Zombie Appul quest 4

Sesquame - Yesterday at 3:42 AM
You've made your way to Nexus District, the largest and most important section of the city that bears its name. This is the true heart of the city, where coin flows like wine and lords of commerce reap their bounty.

Sesquame - Yesterday at 3:44 AM
You're intent on opening up a second front to assist in Aria's assault on Cinnibar District when you turn a corner into a back alley and nearly run headfirst a group waiting to meet you

Sesquame - Yesterday at 3:45 AM

Towering two heads taller than you is a spectral being, withered and ethereal. Behind it is a gaggle of over a half dozen hooded figures wearing accountrements of bone, silver necklaces bearing blasphemous runes hanging off of their necks.

The shade speaks to you in a double layered voice, speaking with its own raspy, spectral voice. Overlaid on top is one familiar to you: The voice of Walker in Darkness
"Lay low I said"
"The city has Solars living openly I said"
"You seem intelligent, I said"
"DONT GO ON A RAMPAGE I SAID!"
BBSA - Yesterday at 3:55 AM
Harvester's eyes widen as she drops the two carts filled with the bodies of dead soldiers to the ground, the two corpses over her shoulders also falling aside
She walks forward while trying to  wear a smile
"h-Howdy Walk--"
>"DONT GO ON A RAMPAGE I SAID!"
Harvester flinches as her fellow Abyssal roars at her
Her shoulders sag as she looks up at the shadowy specter
"Word travels fast I see.  Muh plans didn't go quite as ah was expecting when three Solars showed up around the same time ah did.  Ah've been trying to make the best of a bad situation, but ah know ah screwed up.  Ah might have a plan though, i-if ya wanted to hear it... or maybe you got something better planned already."
Taking off her hat, Harvester sighs as she awaits Walker's response and steels herself for further embarassment.(edited)
Sesquame - Yesterday at 4:02 AM
The nemmisary softens its stance, no longer leaning over you in intimidation. It speaks again with the confidence and surefootedness of a seasoned battle commander while its entourage amuses itself gawping at one of the Chosen of Oblivion in the flesh.

Sesquame
"Well there's nothing for it now, but what were you thinking cavorting around the city on high power, raising zombies in your wake? Thankfully dumb luck led the Fair Folk to start acting up at the same time and distracted everyone.
It'll be harder to provide covert aid now that the city's defenders know we're operating here. Speaking of dumb luck, do you have any idea how fortunate you are that Dace is miles away right now?"
BBSA - Yesterday at 4:07 AM
Harvester lets out a soft chuckle as she speaks up to the Nemisary
"Ah honestly wasn't thinking much.  Damn Solar nearly cleaved me into before ah returned the favor.  After that, about the only thing ah could think of was... Feedin', and ah guess ah got carried away with it."
She stares at Walker's messenger with keen interest as she asks
"Dace?"
Sesquame - Yesterday at 4:10 AM
"Dace. Golden Commander of the Bronze Tigers? Hero of The Day Dark as Night? Victor of the Battle that Wasn't There? The greatest Solar tactician to walk Creation and general of Nexus' army? He was 500 miles away butchering Lookshyans, and by now he's gotten word of the attack and is bringing his army to defend the city with the full might of the Sun.

We must ensure Nexus falls before he reaches us. So about a week, week and a half tops."(edited)
BBSA - Yesterday at 4:15 AM
Harvester grows a smile as she plants her hat over her heart
"Well ah was already planning on making sure Nexus fell.  Guess a time limit will keep me focused."
She gestures back to the carts
"Me and Alvira, or Aria as ah believe she likes to go by now, have an understanding.  Ah was going to open up a second front right here in the middle of downtown while she concentrates her forces elsewhere.  What do ya think?"
Sesquame - Yesterday at 4:23 AM
The nemissary taps its chin while looking back, a habit it's probably copying from Walker from whatever magic he's using to contact you via the spirit.
 "The Raksha running roughshod over the garrison is Alvira you say? Fascinating! That's... unexpected. The good kind of unexpected! We can use that."

