(Alrighty!)

{Biceras just looked bewildered at Ana's statement.}
Biceras: "You can't be serious! What do you mean your life's not as important as his? Who the f@%k is he, anyway!?"

{Before she could continue, a commander yells at the group.}
Commander: "Hey! There's still draugrs around! Less talking, more killing!"

{While this was true, their numbers were dwindling rapidly. The three hydras here already dead and the remaining draugrs were scattered throughout the army.

The draugr was knocked off balance by Knife, causing its axe to veer to the right, shearing right through Eldritch's shield, missing him by mere inches. The commander used a bladed chain as a weapon. Using it, he ensnares the draugr's left arm, holding it back.}
Commander: "Knife, Grab its other arm!"

'Hey!' said Ana, sounding aggravated. 'Don't talk about him like that! He's my favourite person in the world, and I've sworn to protect him, no matter WHAT!' She then broke off suddenly, hearing the commander's shout. With a final glare in Biceras's direction, she leapt into the air and flew off to attack more draugrs.

'Well... that was interesting,' said Armin. Sargon just turned and walked away, sword drawn, to rejoin the fighting.

Knife immediately snapped his jaws shut over the armoured draugr's free arm, holding it in a powerful grip. Eldritch, meanwhile, stumbled backwards and repaired his ice shield, seeming numb with shock that he was still alive.

{Biceras just snorts, waves Ana off in an exasperated manner, and walks off as well. As she passed Armin, she grumbled.}
Biceras: "So, does she have stockholm's syndrome, or what?"

{The draugr struggled savagely against his captors, trying to throw them off. A beetle began to approach, with its ballista turrets aimed right at the draugr.}
Commander: "Hold him!"
{As Eldritch stumbled, a field medic approached him.}
Medic: "Hey, you alright? That was close!"
{The medic grabbed a hold of him and began to gently lead him away.}

'No,' said Armin, following along behind Biceras, keeping his sword drawn. 'She's just crazy.'

Knife spotted the ballista readying to shoot the draugr, and tightened his grip on its arm to make sure it couldn't get away.

Eldritch didn't put up any resistance when the medic led him away, nor did he say anything. He still seemed to be in a state of shock. He also wasn't concentrating on keeping his sword and shield completely frozen, so they were beginning to melt slightly at the edges.

{The medic led Eldritch to the edge of the battlefield and sat him down. She then took his sword and shield and placed them down and began to talk to him, in an attempt to calm him down.}
Medic: "Hey, what's your name?"

{With the draugr effectively immobilized, the ballistas opened fire on it, effectively breaking its armor, allowing for the majority of the light keepers to destroy it. At this point, the skirmish was all but over. Biceras went with Armin, eliminating the stragglers with ease.}
Biceras: "Are you sure? I mean, I've seen lovestruck fools before. Seems a bit similar."

Eldritch stared at the medic blankly, as if he hadn't understood the question. After a moment, however, some of the numbness disappeared from his expression. 'I... um... Eldritch,' he said uncertainly. 'What... what happened to the armoured thing? Is Knife alright?'

Armin glanced around, looking for any weak draugrs that he could destroy. 'Oh, she's definitely in love with him,' he said wearily. 'But Sargon's not her captor. She's with him of her own free will. The story is that, years ago, Ana was captured by some townsfolk and almost executed for practising dark magic. Sargon was passing by at the time, and decided to rescue her. Since he saved her life, she's been completely enamored with him.'

{The medic looked him over, making sure he wasn't hurt.}
Medic: "Hello, Eldritch, I'm Alicia. Knife is fine, and we destroyed the draugr. Tell me, are you hurt? Do you feel pain anywhere?"

{A scrawny draugr rushed Biceras, but instead of using her weapon, she just bludgeons with the side of her weapon and curb stomps it when it falls.}
Biceras: "Ok, I get that, but to devalue your own life? I mean, didn't he save her so she wouldn't die? Wouldn't throwing your life away defeat the purpose of his initial kindness?"

Eldritch shook his head. 'No... I'm fine, I think. Thank you.' While they were talking, Knife came wandering over to see if Eldritch was all right.

Armin eyed the draugr Biceras had just curb-stomped with amusement, then said, 'Like I said, she's crazy. She thinks that because he saved her life, her life belongs to him, or something. She'll do anything he asks her to.'

