{Magnus was speaking to his generals about what to do next.}
Magnus: "The Akhetians know we have the weapons. We need to make our move asap."
Morgana: "So, how long before Akhet kicks down the front door?
Magnus: "Since Pugna went unwillingly back to his dimension, a week at most."
General: "So what's our play?"
Magnus: "We charge the mountain, vanquish the cult once and for all, and once their gone, we can give the weapons back before the Akhetians grind us into dust."

{At the medical tent, Biceras looks at Armin.}
"So...what's your story?"

Armin looked up. 'My story? What do you mean by that?' Across the medical tent, Ana stirred slightly on hearing them talking, but didn't wake up.

Sargon looked down at the generals' meeting. //So, they intend to destroy the cult in the time before the Akhetians come to take back the light weapons.// He wondered if such a thing were even possible. Dolorus's army must be huge, with more powerful necromancers than anything he'd seen so far.

{Biceras glanced momentarily to Ana before continuing in a whisper.}
"You know, who are you, why are you here, all that stuff. Surely you didn't come to this war torn land on vacation, right?"

General: "Is that even possible? Do we even have the numbers?"
Magnus: "Not now, but, if the rest of our forces come from Dredge and Aurum, we might just have a chance."
Morgana: "But if we call them in, those cities will become defenseless."
Magnus: "It won't matter. We have our enemy right in front of us. If they want to get to them, they have to go through us first."

'Nope, I didn't. I only came here because Sargon and Ana over there decided to,' Armin replied. 'They wanted to check the place out, and since I work for Sargon, I had to come too. If you want any more details, you'll have to ask them. The name's Armin, by the way. Armin Alscher.'

Sargon continued to eavesdrop, absorbing all the information so he could relay it to Ana and Armin when he returned.

{Biceras frowns.} "Why should I have to ask them, Armin? I want to know why 'you're' here. I saw you try to run from Dolorus. You clearly don't want to be here, so why stay? Why not quit this Sargon guy?"

'Long story,' Armin replied. 'And if I told you too much, I'd be on the wrong side of more than one person. No, I don't enjoy this. Right now, I don't have much of a choice. I can't leave Sargon.'

Biceras: "Told me too much? What, are you a spy or something? What does Sargon have over you for you to stay under him?"

Armin eyed her. 'I'm still with him because if I deserted him - or talked about things he doesn't want anyone to know - then he would kill innocent people. People who I'd rather not see dead. And I don't know if I'd be able to save them. He's a blackmailing--'

'Shut... up...' Ana muttered. She didn't open her eyes, but turned her head slightly. 'Shut up, Armin. Don't you dare start talking about Sargon that way. He's a good person, and you just don't like him.'

{Biceras looks between the two, a little sorry she woke Ana.}
"Ok, we can talk about this later. Ana, just go back to sleep. Pugna hurt you pretty badly. Armin, let's change the subject. Where are you from?"

Ana mumbled something indiscernible and seemed to drift back into an uneasy doze. Armin glanced at her before answering. 'I'm from a small village called Riverside, in the country of Vallis. I don't know if you've ever been there?'

{Biceras tilts her head.} "Can't say that I have. Vallis? I've never even heard of that land. Is it nice there?"

{Magnus falls silent for a bit, seemingly in thought.}
Magnus: "Hmm. You remember that one light keeper, I think her name was Biceras...She said she was trying to reason with Ardens..."
Morgana: "Yeah, so?
Magnus: "When I arrived there, they weren't fighting, and Ardens' flames were extinguished. I think she might have been telling the truth."
Morgana: "You can't be serious. You can't reason with that monster. He was probably just playing along to get her to drop her guard."
Magnus: "Perhaps...but she shifted to human form first..."
Morgana: "And?"
Magnus: "So why shift to human form as well? Why not just maul her, while she's vulnerable?"

'Well, every country has its problems. But it's pretty nice there. Beautiful scenery, with large cities where you can usually find something interesting to do. It's just a shame that the human population there isn't especially tolerant of non-humans.'

{Biceras nods in understanding.} "Hmm. Maybe I'll go someday. Shame about the human attitude though. Here , we all seem to get along because we really don't have a choice. It's unite or die."

'Really? So, if you weren't fighting a war against this evil cult, you probably wouldn't get along so well,' Armin mused. 'How many different races live in this country, anyway?'

"Tons."
{Biceras says, looking around at all the different people in the tent.}
"Dragons, vampires, werewolves, elves, orcs, dwarves, automatons, ghosts, wyverns, hydras, skinwalkers, you name it, it's here. Ferros is a massive land full of dozens of races. It was always like that, but this war united most of them."

'Hmm. That almost makes me wish we could have a war over in Vallis that would unite all the different races,' Armin joked. 'It might be better than all the tension and silent prejudice.' He carefully stretched his legs, trying to determine if they were healed enough to walk. 'Though, Ferros seems to have even more species than Vallis.'

{Biceras nods.}
"Trust me, you don't want this over there. Ferros may be diverse, but this war has taken its toll. We're down to something like 50% of the population. Dolorus was clever when this started. That cult attacked out of nowhere, because for the longest time, they were but a rumor. No one thought they existed. Then, they came in with the Liquid Death, taking out thousands of people before proper quarantine measures were implemented. Among those victims were all the old royalty and leaders, causing no end of chaos. Magnus wasn't always king, the old one name him his successor right before he died."

'Geez, 50 percent of the population? That's rough.' Armin thought for a moment. 'I'm surprised any of you still have the will to fight after he's killed so many people. And what is this 'Liquid Death' thing?'

Biceras: "You know, that magic disease thing? Magnus quarantined half the city because of it. Lose our will? You don't understand, if we don't stop them here, they won't stop. Whoever you're trying to protect back in Riverside, they definitely won't make it if Dolorus makes it over there. "

'We don't know that for certain,' Armin replied. 'There are other countries and other armies out there. Maybe someone will have the power to stop him, even if you guys don't.' Despite that, he felt uneasy. //If he attacked Vallis, would I be able to go back and get them to safety? Would Sargon even let me go back for them? He doesn't care if they live or die.//

"Unless Vallis has an army of light mages, they wouldn't stand a chance. Conventional weaponry is ineffective at best against the necromancers and damn near useless against draugrs."
{Biceras shifts a little uncomfortably.}
"It has to be here, and it has to be us."

