Fantasy Royal Witches

[thoughtless]

aurelia boveri

i hold the past like a knife

She relaxed a little after hearing that Margaret wouldn't immediately torch the whole place. Aurelia also felt a smug sense of satisfaction that the commander had taken her side, no matter how immature or childish that may have seemed. Now, all there was left to do was for them to kick their asses into gear and finally enter the village to figure out exactly what was going wrong in this village. Well, besides the obvious blight.

Soon enough after Margaret gave her instructions, they began splitting off into their own little groups. Given that Eva had decided to tag along with Bruno's group, Aurelia deemed it fitting that she was to go with Margaret to the Matriarch's Hall. Hopefully, the others would be successful in finding any civilians that miraculously remained untouched by the blight. "I'll be joining your team as well, ma'am." she said, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword.

 

[RJS]

Two others. Not as many as Bruno had hoped for, but each one seemed fairly battle hardened. The first to speak up, Maxima, would have been a source of surprise had he not already met Florence - clearly this unit attracted those who, for whatever reason, carved unconventional paths through the military. The second, Eva, seemed experienced indeed - he was fairly sure he had seen her acting as an officer for the witches on the march over. Theirs was a small group, but Bruno had every hope it would be effective. Provided of course he wasn't foolish enough to usurp command from one who had more experience of it. Lowering his head, he dropped to one knee in front of Eva. "My lady, my experience of command is scant and I fear that should I lead I would put us at risk of harm. If our commander approves, I would request that you assume command of our group. He raised his head, looking directly at her. "Send me at the Blight, and I shall end them." His hand rested on the pommel of his blade, the other holding his helmet tucked beneath his arm. "I am ready to go on your word."

 

[Aldur]

Not long after Hagermaus herself appointed Ser Fidele as leader of the second party he was found kneeling in front of a witch, passing the authority he had been given to her. The point of Maxima's sword sunk a few inches deep into the ground and her expression twitched for a second. She paused and fixed her sight on the ground as to hide the contempt in her eyes. Are witches always so easily given these things? she thought. Maxima had hoped that at least on the battlefield men would be given a break. A break that they eagerly spat on, as it seems.

Very well! So be it!

Max resisted the urge to bring attention to the fact they're stalling. She inhaled and pulled her greatsword out of the ground. Exhaling, she beheld the scene and started pacing slowly and quietly away. Maxima would then stop and inspect the salient.

RJS Poe

 

[Poe]

Eva regarded Bruno with a raised eyebrow as he dropped to one knee in front of her. His words were a surprise, but appreciated nonetheless. While Eva was not the most rigid of officers, she had nearly a decade of experience under her belt, and she noted that Bruno was a quick study. She was unsure she deserved such a grand display, she respected his assessment of the situation and nodded in agreement. “Rise, Bruno,” she spoke finally, “If you wish for me to take command, I will, but with such a small group we cannot spend our time on our knees.”

“We will move out immediately, anyone else who wishes to join may follow,” she regarded Hagermaus before turning back to Bruno. “Keep a keen eye, move quickly and don’t die.”

Not always the most eloquent of leaders, but her reassuring, firm tone was a stark contrast to the barren wasteland they stood in. She did not know what was ahead, but as they moved from the larger group towards the village she could only hope they came away with any survivors. The silence was eerie, but they marched forward without hesitation.

 

[Lemon Boy]

Damon Dragoslav

Overview

Location	Camp > Marching in Barren Wasteland
Company	Eva @Poe┊Bruno @RJS┊Maxima Aldur

Damon could feel his chest get lighter as Margaret confirmed that they wouldn't be burning down the entire village without even investigating it. He never was one for violence, even against the monstrous blight he hesitated when it came to cutting them down. Never understood how people could so easily strike down what used to be a living breathing person with a family and friends. Thinking about that deflated his spirits somewhat; reminded him how he didn't exactly fit in with the rest of the Wardens. Most joined to fight, to slice through festering flesh with a fine edge or crush it beneath the weight of a hammer, not to treat the injured, comfort the dying and put the infected to rest.

Despite the difference, however, he didn't hate those who could kill so easily. The vast majority anyway. One Warden was opposed to the idea, using an argument Damon had heard time after time. Greater good. It was the type of card people played when they had no better argument, when they wanted to win but didn't want to lose the moral high ground and look lesser amongst their peers for objecting. The argument that made them the good and any who opposed them the bad. Of course, such arguments were always softened by sayings such as: 'I do this with a heavy heart', 'I don't want to do this', 'We have to do this or else'. All said with a defeated, pleading tone.

He couldn't help but loathe that one Warden.

Damon didn't even register how tense he was until now or how he was glaring ever so slightly. Breathing in and out, he felt himself relaxing inch by inch. Couldn't afford to cause drama of all things at a time like this. Even then, people who stirred up trouble often had little friends by the end of it. Isidora had said something once, about how emotion clouded sound judgement and made a mess of even the easiest of tasks. It was natural to feel things, but not to show it. By the end of his thoughts, he was able to put on a pleasant, calm demeanour. After that, he spent his time listening to the thoughts of others, who went with who and what the plan was.