{The medic smirked and patted Eldritch on the shoulder}
Just sit here for a bit. Catch your breath. You're alright."
{The medic then walks off, looking for someone else to help.}

{Biceras just snorts.} "That's ridiculous. She must just be enamored with him because he saved her."

Eldritch nodded quietly and watched the medic depart. Then he noticed Knife standing nearby. 'Is it all over?' he asked.

'Yeah, I think so,' said Knife, turning to survey the battlefield. 'It looks like all or most of the draugrs are gone.'

'Thank goodness,' Eldritch muttered, resting his head in his hands in a weary gesture. 'I never want to see another battle again.'

Armin just shrugged nonchalantly. 'Probably. I don't really care how she feels about him. Nothing'll ever come out of it - he doesn't like her, in that way, at all.'

{With all the draugrs destroyed, Biceras just looked around the battlefield sighing. From the looks of things, the army didn't suffer too many casualties.}
Biceras: "I know I sympathize with her and her choice of partner, but if he's not going to reciprocate her feelings, she's probably better off finding someone else. However, from what you described, I'm not sure she would even accept that there's no connection between them."

{As everyone settled down, all the commanders were walking around, getting everyone back in formation.}
Commander: "Take a few minutes to catch your breath, then get back in formation. The mountain's still about a hundred clicks out. We're headed for a small town twenty clicks out from the mountain."

'Definitely not,' said Armin. Seeing that there were no enemies left, he sheathed his sword. 'She's convinced that she can somehow make him love her back. As if it's actually possible to /make/ someone reciprocate your love.'

'Come on,' said Knife to Eldritch. 'You can't stay sitting there. We have to march out soon.' Eldritch nodded quietly, though didn't stand up yet, taking his time to recover.

Sargon approached the commander. 'A town? Is it under the control of Dolorus's people?'

{Biceras sighs and lowers her weapon.}
Biceras: "Well, I've heard of love potions, but they're craaaazzy illegal and hard to come by. Plus, they might not work the way you intend."

{The commander nodded.}
Commander: "Yeah, agricultural installation, high walls, easily fortified. We'll have to clear it out when we get there."

'I'll bet they don't really work,' said Armin. 'You can't create or fabricate love.'

Sargon nodded and walked off, intending to look for Ana so he could tell her what was going on, since he knew she probably wasn't paying attention to the commanders.

{Biceras just chuckles.}
Biceras: "Heh, yeah, you can't fabricate /real/ love. Probably just a soup of mind bending drugs sold by snake oil salesmen."

{As Eldritch was recovering, another soldier approached him.}
"Hey, are you ok? Can you stand?"

'Hmm... maybe I should get some and convince Ana to drug Sargon with it. The results would probably be really funny,' mused Armin.

Eldritch looked up and nodded. 'Yes, I think so.' He stood up carefully. 'I was just... catching my breath. Are we supposed to be marching now?'

{Biceras just gives a very concerned look. }
"Um, that probably won't end well. Don't try it."

{The soldier nods.}
"Yeah, long way to go. Although, you wouldn't happen to know how to ride a horse, would you? We lost one of our riders in the fight, so we have an unmounted horse."

'Of course it wouldn't end well,' said Armin, not looking concerned at all, unlike Biceras. 'That's why it would be funny.'

'Yes, I can ride,' said Eldritch, looking surprised and a little sad to hear about the dead rider. 'I haven't done it in a while, but I'm sure I still remember how. Can I see the horse?'

Biceras: "No, you idgit, I mean not well for /you/!"
{By this time, Biceras was walking to get back in formation.}

{The soldier nods and points across the battlefield. By a group of mounted riders was an unmounted Shire stallion. It was heavily armored, peacefully grazing, as if a massive battle hadn't just taken place. }
Soldier: "Why don't you go say hello?"

'Me? I wouldn't be involved. I'd just give Ana the potion, then run away and watch the chaos unfold. Nothing would happen to me.' Armin shook his head. 'Why would it?'

Eldritch went over to the horse, a little cautiously, and once he was in front of it, held out his hand so the animal could take in his scent. It looked like an extremely docile horse to him, but he reminded himself that it was still a large animal and could be dangerous. Knife, meanwhile, was walking to get into formation.

