What if the Reaper thought he was in league with Oleg? Rogus shivered at every bleak, and ultimately deadly outcome to whatever NAcht had in store for him. His first instinct was to run, but he knew he wouldn't make it far; these bandits had a way of keeping up with deserters. If only he could have a stroke of luck and the faceless mastermind of evil only wanted him to make a coffee run... then again that would probably end with him being killed in some horrific coffee brewing accident. Things didn't look so good for him from Rogus's perspective, and in the wake of his fear came despair, but he quickly smacked his head to jar the thoughts from his head.

He was a resourceful guy, hell, even Georg seemed to have a grudging liking for his skills. Whatever Nacht had in store for him he told himself he'd make it through the challenge. To distract himself from thinking over it even more, Rogus turned his rather chaotic thoughts to the Roland fellow he'd been speaking to. If he wasn't a bandit, or someone who worked for them, then what could he be? Who could possibly gain anything from the bandit's attack? How did Nacht know him? Was he a new member of Nacht's circle of officers? What were the two discussing in the tent? What happened to the man's arm? Why the hell hadn't Rogus taken the opportunity to run? Surely he knew that the most probable outcome to whatever Nacht was going to ask of him would be death, and he knew the possibility of survival was preferable to his certain doom that no doubt awaited him. Rogus didn't know the answer to any of these questions, but definitely wanted to know. By St. Elimine he wished he was with Orland and Minerva right now, surely whatever they were doing was preferable to this pressure cooker of fear. He didn't really care all that much for the knight, but he, albeit grudgingly, admitted he was worried about the girl.

If the afterlife is real, I bet everyone up there gets a big kick out of this. He muttered absently. He silently admitted he wished he'd never ran and been the son his father wanted, became a knight, and married whatever noble lass his parents forced him to. That was preferable to death... Right?
No. It isn't. Rogus shook the disgusting thought out of his head. He loved being free from the duties of a noble. He loved being a thief, and while he didn't enjoy being an over-glorified bandit's minion, he certainly prefered it to being the pawn of political disputes.

What's taking so long... I feel like I'm going insane. He crossed his arms, and decided the only thing left to do was watch the battle as he awaited his fate. If he thought he wasn't in any danger, he'd almost laugh at the stupidity of the Bandits' strategy; running full force as a wall of death screaming their heads off. But he was very clearly in danger, at least in his mind, and he didn't let even a trace of a smile grace his lips.

[Jya]

Before Jya could respond, it seemed as though the actual fighting had begun. Great she needed a distraction to avoid as many questions as possible. Glancing towards the direction of the wall, she could hear the sound of battle. It was full of panic and excitement. At that moment, she had decided on what she was to do. It was too late to survey from afar, but when everything broke loose, she was sure to fight for her life. Whether it was for the city or for the bandits seemed rather irrelevant at the moment. So she began to make her way back towards a hiding place, with a tight grip on her blade.

[Orcleous]

Orcleous could hear the fighting outside of the gate as men and women rushed to the field in attempts to stop the bandits. Arrows flew over head on both sides and the cries of anguish and agony could be heard from almost anywhere. As Orcleous moved into the gate he looked around for some supplies. The Heroes were mainly self armed, but Orcleous was sure they had some shields on the inside. Orcleous was never too keen on using a shield, but if he wanted to survive this crazy battle he was going to need one. A sword was good for blocking, but a sword could not block a wave of arrows. Orcleous almost meet his fate earlier when a volley rushed in and killed the man standing next to him.

"Shield", shouted Orcleous as he walked through the street. "Does anybody have a shield", he shouted again. The mercenary did not receive a response, but he did however see what he was looking for. There was a young soldier simply sitting on the ground. His ears were covered by his hand and his legs pulled. He sat in the corner cowering in fear. It seems that the shock of battle had gotten to him. However the young man had a fine shield, a weapon Orcleous truly needed.

"You there", spoke Orcleous as he walked up to the young man. The man just looked at him. He did not give a proper response. Instead he simply sat there almost staring right through Orcleous.

"You mind if I borrow your shield", spoke the mercenary. The young man simply stared. He did not say anything nor did he make any jesters. He just stared there with a blank expression.

"Ok", spoke Orcleous as he walked over and grabbed the man's shield. The young man did not even motion to stop him. "Don't worry I will bring it back too you", spoke Orcleous. However the man simply stared off in the distance. Orcleous left to rejoin the front line with the young man's shield in hand.