It wasn't much of a choice for him, deciding where to go. He was one of the few physicians here and because of that, he'd need to be the one to personally go over each and every survivor they found to ensure that they had no signs of the Blight. Before he could voice his intentions of joining Bruno's group, however, the man was swift to give up command to the one witch joining them. Watching the ostentatious display, he couldn't help but notice the differences between them. She was regal looking and beautiful, in the way a black panther could be regarded as beautiful when not stalking its prey or making a kill. Slender and eloquent with wondrous black hair. Looks that made her seem like she would be suited better in the royal courts than in battle, but the way she talked seemed hardly fitting. Her words lacked the elegance her looks had: practical, cutting to the chase instead of drawing it out. Bruno, on the other hand, spoke and acted like a man who would find himself in court but looked anything but. Tall and burly with a scruffy beard with eyes that had an oddity to them, Damon wasn't sure what, but he didn't exactly like it. The type of eyes that those with nothing to lose had. He felt a bit cold when he noticed that. Men with eyes like those never lasted long.

Beside those two, he also noticed out of the corner of his eye a woman that lacked the calm the other two had. A sword that sank ever so slightly deeper in the ground as the display took place with a twitch not longer after. She took to looking at the ground as the two exchanged words, but Damon could practically feel contempt radiating off her. He wasn't sure why, couldn't even think of any reason at all for why she wouldn't approve of what was happening, but he got the feeling that she was only just barely tolerating the transference of leadership. She didn't seem like the most friendliest figure either, perhaps it the scar on her face, how imposing she appeared dressed in full plate or the fact she was wielding a great sword almost as tall as he was. A woman who, despite being the same dismal height as Damon, appeared far more intimidating than the man with no light in his eyes. If she was given black hair, a tad bit more height and pale skin, she could pass as a family member of his. A sister of his.

He wasn't fond of his family.
It was certainly an interesting group he was going to be part of.

Jogging so as to catch up with them as they started to march towards the village and matching pace with their march as soon as he caught up, he thought of introducing himself to the black haired woman who now led them, but thinking of family had soured his mood and looking at her features a bit more, she too, seemed like she could be a fellow scion of House Dragoslav.

He chose to simply keep marching instead, letting the eerie silence hang in the air.

 

[RJS]

Bruno climbed to his feet, picking up his sword as he did and carefully wiping the blade clean of any dirt. Faint runes of enchantment shimmered along its edge as it caught the sun. "As you wish ma'am." This was what he needed, clear orders devoid of flowery bullshit from one who knew what they were doing. Pressing his helm onto his head, he walked briskly to be at the front of the group. Neither Eva nor Damon were particularly armoured, and one leaping Blight could catch either of them were it swift enough.

The streets were deserted, not even faint sounds of animals as they walked down the eerie streets. As they neared the well, a faint groaning could be heard from around the next corner. Bruno cautiously stepped around, keeping plenty of distance between himself and anything that may be found around it. A man lay there, claw marks down his arm already showing signs of deepset, festering infection. At the sound of Bruno's steps, the man turned feverish, dark-rimmed eyes towards him. Hoarse rasping sounds emanated from his throat, before a shrivelled husk of a voice made it out. "Help...me...".

Bruno sighed. There was nothing any medic could do for him at this stage. "Of course, friend." The words were said with a smile that failed to mask the sorrow in his eyes, as he brought his blade around in a vicious arc that split the man's skull, exposing shattered bone and grey matter. What little life he had clung onto had fled his body with the hit. Bruno turned to the others, wiping his blade on a patch of the man's shirt. "Anyone have flame for the body?"

 

[Aldur]

thx sin for letting me steal your code

Maxima Horatius

Overview

Location	Camp > Marching in Barren Wasteland
Company	Damon, Bruno, Maxima

Finally! Finally a sensible statement. And it had to come out of the Witch's mouth. How quaint. Maxima's whole body shot up and got kicked into motion. She quickly rose her helmet and put it on her head. Goddesses know how much she wanted to do something else than standing around. She rose her greatsword and rested it on her right shoulder. She held it in both hands, ready to strike quickly and mercilessly.

As the group marched, Max was entranced. The synced steps they would all take were sonorous and energetic, not unlike the songs of war drums. The metal clanged and screeched where it was found and blended into the eerie ambiance. The soundscape was interrupted by a faint cry for help. Max's head jolted briefly towards the source of that plea. She gripped the sword even tighter and stepped forward slightly altering the angle of her blade. She was a bit too far and too late, for Bruno had handled the situation before she could even advance properly.

After he had done the deed he turned to ask the group for means of fire, to burn the body. Max instantly turned her head towards the witch. She could effortlessly conjure a flame that would engulf everyone, had she truly desired to. Plain steel is no good against fire and Max would burn to a crisp inside the sheets of metal meant to protect her.

Maxima then looked away. She turned to inspect the scene. Only one Blighted man felt inadequate for a whole town of potentially hundreds of the afflicted. She walked not too far away from the group, eyes wide and grip tight. She believed she heard movement and faint screaming not too far from where she was standing. Maxima lowered the center of her body and rapidly strode towards the noise.

Suddenly, a girl appeared from inside a building, throwing her body against the door to open it. Maxima hastened her pace to a full jog. Mere seconds later, two of the Blighted followed after the girl. The Warden rushed to her aid and grabbed her sword by the blade. With swift movements, she bashed one of the infected in the head with the quillons and he fell to the ground. Max then rushed to the other. She quickly gripped the hilt of her sword with one hand and stabbed the ghoulish creature in the chest. She used her left hand to turn the blade inside the monster and pushed him away from the girl, freeing her sword.