{Biceras just shook her head.} “You realize that the potion would wear off eventually, right? And, given that you don’t seem able to leave your boss, what do you think he’ll do to you once he snaps out of it?”

{The horse sniffed Eldritch’s hand and seemed ok with him.}

Armin frowned. 'I hadn't thought about that. Hmm. Maybe it wouldn't be the best idea for a prank, then.'

Eldritch climbed onto the horse's back, gathering up the reins. Knife walked past him on his way to join the other troops. He eyed Eldritch with amusement, then walked on without saying anything. Eldritch set off to get into formation as well.

{Once everyone got into formation, the beetles once again surrounded the army in a protective perimeter.}
Magnus: “Scouts! Continue ahead, five clicks out at all times! Report back with telepathy in real time!”

'Looks like I have to go,' said Armin. He raised a hand to Biceras in farewell, then shifted into his hawk form and took off to fly ahead of the army. As he flew up, he noticed Sargon flying a short distance above him, but paid him no attention.

Eldritch continued forwards on his horse. //I wonder what I should call it,// he mused, having decided that the horse needed a name.

{Biceras waved goodbye as Armin departed. She looked around at the troops around her, trying to see if she could spot Ana. //I know she really likes that Sargon guy, but I hope she’s not too mad at me. I just don’t like when people devalue their lives like that.//}

Armin and Sargon continued to fly out, keeping their eyes open for signs of draugrs, Akhetians, or anything else unfamiliar.

Ana was in human form, marching with a group of other troops. Glancing around, she caught sight of Biceras some distance away, and scowled. //Hmph! After seeing her fawn over that pathetic Ardens guy, I thought she of all people would understand why Sargon is so important to me!//

{Biceras caught sight of Ana, and her scowl. When the army began to march, Biceras made her way over to Ana.}
“Look, Ana, I’m sorry about earlier, but when you said that your life didn’t matter, it kinda rubbed me the wrong way.”

Ana kept up her scowl for a moment longer, trying in intimidate Biceras, before sighing and letting it drop. 'Oh, that? I was just lost in the moment. I don't think my life doesn't matter. I value my life! But I /would/ sacrifice myself to protect /him./ Only if I had to.'

(Shacklestone update:
I've just messaged King on Deviantart, asking if he thinks he'll be able to join any future Shacklestone sessions. I'm not sure if he will, since he doesn't seem to have been active anywhere lately, but I gotta find out.
I plan to finish Shacklestone soon, since it's clear that all of us are becoming more busy in real life and have less time for big RPs. So, with luck, we'll all be able to get together for some final Shacklestone sessions. If not, then we might end up having to do it without King.)

(Of course. It is my hope that King will reappear in time, but if need be, I'm sure we can pull off a climactic finish on our own. Needless to say, I wouldn't hold it against him at all if he has to withdraw, I just hope that everything's ok on his end.)

{Biceras just gives a concerned look.} "I understand that, Ana, but...How are you supposed to eventually live in happiness with him your dead?"

{As Sargon and Armin flew along, Praetorus could still be seen, flying in the distance. It might have been hard to tell, but he was staring right at Sargon. After hovering for a moment, he turns and flies off into the horizon}

(Yeah, I don't have any hard feelings. I'm sure he has good reasons for being inactive. I know he's been busy with college and all.)

Ana frowned. 'Well, if he died because I didn't protect him, then we could never be happy together anyway, could we?' She considered for a moment. 'I just hate the idea of him dying, or being hurt... especially if I can do something to save him.'

//There's that bird guy,// said Armin telepathically to Sargon. //Remember? That Akhetian Ultra whatever it was? He just flew off.//

//I saw him,// said Sargon shortly. //I hope he does not come back.//

//He did help us, though.//

//He is with the enemy,// said Sargon. //He can never be trusted.//

{Biceras sighed.} "Yeah, I get it, but does that equation really have to include you dying instead? Don't you think he'd be just as upset if you died, as you would be if he died?"

{As Sargon was discussing Praetorus with Armin, a telepathic call came in from a fellow scout.}
"Sargon, Armin, I see something shiny in your sector again. Can you identify?"

'Well, of course I don't want /either/ of us to die!' Ana exclaimed. 'But it might happen someday! Besides, I'm sure that if /I/ was in danger, Sargon would risk his life to save me, too. I'm very important to him,' she said smugly. 'Though I hope he doesn't ever die protecting me.'

