NoriWasHere

Primetime Wartime

I'll write up a CS soon enough :D

[Cas-Adv][Sci-Fi | War] Primetime Wartime

Im game

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

Act: I

The looming threa

Ardur was left speechless by the witty remarks of Inquisitor Fontaine, with his mouth left slightly agape. "Aye, fair enough little Inquisitor," Ardur thought as a sour grin panned across his face. Though Ardur wasn't left in silence for long, as Lillianna passed by informing him that he was to receive further treatment for his wounds. "Yes boss," Ardur spoke as he smirked towards Lillianna as she moved towards the armored beast; a rare sight to be sure. Ardur listened as she further commanded the rest of the soldiers who were injured to seek help before entering the city; an order that Ardur gave a quick nod of approval towards. Ardur knew the city held back the secret of whom they encountered, beyond the ruined walls lay a key to unraveling the mystery of what befell the people of the City of Ash; he would need his troops at one-hundred percent fighting capacity to seek them out. His eyes drifted back to the Inquisitors themselves. As if in a direct response to his criticism, Gil began strolling across the group of Inquisitors, passing praise and encouragement for each and every one along his way. Encouraged on by the faithful Gil and the praise he sang their way, the Inquisitors seem to have been in good spirits all things considered. Ardur snarled his lips at the thought. He was about to drift away to the trivial matter of figuring out what they were dealing with when Halek walked up and asked a question.

“Any idea what that creature was? The Commander is going to be asking a lot of questions about this,” Halek asked.

"No," Ardur spoke quickly in response, "I have my assumptions but no certain answers," he paused as he shook his head as he pondered his next word. Before either had a chance to further the conversation Lilianna called them to her side as she revealed the deep, twisted secrets held beneath the metal flesh of the beast. Her revelations about the unholy marriage of flesh and metal took Ardur by surprise. The thought alone of something so frail being able to move a massive set of armor with such speed and grace meant there was more to this puzzle than what they were seeing. Magic obviously played a part in the creatures' abilities, but which magic would be to blame? While he pondered the question, he listened carefully as Inquisitor Fontaine added their observation. River began by recapping her observations about the spears themselves, and Ardur again listened carefully to the words spoken by the bright Inquisitor. As River further explained the strange magic, he turned his attention back to the soldiers whom he had ordered to remove the spears from the corpses earlier. As each spear was removed, the same red 'mist' like substance fell from the spear and back onto the corpses below.

As Ardur found himself deep in thought, Genthok began to offer his shaman insight on the origin of the mysterious voice. He talked about the corruption that fell over the area, and Ardur was only casually listening until he mentioned the chains and the sound of an army. Ardur turned his attention completely on Genthok, listening deeply to the words as he described the evil being as something of a sadist, one that was only toying with them with a 'challenge'. Ardur stepped aside, letting the Inquisitors further discuss what possibilities may yet explain what had befallen the city. Ardur knew Genthok was on the right train of thought, but he could not help but think that there was still something missing from the explanation.

Ardur crossed his arms as he eyed up the ruined sections of the wall crushed underneath the giant chains movements before. "Anchors," Ardur thought aloud but he quickly muttered a "no" as he shook his head.

"Sir," Cyterius spoke as he approached, "with your permission, I would like to scan around the city perimeter before we move in with our main force. I do not know what kind of magic they had used at the end there. I believe I heard Genthok use the term 'portal' and 'hellgate', and even if the voice said it was done with us for now, but I'd rather not rely on our enemy acting so predictably. With your blessing, I'd like to take one of our mages to come with me and my team as we scout the edge of the city and the approach to the gate area for any traps or magical energy that could be a danger to a large mob of infantry and clear it out if necessary. After our close battle earlier, it would be difficult to needlessly lose more men at this stage, and I have a sinking feeling we're going to need everyone we can get for what lies ahead."

"You have my blessing," Ardur responded, "this magic is unlike anything I have seen before," he paused again, "once you begin your search err on the side of caution and don't take any unessecary risks," he paused again, "return back to us in twenty minutes and report on what you find," he finished.

