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Reclaim the Ruins! [Forums Game]

#21

This should be the layout of the bottom floor. Blue is unexplored, green is allied/cleared, red is enemies. Feel free to edit it, or add the other floors.

We can assume that the vetruvians entered through the southern side, since they see the damage, and can assume variax’s goons did the same, since they can see the vetruvians. We can also assume there is damage to this side on the top floor of the building, but that the dunecasters have cleared everything from the first level except structures (and anything with dying wishes or eggs).

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#22

Turrets? As in unaligned obelisks or something local to the Ruin itself?

#23

I meant structures

#24

their first mistake was leaving a horror alive. leaving 2 alive, even captured and controlled, was a mistake they would never repeat. one way or another. despite having their will dominated, the horrors instincts were not so easily controlled. especially by one who knows so little about them.

the vetruvian forces were so busy looking outward that they didnt stand a chance against the threat within. eggs laid by the dominated horrors could be found in many dark corners of the camp. a few were even buried with the corpses of the fallen. by midnight 2 falcius 3 mechanysts and a healer had disappeared as the camp slept. not even the cooks who woke early noticed anything amiss.

the 4 tired pyromancer cooking a hearty soup for breakfast didnt even notice when a few larval bursters found their way into the soup. the foul smell that had yet to clear from the air and their nostrils was masking the now similar smell coming from the soup.

The combined poor reputation of the army rations, vetruvian cuisine, and the terrible cooking of one pyromancer named Tim spelled doom for the company as the strategy of eating as quickly as possible to avoid the taste allowed a full third of the food eating troops were writhing in pain before anyone could tell it wasnt just Tim’s bad cooking.

4 healers, 8 mechanysts, both tracers, 4 falcius and Tim the pyromancer all had their insides melting. Tim even knocked over the pot after being forced to eat his terrible cooking, spelling~spilling doom for~on the other 3 cooks but saving the rest of the company from being turned inside out.

finding a total of 5 new born horrors in the middle of camp is not something anyone want to wake up to. the shouts and screams wake the rest of the camp and alert the sentries to the danger. but it also stimulates the larval horror bursters to begin hunting.

the vetruvian forces lose 3 healers, 5 mechanysts, 2 falcius, and both dominated horrors to the transformed horrors before the commander rallies the troops and begin to fight back. the larval bursters taking the oppurtunity to eat 3 panicked pyromancers, 4 mechanysts, and part of a fireblaze obelysk before realizing its inedible. with the leadership of Oberon and a few well placed blasts from the ahnk they only lose 2 falcius and 6 dervishes before every single horror in the camp is dead.

the surviving vetruvian forces 
Oberon with slightly damaged Staff of Y'kir and Wildfire Ankh
3 Aymara Healers
2 Imperial Mechanysts 
24 Iron dervishes (23 are given +2/+2)
23 Dunecasters
7 Falcuis
5 Pyromancers
2.5 Fireblaze Obelisks & 2 Windstorm Obelisks

its only a matter of time before the horrors below smell the fresh meat.

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#25

So castle Turrets? If so, that means it was built with defensive engagements in mind, so that must mean that whoever placed the vault, didn’t want anyone to steal from them… interesting… :thinking:

#26

Do we even want whatever’s inside of the vault?! What happened to the Golems down by the first seal? Will Tim’s horrible cooking ever get better?! Find out all (except for Tim’s horrible cooking) next time on Reclaim the Ruins!

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#27

the horrors learned that golems dont taste good and are avoiding them as long as the golems dont wander into a nest. they still need to look out for a small shadow creep infestation from the short lived ooz parasites though. and if they try to break open the vault they will unleash something else that will totally ruin everyones day.

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#28

The wind striker holding the egg flew across the barren desert towards kaero. A few kilometres away he noticed a purple spot on the ground. He descended, spotting a small abyssian camp. In a matter of seconds he had returned to Oberon.