//Again?// replied Sargon in a tone of exasperation.

//I'll go this time,// said Armin, and with that he flew off to investigate whatever the scout had spotted, leaving Sargon gliding in circles overhead.

{Biceras gives an uncertain look. } "Alright then, if you say so. Just, please be careful from here, ok? I don't think any of us want to see you hurt."

{The scout replied to Sargon's back talk.}
//Hey, don't give me that lip! This is your job!//
{Upon closer inspection, Armin could see that the shiny object was gold: a /lot/ of gold. Judging by the scene of the overturned caravan, this lot was slaughtered by draugrs while trying to transport this copious amount of treasure.}

'Of course I'll be careful,' said Ana, sounding exasperated. 'I don't have a death wish.'

Sargon didn't respond to the other scout. Armin, meanwhile, let out an exclamation. //Hey, a ton of gold!// He sent the message to Sargon, the other scouts, and the commander. He flew down to land near the piles of treasure, shifting back to human form and drawing his sword, just in case there were still draugrs nearby.

//Gold!?// {The scout replies surprised. } //Um, let me ask the king...//
{After a few minutes, he responds.}
//The commanders say to leave it. We’ll get it on the way back. Let’s get back in formation.//

{Biceras nods and continues walking.} “Of course. It’s just, you seem a little reckless when trying to defend him. That centaur should have been an easy mark, but you let it hurt you in an attempt to make it suffer. You do know they can’t feel pain, right?”

//Are you sure?// said Armin. //It looks like a bunch of people were transporting this treasure somewhere and got attacked by draugrs or something.//

Ana sighed. 'I just got a little bit carried away,' she replied. 'It won't happen again, I promise.'

Scout: //Likely the survivors of the town we're headed for. Orders are orders, leave it.//

{Biceras gives a little smile.} "Thank you, Ana. I've already lost so many friends. I don't want you to be one of them."

Armin frowned slightly, but shifted into hawk form and took off to rejoin Sargon. //Well,// he thought, //I guess there's nothing we can do if they're already dead, anyway.// He reached Sargon's altitude and began to fly alongside the silver falcon, looking out for any more unusual sightings.

Ana looked up at Biceras with an expression of pleasant surprise. 'You consider me a friend of yours?'

{Biceras just shrugs.} "Well, yeah. You seem like a perfectly pleasant person who I get along with, so why not consider you a friend?"

'Well, I just don't make friends often...' said Ana. 'People are usually either scared of me, or just don't care. But, thank you.' She grinned. 'That's very nice of you.'

//Anyone see anything else?// said Armin after a few minutes of flying without any incident.

//Nothing yet,// Sargon responded.

{Biceras smiled back.} "I can't understand why people would be afraid of you, you seem like a perfectly pleasant person."

{So far, nothing seems unusual below the scouting groups.}

Ana let out a quiet laugh. 'Well, I actually quite like that people are scared of me... I'm a dark witch, witches are supposed to be scary!'

Armin and Sargon kept flying slowly in front of the army, keeping their eyes open for anything strange, but the area seemed deserted. //It's quiet,// said Sargon after a while. //We're coming close to this town they mentioned, though. I imagine the place will be swarming with draugrs.//

(Uuhhh, that town was supposed to be ~80 clicks out. One click equals one kilometer. They probably wouldn't get there so quick. But, it was my full intention to timeskip there once Ana and Biceras were done because there's really nothing left to happen during that march. Want to do that now? )

{Biceras just chuckled and grinned mischievously.} "You, scary? Naw, you're a total doll!"

(Feel free to timeskip if you want to. I only said that they must be close because I wasn't sure how much time had passed.)

(Ok.)

{It had been hours since the battle, and the sun was beginning to set, but finally, the small town of Comida came into view. With that, the beetles stop, and the commanders begin to shout orders.}
"Alright everyone! We're switching up the formation! I want Mages and Lightkeepers up front, infantry in the back, and calvary on the east side. We are headed right for that town, right into that breach! (Points to a massive gap in the perimeter wall off in the distance.) Let's move!"

