//------------------------------// // The Ophidite Imperial Army // Story: The Moaning Top Incident // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// The Ophidite Imperial Army may employ a variety of tactics during engagements, but its formations can be summarized into the roles each type of ophidite plays within the Empire. In front of any ophidite charge, if they are available, are the indoctrinated slaves. These are typically ponies, but one can find wolven, and even an occasional ursan among them. As they are not proper citizens of the Empire, slaves are considered expendable, used to probe for enemy strengths and weaknesses. They are minimally armed and armored. As long as only slaves are in the melee, the ophidites will have no problem firing volleys of arrows and spells into the melee. Some coatls, however, do object to having particularly prized slaves treated in this manner and will hold them in reserve. Do not expect every pony, wolven, or ursan you encounter in the Imperial Army to be an expendable, indoctrinated slave. The Empire does employ a promotion system that eventually allows loyal and skilled slaves to climb ranks and eventually make their way up to citizenship and to officer ranks. Beware these as they will often pose as easily cowed slaves when cornered only to betray their "rescuers" later on. The Imperial Army also employs mercenaries; groups of unscrupulous ponies, wolven, and ursans that will fight for any side for the right pay. While these groups are better provided for, the Imperial Army tends to hold them with contempt and will have no problem sending them out to the front. Once the slaves are either killed or are in deep enough trouble, the Imperial Army will send out its regular troops. Spearheading any proper ophidite charge are the constrictors. While not as massive as ursans, they are powerfully built, often heavily armored, and armed with halberds. Constrictors can move swiftly despite their size and weight, but only for short bursts. One can tire them out rapidly through proper use of terrain. They will rush weak front lines and smash them apart to be exploited by the ophidites bringing up the rear. Hold fast to bring them to a halt. They can be bogged down once they lose momentum, and their size makes for easy targets for arrows and spells. The vipren will attack at the same time as the constrictors. Most will hang back and rely on their archery. Expect vipren arrows to be coated with poison, often from the fangs of the archer using them. All southern legionnaires are expected to carry multiple vials of vipren antivenom. Vipren will also form squads to form flanking attacks in unison with constrictor charges or will conduct raids on supply units when the opportunity presents itself. They can be dangerous and skilled fighters in a melee, but they lack strength and endurance, and will be forced back by a concentrated attack. A serious ophidite attack can be defined by the presence of cobrahn support. Cobrahns will form up at the rear lines of an ophidite charge, and will unleash a torrent of dangerous spells if they are not suppressed. They have a fondness for conjuring poisonous gasses, and will do so even with constrictors and vipren already in the melee. This will depend on the arrogance of the cobrahn commander and the seriousness of the battle's stakes. A warning to any brave legionnaire that manages to break through the ophidite lines to engage the cobrahns. Do not expect pushovers. Cobrahns can stab and kill with their ceremonial knives as easily as they use them to cast their spells. A cobrahn bite is also highly venomous. They will be prepared with defensive spells and close-combat enhancements, and will have no problem abandoning the other ophidites to save themselves if necessary. If a coatl is involved, then expect dire straits. A lone coatl will rain death on entire squads of legionnaires with little effort. Their telekinesis can rip a pony in half, and their shields have been known to deflect even catapult and ballista shots. Fortunately, coatls are very rare. There are usually no more than two hundred of them at a time in the Empire, and most won't even leave their manors in Nazcatania or their plantations in Teszcatanisz. Concentrate your efforts when dealing with a coatl. Use their extreme vanity and selfishness against them. They will hoard the best bodyguards to protect themselves even if it will deprive their front lines of strong warriors. They can be easily provoked by slights and insults. They will also go through absurd lengths to not just win an objective, but to appear to win it with ease. This will make it easy to disrupt their plans. Coatls also despise the slightest hint of insubordination, and are quick to assert their authority in brutal fashion. Drive a wedge between them and their cobrahn commanders. Should there be any indication that Emperor Sesyth will involve himself in a battle, make plans for immediate withdrawal. Pray that our Prince is on his way. Excerpt from Boglight's Guide to the Southern Barrier Land, First Edition Finally, after what felt like an eternity of travelling this wretchedly dry land, Nefszen spotted the lights that had to be the festival on Mount Moaning Top. He was right on schedule. It was only the first night. Safaszan should still be around. He raised a hoof, stopping the others behind him, then gestured for Tasimyssa. It was a green-coated earth pony mare with a short, brown mane that approached him. "Yes, Captain?" Tasimyssa asked. "How is the group?" Nefszen asked. "Are they battle ready?" "We've been going at a breakneck pace, Captain