"Alright Round Two", spoke Orcleous as he headed toward the gate.

[Augustus Nacht]

The Reaper Shepard had begun to grin beneath his featureless mask. Of course Zerachiel would buy into it. After all, it was too good to be true. It was just a good thing for the Etrurian that it was indeed true this time. He gestured for the Etrurian to come forward before having him stand at the table with the mystical circle inscribed upon it.

"Now, show me the damage." Nacht spoke briefly before the extent of the loss was revealed. A great loss indeed. It would be hard to any to heal this kind of injury. But not the Lord Reaper. He had his ways of doing many things that many would consider downright impossible. "Hold the stump above the circle as best you can."

Nacht turned away briefly, gesturing to one of his Sheep mask wearing servants to bring forward the deceased body that was made only some small time ago. It was stripped down to plainclothes and preserved in what was quite clearly an unnatural manner that spoke of spellcraft. Nacht gestured to another that stood close by and was handed a knife that would best be described as being used by a butcher. He held the meat cleaver high as the corpse was moved around and arm extended outwards. With a sickening chop and the sound of the meat cleaver's blade crashing down upon a chopping block, Nacht turned back once more with a freshly severed arm, blood covering one of his gloved hands.

After placing the bleeding stump upon the magical circle a pale light began to shine. And the Lord Reaper began to speak words that sounded like short hisses and shallow gasps, a chill entering the air and feeling as if a winter snowstorm had suddenly passed through for the Assassin. The arm that was placed upon the table seemed to defragment, breaking apart into smaller pieces and flowing upwards, reforming upon the stump of what once was Zerachiel's arm. The cold continued to chill and the chilling words continued to be chanted for a time more before the chill of both began to cease.

Zerachiel's arm was whole once more, as if it had never been torn away at all.

---

Archers began to line the edge of the camp, bows drawn and arrows pulled taut upon strings. While they weren't quite the archers that the Sacaens were, it was range that mattered more right now. "LOOSE!" Arrows flew towards the Defenders.

A couple were struck dead before they knew what hit them and a third's shoulder was punctured before he called out the warning to his comrades. The victorious defenders of the first wave began to falter. More men began to rush out of the gate, trying to reinforce the waning secondary defenders as well, though the bandit group that composed the second wave of attackers seemed to be of a hardier stock than the first.

"LIGHT THE FUSE!"

A voice cried over the pitched combat, a barrel was set before the wall and fire manifest itself in the hands of the woman Mage before being pitched towards the hempen rope that made the fuse for the barrel filled with oil. It burned down as the bandits began to withdraw, the Defenders not managing to break the defensive shell before it hit bottom.

With an earth quaking KABOOM the barrel went off and fire began to fill that portion of the wall, a gaping hole also visible.

[Zerachiel]

He pulled back the cloak specifically worn in such a fashion to hide the arm from view, raising the arm of his and the shirt tied of into a knot at the sleeve. He reached over and untied it, pulling the cloth back to reveal a disturbing looking limb. His right arm was severed right at the joint, the elbow, and never... properly healed. It was ugly, the flesh looking less like any kind of arm and more like a... stump. If you looked, you could still see where the bit of arm continued as if there was supposed to be something there, bone unnaturally ending and jutting from underneath the skin. Amputations weren't a rarity, but usually they were done with a touch more care then he had. It was surprising the wound didn't fester and kill him. He was a tough old dog though, he wouldn't let such a thing have ended him. His stump of an arm was presented and meanwhile all he did was smirk. Watching as the 'shepherd' or whatever was moving around.

He told him to hold the arm near the circle. Zera had been in Eturia far too long to know that usually circle and magic didn't mix in a way that was positive for him. In fact, he was more or less defenseless and giving Nacht every single possible opportunity to strike at him. If this druid had been the conniving sort, and his enemy, well Zera'd probably have died a while ago actually. Still for an assassin it was important to know who your friends were, and far more important to know your enemies. He was more useful alive, which was why he trusted Nacht to not kill him. It wasn't even a case of trust, but mutual benefit. Zera could help him and he could help Zera. The basics of all human interaction. It was that simply truth that's kept him alive this long. "Payment before the job is completed? I'm touched you believe in me." He told the necromancer as he retrieved what looked like a hunk of dead flesh. So he was just gonna sow that on to his arm with magic then?

