Finals

For Stone Keep and its Citizens
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fearecia
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm

Finals

Post by fearecia »

Steel flashed in the sun, reflecting bright patches of light into unwary eyes. Untouched for ages now, the obstacle course had fallen into a bit of disrepair. Some of the logs were rotting, while others were slowly becoming consumed by creeping vines and moss. Undergrowth had sprung up throughout the course, ready to entrap unwary feet. In short, it was perfect.

Fearecia turned, considering the troops gathered around her. The lessons with Gretchen went well, and afterwards, she'd shown them places to strike on a body to disrupt spell casting. Poor Stremak had been the demo body for that one, much to his good-natured annoyance. Now, it was time for the last test.

"Alright boys. You all remember and know this obstacle course. Weather and time have done a bit of a number on it, but that just makes it a bit more like an impromptu battlefield." She grinned and the dwarves chuckled. It was definitely going to be more interesting crossing the course this time. "So, here's what's going to happen. You all are going to run the course again. I want to see how much you've improved."

Some groaning met that. Dwarves weren't terribly fond of falling, and many of them had done just that when learning to run the course initially. The ebon kin just chuckled. "There's a catch, however." Silence fell as they listened with apprehension. "You're going to have to deal with an aerial assault while you try to run the course." They all looked around, trying to figure out where the assault was going to come from. Fear's grin turned into a smirk. "Gretchen will be targeting you with spells, while I target you with fire."

Glances were shared as the dwarves considered the information. None of them had remotely tried to take the dragonkin on in any fashion before; Fear had generally considered it extremely poor form considering the size difference. However, they'd mastered the basics and then some. It was time to turn them loose and let them experience a more realistic view of the world. In her years, she'd always found that people discounted the flying races, so she'd always been determined to make sure that people took the skies into consideration when training them.

"So. Rules. Win however you can. Strategize however you want. Cross the course however you want. When you reach the other end, you win. Gretchen and I are your enemy, trying to keep you from taking the other side of the field. Treat us as such, though obviously, no serious injuries to anyone, please." Some diffuse chuckling echoed through the crowd at that. "Questions?"

There was silence for a brief moment before Stremak spoke up. "If we think we are going to make a killing blow?"

"Try to pull it. We don't want anyone seriously injured. Archers, please use padded arrows. That said, if Gretchen and I feel that an underpowered strike would have taken us down in a real battle, we will withdraw as if defeated."

"We can use anything we want?" It was Kurkan this time, his voice laden with uncertainty.

The dragonkin nodded. "Anything. Think of this as a real battle. A bit of an exceptional one, but a real one none-the-less. Make it to the other side, and you all graduate."

That last bit caused a pause to ripple through the troops.

"Ye mean, we're done wit' trainin'?"

"Once you get to the other side of the course, yes."

Grins broke out through the gathered dwarves. Heck, even Scott, standing back so as not to crush anybody, was smiling. Eagerness wafted off the crowd in waves.

"Last chance for questions."

There was murmuring, but no one spoke up.

"Alright then. See you lot on the other side." Fear grinned and turned away from them, leaping powerfully into the sky, Gretchen hitching a free ride on her shoulder. The dragonkin had deliberately made her and the little wizard out to be the primary enemies. The dwarves had no idea that other surprises were in store.
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fearecia
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Re: Finals

Post by fearecia »

The dragonkin shifted her wings, catching the rising heat of an early thermal to take the easy climb into the sky. Gretchen decided to change position, flitting up to sit on Fear's brow horn, a place where her voice would carry easily into the kin's ears over the roar of the wind.

Down below, the dwarves were starting to wade into the overgrowth of the obstacle course, their experience with the ebon kin telling them that there was more here than there seemed to be. Fear grinned, watching them cautiously start to cross one of the mud-filled pits. They were completely correct. From her vantage, she could see the Rangers Sylvanna had let her borrow along with the Knights on loan from Kollin. Lam had been very hesitant to let her take the Knights from their post in Stone Keep, but thankfully he had little recourse when she already had Kollin's approval. The offensive was laying in wait, setting the appropriate ambush.

