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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | All of Bun's training and prior heroics have led to this moment: It is time for him to save Stoneplow. (And, honestly, all of Pandaria.) Blue Squad helps. (White Squad, though absent, also helped.) |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
I logged in after RP started so I'm missing a couple of lines.
Atley nods, unseen, and raises his head, peering down at the giant vegetable, contemplating the durability of turnips.
Bran tries a fancy strike the pandaren monks taught him. The robe isn't doing wonders for his mobility, but he does surprisingly adequately.
"I'm really startin' ta see the joy in actually gettin' in good physical shape," Bran muses. "Used ta wonder why people bothered with it."
"I find that a body in motion leads to a steady mind," Atley says, cinching his thumbs in his belt.
"Aye, innit?" Bran agrees excitedly. "I'd never realized how connected et all was."
"I find when I've sat for too long, been too docile, the mind gets uneasy. You're welcome to run with me in the mornings," Atley says.
The turnip, despite being defectively tough, eventually implodes under Bran's onslaught.
"Aye, that'll be fun!" says Bran. "Those long legs'll be a real challenge ta keep up with."
Atley scoffs with amusement. "I go with my armor on. I warrant it's that robe that'll do you more harm than your legs."
Shine approaches quietly. (That's redundant.)
Bran isn't paying too much attention, as he's now doing some slow movements somewhere between a stretch and a dance, muttering to himself in Dwarven.
Atley looks over at Shine and nods.
Shine nods back at him and observes Bran for a moment.
Atley also shifts his gaze back to Bran.
It's a bit weird to see a dwarf moving with any grace whatsoever, but he seems to be doing well, practicing something specific he's been taught.
Florande is sitting by the campfire with the wounded, though she doesn't seem to be wounded. She's in elf form.
Bun snuffles away from Shine to examine Florande for snack potential.
Bran's staff has a bit of turnip stuck to the end.
Florande absently reaches out her hand for Bun, but there's nothing in it right now.
Bun examines Florande's empty hand disapprovingly and shuffles back to Shine and the others. He lifts his head to sniff in the direction of Bran's staff.
Fresh turnip, mmm.
"How are we all, then?" Atley asks, raising his voice. He's probably not speaking to the wounded sentinels.
Bran ceases his little routine and looks back at Atley. "Wot's the plan?"
Shine nods at Atley. That's how he is. He is nod.
"Sentinel Commander Lyalia's sent for us. We'll address her when we are assembled," Atley says.
"Aye ser," says Bran agreeably.
"Aye ser," Florande echoes, still looking at the fire.
Atley reaches into a pouch and produces a strip of jerky, biting into it. He tries to make eye contact with Shine and nod at Bun, gesturing with an extra strip.
Shine glances at Atley, glances at Bun, and shrugs. He pointedly pretends not to notice anything further.
Bun has noticed. Bun is noticing Atley very hard.
Atley tosses Bun a strip of jerky.
VICTORY FOR BUN.
"He knew he'd wear ye down," Shine observes to Atley.
Oranna waves hello to everyone.
Bun eats jerky smugly, which is a thing it is possible for a tanuki to do.
"Hullo' Oranna," Atley greets, before looking to Shine. "He may've won the battle, but not the war," he remarks wryly.
Bran, who was paying attention to Atley, follows the trajectory of his toss and blinks. "Ach, there's a wee… beastie there," he says, clearly noticing this for the first time.
Florande rises, and then seems to suddenly realize what Bun was after. She rummages in her pockets and comes up with a few dried peaches, which she sets on the ground casually, no reason, before she walks over to Atley's side.
Bun finishes stuffing jerky in his face and darts toward the fire for dried peaches. Dessert!
Oranna glances from the others to Bun, filling in context.
"That's Bun," Shine tells Bran equably.
Florande looks over at Oranna innocently. She did nothing, just discarded some peaches.
"Er, lo there, Bun," Bran says to the wee beastie.
Befound sits by Bun. This is her Apprentice. He is wise in the ways of war.
Bun eyes Bran brightly. Snacks? More snacks?
Atley nods to Lyalia. "She's sent for us. Let's see wot' needs doing."
Shine trails after Atley.
"Bun is good friend," Florande says, blinking at Bran as she trails after Atley.
"Commander," Atley greets.
Sentinel Commander Lyalia nods at Atley and surveys the group. "Cobalt Company. Thank you for coming back."
Atley inclines his head. "Of course."
Lyalia looks over her shoulder. "Those… mantid. We've continued to spot patrols of them in the forest west of here. Ambassador Han had asked us to bring word to his village to the north, Stoneplow. It's the settlement closest to the wall. It seems best to warn them in person, to impress the danger on them, but I can't spare any Sentinels at the moment."
