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FoA - Assault on the Future

Timestamp
The beginning of winter, Era XXVI
Location
Abestat, Prime Province
Content Warnings
Violence, rats
"A pity, but if you wish to protect those who have turned their face from Her, then you will join them." the mousai said and inclined his head slightly, as if in deferential mourning. As he spoke the elemental shot off down a side street, trying to find a way around the barrier to make it towards the carts the rodenti were loading in the background.

The grey streaks in his fur seemed to glow silver as he summoned up his power. His free hand twisted turning as if moving and manipulating an invisible orb between his fingers, and then spread them out. The glittering wall of light caved in on itself, turned into a sphere and then shot out half a dozen spears of light each of them coming for Links.

Meanwhile Argon was fighting for his life, the stunned ratta fell after Argon's blows. A quick blow to the throat leaving it rattling on the street as it fought for its last breaths. All around him the street was on fire, the rogue elemental had done its job and well. Buildings and people were on fire, attackers and defenders both. Anything flammable seemed to go up as it delighted in making sure more and more things were lit on fire.

Through the haze of fire he could just about see the carts in the distance, where the hulking shapes mottera were lugging sacks of grain onto their carts. He could just about make it over there. Perhaps in time to be the hero who saved the city's grain supply.

Looking down the other way though his senses told him something else. Fighting was going on down there. A large bull of a giant lizard had escaped, doing something about it would probably do very little to diminish the chaos that was happening in the city tonight, but that lizard wasn't just frenzied by all that was happening here. It was attuned to a Rune.

OoC: Apologies for the delay, illness kept me from posting last week. Regular schedule commences from here on out.
 
OOC: Glad you are feeling better!

Argon was all set to go about being a hero when he saw what he made out to be vermin looting food when he saw dead in the opposite direction a monstrous lizard. The pull and reasonable of Ikos permeating from the lizard was unmistakable and the desire to obtain and know more caused the intrepid self confessed hero to falter.

There it was, dangling enticingly the knowledge he voraciously desired which promised to make him more able to take on the next challenge. He could almost justify it to himself but as it were Argon wasn't yet a hero and had himself been saved by the elemental.

No this story couldn't go this way. He would have to resist the urge to follow the lizard but now knowing there was such a beast about Abestat Argon would make an effort to track it again when the immediate danger was dealt with hoping that no other Ikonomancer got there first.


Can you steal runes from ikonomancer corpses?

An unwelcome thought came through as he shook himself free of the reverie and made his way to intervene on the grand theft. If the food was stolen people could starve before any imperial or other help could arrive.

Argon hauled himself doubletime axe in hand and with one final rune empowered.

He hoped they understood what he had to say next. It was a universal language Afterall. Axe in hand, held at the ready to strike he charged in hoping to scatter the unprepared labourers at work.

Yeaaarrrrgh!!!!!
 
Large motteran shapes greeted Argon as he charged the spider-carts that were being filled with grain. They turned on the dwarf with the kind of eerie silence that might be expected of their kind. They were certainly less chatty than their ratta counterparts, but no less physically imposing for it. An assortment of large, spiked clubs and warhammers met his charge.

A good dwarven charge had many times met with success in dealing with rodenti during their many tussles in the Nightlands, but their battles had also brought a familiarity. A dwarf was a familiar thing to deal with, their snouts snuffled the air, their ears twitched, triangulating his position based on senses other than sight. They might not be the hardened ratta troops that were seen elsewhere in the city, but they were familiar enough with fighting to be able to deal with one dwarf.

Not everyone was as calm though, one of the spider-carts reared up, the long legs twitching and the tiny arachnid brain that still ran its alive parts clearly freaking out. One of the mottera was occupied trying to get the thing back under control even as it planted recently loaded grain back onto the street.
 
Again the dwarf was outnumbered so again it seemed unwise to continue this battle in conventional form.

Argon did his best to dodge away and disengage from offering battle, used his offhand to pick up rocks and throw it at the remaining spider carts.

He didn't need to win the battle. He needed to thwart their theft.

He had one other idea.

"Citizens of Abestat! You outnumber these cretin! Pick up her sticks, stones throw then at yer enemy!"

Argon hoped his example would bring about down chaos. He wasn't asking them to face their enemy directly. He was asking them to throw things from out of melee weapons range and harass them.
 
The problem, Argon quickly discovered, was that he was behind enemy lines here. There were plenty of rodenti out there causing chaos, but they weren't doing that here. Supply lines between here and wherever their exit point was were guarded.

