WAR ♞ MARCH ON CENTRAL WEST PLATEAU

[boardmaster]

MARCH ON CENTRAL WEST PLATEAU
20 AUGUST (GLADIA) 2016

The quiet, seemingly unremarkable town of Friedgood doesn't seem like a prime target for a Noir attack. Ask any outsider what a Friedgood local's favorite activity might be, and they’ll likely respond "I don't know, digging?" They're not wrong: Friedgood's primary industry comes from the excavation of precious stones and minerals in the nearby mountain ranges and volcanoes. Those who don't make their living from mining most likely still enjoy digging, as the town is a hot destination for archeologists from the school of Pigeonsblood looking to uncover the ancient secrets of Gammon.

More important than shiny rocks, however, is Friedgood's strategic location within the country, specifically the checkpoint known as Platform 42 and 5/8ths. It forms a stark contrast to the sleepy town it resides in. This bustling travel hub is known as the "Gateway to Gammon", and boasts fast transport to almost anywhere in the kingdom. Security is tight here, with grim-faced Gammon soldiers working around the clock to ensure that criminal activity doesn't stand a chance. Keep your contraband at home — an infraction will cost you heavy jail time. Friedgood is also the only town with a road providing access to Grantebrycge, Gammon's illustrious University town.

By conquering Friedgood, Noir hopes for universal access to all of Gammon.

On the 20th of Gladia, amidst strong winds and persistent thunderstorms, Heroes will arrive to the Central West Plateau. Even surrounded by tall mountain ranges and ominous volcanoes, its ancient wall is truly a daunting sight. A marvel even by modern construction standards, it was built over 300 years ago to defend against hostile nomadic tribes, and remains as strong and sturdy as the day it was built. It also provides an important environmental buffer to the people of Friedgood — the wall is resistant to lava.

Basic info on the war can be found here. All OOC questions about the event may be directed to the thread below.

ONE ♙ The War of Three Armies
It’s time to head to the battle, Hero. You may be walking, riding a mount - your own, or a borrowed spider or boar - or hitching a ride from someone else. It’s a miserable trek to the plateau, but at least you’re not alone. Once you arrive, Verdoni is there to greet you, accompanied by another Gammonian, the commander of this battle.

Pinta [ so god damned salty about not being a naval tactician and assigned to ships ] Ah, yes, the vaunted Heroes I’ve heard so much about. The name is Pinta, ah... naval tactician to Gammon’s armed forces. Ask why and I’ll show you a bloody hell. Anyway, welcome to the Central West Plateau! During ancient times, the volcanoes were said to be a wall of flame that protected Gammon. But if that stopped the Othellians, I suppose I wouldn’t be here, ahaha! Now, with them dormant, we must instead rely upon our steel and our wall. It’s strong enough to protect Gammon even if every volcano in the area were to erupt all at once! At least that’s what the locals say. They didn’t sound too dodgy, but... moving on! If you have any questions, our men will be glad to explain; show you how the cannons work, where the traps are and whatnot. Again, this really isn’t my expertise—oh! Our wizards have been creative as of late. We’ve these wind platforms that will fling those Noirs up, up, up! Into the air! Try not to get caught in them, yeah? Our navy will take care of our seas. They’re an outstanding lot, they are. All we need to do is focus! Gammon shall not sink here!

You’ll then be handed a magical bracelet. The miners use it protect them from toxic air, so this is a precaution; should you need it, it should last for the duration of the battle. Now all you have to do is wait and prepare for the battle. Acquaint yourself with the battleground: explore the Defense Wall and see what traps there are. It may give you some ideas of your own. There are also war cannons aligned on the top wall and within its interior. Otherwise, check your supplies or rest and collect yourself for what will come. Your mount may also want attention.


TWO ♙ Fellowship of the Bling
Initially cloaked by thick fumes of sulfur, ozone and the dreary overcast of the storm, the Noir battalion finally arrives. Their general, Spicy Spice, steps, nay, struts forward.

