The Second Node

The Sentinels were on edge as they awaited word from their scouts. They lost the first node to the voidlings; losing another one would severely threaten their very existence.

Then the day came. A messenger came riding hard. Panting, he rushed to the Great Hall and reported to Lord Lancelot. The node had been found in the Haiiro Ransu (translates as the Ashen Lances). Lancelot organized his troops and rode out.

The Haiiro Ransu is an area rocky badlands. Large boulders and high cliffs arise from the dusty plain. Anyone traveling there would need to wind their way through narrow passages between the cliffs. As they approached the region, the Sentinels could spy numerous creatures flying over the cliffs.

"Something must have died recently. Vultures." one trooper stated.

Lancelot looked closer. No, those weren't vultures. Too big. Suddenly, one swooped down upon the war band. Although it had the body, wings, and talons of a vulture, its head was that of a woman.

"Harpies!" someone yelled.

The creature slashed it talons, slicing into the flesh of one of the horses. It reared it fright and pain, sending its rider flying. Then it bolted for safety.

"Our mounts cannot survive against these monsters," stated Lancelot, "we must advance on foot. Swiftly now!"

The Sentinels dismounted, unslung their shields, and advanced into the Haiiro Ransu. Several harpies swooped down and engaged. Talons clashed against shields, but the Sentinels held firm and slashed away at the enemy. Wounded harpies flew away, only to be replaced by more of the beasts. Suddenly, a rock fell from the sky, hitting a Sentinel in the head and knocking him senseless. Lancelot looked up; some of the harpies hovered overhead, dropping rocks on the dense formation.

"Archers! Take out those rock-throwers!"

Artemis took aim. Her accurate shots scattered the harpies, but others made rapid passes to bomb the Sentinels.

Slowly but surely the Sentinels pressed deeper into the Haiiro Ransu, although some warriors fell to the talons and rocks of the enemy. Then, the rocks and cliffs seemed to part, revealing a wide canyon. In the middle of the canyon was the Node. It sat upon a small boulder, pulsing with energy.

"Look!"

Across the canyon, coming from the other side, the Sentinels could see a band of voidlings. It was now a race to the Node! The Sentinels tried to surge forward but the harpies redoubled their attacks. Fortunately, the voidlings were similarly beset.

"I'm going to make a break for it!" yelled Lancelot. He girded himself and rushed forward. The harpies swarmed him, but he hacked and slashed, clearing a path. He reached the Node and smiled in triumph. But a voidling also charged forward, reaching the Node.

"I'm coming to help!" shouted Vibe. He burst through the swarm of harpies and rushed to Lancelot's side. Together, they were able to hold off the voidling and grab the Node. They retreated back to the rest of the Sentinels. For some reason, the harpies shied away from the Node. Once Lancelot and Vibe rejoined the warband, the harpies flew away, attacking the voidlings instead. This allowed the Sentinels to retreat in safety. Once they reached their horses, they rode like the wind back to Landfall Castle.

Afterwards, Lancelot sat in the Great Hall, pondering the recent events. Many Sentinels had been wounded and some had made the ultimate sacrifice. Was it worth it? He thought so; if the voidlings captured most of the Nodes then Lndafall Castle, even Caligo itself, would be in deadly peril.

OOC Notes

• My apologies to Kage if it seems that I'm not giving them enough credit in these narratives. I choose to write from the Sentinels' perspective in order to maintain narrative consistency. After all, my character has taken refuge with the Sentinels.
• I named a few individuals whom I recall playing a role in the battle. There are others who fought valiantly. Please forgive any oversights. Feel free to share n the comments your remembrances of valiant deeds done by others.
• The scenario was essentially a gauntlet. One side played the questers (either Sentinels or voidlings) while the other played the harpies.
• The goal was to get as many players to the Node as possible.
• I used rope and the tree line to represent cliffs, which were impassible to the questers (although the harpies could fly over them). This created easily defensible narrows.
• As it turned out, this was a difficult scenario for the questers. Kage only managed to get one person through. The Sentinels ran through it second. Lancelot dashed through, followed by Vibe a little later. There were more Sentinels still alive but I called the game because the Sentinels won 2-1.
• The part where Lancelot and Vibe fend of a voidling and retreat with the Node was not part of the scenario. It is just a little artistic license.