Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

[Shrike7]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Save the Desert Group!)

Huldah shifted a little, her gaze passing between the two felines slowly. She had little to say herself, so she just remained silent, letting them speak while she pondered what tests the older Su-Ku-Ta had in store for her. She couldn't think of many, but every single one she did think of made her a little more nervous.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Save the Desert Group!)

Spoiler

Huldah: HP = 72, PP = 40, EP = 40, Status = Fine

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Zahra: HP = 60, PP = 44, EP = 41, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 95/105, Status = Fine

~~~~Solidyn and Kor are ready~~~~

~~~~Zahra/Huldah~~~~​

Oh no! It's not that at all! I've just... Uhhh... Never taught anyone anything!" Verja replied, and then clapped his hands together, "right! New experiences! Always good! Usually! Well then, why don't you two move your things in and pick a spot. I, uhhh... Don't really have any guest bedrooms, so I guess you'll have to make do wherever you think is comfortable."

(I think it's probably time to split the thread. Are you lot ready?)

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Save the Desert Group!)

(I will get my kitty fix elsewhere yis.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

Their company geared up and prepared to move out in only a short while, Solidyn would be back in her newly improved armor shortly, while Kor was left to ride in one of the supply wagons out of the sun or walk along with the rest, whichever was his preference. The faerie mercenaries, not requiring nearly as much food or water as a normal fighting force and able to find both far more effectively than one as well, made extremely good time along the paths leading to the ancient fortress and its mysterious enchanted fortress, the Su-Ku-ta and Anudorian resistance forces moving in behind them to hold it against the invaders should they need to retreat. They would move across the barren dessert sands for the better part of the day, stopping by an oasis just before dusk to set up camp. Solidyn would have her armor carefully removed by her kobold gunners, allowing the armored arachne to move off to get some shade and water to make up for the loss of the armor's pleasant cooling. Kor, in the meantime, would find Emi playfully helping him set up his tent for the night, performing every action such that she could easily contort into increasingly suggestive poses whenever he seemed to be looking at her.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Save the Desert Group!)

Solidyn lay at the edge of the oasis, her head laying in the water as she laid on her back, her elf-arms spread and her massive legs pointing skyward.

"Aaa-aaaah," she grumbled. "It's so hot now that I'm out of that I'm outta that! Can't I just keep it on...?"

Though she prided herself on her tolerance for wearing her armor under any conditions, she'd found that making it suck to get out of her armor, rather than a relief, as it had been, was just a little annoying. She'd spend a bit of her time moping in the shade.

When she got up, not too long afterwards, she made her way over to find Ur-Wind. She'd strongly considered simply working more on her tabard, but she figured she should consult her commander, instead - find out what their new objective was, and what not.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Save the Desert Group!)

Kor, walking along with everyone else in relative silence, wasn't bothered by the sun, or the heat, or any thirst aside from a less natural one, and even that was slight and easily ignored. What WASN'T easily ignored was Emi, being a nuisance as she started to pitch his tent.

He wasn't all too sure he could call it helpful.. and even less sure he wanted her sleeping near him after the last episode. Falling asleep around Emi proved to be dangerous... especially for his fluid supply. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he wanted to get back at her at this point, having to war between an odd compulsion to dominate her, and an equally as strong urge to just stay the hell away from her!

Refusing to look at her as they worked, the tent probably wouldn't take all that long, and even then Kor wouldn't enter it, at least not immediately, instead lauching himself up into a tree near the edge of the oasis and looking out at the desert sands as he pondered things.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

"No" Ur-Wind would reply flatly to Solidyn as he happened to be walking by while her armor was removed, and the kobold gunners would snicker to each other while helping the arachne out of her gear. She was left alone to mope for as long as she did, and when she went off to find Ur-Wind again she would find the kobold again in conversation with the armored half-vampire, Aurelia. The latter was smirking her characteristic cruel grin, but Ur-Wind seemed to be listening to her quite intently while some of Solidyn's gun crew set up his command tent for him.

