"Errr….did that mountain just explode?" asked Zax.
"Twice," corrected Baalphzon as the devil soldiers of Zax's Legion clashed with Yeenoghu's horde. The imp seemed to have found a perch on Zax's shoulder and was passively watching the battle from there. Zax tried to swat him a few times, but the imp held its ground and bit his hand.
Ignoring the imp, Zax with Galatea in his hand, parried a vulture demon's spear. Several of his bearded devil troops stepped up to support their leader by jabbing the creature with their glaives and scratching it with their beards. The demon was undeterred however and shrieked at Zax, pushing its way forward through the blades just to get a better shot at him. The tiefling thought it would have been lights out for him, save for a volley of magical bolts that struck the frenzied demon in the chest, causing it to fall onto the hard tundra.
"Wow, these guys really don't like us," noted Zax as he caught his breath. "How'd you guys work for them so long without tearing each other apart?"
The bearded devils simply grunted and returned to the fray, but a slender hand with glowing mystic runes helped him up.
"Demons and Devils never got along. It has been that way since the beginning of time and it manifests itself the greatest in the Blood War. When Ari offered his services to Yeenoghu, I can assume that many amongst the Legion's ranks though it was betrayal to their roots, but that didn't stop him," explained Darwen.
"It's like cats and dogs, mayo and hot sauce, dwarves and elves. Those don't nearly describe the hatred involved, but that's about the gist of it," agreed Baalphzon.
Zax ignored the imp and nodded at the elf. "Oh and thanks for those magic bolt thingies, its good to have you have around. You've help me out a lot recently."
The elf seemed to be unnerved by Zax's praise. She blushed slightly before pulling herself away and facing the horde one again. She lobbed a fireball into the demon ranks before wading into the fray again.
"Smooth…very smooth," chuckled Baalphzon . Zax attempted to swat him again, but the imp held its ground by digging its sharp claws into his shoulders.
"Aren't you forgetting about your little giant girl friend?" sniffed Galatea.
"I haven't forgotten about Isula, its just that Darwen has been a big help lately. I just wanted to acknowledge that," explained the tiefling.
As Zax argued with his sword, a small slap to the face got his attention to the battle at hand. "Get your head back in the game boy. If we're going to survive this, then you and your legion have to hold your ground in square formation and weather the storm. Trust me , I use to do this sort of stuff all the time," explained the imp.
"Square formation? Is that a thing? That sounds made up. Should we do the trapezoid wave next," commented Zax.
One of the bearded devils overheard some of Zax's words and turned to his fellows. "SQUARE FORMATION. SQUARE FORMATION!"
"Say three squares, checkerboard," urged the imp as he yanked Zax's hair.
"Owww? Say what? Three, checker what?"
"Arrow or V?" asked the bearded devil.
"Errr Arr…I mean V ouch stop pulling I mean V don't be stupid," replied Zax as Baalphzon pulled his hair once again.
"THREE SQUARES, CHECKER BOARD, V!" repeated the bearded devil.
The Devils and infernals broke off their engagement with the enemy and began quickly pulling back into several tightly packed hollow rectangles. The Legion's discipline really showed as they seemed to shift and reform their ranks effortlessly. The bearded devils and other melee units were in their front ranks but they were supported closely by tiefling and Erinyes bowmen. The enemy surged at the Infernal Legion, but were easily repulsed by the defensive formation. Even worse was that those caught inside the V were butchered from three sides.
"Wow, this really works," commented Zax. "Why don't we do this more often?"
Baalphzon sighed. "Well for one thing it's a defensive formation. It relies on the enemy coming to you. Secondly, it sacrifices mobility for entrenchment. The enemy can easily surround us, and we'll be too dug in to escape. "
Zax scratched his head. "What does that even mean?"
"Seeing how Isula is still drained from using that Jotan artificat, that means we fight to the death, " chimed Galatea as she parried another incoming spear.
Zax rolled his eyes. "Oh great."
"Let me go! " protested Martinez.
"Sorry boss, not today," sighed Raoul as he held the bound duelist at bay with his two massive arms.
