[Defence] Shadow Gate - Compound

[Adder]

The Veldar compound was set in the heart of the city and with easy access to all parts so that it could quickly route reinforcements to any part of the city that needed it. This was why it was currently being used as the main base for the militia and why there were currently around five thousand of them in and around the compound. The ten foot high walls separated the city from the cluster of one storey buildings that were dotted around, with space left for parade ground and training areas.

The compound and its reserves would form a key part of the reaction force to enemy intrusions into the city though the commanders had only really envisaged that happening over the walls. As a result there were fast and reliable communications between walls and compound but so far there were not any such thing for the rest of the city. Patrols swung through the city on a regular basis but these were more to deter looters and generally reassure the citizens with the sight of military uniforms than any attempt to block such things as the Shadow Gates. On the other hand, the citizens were well aware of the reserves stationed here, though many more were also spread across the city on a informal basis and at the first sign of a gate, it was a certainty that more than one person would be racing towards the compound to alert them. Such things take time however but for the gate that opened next no such warning time was needed.

As the shadows gathered and the gate formed, the alert was sounded immediately and sergeants shouted orders, clearing a space around it and surrounding it instinctively with an interlocked shield wall. The officer commanding the compound arrived at the run just as the first orcs spilled out and his eyes narrowed with rage and he glanced around. ”Archers!” he yelled, his voice roared out across the noise, ”on the roofs of the buildings, if you can’t get to a roof, arc your fire into the gate. Concentrate your fire on the gate.” His voice increased in volume, ”Move it and Fire!”

The archers quickly ascended the roofs of the buildings, for many of them the memories of doing this with Sergeant Setik in their basic training flooded back and any that had wondered why he had made them learn such skills now knew the reasons. It wasn’t more than a few heartbeats before the first arrows flew across the compound and then the fire grew heavier and the hissing of arrows filled the air. The compound was well lit and there was no reason for most of the fire to miss its target. Following instructions they concentrated on the gate and left the orcs who had exited first to the mercies of the squads that lined the cleared area in front of the gate. Certainly it was unlikely that any more orcs would exit the gate alive and hundreds of arrows disappeared into the shadows of the gate, their destination and fate unknown.

The commander watched with satisfaction and turned to his sergeant, ”Get the stores opened and a supply chain in place, those archers are going to run out of arrows soon and I want them resupplied before that happens.” Leaving the logistics to someone he knew would solve the problem quickly, he returned his attention to the happenings around the gate.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

There were certainly reasons for Avanthar’s actions. With fighting in several parts of the city, it was certainly difficult for reinforcements to arrive, and even if they were they would be hard pressed. Avanthar’s savage host was entering the city slowly, yet finally the fighting had reached the next stage. Reinforcements would not arrive in great numbers towards the main gate, as even as Velerean and the others sought to fight back against the advancing host, several key locations of Zerdagia were under attack.

It was questionable just how effective the citizens of Zerdagia were, especially those that were simply trained to the basic level… would their courage falter against such a host, many proving to be untested warriors whom rarely had the chance to see true bloodshed. Only time would tell if the entire population were as valiant as many boasted themselves to be… or would they too fall under heavy fear.

Communication was the key, and as forces entered Zerdagia, scouts returned with what they had encountered. Decisions had to be made.

Avanthar knew of the great forces within the Veldar Compound, yet still he chose to act in such a way more to halt further aid to other sections within the city than to actually invade from that point. That, and if indeed the compound could be taken, then Dra’Aran would gain a valuable staging point from within the city, forcing the opposition to act from without. Still, to his surprise and disappointment his target was seemingly off. Odd, for he had lingered within the Compound for some time as a prisoner… his spell should have led his forces within the Prison.

Instead the gate led to an open slaughter as arrows passed through the gate, even striking Avanthar’s forces still lingering outside Zerdagia. Archers!

‘Halt and stand back!’

Avanthar conjured forth a wall of tortured souls right before the entrance of the gate on his side, infusing them with his terrible essence as he formed a variant of a Spirit Armor. Empowering it further, knitting the weave of spirits further, he sought to return all arrow fire back from its source... letting this continue for some time, Dra'Aran uttered commands for several bands of undead to come and prepare to enter the Compound gate, acting as walking shields for the Orcs that were to hide behind them.

Muttering to himself, there was something within Zerdagia that was horribly affecting his arts… the initial barrier was one of them… and Avanthar knew he needed to deal with it… and soon… he maintained his immense senses, finding the drain to his reservoir of Vis to be minimal.