	Why is it that every time I come around, that Cochrane Bridge wants to go down? [ ADJUSTS HER WORLD CUP BRA ] They can’t keep that wall up forever.
Let’s make this a quick one, so we can get out of this smelly rain! [ gets ready to fire her gun in the air when she remembers something ] And don’t forget, target their puny pathetic healers, first. [ raises gun high above her head, signaling for the attack with a BANG! ]

On her cue, the Noir Vanguard rushes forward with a fearsome war cry, followed soon after by the Rearguard.

ENEMY ♟ Mounted Noir Soldier
Weak against None	Strong against Fire	Immune to None
These soldiers gallop onto the battlefield with their imposing GOLDHORN GOAT mounts. These are bigger and stronger than the average goat, and their golden horns tend to ABSORB SPELLS directed at their riders. Some spells in a soldier’s arsenal: GRISTRELKI sets fire to the rain — literally. It converts the rain in the sky into a barrage of fireballs. Pray your umbrella’s fireproof! With the PLAMEVODA spell, they can turn hot water (i.e. those from geysers) into bubbling hot lava. When combined with a strong cooling spell, the spell can trap you in rock… That is, if the lava doesn’t kill you first! DVIZHE SMERTI is a dangerous spell that paralyzes its target, rendering them unable to even speak or blink. This can be cured with mana exchange. Hurry before Noir strikes with a rain of fire!Of course, the soldiers are capable of HEALING SPELLS to assist their injured allies and mounts. The VANGUARD is lead by an impressive wall of massive shield units, armed with various melee weapons: swords, maces, and daunting battle axes. Herd them into the traps around the battlefield to render them immobile! The REARGUARD, armed with bows and arrows, will try to overwhelm the HEROIC VANGUARD. HEROIC DEFENSE back them up with long-ranged attacks and the cannons! If they get close enough to the wall, the Rearguard will relentlessly attack the Defense! Both units are under strict orders to prioritize an attack on the HEROIC SUPPORT. If they see any Hero or Gammonian soldiers helping each other or performing rescues on the battlefield, they will give chase IMMEDIATELY. DROPS: Shield with Noir Emblem, Flame Staff, Assorted Non-Magical Weapons, Golden Goat Horns, Lava Lamp

In the heat of battle, you will feel the ground beneath you shake and tremble. In a turn of events neither side could have predicted, a dormant volcano in the distance erupts, raining down fire and scorched earth on the area. More alarming, however, is how the resulting earthquake sets off powerful, white-hot geysers on the battlefield. Stay alert! To make matters worse, the approaching lava makes Noir’s fire spells even more deadly, and Noir shows no signs of letting up on their assault.

Spicy Spice You think a little bad weather is going to stop us? Don't make me laugh. [ laughs anyway, then falls into a coughing fit ] Urghh, damn these fumes — Oh whatever, Send in the riders!

THREE ♙ The Desolation of Noir
Undeterred by the eruptions, the geysers, or the bad weather, they’ve called in their aerial units, fierce griffon riders who’re trying to fly over the wall and into Friedgood. Don’t let them pass! Make use of your resources and shoot them down: Heroes with long ranged weapons or magic will find their skills useful here. Learned how to fire a cannon? Now’s your chance! If not, protect your allies, Hero and Gammonian, as they line up their shots.

ENEMY ♟ Noir Griffon Rider
Weak against None	Strong against Fire, Lightning	Immune to Wind
For the first time, Heroes will witness firsthand how Noir’s legendary griffon riders—often called masters of the skies—live up to their name. A griffon’s powerful wings not only lets them soar at great heights; they can whip up terrifying BEAMS OF LIGHTNING. Griffon riders are armed with JAVELINS which they can also throw and cast the same spells as their counterparts on land. However, they share a closer bond with their griffon mounts. Upon losing their master, the griffons will go BERSERK and proceed to kill everything in sight. If a Hero gets caught in a griffon’s talons, the creature will drop them into their boiling demise at either a GEYSER or VOLCANO. DROPS: Mount Treats, Riding Gloves, Noir Lance, Harness, Griffon Feathers, Griffon Talon

The lava is fast approaching and Noir can no longer take the heat. The griffon riders are maintaining their assault, but the rest of their army is falling back to escape. Time for you to retreat too before Gammonian soldiers seal the wall and you’re trapped on the plateau side. Fried Heroes ain’t Fried Good.