Maxima then swiftly turned towards the other horror. He had risen up and was now heading towards the Warden. With both hands on the grip now, Max stepped forward swiped at the monster's neck, holding herself well beyond his reach. The sword struck and stopped an inch below his clavicle. She pulled it out and locked back onto the other fiend. He was attempting to lift himself off the ground, to which Maxima replied with a stern and loud "Dēmissa manē te!" and a well-placed thrust to his nape. Once again, she turned to check on the other Blightling, in case it was still moving.

Finally, she checked on the girl and demanded to know if she was bitten or scratched. The girl looked untouched, except for dirt on her face and a few bruises on her arms. She was still in shock and could not reply. Maxima then reported to the group.

"We have a potential survivor!"

Poe Lemon Boy RJS

 

[Poe]

Eva watched as the first of the infected was found laid out on the ground with clear markings of the blight. His words were heartbreaking, desperate in what they asked for – it was better to die before the infection set in entirely than to live to see yourself become one with the blight. Eva had barely made it around the corner before Bruno raised his sword and pierced the man’s skull. Immediately, the body went limp and all life slipped from the corpse.

After a decade, death should have been an old friend. Eva had seen plenty of it but each fleeting heartbeat echoed painfully in her own chest and weighed heavily in the depth of her soul. There were casualties in war and she knew that intimately, but it did not stop her from taking a few steps forward before she crouched down in front of him and took in the sight. He had a kind face, though marred by feverish paleness and blood that seeped out over his features. Eva inspected the site of infection carefully, tilting her head gently and closing in just enough to get a better look. The claw marks were inflamed, deep and angry, though they could do no harm now. They had already claimed this man’s life, but they would not reach further than one lost life.

“I do,” Eva exhaled gently and brought her hand up. Still crouched beside the man, she pulled her wand from her belt. With a fluid, but gentle flick of her wrist, mana expelled from the gorgeous carved piece of wood and caught on the man’s shirt and his clothing caught before his skin began to blister. Eva pushed herself standing and slipped her wand away, clearing her throat in the process.

All the mana in the realms and even witches could not outlast death.

 

[Lemon Boy]

Damon Dragoslav

Overview

Location	The Town
Company	Eva Poe ┊Bruno RJS ┊Maxima Aldur

Death was one of those things in life that one thought you'd get used to. It was something that happened everyday, something that affected everyone in equal measure. Sometimes it was slow and sometimes it was quick. Peaceful or violent. Pleasant or horrific. No matter how death happened, it was the type of event that touched everyone and therefore should've been normal and forgettable.

It was anything but.

Violent and painful was the death that the clawed man was given. Even then, it was a mercy; It would've been far more painful and drawn out if the Blight was allowed to spread throughout his body and consume him. Damon watched, sombre and quiet, as Eva set the mans corpse ablaze. He kept his eyes on the mans face, or what was left of it anyway given how Bruno had delivered mercy to him. Committing it to memory. It was motivation to keep going, in a way, to remind him that a monstrous thing such as this could happen to anyone he knew if the army failed to keep the Blight in check and allowed it to spread. There were many faces stayed that in his mind, people he knew, people he didn't. Many of them long dead, most likely forgotten by many, another corpse to add to the pile of those taken by the Blight, but he didn't let himself forget. It felt wrong. Frieda and Maria, old friends from his old unit, twins as different as night as day. One dreamt of being a dancer once her conscription was complete and the other wanted to go live a quiet life as a farmer. Frieda never got to complete her conscription, consumed by the Blight much like the man Bruno had just killed. Maria, well, she wasn't consumed by the Blight but something else entirely. Neither of them made it to the end of their conscription. Lieutenant Hillock, a man not too dissimilar from Bruno, with a faded look in his eyes. He'd gone out in a blaze of glory, fighting tooth and nail against a swarm of Blighted hounds which he took with him.

All of them were people with families and friends, dreams and desires. None of which they got to fulfil in the end because of the Blight. His memories of them kept him going despite it all. It wasn't the only thing keeping him going however. Being able to save the very few who had survived, treating any injuries they had. Faces who would get to fulfil their dreams and desires, see their friends and families not killed by the Blight. Their lives would be different, no doubt about it, but they would live.

Now was the time to help one of the few who had survived as he heard one of the group call out her finding of a potential survivor. He sprinted towards the source of the call and swiftly made his way over, inspecting the scene. It was the scarred woman, the intimidating one, all fire in his mind. Two corpses lay near her, Blighted no doubt, bodies still as stone. The only other living thing here was a girl who looked as stiff as the dead that surrounded the scarred woman, eyes wide and a face caked in dirt.

"She's not been touched by the Blight I assume?"
Damon uttered the words as a whisper so the girl wouldn't hear. He didn't bother waiting for a response from the scarred woman, approaching the girl slow and steady, trying his best to look as calm and friendly as possible. One of the few scars he'd gained in the field was from a boy with a dagger who had cut him with the blade, too terrified to let anyone approach out of fear of them being a Blightling. It wasn't his own health he was worried about, however, in this interaction in case it went wrong. People were oft quick to assume those who struck out were the infected trying to hide it or showing signs of madness and that led to fatal misunderstandings.

"Uh, hello there. My names Damon. Me and my friend over here — we're Wardens. We came here to drive out the Blight and look for any survivors. I'm the physician amongst them. I treat the injured. Would it be alright with you if I approached and examined any injures you have? Make sure you're alright?"

Make sure whether you need to be given medical attention or mercy
He didn't include that last thought. Damon stood just a few paces away from her, making sure that he didn't invade her personal space so suddenly after she had been presumably chased down by those she once known. No doubt, in a few moments, the others would be coming. That was the part that he was most tense about. He didn't know how they would act. Some had enough patience and wisdom to let the terrified collect their thoughts. Others were far quicker to assume the worse and brandish weapons or magic. The latter situation was something he much preferred didn't happen at all.

