Chapter 285: The Barony Goes to War
Ozzy watched as a small fortress made of sticks and dried mud appeared in the field. Beavers were already adding to the walls. From the gates came hundreds of large gophers the size of small dogs. They were divided into two large hordes and moved with purpose. Seven badgers in plate armor atop giant moles rode behind the hordes, urging them to battle. On the top tower of Fort Bucktooth, General Armidias directed his troops. He shouted down at the defending human army, his high-pitched squeal carrying across the muddy fields. "Run while you can, or I shall gnaw your bones. The day of the human is over. The long night of the Gopher is upon you."
Ben was impressed. "We have a villain that likes to monolog. They're the most entertaining."
Rolly yelled at the Baron. "Don't let him get away with that, Billy. Speech! Speech!"
Billy was yelling at the workers on the other wagons. "I'd rather let my war machines do the talking. Fire at will!"
Multiple ballistae fired low at the oncoming hordes, carving bloody trenches through the tight-packed rodents. A moment later, the rocks launched by the catapults landed, doing even more damage and breaking up the charge. Immediately the workers with the highest STR began reloading the war machines for another round. Jorges was calculating the distance to Fort Bucktooth and adjusting for wind before he fired. Cranking the tension nearly to the point of snapping the twisted ropes, he pulled the lever. His catapult launched a fifty-pound sphere of rock high into the air, trying for a shot at Fort Bucktooth. It took several seconds to reach apogee and return to Earth. The shot hit the highest tower of the fort, smashing it and destroying parts of the wall. Dozens of gophers and three brave beavers died. Armidias survived, but only by diving from the tower, screaming as he flew through the air. Without the army leader watching, some of the gophers stopped in their tracks, afraid to charge the humans.
The Butcher prepared for them to swarm him and planned to unleash Butcher's Breath on the charging gophers, but they split and went wide around him, not giving him a chance. Instead, he found himself charged by the Seven Riders of the Apocalypse. The badgers on giant moles spread out into a long arc, intending to spear him with multiple lances. Trying to even the odds, he cast Jaws of the Void and sent a shark to play with one of the riders. To his disappointment, the badger speared it on his lance. The shark only got one bite before it dissipated. The rider was slowed and out of position but still coming.
From behind Ozzy, a shaft of bright sunlight flashed by, hitting one of the riders, burning completely through its shield and armor before injuring the Battle Badger and causing him to nearly fall from his mount. Suzette was advancing, her golden hair reflecting the sun as she cast Evergreen's Shining Lance. Each time she cast the spell, green grass sprouted in a ten-foot radiance around her, and flowers bloomed. She felt confident, and her new staff felt like it was part of her.
Sun Blessed Staff of Evergreen
Here comes the sun do, do, do, do
Here comes the sun,
And I say, it's all right
-Spells cast from the domains of Light, Nature, or the Sun will have increased effect and damage.
-Spells granted by the Goddess Evergreen will have increased effect and damage.
-The bearer of this staff increases their Radiance by +1 point per Tier
Seeing how tough the riders were, she burned through some of her mana and double-cast the spell. The first ray hit him in the helmet, burning through his visor and blinding him. The second went into his head unimpeded by armor and kept going until the back of his helmet stopped it. The confused mole stopped as the reigns fell slack, and the 2nd rider of the Apocalypse fell dead from his saddle.
The riders came on and were opposed by champions from the other side. Seemingly appearing from nowhere, Alwyn the Summer Lord galloped by Suzette, smiling and waving to her. He had no idea where a Lady of Alfheim had come from, but he wouldn't let her face these beasts alone. And he loved a joust as only the fae do. Moles are not known for either their speed or their skill at jousting. It was a miracle the Badgers could keep them moving in a straight line. Their battle tactics were to use the mole's bulk to overwhelm enemy lines and crush them. Alwyn avoided his opponent's lance and his own struck home, driving deep in the breastplate and out the back. One more rider died. The Fae Lord drew his sword and rode to engage a foe the Lady had wounded.
Ben rode past Suzette and stopped his mount by Ozzy. Raising his hands above his head, he summoned fire from the heavens, bringing it down upon two of the riders. The moles screamed and rolled to extinguish the fire, crushing their wounded riders. The courier stood in his stirrups and bowed to the cheering crowd before turning his horse and riding back to get Suzette to safety. Suzette killed one more of the riders before Ben swept by on Mudhead, and she swung up behind him.