All the chaos in the city had been a cover for just this operation. Stealing whatever wasn't nailed to the ground. People had been herded away from this place by explosions, by patrols of rodenti keeping the defenders busy on so many fronts they just couldn't protect everywhere. All for this. Carts filled to the brim with grain and cereals, the last shipments out of Candaceburg, the winter stores of a city.

Spider-cart after spider-cart trundling along, their hairy legs quivering under the weight of the grain stores. His cries echoed in near empty streets. No one came out of the empty houses to his aid. Either they were too scared of the rodenti troops or they were just not there. On the plus side, he also wasn't close enough that any ratta troops were nearby. The mottera might be bruisers, but the mole-like creatures weren't professional soldiers. And that, it seemed was as much of an advantage as the potential hero of Abestat could hope for.

One of the cobblestones he threw hit one of the mottera on the side of the head, It howled in pain and backed up while the others continued forwards with renewed intensity, clearly looking to bridge the gap and get the dwarf within easy reach. How long the ikomancer might last on his own against three mottera was a good question.
 
Argon felt that perhaps the people had let themselves down a little for not immediately resisting the attack. He felt even worse for the empire. Yet another example of the empire failing. It really did need saving.

Though stopping these rodents in Abestat was a stop gap measure in saving the empire from its many failings it was necessary to get others to follow him in saving the empire.

So if the dwarf had to do it alone it was time to leverage every ugle advantage he had been given.

The evolution spell of natura had changed him and allowed him to eat bark for nutrients and strengthened his right arm disproportionately to his left. It was strong and it would be able to deliver a mighty blow.

That in itself was not enough to cleave through 3 moddera as even Argon didn't think that highly of himself.

He needed another edge. There was one last edge he could bring to this fight. His last time, sharp, would definitely bring the edge and so he applied the rune to his axe sized up his enemies and in a mad headlong charge, whether the modderas braced for it or not, cleaved his axe at full strength at a strike intended to sweep at all 3 of them.

If he could remove these 3 he could upset the supply train further and stop the grain from leaving. Maybe then he could find pockets of resistance that could help challenge this attack properly.
 
Argon charged forwards. In the dark of the night his axe reflected the stars above, silent elfin guardians of the night. The runic power of ikos sinking into that blade and for a little while it was the sharpest thing in that street. The mottera fixed their snouts towards him, establishing his presence based on the sound of his boots thudding into the street.

He got very close before they were able to see him as anything more than a distant blur, but it was close enough that it didn't really matter. With a vicious grin one of them held up their mace to block Argon's attack while one of the other two went for Argon's flank. Clearly they had fought together before.

Unfortunate for them then that Argon's axe went snicker-snack right through the metal mace. The axe continued the violent arc the dwarf had set it on and for a second it seemed the two mottera were frozen in time. They had stopped right before their counter-attack would have caved in Argon's side. Time seemed to stand still for just a second in that street.

And then there was a clank as the upper part of the mace clattered to the ground, followed by blood gushing forth in an arc from where Argon had swung. The first mottera's arm burst open as blood fountained out and the line of it stretched through this mottera's chest, a widening streak of red as more and more blood burst forth. The line continued on to the next mottera, their arm dropping limply to the ground, blood spraying out from the stump and finally a line opened itself in their stomach as intestines and blood fell out in equal measure.

The last mottera, seeing what had happened to their friends stared for a second at Argon and then decided to make a run for it, suddenly not so eager to follow up with violence. Their cries made one thing clear though, they were trying to call for reinforcements.
 
Argon was victorious! He had better get to work before anyone more competent came about as his bag of tricks was now empty.

Below him was a mess of two bodies. They had assumed they could win. They had every right to assume this and is they were dead. Tough break for them.

Argon set about to quickly disrupt the spider-crswler supply line chipping at rope and harness, aiming to release the wagons or block the road as much as possible. If there was a child point then that is where Argon went to block the path. He was mindful that reinforcements could be the end of him so he worked hard and ferociously to damage the wagons and block the path if possible.

When it looked as though it would be terribly difficult to clear the path without a concerted effort Argon decided it was time to move on. He would use the cover of buildings and alleyways now to move between places hoping to find a way to wherever others had began the fight. To find even one buddy would be a boon. The last time he received help it was from a fire itself. Maybe this time he would have a witness for his heroic deeds. Perhaps that lizard creature would come and fight alongside him? Then they could be buddies all the while Argon thought about retrieving the rune.
 
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