He would dismiss the death knight with a wave as he saw Solidyn approaching, however, and the knight would scowl at his back for a moment before going off in a huff, passing Solidyn briefly and giving the arachne a glare as she walked by. "Yes sub-commander Solidyn?" Ur-Wind would say, with a notable note of respect in his voice, and when she asked about their plan he would say; "We are joining a large contingent of the Anudorian resistance force, along with a Badarian militia group and a Crolian mercenary company, and retaking the city of Axni-Kri-Shoth. It's an old walled city located about halfway between the Badarian-Anudorian border and the capital at Shry-Kuth-Lus. They've been launching raids from the ruins of the city since the invasion, and we aim to retake it and eradicate their base of power there. We will join with the larger army tomorrow afternoon, and the force should be at the gates of the city within a week."

Kor, in the meantime, would be able to escape Emi by climbing up a nearby tree, which bent slightly as it was forced to bear his weight. The desert fronds, even at constant sources of water like this one, were not the sturdiest of things. The faerie that had caused his present inner conflict would sit at the base of it like a coyote waiting for a leopard to drop scraps for it, and would idly work magic to strengthen the tree while waiting for him to come down for more carefully administered torture. The half-vampire would, as he surveyed the lands, be able to spot a few of their outlying scouts, satyrs, among the dunes around the oasis, but there were no signs of any anything that might be threatening to them around, and he would be left undisturbed while watching the sun slowly set over the burning sands of Anudor.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Kor, staring out at the sands, glanced down at Emi after a moment, before dropping back to the ground and regarding her. "I think I've reached a decision... about many things but one In particular. You and me, we need to figure out who's on top... or swap... or something. he blurted out after a moment, flailing for a second or two.

Because we both have mean streaks a mile wide and honestly, we probably shouldn't let this escalate to the point of insanity... that could get messy, I don't like messy. I like you, you're twisted in just the right way.. frighteningly so actually... He finished, sitting with his back to the tree as he waited to here her thoughts on the matter.

To hell with the campaign, his orders were always the same, support the grunts and his companions, and break things, or blow them up, or turn them to ashes. He was a tool in Ur-Wind's arsenal In exchange for Gold, he was alright with that, but his current Lover... That was more pressing for the self centered half-breed, or maybe his pride was still bleeding out on the floor after having been ridden like Emi's personal bitch... Not that it wasn't fun... but damn!

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Solidyn tried hard (and mostly failed) to flush with embarrassment when Ur-Wind overheard her complaining. Her little gunners snickering at her did not help things. Traitors! "You 'eard the Marshal, get me outta this stuff! Hop to, hop to! It better gleam better n' new when I put it on tomorrow!"

She laid around with her head in the water a lot longer than it took for her to get used to being out of her armor.

She sighted that damnable bloodsucker talking with Ur-Wind again, and thought maybe it was good she wasn't in her gear this time, else she might've tried to sight her at the end of a gunbarrel. Probably a bad idea, if completely benign, as she couldn't operate the fiddly little fuses or whatever on them anyway. Whatever, at least she was leaving.

After hearing their plans, Solidyn nodded. "An' we'd be the Amazonian detachment of the force? A real international effort, eh?" She didn't like the sound of a Badarian 'militia', but Crolian mercenaries might work out well enough, especially if it was them Blue Birdy folks she'd heard about. Badaria at least would probably bring guns, too - that ought to even it up some. The Anudorians, she wasn't too sure on - they had a couple from them taking the tower, sure, but that had been Sukuta - certainly not the bulk of 'em - and the odd pair of Kitty and Big Girl, which certainly also wasn't representative of the rest of 'em.

"An' what did Aurelia have to say on it?" Solidyn asked. "Is 'er counsel up ta snuff?" She tried to not let any of the jealousy that she TOTALLY WASN'T FEELING color her questions.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

"Sort of. We're technically independent, but you aren't the only one from Amazonia, so.... Anyway, Aurelia was complimenting your new armor and complaining subtlety about not having gotten similar. Her advice, given her experience, is good enough... Though as I pointed out, her usual tactic of intimidation won't work on the aliens. We did come up with a plan of attack, however. You and your crew will be ascending the wall and shelling priority targets while Aurelia takes a force under the wall to infiltrate. Kor will be backing you up, and once the door is open we'll mostly be a supporting position for the main body of our force" Ur-Wind replied practically, either not noticing or not commenting on the surging jealousy felt by the giant spider woman.

