The air was tense. MacKensie had no idea why these guardsmen were being so incredibly hostile but it felt like one wrong move and someone was going to get seriously hurt. Anxiety mounted as she watched the woman with the longbow try to reason with the Commander, but it didn't look like it was working. Brandished swords all around them, MacKensie's right hand strayed ever so slightly to the one-handed crossbow at the small of her back.

"Bit of a cutey pie, aren't ya."

MacKensie bristled up straight, almost letting out an 'eek!' with surprise. Did she just hear that right? What in the world was this man thinking, that such a comment was even necessary or wanted for that matter! She felt her cheeks flush red, and the embaressment of this made her angry.

"That is not- I do not..." she whispered but it was almost like a hiss, she was so flustered. Her eyes searched the ground for words, attempting to be proper. "You are wildly inappropriate, sir!" She looked around to make sure no one else was hearing the exchange. "I do not appreciate it. Now is not the time," she finished, but then quickly added, "Nor ever."

Glad she got that out of her system, she shook herself of the matter and straightened her posture. She realised she was missing what was going on, until the Commander yelled for quiet. Oh yes, she remembered exasperatedly. We're about to be killed or arrested.

What happened next, happened so fast. She was captured some kind of magical energy flowing through her. The feeling was strange, frightening even, but it wasn't negative. She looked at her hands and saw the fientest glow around her. It made her feel strong. Courageous. As if she could endure anything.

At the same time as this, another guard came and reported that the town was about to be attacked. This prompted a once hostile Commander to do a complete 180 and ask them for help. Before MacKensie knew it, he was running off to the gate.

The young woman was stumped.

"Assuming any of this is real…we should do the right thing and help these people," said the young man with the fishing equipment. MacKensie listened to his words. "But we should be alert, and stay close to each other. These guards will probably turn on us once this is done, and we'll need to work together."

Yes. She could do this. They could do this. Hell, with this magical energy she felt flowing through her, she could do anything! She drew her crossbow as quick as a flash, and looked at it. It was not the kind of bow she was used to, and this would be nothing like the Olympics, but as long as it fired properly, she could use it.

"He's right," she said strongly, stepping forward and gesturing to the young man who was now walking off toward the gate. "These people need our help. And there's children here, I have no doubt. If we have the means - and some of us have certainly been given them - then we should defend their lives."

As she looked over them, she made an effort to keep her chin raised and shoulders back, like her father would. Her father was a strong individual. She'd always admired him - tried to live up to his expectations. Graduating. A gold medal in the Olympics. These were the goals she had set to begin doing that. But now, in this moment, she had to step up.

As her gaze washed over the big buffoon with the sword, her expression soured. She mouthed 'Jerk' at him as she turned about and followed to catch up with the first of them toward the gate. The fisherman looked like he might have been younger than any of them. But he'd showed his bravery already. She fell into step beside him and gave his shoulder a squeeze of comraderie. "Let's do this."

As the blessing finally settled over Arthur he was filled with the same power as the others and the something more. Then as shouting at the eastern town gate began, and townsguard came running to their Captain, a voice spoke inside Arthur's mind. Although some might have found it intimidating Arthur found it soothing. It was deep, dark and accompanied by the washing of the waves. When the first word was uttered, Arthur blacked out............................ And then came to just as fast, no time having past yet he was sure it should have. He remembered it in the haze of a dream, he understood what the voice was trying to say but none of the details.

Arthur shook his head to clear his mind. 'What the hell.....' He thought as he looked at himself and noticed how the slight glow that had enveloped the whole group and left a slight glow to them all but to him it seemed particularly intense. "A taste of your power....huh." He absently said as he saw not only himself but the harpoons had a subtle glow as well. He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts as the leader of the guards seemed to get some distressing news. He the turned to Arthur and the group and asked for there help. He was prepared to give the man a piece of his mind but then saw the worry in his face. 'Well shit, guess I'm helping defend the guys who wanted me arrested.' A few of the others seemed to agree, though the shorter brown haired fellow had a good idea to stick together for the aftermath, and so he nodded to the others as he headed towards the gate. "I don't know about yall but I ain't letting no civiy get killed." He drew one of his harpoons with his free left hand. He looked to the lady with the crossbow then the seemingly unarmed man. "Names Arthur, figure if we're gonna be fighting and maybe diying together we at least should know each others names."