Nefszen," Tasimyssa said, almost apologetically. "We will go at your command, but to better our chances against a difficult foe, I would advise a period of rest." Nefszen himself was exhausted. It was true, he had pushed the group hard. Safaszan could not be allowed to finish her deal or it would be too late. They had made good time, at least. "If we do not strike now, Safaszan will escape," Nefszen said. "Perhaps, there is no need to be so hasty," Tasimyssa said. "We've made it to the first night of the Moonlight Rondo's festival. Safaszan will not make her move so early. It is at the first night that the festival will be under the heaviest scrutiny. Their Legion has grown to be wary of them, and will make inspections. At the second or third night, when they have presented an image of being safe, the Rondo will indulge in their true behavior. That is the time for Safaszan to move in." Reports on the Moonlight Rondo did confirm Tasimyssa's words. The Rondo had been mistreated by Equestria, though it could easily be seen as justified. This was why they could not just buy Safaszan's goods straightaway for fear of being caught with them beforehand. That also suggested that they would have to find a way to get rid of these goods after. Perhaps, that could mean that Safaszan planned to stay until the end of the festival so she could take her used goods back, then sell them for a lesser profit later if she didn’t just eat them. "Very well," Nefszen said. "We will camp out here, and rest until the second night." The ponies with them let out sighs of relief. They had been shaking and sweating. Even Kasamyssen and Sohomyssa were eager to get their rest. Nefszen checked his dagger, and recalled his spells. Illusion reinforcement would be in short order soon. Spending the day this close to such a large group of ponies was no relaxing matter as it turned out. Nefszen's group stayed low and hidden, even with their pony illusions on. Some scouting showed multiple caravans taking the winding paths up the mountain's slopes. Normal all around. Nefszen didn't detect Safaszan among those arriving. Perhaps, she was already there, and just biding her time. The climb up Mount Moaning Top wouldn't be too difficult. The base sloped up at a comfortable angle and the paths were well-cleared, even though this was clearly a mountain that wasn't a regular traveling spot. Food wasn't an issue. Indeed, it presented an opportunity to test Nefszen's spellwork. He approached a small caravan of ponies carrying food, and offered to buy some. This deep penetrating mission gave him plenty of access to the Imperial Army's Equestrian bit coffers after all. They obliged, all smiles and eagerness to offer a meal to what looked like a tired pony wayfarer. Nefszen couldn't help but find it a little quaint. He took the time to strike up conversation in the process. As it turned out, this wasn't just a Moonlight Rondo festival, it was meant to be their biggest. Their smaller branches all gathered together on this mountain. Just Nefszen's luck, it seemed. Of the Legion presence, there was already a group in the festival monitoring things, and there were sightings of a larger one moving in. A larger Legion presence...on one hand, that would make Safaszan's task much harder. On the other, it would make Nefszen's task harder. What had provoked them in the first place? Did that skink, Safaszan, fail to mask her trail well enough? What a laugh it would be if Nefszen's group wasn't even needed in the first place. And there was the odd thing that these ponies mentioned. There were rumors that a pony called "Charred the Insane Apothecary" had been spotted lurking around this area, and that his presence was a portent of impending disaster. The ponies he spoke to shrugged it off with a laugh, but Nefszen found it a little disconcerting. There were a lot of factors to consider now. The second night at last. Nefszen led his troop on less obvious paths, approaching the mountain away from the main partying locations. The Legion's main presence would most likely be there. Safaszan should be hiding in the more remote locations of this mountain. The detection spell Nefszen had up was starting to react. Good. He had commissioned the Imperial Army for this very specific spell to locate tikhanas once they were at a certain distance. The mental ping only he could hear not only alerted him as to how near the quarry was, but where the general location would be. "This is an odd scent to catch here..." Tasimyssa whispered as they moved along. "What do you mean?" Nefszen asked. "Befuddling Grass fumes," Tasimyssa replied. "It smells like we're close to some stables, which makes no sense." "It does considering the Rondo," Nefszen whispered. "We are approaching Safaszan. She must be close to the place where they would not want the Legion to see." It was too dark to make out much, however. Nefszen trusted in his detection spells, and focused on where he placed his feet. "Captain!" Tasimyssa whispered harshly. Nefszen stopped without making a sound when Tasamyssa laid a hand on his shoulder, and urged him to get down. "Where do you think this Moon Sail's leading us?" someone said quietly. "This is way off the main party. Maybe, she's just trying to get rid of us." Ponies! Of all the accursed luck! Nefszen went through his spells. He was in a compromising position away from the main celebrations. He hadn't expected to run into other ponies lurking the shadowy outskirts of the festival. Perhaps, he could dispatch these silently, and move on. He held off a killing spell, however. These ponies were also sneaking around. Legion investigators? Bandits