The mystery of the armored beast and what had befallen the city still danced across the mind of Ardur. While the Inquisitors had made progress, he felt there was much left to speculation. He did not like that. What purpose did the spears serve? What created that monster? And most importantly of all, who was speaking to them? Ardur shook his head as he pondered these questions before a shooting pain forced his hand to the area the rock had hit.

"Inquisitors, there is much left to learn," Ardur paused as he rubbed his chin, "if I was to make a guess I would say the spears may be an anchor point of sorts for whatever magic they used," he paused again as his eyes squinted, "but I am afraid my ability to answer these questions is spent after that, for now, rest while we can and take up the medics on their offer of aid; when we enter the city we will need to be ready," Ardur finished.

- - - - - -Thirty Minutes later - - - - - -

Thirty minutes had passed before the sounds of branches breaking and feet stepping in a near unison caused Ardur's head to suddenly jerk in the direction that the sound had begun to emanate from. From their rear, in the same tree line they had set up in earlier, the images of soldiers in polished armor wielding big spears began to come into focus. The Inquisition had arrived. Stepping out in near uniform rows, and with precise steps, soldiers clad in bright metal armor began to approach in a long, stretched out formation ready for battle. Ardur shifted his focus to the left and right, spotting various lightly armored troops moving quickly along the flank ready to assault whoever charged the formation. At their front, riding a dark black warhorse plated in armor, was Anora.

Ardur turned to the others, "stay here," he said as he began walking towards the commander. The others could only watch as Ardur strolled casually towards Anora. After a few minutes, Anora moved her horse from a slight trot to a full gallop; closing the distance with Ardur within a few moments. As the two began talking, the sight of Anora's head shot from the defeated giant to the ruined walls and back to the giant, before she turned the horse around and took off back towards the army proper. Ardur then turned around and made his way back towards the Inquisitors and made his way back to them.

"Cyterius, you and your men go ahead and scout our approach, take Kharne and Halek with you," he paused as he turned his focus to the Luna Falcon, "while this giant may lack in subtly he proved his strength and usefulness in his combat with the armored beast," he paused for a second, "and while I may not like his magic, Halek will prove usefull as well if you encounter another giant," Ardur paused as he turned his attention to the rest of the group, "the rest of us will wait for Anora and we will enter the city behind them in five minutes time," he paused as he turned himself to face the city, "Inquisitors, brace yourself for whatever carnage we may find inside," he finished.

The Blighted Kingdom

If you guys are still open, i will be preparing a CS for this awesome looking RP :D

The Blighted Kingdom

Interested.

≈ Nihayat—Sehten, Beginning of an End

Interested

Mud and Blood.

I would be down as well. Are there any fantasy elements like magic or is this more a Medieval type story?

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

@iTem

Always take care of yourself in real life before you worry about an rp. I'll keep your character with the group

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

Post is up.

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

Act: I

Giants of the north

Collab with Leo Khan

The armored giant, stuck in place by River's ice, found itself in its most dire situation yet. While it struggled to try and free itself from the grasp of the icy tendrils, the Falcons recognized the situation and reacted with the precision that had become their calling card over the years. Volley after volley of bolts fired from their wrist-mounted crossbows impacted the helmet of the iron-clad beast with volley after volley bouncing harmlessly off the angled surfaces of the helmet; save for a few shots that found a home deep inside the eye sockets of the helm. In an instant, the beast roared out once more with an otherworldly roar of pain. Its voice rumbled across the plain as it flailed its hands upward in a desperate attempt to remove the bolts from their new home.

As it did, Kharne once again decided to try his strength against the iron giant, grabbing the creature underneath its arms and lifting upward with all the strength he had. As Kharne lifted, the ice that held the feet of the giant heaved from the raw strength brought forth by Kharne with cracks forming all along its foundation until it shattered and gave way completely. Seconds later the strike from Genthok struck the ankle of the beast; although this, like all other magic assisted strikes, was rejected by the beasts' armor as the red lightning like aura countered and instead blasted the war hammer from his hand. Though his strength would be of great assistance to Kharne. As Genthok moved in to assist the duo combined began to effortlessly raise the creature upward. As the beast ascended into the air, the blade from Halek flew true and impaled the beast in the weakened section of the armor; digging deep enough this time to strike the beast's flesh.