{For the scouts, a telepathic call came in.}
//All scouting units, move ahead and recon the main breach. Take note of unit types, formation configurations, and commander placements. Exercise extreme caution, they're going to know we're coming.//

Everyone hurried to get into their assigned positions. Ana gleefully went up to the front, Knife at the back, and Armin and Sargon continuing to fly above the troops. Eldritch, being unsure whether he counted as a Mage or cavalry, hesitated for a moment before deciding to join the cavalry.

Upon hearing the order to the scouts, Armin and Sargon began to fly off towards the town. //How're we going to approach and get a look around without being seen?// Armin asked telepathically to all the other scouts.

{Biceras lines up next to Ana, looking a little nervous.}
"...You ready, Ana? This might get hectic..."
{The scouts reply to everyone.}
//Stay high, act natural, keep your eyes open. The army is counting on us.//
{The scouts begin to head for the breach from above.}

Ana grinned. 'I'm not worried at all. We won last time, didn't we?'

//Alright. Let's get a look at this town, then,// said Armin. He and Sargon flew higher, reaching an altitude where they would look like a normal pair of raptors to anyone watching from the ground.

{Biceras just continues to give Ana her nervous gaze.}
"Yeah but last time, we had them hopelessly outnumbered. Now..."
{She looks at the ominous city, glowing in rays of the setting sun.}
"Now I'm not so sure..."

{The scouts disperse before entering the city's airspace. Inside, there was a full blown army of the undead. Hundreds of abominations and draugrs were lined up in ranks, in preparation for the approaching force.}

(Might not be here for a couple of days, I've been pretty busy lately and unmotivated to write.)

(It's all good. Take all the time you need.)

(Well, it's been over a week since I messaged King and I haven't heard anything from him yet. He hasn't even been online on Deviantart in over two weeks. I have no idea what's happened to him, though I hope he's alright, wherever he is.)

(I see. Well, what is to be done now?)

(I'd like to try and post a Shacklestone room next Saturday, if that date works for both of us. Then we can start advancing the story again.)

(Ok, it might work for me. One of my classes has a field trip scheduled for that day, but we might not go on it, as we're still waiting for the budget to be approved. If the budget is rejected, then we won't go, and Saturday would be great.)

(Also, if we're continuing on without King, how do we retcon Mortikai and Brink?)

(Well, I think King had plans for Morty and Brink, but if he's not around and I can't contact him at all, then those plans will have to be ignored. We'll just have to leave those two out of the picture.)

I do have a plan for how Sargon's escape attempt and death will play out, though. Basically: Sargon uses his teleportation power to escape during his trial, but because he's never used the power before, he only succeeds in teleporting a short distance away. This will allow the other group members to catch him again. At that point, Dianne might use the enchanted shackles she made for Crowley to stop him teleporting again.
That sound alright?)

(Also, that's fine! If we can't do it next Saturday, I'll post it some other time instead.)

(Sounds good to me. And I’ll keep you posted on the potential field trip.)

(Alrighty!)

(Well, my field trip got canceled, so I'm good to go for saturday.)

(Alright, good to hear! (Sorry about your trip though.)
I'll post a room on Saturday at the usual time.)

(Alrighty then. Looking forward to it. )

(Sorry for disappearing for so long! It's gotten kind of messy in here, so would you like me to reply here as normal, or would you prefer to make a new room?)

(Relax. It's all good. Reply here for now. My last final is this week, (Friday) so I'll post a new one after I get some time.)

Ana scowled and hit Biceras on the shoulder. 'Stop moping! We'll be fine! Who cares how many of those things they are? We beat them last time, so we can do it again!'

Armin and Sargon flew high above the city, taking note of the enemy forces and reporting back to the commander. //There's a lot of them,// Armin said. //I'm not sure exactly how many, but several hundred at least.//

{Biceras nods, although her nervous expression never leaves. The commanders reply to the scouts.}

//That's what we thought. Come back, we're going to head right for the breach.//

//Returning now,// said Armin, turning in mid-air and flying back towards his army as inconspicuously as he could. Sargon waited a few moments, and then followed him.

{As the scouts returned, the commanders speak.}
"Alright, we're headed right for the breach! Scouts, stick close! Your job is to go behind enemy lines and assassinate any necromancers who might be distracted by our initial blitzkrieg. Let's go!"
{As the army began to march, however, suddenly, a volley of arrows comes from behind the wall.}
Commander: "Mages, Wards!"

