Xarsthos bursts through the fractured stone and lands in the ruined palisade gap. Splinters, dust, and ward-light whirl around him as armored soldiers flood the breach.
The ward pulses again, harsh and unstable. A ring of pale force tears through the smoke, driving one soldier back into the timbers and jolting the line.
The Hooded Figure
Hold the break, Xarsthos. If that power spills loose, it will take the wall with the foe.
More soldiers press in, shields raised. Their leader pushes through the crush, eyes fixed on Xarsthos, while the villagers behind the palisade brace for the next blow.
Xarsthos
The ward is unstable. It can shatter the breach, or shatter everything.
Xarsthos squares himself at the opening, sword ready, standing between the soldiers and Oakhaven's heart as the next surge crashes toward him.
“I hold the line. Dispatching all of the Warlord's soldiers”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled +0)
Xarsthos drives forward into the crush, his blade flashing in tight, brutal arcs. The first rank breaks on impact, shields splitting aside as soldiers stumble over their own fallen footing.
The ward pulses through the gap again, but this time it hits enemy steel, not Oakhaven’s wall. Pale force hurls two attackers backward into the rubble, and the line behind them falters.
The Hooded Figure
Yes, that is it. Let the breach become their grave.
Xarsthos presses the opening, forcing the soldiers to turn inward on one another. A spear flies free, then another, and the surviving men start giving ground in panic.
Their leader lunges once, then reels as Xarsthos cuts through his guard and sends him crashing into the shattered stone. The retreat becomes a rout, spilling out of the breach and away from the village heart.
The Hooded Figure
Hold fast. The wall stands because you stand.
For a breath, only dust and the uneven thrum of the ward remain at the opening. Beyond the broken timbers, the last soldiers hesitate in the open, and the breach is held.
Quest Complete
Meet the warlord at the village walls
New Gift: Warlord's Respect