Darkfang Hold

Sosa watched as the troops started moving out, 4 portals had been opened to get the troops and supplies through as quickly as possible. The portal anchors had been set up 3 hours march from Bloodsoaked Fort, she had hoped to make the march in less time but did not want to tire them out in case they had to fight as soon as they got there.

"Off to leave me, while you go seek glory in battle. I thought you loved me, sister?" Dolbrug asked smiling as he watched the troops leave.

"If we both could go I would, but with me gone and the majority of our troops as well, the Hold will be vulnerable. If everything goes according to plan I will be back in a couple of days. Take care brother." Sosa replied as she started walking toward the open portals, an escort of 20 warriors close by.

Bloodsoaked Fort

Keep- Mess Hall

"Overall the siege is going well, we have beaten back five attacks, and they have not launched another since the last one. We have incurred 300 to 600 casualties among the enemies ranks. On the other hand, we have sustained a steady stream of casualties as well, we have lost 35 among the Legion, 12 among the Dawn Guard, 50 among our allies, and nearly 80 critically wounded that will be down at least two days and another 200 walking wounded. The Dead Legion has lost 20 Warriors and 12 Archers, the Bone Lord is slowly replenishing the lost ranks though. In addition, the enemy tried to send two stealth teams during the assaults but the Wraiths quickly found them and both teams were quickly pushed out with severe casualties on their side. No Immortals or their Bonded have been seriously injured or killed." Brox finished reporting.

Jacob nodded as he continued to eat, he was on his feet in the mess hall with a couple hundred other soldiers trying to get some food before the day started. "Have we had any word from Sosa?" Jacob asked between bites.

"No word my King, but she should be in a position in a couple of hours if everything goes as planned," Brox replied.

Jacob nodded, "Hows the Outer Wall holding up? Have we figured out how they can fire their catapults out of the range of ours yet?"

The Orc winced, "The wall is intact overall, but micro-fissures have sprung up all over the wall and a sustained bombardment will crack it the Elementalists say. They also said they can negate some of the damage and keep it up for another couple of days. They also upgraded their catapults to Onagers, it gives them an extended range at the cost of a slower firing rate. No change in the damage output though."

Jacob nodded as he brought up the Fortress Interface and inspected the more in-depth report on the Outer Wall, "Ok, looks like we are going to have to use the shield sooner rather than later. Once the wall falls to 50% integrity activate the shield and it should buy us some time to repair it. Once you relay the orders to the shield team, get some rest and food Commander." Jacob commanded the Orc who saluted before quickly moving off.

A Goblin took the Orc commanders place, "Sir, we activated the system that the Engineers put in place and everything is ready to go. Just to warn you though it will only last for 5 minutes once activated. Also, the new modified ammunition for the catapults is ready." Jacob nodded at the Goblins words as he moved off to grab his own food. He and his team had worked most of the night to prepare everything for the second day, they would soon find out if all the effort would pay off or not. Nightshade watched as another wave of ammunition fell against the distant wall. For the last hour, the Onagers had been pounding the distant wall without mercy and it was finally showing the stress of the siege engines bombardment. Long jagged cracks were appearing all over the wall and sections of the facing had started to fall off. She smiled as she considered the finale assault that would happen after the wall finally fell. Suddenly a blue pulse of energy emanated from the Keep as a Magic Shield was activated encompassing the outer wall.

Her cursing filled the nearby cavern as her plans were delayed once again, "Begin the assault, now!!!" She screamed out and the nearby messenger ran off quickly before he lost his head. 14 Battle Flags, including six of Drow warriors, we're going in with the first wave. Mistress Nightshade smiled as she thought of the defender's casualties. Sosa watched as the distant line of warriors, archers, and whatever else the SIsters could throw together start to jog toward the fortress wall. Suddenly a pair of small boulders slammed into one of the oncoming formations killing or maiming a good 1/3 of it. The formation quickly reformed and continued on but it was noticeably smaller and the wounded left behind were screaming in agony.

Then, bolts from the wall mounted Scorpions flashed out and impaled 2-3 enemies with every strike. Then the mages added destruction to the mix as well. Lighting Bolts, Acid Bolts, Meteors, and smaller Fireballs slammed into the onrushing formations. Dozens were killed or wounded but they finally reached the wall. A great shout went out from the attackers as they started to raise ladders but then it seemed the whole area in front of the fortress exploded into fire. The shield shimmered absorbing the back blast but overall maintained its integrity.

Screams filled the air as hundreds of enemy troops were instantly killed and the survivors were quickly dying as the fires continued to burn. "Well that was interesting, anyone has any idea what just happened?" Sosa asked and all her commanders just shrugged but the Legionnaire was chuckling. When he noticed her stare he quickly regained his composure.

