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Fantasy Wrath and Glory (IC)

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Guppy Franz

Guppy Franz

Guppy was here!
Prologue
The Coming Storm ​

The 41st anniversary of Eswen’s foundation has just passed, being celebrated throughout the kingdom. All its citizens, rich or poor, were given plenty of food and drink to indulge in thanks to a successful year of trade and harvest. By some fortunate grace, its borders remained silent, giving its armies a well-deserved chance of rare rest and relaxation. Many saw it as a blessing of God, while others were to marry to care and instead basked in the uncommon moment of peace. Two months have passed since this celebration though, and this silence along the borders has remained. In fact, all of Malveir has been uncommonly still. No news of conflicts, no reports of outside army’s on the march, and the raiding tribes to the South not even leaving their deserts. For the citizens of Eswen, this would be considered a good thing, but for those in power and Eswen soldiers, it has been an unnerving silence hanging over them. A sense of unease and tense anticipation has spread throughout the ranks of the army, even its many generals growing impatient for the disruption of this unnerving peace. Several patrols along its borders have been doubled, the number of soldiers raised for a sudden attack and kept on the constant lookout for activity.

The neighboring ally kingdoms near the Southern borders have also reported no signs of Orc and Ogre raiding parties, not even seeing the occasional scouting groups that frequently slither near their borders to probe their defenses. Lilymor, the closest to both the Southern and Eastern borders, has also reported no activity from both the Southern tribes and the Dark Elves. To the Eastern Forest where the Elven and Fae kingdoms reside, word has arrived that even their borders are still as a grave, the Dark Elves uncharacteristically absent from their usual scheming tricks to drive themselves deeper into Elven and Fae territory. The eldest of Fae have however sensed an unmistakable disturbance within the forest, a faint sense of twisted magic on the rise from the Undead kingdoms. To the North, word has spread from the traveling merchants that the Dwarves have sealed themselves into their great mountain fortresses, refusing to allow the usual wave of outside merchants into their great cities and abruptly ceasing any further trade with Eswen and its allies. No reason for this strange and sudden act is known and has only caused a greater sense of unease to spread through those in power as to having lost an abundant source of goods and minerals from the north.

With the Eswen armies on alert, several large patrols survey the edges of the border day after day. One such patrol is being led by Lieutenant Speirs under the command of General Carter. Speirs and his force of a hundred and fifty strong have been tasked with patrolling the lower border lines near Chiren, made up of light and heavy infantry, archers, and a handful of light cavalry. A few miles away from their patrol route is a town called Aramoor at the edge of the border just a day's travel away from the line separating Eswen and Chiren. Famous for their well-bred warhorses, Aramoor holds great importance to the military for their supply of strong and healthy steeds. Aramoor however has failed to supply the recent order of horses and has been silent for the past week. Impatient and concerned, the higher-ups have deemed it fit to pay the town a welfare check. With General Carter and his main force spread along the surrounding borders, Spiers and his troops have been assigned to extend their patrol route to Aramoor and make contact with the local conscripted militia stationed in the town. Unfortunately for Spiers and his troops, they would be the first among many near the borders to face the coming storm threatening Eswen and the West.



The rhythmic sound of a hundred boots beating along the dirt roads that ran through the open plains filled the hot summertime air, the mix of loose armor or gear clunking about being the only addition to the rhythmic thumping of the long column of soldiers as they marched in unison together. Barely an hour or so after dawn, the sun was already glaring down onto the poor souls below without mercy, the muggy conditions of the air only adding a further insult. Among the rows of soldiers, men and women of all races suffered the brutal heat together. What made it even worse was the fact that everyone knew they were in for a longer day than usual, being given a new mission that would take them far off their usual patrol route and that they would have to double back afterward to finish their original route. Grumbles and frustrated mutters were scattered among the troops, their displeasure in the extra add onto their workload clear. For two long months, they have been doing the same thing, marching, scouting, and more marching. It has been almost mind-numbing with the spread of boredom and the creeping sense of unease that has slipped through the ranks. The only one who seemed to march on without issue was the Lieutenant that led this column of soldiers from the very front. Lieutenant Speirs walked on foot like the many troops behind him, his usual hum of some random tune hearable for those closest to him.

Trotting along both the flanks of the column were four horsemen on both sides, cladded in light leather armor, iron helmets that covered their faces, and carrying long wooden lances with arming swords or maces at their belts. Towards the front of the column being led by Spiers were over fifty heavy infantry troops, their weapons ranging from halberds to shields and swords, axes, or maces. Finally, towards the back, made of a more diverse mix of troops and races, were the lighter units, seventy light footmen, and thirty archers. The light footmen were clad in leather armor and iron helmets strapped to the top of their heads, and an open range of different weapons like hammers, swords, shields, axes, and spears. Finally, with the archers, they were also clad in leather armor with blue and white hoods, bows, short swords, maces, and axes. Luckily for all of the troops, the Lieutenant had splurged a bit of his monthly pay for newer gear and repairs after seeing that the state of his troop's equipment had grown worse for wear. The unit was grateful for Spier's generous act, most among the ranks holding their Lieutenant in high regard.

Toward the center of the column along with the light footmen marched Pierce, his fellow squad mates at his side as they followed behind Sergeant Stone, the leader of their team. A long sigh escaped him as he slightly loosened the strap to his helmet and wiped away a layer of sweat from his face with his gloved hand. Even after nearly a decade of marching in temperatures like this, maybe even worse, he couldn’t ever get used to the brutal summer heat. He’d much rather face a rabid Ogre in a blizzard in nothing but his underwear than march in this heat any longer. The one saving grace he had at his disposal though was attached to his belt. Reaching down and unclipping his flask from his belt, Pierce twisted the top off and brought it to his lips, a cool liquid touching his lips before a strong yet satisfying burning ran down his throat as he took a sip. Spiced rum is truly a blessing from God himself to his loyal servants.

“I hope that’s water this time Shilbrouk,” a familiar cold voice said, making Pierce nearly sputter out the cool liquor in surprise. Glancing forward he met the icy gaze of Sergeant Stone as she glanced over her leather padded shoulder, staring suspicious daggers at him. It wasn’t the first time Pierce had been caught by his sergeant for drinking on the job. It was the only rule he would push. A few surrounding soldiers and officers from different teams seemed to be curious about his slip-up, Pierce spotting a few smirks and grins from other troops from the corner of his view. With a quick cough to clear his throat gave a firm nod.

“Of course ma'am,” he replied quickly, maybe too quickly. She arched a brow and flicked her gaze to the flask in his hands.

“Really now?” she questioned before returning her gaze to his and outstretching her gloved hand his way. “Care to share then? I seemed to have forgotten my canteen at the main camp,” she requested with a frown. Somehow Pierce felt like he was sweating even more now, his eyes flickering to the flask in his gloved hand and back to the sergeant before him.

“Um, I wouldn’t recommend it, ma’am. It's… um,” he paused for a moment, distracted for a moment from the surrounding eyes of his fellow soldiers waiting in anticipation for his excuse. Bastards. “Sewage… water,” he slowly replied, mentally cringing at his choice of an answer. A few of the troops snickered or rolled their eyes at the ridiculous reply.

“Sewage water? Really now Shilbrouk? Out here so far from civilization?” she said dryly, her face falling flat as she saw through the stupid lie. Pierce let out a small sigh, shaking his head.

“Spiced rum ma’am,” he answered honestly in defeat. Stone rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking forward.

“Put it away. You’ll receive a day of latrine duty,” she decided with a firm tone. Pierce held back a groan and instead, let out a breath through his nose as he closed his flask and clipped it back to his belt.

“Yes ma’am,” he replied in defeat. A chuckle came to his left from an older archer, his crooked amused smile missing a few teeth.

“Nice try lad, but the Ice maiden isn’t that daft,” the gray-haired man said in a hushed voice, making sure Stone couldn’t hear the nickname given to her by the common troops. Pierce rolled his eyes and adjusted his grip on the wooden shield at his side. The Ice maiden was definitely fit for her, but even so, she was his superior. Even if she did lack the experience he did in the army, she still deserved his respect as his commanding officer.

“Ey, at least ya didn’t get extra guard duty tonight,” another footman from behind said, Pierce looking back to see an exhausted soldier with heavy bags under his eyes. Many among the ranks were in similar states, including Pierce himself. With the past two months being so inactive many of the soldiers have become restless, unable to get a full night's sleep or any at all. Pierce gave a short huff and rubbed the bags under his own eyes, just realizing how heavy his eyelids were.