The area around the beast rumbled as the beast roared the blood-curdling sounds of a monster in pain. The creature once again managed to overpower the raw strength of Kharne with a simple rear kick to the center torso area of the Inquisitor while in a seamless fashion managed to smack Genthok away with the back of its metal hand; through it was with less force than was to be expected from the beast. Kharne and Genthok would no doubt be sore from the strike, however, nothing vital would be bruised or broken and the Inquisitors would be able to re-enter the fight without a second thought.

Though as they rose back to their feet they would be greeted by the sight of a sluggish creature in front of them. It seemed the venom from Halek's blade had worked fast and was already impacting the strength and agility that it once wielded in a terrifying way. As it struggled to maintain its balance, the creature came under a second barrage of arrows, this time commanded by Lanithil and Inquisition archers. Like the first barrage from the Falcons, most arrows simply bounced off of the armor or were crushed by the sheer strength it possessed. Yet a few arrows, namely those tipped with a bodkin point, managed to pierce through the ruined section; filling the armor with enough arrows to make it look like a pin cushion. The impact, and the resulting damage forced the iron monster to one knee; with its fist falling in front to prop itself up.

Once again, the best roared yet the countryside remained quiet. Instead of the thunderous, bone-rattling roar, the group was presented with a soft, wounded whimper that barely escaped the immediate area. It was wounded. It was slow. Most importantly, it was vulnerable.

"Father of blood," the beast muttered under his breath before its breath was stolen by a coughing fit, "granter of life, grant strength, grant resolve," the beast continued in a deeper tone. As he spoke, the red aura that defended the creature against all forms of magic began to arc across his armor again; lashing out in particular against the bolts in the eye socket as-well-as the arrows and blade in the breastplate. The creature slowly began to rise up, "grant gifts so prayers can be given," the creature continued as the red lightning like aura began to destroy the arrows and the bolts while also pulling the blade out. "Grant strength so prayers can be given," Across the battlefield the spears that were untouched by the group and their magic began to glow a bright red color. As the spears glow intensified, the magic encasing the armor grew in intensity as well. Haleks blade was pulled further and further away from the center of the armor while the remaining arrows were destroyed. It seemed whatever magic the armor possessed was granted strength by the spears still planted in their dead sheathes, and that if left untouched the beast would heal back to full strength.

Ardur, immediately sensing the creature gaining strength once again, turned his attention towards Gil. "Gil," Ardur ordered, "strike it now, strike the beast now," Ardur roared in a loud voice.

Gil skirted the battlefield, watching as his comrades launched their attacks. He felt a twinge of hope as the arrows of Cyterius' men seemed to blind the beast. Yet, that hopeful feeling soon vanished, as Kharne and Genthok both began a hand-to-hand assault on the giant. Gil was sure this would be the end of both his companions. However, the giant responded, not with death blows, only with lightened attacks of removal. Gil could see the beast was becoming weak and once Lanithil's archers brought the creature to a knee, Gil knew they had won.

It was then that Ardur called to Gil to deliver the final blow. There was a bit of destroyed armor, right above the creature's heart, a spot that even the barrage of arrows had failed to hit. It was here that Gil would strike.

Gathering his courage, Gil began to run towards the beast, slowly picking up speed, his cloak flowing behind him. As he neared the creature, he cast his shield aside. The body that had held the spear he clutched, was directly between him and the beast, but Gil did not care. He used the body to push himself into the air, leaping as high as he possibly could. He gripped the spear with both hands, and with a savage yell, brought it down with as much force as he possibly could.

