Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
(I forget to tell you: Gain 6 exp for dat negotiations and such, and you may spend exp. Also, Strong Willed got an upgrade, so you should update accordingly and check all of your other stuff to make sure that it wasn't changed as well.)
Gathering her kin to her was an easy task for Nerzalil, given their mindless loyalty to her, and none questioned her decision on how many of them to bring with her to the burrow that the demons had taken from them. Arriving in the morning without incident, Nerzalil found a number of the plant-kin already roaming about, entire squads of alraune and their bestial minions slowly forming up, along with the occasional instance of a massive creature that looked as if it were made of solid wood. Some of them paused and watched Neri and her column of sixty shadow demon spawn approaching through the jungle, and when she drew near an unfamiliar alraune approached and said; "Greetings Nerzalil! You and yours have come to join us then?"
The burrow was visible just ahead, and though no demons were present outside of it, the number of dead plant-kin and blasted trees suggested that they were probably still in there. That burrow had had two entrances, and she was staring right at the main one, but another cavern connected to it from a smaller cave that was a ways to the North. What she wanted to do with that information was entirely up to her, however.
(Sheet should be up to date, saving XP currently. Not sure if you want to/have updated SD's with things like lightning weakness before the stats start to be important..)
It was an odd situation the Shadow Demons were currently in. The main body of their species was blindly subservient to Nerzalil, acting on her orders as if they were their own thoughts, without even slight second-guessing (even in situations when the order might have been flawed). Yet at the same time, the female shadow demon was perhaps more bound by her loyalty to her brothers then they were to her, having given – and still giving – everything she could to ensure that their species survived, and was restored. The darkly amusing result was that, despite being the fragile keystone of her race, nothing could stop Nerzalil from putting herself in harm’s way in order to try and save it.
“In the end, though it might be pointless, I can’t let this be completely out of my hands.” Nerzalil offered in response to the new alraune. Given the state of the site, it appeared that the attack had commenced already, which brought a frown to the big bug’s face. Her information could have made use of those current-corpses, as a diversionary attack if nothing else…
“This is the burrow’s main entrance, but not it’s only one. I don’t know if they’ll have found the other one yet – it’s not a direct connection, it passes through a few natural caves, so it might have avoided their notice – but either way, they’ll be grouped here to deal with the assault it appears you’ve been putting on them. It might be possible to attack the other entrance now and secure a greater advantage, or even victory.” Despite her words, the insect troupe would not be joining any small assault force – they would stay with the larger force. Nerzalil couldn’t afford to be reckless, and sticking with the main force of plants was the safest option for her. “Or you could try to starve them out by sieging both entrances, but demons take a long time to starve.” The big bug certainly didn’t think it the best option available, that was certain.
“Or we could charge in one entrance or the other. I don’t know exactly how many demons there’ll be in there – the burrows can fit a lot more than the hundred I have inhabiting them… probably three-hundred maximum. Given that they already killed one of my burrows, I wouldn’t call it the safest approach… but the decision is ultimately yours. You have the majority of the forces here, so I’ll leave the decision to you - wherever you send the majority of your forces, I and my kind will follow.I… apologise for my cowardice, but when we’re so close to being restored from the brink, I don’t intend to be killed by a lucky shot from some succubitch.”
This fight was not going to be the first time Nerzalil would have to control her brothers in combat. She had fought through several groups of humans on the way from the gate to this jungle, and had commanded a larger number of Shadow Demons while doing so. Her species knew how to interpret her commands in battle, understood their method of attack, knew – to some degree – prioritisation and tactics… and Neri knew how to control them. Perhaps she wasn’t a tactical genius, but the independent Shadow Demon was a veteran of eight-hundred years of on-and-off battles against demons, alongside others of her kind. Granted, most of those were won through overwhelming numbers as much as anything, but Nerzalil had still picked up a few tricks. Commanding her brothers through this battle should be simple… though the craftiness of demons might be able to make things harder for her.
Her forces were already arrayed for combat – three groups of twenty, each already understanding themselves as belonging to ‘one’, ‘two’, or ‘three’. All the insectile creatures needed was an order specified to their number, and they’d carry out their action. The first two groups held seventeen spawn, and three stags. Group three, however, was five spawn, fifteen stags. The beetles were typically a poor combat choice, lacking the general versatility and combat potential that the rest of the army had, and this number was essentially every beetle that the one hive had – if they were all to die, there would be no expanding or reinforcing the structure of the burrow, as well as nothing to heal minor wounds. Still, that ability to repair creatures on the fly was part of their reason for being here – medics to made catastrophic wounds only near-fatal, to allow the fighters’ bodies to hold together for at least one more attack. It was true that bringing more spawn would have allowed for a much greater brute force from the Shadow Demons, but the presence of the plants actually made Spawns a less useful choice. The Alraune would be bringing the brunt of the actual attack; adding a little bit of meat to the already hefty force of vegetables wasn’t as useful as sending out combatants that could do something completely different, something the plants physically couldn’t do.
“My kind has a few advantages you should know about. If we attack this entrance, the stag beetles will be able to bombard it with acid. The burrow is intentionally on a decline, to collect water inside when the sky darkens and it ‘rains’. If demons are waiting just inside the opening, we will be able to strike them – to force them back, or to make them attack us, or to kill them if they do neither.”
As useful as that could be, it was not the use that merited a whole group dedicated to the beetles. Nerzalil had near-on two years to take her position in the jungle, and as combatively minded as she fairly rightly was, some of that time had been spent modifying the terrain to her advantage. Stag Beetles weren’t a common breed of Shadow Demon, but the few that did exist were very rarely used to hunt, being considerably worse at the task than their humanoid counterparts. The burrows hadn’t taken two years to build, even constructing them larger than was necessary, and Nerzalil hadn’t left the builders idle. There were tunnels for spawn and other human-sized entities to move through, certainly – in fact, the burrows were almost solely consisted of them. But there were also smaller tunnels made solely for Stags; low and wide, fitting for them to move through comfortably… where a human could only crawl through on hands and knees, if not their stomachs.
“Once we are inside the burrow, one way or another, we’ll have to watch out for small holes in the walls. There are small, stag-sized tunnels that I had the beetles dig out to make defending easier… which, if the demons have them and are smart enough to think of it, may now be in use by darkwalkers or claw-demons. If they don’t have the either, though, these stags can use the tunnels to head most-anywhere. The demons may have boarded some up, but with such a short time to work they won’t have collapsed many, if any… and the acid should be able to get through a weak barricade without taking too long. If we can use them, the tunnels will let the stag beetles scout the enemy force with little risk, or to attack with acid from unexpected directions, all while staying safe inside the rock. A goblin might be able to fit while stooped, but they won’t have any way to avoid the acid; a hellhound might be able to wriggle forward slowly, but it should be too small for them to fight effectively. None of the survivors from the burrow reported seeing any Claw demons or spiders yet, and I can’t make out any in that mess… have you combated any? Knowing the answer to that should help determine if the tunnels can be used. …Though, if there are spiders, that could prove almost advantageous. Of all hell’s creatures, they’re fairly easy to farm, and highly obedient…”
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
Listening to Nerzalil's explanation about the side entrance of the building, the alraune to whom she spoke simply nodded, and the insect could feel her connection to the plant's Voice thrumming lightly as she doubtlessly communicated the information that the shadow demon had relayed to her. "We aren't quite the underground fighters that your kind are, but this may be useful.... Do you know where any of those cave systems might have other entrances?" the alraune said, after which she grinned at the suggestion that they could simply starve the demons out. "I wouldn't bet on that strategy," she said, "We have them cornered and badly outnumbered, and unless either of those change we'll wipe them out here and now."
