[IC] Tales of the Black Order: The Old Gods

[Arthanus]

-=Fort Gansforth, Sedan Territory near the Takari Border=-

The mighty Fort Gansforth has stood as Sedan's first line of defense against the creatures of Takari since the fall of the Beasts. But today the once legendary Fort lies in ruins, its gates splintered and shattered its mighty walls cracked and crumbling. The Brave knights of Suldan tasked to defended its walls now lay slaughtered their bodies littering the once beautiful courtyard. A horde of Orcs now stand before the keep cheering at their victory, while a red skinned Orc stands on the overhanging balcony holding the Knight Commander over the edge. "Today we have shown the filthy Humans exactly why they used to fear our kind! Why they will fear us once more!" The Orc yelled to his troops who gave a cheer at the words. "We now have a land to call our own and this is just the beginning! Soon the Bloodfang Clan will become stronger and subjugate these pitiful Humans! We will return them to their rightful place!" He boasted just before tossing the Commander off the balcony leaving the broken corpse to rot with his men. The orcs below cheered in victory, a dreadful cheer that spread out for miles around the keep.

[Arthanus]

It has been three weeks since the fall of Fort Gansforth, in that time Orc tribes have flocked to the area to join the Bloodfang Clan under the guise of making the Orc race great again. This swell of Orcs has lead to raiding and pillaging across the countryside and putting the Sedan's Kinghts heavily on the defensive trying to keep back the Orc threat. And after much debate the Sedan Senate have chosen to reject the Order's offer for help declaring this invasion as an act of War and refusing to let the other nations see them turn to the Order just to drive back some Orcs. Not seeing any other options the Order has sent out a 500 man hunting party into the Takari Wilds who's sole purpose is to take the head of Thresh Bloodfang.

It has been one week since the hunting party left Dragon's Maw and three days since they crossed into the Takari Wilds. Already the Order's Hunting party has faced plenty of Orcs and other creatures flocking to the Bloodfang Banner proving that if this Orc isn't slain soon that this threat could become something all to real to the Sedan people. The party approaches one of the final hurtles before reaching Fort Gansfoth, The Darkfang Pass, A valley ripe for ambush with an Orc Encampment making its home in the center almost as if waiting for the Order's arrival.

-=Order Camp Command Tent=-
"Are you sure we only want to send this group?" General Kaldor asks looking over a table with a crude map of the area sprawled on it. "Yes, you should know not to question me by now. This group will be more than up for the task, or do you doubt any of your 500 handpicked soldiers for this mission?" Liang shot back at him while moving to place wooden pieces onto the table. "It is a simple strategy even you should be able to understand "cut off the head and the rest shall fall" easy enough" She continued. "Fine as long as our scouts information is accurate then this team will be able to pull this off" Kaldor says getting up from the table and hands a piece of paper to one of the messengers in the tent. "Go summon these people here. We have a special roll for them in the upcoming battle." The messenger nods before running off.

-=Order Camp Fire Pit (or one of them)=-

"Alright, Alright I'll tell you one I lost alright, will that make you happy?" Siegfried mocked sitting around the fire with his nightly crew to entertain. "There was this one Bastard Dreg, literally a Bastard. He was the illegitimate Child of the ringmaster, everyone knew it even him, but his father couldn't publicly claim him because of the fact his mother had been a Slave. But the bastard always found a way to rig his fights. Worst time he ever got me was the time he poisoned me right before a match. Someone slipped something into my drink and by the time I walked out into the Arena I couldn't tell which one of the bastards to hit. I spent a good five minutes flailing around my weapon trying to find the prick and I got hit more than enough times, still have some scars," He says while lifting a bit of his shirt to show off a scar on his left side. "Eventually I just got tired of it threw away my sword and was able to get my hands on the little bastard. Was able to snap his arm before he bashed me in the face with his hilt and I went down. I was out of the fights for a few days that little shit spent two months recovering before he was out in the Arena again." Siegfried says while looking around. "How about any of you got a good story to tell?" He asks seeing if anyone is willing to speak up.