“Not like I get much sleep anyways,” he muttered before a murmur of agreement surrounded him. It was an odd feeling, being so restless because of no invaders on their borders threatening their lands. Pierce even felt a bit guilty as he would hope for an attack. But things have never been this quiet before, there has always been something happening. The itch to dive into battle frustrated Pierce, having no source other than some light sparing back at the main camp, but that wasn’t enough. He rotated his tense shoulders and cracked his stiff neck, forcing his mind to return to the present and march on with the force with the promise of a long day ahead of them.
 
Hadrin plodded forward, marching alongside Pierce with the hood of his cloak up to avoid the worst of the glaring sun overhead if not the oppressive heat engulfing him. The star burned his unprotected hair and skin and eyes like leaves in a forest fire, and the perspiring dark elf was loathe to expose any more of his body to it this fine summer day than necessary. His companion felt it too, wiping away the sweat from his brow and unclipping a trusty flask Hadrin was familiar with from his belt to enjoy a furtive drink until the sergeant reprimanded him. He smiled at the back-and-forth that ensued, though tempted himself to sneak a draft himself whenever Stone wasn't looking...

Drawing his seax instead, Hadrin palmed his whetstone in his free left hand, spitting on it before he began sharpening the short blade. Perhaps when they made it to Aramoor they'd get to ride back. Until then, he still needed to put up with this a just a little bit longer. Once in town, there would be all the shade, spirits, and company that one could ever want. Deprived of those fruits of civilization as of late in the royal army, Hadrin intended to indulge like no other to make up for lost time, and glut himself to prepare whatever trials lay ahead.
 
Eswen Scout
Malidy Sharpclaw
#36D97F
Interactions: Pierce Guppy Franz Guppy Franz
Chiren Eswen Border, Near Aramoor
Malidy would quite like to kill something right now. It didn't really matter what, animal or person, even a bug would do. Her ears twitched with each moment, hearing each and every boot hitting the ground.

No wonder Beastmen don't march in formation.

She glanced to her three current companions, whom she had gotten to know a small amount over the past month. Two humans, named Reginald and Mark, and an elf named Alyiss. Each armed with a crossbow on their back and a mace or arming sword at their side. It was almost comedic how ill suited they were to fight from horseback, but marches like this needed scouts mounted. As they reached the rear of the column they dismounted their riding horses, smaller and more lithe beasts than those of the actual calvary, and she looked towards the other four scouts. Another three humans and another elf. Jake, Jannet, Lirch and Mihel. She briefly considered why she rarely saw other races as scouts, before realizing it was likely due to the fact that dwarves were too stout to ride most horses, fae were fairly rare in general, and most beastmen made for poor scouts. Though of course, there were exceptions.

"Nothin', Lirch, you and yer lot can take a northwest patrol arcing back towards Aramoor, ye should get eyes on it."

She offered a quick nod and two fingered salute in departure as she moved her way upwards through the column. She'd like to stay and chat with some of her mates, but as the senior most scout she had the privilege of delivering the report. She did glance back though, she didn't like this. They should have had at least a dozen, six out at a time, three on each flank. They had too many blind spots, and only got an update every two hours, every four during night. But she wasn't in charge of anything officially, even if the other scouts did tend to look towards her for leadership, so she couldn't do much about it besides bemoan the fact to anyone who'd listen. Which was a rather rapidly shrinking list.

if there were a force even three miles south we wouldn't know for another two hours minimum, closer to three probably.

She wiped her hand across her brow, collecting some sweat, as she moved past various men and women in armor. She didn't have her helmet on, it was strapped to her rucksack. She told em Yimir knows how many times it didn't fit her ears but the quartermaster insisted she kept what was issued. She was at least glad to be on her own feet again, she was a competent enough rider, but had no love of it, almost always found her rear sore after a lengthy ride. Least they weren't warhorses, she couldn't imagine they were anything but worse. She reached for her canteen and drank a swig of refreshing water. Thankfully she had gotten the chance to refill it at a spring, she couldn't stand marching on an empty canteen. She tucked it back away as she neared her combat squad, and gods forsaken commanding officer. Her ears perked at the sound of the more familiar voices, was that... Pierce? Of all the people to overhear making shitty excuses to Sergeant Frosty he'd be the last person she'd suspect, from what fairly little she knew of him. Considering her nose picked up a hint of the good stuff, she had a good idea what he was being dressed down for. As he was being talked to by a few other soldiers, she got to Sergeant Stone.

"Scoutin' party's back Gov'ness. Nought out there but a stray poacher we found and some bear tracks. Oo' should I mention the poacher was dead and the tracks were leading away?" She of course, had a shit eating grin on her face.

Admittedly, the half eaten corpse was the most interesting thing they'd found in days. "Amusing. If that's all, you're dismissed." Stone of course, did not match the grin.

To her credit, Malidy did drop it, pausing for a brief moment before speaking in a more serious tone. "We don't have the manpower to keep a patrol. We've got blind spots all over and our intel's delayed. We nee-" Malidy did not get to finish her statement.

"So you've told me. You're dismissed Sharpclaw, back in line." her words were as stern as her face.

Malidy had fought this fight before, and was a bit too tired to have it again now. The worst part was she had no idea if she could even blame the Sergeant. Even if she's taking the reports, she's not the one who's managing the formation, that's the lieutenant. But it's impossible to know if he has requested more scouts and got denied, or simply is content with the current shortcoming. So, Malidy, for once, did as she was told, stepping back, to the side of Pierce with an annoyed sigh, almost turning into a growl. If the low number of scouts got someone killed, no fur off her tail. Or at least, that's what she told herself. She turned to Pierce, her grin once more present.

"What'd the ice maiden chew ya out fer Gov'nor?"

Maybe it wasn't killing something, but fucking with someone was a good enough replacement.




Code by Serobliss
 
Last edited:


Feng Honglong 凤鸿龙
Location: Plains | Near Aramoor | Aramoor
It felt endless, the constant march forward towards their destination, the town of Aramoor, simply to verify everything was still functioning and that horses would be delivered on schedule as usual and yet the higher-ups had decided that it would be best to send nearly an entire battalion to make a simple check-up.
While the rest of the men and women were all suffering from the intense heat that the sun relentlessly battered the troops with, two individuals casually followed the path without any signs of exhaustion aside from their aching legs. These two individuals were none other than Feng and Yun Honglong, one of which had been an ex-knight in the Xin military while the other was an ex-priestess to the Xin's temples. Being Xin and how their people relied on the heat from their flames to stay alive, the warmth from the sun alone was nothing more than a mild annoyance rather than an actual problem.

Positioned in the center column along with their fellow footsoldiers, the duo could easily be spotted amongst the many other soldiers considering both wore armor that was clearly different compared to the rest of the others. Of course, getting the approval to wear what they did currently was no easy task, it required a mountain of paperwork to be signed and on top of that, a personal interview regarding what benefits there were for either one of them to be wearing less armor than the rest of the troops. After a display of their magic with the standard issued armor followed by what was requested for the two to wear, it was finally decided upon that both Feng and Yun Honglong were allowed to wear the 'armor' of their people as long as an imprint of the Eswen's military logo was allowed to be branded somewhere on the clothing/armor.

As the march continued with nothing more than idle chatter amongst the troops, Feng would end up eventually reaching into one of his pockets only to pull out a small brown cloth bag that appeared to have some form of orb-like items within it. The orbs were reddish-black in color and gave off a slight glow to them, Feng ended up reaching into the small bag only to grab one of these orbs out only to pop it into his mouth before biting into it several times over. Each bite made a low crunching noise before eventually he would swallow the remains of the orb, right as he began to reach back into the bag, a sudden figure came sprinting up to his side with an overly cheerful expression on her face. "Ooo! Feeeennnng, when did you make those?! Why didn't you share some?!" As the young female whined, Feng simply grabbed another one of the treats only to stuff it into her mouth as she chewed on the orb cheerfully.

During this time, both Feng and Yun had mostly ignored the commotion going on amongst their comrades and focused on their duties that had been nothing more than to continue marching forward without question. It wasn't until the voice of their superior spoke up did the two turn their attention toward the front of the platoon only to find their Sergeant had been questioning Pierce regarding the contents within his flask only to find out that it had been liquor. With a low sigh, Feng had only responded with a shake of his head while Yun had consistently continued to grab one treat after another from her older brother's bag to munch on. It wasn't until Malidy approached their commanding officer to report what the rear scouts had found did Feng's interest become peaked, dead poachers and bear tracks leading in the direction the platoon was heading, something was off, and he knew it.