Hidden behind logs and undergrowth, the Rangers struck first, the whistling of their arrows piercing the quiet air. A warning shout went up, the dwarves ducking behind cover quickly. Good; they were paying attention. Now, how were they going to handle it?

Some of the archers fired a couple of arrows back, taunting the hidden Rangers. They returned a few volleys, the arrows peppering the ground and logs. Those nearby gathered the arrows they could reach, passing the spares to the archers. A few hand signals flashed and the troops split up, working on carefully flanking the group of Rangers from both sides, while a core kept them occupied by returning fire.

The next move was mildly predictable, but effective. As the flanks came within range, the couple archers with each started laying down crossfire, forcing the Rangers to battle on multiple fronts. The Rangers retreated behind cover, grouping together to guard each other's backs. Their fire slowed, only able to erratically sneak out to get off a shot.

With the opposition pinned down, the dwarves began advancing from all sides, closing the trap. To their credit, the Rangers sensed the impending defeat and swapped bows for swords, but they were outnumbered and surrounded. The battle was already lost. Within a few minutes they were subdued, the dwarves regrouping to progress further.

The next obstacle was every dwarf's favorite: bridges. Wobbling, poorly constructed, exposed bridges. The dragonkin angled her wings to drift lower. This was where she and Gretchen were going to harass them.

A few wary eyes glanced her way, taking note of the change in trajectory. It didn't take much to figure out that she was making her attack run. Shouting erupted from the dwarves on the ground, a mad scramble resulting in a shield being tossed up to those already working on crossing the bridge. The shield came up just in time, blocking the torrent of flames accented by Gretchen's flung lightning. Both strikes were controlled, the flames only warm enough to make the dwarves sweat, and the lightning only strong enough to singe. As she swooped past, the dwarves on the bridge survived behind their shield and made a dash to reconnect with their fellows. Fear grabbed another thermal, rising idly back into the sky while the troops planned their next move.

When she tilted her wings to begin another attack run, the dwarves had vanished.

The crackle of Gretchen's lightning faded in her ears. "Where do ye suppose they went?"

"Not sure, but I have a hunch that someone took a page out of Prae's book. Shall we investigate?"

"Yes'm!"

Fear chuckled and dipped lower without killing her speed, angling her wings to make use of the ground effect of her passing. There was no readily apparent sign of the dwarves. At least, not until the bombardment of arrows launched from below.

The dragonkin immediately loosed a great gout of flames, trying to incinerate the arrows before they could reach her. Gretchen quickly followed suit, targeting the arrows she missed. To Fear's count, though, there weren't quite enough arrows.

Her gut instinct wasn't quite fast enough. A pair of archers started firing from slightly behind her, targeting her tail, wings, and feet. Most of the strikes deflected off her scales, but a few caught the membranes of her wings. It was only then that the dragonkin realized that not only were they using dark web bows, but that the arrows had trailing ropes. The arrows stuck to her wings with the powerful enchantment, the ropes quickly pulling taught.

Gretchen went flying off into empty air as Fear suddenly ran out of rope, the dragonkin forced into a nose dive a mere twenty feet above the ground. She started backwinging, trying to keep her nose up in the air even as she plummeted, far too close to the ground and with too much speed to recover. At least someone had taken the time to ensure she was aimed at a mud-pit. Monkly training kicked in and she slapped the mud with all four limbs as she went down, trying to disperse as much energy as possibly before the rest of her impacted with the mud.

Winded and half stuck in the mud, Fear happily yielded when she looked up to find dwarves staring down at her with arrows trained on her scales. A quick glance showed that Gretchen had also been caught; the splotch of paint on her middle showing where an arrow had "hit" her. A few ropes wrapped around some downed logs later and Fear was able to drag herself clear of the mud, the dwarves proceeding across the bridges unmolested. Fear and Gretchen trotted along after them, the dragonkin far too weighted down with mud to attempt to return to the sky at the moment.