[BKburke]

Jack listened to Siegfried as his story of the pit went on. He sat a little from the flame than others. He waited for Siegfried to finish his story and was about to speak up until he heard another. "Hey Jack. How about you take off the helmet? Gods know you don't ever go without it. You can't be that ugly." Several men laughed at the gesture. Jack smirked. "Fine." He slowly reached for his helmet and removed it. Revealing the left half of his face to be covered in old 3rd degree burn scars. The group went silent. The man who asked spoke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." Everything always was kinda awkward with Jack. His reputation and dead stare made it easy. "His name was Spit Fire." Jack said. His voice would bring chills which was arrange considering they were sitting next to a fire. "The BlackIron clan hired me and a mercenary group to deal with bandits trying to steel their metal workings. It was pretty easy. Bandits were organized but still comparable to simple minded fools." Jack's eyes widened as he gazed into the campfire. "We had no idea the power their leader had. Spit Fire was an incredible fire mage. He burned my entire group alive with one blast. I was a bit farther away so I survived. He thought he killed me though so I guess I got lucky. The Clan farmers foumd me crawling back. It was too painful to walk. They treated me well." Jack sighed. "They made me this armor and it helped me savagely murder Spit Fire." Jack stood up. "I'm going to take a walk. Any care to join me for a round of awkward silence?" Another man smirked. "Sure that was your first joke ever."

[Happy Go Lucky]

Denzel refrained from joining the whole group around the campfire, much more comfortable standing a few spots behind everyone else, sipping from a waterskin pouch on his side, its contests slightly lukewarm, though it did its job washing down whatever food was rationed to him for the night. He kept his eyes on Siegfried and Jack, listening to each of their stories, some tragic, some funny, some boring, though each of them had a story, though he wasn't about to go blabbering about his own backstory, the last things people needed was a depressing backstory to lower moral, and jacks awkward face reveal was no different. The moment he stood up and insisted he was going to take a walk, Denzel found himself moving on instinct, despite his shyness he approached Jack, and laid a hand on his shoulder, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Relax, Jack, there's no need to leave, you don't look nearly half as bad as you think...! Trust me, as a Medic, I've seen worse, and they all found love and bliss sooner or later. Come, sit back down." He spoke softly.

Denzel sat close to jacks spot and warmed his hands near the crispy hot fire, smiling gently at the feeling of its temperature, relaxing and peaceful at the same time. He held his hands out, as if he were awaiting food, as a small orb of light swirled around his hands and rose up before the fire, the flames absorbed the white light, and with it, breathed it out, enveloping the crowd around the flames in a gentle, relaxing aura, soothing them with its medicinal light.

"Now... How about we all enjoy a more pleasant story? I'm sure someone around here has some loved ones back home? I have a few friends back home in Harazan, old patients i'd love to hear about, see how they're doing! Last i heard from a friend, he got married, and had a beautiful daughter...! Heh, even times like these, there's always room for a little love, brilliant, don't you think?" He asked to the other members around the fire.

[Falka]

All I saw was blood, all I could hear was the howling of the people who thought they had triumphed as I held Kido's head in my lap. He was in pain. So much pain. And all I could do was watch as he slowly drifted away. For days, all I could do was mourn and weep about my loss; I loved him and he loved me. I'd lost hope, became distant with the people whom I have called my family. In my home, all I did was sit there unmotivated by life. I didn't want to live anymore.

And that's when it hit me.

Kido would not want to see me like that. He'd want me to carry on, trying to find my own happiness even with out him by my side. But I took it in a different way. I wanted to kill every last one of them. I trained and trained, hoping that the invaders would come back so I could avenge Kido's death. Soon, I was fully engulfed with my obsession for revenge. I was angry, miserable, even.

Now I realize that the way of the Bushido had almost slipped my mind. But I now remain bitter and unhappy, aware that I have changed. I've changed so much to the point where I almost couldn't recognize myself.

---

Saidani sat with the group, listening to the stories that had been passed around: some were melancholic and some were joyous. No one was holding back from what they wanted to say, whether or not their stories would be anything worth listening to. Siegfried reminisced about the time he'd lost a fight, Jack had taken off his mask and made those around him fall silent, and Denzel attempted to change the mood and bring things into a more positive light. The woman looked at all of them, only interested in drinking her night away just to make it go by faster. Her brow rose as she further listened to Denzel's words.

"Now... How about we all enjoy a more pleasant story? I'm sure someone around here has some loved ones back home? I have a few friends back home in Harazan, old patients i'd love to hear about, see how they're doing! Last i heard from a friend, he got married, and had a beautiful daughter...! Heh, even times like these, there's always room for a little love, brilliant, don't you think?"

