"A leviathan which has devastated the harbor," General Ogrimskar declaimed ominously. "Yon leviathan must be defeated before it destroys whae is left of the Kul Tiran defense fleet."
"It's name is..Viq'goth"
A silence ensued.
Jon spoke up. "Boss, I'm out of healing potions and F.R.I.E.D. grenades... you guys go ahead, I'll catch up after restock my supplies, yeah?"
Ogrimskar ignored him.
"Right then. Right behind you, Boss," mumbled Jon. In spite of herself, No'lariel chuckled.
"Do we have a plan, General?" asked Gunny.
"Oh aye... kill the beastie afore it can wreck everything!"
"I have encountered Viq'goth before at Anglepoint Wharf, where i was responding to a call for medical assistance," Gunrik said. "A K'thir cultist named Director Deepwarden summoned him to destroy the sea gate. He was driven back to the depths by artillery fire. Maybe we can use one again?"
The K'thir are creatures came from the darkest parts of the oceans, when the Tidesages peered too deep into the depths where nobody should go. Now they walked among the inhabitants of Stormsong Valley, their true appearance only shown upon their death, sowing the seeds of the Old Gods.
"Interesting," said Ogrimskar. "Chess, you're a scout, aye? Go forth and scout, and see if there are any cannon, powder, and shot we might use." Jon sketched a salute, and disappeared into the shadows. "Gunny... do you actually have experience firing field guns?"
"I commanded the Stormwind 12th Brigade - if we have powder and ball, I can get a cannon aimed and fire it."
A short while later, Chess returned to Unity Square and reported to General Ogrimskar and Praetor Gunrik, who then turned to the Brotherhood of Valor team.
"New plan... Chess hae found a cannon thae has been dismounted from its gun carraige, and a cache of powder, shot, and whatnot. We are going to split into two teams, one commanded by Praetor Gunrik - consisting of Gunny, Zallanna, Chess, and one commanded by myself, consisting of me, Bitibiz, and No'lariel."
"And Rulpad!" interjected No'lariel.
"Aye, and the wee little fireplug. Gunrik's team is going tae remount the cannon and get it set to fire. While he is doing thae, my team will be throwing the kitchen sink at Viq'goth, and lure it into gun range. Gunny, how close do we need to bring it?"
"Well, under optimal firing conditions, optimal firing range would be a little over a thousand yards, but as we'll be ad hoc rigging the cannon's firing angle, closer would be better."
"Right then... we'll try and bring it close enough so that ye can shove the cannonball down the beastie's gullet by hand if need be," concluded the General. "Gunny... if ye can't fire that thing, we're all kind of screwed, aye? Be ready."
Praetor William Gunny saluted. "We'll be ready, General."
The leviathan's carnage had already damaged the area considerably, creating a breach in the seawall. They split into their teams, with General Ogrimskar and his team heading for Viq'goth and Praetor Gunrik and his team being led to the dismounted cannon position by Jon Chess. Chess was dispatched to retrieve the supplies, while Gunny and Zallanna contrived a block and tackle to lift and remount the cannon barrel onto the gun carriage. The elevation mechanism was damaged, and the transverse crank was likewise inoperable. While Jon brought over a cannonball and other equipment, including a pre-measured bag of gunpowder.
Meanwhile, down the wreckage line, No'lariel had cast every destructive spell in her repertoire, drawing the leviathan into the range of General Ogrimskar and Bitibiz. Their combined firepower had been enough to attract Viq'goth's attention, and it followed them with single-minded, bloody determination. They were roughly 1,100 yards when Gunny began the firing drill.
"Thumbstall," called out Praetor Gunrik. In response, Zallanna covered the flash hole with a leather glovelet to prevent air from moving through the cannon.
1,050 yards.
"Worm the barrel." Chess took the pole with a large corkscrew attachment and ran it down the barrel to catch and remove any left over debris that might have befouled the cannon.
1,035 yards.
"Wet Sponge". Zallanna took a pole that had sheep’s wool they had wet in seawater and rammed it down the barrel.
1,000 yards.
"Dry Sponge". Chess rammed a dry sheep's wool-tipped pole twice, drying the cannon for firing.
950 yards.
"Powder." Zallanna brought the bag of powder to the mouth of the cannon, and Chess, using the same pole he had just used, pushed the bag into the base of the cannon.
900 yards.
"Load." Her powerful body, strong beyond human limits, lifted the cannonball to the mouth of the cannon, and Chess rammed the ball home, leaning all of his weight to ensure the base end of the round was seated solidly against the back of the inside of the barrel.
850 yards.
"Prick." Gunny removed the leather glovelet, and used a long iron rod to pierce the powder bag and expose the gunpowder.
800 yards.
"Prime." Gunny placed a charge of gunpowder into the flash hole to make the gun ready to fire.
750 yards
"Fire."
Nothing happened. "Chess, fire!" commanded Praetor Gunrik.
"With what?" asked Chess. Nobody had thought to actually light a fire, or a burning brand. No slow-burning wick.
Nothing.
600 yards.
"Rulpad! Burn me!" Jon cried out to the Imp, who, skipping along swiftly cheerfully, rather happy in the abounding chaos, grinned and started making an invocation. Jon quickly removed his cloak, wrapping his arm with the cloth material.
500 yards. General Ogrimskar, No'lariel, and Bitibiz had almost reached them, swinging wide to be well out of the path of the cannon.
Rulpad tossed a green fireball at Chess, ecstatic to comply with Jon's request. At the last moment, Jon dodged aside, punching the fireball with his cloak-wrapped fist.
450 yards. Screaming in pain as his cloth-wrapped hand was wreathed in flame, Jon lit the gunpowder at the flash hole.
There was an eardrum-bruising kaboom.
