Shadowhaunt: The black Crusade (Part I)

[Radobe]

As the deck is quickly filled with warriors and Sir Walter begins his speech, Rau tries to pick the best course of action. Much to his dislike The Gorger seems to be the most physically fit ally in the vicinity and the most suitable vanguard. The Gorger makes yet another verbal threat, as people prepare for battle.

“Hold your tongue creature! Your threats and taunts can wait, now is the time to show us what you are made of.  Atone for your sins.” Says Rau, while unsheathing his staff and preparing to start an incantation.

(Extreme conditioning) Shortly after he begins his chant, the priest’s body is enveloped by light, a second later the light gathers on his palm. With a swift pushing gesture Rau sends the light towards The Gorger. When it hits, the effects can be felt immediately. The Gorger’s muscles stretch beyond their limits, giving him more power and flexibility. The increase in strength makes him light on his feet increasing his agility. As the spell takes full effects his mind also becomes sharper and The Gorger’s focus reaches its peaks, increasing his mental fortitude and awareness.

[Shadow Chorus]

As Walter's speech went on, Alucard was standing behind him, facing away to the shoreline. Shadows began to dance, playing counterpoint to his speech, while Alucard's blood red eyes scanned the massed Dullahans waiting on the ridge.

"Cavalry on a cliffside....What are you thinking, lord of vampires?" Alucard wondered quietly, watching them carefully.


The dullahans all began to raise their severed heads high, and in rolling pitches and tones, began to shout names.

Men began to fall dead where they stood, blood leaking from every orifice in their head as their eyes rolled back.


"BEWARE! DULLAHANS SPEAK!" Walter turned, shouting loudly. Pulling a tome from his belt, he flipped the book open and in hurried fashion began to read from a page. arcane symbols leapt into the air as crystal blue writing swirled about. From walter's form radiated a golden, translucent orb that enveloped the ship. All around the fleet similar bubbles formed on any ship that held a Tamer, a priest, or otherwise holy men. Those that didn't soon fell dead in the water as the entire contents of their crews died where they stood. The orbs seemed to be blocking the blasphemous powers of the Dullahans.

"Master, they should not know our names..." Alucard said, watching the ridgeline.

"Aye, you know what that means." Walter said, turning to his servant.

"We have a traitor in our midst..."


"That we do. We'll settle it with an inquisition later, first, let us deal with these hell-tongued blasphemers. BALLISTA! GOLDEN-TIPPED BOLTS! AIM FOR THE RIDGE LINE!" Walter's commands relayed themselves throughout the fleet, and crews hurried to prepare their weaponry. Ballista were wheeled around on decks and loaded with bolts armed with golden tips.


"FIRE!" As one, every ballistae fired, and golden death rained down on the Dullahans. The barrage decimated the ridge line and tore through the enemy ranks. The infernal chanting ceased.


"ALL MEN! TO ARMS!" The ships began to move even closer to the shore. Boarding blanks were readied. The battle would soon begin.

[Radobe]

“Dullahans!” Anybody will recognize a dullahan after hearing about it. The headless horsemen, that carry their own heads and bring only death and misery in their wake. ”Their weakness is gold. If you have prepared any golden weapons use them now!” Rau’s shout can be heard through the deck. Even if all people gathered here should know it, it is still something worth saying.

One last thing needs to be done, before every one sets foot on The Sulfur Coast.

(Holy Presence) The priest lifts his staff into the air, a bolt of energy channels itself through the staff and shoots off into to the sky above. After flying a few meters in the air, the bolt explodes into a wave. For a few brief seconds fragments off the holy energy reflect the moons light and shine, than quickly fade away. Lumos’ light guides the combatants, even if they courage was wavering, it is now reinforced and they are all ready to face the horrors that await them in the distance.

Rau puts down his staff and steels himself. He is as ready as he’ll ever be.

[Archdemon Stu]

The Gorger turned to see a bright light illuminate his being.  At first, he'd thought the priest was attempting to banish him... but then, he felt something warm within him - as if his very core was being replenished in some way.  His muscles grew, tightening the straps, chains, and rags that held his armor together.  The strength he felt now was unlike his frenzies that gave him power through bloodshed; it was indescribable - driven by the forces of light that were the bane of his very existence, yet now it strengthened him.

What remained of his cheeks grinned as he looked at his palms, power surging through them.  He laughed lowly, and approached the nearest boarding plank, eager to take the frontal lines for himself.

"Very well, holy man.  I'll play your game."

He lowered his body and dug his claws into the deck, his wolf-like fangs returning to his jagged teeth, ready to charge the moment the opportunity presented itself...

[Kitharsis]

The headless horsemen shout names from the cliffs, and people die.  Sun Wu grips his bottle of Chi water intently before the golden orbs project over the ship.  With a small sigh and a thank you to the Current, his grip loosens on the bottle.

