Jehan and his lance were up and awake in good time. They ate breakfast together, before they all set to arming themselves for the battle. Jehan called for his squire and valets and soon he was armoured and ready for whatever the day would throw at him. His gauntlets hung from his belt, and Henri would bring his helmet once he was done donning his own armour.
Once the entire lance was ready, they went to listen to the commander. The speech was a mess from the start and his annoyence of the commanders incompetence was obvious to anyone who looked. Then when Silas stepped up and made short work of the commander Jehan found it to be some grim amusement in the whole affair. Charles put a hand to his sword and took a step forward so Jehan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Stay your hand" Jehan said softly, "I'd would hear this, if only for my own amusement." That, however, did not stop him from keeping a hand close to his rondel dagger. Actions like this could break down into the force fighting itself if the opinions were split. Though most seem to agree that the commander was a buffoon.
Jehan snorted at Dixon's story. Jehan muttered, "Fifty men is no army." in fact, it was not even a company. Nor would any proper commander run away like in the story. He would have had scouts for one. But, considering the incompetence of their own commander, perhaps it was not so strange that such a thing could actually happen. In the end, it did not matter, that was a story; the coming battle was real with actual threats.
As Dixon mentioned the two ladies Jehan simply rolled his eyes and by the end he shook his head. "Bloody lowlife." he said under his breath and one of his archers chuckled.
In the end however, he accepted the proposed tactic and his own position came to be the left flank. He knew that he could, with some support hold his own with his armour soaking up most, if not all hits. Still, he had a lance to command and had to do so in the way that assured success or at least increased the chances. Jehan adressed his lance, "Henri, you will stand with me. Charles, you still stand in the centre with team 1, it could need a man-at-arms to hold the front." That was his heavily armed men assigned. Then there were the three archers, "Vincent, Adrian, Martin. See if you can find any other archers, then advance before the front. As the enemy close, put a few arrows in them before retreating behind the front again. Then, as you run out of arrows; Vincent and Adrian will join me. Martin, you will join the melee in the centre with Charles." Lastly, the turned to the two valets, Michael and Johannes, "Stay with the reserve, keep an eye on the flanks. Be ready to get men forward if needed."
As the formation formed and readied themselves for battle, Jehan's lance found their places. Charles with the centre, Henri with Jehan and the archers ready to advance. "Bascinet" he said, looking back to his squire who gave him his helmet as Jehan gave his poleaxe to Henri for him to hold. Jehan put on his helmet, but did not close the visor. He grabbed his gauntlets from his belt and put them on before taking his poleaxe back from Henri.
Jehan looked to Amare, inspecting him. He didn't know the man, Jehan had seen him in camp, not that that meant anything. "Ready?" he asked calmly.
Stefano smiled at the brilliance of the plan and addressed the party himself, "Listen up boys! Our plan requires you to trust me, a man you won't be able to hear, to watch your backs. It requires you to trust in a weapon I trust none of you have every seen. Except me and Ludi of course." he unshouldered his arquebus and hold it out to be inspected. "This is my rifle! There are none like it and I'm damn proud of that! This baby, as long as I hit my mark, will instantly drop or cripple an orc. I need you to help ensure I hit that mark. She makes a hell of a loud noise when fired I need you to be prepared for that, and be able to ignore it and keep fighting. at this he pulled the fun away and shouldered the arquebus again. "My life is in your hands gentlemen, and yours mine. With luck this should be one hell of a hunt."
Stefano ment every word, his original plan before meeting Ludivico was to take a few shots and retreat when the peasants were doomed. Yet this new plan sounded far more fun!
On the eve of that battle, Amare had left himself in solitude once more for the imminent morning that was surly to come. Amare was generally a man of solitude, finding comfort in the simplicity, though tomorrow would be anything but. This would be a battle that would most certainly determine his fate, as he and his fellow brothers and sisters in-arms would stand in defiance against the Orc threat plaguing the countryside, threatening extinction to mankind. This would be a small battle, not worthy of being written into history as fate is so often written into stone, though Amare knew that this would be one of many he would encounter being an employee under the Imperial Army. Walking past Jehan's camp, Amare glanced at the tall nobleman, an eager look in his eye. It was almost as if the two of them had communicated in that brief instant.
On the morrow, he thought to himself, almost as if Jehan were listening to his thoughts I will see you in the battlefield, Lord Jehan. Amare nodded his head. Jehan had the look of his family descendants before him, he realized. Though he doubted Jehan could recognize Amare, for they had never truly met despite being hired by his father. Amare walked amiably back to camp, and later fell asleep beside the warmth of a campfire, trying to forget what what anxiety tomorrow would bring.
Once the morning had dawned, Amare had already been awake about an hour before the sun would rise the morning of the battle. Practicing, as he usually did before he knew imminent bloodshed would commence. Amare was not new to combat, though nonetheless, he reassured himself this would be like the few battles he's been in under the guild of fellow mercenaries. He had been in battles of larger scale, though only under feuding lords who ordered men to fight one another as if they were pieces on a chessboard. A wasteful act to kill off men who would benefit from a war such as this one, though as long as there were coins to be offered, there were plenty of men who were more than willing to offer themselves for such a position.
As the bleeding sun arose from the dead horizon beyond the sands miles ahead of him, the small force would spend the majority of their morning preparing themselves for the battle that was soon to follow just a few hours later. A mediocre speech from a 'Commander' was more than enough for Amare to think twice before being employed by such an army, though he was assured the moment Dixon offered a counterargument of own, by offering a powerful left hook to the man's jaw that sent the spoiled nobleman down on his butt. Amare found that rather amusing - especially since the speech was given to, what it appeared to be, a more experienced soldier. Those born into the privilege of a privileged life knew little what it was to endure hardship. Like the men who would waste others to die like chess pieces on the chessboard, or the man who ordered upon a beheading, are often the men who could easily forget what true death is and thus knew very little of the realities of battle.
All the men soon after went to their positions as ordered, Amare was assigned to the task of holding the left flank with, what he could not guess to ever be beside him in battle, Jehan de Challon himself. There was also a magical practitioner named 'Sonya' who wore the Opal Fox Mask and a dagger, though she had exchanged with an older gentleman, who appeared to be a much older veteran of battle. His name was Jasper, who Amare already had been acquainted with the moment he had been assigned to this army a little more than a fortnight past. A confident, yet humble, old man almost in his fifties, who often enjoyed trash-talk and would be willing to do so in at a moment's notice in order to vex a few men for battle. Jasper was quite possibly one of the only soldiers who Amare had dared to say was his friend and had gotten amiably rival with him since the beginning of his arrival at the camp.
"Are you ready for this battle, boy?" Jasper said, to which replied with a subtle Amare nod. "Let's not hope for that pretty boy, silvery hair to be mangled during the course of this battle. I hope you brought a comb."
"Oh, I can take care of myself." Amare assured Jasper. "The question is: are you strong enough to keep that sword over your belt during the course of battle, or have you become too old and feeble to even hold your own weight" Amare exchanged, he did not like being looked down on, even if it were taken as a joke. Nonetheless, Amare played his game.
"More than you'll eva' be my boy." Jasper chuckled. "For every swing of that sword you will make, I would have killed two shit-skinned Orcs already."
"Care to make a wager, old man?" Amare raised an eyebrow. "That is assuming you have the shillings left that you have not already drank away." Amare almost knew Jasper almost like an old friend, the old man had that affect on many.