'Hmm... Well, at least you have those light weapons. I guess you have a better chance than anyone else,' said Armin, trying to remember if the King's army in Vallis had /any/ light mages. 'Though, considering what happened back there, we might not have the weapons much longer.'

{Biceras looks down.}
"Perhaps. But, I don't think we should give up just because things aren't looking to be in our favor. We can do this. We just need to be smart about it."
{Biceras then looks over at Ana.}
"So, how do you know Ana. Are you two friends?"

'Friends? Not at all,' Armin replied. 'We just happen to both be working for Sargon right now. I guess I consider her an ally, but definitely not a friend. We don't get along well,' he added, while privately thinking about how big an understatement that was.

Biceras: "Oh. That's unfortunate. She seems nice enough...What exactly is your job?"

Armin shrugged. 'We don't really have specific jobs. We just do whatever we need to do. It depends on what Sargon is trying to accomplish at the time.' He glanced at Ana, but she seemed to still be fast asleep.

{Biceras makes a thoughtful face.} "Jobs? Like what? Exactly what 'goals' does a guy like that have?"

{After brief silence, Magnus continues.}
Magnus: "So, have you all heard the rumours about the old man who was in Danse's squad? The vampire guy?"
Morgana: "Sargon, right?
General: "Yeah, there are rumour going around that he goes turning people against their will and forces them to join him."
Magnus: "Yeah, that rumor. I remember seeing his bounty back when I was a sellsword a loooong time ago. They never got a good sketch of him, but the name's the same. Well, as long as he keeps his fangs to himself, I'm willing to overlook his past."

'Righ now, his only goal is to make sure Dolorus gets defeated. So he'll be sticking with your army until that happens. I suppose if you lose, he'll run away, back to some other country. I don't think he has any intention of getting killed here.' Armin paused to think. 'He has other goals, too, but they're not important right now.'

Sargon shifted, looking down at Magnus, and decided that he probably shouldn't be caught eavesdropping on a conversation about himself. Spreading his wings, he dived off the wall and started back towards the medical tent.

{Biceras just gives a look of impatience.}
"Maybe that's his goal now but from what I understand, he didn't force you to his side to be a good samaritan and help beat this evil. What's he /really/ after?"

'Geez, you really don't understand the meaning of 'I can't tell you everything', do you?' said Armin, shooting Biceras the same look of impatience that she was giving him. 'OK, fine, I'll tell you. I just hope he never finds out.' He glanced at Ana again, just to make sure she really was asleep. 'Sargon's ultimate goal is to turn all the humans in the world into vampires.'

{At that, Biceras gives a bewildered look.}
"...wut? What would that even accomplish? It's lunacy! That /can't/ be it."

'Of course t's lunacy,' said Armin wearily. 'But try telling him that. He thinks that the vampire race is in danger. He thinks that humans kill too many of us, and soon there won't be any left. He wants to create enough vampires to outnumber the humans.'

{Biceras gives a slightly unnerved look.} "He's nuts. Absolutely off his rocker. Vampires are anything but endangered."

'Really? Well, maybe here they're not. In Vallis, the humans outumber the vampires and other non-humans by quite a large amount.'

"Um, no sh!t!"
{Biceras exclaims in a hoarse whisper.}
"It's basic ecology. There are always fewer predators than prey! He's completely deluded!"

Armin let out a quiet laugh, not seeming worried. 'Believe me, I know. I've been stuck with him for a few years now, and, well... I've had enough time to wonder just /how/ he thinks his plans make any sense at all.'

{Biceras lets herself recline, sighing.} "Jeez. Magnus must be desperate to recruit such lunatics..."

'It's pretty obvious that you guys are desperate,' Armin remarked. 'You're on the verge of being wiped out by /both/ the Will of Death and the Akhetians.'

{Biceras laughs mirthlessly.} "Yeah, things are looking pretty bleak, aren't they? Nothing to do now but have faith that it'll all work out."

'Well, don't lose hope,' said Armin optimistically. 'I'm sure Magnus has plans to help us win.'

{Biceras nods, looking off in the distance. As she did that, a doctor came in to check on the patients.} "Hello, everyone, how are you feeling?"

'Better,' Armin replied. 'I was just about to try getting up, actually. Not sure about her, though,' he added, nodding towards Anastasia, who was still unconscious.

Just after the doctor came in, there was a thud as something landed on the roof of the medical tent, causing Armin and a couple of other people to glance up. It was Sargon in his bird form after returning from spying on Magnus.

{The doctor heard Sargon, but paid him no mind. He then approaches Ana and gently checks her pulse.}
Doctor: "Hmm. Good, she seems to be recovering well.. What of you, Biceras?"
Biceras: "I'm feeling better as well. I can move the fingers on my left arm again."

'Lucky that none of us are human,' Armin observed. 'Or this would have taken a lot longer.'

Doctor: "Hmmm. Yes. All the non-human soldiers will be on their feet a lot faster than the wounded humans."

(Probably gonna take a few days' break, not feeling very inspired to write stuff right now.)

(Ok. Take all the time you need.)

'So, what's actually going on at the moment? Does anyone have news?' Armin looked around the room, eyes pausing on Biceras and the doctor. 'We captured Carthage, right? So what happens next?'

Doctor: "Well, the king is discussing strategy with his generals right now. He'll give us orders soon enough. If you're well enough to walk, then you're free to go."

Armin nodded thoughtfully. 'Yeah, I think I'm going to head out and see what's going on out there. We might be needed to fight again soon.' He got up with a slight wince of pain and limped over to the doorway of the medical tent.

Outside, Sargon remained perched on the tent roof, in falcon form. //I have news, if you wish to hear it,// he said telepathically.

//Really? What is it?//

//I will explain once Ana is well enough to listen.//

{Biceras lies back and pouts, a little sad she can't walk yet.}

{The city seems to have quieted down after the battle. A large camp for the army had been erected, and soldiers were walking around, gathering supplies from the wrecked city}

Armin started to walk through the campsite, looking around. //Quieter than I expected,// he thought. //Though everyone looks pretty busy.//

Sargon stayed on the roof of the medical tent, attempting to wake up Ana with telepathy.