"I don't know you all but I think they are right"

It was with those words that he started running towards the group until he caught up with them, they were right on both accounts, it was better to stick together and even better to help the people in need, with some luck the guy in charge may even have a change in heart and decide that they were helpful enough to not throw in the slammer as soon as the situation was resolved, provided they all didn't die in the attempt first. A part of him was a little suspicious of the thing he did earlier and the whatever-the-fuck being that allowed him to cast(?) it, but more than that he was grateful that the panic hadn't returned, he almost lost his shit there and that would have likely got him a less than pleasant surprise once he woke up.

"Names James by the way, hope none of us die"

Oh right, he should tell them about the blessing, it would work best if they knew beforehand they were buffed and that it wasn't permanent, it would suck if one of them assumed that they could act more careless because of it, and then got caught with their pants down when it didn't show. If luck was on his side non of them would ask exactly how he did it (not that he knew how he did it either) but if not he would just straight up tell them he had no idea, voices inside his head and weird trances weren't more difficult to believe than dying and waking up on some other place (hell?) after falling from the sky in a stone coffin.

By God, things were getting weird.

"By the way, I think earlier I did some hocus pocus somehow and got you all buffed, it should last the whole fight but don't expect me to use it again for some time"

His gaze followed to where the guardsman pointed, and the look on the farmers face soured slightly "I can't say I do know mister, I can't say I do." he weren't too learned in math or finances but from the looks of it, Clive could only guess it'd cost it's weight in quarters "But listen here mister we-" Clive was about to offer to help the owners of the house or the authorities to clean up the rubble but a shout cut him short, air filling with the rattling clang of a bell.

Clive gripped the handle of the shovel slung over his shoulder just a little tighter, this wasn't no prank and it certainly wasn't a joke cause if it were it wasn't a funny one that was for dang sure. Beneath the wide brim of his straw-hat, the farmer bit the side of his mouth as a shadow crossed his face. Clive wasn't an army vet like his pappy had been, he didn't know the end of a gun let alone the butt of a sword when it came to fighting but he was taught to help his fellow man by the teachings of his folks and their cockamamey beliefs.

But these folks were in some kind of danger, the people who were once gawking at them were now rushing from their homes as the sound of the bell rang through the narrow streets and alleyways of the town as it dimmed in the light of the sun making it's way across the sky.

Clive squintily gazed towards the heavens after watching the lady with her crossbow and a heart full of courage run off towards the east gate, a few others followed but Clive wasn't made for the battlefield he was made for the fields he worked with plow and till. He wasn't a fighter but he sure as hell wasn't a yellow-bellied coward neither "I ain't gonna stand round' gawking at the purdy view." shifting the weight of the shovel on his shoulder, Clive turned his head from one side to the other working-out the kink in his neck.

Then he moseyed on, so to speak; carrying on his way down the street, stopping to offer his assistance to people who looked like they needed the help.

Fenna let out a sigh, of course the leader of the guards didn't believe her explanation. Would she if she was in his place? Nothing of what they said made it even better and her hands slowly moved to one of her daggers in case she'd need to defend herself. Would she let them arrest her? Or was it better to attempt to flee? The glow that appeared around them was curious, but not more than waking up in a strange world like this.

Things suddenly changed when an enemy approached and now the leader requested their help. Of course, with all their weapons they looked capable, but was she? Could she really help in a battle with unknown enemies, with a weapon she never even used before?

She glanced to the brown-haired man when he mentioned that if this was real they should do the right ting and help these people, but that they also should stay close and that they'd need to work together. This sentiment was shared with the woman who carried a crossbow. That made sense and she nodded. They had to help them. These people didn't seem like the bad guys. Especially the frightened children.

"I'll join you at the gate as soon as I can," she said. "I'll make sure no-one is left behind and that their path ahead is clear." The first people were already going westward, and she directed some people who left their houses after the sound of the bell in the same direction, urging them to make haste. She started checking the houses on the east side of the village to see if everyone had started to evacuate. In one she found a young woman packing clothes and some valuables.
"Don't take too much," she urged the woman. "It will only slow you down. Put some food in a blanket, grab your child and go to the west."
The young mother, at the brink of tears, nodded and did what she said.

Two. Hundred. Fucking. Skeletons.

Was this dude for real?

