Chapter 184
Chapter 184
Metal creaked and groaned as cogs in the gigantic landstrider continued to churn. They were the only sounds left now in the dark interior of the council’s room - only lit by a faint blue hologram spread out as a map along the tabletop. Peskus shifted nervously in his seat, his eyes meeting the Slayfather’s only briefly before rapidly descending to look at the metal table in front of him.
Other officers of Rippenvire were the same, not wanting to be the targets for the wrath or ire of their commander.
Pale hands steepled in front of the man at the head of the table, and he took in a deep breath to let it out very slowly as he closed his red eyes. “That report was from five minutes ago. A fourth of our entire fleet, lost within a little over a day of arriving on this planet. That is not acceptable, and I do not intend to be held responsible for such humiliation when I return back home. I assume you all feel the same way, unless you want to each be shunned for the remainder of your lives for such a blunder.”
Peskus nodded in agreement. “If I may, your excellency.”
The Slayfather curiously glanced left, then leaned back in his chair and motioned for Peskus to continue. “Go on.”
Peskus cleared his throat. “Those same reports also indicate that we know from whence these vermin come. The battle is only now finishing, and although we may not be able to reach the remnants in time to clean up - we can use this opportunity to strike back.”
Murmuring agreements echoed through the dark room over the next dozen seconds.
“I propose we strike now.” Peskus continued, growing in confidence from the audible support he was getting. His finger landed on the hologram. “This should be their capital, and I doubt they are advanced enough to have any kind of protections against portaling in. There is no doubt in my mind that the ones who attacked our harvesting fleet are the strongest they have, I would have thought it impossible to encounter such strong natives this early in the integration - but I am more than certain they do not have more. We should strike now and hit their home base before they come back, and then when they arrive to see the smoldering ruins of their great city upon a return home - they will truly know what it means to attack Rippenvire.”
“AGREED!” One of the other officers roared out, standing to his feet. “KILL THEM ALL!”One by one the officers stood shouting their encouragement and urging their leader to take action as they began to chant ‘kill them all’ over and over again.
The Slayfather held his hand up for silence, and when the room became quiet he too stood up and tipped his top hat in Peskus’s direction. “I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad start. In the meantime, collect what information you can on the name ‘Allie Thane.’ Send a message back to the homeland and seek out whether or not her claims concerning the Blood Moon Requiem are true. As all of you know I am highly skeptical that a princess of their empire would be here on a frontier integration planet, but it is better to be certain. The fact that a native even knows of their name is somewhat concerning, and although it is likely a bluff - thoroughness in all things is a virtue. If it’s true, if by some miracle she really is who she says she is, taking her as a prisoner for breeding purposes so we can acquire the bloodline for ourselves is a new and top priority. Prepare the legions and the fleets.”
Peskus saluted. “Yes, your excellency. Which ones?”
The Slayfather raised an eyebrow and tapped his cane on the metal floor with a resounding crack of sound. “All of them.”
***
Fay leaned over her cup of tea, cooling it with a soft whispering puff of air - then sipped. The warm amber liquid was gentle on her tongue, with traces of scented herbs mixed into a sweet and soothing taste. “This is quite nice. Thank you Shovi.”
Lahn and his mother both smiled back at her, sipping on their own tea as they sat at a wicker table on the backyard porch of their estate - overlooking a large garden with a flowing brook full of brilliantly colored fish similar to the ponds in the gardens of the academy. This place had a nice view, as the Lucio estate was positioned on a hill overlooking some of the other well-kept neighborhoods of middle to upper class citizens - and little tiny lights dotted the streets along the roads where merry nightlife was still in abundance.
Shovi yawned, and she glanced up at the starry night sky where airships of the royal fleet were gathering in abundance a few miles out. There were thousands of them, mostly created from wood and styled in a way that would allow them to act as regular ships of the sea should they need to let their engines cool down. Smaller drakes and rocs along with their riders were also swarming the area - landing on large flat hover platforms to join the gathering horde. “I wonder… It is not often to see such a large amount of the fleet here at one time.”
