Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

243 - Completely Wrong

By the time Lex saw Garden Gate charging at them, it was already too late to stop her.

The bulk of his attention was on the two most recent ghouls to have slipped past Severance’s ceaseless attacks. Mere feet away from them, the undead ponies’ voices were raised in howls of hunger as they lunged forward, mouths open wide. Lex was already trying to bring the miniature tornado he’d created back around, hoping to at least knock one of them away, but it was obvious that it wasn’t going to make it in time. Although Lex knew that the ghouls probably wouldn’t be able to seriously injure him or Sonata, thanks to the defensive magic around the two of them, his paralyzed foreleg could attest to that protective magic being less than absolute.

But it wasn’t just these two ghouls that he was worried about. It was the ones that would, Lex knew, join them in the next several seconds. To say nothing of the ghouls that would arrive a few seconds after that, as well as the ones that would be there a couple seconds after that. Such a thing was an inevitability at this point; despite the fact that Severance was slaying dozens of ghouls with every swing, it was steadily failing to stop a small number of them from getting past it. And if they’re not destroyed as soon as they arrive, that small number will rapidly add up, thought Lex frantically. If that happens, then it won’t take very long for them to completely overwhelm us!

Those thoughts wove their way through Lex’s mind even as he concentrated on bringing the compact tornado back around, while simultaneously preparing to cast another spell, raising his one good foreleg to make the necessary gestures. As such, he only dimly registered that Sonata had stopped trying to drag him on her ill-considered retreat, and that she had stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence. Despite the magnitude of the threat in front of him, Lex’s concern for her was enough to make him turn his head just enough to let his periphery see what had apparently caused her to stop short.

The sight of Garden Gate rushing toward them, a knife held between her teeth, was so unexpected that he wasn’t able to react as she leapt straight at them…

…and crashed into the ghoul that had just started to pounce on him.

---

Fencer didn’t notice the looks on Lex and Sonata’s faces as she threw herself at the closest ghoul. She didn’t even notice her muscles going slack as she jumped over Lex. The only thing she was cognizant of in that moment was the tip of her knife sinking into the ghoul’s chest as she collided with it, making sure to twist her body so that the momentum of her charge pushed the blade deeper into the undead thing.

They hit the ground a moment later, tumbling end-over-end away from Lex and Sonata, and before they’d even come to a halt she’d already torn the knife free and plunged it back down again, hacking at the monster as fast as she could move her neck. She dimly registered a filthy hoof striking her side, feeling her body start to stiffen up, but she refused to stop, raising and lowering her knife again and again, hacking at the thing under her with such force that pieces of it went flying with every strike. A scream of rage and anguish rang out then, so loud that it hurt her ears, and it was only when the corpse under her had ceased moving that she realized it was coming from her.

I sent Turbo there!

Detecting motion out of her periphery, Fencer looked up as she saw another ghoul go tumbling across the ground, hit by the small whirlwind that Lex had created. A short distance away, Sonata was yelling something, but Fencer didn’t hear whatever it was, already picking herself up and hurling herself at the undead pony that was already starting to rise. He didn’t want to go back! I pushed him!

She didn’t wait for the undead pony to stand back up, running over to it and stomping on its sternum as hard as she could, feeling the bones in its chest break. The ghoul didn’t react to the blow except to hiss at her, leaning up to try and bite her leg. But that succeeded only in bringing its head within range of her knife, and she brought the weapon down as hard as she could, stabbing it in the face. Nor did she stop there, savagely yanking the blade out only to plunge it back in over and over again, each blow punctuated by another shriek of fury and grief. It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!

Her last strike buried her knife to the hilt in what was left of the ghoul’s face, and it shuddered and went still. But the last tremor had barely ceased when Sonata’s voice rang out again, this time in alarm. That was enough to make Fencer yank her head up…and spot the three ghouls that were the latest of their kind to slip by Severance, and were now rushing straight for her.