He waited.

 

[RJS]

Bruno stood, watching what had once been a man burn. It was hard for many to grant that mercy, but Bruno knew that once the infection was serious enough they were already dead. Their body just hadn't caught up yet. And it was down to others to rectify that, before worse happened.

There was a leap of joy in his chest when the call of a survivor arose. Small though it was (in more ways than one, he thought, looking at the child) victories like that vindicated his urging to investigate the village first. As Lt. Dragoslav moved to check the child, Bruno caught sounds of movement. The noise they had made and the smoke they had produced had caught the attention of others - it was merely a matter of whether they were infected or not. "I hear more coming. Should we get the child back to the camp, just in case they are too far gone?" Bruno paused. "It would be safer for her, and kinder too I imagine."

 

[Poe]

At the call of survivors, Eva made her way quickly from the burning body towards the rest of their small group. Lo and behold, there was a small girl standing there, near shaking, within reach of Damon but no one had made a move with good reason. Off in the distance, Eva could make out the faint sound of movement in the distance. The fire must have stirred something and she looked back to her group, thinking for a moment about the best course of action. The girl looked mostly unharmed, but Eva knew better to assume. Bringing her back to camp without her injuries being inspected could put them all in danger, but standing out here in the open, they were asking to be targeted by whoever or whatever was in the distance.

“Maxima, remain with Damon,” Eva commanded, “As you are adept with your sword, I leave their protection to you. Damon, do what you can to assess the injuries, if she is clear we can make plans to return her to camp for safety, but those coming are not far.” They had to remain as much of a unit as possible and there was not enough time to get the girl back to camp.

“Bruno and I will meet whatever is coming,” Eva pulled back out her wand but kept it at her side, ready to assess the situation before they made any grave error. “If they are infected, we must show them mercy and protect the child, but let us hope that she has led us to other survivors and that we might all return to camp together.”

 

[RJS]

In response to Eva's orders, Bruno moved a couple of paces ahead of her. Though he had no doubt that Eva was perfectly capable of fending off far more Blight than him, in the event of a moment of inattention he still had a layer of plate armour to fall back on. Far better to be the first thing any mindless beasts saw. He felt his heart start to beat louder, the sound echoing in his helm as he licked lips that were suddenly all too dry. No matter how many times I do this, the fear remains.

Good. Means I'm not stupid yet.

Bruno took a ready stance, left leg sliding forwards with a barely perceptible tremor. Bruno's left hand strayed to his belt, finding the leather pouch with its accompanying rune, and held it gently for a moment. Then he raised his sword, handle moving closer to his shoulder with the blade vertical, into his customary ready stance. The tremor that characterised his earlier movements was gone, replaced by smooth motions. Bruno blinked, clearing sweat away from his eyes as he stared down the road to the source of the noise. Bruno swallowed what little saliva remained in his mouth to lubricate his throat, then raised his voice. "You there! This is the Royal Army! We're here to save you! If you can understand me, please reply!" Bruno gritted his teeth and waited. The waiting was always the worst.

 

[Lemon Boy]

Damon Dragoslav

Overview

Location	The Town
Company	Eva Poe ┊Bruno RJS ┊Maxima Aldur

The girl remained as still as a statue for a few moments, simply staring; a cornered animal. She slowly nodded in response to his question and he crossed the small distance between them.

"May I?" Damon asked, motioning towards her arms. Once again nodding, she allowed him to lift the sleeves of her shirt. Her left arm had small, purple stains on it and her right had them too, a few more, a bit larger in size but not drastically different or serious. A slight abrasion covered the lower part of her right arm but it didn't look like something Blight had inflicted the injury, it looked like she dragged it or smashed it against something. A door perhaps?

Everything seemed good so far. She had no cuts, scratches or avulsions, nothing that could lead to her having been infected with the Blight. "I'm going to press down on the bruises, I want you to tell me how painful it is, just give me a number out of ten." He said. She simply nodded, her eyes seemed far more interested in the corpses of those infected with the Blight than him. Damon ran his hand across her left arm before checking her bruise, making sure he didn't miss anything. Nothing, no red spots and no little cuts that could be seen. Happy with the state of her left arm and confident that he hadn't missed anything, he proceeded to press down on her bruise. Her facial expression didn't change a bit, eyes still and face unflinching. She didn't even seem to register the fact that he had done what he said until a few seconds passed. A single finger went up. Not a concern then. Damon did the same to her right arm, keeping in mind to tend to her abrasion after. This time she crunched up her face a bit, frowning as he did it as her eyes moved towards his hand. Four fingers went up this time. Not serious but not exactly trivial either. Couldn't do anything for it now, but after the mission was complete and she was brought back to camp he could ask a Witch to produce some ice so the bruise could be soothed.

Going back to the abrasion, he sifted through the bag at his side, drawing out a small flask of water and a clean rag. Couldn't risk her getting an infection. He heard talking from the others, a female voice but he didn't pay her much mind at the moment. "I'm going to clean this out a bit alright? Then I'll wrap it up so it can heal properly without any trouble" He said, wetting the rag as he did so with the flask he had. Gently wiping the small wound on her arm and once he did that, wiping away the bits of dirt away from her face. She still seemed entranced by the bodies of the fallen. Doubtless she had known them once, but in what capacity?

