Iron Kingdoms: War and Glory

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-29 11:56pm

Konrad lay on the ground for a moment, dazed. He quickly regained his senses. He didn't know if anything was broken , and at that moment he didn't really care. He also realized that he had lost his grip on the handaxe.
Things have gone to hell real quick.
Konrad quickly got to his feet, retrieving his fallen handaxe in the process, and moved to Arkady's side. They needed his magic to turn the tide of this battle.
"The bastards are getting up faster than we can put them down. I'll cover you so you can burn em."
Konrad gaurded Arkady, ready to interpose himself between the mage and any threat, or move to the assistance of any of his other comrades if they needed it.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-29 11:58pm

Auric's blow sliced through the troll's spine, sending the creature crashing to the earth. In doing so, Auric left himself open to a whelp which leaped at him.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 12:02am

Auric caught the movement and did his best to swing the long blade around. He leveled it like a lance, hoping that the trolls own momentum would serve to spit it.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-30 12:03am

Seeing the threat to Auric, Konrad reacted without any real thought and threw his handaxe (a tomahawk really) at the whelpling jumping at the swordsman's exposed side. It flew end over end towards the back of the creature. Konrad also shouted out a warning, which would be of dubious value if his throw missed.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 12:08am

The whelp latched on Auric's right arm before he could bring the blade around. The axe flew past, narrowly missing Auric's head as the whelp clung with its oversized hand and began to gnaw on Auric's arm.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 12:17am

"DAMN IT" Auric roared before gritting his teeth agains the pain. Even through his greatcoat the thing hurt.

He dropped the sword. It was a two-hander and with a troll on his arm it would be near useless for the time being. Instead he snatched his dagger and attemtped to stab the beastial jaws latched on his arm.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-30 12:45am

Guren released the wee beastie he had been grappling with, its head bent at an odd angle. He could feel that strength he had summoned ebbing from his body, and he could feel sweat (or was it blood?) dripping from his chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the big bastard rising to his feet with a shattered eyebrow and wound that was too small and not messy anough from Soloman Guren to have caused.

As the troll used his enormous axe to lever himself off the ground, Soloman walked over to his magelock, finished loading it, and summoned up his greatest reserves of strength. He thought of black clouds and raging thunderstorms, focussed fully upon his magelock. The troll was at charge once again, axe high to strike for the kill. The monster might have been a little too close

Snapped, burning trees. Cannon boom noise. White hot light.

Soloman Guren unloaded at the charging troll, striking not with lead and fire, but instead the fury of a lightning bolt.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-30 01:19am

During this, Arkady aimed his staff at the female, his mind analyzing the dispersion patterns of a Fireball, trying to include as many of the trolls into the blast's radius as possible, and finally factored in the location of his friends and his own, shifting his aim so as to optimize the damage done to the troll and minimize friendly fire.

His lips let loose the command words.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 01:38am

Soloman blew a charred crater in the big troll's chest and it dropped. As it fell, Arkady unleashed a fireball on the female that was far too close to Auric. Flames bloomed, engulfing her, the whelp, and the hexblade.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-30 02:00am

Guren stumbled after his exertion and wheeled about. He saw the scene; a mistaken spell, a fallen comrade. And an advancing troll, spears at the ready. He drew Crossfire and charged forward. He formed the image of a grasshopper leaping, and when he thought he was in range, he leapt.

He thudded against the trolls shoulder and held on for dear life, but he could feel himself slipping. He shoved his gun into the beast's face as it turned to look at him and pulled the trigger.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 02:03am

Auric grunted in a mix of anger, pain, and frustration as he scattered out of the fireball. He hit the ground and rolled making sure he was not about to burst into flames. He looked himself over trying to make a quick assestment of the damage done.

He then reached once more for his greatsword. He held it ready to swing at the first troll to try and take a further poke at him.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 02:52am

The female troll rolled around the forest floor, howling in pain. Auric got to his feet as the Soloman completed his magical charge attack and shot the spear throwing troll point blank in the face. The lean troll toppled to the ground and two whelps charged at the gun mage as he rode the troll's body to the ground. Incidently the whelp attached to Auric's arm was incinerated by the flames. As Auric got to his feet, so did the female. Her skin was blackened and sloughing off, revealing scorched red flesh. She growled and swung her massive axe at him.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-30 03:34am

Guren saw the two whelplings skittering forward and he raised Crossfire. He took careful aim at the closest of the two and fired; flame thumped from the barrel as it began to tick over. With the magic still lingering in his legs, he took another leap, moving out of the way.

He stumbled as he landed, legs jarred from the big fall.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-30 07:34am

Arkady was appaled by his shot. Shit, Auric got caught at the periphery of the blast, and the female was too far from the center of detonation to be totally incinerated.

