Dulcinea wields A beautifully made and elaborately carved horseman's bow.

"Calaudrin." Esoka says the name to herself as if committing it to memory. Her own frame is tense. Tension is the rule in this city right now. "I think the press of battle is almost easier to take at times like this than the quiet. Feels like holding your breath, whenever there's a moment /to/ breathe. HOw're you faring? You were at the battle at the walls, yes? I think I saw you, on the wall. But I saw so many faces it's hard to sort them in my mind." She's on the ramparts, talking with Calaudrin as the archers keep watch.

Funny thing, that. Archers watching. Dulcinea is taking her turn at the same. It's weary work, and the guard changes when relief is available. She's been at it a while. Her attention drifts slightly towards the conversation, but her eyes are on the field.

There is a cry of alarm from up on the walls. There is a scramble as men get into formation up above on the walls. "SHAVS!" Comes the cry.

"At least when you're fighting you already know it's all fucked." Calaudrin replies gruffly with a sigh. He holds out his flask, "Whiskey?" He offers, before glancing towards the field. "I was. Standing not too far away from the man who got blown through the air." The guardsmen makes a demonstrative motion with one hand. That hand motion is stopped short when the cry goes up. "Well, shit." He scrambles to put his helmet back on and pick up his bow and shaft of arrows.

Esoka eyes the whiskey. Tempted. And looks on point of saying yes to the drink. And then, the cry of alarm. So much for a war cocktails. "Indeed," she says in sharp agreement to Calaudrin's 'shit.' She moves swift to a place on the wall where she can make herself useful. It puts her near Dulcinea, who earns a terse nod.

"Fuck," whispers Dulcinea. How did she miss them? Fatigue. But her bow comes up with the rapidity of a lifetime's practice, gloved hand over her back and nocking an arrow in a single fluid movement. Mark. Draw. Fire.

Dulcinea checked perception + investigation against difficulty 15, resulting in 14, 1 lower than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked perception + investigation against difficulty 15, resulting in 35, 20 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked perception + war against difficulty 15, resulting in 17, 2 higher than the difficulty.

There coming through the darkness, and a fog that has rolled along with them, is a number of shavs-- 20-30. All scrambling toward the gates. The archers are the wall scramble into formation and hestitate-- waiting for orders.

Calaudrin's flask is abandoned in the scramble, alas. Maybe later. He nocks an arrow and waits until he can get a solid eye on the shavs coming at the gate. Some of the archers are from the guard and to them, he lifts a hand and signals to wait until the shavs can be spotted halfway decently through the mist. Beyond them, he spies something much larger and his eyes squint. Then he mutters harshly under his breath and the officer gives an order, "My damn luck. Fire!"

Esoka is no guardswoman, but she grabs a bow and gets to work beside Calaudrin and Dulcinea. Her eyes meet the guardsman's, briefly, widening some behind her helmet. "Gloria guide us. Is that a Bringer with them in the rear?" She knocks and arrow and gets about that shooting thing, with all deliberate speed.

Orders? We don't need no steenking orders. Or, at least, Dulcinea doesn't think so. She's not even a militiaman, she's a spoiled noble with a bow. She's drawn and ready. There's shit that needs shot down there. Good thing someone says //Fire!// and saves her from looking like a... not... soldier. Person.

Calaudrin checked command + leadership against difficulty 20, resulting in 30, 10 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 29, 9 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 44, 24 higher than the difficulty.

At Calaudrin's command the arches start firing as one. The arrows rain down and start slamming into the shavs rushing toward the gate and the city walls. While below the guards with swords wait to see if any break through. The forces of shavs already start to fall under the assault. With Calaudrin's commands the arches manage to down five shavs, while others dodge or use primitive shields to get past the arrows...

"Sure looks like it." He replies grimly to Esoka, firing away with the rest of the archers. As the arrows rain down, he points towards the Bringer emerging from the mist. "It's going to be a problem. We should try and down it before it can reach the gate." Hopefully the archers keep firing in the meantime.

"Sure looks like it." He replies grimly to Esoka, firing away with the rest of the archers. As the arrows rain down, he points towards the Bringer emerging from the mist. "It's going to be a problem. We should try and down it before it can reach the gate." Hopefully the archers keep firing in the meantime.