The reaper said nothing and simply did his spell, it was... cold. Very cold. Freezing really. He felt like he was running shirtless in Ilia in the dead of the night. He let out a breath, a puff of white air escaping his lips. It was as if ice was forming all around him, like his body was freezing. A sharp, icy, piercing pain. His teeth clenched, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. It felt... It felt wrong. It was agonizing, it was like he was slicing off his own arm once more. But, as promised, before his very eyes it was as if his arm was returning. He could feel every inch of flesh as it slowly flowed back unto his body, watching the hunk of dead breaking apart bit by bit... He endured it though, it was worth it.

Then, the cold faded. The pain was nothing more then a memory that seemed to vanish with each passing second, instead being replaced by... excitement. Joy, even. He stared at his arm, something that had been so mundane and etched into his mind for so long, but so... distant and unreal. It reminded him of a dream he had once, as he slowly moved his fingers lightly. It was a bit... awkward at first. He couldn't... remember for a second. Sure enough, one by one each of the fingers moved. First sluggish, then quicker. It was his arm. His arm. Not anyone else's, not another man's arm grafted to his body, not some hunk of magic given form, but his arm. There was even that scar below his wrist he got when he was a child and hid in that rosebush. That's not anything Nacht could have ever known.

He drew his arm back with a smile. Looking at the mask, right where the eyes were supposed to be. "Well then, I suppose I have a job to do, don't I?"

[Augustus Nacht]

"Well then, I suppose I have a job to do, don't I?"

"Oh, quite. Though there is one thing I must do before I dismiss you." Nacht's voice contained some mirth as he spoke, turning away slightly to a setup of orbs, placed carefully upon holsters. A wave of the masked Druid's hand and one of them filled with the sight of a man standing aboard that was quite clearly at sea. Soon enough, the vision began to change as well. It passed over the sight of Georg, quite clearly shouting and looking angered. It passed by a couple of other individuals, one a Sacaen woman with violet hair clearly aboard a ship as well and another was an orange haired lad shouting things to other pirates that were around him.

And finally, it stopped upon the sight of a giant of a man, clad in thick armor. He shouted something before an axe swooped into the vision, severing head clean from neck as frost burst forth. The vision began to zoom out a ways as Nacht motioned with his hand and the sight of a familiar pink haired warrior entered view.

"Well, well. Richter Abend. Now isn't that a surprise?" Nacht muttered briefly before looking at Zerachiel and gesturing him over. "I believe you've met this man. If you could get a bit of his hair, I'd be quite pleased with that, by the by. Make it easier to keep an eye on him. Don't want any nasty surprises from him, now do we?"

With the words spoken, he gestured for Zerachiel to take his leave. Soon after, a bandit came calling for the Lord Reaper, saying that the catapult they were waiting for had arrived at last. He ordered it to be loaded up and prepped to fire, but not to do so just yet. A guard detail would also be sent with the catapult traveling to their Western Encampment. The siege weapons would be a necessity to bringing that pitiful wall down even faster.

---

More Bandits rushed forth from the North, at least two squads worth heading straight towards the breach with a band of horsemen riding far ahead a group of heavily armored warriors. The Defenders however were quick to try and put out the flames with buckets of water, but the first had caused the fire to roar in a grand protest. A shout soon came out though, a call for dirt to be used instead to quench the vicious flames that threatened their wall.

A few Bandits made it inside, slaying a couple of Defenders before being cut or shot down themselves, a bloody melee ensuing. What Defenders could take advantage of it used a free moment to heave dirt upon what flames they could, starting to at least keep it from growing any worse, but the pace desperately needed to pick up.

[Orcleous]

"Alright Round Two", spoke Orcleous as he headed toward the gate. Suddenly everything just shook. Orcleous was knocked off his feet and for a moment all sound ceased to be heard. All the young man would hear was a loud ringing sound. He had no idea what was going on or what just happened. All around him he could see smoke and some fires. People were panicking and parts of the wall was lodged into the ground right beside of him. Slowly Orcleous hearing returned as he heard the word breach.

