The soldiers acted on their orders, and begun closing in on the group from all sides. Each squad seemed to be connected to the one near it, the sounds of 21 steps nearly formed the sound of one large stomp. Just as the the third step was about to fall, the squads were pushed back to their original positions out of shear awe of the magic before them. While magic is common place, lava is not present in everyday city life. The air became thick and heavy with steam for a moment. When that moment passed, there were not nearly as many soldiers as you remember. While some soldiers had red hot marks about them, others seemed simply to be grasping their helmets, desperately clawing at the securements in an attempt to uncover their faces. They seemed to be willing to lose protection in favor of not sweating away inside their personal sauna suits.  After this madness, a challenging shout is heard, establishing a more clear and present danger, and the soldiers turned away from the collapsed Cid to face their new threat.<br/><br/>The soldiers had noticed the wings of escape flutter about the field, but they did not regard it well; as though they know there is little they could have done to stop it.<br/><br/>The nearest squad was visually and audibly assaulted by Lynn, and pushed back against the stone wall of a house. Minor collateral damage is done as one of the soldiers went tumbling over a barrel that was minding its own business collecting the rainwater. Sadly, the barrel shattered into planks.<br/><br/>A golden orb was then seen flying over the expired barrel, bouncing between one of the soldiers and Cid. While the precise effect was unknown, what is known is that Cid appeared to stand a little taller after the experience.<br/><br/>Alexander's aim was to finish off the nearest squad after their intimate town meeting. His aim was true, and with two precise slashes, the squad has ceased to be. He heard the sound of rapid firing behind him. Out of his peripheral vision,  he expected to see a well armed soldier, but instead glimpses what is by most accounts a gambler, struggling with an autocannon which was aimed and fired at a squad just across the street. Despite the struggle, the majority of the spread seems to have found it's target, as the group reacts to as if sprayed by shrapnel.<br/><br/>+++<br/><br/>One of the groups close to Cid attempts a takedown, but of the two soldiers left standing in the group are both are surprised by the wounded tiger that is Cid. After a single slash, both soldiers fall to their knees. One of the soldiers in the squad to Cid's right gives him a stiff and faintly audible crack to the head.<br/><br/>All of the soldiers seem to freeze in place for half a second.They open fire. The hail of bullets rains down, and somehow, the shells do not seem to affect anyone in the group.<br/><br/>As the squads close in on the larger group, the formation of each changes, placing the squad leaders in front. You have just enough time to understand the implications of the faint purple glow on their rifles as the lightning comes crashing against your shields.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Roll data: <br/>75285   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:47   At 2015-05-06 16:44:47, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 8 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75285) damage 10<br/>75284   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:44   At 2015-05-06 16:44:44, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 8 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75284) damage 10 <br/>75283   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:42   At 2015-05-06 16:44:42, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 10 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75283) damage 12<br/>75281   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:37   At 2015-05-06 16:44:37, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 11 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75281) damage 13<br/>75280   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:33   At 2015-05-06 16:44:33, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 7 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75280) damage 9<br/>75279   slowmojoe   2015-05-06 16:44:20   At 2015-05-06 16:44:20, slowmojoe (uid: 28096) rolls: 2d6a2 Result: 11 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=75279) damage 13<br/><br/>Cid's left squad is down to one soldier, barely moving. The squad to Cid's right hit him for 9 damage. <br/>The squad closest to the group has completely dropped. The 2 further squads fired at the group, but missed. The two nearer squads fired a lightning based cannon, aimed at Alexander and Harold, who each take 10 damage.<br/><br/>The damage posted here was not reduced by armor.<br/><br/>I hope I did well. If I am taking actions for your characters beyond what you expect, please let me know. My only real intention was to try to follow the flow of combat in a cinematic way. Hopefully I have done that. I apologize if I have failed. <br/><br/>We are technically now in free post mode until the next person chooses to take a standard/move action, at which point you can post and/or roll at me again, and the order will be determined by who gets to me first. <br/><br/></div></div>