Even if he's not her regular commander, Esoka falls into following Calaudrin's orders without hesitation. She looks built more for swordplay than shooting, but she has obviously had /some/ training in handling a bow. Her first shot takes a shav in the leg. Fortunately, a target that's tripped and fallen in easier to hit, so her second in the chest finishes the enemy off. That done, she knocks another arrow to begin this process again. Nodding about the Bringer, and trying to focus her fire on it.

"Oopsie daisy, down we go!" sings Dulcinea as her arrow drops a shav. Another arrow's pulled from the quiver and nocked even as that first, lethal shot flies. "Nice shot," she remarks to the woman beside her. "Wait, what are we bringing down agai -- oh! That thing." She really, actually missed the bringer this whole time. "Good idea."

Esoka checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 35, 15 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 41, 21 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked command + leadership against difficulty 20, resulting in 45, 25 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin gestures for the archers to keep firing, but for some of them to join him and those immediately next to him on the wall to fire at that approaching bringer. "Aim for the head, I guess." /So inspiring/. He's no expert at taking these things down, but headshots seem effective on everything else. He nocks an arrow, pulls his arm back and lets it fly.

Dulcinea says, "Eyes," Dulcinea agrees with Calaudrin's general strategy. "I've taken down boars with a shot to the eye."

More shavs fall underneath the archers. Calaudrin's orders boosting the confidence of these archers. They fire off into the shavs that are rushing the gate. Meanwhile, another portion shift to the Bringer in the back. Soon it is becoming a pincushion. Its body twitching a little as its continues it slow forward advance.

Esoka zeroes her shots in on the oncoming Bringer. As near its head as she can manage. A sharp hiss escapes her lips as her arrow goes off, followed by something muttered in a language that doesn't sound anything like Commpact Common. Maybe it's a prayer, maybe it's a curse. Or a mix of both. She hardens herself as the thing twitches, with whatever unhuman drive powers it, and keeps firing.

"Eyes," Dulcinea agrees with Calaudrin's general strategy. "I've taken down boars with a shot to the eye." And it is for the eyes she aims. Arrow after arrow, each shot fluid and in sync with her breath. "And clearly, it's not dying." Time to rethink the boar strategem, perhaps.

"I like that, aiming for the eyes. How about the mouth?" Calaudrin draws back and aims his bow so that his arrows find purchase in the creature's face. His frown deepens as the bringer keeps shambling forward. With a frustrated sound escaping his mouth he abandons firing with the order of, "Keep firing!" Then he hauls ass down a ways to grab a bucket of pitch and haul it over. In his rucksack there's some matches that he uses for his smokes. With shakey hands he lights the bucket on fire. Bad idea? Great idea? Guess we're going to find out!

Esoka checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 29, 9 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 61, 41 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked command + leadership against difficulty 20, resulting in 34, 14 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 86, 66 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked dexterity + athletics against difficulty 20, resulting in 18, 2 lower than the difficulty.

As if by divine prodivence, just after Calaudrin mentions a mouth-- his arrow flies through the air just as the Bringer open its mouth to-- do something. It gets an arrow stuck right through its mouth. It staggers backward just in time to take an arrow through the eye from Dulcina, and a third one hits it from Esoka, as the archers continue their assault on it. Riddling it with arrows.

Meanwhile the Calaudrin's bucket of fire lights up with a WOOSH.... but shaking hands down make for good aim.

And shavs have reached the gates.

"Steel can kill them, but they don't fall so easily as a boar!" Esoka shouts, above the din of battle at Dulcinea. For her part, she keeps plugging arrows in the general direction of the Bringer's ugly skull. With each step it takes, her posture gets tighter. As if bracing. But she does not intend to stop while she still has arrows, and space between the walls and her enemy to shoot them. She hiss, anoter another prayer/curse in that strange language, as the shavs reach the gates. "They shall not enter the city. My sword is ready."

"Maybe we can launch an enormous cake of soap at it with a trebuchet," Dulcinea remarks of firing at the mouth. She keeps going for the eyes, perhaps praying that a shaft deep enough through that squishy membrane will reach the thing's brain. She breathes a grim laugh. "Not a boar -- noted!" she shouts back. "Definitely." Arrow. "Not." FWIP. "A fucking." Loosed! "Board."

This could have been a brilliant idea! But instead, part of Calaudrin's foot is on fire. Which means he's not firing his bow, because his foot is on fire. And now there's a firey bucket of pitch right in front of him. He reaches for his rucksack and whacks it against his leg until he's no longer on fire. But there's probably something funky going on inside that armor, since metal heats. With more noises of frustration, he attempts to just... lift that bucket up and- you know what, "What a terrible fucking idea this was." So instead he'll push the pitch towards the /other/ arches. "Dip your arrows in it and fire down below!" And he'll focus on that bringer.

