Regional Quest Update: The Creeping Ice

Spawning wave 2/10

“How many we got?” I said.

Faye whistled, which didn’t seem like a very good sign. “I don’t know, twenty? They’re so bunched up that it’s hard to tell.”

Ezzie said.

I said.

I ducked out, my heart hammering as I came face to face with the approaching force. Five Warhounds, fourteen Bloodhounds, and a massive, bear-like dragonkin taking up the rear:

{Draconic Siegebeast} (Level 9 Dragonkin) (Elite)

HP: 1,200/1,200

All five of the Warhounds began their spells at the same moment, so I waited until five of the icy projectiles were speeding towards me, then ran through the gatehouse and slipped around the corner. An icy blast ripped through the tunnel, like a blizzard in miniature. I swung back out to block the tunnel. “Can you still see me from above?”

“Yeah not a problem,” Faye said. “Stairwell’s got a good vantage of the gatehouse’s entrance. She’d moved to the very top of the stairs, a little inside the outer wall. Seemed ideal, so long as the force didn’t spill over the walls, and I made sure not to break her line of sight.

“Alright then, let’s do this,” I said, trying to force a bit of confidence into my tone for Faye’s sake.

The first bloodhound reached me then, leaping just as its predecessors had, so I bashed it out of the air with my shield sent it flying back down the tunnel. The dragonkin trampled their fallen ally, racing through the narrow space to get at me, lashing out with clawed talons and teeth and spiked tails, a barrage of blows that forced me to give ground or be torn apart.

The bulk of the attacks sparked off my armor, but many were finding purchase, talons finding long gaps to slide through, digging into soft skin beneath.

But I could feel Faye’s magic at work, too, knitting my wounds up almost as quickly as they formed.

Ezzie said.

The blows were so constant that I couldn’t even manage a counterattack; all I could do was keep my shield up high and weather the strikes, gritting my teeth against the pain.

A dragonkin ducked low and snapped at my right leg, but I kicked out and caught it right between the eyes. A scaly tail slapped me across the face, and my helmet caved in on one side under the force of the blow.

Ezzie said.

I raised my shield and activated magnetic block. My shield blurred into motion, sending one of my attackers stumbling back into the other hounds.

I leapt back to get a bit of breathing room. “Witchflame Burst, Lecherous Strike!” I brought the hammer down with everything I had, filling the tunnel with green fire. It was eerie, watching the flames devour the creatures by the score, none of them making so much as a sound as they died.

Ezzie said,

I turned and ran for it, finding that six dragonkin had already wised up to the gaps in the fortification. But they’d entered the town through gaps that were way to either side of the gate, so I had no trouble reaching Faye first and taking up a defensive position in front of her.

She nodded as I positioned myself at the bottom of the stairs. “Gloves are off, then.”

“Afraid so,” I said. A Bloodhound leapt up at me, and by now I’d seen the attack enough to predict its trajectory; I swung an uppercut with my hammer, catching the creature beneath the chin and sending it flipping down the stairs, where it tripped up a pair of approaching Warhounds.

An enormous ball of ice flew out of the crowd below, obviously targeting Faye but at a low enough angle that I was able to move into the path of the attack. The icy ball exploded off my chest in a burst of arctic air but didn’t seem to do any damage. Actually, it didn’t seem to have had any effect at all.

Ezzie said.

I nodded and swept my hammer in a wide, horizontal arc, sending three dragonkin toppling from the staircase. White light filled my vision as another of the Warhound’s projectiles hit home.

I gasped at the shock of cold air; it felt like I’d been plunged into icy water from head-to-toe.

Ezzie said.

My muscles were stiff and numb, my limbs uncooperative, and my next swing was batted aside by a scaly hand. I caught a slash to my abdomen—one that sliced right through a pair of copper plates—and a set of jaws closed around my thigh, the teeth biting so deep that I could feel hot blood running beneath my armor.

The cold lifted all at once, steam billowing off me. I ripped my leg away and kicked the offending Warhound back, though it took a sizable chunk of copper and flesh with it.

Ezzie said,

I queued up both abilities and sent another wave of flame rushing through the crowded ranks. All of the Bloodhounds died instantly, and the remaining Warhounds had taken so much damage that mopping them up was pretty easy with Faye’s healing allowing me to fight without worrying too much about my defense.

I left the stairwell behind and waded through the bodies that hadn’t yet dissolved, finishing off a wounded Warhound who’s legs had been broken.

Ezzie said.

She cut off as the wall to my right exploded inward, the massive Siegebeast battering through the wooden structure as if it were kindling. The bear-like creature reared up on its hind legs and sniffed the air, its two blue eyes sharp and intelligent. It looked down at me and made a strange bleating sound that came from deep in its throat.

Ezzie said.

The creature raised its hands high into the air, then whipped forward and down, smashing both of its claws into the courtyard and causing a foot-high wave of ice to ripple out from the impact zone.

I jumped and pulled my knees to my chest to clear the wave. I cleared the attack, but the ice didn’t disperse right away and I landed off-balance, then slipped on the near-frictionless surface and hit the ground hard.

Ezzie said.

I scrabbled away from the Siegebeast on all fours, pulling and kicking my way across the ice. I was just about clear of the frozen surface when the creature roared and leapt high into the air. With one last kick off a ridge of ice, I pushed myself forward with everything I had.

I flopped back onto the cobbles just as the Siegebeast landed in the center of the ice. The creature pulverized the frozen expanse, turning every bit of frost into a rush of upward drifting snowflakes.