"Sounds like a job for the Company," Atley says.
Florande nods quietly.
Bran perks up at mention of the mantid. He is into it.
"Let's ride," Atley says. He swings himself on top of Hal'vyr.
Shine hoists the tanuki up over his shoulder and swings into Khamsin's saddle.
Bran mounts Brann, which is not confusing.
Florande turns into a deer and follows.
"These mantid are fascinatin'," Bran enthuses. "Hope we can find out more about their history. The pattern of their attacks fascinates me."
Atley grunts loudly as they ride, so as to be heard.
"I think we are likely to learn more," Florande says, flickering into elf form to speak. "At least, of their attacks."
Atley pauses and slows to take in the Serpent's Spine.
Florande stares at the wall.
Oranna peers curiously at the wall.
"Puts the Greymane Wall to shame indeed," Atley muses with a wary sense of awe.
Atley pulls Hal'vyr to a stop in the center of Stoneplow, slowly looking around.
Oranna looks up. "At least it's nae raining here."
A pandaren man in the garb of the Shado-Pan stands near the inn. His arms are folded, his gaze directed toward the wall, but he turns at Blue Squad’s approach.
Florande peers curiously at a masked figure walking by, but then returns her attention to the team and the Shado-Pan monk.
Atley nods. "Hail, Shado-Pan. We bring word from the Krasarang Wilds. The mantid have made it south with a number of raiding parties."
Bran beams.
“Mantid to the south? This is not a good day.” Loon Mai turns to gaze at the wall again. “The village has been troubled by forays as well, but in recent days I thought we had stemmed the tide. Some colleagues of yours, in fact, helped us to drive back some scouting parties.”
He gazes at the wall a moment in silence, then shakes his head heavily. “If the mantid take Stoneplow, they may as well take the entire valley. That wall is the only thing that keeps the swarm from sweeping across Pandaria.”
He probably just jinxed it.
Atley squints and looks from Loon Mai to the wall.
Bran is clearly having entirely the wrong emotional reactions to this entire situation. He looks more and more excited the more they talk.
"It is like the Greymane Wall," Florande says faintly, turning to stare at it again.
Oranna's turned the Fashing Meter onto Extremely High. To be fair, the lowest setting is just Medium.
From the other side of the wall, a new sound breaks the distant cicada-drone: A strange, low-pitched, clicking, chittering call.
Loon Mai wheels to gaze toward the wall. “What the — ?” He takes a step forward, squinting. “What was that noise?”
One of the town guards approaches. “It came from the wall, sir.” The village has fallen silent, unmoving; everyone is gazing westward toward the ancient stones.
Atley glares.
“I know where it came from,” snaps Loon Mai. “What was it?”
He probably jinxed it again.
Florande keeps staring.
A shadow appears beyond the wall, visible overtop it like a distant hill emerging from fog. As it draws closer, it resolves into a strangely ridged and plated form, bands of rusty blood red on dark blue.
And then the enormous carapace is directly behind the wall, towering, and a pair of massive pincer-legs rise from behind the stones and smash downward. The wall shudders and a cloud of dust rises.
Bran's excitement turns to OH @#$%.
The pincers flail a second time, and a few stones shudder loose. Gaps appear in the wall.
“No — no,” breathes Loon Mai. “Men!” he roars. “To arms!”
Too late. The third strike shatters a section of the wall like eggshell, and into the breach steps a colossal insect: an armored carapace and heavy clawed legs and malevolent scarlet eyes set between scythe-curved mandibles.
Behind it, the sky framed in the breach is a black and buzzing cloud — and then the cloud breaks loose, swarming through and over the wall, and an army of mantids descend like locusts on the green fields.
Atley widens his eyes and grits his teeth, lips peeling back in a silent snarl as he takes in the Ik'thik Colossus.
Bran mutters a prayer and readies his bonking stick.
Oranna pales, retreating several steps back, and glancing at the road to be sure she knows where it is before turning back to shoulder her gun.
Florande takes a step back, and then another, and kneels into cat form. Good try Florande, but I don't think that'll work where a giant stone wall failed.
“You, Cobalts!” shouts Loon Mai. “Assist Captain Oakenshield in the front! Greentill! Blacksoil! Cover our left flank! No surprises! Leven, take the right side! You’re on your own! Everyone else, if you can hold a weapon —” His gaze takes in the villagers gazing back at him and his expression slackens. “You’re nothing but farmers’ children. We don’t stand a chance.”
Loon Mai lifts his voice again. “Everyone, fall back! FALL BA–”
“RRRAAAAAH!” bellows a new voice, and a pandaren man charges in from one side of the village to drop a trio of the mantid advance force with a brutal, carapace-crunching kick and a flurry of punches.