Father Rau's Holy Presence spell tickles his mind and is uplifting.  He nods at Rau in thanks, grinning.

Wu's posture has changed.  He still seems happy-go-lucky, but those around him get a precarious feeling from him.  Like walking on the wrong side of and old dam.  The supports wobbling, surely it will burst soon.

[Shadow Chorus]

The landing planks struck soil, and men began to pour out onto the ground. Then the battle truly became pitched. The Dullahans above retreated, and from cover all over the landing area sprang wights. Hundreds upon hundreds of Wights. A veritable army of zombies stood between the invading force and the other side of the shoreline.

The air was split by a horrendous screech as a figure clothed in ragged strips of cloth stood on a rock above the other wights, waving a staff. The barrow wight unleashed a multi-voiced screech and rocks the size of men began to lift themselves from the ground and hurl themselves at the oncoming line. If this creature was not stopped the force would be decimated before it could so much as make landfall. Sir Walter was doing his best to deflect the projectiles with his magic, but the ship's Wizard was busy with the wights, and Alucard was nowhere to be seen.

"You three! Take out that blasphemous chanter!" Sir walter shouted at the trio as he hurled aside yet another oncoming boulter with a flick of his hand and a passage from his book.

[Archdemon Stu]

The battle was already turning very ugly.  Men were crushed by boulders, and mauled by wights as sword met undead flesh and bone.  Some would call it war, others would call it a nightmare... The Gorger would call it a feast.  He dashed forward in a blood crazed frenzy, the smell of sanguine filling his non-existent nostrils.  The holy power from Rau's spell strengthened his charge further.

"You three!  Take out that blasphemous chanter!" Sir Walter's voice chimed in.  The Gorger immediately took an interest, having a sweet tooth for particularly powerful creatures.

However, some meals took appropriate preparation.  A frontal charge would be no good, as the boulders would stop The Gorger head on.  However, it was a simple problem to solve.  As he plowed through the ranks with his raw strength, he grabbed the nearest wight by its throat and lobbed the poor creature mercilessly toward the caster with all his might.  Should the caster defend itself against the incoming missile from above, it would create an opening for attack elsewhere...

[Radobe]

The Dullahans retreat and the rise of the wights, was not something Rau expected. He was trying to grasp the situation, when he was interrupted by a horrifying scream. A barrow wright had appeared on the rocks above.

"You three! Take out that blasphemous chanter!" Rau heard Sir Walters’s voice loud and clear. Though, even without his instruction, it was more than clear that the barrow wright had to go down as soon as possible.

The priest tried to think of the best way to approach this dangerous opponent, but his train of thought was interrupted when a wight was project, with incredible force, towards the undead mage. Before he even noticed, The Gorger made a crack in the enemies’ ranks. That opportunity was more than enough for Rau to take action. He quickly ran into the battle, putting the barrow wright in range to one of his most devastating spells.

(Soul Redemption) Rau quickly sheaths his staff and put his hands together. A quick incantation follows and a second later he spreads his hands. Two dim beams of light lunch forward towards the chanter. Since the creature has a lot of souls in it soul redemption’s effect is stronger. The flying wight should provide enough of a distraction for the spell to connect. If the spell succeeds, the weaker souls will quickly be cleansed. That will result in the creature losing a lot of his energies. The stronger more evil souls will resist, but unless the creature has significant mental fortitude, its abilities will be hampered greatly.

During the casting Rau can’t move freely and being amongst the enemy ranks in that state leaves him vulnerable. He looks in The Gorger’s direction and shouts.

“Stand your ground here creature! Leave the rest to the monk.”

[Kitharsis]

"You three!  Take out that blasphemous chanter!"  Sun Wu hears Sir Walter call from behind him.  Wu is already off the boat and charging forward, keeping pace with The Gorger.

The Ghoul tosses a wight into the air with ease.  The airborne undead creature careens toward the Barrow Wight.  Wu wastes no time during its flight.  He quickly veers off and circles around the rock that the Barrow Wight is standing on.

Father Rau launches a timely spell at the undead Chanter just as Wu reaches its back.  It is time.

Wu launches into the air in a flash.  He concentrates Chi on the ball of his foot and prepares his Splash attack.  His foot hits the rock  and before the Barrow Wight can react he kicks forward, aiming for the middle of its back.  If his kick connects it will carry the impact of multiple.  The force of the blow should not only do a lot of damage, but it should knock the Barrow Wight off of his rocky perch, and into the welcome jaws of The Gorger below.