He heard Bruno shouting now, didn't catch the exact words he uttered given his focus, but he quickened his pace now. Swiftly applying a dressing to the lower section her right arm, tucking it in tight so it remained there instead of sifting through his bag to find the pins or tape to hold it. Not enough time. "Alright, I'm going to check the rest of you to make sure there's no injuries. I trust that you weren't touched by the Blight?" Damon asked, quickly getting on a knee and lifting up the trousers tucked into boots. She didn't answer, but didn't stop him from examining her. Nothing on her legs, which was good and he sincerely doubted that she had anything on her feet. He couldn't afford to waste time now anyways, there would be more time back at camp for a more thorough examination. Getting back up, he checked her neck, tilting her head with one hand whilst the other rested on the crossbow he was no doubt soon to draw if whatever coming close was the Blight. After that was done, he checked the back of her ears and her head, short hair was always made these things easy and she had it. Nothing there either. He looked at the vest she wore, no tears or rips, which meant that no Blight had torn through and gotten to the flesh either by the looks of it.

"Perfect" He said, drawing the dagger out of it's sheath. Giving her a quick once over again with his eyes, he handed it to her. "I'd like to think I'm a fairly optimistic person, but I have my doubts about the sounds coming closer being the sounds of the living. Stay closer to her, no doubt a better fighter than I and capable of protecting you if things don't go to plan." Damon motioned towards the scarred woman, Maxima she was called if Damon recalled correctly. "If any of them get too close and if she's occupied, try to use that." Truth be told, he was well aware that it wasn't much. He doubted she was even in the right mindset to make proper use of it, but it was something to help with her confidence. Make her feel safer when things started to go awry, less helpless and hopefully less likely to run away from both the group and the Blight. She muttered something, quiet, not even a whisper, but she seemed more aware now, a bit more grounded in reality.

Damon loaded his crossbow, hoping that he wouldn't have to use it.

 

[Acorn]

Florence Sabin

Location: Woodmeadow
Company: Lydia JustNicole

Florence approached the closed wooden gate and pulled the reins in her gloved hand taut, slowing her horse to a trot, then a walk.

A tall, gangly woman in a simple brown woolen dress, along with a stout man in padded armor more function than form, straightened into guarded stances. Appropriate, given that they were guarding a gate, but as she came to a stop a few paces from them, she had expected they would see her armor, and more importantly, the badge she wore attached to her armor — a flower with six petals — and make way, but they didn’t budge.

Her mouth tipped into a severe frown and her eyes narrowed.

“Greetings,” Florence said, though there was as much warmth in her voice as a cold winter night. “I am First Lieutenant Sabin with the Royal Army, and I seek—“

“Don’t care,” the woman interrupted, twitching her hands into the folds of her dress to extract a long wooden wand. “Woodmeadow's closed.” She dragged her eyes over Florence’s gear, stopping at the glaive she had strapped to her horse. “Especially to people who have direct contact with the Blight.”

“Excuse me?” Florence blinked first at the woman, then her wand. “You can’t turn me away.”



“Sure we can,” the woman said, glancing at her silent companion. He nodded helpfully. “We don’t open the gate, you don’t come in. It’s not complicated.”

“I can’t deny your logic,” Florence intoned. “However, I'm here in search of supplies. According to Queen’s law, you are required to—“

“I’m going to stop you there. Still don’t care. You can move along now. Tell the Queen if you really feel like it. We’ve got people to protect from the Blight in the meantime.”

Florence scoffed and ran her hand over her mouth, then turned her horse and nudged him into a trot to meet Lydia.

“They won’t let us in,” she told the other woman with a frown as she neared. “Claimed it’s to protect the townspeople from the Blight. They didn’t say it outright, but it seems like they’re turning away all in hopes of preventing an outbreak. I tried to cite our rights to acquire supplies, but I had a wand pulled on me.”

The people of Woodmeadow were disregarding the Queen’s law, but more worrisome than that was the fact that they were denying the Royal Army the resources they needed to function at full capacity. Their company was in need of more supplies than they'd marched in with to investigate and defend the nearby Ormount Village after receiving reports of Blight. If the guards weren't willing to hear a warden out, how were they going to avoid returning to their fellow soldiers empty-handed?

"Perhaps," Florence said, reaching over the horn of her saddle to pat at her horse's gray neck, "they'd listen better to someone with a wand of their own."

Assuming, of course, Lydia used a wand.

 

[Poe]

Eva Fay

If you can understand me, please reply!

Eva waited with bated breath as Bruno called out to the source of the noise. She hoped with all of her heart to see survivors start slipping out of the woodwork, but it only took a moment to recognize the slow, mindless movement of bodies as they started to crawl out of homes, from alleyways and from the very direction the girl had been running. It started small at first, only a few blighted, but the numbers seemed to double consistently as time passed. More and more until they were far outnumbered. Eva thought for a moment she might be able to use sommeil to kill a large mass of them at the price of an exponential amount of mana, but there were too many and until she could guarantee an opening for their escape, she could not in her right mind use up all her mana as the only witch in the group.

“Shit,” Eva bit out and readied her wand, “We can’t do this ourselves. Everyone at the ready!”

Her voice was powerful in the eerie silence, very reminiscent of her father, and she held her wand first up to the air. A flare would perhaps draw more blight towards them, but this was not a job for two separate groups. They needed to face this, together.

With a swift flick of her wrist, three separate flares shot up in the air in succession, signaling the Royal Army for reinforcements. The moment she did, the blight saw the light and moved directly towards them.