"Raoul, I order you to let me go! Tyris needs me!" commanded Martinez. He even resorted to biting him but he did not release his grip. The half giant ignored the wound as he shook his head.
"It was the Lady Tyris who told us to take you far from the battle, and seeing how the mountain just exploded, it seems to be a prudent decision," said Rollo with down cast eyes.
"Cowards! Wusses! Infidels! " sputtered Martinez.
"Infidels?" commented Sammy. "Are you sure you are using that word correctly?"
Martinez squirmed in the giant's grasp, and flexed with all his might. The half giant easily compensated with his strength, but suddenly the wily duelist collapsed his frame, miraculously slipping his ropes and falling to the ground. Before Raoul could react, Martinez gave him a swift kick to the groin. He then swept Sammy's legs from under her before rolling away from Rollo's grasp.
"Hah losers! No one can hold me! See you later suckas, I'm heading back to the mountain … " said Martinez before he was cut short by a swift knock to the back of the head.
"Thanks Calla, " said Rollo as he proceeded to bind Martinez again.
"No problem, " replied the magenta haired elf glancing back at the mountain. "Thank you all for letting me come with you."
"You don't have to feel shame for abandoning your post, that was a losing battle. If you stayed you would have been killed,"sighed Sammy.
Calla shook her head. "No that's not it. I was never as good or loyal a soldier as my battle sister Darwen. I'm just sorry I left in such a hurry. I didn't get to pack all my things, and I'm afraid someone got into my stuff and took my wigs."
"Wigs?" asked Rollo with a raised eyebrow.
Calla grasped her magenta hair and lifted it up revealing curly blond locks. "Dyeing it all the time is too much of a pain. Wait…you don't think my hair is naturally this color do you?"
Erland's warhorse stomped a gnoll into the ground and bowled another over. As the prone gnoll picked himself up, Aethulwulf's war mammoth stomped him into the ground.
"There it is! " shouted the Mammoth Champion as he pointed into the dwarven left flank. "I see the Balor, its by that pillar of smoke. I mean it is the pillar of smoke."
Erland snarled and gripped his axe. It was bad enough they were outnumbered roughly three to one, but a Balor was like an army by itself. As a demon of shadow and flame, a Balor was the most powerful demon in the Abyss save for the demon lords themselves. They were the bane of all that was good and the personification of cruelty and fell power.
As Erland urged his horse towards the smoke, he noted that the dwarven lines were relatively intact. He expected the flame demon to have already routed them, despite the famous dwarven courage and discipline. As he approached however, he saw the reason why.
A Balor was indeed on the battlefield, but both sides gave the creature a wide berth. Instead of allowing it to run rampant however, what appeared to be an albino tiefling with a spear was keeping it at bay. From his distance, Erland saw that the tiefling was very skilled with his weapon, but more importantly kept the demon at bay with magic, specifically ice magic. He would raise walls of ice, and obscure the area with blizzards, while darting in occasionally to wound the demon.
Erland wondered why the Balor didn't use its overwhelming fire magic to dispel the ice, and wondered if the creature was recently empowered and did not master its powers yet. If that was the case, that would explain why Erland hadn't seen this creature before, though it might have just been recently summoned for this battle by Yeenoghu.
The Squirrel Champion would have enjoyed to watch the one on one battle to play itself out, but a pair of ebon armored warriors burst through the gnoll ranks and rushed the tiefling with their ornate blades. The tiefling turned its attention towards the Cambions but it allowed the Balor an opportunity to lash its foot and send him tumbling prone to the ground. The albino hopped back on its feet but was bull rushed again by the warrior demons, knocking him out of sight.
Erland had seen enough and urged his mount forward with Aethulwulf and his war mammoth close behind.
"NIRRODIN!" he bellowed in a challenge, which caught the fire demon's attention.
The oddly frog faced Balor waved his hand, and Aethulwulf and his mammoth were then covered by black skeletal demons. The Mammoth Champion attempted to fend them off with the shaft of his bow, but his mammoth lost its balance and tumbled violently into the ice as the demons tore into it.
