[Zurlane] Chapter 3: Ride of the Valkyries

[Licel]

At the moment Zurlane recieved the kiss and the words entered his mind he felt as if a bunch of kindling had been lit inside of him. Zurlane felt a jolt of life burst like a flame through his body. It started in his chest and flowed through him. The sensation climbed down into his finger tips and toes rejuvenating everything it touched. Like electricity his eyes flickered and his brain felt as though fog had been cleared from it. The weight of the world seemed a little lighter.

With blushed cheeks, I looked into Alvilda's eyes. "Thank you... that... that was nice." I say with a smile dreamily.

As the sensation faded Zurlane felt himself return to the world. The dread and anxiety impacting him much less than it had before. Compelled to act, to prove that he is the hero they deserve he struck out his hand in a defiant pose towards the front line, towards where Iona rushed.

Spoiler

[close]

A surge of confidence rushed into him. "Let us be off my princess." He said with a smirk.

[Throndir]

It was then that the blare of horns resounded through the area.

"The call to retreat hath been sounded... Ah, mine hero, look over yonder." She said as she pointed in the sky a distance away. It was Iona, along with another valkyrie. But you realized they were flying in the air. The other valkyrie looked like she had a horn to her lips, and continued to blow on it.

Further ahead, but on the land, you see many valkyrie trying to hold the line, though retreating slowly.

Perception requested to see how much detail you can get of the current skirmish.

[Licel]

Roll perception

Rolled 1d20+3 : 20 + 3, total 23

I look in the direction that Alvilda pointed.

After assessing and seeing what I can see I ask her. "Why are some Valkyre on the ground fighting and some in the air?"

"Aurora, given our current situation and what we know of the Valkyre so far, help me run a few simulations I'm considering. If you could give me some information such as predicted chance of success, pros and cons, anything that could be valuable I'd really appreciate it. Here's what I'm considering.

Option 1: We attempt to retreat, flank around and take up hold in ruins to the north somewhere behind the demon forces, we try and live stealthily and exist directly under their noses and plan our next move against the demons.

Option 2: We group up with the reinforcements from the queen and take back the fortress before the demons have had the chance to reinforce it and make it into a stronghold of their own.

Option 3: We retreat south into allied territory, build a makeshift encampment and plan our next move against the demons.

Option 4: We make our way into the mountains I can barely see to the East and West and camp there while we plan.

Option 5: We abandon the retreat and we fight on to the last... because we have nowhere else to run.

Unless you have another plan I am at a loss."

[Throndir]

Perception: 23
You only see two valkyrie in the air. The rest were on land. You notice that the valkyrie were losing. Demons were attempting to flank them on both the left and right side.

"Tis the power I had mentioned before to thee, Zurlane. Spirit." She paused as she looked towards at the two who were in the air.

"The blood of the goddess runs in our veins. Generations upon generation upon generations ago... Tis what makes us who we are. Mine people art human... to a degree." She twitched the 'wing ears' on the top of her head. "Tis more than that, mine red eyes too... But tis goes deeper still. Any child born betwixt a valkyrie and a man shalt become another valkyrie. Tis a true fact that our prodigy are daughters, never sons. Generations continue to... dilute the blood in our veins. Slowly and surely more and more of us loseth our ability to invoke Spirit, mine and theirs connection to the divine."

"Tis through that power of spirit that we hath been able to combat the demons effectively o'er the past century. Mayhaps afore a decade ago, we hath been on all the front lines... The western fighting with our human brethrens in the Antwarch kingdom... And those to the south and east with the mages at the Idorian Magic Kingdom..."

"Thou art from the goddess herself? Thy body reinvigorates the Spirit in mine descendants... Iona knows this, so does the rest of mine warriors." She blushed slightly at her comment.

Between the options, the third one has the likeliest chance for success. Option 1 will include too many unknowns. If the valkyrie have been fighting for over a century as Alvilda claims, and if they once numbered in the legions, that only tells me the strength of the enemy is far too superior. It may work for awhile... but you will have no supplies, and you would be far too deep into enemy territory. Option 2 might very well work, keeping this fort of Hiedelswatch. However, the cost to the valkyrie will be great. Option 4 is similar to the first option, though we are only buying time and simply well have to choose one way or another. Heading east or westwards too will open the gates to the southern lands, towards Antwarch kingdom and the farmlands that Alvilda had mentioned. They would be defenseless. Option 5 is not an option at all...

[Licel]

"Thank you Aurora, we probably will be pulling back to the south. It's not ideal and we'll have to start a settlement from scratch but proximity to allies of the same cause can never be bad. I'm also having second thoughts on my previous scorched earth plan. It may save a few lives and make the retreat easier, but I'm afraid of terrible fires chasing us across the planes as we retreat and the mental toll on moral being too high seeing this place burn. What do your simulations suggest? Would something work better?"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thou art from the goddess herself? Thy body reinvigorates the Spirit in mine descendants... Iona knows this, so does the rest of mine warriors." She blushed slightly at her comment.

