Homestead Survival

<13 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>
[Theo and Julia]
Theo watched the Orcs form up and create three lines of ten. Each Orc had a wicked-looking bow that shimmered with the strange light that he and Julia had come to associate with System Caches. Theo muttered to himself, "Enchantments."

"What?" Julia asked.

Theo shook his head and watched as they waited, and then another Orc, this one wearing a skull of something on his head, stepped up. Theo could just barely make out the writing that floated over his head. It was one of the others from the group that had asked for their surrender.

{[Corrupted] Krok Grom, Level 08, B+}

"Lord Sorrenson," Ban'Go' Ordus said, "That is their Siege Orchestrator. His build provides support to troops assaulting a fortified position which I am sure, this camp counts as."

"Okay, just call me Theo. She is Julia," Theo said. "Anything else that we might need to know?"

"No, I can really only tell you about the Elementals," Ban'Go' Ordus said, "I only overheard that Krok Grom was a Siege Orchestrator. Sorry, I can't be of more help."

"No problem," Theo said, a moment of hesitation in his eyes. He looked at Ban'Go' Ordus and wondered if he should trust this man. Then Theo saw Krok Grom raise his hand.

Krok Grom's voice could be heard over the distance, "Drak'ur!"

The orcs raised their bows, drawing the strings back, and Krok called out again, "Shur'mak!"

The orcs adjusted their stances, taking aim.

"Volg'thar!" Krok called, and suddenly thirty arrows were flying towards them. Ten of them stopped at the Ward rune circle, flaring with blue and purple light, then dropped to the ground; the remaining twenty embedded themselves in the dirt and the walls of the Cabin.

Theo, Julia, and Ordus looked out at the Siege Orchestrator, who smiled back at them and called out, "Drak!"

Thirty arrows were knocked and fired at them. Theo sighed as he and Julia pressed up against the brick wall. Ordus simply went about his business, most of the arrows bouncing off of his dirt-like skin.

This time, only five of the arrows were stopped by the Wards.

"Well, at least..." Julia started to say something when the sounds of Goblins crying out came from the back of the Cabin. Theo checked that the Orcs were between firing arrows and then ran to the back of the Cabin. Julia followed suit, and Ordus continued his work on the walls.

What greeted Theo at the opening in the back of the Cabin was a group of thirty or so Goblins who were throwing gobs of greenish fire at the Ward runes from a Cauldron that three other Goblins stood around, chanting.

Once again, they heard Krok call out. "Drak!"

Theo now knew three words in Orcish, and they were words that he knew he would probably be hearing lots of. He looked at what was going on and made a decision. "Alright, I think that we need to take the fight to them."

Julia nodded, "That pot of fire back there looks... evil."

"Ordus!" Theo called out.

"Yes, my lord?" Ordus asked, rushing over.

"Just Theo, Ordus, you said you don't have many useful skills. Can you give us a quick rundown so that we know what skills you have?" Theo asked, "your call if you want to or not, but we would appreciate it."

Ordus nodded. "Of course, I have a utility skill that will serve this purpose nicely."

And with that, Ban'Go' Ordus activated his Soulscript Revelation skill.

"Four skills," Theo muttered.

"Yes, I was not born in a higher density mana area, so I was not granted the increase that comes with that." Ban'Go' Ordus said. "My family was... complicated, that is how I ended up a prisoner."

Theo and Julia looked at him, "You were a prisoner?"

"Yes," Ordus nodded, "All of the Elementals here were. Our leader sent us as part of a debt repayment to the Unwanted God."

"What were you accused of?" Julia asked.

"Of being the wrong man's son!" Ban'Go' Ordus snarled, then took a breath. "I apologize, I thought you understood... Our names hold our social standing in them. Ban' is the signifier for prisoner or criminal."

"And Go' ?" Theo asked.

"I would ask that we not discuss that one, Lord Theo." Ban'Go' Ordus said, bowing his head, "It is not anything bad this I swear on the System."

A Pulse of power flowed through the air, and Theo knew the System was backing what he had said. They also heard Krok call out once more after the last of the prior flight of arrows impacted. "Drak!"

Theo shook his head, "Okay. Well, we are going to try and take the fight to them, Julia will most likely stay in the walls, can you help her and do what she asks please?"

Ordus nodded, "Of course."

"Good," Theo said, shifting his Master Tool into a bearded axe. "Well then, wish me luck."

With that, Julia activated her focused healing of Warmth of the Hearth on Theo, and Theo stepped out into the flood of Goblins.

"Come and get me, you bastards," Theo said, Taunting the Goblins.

[Krok Grom]
"Sir." One of the Orcs said to Krok.

"Go ahead." Krok said, then looked at the line of archers, "FIRE!"

"They have attacked the Goblins, just as you thought they might." The Orcish Scout said.

"Good," Krok smiled, "I will signal the commander when you see, fire the special arrows."

Krok trotted off to the side where the massive Storm Giant was waiting behind several trees.

"Krok," Angram said, "Is it time?"

Krok nodded. "Yes, commander."

"Very well." With that, Angram and Krok crept forward and broke the treeline. When he got to within twenty-five feet of the Ward runes that the humans had placed, he reached out with his Runic Disruption Skill. Opening a shimmering green hole in the Ward Runes' protections, just as flaming arrows arrived.

He heard the human woman cry out. "Theo!"

[Theo and Julia]
Theo rushed out from behind the Ward runes and used Taunt. Suddenly, there were fifteen goblins scrambling over each other to try to get to him. He counted to fifteen, his Penitent Strike having been upgraded and letting him channel the effect for longer, and slammed his foot down, knocking the Goblins back, a few hitting the wards and taking additional damage from them.

Of the fifteen that struck at him, two did not get up again, and Theo rushed at the three Goblins tending to the Cauldron of fire.

When he got close, he swung his hammer, hitting one of the three Goblins and knocking it back. The Cauldron flickered as if it were being held in this place by the will of the Goblins who tended to it.

Theo finished off the first Goblin tender and then turned to strike another. At this point, the other Goblins had scrambled back to their feet and rushed towards him again. He channeled his Penitent Strike once more and launched the Goblins back. One landed in the Cauldron and shrieked in wild agony. This seemed to stir some of the Goblins to their senses, and several of them scooped up the fire, which strangely did not seem to burn their hands, and then cast it in Theo's direction.

Theo managed to dodge most of it, but several drops of the fire got onto him, and immediately, he could smell hair and skin burning.

"What the fuck!" Theo cried out and then decided that the best way to deal with this was to kill the Cauldron tenders. He lunged forward and grabbed one of the Cauldron tenders, who was oddly non-responsive, and dropped him into the Cauldron, which began to flicker in and out of reality even more.

Then he turned and slammed the hammer into the last of the Cauldron tenders. The Goblin dropped, and Theo slammed the hammer once more into the last tender, and with a sickening crunch, the Cauldron vanished. Theo turned to rush back to the Ward runes, and suddenly he saw a shimmering green hole open up in the protection provided by the Ward Runes.

Julia cried out as a flight of flaming arrows made it through the Wards. "Theo!"