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RP Figments of Fantasia | Playthrough Pt 1: Crossfires

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Inside the Drill Machine

Inside the drill, was a stout figure who watched with a face of remorse. He helped to create these machines- ya, sure, he was forced. But he could have refused, all these people would have been alive. He has large, tan muscles and had tattoos all around his torso, arms and face. He was a Shieldmantle Dwarf who was captured by the Imperium years ago when his outpost was attacked. The Imperium was collecting many slaves to do work for their war effort- while most comply for fear of their death, or worse, their family's death, some decide to be killed instead of participate in what he had done.
 
The Tavern

And just when I was getting pleasantly buzzed, Olgath thought as the drill broke through the tavern floor and started disgorging Imperial soldiers. Joke's on these suckers though. I'm armed today.

"Bring it on, humies!" he yelled as he bolted out of his chair, readied his mace and shield, and headed to the nearest soldier, who'd just gutted an unfortunate elven maid on his sword.

The taller warrior smiled as he pulled his blood-soaked blade free. "Well, looks like we got another kind of freak here," he said, before thrusting his weapon at the dwarf.

Olgath hit it to the side with his shield and smashed the head of his mace into the soldier's knee, sending the surprised human to the floor. Having gained the height advantage, he raised his weapon above his head then brought it down on the Imp's face, killing him instantly. "Who's the freak now," he asked, pulling his mace free with a squelch. Looking up, he saw Nasheeka holding off a few soldiers with her magical duplicates. Looks like she's doing fine, he thought, before rushing behind one of the invaders that was attacking her, but might as well help a lady out, right?

"Keep your mitts off the lady, humies," he said, before kicking the Imp just below the knee to bring him down to dwarf level and smacking his mace against the side of the soldier's head, knocking him senseless despite the, now-crumpled, helm he was wearing. Nodding to the 'elvish' singer, he went to go after another soldier, keeping the rest of the enemies in sight to make sure he wasn't going to get surrounded. Height I can deal with. Overwhelming numbers, not so much.
 
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Jack at first couldn't believe what he was seeing until the dwarf charged forward into the fray.

One of the imperials stopped and stared at him confused, "Oi, what you doing here? I thought your kind hated these freaks?"

playing along, "Yes mate we do, I was recently released from the prison thanks to you lots victorious efforts."

The man looked even more confused as Jack walked up ale still in hand, until he had it bashed across his face. Jack took his sword and positioned it above the prone man. He looked at the bloody blade a moment before running it through the imperial, "I hate monsters like you. The blood of innocence stain your blades, and it's time you paid that price back in your own blood."

Jack looked for other members of his party as the man fell to the floor. He saw men heading for Priscilla and Branwyn's section of the room. Jack slid over a now unoccupied table to slice through the back of the nearest imperial soldier of this group.
 
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The Tavern

The Princess stared at the spike and the humans cutting down elves right in front of them. She grabbed the knife she had threatened Priscilla with by the tip and threw it at who she thought might be the leader. The handle thunked against his helmet. She cursed and stood, pulling the bow off her back.

She nocked an arrow from her quiver. 19 other arrows sat in the quiver, she knew. Olgath was helping the siren. She could hear someone behind the bar, and one of the barmaids at the stairs. She drew back the bowstring and her aim settled on one of the humans near the bar. Branwyn took a deep breath and loosed the arrow. Just like shooting a deer, she told herself. The arrow narrowly missed Jack as he slid by. She didn't notice.

A large object slammed against the tavern door. Then it happened again, and a crack appeared in the center. The third time it splintered and a familiar shape strode into the bar. Branwyn turned her head and smiled at her saber. Looking back to the humans her smile turned to a glare of rage and hatred. She said simply, "Sorewen, kill." The saber roared and charged a stunned human soldier, leaping towards him and attempting to tear out his throat.
 
The Tavern

"What are you all doing?!" K'yorl yelled in disbelief. With her thoughts swirling in her head, the drow had no time to think as one of the soldiers charged at her. Leaping up and out of her seat, the former teacher turned thief ran, making sure to bring her beer and meat with her. It was a ridiculous sight, and even the soldier chasing her thought so, as his mouth dropped with disbelief. Teeth chomping down on her meat, beer was sent splashing right into the soldier's eyes as the steak-knife was pulled free. Dodging around him, it quickly found his eye.

"This isn't our war, you lot of idiots!" she shouted at them all, picking up the fallen soldier's sword. "Stop playing hero! We need to go, now!"
 
The Tavern
Izzy was only armed with her bow, she hadn't thought to grab something for short range. In hindsight maybe that wasn't the best idea. Still she killed a few humans as they spilled from the drill thing that had gone through the floor.

Once enough of the humans were dead she rushed forward and grabbed a sword from one of the fallen. It was already covered with blood from the fallen civilians around them and she rushed into battle with her new weapon, killing as many as she could before they got to her.
 
Priscilla grinned from one ear, to the other, "I concur! It is time to leave leave now!". She pushed herself forward, and quickly pulled out a dagger from one of the fallen soldiers belts. To kill in self defense was not a sin after all. "Lead the way out then lest they surround us lest they kill us along with the other heretics!" she yelled.