Explaining the situation to Oberon, they devised a plan to massacre the abyssian crew. As the cloak of midnight concealed them, the vetruvians surrounded the abyssian crew, who had been sitting around the entire time. They moved forward slowly, before shouting out to the abyssian crew to surrender. From the darkness came 2 bolts of dark energy, instantly disintegrating the 2 aymaras in the frontline. The renowned bounty hunter Variax emerged from the shadows, a grimace on her face. The 2 sacrificed wraithlings lay on the ground next to her.

With a grin, Oberon ignited the corpses, reviving the aymaras. Just as he moved in for the killing blow, a ring of creep surrounded variax. Cassyva moved slowly towards the centre of the circle, reviving the 2 wraithlings lost in the fight. She made no move to kill oberon, but pointed towards the ruins.

The horde of horrors had begun approaching the camp, a green haired woman sat atop one of them. Cassyva winced as the woman crushed a burster over a wraithling, transforming it into another of the grotesque monsters. Oberon glanced towards her and readied his staff. Their fight would have to wait.

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#29

pretty sure that two armies of the same faction are allies instead of enemies and if theres a third army of a second faction in between them its the third army thats going to get rekt

#30

At the crack of dawn just outside of the gates of Kaero a group of nine figures began to depart. “It would be about a day’s journey, maybe less” the one leading the group said as the massive city gates closed behind them. With that statement the small group began to make way towards their objective, the ruins that lord Starstrider had heard about from a Wind Shrike that had carried a message from the middle of the Akram Desert describing a ruin of interest. However it was not the ruin that caught lord Starstrider’s attention but the garrison of mercenaries described in the days old message. He had recalled sending a regiment of Imperial Guard to patrol the region and hunt down the band of mercenaries as a secondary objective. However the actual size of the mercenary band described in the message caught him by surprise. Realizing that even a single regiment of Kaero’s best men would surely sustain a number of casualties he dispatched the group of nine towards the ruins to assess the situation and call for reinforcements from the surrounding Vetruvian garrisons and the nearby city of Tyvia as well as from Kaero itself. The new day had only just begun, but Zirix knew better than to expect positive results. However the continued training of his new Scioness would take priority over this. Zirix wrote a quick reply and gave it to the Wind Shrike returning it to the one who sent it in the first place. “The day has only just begun, and already I feel as though everything will go horribly wrong” Zirix muttered as he left for the training grounds.

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#31

Before Vaath left to face the rest of the monsters he entrusted the Arrow whistler with an egg (he spent years looking for it and had just recently found it) and told him to take it to Starhorn.

The Arrow whistle was about to exit the ruins, an earthquake struck and Vaath’s deep voice echoed across the land. The Whistler lost his balance and dropped the egg he was so tightly holding. The egg then rolled towards the bottom of the courtyard where a small abyssal crawler mistook it as one of their own.

When the Whistler turned to chase the cursed creature he spotted a group of Vetruvian forces. He decided to yell for help but nothing came out of his mouth…he started coughing blood and soon realized a sword had been pierced through his throat. Behind him, a shadowy figure hovering seemingly above ground, stood still as if frozen. Before The Arrow Whistler could react the sun rose and the shadowy figure disappeared along with him. Both of them had vanished

*A few days later…

Things were not looking good for the Vetruvians. Their camp had been attacked and they had lost numerous forces, because of the “Horrors”. Now they they were under another threat, The Abyssian faction…

Amongst the chaos everyone had forgotten about the small egg situated at Oberon’s desk. An Iron dervish had been looking after it when it unexpectedly hatched and within it emerged a small rock monster, a Golem. The Iron dervish was confused. His instructions were to protect the egg but now the egg was gone! Instead a Golem now sat quietly infront of him not moving an inch. -What are you? Are you friend or foe?- asked the iron dervish as he approached the young Golem. He carefully inspected it and decided it was no threat. He then left the room in order to find assistance. -Wait here and don’t move!- he said.

Unfortunately, the small Golem had no idea what he had just said so it started eating EVERYTHING in its path… It began eating the pencils, then the books, the carpet and even the desk itself. As it was doing so it grew bigger and bigger until it could barely fit the room. It was a Juggernaut.