//Got it,// said Armin. He then dodged as an arrow whirled past him. //Hey, where did that come from?//

Ana raised her hand and shouted out a spell. Her enchanted ward appeared, a transparent circle twenty feet in diameter that covered her and the troops on either side of her.

Eldritch, who couldn't cast wards, instead conjured up a brand-new ice shield to protect himself from any arrows.

{The arrows struck the shields and wards, bouncing off harmlessly. The beetles, while unharmed, seemed quite agitated at this.}
Commander: "Drop the wards! March, doubletime!"
{With that, the army begins to march for the city, right for the breach.}

Ana shut off her ward, though kept a wary eye out in case more arrows were fired at her.

Some distance away, Knife let out an earth-trembling roar of challenge and began to march. Unlike Ana, he clearly wasn't worried about any arrows. Eldritch nudged his horse forwards, looking around anxiously. He kept an eye on Knife to make sure the dragon didn't get himself killed, even though they were too far apart to easily help each other.

{The army marched forward. Luckily, no more arrows rained down. It seems the draugrs realized that it was ineffective. As the group approached the breach, the draugrs inside formed a shieldwall, to protect from the oncoming light weapons.}
Commander: "As soon as they get into rage, open up! If you got a projectile or ranged attack, get ready to use it!"

Armin and Sargon flew a short way ahead, ready to drop down behind the enemy troops and attack them from behind. Knife prepared to unleash his ice breath on the draugrs, while Eldritch just kept up his shield, but prepared to conjure ice weapons when needed. As everyone got closer, Ana started to hurl balls of magical energy, smashing them against the enemy's shield wall.

{Biceras and the other light mages opened up their weapons, unleashing their burning light on the draugr phalanx. Despite the shields, the numerous projectiles were making it difficult for the draugr to hold the line.}
Commander: “Hold formation through the breach!”

{As the scouts approached, they were met by draugr birds, varying from crows and hawks to condors and vultures. The attacked the scouts, of with a particularly large raven swooping right at Sargon.}
Scout: //Look alive! We got bogies dead ahead!//

//Woah! Zombie birds incoming!// said Armin, rather cheerfully. Sargon didn't answer, but lashed out at the raven with his sharp talons. Armin left him to fight by himself, flying off to attack one of the draugrs who was a hawk, like himself.

'We're getting them!' Ana yelled triumphantly, continuing to throw energy balls at the draugrs' shields. Eldritch just grimly rode onwards, keeping his ice shield up.

{The raven lashed out at Sargon as well, attempting to grab his wing and pull him out of the sky. The hawk Armin targeted deftly veered away from Armin, and attempted to fly down towards the city, away from his assailant.
As the Army broke the draugr’s line and entered the city, there was a loud cracking noise. The giant root monster from the battle for Carthage reappeared, and was tearing a chunk off of a building. The light keepers assaulted it, but not before it chucked its chunk at the army.}
Commander: “ Wards!”

Sargon allowed the raven draugr to catch hold of his wing. Then he struck out with his head, stabbing his beak into the creature's neck. Armin, meanwhile, folded his wings and took off in a fast dive to catch up with the other hawk, letting out a screech of challenge as he slashed at its back with his talons.

Ana ceased throwing energy balls for a moment, giving her time to raise a new ward. A small bit of debris slipped past the ward to crash against Eldritch's shield, startling his horse. With a deafening squeal, the animal galloped away to another part of the army, with Eldritch clinging to its back.

{The draugr bird clutching Sargon became a dead weight, dragging him to the ground. As Armin pursued his foe, he was attacked from behind by another hawk. But this one was a shifter, not a draugr. }
Scout: //Sargon, disengage! Armin, that’s a necromancer in your back!//

{As the light keepers assaulted the root monster, it retreated under ground before it could be destroyed. As Eldritch’s horse Ran wild, centaurs began to approach, looking to take advantage of his isolation from the army. }
Commander: “Forward!”

Sargon clawed at the draugr and pulled himself free, losing a few feathers in the process. Ignoring the scout telling him to disengage, he dived back down to strike at the creature a second time.

Armin abandoned his chase and swooped around to confront the other hawk instead. //A necromancer, huh? What are you doing flying around up here?// He started to flap away, not wanting to risk fighting the necromancer's magic.