“News of the invaders is quite a topic on Dawn’s forums, especially here in Mandon - the capital.” Lahn said softly, giving his thin but now healed left arm a once-over again. “They speak of the legions assembling, retreating from the front lines and heading home. I am not sure if they expect an attack or not… but it is certainly concerning. To just give up all the ground we fought for overnight…”
The quick slapping steps of a hired maid rushing through the house became louder when the back door quickly opened - and a young woman came to bow before Shovi. “My lady! News from your husband - a quarantine is about to be announced and all people are to shelter on the lower floors! The academy and the palace are both being evacuated! Your husband is joining the fleet as we speak, and your two children are being escorted with the other academy students on campus to floor 6!”
Shovi deeply frowned. “Quarantine? Take shelter? We are on the 7th upper level, the very top of the city. Why would we go down? Are we expecting an attack from the sky?”
The maid hesitated. “I am not sure my lady, it is merely the message your husband sent via letter. He says it is important, and-”
The hired maid’s voice was cut off by the blaring sound of alarm bells just as a booming echo radiated out from overhead. High up in the sky and a few miles to the left, a gigantic vortex began swirling about with yellow and red light. Warhorns sounded next, blasting out from the fleet across the city as the thousands of airships began to take formation and magics flared to life. Shields, barriers, and swarms of individual aerial riders made themselves visible and the glowing sigil of Dawn’s sun illuminated the scattered clouds.
Lahn’s jaw dropped and Shovi gasped in horror along with the other staff members nearby. The sound of a clattering tray and shattering porcelain plates was heard nearby, and an enormous *BOOM* from the swirling, ominous portal sent shockwaves across the landscape. A layer of hot air billowed out rustled the plants nearby, sending Fay’s hair into a frenzy as the succubus stood up - and it nearly knocked Shovi over completely.
There, far above and distant to Dawn’s own fleet, was another - unknown swarm of incoming airships. These ones were far different from the wooden galleon styled ships of Dawn, and instead they were made of metal and flesh. Many were domed with cannons hoisted up on mounted turrets - bottom and top. Others were larger, more boxy, illuminating the ocean of dark figures on the other side of the portal with red lights. And there was one in particular that dwarfed all others…
It was an absolute mammoth of a construct, and spanned many hundreds of yards in all dimensions. Looking like an enormous spiked ball, there were hundreds of levels where figures illuminated by red lights were outlined on battle stations. Huge turret guns and a few plasma cannons beginning to charge up along the forward side glowed in the darkness, and huge writhing appendages made from metal and muscle stretched out like the arms of an octopus - letting off sparks of yellow lightning that crackled and simmered against the dark backdrop of the huge construct.
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The blaring war horns and clamoring alarm bells of Dawn’s forces were met in turn with a deep, ominous boom of a single echoing horn from the gigantic spiked ball miles out. The portal expanded, and behind it came many thousands of more airships. Quickly these newcomers began to double, triple, and then quadruple Dawn’s own numbers as their slow advance was set and spread out across the skyline - incoming red lights dotting the horizon.
“By the gods…” Shovi whispered with wide eyes, her voice shaky as she staggered to her feet. Then she whirled. “GET THE CARRIAGES READY! GET LAHN’S CHAIR, HE STILL CAN’T WALK YET! WE LEAVE FOR THE 6TH LEVEL STAIRWAY IMMEDIATELY! GET EVERYONE, AND ONLY TAKE WHAT YOU NEED! DO IT NOW!”
Fay watched as dozens of bright crimson torpedoes rocketed out of the enemy ships. Considering their trajectory was not at the royal fleet but rather at the city itself, and considering that these brightly colored torpedoes were only a couple dozen in comparison to the many thousands of airships - it confused her. That wasn’t nearly enough to do any real damage to the city’s top level, was it?