(Hey, do you think I could add another one of my characters as a member of Magnus's army? I have a few OCs I want to develop more.)

(Go right on ahead! I don't mind at all. :D)

(Alrighty, I've got two characters who I think I'm going to throw in somewhere. Again, neither of them have been drawn on Colors so I'll post their Toyhou.se profiles instead. Though, these will be AU versions of them, so not everything on their profiles will be true for this story.

Knife:
https://toyhou.se/2455004.knife
(A dragon, but not a shapeshifter)

Alf:
https://toyhou.se/2992809.alf
(A Mage)

That's all for now)

(Cool. What did you have in mind for their positions in the army?)

(Haven't really thought about it yet. I'll probably just kinda... throw them in at some point, and decide as I go along.
I don't imagine them being high-ranking in the army, though.)

(Ok, looking forward to what you decide.)

{As Armin was standing about, a group of soldiers pass by.}
Soldier: "Hey! What are you standing around for? We need to gather supplies, king's orders! Let's go!"

Armin turned to look at the soldiers, a faintly surprised expression on his face. 'Well, it's not like anyone told me what we were meant to be doing. But, alright then. Let's go.'

Inside the ruined city, Knife was standing around impatiently, waiting on a group of soldiers to gather supplies and put them on his back so he could carry them to camp. Being a non-shifting dragon, carrying heavy things was one of the things he was best at.

{The soldiers led Armin into the city and handed him a sack.}
Soldier: "Gather foodstuffs, then bring them back here. We'll have a dragon take it back."
{Knife's soldiers appeared quickly and began load supplies on his back. }

'Come on, hurry up,' Knife growled as the troops loaded up the supplies. 'We might have to go into battle again at any time, we can't afford to laze about.' He waited for them to find more supplies, since he knew he could carry more than what he already had.

Armin took the sack and wandered off further into the streets, looking for buildings that might contain undamaged foodstuffs.

{More soldiers come along and load more cargo onto Knife. Slapping his side, the soldier orders him to carry it back, then return promptly. As Armin looked around, something stirred in the shadows of one of the buildings.}

'You don't have to tell me, soldier!' Knife boomed, before taking off and heading back towards camp.

Armin drew his sword and turned to look in the direction the movement had come from. He didn't say anything, but just waited to see if the person - if it even WAS a person - decided to show themselves.

{In the corner, whatever it was seemed small, and was crouched in the corner, not coming into the light.}

After deciding that the 'thing' wasn't going to come out of its own accord, Armin slowly began to approach, keeping his sword pointed at it. 'Some kind of undead monster that we didn't kill earlier?' he wondered out loud. //It's pretty small. Doesn't seem like it could be dangerous.//

{As he approached, his vampire sight would allow for identification. It was a child. A young boy, no older than six. He gazed at Armin with eyes full of fear. Clearly, a survivor from the initial attack.}

'Oh... OK then,' Armin muttered, to himself. He immediately sheathed his sword and knelt down to be closer to the child's eye level. 'Hey, are you OK? You don't have to be scared, nobody here is going to hurt you.'

{The child seemed to be in shock. He didn't speak and he seemed to have a glazed look in his eyes. From behind Armin, some cabinets slowly creaked open. There were more children, timidly peeking at Armin from behind the doors.}

Armin lifted his eyes from the first child to see the others peering from behind the cabinets. //How many are there? How did Dolorus's army somehow fail to kill all of them?// Shaking his head, he turned to address the other children, hoping they would be more responsive than the first. 'Come on, get out of there. The monsters are gone, and if you come back to our camp, we can help you.'

{Slowly, the children crept out of the cupboards and cabinets. One came and took the timid boy by the hand and began to lead him away. Soon, Armin was surrounded by kids. 30 at least.}

Trying not to look too surprised, Armin got to his feet and began to head back to camp, leading the group along with him. //Looks like a decent number of the kids from Carthage are here. Does the Will of Death just not kill children or something? No, that's stupid. They must've just found a good place to hide...//

He entered the edge of the camp and called out, 'Hey, anybody around? I found an army,' he added jokingly.

{As Armin approached, some soldiers gawked at the sight. As they became noticed, soldiers and medical personnel began to take the kids to the medical tent. One captain approaches Armin.}
"Did you...find all these kids while out on patrol?"

'Yeah,' Armin replied. Despite his calm demeanour, he sounded concerned. 'They were all hiding in some abandoned building. It looked like Dolorus's army had murdered all their families but left them alive - I have no idea why, though.'

Meanwhile, further across the camp, Knife landed with a heavy thud and began unloading his supplies. As soon as he was finished, he took off again and headed back to the city, landing in the same area as before, and looking around to see if anyone was still gathering supplies.

{All the soldiers were quiet for a minute, as if they knew something Armin didn't. Finally, an old battle mage speaks up.}
Mage: "This was the Orphanmaker's doing. She was the one who took the city. This makes more sense than you think."

'The Orphanmaker? What, someone who kills all the parents but leaves the kids alive? What's the point of that?'

Mage: "We actually don't know. Some say it's a cruel joke of some sort, forcing them to live without their parents. Others think that it's a glimmer of hope that she's not evil at heart. Personally, I think she's just evil and gets a kick out of doing that."

'I don't think there's anything nice about killing kids' parents and leaving them alone,' said Armin in a low voice. 'If this Orphanmaker actually cared about them, she wouldn't do that.'

Mage: "Than we're in agreement. She must be brought to justice. No one that evil can be allowed to live. Odds are though, these aren't the only kids out there. I'd keep looking if I were you, try to find them all."
(Now, where did knife go? And Ana's going to wake up surrounded by children. Wonder what she'll think. ;/)

'I can go have a search around if you like,' Armin offered. 'I can't cover the entire city by myself, though.'

(Didn't you see my last reply with Knife?)

(Whoops no XD)

(Gtg bbl)

(Bye!)

{Once Knife landed, more soldiers approached him.}
"Knife, we found some good supplies, but they're trapped under a collapsed building. Help us."

{The old mage nods.} "If you could maybe round up a few of your friends and look, that would be appreciated."
{He then turns to the falcon on top of the tent.}
"Hey! Sargon! Give Armin a hand, would you?'