"More than you'll ever have, boy." Jasper replied, teasingly once more. "I have shillings, plenty might I add." The old man grinned. He had a warmth tone to him, and Amare could easily tell that his old man had been a veteran of the many years of conflict that could either drive a man either into madness or humility, for he had known many in his short life as a mercenary - Though insane this man was not. Amare had the utmost confidence in him, and was therefore glad to have him by his side. "Let's just see if you are as good as a sword as you are pretty. If you could out-best me, I'll give ya' two shillings per ear."
"Per ear?"
"Per new ear, and don't you cheat me, boy!"
"Done." Amare agreed, dropping his decorated wooden shield to shake the hands of this man. His grip was stronger than he thought, Amare hoped that Jasper was as agile and had the stamina to match his strength in order to aid him in surviving this battle, though not enough to best him. "My name is Amare, if you hadn't already known that."
"What a pretty little name for pretty little silvery haired maiden." Amare shook his head and then laughed along with the old man. "Prepare to make yourself a man of debit." He added, lightheartedly.
"Ready?" Asked Jehan, having just arrived at his side after ordering his own men to their positions. Amare took a while to examine his armor, full plated and was shinned the day before the battle, its light shinning bright beneath the rising sun. There was no doubt that he would stick out like a sore thumb, though Amare could easily see this as a distraction for the Orcs to be occupied by. While their focus was aimed at this knight, Amare could slip in a few stabs, catching them by surprise. Orcs were quite stupid, or at least he hoped they were.
"I would not worry about pretty-boy, lad, he 'can take care of himself'". Jasper then gesticulated quite amusingly to were Amare grinned once more, hoping to refute that claim. Though in all honesty, he felt it had brought more light to the morbidness that was soon to follow in battle, as petty as his remarks seemed. It was remarks like those that made Amare grow to enjoy the old man's company these past two weeks. "Need not worry, my young sirs. You lads will be under my protection. If anything were to happen to either one of yew I swear to ya, I would become very chocked up. Honestly, there could be tears!" Jasper snickered to himself.
"Let's not hope for it to come to that." Amare added, grinning.
'Little ones?' she thought to herself as she was patted on the head. Despite the surprise the comment brought, she still offered a thankful smile to the older man, not actually minding the nick name - after all, she was shorter than he was, though not as short as Sonya. She watched the soldier walk off before smirking at his comment. 'Well, they can look all they want, but no touching..' she mused in her own head before giving Silas a sideways glance. She didn't say much at first, watching the man with a new perspective. It was not lost on her that he had gained the notable loyalty of the gray-haired man which spoke at least something of him, she just wasn't sure what yet.
Before long though Sonya had shown up, to whom Odessa gave a smile to. "I like to keep my promises.." she said to the mage, in a reassuring tone. She knew well enough that Sonya didn't trust all that easily - it was not hard to pick up from her body language and comments, such as not letting others know about her magic often, so she wanted to make sure the masked woman felt safe. She then looked over the rest of the soldier quickly and then to their new battlefield.
Clenching her fists, she turned to Silas and gave him a nod, her expression steeling over with resolve. "Thank you.. I'll do my best to protect our mage so the field stays on our terms, but how I do it is in your hands.. commander." She wasn't sure how well it would go over with the new man in charge, but after asking such a big favor, she wanted to make sure Silas felt like he was being given the proper respect and control. Even in spite of never being in a true battle though, she seemed surprisingly collected and level-headed, though tense and ready to spring.
Ren stood at the back of the muster field listening to their commanding officer just destroy the morale of his attending troops. They were surely all going to die if he was the one to lead them into battle. She was already forming her escape plan when the battle would turn south when suddenly a pair punched out young noble to her amusement and started talking about how he was assuming command of their forces. They might actually have a chance at survival if he lead them into battle though it meant her taking part in the battle rather than hanging back and providing basic first aid before retreating.
Of course she had been assigned to one of the central formations meaning that her idea of an easy survival were but a pipe dream at this point. She guessed that now was as good a time as even to join the formation, so she stashed her pack in their base camp and went off to find her group and noticed a sword swinging him the air with an aged man calling beneath it. She arrived just to hear the old man call her clothing strange. That annoyed her as she had chosen a long light green kimono decorated with the designs of flowers just for the special occasion of their slaughter.
"It's not nice priest to refer to the way someone dresses as strange." She told the man as she stepped into their little group. She gave a slight bow before turning to the Jan with an annoyed look on her face. "Magic is a tricky thing. If my concentration slips I may be a risk to my allies."
Ren meant for the comment for be a threat, but didn't want to come off as she was refusing to work with her team. "With that being said, let us survive this battle. I promise to watch all of your backs." She said with a smile as she started to gather her magic energy for the up coming battle.
After the events of the previous night, Sonya had only been able to enter a light sleep, her mind awash with thoughts and feelings that she could not bring herself to quell. This day would no doubt prove to be a defining moment of her life, and possibly her final moments her mind reminded her as it strayed to darker thoughts that invoked frightening images. The nightmarish images only played at the corner of her mind though, the conversation between herself and Odessa last night had been a very fruitful one and had no doubt given them both a spark of hope for this coming day. As the first rays of the morning sun began to reach across the land and creep upon her face, Sonya roused herself from her light sleep, her mind replaying the details of the previous night to keep the less desirable thoughts at bay.
Facing away from Odessa as she was, Sonya's concentration focused around her hearing as she listened to the woman's reply, noting the heavy tones of sadness that seemed to ebb from her words and sighs. Despite the heavy topics that were presented, Sonya noted there was an undercurrent of determinations in the woman's voice, not so much a desire to see victory but something more compelling then that. Sonya's thoughts paused as she felt the skin on the back of her neck tingle slightly, feeling that fierce gaze sweep back to her form.
As the cool night air continued to sweep across the camp, Odeessa's words hung for a moment before Sonya remembered to rouse herself out of her thoughts and continue the conversation. "I feel too many here are only interested in their own self-preservation and gains, no matter what kind of front they put on." Sonya finished with a soft sigh, before turning her eyes to meet Odessa's once more, gazing at the details on the face as though attempting to understand her motives "..But you have a true concern for the group, not for any selfish reasons but out of goodwill...a rather fleeting quality in this day and age" Sonya commented, her voice carrying respect and admiration.
It had been awhile since Sonya had found someone she felt she could talk to honestly, and though the topic was dark in nature, the prospect of such an open conversation was almost refreshing. Glancing towards the boulder Sonya asked "Would you care to have me join you for the evening? If it would help ease your mind, we could discuss tactics to perhaps lessen that loss tomorrow"
Odessa blinked softly at the compliment and even adorned slight surprise as the woman offered her company. It was an odd feeling to be sure, especially having just met a stranger, but there was some comfort in how she spoke to her. Truth be told, the compliment did warm her heart so despite having been given them numerous times within the past year - perhaps it was because she felt it was more genuine and less so to slither into her shorts. In the end, it made her cheeks glow slightly against the cool air, causing her to readjust her composure as she slid down from the rock.
