Part 52: Day 119: Seige (Day 4)

When you get down to the docks, it's pandemonium. Few work on the ships now as the Ravens stand over bodies of people while a huge crowd roars in anger. Bolverk's axes are covered in blood. "What happened?" you shout, pushing your way through the rioters.



You heft your axe and join the Ravens in pushing people back, only using deadly force when you have to. What feels like days later, they finally disperse. "Took longer than usual", says Bolverk. "Probably be a while before they try again." You leave feeling like you just slaughtered an army.



Day 120. Bellower watches us from the hilltops.



-13 Varl

Then, from far in the distance, you hear a horn. Dredge don't use horns, it occurs to you. Eyvind appears at y our side just as a long caravan of people come into view, dredge turning to attack them. "Who is that?" you ask.

"It can't be," says Eyvind. He runs toward the gates, shouting "You see their banner? It's Hakon!" As you wonder how they got here, the gates are heaved open and you charge onto the field, clearing a path through dredge!



One more fight separates us from Hakon's caravan!



Enemy forces: Two Scourges, three Stoneguard Defenders, a Slinger Marksman, a Blind Slinger and an Inferno Slinger. Eight of them, six of us.



Plan is to rush one side, and let the rest come to us. Let's go!



After checking the turn order, Iver gets to work on the Defenders. I have one safe turn before that Scourge acts, potentially doing a bit of damage.

The far Scourge lumbers forwards, not reaching any of us.



Krumr is just the best.



The now-crippled Scourge resorts to summoning. Good luck with that, dude!



On a whim, I decide that my stated strategy would take too long. Let's take the fight to them.

The Defender in front of Iver moves away from him, not doing any attacks.



I guess Rook and Ekkill together are about Krumr.



This isn't guaranteed, but the odds of him falling for it are pretty nice.



Success! Turn aborted.

This does put Oddleif a bit dangerously close to one of the Defenders, but I have a plan.



Phase 1 of plan: Eyvind zaps the shit out of some losers.



Phase 2: Iver takes the healthier Defender and headbutts it so hard that it falls out of attack range of Oddleif.



A Sunstrike does 1 damage to Ekkill and drops his Exertion to 0 for a turn.

Krumr finishes off the Scourge before it can finish summoning.



Armor damage, to Iver? Bah! He can take it.



This isn't really a particularly threatening enemy force, just obnoxious because of all that Armor. Rook's got his work cut out for him.



The second Scourge tries to make itself useful.



It doesn't work.



Yikes! That's pretty dangerous for Krumr. Sort of.



This is even more of a guarantee than the last one was.



The enemy is poorly-positioned for lightning, instead Eyvind heals up Krumr's armor a bit.



Another aborted turn, another point of damage.



The frontmost Defender, at 5 Strength, is no threat. Iver instead moves towards mopping up the slingers.



Krumr cuts the other one down to near-uselessness!

Iver and Krumr are both hitting hard enough to do a point of Strength damage to each adjacent target every time. It's adding up fast.



With no enemy above 10 Strength, it's time to get some kills.



Eyvind compromises that jerk slinger who keeps poking at Iver and Krumr's armor.



A Kindle pushes Krumr back, but also wears at the armor of the other two Defenders.



Oddleif gets in some armor damage, and then it's time to apologize profusely to Ekkill!



Over half his Strength lost, but look on the bright side! Three dredge slain with one spell!



The remaining enemies are so weak that I'm just going to skip ahead a bit.



No casualties.







She smiles, and they embrace. Eyvind is completely taken back, as though he doesn't dare believe she's real.

I'm sorry, I couldn't make it to Sigrholm. I ran into problems.
Problems is putting it lightly. There's a mile-wide canyon practically splitting the world in two over those hills. Couldn't find a place to cross. Worse, dredge are practically falling out of it like blood from a wound. They're not coming from the north anymore. They're everywhere.
We noticed.
Glad to see you made it out alive, Yngvar. I take it the others didn't.

Hakon becomes quiet, then he motions toward Juno.

She got across somehow. Found her out cold for a second time since leaving Strand.
We need every axe we can get right now. Bellower is here.
Gods be damned, I thought I was free of that menace.
I will deal with Bellower. Come on. No need to tempt him by standing out here.



+280 Varl
+315 Supplies

Hakon joins you with his personal bodyguard, Mogr. Behind him the prince, Ludin, and his entourage are in tow, looking less than pleased to be here.

"I have one last trip to make," Juno says, pointing to you. "I'm sorry, Eyvind. You must wait for me one last time. Do not let the city fall before I return." It takes everything within Eyvind's power to hold back, but he does.



"Not far," says Juno. She pauses and something shifts in your vision, for just a moment. "I know it's hard," she says, her voice filling your head, "And you've already been through a lot." As she speaks again, the rest of the world melts away. "But you're needed." You can't find the words to argue.