Upon hearing this Zurlane's jaw dropped and his eyes were wide open with surprise. He stopped walking and was frozen as if he was made of stone, cheeks completely red. "Wahouaghoughoa... ha... hoooo." Is all that could be heard coming from his mouth. The words 40 scores echo in his mind. He quickly turned away and adjusted his pants to fit him more comfortably. In the process he noticed he had a nose bleed which he quickly rubbed off on his sleeve. After a moment he turned back to Alvilda blinking rapidly cheeks still flush. "I... I... I... W...w...would be honored to... do my part to... refresh the bloodlines of you and your people. Yep, umm-hmm. Thank you. umm-hmm. W... wow the goddess does work in... mysterious ways. Hehehe" Zurlane swallows. He straightens his back and works on his posture. A mixture of confidence, embarrassment, excitement, and many other emotions splattered onto his face. He looks back at Alvilda from her wings on her head all the way down to her feet and back up again. "Wow"

He then comes back to his senses and lets out a low whistle. "Weh hmmm... Let's catch up with the rest of the Valkyrie in their retreat. I'm sure they will be emboldened by your presence."

[Throndir]

Maybe... maybe burning them wouldn't be so bad after all. Aurora stated.



Soon enough you closed the distance to the retreat valkyrie. Many of them were already in full retreat. The first of the runners were about to pass you by. Iona along with the other valkyrie flying in the air seemed to be guiding the retreat, and keeping an eye on the enemy movements.

As you had seen before the demons were on their way of flanking from both sides however, and already you saw tell-tale signs that other demons were avoiding the thick of battle and were choosing instead to skirt the perimeter to strike at their fleeing prey.

At that moment, the other valkyrie flying next to Iona was shot down with what looked to be a ball of fire. Her clothes were burning, and she was either unconscious or could not correctly get her flight working - she was headed right towards you.

You can roll something to attempt to catch her.

[Licel]

As I see the Valkyre going down in flames I start running in a path to intercept her, before I sepreate from Alvinda to catch the Valkyre I tell her. "Look!" I point towards the retreating forces. "See if you can do something about your sisters getting cut off from the group! They're being flanked! I'll catch up with you in a moment. Good luck!"

I begin backing up and trying to line myself up with the falling Valkyre. "Come on." I say to myself. "You can do this." I put my arms up, ready to catch her or break her fall as she goes down spinning towards me. "Aurora, see if you can give me some emergency flight path information. Ohh man this is gonna hurt!"

Attempt to catch (Strength)

Rolled 1d20+4 : 5 + 4, total 9

[Throndir]

Alvilda had nodded, then without a word, she began making her way to the front lines. Her movements were staggered however, she was still pushing herself to the limit.

Attempting to predict flight trajec- Aurora paused.

Zurlane, something is wrong, a warning is being sent my way whenever I attempt to access my HA-processing unit. 'Action cancelled. Not enough MP'?

As you positioned yourself to catch the falling girl, she was falling too fast, and though you managed to catch her, the impact sent you stumbling backwards along with her in a heap. The landing was rough, and you felt some jolts of pain as you and her crashed into the ground. The fires were still on her girl's clothing however, and they already begun to spread to yours.

Roll Agility to put them out.

Rough Status
New Valkyrie: ??
Zurlane: Badly Wounded (fight  with demon, failed catch), affected by Wind Shield, affected by Hardened Carapace,
Alvilda: Badly Wounded (fight with demon)

[include u=2]
Zurlane: -19, +5 AC Deflection, +2 DR
Alvilda: -32
Demon: -111
Spirit Alvilda: None
MP Alvilda: -10
MP Aurora: -28[/include]

[Licel]

Upon being struck by the falling Valkyre, Zurlane did his best to remain upright and break her fall. He took the hit like a tackle and was sent backwards falling to the ground. Instinctively he put out his left hand as he fell backwards to catch himself but the force and angle of impact were so great that when he made contact with the ground he felt a terrible pain in his hand. He noticed one of his fingers had become dislocated. Instinctively he put his rapier's grip between his teeth, being the most padded thing he had, and reset them with a quick flash of white hot pain.

At this point, coming back to his senses Zurlane noticed that the Valkyre was still burning and that the flames had begun to jump to him as well. He attempted to pad them out quickly and then moved to try and pad them out on the more injured Valkyre, while doing this he called for help from any retreating Valkyre who passed him.

Pad out fire self (agility)

Rolled 1d20+5 : 16 + 5, total 21

Pad out fire Valkyre (agility)

Rolled 1d20+5 : 4 + 5, total 9

[Throndir]

You managed to pat out the flames on your own clothing.

However, the flames continued to burn on the original victim, and you can tell that the Valkyrie was getting new injuries from it. The burning Valkyrie's clothes were starting to burn away, and you noticed that just like Alvilda and Iona, this one too was comely. She had dark hair, but her eyes were still as red as the others.

"Eydis!" Iona called out who came flying down a moment later. She too attempted to help you remove the fires, but she too was having trouble.