The next, and last obstacle was the Knights, standing out in the open at the far edge of a cleared space, their chargers pawing at the ground. Once the dwarves crossed over the piled barricades, the offensive was clearly visible, and they pulled together to discuss their options. Dragonkin and sprite trotted off to the edge of the field, flopping down in the overgrowth to watch the madness.

There were five Knights to the entire troop of dwarves, but they had chargers. After a brief discussion, the dwarves split up into five groups, putting some distance between them to force the Knights to each focus on one group. Wooden training lances came down as the Knights nudged their chargers forward, each team ready to meet the opponent in open battle.

The dwarves kept to their tight groups, steadily moving forward as the chargers thundered towards them. From the sidelines, Fear frowned. Whatever were they thinking? It wasn't until the chargers were almost on top of them that the dwarves broke formation, darting to each side with a rope pulled tight between them. Several of the horses went down, throwing their riders as they tripped. The other two, faster to respond, managed to jump the rope, but the move rendered the lance completely ineffective. The dwarves swarmed the downed Knights, quickly forcing the three to yield simply due to numbers.

The two Knights still mounted regrouped, a new appreciation for the troops of Stone Keep showing in their changed posture. The dwarves finished with the downed Knights and started to come back together, forming a semi-circle of shields as they closed in on the remaining pair. The Knights put their lances up, swapping for their swords. Clearly, the dwarves weren’t going to make life easy on them. Moving the chargers into an easy trot, they cautiously approached the encircling force of shields.

They dwarves waited until the Knights were just outside of sword length before the archers started firing, forcing the Knights to take evasive maneuvers. With the Knights preoccupied with the arrows, the shield-dwarves broke formation, charging the steeds. Well trained as ever, the chargers began lashing out at the dwarves. A couple of dwarves took the brunt of the attack, crashing into the dirt with a few groans, but it was enough. The others targeted the hind legs as the chargers reared, simply barreling into the great horses and knocking them over. One Knight threw himself clear of the fallen horse, while the other got trapped under his charger’s side. A few more minutes and the dwarves had cleared the field, their “fallen” fellows staying behind with the Knights. The rest trotted over to where the dragonkin waited on the sidelines, grinning from ear to ear.

Fear stood up on all fours, mud dripping from her scales, grinning hugely as the troops approached her. “Alright. Whose bright idea was it to throw me in a mud pit?”

Kurkan, the bright young lad who commonly worked side by side with Stremak, grinned mischievously. “That was me, Fear. We were thinking about it, and it’s your scales that protect you from most magic. Your wings don’t have scales, so we took a gamble that the enchantment would work.”

She’d never thought about, considering she kept her wings tucked during most combat, but the lad had a very good point. She’d have to remember that for the future. “Absolutely brilliant. I’m thoroughly impressed. Not only did you all successfully clear the field with minimal casualties, you also taught me something today. It’s a lesson I’m going to take to heart and be more cautious about in the future. Congratulations everyone. You’ve graduated.”

Cheers went up from the group, steel flashing as the dwarves raised their axes in victory. She chuckled, letting them have their moment. They truly had done brilliantly, and they’d done it together, as a unit, which had always been the point. Her job here was finished.

“Now, if you lot don’t mind, I’m going to go take a bath.” She huffed, and the many of the dwarves snickered at her. She really couldn’t blame them. “After that, I’ll make preparations for your graduation party.”

More cheers erupted at that, the troops darting off to tell their fallen fellows the good news. Fear chuckled and trotted out towards the open plains. It was a bit of a walk, but there was a lovely waterfall in Dirimloth that she could wash all this muck off her scales with. Goodness knew she’d need the pounding strength of the waterfall in order to get thoroughly clean.
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