The alraune glanced over Nerzalil's kin, the troops she'd brought to join in the battle, and said; "A modest force.... Have you any skilled in infiltration? A strike force of more effective underground combatants would be useful, if only to lead our own through them. Do you know those caves yourself? If you do, the information can be shared through the Voice.
"We aren't sure one their numbers either, but they definitely have sufficient magics to hold us back. We've lost our first two sorties in their entirety, and striking against their rear from those caves while we send another wave at them could break their defenses. Otherwise, we'll just be throwing bodies at them until they run out of magic, which doesn't exactly sound appealing on our end." The comment about her own cowardice was ignored completely by the alraune, though for what reason that might be Neri could only guess at.
When she brought up the potential utility of her stags, the alraune frowned and said; "I don't know if they have... Darkwalkers you said? Those are spiders, right? We haven't seen any, at least. But they definitely have... Claw demons. The sneaky ones, that can change colors like a chameleon. We've seen a few goblins down there too, and some hellhounds, but the brunt of their forces seem to be just plain demons. They aren't holding just inside of the entrance, they're luring us into close quarters so their mages can take us out in groups and their knights can chop us to pieces."
"The second entrance isn't entirely mapped..." Nerzalil admitted, uncharacteristically sheepish. "I know there's an opening to the north of here, and that the upper section of the cavern that leads into the burrow is safe - I've traveled it several times myself - but a stag beetle I sent down one of the deeper tunnels didn't return. I don't know if it lost it's footing or... not, but I didn't have the forces to spare trying to clear out that section of caves, especially not if it led to rousing some other threat below us. Still, I can say that the only entrance that doesn't require us to dip deep underground is the one to the north - and that if we stick to the upper sections, we'll be fine."
"Despite what the rest of the demons think about things that are 'shadowy', we Shadow Demons aren't actually good at infiltration. -Well, some forms of our kind can be, but none of those breeds currently exist. The layout, though, I can help with - and it should certainly be helpful. I'll also be glad to have the groups of spawn lead the way if you wish, though I will not be able to join those charges myself. They are not the most deadly of creatures, but fare well underground." Switching to the voice for the convenience of being able to quickly send more clearly described images, Nerzalil began to summarize the state of the complex they intended to assault.
On instinct, before she began to explain the specifics of the complex they would be attacking, the arthropod first looked around once more, this time quite furtively. The plants had the burrow surrounded, and the female Shadow Demon doubted that any demon could sneak past them, but that didn't stop one of the stalkers from being somewhere in the area between them and the burrow's opening. Any attempt at assassination from such a creature would be quite unlikely - demons were generally callous to the colour-changing creatures, but did not throw them away on outright-stupid endeavours. That did not, however, mean that one of the creatures was not here to see what the gathered forces were doing, to provide advance warning of any attack or otherwise learn something of value. While the fact that the plants communicated to each other solely through the voice made it impossible for any non-telepath to learn the specifics of their intentions, a demon commander wouldn't have known that; and while the action of getting close to the enemy army to determine their movements was still quite risky, it was something Nerzalil had seen happen before. Given that she was going to be speaking through the voice, being overheard wasn't her concern - the information she wanted to keep out of demon hands was much more basic. There was essentially no way that the demons would be aware of the Shadow Demon-Alraune partnership, not unless the plants had first entered the fray with the battlecry "WE'RE FIGHTING AS ALLIES TO THE SHADOW DEMONS!". They wouldn't expect the plants to be able to know the layout of their current base, wouldn't expect the alraunes to be able to make use of the stag-holes, wouldn't know that there were creatures actually accustomed to underground combat coming their way; Neri cursed that she hadn't made sure to verify the sanctity of their conversation earlier... a stalker may well have already gotten out of here with that knowledge.
(Spoilered for novels of tactical bullshittery)
The initial opening you see here splits off into seven branches. In reality, these only go to two different sections of the burrow; the second, fourth and fifth both go to sections of the actual burrow that my kind lived in, while the first, third, and last two of these all head to a different part of a maze of tunnels, one that exists solely for the sake of defense. The maze sits above the actual used sections of the burrow, with only a close-to-sheer drop connecting the two, and poses a number of challenges to assaulting the larger area the demons have likely decided to reside in. If the demons have left a force inside this maze area and we come in from the front, we can't just leave them and attack the rest of the burrow, or they could attack us from behind. The tunnels in the maze are expansive enough that a force of one-hundred humanoids could fight with some effectiveness in them, though they certainly wouldn't be able to hide. On the other hand, a group of ten to twenty could hide in the maze, and use the terrain and fighting retreats to defeat a group three times their size, if they were smart and had the tunnels memorized - and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they have magic-mapped the caverns. Either way the best we can hope for is even ground; while I know the kind of building my brothers are likely to do, I don't myself know those caverns by heart, since I've never needed to walk them. Whether they left a small or large force in that section, we can't leave anything behind us that might strike us when we're unprepared. Even if we left a force guarding the entrance to ensure that they couldn't come up behind us, they could use the steep tunnel to reinforce the burrow-proper, and we would be squandering an opportunity to kill them while they are divided.
Given the redundant entrances of the upper-section of the burrow, we will either have to send a force into each entrance, or leave a standing force in the main path, to box the enemy in. If they left a large force in the upper tunnels, we won't have any trouble finding them, but we will need a similarly considerable force to fight back. If they left a smaller force, then we may be in luck - there are stag-tunnels in the maze that we could use to much more effectively hunt them down, negating their ability to hide, as long as we remain lucky and they don't have darkwalkers or claw demons. If they do have something that can negate the beetles, a group of seventy should be strong enough and expansive enough to cut off and kill the opposing force.
Of course, any guards left at the entrance, to stop the defenders in the maze from escaping, will be vulnerable to the attacks that have already been killing the alraune here; mages and demons from the main burrow coming out to attack them. Using a frontal assault to deal with the two-hundred odd demons that could potentially fit into the main burrow would be the opposite problem to the maze. Rather than a mobile hidden enemy, the three paths into the main burrow are all made to be defended with a standing force; they turn sharply every couple of feet to allow better for ambushes, and they make sure that the attacker is entering from a small choke into wider, long tunnels that the defender can attack from, where the defender is on an incline and the attacker is in a short, near-vertical funnel at the bottom. Some of the tunnels are so small they'd need widening for your tree-friends to even enter. There are some stag-holes that would allow us to get the drop on these chokepoints, but a head-on attack from that position is certain to cause a good deal of losses on our side, regardless of exactly how we go about it.
The general intention of the design of these burrows was to cause an attacker to split their forces as much as we possibly could, to leave more manageable groups of attackers for the defending Shadow Demons, or to alternately create paths to the attacker's back, for a surprise attack or to escape. The worst splitting-up we could suffer, not counting the second entrance, would be to send one group to deal with the maze, one group to guard the entrance and ensure nothing from the maze can escape to back-attack us, and three different groups to attack the three different entrances to the burrow proper. ...And if we do use a frontal assault, attacking down all three avenues at once would be my advice; if we attack only one, it allows them to group most of their response in that entrance tunnel. Adding more alraunes to a chokepoint that only lets through two at a time doesn't help as much as making sure the force defending that chokepoint is at a third of it's possible strength.