Zell turned and looked around as the shouted proclamations began. Citizens began emptying out of their homes with sacks of their most precious belongings. Hasty. Scared. Crying. Atop the din was the ever-ringing alarm bell. Zell drew the sword off his back once again, this time with a sudden urge to test the edge of the blade, or more pertinently, test the integrity of his flesh. With one finger caressed the keen edge of his sword and recoiled with the slight pain. A little blood dripped where the blade had cut him.

"Holy shit," he said aloud.

This was real. This whole entire clusterfuck was real. All the mounting questions he had - dozens of questions - whatever the answers were... they'd be real. Inhaling a big breath, he turned back to the young guy who spoke up first about the request (The 'Contract' - another mystery.)

He spoke bravely, Zell was impressed. And too the French girl was in agreeance. He caught her eye for a second and his trademark, cocky one-sided grin appeared as she scowled at him. Jerk. That made him chuckle. He was a bit of a jerk, he could admit that about himself. And she was even cuter when she was flustered.

The American farmer and the European woman went the opposite way to the rest of the group. Zell assumed they were evacuating with the citizenry. Smart move really. What business did they have fighting god-damn skeletons and ogres. Still, Zell's pride would not allow him to flee while the others were going to help, and so he twirled his sword around him like something one'd see in a movie, gained confidence from his confirmation that he had the skill to do it, then sheathed his weapon and ran after the others toward the eastern gate.

He was close enough to hear them introducing themselves. "You can call me Zell," he offered as he ran past them and jumped the first eight rungs of the palisade ladder and started climbing up top. "Cheers James! Much appreciated!" he shouted down after the man explained his sudden rush of energy and mental fortitude. One mystery down, ninety-nine to go.

Atop the palisade he finally saw the reason for the evacuation and fear coursed through his veins amongst the adrenaline. Terror, in fact. It was all he could do not to show it. He walked slowly along the palisade wall, past a few townguard posted with bows, looking out across the vista at the slowly approaching horde. The ogres were huge! Zell's heart was racing. His teeth were clenched. There was no more 'cocky frat boy.' Just a man with a sword who's pride wouldn't let him run even though his brain was screaming FLEE - A man who's mind was racing with thoughts of what these monsters would do if they caught those citizens. Those children. He had to steel himself. He had to stop them.

"You were right Commander," he said loudly to the Commander in earshot. "Seems no one knows how we got here..." it was really an effort to keep the tremble out of his voice. "...but we're here now, and there's innocent lives on the line." The rest of his words seemed like they were more for himself than anyone else. "I've spent my life being a selfish asshole, tee-bee-hache... time to do something worth my time! Wooo!"

The Ric Flair sound-off was unnecessarily loud but Zell didn't care. He had to let off some steam before he burst into bloody flames. He drew the sword off his back and pointed it at the coming horde. "Let's go motherfuckers!"

As Adam walked towards the wooden gate, he took a moment to wonder if anyone else from the group had even bothered to listen to him. He never felt like he was the best at speeches, but the logic was sound, so that had to help, right? The woman with the long, light-brown hair next to him seemed to want to help somehow with the evacuation, but he didn't know about the rest. Then the man noticed an aura around him that wasn't there before. It wasn't the strangest thing that had happened today, but Adam had to wonder how long it had been there for. Was it some kind of thing that appears when someone decides to fight here? Wherever "here" was, anyway. No, that wasn't right, because the "commander" didn't have one and he-

The thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder and the words "let's do this." Adam was slightly startled for a moment; he had been too deep within his own mind to expect that, and told himself to be more alert when the fighting started. Looking at the source of those words, he saw a woman who was frankly not bad looking. "Scared easily and my pants are wet, great first impression," the man thought as his cheeks unconsciously turned a light shade of red, "first person who's been nice to me since I died though." Adam smiled at the woman and responded with a sincere "of course." He wanted to talk to her more, but he saw three more people join their ragtag group. It would be good to know everyone he'd be fighting with, plus it'd be rude to just ignore them.

As Arthur, Zell and James introduced themselves, Adam noted the latter's point about his "hocus pocus" and began thinking once again. "One mystery solved, and that's certainly useful. Maybe we all have some kind of power? Best to figure that out after I follow everyone's lead though." "I'm Adam," he said respectfully to everyone, "nice to meet all of you, and thanks for helping." Turning to face the blonde-haired woman again, he continued. "I don't think I got-" Before the man could ask for MacKensie's name, Adam was interrupted by a yell:

"Let's go motherfuckers!"