[Adder]

In the compound the covering fire from the archers had effectively cleared the attackers back to the point whereby the archers had time to fire into the gate itself. This went well for a time and allowed the defenders to completely clear the invaded part of the compound.

The OC had been busy while this had been happening and the forces had been marshalled. Space had been cleared so that there was room for the forces to manoeuvre and he was cautious about the level of arcana that had been displayed so the space would serve to reduce casualties while still allowing him to move forces to where they were needed. This had the effect that some of the troops were moved outside the compound, and fast moving patrols were sent out with teams of scouts reporting back and forth, for he had realised that the gates could be opening all over the city.

Even as he completed the first stage of his orders, a change happened at the gate and the arrows that had been coming through the gate were now suddenly coming back out again. ”Cease fire!” The order rang out, repeated by many voices and the archers paused even as the soldiers that ringed the gate crouched behind their shields into which thumped the spent arrows.

A stalemate had begun on the field of combat and the OC used the time to put into action the next phase of the defence and orders went out to the militia that was stationed around the city. Most of the militia was not far from the compound that after all was deliberately positioned in the city so that it had fast access to all parts of the city.



Attackers
Undead 0 : 40
Goblins 0 : 30
Orcs 0 : 20

Defenders
Veldar 250 : 0
Militia 4 970 : 30

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Avanthar saw all. High above the skies, invisible to the eye, an undead spirit relayed what it saw with amazing clarity. Eltarik, a powerful spectre held in check by an unnatural contact, could see the forces arrayed at the walls, that, and the force stationed in the center. With troops moving outside the compound to deal with possible surrounding threats, the center would become weakened. Yet if too great a force was left to watch over the gate, then insufficient reinforcements would be sent outside. It was a gamble for the defenders.

A stalemate… yet with Avanthar’s suspicions, he could deduce something was working against him within Zerdagia. Yet if spells were outside then such hindrances should hopefully not prove too much of a problem. Squads of undead were readied while Avanthar prepared another spell, a simple one at that. Drawing the essence of death, his hand contorted into a shape of the orb, he used his powers to summon death, corrupting the air that was held within an invisible orb of his own fashioning… Stench of Decay…

Letting a small pocket from his spirit wall open, Dra’Aran fired forth his orb through the gate. At first contact it would explode, releasing the densely corrupted air of decay and providing a powerful noxious cloud that would severely hamper the opposition… while having little effect on the dead.

OOC:
Stench of Decay
Duration: Temporary
Targets: Area of Effect
Range: Close or Medium Proximity

Generating a noxious cloud that passes over an area, the Necromancer can briefly incapacitate a group of creatures. The stench of decay is unbearable and will force those who breathe it to spend several moments trying to gain fresh air. The effect is of temporary duration, and initially rather short.

[Serion D'Rinishad]

Serion had managed to make his way back inside, having been informed of the gates that had begun popping up inside the city. He was unused to the arcanic matrix required to open gates such as these, only having been exposed to teleportation spells, such as Snibly's. In Serion's mind these would be more difficult to sustain, especially if the caster wished to keep them open long enough to send forces through at a continuous pace. Allowing Faust to do as he please, he makes his way to the closest portal.

Hair moving behind him as he pushes his way through the city streets, his white clothes stained with the blood of orcs and smudged with the dirt of outside, he was already in a bad mood. As a Necromancer, he prided himself on his ability to remain presentable, even in the worst of situations. To not be presentable made him sour to say the least, and it was with an angry glare that he came upon his first portal near the Veldar Compound.

"Shadow portal...simple concept." Speaking more so to himself than anyone else, the dark elf had spoken to a few colleagues back when he was into necromancy about the manipulation of not just death, but shadows as well. It appeared that someone else had made the same conclusions. Stopping short of the guards that had taken up a defensive position around the gate, Serion crouches, any other arrows or spells coming through hopefully hitting the front tier of guards, not making it to him.

Clearing his mind, focusing on the Celestial planes once more, Serion begins the workings of a plan to render the gate useless for the time being. In order to use such a feat of arcanic skill, one must physically enter the nexus, becoming transformed into a shadow in itself, and being placed on the otherside, whole once again. In this case, the Dark Paladin planned on performing a rather nasty trick, blocking off this side of the gate to force the creatures passing through to fly back to the other side.