Given the overwhelming numbers on our side, you should be able to split your forces like this and still have enough in any one area to win a battle against any number of demon defenders. We might, however, be able to make things even easier on ourselves with this back-entrance. After the three tunnels to the burrow is one of our functional areas; the larder, the sleeping tunnels, and the hold for our captives. These three areas are horizontally adjacent, and have tunnels connecting between their neighbours, allowing for fairly easy movement of a defending force between them. The areas themselves are unremarkable, other than being wider than usual; the area we kept our captives is somewhat defensible, given that it splits off into a small number of tunnels with tiny entrances, but each tunnel is a short dead end for obvious reasons, making the section fairly easy to clear of surprises. The sleeping tunnels also have a number of small tunnels, though less defensible ones, and also dead-ends.
The very last part of the burrow is behind these areas, and serves no purpose beyond it's defensive value; a rather large 'room', for lack of any better term, consisting of nothing but a mass of short tunnels with constant turns. it is not quite a maze; there is never a direct line from one side of the room to the other, but there are no dead-ends and enough splits for someone to get from one end to the other quite easily. The problem is in the ceiling; the area above this room is hollow barring some necessary pillars, both to support the room and to provide cover, and has a number of holes in the floor for attackers to send down acid, stones, or in at least two cases, a boulder. From above, it is quite simple to tell where an attacking force is by looking through the holes; the defenders on the high-ground can then act appropriately, either attacking them as they come, jumping down the holes behind or on top of vulnerable groups, or even using the holes as a retreat path when the attacking force moves too far forwards.
This upper area is where the second entrance opens onto. It isn't actually supposed to be on that level - it's supposed to open into the maze below, but we dug into a natural cavern on the upper level that already connected to the surface, so we left it at that and never dug out the normal tunnel. The shadow demons would have used it as a final means of escape, if the attackers were simply too overwhelmingly numerous for anything else. If we can get a force through the rear entrance without the demons noticing, we will have the high ground, and be able to hit their chokepoints from the back - certainly a good position for us.
"Yes, spiders." Nerzalil supplied, as the Alraune tried to place the creature with the name Darkwalker. "If they have some, and they're using them intelligently, we'll see webs in the tunnels to slow us down before any of the Darkwalkers themselves appear. It's what I would use them for." At the alraune's explanation of a claw demon, though, Nerzalil was forced to make a correction. "Ah, those are Stalkers you're thinking of. Claw Demons are animals born for fighting and little else; four legs, black skin, and, well, big claws... like smaller, hungrier hellhounds that don't have any fire and aren't very threatening, except to things like stags. Crawlers, that was what the rest of the demons called them." Nerzalil explained, unaware that the described species had already suffered the fate she was desperately trying to keep hers from.
So, Nerzalil mused... the demons were attacking once the plants were already a ways into the burrow, letting the hellspawn launch a surprise attack from all angles at once, and that was what was holding the plants up?
"Hmh, bastards. They've figured out how the burrows were meant to be used." Nerzalil muttered in reply, though while her mouth moved, her mind started to work on related problems.
If the plants were now getting into the tunnels before meeting resistance, for there to be so many alraune bodies on the ground outside the burrow, the demons must have presented a furious initial defense, out here in the open. They could have had a few reasons for mounting that level of resistance; to buy a minute for their remaining allies to get into proper defensive positions within the overly-elaborate hole in the ground... to hopefully win the fight out and out... or to cut down the attacker's numbers, make them defensive. One way or another, they had clearly done some amount of damage with their magic - and that provided both an opportunity, and a problem.
After providing the defense of the entrance, the demonic casters should be at less-than-peak energy; not empty, not unless their forces were being incompetent, but at least somewhat depleted. If the group could attack before the casters could recover, they would have an advantage... but conversely, if the demons were able to delay long enough for the spell-slingers to recharge fully, the kind of losses visibly evident around Nerzalil could easily happen again before the burrow was retaken. For the foe to pop out and cause another loss of the already-visible caliber wouldn't cause a rout in and of itself - the living alraune (and assorted assisting foliage) greatly outnumbered their immediately visible dead, so suffering those losses twice would still leave the demons easily outnumbered - but if the demons could use disposable creatures, like goblins and stalkers, in sneak attacks to delay for time, then those hellspawned scum could get enough energy to throw a few more volleys, and trade their lives very steeply. It certainly sounded like the tactics a demon would employ; keep the noble and valuable casters safe, throw away lesser demons like meat into the mouths of the starving. She certainly couldn't expect them to be inactive; no creature, demon especially, simply laid down and died the way it probably should, nor did it sit and wait for a foe to slowly wear it down to dust and bones. They always, without fail, tried to pull something off... no matter how pointless it was.
When did this happen, she thought through the Voice, as the humanoid bug mentally indicated the area around the former Shadow Demon burrow, and how? This battle-damage looks like quite a bit of demon magic was used. Even if they know about the second way out of the burrow, our foes are going to want to do as much damage to our forces as they can... so as soon as their mages have had time to recover the strength they used before, we can expect some demons to pop out and throw a few more spells. Typical hit-and-run tactics for demons have a stalker assess the situation, cast flash, and then let a band of full-demons get off a salvo of fireballs. Then they retreat behind a number of different points with allied demons waiting to ambush any pursuers, and... recharge off of prisoners, or less important demons. Now that you've stopped trying to bring the fight to them, where they can get you at a bottleneck, I can bet my blood that's what they'll start trying. If this was recent, we may want to attack now, while they're still largely out of spells, rather than waste time going in the back and giving them a chance to send another volley our way. Alternately, we could try to have the forces here ambush the mages when they make their next attempt...
The alraune had apparently very little to say on what Nerzalil replied to her statement with, the imparting of what she knew of the layout of the tunnels through the voice being met by little more than an acknowledgement. She responded over the voice when Nerzalil began speaking over the same; ['We attacked a group guarding the entrance. They lost a few, but they gave a lot better than they took and ended up retreating. We've been sending forays into the burrow ever since then, and they've been acting pretty much exactly as you described. We've opted to try and ambush them when they come out next if you'd like to join in, but you seem to know their tactics better than I do. Would it be better to try and press them now?']
Now there was a hard question the alraune had asked. I’ve seen as many ambushes go wrong as I’ve seen go right… countering these quick assaults relies mostly on hoping that you can see them before they see you. This is a bad position for it, too… there’s almost no way that we could cut them off. Maybe if we were invisible and hid in the trough we use to collect water… The big bug had a few lifetimes of experience with fighting demons, and looked back upon it. When ambushes had gone right for her kind against demons, it was usually because the hellspawn were in a bad position. When they didn’t have the terrain advantage, a victory was due to either magic, or shadow demons made for stealth – both needing breeds the embattled species currently lacked. What do your forces have in the way of magic? All I can do is blind them as they come out, but if you have a way to help us see them as they try to spot us then our chances get a good bit better.
