Luminosity

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Valerie didn't need much more than the initial tug from Markus on her arm to get moving again, as much as she wanted to rest. The threat of an imminent encounter with the orcs was enough to keep her adrenaline up, and let her keep expending energy. It seemed there would be no more running, however. They were faced with orcs on either side in the hallway. Valerie drew her sword, feeling a bit of panic well up within her.

It subsided a little when Markus seemed to still have a plan, and she ducked back away as he launched his fireball to put up a flaming barrier on one end of the hall. That would make things a little easier, but more were coming from the other side. She watched him run for the magic doorway, taking a moment to comprehend what he meant. He was going to open it, or something. Offer them an escape. That was good, but it meant that Valerie would need to withstand the orcs on her own. He said he only needed a minute, but she wasn't sure if she would last that long. She offered no argument, though. It would only delay him, and she needed to focus if she was going to survive.

The hallway was pretty narrow, which was a benefit to her. It would help her keep the orcs in front of her, stop them from attacking her flanks where she couldn't defend herself. The lighting wasn't great, but it would do, and the fire behind her actually helped. Valerie widened her stance a little, settling into a defensive guard. You can do this, she thought to herself.

Two of them came at first, the lead one with a two-handed axe and the second with a sort of spiked metal club. They charged fast, and for a moment Valerie thought they meant to run her over. Her instinct told her to get out of the way, but she couldn't let one get behind her, so she stood her ground and lunged. The decision surprised the axe-wielding orc, who was caught in the midsection with a stab and forced back. The second couldn't quite slip around the first.

Valerie went on the offensive while she had the chance, making several slashes aimed for the orc's torso. Her swings weren't as fast as usual, the orc able to deflect her attacks away, eventually returning them with strikes of its own. She had to dodge backwards, the axe head whoosing past her face twice. She planted her back foot hard after the second strike and lunged forward and up, driving the point of her sword under the orc's chin and ending its life swiftly.

Withdrawing the blade, the body fell to the floor. It was immediately used as a sort of jumping pad by the second orc, who came down hard on her with an overhead blow with the club. Valerie got her guard up and blocked it to the side, but the impact was heavy enough to ring through her arms, the effort of staying on her feet sending a burning through her tired legs. She stumbled backwards towards the doorway into the room Markus was in, momentarily putting a hand out to the wall for support.

The orc sensed her weariness and pressed the attack. This one was quicker, giving her no time to counter. Valerie was forced to block heavy blow after heavy blow, with less efficiency than she preferred, each one sending her another step back. An uppercut knocked her guard high, and the orc stepped in to throw an underhanded punch to her midsection, the blow connecting fully. Valerie staggered backwards fully into the doorway, coughing and gasping, briefly falling to a knee before she forced herself to her feet. Any wind she had left was long gone after that, along with her ability to mount a decent attack. She tried to focus on her breathing and her guard, and just staying on her feet. I can't take many hits like that...

She could hear more of them coming, but the one in front of her wasn't done yet. At full strength she would have been fast enough to outmaneuver, but Valerie was exhausted and breathless. More swift and hard strikes came at her, and she tried to hold her ground to keep the doorway, to make sure Markus's back was covered while he worked. Had it been a minute? It was impossible to tell. The orc caught her flat footed and waiting for a strike, rushing in instead with a shoulder bash to her chest. She was knocked off balance, and the next strike bashed her guard entirely to the side. The orc spun about and swung the club in a wide arc.

With a heavy and wet thud the club struck Valerie in the side of her abdomen, the little spikes on the weapon digging in to her. She fell to the side with a moan of pain until she hit a statue of a noblewoman, the only thing that kept her on her feet. Her right hand immediately went to her side, where blood was escaping from the wound, running down onto the blue sash tied around her waist. The pain bloomed along her entire right side; her heart hammered in her chest, her legs threatened to give out.

Somehow she managed to stay on her feet and deflect the next strike, though she was forced further backwards into the room. The orc snarled at its wounded foe. Valerie forced herself to hold her blade with both hands, her right palm slick with blood. She blinked rapidly, fighting off the desire to collapse and trying to anticipate where the next attack would come from. She would have to; any more damage would almost certainly bring her down.

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

The ruins were gorgeous, a remarkable find, but Valerie couldn't pause even for a moment to appreciate them. They ran and they ran, through the open streets and away from wherever they heard the echoes of the searching orcs. There hadn't been so much as a minute to rest after Markus had teleported them, and Valerie was really starting to feel the effects. Her legs burned, her breathing came fast, fatigue starting to set in. Something told her the orcs would not tire as quickly.