These imperials just spared Priscilla's fate of being locked inside a heathen's prison for the fifth time. Perhaps they were indeed sent by God after all! Though it seemed they were still hell bent on killing everyone here. "Hmph, let God sort them out indeed.." she whispered to herself as she burst the tavern door, revealing the state outside.
 
The Tavern

"Of course this is our war," Olgath replied, ducking under one sword swing and blocking another with his shield. "Where else are we going to go? Not like we can just waltz over to another town." Pushing one soldier back, he smacked the other's sword hand, which sent the weapon sliding across the floor. Given some room, he glanced out of the door that Sorewen had mostly knocked down and Priscilla had fully opened, which showed a more grisly scene outside. "Not to mention, leaving looks like we'd just be trading the frying pan for the fire." Before he could continue, he was set upon by another pair of Imperials, keeping him too busy to talk.

Meanwhile, an elven maid cowered under a table, almost frozen as chaos swirled around her. She was called Shanthaera and before this point, she'd been fortunate enough to have not been too affected by the war outside of her hometown. With her innocence now permanently broken, and her virtue up next if she didn't get out of there, she readied herself to run when a sword skittered to a stop in front of her. Blinking at the weapon and looking at the adventurers' fighting, she steeled herself, picked up the sword, and burst out from under the table. Knowing she wasn't at all good with the sword, she just flung herself at one of the Imp's that was attacking the dwarf, hoping to distract the soldier and keep Olgath in the fight.
 
Nasheeka Stormrage

The siren ignored the Dwarf as she deflected an imperial attack. "We were warned of you...Si-" The imperial said before one of her duplicates stabbed him through the back. Nasheeka huffed in anger....they must all have been warned about her before attacking the town, due to her high skill and powers of seduction. But how they could have found out was beyond her. Soon enough the Siren was engaged by another Imperial swordsman. This one was somewhat tougher though. It was obvious that Nasheeka was beginning to tire. She took a deep breath as she swung her sword towards the man again, but he blocked it.

He chuckled as he went for a counterattack, slicing a cut on her left shoulder. Before the man could finish her though, she was saved yet again by a dwarf...but it was not the same one. It was the dwarf that asked for some alone time after her songs. Nasheeka simply nodded to him, turning away to pick up a sword- maybe she would have better luck being duel-wielded. As she was doing all this, her duplicates were fighting off humans- which is why Nasheeka has only been in battle with a couple. She decided to let her duplicates block her as she caught her breath, taking in the horrible scenery around her.

The patrons were fighting the best they could, but there was no way they were going to survive. On the other side of the room, she saw a human guard kiss a young woman before slitting her throat...they were just pure monsters. Sure, she has killed her share of innocents....but nothing like this. Those adventurers were also not to bad- particularly the one dwarf, who she thought was pretty handsome looking. "You fool! Hide!" Nasheeka yelled, interrupting her own thoughts. Her yell was aimed at the elf handmaiden that was trying to help the dwarf, she'd just get herself killed.

It was time to get back into the fight...she spent plenty of time recuperating. In mere seconds she dashed out from her little safety circle and tackled another human to the floor. But she did not do this without examining her escape routes. Her first option of course would be through the main door- although she knew for a fact she was just as likely to get killed out there as in the tavern. The beast that burst through made a clear view of outside, and it was horrific. Not to mention having to go through the civilian-killing soldiers to get through the door. Throats were being slit and body parts chopped off all around her, so it would be difficult, but not impossible. The second choice was out there...but possible. She was no technician, but perhaps she could get the drill machine working and dig her way out. Her last option was either go upstairs with a majority of the patrons, or die. None of them seemed to pleasing to her as she strangled the human she tackled, burning his throat with fire emitting from her hands.

Shandris Feathermoon

Shandris grunted as she pulled her arrow out of a human's neck. All around her was death. Deafening screams filled the streets, with children crying everywhere as they watch their parents being murdered. Soldiers being captured or brutally murdered....they were far outnumbered to withstand the assault. Their only hope was to retreat and reassemble.

Soon enough she was grabbing an arrow from her quiver and drawing back her bow. After she took a deep breath, she let it loose and the arrow swiftly made it into the head of an attacking soldier. Shandris was about to grab another arrow when she was suddenly tackled. When her vision cleared, she saw a robed figure on top of her, who was emitting frosty air and ice from his right hand, while his left held her neck. Human Magisters, She thought quickly to herself. Magisters were the well trained Mages of the humans- and they meant business if they were sent to war.

The Magister soon made the cold more intense, and Shandris could be seen getting pale. Trying frantically to find anything to hit him with, she noticed her bow was thrown several yards away, and her arrows were squished beneath her. If she did not do something soon, she would die due to her head becoming frozen. As she started to get light headed, she noticed her surroundings more. Buildings were ablaze....there was a dead wood elf child just above her head with his eyes wide open. Humans scoured the streets as the remaining guards attempting to defend civilians. There was also a sound that she was all to uncomfortable with, and it would be her primary concern if she was not about to die......portals and magic. There must be other magisters opening portals for reinforcements!... She thought to herself. If she died, and did not stop them, they'd all be dead for certain, no survivors.