Erland lost track of the pair under a cloud of snow as he focused attention to his foe. He could feel the flames of the creature as he approached, even as he leapt from his saddle and collided with the monster.
Erland was the Grand Champion of the Northern Orders, and that alone marked him as one of the greatest warriors in the land. Besides his title however was his prodigious strength that was rumored to be the greatest of all Champions present and in the past, with the possible exception of Zalthar the Slayer. He could pick up horses, toss boulders, and wrestle giants. Despite this, the Squirrel warrior was easily overpowered by the power from the Demon of fire.
Erland got in a hefty chop, but the Balor ignored the blow and smashed him repeatedly with the pommel of its whip. The Squirrel Champion was too close for the monster to use its weapons effectively but the demon didn't seem to mind as it dropped its sword and threw him into the ground with an ice shattering thud. With agility that belied his bulk, Erland hopped back on his feet but the Demon was again on him as it lowered its shoulders and rammed him in the chest with its horned head.
Erland was sent flying back twenty feet with two deep gouges in his belly, but he ignored the wound as he focused his rage. He rushed back at the demon, ducking under its buffeting wings and dodging its whip, and landed another hefty chop against its side. Balor's were known to have enchanted hides, but the enchantments placed on his axe by the mysterious Surry overcame them. Demon ichor flowed freely from the beast as it hopped back in apprehension.
"I'm not done yet!" shouted Erland , but his boast was short lived. The demon raised its hand in the air and reformed his lightning blade, and then brought it crashing down towards him. Erland knew the power of its vorpal weapon and raised his axe defensively. Northern Iron met Demonic lightning and the air burst with power. Erland wasn't sure what happened next, but a shower of metal shards exploded from his axe as his weapon burst into a thousand pieces. The demon's blade however simply reformed back into its hands.
Now weaponless, Erland did not hesitate as he launched himself against the demon again. He still had a handaxe and a dagger for melee weapons, but his rage took over and he used his great ham like fists against the monster. He narrowly dodged the lightning blade, before slipping behind the beast and slammed his fists into the small of its back and lower ribs. The force of his blows would have snapped the back of a moose or crippled a polar bear, but it was useless against the demon. Infact, he did himself more harm than he did the demon as the monster's terrible flames scorched him with every blow.
The Balor laughed and grew bored of the Champion. It stretched his wings like an umbrella, knocking Erland back again. The squirrel lord knew he was in trouble. He needed either powerful magic that could overcome its natural magic resistance, or a weapon that could affect the monster. He noted that even Champion Brita, one of the north's most powerful sorceresses, could not defeat it, but he knew he couldn't just accept defeat so easily.
A shower of arrows and crossbow bolts from the dwarves struck the beast, but they bounced off harmlessly. A single glowing arrow however managed to breach its defenses and embed itself into its arm, giving it a moment of pause.
"I was going to help Frank, but I saw you in trouble and zipped over here as soon as I could. Looks like you bit off more than your wee squirrel teeth could chew Snappy, " smirked a familiar voice from behind.
Erland knew that voice. It was burned into his brain even though he never thought he would hear it again. "Surry ! " he said before he even turned to confirm it.
Indeed the thin hard faced half elf stood before him, riding a griffon. He though she was gone forever, especially after her battle with Brita, but here she stood before him.
"That bastard broke that axe I enchanted for you. That pisses me off. I literally poured a bit of my soul into that," frowned Surry even as the demon began marching towards them.
"I don't have any weapon that can affect it. It's defenses are too powerful," said Erland as he positioned himself between the demon and the half elf.
"It's too powerful for me as well, especially my little cat fight with moth….errr Brita. I specialize in evocation magics, and I'm more suited to take on platoons than single targets, but that doesn't mean I'm not a team player," she said as blazing white arcane motes began radiating from her hands into his.
Erland felt his hands stiffen like iron, cold iron to be exact.
Then Surry's hand radiated green and red, before she slapped him in the ass. "Go get him Snappy," she ordered as she drew her bow, while her Griffon flew upwards.
Erland felt multiple enchantments surging through his massive body. He was stronger, faster, and felt a heroic spirit urging him forwards. He gave a mighty bestial roar before charging the monster once more.