But they were lucky enough not to be forced into a confrontation just yet, and they made it inside the massive structure that seemed central to the ruins. Finally Valerie could slow to a stop, pushing sweaty strands of hair from her face and trying to catch her breath. The pool of water in the center of the courtyard was as beautiful as any she had seen, perhaps due to the circumstances, and she made her way to it, falling to her knees beside it to scoop her hand in.

She washed off the wound on her arm first, examining it through the tear in her shirt. It was bleeding slowly, but the cut was shallow, and the pain wasn't too bad. She didn't actually use her upper arms too much in fighting, so it wasn't a serious injury. Valerie scooped more water into her hands to wash her face, and take a bit to drink before she stood.

She had no more idea where they were than Markus did. It looked as though no one, or at least no one civilized, had been here in many years, judging by the way it was overgrown. She wished she could stay to find out, but the howls echoed in the halls again, dangerously close. Her heart sank.

They were running again, still with no chance to catch their breath. Valerie was starting to suspect the orcs could smell them. They weren't leaving much of a trail behind to follow. She realized as they ran what sort of structure they were in, the obvious hints being the rows of statues, likenesses of the highborn. A tomb, and a very large on at that. Valerie tried not to think about the ominous implications or ironies of that.

She let Markus take the lead on examining the magical runes, as it was beyond her scope of knowledge. Mostly she tried to use the moment as another brief chance to catch her breath, though the orcs were still searching loudly, somewhere in here. She thought they might be getting closer, but it was hard to tell. She leaned against one of the statues, wondering if Markus was as winded. Perhaps he was just better at concealing it.

"Do you know what it is? Its purpose?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Magic relating to tombs didn't strike as the kind likely to be pleasant.

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Valerie felt the contents of her stomach rise for the briefest moment before everything was normal again, save for her sudden change in position. She'd expected it to be more of a shock, more of a strange sensation than that, but it was over in an instant, the teleport complete. Immediately she had greater things to worry about, such as being vulnerable in the open with orcs treacherously nearby. Markus took care of the most pressing threat, and they were off, racing first to the hill and then up it.

At any moment she expected a shout of alarm to be raised and for arrows to start flying over their shoulders from orcs in pursuit, but they never came. What came instead was a burn in her legs from the uphill climb at high speed. By the time they reached the top Valerie was winded and sweating, and eager to get inside and into some cover. The old wooden structure would do well enough for that.

It didn't look to be someone's house, as far as Valerie could tell. There was no bed and no pit for a fire. It would get cold in the middle of winter. Perhaps it was some kind of storeroom. She studied the designs on the cupboards, wondering if any of the symbols would catch her eye, and spark some memory of her history lessons as a child. Sadly, they did not.

She almost overlooked the skeleton in the room, but noticed it quite clearly when it suddenly came crashing to the ground, apparently disturbed enough by their entry. The sound made Valerie jump, her hand darting to the hilt of her sword at her hip as she turned towards it. It was perhaps the first unfortunate thing to happen during their daring little break for it.

It was immediately followed by the second, however. A moment after the skeleton crashed, an arrow whistled through the open door, just barely missing Valerie, but still skimming her upper left arm, leaving a bloody cut in its wake. She yelped in pain, instinctively sidestepping to cover and pressing her hand to the wound. Somewhere outside, an orc's attention had been drawn by the noise, and it'd seen Valerie clearly enough to know she did not belong here. It bellowed a guttural call to someone unknown number of orcs nearby.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," Valerie said, briefly examining the injury and preempting any concern from Markus. "We need to move." They would be overwhelmed quickly if they stayed, and though Valerie was still out of breath from the climb, she liked her chances of survival better if they fled than if they fought.

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

To say that Valerie was apprehensive was something of an understatement. Scared, even, and she couldn't deny it. It was the tension, knowing that one false step could give them away and see them slaughtered by orcs. Even the fights she'd been in earlier hadn't been so frightening as the threat of this one. Still, she was disciplined enough to bury her fear within herself, and focus on the task at hand. Stealth was not her most practiced skill, but she was quiet and careful enough to avoid detection with Markus's help, and hers in return when he needed it.

When the orc at last finished his business in front of them and returned to his kind, Valerie almost shuddered with the dissipating of tension. Of course the orcs were still a stone's throw away, but they weren't close enough that Valerie was worried they could smell their human flesh anymore. She met Markus's eyes when his hand settled on her shoulder.

