As soon as they leave the gates Cain brings out all his summons.
"No matter how many times I see it, that's always impressive." Char nods her head and looks over the summons.
"There's more of them now, did you get another spell?"
"No, I got to level 70 on the way back and Summon Supporter ranked up. So I added the Lamia Witch Doctors. You'll like them with the be Acid Rain spell, it's a beast on mana, and the new Supporters cast a Regeneration Hex that stacks up to be almost as good as your totem." Cain laughs. Char's mana totem is a Max level skill, with gear enhancing it, even two supporters aren't quite enough to match it.
Candia claps her hands in excitement. "I've heard about these, but I was out of town last time you fought. There's so many summons. This is going to be great."
An Ogre war horn sounds from the East side of town and the invading army starts charging towards the city as Elven arrows rain down on them. They don't seem as upset to see the Wrath Bringers as the Trolls, so they're not ganging up on them, but with eight of them now, they still block a lot of ground in the middle of the Ogre lines. Waves are crashing into the Ogres from Cain's left, sent by the swings of Candia's sword. The Witch Doctors have cast huge Poisoned Puddles turning the battlefield into a swamp for a stretch forty meters wide, and they're about to do it again, doubling the width.
While the Ogres are sinking into the toxic swamp, the defenders stand easily on top of it, not hindered in the least. The Acid Rain spell also doesn't affect the clothes of the Guild members, despite burning the skin off the Ogres all around them. The description says that it will increase in size as it levels up with use, but it's already a very large area for a spell. Cain isn't sure how the damage buff from his [Might of Many] ability applies to the acid rain, but it's doing a fine job of burning through Ogre skin whether it's being applied per hit or divided over the duration.
An Elven horn sounds in the East, calling for reinforcements already, so they start working their way through the Ogres, killing what's convenient instead of totally clearing out the ones on their side. Even if they leave some, there's still the city defense forces to deal with the rest.
Cain notices that his new Supporters rarely if ever cast a heal, but they do have a healing totem, which is convenient. A small but steady stream of regeneration. For their living tanks, who have equipment that adds points to healing received, the increased number of small healing ticks simply floods them with excess healing faster than they're taking damage.
The East Gate signals that they've received the reinforcements that they needed, so the group slows their advance, clearing up the south side better than they were. The Guild notices that there are Ogre reinforcements in the distance, but they're not approaching. Maybe they don't want to waste forces on a well defended front?
That seems to be the case as they're moving west, past the beleaguered South forces. The Darklight Host has reached the end of the Southern Front and is working their way back West following the Ogre troops looking for their spot to join the battle when the retreat is sounded. With the signal given, the Ogres pull back, quickly vanishing into the distance.
The Guild circles the city, lending healing where needed and assessing the damage. The Ogre King didn't show this time, but the Phalanx formation was seen at the North Wall, indicating that the Elite troops were here. That's also where the worst of the casualties are, even when they were prepared the transfers and city guard had a hard time dealing with a shield wall of Ogres.
"That was intense." Mythryll sighs, looking around at the mess.
"No kidding, they don't often attack every wall at the same time. Maybe twice year maximum." Dimnys agrees.
"Well, let's all head home and look over today's drops." Misha says and Candia gives her an excellent attempt at puppy eyes, despite her vampire red irises.
"Yes, you're in. Come with us." the cleric laughs, knowing nobody will object.
[Darklight Host has gained a member]
[Candia has joined the Guild]
"Don't worry guys, only a few more hours and your deserter tags will wear off so we can add you too." Cain consoles Cixelcid and Lickity.
They're getting especially strange looks today, and Cain realizes that while he dismissed most of the summons, he forgot about the Supporters. They didn't set off the skill use alarm, but the presence of a pair of Lamia inside the city isn't something people see every day. That's good to know though, Supporters are close enough to party members that they don't trigger the protective spell.
After dinner the new Guild members are all added, and they're free to choose rooms. Both Vampires choose rooms in the basement, so Cain contacts the Dwarf they used for the last round of renovations to do two more rooms, but Lickity takes a room up on the second floor with the other light loving Guild members.
"What are the chances we can go see Graska next?" Dimnys asks.
"I've got some recipes that need items that say they only come from there, and they should have more smithy materials that are hard to get here. It is the Dark Dwarven hometown after all."
"It's only ten levels above me, I don't see why we couldn't make our way there through the Demon Dungeon. Get you some new toys and maybe make some new items for our plate and chain armor wearing friends." Cain nods. Cixelcid is a plate wearer, but the Corsair is a leather wearing class with a very Pirate looking visual theme.
Kone, ever the intrepid explorer, decides to come with them, but the rest all opt out in favor of socializing with the new members and old friends or catching up on projects.