All of a sudden there were dozens of giant roars and the ground shook once again...but it was different than last time. Surprisingly, this would be her salvation. Suddenly as the ground shaking got worse and she was reaching death, the magister atop her got flung several yards after being hit by what looked like a giant club. Then she saw it more closely....it was a giant. She knew of them....but to see one so far south, and in all situations....they were enslaved. Before she could think more though, the giant, who was over ten feet tall, pale and had short brown hair, tried to step on her. Thankfully magic only affected it's target when the caster was focused, and well, since her so-be attacker was now dead, her skin turned to normal and she warmed up. Due to this, she was able to roll out of the way and stand up.

The giant roared as Shandris noticed a human soldier on it's back, digging a spike into the giant's head so it listened. The giant being swung it's club at her as she dove in between it's legs. While the giant was confused, she ran for her bow and quiver.

All around her the giants caused havok. They destroyed buildings, utterly obliterating civilians, and even other humans by accident. Behind them was what she most feared of all- a constant stream of soldiers coming out of dozens of portals. There was no saving the town, she had to leave with others survivors, now.


The Tavern

As the fighting continued in the tavern, and the situation outside getting worse, there was no saving everyone. Even worse, a loud explosion could be heard from on the second floor as several bodies flew and fell down the stairs, burnt to a crisp. The elven woman who was directing people upstairs let out a shrill cry as she ran off the stairs and into the fray of battle to escape whatever was up there. Unknown to those downstairs however, two magisters were opening a portal- teleporting there from outside. They killed all the patrons taking refuge upstairs, their charred bodies evidence of it.

Meanwhile loud stomping and marching could be heard outside the tavern....and it was getting louder. A loud, deep-voiced being suddenly was heard screaming and yelling before a giant club came smashing into the tavern. It left a giant gappen hole where the bartender was now but a pile of crushed bones and skin, under the rubble of the wall, roof, bar and part of the second floor, which included several charred bodies. The being was no doubt a giant. The red-headed beauty was evidently being forced to attack the civilians, showed by the human on her back. She screamed once again as she ripped off the rest of the roof.

 
Fenxi, the sole gnomish survivor of the ship crash, was laying in the medical tent inside the town where refugees would be treated. Several wood elf nurses were running about, treating wounds, illnesses and the like. One stood out there- who was obviously the head nurse or doctor. He had a a scar starting on his right cheek down to his neck from previous skirmishes with the humans. He and his team were not priests, instead they used serums and nature's power to heal wounds. In a more simple sense, they are non-transforming druids who healed. The doctor himself was muscular, somewhat surprising for a medic, but he was a decent fighter after all. His hair was a green, almost the same exact shade as his eyes. The man would soon walk over to Fenxi's bed, which was covered in various animal furs. "How are you feeling today, Miss Fenxi?" He asked.

Fenxi had woken up only a few minutes before. How long had she been unconscious?, she though to herself as her eyes scanned the room, searching for any familiar faces or sights.

In a sudden revelation, the events that had transpired only a few days before came back to Fenxi. Although she remembered nothing that had occurred before her capture, she did remember the rat that she had fed, the faerie that had wrapped its tiny body around her finger, the wood elf woman who had helped her save the small creature, and the face of a human mage.

Where was the faerie?

Fenxi was pulled out of her thoughts upon hearing her name. She turned towards the direction of the voice, her eyes catching a green-haired wood elf staring her directly in the eyes.

Am I in a state of perpetual confusion?

"I'm...lost...how did I get here?", she asked, the doctor, scratching her head.

The doctor, named Lorhen, nodded. "Well, your little Faerie friend pulled mana from your body in order for her to heal faster, and well....it was a bit much to handle." Lorhen said, moving closer and putting his hands right above her body. A green mist started to emit from his hands, wrapping around the Gnome's body. He was harnessing the power of nature to heal the little gnome. "And when you passed out, a guard picked you up to escape the Imperials." He added as he continued to focus on giving her a little bit of a boost. On closer inspection, he was shirtless, with many tiny scars across his body. It was evident he was a battle medic. He wore a robe made from cloth covering him from his waste down, with elaborate designs and feathers from a dark black bird covering it. The cloth seemed to be purple, gold and green.

Fenxi felt a pleasing, yet tingling sensation in her chest as the wood elf began to heal her. To the little Gnome, it felt like the green mist was entering her vascular system and rejuvenating her body.

Suddenly, she felt energized, healthy, and, extremely athletic. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to run, jump, pull, and push! Whatever the druid had done to her had worked.

"I...I...feel better already. Thank you, most kind druid!", Fenxi responded, her voice piping and graceful.

Just as she spoke, Fenxi frowned once again.

How did I know that he was a druid?

"Your most welcome. You should be perfectly fine, although a little tired. I am going to recommend you stay here for another day or two." Lorhen said, patting her on the shoulder before reaching for something on a side table.It was a small tunic, tiny to accommodate for her size. "I have this crafted for you. Everyone must be well defended in these times." The doctor said, handing the gnome clothes.

"Ohh thank you!", Fenxi replied, taking the clothing. "May I go get washed?", she asked, the druid.

"I do not know if you are fit to walk a long period of time, Miss Fenxi." He said worryingly. But doubting he would be able to convince the fiesty, energetic being, he decided to agree. "But take some coins. As I hear it, most of them were given money, of course excluding the humans for obvious reasons." He said, freezing as a bell was sounded, signalling the guard are expecting an attack.

"Thank you, most kind druid.", Fenxi responded, taking the coins. "I'm in your debt."

