Savage screams echoed off the walls and garden alcove of the alleyway Jarod and his companions stood in. The cramped space would play to their advantage, funneling the trifleys into narrow files, but Jarod wished they had still been afforded some means of escape.
Two arrows flew overhead from their archers, easily finding targets among the hoard that threatened to overwhelm them. The first sank into one who was clambering over the group caught in the nets that Nikolao and Tex’ana had thrown. He died instantly, arching his back in a final deathly jerk, as his arms flailed alongside his body rolling down to rest at the front of the pile. The second arrow bit into another trifley fighting to reach the front line, right in his chest. By some miracle of the creature’s vitality, it caught itself with thick arms before it hit the ground, and kept all of its slavering rage.
Beside him, Nikolao and Wilfurd swung out with their swords. If they could deal with the trifleys in the front line before the next wave arrived, their position would be easier to hold. Wilfurd managed to stab over his shield and down at a trifley directly in front of him, finishing it off, but Nikolao’s longsword was unwieldy in these tight quarters, and it caught the side of the house as he swung, turning the blade aside to land only a superficial cut on the creature in front of him.
They were down to three of the creatures in melee, two if Jarod could finish one off with his own longsword, but he was skeptical one trifley would make a difference. A stray thought conjured the message he was concerned about in the back of his mind.
Health: 1/5
Maybe it would be more prudent to take a more defensive approach. Jarod braced the outside of his shield with his sword arm, ready to maneuver it for a quick block if necessary.
Defensive stance
[2]+1
Penalty score: 1
Another strange new message, one worth investigating if he managed to survive this encounter. For now, he’d have to hope that this penalty score would prove useful.
While Jarod was contending with the new message and trying to focus on his shield positioning, Nikolao was having difficulty extricating his sword from the monsters before him. The misaligned cut he’d attempted earlier had deflected his sword into the wood of the house on their right. As he pulled and wiggled it back and forth to free it, two of the creatures attacked his exposed arm, one with claws, the other with a hammer.
By a stroke of luck, the nearly simultaneous strikes both were timed in such a way that they interfered with each other. The first one’s claw was drawn back right as the arm wielding the hammer came forward, knocking each other off target. At that moment, Nikolao managed to finally pry his sword out, and withdraw it behind the shield.
No moment for celebration though, as the trifley in front of Jarod lashed out with claws of its own. It tried to reach between a momentary gap in their shields, but was only just able to withdraw its arm in time before the edges banged together to fend it off.
The trifleys in melee weren’t the only ones they had to hold against though, and the first group scrambling over the pileup joined the action at the front.
Strength Contest
Success on 2
[9/10] successes
Jarod wins
Jarod felt trifley after trifley crash into his shield, each impact getting more muffled as it fought to push through flesh and fur. Though he was driven back somewhat, worn boots sliding against the loose dirt, he held his position, as did Nikolao. To his left, it looked as though Wilfurd might manage to hold as well as he gritted his teeth and bore down against his shield. A sudden slip in dirt and a catch of his boot against a rock spelled his doom though, as his center of mass was pushed too far over, and he fell backwards onto the ground.
The nine trifleys now at the front line had been too much for three to hold against, and the flow opened up.
Roll for initiative
[1]
Lose initiative
Jarod’s breath caught, and the scene seemed to unfold in slow motion. He kept holding what remained of the line, hoping that the rate of trifleys allowed through the small gap would be slow enough to allow Tex’ana and the archers to deal with them, but the unfortunate message he’d received told him they had no such luck.
The first trifley through spun around to Jarod, lunging at him with the hammer it wielded. It pulled on his shield at the same time, hoping to drive him out of position and open up the passageway even more.
Defensive penalty applied
Penalty score: 0
It struck out with its hammer, but Jarod was prepared for it. Without dropping pressure on the trifleys in front of him, he kicked out a leg at the diminutive creature, preempting the hammer blow. The kick pushed the trifley back solidly, and as the hammer swung forward, it found only open air.