Sargon flew down from the top of the tent, perching on Armin's shoulder. Armin sighed. 'Is it ''shapeshift and not turn back again'' day?'

He then turned to address the old mage. 'We'll cover as much ground as we can. If there's anyone else around who might help, you should send them in, too.' With that, he headed off towards the middle of the city.

'Show me where this building is,' Knife responded. 'We may be able to shift the rubble enough to reach some of the supplies.'

{The old Mage nodded and watched the pair walk off.
The soldiers led knife to the collapsed building. It was wood framed with some brick. Underneath, a cellar door could be seen, the door missing and covered by the rubble.}
Soldier: "There. See if you can't move it."

Knife immediately set to work, pulling and pushing the pieces of wood aside, and in some cases using his teeth to tear them apart. After a few minutes, the rubble had been cleared enough that a human could fit through the cellar door. 'See if you can get the supplies,' he growled.

Once Armin was inside the city, Sargon left his shoulder and began to fly above the streets, keeping his eye out for more of the orphaned children. //I think there may be some in that building,// he said after a while, landing on the roof of a small house that had escaped being completely destroyed. Armin drew his sword as a precaution, and advanced towards the doorway of the building.

{Once the rubble was cleared, a soldier began to descend into the dark.}
Soldier: "Hmm. yep, there's food here. A lot of it, too. Wait...I don't think I'm alone down here...Oh...Oh SHET!"
{The soldier scrambles to get out of the basement, but something grabs by the foot and tries to drag him down}
"AGH! Help!"

{Upon entering the building, Armin can hear someone hyperventilating upstairs. Clearly, a terrified child.}

Knife immediately lunged forwards, getting the soldier's arm with his jaws and attempting to drag him out of the basement. As he did so, he looked towards the other soldiers, making eye contact to tell them to come and help him.

As Armin entered the building, Sargon left the roof and flew inside after him. Following the sounds, they made their way to the room upstairs where the child was, and Armin immediately went over to them, kneeling down and trying to get their attention. 'Hey, it's OK, just breathe. Everything's OK.' While he was talking, Sargon landed on the floor in his bird form, and cautiously approached the child, looking up at them.

(Haven't forgotten about this, I've just been extremely busy)

{The soldiers scrambled to help their comrade.}
"Hey! We need a lightkeeper over here!"
{As they pulled on the soldier, the draugr's bony hands came into view, pulling on the soldier's legs.}

(It's fine, I don't mind. I get too busy to reply to everything too sometimes.)

Knife released his grip on the soldier. 'Keep pulling! Don't let go of him!' he barked at the other soldiers, then he leapt down into the basement himself, and attacked the draugr, trying to make it let go.

{As he attacked the draugr, it let go, but he soon found that it was a lot larger than it looked from above. The creature was an amalgamate, consisting of several bodies of stitched together and it had the body of a serpent.}

{As Armin and Sargon approached, the kid said nothing. Instead, she just pointed behind them. On the ceiling was an unholy abomination of limbs and teeth. It was massive, fashioned in the form of a twisted centipede. It climbs down slowly, clicking menacingly at Armin.}

Feeling the draugr release the soldier's leg, Knife roared, 'Keep away!' He then drew in a deep breath and blasted the creature with ice breath, strong enough to freeze a living being, but he had no idea if it was effective on the undead.

Armin immediately turned to confront the creature, drawing his sword and standing in front of the child. 'Hey, Sargon!' he exclaimed.

In an instant, Sargon had shifted back into his human form and conjured several knives that floated around him. He threw the knives at the abomination, aiming to strike its legs, in the hope that he might slow it down.

(Ice can be very effective against draugrs, assuming they are frozen solid. Shattering them is a good way to remove biomass. But, is Knife's ice breath powerful enough to do that? I'm not sure from his toyhouse description.)

{The knives stick into the creature, but it doesn't seem to do much. rearing up, it strikes at Sargon, looking to take a bite out of him.}

(His ice breath can freeze flesh solid, so it would work against draugrs, but it might be less effective if the draugrs are very large or they're made from something that doesn't freeze as easily. This particular one might be less susceptible to it, because you mentioned its size. Knife himself isn't big enough to create an ice flame big enough to freeze something much larger than him.)

Sargon dodged the blow with vampire speed, then conjured his long sword. 'Get out of here,' he said coldly. At first it seemed like he was talking to the creature, but then it became clear he was talking to Armin. Armin sheathed his sword, picked up the child, and jumped out of the window, landing safely on his feet on the other side.

While he escaped, Sargon began to move towards the window as well, making slashing motions at the draugr with his blade. //I don't think it's vulnerable to anything besides light magic...//

(Hmm, ok)
{The draugr put up its arms, then charged forward, looking to tackle Knife, freezing in a few places as it was exposed to his ice breath.}

{When the creature missed, it bit the floor. However, this revealed that it had an acidic bite, as it's saliva began eating through the floor. Ignoring Armin, it continues to close in on Sargon, keeping out of his reach as he swung his blade.}

Realising that the creature was too large, or two powerful, so be completely frozen, Knife leapt aside. Evading the draugr's attack, he spread his wings and jumped out of the basement. 'Nothing's going to destroy it except light magic!' he growled, stepping away from the basement door in case the creature tried to pull him down.

As the floor began to disintegrate from the monster's bite, Sargon jumped backwards onto the window-sill. Having figured that the creature was not something he could defeat by himself, he threw a final knife at the creature, then leapt out of the window just like Armin had. 'I'm not sure if it will follow us out of the building,' he said as he landed. Both vampires then turned to look up at the window, waiting to see what the monster would do.

{When Knife leaped out of the basement, the creature tried to pursue him, but got stuck on the doorframe. Seemingly discouraged, it retreats into the dark.}

{The creature crawled out the window after the vampires. Coming down, it was revealed that this creature was at least twenty feet long. It began to slowly stalk towards them, Sargon's final knife sticking out of it.}

'Uhh... I think we should go and find some troops, or a lightkeeper or something,' said Armin, staring at the creature. Sargon nodded, and the two vampires turned and began to hurry away, Armin carrying the child. The creature didn't seem able to move very fast, so they weren't too worried about being caught.