Under any other circumstance, the sight of three of those things would have made her immediately turn tail and run for her life. But now she ran to meet them, her jaw clenching the handle of her knife so hard that it nearly cracked her teeth. “GIVE THEM BACK!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, eyes blazing. “GIVE ME BACK TURBO!” A hoof that was little more than a lump of bone struck the side of her head, almost colliding with her injured horn, but she refused to be deterred as she slashed at its owner’s face, missing by a hair’s breadth. “GIVE ME BACK MY DAD!” She reared back, barely avoiding the jaws that reached for her neck, bringing her knife down in a strike that sheared a large chunk of flesh from bone. “GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE!” The ghoul in front of her reared up on its hind legs, moving as though it was about to try and tackle her, and she angled her body to prepare to leap aside. “GIVE THEM ALL B-”

…and then a pair of rotted hooves struck her in the side, the ghoul whose neck she’d almost cut hitting her with a buck powerful enough to knock her off-balance. That was all the crouched ghoul needed, and it sprang forward, hitting her dead-center. Now it was her turn to be tackled, falling backward as the undead pony landed on top of her. The impact was enough to make her jaw fall open, her knife tumbling to the ground and out of reach. She tried to struggle, tried to push it away or squirm out from under the monster on top of her, but all of a sudden her limbs were sluggish and feeble, barely responding to her commands, and at the edge of her vision she saw Lex and Sonata nearby, realizing that her curse had activated again.

Then the two other ghouls swooped down on her.

---

“What are you doing?!” yelled Sonata, unable to believe her eyes as Garden Gate threw herself as the ghouls attacking them. “You can’t fight them all off by yourself! We have to get out of here!” But the vermillion mare didn’t seem to hear her, screaming as she proceeded to tear the two ghouls apart.

Lex wasn’t listening either. Even as he sent the small hurricane to send the other ghoul sprawling, he glanced back toward the illusion he’d conjured, needing to confirm that it was still active despite Garden Gate’s having left it. Fortunately it was, and no more ponies seemed inclined to follow her example and come charging from it. With how single-minded the ghouls were, maybe they wouldn’t put two-and-two together, and-

“GIVE THEM BACK!” Garden’s agonized scream made Lex go rigid, his eyes widening as he snapped his head back around to look at her. She couldn’t possibly be…! But a moment later she screamed again, demanding that the ghouls give her back Turbo, and then her father, and then her life, the words hitting Lex like physical blows.

In that moment, he knew that he’d been completely wrong about her.

Lex had been absolutely certain that Garden Gate felt no remorse for the crimes she’d committed, both before and after he’d met her. No matter that she’d cried and begged for forgiveness when he’d sentenced her. No matter that she’d changed her name. The fact that she’d had such a profound change of heart right before he’d punished her for her misdeeds had struck him as much too quick and far too convenient to be believable. There hadn’t been a doubt in his mind that the entire spectacle had been another one of her tricks. But now…

That’s exactly what I said when I was trying to force Xiriel out of Nosey!

“Sonata! Help her!”

“Huh? But-”

“Help her now! Cast a spell! Sing! Do something!” The words were barely out of his mouth when Garden was suddenly knocked backward, landing a few feet from them as one of the ghouls drove her to the ground, causing her to lose her weapon in the process. The other two were right behind them, cackling as they ran toward her. “DO IT NOW!” Lex roared.

“R-right!” Sonata quickly chanted a spell, and then took a breath…

“SCRAM!”

Her spell hit all three of the ghouls and launched them into the air, freeing Garden Gate instantly…but there were already more ghouls breaking through Severance’s defensive line, not giving the beleaguered ponies a moment’s rest as they moved to vacate where their displaced brethren had been a second before. Lex sent his miniature tornado rushing to hold them back, but knew that it wouldn’t do anything more than slow them down for a moment. But a moment was all he needed.