Having focused the necessary energy, the dark elf begins channeling his spell, combining the ara and vis into one glorious spell, with which he pushes out of himself. Anyone currently in clara will see the glowing wave of pulsing energy that Serion shoots out at the gate, wanting to envelope it in the visible, glowing light of his Shield of Divinity. With any luck that should cause at least some minor confusion on the attacking parties part while the Zerdargians can try to regroup.

[Adder]

Even as Avanthar contemplated his course of action and concluded his thoughts, Serion had also been studying, but this time his study was of the gate itself.

He also made conclusions which perhaps were not quite as conclusive as he might have imagined. For it is one thing to make some assumptions as to the nature of how a particular spell is created and quite another to attempt to modify such a thing during the heat of battle. Dispell might perhaps have been something to try but in this case Avanthar had already overlaid the spell with another. What Serion attempted was to replicate what had already been implemented with Avanthars spell. Of course had Serion arrive but moments before then he would have been aware of that spell, but instead he had arrived in the moment of calm that had followed the initial thwarted spell.

As Serion channeled his spell it interacted with the two spells already in existance, with interesting results. The result given the timing of events might perhaps be viewed as fortuitous or then again perhaps not. It remained to be seen how this would pan out for Serion, but certainly the immediate effect of his channeling was that indeed he found himself on the other side of the nexus and instead of being in the relative safety of the veldar and militia in the Compound, suddenly he found himself facing the undead waiting the order to enter the gate once more. Assuming he survived that long, once Avanthar released his Spirit Armour then there was nothing to stop him entering the gate once more, except perhaps the archers on the other side or even Avanthar himself who must be curious indeed as the the sudden arrival through a gate he had personally just recently shielded from any such event.

As Serion arrived, Avanthar had cast his orb through the gate and it exploded on contact with devasting force. Those nearest to the impact simply ceased breathing as the archmage powered spell suddenly came into being. As the shock wave of the explosion, which although not a physical one might as well have been,ran out across the compound, men and dwarfs fell to the ground in a paroxym of gasping, most having only this desired effect, and only those closest died. Certainly however the compound was defenceless for the time being.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

The swirling mass of spirits had sealed further attacks from within the compound, its furious wailing lost by the sounds of war. Armed and unarmed undead awaited behind in patient ranks as those far away at the edges contested against the Phoenix Legion in grisly melee. Amidst its clamor, sitting atop a brilliant stallion of midnight, the Lord Dra’Aran propelled his spell forward, an orb of swirling green shooting through an opening of his spirit wall just as another form entered into domain. Behind the wall of spirits closed once more, blocking Serion from any possible escape…

Beyond the Compound was left defenseless… it was now ripe for the taking…

For the briefest of moments nothing was done as several orcs and goblins regarded the figure while undead stared blankly. Neither knew what to make of the figure. It was unfortunate however, for one lone necromancer instantly recognized his casting as he began to walk through the thrall of undead, entering deeper into enemy lines. For one to wield the power of light AND come from within Zerdagia certainly marked him an enemy… and for that the necromancer must act.

Instantaneously the command was sent, traveling along the undead closest to Serion as all saw the dark elf as a target, the miasma of holy energy calling to their dark senses. Unlike Cerius, Serion had not been given protection by Dra’Aran, neither did he knew of Serion’s presence within Zerdagia. As undead of all sorts sought to unleash their wrath… other squads moved around the battle and closer to the gates.

Unleashing his fury against the Phoenix Legion, Dra’aran was gifted but the scantest amount of time to attend to Serion’s plight. Having waited a brief moment, he allowed his wall of spirit to be lowered before turning his attention to the cavalry, allowing the milling undead for the attack while bands of orcs and goblins waited… readying themselves to enter when the command was made. Serion would need to survive long enough to attract Avanthar's attention... but just how long could he survive against an attack by dozens... and how would his former ally see the D'rinishad now?

[Serion D'Rinishad]

***OOC***

Sorry for the OOC post, it must be said:

OMFG! Lol!

[Adder]

Those inside the compound who were not immediately incapacitated by the noxious fumes from Avanthars Stench of Decay fought their way outside of the compound. It was fortunate that the earlier commands had cleared much of the compound of all but the troops involved in the battle.

All of the reserves were outside and many of them had now moved off as they were called to other incidents in the city.

The archers had scrambled off the roof tops, and raced for the exits, not even orders could compell them to stay there. The area around the gate was now empty except for a few bodies scattered around, some dead, and some wishing that they were.