• Defense, continue shooting at any enemy target in range! Be attentive and aid your allies as they retreat back to the wall. Do not fear, you have the advantage.
• Vanguard, fall back! Watch the skies for any griffon riders on the way to the wall. Once you arrive, take down enemies who try to breach. Letting even one enemy pass could spell disaster.
• Support, grab the wounded and check the wall’s condition! Any damages should be repaired immediately to prevent the lava from entering Friedgood.

FOUR ♙ There and Back Again
The wall closes, sealing the lava and ending the battle. Hopefully no one got left behind.

Spicy Spice Now I'm wishing that I didn't wear these shoes (I hate heels). Better get up out my face! [ trips on her way out ] Oh shit!

Catch your breath, Hero. You won. First, check up on everyone and heal your wounds. If you borrowed a mount you might want to take the time to say farewell, since the trip back to Friedgood means you’ll be parting soon.

The people of Friedgood are grateful. They know what would have happened if you lost. There’s no time for fancy parties. They’re pulling out whatever they can find for a makeshift street party right then and there.

You can find bowls of Splotched Richard - a dessert pudding - and Bangers and Mash. If you’re in the mood for something strong you can get pints of Guileless or Pale Noir, maybe a Lasker Train Bomb if you can find someone who’s willing to mix it. Or perhaps you fancy a CreamAle, the favored drink of Grantebrycge.

You’re welcome to stay out and party as long as you like - the party is for you, after all! In fact, the people will respect you more if you get drunk and pass out on the side of the street. But for Heroes who’re tired from the war, you’re always welcome to stagger into the Bollox Inn for a room, free of charge.

Comments

[likethelight]

[ The dragon lets out a gravelly bleat and the golem seems to sag for a moment in turn, a mouth opening where there was no gap before and hissing softly through its teeth, twisting to look between the Rook and the Knight.

And Allen smiles to that, seemingly unperturbed. Kindly, in fact. Sad-sweet. ]

Maybe it is foolish. [ He won't deny it. "God's Clown" that he is.

Because it's ironic, isn't it? Here they are soaked in the rain and blood on a battlefield potmarked by flame and aglow in red from the Noir spellcasters. Metal on metal. Shouts, screams. Electricity in the air, acrid on the nose and mixed with the coppery scent of blood. It isn't a place anyone expects to find salvation or kindness. And yet.. ]

But even like this I couldn't bear it if I didn't try anyway.

Why else are we here if not to be saviors as well as destroyers?

[ Why call them Heroes. ]

[querella]

[ To be so pure...

She couldn't tell if what she felt was pity, because she didn't deserve to pity anyone. After what she had done, setting up her sisters to be slaughtered one by one so she might better prepare her fail-safe to kill either Zero or herself.

Her gloved hand gingerly rested upon the dragon's head, hushing him after a moment. There was so much she could say, none of it considerably kind. But she had learned, over time, that she had to choose her words wisely. To react just so even if what she wished to say was like acid. ]

We are here to play the role of pawns in a chess game that may never end. We are not heroes, just soldiers.

1/2

[likethelight]

[ That—actually gets a slightly startled reaction from Allen, chin lifting up sharply at that. Even as he'd bent for a moment to bind the soldier's hands with a tie from the pack on his belt.

"We are not heroes, just soldiers..." ]

2/2 I had a small tag and then it turned into a speech that took forever... PS I'M SORRY

[likethelight]

[ Miss...

You remind him very much of someone right now. Because that guy said almost exactly the same thing. ]

..I can't accept that. [ And rising back to his feet, he's walking towards her now, the broadsword resting lightly across his shoulder. Speaking softly but with certainty. ]

In my experience... [ And the reason why his response to that statement has changed... ]

Thinking like that is how wars get out of hand in the first place.