Her mind quickly changed when she saw what they did.
One, two, and then three more explosions sounded out upon impact with various points along the cityscape, with accompanying flares of red and neon light in the distance. Fay’s eyes went wide as she realized that they were even more portals. They were smaller versions of the one bound to the sky, but the problem with these was that they were located directly on the city’s 7th floor. One of them had even appeared in a nearby city street down the hill where mercy nightlife had been in abundance with music and drinking only minutes before.
And within moments, surging hordes of mechanical abominations, fleshy hounds, and red-eyed steam-punk vampires began to pour out in a blitzkrieg. The neighborhood was quickly set to flame, and the screams of the innocent filled the air as they were burned to ash, eaten alive, and butchered to the tune of laughter and mayhem.
***
The sky was alight with combat as the two fleets clashed, sounding like rumbling thunder over a decimated landscape.
And Shovi’s attempt to run with her son, Fay, and hired servants had been put to rest - at least temporarily.
The nearest stairway to the 6th floor was jam packed with refugees trying to flee the luxurious, uppermost 7th level. Tens of thousands of people trying to cram down one spiral staircase that only fit a few hundred people at one time led to infighting, stampedes, and outright panic while city garrisons tried to keep the citizens safe in a desperate attempt to hold the vampiric hordes back.
This particular stairwell was also next to the central most city waterfall, the one that spanned all 7 upper floors and the lower floors before the water was recycled and reused through pipes and aqueducts after being cleaned. Hundreds of people had already been pushed off the edge or had outright jumped in order to avoid the vampires who’d been able to break past the local garrisons where fighting was most fierce - only to find the soft underbelly of untrained, panicking women, children and elderly that died like flies in a nest of spiders.
“We can’t get through!” Shovi coughed out with a desperate squeal of panic, looking out the carriage window where her driver was trying to control the horses amidst the absolute madhouse of running people. “Gods damn it!”
Lahn remained quiet, shocked into silence as two of the other maids, a butler, and Fay rested across or next to him in their seats.
Fay was quietly summoning and discharging curse traps, laying them in the path of any oncoming enemy that blindly rampaged through the crowds. Flickering runes of green light would ebb and fade away, only to be tripped by anyone she considered an ‘enemy’ - blowing them to smithereens in showers of gore or torn metal from a distance. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to use her curse of rot, because should she try - she’d likely bathe the entire area in a cloud of death and cause all the civilians nearby to rot away before she even got close to the vampires.
And she dared not leave the carriage. The enemies still had quite a ways to go before carving through the crowds before they got here. Not only that but she needed to stay and protect Lahn for Allie’s sake… at least that’s what she was telling herself. Yet she couldn’t help but know internally that wasn’t the only reason. She was afraid, torn between leaving Lahn and his mother entirely to fly away to safety. She still remembered what’d happened the last time she’d fought someone - she’d been abducted, tortured, and… and things had not ended well for her. Not until Riven had come to safe her from the fate she otherwise would have endured until death. She’d be so broken, and shuddered outwardly at the memory before she turned her attention back to the hordes of vampires illuminated by burning buildings. The enemies screamed bloodthirsty cries while they clashed against lines of human mages, firing archers, and armored city guards, trying their best to join what other of their compatriots had found a way around to the terrified, fleeing citizens.. What little organization the defenders did have was minimal at best, and only available to them because the portals that’d ripped open along Dawn’s top floor were spread out and disorganized themselves. It’d become a vast free for all, the city had been breached, and every man was for himself as far as the non-combat citizens that lived there were concerned.
Shovi rapidly ducked back inside the carriage when a galloping man on horseback skidded along the side of their carriage, running people over in an attempt to save himself while clutching the limp, bloodied body of a young boy to his chest. She took in a sucking breath and shakily clasped her hands, rocking back and forth with tears welling up in her eyes. “Fay? Does Riven know what’s happening? Are Allie and Riven coming to save us?”