"Thank you.." she said softly and looked over the camp as others started to lay their head to rest. "My name is Odessa, by the way.. but tactics might be a good idea.. something that might fight the orcs off as well as save a few of those less experienced? Though to be honest.. I have yet to fight in a real battle.." She let out a slightly nervous sigh, though it was more because she didn't want to be judged for her lack of experience. "But I have been training and sparring for the last year - I feel confident I'll be able to adapt," she added in defense
Sonya watched as Odessa slid down from her perch, joining her beside the rock. It was as times like this she was glad for her mask, a mix of emotions flashed unseen across her face as her offer for company was accepted. Though she had grown used to her self-chosen isolation, it was a enjoyable sensation to have such promising company to spend the next few hours with, especially with the enormity that tomorrow promised to bring.
Following Odessa's gaze, Sonya too looked out over the camp as a number of individuals made their final preparations for the night. "My name is Sonya, and it is a pleasure to meet you Odessa. I believe we are both in the same situation in regards to experience in battle. Though I have been in a few scuffles and brawls, I don't think any of those will compare to the situation we will be in tomorrow" Sonya replied, feeling as though if Odessa was being so open with her level of experience then it was only right that she did as well. "In some ways that could be a small blessing though" Sonya continued "most of the militia gathered here would be as green as we are with proper combat, so being at the same level of experience might help us understand the situations that unfold tomorrow from their perspectives better" she offered, as encouragement to both Odessa and herself. Pausing for a moment, she turned her gaze back to Odessa, once more gazing at her face both to read her reactions to her own words and almost out of a strange compulsion she could not yet explain. Not wanting to make the stare awkward she quickly asked "I believe I saw you training earlier today, you are quite proficient with wind magic like myself correct?”
"Huh?" Odessa tilted her head a little and looked back to the small woman for a moment. "O-oh! No, um.." and just for a moment, she felt herself getting flustered, for no apparent reason. Trying to settle her mind, she regained her posture and took a quick breath. "It was arcane magics, actually.. I was using it to propel myself into the air.. I decided a long time ago to mix my martial training with my magics, but I felt arcane suited me better." Odessa then gave Sonya a soft smile, shifting slightly in place, unsure of why she was responding so strongly to her at only a single meeting.
".. but I hope you're right. In either case.. what can you use? Oh-" she interjected quickly, "-I also don't use weapons. I tend to rely on my body for attack, just in case it wasn't clear.." She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, looking away for a few moments. Her eyes found their place on Sonya's once more though, finding them shining against the moonlight.
Sonya blinked behind the mask, the edges of her mouth giving an indication of her surprise even with the mask hiding so many of the details "Arcane Magic? And yeah with such control and grace in the air?" Sonya replied, her voice tinged with surprise and amazement, finding herself gathering a growing respect for Odessa's abilities. Having limited experience with other magical users it was a breath of fresh air to see how others made full use of their abilities.
Though Sonya forced her eyes away to look at the moonlight landscape, they seemed to be drawn back to Odessa, as though part of her did not want to look away from the sight of her current company. Tilting her head ever so slightly, she continued to look at Odessa outlined against the moonlight as she replied "Oh well I have dabbled in both Water and Wind Magics. I haven't really found the knack for more destructive magic that most seem to expect from mages, I found myself drawn to the more protective and subtle effects."
Reaching down Sonya broke their shared gaze for a moment as she brought out the knife she carried , holding it carefully in-front of her with both hands. "I also carry this around, though I prefer not to use it. It's more of a tool for self-defense than I weapon really" she explained, looking back at Odessa as she re-sheathed the weapon
The martial artist smiled softly at her companion as the dagger was once again hidden from view, gently folding her arms under her chest. "I can respect that.." she said with a soft nod. "So you would do best staying towards the back and somehow making use of your magics to adjust the field.. could even try and make a fog, actually.. if you're talented enough." Odessa quietly hummed to herself in thought as she bit her lips. "Might be best that I defend you in particular then... that way you can do what you are able for the entire company - a lot more than I could in the chaos of real battle - and I can make sure you stay alive." She personally loved the idea, so much in fact that it made her smile gently, but proudly. Odessa also had to admit, despite not being able to protect her fellows directly, she was more than happy to help protect someone who could.
"What do you think? Anything to add, by chance?" she asked, definitely looking less sullen than before. Though the reality wasn't lost on her nor was she naive enough to think it would save everyone, but it was certainly better than anything she had in mind before Sonya's arrival.
The offer to have a protector was surprising to Sonya, once more the slight change in her posture giving a small indication of her surprise "W-well, most of the time I try to cast my magic in a way so people don't notice that I am the source of it. But I suppose if you were staying around to protect me, I can be a little more liberal in my actions which may help save more people..." Sonya trailed off for a bit and looked forward, having to force herself to look away so she could properly consider the idea.
The crackling sounds of the few remaining campfires and the murmuring of the individuals that still remained awake filled the night air before Sonya replied "I think that might be a very grand idea. I have experimented with things like creating marsh-like ground and fog-clouds which should make it hard for any of the enemies we encounter to marshal their forces, perhaps giving ours the small edge they need. I also often keep control of the air around me when I feel I'm in a dangerous situation, slowing an approaching blade or fist just enough so I can slip out of the way. If you were there to protect me from any attacks, I could instead focus that ability on others and perhaps save someone from an otherwise fatal blow."
Nodding to herself, Sonya turned back to face Odessa once more and though her smile was hidden behind the mask, the happy tone in her voice was easily apparent "I think that might be a very good plan, we should be able to make a good difference to a number of these people tomorrow." Looking back at Odessa, the sag in her shoulders seemed far less pronounced, and the troubled look on her face had noticeable receded bringing Sonya a small bit of warmth to know she had been able to improve this woman's mood even the smallest amount
At Sonya's approval, Odessa even seemed more pleased by her idea, giving the smaller woman a truly warm smile in return. "I'm glad to be of service then," she spoke in half-jest, giving the masked warrior a playful bow. "I shall play the part of your guardian as you manipulate the field.." A tinge of warmth crossed her cheeks once more, though she knew why this time - at least in part. Finally, she was able to play a role that would honor Ashley, even if it was not in the way she had imagined it. Odessa did enjoy the idea however, playing as a make-shift of knights of sort for some lady, though those daydreams usually ended in a romantic encounter of some sort.
"In seriousness though.." she continued, "I really am glad you came up to me, if just for this reason alone. Tomorrow will be... less than pleasant... but I assure you, I will do my best to keep you safe." At that, she gave Sonya a very serious nod, that look of determination flashing across her face once more. "I.. suppose we should get some rest then?.. I will find you before we march." Odessa gave Sonya a friendly smile.
Watching Odessa, it was impossible not to notice the warmth emanate from the woman, not only was it such a radiant smile but the sullen mood that had been plaguing her seemed to evaporate and was replaced with a far more playful demeanor evident by her mock bow. Unable to help but smile herself, and feeling a slight heat blossom on her cheeks, Sonya found herself doing a small curtsy in response "To be graced with such a knightly figure for protection, I shall work hard to control the field knowing I can leave my safety in your hands" she replied with the hint of laughter and joy in her voice, though her words still carried a serious meaning. Despite the lightened atmosphere the two had cultivated, the reality of tomorrow still loomed large.
