Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

240 - The Horde

“They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Lex narrowed his eyes as he spoke. He’d done his best to keep track of the minutes after the Night Mare had warned him about the imminent attack, and by his count it was just now approaching the sixty-minute mark. When the goddess had said that the ghouls would attack in “a little over” an hour, she’d apparently been quite literal indeed.

“Awesome! That means it’s almost showtime!” grinned Sonata, though her smile faded as she glanced over at Lex, eyeing him critically. “You’re sure you’re okay to go head-to-head with them like this?” He frowned at that, and she held up a hoof to forestall his response. “I know the plan your super-big brain came up with is probably one of those ‘I’ve predicted everything ahead of time’ things, but I just wanna make sure it’s that and not ‘I’m sacrificing myself for everyone else’ instead, you know? ‘Cuz I’ve seen both kinds of movies and I gotta tell you, that second kind sucks. Like, a lot.”

“I’m implementing the most tactically-sound course of action that the present circumstances allow, Sonata,” replied Lex sourly. “That includes my engaging the ghouls in direct combat. This is not some reckless act where I throw myself at my opponents with no care of what happens to me.” He had to work hard to keep the bitter element out of his voice as he spoke, knowing that he was splitting hairs. The only reason that last sentence wasn’t a complete lie was because he was concerned about what would happen to him. Specifically, he knew that if he died then Sonata would immediately follow, and in all likelihood the camp ponies would somehow be discovered and subsequently lose their lives as well.

That distinction aside, this plan was extremely reckless. But that recklessness was the best that he had been able to come up with. Betting everything on Severance’s currently-unknown full power and his own defensive spells and magic items – with his only other preparations being the tent-covered holes ahead of him and the hastily-weaved illusion covering the ponies at his back – was leaving far too much to chance, but there was simply nothing else to utilize in the upcoming battle. Or at least, almost nothing else…

I order you to provide me with all the assistance you’re capable of, Lex thought imperiously, glancing down at his shadow. The command received no reply, but that was hardly unexpected; he still had no idea why his tulpa – the rebellious fragment of his own mind that had, until a few hours ago, done nothing but inflict misery on him – had suddenly come to his aid when he’d fought Xiriel. The present circumstances had simply moved too quickly for him to devote any serious investigation regarding what stimulus had changed its behavior. He hadn’t even been able to ask the Night Mare about it during their brief meeting. All he could do now was hope that whatever had prodded it to help him before would happen again. But since it hadn’t bothered to do so in any of his other fights, that didn’t seem likely…

“Awesome!” smiled Sonata, oblivious to her boyfriend’s self-recrimination. “In that case, I’m gonna get ready!” She didn’t wait for a reply before singing a quick spell, placing a hoof to her chest as she released the magic into herself. Immediately, she gave a loud whoop at the pleasant tingle went through her, prancing in place at the heady feeling. “This always feels super awesome! You sure you don’t want me to cast this on you too?”

“No.” Lex was only half-paying attention to her, instead turning his thoughts back toward the sound of the onrushing ghouls. He’d delayed casting any of his remaining defensive spells in order to leverage their durations as much as he could for the upcoming battle; every moment that they were in effect before the fight began was a moment that they were wasted, and while several of them were lengthy in how long they lasted, he didn’t want to take any more chances than were absolutely necessary. But based on how loud the sound of onrushing hooves had become, it was time to act. Raising a hoof in the air (which still took far more effort than he was happy about), he started to gesture and chant.

For her part, Sonata tilted her head in mild confusion. “‘No’ you don’t want me to cast it on you? Or ‘no’ you’re not sure- hey!” She couldn’t help but give a mild yelp as Lex finished casting his spell, only to reach out and brush his hoof across her chest. Having done the same thing a moment ago, she instantly recognized what had happened: he’d cast a spell on her! “What’re you doing?!”

“I told you I’d be utilizing defensive magic before the battle began,” he replied simply, before starting to gesture and chant again.

“Yeah, but I thought you meant on you!” she frowned, upset. “Not m-, stop that!” She tried to step backward as he reached toward her a second time, but didn’t manage to avoid his hoof. “If you have spells that can protect somepony, you should be using them on you!”