Eldritch managed to pull his horse to a standstill, then finally noticed the centaurs beginning to surround him. Instinctively, he summoned a miniature snowstorm, sending icy winds and chunks of snow battering against the centaurs, hoping to slow them down. Then he turned his horse around and started to run back to the army.

{The raven draugr attacked Sargon with its talons, trying to down him.
The necromancer attacking Armin pursued him. As he did, more draugr birds appeared and tried to attack Armin head on. It seems that this necromancer was the one controlling all the bird draugrs.
The snowstorm did little to slow the centaurs. However, Biceras saw his predicament and turned her weapon on the centaurs.}
Biceras: “Eldritch! Get back to your unit, I’ll cover you!”

Sargon continued to grapple with the raven, not seeming to care that his opponent was bigger than him, and was an undead monster. Armin, meanwhile, was trying to evade both the draugrs and the necromancer. //Maybe they're controlling these things,// he thought. //In that case, killing the necromancer guy might be the only way...// Suddenly, he turned around in mid-air and slammed into the necromancer, slashing at them with his talons.

Eldritch nodded, and rode frantically back to his unit, keeping an eye out for any more creatures that might attack him.

(Huh, I replied here. I guess colors are it.)

(I never saw any reply, so I guess it must have done.)

{The raven attacked Sargon with equal fury, tearing at the vampire. Unless Sargon has some way to rip this bird asunder, this will be a painful fight.

The necromancer clashes with Armin, letting out an ear splitting shriek. Grabbing a hold of Armin, he begins to try to drag the shifter down.
As Eldritch reunited with his unit, they greet him.}
“Hey, what happened? Your horse spooked?”

{With the front line of draugrs broken, the Army pushes forward. However, the root monster reappears, this time, right in front of Ana and Biceras. Raising a massive tendril, it brings it down, looking to crush the pair and a few of their allies.}
Biceras: “Ana, look out!”

Sargon realised that now might be a good time to disengage. Kicking the raven away, he darted off, aiming to lose himself among the other scouts and draugrs in the air.

Armin stabbed at the necromancer repeatedly with his sharp beak, trying to force it to let go.

'Yes,' said Eldritch, looking slightly embarrassed. He rode up to join the others, hoping his horse would stay in line this time. 'It's fine now.'

Ana grinned and yelled, 'Ward!' The shimmering, transparent barrier appeared, covering her, Biceras, and two other troops. The shield wasn't large enough to protect anyone else.

{The raven quickly recovered and pursued Sargon through the battle.

The shifter seemed to get annoyed by Armin’s attacks and pulled an interesting move. Once the pair was close enough to the ground, the necromancer shifted to human form and grabbed Armin by his feet. The necromancer was a scrawny fellow, wearing a bone lamellar. Now holding the vampire upside down, like a chicken, he pulls out a blade, seemingly to harm Armin.}

{The calvary captain nodded, before looking past Eldritch at something.}
“Eldritch, get back in formation. All of you, follow me.”

For a moment, Armin flapped his wings and tried to hit the necromancer's hands with his beak, but couldn't reach. Upon realising this wouldn't work, he abruptly shifted back to human form.

Sargon continued to evade the raven, annoyed that a mindless draugr seemed so intent on pursuing him and nobody else. He knew that he was faster, being a falcon, but he couldn't beat the creature in a fight. //Surely it will give it eventually...//

Eldritch hastily pulled his horse back into position with the rest of the calvalry, following them.

*give up

{The necromancer dropped Armin once he shifted. As soon as he hit the ground, the necromancer pounced on Armin with a dagger.

The raven pursued Sargon relentlessly, dodging and weaving between all the other birds.

The cavalry commander began to pick up speed, and so did his unit. As they tore through the streets, centaurs began to pursue.}
Calvary: "Um...sir?"
Commander: "Stay on target!"
{The unit is going down the road, towards Armin's little scuffle.}

{The root monster smacked the ward, cracking it, but Biceras' weapon was burning a hole in the monster. Before the monster retreated beneath the ground, the necromancer controlling it could be seen inside through the hole Biceras burned.}

Armin grabbed the necromancer by the throat and forcibly flipped them both over. The necromancer's scrawny build made this easy. Then, holding his opponent down one-handed, he started to draw his sword.

