Most of the Guild, Cain and Kone included, filters back to the Sunnybrook house for the rest of the day, not wanting to miss the news should the Ogres attack again. The city officials have promised to alert all the Guilds and issue Quests when the time comes for an offensive, but Sunnybrook's defensive situation is still in question, as they're not sure what will happen to the survivors after the Ogre King was killed.
Will his heir continue the attacks? Will they pick another city, or maybe even just go home? Nobody knows yet.
Since they've got a day off, everyone decides to go for snacks in the shopping district while they wait for news on the Ogres. Being level 80 in Sunnybrook is drawing an excessive amount of attention though. Many transfers leave the status bars visible at all times, which lets them see if a passerby is flagged as a criminal, but also gives an idea of their relative levels. Much of Sunnybrook is in the level 55 to 60 range. Seeing transfers tagged as being more than 20 levels higher than them is a shock. The Naga Raid is level 70, but that's not a fast or easy way to get to level 80.
They're all gathered chatting around a crepe stand, waiting for Triss and Gramps, who joined them late after taking care of business for the morning, to finish eating. They're headed back to Graska after this, but the crepes were too good to pass up.
"Actually, could we get thirty more assorted crepes to bring home for friends?" Cain asks the shopkeeper and winks at Gramps. The kids next door and the two staff who didn't want to come out this morning are sure to enjoy a sweet snack too, they're not something usually on the menu in Graska. That might change though, Gramps loves them, and is threatening violence if there is no whipped cream and fruit in the kitchen tomorrow morning.
The shopkeeper has just finished their order when the attack alarm begins to blare. "What in the world is that? Make it stop." Gramps called out, annoyed.
"It's the attack alarm, the city is under attack by Ogres again. The houses have enchantments to mute it. They'll have Guild and Raid quests up in just a moment though and it's customary for all Guilds not currently occupied to help out." Misha informs him.
"Well, I should get going then. Triss, you stay here with the other young folk, it sounds like they can use the help." Gramps says getting to his feet just as the sound of siege weapons hitting the walls begins. Whoever is leading this attack isn't messing around or waiting for his forces to form ranks like the previous king did.
Cain begins handing Triss gear from the Guild bank as they run for the Hall to grab the quest and join Raid party, gathering up other small Guilds as they go. The Mass of high level transfers is like a beacon, drawing out everyone they pass with a reasonable amount of fighting experience.
The situation is much different this time, they discover when the quest goes up. There's Ogres from not one but two different factions, and they're working together well. One group charged the North and West Walls, while the other is firing siege weapons at the East and South. The defense force didn't have time to form up outside, so they're fighting from the walls, which have already started to take heavy damage.
The siege weapons are out of arrow range, so they will need to be attacked before they can breach the wall, but the Ogres charging need to be stopped or they'll climb it. The suddenness of the attack is making a mess of everything, so the two raid groups are deciding what to do.
The final plan is to have group 1 push out from the corner of the south wall, preventing the attackers along the west wall from attacking group 2 as they run towards the tree line and attack the crews working the siege weapons. They'll work their way East while group 1 moves towards the north and hopefully meet at the opposite corner of the city when they've finished their task.
Once a gate is safe to open, the defense force will charge out to join them, until then they'll be fighting from behind the walls using Archers and their own siege weapons.
At first the Guilds think getting over the wall safely will be the hard part, but with Cain along, it's much easier than anticipated. A shoulder to shoulder wall of Ogres is ideal territory for the Pestilence debuff to spread, straining their healers and starting to whittle away at the Ogres health. Then he calls the majority of his summons on to the ground at the base of the wall, driving the Ogres back from the spot the Guilds have dropped the rope ladders.
It's a smooth process and in only a few minutes they've established Beachhead in the southwest corner of town. Group 1 leads, pushing the Ogres north, leaving a gap between the siege weapons fire and the melee combatants that group 2 exploits to get to the tree line. From the sound of combat and the fires that are spreading, the siege engines weren't particularly well defended at that corner, and they're making good headway.
The cripple debuff from the Plague Demon Mages doesn't spread as virulently as the Pestilence debuff does, but the Ogres are seriously lacking in the ability to cleanse it, letting it spread all through the west and north wall attackers. The combination of the two is enough that the archers on the walls are now beginning to visibly thin the Ogre ranks, even before the transfers have begun to really work their way across.
While the battle is going far better than expected, within the Darklight Host, a cold war is brewing. In combat, Misha always stands next to Cain. Has since the party was just the two of them. But today, Nemu had decided that is her spot, stealthily sneaking between the two every time the opportunity presents itself.
Cain is too busy to have noticed but Mythryll, standing on his other side, but far enough away to allow the mental battle between Misha and the Felian to happen unhindered, is greatly enjoying the show. Even Morgan has noticed the fight for supremacy, causing her to pull closer to Nathaniel and mouth the words "thieving cat" at Mythryll when the two lock eyes in amusement.