"What the", spoke Orcleous as his hearing returned. He looked around and saw that there was a massive hole in the wall. Everyone around him seemed injured or running around in circles like chickens with their heads cut off. Chaos has swallowed the north as people began to panic. Some were trying to flee into the center of the city and others were simply falling to their knees and giving up. There were some trying to cover the breach, but the way things are now they were as good as dead. Somebody needed to do something quick. If not the entire northern wall would fall.

"Stop fleeing you cowards", shouted Orcleous. His voice caught the attention of several of the people around him, but chaos still ruled the street. "Stop fleeing", he shouted again. His voice reached out to a few more people who turned and looked at him. Orlceous drew his silver sword from his sheath and pointed it toward the hole in the wall. "To the breach", eh shouted. "To the breach. We can not let them take the city." The few people in range rushed to the breach to the wall while Orcleous rushed to the top of one of the houses. He needed to rally the defenders before it was too late. As Orcleous reached the top he could see the chaos first hand.

"To the breach", shouted Orcleous at the top of his lungs. "To the breach", he shouted again. His voice reached several people around him and on instincts they rushed to tell the other people wrapped in chaos. Like ants in a ant hill they began to reorganize and head toward the breach. The time for hiding behind the wall was over. The fight had just came hand to hand. As Orcleous looked at the men he noticed a team of riders heading their way toward the breach. If they reached it they would break straight through the unorganized lines of soldiers.

"Archers", shouted Orcleous to the other people on top of the houses. The mercenary pointed his sword toward the charging horseman and began to scream out orders. "Take out the horseman", he shouted. "Aim all of your fire at the horseman. We have to stop them from crossing the breach."

"Understood", spoke one of the archers as they began to fire their arrows toward the charging best. Orcleous decided it was best to simply ignore the bandits charging and aim toward the ones coming toward the breach. That is were the battle would take place, or at least in his mind it was. After Orcleous gave his orders to the archers he climbed down from the house and moved toward the breach himself. They were going to need all the help they could get to defend the breached wall and Orcleous was useless on top of the house. He was no archer. The only thing he was good for was up and close combat with his sword.

[Jya]

Jya flinched at the sound of explosion, she had almost curled up in fetal position out of fright. No, this didn't mean she had to fight, just yet. She could hear the sound of shouts as people seemed to rush by from all directions, too panicked to notice her well nestled position. Taking a deep breath in, she gingerly grasped the edge of the crate she was nestled between and took a one eyed peek at the situation. She soon came to regret it.

It wasn't long before she could here shouts about bandits already in the area. Forcing herself to not just dart out in panic was stressful enough, but this added on to her agitation. She forced herself to slink back into her spot. Each second felt longer than it should as even more panic seem to fill the air. She shifted her body position, more prepared to slash out at whatever approached than to run out of the way. Thank goodness for that as it seemed as a pair of men stopped close by to her.

"Already dead eh? Guess we gotta see how many we can take down before they get us," a man spoke to someone. At this point, she had guess there was more than one person. They seemed inclined to move past her, but as moments passed, she couldn't hear any steps of them stomping away.

[Plot Device]

A man frantically searched the battlefield, he was sent here on a mission to find Natch. The chaos had made it difficult to find him at first but it didn't take terribly too long to find him. Approaching him from behind he wasted no time in talking. "Nacht, Lord Hargus said to get your ass to the south as soon as now."

[Orcleous]

"Alright boys take out the city defenders", spoke one of the brigands as he moved through the city. It seemed a couple of the bandits made their way inside before Orcleous could rally some men at the breach. If they did not eliminate them soon they could cause some problems on the inside. Without saying a word Orcleous rushed forward and stabbed the man in the back with his silver sword. The brigand let out a cry of anguish as the blade ran clean through his spine. His screams of pain however attracted the attention of his tow partners who quickly turned around and attempted to give Orcleous the axe.

"Die", shouted one of the brigands as he brought down his axe. Orcleous blocked the blow with his newly acquired shield, but his inexperience got the better of him as the axe knocked the shield out of his hand.

"Crap", spoke Orcleous as he swung his silver sword at the bandit. The blade caused the bandit to take a step back, but his friend however charged forward in a attempt to take advantage of Orcleous opening. His attempt however was made null by a arrow flying into his right eye. The archer Orcleous was talking to earlier has heard the cry and saw the fight going underway. Wth one quick pull of his bow he turned the tide of the fight.

