Battle:Destruction of the Elven Camps

Note This rp took place sometime in 2009 or 2010. If anyone has a more exact date, please edit this sentence.

Dergious | the beset upon populace of the elven camps toil to undo the damage of the meteor's horror. Though they still mourn the losses they have suffered, they are indeed a hardy people. They do what they must... they move on. The destruction was near total, however. What little remained of their defenses were manned, to be sure, however there is simply so much to do that manning them properly is simply impossible. Sadly, this proves to be their undoing.

Hepti | A low whine fills the air, a high-pitched buzz, undercut by a low thrum, almost below the range of hearing. The elves glance up, almost as one, eyes wide as they search the surrounding forest for what could be making that noise. The ground starts to rumble, as at the onset of an earthquake. Suddenly, from over the treetops, a host of objects appear. They are large, bigger than a man, and they fly at a swift rate toward the camps. Pandemonium breaks loose; elves scatter in all directions, some fleeing for the trees, others running for weapons. Those latter are the trained soldiers, and they plant the butts of their pikes in the earth, as the flying constructs begin their dive. At their fore, strapped into one of the machines, is Hepti, dressed in glimmering, red and black armor, the controls grasped firmly in his hand.

Dergious dropped 1 horde-of bloodthirsty-automatons.

Dergious |The sturdy defenders rally defenses around the elderly and the young. It is a testament to their skill as they are so quickly rallied, and blind panic does not immediately send them scurrying. The mechanical creatures emanate unchecked chaos and as they fly overhead the elves soon fall into disarray. Men stumble, weapons break, and plans go awry. Still the defenders make do. Their lines are soon formed again, every man and woman ready to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Then comes the fear. The automatons, powered by stolen fear and horrid nightmares, crash into those staunch lines. Not a single elf is not beset upon by fear that is not their own. Again, the mighty elves rally and meet the cruel steel of these machines with steel and magic of their own. The crash of metal on metal is deafening, and though a few elves fall, the lines hold. and the nightmares are thrown back. Bravery wins out as the horde, at first so mighty, fails to decimate their ranks. Cries of war and song erupt from the elven people, and hope becomes a mighty hammer. The elven lines charge. The automatons meet the charge, yet still they are pushed back. The machines leap into the air, changing tactics. They fly hoverhead, dodging arrows and lightning and other magics. The creatures dive into the elven warriors, using momentum and deadly blades to strike out. The elves still hold their own, working together with magics and arms to bring down more than a few. They dare to hope that this threat may be withstood, and then the ground starts to shake beneath their feet. Suddenly, and with no other warning, more automatons erupt from tunnels below. The machines appear throughout the elven lines, and soon there can be no more coordinated defenses as each man and woman is fighting for their very lives. Dergious appears from within one of the creatures. He seems enormous, his chaos field causing havoc around him and his Chaotic Darkstar-of-Mourning driving into foe after foe. He laughs whenever blood is drawn, and he cries to the sky above whenever an elf falls.

Hepti's own machine is hit by a lightning bolt, sending the duergar into a spiraling dive, his landing cushioned only be the seat area of the automaton. He manages to extricate himself and draw his sword, charging into the fray with a ferocity and courage he's never shown before. He makes straight for a knot of elven mages, their robe-clad bodies no match for the sharp sword, while a digging machine pops up to obliterate a few armored elves, their dying screams only fueling the hatred and pain that drives the machine to its horrendous work.

Dergious howls as the the elves struggle still, obviously frustrated. An arrow comes from nowhere, striking him in the chest. His armor saves his life, and the arrow draws attention to a large number of elven hunters joining the fray. The arrows fly everywhere, though not a single elf is hit. Some automatons, though made of metal, are dropped from the sky by expert shots of the arrows and magics from below, and they rise to fight on. The diggers, powered by stolen hatred and pain, lash out with renewed fury as the hunters draw blades and join their families and friends and once again the tide is turned and the elves once again work to draw defensive lines. Then come the crawlers. More automatons charge in from all directions, these skitter across the forest floor. Their deadly blades moving in blurs. They ache, these new machines. Powered by loneliness and sadness, these emotions assault the elven minds and draw strength from their limbs.

Hepti cackles quite madly, scampering to and fro between the machines, sword rising and falling in sprays of blood. As the crawlers appear, and the elves begin to slow, despair creeping into their hearts, Hepti leaps atop on of the crawlers, waving his arms and whistling a keening note, shattering through the din of the battle. The flyers begin activating a new function; massive nets, weighted down with huge stones and chunks of scrap metal, begin to drop from the automatons, the machines seeking out groups of dazed elves, then loosing their heavy burdons to crash down, trapping the elves beneath. Other duergar now appear, ejecting from compartments in all the automatons, and hurrying to secure the nets, weapons ready to defend their prizes from any elves left free.

Dergious shouts, "Knock em around till dey no be movin, but leave em breathin!" as he wades through the carnage. He stomps over to a group of trapped elves, and systematically bashes each into unconsciousness. The other Duergar seem to be enjoying themselves similarly, and the automatons continue trapping the rest.

Hepti does his part, rendering a few prisoners comatose, before reclaiming his position atop a crawler, sword held high as his metal mount sweeps around the camp, herding the frightened elves like so many sheep. Hepti cheers as each group is trapped, and congradulates the duergar that subdue them, laughing uproariously all the while.

Dergious said to you, "Hehehehe, dis be jes da start"