At the village’s other end, a familiar voice shouts, “FOR PANDARIA!” and the Tian Monastery acolytes who had sought the Hidden Master appear to take up position among the farmers.
Bran gapes at the arriving pandaren.
“Who are you?” demands Loon Mai as the first stranger leaves the mantid corpses to approach him.
“Does it matter who we are?” Chen Stormstout asks. “We are here to help you. You were surrendering? Why? Because these invaders can break down a wall? You have got another wall… and it’s made up of the people who call this place home.”
Bran gives Chen sparkly heart-eyes.
A rumble on the eastern road heralds a mass of approaching farmers, brewers, and fighters; some are pandaren, and some are not. Yi-Mo Longbrow and the Zhu’s Watch Wardens jog past in a disciplined formation. Koro Mistwalker leads a group of Crane Wing Priests. On the northern side of the road, Lyalia and her Sentinels take up position; on the southern side, a group of tauren Sunwalkers take their places, gazing westward.
“Hey!” calls Mudmug’s voice. “Gimme one o’ them pitchforks!”
Florande mrrrows in happy greeting to the Crane Temple people, and eyes the Sunwalkers warily.
Atley briefly eyes the group of tauren Sunwalkers — and the calf in tow — before he refocuses on the swarming mantid.
“Any one of us would lay down our life to protect this land,” Chen tells Loon Mai. “This land, it belongs to us. It belongs to our ancestors. It belongs to our children. And we are not about to let that change.”
A rising drone heralds the approach of the mantid from the west.
Bran begins sketching frantically and taking notes.
Loon Mai turns to Blue Squad. “Without the wall to protect us, we barely have a chance. But if you had not collected so many allies, we wouldn’t have a prayer. Check in with Guard Captain Oakenshield, up near the break in the wall. And kill as many mantid as you can on the way. If we win, we win. If we lose, we go down fighting. For Pandaria!”
"Fer Pandaria!!" Bran yells.
Shine nods. For Pandaria, on the inside.
Florande growls, which is kind of cat for 'For Pandaria!'
Befound joins the growl.
Oranna's an unhealthy shade of white, but her expression is determined and steely.
Atley turns to the squad and barks, "Time to make the difference, you lot. Let's get into the war!"
Bran casts a Renew on Oranna — she has no wounds to heal, but it's a warm, comforting sensation nonetheless.
“Hey, y’all.” Mudmug sidles over. “I recognize them tabards. Heard you was headin’ out into the fight. Thing is, all them people are out there sweatin’, riskin’ their lives for Pandaria, and Chen and me, we got all this beer just sittin’ here. Y’all wouldn’t mind if I tag along with you to protect me while I deliver some kegs to the field?”
"Come along, then. Stay close," Atley says.
Mudmug hoists some kegs onto his shoulders, grinning.
Bran cackles at Mudmug.
To the north, Yi-Mo Longbrow yells, “Ready your arrows, men! Volley in 3… 2… 1… FIRE!”
“Hey!” calls Mei Barrelbottom from nearby. “Cobalt Company!” She is holding out a familiar object — a mask like the one Ken-Ken used on the Zhu’s Watch Wardens. “Do you see those mantid commanders out there?” she asks.
Florande nods at Mei.
“They have… an aura about them that reminds me of the sadness we saw at Zhu’s Watch. Perhaps… they’re under the sha’s influence too? I have one of Ken-Ken’s masks. Perhaps if we use it on the mantid, we might see what force infests them, and whether we can convince them to turn back?”
Oranna blinks, and pats down a bag, reaching into it without looking to pull out her mask. "Oh, aye."
"Good thenkin'!" Bran says approvingly to Mei.
"A fine idea. Stay here, Miss," Atley says.
"Oh, I plan to," Mei assures Atley.
Atley moves to hand the mask to Brannagen.
"Woo hoo!" cheers Bran as he takes it.
Atley swipes up Lion Horn of Stormwind and answers the incessant drone of the mantid with a long, drawn out, deafening boom of defiance and aggression before he charges past the barricades.
Oranna flinches, but she heads out.
"WOO HOOOO!" calls Bran. Not exactly a war cry, but it's as close as he gets.
Bun growls from Shine's shoulder. That's it, that's Shine's war cry.
"Commander, there, Brannagen!" Atley points.
Bran forces the mask onto the weakened commander.
"What is happening?" gasps the mantid as a sha is drawn out of it. It stares at its surroundings in horror. "Why do we swarm so soon?" It launches itself into the sky and heads west toward the broken wall.