Rough Status
Eydis: ??
Iona: ??
Zurlane: Badly Wounded (fight  with demon, failed catch), affected by Wind Shield, affected by Hardened Carapace,
Alvilda: Badly Wounded (fight with demon)

[include u=2]
Zurlane: -19, +5 AC Deflection, +2 DR
Alvilda: -32
Eydis: -35
Spirit Alvilda: None
MP Alvilda: -10
MP Aurora: -28[/include]

[Licel]

"We can do this Iona!" I say while attempting to put out the out the fire. "Stay with me! Don't give up!" I say to the unconscious Eydis.

Put out fire (Dex)

Rolled 1d20+5 : 18 + 5, total 23

If we manage to put out the fire*
Noticing that Eydis's clothes have been damaged in the fire I run over to a fallen Valkyre and remove her cloak I then proceed to wrap up Eydis so that she isn't exposed.

[Throndir]

The valkyrie stirred, she had burns in various places and winced from the pain. Much of her clothing had all but burned off, you found it surprising that her skin's burns weren't as bad as you thought they would be. It almost seemed as if the fires concentrated on her clothing instead.

"Thou art... a man?" Her eyes widened when she finally noticed that you were above her and had wrapped her up in cloak.

"Tis a dream? Or art thou an angel sent by the goddess herself?" Though she was wounded, she reached out to caress your face, without caring for the fact that she was, for the most part, exposed.

[Licel]

Upon hearing what Eydis was saying Zurlane let out a little chuckle. He gently took her hand that was reaching for his face and brought it slowly the rest of the way to his face and to his cheek. "Hello Eydis, my name is Zurlane. The goddess has sent me to save you and your people." Zurlane gives her a big smile. "Now I'll talk with you later alright? Ohh and make sure you hold onto this" he motions to the cloak. "The fire singed your clothes pretty badly and I wouldn't want you to feel too exposed."

Zurlane stands up and turns his attention to Iona. "Iona, can you help make sure that Eydis makes it back safely? I'm going to go back for Alvilda." He turns to run towards the remaining defenders trying to route. "And..." Zurlane tries to look as brave as he can. "I'll see you soon!"

He turns and starts running towards where Alvilda ran off to and to the Valkyre line that is trying to pull back.

While running towards the line of retreating Valkyre, and passing by retreating Valkyre time feels like it slows down to a creep, Zurlane's mind wanders. "Aurora, it's ok if you've run out of this new mana that you use for your abilities and scans. It doesn't make you any less valuable or important to me... we'll learn how your new systems work, I know it. It'll all make sense soon. Just..." Zurlane starts to have a flashback, the Valkyre start to warp and twist until they look just like the kinds of explosions he's seen when running under artillery fire. Then just as quickly as they warp, they turn back to normal and he finds himself still running, closer to the line, trying to find Alvilda. "I'm scared Aurora... How do I... what does it mean to be a hero?"

[Throndir]

"W-wait!" Eydis had called out when you were already running away. She had a slight blush to her features and had her hands reached out towards you, but it was too late.

"I never got thy name..."

"The man thou had thine eyes on... Tis our hero, the one Princess Alvilda hath been trying to bring to us. Surely she succeeded, and tis the result... His name is Zurlane."

"Z-Zurlane?" Eydis mouthed the strange-sounding name "If he is indeed sent by the goddess, then mayhaps this truly is a dream..." Eydis sighed dreamily.

Atleast until Iona bonked her on the head with a grin on her face.

"Mine eyes laid upon him firstly, Eydis." She said.

"W-well... secondly for I!" Eydis retorted.

Both the girls giggled, until Eydis winced in pain from one of her burn wounds.

"Tis hath been many a year since I've seen that thy smile." Iona commented.

"And I, thine."

Yes... I'm sorry Zurlane. I think... that railgun ability from before must have drained more than I thought.

She noticed your hesitance.

Zurlane? Zurlane it's okay... I'm here, I'll always be here. She paused for a moment as she considered your question.

A hero? Definition: A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

That... isn't what you wanted though is it?

Perception requested to find Alvilda.

[Licel]

Finding Alvilda (Perception)

Rolled 1d20+3 : 3 + 3, total 6

"Alvilda! We've got to pull back!" Zurlane yells looking for her amongst the fighting and doing his best to keep himself a reasonable distance from the active skirmishing. "Have you see princess Alvilda?" He asks the first Valkyre he see pulling back. The second one he sees he says "When you see General Iona please tell her Zurlane needs help rescuing Princess Alvilda."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I don't know what answer I was hoping for... It's just... I'm afraid of dying Aurora, I'm afraid of you dying too... I... do you think heroes get afraid Aurora? Do you think..." Zurlane is brought back from his darkest of thoughts by a Valkyre who runs into him while she is retreating. "I don't know what is going to happen as our friendly forces fall back and the line becomes thinner and thinner, I feel that with every passing moment the danger to us rises. Aurora... are you scared too? I think... I think I'm also afraid of running away too."