Shades (IV)

Shades (IV) requires 40 Energy to fight and is a random encounter appearing in Against the King.
Difficulty	Stats	Gold	XP	Energy	HP	Deck
Nightmare 	0 0 0	40 	40	40 	1 	65
==Deck List==
The enemy's deck has:
(See Enemy Deck for more information)
===Alphabetical Table===
Card 	Nightmare
Acid Shot 	1
Avenging Ranger 	3
Berserker Boost 	4
Crippling Shot 	2
Dead Shot 	2
Feral Flask 	3
Get Down! 	4
Go with the Flow 	4
Hammer Drop 	4
Handheld Ballista 	2
Imperfect Crono Device	3
Improvised Ammo 	1
Keep Your Distance 	2
Silas the Undying 	5
Silas' Embrace 	3
Smoke in the Wind 	3
Spectral Arrows 	3
Strike From Above 	4
The Double-Tap 	3
Thrust 	4
What Doesn't Kill You 	3
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
It's been said that generals get the worst sleep out of anyone in the army.
Upcoming battles. Guilt over dead soldiers. Anger from dealing with incompetent nobles (who always insist on sticking their grubby little fingers all over ever the best-laid plans). All these things are supposed to combine for a lot of restless nights.
This is, of course, nonsense. Rothbert slept like a baby. Every night.
Rothbert dreamed. Most often, he dreamed of the dead. Those who had died under his command always came to him at night. They spoke of many things, like their families or their interests or even how the general could prevent others from dying as they had. Rothbert wasn't sure if these were actually ghosts or just dreams, but he appreciated the conversations and the fresh perspectives they tended to bring.
Tonight, Rothbert found himself surrounded by darkness and sitting at a small table. Across from him sat a large figure, mostly hidden by shadow. The figure wore no armor, which made it difficult for the general to ascertain who his companion had been in life; Rothbert hadn't asked and the mysterious man hadn't offered too many details, but he had talked about the farm he was sad he would never retire to. Everything was familiar to him, even the voice, but Rothbert couldn't figure out whom he was talking to.
A knock at the chamber door pulled Rothbert from the arms of sleep. Rothbert oozed out of bed, shrugging on a fur cloak and pouring himself a small glass of wine from the pitcher on his bedside table.
"Enter."
A nervous-looking boy dressed in a messenger's uniform opened the door, holding a scroll. "Message for you from the front, sir." His words came out in a squeak.
Rothbert held out his hand, making a concentrated effort to look patient. He had no desire to add to the lad's case of nerves. The boy handed over the scroll, which the general sliced open the wax seal of and began to read, only to stop short within a couple of lines.
Fanto was dead.
The general closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was a cruel blow, not just for him, but to the entire army's morale.
A muffled squeak brought him out of his thoughts and back to the present. The boy was still where he'd been standing but his feet were now dangling above the ground, his body held up by a clawed hand protruding out the front of his chest.
Behind the boy were two sinister-looking shadows with glowing red eyes. Those eyes focused hungrily on the messenger, but turned to Rothbert as the life faded from their victim.
The general recognized the beings in front of him: Blood Shades, creatures of darkness he'd indirectly been responsible for the creation of several years ago. If they were here now, that meant new ones had been created and ordered to assassinate him.
Only one man knew how to assemble these monstrosities, and Rothbert couldn't say he was surprised to find himself on the receiving end of such treachery.
The boy flailed and kicked meekly, but his limbs passed through the shadows to no effect. The general, meanwhile, slowly reached up to the medallion he always wore and prodded it with his thoughts. The soul of his dead guest had provided a little power, enough to possibly move him a minute backwards.
Rothbert clasped the Tempus Talisman tightly and stared down the shades. The invocation that activated the artifact's power erupted from the old man in a feral snarl.
"I refuse to accept that this outcome is what history intends to record."
===Conclusion===
Rothbert had had mixed luck dealing with the shades. His sword and armor seemed to have no real effect on the damnable creatures, but the weaponized gauntlet he'd ordered Ingenie to commission had proven invaluable.
The light it gave off seemed to cause the monsters physical pain, and their claws had been unable to penetrate its plating. Likewise, serrated blade Ingenie had thought to include in the designs had been able to actually wound his opponents.
The general set to slicing these monsters of the dark apart, the light from the gauntlet nullified their powers and prevented their escape. It didn't take long; like so many predators, the shades weren't prepared for prey capable of actually fighting back.
Once the shades were dispatched, Rothbert grabbed a few more items from the chest of experimental weaponry Ingenie had sent him for evaluation.
Then, he stalked out into the fortress's hallways and headed towards the kitchens.
He and Grigori needed to have words.
Category:Against the King
Category:Demons
Category:Random Encounters