If everyone just accepts that—if everyone just says "it's not my place" and keeps their head down, maybe that makes it easier for them in the meantime. Because doing that means your allies might look at you and wonder—"is he actually my ally or my enemy"?

[ He stops short of One, though. Just at conversational distance—what is ironically also a swords-length. ]

Nobody wants to feel that lonely.

But the people that suffer because they're caught between two warring powers that have forgotten what they're truly fighting for are still going to suffer, and who's going to fight for them? Shouldn't the soldiers that are supposedly pledged to their cause? And isn't it the soldiers who suffer as well in a war more than they should have to, because people have forgotten they're human and only see them as weapons anymore?

[ To put it another way: ] If I'm to meet someone on the battlefield who's just like me and believes he has people to protect as well, should I cut him down instead of remembering he's the same as I? If there is a way to save him to, to honor the very same feelings he has as myself, shouldn't I try? [ Even if that means giving a good, clean death. If it must come to that.

Though that doesn't mean it wouldn't be something he'd grieve and feel so keenly too. ]

Because if a war is just based on sacrifice and slaughter—it's meaningless.

And it'll never end.

[ But he will stop then, his gloved grip on his sword tight for a moment, before he indicates One with a gentler, sweeping gesture of his left hand that bears the gauntlet Judgement on it. Black clawed fingers, almost demonic, sweeping back into white metal wings along the guard. ]

I don't expect anyone to change how they fight.. [ He really doesn't. ]

But I refuse to believe we're pawns who don't get any choice in the matter.

[ And his—it's to protect everyone he possibly can. ]

[querella]

[ Gloved fingers tightened around the edge of her chakram, what she could hold on to, at least. Crimson eyes swept over Allen's form, looking for some sign of hostility. Yet when none was found, she focused, she listened.

They were so different, the boy and herself. Although in the past she might have thought of things as he had, been able to see the world as he did. But she had so many questions about her existence, about the world she had been born into... ]

This world has no place for us.

[ What was an Intoner? What was the purpose of an Intoner? Why was there no record of them?

She had thought if she studied everything within the great library of Cathedral City, that she would find the answer to all those questions. Somewhere within the birthplace of magic, surely there were answers to what she sought.

But the answers she had found had not come from the library, but from another source. One she could hardly recall anymore. ]

We who were called forth to fight a war that will mean nothing to us when we return from whence we came. There is nothing else for us beyond that. Just to fight mindlessly like pawns.

[ She had been carved into being by the Flower, a parasite that wanted only to destroy. To end all existence. The Black Flower which had taken up residence within Zero. The Black Flower that could not continue existing, that could only be destroyed by a dragon. ]

Your choice will mean very little in the end. For what it is worth, however, your gentleness may mean something to someone. But I would not waste my time.

[ One had been such a fool.

She had believed, truly believed that she and her sisters could bring about peace, prosperity to Midgard. That with their Song they could save the world. But their Song, their very existence, only served to destroy. To drive man insane, before they fell to the power of the Flower. Were taken over by it.

When Zero had killed her, the look in her eye had been strangely soft, hadn't it? ]

[likethelight]

[ Miss... Even on a bloodstained battlefield that reeks of copper and sulfur— ]

...I think that's sad.

[ And he smiles still despite the barbs. Gentle and forgiving as much as adamant. ]

But that's okay. [ How cruel of you goes unsaid, perhaps because either Allen has gained some wisdom and tolerance of that sort of thing...

...or perhaps because she gets a bit more of a pass than someone like Kanda might, who Allen would hesitate less to call out as someone who holds a view he finds detestable.

He is a bit of a gentleman after all, at least when it's not regarding someone's life that's immediately on the line. However: ]

I think meaning is made when we decide something matters. [ Which is why he says it's so sad; her view.

Because you're in a very dark place, aren't you, miss? ]