"Nice!!" says Bran, studying the mask.
Florande eyes it as it flies off, and then turns into elf form. "Seems confused." Then she is cat again, to attack the smaller warriors that came to the commander’s defense.
"Not acting of their own will," Shine suggests, looking troubled.
"Sha influence confermed," Bran says with a nod.
"But not confused about attacking," Florande says, tilting her head in the direction the commander flew off. "Only the timing of it."
"Aye, I dinna get the feelin' they're normally peaceful fellas," Bran observes.
"Every thousand years, they said," says Shine.
"Aye. Seem the Sha is driving them. The mantid'd be our enemies regardless. We need to take advantage of this premature incursion," Atley says.
Mudmug sets a keg of beer in the road by the Sentinels and salutes them cheerfully.
"That big facker' — we're killing it!" Atley growls.
There is a nearby Ik’thik Big Facker in a field.
Oranna looks uneasy, but it's not the first huge mountain of a multi-limbed creature she's helped take down.
"I just got ta know wot's behind the regularity o' their attacks," Bran says, pausing to sling a sparkly heal at Atley.
When Mudmug sets a keg in the grass by the Zhu's Watch Wardens, a cheer goes up from the group before they turn back to their fight.
Atley raises Thunderfury high and addresses the Wardens of Zhu. "Stand strong! Empty quivers!"
"Food? Resources mebbe?" Oranna guesses as much as asks to Bran.
"So exact though…" Bran muses.
"Yes, natural things are not usually so predictable," Florande nods.
"They're nae the only ones. Bears know how long ta sleep. Cicadas know how long ta go underground," Oranna points out. "An' maybe the mantid are sentient enough fer an alarm clock. A really… really big one."
Atley doubletakes Nala, a tauren midwife, overlooking two calves.
Atley mutters to the squad, "Newborns — into a battlefield?"
Oranna is even more uneasy. "Tha' canna be good," she mutters.
Shine eyes the tauren coldly.
Atley also gives the valiant sunwalkers a mild look.
Florande looks confused. "Why are there babies?"
"It's a good question, but… as far as I know, babies come when babies come, rain, shine, or mantid invasion," Oranna says.
Florande nods at Oranna, but her brow is still a little furrowed.
“Ahh… beer!” says Koro Mistwalker. “Just what my people needed. Thank you, friends!”
Mudmug beams as he sets his last keg down and turns to the group. “That's it for me! No more beer to deliver. I reckon I'll head back to Stoneplow and rest my dang arms.”
"That'll do, then. Back to the barricades," Atley tells Mudmug.
“No, no!” gasps another Ik’thik Wing Commander as a sha is drawn from it. “This swarm is too early! I must speak with the Adjunct!” It lifts off and buzzes away.
"What's an Adjunct?" Oranna asks as the sha falls.
"I do not know what an adjunct is," Florande adds.
Underpaid, mostly.
"Generally speakin," says Bran, "It's somethin' added to a theng but not essential to it. Not sure what it means in this context though."
"An officer, or a sergeant," Atley says as they run.
"Oh, is tha' how the military use et?" Bran makes a note.
"Aye, I know the word like ta add, but… I dinna why a person'd be referencing one now. Are they organized like the military then?" Oranna asks.
Atley grunts. "They must have some sort of hierarchy."
Bran is feverishly taking notes, the light of excitement back in his eyes. New culture! Horrible culture, but new!
"The pandaren were prepared," a dazed Commander says as its sha is vanquished. "This is folly." It flies away.
"Maybe they were hoping to catch the farmers here off guard," Florande says. "They were off-guard. Lucky we are here."
Atley nods slowly. "Their morale is breaking. Press harder."
Befound presses harder. Well, she pounces and bites.
"I really should have read more about bugs," Oranna mutters.
Bun is an expert on bugs! These are very bad bugs, to judge by all the hissing and hackles.
"Aye," Bran says a bit regretfully to Oranna. "I suppose given the silithids in Kalimdor an' the nerubians in Northrend we ought to have assumed there was a fair chance of bug people in Pandaria."
Atley continually keeps an eye on the wall and the gigantic Ik'ithik Colossus.
Shine flickers in and out of invisibility among the eerie sha-mist and across the stained earth, but a fat tanuki waddles persistently along, growling.
Florande darts around the mantid to attack from shadows, a little bit like Shine. But, well, you know, as a cat.
Any time there's a pause in the fighting, Bran fills the pages of his journal with sketches and notes. He peppers question marks throughout.
"Which sha is it influencin' these fellas?" Bran asks. "My attention's been too split ta study et."
"Can't be despair," says Shine. "They'd've given up and sat home, not stirred up an attack."