Kor, in the meantime, would earn a giggle out of Emi at his awkward delivery. "Eheheh... Figure out who's on top eh? Well, that would obviously be me.... Usually~" she purred in response, "but if you really want to swap roles every once in a while, I suppose I don't mind. I'll have you properly trained soon enough anyway, and when you're all nice and broken you won't even want to be on top anymore!"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Kor slowly raised his eyebrow until Emi mentioned him becoming something of a trained and broken pet, and visibly bristled. Glaring as he pondered out several things swiftly, the half vampire took a moment before speaking.


"Well then, in the interests of keeping the fey courts happy, you're dismissed. I'll not have bloodshed over this." Kor said simply, his calm demeanor back and properly in place as he turned, and began walking into the desert to think in solitude, placing himself upon a large dune overlooking the camp as a whole, he'd know when it was time to leave, and when it was time to sleep, he'd return to his tent.

As he sat there in the sand, he continued to regard the mercenary troupe he was a part of, alright irked about leaving the towers secrets behind, and further confounded by his ill made choice to have Emi stay. Broken men were weak, useless things to be discarded, he had lived too long to be slave to any man, woman, or immortal, and his imprisoned fey half silently agreed.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

"Was she now."

Solidyn bristled at the thought, the one-eyed spider scowling at the notion that that that woman thought she ought to have the company spending on her armor. Damn her, she wasn't even a regular in the company! She was good in a scrap, Solidyn would give her that - but she was already well equipped anyway, and didn't sling nearly the firepower she did!

It took Solidyn a moment of stewing in her annoyance to remember she wasn't in her armor anymore, and as such, did not have her visor to hide the displeasure on her face. When she realized she was scowling for Ur-Wind to see, she flipped her expression as quick as she could. Change the subject, change the subject, change the subject...

"Izzere any notion of what I'll be hittin'?" Solidyn asked. "Any targets already expected? A gate, again, maybe? Maybe another one a' their carriers, or sommat? Didja magic me armor with somethin' ta keep in contact with targets called, or will we just 'ave ta sight our targets ourselves? An' I take it that by 'me an' my crew' it means you'll be somewhere else, Marshal? Strategizin' with the other leader-folk in the back? ...Chargin' with Aurelia?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

Emi was visibly taken aback by Kor's sudden shift in demeanor, and balked at his outright dismissal. "Excuse me?" she said at his back as he walked away, standing rooted to the spot, but if he continued walking away she would not follow. He would be left alone as he went off into the desert, the last rays of light baking him for a bit before the cold desert night offered some relief.

When he opted to return to his tent, he would find it empty, Emi nowhere to be found. What he wanted to do at that point was up to him, but for the moment no one else would disturb him, and he could rest out the night in his tent however he preferred so long as he remembered to take his medicine.

Ur-Wind was scowling slightly by the time Solidyn had realized that she no longer had her visor to protect her expression from view, but he seemed content to let the matter pass for now as he moved on to answering the arachne's questions; "You'll be able to choose your targets, but priority will go to alien towers and dropships, followed closely by their floating lords if you can catch one before its got magic up to protect itself. I'll be out of contact during the initial rush to break through, and after that we'll see how it goes, though if you get pushed back our first hold point is the city gate we'll be going through and our second is the supply camp. We won't be able to draw up advancement plans until later in the fight, when we regroup."

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

"Just blow away the usual, then, eh? Yessir," Solidyn said. "I suppose ironin' out how the push goes will 'ave to wait, then. Should I know 'a anythin' unusual? I'll 'ave all eleven of my crew, expectation of the other commander's behavior or anythin' ter watch fer in their leadership styles? Number 'a the enemy, force strength, anythin' like that I need ter know?"

The big spider leaned in, hand cupping her ear to hear her commander's response better. If there wasn't anything, then she would simply salute and await further orders.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Kor did not turn back, or offer anything else in way of explanation, instead letting his simple dismissal say all there was to say. The relationship was over, further intrusions on his peace would be met with violence.

Spending the entirety of his time out in the sands, Kor did indeed wait for the sun to drop, and even then waited several more hours, before returning to his tent, taking his medicine, and dropping to sleep.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

"Unusual? No. You'll have your full crew with you, plus Kor, and I don't know how much support from any of our allies. Assume none, and work with what you get from there. As for enemy numbers..... Legions. The entire city is a breeding ground, there will be more of the turned and their minions than there are stars in the sky. I expect ammunition to become an issue, but as you'll be remaining on the wall for the first portion of the battle you'll have easy access to the supply wagons."