 

[Epiphany]

The signaling of the flare caught Carmaline's attention. Part of a separate search effort, she and her immediate team hadn't found much beyond corruption, pestilence and obviously dead bodies. The latter they left untouched, undisturbed. Their priority was to find survivors. Given how widespread the corruption had become, at least in this area, the place could be put to the torch afterwards. Flame would sort out what had been animated by the unnatural foulness and what hadn't.

But a flare! Carmaline lifted the hem of her robes, took up her staff and moved swiftly and silently through the village towards the signal. Again, the temptation was to burn as she went but that would only draw more attention than she and the few with her could probably handle by themselves. That and it'd split their forces. Joining ranks with the main search party would concentrate their strength and give them a better chance of fending off any push from the Blight.

In a matter of minutes, she came across the first shuffling Blight-infested body. It hadn't seen her, though, as it was shuffling in the same direction she was going. Flanking it, Carmaline came across two more. It'd become apparent that the main search party had drawn the attention of the Blight.

Sighing silently, the Witch eyed several village homes before finding one with a roughshod wall she could scramble up. Carmaline reached the top, huffing a little, realizing that her body still hadn't regained it's prior peak from before she'd had two children. Instead, she crouched down on a wooden support holding up thatched roofing. Elevated, she spotted the group of Witches and Wardens making a stand as the Blight slowly converged on them.

With the White Warcry in hand, Carmaline leveled her staff and prepared to rake the corpses from behind once the commander of the main patrol committed her forces to the fight.

 

[RJS]

Bruno could only stare at the numbers headed their way. 20...30...seems most of what was the village is on its way. Eva had called for backup, which meant at least maybe the child would stand a chance, if only there was enough time for the others to see the flare and make their way through the streets. Time would be the deciding factor here, and from the looks of things, their chances of being able to back up until help arrived seemed slim, with Blight approaching from seemingly all directions. Bruno sighed heavily. I guess today, like every other day, may be the day.

He turned to face the main group of Blight, heading up in the main street. "I'll try and draw the attention of as many as I can, ma'am. If you have some time away from covering the other approaches, I'd appreciate some assistance, but if we don't get that girl out unharmed this was all for nothing." It was true. If he gave his life in exchange for the girl escaping, the army would be better off for the trade - witches would always do more damage than wardens. Maybe she'd even come back from her service on her own two feet. He took a breath or two, ragged in spite of his resolution. It was never an easy thing, to walk into the jaws of death. Not even logic could stop his physical responses from rebelling against his will. His hands quivered on the hilt. Enough waiting. They were only getting closer.

And so he charged forwards, roaring. The zweihander swung down, cleaving diagonally across a Blighted from shoulder to hip, shattering bones with its amplified force. Bruno gritted his teeth, grabbed the secondary hilt, and bludgeoned the pommel into the side of the head of the next Blighted. Thrusting forwards, he felt nails scratch at his plate as the other Blighted began to surround him, searching for a way through the armour. All he could see through the slits in his helm were enemies, all he could hear was his own panting. He spun left and right and swung, barely seeing what he hit, though the scratching died down. Thankful though he was for his plate, the feedback from his enchantment was already beginning to pain his arms, though he had trained to tolerate it and push through at this stage.

How long had it been? Seconds? Minutes? All he could do was keep swinging, and hope that the rest were safe. He had no chance to check. All he could do was his job, and hold...shit. His sword hit something very solid indeed, and the impact jarred it from his grip. The scratching seemed to redouble in the moment that he froze. What could he do?

"Don't stop, you big oaf!"

The words, in a voice only faintly remembered, echoed in his memory. Bruno snapped a fist forwards, feeling half-decayed bones shatter at the blow. He lashed out, feeling Blight fall back with each punch. He could still hold a little longer. He could buy more time, pull more of them onto him should the seemingly inevitable happen. He was staggered by a heavy impact, but lashed out and felt contact. In spite of the weight all around him, he was staying on his feet. Who knows, maybe his luck would hold.

"Come on, come on! I'm not dead yet, and it'l take more of you than this!" Spitting his defiance, Bruno continued his disoriented fistfight with the cluster of infected.

 

[The J]

Margaret's section's search had been uneventful. No survivors, no blighted creatures. Just bodies and filth. Georgio hated this, being forced to do essentially nothing. His bow out, arrow nocked, he felt as tense as his bowstring.
Flares in the sky alerted them to danger. He could hear a moaning, screeching and crashing far off. The other group was in trouble, or had found something that everyone else needed to see. Either way, it would be vital to go see, and Georgio got a feeling from the noise that it was the former.
Racing ahead of Carmaline, he saw the same as her. A horde of the infected humans from this town confirmed his suspicions that it had been beyond saving from the start. Still, there were better things to prioritise now - such as saving their squad from being overcome by the diseased.
Georgio jumped and clung on the eaves of a low roof. He pulled himself up, getting one leg over then rolling onto the roof. That done, he ran along the crest of the roof, crouched low for balance. He soon came to a point where he could easily see the horde, and their allies defending against it.
There was something happening near the Blighted's front line... someone was in there, fighting with their fists. How stupid does someone have to be to keep fighting without a blade in hand, against th- oh, it's Bruno. He realised, his question thoroughly answered.
Raising his bow, he re-nocked the arrow he had from earlier - a cheap one, with a fire-hardened wooden point. These were ideal for dealing with Blight, being cheap and easy to replace. Their decayed flesh offered less resistance than anything fully alive, so they sufficed in damage well enough.
He loosed the arrow, and it sailed straight into the skull of a walking corpse behind Bruno, which had been trying to go after him.
"Bruno, you fool!" He shouted, nocking and loosing another arrow. "Get out of there, you can't do anything without your sword!"

