A Critical Role story - In the Shadow of the Titan

A Shadow Passes

There was nothing for her to do.

Allura Vysoren looked about the war room. She had returned from the wyvern pens to find that most of the assembled clerics had departed. Scalebearer Vord remained but his aides had brought armour which he was currently being helped into, still planning troop movements through the city, his long sword and shield now in easy reach. 

Whilst she had been gone, the map of Vasselheim had been replaced with a crafted model of the city, with a scale version of the titan visible just outside the wall. Runners in light armour were lined up as a secondary means of communication and the priest who had crafted the model would periodically update the location of the titan, and the forces of Vasselheim arrayed against it. Scryers and message senders still waited as needed but the Arcanist was not needed here. The city had had many hundreds of years to work on its defences and she had not ever factored into the preparations.

Instead, Allura returned to the balcony. The two guards had slung their long-bladed spears onto the backs and now had cross bows at the ready, watching the skies. One of the runners took a position near the balcony entrance, where he could watch developments and shout them back into the room.

Almost all the cities aerial defences were now in play: flights of giant eagles and wyverns swooped through the sky with their riders, skimishing with the gloomstalkers under the dark clouds swirling over head. Dragon headed ballista were raised to the sky, raking gloomstalkers as they came into range. Trebuchets on the outer wall were already flinging load after load at the titan, in what was quickly becoming a vain hope of toppling the gargantuan creature before it reached the walls

At a quick glance, it seemed like the city forces outnumbered the undead creatures but for every gloomstalker cut from the sky, it seemed like another  would take it's place and the brutal aerial combat continued.

Allura looked out over the city - though the people were like dots to her, she could see citizens still streaming from the north west wall, headed to temples, or where-ever was considered safe quarters. Stoic figures headed towards the wall, Bastions answering the call to serve their city and here and there the flash of colour and shine that indicated paladins, or monks, or clerics, boosting the faith of the defenders.

As the titan continued to approach, Allura could feel the floor she stood on begin to shake every so slightly from each weighty footfall, the sheer mass of the creature ever more apparent.

One of the guards shouted a warning and all on the balcony looked to see three gloom stalkers appear around the building, their shrieks chilling even at this range. First one then the other crossbow sung as the guards methodically began to shoot at the incoming creatures. One gloomstalker was silenced as a bolt entered it's gullet and it dropped from the sky. The other two came closer and the bolts continued to fly, ripping the wings of a second, the guards taking turns to fire and reload. Then one guard swore as the mechanism on his crossbow locked suddenly, and the third gloomstalker was fast approaching.

There was a feminine cry and Allura brandished her staff, arcane energy rippling out and striking the creature as it made a final swoop. The energy blasted into it and the creatures shriek was silenced, dissolving to ash as it too fell from the sky.

Both guards nodded respectfully at Allura, as the one send the runner to find a replacement crossbow. A flight of eagles glided by and began to circle a few hundred yards away, obviously setting up another line of defence to protect the temple overlooking the city, and the Dawnmarshall within.

Allura speculated idly if the temple of Sarenae had been afforded a Dawnmarshall and had a moment of amusement at the thought of Pike taking up the role but the thought was fleeting and solemnity quickly returned.