Knife backed away from the door, eyeing it suspiciously until he was certain the creature wasn't going to come out. Then he rounded on the rest of the soldiers. 'A lot of good you were!' he boomed. 'I should've let the monster eat you. Is anyone hurt?'

{Sargon and Armin were right. The creature wasn't very big on speed. Despite this, it maintained its pursuit, even if it was from a hundred meters behind.}

'We are going to lead it straight to the camp if we are not careful,' pointed out Sargon.

'So?' said Armin. 'The lightkeepers will be there, won't they?' He stopped and looked back at the creature slowly but steadily advancing on them. 'Listen, there's a better way to do this. You go to the camp and get help. I'll stay here and stop the thing from chasing you.' He set the child down beside Sargon. 'Take her with you, too.'

Sargon glanced at the child. Then he nodded. 'Be careful.' He hurried off in the direction of the camp, while Armin drew his sword and started walking towards the creature.

{The soldiers glumly looked at their feet.} "No. We're ok..."
{But immediately after that, the creature burst forth from the ruins. It looked down upon Kinfe and the soldiers, preparing to charge.}

Knife let out a deafening roar and blasted the creature with ice vapour again, hoping to slow it down. 'Get on my back!' he growled at the soldiers in a tone that left no room for argument. He wasn't sure if he was actually big enough to carry all of them away to safety, but he intended to try.

{The creature charged at Knife as the soldiers clambered upon his back. His ice breath slowed it down considerably, as its snake body began to stick to the frozen floor.}

{The centipede creature continued to approach Armin. Once it was within range, it changed tactics Rearing up, it began to spit acid at Armin.}

(By the way, how many soldiers are there with Knife?)

Armin had to shift into hawk form to effectively avoid the spray of acid. Even then, a small amount of it hit his wing, eating away at the feathers and some of the flesh underneath. He began to fly in circles above the centipede monster, just slightly out of its spitting range, taunting it to try and reach him.

Leaving Armin to fend off the creature, Sargon went back to the camp with the child. Once arriving at the outskirts of the camp, he started looking around for someone in charge.

(Four soldiers, I was thinking.)

(Alrighty.)

Knife blasted the creature with ice one more time, before starting to run away. His gait was considerably slower and clumsier than usual thanks to the four people he was carrying, but he was still able to run. Panting a little, he headed back towards the camp.

{The centipede looked up at Armin. Figuring that he was out of reach, it began to wander, looking for different prey.}

{As Sargon approached, the old mage from before approached him.} "Ah, I see you found another. Good work, Sargon."

{While Knife ran, Light Keepers appeared, having been alerted by the fifth soldier that ran off at the first sign of trouble. Together, they began to combat the beast with their weapons.}

'We need a light keeper,' said Sargon bluntly. 'A large centipede-like undead monster chased us, and is currently heading towards this camp.'

Seeing that he had lost the creature's attention, Armin let out a high-pitched hawk screech before diving at it, slashing his talons through its body before flapping upwards again.

Knife skidded to a halt, his breath coming out in great heaving gasps. Looking back, he watched the lightkeepers attack the creature. 'Well, that was close,' he growled.

{The old mage gives a serious look.} "Oh. Here." {He takes the child from Sargon and hands her off to a soldier. Ordering her to be taken to the medical tent, he turns back to Sargon.} "Take me to it. I'll handle it."

{Upon feeling the strike, the centipede twists around, trying to snatch Armin in its jaws.}

{The soldiers dismount Knife, breathing a sigh of relief as the monster was destroyed by the light keepers. One takes a moment to notice Knife's exhaustion.}
"Hey, you ok there, pal? Heh, I guess four grown men in full armor weigh a lot, huh?"

Armin dodged, but only barely, the creature's jaws catching the edge of his wing and tearing out several feathers. He then started flying back and forth in front of the creature, deliberately taunting it, not seeming to care if it managed to land a hit on him.

Sargon nodded and began to lead the old mage to the place where he'd last seen Armin. It wasn't long before the sight of the small hawk diving back and forth in front of the horrible centipede-like thing became visible up ahead.

'I'm fine!' Knife boomed. 'It was hard work, but I knew I would manage.' He finally regained his breath, and raised his head, eyeing the soldiers. 'Is everyone still unharmed?'

{The mage produces a staff.} "Stand back everyone. I'll handle this."
{Pointing his staff at the creature, he fires a bolt of light at it. Upon contacting the creature, the centipede begins to writhe, rapidly disintegrating away.}

"Yeah, we're ok....Thanks for that..."
{The soldier says, seeming a little embarrassed that they weren't much help.}

Armin flew down and landed beside Sargon and the mage, shifting back to human form. 'Why are these things still crawling all over the city? Shouldn't they have all gone back to wherever Dolorus lives?' he wondered.

Knife appeared to notice the soldiers' embarrassment. He snorted out a laugh. 'Don't worry about it. I wouldn't have expected you to be able to do much against an undead creature.'

"That's just it." {The mage replies.} "They can't. That centipede was clearly too slow to keep up with the rest of his forces, so it likely concluded that its best chance at survival was to hide and ambush anyone who came by."

{As knife was laughing with the soldiers, a higher ranking commander showed up.} "Knife. Something's come up, I need you to come with me. Let's go."

'Seems weird that they'd create draugrs that can't keep up with them,' Armin remarked. 'Good news for us though, I guess.'

Knife immediately turned to face the commander, his good humour disappearing. 'Yes, sir! Lead the way!'

{The commander led Knife through the city, recruiting other soldiers as he went along.}

"Well, I don't think they were designed for speed. I think they were built to withstand a lot of damage, which makes them bulky and slow..."
{The mage stops when he notices the commander.}
"Um, everything ok?"
Commander: "Scouts saw some Akhetian activity to the north. Smelters and War Wagons."
Mage: "Oh dear."

Knife followed at a brisk march, not stopping to talk to anyone.

Sargon and Armin turned around as the commander appeared. ''Oh dear'?' Armin repeated, in an incredulous voice. 'I think it's a bit worse than that. I watched just ONE of those Akhetians nearly kill two dragon shifters earlier.'