“These spells won’t work on me, Sonata,” answered Lex calmly. “They mimic the effects of several of the enchanted items I’m already wearing, which makes further applications redundant.” He nodded toward the cloak on his back as he spoke. “Ergo, their most strategic application is on the only other pony on the battlefield, which is you. Now stand still. There’s still one more.”

“Oh,” blinked Sonata as he started casting again, before giving a huff. “Well, geez. Why didn’t you say that before?”

Because I didn’t want you thinking too much about this, he thought to himself as he cast the third and final defensive spell on her. Although the odds of her wondering why he’d bothered to prepare defensive spells that mimicked the properties of items he was already wearing were slim, he hadn’t wanted to take a chance that she’d somehow seize on that thought and follow it to its logical conclusion. He knew she’d have argued with him if she had.

As it was, what he’d told her just now had only been partially true. The first spell he’d cast on her – a transmutation spell that caused the recipient’s bones and muscles to harden, providing powerful resistance to damage – wasn’t one whose effects were replicated by any of the items he was wearing. Moreover, the second and third spells – which toughened the skin into a sort of living armor and which warded the recipient against disadvantageous circumstances in general, respectively – were far stronger than the identical effects generated by the amulet and cloak that he was wearing. Had he used them on himself, Lex knew, his defensive potential would have been heightened by a not-inconsiderable degree.

It wouldn’t even have meant leaving Sonata unguarded, either. He could have cast those spells on himself and then simply passed the amulet and cloak to her, letting her enjoy their protection while he benefited from the spells that eclipsed their functionality. That would have been the smarter choice.

But just like when Xiriel had been about to kill Nosey, this was an instance where the smarter choice simply wasn’t acceptable. Lex had numerous layers of magical defenses wrapped around himself; Sonata had nothing except the single spell she’d used on herself just now…and from what he’d been able to gather, both from what she’d said and from hearing her casting it, all it did was provide a mild adrenaline surge. Between that and how she’d been fretting over him collapsing before, rather than the sheer number of ghouls that were about to descend on them, it was obvious that she was still taking this too lightly. With her not taking adequate measures to protect herself, that meant it was up to him to do so, regardless of the tactical costs. He would NOT risk losing her! “Now, do you remember what you’re supposed to do?”

“Totes!” Her smile was easy, certain that he had everything well in hoof. “I hang back and blast the ghouls with magic while you and Severance go all slash-happy on ‘em.”

Lex nodded. “I’ll do my best to keep them away from you, so focus your attacks on any that get past me. Remember, do not head towards the camp ponies under any circumstances. If you run low on magic or find yourself in a disadvantageous situation, make your way to me so I can cover you.”

Sonata rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Right, I’ll do the whole damsel thing. Promise.”

Lex sighed, but didn’t protest her characterization of his instructions, instead glancing back into the darkness. The rumbling was louder now, easily audible to anyone who wasn’t hard of hearing. “Alright, get into position. It’s almost time.”

“Right!” Sonata threw him a quick salute, then turned to leave…only to suddenly turn back. “Oh! I almost forgot! There’s something super important I need to tell you!”

“Make it quick,” frowned Lex unhappily, glancing between her and the direction the noise was coming from.

“If you’ve got any cool finishing moves, make totes sure to use them! And try to call out the name of each attack when you do it! Oh, and if you can fight in slow-mo, that’d be great too! Audiences totes eat that up!” She gestured back towards the illusory hole behind her as she spoke, shooting him an excited grin before turning to head to her position. “We’re gonna put on such an awesome show!”

For a moment Lex could only stare after her, completely nonplussed, before managing to gather his wits. Turning his gaze back toward the inky blackness that concealed the stampede of ghouls that was rapidly approaching, he shook his head in grim vindication. Deceiving her in order to protect her had definitely been the right choice…

---

Two minutes later, the ghouls came pouring out of the darkness.

The sound of hooves had grown from a loud noise into a din and finally into a roar, heralding their arrival as they entered the range of the campfires and Severance’s fluorescent glow. There was no organization or cohesion among their numbers, no orderly ranks or configuration. They were simply a loose mob of individuals, each running as fast as they could as they charged at him.