[Shadow Chorus]

The Barrow wight's attention was garnered for a moment, and it swung its ancient staff at the incoming body with mighty force. The body struck down to earth, but that had taken its attention for a moment too long. its body was seared with golden light, its howls of pain coinciding with the evanescent blue glow of souls as they left its body, flying in all directions. As it was being struck, it took a jarring kick from the back, and it catapulted from its perch into the air, towards the Gorger.


The battle once again became a true fight as the boulders ceased to fly. Still Alucard was nowhere to be found, but there were more pressing issues. The Wights outnumbered the invading army three to one. Nuckelavees thrashed to and fro, their bony claws taking off heads as they stamped in skulls, wielding stained swords in their hands as they attacked. The unholy, twisted centaur struck hard and fast, forming a phalanx as they pushed against the enemy lines.


"Assist the Nuckelavees, push back their ranks!" Walter's voice carried and gave the battle direction, and the soldiers began a unified push. It was time for the full swing.

[Archdemon Stu]

While The Gorger had originally intended to create an opening, he had severely underestimated the effectiveness of his "allies."  It only took a mere moment for Rau and Sun Wu to deliver the barrow wight directly to the ghoul's arms, ultimately dooming the pitiable creature.  After tearing the wight's head from its body, The Gorger tore a sizable chunk of dead meat from the corpse, still maintaining his momentum as he gnawed on barrow wight jerky.

Attackers closed in... but, little did they know The Gorger's powers continued to grow by the moment.  The smell of blood was gradually becoming stronger.  Holy power surged through his veins.  And now, he had a meal - albeit stale.  As the enemy troops closed in, his muscles twisted and contorted as his chains loosened around his arms.

"I would keep my head low if I were you, holy man." The Gorger warned ominously.

The nearest wight was stopped in its tracks as the chains lashed out at the creature from both sides, the metal links wrapping around one another as they made their way around its waist.  The Gorger grasped the chains, and with a maniacal outcry of laughter, he whirled the wight over his head, and bludgeoned the incoming foes with their own comrade's weight.  He continued to press forward with his newly discovered weapon, each blow resounding with chains clanking and bones breaking as the forces of darkness fell to The Gorger's compiling strength.

[Radobe]

The sight of The Gorger feasting upon undead flesh, as it bludgeons its way through the wight’s ranks, is a sight that won’t be easily forgotten. It took the ghoul only a second to deprive the barrow right of its head, upon its timely delivery to his hands. With the undead chanter gone, Rau breathes a sigh of relief, but before he can even think of rejoining the battle he hears the sound of chains hitting the ground. The ghoul gave a warning and the priest had only a moment to react. He quickly hugs the ground and manages a narrow escape from the improvised wight flail.

After waiting a few seconds for The Gorger to move a safe distance away, Rau stands up and looks at the battlefield.

"Assist the Nuckelavees, push back their ranks!" A phalanx of Nuckelavees was making a push through the enemy ranks.

As the soldiers began their unified push, Rau joined their ranks and prepared to cast a spell the moment their push reaches with the undead army.

(Holy light (beam)) An instant before the soldiers clash with the wights, the priest stretches out his hands in front of his chest and releases two bright beams of light. With an outwards motion of his hands, the beam radiates upon a portion of the first few rolls of enemies in front of him. If the spell is successful it burns the targeted undead. The closer the target, the faster it burns.

[Kitharsis]

Sun Wu stands on top of the rock previously occupied by the barrow wight.  He doesn't feel joy from the quick dispatch of the undead chanter.  It was merely a thing that needed to be done. 

The Gorger gnaws through the body.  Wu finds it hard to accept the creature, its nature is so different than his own.  As long as it doesn't get in his way, they will be fine.

Wu springs off the rock, and with a flip lands running after the Nuckelavees.  Steering clear of the Gorger and its makeshift flail, Wu circles behind the group looking for an opening.  He notices Rau preparing a spell, and times his attack to match it.

A second after Rau's Holy Light rolls over the first rows of wights Wu charges between two of the Nuckelavees.  There isn't room enough to perform any of his larger attacks, the Nuckelavees would be caught up in them.  So he continues using his Splash attack.  Each kick, punch, knee, elbow and headbutt carries the weight of several.  Chi reinforces each and every attack.  Each and every attack is devastating.

[Shadow Chorus]

The Nuckelavees' charge tore a hole in the enemy ranks and that gap allowed soldiers to flow through, driving a wedge into the enemy ranks. As the battle waged on, the assailers couldn't take it, and the crusade's forces pushed through, routing those before them. But from an eagle's viewpoint it was only a small victory. For nearly a mile on this stretch of beach similar battles were being fought between the crusaders' forces and the army of monsters. Most of the forces appear to be wights, with a few other types of monsters sprinkled about.


