Client: Duke of Tharkas
Manpower: 3
Difficulty: 2
Reward: 10,000 Gold

Task: Defend Mineth Burg from destruction under the crushing hand of the Orcs. Word has been brought from the Iron Crag to the Ruins of Tharkas City that a host of 150 Orcs are marching on Mineth Burg. The little town in the secluded valley has finally been discovered by the Daemon Lords, and they are going to destroy it. In response the Duke of Tharkas has sent 80 Knights, over half of the Knights that live and defend the ruins of Tharkas City, down to the burg to help defend it.

He's now sending you to scout it out and bring word of victory or death. And if they need it, he pleads that you assist them. You're vastly outnumbered, and the male villagers may be willing to help, but there's neigh more than 20 of them at best, and they'd be wearing leathers and carrying dull axes. Try to protect them all if you can.

Mineth Burg is two days journey NorthWest of Tharkas City where you'll start your journey. The journey will end after the battle of Mineth Burg when you return to the City to speak to the Duke. Good luck.

“So this is where my journey leads…this is where my story truly begins. I can’t look to the past, not any longer; if I want to be who I was destined to become, I must look to the present and future…”

Zavier stood within the center of what apparently used to be the grand city of Tharkas. He had heard many stories of the legendary city, where power ran rampant and the people lived in harmony. It was a city of justice, a city of honor, and a city of loyalty. Now, with the crumbling pillars being over taken by weeds and vines, it was hard to envision it in that way. Zavier walked the course of it, looking for anything that would remind him of…well, anything. It was always said, in his village at least, that sometimes an overturned rock, or even the dead carcass of some insect or animal could trigger memories, hidden memories, memories that we possible would never ever regain otherwise. On his way to Tharkas city, he had looked down paths, sometimes even straying away from main roads and even remotely-traveled paths to look for signs. He had found carcasses of birds and mammals, as well as reptiles, but he hadn’t remembered anything. He had hoped that by coming here, he would remember something: an old building, a broken, tattered sign, or even a familiar face. However, he hadn’t seen either of them since he arrived, and he doubted that any of them still existed since the apparent destruction of the city.

He looked at some of the guards, many of them with grim looks upon their faces. Some of the men seemed to have a pride that radiated from their very core, and Zavier was intrigued. Even after having lost their beloved capital, however it had happened…even after their capital, their home and symbol of purity and truth had been destroyed, the guards still remained as confident as ever. Zavier admired that, as much as he felt he could. He hoped that when the challenge came, he could meet it with the same perseverance and strength…but most of all, the same courage and fortitude.

Suddenly, a man came screaming into the town, riding a horse that appeared at the point of over exertion, the man looking no better. “We have been attacked, we have been attacked!” he screamed as he made his way towards the gate. Zavier followed, wondering had caused a man to almost lose his mind over to insanity.

“Halt stranger. What is it that you would trouble our sire with?”

“I come from the village…of…Mineth…Mineth Burg. The orcs, those horrible orcs…slaughter…a horde on the way, no way…must…I….”

One of the guards rushed forward to grab the man as he gave out, his horse following. A man hurried up from the crowd that had gathered and knelt next to the animal. After a few moments he looked back to the group, sympathy growing deep in his eyes. “The poor beast is gone…it seems as though it has been riding non stop, its heart just couldn’t take it. But from Mineth Burg? Why, I dare say, that’s over 60 miles from here…”

“More or less 80, which is amazing far for a horse, especially one of this size.” One of the other guards said, walking up to everyone. Many people moved out of his way, some bowing, others saying kind and praising words. This apparently was the captain of the guards. He quickly spoke with some of the other guards, getting a feel of the situation. “So he seemed to exclaim about a horde of orcs…this could prove incredibly drastic for that town. I pray to the gods that he is wrong, or at the very least, over exaggerating from exhaustion…”

The guards went away, and Zavier made his way slowly back towards the east wing of the town. “So, a group of orcs seemed to have attacked a village…but why is that village so important, and why would the orcs move in that large a number unless they wanted something? Although I guess, to orcs, simply destroying us is enough of a reason.”

Zavier made his way to a make shift building that was designed, at least temporarily, to serve as an Inn. As he walked to the old lady at the counter, she looked at him slowly, as if sizing him up.

“Excuse me ma’am, how much is the fare here?”

“It’s 80 gp, upfront.”

Zavier put on his most charming face he could muster, short of batting his eyes. “80 gp?...I only have 60. Will that do?”

“Hmm…well, alright, I guess so, but don’t think that your adventurer-charm worked on me. I just knew you didn’t have any money, that’s all.”

Zavier smiled in spite of himself. “Tonight to sleep, tomorrow, my work probably will begin.”



Zavier awoke to, as much as he could tell, little after dawn. He made it outside just in time to feel some of the morning rays of light that bathed the city of Tharkas. “How many times recently have I been able to watch something like this?” He closed his eyes and relaxed as a nice breeze began to blow, and for a few minutes, he forgot all of his worries. Everything that bothered him, even the origins of his birth, seemed to fade away, and all that mattered was that he was calm…and for once, completely connected.

After awhile, he realized that time was getting away from him, and he walked back towards the gate he had been to earlier. To his surprise, the main guard was talking to a group of citizens, almost heatedly. He moved in closer to get a better shot at listening in.

“Don’t worry, a group of our finest guards are on their way as we speak,” he was saying, obviously answering the question someone had posed to him.

“What about my family?! How will I know what happens to them? If what that man said was true, they could be dead by now!”