Three more trifleys passed through the gap in quick succession, each immediately diving onto the fallen target: Wilfurd. Even on his back, he managed to swing the shield around to his left to block the claws of the first trifley. In doing so, however, he’d opened himself up for attacks from the other two, who each slashed into him with claws of their own.
First, a large gash rent down his arm, peeling open skin and muscle alike, leaving mangled flaps in its wake. Despite the pain he must have felt, he flicked his shortsword out in a desperate attempt to return a blow to the monster, but it leapt forward and overhead before he had a chance to adjust.
Wilfurd’s arms were thrust out wide, aimed at creatures on either side. The third leapt right at his exposed chest, both its stubby arms out, as it sank claws in deep. A choking gasp came from the man’s lips, and almost immediately, a burble of blood welled up out his mouth. His eyes went wide, unseeing in this realm, and seeing in one far beyond. His arms sank down, coming to rest against the dusty ground, as his life rapidly drained from his body.
It seemed to Jarod as though there were a moment of stillness. The trifleys pounding away on his shield faded away, as did their maddening language they unrelentingly screamed out. He caught a glance as Wilfurd’s eyes met his own one last time, and then their recognition faded.
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“Ahhhhh,” Jarod screamed in rage and despair. He felt the emotional need to do something, anything, surge up deep within him.
Willpower Check (10)
[7]+4
Success
He felt a primal call start to pull him towards the trifleys on his friend. His sword arm had already started to load up for the swing, but then Nikolao called out.
“No.” The surveyor’s voice was firm, and commanding, a tone and timbre which tore through Jarod’s emotional haze, and brought him back into the moment, back into himself.
“Avenge him by holding the line,” Nikolao said clearly and forcefully. And Jarod obeyed.
Jarod’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the horde in front of him. There were five still held back by the shields, another three stumbling towards them, and a group of five or six caught in the net. They were woefully outnumbered, and now one man down, but Jarod would hold the line for as long as he could.
But then, a change of fate as several of the monsters stiffened and turned without pause, just as they’d seen the one who ran under the bridge do. Each one they saw was unhesitant in their rapid turnabout, and they began to quickly push their way back through the melee and off towards the bridge. Two of the ones that had broken the line, another one still in the melee, and one yet to join the fray simply left, each of them with dark brown fur.
This could be the momentum they needed. Tex’ana left the two who’d turned to leave alone, they’d already succumbed to whatever instinct drove them back to their burrow. The other two behind their line however, made for perfect targets. He whirled the glaive around the alcove twice, taking care not to harm their archers. The first pass caught one trifley in the midsection, spilling entrails onto the floor as it folded in half. The second swipe landed precisely at the creature’s neck, cleanly decapitating it.
The archers on the garden rise behind each fired another arrow, finishing off the one with an arrow already in its chest, and downing another.
This left only three of the creatures still pushing against their shields in melee, though Jarod saw the ones beyond were beginning to claw their way through the net. Nikolao swung his longsword around again, taking advantage of the extra space afforded by a 2-man wall. Even with just one hand, the surveyor made the swing look smooth and graceful this time. He slashed down across a trifley’s shoulder, drew the blade back, and then ran in it again through the monster’s chest.
With only two of the trifleys left, Jarod was faced with the same dilemma as before. He could try to thin their numbers even more, but would risk putting himself in a compromised position. Were it not for Nikolao’s confident leadership, he would have dealt with the consequences of attacking. However, the surveyor’s clear command had given him a level head, even in battle. Now that he’d seen how effective his defensive stance could be, he was inclined to use it again. Especially after being reminded how deadly the trifley could be.
Defensive stance
[2]+1
Penalty score: 1
Jarod stepped slightly to his left, widening his zone of influence on the alleyway. He would hold the front line and allow Tex’ana and the archers to do their job. There was no need for more death among him or his comrades today.