Sonya watched in curiosity as Odessa confirmed her resolve, that same look of determination that she had seen before flashing across her face for just a moment. It was such a strong look, and seeing it made Sonya truly feel she could put her safety in her hands. Feeling that same tinge of heat spread across her cheeks Sonya nodded in response "I am glad I was able be of help, and I am glad to entrust my safety to you tomorrow." Turning to look up at the moon, it seemed to have climbed rather high into the night sky. "Yes, I suppose it is best to get our rest while we can. I'll look forward to catching you again tomorrow morning" Sonya replied as she returned the smile, though once again hidden her words carried the friendly tones
Smiling to herself as she donned the Opal mask once more, Sonya could not help but feel a degree of confidence in the day to come. Gathering her things and assembling with the rest of the 100 militia, Sonya felt as though no matter the hardships this day brought that they would see this through.
Such a feeling lasted as long as the Commander’s speech, by the end of it Sonya mood had sunk and the generally attitude of the nearby militia seemed to match her own thoughts ’Our command is a product of devolution, and he is going to get us all killed her mind screamed out in both shock and horror as the man they were meant to put their faith in saw them as nothing more than warm bodies to be thrown against the enemy to swell his own importance. As though summoned by the collective emotions of the gathered group, a lone figure confidently strode up to the arrogant man, and in a moment Sonya wished she could watch again, the most satisfying of hooks was delivered as the once-commander fell to the dirt in a heap.
It took a moment for Sonya to process everything that happened, the shock from the commander’s atrocious speech still clinging to the edges of her mind and freezing her thoughts. Thankfully the second speech, delivered by a man she believed was called Dixon, was in far better taste and combined with the satisfying picture of the collapsed ‘commander’ seemed to raise moral once more. Having the captive attention of the group, Silas quickly set about getting them into a coherent formation. As the names each group were assigned however, she felt a moment of doubt spring in her stomach when herself and Odessa were assigned to separate groups. In truth she had become quite fond of the idea they had devised the night before, and while she was certain that those assigned to her group could no doubt protect her, she did not want to so carelessly break that promise they had made.
Thankfully it seemed Odessa had the same concern, as even while Sonya made her way over to Silas to make her plea, an older man identifying himself as Jasper came over to inform her of the change of positions. ”Oh, you have my thanks” Sonya replied, her voice betraying her enthusiasm at the change in position, though she then added with a more serious tone ”Odessa and I promised to try and save as many as we could by working together today. I’ll make sure to keep that promise”. From the older gentleman’s comment he had made about the swapping of positions, it seemed in her new position she would be with ‘his boys’, and she did not wish to let him down.
Increasing her pace, Sonya quickly moved to the front of the ‘V’ formation, where she joined Odessa, Silas and Jaspers ‘Boys’. Turning to face Odessa as she offered words of reassurance, Sonya relaxed slightly, not even having noticed herself that the nervousness had made her tense up. ”As do I Odessa, let us keep it not only to each other but everyone here” Sonya replied in a light but firm tone, recalling that a key part of this strategy was to make sure they protected and saves as many as possible. Looking amongst the small group they had, she memorised each of their faces, each one carrying its own mix of anxiousness, worry and grim determination. She had been fortunate enough to be granted a spot with Odessa and she did not want to let anyone down.
After Odessa had asked her question to Silas, Sonya had her own to ask, wanting to confirm any tactics with their new general before committing to them. “I offer my thanks for reorganizing the groups to allow me to join with Odessa.” She started, wishing to first express her gratitude “Since there is a brief window before the Orcs arrive, there are some small preparations I could perform.” Taking a moment to gesture to the open land that lay before them, dried from the heat of the sun Sonya explained “Such dry clay and dirt makes for easy travelling of our opponents, but by using my water and air magic, I could drive the elements into the earth itself and unbalance its structure. With pockets of air underneath the surface that would shift when force is applied and enough water to soften the ground and make it far more viscious, it could very easily become very treacherous terrain, easily collapsing beneath a charging forth and possibly turning a well-defined front into a confusing mess.” Looking at the land baking underneath the watching gaze of the sun she then added “Of course, the area I could do this in would be limited based on the time our enemies take to arrive, and nor would I want to disturb the terrain our forces might use less we fall into the bog ourselves. If you can think of a good distance for me to disturb the terrain at, I shall begin at once.”
Jehan grinned, happy to find that his team were not dreary men with no personality. He had always considered men that could joke, smile and laugh before any kind of test to be the best kind of men to have watching your back. They were less likely to give up in the face of solid opposition. At least, that is what he imagined.
"I'm sure it wont. As long as you two know which end of your sword you hold and which bit to stick them with." Jehan said in jest, "One old man, and one lanky boy" he added as he shook his head slightly, then drew in a breath between his teeth. "What has the world come to?" he asked in mock outrage.
Before he could say anything else, one of his archers interrupted him. "Sir." Vincent said in his rough voice.
Jehan spun to face his archer, "Yes?"
"We're ready."
Jehan nodded, "Very well, go on. Don't stay too long." he said gravely. Jehan and the archers knew that they were playing a deadly game. If they stayed to long or were wounded, or simply too slow, they would not make it back and be butchered without their friends being able to do anything but watch.
Vincent nodded, turned to face the archers along the line that were watching him. Vincent waved and then he went running through the line and advanced forward as did the rest of the archers. The archers advanced in a lose formation, there were not many, but they had found a few extra archers to join the skirmishing screen. If they did not kill any, they would at least wound a few orcs and hopefully get back without any losses.
Jehan turned back to his team. "They'll come running back after taking a few shots on the orc advance." He re-adjusted his grip on the poleaxe, "As for our own tactic; I stand in the front, you support me, take advantage of them trying to kill me." he said, then chuckled and looked to Jasper. "Don't worry" he said and tapped his breastplate, "This will keep me safe"
Jehan turned to Henri, who was armed in a brigandine, a bascinet without a visor, a sword in his scabbard and holding a spear. "Nervous?" Jehan asked and the squire nodded. Though Henri looked determined and Jehan expected the young man would quickly forget about his nerves. Henri would stay behind Jehan during the fighting and use his spear to stab whoever Jehan was fighting or those to were major threats that Jehan missed.
As Sonya arrived Silas was able to get a look at his full team. On his left side he had Luke and Jowen, Jaspers boys, Luke was in his mid 20's carried a Sword and a Kite shield and Jowen barely 16 with a bow and arrows. Jasper had outfitted his Boys well enough and it seemed Luke had seen a battlefield before, probably accompanying his father, But this was easily Jowen's first battle Silas could see it he was scared almost shaking but puffing up with a false bravado, probably trying to look tough in front of the two ladies. And that left his right side Odessa and Sonya. Both of them seemed well trained but neither had stepped foot on a battlefield. Luckily it seemed that the presence of one calmed the other so that was a plus in the girls favor. It wasn't exactly the team Silas wanted, but he had worked with less, and worse, back in his days in the arena. Forming this group into real warriors was a doable task.