A blink spell. Valerie couldn't say she'd ever been teleported before; her parents had never been too fond of the use of magic, especially on their own children. She didn't doubt Markus was capable of it, having seen what he'd already done... though the fact that they couldn't get all the way to cover in one jump was disconcerting. The thought occurred to her that it wasn't too late to turn back, get out of here while she still could in one piece. But if they didn't get to the bottom of this, no one would, not until these orcs had done some serious, possibly irreparable harm. No, she had to do this.

"I trust you," she said, taking his hand and squeezing.

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Valerie kept close to Markus all the way to the forest's edge, her weapon remaining in its sheath as long as she didn't need it. Unlike her partner's weapon it was quite easy to draw when needed. There was still some distance between them and the orcs, but the tenseness that Valerie felt was something she had to constantly fight to keep at bay, to prevent herself from panicking. Her mind was working at a mile a minute, distracting her from being quiet with constant thoughts of what would happen if they were discovered. A quick, bloody death at that point might even be the best case scenario.

Markus said something about the air, and magic in it. Valerie only half heard him, but the whisper held to pull her mind back to the task at hand. She couldn't sense any magic in the air, as she wasn't attuned to those sorts of things as he was, but he was willing to trust that he was right. What she did catch on the air was the scent wafting from the scene of the carnage ahead of them. It was a wretched smell of death, one that threaten to turn Valerie's stomach and the meager breakfast she'd had. She had to cover her mouth and nose to ward against it somewhat, at least until she could grow accustomed to it a little. She suspected that might never happen.

She followed his pointing finger to the ruins beyond the orcs in their path. Old and scarred stone structures delving into the earth. She couldn't guess what sort of artifacts they might find inside, or what dangers, but she was willing to bet Markus wasn't pointing them out for their sightseeing potential. Valerie couldn't help but think that this wasn't normal behavior for orcs, savage though they were. Laying out the bodies like that, and the pile of skulls... it all seemed a bit much for a feast on the dead. Perhaps the ruins could explain it. Assuming they could get in and out alive, of course.

"Okay," she whispered back, lowering her hand from her face momentarily. "We need to get inside without being seen."

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Any sort of relaxed mood she'd been in disappeared quickly enough after they got moving. The cold became an afterthought to Valerie once they were no longer protected by their shelter; being vulnerable to attack from any side at any time had to take precedence. Still, Valerie kept a cool head. Her blade remained sheathed while she made her way through the wilderness, though she often kept a hand lightly resting on the hilt. She could have it out and ready to fight in the blink of an eye if needed.

She tensed visibly at the deep roar in the distance. It echoed off the trees, making it difficult to tell which direction it was coming from, and for a moment Valerie was unsure if they were about to be attacked or not. Wary of making too much noise or making herself too visible, she looked around in place, but located no threat. It had to be further off, then, and unrelated to their presence. It wasn't just one voice, either.

"Right," she said, nodding and stepping forward. She fit her foot into his hands, and pushed off of his shoulder as he gave her a boost up. With the help she was able to clamber up on top of the rise and get to a knee. Valerie took a moment to confirm that there was no immediate threat waiting for her before she turned to help Markus up. He was certainly heavier than she was, but with some help he was able to ascend smoothly enough. She wiped dirt from her palms on her pants and nodded to him, taking a steadying breath and heading forward cautiously through the trees.

"It sounded like it might have been an army or something," she quietly speculated, worried. Admittedly, she'd never heard what an orc army preparing for war would sound like. Perhaps it was just another war party. Regardless, Valerie didn't expect they would survive long if they were discovered by so many. They would need to be very careful.

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Valerie wasn't as good at waking up silently, and groaned softly when she came to. There was definitely a degree of soreness and stiffness to her muscles that she noticed, undoubtedly amplified by the cold that had seeped into their shelter and thus into her. She propped her head up slightly, pushing some hair from her face and rubbing gently at her eyes. She noticed Markus awake and busy with donning his armor, as well as the blanket that had been draped over her while she slept. She smiled to herself, and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"You didn't keep watch all night, did you?" she asked, stifling a yawn. She'd noticed Markus had remained awake while she drifted into sleep, and considering that it was obviously morning, he hadn't woken her for a shift on watch, which they hadn't really discussed taking. It seemed so secluded a shelter as to render the effort of keeping a watch mostly meaningless. All the more reason she hoped Markus hadn't passed on a chance at a decent rest on her behalf.

Slipping out from under the blanket, Valerie also felt the cold sharply. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed for a bit of meager warmth while she chewed the last of the food that remained to them. Not much, but enough to sustain her while they got moving. Getting moving was the important part, as the issue of the cold would fade away then, too. To that end she tried to get ready quickly, tugging on her boots and tightening them. She hastily tied up her hair into a bun before strapping on her breastplate.