Erland felt the Balor's flames once again as it closed but noted they didn't burn like before. He also felt a goodly radiance emanating from his fists. He was well acquainted with magic and would have asked how an arcane caster could master the art of blessing weapons, but his mind bore a singular purpose now. To crush the Balor with his barehands.
The demon was struck by several more of Surry's arrows, but was knocked back when Erland slammed into him. The demon was in shock, as the Squirrel Champion's mighty fists slammed into its chest, breaking ribs and bruising internal organs with every anvil like blow. The great demon tried to bite its attacker, but Erland slipped out of its path. It's mighty claws however did manage to find its target, as it gripped the bulky human and held him aloft.
Erland wouldn't be stopped so easily however, as he grasped the monster's wrist and twisted in painfully in a joint lock. An old trick he learned from the brawling masters of the disbanded Order of the Crab. The demon released his grip, but Erland didn't fall. Instead he scampered like his squirrel namesake down the demon's arm and swung behind the monster's neck.
The Grand Champion then grasped the monster's horns with each hand and planted his knees into its shoulder blades. Then with all his might he pulled backwards, extending and flexing every muscle in his now enchanted frame.
The demon roared and gurgled with its great toad head, before croaking in panic. Its thick neck muscles were too strong but it was vulnerable in its arched position. Surry began firing her arrows repeatedly into the monster's abdomen, even as it twisted and twirled in frustration. The monster tried to claw Erland off its back with its one good hand, but when that failed it turned and released an arcane word at Surry. Surry easily resisted his magics, but her Griffon didn't. It seem to freeze in the air before plummeting into the ground. Surry attempted to regain control but slammed into the ground with the griffon pinning her. The tough half elf struggled to her feet, but she was pinned under the bulk of the dead griffon. The balor sensed one of its tormentors was in trouble and began to run her way.
Erland saw the demon was about to run over Surry, and his strength surged to heights he never dreamed of. The Squirrel Champion bellowed a deafening warcry as he finally snapped the monster's neck from behind.
"It's going to explode!" warned Surry as he began weaving motes again.
Erland knew the lore on Balors as well and he reacted quickly. He lifted the demon high above his head, and smashed the beast's molten body through the tundra. The heavy permafrost would have normally blunted his blow, but the now white hot demon body easily bore through the ice and disappeared under the tundra.
*KABOOM*
The ice below them rose briefly, as a geyser of fire shot up from the freshly made hole. Even Erland's fire resistance enchantment couldn't stop him from being scorched by the fiery geyser. Sensing his opponent defeated, the Squirrel Champion's rage left him and he staggered back into the lithe but surprisingly strong arms of Surry.
Seeing their leader defeated, the gnoll's courage broke. Their ranks wavered and then broke when the dwarves crashed into them once again.
"That…that took everything out of me. I'm out of strength," gasped Erland as the pain of his wounds finally caught up to him.
Surry put a finger on his lips to silence him. "I hope that's not the case. I hope you saved a wee bit of that squirrel power for me later," she said with an impish smile.
Age caught up to him as Reaver's body ached all over. The old warrior sat down well away from the battle as he watched Frank and his allies engaged Yeenoghu.
The woman in red armor moved well. She was tall, broad of shoulder and swung her two handed sword with considerable skill. Reaver had never seen her before, but her face reminded him of someone familiar.
The woman on the Griffon was even taller than the woman in red, but she had a natural beauty and elegance about her that seemed more fitting for a princess than a warrior. Despite this, she handled her bow well and seemed a seasoned archer.
Halvor of course was his usual brutish self. The big gray skinned warrior chopped away at the monster with his axe, concentrating specially on the leg Reaver injured earlier.
Behind Halvor was that half fiend girl that hung around those demon hunters. She looked bestial and savage, but was weaving healing spells and enchantments instead of fighting with her claws. The demon lord would occasionally score vicious hits on its attackers, but the girl quickly healed and revived their wounds with Halvor fearlessly covering her.