Eyeing your carts of corpses the spirit glides over to inspect their condition. "Normally throwing zombies at the problem doesn't do much, but a pincer to strain the defenses and rack up civilian casualties? That will certainly help." The specter extends a long, withered finger, hooking it into one of the corpses and drawing out a monstrous hungry ghost. It roars in pain and hunger as the nemissary releases it into the wild streets of Nexus to do as it will.
 "My cult will handle the necromancy, you'll still need training if you're going to be raising armies of the dead with any efficiency. You should focus on locating any would-be heroes and dispatching them. My intel doesn't indicate any big names but there's always small fry showing up to foil your plans where you don't expect them. As you seem to have just gotten a painful lesson in, apparently."
BBSA - Yesterday at 4:32 AM
Harvester nods her head, silently pleased that Walker seemed to be fond of her strategy.
Once he mentions the possibility of more do-gooders coming to sour their plans, that smile quickly sours
"Yeah, ah don't see myself making that mistake again."
Raising her hat up in the air, she fastens it tightly atop her head whilst bellowing
"Ah'll keep an eye out and see if ah can't hunt any down.  Any other bright ideas?"
"Don't suppose there are any buildings ah can knock over or bridges ah can burn."
Sesquame - Yesterday at 4:39 AM
"Well if we're looking to gain as much as we can, a method of quarantining the city and preventing the citizens from escaping would be just dandy!

And yes, we definetly need to focus on tactical removals of critical points in the city defenses. The Raksha are masters of subtleties and scheming, and they often command mighty armies, but almost never both. Your friend seems to find affinity with the second type."

He gestures at his human followers, "My valued sworn men and women will provide you with any supplies you may need. In fact I distinctly recall a set of Lookshyan articulated plate in our stores. Wait for your anima to die down and infiltrate. Find whoever has taken command and is organizing the resistance. Strike them down. Rinse. Repeat."
BBSA - Yesterday at 4:47 AM
"Yeah, ah would say she's more of the latter myself."
Her grin returns as he explains his plan to her
"It'd be muh pleasure.  Hey pardner--"
Harvester points at whichever cultist looks to be the leader of this bunch
"-- a suit of armor sounds like it'd do wonders for covering this hole in my chest.  Grab me a map of town while yer at it."
Sesquame - Yesterday at 4:51 AM
You quickly find yourself in a hidden basement of one of Nexus' many financial buildings. Dimly lit and full of tomes of Oblivion lore, Walker's cult minstrates to your wounds as well as providing the first human food (no pun intended) you've eaten since this morning.
The taste of human flesh was delicious, and you could feel strength surge through you as you drank the lifeblood of the hapless innocents, but the taste of mortal bread and the  cushioned seats bring you down from your adrenaline high as you finally have a moment to process the events of the past 24 hours.
You lie back on the couch while a cultist inspects and sews your wound, idly consuming your bread and cheese as you wait for your anima to hide itself, now diminished to only your Caste Mark, a solid disc of blackest night dripping blood down your face and onto the nice furniture.
In the next room over you can overhear chanting as your medic's bedfellows attend to their assigned task, assembling an army of ghosts and ghouls from the wagonloads of corpses you gave them. About 15 minutes ago they sent 2 of their number out to the battle site at Sentinel Hill to scavenge extra.

BBSA - Yesterday at 5:02 AM
Harvester tears a bit out of her slice of bread, chomping away at the food while going over battle strategy in her head.
Gripping a map of the city, she begins to examine any vital chokepoints connecting the place together.
"Ah way to prevent people from escaping huh?  Let's see..."
Harvester scans the city for any important bridges or city gates that lead into our out of town, considering the possibility of demolishing them in order to keep people locked inside town.

BBSA - Yesterday at 5:05 AM
"This map is three hundred years old!"

Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:09 AM
speaking of which
Your bandito disguise is p much ruined at this point
You'll need to reapply your disguise, probably one more suited to infiltrating the city's mercenary armies that garrison it
The suit of armor ought to help

Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:11 AM
The axe is made of a mix of soulsteel and red jade
The bright red of the jade will fool people not inspecting the axe specifically
Unless you're worried about people recognising you in particular from your rampage?