Only two riders of the apocalypse were left, one getting back in the fight after suffering a painful shark bite, while the other charged the Butcher. Ozzy helped him get there faster with a meat hook and a long chain made of smoke. The Battle Badger dropped his lance as he was yanked from his mole. Ozzy's other hand swung a flensing hatched, delivering a hard blow to the head that cut through the steel helm. His opponent drew a short sword, and they traded blows, but it was a short fight. Ozzy only took light wounds from the sword, while the badger took deep gashes each time one of the heavy hatchets hit home. The weapons were feeling better and better to Ozzy. He had been hugely pleased when he discovered they were a weapon he could use for more than killing undead and hacking meat. Whether because of their exotic origin or because no one making up the list of banned weapons was knowledgeable on 19th-century whaling, he didn't care. He had weapons that hit hard and hurt everything.
The last rider spurred his mount at Ozzy, vowing to sell his life dearly. He never made it. Ballistae from the Splinter took him in the guts, knocking him from his mount and pinning him to the ground. On the ship, Butterbelly grumbled and handed coins to Mariah as Derrek loaded another spear into her ballistae, and more bets were made.
The horde of gophers reached the line of defenders, but it was a ragged and threadbare shadow of the force that had started the battle. Without Proudtooth commanding from the tower, low morale led to 20% of the army digging into the ground and going AWOL. War machines had killed dozens with each hit. Woodrat stood with most of his crew where one-half of the enemy would hit. The sailors were armed with a cutlass in each hand and rum in their bellies. On the other side of the line, the Baron and Baroness steadied the line and encouraged their subjects to fight for their homes. The Legion was in the center, ready to engage either of the hordes in the flanks. The Thunderpunks and other players split up and waded into the gophers or stayed behind the lines lobbing spells.
Rolly and Squirmy had charged early, engaging the animals with claws of their own. Rolly was dressed in a full suit of shining scale armor that reflected the sun and created terror in the gophers. Something about him and Squirmie was unnerving to them. Squirmie's wings were made of the same scales. The bug flew through the gophers, each razor-sharp wing cutting through them like butter, slashing limbs and lopping off heads. Rolly was a whirling dervish as he dual-wielded long, curved swords. They advanced through the charging army, and when they reached the end, they turned and ran back through it again.
As before, the farmers fought from behind piled wood, forcing the gophers to climb. Many rodents died before getting a chance to attack. With all the losses to the horde, the farmers outnumbered the gophers two to one, and it was a slaughter instead of a battle. Wounded farmers were borne away to be healed. Ben and Suzette found themselves casting Triage repeatedly, trying to cure wounds as fast as they happened. It was enough to keep many people from death and kept the two of them chugging mana potions as quickly as they could stomach them.
Alwyn and Ozzy finished their foes and shook hands in the middle of the battle. The summer lord seemed pleased. "A lovely little battle. You find the most interesting things to fight, Ozzy."
Ozzy checked his quest. "I'm thinking it's not over yet. Jorges has been hammering the fortress with his catapults, but theirs a wildcard in this battle we haven't seen yet."
"Really? That sounds exciting." Alwyn had a different view of fun than Ozzy.
Time: 5 Hours, 39 minutes, 04 seconds.
Defeat the horde 1/1
Kill the Gopher Hero, Armidias Proudtooth 0/1
Kill the Seven Riders of the Apocalypse 7/7
Destroy Fort Bucktooth, named in honor of a fallen hero. 0/1
Defeat Gophorian Behemoth 0/1
Two more catapults put stone balls into Fort Bucktooth. The walls sagged and fell inward. The beavers gave up, clocked out, and went home. They weren't getting overtime for this.
From the wreckage, a high-pitched cackling could be heard. Armidias Proudtooth climbed upon a shattered wall. "I bring you doom manlings! DOOM! I summon the beast of end times, the creature that will destroy you. With my blood, I do this! DOOM!" He stabbed himself with his dagger. "Ouch...that stings!" Ozzy saw one more quest objective ticked off his list and knew what was coming.
"Heads up, people. Big thing incoming. Whatever a Gophorian Behemoth is. Back everyone up and give yourselves room to run." No one argued. Woodrat and his crew sprinted for the ship, and as the ground trembled, he took her higher into the air and started circling the battlefield.
The ground where the fort had been collapsed into a hole, and emerging from it was a giant bipedal gopher clad in armor made from hides and roots woven together. It stood upright on bowed legs and held a club made from a tree trunk in one paw. It was rank and stinking with matted hair. The Behemoth slept for long years, and its lair was a horrible thing of gnawed bones, animal skins, and its own filth. Looking at it caused fear among most farmers who started moving backward as fast as possible.
The creature was fifty feet tall and had to weigh over forty tons.
Gophorian Behemoth Level 15 Ancient Giant-kin Health 250,000
Doom comes for you, manling.
This ancient creature is slow to wake. Hitting and burning it usually takes care of that problem.
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