'(Howlers gonna howl
)When it arrived at the Sarghress Cavern, the Howler found the structure fortified against it. This was no frontier settlement, neither was it an isolated and ill-defended mining outpost to be overwhelmed in a brief but vicious struggle. This was a fortress, heart of their clan, the center and bastion of their power. Thanks to Tyaelae's warning, the defenders had been forewarned of the horror headed towards them.
Koil'dorath, Weapons Master of the Sarghress and General of their armies, had bent her skills to further buttressing the complex's already formidable defense, so it was that when Crayak's Child arrived, it arrived at a city ready for a fight. Dozens of highland raiders had just been resupplied, staying behind to augmenting the already formidable legion of Sarghress infantry. In the 20 days and nights leading up to the Howler's arrival in the fortress, Koil had requisitioned every able-bodied person capable of fighting, In addition to the War meat and mercenary companies, there were drafted commoners of all sizes. Some fought for money, others for the Ilharess and a few because they could do no else with their food and possessions in the hands of troops loyal to Quaintana. Nor had the physical structure been neglected. Here, the combatants had wrought a careful series of defenses, which they would man alongside the skirmishers and Fallen Legion. Should the worst befall them, Koil'doraths plan was for her forces to fall back to the Sulissin'rune dome and hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Yet here, against this new alien menace, this formidable arsenal would prove woefully insufficient.
Another foe would perhaps have been daunted by the assemblage of might that now guarded the cavern, but Howlers are the deadliest species in the galaxy. They brought extinction to the Nostnavay, the Pon, the Mashtimee, the Pemalites, the Graffen's Children, and a thousand other civilizations. All who were in danger of losing were destroyed by Crayak, so the race knew nothing of pain, fear, or doubt. The command to destroy had the weight of Crayak behind it, and the Howlers fought as long as they were still standing.
When the Howler did appear, the assault came on without delay. Surge after surge of Spacewarper rockets swept over the wall. Each blast was retaliated in turn by the massed mana of casters and sorcerers, and the creature took grievous wounds. For a time, Koil's forces successfully slowed it a crawl, trading territory for time as they pounded it with arrows and mana. Yet even as it's flesh burned and bubbled, even when it had so many arrows in it that it looked like a porcupine, it wouldn't seem to die. And even under Koil's legendary leadership, such delaying measures could only last so long.
As it approached the city-state, the Sarghress were being attacked as never before. The creature produced a horrific weapon from it's loose belt- a cylindrical device later classified in archives as the Death Spinner. The race that invented it- before they were massacred when howlers came to their planet- had thought it a repulsive creation, and with it's appearance the full depth of Crayak's threat became apparent. From the ground, the Howler released a stream of rapidly expanding mist up at the barricade. Drow within the mist were sliced limb from limb as the chemical bonded into single-molecule chains, writhing and lashing like so many microscopic wires. Loose ends of the wire searched for the smallest loopholes in armor, uncoiling inside their bodies.
By the time Koil'dorath's 2nd Company had rallied, the south wall was a channel of gore and routing soldiers who had dodged the mist only to face the mind-crippling howls. Koil'dorath yelled tirelessly, bolstering weakened sections of the line as only the heir of Quain'tana could, reacting to each advance with valor. But the Howler scaled the wall and fell upon the troops with fury, heralded by deafening howls and automatic flechettes.
The veterans of the 1st Company led the remnants of the outer auxilia in a tenacious defense, holding every last foot of ground until the last possible moment. Tides of blood poured down the wall, gathering waist-deep in the trenches below. Howls continued to echo, forcing those of the ground ever deeper into the base. The garrison of the western defenses fell back to the citadel at the complex's heart and prepared to sell their lives dearly. In the north, the situation was far direr. Word of this monster had reached the ranks, and the terror of its arrival was as dreadful as any physical weapon.
Koil was soon staring the creature in the face, her ribs splintered and weapon thrown back by some distortion field. Even laid low, her ears amputated by her own hands to withstand the howls, body rent and torn, she expended her last strength in mortal combat with the alien supersoldier. Her Honor Guard fought before their wounded master, axes and swords flashing in the cold light as they drove the lava-skinned thing back from the body of their lord. Too late, foci arrived from outside the wall, their explosions buying moments In which the bloody survivors could scurry over the carpet of dead in their wake. Even then, that the Honor Guard were able to get Koil'dorath to safety was due only to the sacrifice of Alo'ysie, Commander of the Guard, who held his ground alone against the Howler and it's lethal weaponry. Yet even as Alo'ysie fell, brain boiling from a howl at near point-blank range, they retreated carrying the few dozen survivors to safety. Due to the noble sacrifice of her troops, Koil'dorath lived through the day, but the wall garrison was no more. The Sarghress fortress was on it's own.
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