One way or another, if we try to go for the second entrance now, we will be attacked before our second group is ready to catch them off-guard. So our options are to either wait and hope to catch their counterattacking force off-guard, attacking one or both entrances afterwards; an option that could potentially end with a repeat of this – the insect mentally indicated the landscape around the burrow – …or we can attack now, in which case we still have to fight the same mages, now in close quarters and backed up by other demons – but we will at least be gaining ground in exchange for any losses, preventing them from whittling us down over time. If this was one of my battles back in hell, I would have said the former; if we repel or weather this counterattack, a group can be sent to the secondary burrow entrance. While a two pronged attack is slow to set up, the other group will be bypassing the demons’ terrain advantage completely - and the confusion and divided attention should let the main attack break through with much more ease. It is the method that would allow our lives to be traded at the best possible rate… if it works. If they escape our ambush, if they crush the attack from behind without being phased, if we get caught up on defences and fail to make use of the opportunity… if anything goes wrong, we could be worse off than if we just attacked now.
A mind that had run through this problem countless times with practiced efficiency continued to do so, this time considering the new tools available to it. If we do set up this ambush… the warrior began, her thoughts coming out in the slow crawl of someone still working on a problem in the background – one that the alraune, being the natural users of the tool, and whom naturally used it for the purpose Nerzalil was considering, had probably already figured out. If we do catch them off guard, we can get a good start on our harvest right here. We’ll outnumber them to a ludicrous degree, and each of your kin can use that pollen of yours. How many bursts do you think it will take for a demon to be rendered helpless? My guess is, not many… Where others may have had a lewd expression, the insect’s face was a cruel smile. Much more than it aroused her, the idea of crippling demons with lust fuelled the former slave’s desire to see her captors weak and suffering.
When the alraune had decided on a course of action, Nerzalil turned to a point that could become quite relevant. We aren’t just bad at infiltration – having us lead will probably ruin any infiltration you try. If we’re really lucky, the demons will have left the lights on down there – they wouldn’t have been living in the dark, and there are a few spells that produce light without smoke that they had probably set up around the place. But it’s just as likely that they will have turned the spells off... or set them up where they can keep an invader’s path in the light without it revealing themselves. Their dark-vision and underground senses are good enough that they’ll still be able to know when there’s an alraune stumbling around in the dark… and if you’ve got Shadow Demons with you, our glow will give you away an age before we see them. If none of you can cast light spells to illuminate them, and even the playing field, that could cause us a lot of trouble.
If the alraune did decide to ambush the presumed counter-attack, Nerzalil would keep her eyes peeled for the giveaway stalker, presumably along with several of the alraune. She had seen many in hell, when she knew there was one to look for, but this green wavy backdrop might make things harder.
Defensive Fighting, 20 points to perception. Hope that the stalker doesn't notice that Neri noticed him if he does show up.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
Rolls
Perception: ??
'We have plentiful magic in the sculpting of earth and nature. When they came back out, we were going to throw up a wall behind them so they couldn't escape. At least not without blasting it down or moving it out of the way, either of which would give us an opportunity to strike. Other members of my kind would have bound them in vines and roots while our feral kin moved in for the kill,' the alraune replied, explaining her strategy for her, or rather their planned ambush simply while including mental images detailing each step of it. 'I still don't see why we can't send some to attack the rear entrance now, but if you think it a poor strategy then so be it. Given what you've said, ambushing the next group to come up seems to be our best option, so we'll prepare for that and assault them from here.'
The mention of the pollen caused the alraune to quirk an eyebrow, and while she couldn't see Nerzalil's human-like face through her protective mandibles, she seemed to recognize the expression hidden behind them, at least to a degree. 'Such a strategy has been attempted already, and they seemed largely unaffected by it. There are more mages behind supporting them that keep negating the effects or blowing it away, which we hope to cut off from them for the initial attack when we put up the wall.' Meanwhile, when she looked about, Nerzalil found no signs of any stalkers nearby, meaning that either she couldn't detect one, or that there weren't any. The alraune were getting into position, hiding among the bodies of their fallen and in magically conjured camouflage, leaving Nerzalil to try and get her own forces into position if she wanted them to participate in the upcoming ambush.
(Now, lets see if I haven't made some incredibly stupid error in my tactics.)
The shadow demon hadn't been intentionally testing her allies' field knowledge, but when the alraune agreed to a rather bad plan that it had apparently misinterpreted, Nerzalil got a bad feeling that she should have been more direct in assessing their tactical aptitudes. Much like ‘territory’, when she had been asking the day before, Nerzalil hadn’t been able to get any solid answer on exactly 'how alraunes fight', but she had heard a lot about how they hunted. The idea of a species not knowing how to engage in warfare was alien to the Shadow Demon, enough so that she hadn't, until now, realised that it could be a possibility. After all, how could anything survive in this hostile jungle and become as plentiful as the alraunes, without ever engaging in large scale battles, either defensively or offensively? Let alone a species that was parasitic by nature... Still, any potential inadequacy wasn't something she was even certain about yet. ...And at any rate, the plan the plants had been using before she got here had been good enough that any lack of true tactical understanding should, with luck, be made up for by correct strategic decisions.
Perhaps I said that wrong. You can send a force now, as long as you keep the same number of your forces visible at the front – but before they are in place and ready to attack, you will be forced to first deal with the counterattack from the demons. It doesn’t mean you can’t send them; in fact, since you intend to ambush the demons anyway, I’d recommend you did – you’ll have at least some time to wait, you might as well move into a more advantageous position in the meantime.
When the alraune pointed out that her group included creatures that could cast spells over earth and nature, Nerzalil would have typically trusted them to know how to best use those spells - after all, the shadow-demon herself certainly didn't have much familiarity with those areas of magic. When she had first been split from the rest of her species, being made an independent creature from the hive-mind, she might have known everything there was to know about magic - but that was a good eight-hundred years ago, and most of that understanding hadn't seen practical use, leaving it to rot away inside her skull. Demon magic was exempt from the not-seeing-practical-use part, of course, thanks to her main opponents; she knew it did things that hurt or weakened or strengthened or summoned, but nothing particularly *unusual*. But, every so often, before the fall, the big bug would see a Brain or a demon cast some spell outside the ones it usually stuck to. It was for this reason that she had a very vague understanding of magical detection - including the fact that it could be done with a spell through the earth. Given that she had been concerned by the earlier blunder, Nerzalil was willing to ask the seemingly stupid question of whether or not the plants were using it.
Earth? Can you put out a field of… Now the only question was how to actually ask it, when she didn’t know either the name or the mechanisms used to cast the spell. …There’s a spell that lets you know when someone’s walking on the ground. That would guarantee that we don't miss their approach... but if the demons detect that you're using it, that will immediately ruin any chance at catching them off-guard. If they feel they've lost the element of surprise , the foe will hunker down rather than try to strike, and that's the opposite of what we would want. At the moment, it barely even matters whether or not they see your forces ready to ambush them - as long as they think they're still hidden, they'll rely on the speed of their strike to save them. But if the mages feel your movement sensing spell... or the stalker pops up, and suddenly each alraune in your force tenses, the demons are going to know that they’ve been made - and that will ruin any chance of catching their counterattack. If you're confident you can catch them just with keen eyes, I wouldn't risk the spell... but if you're not certain about it, and you think you can hide your magic well enough, I'd go for it.