This made her roll her eyes in irritation, coughing to cut in. "In times like these, love will only get you hurt," the woman snarled, crossing her arms as she did so. "It's a bit foolish to think that there is room for love at all," she continued on, blowing the strands of hair from her face. What she said was what she believed, and although what she said may have sounded harsher than it should have, Saidani held no apologies in mind. "Well aren't you a bit bitter?" A man chuckled as he looked over to her, "c'mon, luv! I'm sure you'll find love soon!" This statement made her even more irritable, causing her to snap back, "and I'm sure you'd like to have my foot up your-" Her words were cut off by laughter towards her demeanor. "Lighten up! Quit your fussin', we're all having a bit of fun here!"

[Arthanus]

Siegfried listened to the stories gave a grin at Jacks burns. At least he wore it as a sign of pride unlike the branded mark under Siegfried's mask. It felt like a lifetime ago yet this mark would never fade and most who saw it never quite looked at Siegfried the same. A slave was a slave even in the order that was one lesson he had learned over the years. Siegfried's mind drifted for a bit as he gazed into the fire he was well aware of the spell the mage had cast but knew the boy was a healer and in fact enjoyed the bit of comfort the flame gave. It wasn't till the Samurai woman made a fuss before Sieg came back to the real world.

"What I believe our lovely little flower was trying to say was that when it comes to the Order love is a painful thing to most." Siegfried stated, "Lots of us have had loved ones die, some are fulled by hatred for whatever caused these deaths, some of us had to leave our families to join the Order, and some have long chased love never to receive it in return." He continued before one of the other around the fire spoke up. "Right, this coming form the man who chased down the Reaper who recruited him for a year before she sent your ass back to Dragon's Maw drugged up so much you couldn't move for three days!" The man yelled and a few of the men started laughing. "Ahh to be young and in love again. But seriously had you seen under that mask? Long midnight black hair, deep purple eyes, and a perfect face, and she could kick some serious ass what wasn't to love" Siegfried said laughing himself for a bit. His gaze then fell back to the fire.

He started to let himself relax a bit something he hadn't done since they had Entered the Wilds. Even in a camp with this many members of the Order the air was tense almost everyone was on edge. This land did not belong to humans and the longer they stayed the more unwanted attention they would draw.

[BKburke]

A man in the back chuckled. "Well hell. Between Saidani and Siegfried, I got no doubt one of them is related to Jack for all the negative speech." Jack tightened his grip around his helmet as he out it back on. "I had forsaken my family. I don't have any as far as I'm concerned." Jack stance did not change he stood firm but something about always seemed to make him look tired. "Love is a strange thing. It's picking a random being and deciding to try and like them more than the others. It's best not to make attachments. Easier to kill when you have no worries of coming home to anyone". Jack turned his back to the group. "Like I said. I'm going for a walk." His foot steps soon faded away as Jack walked away from the crowd. He looked to the stars in the sky. "What would they think if they saw me now? Brother. I will find you again one day. The blade you bear is no longer yours."

[Arthanus]

Siegfried didn't know how long he stared into the fire but by the time he came back to reality most everyone else had gone off on their own. the only one left was an Order messenger. "You have been summoned by General Kaldor report to the command tent now." the man said before getting up from the fire and walking off to go collect the rest of the names on the list. Siegfried thought for a moment, "I could of sworn I didn't break anything in our scrap today I shouldn't be in trouble right?" he said to himself before getting up and stretching before starting to make his way to the command tent.

The messenger would make his way thought the Order camp delivering the same message to the other chosen members of the Order.

[Falka]

One by one, people began to leave the fire. Unsurprisingly, Jack had been one of the first to leave. Then, Siegfried who must have done something wrong. There was a small smile on her face, something she was trying to cover up. "Hmph. Arselings," the woman chuckled quietly, standing as she spoke, "well, I'll be leaving, too." As she stepped over her seat to leave, the man who she had snapped at spoke, "why, luv? And with out a sorry? I'm startin' 'ta think you don't have manners!" Her brow rose at him, attention now on him. Saidani sucked on her teeth before replying, "I don't need forgiveness from a fleabag, do I?" The woman flicked her hair back, beginning to walk away as she continued, " I do see a broken nose in your future, so I'm sorry in advanced." As she left the fire behind her, she could hear the sound of "oos."

That shut him up.

Saidani walked in silence, alone time interrupted by a messenger. Her eyes rolled as she faced them, head tilted, "now, what would Kaldor want with me?" She questioned the reasoning, shaking her head as she walked to the command tent, taking her sweet ass time.