As the first man screamed about his eye Orcleous rushed forward and cut him across the chest with his sliver sword. The second brigand however turned tail and ran seeing that the situation was no longer in their favor.

"oh no you don't", spoke Orcleous as he motion to give chase, but a swift arrow beat him to the punch as two archers placed two arrows in the man's back.

"Go ahead to the wall", shouted the archers. "We will clean up the trash."

"Understood and thanks", spoke Orcleous as he picked back up the shield and headed toward the breach. They were going to need all the help they can get over there.

[Zerachiel]

Steal his hair? Well then, that wasn't exactly the most common request. Though he'd be lying if he said he's never had to do such a thing. Of course the issue would be getting close enough to get a lock without dying. Richter wasn't just some random fighter who he could slip past without the man even realizing. Wow, Richter and Kenshin, the big boys were coming out to play. Nacht's going to have to pull something spectacular or they're going to be a real pain. That was something that could be either good or bad for Zera, now that he that he thought of it. Nacht was clearly clever, the true mind behind this situation with Hargus being a rather famous face for it. After all, the most feared villain in the last era coming back from death itself just to seek revenge on the ones who've wronged him? It made a good story at the very least.

Zerachiel nodded to the man before taking his leave. As he left he stretched, wiggled his fingers and rolled his neck. So, help kill one living legend, steal the hair of another, and sabotage the defenses of an entire city. He shook his head with a smirk. "This shouldn't be too hard." Whether or not that was sarcasm is yet to be seen.

There was chaos and flame all about, and it appears the wall had quite the nasty wound in it's woodwork. Well then, that was a good sign and a perfect opportunity for his first bullet point of 'things Zerachiel needed to do', the breach would surely be heavily attacked. Rushed by countless bandit and protected by countless defenders People rushed, heaved, scurried to it and the defenders were barely managing to hold them off. That meant a few things, most of which he needed to mediate on before coming up with a plan.

He looked over at the thief Rogus, cracking a bit of a grin. He waved at the man with his newly recovered arm, amused. The sleeve of the shirt was all wadded up and sort of frumpled looking from having been tied off into a knot for so long, but the hand that came out of the end was clearly his. Not anyone else's. "Nacht's not here anymore buddy, he was pulled to the south by the big boss. You might be waiting a while." He said with a smirk, making a clicking noise with his tongue. "I'm not sure what he had in mind for you, if it's worth waiting around for, well that's up to you."

He turned his head away and watched the breach for a moment, shaking his head with a chuckle. What's the best angle to go about this? He could sneak in during all the confusion, but the breach would be heavily defended by the time he arrived. Archers poised to shoot anyone who enters, and defenders ready to cut them down. He'd have to slip past all of them, but once he was in the town he was entirely sure he could throw them off. Or he could... Hrm... Yes... That could work.

He turned away for a moment, they were in the camp so this was as good a place as any to get supplies. He'd have to rummage up some things anyways, all of the items he had were designed specifically to be used with one hand. Useful for before, but now unnecessary. Do you know how hard it is to pick a lock with one hand? He could do it, but seriously. Maybe some rope, some flint would be nice, yes...

[Orcleous]

Chaos, that was the only word that could describe what was going on at the breach. The archers were doing their best to lighten the load of bandits rushing in, but their best did not seem enough. The bandits were rushing in with fire in their eyes and bloodlust on their lips. The bandit ferocity of the bandit assault was so great that the defenders could not get into any defense formations. every time somebody attempted to gather the men together they would either be killed by a bandit from behind, or have the formation broken prematurely by raging berserkers. Essentially the battle for the break turned into a big brawl with bandits and defenders fighting one on one with chaos all around them.

"Dang", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the chaos. It was the first time he had seen such a battlefield. A bit of fear boiled up inside the young  mercenary. If he charged into there he could end up losing his life, but if he did not go and help the defenders could loss the fight and then his life would be in even greater danger. Orcleous tighten the grip on his silver sword as he stared out into the chaos. "You only know the meaning of life when you risk it", spoke Orcleous to himself. It was a phrase he had keep with him since he was a novice. It was always the thing that would drive him forward when he was daunted by danger of battle. Orcleous looked down on the ground and saw a crimson helmet lying next to a dead soldier. The boy stopped and picked up the helm and then looked back into the horde. "Well lets go find out what it truly means to live", spoke Orcleous as he placed the helmet on his head and charged into the chaos.