Though she went through some fairly obvious statements, if there was one topic the Shadow Demon could overthink about it for an age on end, it was warfare. It was the one thing she had truly been able to match her peers in as an independent from the collective - she could never be as smart as their incalculable minds, but being able to move with skill and cunning in combat was within her individual abilities. Though she might be hopelessly inadequate in every other sense... in at least this one, Nerzalil was close to an adequate representation of her species' brilliance, and so had grown to love combat on all levels. A fact that had been proving to be quite useful after their fall...
Whichever choice the alraunes made would lead to the same conclusion; Nerzalil took a look around the glade as the alraunes’ ambush was set up, feeling fairly confident that it could work. Well, I’ll get my brothers out of sight. I don’t know how the demons might react to seeing us, but I don’t want to risk spooking them. Call to me in the Voice when you’ve dealt with their counterattack. And then, had the plants no objections, the insect did as she declared.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
'You need to make up your mind!' the alraune replied to her recommendation to send in a force through the rear entrance, though the emotion attached to the statement was more jovial than annoyed. 'That spell doesn't have a very large effective range, but we already had some using it around the tunnel.' The plant woman adopted a slightly annoyed look when Nerzalil opted to take her kin back, again offering no participation in the actual battle, but offered no argument on the subject and instead took to redistributing her forces while Nerzalil pulled her shadow demons back and away, taking them well out of danger.
It was a fairly boring half hour or so before, contacted over the voice, the alraune said; 'You can return now.' If she did, Nerzalil would find that a good number of charred plant carcasses had joined the pileup near the entrance, but that ten demons of mixed sex were currently in the process of being raped by the plantkin, their wombs filled with seedlings that would replace their losses. 'The group entering the tunnels was annihilated,' the alraune reported simply, 'As were the group sent to reinforce them. But the group holding the entrance was dealt with, and we're moving into the tunnels now. Care to join us for this part?'
All extended conflicts involved a good deal of waiting, and after extensive experience with the situation, Nerzalil could definitively say it was one of their worst aspects. The time only allowed her to question her plans more and more, and become further worried about their potential flaws. Such contemplation was useful, of course, but simultaneously attacked one of the weaknesses of her individual mind. Indecision and hesitation were killers in combat, and it was these moments spent waiting that allowed them to grow in the Shadow Demon. Nerzalil had developed some resistance to those mental weaknesses... but resistance wasn't immunity.
It certainly didn't help that the wait was quite so long, either. Though the big bug didn't exactly wear a watch, keeping accurately aware of the passing of time was fairly important to extended battles, and so it was something Nerzalil counted among her repertoire. Given the timeline she had built from the alraune's explanations, the attack from the demons should have come well before the plants actually called her back. Since the initial attack, the alraunes had sent at least two - and very likely more - sorties that had been defeated, and then had spent some time waiting for a demonic counterattack. Even if the demons had to run from one end of the burrow to the other to convey information, and had spent some time assessing the situation and planning a response, ten minutes into the wait should have been the very most that they could have needed to prepare their strike. It couldn't even be said that the demons were waiting for an opportunity, because the alraunes had been providing a lull in attacks before Neri had even arrived.
The denizens of hell could just be being incredibly stupid or disorganised, of course... they were, after all, individuals, and thus prone to all the sudden, random and potentially catastrophic failures that a lone mind can face: fear, confusion, and misunderstanding hitting the top of that list. Still, this was the same demons that killed the hundred of her kind who had been living in the burrow in the first place. Getting suddenly attacked by plants might take them a little off-guard, but as their resistance against the alraunes for this long proved, they were at least somewhat intelligently organised.
The doubt was altogether too strong after fifteen minutes, enough so that Neri quite happily made a checkin of her own. Her consciousness hunted in the direction of the burrow, searching for the unique mind of the plant she had been speaking with earlier, to ask a simple question. Anything yet?
The reply she received was equally short. Not yet.
Given that the attack had still yet to come, it seemed unlikely that it would come at all. That meant that all they were doing by waiting for the ambush was sacrificing time to the enemy, a bad idea in any situation. Nerzalil would have loved to immediately return to the alraunes and start the attack… but there was still one more thing they had to wait for. Until the other group of plant-kind was at the second entrance to the burrow, attacking would be wasting an opportunity. Since they were already waiting for the alraunes to get into position, there was no advantage to coming back early. This is taking them longer than I would have thought it should. If your second group is in position before they attack, call me back and we’ll strike first.
The discrepancy was troubling. A counter-attack was certainly not the only plan the demons might be pursuing - it was just the quickest, most straightforward, and probably most efficient way that the demons could have struck back, given their position… and therefore, the one she needed to worry about first. If they weren't using their time to make a quick counter-strike, however, then the hellspawn might instead be doing one of countless other unfortunate things. Most of those other things were less threatening, less immediate, or less productive, but that didn’t mean that some of them weren’t still a danger. Tunnelling the ground out from underneath the plants... caving in most of the burrow to slow the attack's progress... summoning a horde of creatures and then using only those to defend until all the casters’ energy recharged… or even just taking their time to set up the most dastardly traps they could. No matter what the demons were doing, it wasn’t going to be good for the assembled plants, nor Nerzalil’s small force. There were altogether too many unknown factors at the moment for the insect to pick out any one as more likely than others; instead, the paranoid creature braced herself for every worst-possible situation she could imagine, until more substantial evidence presented itself.
When the call to return finally did come, Nerzalil wasn’t entirely sure whether it was because the demons had attacked, or because the second group was in place. Either way, it wasn’t something she would ignore. The small force of insects made the short trek back to find…
A bad exchange.
That was the first thought of the Shadow Demon as she reached the site of newly-renewed battle. There should have been essentially no casualties, had it gone as planned, yet here was a new array of well-done alraune bodies decorating the area around the burrow. Something must have gone awry in the ambush… which wasn’t unexpected, just unfortunate. It had been something of a 50-50 chance, and even in losing it, the plants had at least gained some amount of advantage just by using the time to get their second group in position.
The insectile woman was well enough versed in social foibles to recognise the attacks on her courage… which wasn’t saying much, given their general lack of subtlety. What? she returned, her first response surprise that she was even being questioned… though that only lasted a moment before annoyance crept in. Yes, I’ll be joining you. continued the prideful creature, before the alraune could reply; not hotly enough to merit an exclamation mark, but forcefully all the same.
Any anger left as quickly as it came, however, given that the alraune had also mentioned the fate of the second group. The demons got the group at the other entrance? Typically she wouldn’t have asked a question that seemed to have such an obvious answer… but, given her previous concerns that there was some at least moderately-dangerous animal in that section of the underground, the big bug felt it necessary.
The answer to the question, though, held only minor relevance. If demons had done the deed, then Nerzalil would comment,Then they’ve known about the second entrance, and had an escape route this whole time… have you split off a group to plug them up there, too?
Otherwise, should the plants have lost to something unknown, or altogether else, the situation would have become more complicated – but not greatly so. The Shadow Demon would still ask if the second entrance had been secured, given that even a non-demon group could yet end up being an ally of their target… or at the very least, not a friend of the plants.
Finally, wary toward every shadow, the creature composed of it led her brothers back to their brief home, alongside the out-of-place foliage - only certain in knowing that it wasn't going to be a simple fight...