"I am willing to bet that the alchemist Abraxxus had something to do with that." the Dwarf responded before he started laughing again. Sosa considered that little piece of information and from what she knew of the Lich, it was a real possibility. Jacob watched as the fires started to die down, during the planning phase Abraxxus had warned them to use the shield to protect any defenders and the wall from the back blast. Good thing they had harbored the shield's strength otherwise half the defenders would have been extra crispy. From what Jacob could see through the plan had worked perfectly and the shield was relatively intact as well. From what he had seen before the show had started the Sisters had sent in 14 Battle Flags to try and drive them off the wall, nearly 800 War Slaves and Drow. Now they were burning corpses and ash.

However, it was a one trick show, the fire that had destroyed them all also destroyed the piping system as well. "Wow, that was an interesting way to blunt an attack," Anastasia stated as the fires continued to burn down. The enemy reserve forces that had been on standby to reinforce the main attack were edging back from the fort.

"What was that Jacob?" Cathrine asked from his other side.

He smiled before answering, "Abraxxus called it Pheonix Potion, it is similar to his Alchemic Bombs but it burns hotter and quicker. It also doesn't stick to targets within its area of effect. So for a good burst of damage, like an explosive surprise where you know where your enemy will be, its good to use. If we were deployed in the field I would never have used it." Jacob responded as he turned toward her to hug her. "Now ladies it's probably going to get interesting here very soon so why don't you get to your assigned positions."

Jacob looked at the defensive set up, the 1st Legion was assigned to the wall, the Dead Legion and Dawn Guard were assigned as back up. The forces from Clan Darguun were placed behind them and at the gate, the Death Head troops of the Hallowed Tomb. The Earth Splitters and Bloodfang Clan were garrisoned within the Keep. Jacob had bet completely destroying the first attack wave would enrage the enemy commander and that they would throw the majority of their forces at the fort.

If that happened, Sosa was supposed to attack whatever reserve they held back and destroy their siege engines as well before pulling back or attacking their assault forces from behind. It all depended on what the enemy decided. Sosa watched as the remainder of the enemy army formed up around the solid core of Six Battle Flags of Drow Warriors. It looked like they would swamp the defenses but she prayed to whoever would listen that they would hold long enough for her to destroy the Siege Engines and reserve forces.

Suddenly the back line of the force stopped, Six Battle Flags were the reserve force for those that were going in. From what they could see, nearly 400 Drow remained behind at the camp. Being sandwiched between the two forces was a bad tactical decision but depending on how the main attack went, she wouldn't have a choice. Jacob watched as the new catapult 'ammo' arced before coming apart and slam into the oncoming formations. Each piece of ammunition was a barrel with 12 Alchemic bombs. If anything went wrong they could cause a huge amount of damage within the fortress.

Fire and explosions rained down on the approaching enemy, then Mages and Scorpions added their superior firepower. Finally, the Skeletal Archers and Crossbowmen of the Legions added their Bolts and Arrows to the mix. Dozens died while hundreds more were injured but they had the numbers to sacrifice and a commander that was unwilling to accept defeat. Ladders and War Slaves clattered against the wall as the assault began in earnest. Sosa watched as the attackers finally made it to the wall and started scaling the fortifications. Then the defenders started tossing alchemic bombs at the ranks of the enemies at the base of the wall causing massive casualties in the compact ranks. Dozens were crippled as limbs were blown off, but there was always more climbing over their fallen ranks to get to the fortress walls.

Suddenly horns sounded from the distant Drow camp causing the reserve force to start marching forward. Sosa smiled as defensive catapults started to rain fire down on the encroaching enemy again ripping into their formations and killing or wounding dozens. "Prepare to move out, the Legion men will anchor the right flank. Watch for Rogues, main objectives are to drive off those remaining Drow and destroy or capture those siege engines. Once done, we reform and will attack the enemy from the behind. Questions?" Sosa snapped out. Everyone remained quiet, "Dismissed!!"

Within 5 minutes later the War Horns of Clan Darguun sounded from the depths as they spread forward to attack the Drow encampment. The officers that were commanding the attacking forces near the fortress could not pull back, if they did the defenders would come out from the fortress and attack them from behind. So they continued their assault and hoped the forces they had left behind were enough to defend the camp and siege engines. Jacob ducked under the Drows wild swing and triggered Shield Bash causing the Drow to stumble back into the Orc that was trying to climb onto the wall. Both beings tried to grab the wall to steady themselves but Jacob kicked forward causing both combatants to stumble and fall off the wall and onto the other attackers below.