( I'm tired as hell, but I wrote something ayyyyyyyYYYYYYYY )

[yuckeroni]

The soft murmur of voices laughing, speaking, reached her ears, disrupting any train of thought she had going on. Not like anything much was going on in her head, anyways. Most nights Marlis would have liked to sit at the campfire and indulge herself in a drink, enjoying the company of strangers. But tonight would not be one of those nights. Sighing, she brought her hand to run across the furs of her coat, every so often closing her fingers on a bunch and lightly tugging. Sometimes some of the hairs would accompany her fingers when she let go, but she didn't mind. It was old and was covered in tatters and tears, fraying at the ends and when she brought her nose to inhale, it smelled dank that she would quickly pull her face away.

Dragging her hands away from the coat she looked up and at the night sky, wondering how many seconds, minutes, hours, days, years she spent under it in this exact situation. Pulling her knees to her chest she tuned her hearing back to the distant campfire's crackling of wood and voices, however as every moment passed it seemed like the noise had died down. 'They must be done.' She thought, her trained ears now taking notice of a set of footsteps coming towards her. Turning her head to the side she noticed the messenger, and immediately she picked herself off the floor and turned her attention towards them. The messenger told her that Kaldor had summoned her to the command tent. She replied with a nod and watched the messenger walk away. Marlis rubbed her face with her right hand, groaning slightly as she trudged over to her destination. She was tired, but she told herself that she wasn't old enough to be complaining and give up yet.

[BKburke]

Jack had walked away hoping it some peace and quiet. He observed the night sky as went for his walk. Now that he thought about it, he had never really taken the time to look at the night sky. He had always been so focused on what was infront of him that it never accured to him to look up. He stopped walking as he heard footsteps approaching in the distance. Jack waited where he stood when the messenger approached. "General Kaldor summons you to the command tent." The messenger the ran off back to the camp. "Another reaper hunt perhaps. Maybe." Jack stated as he began to walk to the tent. It didn't take long for him to get there. Jack approached the tent bit did not enter. He asked for permission to enter and entered when it was granted. Jack looked at Kaldor as he entered. "Is this another Reaper hunt or is it possible that you may actually like seeing me?"

[Arthanus]

As everyone started to come into the command tent they were taken to the strategic map of the upcoming battle and were told to wait until the others arrived. Jack's comment was meet by a scoff from Kaldor, "Now who in their right mind would actually like seeing you Jack? You are here for a hunt, not one of your normal ones though join the others and I'll explain it soon." he commented not leaving his place at the table. It was clear that he was thinking over the battle trying to predict whatever the enemy would throw at them. Siegfried had been the last to reach the command tent and upon looking at the group assembled he gave a small sigh "Good, I haven't fought any of you recently I can't be in trouble" and Siegfried was quickly ushered to the table side.

The group stood in silence for a good minute as Kaldor continued to stare at the map "You very well know you are not built for strategy Kaldor leave that to me and tell your team there why you called them all here" Liang said as she came into the tent herself. Kaldor gave a small growl before looking up "Fine I'll leave it be for now. Alright everyone as of this moment the lot of you are now a special unit under my direct orders for the remainder of this mission. Are we understood?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer, "Good, now this here is a map of our upcoming battle and..." Kaldor began to explain before getting cut off, "As you can see our enemy a small orc army of about 300 has taken up a defensive position inside Blackthorn Pass right on the only road through the valley, the exact path we have to take in order to get to Fort Gansforth." she began explaining while taking a red block and putting at the opposite mouth of the valley. "This terrain is very advantageous to the Orcs as we will have no real way around them and it will be very easy for them to ambush us with arrows from the valley walls above. But luckily for us they can only position units here due to the terrain on the opposite side of the cliff." She continued while placing another Red block on the left side of the valley.

"That is where you come in." Kaldor butted in, "Our scouts have found a small path up ahead that can lead you up to that position where you will deal with whatever orcs you find up there." He explained. "Yes Yes, luckily our scouts have been looking for the Orcs in that area and say their can't be more than 20 of them up there. and for this group that many orcs shouldn't be a real problem." Liang continued shooting Kaldor a look for jumping into her briefing. "But that is only the first part of your assignment, after you clean up our archer problem you will have one more target. Our reports suggest that this orc clan is lead by a Shaman, and it doesn't take much imagination to think up how much damage an Earth based mage can do to an army in a valley." Liang said giving that a bit of time to sink in and giving Kaldor a look almost allowing him to speak. "After you clean up the Orc's on the cliff we need you to assassinate the Shaman before he can devastate our army. And with our opponents being Orcs as soon as you kill this Shaman their troops should break retreat back to their holes." Kaldor said taking his opportunity to speak.