I absolve you. That thought was all it took to lift her curses, removing the dark magic that he had stricken her with just over two days ago. The effect was immediate, as he saw Garden suddenly leap to her hooves, a surprised look on her face. A moment later she glanced over at her fallen knife, and he saw her wince even as an aura sprung to life around her bandages horn, a matching one surrounding the blade as it rose into the air and moved back to her, sputtering out as she took it in her mouth. She glanced back at him then, but he had already looked away, moving to implement the plan that had come to mind even as the new ghouls were almost upon them. “Sonata, keep casting!”

“Okay, but I’m almost out of attack magic!” she replied nervously.

“No! Not attack magic!” He pointed toward Garden, who was already rushing at the current batch of undead ponies. “Enhance her!”

“Enhance-, for realsies?!”

“Yes! Right now she’s our only chance! Give her everything you’ve got!”

“What do you-, OH! I gotcha!” Smiling, Sonata started to sing another spell, causing Lex to sigh in relief. If this worked, then Garden Gate would be able to hold off the ghouls that slipped past Severance while the scythe dispatched the main force. By his estimate, the ghouls had lost upward of eight hundred of their number, possibly as many as a thousand. They had to be running low by now!

But the undead ponies continued to surge out of the darkness, showing no sign of agreeing with his prediction. Although Severance continued to mow them down, Garden Gate giving another scream as she engaged the ones that got past it while Sonata cast another spell, Lex knew that the odds were still stacked against them. They’d managed to move things back to a stalemate, but their position was just as precarious as it had been when he’d been the one holding off the horde…no, even more than it had been then, since Garden Gate didn’t have any protective enchantments on her, meaning that she’d accumulate damage faster even if she wasn’t paralyzed by an unlucky hit first.

It was time for desperate measures…

Author's Note:

Garden Gate – or rather, Fencer – arrives on the scene just in the nick of time! But in the face of the seemingly-endless horde of ghouls, Lex doubts how long she can hold out.

What is he planning on doing now?

Comments

[Spiritus Arcane]

Oookay. Given the epidemic of 'blame Lex for everything' among a lot of the minor cast, I really didn't see this coming at all.

[Not so New Brony]

Huh, I was right...just not the way I expected. I just hope the rest of it doesn't actually happen.

So the ghouls don't trigger her curse, which makes sense since they essentially monsters now despite their former status as living ponies. Still, as Lex noted, even with Fencer(berserked rogue?) dealing with the ghouls that slip past Severance, their situation hasn't improved at all since all it would take is for the ghouls to get in a lucky hit and take down Fencer, leaving Lex and Sonata open to the ghouls that slip past Severance.

As for what Lex's desperate measure could be, I have a couple of thoughts in my head on that.
He'll either order Severance to let Fencer wield her(in addition to not alter Garden's personality, at least I hope Lex remembers to say that) so as to capitalize on the enhancements Sonata is casting on her while also covering for her lack of defensive enchantments with Severance's power and reach. Though this idea is risky as Fencer would simply charge towards the nearest ghoul which could send her away from Lex and Sonata.

Or

He'll use the scroll's magic again though the chances of him knocking himself out is rather high and despite how stubborn he is, his body won't last. So this option isn't as viable as the first one. Still, Lex does have a knack for utilizing his magic in rather interesting manners so.

Hopefully no other surprises occurs to throw Lex off his game, though given how Garden's friends were looking for her, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them tried to come to her aid.

[howard035]

8967489 Boom Shackalacka! I was partially right, but I had not factored in a combination of Lex removing her curse and Sonata buffing her turning Garden Gate into an actually decent tank to hold the secondary line.

With perfect hindsight, I wonder if it would have been better for everyone to hide in the screen except Severance. I mean, he can kill dozens per round and he's basically invulnerable, without the bait of visible ponies present the ghouls might not have stayed so concentrated, and he could have picked them off as long as they stayed together in a group. They'd probably have scattered in the face of Severance, giving Lex the luxury of rest and he and Sev could have hunted them down later.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.

