The Commander 2

The Commander 2 is an encounter in Blood of Heroes.
==Enemies==
* Royal Hound (2600 Gold, 320 XP, 200 Energy, 5 HP)
* Royal Scout (3250 Gold, 400XP, 250 Energy, 5 HP)
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
Maybe it was hopeless. Not even the fleetest mortal woman could outrun a charging mare or stallion, save with the aid of magic -- and Tessa had none to draw upon. A voice inside her mind urged her to stop. It told her to stand her ground and fire her shafts as the cavalry charged, to take as many of them as she could before they rode her down. The thought was so very tempting. But even with destruction growing more certain in every crashing hoof beat, she had to try.
She hazarded another glance over her shoulder. The horsemen were near now. Perhaps it was mere fancy, or terror, but she swore she could see the spittle frothing on their mounts' lips. And the triumph in the riders' eyes.
Then she saw something else as well. A great furry shape, charging alongside the cavalry, gaining on them with every bounding stride. Green lights glowed in its eyes and around its clawed paws. The horses whinnied when it drew alongside them. Some of the beasts changed course, desperate to get away from the bear's growling jaws and the scent that promised primeval slaughter. The rest took the hint when the ferocious creature lunged.
A horse tumbled. Its shredded flank sprayed blood and chunks of ravaged innards. The rider rolled across the grass, until his comrades' hooves went over him. Then he lay still and groaned.
Magenta fire exploded beside the bear -- almost close enough to singe its fur -- flung by one of the mounted mages.
"Hey!" the animal said. "Stop that!"
The mage froze for an instant, startled. Paxon Greengaze was already hurtling away before he recovered his composure.
"Tessa," the transformed gnome said, "get on!"
"But..."
There wasn't time to argue. So Tessa leapt onto the bear's back, and somehow found a perch where nature had never intended a saddle to rest. She worked her way around until she was facing backwards -- snatching at his fur until she found a position where she could keep her balance. Then she raised her bow.
***
Death and courage. Cassius had seen a lifetime's worth of each this day -- first on the walls, then in the courtyard, and now in the pitched battle outside the armory. Warriors thrust themselves onto spears or halberds to protect their comrades. Mages leapt into arcane tempests to slay rival spellcasters before their conflagrations could ravage the masses of infantry. Healers tended to the wounded while arrows quivered in their own backs. There had been plenty of bravery from rebel and soldier alike.
But now there was just slaughter, a chaotic series of clashes that spilled across the landscape.
"Commander?"
Cassius whirled round from the foe he'd just dispatched. The shifting tides of battle had swept his allies away, and left him in a little pocket at the edge of the conflict. A band of soldiers stood in front of him. Their faces and tabards were covered in blood, grime, and dust. But they were familiar all the same. The Golden Claw.
For several seconds or an eternity, Commander Cassius and the warriors faced one another. Then the sergeant who'd addressed him looked this way and that. Cassius followed his gaze. No one had any eyes for their little gathering, this sliver of calm beside an ocean of annihilation.
"Get out of here, commander," the sergeant said. "We won't tell no one."
Cassius smiled.
"I can't do that, Harmun," he said. "But I'll accept your surrender, if you want to give it."
A faint smile creased the sergeant's mouth.
"We can't fight you, sir. I don't care what they say about you being a traitor."
"I am a traitor, to the king."
Harmun shrugged.
"There's plenty of other killing to be had here," he said.
"There is," Cassius said.
He nodded, and moved across the field in search of enemies. The Golden Claw did the same.
===Conclusion===
"Left!" Tessa exclaimed. Then she added: "Yours!"
Paxon turned his powerful ursine form. Magic exploded on their right. Tessa grinned without mirth, and loosed a shaft. The mage fell from the saddle -- an arrow in his lung.
That was the last of the spellcasters. The rest of the cavalry were lambs to the slaughter...
***
Commander Cassius lay in the dirt and gazed up at the sky. Soft clouds danced for him, far from the fighting, unstained by the blood and gore that daubed his armor and his broken spear. Perhaps they were beckoning him...
"Commander!" Sergeant Harmun's face appeared above him, outlined against the heavens. "I'll summon a healer!"
"No. I'll die on the field, not at the end of a hangman's noose."
"But..." He sighed. "I saw you, at the end. You fought like the Red Prince!"
Cassius' lips twitched.
"If I see him, I'll tell him you said that."
Harmun clasped his hand as the sky darkened.
That night, every surviving member of the Golden Claw would desert.
Category:Blood of Heroes