"Bomb!" a nearby Elf cried out and Jacob pivoted out of the way so he could toss the two Alchemic Bombs on the attackers below. The double explosion was quickly drowned out by screams and the continued clash of arms. Jacob got back in position with his shield waiting for the next attacker to gain purchase while glancing around for any breaches along the wall top. So far the defenders were holding them at bay but a fresh wave of attackers was coming and would arrive shortly.

Suddenly distant war horns sounded bringing a smile to Jacobs' face, "You hear that Legion, that's the call of Clan Darguun. Do not fear it!! Let them know we are alive and still fighting!!!" A roar came from every mouth that heard Jacob's words and for the first time, the forces of the Sisters of the Damned wondered if they would win.

City of Sylfemel

Central Tree- Eldest Office

Oloric watched as his grandfather read through the codex pages, "Do you trust this Oloric?" The Eldest asked.

"Grandfather, he went out of his way to get this information to us. He didn't have to. He also included one of the most powerful Immortal Guilds on the continent. I think he is very serious about this threat." Oloric responded as he sipped his tea.

"We will have the untouched book cyphered, if it all lines up we will pass the information along to those who can do something about it." the Eldest replied. "Now what are your impressions of the Vampire from this meeting?"

Citadal of Shadows

Central Chambers- Council Seat

Johnothan Pierce entered the council chambers, he rarely ever came here anymore since he had stepped down and taken a more indirect role in the guild. Now he trained new Assassins and took part in high stakes/high-risk missions for the guild. Being tasked with the meet should have been boring, but what this Jacob Longstrider had given him was far from boring. It would take weeks or even months to pull it off, that was counting on the support of the Wood-Elves he had pulled into the scheme.

"Council of Shadows, can we dispense with the theatrics? I know most of your identities." Johnothan asked them as he strode into the chambers. Smiles and laughing were the response as the magic around the chamber were dispersed. For anyone else requesting this, it would have been ignored.

"So what did the wayward Darren Shadowstep want? He has not requested a face-to-face meeting ever since he requested to be allowed out of the guild. We agreed as long as we were kept in the loop somewhat, he has held up his end of the bargain and we have assisted him and this new guild he has helped found. What was so important?" the council asked in amusement that a new small guild would find something that would interest them.

"Darren was not the one who requested the meeting, his new guild leader did. He was an interesting man, but he is a discussion for another time. He passed on information to us. A codebook on an old enemy we have." Johnothan replied before throwing the codebook at the nearest council member. She caught it with a raised eyebrow. "Read it from the first page, I think you will find that book very interesting."

Bloodsoaked Fort

Outer Wall

Jacob kicked the Goblin back and cut the Orcs throat as he buried his spear into Jacob's side. The invaders had finally gained the wall in three areas and invaders had poured inside but the Dead Legion and the Dawn Guard were holding them at bay and slaughtering them almost as soon as they got off the wall.

Jacob cursed and threw himself into the closest breach triggering Hemorrhage, followed by Battle Stomp, and finally Life Absorption. It was the first time he had seen the effect of the ability and an Aura exploded outward from Jacob and enveloping all the nearby enemies. Jacob's life had been sitting at 20% skyrocketed quickly as Life Absorption sucked the essence from nearly a dozen nearby enemies and feeding all the life force to him.

It also bought the defenders time to shore up the breach in their line. The quickly threw the two nearest ladders off the wall and sent the attackers screaming to their deaths. Suddenly Jacob saw the distant Onagers start launching toward the fortress. The incoming missiles had already peaked and were falling rapidly toward their position, "BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!" Jacob screamed out as he covered himself with his shield. Every single Legionnaire repeated the order down the line, suddenly a series of explosions rocked the attacker's ranks outside the wall. A cheer went up from the defenders as the attackers ranks started to waver.

Alert...

The morale of the attacking force has fallen to...low...due to the opposing general fleeing the battlefield.

Fortress Defenders Damage is increased by 5%

Fortress Defenders Defenses are increased by 5%

Alert...

A series of horn blasts sounded from within the keep, the Dawn Guard and Dead Legion stepped up their attacks and started cutting their way toward the wall to reinforce the defenders there. The forces of Clan Darguun started to move forward to replace them.

Sosa heard the shout after the Explosive Ammunition slammed into the rear ranks of the attacking army. Her troops were already reforming, she was going to leave the Legionnaires and 200 of her people here to protect the captured Onagers and make sure the forces they had driven off did not come back.

The Onagers could fire three barrages by the time it would take for them to cover the distance, so the continued to fire as she led her forces at a jog toward the Bloodsoaked Fortress. It might not have earned its name before, but by the time this battle was done, that would change for sure.