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
'That would be correct. The group sent in to reinforce them WAS the group watching that entrance. We've sent a group there to watch the hole, they should be arriving there any.... Oh.' The alraune adopted a trouble expression, and quickly said aloud; "They... The demons, rather... Are leaving. Hastily. It seems they knew about your back entrance, or somehow found out about it."
Nerzalil responded to the announcement with a flurry of quick thoughts, the last few vocalised to the alraune.
“…Half, two thirds - three quarters of this force needs to be up there! No matter what else they’re doing, you’ll want enough bodies to hold the exit and hunt down the runners at the same time! The rest of us including myself will attack here, now, in case any are sticking around in the burrow!” It didn’t take a genius to see that the Shadow Demon was on full alert, tensed and acting with speed borne of concern – but it might be substantially harder to realise that the concern was matched by an equal level of excitement. It would be hardest of all to tell precisely were each emotion was coming from - it was the demons’ escape that was exciting her... and the prospect that they might be doing something else which caused her to still have concerns.
Unless the Alraune commander had a better idea, or chose to ignore her advice, the Shadow Demon and her brothers would enter the burrow with whatever alraunes were left, continuing the communication through the Voice. Don’t have the alraunes there fight or follow them - we need to know how many are leaving, and whether or not they’re scattering – and if not, the direction they’re heading. ‘…or if they’re running at all’ was a thought she didn’t pass on, though it was on the edge of her mind. There was still a way that this could go quite badly for the insects and plants of the jungle, but it was unlikely, and the answer to it was the same as what she was already doing, so it didn’t bear any additional thought at this point.
Still, simply running away was also hardly a good choice; the demons would be moving from a location they at least somewhat-knew, and which was stunningly defendable, into much less defendable – and probably much less known - jungle. And the creatures hunting the demons would easily be among the best suited for the task; if even one alraune stumbled upon their quarry, the whole force would know about their location a moment later. They might have a head start at the moment, but that would evaporate quickly, especially if they were traveling as a group. They might have magic, but so did the plants behind them; some might escape, but generally it seemed like a poor idea, if the demons didn't have some unexpected trick up their sleeve. It seemed more likely to the shadow demon that the escapees were a diversion, much like the initial attack had been - a way to throw the alraunes off balance, for what could be one of many reasons.
If everything went as planned, and the insect entered her burrow, then her first act would be to take stock of the group she had. How many here are casters? she checked, and how many all up? - hoping that the answer wouldn't come all at once. She had more innate skill with the Voice than a human might do, but it wasn't by a stunning margin. Sorting that many communications at once might near deafen her. Once she had a reasonable stock of the force, Nerzalil split off five groups of twenty, each containing at least two mages, and had each group hold the entrance to one of the seven tunnels in the burrow. The last two were accounted for with a simple order; "One, hold this tunnel. Two, hold this tunnel." each punctuated with a point towards the two unattended locations, prompting an immediate response from her own kind. "Three, search for creatures in this direction and report back." The final group was directed toward the maze; leaving that direction unaccounted for before pressing into the burrow proper was a danger the insect wouldn't take.
Finally, there was a chance to more fully explain her reasoning to her ally while waiting for the force to move into position. If they're actually running, you can make sure they have a terrible time of it. Just fan out and search if they scatter, and use your nature powers to track their path if they stay as a group. If instead the runners are just a diversion, they would probably be trying to see if they can fluster you into making a mistake - moving too many forces away from one entrance so they can attack where you're weak, or sending every alraune to hunt them down while other demons sneak out behind you. So, as long as you keep about a quarter of your force at each entrance while you hunt, we should be able to stop them from exploiting any vulnerabilities. if not that, they could be buying time to get a portal open, or to dig out somewhere else; somewhere they won't be spotted by alraunes while they leave. By immediately attacking at this entrance, we'll deprive them of any breathing space they may have wanted.
Should Neri still have more alraunes left, after holding all the tunnels, one more group of twenty would be directed towards the maze, to help her kin clear it of hostiles - and any beyond that would be sent down the three main paths to the burrow, ensuring each group was at least thirty strong; not with the intention of fighting, but to ensure there weren't any traps (or remove any that were present), and to see how far they could get without encountering demons.
Before, the wilful woman had a dearth of information. Now, signals were beginning to come in thick and fast, and it was all she could do to try and process them in time to do something about it. But she was a Shadow Demon, and if there was any moment or method during which Nerzalil was close to reaching the same level of intelligence as her kin, it was in battle.
The big bug was not going to let this victory fall through her fingers.
Apparently defensive fighting is only applicable when you're attacking, otherwise I'd specify that all groups are Fighting Defensively at +20 perception. Perhaps it could be said that all groups are preparing the action of attacking (while moving as much as possible for those searching), while fighting defensively at +20 perception. That seems to be the closest in-stat way of describing 'they're being cautious and looking for things'.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
'You think they're going for a breakout too then?' the alraune replied calmly, not apparently sharing the sense of urgency possessed by the shadow demon. Their forces were quickly split, sending a group of alraune with Nerzalil and her group while the majority of the plants headed off to the other entrance into the burrow. The number of alraune sent with her was about forty, of which about a quarter proved to be capable of using magic, with another forty of their animalistic kin going ahead of them. That left her with eighty plant allies plus the shadow demons she'd brought to work with directly, while the majority of the rest of the plant kin were sent off into the jungle to ensure that the demons couldn't escape.
To her added explanation as they entered the burrow, the lead alraune said; 'A solid enough plan... But it's not like we can easily plan for all of those. If you find them, let me know immediately. I'll do the same for you.'
Shortish post, but you don't have the numbers to handle your original plan, so I'm giving you an opportunity to rethink it. After this ye battle stuffs can begin.
The alraune commanders’ remark prompted a response that was almost wholly automatic.We don’t need to account for all possibilities, just the extremes.
When the forces had split, there had been too many plants moving for Nerzalil to place who was going where; but when she took stock of the force left over, her reaction was immediate. Woah, speaking of weaknesses! the Shadow Demon sent, with mildly more panic than before. You’ve left far too few alraune to push this entrance! Send back another three-hundred and we should be able to hold them off, whatever they do! Regardless of the actions of her ally, for the moment the strategic Shadow Demon only had a limited force available to her, and she intended to do what she could with it.
The alraunes and vine-beasts were split into five groups; each had eight of the plantimals, and all but one had six non-magic alraunes. Each of the three groups of the plants, including the group that was short a plant-woman, were sent to guard one of the three ways into the burrow proper, and each of those had two magic-using alraunes; the last two plant groups guarded two of the labyrinth entrances, with only one caster each. One of the two spare mageflowers was sent to join with the group of Shadow Demons she had designated Three, and the other joined One - while the spare normal-alraune joined with Two. With plants alongside Shadow Demons, Nerzalil both gave some of her kind the versatility of magic, and ensured that she had a Voice-method of contacting her brothers. ”Treat the commands of the Alraunes as if they were my own, until I tell you otherwise.” She ordered of her kind, before sending her brothers to their respective jobs. Her One and Two groups of bug-brothers would soon be sent to guard two of the labyrinth’s entrances, while Three would be directed to carefully search it for hostiles. Splitting them into any smaller groups would be a time-consuming task, so she kept them as-is.