BBSA - Yesterday at 5:13 AM
Would wrapping the axe in a cloth for carrying purposes be an option?

BBSA - Yesterday at 5:13 AM
So Harvester will do that
It'll be easy enough to attack with it when she needs to
While not drawing too much attention
Also
Find a cultist who looks like he knows what he's doing


BBSA - Yesterday at 5:16 AM
"If ya lose this, ain't no one in this life or the next that'll be able to help ya."
She proceeds to give him her hat


Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:25 AM
What do you look like now that you're bedecked in proper armor?

Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:27 AM
Alright, we're going full Green Knight then?
BBSA - Yesterday at 5:27 AM
Uh huh!
A suit of Emerald Crusader tier armor

Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:32 AM
You stride forth into Cinnibar District, which serves two purposes: the military center of the city, and the cultural one.
Garrisons full of mercenaries lie across the street from the abodes of artists, and between them the two worlds meet in bars full of rowdy soldiers and spoony bards.

But there is no time for such frivolities: the city is under siege.
The Fair Folk army is being held up at a chokepoint, prevented from advancing past Sentinel Hill by the heart of Nexus's military fortification.
Women and children make their evacuations, as mercenaries don their armor and prepare to hold off the invasion until reinforements can arrive
BBSA - Yesterday at 5:34 AM
"Boy Howdy do ah hate Fair Folk!"
Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:34 AM
: D
At the top of a small pyramid of crates, a woman in fine white silks calls out to the panicking civilians, urging them to remain calm and to follow her lead to evacuate safely.
"Please darlings, there's nothing to be frightened of. Just follow me and I'll lead you to safety. Everything is under control, there's no need to kick up a fuss"
Her voice soothes and calms, even in the face of their worst fear: the boogeymen they've feared from childhood stories of the sheer horror of the Fair Folk
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/44/79/bf/4479bf2ebcb92d8e5aba94fa2bddbebc.jpg

BBSA - Yesterday at 5:44 AM
Harvester takes a moment to stop as she watches this maiden in white silks calm the populace.
"That's quite a revealing outfit..."
 Harvester mutters to herself as she watches the people file out of town.  It was a shame she couldn't come up with a better way to keep the people packed into town, but maybe at the very least this will mean Auntie and Uncle Orange can get out.
Walking up to the pyramid of crates, Harvester shouts up
"Hey missy!  Ah ain't looking to run away, nowhere no how!"
Harvester plants her fists on her hips as she stares up at the elegant looking lady
"How can ah help?  Who here's in charge of the fighting?"
Sesquame - Yesterday at 5:49 AM
She turns towards you, and her eyes widen the moment her you fall within her sight, she gasps and lays a dainty hand on her bosom as she beholds this chivalrous knight come to bravely fight the fair folk.
"Oh my, I can certainly see that you're not one to run from a fight."

She hops down from her pedastal and sashays towards you, running a hand down your breastplate. She leans in to whisper next to your helmet.
"I can smell the power coming off you, darling. Don't you worry none about these horrid brutes. Once the innocents are safely out of danger (and there are no longer quite so many prying eyes), we'll head out together and send that nasty, tacky singer back to the pit that spawned her. Sound peachy?"

BBSA - Yesterday at 5:50 AM
>"Sound Peachy?"
"(You smell like peaches)"
"UH think nothin of it ma'm!  Ah got family in this town ya know, and ah never like running from a fight.  What's yer name?"

Sesquame - Yesterday at 6:02 AM
She lets loose a girlish giggle, followed by her face snapping into a stone glare of hatred that takes you aback. She holds up her hand in a claw, painted nails shining like talons. "I certainly empathise my sweet, if those beasts lay a claw on my darling sister I'll tear each and every one of them to bits!"

Calming herself, she resumes practically groping you, running hands along the contours of your armor, making you wish oh so dearly for those hands to run over skin.
"But I get carried away, I'm known as Rarity. In fact, I think we've gotten enough potential witnesses out of the way..."
She wraps her arms around yours, pressing herself tight to you. "I bet you're tired of just standing around. Let's get out past the barricade and really paint the town red, if you catch my implications?"