With relief he saw the mercenary getting up. At least he got rid of the whelp!

But the female got up as well.

Arkady would try to give an advantage to Auric. He owed him that. Making sure that Konrad was covering him, he summoned a stream of strength sapping magic on the female. Necromancy was frowned upon, but he doubted they would object to him casting a Ray of Enfeeblement on trolls.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-30 07:35am

Nothing is going right today I can't seem to hurt these bastards.
Arkady no longer seemed to be in danger, so Konrad moved in to assist Auric with the big female. The only usefull weapon he had left was his dagger, but Konrad kept it at a razor's edge and put in the right place it could be mortal to even a creature as big as a troll. Konrad moved around behind the female troll and stabbed repeatedly at her lower back, where he hoped her kidneys were.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 01:12pm

Auric saw the charred hulk of a troll ready itself for another crushing blow with the ax. He sidestepped hoping to dodge the blow and swung his sword at the troll as he moved.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 01:40pm

Soloman gunned down the whelp as Auric dived away from the female's axe blow. Konrad slipped in and managed to stab the female in the lower back, only to get smashed off his feet by a blow from her forarm. Arkady struck her with a sickly green beam of energy which sapped her strength, only to be doubled over in pain from the side effects of channelling such corrosive energies. Auric used the distraction to open a terrible wound on her thigh, but she did not fall. She dropped her axe and reached for him with both claws.

The lean troll stirred and began to regain its feet.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-30 02:29pm

Konrad, again knocked off his feet, reached into his overcoat and withdrew a snubby holdout piece. He had been saving it for an opurtunity such as the one he now had. Konrad cooly propped himself up on one arm and aimed the pistol at the back of the female troll's head. She was concentrating solely on Auric so Konrad had plenty of time to line up his shot. He then fired at the base of her skull.
Got to reload my rifle and get my pistol back. I'm getting the shit kicked out of me hand to hand.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-30 02:38pm

Through blurred vision and watering eyes, Arkady saw the lean troll trying to regain his feet. Fighting against his panic and the pain from the necromantic spell, he helped himself straigth with his Staff, and kept one knee to the ground to stabilize himself, while remaining ready to jump out of harm's way -if we found the strength to do so.

With a cry of frustration and anger, he tried, with shaking hands, to aim his Staff in the direction of the lean troll. Konrad and Auric were further away, dealing with the female, and Soloman, struggling against the whelpling, had leaped away from the lean one, so Arkady shifted the aim as best as he could, targetting a spot which would make sure that the lean one would be engulfed in the radius of the detonation, but which would leave Soloman unscathed.

With a deep breath, he focused on a familiar face to draw strength from, and took advantage of a few seconds during which his hands stopped shaking.

He murmured a name, then spit the command word.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 04:45pm

As the troll lunged for him Auric swung his blade, attemtping to take the beasts lunging hands off. It was risky, courting the monster's embrace but he was no longer in a mood for this fight.

This has to end now. Otherwise they'll wear us down.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-30 05:45pm

With the whelpling howling, Soloman leappt over its head. It silenced itself and watched him arc overhead. In midflight, Guren saw the smaller of the two males getting up, then saw Arkady aiming that lovely mechanika staff. Guren grinned, landed and drove his armour elbow in the whelps face.

It latched on, and started to chew on the metal plate on his elbow. "Nicely done lad." Guren said, before putting Crossfire, and the last of his loaded bullets, against the beastie's forehead.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 10:02pm

Auric severed the female troll's right hand in a spray of blood. The left seized his shoulder and squeezed, digging her claws into his armour and causing him to drop his sword in pain. She yanked him up, pulling him toward her fang filled maw. Konrad struggled to regain his feet. He raised his pistol and shot her in the upper back, causing her to stagger.

As Soloman blew the whelp's brains out, Arkady unleashed a terrific blast of fire. The lean troll was visible in the heart of the explosion as the fire consumed its flesh. The blackened corpse fell and lay still. As the lean troll died, the big troll regained his feet.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-30 11:04pm

After shooting the troll in the back, Konrad quickly took his dagger and stabbed it in the back of the female's left knee. He then viciously twisted the blade and pulled it out by cutting through the side of the joint. Konrad was hoping she would fall down so he could finish her by stabbing her in the eyes or throat, and drop Auric as well. [/i]

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-30 11:10pm

Auric grabbed for his dagger as the beast dragged him towards it's maw. He frantically sawed at the hand around his shoulder. Despite it's superhuman toughness, it would have to drop him if he cut the right bits.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-30 11:48pm

The female dropped Auric and then kicked him away as she turned to deal with Konrad. She smashed him across the face with her forearm and then kicked him away. The stump had stopped bleeding and on the ground the severed hand began to sprout a tiny arm.

Meanwhile the big troll began to stagger towards them.