"Now we know you are all capable for this assignment or else we wouldn't of chosen you for it. Each of you will be a valuable aspect to this team, But aside form Siegfried none of you have any real leadership experience. That being said Siegfried can't officially be made into a squad leader due to political reasons. So as our representative he will be watching over this group and seeing which one among you will grow to become a Squad Leader within the Order and shall have charge of this squad until we kill Thresh and are done with this mission." Liang explained and Siegfried nodded and Kaldor Stood stepped back from the table. "If you have any questions ask them now. Otherwise you are to be ready to move out in one hour. Siegfried will have the map to get you to the path but once you reach it. its up to you to impress him." He said waiting for anyone to ask anything. If no one had any questions he would dismiss them.

[Eodwyn Aether]

Laine laid in a tent, lost in his own thoughts. Being a blacksmith, Laine was never short of work so being left alone with his mind was something he had come to cherish, yet hate. For whilst it gave him some comfort, the memories of his darkest times always kept creeping back to haunt his mind time and time again.

Tonight was no different. Thoughts of all the carnage and death he had witnessed slowly started flooding his thoughts as he tried to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep did not come. With a muttered curse Laine slowly got up and walked out of the tent. As he did he was met with the warmth of a fire, and a chorus of hearty laughs.

“O great one, how you humble us with your presence. Why have you awoken from your slumber? We did not awaken thee from thy ever so needed beauty sleep did we?” one of the men chuckled. “No my oh so incompetent subject, I have awoken to bestow a gift upon thee, cherish it for only you shall receive it for you are indeed, very special. Now excuse me for I require a walk among the greenery.” Laine grinned slyly as he slowly stuck his middle finger up at the man, which then prompted yet another chorus of laughter.

As Laine walked he forced his mind to reflect on the past few days, which were the busiest. Laine personally had not seen as much battle as the others did, but most of his day was spent tempering blades, maintaining weapons and armor and making a steady supply of arrowheads. By the time nightfall arrived, Laine practically fell unconscious, accepting the sweet embrace of sleep and rest until the morning dawned yet again and his duty to the order beckoned once more. If he was being honest with himself, this expedition was one of the more tougher ones for him.

However he refused to show any form of weakness or tiredness, especially during an expedition as huge as this one. "You got this Eldor, Just a few more days then we would have taken that blasted fortress from them. And besides, you probably wont see much battle until the final showdown at least seeing as though you'll be helping around the forge and all that. Its practically smooth sailing from here on." Laine thought as he gave a slight smile at the night sky before walking back towards the camp.

A few hours had passed and now Laine sat at the campfire, as most of the others talked amongst themselves. The man that had teased him earlier took a seat next to him as he stared into the flames. “So got any stories worth mentioning yer highness?” The man snorted as he Laine a hard smack on the back. “Well there are a few, there was this one time wher…” Laine replied before being cut off by the messenger informing him that General Kaldor wishes for him to go to the command tent.

“Ah, stories for another time then friend?” The man said as Laine gave a quick smile and nod before walking off towards the command tent…

After the briefing , Laine stood in silence. Having rarely taken any delight in the act of killing, Laine was shocked and perplexed at the way he was feeling. He felt...excited. His body started pulsing with adrenaline as though his body was telling him this was what it wanted to do ever since they started off on their journey. “So much for smooth bloody sailing eh Eldor?.” Laine murmured with a smile before realizing he did so abit too loudly.

“U-uh I- mean if what they say is correct, the archers should be nothing more than a small nuisance at best, what worries me is the shaman. I really doubt he will be up there alone with a bunch of measly archers. Assassinating the bloody sod might prove difficult. Do we have any info on the Shaman himself? Do we know of any guard detail he might have with him? if so how many of them are there and so on and so forth anything that might give us an edge on the bastard?” Laine said with a weird cough as he awaited an answer.

[yuckeroni]

With her arms behind her back, she first stared down at the map laid on the table, then her gaze moved to watch Liang's hands as she moved the blocks around to emphasize her strategy. Marlis caught her habit fast and looked back up Kaldor as Liang explained the squad's leader situation. She had been confident that she would get her moment to lead a group for once, but when she heard that Siegfried would be a 'representative,' Marlis bit down on the inside of her cheek.