The spell was however only temporary and at the compound gates the troops were massing again, ready for a counter assault back into the barracks.

The gate itself had burst into activity and Avanthars troops poured out, stopping only to kill those unfortunates who had been rendered unconcious by the arcane attack. The way to the detention area of the compound was now open, but Avanthar seemed not to have given any specific orders to his troops and they instead milled in the immediate area around the gate.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Dra’Aran had fought he’d meet fierce resistance within the Compound, yet obviously it was not so. Word soon reached him of the lack of defense, obviously a simple noxious cloud was all that was needed to rid the place of defenders. Eventually the cloud would dissipate, yet for the moment a pair of necromancers moved through the gate, protecting themselves with their black arts as they took control of the situation. One immediately set to raising the dead, as the other began organizing them into a fierce fighting force.

Looking up and around, he could see the place was easily defendable, it was designed as such. As a growing number of undead entered the Compound, the necromancer directed a large portion of them towards the compound gates in the hope of holding them off until reinforcements came.

As a black tide of death, more commands were made as he sent several undead archers to different locations upon the roof tops, seeking to further secure the facility. Upon the outside goblin archers massed, waiting but a moment for the cloud to dissipate before venturing in with glee, immediately moving on to the various roof tops and the gates, seeking to shower various volleys of arrows…

[Adder]

The Veldar and militia remained at the compund gates and they watched as the cloud started to dissipate. The time was used to effect as the officer commanding moved some of the troops who had been in the compound were shifted out and some who had been outside were moved back in.

Clearly when the cloud dissapated there was going to be a race for possession of the compound and it would prove to be a valuable asset and the defenders would suffer a major blow if they were to lose it. For the time being the defenders had a massive advantage in numbers, but this was somewhat transparent. Both sides had plenty of troops waiting just outside a gate, one gate was physical and the other was arcanic, but the effect was much the same.

A spearhead was formed of heavy infantry, protected by heavy armour and shields and formed of veldar vetrans. It would punch down the main avenue into the compound sweeping anything from its path. screening either side of it would be two divisions of light infantry whose sole job was to protect the now reinforced squadrons of archers. The light infantry would provide shield walls to protect the archers from any retaliatory missile weapon.

Now all that both sides waited for was the arcana to disipate.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

As the protected Necromancers moved through the gates, they readied themselves for the confrontation as bands of skeleton archers situated themselves upon the roof tops as they readied their bows towards the gates, awaiting the coming confrontation. While bands of undead shambled out, the command was made for them to split into three groups(35%/35%/30%). The larger groups were to be situated at the sides of the gates, to come at them in a swift ambush while the latter was placed to face them head on, to be reinforced by the continual flood of undead whom were unfazed against the toxic fumes.

Whilst the Veldar waited for the cloud to dissipate, it simply gave precious time for Avanthar and his followers as undead moved in, setting the defense in place as lines of archers manned the rooftops. Three necromancers had appeared, a pair of them beginning to animate those they had killed during entry, while the third held his hand, awaiting to strike when the attack begin.

When the attack came, the heavy infantry would face the weakest group first while the two groups struck at the sides with greater force, all the whilst archers fired down upon the trapped dwarves. A present was being readied by one necromancer… for the compound would prove to be the most critical of them all.

[Adder]

It was certainly a difficult time for the Veldar, it appeared that they had for the time being lost control of their very home. It was a humiliation that would be discussed in dark corners for many eras to come.

But for now, it appeared that the cloud of whatever it was that had forced them to retreat was now dissipating and the heavy infantry moved forward at a trot. Fast enough to cover the ground but not so fast that they could not maintain discipline. Shields interlocked to the sides and overhead the mass of metal slid down the avenue like a hammer looking for a nut.

The archers and light infantry raced out to the sides, leaping for the rooftops mentally thanking Setik for the practice in so doing.

As the heavy infantry trotted down the avenue they came under increasing fire from the skeleton archers. So far few casualties were caused as the skeletons were not the best choice as archers, it being a delicate skill but numbers and the size of the target tended to overcome this problem and spent arrows skipped from the dwarfen armour.

On the rooftops nearer the walls the first dwarfen archers joined in the battle with their initial target being the opposing archers, but this also proved to be somewhat fruitless for the skeltons were poor targets and most arrows simply passed straight through, though sometimes taking a bone or two with them.