But hope was not lost. No matter how many fights were going on, this one was a turning point. With this three-hundred foot stretch of beach taken by the defenders, they were free to come to the aid of the others. And so they did. Soldiers and monsters charged in all directions to help their comrades, but in the midst Walter had ensured that Rau, Sun Wu, and the Gorger stayed behind with a few shouted orders. When the soldiers had all taken to the battlefield once more, Walter approached the group.

"While our men regroup and re-engage, you three, Alucard and I will break off from the main force. We have a mission to fulfill on our own, and you three have proven yourselves strong enough to handle it." Walter said, looking at them.

"Master, I have accomplished my task." Alucard's voice rang out as his form appeared from the shadows, seemingly from empty space. He was dragging behind him the bloody remnants of what appeared to be a human being. He tossed the man's body on the ground before sir walter.

"The traitor, my master." Alucard said, bowing.

[Archdemon Stu]

The Gorger laughed as the traitor's corpse hit the ground.  "Mankind treads on thin ice.  You rely on the very monsters you fight to earn you victory, controlled by your men... yet - as you can see - your men are easily swayed.  You only delay the inevitable."  His throat let out a chuckle that would make any man's skin crawl as he leaned in toward his tamer, "Out with it then.  What do you want dead, Walty?  Let us prolong your pitiful demise further."

He turned to Alucard suddenly, his eyes shifting from the vampire then to the corpse. "You going to eat that?"

[Radobe]

Rau couldn’t hold back his tongue, at The Gorgers remarks towards humanity and his disrespectful behavior towards Sir Walter.

“What do you know of humans creature?” Rau looks into the creature’s eyes as he says it “Do you know why this man chose to betray us? Was it because his family was threatened? Was it because his mind was taken over? Was it him being blinded by gold? Even if he was “easily swayed”, you can’t judge the whole of humanity based on the actions of an individual.” The priest looks back at Sir Walter “As for his lack of respect, I think we have the perfect opportunity to try a different approach and see if it will yield results. I suggest we deprive him of his “meals” every now and then, maybe his hunger will teach it respect, who knows maybe it will even be more useful in battle if it’s hungry.” Rau looked at The Gorger expecting to see his angry reaction.

[Kitharsis]

Wu nods at Sir Walter's words about a separate mission.  He gets busy stretching out from the last battle.  Joints pop as he bends almost unhumanly.

Speaking of unhuman, Alucard steps forward from the shadows and tosses a dead body on the ground.  The traitor who had given their names away to the Horsemen.  Wu frowns at his body.

"... You only delay the inevitable." The Gorger  goes on a tirade against the human race, much to Father Rau's irritation.  Sun Wu smirks and shakes his head at the both of them.  So opposite these two are, and no love is lost between them.  But they both have good points.

Looking to change the subject, Wu approaches Sir Walter.  "What is our new task, Sir?"

[Shadow Chorus]

"I won't lie to you, we're walking into the Lion's den with this one." Walter said, turning and beginning to walk. His footsteps slowly strode across the sand, towards the cliff the enemy had retreated into.

"The Dusk Piercer was equipped personally by me. Its creatures and crewmen chosen for my plans. I had the suspicion you three would prove yourselves, and so you have. The Dusk Piercer's most elite forces will be moving as a separate task force outside the bounds of the main crusade. While the rest of the crusaders wage the overt war, we are the background. We make sure that battles go in our favor. We will be storming castles, slaying Vampire lords, undertaking the most dangerous tasks. And we will succeed only because we are few and elite. We go where armies would crumble, and lesser men be slaughtered. We are the true Black Crusade, the dark force behind the holy war on the surface. We will move alongside the main force and strike out at its threats. Your first mission lies in this forest. A powerful vampire is rumored to have a tower somewhere in these dense woods, and he and his minions pose a threat should they decide to take part in the fighting. Our job is to destroy him, and possibly sieze his tower as a temporary base of operations. Any objections?"

[Archdemon Stu]

Vampire.  The very word brought insurmountable anger to The Gorger.  Alucard had proven himself with his generous "donation," but even then, The Gorger's spite ran deep.  He clenched his teeth, remembering all that time he spend a mere thrall - unable to control his own impulses and actions.  Though he was well fed, more so then than he was now, he knew who it was who stole his past from him, erased his memories as a man, and stole his will.  His jovial grin disappeared, and the remaining muscles on his face revealed his tenacity.

"None." He growled.

His claws and teeth sharpened to points... it seemed, this time, he would not resist his shackles.

[Radobe]

Hearing Sir Walter talk about the mission cooled Rau’s head off a bit and led his thoughts away from the ghoul’s words.

“I have no objections.” Said the priest “Even though I am not much of a tracker, I will make sure no one catches us by surprise.”

(Detect undead) Rau closes his eyes and begins chanting with a quiet voice. After a minute he opens them again and small fire is lit in them. His senses are now stretched out in an attempt to grasp any unholy presence that they may encounter in the vicinity.