The factory was being shot to all hell, crafters have started taking up arms against Faerune. There have been rumors that pierced the lines, and the ones concerning territory firmly in Faerune hands isn''t good. Blasts shake the foundation of the building, and the world the people within in return. Dwarves elves and humans work on a massive machine of metal during the attack, they will die doing what they love one way or another. A metallic slime begins to cover the machine, and a dwarf climbs atop.
"Sofia, are you sure this will work?" The dwarf asks, but his worry doesn''t stop him from gearing up in protective equipment.
"It should, the basic principle behind it is correct, and all the individual tests were successful. All that''s needed is a practical test, and I''ll patch up any mistakes myself." The dwarf mulls over her words for a bit, before deciding to simply get in the machine.
The large door opens, revealing a behemoth of metal to the people assaulting the factory outside. The garage was one of the few places not breached, but the upper hand of Faerune disintegrates along with morale as the behemoth leaves the safety of the factory walls. A paladin slashes at the screaming metal monster, but his sword snaps clean off. Much to their horror, the machine is covered in a layer of adamantine. The adamantine shortly comes to life, stabbing the paladin like some common mook. The beast has huge treads instead of wheels, and a large turret on top. It turns to a group of stunned soldiers, and-
*BOOM*
"L-Landship!" The last corpse hasn''t even hit the ground yet, and the screams of terror start.
The tank rolls right through the rickety wooden barricades around the factory, crushing and stabbing all in its path. A group of mages form a line, firing every element they have at the tank. Lightning causes it to make a loud and hollow scream of metal, and the mages quickly switch to that element. Just as they unleash the first few barrages, a hatch opens at the top, where a Vickers machine gun was grafted next to. Unlike the muskets, this piece of experimental weaponry doesn''t need to reload every shot. The sudden barrage of metal mows into the mages, and by the time they can get a barrier up against the secondary gun, the primary gun has finished turning in their direction. One quick blast later, a crater is all that''s left of the mage response team.
An explosion erupts from the tank, and the fire caused by it quickly extinguishes as the layer of adamantine armor suffocates the fire. No one attacked that part of the tank, it just broke down at that point, and the engine momentarily halts. Seeing the metal behemoth halt like it''s wounded, the people attacking the factory quickly turn to attack it, launching attacks of all variety and effects on it. The dwarf quickly retreats back inside the tank, and the attacks begin to obscure vision as smoke covers the surrounding area. Just as the attacks peter down, and the adventurers begin to wonder if their attacks were successful, a blast erupts from one of the denser groups, shredding many in the blast. The turret has a separate engine meant as a backup to the main engine block, and the inability to move does not hinder its ability to fire. The attacks continue, but the machine ignores the attacks, unbothered. An officer takes charge of the adventurers and begins spreading them out to avoid clumping them up against the blasts.
His efforts would have been somewhat successful, if the garrison of the factory didn''t intervene. People pulling off from attacking the factory hasn''t gone unnoticed, and the liquidators inside are prepared to make them for it dearly. Gunfire descends from the factory, hitting choice targets first. The officer is one of the first to go, and mages are next on the chopping block. A retreat is called, and the adventurers are all too willing to pull off of the attack, but Sofia won''t let them. Adventurers work fast, but dwarves work faster. The main engine block is repaired, and the dwarven gunner pops out of the hatch as the attacks cease. The ''Mark 1 Landstrider'' gives chase, and the coordinated retreat soon turns to a rout as the adventurers aren''t sure when... or if they should stop running.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
A flock of drakes makes their presence known, dissatisfied with something being as difficult to face on the battlefield as them. Even if such a weapon was on their side, they would be dissatisfied, even more so now that it isn''t. One of the drake attempts to swoop down, and lift the landship into the air, but the metal covering it shreds his talons mercilessly. Another covers the machine in fire, but the dwarven gunner had already popped back inside when he saw the shadows overhead. At first, the drakes watch helplessly as they can''t stop the box of death, but their thoughts are interrupted as the turret turned while they weren''t paying attention. One of the drakes goes up in smoke as he''s hit directly. The drakes begin to ascend to get away from the source of carnage, but their lapse in air superiority spells their doom. There are few beings in existence as opportunistic as demons, and multiple squads descend on the distracted drakes, shredding them in the process.
Ahead of the tank is a forward operating base, a small keep made by the earth mages of Faerune, an important target to destroy. Alone it would be a difficult task, but the radio within makes contacting aid a trivial task. Whether it be contacting liquidators to provide fire support, informing aerial surveillance of prime ambush material, or...
Large demons, powerful mages, horrific monsters of The Beyond rally with the mark 1. Devastators who operate in this sector. All of them are vital for holding major sections, none of them would miss a chance to take out the main thorn in this area. The mark 1 provides the gap they need to cause havoc, all that''s needed is to wait for the inevitable clash between man and metal. Multiple gunner carts join the assault, most from the slums as they retreated, some picked up by a guerilla force spearheaded by Zulie.
Alarms sound off from the base, readying themselves for the incoming assault, as the devastators are hard not to spot. The devastators fan out, taking cover behind the buildings as the landstrider takes point. The carts stay firmly behind the tank, using it as a distraction so mages giving them cover don''t get taxed. Shots from the base intensify on Sofia as she gets closer, and her main gun fires multiple times on the fortification. A major barricade risen from the ground by earth mages is not easy to crack, but this isn''t just a landstrider, this is the landstrider. A scream of oil and smoke resounds from the engine, intense heat joining the exhaust as the engine goes to max power. The mark 1 crashes into the gate, denting it hard. Defenders pour boiling oil on the landship, acting more on instincts than logic. The only relief they feel is that the landship didn''t break through fully. It can''t, the engine is powerful, but the machine is still too slow to break through for now.
Sofia on the other hand, can break through. The armor of the tank attaches itself to the gate, and rips it clean off from the wall. As Sofia passes through the gate away from the boiling oil, the dwarven gunner pops out for a moment to provide firepower in their shock. The fort attempts to deal with the intrusion, but the outside forces weren''t just gawking at the display. Gunner carts rush in, literally and figuratively running over their opposition, while devastators enter from various points, seeking to cause as much havoc and destruction as they can feasibly justify. One would normally think demons would take this chance to join in on the fun, but being the natural opportunists that they are also means they are wary of hostile action, and focus on covering the devastators.
As the fort falls to fire and brimstone, the driver turns the landship in the direction of the walls, and brings the entire menagerie of death where Faerune lies.