Whether killed or injured, Viq'goth vanished into the depths.
Gunny was good enough to heal Jon's hand.
"It's name is..Viq'goth"
A silence ensued.
Jon spoke up. "Boss, I'm out of healing potions and F.R.I.E.D. grenades... you guys go ahead, I'll catch up after restock my supplies, yeah?"
Ogrimskar ignored him.
"Right then. Right behind you, Boss," mumbled Jon. In spite of herself, No'lariel chuckled.
"Do we have a plan, General?" asked Gunny.
"Oh aye... kill the beastie afore it can wreck everything!"
"I have encountered Viq'goth before at Anglepoint Wharf, where i was responding to a call for medical assistance," Gunrik said. "A K'thir cultist named Director Deepwarden summoned him to destroy the sea gate. He was driven back to the depths by artillery fire. Maybe we can use one again?"
The K'thir are creatures came from the darkest parts of the oceans, when the Tidesages peered too deep into the depths where nobody should go. Now they walked among the inhabitants of Stormsong Valley, their true appearance only shown upon their death, sowing the seeds of the Old Gods.
"Interesting," said Ogrimskar. "Chess, you're a scout, aye? Go forth and scout, and see if there are any cannon, powder, and shot we might use." Jon sketched a salute, and disappeared into the shadows. "Gunny... do you actually have experience firing field guns?"
"I commanded the Stormwind 12th Brigade - if we have powder and ball, I can get a cannon aimed and fire it."
A short while later, Chess returned to Unity Square and reported to General Ogrimskar and Praetor Gunrik, who then turned to the Brotherhood of Valor team.
"New plan... Chess hae found a cannon thae has been dismounted from its gun carraige, and a cache of powder, shot, and whatnot. We are going to split into two teams, one commanded by Praetor Gunrik - consisting of Gunny, Zallanna, Chess, and one commanded by myself, consisting of me, Bitibiz, and No'lariel."
"And Rulpad!" interjected No'lariel.
"Aye, and the wee little fireplug. Gunrik's team is going tae remount the cannon and get it set to fire. While he is doing thae, my team will be throwing the kitchen sink at Viq'goth, and lure it into gun range. Gunny, how close do we need to bring it?"
"Well, under optimal firing conditions, optimal firing range would be a little over a thousand yards, but as we'll be ad hoc rigging the cannon's firing angle, closer would be better."
"Right then... we'll try and bring it close enough so that ye can shove the cannonball down the beastie's gullet by hand if need be," concluded the General. "Gunny... if ye can't fire that thing, we're all kind of screwed, aye? Be ready."
Praetor William Gunny saluted. "We'll be ready, General."
The leviathan's carnage had already damaged the area considerably, creating a breach in the seawall. They split into their teams, with General Ogrimskar and his team heading for Viq'goth and Praetor Gunrik and his team being led to the dismounted cannon position by Jon Chess. Chess was dispatched to retrieve the supplies, while Gunny and Zallanna contrived a block and tackle to lift and remount the cannon barrel onto the gun carriage. The elevation mechanism was damaged, and the transverse crank was likewise inoperable. While Jon brought over a cannonball and other equipment, including a pre-measured bag of gunpowder.
Meanwhile, down the wreckage line, No'lariel had cast every destructive spell in her repertoire, drawing the leviathan into the range of General Ogrimskar and Bitibiz. Their combined firepower had been enough to attract Viq'goth's attention, and it followed them with single-minded, bloody determination. They were roughly 1,100 yards when Gunny began the firing drill.
"Thumbstall," called out Praetor Gunrik. In response, Zallanna covered the flash hole with a leather glovelet to prevent air from moving through the cannon.
1,050 yards.
"Worm the barrel." Chess took the pole with a large corkscrew attachment and ran it down the barrel to catch and remove any left over debris that might have befouled the cannon.
1,035 yards.
"Wet Sponge". Zallanna took a pole that had sheep’s wool they had wet in seawater and rammed it down the barrel.
1,000 yards.
"Dry Sponge". Chess rammed a dry sheep's wool-tipped pole twice, drying the cannon for firing.
950 yards.
"Powder." Zallanna brought the bag of powder to the mouth of the cannon, and Chess, using the same pole he had just used, pushed the bag into the base of the cannon.
900 yards.
"Load." Her powerful body, strong beyond human limits, lifted the cannonball to the mouth of the cannon, and Chess rammed the ball home, leaning all of his weight to ensure the base end of the round was seated solidly against the back of the inside of the barrel.
850 yards.
"Prick." Gunny removed the leather glovelet, and used a long iron rod to pierce the powder bag and expose the gunpowder.
800 yards.
"Prime." Gunny placed a charge of gunpowder into the flash hole to make the gun ready to fire.
750 yards
"Fire."
Nothing happened. "Chess, fire!" commanded Praetor Gunrik.
"With what?" asked Chess. Nobody had thought to actually light a fire, or a burning brand. No slow-burning wick.
Nothing.
600 yards.
"Rulpad! Burn me!" Jon cried out to the Imp, who, skipping along swiftly cheerfully, rather happy in the abounding chaos, grinned and started making an invocation. Jon quickly removed his cloak, wrapping his arm with the cloth material.
500 yards. General Ogrimskar, No'lariel, and Bitibiz had almost reached them, swinging wide to be well out of the path of the cannon.
Rulpad tossed a green fireball at Chess, ecstatic to comply with Jon's request. At the last moment, Jon dodged aside, punching the fireball with his cloak-wrapped fist.
450 yards. Screaming in pain as his cloth-wrapped hand was wreathed in flame, Jon lit the gunpowder at the flash hole.
There was an eardrum-bruising kaboom.
Whether killed or injured, Viq'goth vanished into the depths.
Gunny was good enough to heal Jon's hand.
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