Have you ever played the Witcher video games or read the novels? I was reading a story about them and just realized how much you might like the character and the setting. Geralt is like the world's most genre-savvy character, to the point where he calls himself a monster-hunter rather than a hero. He approaches every battle with the goal of minimizing risk and maximizing success like a true old-school D&D player.

[Booster Spice]

So not only has Lex managed to recover a resurce lock, in ponies looking after Fence, but also gained a +1/+1 barbarian fighter?

[Alzrius]

8967516 Glad I could surprise you!

While Lex's demeanor, and the ramifications of his decisions, have upset a lot of ponies, Garden/Fencer has previously been forced to confront the consequences of her actions before, which makes it rather hard for her to push the blame onto someone else now. She knows who was most directly responsible for sending Turbo into Vanhoover, and it wasn't Lex.

[Alzrius]

8967931 I didn't get most of that, so I'll just say: pretty much (?).

[Alzrius]

8967605 Several people managed to see this particular twist on the horizon, but I'm glad that the specific implementation seems to have been a surprise!

There were also several, correct, guesses that the ghouls wouldn't activate Fencer/Garden's curse of proximity-weakness, and this turned out to be correct. Keyword-typing is a not-insubstantial aspect of the d20 System, and in this case it comes up in that Lex's curse was with regard to creature types; ghouls are undead creatures that don't receive so much as the augmented subtype, which means that they don't count as their original creature type in any regard. While this might have been different if she'd gotten close to an undead pony that did have the Augmented subtype - such as, say, a vampire - that's speculative at this point. Either way, she was in luck here.

As for what Lex's "desperate measures" are...well, I'll note that letting Fencer/Garden wield Severance would seem like a bit of an odd choice. Remember, Lex's modus operandi was to place his attacks extremely carefully so as to fight a defensive battle; that doesn't really seem to be what Garden/Fencer is doing at the moment, though I won't go so far as to say that it's completely out of her realm of ability. As we've seen, she's apparently a capable fighter...more capable than we'd realized before now. I suppose I should get around to posting a stat block for her after this.

[Alzrius]

8967642 The problem with the scenario you're describing - where Severance was the only thing left outside of the screen and it started to attack the ghouls on its own - is that it wouldn't have been the decisive victory that Lex felt was necessary.

As you noted, if the ghouls got there and found no ponies to eat and a magic item that began hacking them to pieces, they would have broken up and scattered in every direction, as there would have no longer been an obvious goal to keep them all moving toward one destination. "Every direction" mostly means "north," since that's where all of the local farming communities are, but at least some probably would have tried to navigate the swamps to the south. Moreover, while Severance can move itself, it's not particularly fast...at least, there's no indication that it can move faster than ghouls running flat-out, so catching them all in a timely manner wouldn't be easy to say the least.

That would be a problem, because if the ghouls managed to spread out throughout the region like this, it would be what Xiriel predicted: a mass outbreak of the undead across Equestria, since a ghoul bite spreads the disease that kills ponies and turns them into more ghouls. While Xiriel wouldn't have been there to make things worse, it still would have been a nightmarish scenario, particularly with the region already hurting after the elemental bleed. The threat of the ghouls would have remained for, potentially, a long time.

Having said all that, I haven't read or played any of The Witcher series. I've heard good things though, so the novels are on my (horribly long) "to read" list.

[howard035]

8968556 That's true, Lex is making a hard choice about the greater good of Equestria versus the immediate threat to the people under his care.

They did a fantastic job with the voice acting and cutscenes for the Witcher 3, which is why fans have made it into movies, but those take forever. The good news is they're currently shooting a series of the Witcher for Netflix.

[James Fire]

running over to it stomping on its sternum as hard as she could,

And stomping would probably fit better.

Well, targeting the ghouls at least helps.

[Alzrius]

9219924 Typo fixed!

And at least Fencer's doing her part! Let's just hope it'll count for something!