A horn blew in the distance, the Orcs were coming. The mass of them was visible now making their way toward the group. It was then that Sonya introduced her plan for a trap. Silas thought on it for a moment. "Its a very good idea, I like it. But at the moment there are to many variables. We have to many new troops and we can't predict who will make what moves. We don't need some of our men finding a gap to charge forward and get caught in our own trap. So lets hold off for now. Maybe you can cut off the enemies retreat with that trick after we engage our group will give you all the time you need to prepare." Silas offered knowing a trap on the enemy retreat would assure victory on the field the moment even one orc troop turned to run. "But for now form up Luke on my left, Jowen behind your brother, Odessa on my right, Sonya behind Odessa. Listen to me and do what I say and I can guarantee we will make it out of this alive." Silas said as he took up his position. He drew his twin blades then stabbed them into the ground at his feet for quick access, he removed his quiver took a single arrow then passed the quiver back to Jowen giving the boy extra ammo. Lastly he brought up his own bow and knocked an arrow waiting to draw until the enemy was within the range where he could pick his target not lob a shot. "Jowen Open fire when you feel ready" Silas said calmly as the beasts approached. "Everyone else ready yourselves." He added as the orcs started to become distinguishable in the distance. The orcs would soon be upon them the battle was about to start.
Jan frowned at Ren's comments. Uncouth, she was, and a mage as well. He had never held much regard for spellcraft. Quite useful on the battlefield, certainly, but mages tended to make poor soldiers. They were brave enough, as a rule- had to be, to tamper with powers ethereal- but they often seemed to handle authority poorly. Too individualistic, they meshed poorly with massed formations.
This one certainly seemed sure of herself. Sure enough to make a veiled threat against a superior. The priest couldn't help but admire her spirit. He decided against picking a fight with her. Maybe later, if they both survived.
“My apologies, dear lady,” he said, with a curt half-bow. “I suppose the word I should have used was 'foreign.' Perhaps 'unusual.' In any event I must say it is lovely. I do hope no blood spills upon it.”
He smiled then, revealing his missing teeth.
“I am Father Jan Oremus. A priest, as you surmised, and a trained warrior- as you may not have. As I was telling these lads,”
He gestured at their three militiamen. Two looked to be in the forties, not much younger than Jan himself. The third was much younger, probably less than twenty tears. All three bore spears, with daggers at their belts.
“I will try to hold the front, while-”
He heard the winding of the signal horn, and looked to the horizon. Orcs. They would be upon the ragged band soon. He turned back to Ren, laying his shield gingerly upon the ground for a moment, and drew his dirk from his waist into his right hand. He held it out to the spellweaver, all levity gone from his face.
“Take my dagger. You may need it, should the enemy overpower us and close upon you.”
He smiled again, thinly and in spite of himself, turning back to watch the oncoming orcs.
“I pray it proves unnecessary. I have waited long for this moment, and they will not pass me easily.”
Sonya’s attention was momentarily diverted to the distance as the horn echoed across the vast plains, a herald to the battle that would soon play out across this barren earth. As Silas spoke though she pushed that train of thoughts to the side, focusing her attention on Silas input. From what she could make of both his appearance and the way he held himself when talking about battle, he no doubt had experience and if he was going to share his knowledge it would wise for her to take note. Once he had finished, she found herself nodding in agreement, once she had committed the casting to the field there would be no easy way to remove it, and if the flow of battle should shift it could easily become a hinderance. Though one should not always plan on a battle going smoothly, to have thought of actions you could take when a battle starts going your way only seemed line good planning.
As their positions were called out, Sonya gave both Luke and Jowen a quick glance. Though Luke seemed rather steady and sure of himself, Jowen’s stance was less confident even if the appearance he was putting on appeared solid. Turning her gaze to Odessa, Sonya recalled the conversation they had last night, and how they had planned to save as many as they could from this coming battle. Despite the approaching orcish horde and the dark thoughts that had been plaguing her the night before, right now Odessa seemed ready for battle, her body poised like a coiled string ready to strike out at anyone who might come their way. Her mind momentarily raced with a multitude of thoughts, Odessa had already proven she was serious about the promise she made and Sonya felt secure in the fact that she would be protected. But as the orcish horn sounded once more Sonya forced the thoughts to the edge of her mind “’There will be time enough for idly day-dreaming once we have seen each other through this fight
On the horizon, the form of the orcs slowly began to break away from the surroundings - the moving mass of their shapes distinguishing them from the otherwise still plains. They were still a fair distance off, giving Sonya some time to make a few preparations. Moving to the ground, she planted herself on one knee as she placed both hands on the ground, feeling the soft grass and dry earth already warmed by the morning sun. Reaching out with her mind, she examined the terrain with her mind’s eye. It had been a few days since the rain had last fallen, the upper layers of the land becoming dry dirt and hardened clay as it baked beneath the sound. But deeper underground, a reserve of water lay soaked in the dirt, no doubt from the last time a storm had flooded these plains.
Slowly, Sonya began to draw a small portion of this water towards the surface, though she could create her own sources of water when need-be, manipulating an already existing source was far more energy efficient, especially if it was a slow manipulation. Up through the earth she drew up three pockets of water, still low enough from the surface and in volume to leave the top undisturbed but more than enough for her to use as a catalyst for a casting if required. Satisfied with the effort, she returned to her position as the Orc’s drew closer still, no doubt they would almost be in range of some of their archers.
Withdrawing her dagger, Sonya clutched it between both of her hands in front of her chest as she lowered her head slightly, entering a trance-like state. At first, only the faintest of breezes began to blow across the group, a soft refreshing wind that barely tickled the skin. As Sonya continued the trance though, the wind seemed to grow stronger but grew no harsher as the wind calmly flowed and wrapped itself around the forms of Silas, Luke, Jowen and Odessa almost as a protective barrier. From within her Trance, Sonya focused all her attention on this casting, it would be her primary method to aid her companions.
As any of them moved around, the wind would flow with them, parting in front of their movements and flowing behind them, adding a spring to them step to quicken their movements. The moment any of them swung or parried a blow, so to would Sonya strike with the wind, a frenzy of air adding its momentum behind a strike to enhance the blow. And any Orc that wished to strike her allies would find the winds themselves whip against them, slowing and misdirecting their blows ever so slightly. As long as Sonya’s allies were able to make the correct motions, the summoned zephyr would through their energies behind it, providing each of them a small edge that may be what kept them living
Moving to her assigned position with a quickness, she clenched his fists for a moment and rolled her neck, taking in a deep breath. Last moment stretches before the fray began between man and orc and she meant to take advantage of every moment she had. Thankfully, even though she came from a noble background and lived a life of luxury, Garrus had taken notice of the young woman's spirit and taught her everything she'd need to know to be prepare for real combat. The only thing left now was actual life experience in the subject, to which Odessa was only slightly nervous, but the weight of the task only made her more focused - her guardianship of Sonya even more determined to come out the other side alive.
She gave Sonya a quick glance and smile before looking to the horizon as the gathering hordes started to charge towards them all. 'Focus,' she thought to herself a few times as the magical energies flared up in her hands, joints, and limbs. To her, arcane magic was nothing but raw energy, unlike the elements or even those who practiced bending light. It was just magic in it's purest form, pulsing through her being and she would've preferred nothing else. However it wasn't long before she felt the gentle touch of wind swirling around her, causing her to settle the last bits of her nerves. She knew it was Sonya aiding her and it only served to boost her confidence, but she knew not to underestimate even a single orc.