She looked up, hope still present but the fear obviously apparent while she and the other occupants tried not to panic like everyone else outside.
Fay nodded, clutching a communication stone in her hands while staring out the window. It was so, so loud, and the fighting was getting closer. Her unholy runes kept popping up and exploding, and she’d gained numerous levels since this event had taken place, but she was constantly on the verge of running out of mana - even after having downed numerous mana potions while in the carriage. “They know. They’re coming, as are reinforcements from the necropolis. Even Deepnest is sending one of their hive swarms to help defend the city, but the fastest of them will probably take a few hours before arriving.”
“Who’s closest?” Lahn asked, a mixture of relief and worry crossing their faces.
Fay hesitated. “Uhm… let me ask…”
A shrill scream erupted from overhead and the ground beside the carriage split apart as a large, twelve-foot tall gargoyle with leathery wings and red eyes skewered a man right outside. Shrieking in delight and tearing out the man’s neck, people abruptly began to scatter in the immediate vicinity - only for the gargoyle to abruptly trigger a nearby rune and explode in a shower of gore. The horses bucked and charged, bulldozing another couple people with the crunch of bodies underfoot.
Fay sighed uncomfortably as Shovi and the other maids screamed, but they quickly calmed themselves when they realized the threat was dealt with and the horses were brought under control.
“T-Thank you, Fay..." Shovi muttered under her breath, violently trembling now and reaching out to take Lahn’s hand as she cowered against the wooden carriage wall.
Fay looked out the window again, frowning, and then gestured to the sky. “Don’t thank me yet. I think we may need to forgo the stairway altogether… things aren’t safe here.”
Immediately overhead more of the gargoyles clashed with rocs, small dragons and their riders - blood magics colliding with holy and fire spells as the smaller aerial units of both fleets duked it out over the crowds of civilians. Bodies began to fall more and more frequently, and a couple hundred yards away a smoking galleon spiraled down to crash into a pub with an explosion of fire.
Then, then the chanting could be heard.
It grew louder, starting as a faint echo and building into a roar as the vampires withdrew to congregate along a city street. The marching footsteps of leather boots, the sounds of rifles and pistols going off, the clash of sword on sword and the snarling barks of vampiric hounds rose up like a wave.
That’s when Fay saw them. Thousands of enemies, led by one of the gigantic vampire paladins wielding a huge claymore, marched in a mob towards the defending lines. Arrows bounced off of him, magics splashed against his mechanical armor, but he just kept coming in a steady, monotonous rhythm of heavy footfalls.
But then, he abruptly stopped and turned. His eyes went right, and the chanting died down as he gave an obviously perplexed look of surprised. The defenders and what civilians that weren’t frantically trying to rush down the spiral staircase or simply couldn’t fit followed his gaze - all settling on the same area.
There, coming out between buildings, were shadowy cloaked figures. Fay’s heart skipped a beat and she let out a quivering sigh of relief when she saw them, though it was far from over and she wasn’t sure if they could win. Still, it was hope to latch onto, and despite being a contracted demon Fay was still traumatized with the very real experience of almost true death not long ago.
Did that make her a coward?
Absolutely. But she didn’t care.
There, coming out into the open to face the vampiric horde from the side where Mandon’s defenders and the advancing vampires were standing off from one another, was a swarm of undead. Zombies, skeletons, and flesh golems - many of which gave off clouds of pestilent green gas or flickered with shadow magics came to a silent halt. Three necromancers, all cloaked and hooded, held wands at the ready. Two skresh and a beautiful, pale-eyed ghoul woman.
Mara’s dead eyes shifted to the carriage where Fay and Lahn were kept, and she nodded once before raising her wand. Teal wisps of light began to gather around her as her body flared, and the other two skresh necromancers followed suit with the same exact spell.
Then the horde of undead charged, the vampires roared to meet them or continued their mad dash into the human ranks, and all hell broke loose.