The retreating trifleys continued making their beeline out of the alleyway and back for the bridge. Meanwhile, the nets had continued to be torn apart little by little, until finally, the first squirming trifley broke free. It opened the floodgates, as one by one, they found their way out of the ropes that had done so well to ensnare them before. A couple of those in the net high-tailed it with the others leaving for the bridge, but there were a total of 5 more trifleys eager to join the rampage before their time came.
Another charge came from the trifleys, this time seven against two.
Strength Contest
Success on 2
[8/10] successes
Trifleys win
Despite his brace for impact, incoming support against their diminished numbers proved too much for both Nikolao and he. A final leaping trifley, jumping over the rest of its pushing allies, rammed head-first into the top of Jarod’s shield and sent him stumbling. The two shield-bearers both fell backwards, landing alongside the long legs of Tex’ana as the attacks started incoming.
Roll for initiative
[2]
Lose initiative
Though their remaining company may have weathered the break in the line and found some respite in the retreating few, the influx of reinforcements had done well to keep the trifleys’ momentum. They fanned out, seeking every target they could in their ravenous hunger for destruction.
Two trifleys each went to Nikolao and Jarod. Nikolao suffered a nasty looking stab in the leg, but he managed to stay standing, though with his weight unsteady. Jarod saw the leaping trifley jump up again, stabbing at his face with a kitchen knife.
Defensive penalty applied
Penalty score: 0
Only because his sword hand was already on his shield was he able to bring it up fast enough to deflect the blow. The creature landed with a scream atop the second one, trying to slash at Jarod’s legs, but finding the hard leather boots tougher to slash through than it expected.
Behind him, Tex’ana stumbled backwards, taking a couple hits to the legs himself, as the last one leapt, claws outstretched at Shelley.
For a moment, Jarod saw the same scene of death unfold in his mind, but as the creature slashed out, the baker spun and ducked low, bright blue dress spinning about her heels. The creature landed on the dirt wall with its claws still extended, latching on to stray roots as it got ready to spring out again, but a well-placed arrow from Filgrin took it out before it was able to act.
Shelley stood up quickly, stunned eyes darting around the battlefield for the next threat. She drew an arrow of her own, and sent it flying true to injure one of the ones caught up with Jarod.
Roll to hit
Longsword (one-handed): [5]+1-2
Hit for [5] damage
He took advantage of the trifley’s flinch in pain and brought his longsword around to finish it off.
Nikolao dealt a mortal wound to one of his own, and looked to Tex’ana expectantly. The sight servant drew himself up, leaned his head back, and roared.
The memory of the fear Tex’ana had created last time was still fresh in Jarod’s mind. He instinctively tensed his muscles, fighting between the urge to keep engaged with the trifley in front of him and to take cover from the awful bellow, but the terror didn’t come. The deafening sound was still there, loud and all-consuming, but that preternatural horror associated with it was absent.
So too was the effect lessened for the trifleys. A glance upward and a spasming step backwards came quickly, but their concern faded just as fast. Whatever Tex’ana had done last time, he couldn’t muster the same strength this time around.
Roll for initiative
[2]
Win initiative
Thankfully, the roar was still enough of a distraction to gain an opportunity to attack. The two archers each finished off another target as Nikolao and Jarod strode forward to help Tex’ana.
Roll to hit
Longsword: [4]+1
Hit for [6] damage
Jarod dropped his shield as he approached, no more need for caution. He brought the sword down heavily upon the trifley’s head, embedding it halfway through its skull.
The last of the creatures had been dealt with. Jarod sank to his knees in exhaustion. If there were more of the creatures to fight, they would have to hope the other villagers could come to their aid. None among them were in a position to properly fight any more.
Distantly, the sounds of trifley jibbering faded. No more was there hacking of wood or screams of attack. Just the quietness of a spent battlefield.
They’d won, but it had come at a cost. Jarod crawled forward, hand by hand, to his fallen friend. Wilfurd’s death had been the price of the victory. His head fell, and Jarod wept.