"Refill it by getting supplies and leaving....soon." The doctor said, rushing to other patients to prepare them in case the worry about battle was true.

With a soft smile, Fenxi turned and walked into the nearby bathing area. After stripping out of her dirty rags and tossing them aside, Fenxi cleansed herself in a thorough and meticulous manner, washing her hair and scrubbing at her skin.

After her hair was clean and styled and her skin dry, yet supple she put on the tunic and boots.

Just as Fenxi stepped outside, a disturbing realization hit her.

She had nothing to do.

She had no friends or acquaintances, other than the people whom she had seen at the beach.

Where were they?

Soon enough, the ground started to shake, and tents started to fall over as civilians ran in every direction as they screamed. Before she knew it, the bell rung once again, signalling they were under attack. All around Fenxi, spikes dug up from the ground and opened, revealing dozens of soldiers. They automatically went and begun slaughtering civilians- several going Fenxi's way, swords in hand.

As the screams emanated through the air, Fenxi froze, her eyes dancing across the figures of running and screaming civilians. A body bumped into her, pushing her into the ground and snapping her out of her state.

Looking up as she pushed herself off of her knees, Fenxi saw armed and armored soldiers running around the streets and indiscriminately slaughtering townspeople at will.

Am I in a state of perpetual confusion?

The gruesome sight of a soldier slitting the throat of an elderly elf man, forced her into action. She had no weapons. She had to run.

The small gnome ran for her life, weaving between the legs of the townspeople and soldiers. She ran with no particular direction, looking for something or somewhere that could assist her or provide refuge.

Fenxi ran into a back alley. If she had not been spotted and pursued by any of the soldiers, she hide and wait for the the battle to approach its end. Taking a deep breath, Fenxi stopped running and turned around to see if anyone had pursued. Just as she did, the little Gnome almost tripped over the outstretched arm of a dying elf.

He had three arrows buried in his stomach and his hand was clenched around a dagger. His face was pale and tensed in an expression of painful remorse. He appeared to be straining to raise the dagger towards his throat.

"Ohh my...", Fenxi said softly as she stared into the elf man's eyes.

"Gnome...", he started, speaking to her in a soft and dying voice.

Summoning all of the strength he had, the man raised the dagger, pointing the blade towards the stunned Gnome as he gestured at his throat. "E...end it...its too much...", was all he managed to say.

"There's a hospital nearby!", Fenxi said, visibly stunned, yet determined. "I'll...carry...no drag you..."

As she spoke, the inevitability and gravity of the situation came over her. She could not drag him, as there were too many rampaging soldiers in the streets. She had no hope of carrying him. Even if she could get him to the hospital, it was likely overrun with soldiers, slaughtering the nurses that had brought her back to health.The man was in severe pain, and his death seemed inevitable.

"Poi...son...", he said softly, still holding the dagger out towards Fenxi. "Prolongs...the...suff...er...ing...", he spoke softly, a small tear falling from his eye as he tensed.

"No...no...no...", Fenxi said, softly leaning over the man and tears streaking from her eyes. In spite of her grief, she knew what had to be done.

Fenxi took the dagger, holding tightly onto his hand as she did.

"My...name is Fenxi.", she said softly. "You...won't die alone."

Her hand shook as she guided the dagger toward his throat. She needed to do this fast, to minimize the pain of his exit from the world.

"Thank you...", he said, closing his eyes and slowly raising his head to expose his neck.

Just as a small tear fell from her cheek, the blade of the dagger swiped across his throat, his blood squirting out and catching Fenxi on her cheeks. With the sleeve of her new tunic, she wiped it off, doing the same for the dagger.

The Gnome curled into a ball and sobbed silently.

The screams continued- all around her, death and more death. Kids slaughtered in front of their parents, parents slaughtered in front of kids. The streets were filled with humans running after those trying to escape.Several headed into the alleyway that Fenxi was hiding in, and within spotting her they went into a full on sprint. Three grown, imperial men wtih swords and shields with heavy armor. "Come here you little Imp!" The one in the middle shouted as they grew near.

Looking up towards the direction of the voice, Fenxi pulled herself up off the ground and briefly looked to the form of the dead elf. The man had already given him his dagger. It was only just if she used it to kill those who had sought to kill him.

After putting the dagger on her belt, Fenxi turned and ran down the alleyway and away from the soldiers. Turning a corner in the alleyway, Fenxi saw an open back door and entered the building.

The interior of the building was dusty and unoccupied, filled with an assortment of barrels and dusty tables. Seeing nothing of value inside, Fenxi reached behind her and quickly locked the door. She quickly climbed up the stairs, taking each step one at a time and moving as fast and quietly as possible.

At the top of the stairs, she would see someone in a black hooded robe. They were facing the back wall, seemingly focusing all their attention on a magical spell. Slowly, a little blue ball started to form as it widened- a bustling city could be seen- with files and files of armies. The being was opening a portal for reinforcements!

Fenxi jumped silently back into cover. Staring discreetly at the distracted mage. She felt a strong pressure arise in her chest. For some reason that she did not understand, she hated the figure that was in the robe.

Fenxi wanted nothing more than to kill him, even at risk to herself. Silently emerging from cover, Fenxi crouched down and crept up behind the mage, unsheathing her dagger as she moved. Once she was right behind him, she lept up onto the figure's shoulders and stabbed him twice in the front of the neck.

