Tarvek of Clan Dark Hills destroyed the Death Knight before him, his mind focused on choices, on options…
Which were few he'd realised. Flee or stand and fight. But there were time mages, dragons at that on the field, let along teleporters and mages of power…
The holy power sufficed him as he stomped down, crushing the remains of the undead thing to dust as holy light burned around him in a golden corona. Fleeing was the more dangerous option strangely he felt as he faced an undead horde, a breached wall, and two disguised dragons attacking him…
Yet…
He stood clad in his individualised Avenger Power Armour, his chain-blade shisekebob ablaze in his hand, minded focused on battle after so long. There was an army here of defenders, a mage-lord to parley with perhaps, and better to fight head on than flee with foes who knew more than he. That could perhaps foresee his actions. Oaths and Holy Scriptures followed through his mind, passages and advice, with his two companions to protect, less skilled than he in matters such as this. Of making an escape versus battle. Of facing a dragon, or two dragons here and now, amidst a fortress with defenders and mages, versus facing them in battle alone with a failed escape and evasion…
Tarvek let out a breath. Decision made, firm and conviction filling him. Soul linked to his Patron for the first time in many months. Clad in the armour of Heavy Infantry, a suit designed as armour to break armies frontlines and reforged by the League of Aquitaine to have every ward and protection needed for the dangers a Pathfinder Guardsman would face. Escape was a last resort. Then making it somewhat more difficult, but granting a boon in defence was an acceptable situation now as his free armour hand reached up to his chest, summoning from his Compass Inventory a precious Dimensional Anchor. If the enemy were chronomancers, if the enemy were summoners as daemonic energy alerts appeared on his HUD…then so be it.
Into his 'free' hand materialised a large dark spike, etched with runes and its technological aspects coming alive at a command. The ground immediately around him was momentarily consecrated, and Tarvek gave his foes no time to react as he activated the Anchor with words of magic and materium commands. Runes ignited, the upper part of the pike snaping open in an electrical arc as he raised it up in the air. They would not be Banishing him and his companions this day, nor teleporting after them, or even doing weird time-shenanigans to do actions again and again till they won…
DIMENSIONAL ANCHOR!
…and then drove the spike into the earth. Into the planet, but also into the ley-line and the immaterium, the Spike deploying in all realms at once. The ground beneath him shook, heaved, almost violently enough for the armoured warrior to lose his balance. But caught himself as he slammed his hand into the ground where the top of the Anchor Spike was deployed, completing activation. The world shuddered, golden and silver lines erupting into the ground him and the spike, forming a warded rune as the anchor locked into the materium and immaterium, drawing in energy, shutting down summoning and teleportation to its best power and abilities as intended. It pulsed out, dispelling weak illusions and summoning, reinforcing the sanctity of the Holy Word's protections and Time Lock.
Tarvek blinked as both dragons…dematerialised…
Pushed out of the dimension or timeline temporarily maybe?
Under his helm he grinned, something going right at least.
Because he really needed something to be going right as there were now undead coming towards him, mostly the stupid mindless ones, but behind them stronger ones, with some kind of minds, were now vectoring towards the idiot blazing with holy light despite their fear. But that made things simpler. There was an enemy before him, defenders being being rallied and the dragon problem was gone!
"COME THEN DEAD ONES! I SHALL PUT YOU TO FINAL REST!" he called out, loud and firm, raising his blazing chain-sword up before him in a warrior's salute "IN HIS NAME, LET ORDER PREVAIL!"
Then swept the flaming blade forward and down to end the salute while drawing forth a plasma pistol with the other hand from his Compass Inventory. Before any could react, seeing only the blade move downwards with a flame trail, Tarvek shifted back a step, raising the pistil arm and aiming…
VSSStttssshhhhh
…and unleash a shrieking white-blue bolt at what might be a necromancer. The figure was in robes, had a staff, and clearly trying to use the zombies as cover.
First, kill the commanders if you can!
The bolt blazed through the undead, and catching the necromancer or mage in the face, blasting it out of existence before it could react. Tarvek then unleashing one blast after another till the power clip was exhausted, retreating back step by step as he did so. Battle was something he could deal with. Simplified things here and now, training taking hold. Discipline and order.
Rally broken allied units!
"ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE!" he called out to clustered of humans, a few dwarves, and even those merchants' guards of earlier who'd been trying to reform a broken barricade, or were disorganised firing at the enemy "FORM SHIELD WALL! SHIELDS FRONT! SPEARS OUT! ARCHERS AND MUSKETS FIRE ON THE ENEMY!"
Seek defensive terrain!
The spot in front of the inn was ideal, with overwatch for archers in said Inn, along with the buildings across the street, while being at the front of a crossroads. Barricades were already half ready there, and enemy forces would have to funnel towards it. Yet Tarvek didn't retreat behind them, for he had no authority….beyond that of martial prowess and shouting while nobody else was. So move he did instead, in front of them, giving them time to form up as he now charged forward suddenly after retreating, Haste in full effect as his towering, armoured, mass smashed into undead ranks. Then swung his fiery chain-blade as the foes were smashed aside like bowling pins at first.
CracckCrackCraccckk!
Janet had seemingly decided dropping cover was acceptable. His fault, but said nothing as that time was now in the past. Instead, with a mighty kick he punted one of the undead in front of him into those behind as he slammed forward like a battle tank into confused lines. Punching at first, chain-blade targeting the stronger undead as he wadded through the lesser. Raising his blade as he stood amidst them. Using his own ability, drawing from his Lord.
{Turn Undead}
Then lashed out with a blast of divine energy that incinerated some of the undead filth, while damage others, and sending yet others turning and fleeing as he reached out and grabbed one with his 'free' hand. His armoured gauntlet crushed the, elf's?, skull before the unthinking thing could reach. Then swing his blade though another that was hurt by the action, but wasn't fleeing…
Falling back a step as lighting lashed out, impacting his suit's shields. Again he drew out his plasma pistol responding in kind as he jumped back…
Janet shoot at them, or Mayuko, from the Inn's rooftop, along with other archers…
Then real lightning, or powerful arcane lightning slammed into the disorganised undead as a pair of human females in robes appeared. Tarvek assumed one of them was the mage-lord of the city, watching as lightning lashed out and the flying undead things were incinerated, and the fact the soldiers were responding with cheers to their arrival. Tarvek ignore that, looking at them, lashing out with his pistol hand to pistol whip a wayward zombie into the wall nearby.
His HUD indicated powerful mages certainly, and Tarvek was on guard while trying not to show such, or to appear anything other than helpful to the defence. Carefully falling back, firing another shot towards the enemy, again seeing had the time/dimension/whatever pushed out dragons returned. Sticking nearby to the deployed Dimensional Anchor and the Sanctified Ground just in case things went wrong. But the undead force appeared to be coming apart…or this section of the battlefield was the most serious.
'Unlikely' he judged as the undead were retreating now, magic blasts being joined by the charge of the guard he'd quasi-rallied and archers on the walls now firing into the enemy mass. Glancing up showed Mayuko and Janet were safe, shooting into that mass from the Inn, with guns that were getting too much attention…but then again, he had no right complain about such things. After all he was towering over the locals clad in fucking power armour and wielding an empowered chain-sword….
'Be polite then' he reminded himself, deliberately saluting the mages in question with his blade, sheathing his plasma pistol as he did so. Then turning off the flames and the shrieking chain-blade itself, before sheathing that weapon as well on his back as the threat was removed from nearby 'One has aided the defence of her city after all'
