The next moments are the bloodiest and most frenzied that the battle has seen thus far. The orogs, weapons alight with nefarious power, lay into the defenders of Targos with heavy, brutal swings. Each of these elite warriors is nearly as strong as an ogre, but far more ferocious and cunning. As more of the militia fall, the orogs growl out praises to Gruumsh.
Ras and Vincent are each set upon by a pair of the fearsome soldiers, and each wound they receive rocks their souls with a flash of wrathful light (
Ras takes 16, Vince takes 9, slashing and radiant to both. Vince also loses concentration on his fear spell).
Three of the orogs barrel into Alalla as she reaches Caballus, and she finds herself sorely pressed to land any real hits on the towering priest. The priest only flashes a fierce, twisted grin with each failed strike, the expression twisting the gruesome tattoos on his face.
Ug tears through the middle of the orog ranks, brushing off their blows (
after resistance, Ug takes 17 slashing and 9 radiant) as he makes his way towards his true goal - the fur breeches of the frost giant standing outside the gate. As the barbarian disappears from view among the the thick limbs of giant and ogres, he hears the familiar whistle of Zenithral's arrows zip around him, each one planting itself into an eye or throat of the monsters lifting the tower.
As the fighting continues, Lord Ulbrec does not cease calling out encouragement to the defenders, every word punctuated by a swing from his longsword. Under his direction, the militia bring down one of the orogs. Still, the mayor is not a young man, and the fight has been long already with the attempts on his life and the loss of his wife. An axe smashes into his side, creasing his armor there (
Ulbrec takes 11 damage).
A sudden *crack* roars over the battlefield as lightning from Ras' fingers paints the scene a stark white. When the light fades, the four orogs near druid and warlock are merely smoking heaps of burly limbs and shattered armor.
Alalla's plight grows worse as her enemies surround her. Orcish faces leer at her even as their weapons come crashing in (
Al takes 56 damage, slashing and radiant)). Any lesser warrior would have been immediately overwhelmed, but Alalla manages to keep her feet long enough to take advantage of the opportunity when it shows itself. Two well-placed arrows from Vincent's magical bow hammer into Caballus' shoulders, rocking him hard enough that Alalla is able to cut loose the priest's shield from its armstraps, dropping the shield to the snow and leaving the priest exposed.
Caballus growls as his concentration is broken and the light dims from the orogs' weapons. With his hand now unburdened by the shield, the priest snaps Vincent's arrow shafts free and brings the bloodied projectiles to his lips. He whispers a curse and the air around Vincent begins to boil and steam - but the cagey warlock vanishes and reappears nearby, completely avoiding the retaliatory spell.
The war priest growls again and throws the broken shafts to the ground, then summons a magical battleaxe to his open hand - a spectral twin to the solid weapon in his other hand. He squares off against Alalla, both axes at the ready, but then spies an easier target. He spins and hurls the spectral axe at Ras, and the weapon spins over the bloodied and torn battlefield to slice across the gnome druid's arm (
Ras takes 11 force damage), then zips back to Caballus' waiting hand.
Just then, a bellow that is surprisingly high in pitch shakes the air as Ug's maul finds its target. High up on its tip-toes with its hands protectively low, the frost giant is left totally exposed to Zenithral's ready bow. A single arrow flits up towards the giant's head, and then the huge monster topples to the ground, dead.
As the enormous body shakes the ground, the remaining two ogres stagger under the weight of the archery tower. They look at each other in confusion, and manage only a single word in unison:
"Duh?" Then the tower collapses upon them, and the gate is blocked once more.
But where is Ug?
War Priest Caballus howls in rage and raises his axes high as he advances on Alalla.
"You only delay the inevitable, Daughter of Gruumsh. The One-Eyed God claims us, and gives us power!" The priest begins a prayer to Gruumsh, and the words that Alalla recognizes both chill her blood and enrage her spirit. A red haze appears above the fallen orcs and orogs of the battleground as their lingering spirits are ripped free of their bodies to wreathe Caballus in a crimson fog. This close to the priest, Alalla can feel all about her the corrupting touch of orc spirits enslaved to Gruumsh.
"You see? You have no more chance to escape his grasp than these, nor do those you claim to lead!" Their screams, their rage, their utter lack of hope, it all swirls about her and the nearest militia, wilting flesh and curdling blood (
Al is frightened for 1d4 rounds. Also, Caballus casts Spirit Guardians as a 4th level spell).
[ +- ] Spirit Guardians
You call forth spirits to protect you. They flit around you to a distance of 15 feet for the duration. If you are good or neutral, their spectral form appears angelic or fey (your choice). If you are evil, they appear fiendish.
When you cast this spell, you can designate any number of creatures you can see to be unaffected by it. An affected creature's speed is halved in the area, and when the creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d8 radiant damage (if you are good or neutral) or 3d8 necrotic damage (if you are evil). On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd.
Ug stumbles out of the wreckage of the tower, favoring one ankle. To his dismay, Ug finds himself on the wrong side of the walls - on the same side as the army. For the moment, none of horde seem to have noticed the goliath among the nearest bodies and rubble. From his vantage point near the giant corpse's legs, he sees several more
ogres push their way through the crowd. These hulking monsters seem more like cattle, carrying small forts on their shoulders brimming with
goblins wielding bows. Judging from the lights flickering within the small mobile structures, the goblins within are preparing fire arrows. The ogres press up against the walls, and Ug can see that as tall as the ogres are, and with the added height of the forts, the goblins within will be able to fire over the walls easily.
Meanwhile, a dozen
orcs approaches to begin clearing the rubble away from the gate by hand. Ug will be seen in moments. With his ankle the way it is, running will be difficult (
Ug's speed is reduced to 10 feet for 1d4 rounds).