Silas watched the orcs as they approached and what he saw was not good. The numbers were off he could tell there wasn't 75 Orcs it was more like 100... no 125 of them. Had they received reinforcements since the scouts had spotted them or were the Scouts numbers off from the very beginning. Either way this battle had taken a turn for the worst before it even started. Luckily the majority of the newer militia didn't realize this difference in number and held firm for the moment. Just before Jowen let his arrow fly the Orcs stopped just outside the range of the archers. "...strange..." Silas thought to himself as he prepared watching the Orcs' movements. Within the Orc's ranks there was murmuring it was clear they wanted to charge but something was holding them back. "Newborn Pups! That's what they sent to fight us!" an angered voice came from within the Orc's ranks, clearly coming from whatever orc lead this band. "Little groups of five how quaint. Boys show them our might! Attack them use groups of three show them that we can crush their puny numbers!" The Orc yelled over confidently. And as he said groups of three Orcs started to break off from the mass heading each group heading after one of the Militia teams.
Finally the Orcs came into archery range and a volley of about 20 arrows flew from the various groups into the now charging groups of orcs. The first barrage does little to damage the orc charge and the orcs closed the distance. "Stupid fools could of wiped us out in a full charge with their numbers but with this we have a chance of victory." Silas thought to himself as he watched the Orcs. He was able to pick out the three orcs heading after his group, and looked them over quickly. Picking out the one that looked the strongest in the group Silas let loose his bow and planted an arrow right between its eyes, dropping the Orc in its charge. Silas quickly tossed his bow behind him and drew his swords out from the ground. "Luke brace yourself use your shield to deflect the blow so the left, Jowen once the orc is knocked off balance plug it with an arrow" Silas commanded preparing himself to take the hit from the second orc. "Odessa, Sonya, I'll do the same with this Orc. When I lock it down, you hit it hard." Again Silas commanded.
As the Orcs hit Silas' group Luke followed the plan to key deflecting the Orc's axe to the side and leaving an opening, but the younger brother Jowen froze with the Orc's so close. Luckily Luke was quick with his blade and was able to catch the Orc across the chest forcing it to back up for a bit. "Jowen get a hold of yourself you can do this!" Luke yelled back at his brother stepping forward to take on the orc again. As for the second orc it lowered itself charging with a shoulder rush trying to break the formation. Flipping the grip on his right hand sword Silas side stepped the charge and slashed at the orc with the same move. a light cut across the orc's arm was all he managed with his first strike but it did throw the creature off balance enough to stop its charge. But it had made it past Silas and now could attack Odessa and Sonya. After quickly taking in the situation on both sides Silas pulled a throwing knife and quickly threw it at the charging orc burring the knife into the back of the Orc's knee and dropping the beast to one knee. "Finish it quickly before it gets into a rage." he quickly yelled at Odessa and Sonya before turning to help Luke with the other Orc.
Groups of three Orcs would move to attack each of the teams. This was only the start of what would be a tough battle.
After giving his shirt speech Stefano heard of in the distance, the sound of orc horns. The bellowing sound of the horn in the still air, the distant crunch of hundreds of heavy feet on the barren soil, the stink of a bestial hoard that could be smelled even from here, the low primal growl issuing from his dog pack with their hackles raised in fury, and the regal screech of Drusilla as she soared above the battlefield sent a euphoric chill of pure adrenalin from the base of Stefano's skull to the bottom of his spine. Moments like this were the reason Stefano lived.He smiled like a drunk man and nodded towards Ludivico. It was time.
Stefano and his pack of animals moved back to their overview position. He looked out and listened with only half an ear to the orc commander bellowing his orders. He saw his three opponents break away from the hoard and towards his flank. Two had two axes each much like Ludivico, they would be quicker and ferrous but he trusted his hounds would be more than caple of slowing them down. No, his target was the big bastard with the two hander. It would be easier for the team to to dodge it but with the orcs strength, even if the twins tried to block it with their shields their arms would shatter from the force of the blow. This orc would be the first to die.
Stefano starred down the charging greenskins with a trained eye gauging the distance, estimating their speed and studying the bounce and movement of their run. He dropped to one knee to steady his aim. As he did so he raised a gloved arm calling down Drusilla. The falcon swooped from the heavens eyes looking forward eager to be airborne again. Stefano had his mark in mind now to set it up.
He spoke softly to his pets. "Agrippina, Livilla, Incitatus, My sweet hounds, taste blood this day and protect your family so I might protect you." at this he gave the signal to charge and heel, a drawn out low whistle ending in a high pitched cut off. The hounds took off, past the assembled flank. The bloodhounds took the two axes while Incitatus charged the twohander, nipping at their heels and calves then darting away only to circle back and do the same.
Stefano then locked his eyes on the orc with the large axe he took a deep breath and made him and that orc the entire world. He threw his arm that was Drusilla's perch towards his target and as she took off ready to rend his flesh with her razor sharp talons, Stefano drew his arqubus to his shoulder and took an even larger and deeper breath, shrinking his existence to contain only his gun and the middle of the orcs stumpy neck. He choose that spot beacause should his shot drop he would still hit the beast in the chest and should he aim high the bullet would go through the monsters head. He counted the moments in a still soundless world 1,2,3,4 to the hunter an eternity. The orc raised his chin and weapon, to ward a swooping falcon away from his face. This was all Stefano needed. He pulled the trigger, the match was lit an explosion...
An overload of his senses as he was snapped out of his trance. The crack of his gun, the forceful recoil, men and orc shouting, the sulfuric stench of gunpowder, the distance baying of the blood hounds and most importantly, the explosive spray of blood spreading from the front and out the back of the orcs neck. Pure ecstasy of the kill.
Stefano savored it only a moment before throwing himself into motion. He ripped open one of his plugs of gunpowder and began filling the smoking arqubus. He wanted the powder and ball in before Drusilla returned to be given a new target. And then he would have to reset the match and zero in on a the next most dangerous mark. He smiled and spoke to himself, "Alright Ludi my new friend, let's see what you got."
The green beasts flashed their fangs, howled their battle cries, and charged at the militia like a fast approaching nightmare.
"Ready yourselves!" Ludivico called out to his squad mates. Ulri and Ojan raised their swords and shields, locked in a defensive stance five feet behind their squad captain. The farm boy quickly mimicked their fighting posture, completing a diamond formation that put the young man at the rear.
The orcs then split into pairs of threes against the five man squads. Ludivico raised his battle axes, crossing them in front of his body as he stepped forward. His long hair was kept in a braided pony tail with no tricorn hat to block his vision. His hazel brown eyes glared through an iron face guard in anticipation for the coming violence.
"Carcosa the blind, witness our bladed dance on this day." Ludivico murmured the pirate's prayer, eyes fixed at the three Orcs stampeding in their direction. The ground rumbled with their every step, ragged breathing and ghastly roars ignited the air like war horns. "Open your deathly jaws and ready your undying appetite. A feast of souls await you." Ludivico walked at a snail's pace, controlling his breath with slow respiration. The hounds zipped past him like whirling dervishes, bolting directly at the oncoming orcs. They flashed their fangs and gnawed at their legs, stopping the green beasts in their tracks. Just then, Stefano's falcon swooped overhead and attacked the largest of the three. It tried swatting the bird with its two-handed weapon, and as it did, a loud thud followed by a spattering of dark fluid gushed from its neck. Good shot, friend.
The orc toppled onto its knees, clutching its gushing neck. Ludivico was there within a split second to drop both axes onto its head for the overkill. The sound of iron against bone and brain was sickly, but Ludivico did not flinch. Instead, he planted a foot on the orc's chest and pulled his axes free from its skull, kicking the lifeless beast onto the ground. The two remaining orcs were too preoccupied with Stefano's hounds to have noticed Ludivico's advance.