Calaudrin checked command + leadership against difficulty 30, resulting in 38, 8 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked dexterity + athletics against difficulty 15, resulting in 34, 19 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + athletics against difficulty 15, resulting in 24, 9 higher than the difficulty.

Calaudrin checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 34, 14 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 27, 7 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 58, 38 higher than the difficulty.

The archers do as they are directed, they dip their arrows into the pitch and then set them on fire. This gives the shavs time to get a little bit closer but... Over half of the remaining shavs fall-- pinned to the ground and set on fire by flaming areas.

Meanwhile, the bringer staggers backward as it turns into a FIERY pincushion. Its hands trying to tear the flaming arrows out of its flesh.

"Do not burn yourself alive! You're useful!" Esoka hollers at Calaudrin crossly. It's kind of an order. Do not die while you're nominally in charge! There is, after that whole display, a moment of hesitation when Calaudrin encourages them toward that bucket of pitch. The look she gives him says very clearly, 'Seriously?' But another look down at the Bringer makes her stow any objects, and she dips her arrow. And lights it up. Without self-immolating. She low growl escapes her lips as the Bringer catches fire. It's a sound of satisfaction.

"Does he have another bucket? Tell me he does not have another buck -- oh, look, it's on fire! Perhaps the first bucket wasn't entirely without merit, but a second bucket is right out. Can you shout that at him?" Esoka's a good shouter. Dulcinea continues to loose arrows. It's not glam, it's kind of repetitive, but it's slowly proving effective.

"You're going to have to buy me a drink if you want to call me useful!" Calaudrin shouts back over the cries of pain and agony down below. He's a regular romantic, for sure. He lets loose another arrow and then leans over the side of the wall, "Sweep through the rest of the shavs, then help us take down that bringer!" The guardsmen calls down to the swordsmen below. He glances at Esoka, it's the kind of silent look that speaks to understanding. If she's going to take up her sword, he gets it.

Calaudrin checked command + leadership against difficulty 20, resulting in 41, 21 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked dexterity + athletics against difficulty 20, resulting in 21, 1 higher than the difficulty.

Esoka checked dexterity + medium wpn against difficulty 20, resulting in 62, 42 higher than the difficulty.

Dulcinea checked dexterity + athletics against difficulty 20, resulting in 24, 4 higher than the difficulty.

The guardsmen below manage to sweep through the shavs that have just managed to reach the gate. The bringer still struggling over, attempting to get to the gate despite the fact that it is both ON FIRE and a PINCUSHION. As for it...

Dulcinea checked dexterity + archery against difficulty 20, resulting in 49, 29 higher than the difficulty.

"If we survive this, Guardsman Calaudrin, I shall buy you a bottle!" Esoka promises him, with a broad flash of smiley teeth. Before she sets down her bow, and draws her sword. She's a serviceable archer, but the melee is where she earns her keep. She doesn't bother with the ladder thing time, save as a thing to hoist herself off the rampart with. And then, she //leaps// down to join the swordsman in the fray with the shavs and flaming Bringer below. Again, she does not self-immolate. Her sword whistles through the air, a song of murder as she launches herself at the already wounded dark creature.

Dulcinea watches Esoka leap down into battle like a swordy goddess of kill-death, her mouth slightly agape and eyes wide. Steeling herself, she looks the bringer in the (does it have eyes left?) face. "I can do this," she mutters. "I can do this. I can do this..." She takes a few steps back, then is sprinting forward. "SHIIIIIIIIIT!!!" The archer lands ON the bringer, takes a shaken moment to take in that she's alive and not on fire, then begins rapid-firing arrows at short range. Die. Die. DIE!

Between Calaudrin's able leadership and the skill of those involved the shav force that attacked the wall is done for... and between falling arrow fire from Dulcinea and the leap attack of Esoka the Bringer? It suddenly collapses, becoming not but dust as the two ladies hit the ground themselves.

Calaudrin watches with a kind of blank amazement as both women dive off the side of the ramparts. He pauses for a moment to stare down after them. "Well alright... That's not something you see every day..." He mutters before stepping forward and nocking an arrow and waiting to fire. But then, the thing collapses into a cloud of dust. He leans over the ramparts wall, "You owe me a bottle of booze, woman!"