Finally there was Frank. The old knight moved with the speed of a man one third his age, and handled the hammer as well as any dwarf lord. He was also jabbering incessantly at the monster, but Reaver's damaged ears couldn't make out the words. Whatever he said, it seemed to make Yeenoghu mad, and therefore sloppy in its attacks.
Reaver thought he would never see Frank again, especially after he abandoned him to Erland's dueling pits, but here he was fighting at his side. Reaver thought the old knight would at least punch him or admonish him for his deed, but there was no hatred in his voice, just the sound of camaraderie that the pair had shared for almost eleven decades.
As Reaver watched these 'heroes' fight the demonlord that he could not, he was tapped on the shoulder by a small thin man with a nervous look on his face. "I'm a trained medical professional, do I have permission to administer first aid?" he asked.
"What?" puzzled Reaver, wondering if his hearing was still shot.
The man seemed equally puzzled before slapping his palm to his forehead. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You guys don't have that type of legislation here. I'm Carter and I'm a doctor, please let me help you sir."
Reaver waved him away. His earing wasn't at 100% but it was good enough. "Help Nymk and Tyris," he ordered. He saw that the barbarian archer was crouched in pain on a slab of ice, but there was no sign of Tyris.
Carter nodded and scrambled over to Nymk.
Reaver turned his attention back to Yeenoghu and saw that the demon lord was on the losing end of this battle. Halvor and the griffon Princess seemed to do little damage to the monster, their blows were more of a distraction, but Frank and the red armored woman, whom Reaver determined was a paladin of some sort, were extracting a heavy toll on it. Yeenoghu was covered with wounds that dripped ichor and it had an expression on his face that was half panic and half anger.
The Warlord considered grabbing his sword once again and joining the fray. If he was seen as one of the warriors that had slain Yeenoghu, his legacy would be immortalized forever. Oddly enough, he felt no need to reap such a reputation. He had done enough already, and his old slow body would only get in the monster's way. He just sat back and nervously watched the battle, hoping that the demon wouldn't teleport away or somehow pull off some amazing recovery.
As the battle dragged on, the demon lord finally had enough.
"Insects!" it shouted so loud that even Reaver could hear him.
It then spoke a single word so vile that Reaver's mind was filled with unholy images and thoughts. The paladin screamed and she fell to the ground clutching her head. The Griffon Princess fell out of the sky and Halvor soon followed. Frank fell to his knees and began vomiting uncontrollably. The only member in the front group that wasn't affected was the half fiend girl, and Yeenoghu easily swatted her away with a slap of his great paw. Even from their great distance back, Carter and Nymk fell as well as members of the War Ravens that strayed too close to watch. The barbarian archer rolled into a ball and began vomiting like Frank while Carter fell on his back and began convulsing uncontrollably.
"You worms are no match for my dark words This farce ends now!" cackled Yeenoghu as he raised his flail.
"Stop!" shouted Reaver."It's me you want!"
Yeenoghu paused and looked at Reaver. The demon lord was puzzled at first but it gave a great grin as it walked towards the Warlord. When it stood a few feet from Reaver and pointed a great bony finger at Reaver's heart.
"I see. You are like the half fiend, you have a dark heart. My unholy words do not affect ones such as you," It grinned. "You are defiant, but maybe I'll keep you, then humiliate you, then break you. After you are a mere shattered shell of yourself, perhaps I'll make you my servant, my greatest servant! "
Reaver wasn't surprised to find out he had a dark heart. He always knew it. Maybe once he was blinded by the idealisms of youth, but a hundred years of butchery changed that. He knew he was a self centered prick, and didn't need a demon to tell him that.
Yeenoghu waved to the gnolls that were crushed under the second explosion and what appeared to be the rest of his army scattering to the winds. "As you can see, my army is vast but poorly managed. I can get another army, but good help is so hard to find."
Reaver shook his head. He would not bow to this creature.
Yeenoghu stooped down, and Reaver saw the monster's mouth filled with wisps of darkness. The darkness began to grow larger and started seeping out of his mouth towards him. As the tendrils drew closer, they retreated and Yeenoghu raised his head. "What is that racket? It sounds like singing, but its horrible!"
Reaver's damaged ears couldn't hear what he was referring to, but he had a good idea.