Meanwhile, Starhorn The Seeker sensed Vaath’s death but did not seem concerned or surprised, only just troubled by the fact that someone was able to defeat him. He contemplated what action to take next and decided to rally his army. He knew of the dangers that were lurking insider those ancient ruins and most importantly he knew about the treasure and the power one would gain from it.

[details=Note]The egg found near Vaath’s body is not his own. It belongs to the egg the Arrow whistler lost and was taken by the abyssal crawler.

Also Starhorn’s army is located far away and may take a few days to arrive. [/details]

Starhorn's Army

20 Magma
5 Rex
5 Grow
1 Moloki Huntress
10 Rage binders
3 Thraex
1 Earthsister Taygete
2 Kolossus
9 Lavaslashers
1 Dreadnought
7 Makantor Warbeast
1 Unstable Leviathan
6 Mandrake

## 1 Juggernaut?

Spoiler

Vaath will later be revived by Starhorn

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#32

“2nd Artillery Division, FIRE!”

From 1 kilometer to the West shines a bright light, brighter than any Golem Core a thousandfold, and the Ruins are suddenly struck by the purifying power of arcane sunlight. The beam is massive in diameter, painting the entire structure’s West wall a glowing white. Despite no damage befalling the Ruins’ stone structures, Dervishes caught in the blast are utterly disintegrated and returned to their component pieces, while spellcasters from all factions find themselves incapable of casting. Those who can take cover in whatever shadows they can find, scrambling for shade as the holy light saps their power.

The beam peters out, and while the Abyssian and Vetruvian forces wonder what new enemy has appeared, Argeon barks his next commands to a Lyonar communications mage.

“1st, 3rd, and 5th Infantry Divisions, FORWARD! Advance Squadron, FORWARD!”

A line of shadows appears over the horizon and then begins the advance downhill, as if the world is pouring liquid war into the valley of the Ruins. Droves of Silverguards and Dragoons march down the mountain, no doubt conserving their strength for later. Running ahead of them are the tireless Windblades, light infantry trained to chase down stragglers. Insurmountable force and inescapable speed; the Lyonar never deal in less than extremes.

To the surprise of the gilded invaders, many sizable threats have survived the initial bombardment, and more forces are emerging from the shadows of the Ruins.

“Halt advance! Ready shields!”

The well trained Lyonar army stops and shields itself in one breath, immediately deploying their Aegis Barriers and taking shelter behind them. It takes but a moment and, as Abyssian spellcasters emerge to strike back, the second artillery strike begins.

“FIRE!”

Again, white light scrubs the battlefield of power once more. Sunlight bends and contorts itself around the Aegis Barrier, leaving the Lyonar armies untouched. The advance begins again, and the crippled forces of the enemy are fleeing to the relative safety of the Ruins.

The Horrors, however, are standing their ground, unaffected by the light thanks to their lack of eyes. A mere 50 meters away now, the Lyonar army breaks into a sprint and meets them head on. It takes barely 2 Windblades to finish a Horror, but the casualties may reach more than the Highmayne would allow.

“Infantry Divisions, BACK! Airdrop Division, FORWARD!”

An Aerial Rift opens above the Ruins, and 10 ornate, golden balls fall from the sky. The Lyonar ground forces retreat temporarily and watch as the balls bowl over multiple Horrors with the force of their impact. The golden balls unfold and reveal themselves to be Ironcliffe Guardians, entering hand to hand combat with the Horrors and eliminating them.

Zir rode up beside Argeon on his steed and saluted him. “General, reporting in! The exterior of the Ruins are free of Abyssian menace!”

“What about the sandybots?” growled Argeon.

“The Vetruvian are also neutralized, dead or fled! All of our enemies seem to be within the Ruins!”

“Good, good.” Argeon wiped purple blood from his blade, surveying his forces. “We will take the Ruins before sundown. Call the heliomancers in from the artillery outpost and prepare them for extermination. I want this whole area scrubbed and Sun Bloomed. The scum won’t have a chance in hell of laying their roots here.”

“Of course, General.”