Once she was all set to go, she stood and buckled her sword belt around her hips. The blanket she neatly folded and offered back to Markus with a grin. "Thanks for this, by the way."

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

Valerie wasn't sure what that kind of experience would do to her, how it would compare to how Markus had changed. If she could survive it at all, of course. Her fortitude was not of the same caliber that Markus had built his up to... but maybe it was things like that that made it so. She had no desire to test it, of course, but considering her line of work and her willingness to take risks, she wondered if it wasn't simply a matter of time. Sobering, indeed.

But the food was ready to take her mind off of it, and Valerie sat up to eat. She took the throwing knife from Markus with a mock daintiness, as though she was being treated to some kind of delicacy in her family's dining hall. She snickered lightly, and took a bite. Delicacy it was not, but it was far more nourishing than any treat she'd had growing up, and she found she appreciated it quite a bit more.

When they were both full and satisfied Valerie's sleepiness began to creep in, and she eventually toppled back over onto her bedroll, untying her hair and yawning. The yawn turned into a stifled giggle halfway through as Markus held back a burp. "No, go right ahead," she laughed. "Just keep it down. We don't have any leftovers to share with orcs and goblins, after all."

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

"I can't imagine what that must have been like," Valerie said as she worked on the wound. She tried to imagine it, too, but of course it wouldn't compare to a real experience. To be so badly wounded as to be unable to move, in the chaos and horror of a battle... she nearly shuddered. All of her own experiences with bloodshed had been on such a smaller scale, and even the bloody skirmish she'd been involved in the day before had been over so fast. There was hardly any time for the mind to process it.

"I think it's safe to say I've been lucky in that regard, at least so far." She half smiled at a memory. "Worst I can claim is falling from my horse as a child, the first time I lost control. Broke my arm and two ribs." It certainly hadn't been funny to her at the time; maybe it was the feeling of simpler times that brought the smile to her face. "There wasn't much bleeding involved there... just an excess of crying. There, all done."

The cut wasn't really worthy of being stitched up, nor was it bleeding severely, but it was at least cleaned and bandaged adequately now. She scooted back a bit and lay back on her bedroll, staring up at the protective canopy of vines and settling her hands atop her belly. Very few of her friends had called her Val back home, and none of her family, but she didn't mind. It was probably a better name for a mercenary woman, after all.

Her stomach rumbled, and she sighed. "Ugh. The food about ready?"

Tombs and Blades (Swords of the Cutlass Coast) (Lum & Poo)

It was a meager shelter for the night, but Valerie felt it was more than adequate. She was very tired from the day's travel and fights, and she knew she'd be sore tomorrow. They would have no choice but to press on, and a good amount of rest would help with that. She dropped down behind Markus after he gave the all clear, and began work on getting the fire all set up while he cleared a hole for the smoke.

"Steamed ham sounds like a feast right now," she told him. She was famished, her belly grumbling in dissatisfaction every now and then. It seemed to be setting in more now that she could finally relax, and the smell of cooking dinner wafted up to her nose. Valerie distracted herself by removing her gear and getting it in order, starting by unbuckling her sword belt and setting her blade and dagger down next to her bedroll and pack. She untied her breastplate and pulled it away, briefly checking herself for any injuries she hadn't noticed before, but thankfully she found nothing. She could only hope she'd be so lucky in the days to come.

Setting her armor aside as she sat down, she couldn't help but smile at the compliment from Markus, her cheeks flushing slightly red as she gazed into the fire. "Thanks. Though I think we probably shouldn't start keeping score on the times we save each other's lives." Though it was a joke, and Valerie did feel content with how well she'd done, the fight with the ogre had still been a near disaster, in large part she felt due to the ineffectiveness of her flank attack. Still, it was good enough to give Markus an opening.

"We've made a good team so far." It was then she noticed him wince beside her, and saw the small wound on his side. She wasn't able to stop herself from appearing concerned. "Let me take a look at that?" It was in a difficult spot for him to treat, likely the reason he hadn't noticed it until just now. It wasn't serious, but it would be unwise to leave untended.

Once she had a few of her medical supplies Valerie settled down on her knees beside him. "Hold your shirt up." She began cleaning and tending to the wound. She was no healer or doctor, but any adventurer hoping to live more than a few weeks on the road needed to know how to treat minor wounds like this.

Valerie brushed a strand of hair from her face, focusing. "Have you ever been seriously injured before? On a job, or otherwise?"