He dropped low, axe slicing through the first orc's Achilles's heel, then spun to chop down at the back of the other beast's leg. The hounds dug their teeth into green hides as Ulri and Ojan pounced forward, stabbing their swords deep into the orc's meaty torsos. Their guttural screams made the farm boy tense up. Ludivico never looked back.
After his swift attack to the orc's lower extremities, he kept his stance facing foward, awaiting the next wave of beasts to cut down. So far, so good.
Odessa watched the situation unfold, shifting her feet as she took it all in, though most of her focus was on the one charging the three of them. She simply watched as the orc's arm was sliced open, glancing as the brothers had a little trouble, but seemed to have a handle on it - maybe Sonya would be able to assist a bit more. Still, Silas threw a dagger into the orc's knee, bringing it down as it growl in pure irritation. With the simple command, she darted forward, using her magic to launch her and close the distance quickly. Ducking down, she swirled as she yanked the dagger out, causing the orc to yelp as it started to build up rage.
Odessa didn't waste a moment though, never giving the brutish warrior a chance to berserk. Turning to the orc, she slammed the dagger in it's back on the left side and pulled back her fist. Commanding her arcane energies into her fist and allowing the wind magic to provide just enough extra force behind the blow, she punched the dagger into the beast's chest. The attack caused it to roar, but it changed from anger to desperation as the blade pierced into it's heart. Before long, it couldn't even breath, toppling over onto the ground. Her eyes glanced to her party to make sure everyone was okay, quietly noting that despite the increase in numbers, they were not going down easily.
Jehan turned his head to the distant sound of a horn blaring. He swallowed, suddenly nervous. "The battle begins" he said softly to no-one in particular. As the orcs closed the distance and ended up in the range of the forward skirmish formation several arrows flew from his archers and those who had gone with them. It was to far away for Jehan to tell if there were any casualties but some wounded orcs were to be expected. As the orcs kept coming the archers turned and ran. At one point, a few archers turned to shoot a few additional arrows, but again they were forced to run as the orcs kept coming.
The skirmish formation retreated behind their lines, Vincent passing next to Jehan clearly tired from the running but with a fierce grin on his face. It took a special kind of crazy to advance before a formation, then run before they got too close. But they had done it. The orcs had stopped now however, and Vincent and the others took up a position behind the lines, knocking arrows.
Jehan could tell there were more then they had expected, which was problematic to say the least. They needed some heavy horse but they had none. In truth, there were many things they could need but did not have and in the end they had to make it with what they had. Three orcs came for their group and Jehan slammed down his visor and entered his combat stance. Henri stood to Jehan's right shoulder, spear at the ready.
The orcs came then, one with two axes, another with spear and shield and the one in front with a great sword. Jehan prepared himself, changing the grip on his poleaxe, any fear he had felt just before vanished as he was forced to either step through it, or freeze. He swung, hard and wide, forcing the first orc to take a step back. The orc moved in as he recovered and swung. Jehan was just able to deflect the blow as Henri buried his spear in the first orc's chest. Jehan pushed back the orc back with a shove and swung, a diagonal swing from his left side. It hit home with a meaty thud between the neck and shoulder of the orc. Jehan took a step back as an orc spear was jammed at his face, though it glanced of the helm, doing nothing except a loud clinging noise inside his bascinet. Henri prodded at the orc spearman with his longer spear, keeping it at bay.
The orc with axes attacked Jehan then, as the orc spearman tried to support him. The axeman slammed Henri's spear away with one axe which caused the orc spearman to surge forward. The other axe deflected Jehan's blow. Then the orc's bulky body smashed into Jehan, knocking him to the ground. Jehan drew his dagger and stabbed upwards, into whatever flesh he could find.
The lack of a full charge by the Orcs seemed to be a rather strange choice, even from her trancing state, Sonya could tell that that horde in the distance was larger than what they had originally planned for. Regardless the sight of smaller groups of the Orcs breaking away from the group and charging across the empty plain was almost relieving, every orc they felled before the full charge turned the odds in their favor.
Silas must have had similar thoughts, though Sonya could still not read him completely as he watched the Orc’s tactics there was a subtle change in his demeanour, and when his commands for this battle were delivered he delivered them in a simple yet confident tone. “I guess that makes my casting easier until the Orcs wise up and send all they have’ Sonya mused to herself as her attention focused in the group of Orcs charging towards them, already it seemed Silas’s arrow had felled one of the beast, its corpse having fallen to the earth and been left behind in the dirt and dust as its companions continued forward.
For a brief moment there was only the thundering sound of the Orc’s charging footsteps before they finally reached the Militia, and the battle songs of clashing steel rung through the air. Soon cries of triumph and pain joined the theme of battle, the chorus of noise buzzing at the edge of Sonya’s mind and she concentrated on the situation at hand as the group followed Silas battle-plan. The first orc arrived to the left, it’s blooded axe raised to challenge Luke’s shield in a test of strength. As the axe made its descent, the wind began to surge once more, twisting the axe’s descent to lessen the strain on Luke. As the axe clumsily crashed into the shield, it slid of the side, the tempest winds seeking to guide the expected arrow but it never came.
A part of Sonya’s mind tried to contemplate why the arrow had not arrived, but there was no time for such a train of thought as Sonya pushed it to the edge of her mind. Addressing the current situation, the winds resurging around Luke as he moved to challenge the Orc once more. All the while this happened, on her and Odessa’s side of the formation the other Orc had managed to force its way past Silas but not without leaving itself vulnerable. Just as Silas had called for the two of them to finish it off, Odessa had dashed forward, dancing past the Orc’s broken defense as it attempted to build its rage.
Not wanting to give it a chance to recover its stance, Sonya made a quick chant and tapped into one of the small pockets of water she had prepared, the liquid bursting forth from the ground and wrapping around the Orc’s injured knee. As soon as the water was in position, Sonya uttered the second command word and the water flash-froze, encasing the limb in a thick layer of ice that delayed its recovery. And then a moment later, Odessa removed that possibility entirely as her strike to the creatures open defenses drove its body down to the earth where it lay unmoving. Even as it fell though, Sonya returned her focus to the remaining Orc, now that there was only one left, Sonya could focus her full attention on it as the zephyrs from before sought out its form, the wind pressing against its body to hamper even the most basic of movements and leave it vulnerable to either of the Brothers or Silas to make an attack
"Just be sure not to get blood or dirt on that shiny armor of yours." Amare added, Jasper simply snickered with one heh which was soon thereafter followed by a prolonged silence. There, for a moment was a pause in the sea of chatter among the men of this army, too quiet. Beyond the horizon just ahead of them, was the cause of death for this livelihood of conversation among these ambitious young souls. It is one thing for a man to dream of seeing fame and fortune and another to stand tall among the turmoils of the world in person. Amare knew that feeling quite often, he could not say the same for some of the recruits who had never even been in a fight before. Even he himself was nervous, he could admit shamelessly.
As the crowd of orcs approached, there seemed to be even more than expected as instead of a crowd of 75, there could've easily been counted at an army of over one hundred! Probably a few more than what forces stood on the other side. Amare just realizing the odds, mustered the courage to summon his bastard sword from his scabbard, the echoing steel singing its usual tune as it was released from the scabbard and threw his shield behind him, he would not need it this time. Amare took a while to breathe deeply and took his stance to ready himself against the orc army which was soon to perhaps overwhelm them. This, still, could not calm him. He was no longer standing next to band of hundreds of men who were the results of a survival-of-the-fittest situation, but a freshly new gathered army without much experience. Even with someone such as Jehan and Jasper who seemed to know about the martial arts, men like them seemed to far and few among this army. Amare hoped they could prove him wrong.