Commander: "Yes, Pugna...He is a formidable opponent. Still, we need to drive off these Akhetians before they get the chance to attack the camp. Only come along if you're confident in your ability to smash apart stone."
Mage: "I will go. You'll need me once the War Wagons start throwing spears."

'I'll go,' said Knife. 'I might not have magic, but I'm strong. And I'd like to see how well these Akhetians stand up against a blast of ice.'

Armin glanced at Sargon. 'Maybe we should sit this one out. I get the feeling that vampires don't do well against Akhetians.'

(I'm probably going to bring in another character soon, but I need to decide who. I decided against using Alf since I don't think he would fit well in this world.
I'll look through my characters and let you know if I choose someone.)

(Ok, cool. Looking forward to seeing who it is.)

{The commander looks to Knife.}
"Yes, Smelters are constantly superheated, so your ice breath should cause them to crack. And your strength gives you a fighting chance against the War Wagons, as long as you're smart about it."
{He then turns back to Sargon and Armin.}
"From what I understand, vampires are quite physically strong, but you two seem to specialize in precision combat, targeting vital organs, joints, and pressure points. Hate to break it to you, but neither draugrs nor Akhetians have one shot weakness like the rest of us."

'We figured that already,' said Armin. 'Though draugrs are easier to kill than Akhetians, I think. They're made of real flesh and you can hack them to pieces, if nothing else. Besides, we're scouts, not frontline fighters.'

Knife nodded to the commander, his expression serious.

(I think I have one that might work.
https://toyhou.se/2555117.king-eldritch
He has ice magic, so he might be effective against draugrs and Akhetians. I'll change some things about him for this world, though. He won't be a king, he'll just be a random mage, and he won't be blind, because I already have one blind character in this. XD)

(Awesome. Looking forward to seeing him!)

{The commander nods at Armin and Sargon}
"Very well. Stay here, continue gathering the supplies, the rest of us will combat the Akhetians. Let's go."
{The commander walks off, expecting Knife to follow.}

Knife follows the commander at a brisk march. As the group was walking along, a figure walked out of a nearby street and approached them. It was a man with spiky blue hair and a long dark-blue cape, carrying a staff carved out of ice.

'Excuse me, commander and Knife... may I join you? I overheard that you were going to fight off the Akhetians.'

{The commander looked over at the stranger.}
"What's that there, Ice magic? Yeah, you should come. We'll need it."

Eldritch bowed his head respectfully and moved in to join the commander's group. As he did so, Knife eyed him.

'Are you actually a member of this army?' he snorted. 'I've never seen you before.'

'I am,' Eldritch replied quietly. 'I did so recently, when the King was recruiting people to join his forces. I thought my ice magic might be helpful.'

{The commander nods approvingly.}
"Powerful ice is a useful tool in this war. Frozen draugrs are easy to dispatch and Smelters crack right up. Good to have you here."

Knife nodded at Eldritch as a sign of respect. 'What are these Akhetians doing, commander? Are they making their way towards the city right now?'

{The commander turned to Knife.}
"I think they're just getting organized, so we're going to strike first. Let's go, before they finish, and attack the camp."

Knife growled in agreement. He didn't say any more, his mind focused on planning how he was going to fight the battle ahead.

{The commander led his group north of the city. This area consisted of numerous dead trees and rocky outcroppings. In the distance, the glow of Akhetian eyes can be seen, thirty at least. It seems they knew they were coming, as the War Wagons among them were beginning to form weapons and the Smelters were beginning to approach. }
"Here they come! Remember, freezing the Smelters is a good idea, but ice will only slow War Wagons down briefly!"

Knife let out an earth-shaking roar of challenge and waited for the Akhetians to come nearer. 'Come fight with me, metal monsters! I'll be a worthy match for you!'

{Knife's roar was answered by a horde of garbled cries. The Akhetians form a line. One particularly large War Wagon in the shape of a centaur (Basically the one from the general ref) walks to the front of the line. It's holding a handful a massive spears, one of which it's getting ready to throw.}
Akhetian: "Form a line. Spearmen, take out the magic users first. Smelters, bring up the rear."

Knife roared again, and began to march forwards, paying no heed to the Akhetians' spears. Before they could attempt to throw and impale him, Eldritch came over to join the silver dragon, and using his ice-summoning abilities, he conjured a thick shield made of solid ice. With the shield covering both of them, they tried to get close enough to the enemy line for Knife to use his ice breath against them.

{As Knife advanced with Eldritch, the other soldiers advanced as well, some with wards from battle mages and others staying behind Eldritch. War Wagons charged, brandishing spears. One leaps upon Eldritch's ice shield jamming a freshly formed, sub-molten spear into the center of it, trying to melt it away}
(In Eldritch's ref, I think it said he could forcibly keep ice from melting, right? If so, well, the Akhetians don't know that. ; ) )

At first, the shield started to melt, but then Eldritch began to channel more magical power into it, causing it to solidy again. However, it seemed that keeping the shield from melting was costing him a lot of effort.

'Hey, metal brain!' Knife snarled, and from his position beside Eldritch, he blasted a torrent of ice breath over the War Wagon.

{The War Wagon began to rapidly accumulate ice, but was just as quickly breaking it off as it moved. It ignored Knife as it began to use its superheated spear to try to pry the shield apart, seeing that it wouldn't melt anymore. At this point, the rest of the War Wagons began to pelt the shields and wards with numerous spears.}

As the War Wagon tried to cut at Eldritch's shield, ice began to creep up the length of the spear, merging the head of the spear to the shield. At the same time, more ice moved along the ground to wrap around the Akhetian's legs, in an attempt to freeze it to the spot.

Seeing that the War Wagon wasn't much affected by his ice breath, Knife decided to try a physical attack instead. He threw himself at the creature's arm (the one that wasn't pushing a spear into the ice shield) and started trying to pull it apart with his jaws.

{The War Wagon turned when Kife bit its arm, breaking all the ice encasing it with ease. Grabbing Knife's face, the War Wagon begins to forcibly pry his jaws open. As the was happening, Eldritch hears something behind him. It seems the other War Wagons started pairing up, picking up Smelters, and chucking them over the wards and shields that were advancing. With garbled cries, the Smelters that landed charged the group from behind.}

'Knife?' Eldritch said, but the dragon was busy wrestling with the War Wagon. Eldritch turned to face the advancing Smelters and pointed a finger at them. As he did so, ice began to run along the ground as it had before. It formed itself into a spiked wall made out of solid ice, around six feet high, directly in the creatures' path. Eldritch had no idea if the wall would slow them down or if they'd just smash through it, so he decided to conjure a large frozen sword as well, arming himself in case they got closer.