Stowing away the bag of treats back into his pocket, Feng steadily began to quicken his pace to approach the side of their Sergeant who turned her attention over towards him with a raised brow at first. "What is Honglong?" As the woman questioned him, Yun was quick to jog forward so that she would be keeping pace with her older brother, just slightly from behind so that she could listen in.

"Ma'am, if nothing is done, the entire scouting party is at risk of being decimated. If you will approve of it, I request that I and Yun Honglong will scout forward to avoid possibly risking the rest of the platoon from being wiped out."

After his request, Stone remained silent for several moments before replying with a single nod at first. "Your request is approved. Go. Evans, Williams, and Anderson go with the Honglongs and report back immediately if anything is to occur. I will speak with the Lieutenant regarding this matter. None of you are to engage in combat if any enemies are sighted. Is that understood?" As the woman spoke, she'd turn her attention over towards the trio that would be following Feng and his sister, gazing at them from the corner of her eye before the three simply saluted before the group headed off ahead of the entire battalion.

Luckily with a smaller group, the five soldiers were able to sprint and reach their destination much quicker than when they had all been marching together as an entire unit. While Feng had been suspicious about the silence from the town, Yun and the trio of soldiers had all seemed overly excited to reach the town so that they would be able to be the first in line for a cold drink and a refreshing shower.
As the group proceeded up the final hilltop that would give them a view over the entirety of the town, their expectations were crushed when the horrors of what they witnessed were the last thing anyone had been expecting. The town of Aramoor had been completely destroyed, stone walls that surrounded the town were all but crumbling, and the wooden gates were in shambles. Outside the town were the bodies of farm animals, guards of both men and women, civilians, and worse of all, orcs.

The horrifying sight had caused the trio and Yun to rush down to assist anyone that they could find that was actually in one piece. Yun attempted to use her healing flames to mend any wounds she could see, however, all it did was simply make the corpses look all that less mangled. While the four had gone in search of survivors both inside and outside of the town, Feng kept unusually calm as he entered the town, all while avoiding stepping on any of the remains of corpses. The interior of the town looked no better than that of what was outside of it, bodies littered the streets, homes were nothing more than ruins, and everything was painted in a deep red color from all the bloodshed that was caused. Whatever had happened here was nothing less than a massacre. Gritting his teeth, Feng only paused when he found the corpse of a small male child, clearly no older than six. Luckily, he was one that had not been torn limb from limb, kneeling beside the body, he'd place his right hand over the child's forehead while reciting an old prayer that many Xins tend to speak to honor the dead.

Moments after his prayer was over, Yun rushed up beside her older brother in tears only to reach fall to her knees beside him before grabbing a hold of one of his hands as though she were looking for guidance. "Do not cry Yun...save your energy. We must find the cause of all this. Go, send one of the troops to report back the situation. The Sergeant needs to know about this. I will continue to investigate." With her given orders, Yun would wipe away her tears with her arm before nodding. Helping herself to shakily stand back onto her own two feet, she sprinted back out to the gates of the town, approaching one of the nearest soldiers out of the trio.

"Jakob! Jakob! My brother said to send one of you guys back to the battalion! Tell the Sergeant, or anyone about what you found here...we need to bring everyone here and find out what happened..!"
As she instructed the human male, he'd salute before sprinting back off in the direction their group had come from, heading directly back to their commanding officer to report back what had been found.
Interactions: N/A {NPCS mostly}
Mentions: Guppy Franz Guppy Franz {Pierce} Ayan Ayan {Malidy}
Yun Honglong 云鸿龙.

Coded by AnemoVictorious​
 
James Marshal
The work was boring. The day was hot. They were out here on patrol with nothing to show for it, but James knew better than to hope for action. Such wishes had a nasty habit of being answered in the worst ways possible; the Gods were always watching and they were very easily amused. He wipes the sweat from his brow as he sits with the others, the condensation making his hat stick to his head. The march went on and on, and the dust clung to his skin and it seemed even to his lungs. But James didn't let it show, like the others, simply bearing his suffering in stoic silence. There were a few nicknames about it at this point, bandied around camp. 'Stoneface' was one.

Compared to the other soldiers, he was dressed in fairly conventional uniform, though his choice of dual blades was a little unique. It was only to be understandable, however, given that he played one of the most dangerous roles in the vanguard, intended to be the first into the mass of spears and blades when the company made an attack. And so, he took up a place in the first rank when they marched, ever among the first to stumble over some pothole or other mess in the road, before clearing it for the rest of the company to follow after. Dry, droll work.

When Pierce gets chewed out, James just snorts. Idiot. Alcohol was a terrible choice for a drink on duty anyway; it just dehydrated you. He was taking a drink break, getting some water when a man returned from the Honglongs' scouting party. Alone, in fact. Which was odd in and of itself, so James gets up, raising an eyebrow as the man gives a report through out-of-breath lips. The surrounding soldiers burst into a wave of shocked outcry and murmurs, but James steps forward with that stonefaced expression of neutrality to address their commanding officer with a dry, clinical tone.

"Ma'am, shall I signal to gather the company together? What are your orders?"
 
Targzel Pikehorn
Praise be Ymir for the sun lighting our way and warming our skin.

Neither the burning sun nor the long marches fazed Targzel Pikehorn - thick skin and nomadic lifestyle be praised -, but the military traditions of these strange people had him at odds with the commanders from day one. Marching around just for the sake of protecting some lines drawn on a piece of paper seemed utterly pointless and completely alien to the proud beastmen traditionalist. The tribes had different ways of protecting their people and a mutual understanding of where the Great Spirit was guiding each individual clan. Dwarven threats were slow moving and always came with noise and smoke, so he used to small groups of scouts screening an entirely nomadic people, not large companies of warriors marching from town to town. The worst thing entirely, however, were the formations they were meant to keep. Targzel didnt care what extra duties he was put on, he refused to march in rank and file. He was here, because he had been told it would protect his tribe, not to partake in these strange customs.

As Pierce was getting chewed out, Targzel just returned from his own scouting mission. He hadnt been officially ordered to do anything of the like, but he kept telling himself that it was fine to wander, as long as he kept within earshot of the rest. His helmet was filled with wild plums and he grinned as he went along the line, sharing them with anyone he passed. There was no point in wearing a helmet with his large set of horns, so it had served him mostly as a bucket. He was already preparing for a good tirade by the sour-faced Lady, when someone else drew everyones attention. The beastmen was almost sad by it, he respected the ice maiden for not taking shit from anybody and was somewhat curious how she would react to an offering of plums. But soon, he was among the folk listening to the out-of-breath humans reports of what had been discovered not far away.

Targzels nostrils flared wildly and he pawed his hooves through the dirt. Without waiting for any orders, he passed James Marshal, giving him a good pat on the back as Stoneface addressed the officer. But he only took a few more steps, actually waiting to hear the response and orders this time, as he stared into the mentioned direction. Unlike before, this wasnt an instance of pointless marching, but something very real. "Bet it was dwarves... feck em... ", he snarled.
 
CODE BY SEROBLISS
» masami
Soldier

"I don't like the air today," she told her after a march of silence. Their squad had been ordered to take a look at a key-point town not too far off. And Masami and Melne were a part of it. Besides Masami, the fox walked with her hands joined behind her, her face towards the sky. A clear sky.

"But, there is nothing?" At least, she smelled nothing too far off.

"Oh, dummy. Not as the air. I just have a bad feeling today."

"Are you... sick?"

Mel groaned before shaking her head. The red mane of hers shook in even motion, some of the parts landed across her shoulders. Masami enjoyed her hair open like this. Her eyes barely peeled off of her to stare to the front again.

"What do you think happened to the city?" she asked after a long minute. Masami had picked up the caution the fox had in her bones for a while now. A restless feeling, she was sure of it. Restless from all the worries or the scenes she claimed were a possible outcome. One of them had involved a new race spreading like a disease and eating everyone up.

"I can't take the worry from you," she said instead for an answer. Mel's bright green eyes found her way to her's. The sun beat down on them but when it met her eyes Masami thanked her for it. They shone as if they were emeralds- a luxury to stare at. She didn't look away now. "They could have had a change of heart or just a bad year. But they could also be all... dying sick for all I know, Mel. We will see, okay?"

It took the smaller beast a matter of thoughts before she inhaled deeply and nodded at last. She had come to the military to be there if injuries happened, not to arrive late yet again. It must have been hard on her, Masami imagined. And as much as she restrained from it, she allowed herself to spin the scene further. What if they arrived too late already? Eswen was cautious, the silence from the brutes on the other side of the border had been ringing several bells in their heads. Under no circumtances would a village of such importance simply... change their way of approach.