Caught off guard by Zell's declaration, the non-swearing man reluctantly decided that he could wait on her name. "Uh, I guess we're fighting now. Good luck everyone, and please be careful."

"Names Arthur, figure if we're gonna be fighting and maybe dying together we at least should know each others names."

MacKensie nodded as she looked up at the mountain of a man. Of all the group, she was most glad that he was on board with idea to help. He looked like he could more than handle himself, carrying around that metal anchor like it was nothing. Then James introduced himself and explained the magical energy she was feeling was his handiwork. So he is a wizard, she thought. Huh. It seemed the case that all of them had been gifted with astonishing abilities. She too could feel something of an enhancement in her body's movements, particularly when she drew her one-handed crossbow quicker than a hiccup.

"How do you do," she greeted all of them. "I'm Mac-"

"You can call me Zell." Zell flew past them as he interrupted her, her ire for him flickering once more. So that was his name. Not that she cared.

Adam introduced himself and MacKensie was quick to echo his sentiments to James. "Yes, I believe your magic will be very useful. Thank you."

"Uh, I guess we're fighting now. Good luck everyone, and please be careful."

"Best of luck. We can get through this," MacKensie said, making a fist in front of her. Then she remembered, "Oh, and my name is MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant." She bobbed in a quick curtsy, then went and started climbing the ladder. When she got up and looked out over the field, "Sacre bleu," a chill ran up her spine. Her eagle eyes scanned the approaching raiders - ogres that must have been 10 feet tall. Animated skeletons moving with what could only be the power of magic, all armed, eye sockets vacant and spooky. She squinted as she caught sight of a skeleton bigger than the rest, wearing spiked armour and a helmet. The leader, she reckoned.

Doubt filled her. Would the skeletons fall to her bolts? Would the ogres even feel them?

Stiff upper lip, Mac, she told herself, the thought coming in the voice of her father. Her mothers voice was next. You can do anything you set your mind too, my darling. You always have.

"Okay," she said quietly to herself. "Calm. Focus. Don't forget to breathe."

The raiding party's advance was steady and unwavering, even as the dozen townsguard on the walls fired arrows that arched down upon them.

"Fire at will!" yelled Commander Vadim, chopping the air as he gave the command.

Stood at the town gate was the bulk of the townsguard, in a simple box formation, waiting for the flimsy wooden barrier to be breached. It had withstood relentless attacks from the fury of the wild. Giant spiders, direwolves, boars and all sorts of other blood-lusted creatures... it seemed that The Witch Queen had woken up all the beasts of the world, and sent them mad with the desire to kill. And now, with the gate on it's last legs - with the Hommas garrsion on it's last legs - the raiding party came to finish the job.

"Focus on that ogre!" was another command form Vadim.

The archers turned their bows on the Beserker Ogre who barrelled forward, ignoring the arrows that hit it. With a roar it ran and hit the gate with a thunderous shoulder-tackle. The gate cracked, almost buckled completely.

Skeleton warriors began climbing the palisade, like bugs crawling up a wall, swords held by their teeth as they ascended.

The Armoured Ogre came thundering in after the Beserker Ogre retreated for another turn. Most of the arrows bounced off it's metal plates and it charged the gate and smashed it open...............................................

@Teyao@Goblinguy@Zapdos
The raiding party charged in through the gate to meet townsguard in the courtyard. The leader stayed at the rear, commanding proceedings. Both ogres led the charge, swinging their massive clubs, crushing armour and sending townsguard flying as they did. The skeletons fanned out and met the defenders with lethal intent.........................................

@Zool@Saiyan
Meanwhile, the climbing skeletons jumped onto the wall and started fighting Vadim and the archers. The arrived onto the battlements in waves, meaning to overwhelm the archers, commander, and anyone else in their way.....................................

@Calle@Dark Cloud
"You two," Sergeant Harold shouted towards Fenna and Clive. Seeing they were helping with the citizens, he hoped they would heed his call. "We're moving out. Guard the rear of the column."

"Selica! Selica" a woman stumbled upon them, crying and shouting, looking this way and that. Harold tried to get her to follow him but she wouldn't have any of it. "No! My daughter. I can't find her. I won't leave without her." The woman saw Clive and Fenna and pleaded with them. "Please, help me find her." She pointed in the direction of her house, which happened to be near the fighting. "She was playing in the gardens behind our house. She must have heard the shouting and hid near there. Help me!"

...