Fenxi leaped off of him just as the mage fell down, grasping his throat and choking on his own blood.

Why did I hate him?

Without the focus of his magic, the portal quickly shut and vanished.

Fenxi could not answer that question, another confusion that had been wracking her mind so much in the past few days.

Am I in a state of perpetual confusion?

Whatever the answers were, Fenxi herself did not have them. At best, she could draw blanks.

There was precious little time for her to ponder on her confusion. Fenxi climbed onto the window sill and glanced outside, seeing a tavern with a broken door. Looking down, Fenxi saw that it was possible for her to climb down to the street level so that she could reach the tavern itself.

The little Gnome opened the window and began to gingerly climb out of the building. When she was a safe distance from the ground, Fenxi jumped off the side, rolling to the ground and emerging in a sprint towards the tavern.

Her hopes of entering the tavern were soon shattered as mages could be seen lining the walls, in the streets and more. Dozens of portals could be seen opening, soldier by soldier coming out of them....and then the worse part, dozens of enslaved, enraged giants emerged. They immediately started to destroy and crush remaining civilians, buildings and even a few imperials. A red-headed, fur-covered female giant approached the tavern enraged, smashing an entire wall down before ripping off the roof of it, revealing a bare second floor. A human on it's back was seemingly controlling it. This did however give Fenxi an opportunity to see who was within. But soon thousands of Imperial soldiers would be here soon, and nothing would stop them.

Fenxi's eyes widened when she recognized the familiar faces of those who she had met on shore inside the tavern, fighting a growing horde of Imperial soldiers. In a rash and brave action, Fenxi sprinted to the inside of the tavern, weaving and ducking between the legs of the soldiers inside.

"Princess Branwyn!", Fenxi called out when she was inside, jumping over a fallen chair as she approached. "The entire city is under siege!", she yelled, somewhat stating the obvious. "We need to find a way out, before we're overrun."
 
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The Tavern

Sorewen's weight took the Imperial she'd targeted to the ground. His scream turned into a sickening gurgle as the saber ripped out his throat. The big cat didn't waste any time. She roared and ran to Branwyn, putting herself between the wood elf and the soldiers. One brave soldier readied a spear and charged at the animal. He slowed and abruptly slumped to the ground halfway, a dagger sticking out of his neck. Branwyn looked up at the barmaid on the stairs.

The woman gestured for her to come. "Get up here! We can-" She was cut off mid-sentence by the redhead giant's club slamming into the tavern. The elven barmaid started to say something else. Instead, she glanced at the giant that was tearing off the roof and then something upstairs Branwyn couldn't see. She muttered something under her breath and ran towards Branwyn.

An Imperial turned towards the barmaid, sneering at her with his one good eye and scarred lip. He charged after her, wielding a bloody steel morningstar. Branwyn shot an arrow at his leg. Her aim was off a little. It pierced his crotch instead eliciting a howl of pain. She recognized him as the man she had uselessly thrown a knife at a few moments ago. Another soldier helped him retreat upstairs, puzzling the Princess.

She didn't have time to think about it. The barmaid pulled the dagger out of the spearman's neck. "Princess. I am called Velatha," The woman said, turning back to the battle, "And the bartender was my brother. Let us make them pay." She thought a moment and looked up at the giant woman. "Princess, a man rides her back. Free her from his control and she may be grateful."

Branwyn turned to the giant woman and nocked an arrow. She waited for a clear shot, while Sorewen and Velatha watched her back. When the shot presented itself, she released the arrow. It arced up over the giant's shoulder and thunked into the rider's chest. He lost his grip on the giantess and fell from her back.

Velatha deflected a blow from a sword to her right with one dagger and slid another into her free hand. She seemed to dance around, deflecting blows and delivering a series of what looked to be minor wounds. The man grew pale and foam spewed from his mouth. He grabbed at his throat with both hands and collapsed. A moment later he stopped moving. Velatha was already engaged by another Imperial.

Branwyn glanced at Velatha then risked a glance outside. The battle was not going well, and more soldiers were streaming in. She called out to the dwarf, Olgath. "You are right, but the Dark Elf is right as well. We can't stay here. Think we can all fit in there?" She gestured to the massive drill in the center of the room.

She heard a vaguely familiar voice calling her name. Hoping to see an elven soldier, she turned to see the gnome from the beach running towards her. "Yes, thank you for the warning." Branwyn snapped. Her face softened and she looked back to the battle. "Apologies, Fengshui. There's only one way out that I can think of." She said, looking toward the drill again. "Down."
 
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♪ We Are Giants ft Dia Frampton - Lindsey Stirling


YSS Ryujo, Crew Cabin D3-C10

Santo Hei Amatsukaze Noa was hard at work in the middle of her cabin, the 8" tall information warfare expert nearly buried in piles of cables and data disks that littered the floor around her in a semi-circle. She had been working on this pet project for weeks in her off-duty time, ever since she had found out about the new VCE game Figments of Fantasia that promised to take the realism up to a new level! There was only only BIG problem -- they didn't make a headset rig for mini-neko sized players at all! But Noa just had to play it... and she wasn't going to wait eons for the next iteration of the product line that could take forever. So, in true techie fashion, she decided she was going to hack together her own homebrew interface device, using her trusty miniaturized EM-G13 "Kuromegane" Communications Visor as a base. Many, many hours of experimentation later she had finally managed to code an emulator software layer that seemed to get 95% efficiency with the latest drivers installed. This was also teamed with the challenge of getting a secure, hard to detect data connection back home from the distant southeast frontiers where the ship currently was operating.