 

[thoughtless]

aurelia boveri

i hold the past like a knife

Things always found a way to go south even in the best of situations. This circumstance, however, was as unfavorable as they come, and so whenever three flares went up, burning a trail of light throughout the skies above, Aurelia felt more annoyance than anything else. She was beginning to wonder where all the blighted villagers were hiding, and it seemed there was enough commotion to finally wake them up. Carmaline and Georgio were the first to head in the direction of the three flares, rushing to aid them in fighting off whatever swarm of blight had surrounded them.

Aurelia tightened the black bandana, which hung over her mouth to protect it from any blighted blood, before following after them, unholstering her weapon along the way. It was clear that more and more blighted were beginning to creep out the houses, attracted to both the noise and the fresh sources of mana that they could now sense. Cutting down any that stood in her way with ease, she didn't stop running once she caught sight of the others, quickly summoning three fireballs with a flick of her sword and a simple grunt.

Unstable as they were, especially since she wasn't casting with a traditional wooden wand, she didn't need them for more than a mere distraction. She was hesitant to use any of her other spells in such a closed area in fear of a stray spark setting one of the houses afire, and instead, Aurelia opted for using the fire to lure the blighted into a much more open space where they could easily be assaulted with spells.

Slowly the infected directed their attention to the fireballs hanging in the air and towards Aurelia herself, pulling a few towards an open patch of desecrated farmland, making sure to keep the fireballs between her and the blighted, shambling bodies. Even if she managed to lure half of them away it would be worth it, as more would surely start to gather.

 

[Aldur]

Maxima Horatius

Overview

Location	Middle of a Horde
Company	Quite a lot of living and dead folk.

Maxima let the good doctor handle his inspection. She felt a bit of relief when he came to his conclusion, but her helmet betrayed no emotion. It did not take long before the situation worsened. It was clear to Maxima, at least, that the two Blightlings she slew weren't the only ones eager to maim and tear. Hearing the sounds off in the distance and being tasked with being the guardian of the little survivor, she lowered herself on her knee and motioned to the girl: "Mount my back! Quickly!"

Maxima regained her poise once the little girl was on her back. "Hold tight!" she continued. Maxima chose to ignore the girl's potential to grow up into the thing she hates most, but after all, she would not let a child die, regardless of their gender. She tightened the grip on her greatsword and remembered a specific manual for this situation, wrote by a Toscana native. She would need to use wide, repetitive cleaves and quick, swooping motions. Maxima brought the sword above her head, pointed backwards.

"Everyone at the ready!"

One step ahead! Max thought. The horde was closer every second. Maxima frowned and kept a steely gaze. Her greatsword began cutting through the approaching horrors as they entered the Warden's proximity. Her arms moved in continuous motion, yet the ghoulish creatures were still coming. It was only a matter of time until her arms would tire of the task, but she made sure the countless hours of training would make her endure.

"Lower your head!" She shouted at the girl on her back. Once she felt the child had done it, she began widening her swoops. Soon enough, she needed to cover more ground. She danced into a circle, ending any undead intruder with a direct thrust. She danced like clockwork until she felt the girl lose grip. Her eyes widened, and she spread out her legs just enough so the girl would use her legs as support.

Poe Lemon Boy RJS Epiphany thoughtless

 

[Aldur]

Murdock MacÀidh
The Horde moves. Fresh meat! he thought. Had more Wardens been dispatched or was it just travelers that came in at a bad time? Either way, Murdock strode in the wake of the Blightlings. It soon became evident that the fresh meat came canned and with wands. A witch had sent a flare in the sky. Good heavens! Maybe they could help Murdock find his daughter! But he would have to help them first, as the horde had gotten aggressive and lead him to the group in question. He saw glimmering metal and mana, then he drew his sword.

Murdock laid the blade facing backward and kept both of his hands on the hilt. He then let out a thunderous yawp and charged forward towards the battle. He cleaved through the groups of Blightlings with relative ease, as they weren't focused on him as much as the other Wardens and Witches. He then brought the blade to rest on his right shoulder and swung it wide from right to left and then left to right, all while vocalizing his frustrations with the numbers of the horrors in crackling grunts.

Murdock had drilled far enough into the big crowd that he started to see the small detachment. One Warden, in particular, caught his eye. It was a female, which he thought peculiar, but his attention was stolen by the girl holding onto her back. He was taken aback upon seeing her face.

"ISABELLA!" he roared. The girl's name filled the village.

Murdock had then cut his way through to the She-Warden. Maxima had already done a good job not letting the Blight reach his daughter and he wanted to make sure that would still be the case.

"Warden! Ya' take East and I'll take the West! I beg you! Do not let 'em touch Isabella!" Maxima hadn't budged, but she understood. Murdock took a place behind her. They were back to back, not allowing the monsters to enter their circle.