Near the gate, a dozen skeleton warriors peeled off from the fighting and went running through the alleys and gardens looking to slaughter. Unfortunately for the young girl, Selica, who was hiding in up in a tree behind her house, they were heading in that direction........................

Arthur shook his head at the antics of the guy, he think he heard him say his name was Zell. "Dumbass, if the got any ranged he's just asking to get shot." He said as he looked back to the others to try to figure at least the basics of a plan, unfortunately that was when the gate burst open as two massive creatures ran through it and the first few guards like nothing. He watched as one man was flung into a nearby house and hit the wall with a wet slap before slowly sliding down. 'Well......fuck it in for a penny and all that shit.' He thought to himself before pulling his arm as far back as he could and launching a harpoon into the thickest grouping of skeletons, hoping whatever whoodoo that had infused it would do something before turning to the Beserker Oger. "That big ones mine."

Not waiting to see if his harpoon did anything he ran towards the less armored of the two ogers and bellowed. "Come'er you big ugly bastered." As he approached the large beast he used both hands to swing towards it's left knee. As he swung he felt something rush through him, similar to adrenaline but jacked up to 11, his weapon felt lighter as he swung with all his might and more. He heard the crashing of waves and smelled the faint scent of salt water as he surged forward in a sudden burst of power.

Adam listened as MacKensie introduced herself, then promptly proceeded to split off from the group. "Guess we're not sticking together," he thought, hoping the kind woman didn't do anything that would get herself killed. Before the man could think of or do anything else, two ogres and their skeletal sidekicks decided that the town would be their new piñata. And given that the gate had lasted all of two seconds against them, Adam wanted to give up right then and there despite what he had said earlier. "We are so dead. What can we do? I'm not some action movie hero, I'm just some guy from Up North."

But he remembered the big guy's shouting and MacKensie's determination, along with seeing Arthur charge at the ogre. If they were going to give it their all, so should he. Even if his face made it look like the man was going to run away any second now, he wanted to help somehow. "No, can't admit defeat yet. Think, think…oh!"

Inspiration struck as Adam saw a large log nearby. Maybe it was supposed to be for the wall that was basically destroyed now or maybe it was meant to be some kind of bench. It didn't really matter right now; what mattered was that it was a plant, or at least most of the remains of one. Like with the sunflowers, the man focused his effort on lifting the piece of wood, and it rose just like the smaller plant had. Good.

"I'll do my best." Adam spoke quietly, almost so much so that he couldn't be heard, but he meant it. The man moved the log over a group of skeletons, then slammed it down on them to crush them as a child might squish a bug. And like those unfortunate insects, these skeletons would not be moving again. A faint smile appeared on Adam's face as he made the log rise again; he was surprised that this had worked that well. Crashing the log on three or four more groups of them worked just as effectively. It was only after the fifth successful attempt that the group started to notice their comrades being turned to splintery piles of bones. Adam didn't want to waste the wood, but he wasn't sure it would hurt beings as large as ogres. Instead, he focused his energy on thrusting the tree towards the fancy-looking larger skeleton in half-plate spiked armor, hoping it would have some kind of impact.

“Qui n’avance pas, recule!" MacKensie shouted as her war cry, channelling her father's spirit. All of her nerves and anticipation released upon hearing Vadim's 'fire at will' command. She took aim at the nearest enemy down in the field and loosed a bolt their way. The bolt struck the skeleton in the sternum, rocking it, but not halting it's advance. This would not do! She'd aimed safely for centre-mass, but there no time for safe shots. And deep down she knew she could push it. If MacKensie Trydant could do anything in this world, she could hit her shots when it counted. When the pressure was on.

Her 2nd shot planted itself in the forehead of the same target. It's skull split open and dropped dead - permanently dead this time. She loaded her crossbow like a machine; her dextrous fingers, her speed, coordination and precision, beyond anything she thought humanly possible. She simply tried not to think about it, loosing a 3rd shot, 4th shot and on.

The gate smashed open with little effort from the ogres and before long there were skeletons everywhere. MacKensie pinged them as their heads appeared over the battlements, but they wouldn't go down fast enough and one hopped onto the wall and lept toward her into a strong downsweep slash. Panicking, MacKensie's free hand drew her dagger and threw it up to defend herself, squeezing her eyes shut like a complete and utter amateur. With the luck of God, she somehow blocked the attack, but the strength of it knocked her down.