{The Smelters began to clash with troops from behind. A pair of Smelters rapidly smash down Eldritch's spike wall and charge him. The War Wagon wrestling with Knife digs in its heels and begins to push Knife back while wrenching his mouth open, bordering hyperextension.}

Eldritch stood his ground and started to swing his ice blade back and forth as the Smelters approached. It was a huge sword (at least as tall as Eldritch himself) so he figured he might be able to keep them at bay with it.

While Knife's jaws were being held open by the other creature, he drew in a deep breath and blasted it with the thickest torrent of ice vapour he could muster, hoping to freeze it even momentarily so he could get free.

{The Smelters threw themselves at Eldritch, with no concern for themselves, wildly swinging their iron sword arms.}

{The War Wagon did indeed freeze in place, but the ice also froze its arms and hands in place, still holding his jaws apart.}
War Wagon: //...What did that accomplish exactly?//

//Dammit,// Knife grumbled, trying to pull himself free from the creature's grip, but because its hands were frozen in place, he couldn't get himself out of them. //That didn't help.// He looked towards Eldritch, hoping the ice mage might be able to assist him.

Unfortunately, Eldritch was rather too preoccupied to know what Knife was up to. As the Smelters charged him, he slashed at them with his frozen sword, trying to cause some damage to them. At the same time, he threw his damaged ice shield away and conjured a new one, holding it up to deflect the creatures' attacks.

{The War Wagon was beginning to free itself, breaking off the ice rapidly. Before it could cause serious damage, however, a dragon shifter, in human form, ran over with a massive flaming greatsword and severed the War Wagon's bronze arms, freeing Knife. As the War Wagon retreats to repair itself, the dragonshifer yells at Knife.}
"Hey! Quit screwin' around and take care of those Smelters! Our mages are getting butchered!"

{Eldritch's strikes did as much damage as ice can when it's struck against solid rock. (Which might actually be a lot, I don't know the yield strength of magic ice. XD) Regardless, they attacked with ferocity, taking large chunks of ice out of his shield with each swing.}

Eldritch stopped attempting to attack the creatures, as his ice blade was only scratching them at best. Instead, he started to back away, using both the sword and shield to fend off their blows. 'Backup is needed over here!' he called out, hoping someone might hear him.

Knife did not respond to the dragonshifter yelling at him, but immediately turned to confront the Smelters attacking Eldritch and the rest of the force. Roaring, he charged at them, blasting them with a torrent of ice breath.

{The ice rushed over the Smelters, causing them to crack wide open and become brittle due to the rapid cooling.}
Dragonshifter: "Now! Finish them off!"

Knife threw himself at the nearest Smelter, smashing into it with his body weight and knocking it to the ground. Behind him, Eldritch took control of the ice on the Smelters, magically manipulating it so it wouldn't melt.

{The Smelter broke apart from the impact, seemingly down for good. The other one was struggling to move, badly fractured and frozen.}

With brutal power and efficiency, Knife turned and did the same to the second Smelter. Eldritch helped by keeping the ice frozen and watching Knife's back in case any other enemies tried to attack him from behind.

{The other Smelter also crumbled. From behind, in the direction of the original attack, the War Wagon had recovered and was charging back towards Knife, readying more superheated spears.}

Knife roared in triumph as his opponent crumbled in front of him. He didn't notice the War Wagon approaching from behind, but Eldritch did. He bravely stepped in between Knife and his attacker, and raised his ice sword to fend off any blows from the creature's heated spear.

{The War Wagon pulled its arm back as far as it would go, then threw a spear with immense force, right at Knife's back.}

Moving fast, Eldritch slashed his sword directly at the shaft of the spear as it flew over him, aiming to slice it completely in half. At the same time, he shouted Knife's name, to alert the dragon in case he failed to stop the spear.

(Fun fact, the shafts of these spears are made of stone, not wood. A lowly War Wagon isn't skilled enough to create organic structures, like wood. Some Ultras can, but not these guys.)

{Eldritch's strike managed to redirect the spear slightly, so it just ended up grazing Knife's wing, instead of impaling him entirely. However, the War Wagon began to throw even more spears.}

(I guessed they might be made of something like stone or metal, rather that wood. :) )

Knife roared in fury as he felt the spear slice the edge of his wing, and began to charge at the War Wagon, doing his best to dodge all of the thrown spears coming his way. Eldritch hung back, knowing his ice magic wasn't particularly effective against the metallic body of the creature. However, he kept his ice blade ready to deliver a strike or deflect a thrown spear if he got the chance.

{The War Wagon accelerates for Knife, melting all of its spears together into a long, sharp bladed lance. Tucking this weapon under its arm, it continues to charge, looking to impale its foe.}
Dragonshifter: "Knife! Be careful!"

Knife spread his wings and leapt up into the air, trying to fly above the War Wagon and evade its lunge, but he was a little too slow. The lance drove straight through the middle of his wing, and he immediately began to fall back to the ground with a roar of pain and frustration.

As Knife was hit, Eldritch ran forwards and swung his ice blade at the War Wagon's side, trying to distract it and keep it away from Knife.

{When the War Wagon felt Eldritch's blade, it immediately swung its metal arm around, looking to smack the ice mage with its fist. Meanwhile, its lance dissociated,leaving behind enough matter to form a large, double bit axe.}

Eldritch reformed his ice shield and held it up to deflect the creature's fist, though it was so large and powerful, he doubted the shield would help much.

Meanwhile, Knife was running away from the scene, his torn wing dragging uselessly behind him.

{The force behind the War Wagon's fist knocked Eldritch off his feet. As it was raising its axe over its head, the dragon shifter ran in and cut off its arm once again. As knife ran, the commander yelled after him.} "Knife!? Where are you going?"

Knife skidded to a halt, twenty feet away, and looked back. 'Keeping my life!' he shouted in response. 'My attacks are useless against that thing, and if I die here then I won't be able to help anyone again!'

