All the King's Men 4

All the King's Men 4 is an encounter in Orange Eyes.
==Enemies==
*Royal Archer (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP Normal)
*Royal Assassin (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP Normal)
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
"Shields!" a Nord yells.
The instruction is intended for those behind, who can't see past you and their brethren. It's sound advice. You follow it as well, raising your shield and casting a spell in the same instant.
Golden light expands from each of its edges, spreading out to create an arcane barrier where the metal's protection ends. Brachus conjures his own eldritch aegis above Hugh's head, a shield composed of transparent green flame. Emerald tongues lick and flicker around its periphery, making it seem like an illustration of a strangely hued sun. The green and gold overlap over Tessa, creating a stretch of translucent blueness that encompasses her in the combined aegis.
On your right Rakshara is in a half-crouch, so that her orange crystal bulwark can join those of her shorter Nord allies in a hasty wall.
The volley of arrows that prompted such defense rains down upon them, clattering off metal and crystal, biting into wood, fizzing or rebounding from protective magics. Perhaps the failure of their barrage saps the archers' spirits, for they don't fire another. Instead they turn and flee, prompting a bellicose roar from the Nords.
"Kill them!" yells the same warrior who called for shields.
Together you and the Nords rush in pursuit of the routing bowmen, eager to cut them down.
"Wait!" Tessa shouts.
But she can't even heed her own command, not with so many warriors running behind her, forcing her onward.
You understand her meaning, but it's too late. You can't stop the charge any more than she can. A feigned retreat... A stratagem almost as old as war itself.
White smoke, flashing light, and a powerful alchemical odor explode in the air around you. They're no less unpleasant because of their familiarity.
The Nords cough, splutter, and collide -- their disrupted speed sending them careening into one another. You step between Tessa and one staggering warrior, bracing yourself and absorbing his impact before he can knock her spinning.
He grunts, perhaps glad you stopped his blundering and stabilized him. Then something warm splashes across your face. The Nord looks down. His eyes widen.
There's a blade sticking out of his chest.
The Nord grunts as it slips back inside his body. Then he falls, revealing the masked assassin standing behind him.
===Conclusion===
Glowing lights appear amid the smoke, throbbing at the corners of your vision. It's only when the assassin facing you falls, her throat marred by a diagonal line of redness blooming across the white cloth of her uniform, that you can turn to assess the threat.
The lights become sharper and clearer. They're runes. Nord runes.
They flash, as though please by your recognition. Then they burst. A second later they're gone, eliminated by the silent detonation. And so is the smoke.
A number of assassins look this way and that, startled to find themselves unveiled amidst the Nords. Their dismay is banished soon enough. Axes rise and fall on all sides, putting paid to it and them at the same time.
Category:Orange Eyes