As her back hit the floor, a flex of her shoulders smoothly transitioned her into a backflip and she landed on her feet, firing off another killing shot and reloading. How am I doing this? she wondered, terrified. It's so easy, so natural.

Damn-near every headshot was landing as MacKensie supported those on the wall who were engaged with enemies. She looked behind her to see Zell. A skeleton had rushed him from behind and MacKensie aimed quickly and fired off a shot. The bolt whistled dangerously close by Zell's ear before lodging itself into the cranium of the skeleton who's feet tried to charge without the rest of it's body before dropping dead.

"This doesn't mean I like you," she felt the need to shout. He was enough of a distraction that she was almost waylaid from behind herself and she cried in alarm and ran, ducking a sword swing as she took off, her dagger-holding fist hitting the floor for balance as she did. Running toward Zell, she jumped and wall-kicked off the battlements to get past him, landing a headshot mid-air to clear space for her landing. "These powers are incredible," she said aloud, her confidence rising by the minute.

Guard the rear. A request or an order. Either way, Fenna gave a thumbs up to show she had heard the officer, or at least she assumed he was one as he seemed to be in charge of the evacuation.

"Come on," she shouted to the last people, waving with her hand as she had seen traffic police do as they directed traffic in the right direction. "Go to the gate, quickly."

The sound of breaking wood made her turn around. Had the invaders broken through the gate already?

Turning around also made her notice the woman shouting someone's name. A child was left behind? She squinted in the direction of the house. Where was the child? Her heart ached for the desperate mother, she knew the worry of having a missing child, but she had never lost sight of a child in a dangerous situation like this.

She turned to the elegant woman as she spoke. No parent should ever have to bury their child, that was true.
"I have an idea," she said as she pulled a dagger from the sheath and turned to face the house. "We go there and get the child."

Putting her words into action, she moved towards the house. With the obvious sound of battle elsewhere in the village she didn't want to waste any moment talking about how to retrieve the child.

Hatboy? Well at least the woman had dropped her posh act somewhat, Clive adjusted his hat slightly "Name's Clive," he'd need to excuse his lack of manners later but now wasn't no time to quibble over such nonsense "And I reckon she has the right idea." he nodded to Fenna, not wasting any time she put her words to action.

"Better stick close lady," Clive said already following Fenna though he lagged behind for a second to look the kimono wearing woman up and down before he inclined his head to the mother "We'll find your lil one Miss, head on with the other folk fore' you put yourself in harm's way." with that he left, hoping the poor lady would heed his words and get going with the other village folk.

This was bad

This was very, very bad

Two hundred skeletons sounded like an arduous task but a doable one with the number of men that were on the walls plus the assortment of allies that were gathered here, maybe they could have even won without losing anyone using just some little bit of strategy or if the walls had held, that plan, unfortunately, was shot in an alleyway, it's pockets picked clean and its body left in a dumpster the moment the Ogres appeared and broke the gates, even worse was that the enemy leader seemed to be happy to let its minions do the dirty work, they needed to do somethi-

His musings were interrupted by the actions of his two party members(?), Arthur made his intent on dealing with the Berserker Ogre evident while Adam didn't waste time and somehow took control of some of a log nearby (Probably got some kind of ability like how he was capable of casting a buff) and then used it to demolish groups of enemies at once before sending it towards the big skeleton in charge. Okay, okay, he could work with this, taking the special enemies' attention away from the main force was a good thing as they should be capable of repelling the skeletons (At least he hoped so). the only remaining obstacle was the big Armored Ogre but how could he get rid of it? MacKenzie was dealing with the skeletons and he didn't know where Zell was, he needed a mean to fight back, something like the buff he had... cast... earlier...

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he searched inside of himself hoping to find that mysterious benefactor that gave him the words to the blessing or at least something else to help him fight/distract the Armored Ogre.

What he found was unexpected but useful.

Knowledge of how to cast two different (For a lack of a better description) spells was incrusted on his mind as if they were always there and he just had never noticed, one was some kind of empowerment on treated injuries so they could be healed faster and the other a literal light beam that would be able to blind an enemy for some time. At a glance he could tell neither was as strong as the blessing he had cast earlier, it was like comparing a match to a campfire.

Good but not enough, he could only use them a few times, and then he would have to contend with too many skeletons and a pissed Ogre, he needed something else, or someone.

"Hey, you there! come with me! we need to deal with that Armored Ogre or he will just keep killing more people!"