BBSA - Yesterday at 6:04 AM
Harvester's body quakes beneath her armor as this strange woman presses throws herself upon her.  She can hardly move as this woman runs her smooth looking white skin against the full plate, thoughts of how impractical such an outfit would be for battle being pushed aside as she finds herself struggling not to stare.
As she ruminates on baser feelings she didn't know she could still feel, let alone for ANOTHER WOMAN, something else that she said begins to resonate.

>"If those beasts lay a claw on my darling sister I'll tear each and every one of them to bits!"

Suddenly, Harvester's shaking ceases as an image of a happier time and place flashes through her mind.

"Ah Hell, the Guild!"

Harvester presses a hand against her helm as she steps back and realizes how they must all be escaping at this very moment.

"Ah let em go..."
Sesquame - Yesterday at 6:15 AM
She raises an eyebrow at your thoughts said out loud. "Let them go? Why, whatever do you mean?"

BBSA - Yesterday at 6:21 AM
"Ah can't believe this, ah could've had em!  That damn Sapphire and--"
Harvester sighs as she gets a hold of herself
"i-It's nothing... it's..."
Harvester stares at Rarity as she gives her an odd look.  Although she just met the her only a moment ago, for some reason she feels like when she heard her talk about defending her sister she felt like she suddenly found someone that could maybe understand...
Inhaling a deep breathe, Harvester stares back at Rarity and explains
"Ah came here to Nexus to find the people that torched my farm.  Ah'm afraid to say it seems ah lost my own sister not that long ago..."
With a flash of anger, Harvester's fists begins to shake
"Ah got so caught up in this battle for the city that ah'm sure my chance to catch them is gone."

Sesquame - Yesterday at 6:30 AM
Both hands fly to Rarity's face, tears of empathic sorrow gathering in the corner of her eyes. "Your home? Your family? Those Guild brutes really have no hearts do they?"
She lets her hands slip from her face to reveal a suprisingly micheveous... and malevolent... grin. Her face seems almost bestial in her righteous fury at the trail of families and livelihoods shattered and left behind by the greed of unscrupulous men.
"Well. That's not strictly true now is it? If you can keep a secret I can tell you first hand that Guildsman hearts beat just like anyone else's... and they die just as fast when you tear them out. The ordinary craftsmen are citizens like anyone else, either fleeing or holing up inside, but the real players? They've got their secret hideout they don't think other people know about. But a lady has her ways of knowing, doesn't she?"

BBSA - Yesterday at 6:36 AM
Harvester freezes as she stares back at Rarity from under her helm
"y-You mean, the Guild leaders are still in town?  It's not too late!"
One of the first bright smiles that Harvest has had, one completely devoid of menace or cruelty, blossoms on her face beneath her helm
"It's not too late!  Ah can still make em pay fer what they did to Applebloom!  And Mac! a-And and--"
Catching herself in the throes of her excitment, Harvester beams as she grasps one of Rarity's dainty hands with both of her gauntlets and asks--
"Do you really know where ah can find them?  Can you help me Rarity?"

Sesquame - Yesterday at 6:42 AM
She leans her head in towards you, arms around your neck, your foreheads touching together, separated only by the cold steel of your helm. "But of course, darling! I'm no friend of the greedy, and I happen to know quite a few dirty, filthy little secrets. There are tombs beneath the city dedicated to the Solars that ruled as kings before the dragon-bloods overthrew them. Their little Council keeps them sealed off, but they'll use them as a bunker in an emergency. The place is defended by all sorts of traps and magic, but it should be no trouble to someone as strong as you now should it?"

BBSA - Yesterday at 6:46 AM
"That's right, Sapphire and her cronies were a part of that Council..."
A dark chuckle escapes through Harvester's helm as she sees the task that lies ahead of her.
"Nah, ah reckon breaking in shouldn't be a problem at all fer me.  And once I get in, ah'll make em wish they skipped town when they had the chance."