Head up your tunnels until you find the first corner, but be careful of traps; they've had long enough to prepare some. Nerzalil ordered of the groups guarding the way into the burrow. Actually attacking right now would be bad, given her force’s state, but some reconnaissance could be done all the same. If you don’t encounter any demons, when you get there, break the shell on the tunnel floor. Your magic should be able to move the dirt underneath to make walls and pits and things, right? One of those who can cast should be ready to throw up a wall at the first sign of trouble. And if you do run into demons, retreat immediately - we stand a better chance if we regroup here than if you try to hold your ground in the tunnel.
The woman at the centre of it all stayed exactly there - in the entrance, where she hoped to be able to deal with anything the demons decided to do. ...Which might be nothing, if they were actually running out the back, as they appeared to be.
The first two groups of Shadow Demons held seventeen spawn, and three stags. Group three, however, was five spawn, fifteen stags.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
Nerzalil, who opted to remain at the entrance, would see that at least some of the plants not directly sent with her had remained behind around the doorway, as much to hold on to the captives they already has as to guard it. 'We've got the door,' the alraune replied calmly to Nerzalil's distress, 'And your back if you need to retreat. We don't have three hundred to spare you at this point, not if we actually intend to catch them should they opt to retreat, but we'll be back if you get into trouble and it becomes apparent that you can't handle it on your own.' Once that was talked through, Nerzalil divided her forces and sent them off, leaving the plants and most of her forces to guard entrances while one group of mostly her stags were sent in to seek out their prey.
Rolls
Ye shadow demons will use Dark Armor X = 4 to minimize upkeep while doing the search. Ye alraune mages will use light spells and a perception buff.
Welp. That's bad news. Not even gonna roll combat for that.
Her forces were put into place quickly enough, and then the last group was sent into the darkness of the labyrinthine tunnels while the rest of them waited for the group of Stags to find their prey. What followed was a fairly tense ten minutes in which Nerzalil was essentially blind, only able to receive reports through the voice that got dimmer and dimmer as the distance between her and her subordinates grew. The solid earth seemed to block the mental communication more effectively than open air, but she could receive reports from the scout group by bouncing them from other groups waiting near the entrances.
Then, though they had been as careful as she'd instructed, the worst happened. The last image that Nerzalil received from that group before reports stopped coming in was that of a blinding light and a group of beings she would recognize as stalkers, all appearing and assaulting her kin, and bolts of black lightning rushing through many of the stags creeping through the tunnels, killing them. Demons were visible and audible as well, their magics directed not at the approaching party but at something else, though what that might be wasn't immediately clear to Nerzalil. It was joined by a sense of alarm from the alraune that had transferred it, and it was clear that she was wondering what exactly to do about this.
There had been wall-to-wall alraunes sieging the burrow when Nerzalil had first arrived; a significant feat given that the open jungle had no walls. There had been so many that the demonic insect couldn't get a good count of them all... and didn't want to risk getting a count with the Voice, lest the wave of responses overwhelm her mind. It seemed unusual to think that there was only now a handful of plant-people to spare... but the demons -did- have a significant time advantage on the pursuing plants, which greater numbers could make up for. And besides, the bug had no reason to doubt the accuracy of her ally's assessment. The Shadow Demon gave a slightly delayed, ...Alright, to the commanderune, and prepared to make do with the resources she had.
Knowing that the alraunes didn't have much help to spare wasn't being beneficial to the Shadow Demon's distress, though. From the start, she hadn't wanted to put herself in danger here. Still, she had opted to head the attack on this entrance to the burrow anyway, because she knew as well as anyone that it was how she - and her brothers - could be of the most use.
Before too long, Nerzalil's assessment of her kind's usefulness was to be tested.
The scout group, before meeting with a painful end, had done it's job of finding where the enemy was... but more importantly, they unfortunately hadn't finished finding where the enemy wasn't. The beetles, sent into stag holes along the group's path as they travelled and then bade to return, had cleared the majority of the twisting passages that made up the maze-like section of the burrow... but 'majority' only meant 'over half'. When the group had been ambushed, there was still a good deal of places in the maze left unexplored; easily enough room that more demons could be hiding there. The enemy were not cornered, so there was no way the Shadow Demon could leave any of the four maze entrances without guards; to do so would risk letting the foe slip the net.
But... there were a few details that didn't fit. Though the scouts had been taken by surprise, it had still been clear that demons were up ahead anyway; they could be heard casting magic, shouting, and there was the sound of weapons struck against bodies shortly before the bright flash. The connection to the alraune was weak, and the time spent hearing demons was short... but there was enough evidence that Nerzalil realized the demons seemed to be fighting on a second front. It seemed almost impossible - unless a new tunnel had been dug, the only unsecured way into the labyrinthine section of the burrow was a nearly-vertical shaft up from the living chambers. And that meant that whatever was attacking the demons, if it had come up through that tunnel, would have already invaded a good deal of the rest of the burrow...
...But that was only proofless speculation. If there was, indeed, another group down here #rather than, perhaps, a single wild creature#... that would change everything. With another force fighting the creatures who had enslaved her species, the Shadow Demons and their allies were the ones who had time on their side. The longer they let the demons fight it out with whatever was attacking them, the weaker the hellspawn would get.
The idea of just letting the demons battle their unseen opponents was a tempting one; Nerzalil could probably save the lives of some people she was responsible for if she held back. But... she needed to get some information on the nature of the additional assailant; was it a monstrously powerful thing that she should be running from, or was it more mortal? Whether the demons won or lost that fight, Neri couldn't afford to leave a threat behind in the maze while she moved on the rest of the burrow, so the attackers' motive and strength needed to be gaged.
And, not at all least among her motivations... her species - plus the plants - needed living demons, and the number of live demons may well be decreasing while this other fight continued.
The trick was going to be keeping the exits secure while still sending enough into the maze to win the fight. Get to where we lost the group, fast! Nerzalil sent to the alraune that had first relayed the command, her considerations losing her a precious few seconds. Bring your group to join them! she followed, to the mage used as a relay for her second group of brothers. Split your force, send half to the entrance your sisters just vacated, came the order, to the other group of plants holding an exit to the maze; a command she then mirrored to the group of plants down the passage toward her kind's former prisoner hold. The second group's split force was going to take a few moments to get into position, leaving the entrance briefly unguarded, but it was unlikely that the demons would abandon all stealth and immediately dash towards the unsecured exit, and the plants ought to be in-place before sneaking demons could escape through it.
While her forces moved, the insect had the sense to play her own part in the correct relaying of information. We've encountered demons, not many. Something else down here is fighting them, but we didn't get to see it yet. She anticipated that, when the alraunes had eyes on the other exit of the burrow again, she would be advised whether or not her former slavers really did appear to be fleeing. Knowing whether the burrow should be near-empty or near-full would have a significant impact on how the insect proceeded.
When the two groups had nearly reached the point the last group had been lost, their leader had them stop. Send one of the animals ahead, and one of the beetles. The enemy will almost certainly still be there, so prepare for an attack. Nerzalil sent to the two groups heading into dangerous territory, the first half noted toward the alraune group and the second toward her kin. Stalkers were bad enough on their own, but mage stalkers could, as they already had, completely destroy an unprepared group - and these groups were more valuable than the beetle-heavy one. Increase the scout's senses with magic as well as you can, and keep yourself protected and hidden from anything that might see them, whenever possible. If you can, go toward the battle at a different angle to the other group.