Eldritch's ice shield had been shattered by the blow, but the mage himself seemed unharmed. He checked himself over briefly for injuries, then got unsteadily to his feet and picked up his ice blade, which had been knocked a short distance away.

{The commander gave Knife a disappointed look.}
"Fine. Go."
{In response to losing its arm, the War Wagon turned and grabbed the dragon shifter by the neck. The dragon shifter began to use his fire magic to try to melt the War Wagon's arm.}
Dragon Shifter: "...Ggckk....Eldritch.....Freeze him...now!"

Knife didn't go, but stayed uncertainly where he was standing, waiting to rush in if he was needed.

Eldritch heard the command, but he didn't have ice breath like Knife used to freeze people. Instead, he raised his arm and summoned freezing-cold, snowy winds to batter against the War Wagon, essentially creating a miniature snowstorm to use as a weapon.

{The snow storm battered the War Wagon, causing the superheated portion of its arm to crack from the rapid cooling. The dragon shifter then tore the War Wagon's arm off, freeing himself. He stumbles back, gasping for air.}
War Wagon: "....Dammit....I'm out of arms..."

At that moment, Knife came charging back in, his jaws set in a determined snarl. He jumped on the War Wagon, taking advantage of its lack of arms, and blasted it with another torrent of ice breath, trying to drive it away.

Eldritch lowered his arm, causing the snowstorm to gradually die down. After a moment, the only evidence of its existence was the rapidly-melting snow on the ground. He then went over to the dragon shifter. 'Are you all right?'

{The War Wagon starts to struggle, trying to reform its arms and get away. The frost breath is slowing it down, but it just starts to thrash about harder. The dragon shifter nods at Eldritch, holding his throat.}
"I'm alright. Let's finish this."

'What do we do? These things seem to be almost undestroyable,' said Eldritch, glancing at the War Wagon and sending some magic into Knife's ice breath in an attempt to strengthen it and keep the Akhetian immobilised for longer.

{The dragon shifter thinks for a moment.}
"If cooling them from high temperatures makes them crack, then it should work in reverse. Get that thing as cold as you can, then I'll torch it. Just make sure you get clear."

Eldritch nodded, and summoned his miniature snowstorm again, aiming it at the War Wagon. At the same time, Knife, hearing the conversation, leapt away from the creature and began to blast it with ice breath from a short distance away.

{The dragon shifter shifted and began to torch the War Wagon. Almost immediately, it cracked up in so many places, it could not move well. From there, he jumped on it, breaking it apart. He wasn't a very large dragon, but the War Wagon was so damaged that it crumbled away.}

Eldritch and Knife backed up as the dragon destroyed the creature, worried about pieces of rock or metal (or any other substances it was made from) flying in their direction.

'This is good,' said Eldritch. 'Now we know exactly how to defeat the other ones.'

{The shifter nods, but when he turns, it seems the few War Wagons left were in full retreat.} "Huh. Looks like we won."

Knife came limping over, bleeding from his torn wing and a few less major wounds. He was breathing hard, but grinning in triumph. 'We showed them,' he said, voice full of self-satisfaction.

Eldritch didn't smile, but watched the remaining Akhetians fleeing. 'I hope everyone's all right on our side...'

{The Shifter chuckled.} "I'm sure we're fine. And yes, Knife, we showed 'em."
{As the last of the Akhetians fled, the whole battalion of soldiers cheered.}

Knife added a deafening victory roar to the troops' cheering, making Eldritch cover his ears until it stopped. 'They'll think twice before messing with us again,' he growled, then suddenly seemed to remember his torn wing. He twisted around to examine it. 'I don't think this'll take too long to heal...'

{The shifter grimaced at the sight of the damaged wing.}
"Ooooh, you should get that looked at. Report to the medical tent at once."

'It's fine!' Knife boomed in his typical too-loud voice. 'But I might need to fly at any time, so I suppose you're right.' He began to walk away, dragging his wing behind him, as he couldn't seem to fold it properly.

Eldritch watched him leave. 'Are we all going to go back, too?'

{The shifter looks over at Knife before turning to Eldritch.}
"Yeah, I mean, what else is left to do?"
Commander: "Good work, men! Extra liquor rations all around!"

Eldritch nodded, and joined the troops starting on their way back to the camp. Knife was already far ahead, boasting loudly about how he'd destroyed two Smelters to anyone who would listen.

{As Knife was boasting, a different soldier snorted and laughed.}
Soldier 1:"Ha, is that it? A couple of Smelters? Kill an Ultra, then you can brag."
Solder 2:" Bro, no one's ever been able to successfully scrap an Ultra. Just give the dude his win and shut up."

'What are Ultras?' Knife growled. 'Are they like those War Wagon things but stronger? If that's what they are, then I bet they're almost impossible to kill.'

"Pretty much." {One soldier replied.}
"No one's been able to beat one yet. Well, they're incredibly durable and most stand as tall as the beetles."

'Why haven't they sent those creatures after us, then?' said Knife. 'If they're almost unbeatable, why not send them instead of a dozen of those weak Smelter things?'

(I think we should make a new room for this. This one's getting pretty long.)

(Yeah. So, which of us should do it?)

(I don't mind. If you want to do it, then you can. If you'd rather I do it, then I'm happy to. Don't expect an interesting cover art if I post it, though. XD)

"Because they've only recently found out we lied."
{Says the old mage from earlier.}
"It's only a matter of time before one, or a few show up. These likely only appeared because they were nearby to begin with."

Eldritch then hurried a little to catch up with Knife, hearing the conversation. 'So, what will we do if these... Ultras begin to arrive? Can we even fight them?'

{The mage shakes his head.}
"I don't know. We've never really fought one, and all the legends of people who have tend to not end well. All we can do is hope one doesn't show up now. Not when we're so close to beating that disgusting cult."

(Hmmm, I'll do it. I think I'll take this opportunity to make these covers depict characters and creatures that are present in this RP, but don't have any formal ref.)

(Sounds good to me! I'll wait until the new room is up to reply.)

(Ok, it might be a little bit. I gotta make it look a little neater.)

(No problem, take all the time you need.)