"Not doubt, either," Florande shifts to say. "Doubt would make them pull back, not attack. They smell… afraid."
"Fear, then… Fear drives them?" Atley asks, sounding gruffly intrigued.
"Fascinatin…" says Bran. "So from their perspective… I imagine the sha is tellin' em if they dinna attack now they'll get wiped oewt."
"Aye, and fear'll provide all manner of viciousness," Atley says.
"Aye… it must be," Oranna agrees.
Shine glances toward the broken wall. "What could they be afraid of over there?" he asks uneasily.
Bran raises his eyebrows at Shine's comment. "Ohhh aye, or perhaps they're runnin from somethin."
"Wot'ever it is, they chose the greater of two foes to attack," Atley says.
"If so, then this is a case of enemy of enemy is also enemy…" Florande murmurs.
"To the Captain, you lot. We've got them on the back foot," Atley says.
Shine contemplates the number of feet they have.
"Back feet," Florande whispers.
"Loin feet?" Oranna whispers back.
Florande giggles at Oranna.
"Oakenshield," Atley greets.
“My wall,” Captain Oakenshield says, gazing upward. “I spent my life atop that wall.”
He turns to Blue Squad and nods brusquely. “It’s good to see you. Those five students — the ones who were looking for the Hidden Master – they went up to the front lines alone. I’d send Shado-Pan to aid them, but I haven’t got any left. There are dangerous creatures up there close to the wall. If you find those students, perhaps you can lend a hand?”
Atley nods once. "We'll see to them. Stay here."
"O' course we will!" says Bran.
"A whole life on a wall…" Oranna says quietly.
As Befound dashes toward a mantid, a small oval plushie gallops along at her heels, growling. And then stays carefully out of the fight.
Atley eyes the distant Colossus again. "Properly sized. But it lives. And if it lives it dies, and if it dies, it can be killed." Atley decrees.
"If it bleeds I ken kell et!" Bran says confidently.
Atley grunts.
"I have… bullets?" Oranna says uncertainly. Befound growls more certainly.
"There! The students!" Atley barks.
Florande has teeth and claws. She's good at making things bleed.
Befound coughs aggressively.
"These mankers messed with the wrong hozen!" cheers Ken-Ken, as an Ik'thik commander falls.
Bran mouths mankers.
“You cannot stop Her Majesty’s brood!” rasps the Ik’thik Egg-Matron. “Our numbers are endless!”
"Send more!" Atley snaps.
"But also maybe don't… send more…." Oranna mutters. "I don't have infinite bullets."
“Return from where you came, mantid!” calls Clever Ashyo.
“Yeah!” Ken-Ken agrees. “Get back over your wall, you jikkety-dooks!”
Bran blinnnnks.
Florande tilts her head, trying to figure out if she heard that right.
Oranna mouths jikkety-dooks to herself.
Bran writes "jikkety-dooks" down in his journal, presumably. He is doing it phonetically in dwarven.
“I will show you the face of fear,” hisses the Ik’thik Fearmonger.
"Ah there we go, fear," says Bran, unafraid. He makes a note.
"What the ook?" yells Ken-Ken. "Look out! Scary circle!"
Oranna stays far, far back from the scary circle.
"We cannot fight like this forever!" yells Kang Bramblestaff. "Go to Captain Oakenshield! Tell him we need reinforcements!"
Yeah! Befound needs a nap in like, an hour! She doesn't have all day.
Atley grits his teeth, reluctant to leave the front, but nods. "Watch yourselves. Blue Squad, let's move!"
"I thought we were the reinforcements," Bran murmurs to Atley.
"We'll make do," Atley states firmly, but vaguely.
"That's…. that's a bit vague, Dane," Oranna says uneasily as they make their way across the battlefield.
"Oakenshield. We linked up with the students. They're requesting reinforcements," Atley says.
"More than five reinforcements," Florande adds.
Captain Oakenshield is surveying the fighting below, his expression grim. “I am grateful to you, and to them. But I am going to withdraw what few forces I have. We may need to fall back as far as Halfhill. That call will be Commander Loon Mai’s to make. You go ahead. Deliver word to him. My Shado-Pan will be right behind you.”
Atley furrows his brow and sets his jaw at 'withdraw.' Nonetheless, he nods, but not before glaring back at the Colossus.
Atley mutters under his breath to the squad, "We can kill this thing. Shoot out its eyes. Sever those… things on its head. Get Shine under its wings."
Bun could handle it.
"Sometimes the best thing ta do is pull out, so ye can plan better," Oranna points out. "We dinna even know if we can penetrate that thing."
Shine eyes Oranna and then vanishes, possibly so that she cannot see his expression. Whether he is making one or not.