On the ground the ambush was set and about to begin. The heavy infantry smashed into the first ranks of the undead and barely slowed as they ground their way in. But slow they did eventually and then the ambushing parties from the side did their own hammering and this time it was the turn of the heavy infantry to play the part of the nut. But these were seasoned and trained troops of the Veldar, not the militia that had been encountered elsewhere and they shrugged off the first impact and fought back doggedly. This fight settled into a slogging match and at present it was not at all clear who would be the victor.

Behind this fight the light infantry and archers infiltrated into the compound once more, matching the numbers that were also pouring through the shadow gate.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Casualties from both sides were mounting, though the dead themselves would eventually rise up and bolster Avanthar’s great horde… if time permitted. As more allies moved forward to aid in the defense, the city was suffering slowly. Even as undead moved forward into the compound, orcs, goblins and a smatter of undead were terrorizing the residential district through a number of gates, and though the initial forces brought near the B&D Anvil were heavily decimated, defenders had been drawn away from more vital areas. Now that the very compound was under attack, communications and reinforcements would prove a problem…

Undead moved and stationed themselves, as the battle between the dead and the living continued. As heavy infantry moved in formation, archers seeking platforms as to strike, the constant shower of arrows seemed to do little harm to those protected by their dwarven armor. Silent commands were given by protected necromancers as targets were changed, the majority (90%) of the archers firing towards the entrance where the light infantry and archers sought to infiltrate the compound whilst ravaging ghouls, zombies and skeleton warriors clashed with the heavy infantry.

The remaining archers continued to fire unopposed into the press of the heavy infantry, seeking to gift them with additional worries so they could not fight to the best of their ability against the ground forces. As the weaker armored soldiers and archers would be hammered with shower of arrows, the heavy infantry would hopefully be outnumbered soon.

Matching skill and intelligence, it was obvious the Veldar were superior, yet the dead feared nothing, nor did they feel pain. Unrelentless, they would attack without mercy, unaffected by wounds as they slashed out…

Outside, Lord Dra’Aran unleashed his shards of darkness at the enemy, barely feeling the drain as his shadowy creation continued to tear at the Phoenix Legion. With his specter projecting important information back to him, commands were given for a contingent of orcs and goblins to ready themselves.

Deciding to momentarily take his attention away from the Phoenix Legion, seconds were needed before the necromancer created another orb of noxious gas, hurtling the green substance into the Veldar Compound once more...

Word had reached Avanthar of Duncan, or at least another’s intervention, for the closing of the main gate and the decimation of the undead there had been shown to the knight. The battle would continue to rage… yet he knew he had been betrayed... for he remembered seeing Duncan enter the main gate... if the man was truly on his side... then the city would already be theirs!

[Adder]

Battle was joined in the compound once more and the two sides fought bitterly and with not the slightest trace of mercy. The forces of the militia swarmed through the gates and ran to the relief of the now emedded and embroiled heavy infantry.

The heavy infantry were taking casualties, some from the archers, but these were few, the archers serving more to distract the infantry than to cause any great harm. But the close in fighting was starting to take its toll simply because the undead were so hard to kill.

The light infantry continued their fruitless duel with the undead archers, the veldar archers being protected from the indifferent skills of the undead by the shield wall of the light infantry, but still their own fire was relatively fruitless.

Once more Avanthar flung through his noxious orb and as it burst inside the compound, it seemed that he had made the cast that would cause consternation and dismay to the defenders.

However, even as the defenders recoiled and the heavy infantry turned and fought their way back out of the compound, leaving behind their dead and those overcome by the latest spell and they were surely dead even if the effects of the spell had not killed them.

But then with success in their grip, all was set at nought for the Church had arrived just to the east. Compared to the Bitter Winds, Wind Blasts, Hurricanes, Pillars of Flame, Ice, and Lightning, Icestorms, Sandstorms, Shards of Ice, and punishing Stonings that the mages unleashed what had happened in the compound to date was a mere introduction.

It was to be hoped that the mages didn't intend quite so much destruction upon the city, but intended or not the effects were devastating. The residential district was not so far from the compound in its central location in the city and the nature of the attack unleased meant that anyone out in the open in the east and centre of the city was almost certain to be killed. The dwarves that remained in their homes were at least safe from the shrapnel of stone and ice that shot through the streets.

The compound was certainly no place of safety and the archers were sythed from the rooftops, the undead blasted apart even as the Veldar were slaughtered. The heavy infantry, already in defensive array were the only ones to survive within the compound and even there only half of them made it back to the gates.