RJS , The J , Epiphany , Lemon Boy , Poe , thoughtless , The J , Aldur

 

[RJS]

Bruno, completely encased in a crowd of Blight, couldn't really see any of what transpired, but the mighty bellow of an unfamiliar man certainly reached him. Though his helmet did a good job of muffling the noise, his ears were still left somewhat sore. Needless to say, the effect on the Blight was more pronounced - some stood stunned, whilst others shambled away from him to face the newcomer. Seeing an opportunity, Bruno leaned forwards and bulled through the crowd, managing to burst out at an edge. Casting his eyes around whilst he gasped for breath - now he was out of the confines of the press he realised how much he needed air - he caught a glimmer of steel at the foot of a nearby wall. His blade! Snatching it up, he turned to see the mob once again paying attention to him. He grinned, a fierce light glowing in his eyes. "You monstrous bastards want more of a taste, do you?"

His sword flashed horizontally, sending heads rolling and arms flopping to the ground. Bruno repeated the motion, scything back and forth as the infected fell like wheat before the scythe. "Come on! Come on! Come and die!" Bruno barely felt the jolt that travelled back up his arms with every blow, such was the euphoria of feeling his blade cleave clean through the blight with its amplified force. This was what he was here for. To purge the unclean.

 

[Epiphany]

As the battle was joined, Carmaline straightened on the rooftop of the village home she'd crouched on. With her fabled staff, the White Warcry, the Red Witch pointed at the crowd of gathering Blighted corpses. Then she slowly swirled her staff in the air, as if stirring a pot of water. Arcane words brought arcane power to bear as she invoked her Drawing the Sea Incantation.

And as she stirred, moisture trails began separating themselves from the monsters, desiccating them like mummies. Carmaline held the water vapor suspended above for the moment, concentrating mostly on drying out the bodies as quickly as she could. Even Blighted undead would move slower and hit with less force with some of their mass sucked out by magic.

The Wardens and several witches hacked into the horde with great abandon, buying Carmaline time to spread the humidity into the walls of nearby village homes, into the grass and soil underneath.

"Someone torch them!" she yelled, for though she'd planned to do so herself, a fresh batch that had followed that villager in drew her attention, requiring her to shift her spell to dessicate them as well.

 

[Poe]

Eva Fay

In an instant they were overrun.

Even with the reinforcements, their group was small and as Blight were struck down, others rose in their place until the streets and alleys were filled with them. They had come for survivors and found two, a man and his child, but they, too, were threatened by the oncoming hoard. As Eva muttered off as many incantations as she could, her eyes took inventory of those around her. Carmaline and Georgio on the roof, Bruno in the thick of the Blight, Maxima and Damon protecting the girl and her father. She could sense Aurelia too, though she couldn’t catch sight of the woman, her immense mana caused the hair on Eva’s neck to stand on end.

Someone torch them!

Eva drew her wand and cast a few more fireballs, putting just enough distance between her and the blight that she could find her own footing. “Maxima!” Eva called back without so much as a look, her eyes leveled on the blight, “I’m going to get you an opening, get them out of here!”

Eva drew a deep breath as the incantation feel from her lips. It was a complex, quiet sound almost like a hum as she focused in on her mana. It was white hot, begging to burst forth in the adrenaline of the moment, but Eva was careful. As it came forth from her wand, it consumed the radius in front of her, stretching back a near hundred feet to encompass the front lines of the blight in a white, sparkling glow. It illuminated the town, right down to the shadows of the alleyways and just as it appeared, the blight began to slow until they were uselessly bumping into one another with moans of protest and confusion.

They had no idea that Eva was slowly sucking the oxygen from the air, until they were nothing more than a pile of corpses. Eva could feel the mana drain and she knew the moment the spell finished she would have to rely solely on her sword, but they’d been caught off guard and they needed distance. She was so hell bent against torching the whole place when Carmaline had suggested it before, but now that they had survivors –even only two – they owed it to them to protect what precious life was left in this world. Life that the blight had not yet snuffed out, even if they’d taken everything. Their village, their home, their loved ones.

Eva let out a grunt as she felt a bit of blood trickle from her nose, but within seconds the Blight began to fall. One by one by one, they collapsed on top of one another until not a single one in the radius remained. Those who lived, bumped uselessly and stumbled over the corpses, slowing their advance near ten-fold. Just as Eva’s eye opened, two Blight who had been on their side of the carnage moved in towards her as she collapsed to her knee, but she quickly powered through and drew her sword.

And in a moment, decapitated them both without hesitation.

“Everyone, move!”

 

[RJS]

Bruno backed away, awed at the magnitude of magical power on display as the Blight began to stumble and slow. He couldn't wipe the grin from his face as he watched them all fall, hordes of the infected collapsing like wheat before a divine scythe. A small chuckle escaped his lips, as he checked behind. A pathway had been cleared for the evacuation of the survivors, and he waved towards it, yelling over to them. "Way's clear! Get going, I'll hold the rear." As he scanned over the battlefield, finally able to see clearly now that he wasn't surrounded by a wall of infected, he saw two closing in swiftly on Eva, who was down on the ground, clearly exhausted from the almighty magic she had just cast. He began to run, knowing he wouldn't make it in time but unwilling to stand idly by and not try.

The quick flash of her sword dispelled much of his fears in one instant. Bruno sucked in air through his teeth, emitting a slight whistle as he did so. "Impressive stuff! Not often you see a witch with those skills." Bruno stepped forwards, interposing himself between her and the blight. "However, please allow me to be the rearguard. While your sword skills are not in question, the ability of your clothing to protect you from a blow is more dubious. Besides...should you be able to repeat that feat on other days, you are significantly less expendable than I am." Bruno eyed up the blight, still stumbling aimlessly over the corpses of the fallen. "In any case, I suspect I need a chance at a few more swings if I've any hope of catching up to your tally."