Argeon barked a hearty laugh, straight from the gut and devoid of kindness, the laugh he only derived from the cruel amusement of conquest. To imagine, so many key Abyssian Generals in one spot with limited forces. He licked his lips wickedly.

“We cannot lose!” he shouted. “It is as they say: Deus Vult!”

Argeon's Army

30 Windblade Adepts
25 Radiant Dragoons
50 Silverguard Knights
10 Ironcliffe Guardians
10 communications mages (noncombat personnel, relay messages throughout the army)
10 Solarius (can cast Lyonar spells)
Grandmaster Zir

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#33

Well, according to @thefirstgokun, Argeon has already attacked them. Furthermore, Argeon doesn’t know that Ziran has already sent the golems into the ruins (prism barrier and healed up breacher).

At the end of the day, Argeon and Lilithe want to decimate everything else, magmar and ziran are looking to explore the ruins, and Oberon and Variax’s forces are looking to turn a profit. We have not yet heard from Vanar or Songhai.

As for why I allied the 2 forces, it’s mainly because we’ve been fighting the enemies from the first room for the first 30 something posts.

Also @mmf, there are 6 stormmetals, 5 were in front of them, one was behind them.

#34

Unfortunately for Argeon, the Abyss did not have “limited forces”. For each dead wraithling, five more sprouted out of the ground near the Bloodmoon Priestesses. Not to mention their Necromancers, nicknamed @isbee Divisions, who could bring back all their dead.

“Move out Second Scout Company! Find their Artillery and report back!” Cassyva shouted, the Lyonar strikes had caught them off guard, but not unprepared, the main forces had moved into cover almost as soon as the first strikes were coming in. Now they had a chance to launch a counter-offensive. In the meantime, her necromancers would bring back all 3 of her forces that died in the attack. Organizing her army towards the Lyonar forces preparing for an attack, she waited…

One hour later, she got her answer. The Scout Company had found the artillery. With that, Cassyva sent Variax to wipe out the artillery forces, as she would attack the main Lyonar force.

The battle lasted 6 minutes, they took the Lyonar forces by surprise, they weren’t expecting an organized troop of Abyssian forces. As the Abyssal Juggernauts tore through their front line of Silverguards and Ironcliffes, the Bloodmoon Priestesses led Wraithlings through the weaker forces, untouched by an everlasting wall of Waithlings. The Lyonar forces tried to call in artillery, but Variax had already slaughtered the artillery keepers. Finally, the only one standing was Argeon himself, the last thing he saw, was an army of Wraithlings, feasting on his dying body.

And with that, Cassyva, killed herself and entire army. To all the world, it would look like they died in the fight as well…

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#35

It was the middle of the day, the nine sent from Kaero had managed to complete a little over half of their journey to the ruins. Deciding to stop and rest for a bit the group is shook to their feet after a quick rumble from the ground disturbs a nearby sand dune. Of the nine five wear the insignia of House Burningsands upon their pauldrons, identifying them as Portal Guardians, the other four wear a different insignia upon the singular pauldron each wears. Unlike the Portal Guardians from Burningsands the four other Portal Guardians each wear a weapon, two have Oserix Staves in hand, one carries a single Thunderclap at their hip. The fourth, like the other three wears a single pauldron, however it is taller and in the shape of a rather large kite shield that appears connected to his sandshield at the honor point. At his hip he wears a Hex Blade. One of the Portal Guardians from House Burningsands demanded that the group doubles their pace to the ruins. “Calm yourself cousin, we will arrive when we arrive. I am quite confident that the captain leading the Imperial Guard Regiment is capable of handling himself. After all he is of House Burningsands” the Portal Guardian with the Thunderclap replied drily. The Portal Guardian from House Burningsands realizing the sarcasm from his “comrade’s” statement about the ability of those from House Burningsands had almost raised his fist as if to throw a punch before the Portal Guardian with the Hex Blade intervened. “Brother Hirch, please refrain from antagonizing our cousin, that’s the twins’ job.” The Portal Guardian named “Hirch” replied to his brother with a more sarcastic comment, “Oh but brother, the Saybyle Twins would start a civil war with their antics if it were not for you and I. Are you sure you would want them to antagonize our cousins from House Burningsands?” Both Portal Guardians laughed as the Portal Guardian from House Buriningsands became more frustrated with the sheer disrespect towards him. “Why do you even refer to us as cousins? We are not related by blood!” To this the one of the Saybyle Twins replied, “True, but all houses that share the name Sand have a kinship since all Portal Guardians hail from them. Of course your house also supplies the Imperium with a good number of its Pyromancers so that naturally makes you more hot headed than us.” The twin that said this chuckled. This frustrated the Portal Guardian from House Burningsands to even greater lengths as he had to resist the urge to throw a punch at his comrade. Before this could occur the Portal Guardian called “Hirch” announced to his brother with the Hex Blade and said, “Enough of these shenanigans, brother I agree with our cousins, we should break camp and double our pace towards the ruins. That tremor is giving me an unsettling feeling.” “I agree, we have stood idle here long enough and that unsettling feeling you have is starting to set into me as well. Gather your things! We break camp immediately!” He barked. It took but a minute to break camp and continue onwards to the ruins as the party of nine had only brought their equipment and a satchel of crystals. “It’ll be a little over an hour before we reach the plateau Brother had described in his message to lord Starstrider” the Portal Guardian with the Hex Blade told the group as they scaled a rather large sand dune. “Yea, and when we get there the fight will be over with the Imperium claiming yet another victory thanks to a cousin from House Burningsands” Hirch muttered to himself.