Kor would return to his now empty tent, going to bed for the night after taking his medicine. Once Solidyn was satisfied with her conversation with Ur-Wind, she would be left to her own devices for the rest of the night. Their journey would continue the next day, their forces quickly joined by contingents of nomadic humans often seen astride camels or light horses, or Su-Ku-Ta groups with similar mounts and more advanced weaponry. Days would pass, the groups occasionally mingling with the faeries but always keeping their distance from the supernatural forces, particularly Kor, Solidyn, and Aurelia. This wouldn't exactly be new treatment for any of them, however, the two half-vampires and the arachne all fairly regularly avoided by mortals less inclined to tolerate their unnatural presences. Aurelia commented on this turn of events in a dry, amused manner on occasion, but the faeries mostly let it pass without comment. They weren't there to make friends, after all. Kor, however, would also find himself ignored by some members of their company a bit more than usual, as his spat with Emi spread across the camp and prompted the other nymphs to completely ignore him.

Eventually, the ancient stone walls of their target would come into view across the dull haze of the horizon. Aliens skirmishers had assaulted them fairly regularly for the last several miles, making the going slow and arduous, but the desert heat was not kind to the slimes or the fluid coating of many of the invaders when they tried to set an ambush, and the hunter attacks were rarely successful in anything other than brief annoyances. There were no signs of the real threat, the floating alien commanders, but it had never been likely that they would catch the invaders completely by surprise anyway, so most considered the lack of assaults by the magical monsters a blessing and left it at that. They camped just over a mile from the walls, behind a dune, and once the magi in their force had set up enough magical defenses to at least warn them should an attack come during the night, they bedded down for one final rest. Tomorrow, they would be the first ever to face the invaders on their own territory, in one of the cities that they had captured and emptied of life. Their foes would be legion, and many (or all) of them might not survive past even the first portion of the battle, much less to see its end should they prove victorious. It would be up to Kor and Solidyn to determine how they might wish to spend what could be the final night of their lives.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Kor continued on as he always had, he had always kept to himself, acted when called to, and ignored the so called social punishments of those who were foolish enough to think he cared. If his choice to send Emi away would earn him such things, he showed no signs whatsoever that he cared, and as no one bothered to question him about it, he had no reasons to discourage further inquiry, probably the best for all involved.

As they grew closer to their target with every step, anyone would be hard pressed to actually find Kor, the half vampire instead opting to vanish into the thick of the march, and continue making himself hard to find, though flare ups of his magic could be seen if a skirmish happened where he was close enough to help. By no means did he make any active attempt to discourage such things, but he certainly didn't remain a spectator.

As night began to fall, it seemed a heavy mood fell around everyone, their last night alive or some such nonsense. Kor however had no worries about this at all, focusing instead on his arsenal of spells that he had at his beck and call, and his energy reserves. He pondered the idea of talking to the odd Arachne who preferred firepower to the ability to hear anything said around her, but that was pointless. If anyone bothered to check, they'd find his tent, the same as always, and Kor, meditating, before taking his meds once again, and drifting to sleep, ready to wake up immediately, and call down the fires from the skies at his current commander's call... He was Excited for the bloodshed about to occur.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

After being dismissed from Marshall Ur-Wind's presence, Spidertank contented herself for a short while by snatching a bucket from somewhere and returning to the oasises' edge, where she made a little sandcastle.

The next few days were a return to the usual, except her armor was now comfortable and shiny and generally cool, in at least two senses of the word. During the trek, between the time of their rendezvous with the Anudorians and their like and their arrival at their battleground, Solidyn managed to find an opportunity here and there to play with the humans, obviously uncomfortable with The Desert Fox and his little band of non-men. She especially like the couple times she got to mess with them while out of her armor, when she was in little besides a light, half-shredded cropped top that only just covered her breasts. Her pink skin - far more vivid than the 'pink' of some of the 'white' skinned humans further North claimed as hues for their skin - was surely an exotic sight, and her trim form wasn't too bad on the eyes, she liked to think. Surely, it was juxtaposed quite well with the rest of her hulking, shiny-black, hard, chitinous spider-form, and she could - and did - use her half-deafness to lean in reeeeeal close whenever she sought them out, giving them a nice look down her loose top and grinning extra-wide with her needle-teeth.