As the spear impacted the body of the beast, Gil would feel the spear being pulled from his hands by some unknown force through the chest plate. The beast was thrown back and staggered by the strike, taking some ten steps backward as its right hand gripped the spear shaft with all its strength as it tried to pull the spear back out. The iron giants left hand quickly moved onto the shaft as well, using its full strength to prevent certain death. Slowly it struggled as inch by inch the spear was pulled forth by the beast's immense strength, slowly but surely the beast drew closer and closer to returning to the combat, and slowly did the time pass for all who watched the beasts unwavering strength seemingly deny death itself from its prey. The metal giant was still wounded by poison, however, and soon its grip slipped and the spear forced itself through the chest completely, and out the other side altogether.

The beast took one more step backward before it fell. The metal giant hit the ground with a thunderous boom that caused a large dust cloud to be kicked up all around obscuring the vision of the inquisitors as well as shaking the very earth beneath their feet. Though through the cloud they could see the spear sitting at an angle that was not perfectly straight upwards like the rest of the spears in the field, though this was momentary. In a jagged motion, the spear slowly guided itself forward, through armor and bone, until it too sat perfectly straight with the end of the spear pointing upwards to the heavens above while the spear itself rooted the monster into the ground below.

A few seconds passed in silence as Ardur watched with bated optimism; knowing full well that the creature could return to life at any second. "About time Inquisitors," Ardur scolded as he took a step towards the armored corpse, "Lillianna, I want to figure out what that thing was," Ardur ordered as he began to walk towards the now defeated enemy, "Gil, what were yo-"

"Your prayers have been received," the mysterious voice returned with a thunderous roar, crackling through the minds of all around in an invasive manner, "I expected no less from the Inquisition," it whispered in near silence, "one for none with nary a drop spilled," it continued with a raspy voice and with a chuckle, "my champions will not be beaten so easily next time we meet," the voice trailed off into silence.

"Who are you," Ardur asked aloud, "what have you done with the people of this city," he asked with a fiery intensity, "why send only one of your champions?"

"A test it was and a test you passed. Word must spread of my arrival, death would only bind you to my side sooner. You know me and what I was," the voice responded, "my marks are all over from the prayers on the walls to the prayers in the field," the voice paused as it chuckled, "I grant you victory today, though we will meet again," it paused for another second, "I will receive your prayers soon enough after all," the voice trailed off before disappearing entirely.

Before Ardur could muster a single word of defiance, the air was filled with the crackling energy and noise of a raw and powerful spell being used in the center of the city. The noise cascadded into the surronding area, enveloping all who could hear with a terrible sound.
Those attuned to nature and magic would feel a great unease fall over them as if something otherworldly had stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the mortal realms. A bright, red glow could be seen as it caused shadows to be cast off of the nearby buildings before massive hooks and chains erupted forth from the center of the city, four in total, before they crashed down destroying every building, and whole sections of the walls itself, before they rooted into the ground below. Red lightning, much like the one seen on the armored giant, began arching outward torching anything it came in contact with from both the chain and the hooks.. In an instant, the sound of the spell was replaced by the thunderous clap of thousands of feet marching in unison along cobblestone streets, filling the air with their ryhtmic steps. *THUD**THUD**THUD* it went *THUD**THUD**THUD* it continued for minutes before the sound began to slowly fade away, and the sound of that foul magic was all that was left to hear. Shortly thereafter, the chains themselves were pulled from their roots back towards the center of town, goughing massive divets into the earth and city alike as they were, before they too disappeared from the area. Those attuned to nature and magic would feel the world return to normal as well.

Ardur, however, seemed unphased by this. "You soldiers," he spoke as he pointed out a few, "collect your dead comrades and prepare them for travel, the rest of you collect the spears from the field and place them here," he turned his attention back to the Inquisitors, "Sloppy work all around," Ardur paused as he turned his attention from one to another, "but we survived. I will save the harsh words, for now. We have work to do," he paused as he turned his attention to Lilianna, "figure out what we just killed, Lillianna," he paused as he turned back towards the city, "everyone else take a quick rest, help Lilianna if possible, we move into the city within the hour." He finished as he crossed his arms behind his back and took a couple steps towards the city proper.