After a little hesitation, four Guards broke from the formation and began to make their way toward me, two were armed with short swords and shields while the other two had spears, they couldn't be much older than me and they all seemed terrified but resolute (or perhaps desperate).

Giving them a nod I start making my way across the skeletons with the guards flanking me and dealing with them as they approached, the objective the big Ogre creating mayhem.

"I can blind it once it reaches us, the two with shields cover our backs from the skeletons, and the other two try to stab his legs once he is blinded"

Saying that he looked towards the Ogre in question before letting his mouth go off.

"Hey, you ugly motherfucker! Come and get me! Cucksucker! Stupid moron! Fuking swine! Rotting hog! Dungloving shithead! Fuckwhit i-"

Ignoring the looks from his town guards he began to prepare the light beam spell without stopping talking, the moment the Ogre got in range he would blind him, then it was a matter of being as annoying as he could so the Ogre focused on him rather than on them.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit... was the consistent mantra running through Zell's mind when the skeletons ascended the wall.

He lunged into a push kick, slamming his foot into the face of the first skeleton that appeared near him, sending it falling back down to the bottom of the wall. The second skelly felt the wild, panicked swing of Zell's longsword as it was halfway over the battlements, and it too was sent back where it came from. Shortly after that, he was forced to engage properly.

The skeletons were basic as hell. No real stance - no guard of the lady, no boar, no water stance, no nothing. They swung without proper use of their torso, hips and footwork to create power. They cared nothing for head movement or defense. Their swords were solidly made but maltreated. Zell noticed all of this as he parried and counter-killed his first two opponents. Amidst the constant 'holy hit!' he realised that he understood swordplay and weapons as if he'd been trained from bloody birth! It was crazy. He'd never even thought about any of this before, but it was right there in his mind, so clear, so second-nature.

"Poor distancing," Zell muttered as a skeleton lunged at him. He merely stepped back and to the right, before thrusting forward, the tip of his sword peircing under the chin of the enemy. With a flick of his wrist, he decapitated the skeleton.

He suddenly met eyes with MacKensie, but was shocked to see her take aim at... him? She can't be for real, he thought, wide eyed. Jesus Christ, how mad did I make her!?

She fired. Zell was frozen. He felt the wind of the bolt breeze his face. With a gasp, he looked over his shoulder to see the skeleton right behind him - one he'd not realised was even there - drop dead. She'd saved him. With a grin he looked back at her. "Ppreciate it," he called out.

"This doesn't mean I like you."

Just her presence alone was keeping him on a level, if only for the fact that he couldn't crumble and cower in front a pretty woman. He had to play it off like he didn't care - pretend to be a badass. But now she was talking trash in the middle of the battle?

No one out-did Zell when it came to trash talking on the football field. He wouldn't let it happen on a battlefield either. "Ha! You like me. Admit it."

As she ran toward him, leading a chasing skeleton his way, he ran forward and with a hop-skip-jump. They crossed paths in mid air, Zell superman-punching his sword right through the chasing enemy. More followed and backed up with a parry and a slash. As he cleared the immediate danger zone in front of him, he fell back-to-back with MacKensie, regarding her over his shoulder as she commented on her powers. Seeing skeletons were closer on her side than on his, he pushed one shoulder-blade into hers to rotate them both around while staying back-to-back.

"Something incredible alright," he shot back as he blocked two strikes and ended another skeleton with a thrust. "I feel like I'm in a damn video-game."

He saw down at the gate, that the real fight was with the ogres and they might need help down there. But there were too many skellies on the wall to get to the ladder and he was currently pinned down, his attention demanded by the flow of swords swinging in to take his life.

"Hey, you ugly motherfucker! Come and get me! Cucksucker! Stupid moron! Fuking swine! Rotting hog! Dungloving shithead! Fuckwhit i-"

Zell spotted James and laughed as he fought off another boney brute in front of him. Looks like he'd have even more competition for the trash-talking challenge.

"I need to get down there and help," he told MacKensie behind him as they rotated again where she could now see the problems being created by the ogres and the skeleton captain. He caught an enemy blade on his swords cross-hilt, grabbed the skeleton by the wrist and snapped it before kicking it off the wall. He was a pretty strong athlete, but he felt decidedly stronger in this world. "I'm gonna do something really fucking stupid. Cover me, kay."

"Do not give in to your fear!" Vadim yelled as the ogres made a dent in the defenders. "Archers draw your swords!"