Those damn cats of Aurelia's hadn't batted an eyelid when she threatened to eat them, and none of her crew had seemed even mildly intimidated that day, back at that kitty's tower. Probably justified, given that they were freakish, broken creatures, and that she was very protective of her crew, respectively... but that didn't stop her her from being miffed, dammit. Maybe a little bit of scaring these folks would sate her ego some.

The last night before the battle saw Solidyn being alternately worrying about the sheer amount of things that would be trying to hurt her gunners and hyped up about being able to blow the fuck out of some shit with her giant cannon, which she channeled into finishing her silk tank-tabard... or at least, the part that went over her human-half's armor. She had lots of material in the rough general shape for the rest of her armor, but given people would be tramping around on that part and all sorts of activity would be happening there, she didn't want to wear it on the day of a battle, especially a big one like this, before having time to tweak it, lest bad things like her gunners tripping on seams or slipping on the smooth fabric happen. The coat of arms was a little amateur - she wasn't a seamstress, dammit - but she thought it looked good! She'd show it off to Ur-Wind the next day, and see whether or not he'd approve of it being worn during the actual battle. This new armor didn't precisely need to be shielded from the sun, after all, so it was primarily a standard, now, really.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

Spoiler

Kor'Ensiloth: HP = 68, PP = 78, EP = 89, Status = Fine

Solidyn-Nolu: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80, Status = Fine

NPCs
Aurelia Korort: HP = 104, PP = 43, EP = 105, Status = Fine

Solidyn's efforts to frighten and disturb the humans and su-ku-ta traveling alongside their mercenary band would be as effective as she could have hoped. She would generally be given as wide a berth as possible by the mortal fighters, even with the allure of her attractive humanoid half to draw them in, and she would only catch a few looking down her shredded top when she leaned in to speak loudly into their ears, most of them concentrating on her teeth despite the more pleasant imagery presented for them. The rest of her time would be spent on her sandcastle and on the tabbard she would wear over her human half's armor. Kor, in the meantime, would be left to his own devices and spend the entirety of their trip alone.

Finally, the day of the battle would come, and in the first rays of the morning light the faeries and their strange would be doing the last things needed to prepare themselves for battle. Kor would be stationed on Solidyn's back, along with her entire gun crew, as the group started forward. Ur-Wind had already delivered their orders, to get atop the wall as quickly as possible and then provide supporting fire for the advance against the walls. Solidyn, the one doing the actual movement, would have a number of options available to her as she was presented with the first gate. A tall tower off to the left would take a bit more legwork to get to and take her alone across a good bit of open ground, but would also offer the best vantage point. Going up on the wall, either between the gatehouse and the tower or to the right of the gatehouse, would offer a good vantage as well while giving a bit more cover against any alien reprisal. Finally, going for the gatehouse with the rest of the advancing force would keep her covered, but would also put her with the rest of the army in case the aliens opted to attack them with wide reaching magic as they often liked to, and even if she reached it would offer only a limited vantage point despite having good cover.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Heroes for Hire (Courage Wolf and GargantuaBlarg)

When she gave up for the night, back at the oasis, Solidyn spun herself a teeny little scrap of silk, upon which she wrote the name of her sandcastle. Tying it to a twig, she stuck the pennant somewhere prominent, and in the morning, left Fort Aliens Suck Spider Cock standing a mighty foot-or-so high, looking out across the water, a bastion against the tentacled menace.

Assessing her options, the spider decided on making for the wall, mid-way between the ground-bound's gatehouse target and the tower. She could make it there the fastest, and it would leave her nearer her troops, which meant their targets would likely be closer and easier to hit, as well as perhaps distract a few targets solely by being in proximity, and perhaps let them put the new side-guns to work as well. Afterwards, she'd be able to get to the tower relatively quickly, as well.

The big spider also preferred it because she wouldn't be too cut off from the rest of the forces, should anything happen. The enemy controlled the insides and the wall-tops, after all - it'd be easy for them to separate her from the main group, and that would be problematic.