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#36

with the battle over, the horrors and bursters came from deep within the ruins to take the large amount of c̶o̶r̶p̶s̶e̶s̶ food back to the nests.

rendered sterile by the lyonar bombardment and no longer under the thrall of the dark general, one burster laments its inability create a horror or even to die while defending the eggs. it snaps out of its depression by the sound of an egg cracking. there, far from the battlefield, stands the weirdest horror it has ever seen.

its standing on shadow creep as if it doesnt know what it is and its removing its own damaged flesh to craft eggs, which soon die due to the haphazard placement on the creep. since it doesnt smell like food, its creating eggs the same color as its pitiful looking spikes, and seems to be eating whatever it can find to grow, the burster decides if it cant make its own horror, it would make this useless horror into force to be reckoned with.

after the slight problem of getting the juggernaut to not eat the burster. the burster began to teach the juggernaut the ways of the horror. how to stand and place eggs on shadow creep without damage. how to hunt alone or as part of a group with giant or tiny allies. and most importantly “the orange rule”- never harm eggs and never let those who do live. there was even a disney song thrown in “ahuman murdera” or something. it was even taught how it was acceptable to eat dead of their own kind cause meat is meat and the dead certainly dont need it.

it was not long before the juggernaut was accepted as one of their own and was acknowledged by the entire hoard. showing that it could eat golem and dervish flesh only served to raise its status. now they could begin to hunt those undelicious golems on the bottom floor.

those that hatched from the juggernauts eggs did not look anything like the juggernaut. but that was normal for horrors and they were raised as part of the hoard just like the juggernaut was.

[details=hoard forces]untold number of horror bursters
countable number of horrors
1 juggernaut
terrifying number of burster eggs
small number of golems and golem eggs
all scattered throughout the entire ruins[/details]

3 Likes
#37

Is the victor determined by who last controls the ruins the ruins or is it determined by whoever gets the most likes per a faction?

#38

On Sunday the battle over the ruins will end, a Poll will be made where everyone votes on the last two narrative posts. You either vote for the defender, the person who last claimed the ruins before the last narrative post, or the attacker, the person who made the last narrative post. The poll will sit until Monday and the Vault will be opened and the spoils inside go to the victor.

It’s really a “who made a better narrative contest” at the end of the game if that makes sense

Edit: and just to clarify “last narrative post” doesn’t mean a post about someone journeying towards the ruin but an actual attempt at claiming them.

#39

So the poll will be on the last defender and the last raider?

#40

Exactly, mostly because it feels unsatisfying if the winner simply makes the last post with nothing but steamrolling the previous claim, this way at least the best written post would probably win

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