But there was no need to admit it to Mel yet.

"We haven't visited your family," the fox spat out, her voice lowering for the men and women not to hear. In a loud enough demeanour Masami's ears picked it up. "Don't you miss them?"
"Ah yes, them." She was sure the latest letter she had received carried the smell of bitter alocohl and aromas she preferred not to name. Not even a message with a brisk of sense. Only a sloppy hand engraving it's words in the poor paper. Masami scratched her head. "Do you miss them?" She could survive quite a few more months without them.
Mel needed one word to utter and they'd drop the military plan.
She caught her chuckle before it slipped her away. As if Mel would ever turn her back to this. Not if there was the possibility to brutality haunting it's next victims.

"Well, yeah! But-"
She quickly hushed the fox with broadened eyes. Masami motioned between them, her hand exploring the area around her. This was not the place to discuss such things and Mel knew such.

"Is the bag heavy?" she asked. It sounded... quite normal enough to pass for sheer interest. Masami was reminded of the bag on her shoulders. It weighted much- with all the food and weapons stached into it. But it became a minority of her worries as her bones held out much more.
"I barely know it's there," Masami said and it tickled the chuckle out of the fox. She hit the dark spot then! Sweet. "And your satchels? Are they a wild mixture or-"

Mel began to pout. "It is not! You want to have a look?" She abruptly ripped one off of her belt to hold it right into Masami's face. She gently pushed her hand down, embracing the warmth with which she was met. Melne's hands had never been more rough. A certificat of her hard work- of all the nightly hours she spent of finding new herbs to prepare for any conflict at all times. Masami loved them- the tiny dirt traces under her nails or the barely visible scratches on her fingers. Not much of a town girl, her grandfather had claimed upon the first few days Melne had been with her family. It must have been... nine years! Nine full years when Melne had entered her life.

"You- you can let go now, you know," Mel stumbled across her own lips and as soon as her grip loosened, the fox drew her hand back. Before it landed back behind her, she took a breath to inspect it. She thought Masami wouldn't see her, but truly, she could have stood beside the most inviting waterfall and still chose to stare at the redhead.

"Hey- what are they doing?" Melne notioned to the front. The chief- or at least Masami had written her down as it in the back of her mind- had slipped between the rows. Not a minute later a group secluded themselves and quickly went upfront.

"Scoutin'," a man cut in from behind, his three teeth shown in a dumped smile. Mel tried to smile back, a glare shot at her. Masami relaxed the corners of her mouth and her crunched nose. He smelled awful! "But shouldn' yer do it? Yer noses be bette', 'ight?" Her ears would soon fall off, she threaded the day they would. Or when the chopped words of these people would overtake hers and she'd loose all her vocabulary.

"I believe our comrades are as capable as we would be," Mel quickly said. She had nothing to fear. Masami wouldn't lose a word or nerve to one of those unconditioned dogs. Her hand uncurled from her pockets and loosened a strand of hair free. One way to tuck her nose away.

She almost rolled her eyes. If it weren't for the bushes at the side, she might have also snapped at the man to fasten his steps either backwards or forwards. Masami tugged on the fox's sleeve as if she pulled her from the gravest danger of all. Quite fair given their noses decaying each passing breath the man took.

"Masami!" hushed Mel. She didn't fight against it, though.

"He is meaving," she responded and only halted when the bush grew bigger before them. "Also I thought you were searching for... these?" Whatever these were. Reddish flowers with berries in the color of pink growing to them. Their leaves carried spikes, ready to leave another mark on the fox.

She couldn't wait for Mel to inspect it, awaiting a thank you at any moment. Masami still counted when the hands closed around the leaves and broke them apart. A slick liquid flowed into Mel's palm. She drew it closer and inhaled it's aroma. With a grin she stashed it into her wild pocket.

When Mel was done, Masami stepped from one step to another, her ears perked. The fox took a long stretch and simply... walked past her? Her gaze followed her, soon her body did. Mel had her bump in her walk. She only ever did it when she was mad at her.

"Are you upset?" Masami asked, her head perking around Mel's corner. "Was it not the right one?"

"It was the right one," Mel assured. "And I am not mad. Why do you always assume that?"

"Because you only ever hop when you are waiting for me to apologize," she admitted. Tough, falsely. Mel hopped the exact same way when she knew her favorite dish would be served or if she had sucess by doing something.

But the fox aprubtly halted in her steps, her arms falling to her sides. "Mel? What's wrong-" Not quick enough. The beastman darted to a piling group upfront. The group has stopped on quite obvious matters. But they seemed to surround something.

"Mel, wait," she grumbled and hastened after the fox. Who pushed herself through the crowd, making women and men grunt in frustration. They soon sealed their mouths shut as Masami swished past them with enough intensity hidden in her face to send the message.

"Dead," she heard a human gasp. His eyes were spread awide as if his horros were charging after him. Sweat bloomed on his brows and cheeks, even at his neck as far as Masami could see. "All of them! We arrived to a massacre."

The people in their troop swooned and muttered quickly, a turmoil of both excitement and terrific realizations. Their worst dreams have come anything- including a reality. Death entered the air, the stadium of their minds and muscles. Masami tensed. This is what Mel wanted, wasn't it. To be there when a fight would break out.

And yet again, she had been too late again.

Green eyes widened at her, looking over the haunched shoulders before only a flash of orange and white darted past the crowd and the commander. Masami lost no time and no backpack either. With a swift rattle on the bag, she made sure it sat safely on her shoulders before she picked up the pace of the fox.

"We will offer... immediate support," Masami shot at the chief, who already had her hands full with a ton of hens waiting for their next orders. But Mel couldn't wait, that Masami knew. And if she had to swim across an ocean, she'd reach the doomed village before anyone else here, skimming through what was left in hopes to rescue at least one life.

And the fox was never without her beast in the shadows.
 
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Interaction: Ayan Ayan

The frustrating thoughts of restlessness and itch for action still plagued the back of Pierce's thoughts, the attempt to focus on the march all for nothing as the already warm heat running up his neck only grew hotter. The need for another sip of the liquor on his belt itched his throat, finding the satisfying burn to be good medicine for his growing frustration, or keep his heavy eyelids from falling closed, but didn't want to catch the icy ire of his sergeant any more than he already had. So, for now, he'd just have to bite his tongue and march on hoping nothing else added to his frustration. The sound of an annoyed sigh to his side caught his attention, glancing over to see Malidy returning from her scouting. Flicking his gaze to Stone and back to Malidy, Pierce quietly put the pieces together. A chill would run along his warm skin however once Malidy glanced in his direction, the familiar grin slipped onto her face as he knew he had once again been set in her sights for poking and prodding. Holding back a sigh of his own, a small frown came to his face as she questioned what the sergeant had reprimanded him for. Pierce gave a huff, slightly embarrassed in his slip-up, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I tried to sneak a sip of my spiced rum," he admitted with a slight scowl as he faced forward, the thirst for his rum and want to un-knot the tension in his shoulders rising again. "It was foolish, but this bloody heat and constant marching is unbearable," he muttered with a sour expression before letting out a small sigh, messing with the strap of his helmet, and glancing over to Malidy with a blank look. "Anyway, I take it your scouting venture had little success?" he questioned with a quirk of his brow, not paying attention as Feng and his sister split from the main force with a small group to scout up ahead.
Interaction: Abstracty Abstracty ThatWhichShouldBe ThatWhichShouldBe

Meanwhile further up to the squad's leader, Stone gave a small breath as she watched the scouting group head off past the column. The current condition of the scouts was quite a mess, something she silently blamed on her carefree lieutenant. "Honestly, I question that man's competence at times," she muttered to herself as she rested her hand on her sheathed sword on her hip. She would soon be brought out of her thoughts as one of her troops, James Marshal, approached her asking if he should gather the company and what her orders were. Stone tapped her gloved finger atop the hilt of her sword in a moment of thought before shaking her head. "Orders remain as is Mr. Marshal, stay with the formation and march on. Lieutenant Speirs has yet to relay new directives," she answered with a leveled tone as she glanced towards the front, just barely seeing over the wave or marching troops to see Spiers whistling his heart away. "I'm sure we'll be getting new orders soon," she said with a small frown, holding her tongue from openly insulting her superior.