Hopefully, this way the annihilation of either group could only occur if: the forward scout missed the stalkers, the sneak-demons had the presence of mind to not attack only the forward scout... and then the main body of the group also failed to spot the pasty hellspawn. If they did attack the scout when they first saw it, the body of the group should then have the chance to engage the demons in open combat, where they could still be deadly... but not half as much so. ...Shadow Demons... expected sacrifices to be made in combat, and while the individual stag might feel fear, it's commander was at least giving it a chance to spot the demons first, rather than just using it as bait. The plant-beast didn't even bear mentioning, being little more than an animal.
Nerzalil herself remained exactly where she was, between both sides of her split force. She was on edge - a hundred-thousand battles wouldn't make combat less of a concern, especially with such a precariously small force on her side and so many unknowns on the board. The slew of new, hard to account-for elements that had shown up provided many, many reasons for the demons' earlier slow response... and that only made things trickier. Keeping on top of all the information and it's implications was easily consuming the taskmaster's concentration; she might have otherwise gone into the maze as well, as her warrior's desires dictated... but that would leave her too distracted to try and command any of the other groups of people under her command, should they come under attack at the same time. No, for now all she could do was watch, mentally and physically tensed to respond to anything that might happen.
I think this translates thusly.
Turn 1:
Shadow Demon group 2 and one of the two alraune groups guarding the maze enters it, double-time toward the location of the attack (but not all the way to the exact same point). The remaining alraune group splits in half, as does the alraune group on the path to the burrow's former slave hold, and the new halves guard the vacated entrances.
Turn 2:
When the two groups have almost reached the location of the attack, each mage alraune buffs one scout and sends them forward such that, hopefully, the main group cannot be attacked at the same time as the scout. The Shadow Demon Spawns also buff to X=5 Dark Armour. This is assuming they haven't run headfirst into the enemy this turn.
Turn 3:
The two groups keep distant from their scout while still keeping the creature in sight. Both groups advance, probably reaching the same place the scout group was killed.
Combat response will depend on the circumstances of the combat.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
Following the death of the alraune portion of the scout party, along with the more combat-capable shadow spawn, Nerzalil got her minions and alraune allies moving into new formations. The movement of the chain meant that she could only get her own message off to the alraune above and receive acknowledgement along with a promise that they would be sending some reinforcements as quickly as they could, as well as a request to retreat if she lost too many, and then would have to move down herself or lose all communication with her forces. She would not need to enter the maze, merely assume the position once held by the nearer alraune as it replaced the farther one, but it would cut off her connection to the alraune above ground, the Voice being unable to work through the massive barrier of earth and stone.
The rushed shift in positioning took mere moments, and whether or not Nerzalil wished to move herself closer and retain communication with the alraune, and learn herself what happened to the patrols that she went into the maze, or remain here and be able to hear if the alraune above made contact with the demons on the surface. Her own alraune were quickly moving with her shadow demons, and would soon be out of range of the voice if Nerzalil didn't move closer to the entrance of the maze. She could trust that her spawn and stags worked together with their alraune allies to secure a win, or could trust that she had found the sole remaining demonic presence and proceed further down to oversee things personally.
Give me a spoiler with exact group makeup and respond to the above decision in your next post.
The limitations of the Voice was something Nerzalil was starting to appreciate... though not quite fast enough. When the Shadow Demon realized that the link to her attacking group was about to break, she had to make a choice quickly. Breaking one or the other of the chains of communication were options... but keeping them both open was preferable, and was the first solution that the tactician's mind moved to.
STOP she burst to a single Alraune in the pack heading away, the need for haste and her hurried thoughts making the big bug forceful. It wasn't typical for one of her kind to show stress the way Nerzalil did, but she had spent enough time studying individuals to pick up the habit. In the same thought as her initial order, she immediately included the rest of the attacking alraunes; I'm keeping ]{~))_{[[)_)}( back to keep communications open she thought as quickly as she could manage, specifying the individual spiritual signature of the alraune she had first told to halt. A moment later and she was again speaking to that alraune alone, just long enough to send a quick message for her to return to the entrance of the maze.
Immediately Nerzalil second-guessed herself thrice over, the back of her mind, left with nothing more pressing to do immediately wondering if the snap decision was the best one, looking for the faults in it that might now be exploited by her foe.
She could have just cut connection with the surface for a moment, and kept the alraune in the fight - even just one more body might make a significant difference in the inevitable fight to come. It wasn't like the surface chain was likely to be broken in the few seconds her forces took to reposition. Still, her gut told her that information was a more valuable resource than a single fighting body, in many cases... and the decision was too late to change, anyway.
Breakdown and action should be as per the pictures uploaded.
Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine
Rolls
I asked for a spoiler in your post because it's less effort than digging through my PM box for whatever you sent last. It saves me time and effort when writing these.
For combats in which PCs are not actively taking place like this one, I am generally too lazy to roll much, so I simplify things to a set of rolls to see how well ye groups end up against one another and mostly fluff it from there.
The communication crisis tenuously averted, Nerzalil's scout assault groups were able to move forward, leaving the shadow demon leader able to "watch" the progress of the alraune group through the Voice as they sent a stalker ahead to act as their scout. Watching, it wasn't long before Nerzalil would see - through the plant-beast's eyes no less - the body of her kindred scout group advancing along an opposite passage, albeit not with a perfect view. Their own scout was invisible in the darkness, enshrouded as he was in the shadow armor that her kind could instinctively call upon, but as they drew closer she would notice a pale light appearing in the narrow chamber towards which they were converging, and as the shadow demon drew close to the corner he was suddenly illuminated in a pale fiery outline. As they drew nearer, the sight of several withered alraune, seemingly scorched into lifeless husks by flame or some similar destructive magic, would let them know that this was the place where her scout group had been ambushed.
The alraune would halt their scout well before it could approach that light, but the shadow demon was obviously unaware of the revealing light. ['That spell! It reveals that which would go hidden! The demons are entrenched here! They must be!'] an alraune member of her forward group spoke over the Voice, using a scene of them talking face to face (and naked) to convey the message. It was obviously something of an assumption on her part, but given the presence of an eldritch lantern it was at least plausible that the demons had opted to take a position here within the maze for some reason. Voices could be heard, some whispers and some soft chants, but it was all far too muffled for Nerzalil to make out through the shared perception that the Voice allowed. The distance and the solid terrain in the way made that connection slightly fuzzy as it was, but she could try to get the scouting creature to move in closer if she wished.
There was also another problem. The shadow demon group had no mental connection, and no alraune to signal to them to stop. Their scout, well ahead of the others, was visible to those ahead but not so much to those a decent distance away, and even when they drew closer it would take time for them to move into a position by which they could prevent it from stepping out into the view of whoever might be waiting in the chamber. They would thus be unable to prevent it without making a great deal of very conspicuous noise. The alraune group, including their forward scout, was abuzz with excitement over their proclamation, and were momentarily too distracted to even notice the danger, much less try to do something about it. It would be up to Nerzalil to rally them quickly before their scout stepped fully into plain view and spoiled their ambush.
