Gauntlet on the Docks
It wasn’t long before the Squadron made it to Langst Harbor. It was immediately obvious that it was a sea town, and that modern sewage had yet to be invented, as distinctive and unpleasant scents started wafting towards the incoming group before they stepped foot onto its streets. Logan hoped he adjusted fast because he found the foul odor distracting.
Just from a brief glance, it was obvious that Langst was wealthier than Alteep, if not necessarily fancy. As they marched into the paved streets, the Frear Squadron began to hear sounds of combat in the distance. This spurred the Captain even further on, and she had the Squad abandon their march in favor of a brisk jog.
At this pace, they ate through the town's layers, quickly finding themselves in the center of Langst. Between the absence of civilians, and the increasing volume of the distant clashing, it was obvious that the Frear Squadron was late for the start of combat.
Rushing to try and make up for it, Logan and his Squadmates followed their Captain down just a couple more streets, and onto the battlefield. The docks were teeming with Monsters and Beasts, and desperately Squads were doing battle with individual packs. As they stepped out, the chaos caused them to freeze and stare, except for the Captain.
“What are you doing you fools, we are here to help them, not watch! Get those butts in gear!” Captain Frear shouted over the ruckus.
Finding sense again, the Squad followed her lead as they steered towards the nearest group of enemies to engage. They were some sort of shellfish, appearing like penguin sized shrimp, except with a pair of flippers on their front that they used to balance themselves upright. Their gait was strange and fluttering, but surprisingly nimble as they engaged another Squadron.
“These Beasts are Scrampi, small, surprisingly agile, and mildly dangerous in packs, especially under the water. Nothing too special about them on land, however.” Jerry spoke as they pumped towards their targeted foes.
. Then the Frear Squad slammed into their flank like a mack truck, Larry leading their charge through the shellfish as he laughed. The Scrampi posed little threat to their Squad, and were quickly dispatched, to the sound of several more Kindlings for Logan.
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“I need to find Micah, something about this all isn’t right. Where is that Abomination that kid was talking about? It’s all… off. And so am I. Keep cleaning up the mess here, understood?”
After receiving a chorus of salutes, Captain Frear turned and left her Squad to deal with the threats here, as instructed. Larry, of course, was most enthusiastic to follow orders, charging at the nxt group with reckless abandon. To Logan’s surprise however, Arasaka was hot on his heels, stomping after him in her heavy armor.
Following their frontliners, the rest of the Squadron filed in behind them as they moved to engage their next foes. Thankfully, Larry had rushed at some very familiar opponents, as the Squadron ran towards a group of Naga who looked almost exactly similar to their earlier opponents, only slightly larger and darker blue in shade.
Preoccupied with another Squadron, they had time to look over at Larry’s battle roar but little else, as once again the Frear Squadron entered as a third party and absolutely obliterated their foes. Their teamwork and firepower were on full display as they set up openings for each other, and quickly capitalized. Even against five more Naga, the element of surprise allowed them to finish their foes in just over a minute.
Behind them, two other Squadrons were shooting them dirty looks, but their Captains waved them on, even if they too looked aggravated. Logan’s Squadmates didn’t pay them any mind, and neither did he. Instead, they were looking for more targets.
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Further down the docks, where the fighting was thickest, they spotted a behemoth.
“A Kraken… driven to land? How could such a thing occur?” Jerry wondered aloud, clearly in awe.
“No time to get starstruck, old man, we have calamari on the menu tonight!” Logan said to the man. Larry was already a couple of steps into his charge as the words came out of his mouth.
The Frear Squadron rallied around their berserker, and joined the other Squads fighting off the Beast.
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Up close, Logan could tell that the Kraken was about the same size as the Salt Kings had been, if a bit more compact and taller than the crocs. It didn’t seem like it enjoyed being completely emerged from the watery depths, but that didn’t seem to hinder it too badly as it engaged two other Squadrons simultaneously.
Among those Legionnaires engaging the Beast, Logan spotted a familiar face.
“Gregor?” Logan shouted over the din of the chaos.
The handsome youngman turned at the sound of Logan’s voice, and Gregor quickly spotted the incoming Frear Squadron. They cut a rather distinctive silhouette among the Legion, and Gregor recognized them on the spot.
Breaking away from the engagement between the humans and weaving tentacles, Gregor picked his way over to his friends’ Squadron. He almost got battered a handful of times just on his way over, but luckily avoided the thick moist appendages.
“Logan, Amar, Frear Squadron, how goes it?”
Amar walked a few steps closer than anyone else.
“It has been a long day, but we are here to help. What can we do against this Beast?”
“Thank the Gods, some people who will listen. I’ve been trying to convince these Squadrons to coordinate, but they seem set on taking the ‘glory’ for themselves. I would have thought Micah would have told them to be ready for what’s coming…”
The look of relief on Gregor’s face was immediate, and it seemed obvious that the other Squads had been frustrating to deal with. The last thing he said had the opposite effect on Logan, however.
“What do you mean, what’s coming?”
“I don’t know, the Major said that something ‘big’ was coming, and that I should remain ready. Micah rallied the Company with talk of Abominations, so I expect it’s that, but he wasn’t exactly too clear with his information, or how he got it. That’s just who he is though, so I don’t doubt it’s true.”
Logan took Gregor’s words at face value. If he trusted the Major then Logan would too, unless proven otherwise. Then the Squadron looked back to the Kraken.
“In the meantime, any plans for that?”
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It turned out, Gregor did indeed have a plan for the Beast. It took a bit for him to figure out everyone’s strengths, but it was a good strategy, which made Logan happy. Logan was looking forward to proving his superiority as an octopi.
“Alright listen up, here's what we are going to do…”
When the Frear Squadron had heard their roles, they got down to business. The two other Squadrons had not fared too well in the meantime, with numerous Legionnaires down and being evacuated by their Squadmates. That meant that the Frear Squadron was met with sighs of relief, instead of envious stares, as they engaged in combat once again.
Larry, as was customary at this point, ran point, sprinting towards the base of one of the Kraken’s eight tentacles. His job in this whole fiasco was one of the most risky, as he jumped straight over to the tentacle, and tried to hold at least that portion steady.
The titanic Beast writhed and bucked, but somehow, although he was clearly straining tremendously, Larry miraculously managed to hold firm. Then another tentacle swung at the big man, and the person with the other most dangerous job stepped in.
Arasaka, with both her bubble layer and shield held at the ready, interposed herself between Larry and the oncoming tentacle. Sophia, Lucius, and Amar all braced behind, trying to support her against the impact.
Then the tentacle hit with an intense impact. Arasaka was lifted off her feet, but her support worked, providing her with enough leverage to ride the shock out, and find her feet once more. The Kraken curled its prehensile appendage in an attempt to grab up its attackers, but Jerry threw a noxious potion, while Aerie shot her crossbow.
The attacks dug into its soft and quickly dehydrating flesh. For the first time, it cackled in annoyance at the humans who would handle it so roughly. Then, came the final step of the plan.
Running towards the steadied tentacle, Logan, Gregor, and Lexie all swung at its base. Their fierce synchronous slashes hacked through the Kraken’s tentacle, leaving it with only seven remaining, and a torrent of blood stemming from its center mass.