She wouldn't dare complain. Sure, he was a few years younger and maybe she didn't play well with others all that much, but she assumed that the years of experience would have at least played a factor in choosing such a role. Even though he wasn't exactly the leader and was supposed to be watching out for someone who was capable, Marlis didn't have the pleasure of having to 'impress' anyone. After side-eying her companion, her attention focused back on Kaldor who inquired if the group had any questions that needed to be answered.

Noticing that one of the men in the group was talking, she moved to watch him speak. It seemed that he was covering up something he said with a few questions on the Shaman, but for why Marlis wasn't exactly sure on. Near the end of the briefing she hadn't been concentrating all that much anyways.

[BKburke]

Jack listened somewhat persistently. The idea of a leader being chosen didn't really matter to Jack. He was there to get the job done and nothing more. He then turned to Laine. "You really should do your homework. Shamans among orc society are held almost if not same regard as the chieftain. Sometimes more so. I'm sure he will have atleast one or two experienced warriors. Besides, the archers should worry you. The shaman can protect just as much as they can protect him." Jack looked back at the map. "Shamans do have a weakness though. Like a book to a wizard. The Shamans staff is a target. They use it to channel a majority if not all of their power through it. I'm more worried however, about what beasts he can summon to his aid. We shouldn't take the Shaman lightly even if he loses the staff. He is an orc and is bound to stubborn and strong. I'm sure we will think of something when the time comes." Jack finished examining the map as he spoke. He then turned around. "I'm going to my tent to rest if that's all for the night." Jack then walked out of the command tent and headed to his to rest.

[Arthanus]

Kaldor grinned at the comments from Laine and Jack "Good to see that the two of you are putting more thought into this, but I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding, you are to clean up these archers before the Order reaches the battlefield. It will save us a lot of headaches." He said motioning to Liang to continue. "The Shaman will be located at the rear of the Orc army. He seems to be at some shrine preparing something. Once Our army meets the Orc's that should draw more than enough attention for your group to attack said shrine and kill the Shaman. Once you have his head throw it to the Orcs at the rear of their army and word will quickly spread." She clarified while grinning. "As for guards we have been able to confirm two Black Orcs at the shrine but other than that it will be a guess. Our scouts are relaying what they can back and we have sent Orders for any who come across your path to join your mission." Liang said before looking at Siegfried.

He nodded knowing what she meant, "Time to head out. that's going to be all the Information we get for now if you want to rest before we head out now would be the time we only have an hour to get ready." He said trying to remind the group before leaving the command tent. Siegfried would spend a good part of his hour at the Quartermaster making sure he had all the equipment he would need for the next few days.

[Happy Go Lucky]

Denzel frowned somewhat in disappointment when Saidani disapproved of his outlook on love, though his frown shifted when Siegfried spoke up about how painful love was to some people. It was true, Having your loved ones pass away or leaving behind a loved one forever was a terrible thing, the fear of never coming back and breaking the heart of your family by dying, but, Denzel had to interject, he had to bring some light to the situation, some hope to the group.

"Well, that's why I'm here...! I've a duty to make sure everyone gets back to their loved ones as healthy as possible one day! Nothing would give me further joy than making sure you all went back to your families safe and sound! And I promise, i'll try my best to uphold my duty!"

Denzel rubbed his hands together softly, warming them up on the white flames he made within the fire, keeping to himself after his speech, only to move away and eat in peace, seeing everyone else eventually leaving and going off to their tents. Denzel went into his own and sat upon the ground, staring at his staff and lantern carefully, smiling gently as the flames lit up, they always helped to brighten him up emotionally, despite the fact they were about to go into battle, he kept a strong face on him, he had to stay strong for everyone.

But before he could relax for long, an order member pushed into his tent, and summoned him to General Kaldor. Denzel didn't refuse or look questionably at the man, and merely accepted the command, getting back up onto his feet, he bowed with graciousness and left with the member of the order, towards the commanders tent.

Denzel soon enough entered the tent, and bowed towards the commander.

"Present for the meeting sir" He spoke, before the others eventually started appearing, and thus, sat politely behind the others, until the strategist came into the tent and proceeded to go over the upcoming plan for their next hunt. Denzel listened intensely, and absorbed all the information from both Liang and Kaldor, until eventually it came time to ask questions, Denzel had none, and knew exactly what he needed to do, keep his allies alive and well. He turned to the rest of his allies and smiled, holding his staff close to him, a little nervous, but he swallowed it down.