When the area cleared, the Siegebeast stood at the center of a waist-deep crater with little golden stars dancing above its head.

I said.

Ezzie said.

I dashed into the crater, queuing up both my damage skills and launching them at point-blank range, prompting a golden two-twenty to float up above the Siegebeast’s head.

I dropped my shield and hacked away with both hands, beating my hammer into the creature’s muscular back. I landed five blows in all before the creature recovered and dropped to all fours.

It kicked out without even looking at me, one of its huge rear paws connecting dead-on with my chest and sending me flying through the air and smashing into the gatehouse, my shield lying useless at the Siegebeast’s feet.

Ezzie said.

I grunted as I forced myself back to my feet, clenching my teeth against the pain in my lower back.

Ezzie said.

The creature pawed at the ground, a bull on the verge of charging.

Ezzie said. not go left, and do not move too early or it’ll adjust its path and catch you. At your current health a direct hit from that charge attack is going to be fatal.>

I nodded. “Magnetic Block,” I said, though of course nothing happened without my shield in hand. It had been worth a shot.

The Siegebeast charged, running at a speed that seemed impossible, given its bulk. In the blink of an eye, it’d crossed half the courtyard.

I waited as long as I dared then dove to my right, clearing the attack’s path.

No, I almost cleared it.

The creature smashed into my ankles as it blew clean through the wall I’d been standing against. Its attack didn’t do any damage, but since I was airborne the blow sent me spinning sideways, helicoptering onto the cobbles.

I got up, staring at the huge hole the creature had punched into the fortifications.

Ezzie said.

A golden shield sprung into place around me just as the nearest section of wall exploded into splinters, the Siegebeast surging through like a wrecking ball. I tried to roll away again but the creature caught me with another swipe, blasting me halfway across the courtyard.

I tumbled to a stop right in front of my shield. I didn’t feel any worse for wear, but the shield that Faye had slammed into place—no doubt saving my life yet again—had already winked out. I scooped up my shield as the creature reared up and bleated again.

This time though, I was ready. I got a running start just as Ezzie started the countdown:

I jumped over the icy wave and pulled my knees up, landing solidly with both feet, my momentum sending my sliding across the slippery surface and out of harm’s way before the Siegebeast even had time to leap. I was on it as soon as it landed, with the shattered ice still hanging in the air.

I sent another juiced up Witchflame Burst roaring over the creature’s back, topping off my health in the process. I scored a few more quick hits, dropping the creature’s health below the halfway point.

Ezzie said.

I turned and ran a full second before the stun was up, crossing the courtyard and putting my back to the gatehouse. The creature might be able to treat the wooden walls like tissue paper, but the gatehouse itself was fifteen feet of solid stone.

The Siegebeast charged and I rolled out of the way successfully this time, clearing the attack a split-second before the huge dragonkin slammed into the gatehouse face-first.

The structure groaned and shuddered beneath the impact, but the Siegebeast bounced off the stone and fell onto its back.

Ezzie said,

I ran at the creature and leapt, tossing my shield aside once again and bringing the hammer down between its eyes with both hands, activating both of my damage skills a split second before I made contact.

I swung again and again, the numbers shrinking as my stamina dropped: eighty, seventy-six, sixty-two.

Ezzie said.

The Siegebeast dissolved into blue nanobots. I gasped in a lungful of cold air.

I sighed and shook my head. I said.

Ezzie said.

Once I’d caught my breath, I rejoined Faye atop the gatehouse to get a better look at whatever it was the system would send our way next.

The walls were even more of a ruin than they had been, more gap than wall, in fact. But the gatehouse was still standing, and was a reasonably defensible area. Maybe...

Regional Quest Update: The Creeping Ice

Spawning wave 3/10

Faye went stiff and still as the dragons appeared atop a nearby hill. Dozens upon dozens of them, the lines forming all around the city, from every conceivable angle. Countless Warhounds and Bloodhounds, maybe a half-dozen Siegebeasts.

A pair of wide-winged, humanoid figures towered above the creatures massing beyond the north gate:

{Frostfire General} (Level 9 Dragonkin) (Elite)

HP: 1,700/1,700

I said.

Ezzie said.

I said, as the Constructor starting in on peeled my hammer into nanobots.

Ezzie said.

I said.

Ezzie said.

So much for someone—or something—intervening. I said.

Ezzie hesitated.

“What the hell are you doing?” Faye said.

“Uh,” I said.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie shrugged through the link.

“Hello?” Faye said. “Where’d your hammer go? Why are you dropping your gear?”

“Well, I…” I had no more words, no response.

Faye stiffened again, her eyes hardening. “You’re giving up, aren’t you? You’re hoping for a quick death.”

“I guess I am,” I said.

“You know what I hate?” Faye said, getting right in my face. “More than anything else?”

“What’s—”

“Being wrong about people.” Faye shoved me hard in my chest, knocking me back. I stumbled over the low wall of the gatehouse and lost my balance, then tipped over the edge between a pair of battlements.

I gasped as I hit the ground, something in my back shifting and cracking and very obviously not settling back into place. I tried to regain my feet, but I was numb from the waist down, and my arms were too weak to lift myself up.

“Didn’t figure you for the sort that leaves people behind,” Faye said. “Won’t make that mistake again. Guess I won’t have the chance.” She spat down at me, then ducked out of sight just as the thunder of footsteps became too loud to ignore.

Ezzie said.

I shrugged and just laid there, waiting for the end as Ezzie finished deprinting my gear.

Ezzie said.

I said. And that was true.

Ezzie said.