Her attention would be brought back to another one of her troops, Targzel Pikehorn, as he passed James with a pat on the shoulder. His accusing of Dwarves had almost brought an amused smirk to Stone's face but kept a blank expression. A bit behind them however a gruff voice spoke up. "Oi! Feck you!" A leather-cladded Dwarf who had heard his comment called out to Targzel, causing a ripple of amused chuckles to spread out around the surrounding squads. Stone managed to hide her own chuckle with a cough and waved a dismissing hand.

"Enough you lot, settle down," she said before glancing at Targzel. "I assure you Pikehorn, Dwarves are not the issue," she assured him with a small nod before facing forward. "Just focus on the march for now and we'll figure out who we can blame."


Towards the front of the marching column, Lieutenant Speirs walked on in front of his men with a carefree attitude, a pleasant hum leaving him as his gaze slowly scanned the open fields surrounding them. The baring heat of the sun offered no mercy to him, but even so, it didn't seem to bother him as it did those behind him. The Lieutenant was in a particularly good mood today, something his personal unit found a bit odd considering the type of day it was and the extra work loaded onto them. Spiers was well known among the common soldiers and officers as an odd man, most believing a few things were loose in his head. However, his record as both a soldier and officer has left him with a fairly famous reputation, for his tactics on the battlefield and quick thinking have led to several successful missions. The love and respect of the troops under him have remained strong over the years, though the company under him has been labeled as the more unpredictable and reckless unit that brings more trouble than they're worth. Today though, under this hellish sun, Spiers tuned out the politics and popularity games with a light-hearted hum. Finally, one of his officers approached his side and spoke up.

“Sir, I have a question,” the humming from Spiers came to a stop, and glanced over his shoulder, a lazy smirk spreading on his face as he looked at the middle-aged officer.

“I may have an answer corporal,” he replied with a light tone.

“Why are we the only ones making this welfare check on Aramoor? With things having been so tense lately, I would think that they'd send more than just our unit to check it out,” the corporal questioned, a mix of confusion and concern in his voice. Spiers pursed his lips in thought, glancing up at the sky as he rubbed his chin.

“A fair first thought, you would think they’d like to plug up any breaches in the borders and reclaim a vital town like Aramoor as quickly as possible if it was lost,” he said before rotating his other hand counterclockwise. “But, with how tense things have been for the higher-ups with this unusual silence from our usual aggressors, it’d make sense that they’d not want to leave any weak spots in our defenses open. If we shifted several of our forces at one time to deal with a single breach, it’d leave those now vacant spots open for attack,” he explained to the corporal who listened quietly before speaking up again.

“But surely Orcs and Ogres aren’t that smart. They don’t use strategies like that, they just charge in headstrong. And we're so far from the East for any Dark Elves to get this far,” Spiers gave a quick shrug.

“You’d be surprised, the Southern tribes have used similar strategies like that before, but it would be a rare sight to see them use it in such a grand fashion. Plus, you're right, there's no way a Dark Elve force could get this deep into the West,” he stated before his eyes hardened upon spotting the approaching soldier from the scouting party sent by Stone. From the speed he was rushing towards them and the look on his face, he didn't bring good news. “But again, it’s not impossible,” he muttered as he held up a fist, signaling the force behind him to halt. The rhythmic marching quickly came to an abrupt stop, the force halting behind their leader before the scouting soldier approached Spiers, panting heavily before pointing in the direction of their destination.

“Sir! Aramoor, it's been completely razed!" he reported through heavy breathing. "The rest of the party remained and is continuing the investigation," he said before Spiers held up his iron gauntlet, his eyes looking past the soldier and into the distance.

“I see,” Spiers muttered, his eyes rising to spot the distant trail of black smoke rising into the air, peeking out from rolling hills. "Were there any signs of survival? Any signs of the ones responsible still lingering around?" he questioned with a level tone. The soldier shook his head, standing a bit taller as he slowly caught his breath.

"I-I, no sir, we didn't see any remaining force lingering. As for any survivors, I...." the soldier paused for a moment, taking a moment to find his tongue and shake away a troubled expression. "Its bad sir," was all he could say with a heavy tone. Spiers furrowed his brow, a frown slipping to his face before letting out a sigh.

"Very well, fall back in line with your squad," he ordered as he rested his armored hand atop his sheathed long sword. The soldier gave a salute and hurried toward the back of the force, out of sight.

After a brief moment, forcing a thin smirk onto his face before turning to his troops, unsheathing his long sword from his side and resting it on his shoulders. “Welp boys and girls, looks like we're back to business,” he called out, a smirk on his face as the union of unsheathing blades rang out as the troops drew their swords. Many of the faces among the troops who were close enough to hear the scouts report wore ready expressions, a mix of anger and eagerness spread across their faces. A satisfied chuckle escaped him before raising his sword. “Light cavalry, spread out around the flanks and act as sentries! Make sure nothing sneaks up on us!” Upon his order, the troops on horseback wasted no time spurring their mounts forward, spreading out to guard the force's blind spots. “Rest of you lot, double march! Let's work up an extra sweat, ey?” Spiers barked with a grin before setting off on a jog following the calvary. The rest of the force was quick to follow their lieutenant, the once rhythmic sound of marching now replaced with the thundering pounding of boots as the force double-timed it to whatever awaited them over the distant hills.



As the main force closed in on the hills above the town, Pierce and the rest of the force had finally caught up to come upon a grizzly sight. As Pierce followed his squad mates to the edges of the hills overlooking Aramoor, he instinctively held onto the Divine pendant around his neck. “God,” he whispered under his breath with a sneer, his eyes hard as he took in the sight. The town of Aramoor was no more, reduced to a lifeless graveyard. From where the view from the hills, corpses were scattered through the cobbled streets, the front gates shattered through. Looking past the town the open pastors and fields used for the horses were covered with butchered remains of the animals, not a sign of life remaining. The stench of smoke and blood soon hit him and the others around him, making him scrunch up his nose and curse under his breath. Murmurs and whispers filled the ranks around him.

"By the Divine."

"Bloody hell, how barbaric."

"Well, I guess this means things are back to normal."

Pierce's attention was soon taken away from the sight and mumbling for the troops as he heard Stone calling after Masami and Mel as they rushed forward toward the town, ready to help however they could. Pierce furrowed his brows though, looking over the ruined town and knowing there was no help to be given. They were too far from the town to see the gruesome details, but just by a first glance he didn't hold his breath for any survivors. Soon Pierce was snapped out of his thoughts by the barking voice of Lieutenant Speirs as he gave out orders.

“Squads one through four, sweep the town! Archers remain on the hills! Light cavalry sweep the nearby forest! Rest of the company spread out and secure a perimeter around the town!”

Squad three was his squad. Drawing his blade and rotating his tense shoulders, Pierce drew his sword and took a deep breath before following Stone as she singled for the squad to follow her. After traversing down the hill the troops tasked to sweep the town made their way to the destroyed gates while the rest of the force spread out around the town, taking up several positions. As they approached the gates the corpses of the local militia filled the entrance, the fatter corpses of Orcs mixed with them. As they passed through the gates, one of the soldiers kicked the carcass of a pig-faced Orc and spat on the body. "Stinking pigs!" he hissed with venom, most of the troops around agreeing with the sentiment, Pierce included but held back a kick of his own. He would pause, however, something catching his eye from the dead Orcs. He furrowed his brow in slight confusion, noticing that the wounds that had killed these Orcs were from behind. As the troops passed him to enter the ruined town, Pierce looked outward to the exit of the gate and saw that most of the dead Orcs had similar wounds, all from behind. Were these Orcs killed by the militia? Or someone else? There were no other uniforms among the dead to hint at a third party being a part of the battle.

"Pierce!" Stone's voice shouted out to him as she waited for him at the entrance. Pierce quickly cleared the thoughts from his mind, pushing them down for later before hurrying to catch up. As he entered the town's main street the horrible sight he was greeted by a sadly familiar sight. Thoughtless slaughter and ruin. Men, women, and children of all ages and races lay scattered through the streets, deep crimson filling the cobbled roads. The heavy stench of copper assaulted his senses, making him wrinkle his nose and cough into his padded shoulder.

"Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath before spotting Feng and Yun nearby. Between the two Xin siblings, Yun seemed to be affected the worse by the scene. A brief pang of sympathy for her skipped in his heart before quickly sealing it away and focusing on his task. With a sour scowl, Pierce would join the others in their sweep of the town, looking for the slim chance of survivors or hints of what happened.
Narrative ​

As the troops tasked with the sweep of the town explore the once prosperous town of Aramoor, the mass slaughter of its populace would be unavoidable. No one regardless of age or race has been spared. Homes, shops, and governmental buildings would be burnt out and destroyed husks, only a handful of structures having been spared from the destruction, but their insides either ransacked or filled with even more dead. Towards the center of the town, however, the large Divine church has remained untouched, surrounded by death and destruction. A single trail of blood would lead through the closed doors however, the main doors are sealed closed from the inside and its stained-glass windows not allowing a clear look inside. The barely visible sight of a motionless body in front of the podium would be seen though, any other details of the body would not be seen though. Along the walls, it would be seen that the structure of the defenses was just barely standing, the impacts along the side having nearly brought the stone crumbling. The gate to the south of the city would be completely smashed through, a great force having easily broken through the entrance. Meanwhile, the western gate would be sealed closed and the northern gate wide open without any signs of battle being visible.

Outside of the town, the large ranches and pastors would be smoldering ruins, the livestock slaughtered and scattered throughout the fields. A handful of unlucky civilians would be among the dead livestock. Either taken by the sudden attack or run down as they tried to flee the town. The rest of the main force now spread out across the bloody land, formed up into several units to make up for the lack of numbers to completely secure the entire scene. In the surrounding patches of woods, the mounted soldiers sweep the area, looking for any tracks that can be followed.

For now, the area around the ruined town of Aramoor is deadly still, the only signs of life being the newly arrived Eswen soldiers and the circling crows picking away the carcass of the town.
 
Tantra

She stared at the cockroach that was slowly but aimlessly walking around her hand, she had met the little fellow on her travels and found the little creature rather cute for being something that many people would ignore or probably try to step on. "Bavaahl, when we leave, I might not be able to keep an eye on you all the time nor will it be entirely safe for you. Don't ever wander off or try to get away from me" Tantra said as she tried to explain the potential severity of what they were doing to a bug, although both she and Bavaahl knew that the cockroach could not understand the language the undead was speaking. Perhaps there was just some chance that somehow the cockroach would understand her words at sometime, although she knew it was obviously impossible.

"And I was hoping to have plans this evening, let us hope this shouldn't take too long. Oh how I make such lies to myself, I'd understand what potentially good I signed up to if not to end up giving my life in the process if one error occurs... " Tantra mumbles to herself as she scratched at the side of her face, making sure everything she wanted to bring along with her was ready and prepared in case she got a brief moment of respite to herself. Most likely the other people being brought along as forces should possess more relevant knowledge to potentially dangerous and also potentially politically-related matters that she'll ever have to be present for, so maybe there would be a chance where she could just avoid being noticed so that anything of significance or potential error could be blown off as not her fault. Picking together the last pieces of important things she would rather carry on her person rather than in inventory for safety reasons, she saw those she was to be around leaving on their trip to check on Aramoor.
"By my own hells, I guess it's time. Let me hope this goes better than my mind taunts me it will not".

Tantra found the trip rather uneventful, letting others distract themselves with the matters of chatter in order to simplify and drown the thoughts of the situation as she pondered upon thoughts that she deemed actually significant, although others likely had the intelligent idea of trying to settle into a livelihood of such troubles whereas she wasn't fully feeling it. "Things could be worse. I could be politically important... " Tantra mumbled as she made a small smile at her own bland, dead humour she told to herself, knowing this was what was to be expected. She wasn't much useful for anything but being a possible particularly useful weapon in the right situation, although in most situations she were to likely find herself in in this line of 'work' any fool who could swing a sword hard enough were to likely be as successful if not more to the warpath they could likely create in their wake. Dragging her own attention to the sight of Aramoor approaching, she heard Stone's called orders bringing attention to the matter at hand. The peace of not having any responsibility wouldn't have lasted forever, she supposed. If she could do anything, perhaps it would put her in a better outcome by the end of it.

Letting others take the lead for the moment until she felt comfortable in the idea of slipping away from the majority for investigation to be conducted by herself, she just silently watched as they passed the dead with some showing harboured disrespect for some's kind. What was the point in assaulting those who have already reached the end of their life? Tantra pondered on the possibility that they were only willing to do so because their fallen victim of their misdemeanor wasn't alive to say or do anything back. Thinking that such lack of consideration for the already dead was an extremely disrespectful act, she silently hesitated and held back on her moments to say anything less things were to put her in a worse position for the rest of her time. People could at least think more than treating the dead as inanimate objects, for any mere thought or possibility they had would forever disappear at their unfortunate fate. One she was luckily enough to have a chance to avoid. There was no need to disrespect dead innocents or those who may have had a different story just by the invented opinion of one's imagination. Much less, people were unreasonable in such matters.

"Hm. To us hope we aren't made an example of a potential bad use of these bodies done by necromantic acts of another in the area 'ere we dare stand out as so different to anyone who didn't look our way before" Tantra mumbled, to herself it would probably appear but she was actually considering where the cockroach sat motionless within the leather of clothing that covered her upper arm was located in terms of its own safety, and her only reliable companion she knew would listen to and understand her word. Even if, by all proven means, it fully didn't understand or care to a word she could ever say. She lingered around the crowd that had just come to inspect the gates, waiting for a time before deciding it proved well enough to take a walk around Aramoor albeit to not stray as to where she lost location of others in case their presence proved useful or important to know. Being a lone undead in such circumstances could prove a terrible interaction if found waltzing about by herself during such a matter, of which that was only what her mind that was overthinking every small instance was telling her at the current moment.​
 
Eswen Scout
Malidy Sharpclaw
#36D97F
Interactions: Pierce Guppy Franz Guppy Franz
Chiren Eswen Border, Near Aramoor/Aramoor
"Ye know that stuff dehydrates ya, yea'? Anyways, scoutin's not given much, yer right. I's got a bad feelin' about this." Malidy acknowledges with a nod, her grin fading into a slightly worried expression as she glances towards the display of her fellow beastman.

We ain't all that bad at least

Malidy was lost partly in her thoughts, checking up on her crossbow, adjusting a few things and ensuring it was in working order. For some reason, she didn't feel much like messing that much with Pierce. She couldn't quite shake the sinking feeling in her gut. She wasn't wrecked with anxiety like most of her comrades, her job was about the same as always, scouting never stopped being important. But she had a prickly feeling all over. Something was coming... Something bad. Or maybe it was just some bad rations, hopefully that.


Better check the strings again... just in case.


Then her ears perked. New orders... Bad news.

Not again... Dear gods... Why......


A slaughter. Her nose twitched constantly, the scent of gore wasn't strictly unpleasant to her, she was a hunter at heart, she liked the smell of blood. But this was wrong, twisted. Mangled bodies, and smoke. Charred flesh, disgusting. She restrained her urge to vomit or gag, digging a claw into her armor, piercing it and drawing a bit of blood before she stopped. There wasn't anything she could do for these people. Even if they were still alive, she wasn't a doctor. This wasn't the first slaughter she'd seen, or smelt, but it was a bad one by her standards.


They'll pay. Whatever it takes, they'll pay.


Technically, she was meant to stick with the archers, but she didn't, who was going to stop her? She screened the town with others. She noticed the wounds on the orcs. A bad sign. She sneered at the soldier who spat on the orc. They weren't demons, they were still people. But what could she really expect from a divine fearing human? ...She couldn't help but shift her eyes towards Pierce. He was examining the corpse, and she moved to join him.

"Bloody hell. This weren't your normal southern raid. Orcs don't get stabbed in the back, not normal." She mentions, with a raised eyebrow, kneeling down to look at the corpse, brushing her hand across the mortal wound. She got up and started moving slightly before Stone called for Pierce. She didn't like it. This wasn't just orcs razing a town, something was... Wrong. Wrong in a way she couldn't put her finger on. She felt bad for Yun, this was probably the first time the girl had seen something like this. Normally she'd try and cheer her up, but even her gallows humor was absent currently. Her eyes lingered on a young girl, beastman. A broken, bloodied body.


Whatever it takes. What all powerful divine allows this?


She shifts her eyes to the silhouette of the church in the distance. The xin could handle themselves... She needed to find... Something. She begins her sweep, slowly moving to the center of town, arriving at the one standing building. The church, of course it was the church. Door didn't open, and there weren't any other entrances. A few humans were trying to open it, but they weren't having much success, her eyes scanned the rest of the building, looking at the stained glass windows, beautiful works of art.

Beauty hardly has a place here, specially not beauty worshiping that stupid divine.

