You pull your contract and slowly move towards the Essitreans making sure that you hold the contract high so that the tired and trigger happy soldiers don't mistake you for the enemy. As you enter into their line of sight, you hear the guards call out, "Halt and identify yourself or you'll be shot on sight!"


You enter into the torchlight and call out, I'm Sebastian, a mercenary serving under the Essitrean flag, here is my lawful contract. I wish to join you."


The men aren't much moved but a voice calls through the barricade, "Sebastian? By the Gods you're still alive? Boys, let her in, she's a friendly."


You jog across the street looking both ways for any enemy snipers or troops and enter a small gate and go beyond the barricades. The gate is closed quickly behind you. The situation behind the barricades is worse than you would have imagined, with dozens of troops injured or dead, scorch marks from enemy mages, and decapitated undead minions lying like wheat after the harvest.


A soldier approaches you and offers you a handclasp. You recognize him as Captain Krayler, a stern but effective commander whose forces numbered a full company, scarcely three platoons exist now and you see that by daylight only two dozen men will still be clinging to life. His face is grim and streaked with blood and dirt. he says, "What is the situation in the city beyond."


You reply, "The city is lost, the Turric are killing and rounding up anyone they find and Deathwardens, Vanguards, and Deathmagi wander the streets at will.Those who aren't killed or turned into the Walking Dead are being turned into slaves. I'm sorry Commander."


He nods and said, "I was expecting as much. The tide of refugees has thinned and you've been the first person we haven't had to fight in three hours. This is a tragedy, we watch the death of my beautiful home and the birth of another Turric Enclave. Such a blasphemy to the gods should have never been seen."


You nod.


He says, " I know you are tired and hungry, let me offer you some scant supplies and then we'll talk further."


You are led to a chow table, mostly chunks of bread and a few sips of water from a canteen before he leads you to a chair. You have a seat and instantly the weight of the night descends upon your weary bones. The captain brings you a tightly wrapped scroll and says, "Bast, you've always been a reputable mercenary, I need someone I can trust with an important mission. I need you to take this scroll and this boy. He is the heir to Essitrea's throne. Though his home has been lost he can keep the noble lineage flowing and can rally any escapees under the Essitrean Banner so that one day we can take this place back. I need you to take him with you to the gates. Can you do this for me?"


You ponder your options:

You refuse and Go it yourself

You decide to refuse the offer and exit the barricade choosing to make it on your own.

You head to another part of the city.

You decide to head to another part of the city and are flitting from building to building when you see a massive attack by Turric troops to your left. To your right an explosion rocks the streets and ahead, you see a Deathmagus and his Vanguard accompanied by a horde of undead. You are spotted by the Deathmagus down the streets and you turn to run, there are just too many of them. At first you try to retreat and go back to the barricades but another explosion collapses the buildings around you.


You are now faced with running into mass combat, into the necromancer or down the alley where an explosion just occurred. You run down the alleyway and lose sight of the Deathmagus and the battle but run into a mass of Turric reinforcements. You are trapped. You retreat and are now surrounded by the three forces.


You resign yourself to a death by the sword. Choosing the least dangerous option, you run into the mass combat. The chaos of arrows, swordfighting, and bodies moving en mass make the situation deadly. You duck, twist, and dodge through the massive melee. Unfortunately, you are struck by an random arrow and then tripped by the boot of a running soldier who is quickly killed by a crossbow bolt. You try to rise but watch as a roiling ball of flame explodes incinerating those around you.


Another explosion takes a building out and it collapses showering stone and mortar over the street. You are caught be a falling piece of rubble the size of a horse and it lands on your leg. You try to free it but another explosion demolishes the next building and it collapses and sprays more stone upon you. You are killed by a falling brick  that turns your head into a read smear.


YOU HAVE FAILED!!!

A Horrible Awakening

Blackness.


Your mind is cloudy and hazy.


Pain. You feel pain.


Flashes of sound burst in the distance. You slowly feel awareness coming back, the world leaking back into coherent form. You are in so much pain. Around you you hear familiar sounds: Screaming, the butchery of men, the agony of rape, buildings burning, children screaming, and the cheers of the victors.


"Where am I?" You think to yourself. Slowly you move your fingers, then your toes. A soft moan issues from somewhere around you. You realize it is you and you begin to make your stiff body begin to move again. First one arm, then your leg, then you slowly lift up and look around.


You think hard to remove the fuzziness of the recent events from the corners of your mind and concentrate on survival. "I've got a concussion." You conclude.


Finally, you peer through the dense smoke and realize that you are in a crater, the bodies of men, horses, and weapons of war surround you. The acrid smell of burning flesh mixed with the tinny smell of blood, the pain in your head, and the entrails of the man you ran beside all make you vomit.


Strangely, you feel just a little bit better and your head is starting to clear, "I'm Sebastian, a mercenary, I chose to defend the city of Essitrea against the Turric . I don't think we won... I think I'd better get the hell out of here!"


Looking around you a sturdy broadsword sticks out from a body of a Turric soldier, you recognize the blade as yours. You stagger over to the soldier and with effort pull the blade free from the man's corpse.


Now armed, you know you've got to get out but amidst the rubble and the ruffians running amok, the sounds of battle in the air, and the thudding of artillery, every step could be your last.


You decide quickly that you can either run building to building a fast method of travel but with heavy odds of discovery; try to enter the sewers, an obviously unsanitary means to travel but with less likelihood of discovery, or you can try to hole up in the nearest building and wait for the action to die down.