He killed a couple of skeletons and then descended the ladder before it crowded, choosing to enter battle with his men on the ground, where he would be needed.

"Hold them back!"

Explosions of water sent skeletons flying, breaking them apart with fury. But the water did nought but get the defenders wet. Vadim did not see who caused the elemental explosion, but he sure was glad that the powerful adventurers were on their side.

The townsguard were giving a good accounting of themselves and he led a shieldwall-spear resistance to push back the tide of bone and metal while the adventurers drew the attention of the ogres and the powerful-looking leader.



The Skeleton Leader was just in time to see the log coming it's way and dove aside, leaving his close soldiers to get splattered and just barely getting away without injury.

It looked around to try and figure out who was weilding such magic and instinctively laid eyes on Adam. Letting out a whispery but loud command, it wrangled three skeleton warriors and led them forward toward Adam, dodging and sliping the fighting around them to get to the Druid.

As they neared him, the three warriors rushed Adam, with the Leader close in behind.



The Beserker Ogre took the full brunt of the anchor attack in it's knee and roared in pain as it was taken off it's feet. As it rose back up, it's mangled leg was difficult to stand on, rendering it slower than before.

It caught sight of Arthur and roared again, angrily, as it swung it's club overhand to come crashing down on the man. Not caring who if it hit friend or foe, it tried to smash Arthur over and over again in it's rage.



The Armoured Ogre was about to come to the aid of it's Beserker brother, making an irresistable force against Arthur, but it heard the taunts directed it's way by James. It took a step toward the man with the anchor, but it knew enough of the Common Tonge that it could not help but be angered by the man in the robes.

It turned to James and beat it's chest before charging the little bastard, meaning to teach him a lesson and end his life.

When it got close, a sudden beam of light hit it in the face and felt like it's eyes were burned out. It's head rocked backward and it was completely blinded. Then it recoiled in pain as the townsguard set upon its legs, digging their spears and shortswords in the spots where it had no armour.

All it could do, for the moment, was swing blindly.

It missed most of it's swings, but managed to hit one guardsmen, the giant machete-like sword crushing and tearing armour and flesh. Another blind sweeping swing was on target for James, looking so powerful it might cut the Cleric in half.



The townsguards efforts combined with Zell and MacKensie was barely enough to hold back the overwhelming odds on the wall. But with no more than 15 of them to start with, each death of the defenders made the odds against them even greater.

At least all the climbers were finally done getting over the battlements and no more would show up, as the rest of the raiding party went through the gate. If they could just win the fight for high ground, then a significant portion of the defense was done.



"Thank you! Thank you so much," the woman replied to the three adventurers, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Segreant Harold, trusting that Clive, Kyouka and Fenna could handle the task, took the arm of the woman. "Come on, we have to go."

The woman trusted the adventurers too. "Be swift," she said to them, parting ways.

...

Selica started screaming when she saw the skeletons. They were like something out of her nightmares. She felt trapped. She could've got down and ran, but the way opposite the danger was barred by the river that flowed through town. And so she stayed in the tree, screaming for her mother.

The skeleton minions might've missed her had they not heard her. Unfortunately they now had a target and made towards the crying girl with intent to climb the tree and put an end to her life.

Adam was momentarily distracted from his part in the battle by James' large beam of light and a huge splash of water. "Very impressive," he thought. He wanted to see how everyone else was doing as well, but he remembered that he still had work to do. Anything beyond seeing two ogres getting kneecapped and blinded respectively would have to wait. This renewed focus came at the right time too, as the man saw the large skeleton and three smaller ones start to charge right at him! The fear of death returned to him as Adam realized there were no more logs or plants nearby to manipulate now.

Whether out of insight or desperation, the man had an idea. "If the others have strong magic, maybe I do too." And as if he had done it a hundred times before, Adam summoned three large roots from the ground, each of them rising from below one of the three regular skeletons. The force of doing so shattered their bodies into pieces, instantly turning the odds of the battle in the man's favor. The ease of which this all happened amazed him, but there were more important things to think about right now.

With renewed confidence, a strategy instantly appeared in Adam's mind, and he executed it immediately. From where he was standing, he had the roots to his left and right try to encircle the armored skeleton like a crab's claw. At the same time, the man had the middle one attempt to slam the creature of bone to the ground. Hopefully one of the stems would impact the creature like the other skeletons had been. As this process happened, Adam stayed alert, wanting to be prepared for whatever happened next.