"Don't worry, Working together, we'll be able to pull through this without much trouble! Just don't put yourselves into too much danger! I might be able to heal you, but I wouldn't WANT you to get hurt, okay? Never the less, we'll be fine. Just stick to the plan and handle things as they come! If we need to distract them, i can use some orbs of light to lure their eyes away... But..."

Denzel tightened his hands onto his staff, looking away, pensive it seemed. Though when he saw his allies staring he meekly looked down, awkwardly laughing lightly, before his smile drizzled into a worried frown.

"Do we... really have to kill them though...?"

[Arthanus]

Siegfried made the most of his time stopping by the Quartermaster to retrieve his equipment and prepare for the upcoming mission. Aside from his swords which had been in for Sharpening he also picked up two quivers of arrows as well as a spear. "It will make a good walking stick" he replied when someone asked him why he needed a spear along with his normal equipment. After securing his equipment Siegfried made his way to the mess camp to get a few food supplies. Sure there would be game to hunt along the way but some spices and vegetables were a nice addition. After his food and gear were accounted for Siegfried went to grab some personal effects before heading to the meeting point.

He didn't have to wait long at the edge of camp for the others to arrive, a few words were exchanged but not many before the group set off toward the hidden path that would take them to their first encounter with the Orcs. Luckily the path wasn't completely horrible and the group was able to make it up the side of the valley within half a day. Exhausted from the trip up the cliff with little to no sleep, the group camped near the valley cliff on their first day together. And with three days until the faithful battle time was starting to run out. After another day and a half of surprisingly peaceful sneaking through the forest Siegfried suddenly came to a halt holding up his hands for the rest to stop. he pointed ahead to a small clearing.

A group of Seven Orcs were in the clearing walking away from the group. They all seemed to carry a bow and some sort of melee weapon be it a club, ax, or sword and two of the Orcs were dragging a pair of wild Boars behind them. Overall the Orcs looked fine a little roughed up from their hunt but no real injuries, yet. "Looks like the orcs got hungry, lucky us. So as you were told one of you will take charge, so lets hear it anyone have a plan?" Siegfried asked waiting for one of the others to come up with a plan and take charge.

[BKburke]

Jack had already gathered his equipment when the time came to leave the camp. He didn't utter a word a simply followed the path he was given. The path wasn't difficult. An annoyance maybe but nothing to complain about. Jack had been through worse. The sode of the valley had a nice view. He looked to notice others were tired. "I'll take watch." The first night together was silent for Jack. He didn't care to speak with his company. The following day was rather boring because it required slow sneaking. It wasn't until Siegfried pointed at a group of orcs that Jacks attention was pure.

Jack listened as the idea of a plan was brought up. Jack spoke up but not loud enough for the orcs to hear him. "If I may make a suggestion. I could cut them off. My style allows me to flow between targets making me the hardest to hit. Saidani could hit from the right and Laine from the left. My flow between targets will aid in the confusion. That's when Denzel will reveal himself as a support. He will appear to be u guarded and will prompt an attack. Marlis could use her skills in stealth to watch him from a hidden location. Protect him without being seen. This could give them a false sense of our numbers. Any runners could fall to you Siegfried. Is that a plan you would agree with?" Jack waited for a moment. "I did my homework."

[Falka]

Saidani had nothing but her sword, longbow, short blade and armor: sacred things that she did not wish to leave behind. Her helmet sat on her head and her weapons were tied closely to her. - She didn't understand why she was stuck with them, but if she had to, then the woman would stick around to help. The group was made up of very interesting people, the innocent to the most seemingly nefarious. However, despite how interesting the group seemed to be, she didn't find it to be engaging.

Now, the group made their trek through the forest, stopping once Siegfried signaled it. Her eyes made their way to the orcs, head tilting as she listened to what he had to say and to what Jack pitched in. She rose a brow, her hand gripping on her sword's handle, "seems like you two know what you're doing. I'll just make sure this blade kills however many you need. Beasts like that deserve no mercy, right?" Saidani spat, keeping her eyes on the orcs. "Fights are based on deception. Just remember that. They'll be stupid enough to not recognize a trap." She didn't bother to throw in a plan of her own, Saidani had no desire to become a leader of a group. Her attention was now on each member of the group, eyes hopping from one to the other.