The mercenary let out a loud scream as he rushed in and cut a preoccupied bandit in the back. His silver sword glided through the man's flesh like a hot knife through butter. His actions freed up a man as he stared at the crimson clad warrior with surprise. "Form up and follow me", shouted Orcleous to him as he rushed forward and began a battle with another bandit. If Orcleous was going to get the defenders into a defensive formation he was going to have to do it while moving.

Orcleous swung at the bandit with his sword, but the brigand countered with his axe. He deflected Orcleous sword with a swing of his axe and moved to attack with the second axe he had in his left hand. Orcleous blocked the blow with his shield, not by simply putting it in the way of the blow, but by stabbing its edge forward and placing it under the bandit's armpit. His shield defense cut the bandits left arm out of the battle equation altogether as Orcleous stabbed forward with his silver sword piecing the man's light armor.

"One down", shouted the mercenary. But before he could celebrate his mini victory a blow from his side knocked him too the ground. A burly man with a horned helmet and no shirt knocked the mercenary over and onto the ground. Orcleous looked up and saw a massive wall of muscle as he stared up at the man. The sun was at his assailant's back so Orcleous could not see his face. The only thing he saw was his outline and the axe he was about to pull down. Crap, thought Orcleous to himself. There was no way he was going to dodge that blow. The man had him in the perfect position and for a moment it seemed like the young mercenary life was about to end. As the berserker moved to bring down his axe a tip of a spear ripped its way through the man's chest. Instantly he dropped his axe and fell to his knees.

"Just returning the favor", spoke a voice as Orcleous realized it was the man he had helped out earlier when he first rushed into battle.

"Thanks", spoke Orcleous as the man helped him back onto his feet. However there was little time for pleasantries as two bandits rushed out of the mass of men doing battle and rushed the duo. Orcleous was once again thrown back into the chaos.

[Edrick]

Edrick jogged into the battle from the west and was horrified to see that there was a breach in the wall, and the bandits had siege weapons?!? At least they weren't completely ready yet that would be even worse. The worst part of being a defender in a siege is that if one side lost it was quite likely that the whole city would fall at this rate, and he only knew the state of the west side and this one. Although west was good, this wasn't and things needed to change quickly in order for this to work; and he was already formulating a plan.

He quickly began focusing his energy as he made his way to the area where the breach was and turned to shorty, (if she still followed him) "Stay in front of me within my range of view, or else." He didn't know what the what or else would mean, but it would be good if she tried anything. Edrick barked out an order into the random fights going on around him as he pumped his stored energy into the ground. "Everyone form up into a defensive line around the breach! Armored and other units in the front and lance users behind those!" It was a basic defensive wall that they could easily understand and execute, but it was highly effective for the purpose, the only thing they needed was time, and he planned to give it to them.

The energy he was pumping into the ground suddenly launched up from the ground in front of the bandits, twenty feet into the air. The tentacles were extremely thinned out in terms of energy, accounting for their size, but no one else should know that. The sight of the giant tendrils scared the bandits in the are back trying to avoid the tendrils as they slowly fell over, giving the defenders enough time to get into formation. It wasn't the best, but it should hold. However the drain on strength was tremendous forcing him to take a knee to try to regain his energy.

[Minerva]

Now! Her chance was now!

As the Dark One crumpled to his knee, clearly weakened by his cast, the mage saw her chance. With a deep breath, Minerva slammed a powerful kick into the hand holding his tome. Hopefully, she would at least temporarily disable him. Without looking back, Minerva ran the way they had come, quickly fleeing from the defenders' lines.

"Just gotta get back, now."

Jogging far around, Minerva eventually made her way back to the besiegers' encampment. Moving through the camp, she saw a few familiar faces, some of whom had escaped from the bloodbath of the western sector.

"You, mage! Get me a fire tome."

After a brief wait, the mousy mage returned with a battered but usable Fire tome. Smiling, Minerva called out to the men and mages milling around.

"Let's go, troops. Mages - target their shaman. He's yea tall, dark cloak, yeah? All of us will be using Fire magic, so he won't be able to tell which one is me. Hopefully, we can bring him down. And all the rest of you, get to work! This is a war, not a tea party! Get your asses up and fight!"

Minerva stalked away, four mages flanking her.

"You'll regret patronizing me, Dark One. I will strike you down."