Lex had waited until the last possible moment to cast his ball lightning spell, the same one he had delivered the killing blow to the dragon back in Tall Tale. This time, he’d arranged each of the three crackling balls of electricity ahead of time, placing each one at a different position over the fabric stretched out in front of him. Their locations had been carefully chosen, selected to plug gaps between the holes that Sonata had gotten the camp ponies to dig earlier.

The ghouls cackled and snarled as they rushed forward, desiccated tongues licking filthy teeth as emaciated limbs pumped faster. Even as the first of them stumbled and fell into the concealed holes, letting out shrieks of surprise and rage before their companions trampled them, the horde continued to charge forward, an unstoppable wave of death. At the edge of the light, more of them poured forward, the press of undead ponies growing thicker as they came. Several charged straight into the balls of electricity, unable to avoid them in the tight confines of the throng, and their shrieks were drowned out by a loud buzzing sound as they burned.

Lex watched them come, unmoving except for the five gemstones circling his head. As they crossed the pit-strewn ground ahead of him, his horn lit up, shrouded in purple as he lifted his weapon off his back and held it aloft in his telekinesis. Slowly, he reared it back, eyes narrowing as the ghouls closed the distance between them.

As the first of the undead ponies reached him, Lex roared and swung Severance with all his might.

Author's Note:

As Lex and Sonata finish their preparations, the ghouls arrive at last!

How will the battle unfold?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

First off, I laughed when Sonata told Lex to do stuff she saw in movies. Flashy? Yes. Tactically worthless? Yes. Would it be funny? Yes again. Would it happen? A breezie's chance in a snowstorm.

Lex's desperation to protect Sonata and everyone else has influenced his decision to cast the defensive magic on Sonata instead of himself. While it's admirable that he wishes to put Sonata's safety above his own, giving the ranged fighter more protection instead of putting them on the frontline fighter is not that smart though it fits the trend of how he's been making his decisions.

Despite Lex's abilities and accomplishments, it still feels weird to imagine a spellcaster as a frontline fighter. Though given how diverse tabletop games are, I'm certain there are builds that make a wizard into one.

[Booster Spice]

If Severences Slice has such an extended range, will it Disrupt the Electroball spell, instead of Dispell, making them change power, style, format, or AOE Explosion?

This is teh point where I keep trying to get Metamagic Feat, Magic Missile as Level 0 casting cost. Mainly because like SDC,MDC, Swinging a 20lb lump of steel only does bashing damage, even when its crushing skulls and spearing bodies. DnD models are really bad at OSK weapons. Especially when they have no spell, duration, material cost and are continously useable.

Oh well.

First Wave. DIVE.

[Alzrius]

8949783 You have to wonder just how Sonata thinks anyone would fight in slow-motion. I can honestly see her thinking that all of a sudden everybody just starts moving really slowly because they know it makes them look cool.

Fun fact: the lower power-curve of original Dungeons & Dragons meant that the disparity regarding combat ability between fighting-men and magic-users (as they were called back then) was a lot flatter than what we see now. That, and the relative paucity of spells that magic-users received at the lower-levels, meant that it was possible for wizards to get into melee with modest effectiveness. It helped that all weapons did 1d6 points of damage with no modifiers for Strength. Things like that were why Ernie Gygax's wizard Tenser could leap into melee so often that the Tenser's transformation spell (which we saw Lex use in his fight against Lirtkra) was inspired by him, rather than being created by him.

So in a way, Lex's actions here are really a call-back to the earliest days of the hobby.

[Alzrius]

8949913 Don't start getting all Palladium on me. I only have two books by them, one of which I received as a gift from a close friend of mine and the other of which I bought on another friend's strong recommendation when I saw it in a used book store.

[harts fire]

Yep this is going to be Lex's best battle yet.

[Alzrius]

8951986 For a few minutes, I actually considered having Sonata use that line in this chapter.

[James Fire]

And Severance lets loose a magical shockwave in the direction it was swung, shattering (Or otherwise incapacitating and ghouls it passes through), slaughtering hundreds of them at once.

[Alzrius]

9219898 Heh...