Snippet #1575433

"Haha! Come at me fowl dastard! You shall not harm a feather on my head, but the same cannot be said for you!" surprisingly spry and grinning like a madman, Beelzes ducked under the flung spear of a harpy Child and hastily erected a shimmering green barrier against his subsequent blast of dragon fire. This Child must have wielded a higher rank than most, for he maintained his flame-spitting for much longer than normal. As the fire raged on Beelzes fed her verdant shield more and more energy, chanting as she did.

"In darkest night, and dimming day, I shall not flee from the fray. Those who turn to evil, led astray... fear my spells, and Hell's Death Ray!" at the climax of her poem the deep human unleashed a deep green blast of energy that tore through the Child's supernatural defenses and disintegrated a goodly portion of his torso. As the harpy plummeted to the cobbles in a half-dead heap the osodaemon Beelzes had summoned back at camp formed out of null space, chucking a trio of severed heads onto the ground at her feet. Beelzes beamed up at her demonic ally and patted his armored hip(for she could reach no higher on the towering behemoth). "Good man! I suspect their souls will feed your progeny for many hours!" something atop the wall above caught her eye, and Beelzes focused her darkvision to see that many legionnaires were already preparing to drop down into the city proper. "Excellent! Come, my friend, we have work to do!"

---

Mikana smirked at her companion's odd form of humor and abruptly tossed her hammer into the air with spell-empowered limbs. The great hammer, spinning end over end, pulped the left leg of a diving nightmarian Child who immediately lost her balance and crashed onto the wall. Mikana drew a one-handed war hammer and began to move in for the kill when Thanaros interposed himself between the two. "Sid said that one of us was supposed to get the gate open." the half-orc levelled his polearm at the rising nightmarian and continued in a toneless voice. "I still have my favored weapon, so you will go."

Shrugging, the blue-haired elven lass spun on her heel and ran after Caine. As she ran Mikana waved her sword through the air in mystic passes that left golden trails behind in an intricate symbol. Without breaking stride the elf summoned an archon, a lesser angel made of pure energy. The angel fell into step beside it's summoner, the luminescent, vaguely feminine shape staring ahead as if knowing Mikana's intent purely by instinct. There would be a fair measure of increased resistance near the gate controls and Mikana intended to use every advantage she could get. As she passed Caine, Mikana slapped his shoulder and pointed towards a flight of stairs up ahead that led to the inside structure of the wall. As soon as she touched down on the first stair two children wielding weighted whips appeared from the darkness within and lashed at her.

Mikana managed to deflect the first with a quick parry but gasped in pain when the second metal ball rapped against her ribs with a cracking sound. Using her fourth prayer since the beginning of the battle, the elven paladin switched places with the first Child in space and stabbed into the second, very surprised Child of Fire until he stopped moving. Back up the stairs, the archon had pressed it's adversary up against the wall and burned away the flesh of her face like so much wax. Already Mikana could hear more soldiers moving up to challenge her advance. She prayed Caine would lend his strength hear.

Outside, Sid and several other snipers had finished scaling the wall and were raining projectiles down onto the defenders within the city awaiting their second descent. The southern portion of the wall was now fully under Legion control and the remainder of Wrath's army waited just outside of the gates for their turn to strike. Sid called for runners to begin relaying orders and get this show on the road.

---

Nhil's Camp

"They are making swift progress, general Liu-Wen." Nhil regarded the flashing city with some interest, but not much. He was still studying the many missives detailing the Children's calls for reinforcements. They had not been able to reach allied cities for aid via land or air, not even magic, but somehow they had gotten word of their besiegement out. The message noted that no less than two companies of Children of Fire and two Hatchlings from Astara's clutch. The message had reached the nearest garrison two days ago...at best, the army had an hour to take the city. That would not be happening. Nhil turned to his appointed general and nodded toward the east. "I will delay the enemy footsoldiers sent to hinder our assault, but I can do nothing about the dragons. White's have an innate resistance to spiritual magic that makes me much less effective than I could be."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir." Wrath bowed and began relaying orders to the grand-general's troops. They were already ready to march and were merely awaiting the signal from captain Grimsmirk.

---

Pel Mekillot dove under a sword swing and came up in a nimble roll, slashing the soldier's legs and hamstringing him. This was followed up by a quick slash across the jugular. She whispered a prayer to her patron angel, surrounding herself in a dusky aura that made her seem less physical and much harder to pinpoint. She kept a close eye on Kisikoni and was relieved to see him fighting alongside Talae again. Not that she liked the tall, man-stealing wench in any way mind you, but Coney always kept a more appropriate decorum in battle around Shanir.

That relief was drowned out by a sudden surge of panic and confusion when Kiskoni began fighting like a demon. In moments the deep human felled three super-human opponents and did not even break a sweat. Had she not been a cleric, such a miraculous feat may have looked like a great sign of recovery. Being one of the blessed though, it was clear to her that some otherworldly sentience was slowly taking root in the man's body. Pel was torn. She could try an exorcism, but in the middle of battle that would probably only get him killed. This may be the only chance to do it while he(and by extension, it) was not looking. When the freakish protrusion tore free of Kiskoni's live-leather, she found herself finding the immediate option more appealing.

---

Immensely. Xeron's mental response was immediate and dripping with a disturbing level of sincerity. Did you like my present? I picked it from the mind of Nihalistrix herself...dumb, scaly bitch is not too keen on psionics. She should really up her defenses. the dark elf, dressed in nothing but his customary crimson robes and plain breeches, was perched atop the town hall tower barely a half-mile into the city from the wall. He let his legs dangle over empty space and hummed a tune to a children's song often sung by the dark elves of Umbridge. I am waiting for you at the clocktower...a bit north, of your location. I have been assigned to stall your advance until the White lizard's fanatics arrive, but-

"Hey! Silenced!" Xeron slowly turned to regard a trio of Children(two orcs and a halfling) that had just ascended the stairs. Each had a look of disdain strewn across their faces at having to fetch one so far beneath them. "The captain says you were supposed to be on the wall with the rest of the rangers and casters!" Xeron merely blinked in reply, then turned back to stare at the wall again. The orcish child fumed with rage and grabbed the Silenced by the shoulder. He and the other two Children of Fire found themselves knocked back by a sudden blast of concussive force and plummeting towards the street below.

Damn cultists. No class. Ah, my dear, as I was saying, I am supposed to stall you, and I figure that having a duel with you counts as that. You do not have to accept, but that would mean I would have to start turning the brains of your friends into mush. I think I will start with the...hmm...ah, the orc. You dislike him just a bit less than most, no? like a sniper Xeron pinpointed the location of Thanaros on the was and fired a needle-like projectile of invisible psychic force. The half orc, just having parried the mace of a Child of Fire, crumpled to the ground grasping at his bleeding flank. He would have had his head bashed in had not the Mialee twins arrived with several golems to beat back the enemies nearby.

I can always aim for the head. It's easier, considering how many thoughts buzz through people's skulls during battle.