She raised Clawshot, and fired it. A bolt sped out towards the center of the window, and of course, shattered it. The sound split through the town, and instantly more than a few people were staring at her, most less than pleased, most humans. She didn't acknowledge them, instead Malidy set her crossbow back on well, her back. She ran forward, jumping up and clinging to the side of the building. It was... A tenuous grip, but luckily the stone work wasn't too smooth, and the stone was just soft enough for her claws to slightly dig into. She propeled herself up, tumbling through the broken window, only collecting a handful of scrapes. She did admittedly fall with a pretty bad thud though, groaning. At least she didn't break anything, or dislocate, at least from what she could tell.


Coulda thought that one through a bit more.


Standing up with a groan, she examined her surroundings. Mostly, it was what she expected, pews, some art, and Candelabras wedged in the door, blocking it. The most interesting thing she noted though was a trail of blood leading to the pulpit. She followed it obviously, her claws extended as she moved cautiously. It didn't take long to find what, or who, lie at the end of it. The priest was young, maybe mid 20's, though that hardly mattered anymore. He was dead by a self inflicted wound in the gut, the dagger that did it in his lifeless hand. She couldn't blame him, she'd consider killing herself if she was trapped through this massacre too. The fact that the church was still standing... More proof it wasn't just an orcish raid. His other hand had a bible, but there was a note peeking out. She picked it up, and read it.

Yimir.....


Her hand shook, but she kept a grasp of the note, picking up and flipping through the bible briefly as well. She was breathing slightly heavily. This wasn't just an omen. This... She wasn't especially superstitious or religious, but this could only be bad. She rushed to the door, unblocking and opening it. She paused for several moments, near breathless, before finally speaking to those who looked towards her, extending the note and bible for anyone else to take.


"Found somethin'"

By the Divine how has it come to this? Through what cruel fates have I been brought to this impossible trail? I have seen the shining light of the Divine himself and felt his blessing! Yet, I don't know if I can bring myself to do this. This was my home, my people, the very start of my path of the Divine. But now, I damn these people to a cruel and untimely end. It wretches my heart from my very chest, but He has willed it so. Many have called me mad, that whispers of the devils plague my mind, but I know what I saw! The survival of our world depends on it! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not mad! This must be done! I am not.....



Code by Serobliss
 
Ayan Ayan

"By god what a mess," Pierce muttered under his breath as he stepped over another corpse, gritting his teeth as he actively avoided making eye contact with the lifeless forms that stared back up at him. His shoulders tensed with every step he took, the deeper he traveled into this ruined town the more dread he could feel weighed down on him, like the restless souls of the dead were clinging to him for help. Around him, his fellow soldiers inspected the scene. Looking over the bodies, searching the buildings that were still stable, or sweeping every corner for any signs of life, though it was doubtful any would be found. He didn't expect much to be found in this slaughter. As he neared the church towards the middle of the town, however, he heard the shattering of glass and just barely managed to see Malidy climb through a broken window in the side of the church. A frown came to his face and tapped his blade against his helmet, letting out a frustrated sigh. "What the bloody hell is wrong with that woman?" he muttered under his breath.

"No respect for the Divines house," another soldier grumbled to his right as he walked past, a very displeased frown on his face. Pierce would agree, but as he caught a glimpse of the soldiers struggling to open the front doors, he'd chew on the inside of his cheek before feeling his frustration with his comrade soon fade. He did not agree with damaging a house of his faith but with so much carnage around them and so few answers, perhaps the Divine Father could forgive them for this trespass. With a slow breath, Pierce would approach the front doors where the small crowd of troops waited for the lady Beastmen to open the doors.

"The hells she doing in there?" A soldier muttered as he tapped his mace against his padded shoulder.

"You don't think she's desecrating the insides do ya?" A younger trooper questioned uneasily as he tightened his grip on his spear. Pierce shook him with a sigh.

"Relax lads. Malidy may be a heathen, but she's a decent one... I think," he said, muttering out the last part with a small chuckle, gaining a few more chuckles from the others around him to ease the tension. After a few moments, Pierce rolled his eyes with a groan and knocked the pommel of his sword against the front doors. "Come on and open the doors alre-" Before he could finish the doors suddenly opened and made him flinch back in surprise as he met Malidy's gaze. For a moment she was silent, breathing fast with a troubled look in her eyes. "Malidy?" Pierce questioned before she announced her discovery of something, holding out a bible and a letter. Pierced arched a brow before sheathing his sword and taking a step towards her, taking the letter and reading it away from the curious group behind him. His eyes slowly widened, his gaze having to re-read what was on the paper to ensure he wasn't seeing things. "Wh-what the hell is this?" he whispered under his breath, his voice wavering for a moment as a feeling of unease filled his chest. Pierce looked up to Malidy, shaking his head in quiet disbelief before taking the bible and skimming through the pages, finding insane scribblings or notes left behind by its former owner. "Fucking madness," was all he could say before a voice spoke out.

"What's going on? What have you found?" Sergeant Stone would question as she approached, the small crowd making a path for her. Pierce closed the book and just stared at it, a mix of confusion, anger, and even fear in his eyes. The sound of Stone's boots coming to a stop near him brought him out of his thoughts and looked at Stone. Glancing back at Malidy uncertainly, Pierce would hand over what was found.

"Ma'am, Malidy found something within the church," he said as Stone took the letter and bible. "It is... I don't know what to make of it. Just madness," he said before Stone began to inspect the evidence herself. Soon enough her gaze grew hard before glancing up to Malidy, then to Pierce. She slipped the letter back into the bible before closing the book. She spared a quick glance at the curious crowd behind her before taking a few steps to close the distance with the two.

"Both of you, do not speak of what you've just read. Not now at least. The troops must remain focused, and this will only spread unease through the ranks," she ordered in a hushed voice before looking to Malidy. "Well done, you've given us our first lead as to what happened here," she commended before turning back to the curious soldiers. "Finish your sweep of the town! Go outside the walls if you must!" she ordered before passing by the men, calling for a runner as she left. Pierce watched her leave before letting out a shutter of a breath, his hand unconsciously grabbing the holy pendant around his neck.

"This doesn't make sense, none of it does. Why would he...? How...?" The words failed to come to him, his cluttered mind unable to ask one of many questions bouncing around in his head before he rubbed his tired eyes and rolled his tense shoulders. "Madness, that's it. Just the madness of a lost soul, nothing more," he muttered, a part of him doubting his reasoning while the other tried to embrace it.



Meanwhile outside Aramoor
​
Atop the hill with the archers and his personal armored guards, Spiers looked over the town, kneeling on the ground as he plucked some grass from the earth. A bored expression rested on his face, watching his soldiers in and outside of the town securing the area. Spiers had sent a rider out to report the demise of Aramoor, so now he and his troops needed to investigate the area and return with what they found. From his view atop the hill, it looked like a usual Orc raid, but something smelled odd in the air. Within the center of town, the church remained untouched. "Solider, when was the last time you met a faith-respecting Orc or Ogre?" he asked a random soldier to his right without looking.

"Um, I can't recall ever meeting one, sir," he replied uncertainly.

"Indeed, never!" he exclaimed as he rose to his feet and patted the dirt from his gloves. "So why would they leave our holy church untouched? That's not their usual calling card," he spoke aloud as he crossed his arms with pursed lips. "I dread to think a pig in the cloth of a priest, or God forbid of a nun," he scoffed as he rubbed his chin in thought. Before he could continue the thought, however, a loud crash echoed through the air before being followed by a blood-curdling scream. Spiers snapped his gaze toward the patches of wood in the southeast, another scream filling the air shortly after. A moment of silence took place, Spiers drawing his blade as a single horse came riding out of the woods, its rider nowhere in sight. "Archers, ready yourselves for a volley," he commanded as he stepped forward on the edge of the hill, a hard gaze focused on the wood line. The forces outside the town began to move, the heavily armored infantry in front of the light infantry as they formed themselves into two solid columns facing the woods. The distant shouting of orders could be heard from his heightened position and offering a perfect view of the field.

Soon enough just as the forces below fell into formation, the sound of rumbling from the woods could be heard, along with the sound of snorting and growls. A heavy weight fell onto the field, for the more experienced, it was the same feeling before a battle. Suddenly, a wave of green flesh burst from the woods, high-pitch squealing and roars filled the air as a mass of Orcs charged into the open and towards the lines of the Eswen forces, ragged brown and red banners flying high. Spiers raised his sword into the air. "Archers!" On command, the archers drew their arrows and aimed for the charging Orcs. Taking in a deep breath, Spiers swung his sword downward and bellowed his command. "LOOSE!" In a blink of an eye over three dozen arrows whistled through the air, raining down on approaching Orcs. Several Orcs let out pained squeals as they toppled to the ground, being trampled upon by those untouched by the arrows. Spiers clicked his tongue in annoyance, knowing the next volley would be too close to his troops on the field.