Oranna definitely didn't hear what she just said.
Florande nods seriously at Oranna, eyeing the hard carapace.
"Captain Oakenshield is calling for a retreat," Shine tells Loon Mai quietly.
“I see,” says Loon Mai. His expression gives nothing away. “Well, we gave it our all. It’s time to evacuate, save lives, and reassess our strategy. I’ll start directing —”
Atley looks genuinely appalled at the notion of withdraw, retracting his head with a glare.
“All hope is not lost, Loon Mai,” says the Hidden Master.
Bran is startled. The Master was too well hidden.
Oranna jumps. The Master was too well hidden.
That was the Master plan.
Florande mrrrows?
Master Bruised Paw turns to the Cobalt team. “The commander speaks hastily. He has the weapon he needs to win this battle. He has you. ‘But it’s too hard,’ you might say. You would be wrong. It is not too hard. Nothing is ‘too hard.’ Go, now. Go and stop that creature, and save Stoneplow.”
"Woo hoo!" says Bran tentatively.
Atley eyes Master Bruised Paw up and down and scoffs. "Very well."
Shine squints at Bruised Paw. He was not, perhaps, thinking it was too hard? But #okay.
Oranna furrows her brow.
Florande tilts her head at him. Was she thinking it was too hard? "The carapace does look very hard."
"Some things are too hard if ye dinna have the right tools," Oranna mutters.
"Maybe he thinks we are good tools." Florande says tentatively.
Bran snorts.
"Ye're nae making a dent in a diamond with a feather," Oranna mutters. "But, aye."
Atley swings himself aboard Hal'vyr. "Florande, get to the top and rip out those feelers. Oranna, use the long rifle, take out the eyes. Shine, scale the thing and get under the shell that lifts in its back — deep in there, in the under flesh."
Atley points at Bran. "You're with me. I'll grab its attention."
"Aye ser!" Bran shouts.
Florande nods and jumps into the air, smoothly dissolving into the form a stormcrow as she wings towards the creature's head.
Shine nods and checks his knives. Your knives are always there and always fine, Shine. He mounts up. Bun squalls at him angrily from the ground.
Bran watches Florande in surprise for a moment. He may not have known she could do that.
Oranna does something to her over-engineered gun, extending the barrel, and lowering a tripod for stabilizing it. "Aye, sure, it's enormous body, huge legs, teeeeeny weeny little eyes," she mutters.
Atley spurs Hal'vyr through the ruins of Stoneplow, shield and Horn raised.
Shine shakes his head at Bun. "Too big," he admonishes the tanuki, and then urges Khamsin out into the chaotic battlefield, racing toward the Colossus and the wall.
Brann the ram keeps up with Hal'vyr much better than Bran would keep up with Atley.
Befound needs no direction. She's going straight for this thing's legs. Right, Oranna?
"Aye, lass, fer the legs," Oranna confirms, sighting her target.
Bun goes with Befound. How dare, Shine.
As they approach, Atley raises the Lion Horn and issues another deafening boom. He raises Thunderfury and flings a lightning bolt at the monster's torso [Heroic Throw] to grab attention. "GO! NOW!"
Shine leaps from Khamsin's saddle without slowing the mare and vanishes in the air beside the Colossus as it waves its pincers menacingly and lumbers toward Dane.
Florande darts around, pecking at the creature's feelers, and then drops into a cat directly on top of its head for more effective slashing.
This is what they've been training for, Little Teeth. Befound sinks hers into the carapace, clawing with her back legs to rip off the shielding.
Bun snaps at the leg Befound is attacking, an aggressive YEAH! Take that AND ALSO THIS! statement.
Bran keeps back, despite the way his hands twitch toward his Bonking Stick. He knows he has One Job right now and it is not bonking.
Oranna takes one shot to place her aim, and then begins shooting straight at the Ik'thik's right eye.
Atley exaggeratedly raises Thunderfury as the core crackles. He strikes at a leg before Hal'vyr leaps dramatically out of the way of a gigantic, striking limb.
Bran keeps up a steady stream of healing and regenerating spells, filling the air around Atley with softly crackling golden fireworks.
Befound slips into the shadows as the Ik'thik chitters and moves, stabbing at the things attacking it.
Florande skitters around on the creature's head, carefully maintaining balance and keeping a grip on the carapace by sinking her claws into it.
Befound growls protectively, keeping herself between Bun and the Ik'thik's dangerous swipes.
The Ik'thik abruptly screeches and jerks a hind leg in a strange spasm. Something stabby is happening beneath its carapace.
Oranna breathes out bullets calmly and steadily. You'd never know the fashing mind behind them.