"You need not worry lads" Jasper said seriously, it sounded almost solemn this time, for once Amare was surprised he was not joking this time. "Breathe, and concentrate. That is how you win a fight. Keep faith in the Gods, country, and most importantly - yourself, victory'll follow." Amare listened attentively to the old man's words, absorbing them and for once, Amare could truly consider himself wise for listening to the advice of the trained veteran of war.
Watching the Orcs in the dead horizon of where they were standing, arrows flew overhead just as the Orcs entered firing range. A few wails followed thereafter along with the sight of fallen orcs, Amare could then hear a few of his fellow soldiers cry in joy as their numbers slightly dwindled. The fewer the numbers, the better Amare thought to himself. There seemed to be a first wave of orcs that hit them first, three men reaching to where Amare and his fellow in-arms where standing. One yielded a two axes, the other, a great-sword, and the last a spear. Jehan and Henri dealt with the first and second orcs, leaving Amare and Jasper with the last to which Jasper seemed to back away from, leaving Amare to fight him. Amare turned back and gave the old an a doubtful look.
"If you are as good as you say, then by all means... Ladies first." Jasper gestured for Amare to proceed without him, it was his time to prove himself yet again to another old man that he was decent with a sword and what other greater opponent than a fellow swordsman who yielded a great sword in both of his hands. This orc was quite menacing, being nearly a half a head taller than his own sword which was at length six feet from what Amare could tell. Yes, this would show his valor and skillfulness alright. Like most orcs, this one was definitely no prettier than the rest, its dark-green skin complimenting its profoundly abhorrent appearance, its large frame complementing the even more menacing appearance in comparison with its kin.
With the first swing of its sword, the orc sung with a great and menacing ferocity of a bull and whistled a high pitched tone that blew a subtle wind which Amare could feel instantly. Amare saw it coming however, seeing that this giant was though strong, was also quite slow in comparison. If you cannot be strong, be fast a trainer once told him in his early days while at the mercenary guild he was originally brought up in. Amare sought the opportunity to harken his wise words as he did with many others who taught him how to use a sword. He then approached slowly, keeping wise attentiveness of his footwork which was most certainly going to assist in his angles, assuming he could use it efficiently in this fight. The giant, pig-faced orc sung again at Amare, who in return parried and utilized the time to counter with the distance he had, striking downward, aiming towards the shoulder though he would find out, it was not flesh he would strike, but the iron of the orc's armor. The result was a loud clanging noise that echoed like the many echoes across the active battlefield, filling the field like raindrops striking the ground.
The orc laughed in a maniacal tone, swinging faster, more violently at Amare all to which he could parry though not counter three times. The orc swung so hard, Amare had to tightly grasp his sword in order for the vibrations not to shake away from his tight grasp. The orc not to give Amare the time to recover and launched himself forward, trying to overwhelm the young mercenary. From what he learned his fighting in general, those who were confident enough to try and overwhelm their opponent are often blind to the openings they have left themselves open to. With yet another parry, Amare countered, driving the orcs sword sideways and pointed the tip of his sword towards the opening portion of the orc's chest armor. Letting his sword sink into the orc, Amare quickly jerked it further into the opening. With one pull, Amare released his bloody bastard sword from the orc as the once menacing, green-skinned warrior collapsed to his knees, grabbing his chest and swung towards the opening that exposed the orc's neck. A fountain of blood spewed from the orc who then was no longer laughing, but making a gurgling sound as he drowned in his own blood as he finally landed face first to the dirt beneath him.
"Such a gentleman." Amare said rather calmly, hoping to see Jasper in utter dismay, though only instead seeing the old man rush from behind him. Amare did not want his eyes to follow the old man to see what he was doing and instead focused his attention back forward. He knew that nobody else stood in their way, and it would take a few more seconds before another orc wave could rush them. From Amare left side, he could see Jasper rushing to the aid of Jehan who had been taken down by a two axe-yielding orc who had somehow tackled him. The young mercenary moved forward once again, trusting that Jasper could successfully aid Jehan while Amare and Henry could focus on the spear-yielding orc, trying to keep him at bay while the two could deal with the orc who was armed with a spear.
Jasper rushed behind Jehan who was frantically trying to dig his dagger into whatever openings he could find in the orc's armor. Jasper took advantage of the time in which the orc was distracted by, holding the sharp blade of his bastard sword and struck the orc's helm with his pommel. It took three hard hits before the orc could slightly be disoriented which gave Jasper the moment to kick the orc on his side, slamming his exposed face with the pommel of his sword with a smashing uppercut once more while a trail of blood along with a sharp tooth spat out the orcs mouth as he fell to the dirt below him. He paused for a moment and looked at Jehan.
"He's all ours now lad." Jasper said, encouraging Jehan to take the opportunity to kill the orc who was just now disoriented and laying over on his back.
Ren was glad that she had resolved some of her issues with the older soldier before the upcoming battle. She would feel very uncomfortable trusting her back to someone that was likely to stab it given the chance. That was when she heard the warning horns and caught the first glimpse of marching orc forces. There seemed to be a lot more than they were previously told and this little expedition didn't look favorable under the best conditions. She placed her hand on hilt of the dagger that the Jan had handed her hidden in the sash around her waist which she had hoped wouldn't be necessary.
"Priest Jan, if I do not make it our of this. Please make sure my body makes it back to the lands of Illium and do not remain on this field." She pleaded before summoning the air around her and lifting herself a foot off the ground giving her better maneuverability for the battle to come.
She was nervous more than anything because her battle magic had not been used in years and she didn't know how much a toll it would take on her body over the course of the battle. She didn't want to burn to much magic early in the battle but wanted to make sure that she pulled her weight as other lives depended on her. She would try and only use around thirty percent for the early parts of the fighting and if it started to look like the fight was going to go south than she would have to resort to her trump card to level the field.
She had been lost in her own worries long enough to not notice the quickly advancing groups of orcs. She drifted past Jan to the front line gathering the wind around her. "Jan, I will take the one with that giant mace. Don't worry, I will be fine, just you guys take care of the other two." Ren told the others with a smile for reassurance as she swung her arm in front of her sending a gust of razor wind slamming into the charging orc knocking him over and leaving a deep gash on his chest.
Thick skin is never good. This might actually be harder than it looks. The mage thought to herself as the orc got back to his feet and swung at the floating woman even though she floated out of his reach. At least that wasn't enough to send the beast into a rage. She continued to stay of his his range as she hoped that swinging at her would just tire himself out from blood loss. It didn't seem to be working very well as the monster just seemed to be whipping itself into a rage.
She swung both her arms in front of her in a crossing motion as she went another wave of wind at her opponent creating multiple lacerations across his body causing him to stumble. She than hurried closer and made another sweeping gesture as she lopped his head off in a single final gust. To her great dismay disgusting orc blood splattered onto her fringes near her feet as she leap back from the initial spray. Later she would have to get her revenge on the rest of that horde for the price of her clothes but for now she had to return to her group who would be dealing with the other orcs.