But all that hard work was behind her, and now, it was time for the final test! The tan-skinned Noa gave a grin as she disconnected the visor from the mass of cables that had been flashing its internal firmware to her new, custom spec, and proceeded to float lazily onto the gigantic bed in the crew cabin, snapping the amber-tinted device over her cerise eyes. There was static at first, and then line and lines of code whizzed by... the handshakes completed successfully, and at long last the TITLE SCREEN appeared in all its glory, if slightly pixelated by her interpolation routines on the Kuromegane's modified resolution display. But it didn't matter... she was in at last! "Now I'll show those game devs not to underestimate the little guy again," Noa thought with a mischievous smirk as she reached for the 'Giant' race button...

........
And suddenly... the world became a lot smaller.
........

Tavern

Rhuna Agmundr roared a mighty battle-cry, as the 12ft tall giantess slammed her spiked club into the tavern with a mighty swing, ripping apart the human-sized structure's beams like they were mere matchsticks scattering in the wind before her. This attack, however powerful, was also obviously unfocused... she caused more collateral damage than trying to outright kill the inhabitants inside. The spike the human rider was driving into her neck was the source of it, the burning sensation and trickle of sanguine blood amidst her fiery red hair speaking of the cruelty of her enslavement as a living war machine.

She was not sure how long her once proud people had suffered like this at the hands of the Imperial men, but Rhuna surely could never forgive them for what they did to her father. He and her brothers and sisters fought to their deaths to protect their nomadic way of life in the secluded northern isles, but in the end all they earned was this miserable fate of being enslaved to their numerically superior conquerors. Even now she could also feel the dark magic within the iron shackles she bore on her arms and legs that blocked the ability to access the raw powers of the Elements... this was a force that for some reason the Imperials and their sinister allies feared even more than the strength of the Giants, much like the magic of the elves and druids. Without them, though, she could do nothing but be led around like a dog.

The human rider was displeased with her first attack and ordered a second with another painful jab, as Rhuna began to feel the pain and rage welling up again that would swamp her reason once more and make her inflict dozens more casualties than before. As she rose up her warclub toward the gutted tavern's scattering denizens, the arrow from Branwyn's bow struck the human upon her back square and sent him to the ground. There was a moment of realization in her green eyes when she felt her loathsome burden removed, and that stony gaze slowly glanced down at the Imperial rider bleeding out from his chest at her feet, gasping for air as he tried in vain to remove the arrow...

"Now Rhuna makes YOU feel PAIN!" Needless to say, he -- and everything immediately around him -- was soon flattened with a satisfying CRACK . The look in the titaness' chiseled face as she murdered a deserving foe was hopefully enough to prove Velatha's suspicions accurate about the creature's true, if brutal, nature.
 
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The Tavern

We're so screwed, Olgath thought, glancing up at the giant before returning his attention back to the humies he was fighting. Thankfully, the maid, Shanthaera, distracted one with a beginner slash to the shoulder. Grunting more from annoyance then pain, the soldier turned to take care of the 'pest', but the warrior dwarf took the opportunity to smash his knee in.

"Try stabbing him, lass," the dwarf said, blocking the other soldier's swing with his shield before pushing his sword to the side and breaking his elbow, sending the Imperial down to his knees in pain.

"Rrright," the elven maid said, gritting her teeth as raised her sword and stabbed the Imperial in the neck, spurting blood on her feet.

"Good job," Olgath said as he smacked his mace into the downed human's face with a sickening squelch. This was soon dwarfed by the smashing of a giant's club through the tavern's wall. Thankfully, the Princess took care of the rider and seemed to turn the twelve foot creature to their side. "Okay," he said, chuckling from exhaustion as Rhuna went to town on the Imperial soldier, "Who invited the giant? Cause you almost scared my beard off."

Shanthaera started hyperventilating, her knuckles whitening around the weapon's hilt. "We're all going to die, we're all going to die," she muttered, her eyes flicking between the other human soldiers.

"Keep it together, lass," the dwarf said, putting down his shield for a moment to pat the elf on the back. "If we do die here, make sure to take as many of 'em with ya."

"Sssure, Mr. Dwarf," she said, taking a couple of breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

"You're doing good," he said, before Branwyn asked him about the drill. "Depends on who all's coming, Princess," he replied, flicking blood off his weapon as he walked over to the drill. "Probably can't fit the giant, unless I'm not understanding how big this thing is." Nodding at Fenxi, he poked his head in and looked at the other dwarf inside. "Oi, good to see you, brother. Any chance of turn'n this contraption around?"
 
As the battle raged around him and people shifted his position, he himself wandered, lost on who to help and why such evil even existed in this world. Another imperial came at him, and he was forced to block, with his injured arm it was incredibly difficult to do so without a lot of pain.

"nagh, I need assistance! I can't hold him back!", Jack said falling to one knee as the imperial's blade vertical against his own horizontal blade came closer to his face.