On the field, after the first volley, the Eswen soldiers let out a united war cry before charging forward toward the advancing mass of Orcs. With a mighty crash of armor against armor and flesh against flesh, both sides crashed into one another. A handful of men in the front of the collision were sent flying backward as both forces melted into one another, falling into a frenzied and brutal fight. Cries and squeals of agony echoed through the air before being muffled by the clashing of metal and roaring of battle. Spiers gritted his teeth in frustration, the urge to jump into the fight swelling in him. He and the archers were practically useless up here. This hill was too great of an advantage though in case another wave of Orcs arrived, being in the best position to rain down arrows on their enemies if needed. For now, he would have to entrust the fight to his men below.
 

  • CODE BY SEROBLISS
    Feng Honglong
    Location: Aramoor Town | Interior | Outskirts
    Interactions: NPCs, Yun

    Mentions: Guppy Franz Guppy Franz {Pierce}, Ayan Ayan {Malidy}, NPCs

    After entrusting his sister with relaying the information to one of their fellow soldiers to return to the main forces and inform them about what was found in the town, Feng spent the rest of his time wandering the streets of the ruined settlement, seeing if he could find even a single survivor or at the very least some clues as to how the town was caught off guard to have such a slaughter occur. Sure, while the guards stationed in Aramoor might not have been as well trained as those within the Capital City, they were still no pushovers and they wouldn't allow everyone to be murdered as they were. As Feng traversed the interior of the city, he eventually came across one of the other entrances to the city; the northern gate. As he approached the gate, a rather odd sight was now before him, the gates were wide open and there hadn't even been a single sign of combat, and yet the rest of the city appeared in shambles and ruins. 'What is this...?' His thoughts roamed aimlessly as he approached the wooden walls of the gate, examining it closer, it was almost as though the gates were purposely opened, why would this be.

    As he pondered further, Feng began to trek back towards the center of the town only to have the sounds of glass shattering catch his attention. Sprinting towards the source of the commotion, by the time he had arrived, Malidy had been seen stepping out from the church with what appeared to be a book and a note in hand before Pierce had taken the note and book to examine it. The expression on his face alone was enough to tell him that whatever was written in that note was nothing less than shocking. Rather than approach the group even once the Sergeant had arrived, Feng entered the church only to come face-to-face with yet another odd sight. The interior of the church was practically in pristine condition, the only sight that was unsettling had been that of the blood trail that led up to the altar where the corpse of a priest laid dead with an ordinary dagger in hand. As he approached the body, he stood over it staring down to examine the remains, questions ran through his head, what would a priest be doing with a dagger, why would he take his own life, was he forced to do so. So many questions and yet so few answers.

    Soon, Feng would kneel beside the body only to place a hand over the forehead of the priest before swiping downwards to shut the young male's eyes as he whispered a prayer.
    "The flame is the soul's breath...
    The black smoke is the soul's release...
    May thy soul find peace and return to the Grand Eternal Flame...
    Sovera..."​
    Just as he spoke those words, the marks that covered Feng's arms along with his back began to give off a black glow before the corpse of the priest was suddenly lit aflame. As the body of the priest burned, Feng stood over the burning corpse before several of the guards that stood outside the entrance to the church had taken notice.

    "Feng! W-wait! What is he doing?!" One of the younger male guards shouted in shock and horror.

    "He's desecrating the holy father!" A female guard shouted angrily.

    Immediately three male guards sprinted into the interior of the church, planning to attempt and stomp out the flames before demanding answers from Feng. All the while, Feng turned his head over his shoulder, staring as the three angered males approached from the corner of his eye. Before the three could reach him, however, the sounds of warcries rang outside the church walls and even more so, outside the city walls. There was a battle raging outside, just as those within the church began to turn their heads towards the source of the noise, another guard rushed up to the entrance of the church, shouting while nearly out of breath. "O-..Orcs! A-Atacking..outside...the town!"

    While the trio of guards stood in shock and confusion as to how there could be more orcs showing up after the town was already razed, Feng was quick to barrel through the guards, heading directly toward the battlefield without a second thought. 'Yun...Please be safe...Yun...' As his mind raced, all he could think about was the fact that he had sent her off outside the town to look for clues earlier, his sister was no fighter, if anything was to happen to her, Feng would never be able to forgive himself.
    As his concerns for his sister grew, he'd grit his teeth while clenching his fists, at the base of his heels reddish flames began to ignite to send him rocketing forward at higher and higher speeds until he finally reached the battlefield where he found his sister nearly about to be cut down by an overly large orc wielding a battleaxe. The sight of this caused him to blast himself forward to tackle the greenish creature backward, letting one of his heels press into the face of the orc before igniting his flames to burn the head of the creature till nothing had been left. "Yun! Get back! Go back inside the town!" As he shouted towards his sister, Feng quickly drew his blade from its sheath before the entirety of the blade began to become enveloped in a black flame.

 
Targzel Pikehorn
Praise be Ymir for the warmth of our blood, bringing us life

Mentions: Sergeant Stone, Malidy Sharpclaw, Yun Honglong

Stone's order to settle down was clear and easy to understand, but Targzel couldn't resist, he just had to respond to the dwarf somehow. "Emphasis on the down...", he snarled in the vague direction of the dwarf, before following the order and falling into line for once. It didn't take long for him to take sidesteps and leave the formation for brief moments, but he could feel things tense up and found it unwise to pour more oil into the fire. Soon enough, the worst news possible reached their group and any petty squabbles were pushed back immediately. All of the marching had felt pointless up until now, but with a clear task at hand, the beastman was much more focused.
After arriving at the grizzly scene, he didn't hesitate to start with the sweep they had been ordered to conduct. Others were hesitant and understandably unnerved by what they were seeing. For Targzel it wasn't an easy sight either, but whilst he was appalled with the senseless massacre, he wasn't as horrified as many of his comrades. This had him arrive first at many scenes of bloodshed and yelling out warnings or orders for the small group accompanying him. He left it to the humans to investigate their fallen kind, as he considered them more knowledgeable and didn't want to be seen as disrespecting the dead, as his method of investigating involved a thorough sniffing and even a taste test. This treatment was reserved for the orcs and whilst it would seem savage to the clueless observer, there was a method to his madness - and soon a eureka moment.

"Gotta admit, this was no dwarf...", he grunted, as he passed the soldier from before on his way to seek out Sergeant Stone to report. His search was cut short, however, as he passed a commotion coming from the church. The doors were just getting opened to the small group in front of it and Malidy Sharpclaw emerged, looking rather disheveled. Targzel knew that many considered all beastmen to be alike and one tribe, but to him she wasn't a fellow tribes member but rather like all the other strangers here - although admittedly more competent than many in his estimations. Abandoning his plan of reporting to Stone immediately, Targzel decided to push his way to the front to see what the fuss was about. His face quickly turned into a frown and he huffed a heavy breath through his sharp teeth. They were expecting to find answers in there old books and scribbles, but not only that - they were hiding away whatever they thought to have found. Targzel couldn't tell what Malidy had handed them, but he didn't like it one bit when Stone whispered instead of yelling.

Once again, there wasn't much time to dwell on it. They were supposed to continue their sweep, which reminded him of what he had found out and was eager to report. But his impulsiveness once again distracted him, because as soon as he had pushed his way towards the officers again, Targzel heard the screams. Orcs were approaching and he felt no time to wait for orders or to give any words. He just ran towards the noise, battle plans be damned. The orcs wouldn't fight in an orderly fashion anyways. Despite his scary speed on foot, Targzel only arrived after the clash had already started. A small figure ran towards the town and thus towards him, he recognized her as one of the fire-throwing humans, Yun Honglong. She seemed lost here, so it was a good thing she was on her way to town. With no pursuers in sight and no obvious wounds suffered by her, he felt like she would safely make it. Targzel stopped his sprint and let her pass. "Get to the church, its the safest part, I reckon!", he shouted after her, before picking up to his full pace once again. Before arriving at the battle line, he hurled his first javelin into the crowd of orcs, piercing it through the heavy frame. A primal war cry roared from the depths of Targzels gut, as he joined the fray. The beastman knew not to stick around, he was always on the move, hurling javelins or anything he could pick up at the foe, sticking, moving and striking at unaware targets or using his horns and shield to ram away orcs threatening to single out one of his comrades. He wasn't here to claim many heads, but to cause chaos and disruption so the heavier troops could do the killing.
 
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