The Colossus brings a leg down too close to Atley and Hal'vyr. Hal'vyr rears back silently in alarm as both he and his rider are pelted with a veritable wall of soil and rocks. Atley flies back, landing on his rear with a grunt, but scrambles back to his horse.
Khamsin, unsupervised, has meanwhile dashed away from the fray and is placidly browsing the grass on a nearby slope. What battle?
Atley spits out a mouthful of dirt and spurs Hal'vyr on, narrowly dodging a second strike from the panicking and enraged Colossus.
Bran flings a shield around Atley, which he usually doesn't, but this is an extreme situation.
Ichor begins to splatter the ground beside the Ik'thik's flank: first dripping, and then streaming, and then running from beneath the carapace.
Atley rides between the Colossus' massive legs as dust and dirt trail off of him. He reaches out to strike at its legs as he observes the leaking ichor and strange movements. He blows the Horn again, if only to overstimulate the Colossus.
Befound dodges the ichor with a hiss. First off, how v dare.
Bun is splashed with bug ichor and shrieks in outrage.
Florande has done a number on those feelers, and is beginning to crack the creature's shell at a joint. It is indeed not too hard.
Bran hurries to stay in range of Atley, keeping up a constant gentle barrage of regenerating and healing spells.
Oranna shifts her shots from the soft eye to the joint, aiming to crack the shell further.
The Colossus staggers, decidedly foundering on one side, and its hindmost leg goes out from under it. It lands heavily and the ground shudders.
Atley and Hal'vyr rattle as another leg comes down. The stalwart steed refuses to wobble, and presses on at full speed, guided into sharp, abrupt turns by its master. Atley turns around some distance away, and seeing the head, charges in to slash at the seriously blinded and maimed Colossus.
Befound minds her Apprentice and herself to be out of the Colossus' fall with a protective growl.
"WOO HOO!" Bran shouts as the monster visibly suffers.
Florande is thrown by the staggering Colossus, and there's a horrible sound as she slides across with her claws scraaaatching. Then she regains her purchase, and works on prying this creature open like a lobster.
"Good save, Cub!" Bran calls out.
Florande mrrrrows in response.
The Ik'thik rears its head up protectively, except that the problem is up above it also. It lashes with its forelegs at its own face and screeches again.
Atley drops the Lion Horn, letting it clatter against his belt as he carves through the Ik'thik's jaw. "Press on! All that you've got!"
"FOR KHAZ MODAN!!" Bran says, inaccurately.
"Just breathe," Oranna says quietly in between steady shots.
Florande snarls, redoubling her attack.
Bun gives a tiny, bristling scream and sinks tiny teeth into one of the Colossus's trailing legs. He shakes his head as though he means to dislodge the entire monstrous limb.
FOR TEETH! Befound sinks her larger teeth into the same leg, shredding her claws down.
Ichor is pooling now from unseen wounds and the carapace along the massive insect's right side has been cracked outward from within.
Atley charges the lowered head of the Colossus at full speed and leaps off of it, breaking his own fall with his shield against the blinded Ik'thik's 'face.' Crunch.
"BRELLIANT!" Bran yells.
The Colossus staggers again and screeches, raising its forelimbs to the sky. It lurches forward as though it means to stagger fully through the breach into Pandaria and find safety in the green fields beyond — and then instead, it collapses with a hiss.
Its enormous, plated bulk fills the gap in the wall.
Atley narrowly leaps out of the way, raising his shield again. He is still covered in dirt and ichor.
Florande springs off its head into empty space as it falls. She falls herself for a few moments, and then swoops back into stormcrow and soars over towards the team.
"Did we do et?" Bran says, a bit out of breath, turquoise eyes sparkling.
Oranna fires three more shots directly into its revealed eye socket. Just in case.
Bran whoops approvingly at Oranna.
Befound, meanwhile, looks for Bun, ready to help clean off Evil Bug Juice.
Bun continues to drag at the thing's leg for a moment. Yeah, THAT'S right, bug. Bun Bugfoe has saved the day.
Atley rushes over to drive Thunderfury through its forehead before he calls out. "Shine! He's in there, somewhere! Find him!"
"He's … in there?" Bran boggles.
An arm reaches up from the gap in the thing's carapace, waves, and then presses down on the shell as Shine hauls himself out. He is… slightly disheveled. By which I mean, he's wearing a lot of bug.
Oranna looks up from her gun, frowning fearfully and then whooshing out a sigh of relief. "There! He's there!"
Atley takes a step back, eyeing Shine up and down with a nod. "Brannagen," he says, gesturing vaguely, before looking back to the slain Colossus.
Bran sends a warm sparkling rush of golden light around Shine like a trauma blanket.