The imperial would grunt as a blade pierced his chest from behind causing his attack to weaken considerable. Jack rolled to the side before the imperial rag dolled to the floor. As he turned to see his savior a blade was brought to his throat, "Who are you? You look northern, another human here to kill us?"

Above Jack stood a wood elf woman dressed as one of the tavern maids with long dark brunette hair, fair skin, standing at 5'9, and hazel eyes; "No my lady, I came here with the princess Branwyn, a dwarf, and others. It's a long story, but know I mean your people no harm. I am an enemy of the imperials as well as you can see. May I ask your name my lady?"

She did not remove her blade from his throat as she looked him over, "You are a strange one, though I will admit we share a common foe. My name is Lucien. You are?"

Jack set his blade down before answering, raising his hands slowly to appear non threatening, "I am Jack Harbinger, a northern raised by the South. I believe it would be wise to re-engage in the conflict if we are to avoid getting stabbed by soldiers. I will defend you my lady, and I owe a debt to you for saving me."

"I still don't trust you, but this is true, I will fight with you. But I will be watching, any sudden move towards me and I gut you." she said narrowing her stare as she withdrew the blade. Jack picked up his own blade and stood, "It seems some of the others are trying to commandeer the enemy contraption. We should assist."
 
Tavern

Just after hurdling the chair, Fenxi ran to the corpse of an Imperial soldier and quickly rummaged through his gear, picking up an arming sword which in relation to her small form felt and looked more like a long sword than an arming sword. Although Fenxi was no trained fighter, she knew that a longer blade would aid her survival.

Fenxi looked towards the princess when she saw her gesture at the underground drill which had bored its way through the floor of the tavern. She ran towards it, looking inside just as the dwarf did so.

Just as she turned around, Fenxi saw an Imperial soldier charging towards her position. Wielding her sword in both hands, Fenxi showed the point of her sword, forcing the soldier to halt his charge and to assume a defensive position. Erring on the side of caution, Fenxi did the same, her feet shoulder-width apart as she looked the soldier in the eye. If she could get under him, she could ruin his striking leverage and dispatch him from below.

Maneuvering on the offensive, Fenxi swung at his legs, aiming to force him off-balance and onto the ground...
 
Shandris Feathermoon

Shandris barely had time to examine her surroundings before the Giant she eluded moments ago focused on her again. Luckily, this time she had her arrows, but the soldiers were mere yards away from her, yet it was if they did not notice her, or they thought the giant could kill her easily. Shandris did not know the reasoning for the files of soldiers not trying to kill her, but she could not deny it helped her. Now she could focus on this giant of a beast.

The battle-trained elf once again threw herself onto the ground, the club missing her by mere inches. While the Giant prepared for another strike, she took the moment to fire several arrows into the side of its leg, each a little higher than the next. Shandris planned to use these as sort of a ladder, where she would climb high enough to grab its clothes and get onto the giant's back.

She waited several seconds until the Giant swung its club again, rushing to the giant being's leg and jumping up to grab the first arrow. The giant was confused and worried, turning in circles and swinging at everything, including the hundreds and hundreds of human soldiers that were just reaching the giant. As the massive being flew the soldiers everywhere, Shandris continued to climb up its side, the first arrow by arrow then she grabbed onto the fur clothing. Since the beast was on a rampage, the humans had to put it down. Volleys of arrows started to be fired upon Shandris, the giant, and the human riding it. It was only a matter of seconds before the human was covered in arrows and fell off the beast.

Shandris by this time was on the giant's shoulders. The giant was already covered in arrows all over the front of his body, but he still roared on, smashing through ranks of soldiers as they scoured through the town, with some trying to stop the rebel giant. Shandris herself only had a few marks in her armor so far- extremely lucky compared to he human counterpart, who died almost instantly. Shandris made her way to where the human once stood and where she could control the beast. Humans were not surrounding the giant in every direction as if every inch of the town was covered by them. She felt a sharp pain in her leg, and when she looked down she noticed an arrow. She had to leave now She thought to herself.

In the Drill

The Dwarf looked sadly up at those asking to get in. "I....I am sorry, but my family." He said solemnly, as he pressed a button and the spike quickly shut. The dwarf sat down and cried into his lap. He had just doomed another dwarf and his friends to death because he was worried about his family and what would happen to them if he went rebel.

After several moments of crying and contemplation, he had to do it. He had to save his kin and his friends. Within a few minutes of shutting the drill, he reopened it. "Hurry up before they see us!" He yelled out to the tired adventurers.

Random Soldier(Fenxi)

The soldier gave out a laugh, easily just stepping out of the way from the gnome's sword. She was such a pitiful creatures. "Come on, try again little fella." He said, obviously have a grand time messing with the little woman. But within minutes of poking her with his sword and dodging her attacks, he sighed, readying for a lethal swing.

Nasheeka Stormrage

Nasheeka was huffing loudly, tired from all the fighting. Due to this, her duplicates vanished, leaving her much more vulnerable. Instead of just a few soldiers left, an endless amount was pouring in from the openings in the building, attacking every which way. "Reinforcements have arrived!" She screamed, blocking an attack from a soldier. "There will be thousands of them, we-" She said, grunting as she ripped her sword out of a dead body. "We must escape!" Nasheeka finished.