hoping to rob the festival? The clink of light armor suggested fighters, at least. "Keep your eye on the Skirmisher Captain..." The Legion. Attacking may not be the best idea. They would raise the alarm. Nefszen considered a different approach. He altered his disguise to include some light armor. The slaves with him were armed and armored anyway. With his spells reinforced, he let out a sharp "hsst!" to catch the ponies's attention. "What the—? Who goes there?" one of them asked, his voice still low. Though the moonlight did not provide much illumination, Nefszen was close enough to determine shadowy details and silhouettes. This was a small group of earth ponies and a unicorn. A splinter group likely doing reconnaissance. They must be tailing another group after that last remark. "Stay calm," Nefszen replied. "My name is Marsh Cut, I'm a ranger from the Southern Legion tracking a dangerous ophidite." The ponies had their spears out in an instant. "We didn't receive any sort of message regarding Southern Legion involvement," one of them said in a low, challenging tone. Tasamyssa was already with Nefszen. Naturally. "The ophidite cannot know that we are this close to her," she said. "All information about this hunt has been restricted." "The ophidite..." one of the unicorn said. "There's only one? This is quite a huge hunt for one ophidite...by our Prince, is it a coatl? How could one get all the way here?" "No, but close," Nefszen said. "This is no time for long discussions, the enemy is near." "Damn...so is that Moon Sail really leading the Skirmisher Captain to a trap?" Nefszen concentrated on his detection spell. Safaszan was close. He pushed past the legionnaires with authority, reinforcing his lie that he was a no-nonsense southern legionnaire. Better to immediately shift their focus on other pressing matters to limit their scrutiny. They were on an elevated slope of rock, looking down on a winding trail leading...somewhere. It was ridiculously dark for a supposed happy festival. Nefszen guessed that these Rondo ponies deliberately kept it dark to "celebrate the moonlight" or some such nonsense. As to where they were going, it was difficult to tell. Nefszen was no expert on mountains. This was the rockier part of Mount Moaning Top, and the large, looming cliff-faces ahead suggested that it was going to be a cave. This must really be a secluded area given how dark the path to it was. The only light besides that of the moon, was from the light spells the unicorns on the trail were using. A closer looked revealed that this was a larger group of legionnaires following a lone pegasus. It would be easy to guess that this lone pegasus might be Safaszan in disguise, about to lead some legionnaires into a deadly ambush. Nefszen's detection spells said otherwise. Yet, this pony did not "feel" right, anymore than this whole situation. One of Safaszan's newly acquired minions? That would not be so strange. The tikhana was an imposing sight, and it would not be beyond her power to attract a following even after the demise of her last group. The two groups followed wordlessly, with Sefszen's group sandwiched between the legionnaires. It was a good precaution, he supposed. Useless, as he was not here to attack the Legion, but they were at least careful enough. It was rough going trying to keep up. They stumbled through rough terrain. Walking on all fours was not a comfortable thing for Nefszen. For Tasimyssa and the other vipren, walking instead of slithering was a pain. For all its stink and danger, Nefszen did miss the cool mud and slime of swamp and jungle travel. At least, the ground was soothing to travel on. The climb was steep, and treacherous not only because they couldn't make any light, but due to a great deal of loose gravel and rocks. Nefszen held his breath when his foot crunched into the ground. The gravel rolled under his scales, threatening to slide loose once he lifted his foot. It took a few moments of gingerly tucking the gravel into stable positions before he could move on. Eventually, the cliff-face was before them. This would not have been the destination of any traveler on this mountain. The trail, if there was one as the lone pegasus appeared to be moving along lightly trammeled ground, ended before a sheer cliff-face. It would take flight to get past this and make it to the peak, but there was nothing on the peak from the look of it. If the objective was to travel through the mountain, it would have been better to go through a less rugged slope. No doubt, there were better trails to follow than this barely visible one. "This way," the pegasus leading the group said. The lights followed her into a small, shadowy entrance, more a hole in a wall than a proper cave entrance. "This is bad," the legionnaire next to Nefszen said. If they go in there, we can't provide support. We'll have to join their group. "Bring up the rear," another one said behind them. "We'll make sure that they're not closed off." 'Not a bad move,' Nefszen thought. Of course, the Imperial Army would have snipers pick off this rear guard, and close off the main group anyway. He supposed that the ursans were not well known for their stealthy snipers or meticulously prepared ambushes anyway. He was about to say something when the distinct, soft whine of a metal wire stretching stopped him short. "Legionnaire..." he muttered. The earth pony that had been walking next to him had decided to walk ahead, then stopped. Nefszen didn't need to see the wires to know that this imbecile had walked into a tripwire. Now, it was only a matter of moments to see what that led to.