Part 30: Battle 14: Answering Jormungand's Call

Task Organization




Main effort







Breaching Teams




Fires and Effects




Medical Services/Exorcism Team




Reserves

Situation



Local information sources have confirmed Sauzer's assertion that the Holy Dragon Jormungand is located in this vicinity, and Princess Yoyo had expressed his intention to meet with us.

Enemy Forces



Terrain: The Sand Temple is composed of three large, open chambers interspersed with support columns. While our objective is presumably behind a door in the third chamber, the first and second chambers are connected by a narrow passageway that will only admit one group of people at a time. This passageway is simultaneously key terrain, an avenue of approach, and an obstacle that will control the conduct of this battle.



Disposition: The enemy has formed a loose defensive screen on both sides of the aforementioned passage between the first two chambers. The greater number of enemy troops are located within the first chamber, while a smaller number of more powerful troops are placed in front of the door between the second and third chamber. The majority of the enemy's troops have extremely limited ranged capability, but care should be taken when dealing with the Wraith-type robed undead.



Enemy's most likely course of action: The enemy will most likely react to our attack in a scattered and disorganized manner, usually not until we have approached to within a relatively close distance of their position.

Enemy's most dangerous course of action: If our approach through the contested passage triggers an enemy response, they could conceivably bottle our forces up in the passage and utilize the group of Wraiths to decimate our forces while they are held in place.

Mission



The KRF will conduct an attack on the Desert Temple and destroy all resistance in the area in order to gain access to the Holy Dragon Jormungand.

Execution



Concept of the Operation/Scheme of Maneuver: Our forces will advance in a line through the first chamber and eliminate all enemies before regrouping in front of the passage and then send a breaching team composed of two of our fastest units to establish a bridgehead on the other side. At that point the rest of our forces will follow and engage Soul Cage.

End Order




Our assault on the Desert Temple opened with Pinky and Flammie racing forward of our lines to combine their efforts and destroy a group of bird-like creatures at the forefront of the enemy.



The next group of enemies to fall was a variant on the needle-nosed dragonites that we had dealt with before, known as a basilisk. We didn't get a chance to observe any other peculiarities of the species, as Inky froze them into immobility.




Realizing that our line was dangerously close to a group of mummy-like undead, Clyde and Matelite led a charge to blunt their counter-attack.



Barclay's group finished them off when they had the temerity to try and attack them.



After the enemy's Wraiths sputtered out of effective range of our troops, myself Clyde worked together to end the threat. Compared to the challenge that the Granbelos fortress had presented, I'm afraid the undead didn't present any particular difficulty.



While it is an interesting magical curiosity that healing magic damages the undead, I worry that our dragons are too fascinated by this knowledge. Flammie and Pinky both utilized healing magic on one of the other mummy groups to dismal effect.



Mist had to lead her team in a hand to hand attack on that particular group in order to finish them off.



Despite our best efforts, the second group of Wraiths survived to unleash some kind of hellish gravity magic far more dangerous than anything we had dealt with previously.



Considering the threat that group posed, I took the responsibility of finishing them off myself.



Distinguishing themselves yet again, Barclay and the rest of our lancers finished up the final group of enemies in the first chamber.



Once the chamber was clear, we gathered in a close formation in order to allow for more efficient healing before sending the breaching team forward.




Exactly as planned, Matelite and Clyde led the way into the second chamber, destroying a group of Wraiths and injuring another group of undead.



Not wanting to chance leaving that group of enemy alive, Yoyo and Sendak called down Leviathan's wrath to finish the job.



As the rest of our forces poured in through the passage, the royal chimera lurking in the back of the room came forward and reminded us forcefully that these creatures are capable of attacking from a distance using water based attacks.




Less damaging but more disturbing was Soul Cage's first attack, which inflicted a bewildering array of strange magical effects on its targets.




Since the enemy's defensive forces were limited to a single group of undead, Matelite and Mist's groups cooperated to bring down the royal chimera.



Seeing a clear path toward Soul Cage I advanced on it, only to come up short and be forced to utilize a distance attack to wear it down.




Fully recovered, Lukia led her group and Inky in an attempt to eliminate Soul Cage's final support. Unfortunately, they weren't precisely successful..



Although that fact was rendered mostly immaterial when the undead made the foolish decision to attack myself and the rest of the knights.



One barely clung to.. unlife? But Lukia took care of that at the earliest opportunity.




Our dragons began the task of breaking down Soul Cage's defenses, glimpsing its faintly disturbing form for the first time.



Even the best efforts of Matelite and his cronies were insufficient to finish the undead monstrosity off.



While the status effects Soul Cage seemed so fond of were harmless against dragons, it also had a moderately effective attack similar to several that we've seen before.



At one point, the repeated application of this attack on Matelite's group nearly wiped them out.



Finally, however, I was able to use the sword Excalibur to strike Soulcage down and end the battle.



Mute as it had been before, Soul Cage uttered a final statement about its homeland before fading away... what do these vague statements the guardian beasts have been making mean?




As we prepared to enter the third chamber, Yoyo instructed everyone to remain behind, not wanting to risk the wrath of the Holy Dragon affecting us.



None of us wanted to be left behind, especially not Matelite, but the power of the Holy Dragon left us little choice.



I was the only one who could follow even this far, but that was as much as Jormungand would allow.



Through the door we could hear Yoyo's voice speaking of a past unrecorded by history..



And some indication of what the Holy Dragons might be.



Yoyo's power flared behind the door and it opened, allowing us to bring her back to the DamnShip.



Glimpsed within the Desert Temple were tantalizing depictions of the truth that had been revealed to Yoyo. I'd have loved to see more, but Yoyo needed to rest.

Bonus material:

Bahamut Lagoon Combat Demo Part 1

Bahamat Lagoon Combat Demo Part 2