Sargon finally had enough of the raven's dogged pursuit. He waited until it got close enough, then shifted back to human form and grabbed it by the wing. While falling out of the sky, he summoned a dagger and grimly hacked the raven's head off.

Eldritch continued to gallop after the cavalry commander, though eyed the centaurs chasing them with unease.

'There's someone in there!' Ana called out as she spotted the necromancer inside the root monster. 'It must be the sorcerer controlling it.' She dropped her ward, since it took concentration to keep it active for long periods.

{The necromancer, realizing that he can’t overpower his assailant, became a smoke like mass, escaping Armin’s grip. He rematerialized on top of Armin, poised to stab him.

The raven rapidly turned to ash upon losing its head.
Biceras nods at Ana, readying her weapon.}
Biceras: “I saw. Reckon you could nail him if I widen the hole?”

Armin, not expecting the necromancer's move, cursed under his breath and tried to throw the necromancer off him before he could land a hit with his dagger.

As soon as the raven was gone, Sargon shifted back to falcon form and began to dive for the ground, having spotted Armin and the necromancer fighting. With a piercing screech, he made a beeline for them.

Ana grinned. 'With a magic ball? Of course I could!'

{Being so light, Armin easily threw the necromancer off. However, the necromancer recovered quickly and chucked his knife at Armin.

As the Calvary unit approached Armin's fight, the commander shouted out to Eldritch}
Commander:"Eldritch, use your ice magic, try to slow those centaurs down!"

{Biceras grinned at Ana.}
"Good. I'm sure he'll show up again, get ready."

Armin was unable to dodge the thrown knife at such close range, so instead he instinctively lifted a hand to shield his face, causing the knife to go through his hand. At the same moment, Sargon swooped down in falcon form and viciously attacked the necromancer from behind, slashing at his head with his sharp talons.

Eldritch looked doubtful, as his ice magic hadn't managed to stop the centaurs before, but he nodded anyway. Raising his hands, he summoned an ice storm to batter against the monsters. At the same time, he raised a wall of ice, seven feet high, in front of the centaurs - forcing them to either break through it, go around it, or possibly jump over it.

'Oh, I will be,' said Ana, smiling darkly as she scanned their surroundings for any sign that the root monster was coming back.

{The centaurs hit the wall, and had to go around, slowing them down. The necromancer grinned at Armin's misfortune, but yelped at Sargon's attack. As he turned to face Sargon, a spear flew through the air, impaling the necromancer through the back.}
Calvary Commander: "Hah! Nailed him!"

{As the unit rushed passed, the commander yelled to Sargon and Armin.}
Calvary Commander: "Finish him quick and run! Those centaurs are coming!"

{The Army continued to advance, but as they do, draugrs begin to pelt the army with arrows from the rooftops.}

Sargon swooped away from the necromancer and returned to human form. Armin, meanwhile, was examining the knife stuck in his hand with a pained expression, trying to decide whether he should pull it out or leave it there until the battle was over.

When the commander shouted, Sargon turned to the necromancer and calmly slashed his throat with his sword, killing him quickly.

Ana looked up and let out a yelp as an arrow soared past her. Another arrow came seconds later, knocking off her hat. With a scream of rage, she shifted into dragon form and flew up, knocking a few of the draugrs off the rooftops with a sweep of her paw.

Eldritch ducked miserably behind his shield as he rode after the commander, wishing it was all over.

{As Armin and Sargon stood in the street, the clattering of hooves is heard, as the centaurs began to catch up and close in. Once the Necromancer died, all his bird draugrs turned to ash, as their only anchor to this realm was severed.
As soon as Ana broke formation, every draugr turned their attention away from the army and focused on attacking Ana. Arrows flew at her and hatchets were thrown.}
Commander: "Ana, get back in formation! Now!"

Ana let out a yelp and attempted to fly away from the swarm of draugrs, but some of them fired arrows at her back as she tried to retreat, puncturing her wings. Eventually, she shifted back to human form and simply jumped off the roof, casting a small ward underneath her to break her fall.

Armin looked up with a grim expression. 'Centaurs,' he said warningly, and Sargon also looked up, watching as the monsters closed in on their group. He conjured a second sword.

(We need a new chatroom again, they get full so quickly. XD)

(Leave it to me. Also, I take it your leaving post was just a prank, bro?)

(Yup, just my little April Fools' joke. X))