Bun darts back and attempts to scrabble his way up the shell to Shine. He did it! He rescued Shine!
Florande turns back into elf as she lands, preparing to sprint back towards the bug, but she heaves a sigh of relief when she sees Shine.
"Everyone accounted for?" says Bran. He looks around. He may genuinely not know.
Shine drops to the ground, looks down at himself impassively, and then looks up and nods to Bran. He stares at Bun for a moment.
Befound licks at her coat.
Atley looks around and performs a head count before he peers at Shine with visible relief in his eyes, though he keeps a straight face. "… You look like shit."
"Aye," says Shine. "Thanks." He nods gravely and wipes his face on his sleeve. (This does not help. His sleeves are also affected.)
Oranna counts off. "We're all here," she calls back to Bran.
"Bath time fer everyone!" Bran says. "Separately, mind."
"Good thing there is a nice river here," Florande nods.
Khamsin ambles over. She's back on the clock, she guesses.
Atley growls with amusement and glances back at the Colossus as he mounts Hal'vyr. "Bloody well fought. Each of you. This'll stay here for some time I warrant. Remind the mantid that any further invasions of the Valley will extract a heavy toll."
"I'm sure a decomposin' bug the size of a town is just what these people need upwind," Bran says amiably.
Oranna's startled into a laugh.
Florande giggles.
Atley's eyes shine with amusement, and thrill of victory post-battle. "Let's return."
Shine picks up an equally-gooey Bun and mounts up.
Oranna packs up her tripod and adjusts her gun.
"WE DED ET!" Bran shouts as they arrive at Stoneplow.
Atley nods a few times and lifts off his helmet. The rest of his head is clean, if sweaty, but there is a black square over his face where he was pelted with dirt.
Bun preens on Shine's shoulder. HE DID IT. HE HAS SAVED THE DAY AGAIN.
Florande mrrows proudly at Bun, as if she had anything to do with him saving the day.
To be fair, she had more to do with it than he did.
"So no need fer retreat! At least not today," Bran adds pragmatically.
"Not for us," Atley agrees with Brannagen.
"I can't believe it," says Loon Mai, awe in his tone. "You… did it. Foreigners have succeeded where the Shado-Pan failed. You succeeded where the WALL failed!"
Florande shifts to elf and says, "Probably should be rebuilt. But it seems a big project."
Loon-Mai bows deeply to the group. Up the street, a farmer lifts his rake in the air and cheers, and then a few more villagers join in.
Atley nods at Loon Mai before he glances around, helmet tucked under his arm.
Bran is happy to add to the cheering.
Oranna wipes at her sweaty brow, her hair sticking to her cheeks.
Loon Mai turns back and bellows across the field, "Keep fighting! Retreat has been canceled! Stoneplow will stand!"
Befound licks at her coat some more. Bath time. Union rules.
They troop into the inn.
Atley produces a rag and wipes his face off as he looks over the battlefield from the inn. "There 'tis, then."
Oranna gazes out at the giant bug. "At least it's large enough ta plug the hole fer now."
"Let it never be said that Cobalt Company squads canna destroy giant evil bug monsters," Bran says serenely.
"It will probably not be the last of them," Florande says, watching the battle turn. "But good for now."
"Damn straight," Oranna says tiredly.
Shine peels off his tabard, drops it over a railing, and takes a clean rag to his own face.
Bun rolls vigorously on the rug.
"There'd better be more than one bath in this inn," Shine observes. "Or I'm fighting any of ye for it."
Oranna chuckles.
Atley waves Shine off. "You've first use, of course. I'm proud of each of you, greatly."
Befound licks her coat. Or you all could bathe properly like civilized cats instead of monstrosities using water.
"Brannagen… Do you know how to write 'send more,' in the Pandaren language?" Atley asks.
"I can… approximate et," Bran says. "Why do ye ask?"
Atley nods to Bran. "I'd like you to put it on a piece of parchment for me. I'm quartering here in Stoneplow, but in the meantime, I mean to leave a message on the shell of that monster for every mantid on the other side of the wall."
Shine gives Atley a slimy salute and heads off in search of the bath.
Bran laughs at Atley, and then carefully writes something on a scrap of paper. "That oughta do et," he says. He hands the paper over.
Atley returns the salute and accepts the paper. He eyes it with a grunt and tugs his helmet on. "Dismissed, you lot."
Oranna, who was so far back from the colossus that she's only sweaty, nods. "I think I'll head up the road, just in case there's anything coming from… eh, the other direction we were." She waves to the others.
"I have river," Florande says, slinking towards the stairs down from the inn. She shifts into cat form, and then vanishes into the shadows.