She tried to examine their ways out, but there were only two. The drill or use the giant as a transportation device and have it cut a way through the sea of soldiers. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone get hurt. When she refocused, she saw that both Branwyn and Olgath had been shot. Branwyn in the leg, and Olgath, in his left arm.

She needed to help get them out....they needed to leave right now. She thought, and notting wanting anyone to die she could be seen getting physically angry, pushing humans out of the way to get to the middle of the room.

Her eyes suddenly started glowing brightly with mana. Sparks and seemingly lightning was coming from her, as she started to levitate on the ground. Then came the finale, with a shrieking scream sparks flew everywhere and lightning went around, turning the dozens of humans into ash and even those outside the tavern, giving them a little time to escape. Suddenly, a vanishing and reappearing duplicate of the siren appeared. "You- you must fit all you can-can in the d-drill. Others climb the giant. Escape! Now!" The thing said, vanishing into thin air again. A ring of lightning strikes surrounding the tavern and giant, protecting them for a few minutes.
 
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Tavern

Although she was not physically exhausted, Fenxi quickly sensed that she was about to lose the fight. Her opponent was bigger and stronger, yet continued to outmaneuver her at every turn. There were a few cuts on her body from his blade, which had scratched her many times already.

Fenxi began to backpedal, showing the point of her sword to the soldier as he maneuvered on the offensive. Her opponent unleashed a series of slashes, which almost caught her off balance. Nearly stumbling, Fenxi created separation between herself and the soldier by leaping over a fallen table. The soldier walked around it, a malicious glare in his eyes as he approached the helpless Gnome.

Just as he assumed an offensive stance and moved in for the kill, flashes of lighting burst through the tavern, turning the man into ash before her eyes.

Fenxi paused, her mouth wide opened as she stared at the empty clothes of the soldier who had only seconds before been intent on her death. Turning towards the direction of a feminine and authoritative voice, Fenxi listened intently, staring at the beautiful elf woman as she spoke. Surmising that she had been the one who had saved her life, Fenxi immediately trusted her judgement on the situation.

Judging the giant to be trustworthy after the elf woman spoke, Fenxi approached the massive creature, looking up at her with big, magenta eyes.

"I'll watch the ground for you.", she intoned, her expression emotionless yet confident.
 
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Between the organized raid of imperial soldiers who threatened her life, and the Wild Giant, it was clear about which one she would favor. It's just everything happened so fast, even for her. So this is what her new life would entail, she thought.

"Oh wondrous creature of God" she began, kneeling before the giant. "Please let this one accompany you on your journey, for I am not youe enemy, and we wish for the same end. I will become your ally, if you wish to be mine."

Perhaps she should've asked with a more simple vernacular, after all Priscilla wasn't too sure on the intelligence level of Giants, she hadn't paid that much attention to their biology or intelligence. However that wasn't going to stop her from following it to safety.

Priscilla sighed, and thought for one second.

The lord of light does in fact work in mysterious ways.
 
Tavern (Minus a Wall or Two)

Her former slaver now a stain on the floor, the giantess wasted no time pulling the painful spike out of her neck, grunting in one last gasp of pain as she did so. Thank the Earthmother... she was free at last!

Rhuna followed the path that the fateful arrow had taken, laying her green eyes next on the elven princess who fired it. Her booming, yet grateful voice echoed through the chaos. "Elf... I now owe a lifedebt to you and your friends for freeing me from the evil slavers' yoke."

It was at that moment that the Siren began her incantation, the ruins of the once joyful tavern lit up by furious elemental magics that even the shaman had to respect and awe while she briefly had to cover her gaze from the intensity as foolish Imperials were turned to dust in an instant. The Siren was right, though... this lightshow was but a brief distraction at best before the hordes closed in on them. They had to make their escape, and with it the hope that she could live to free the rest of her countrymen another day...

It did seem that Rhuna would not be alone however, for a brave gnome appeared at her furred feet, easily a size she could almost step upon. "You are a brave little one. Grab my bootstraps and hold on, if you can..." spoke the giantess with a deep yet feminine tone, before she heard the imploring of the Snow Elf like the words of one who knows the gods will. Her eloquent words were however met with a rougher response, as the being over twice her height granted her wish by suddenly grabbing Priscilla off the floor where she knelt and throwing her onto the back where the human soldier once rode. "Save your breath, pale one, and pray to your God instead that we escape alive!"
 
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Broken-down Tavern

"Hey," Olgath said, jumping back as the drill closed in his face. "Going to close on a brother like that? Come on!" Gritting his teeth as he tried to find a way to force the contraption open, he was happily surprised when it opened again. "Come on, everyone," he said, turning to wave the other survivors in, "let's get go-"

The dwarf cried out in pain as an arrow pierced his armor, clutching at his left arm as he scrambled into the drill and blood dripped from the wound.

"Mr. Dwarf!" Shanthaera yelped, dropping her stolen sword as she went to his side. "Hold still, we need to wrap it."

"Okay, fine," he said, leaning against one of the drill's walls as he watched Nasheeka go to town on the Imperial soldiers. Well, she seems a little strong for being a random bar wench, he thought, shaking his head as the elven maid tore off some of her apron and readied to break the arrow and pull it free. "Good luck with going outside, ladies. Anyone else coming in here? How about you, Ms. Dancer?"
 
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