”Calm down, calm down. We sent 80 of our finest guards to help protect the twon…even if they are outnumbered by the orcs, I am positive that they can handle the untrained brutes with relative ease. However, it is true that we have no way of knowing how things will fare…” Here the man seemed to halt, looking around at the crowd. Every stopped to listen to him. “Alright, it seems wrong to ask, but I must. Is there any here who would go scout the village and inform me of its happenings? I must warn you, however, that the road will not be safe, and when you get there, you might find the entire village ransacked, and the orcish horde upon you. This trip…does not promise you your life. That said, is there still one of you who would go?”

The townspeople began to settle down, each person mumbling something. Many of the men, who were so adamant about going just a few short moments ago, began to turn their heads, not daring to look into the eyes of the captain. The captain seemed to sense this, and is voice became softer. “Is there no one who would do this for us? No one?”

“I will.”

The crowd began to turn as one as everyone turned to look at who had just spoken. Zavier made his way through the crowd unopposed; as he walked, people moved out of his way. Whether it was from respect of his decision or belief of him to be insane or foolish, he did not know. “I will go to Mineth Burg.”

“You, my son, are indeed courageous. Do you understand the risks involved? Do you truly understand the possible outcomes?”

“I do, I understand everything…but if someone doesn’t go, we may never know what happens.”

“I understand. Then warrior, I wish you a safe trip. We would feast in your honor, but time is of the essence. Take what you need, and begin your trek. I assume you know where the village is?”

“I do.”

“Then Godspeed my friend…Godspeed.”

Zavier walked back the way he had came, people pointing and discussing him in hurried voices. Who was this warrior who had volunteered to go into Hell’s lair? Was he truly courageous, or was he playing a cruel trick on them?”

“I promise I’ll return,” Zavier thought as he grabbed his weapons and items that he had placed. As he stepped to the exit of Tharkas, he took one more sweep of the ruins.

“I have to return…I must.”

Crestierem wandered the shops in the once great city of Tharkas, buying supplies and gaining any useful information he could get, but all he heard about was a quickly spreading rumor that orcs were attacking a town a few days away. After hearing this story a few dozen times, Crestierem grew bored and gave up on trying to gather any information. After purchasing all the necessary supplies he'll need for the next few days, Crest headed for the gates to see a crowd gathering around a knight. Most likely the captain if they're giving him their concerns... Crestierem thought to himself. Still, Crest was interested in what they had to say, so he took a few steps forward to get in range.
”Calm down, calm down. We sent eighty of our finest guards to help protect the town…even if they are outnumbered by the orcs, I am positive that they can handle the untrained brutes with relative ease." The captain reassured. The fool. He's underestimating the orcs. The 'untrained brutes,' as he called them, are equal in brains, and surpass humans in brawn. Crestierem thought, tuning everything else out. “Alright, it seems wrong to ask, but I must. Is there any here who would go scout the village and inform me of its happenings? I must warn you, however, that the road will not be safe, and when you get there, you might find the entire village ransacked, and the orcish horde upon you. This trip…does not promise you your life. That said, is there still one of you who would go?” The crowd was silent. No one spoke out, even those who spoke bravely a moment ago. Hmph, there will be no volunteers. The knight will have to order one or two of his men to do the scouting for him. I guess it's time for me to leave. Crestierem thought as he began his original course to the exit.
"I will." A new voice rang out. Crestierem stopped to listen to the rest of the conversation. "I will travel to Mineth Burg." The new voice continued. Mineth Burg? That is the town in danger? Hmm...So the evils have found it a necessary target now... Crestierem thought, again tuneing everything out. The last time he had visited the valley village known as Mineth Burg, he was on a mission to reach the Western Wall with three other knights, and to reach it, they had to stop by the village to rest and resupply themselves before continueing their travels. Why he was sent to the Western Walls is still unknown to him. ...Seems I can't let the village become enemy territory now. Especially with its position on the continent. Crestierem thought slightly smiling to himself. His smile quickly faded when the volunteer began to walk his direction. Crest listened to the ruffling of his clothes and formed a mental picture. He "watched" the volunteer walk by through the piece of cloth that blinded him, always keeping his head turned toward the knight. Once the knight passed, Crest turned his attention to the captain and walked up to him.
"Excuse me, but I believe scouts usually travels in pairs. In case one of them dies or gets injured on the way." Crestierem said calmly. The captain turned around and examined the blind mage.
"Well, there are no other volunteers, and I can't force them to take the perilous journey either." The captain responded.
"Well, I'll be happy to volunteer my services to this cause." Crestierem said. The captain groaned, placing the palm of his right hand over his forhead.
"Just what I need. A courageous, or possibly mad, traveller paired up with an insane blind man to find out the fate of Mineth Burg..." The knight grumbled.
"It's interesting how many times insanity coincides with both courage and intelligence." Crestierem said with a smirk. "Fine, if I can prove that I'll be more useful than bothersome, then I could go, but if I don't, then I leave. Simple as that." The knight smiled.
"It's a deal." The knight said. The captain thought of how to test the blind man, intent on preventing him from going, but not wanting to put him in danger or waste time. Once an idea popped into his head, he placed his right hand in front of him with a number of fingers up. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"That's easy. Four in your right hand, and three in your left, behind your back..." Crestierem responded simply with a friendly smile. The captain staggered back in surprise. "I'm guessing by your reaction that I answered that correctly. Well then, I'll just wait for that other volunteer to show up and begin this little quest." Crestierem said as he walked towards the outside of the gate. The captain departed to attend to his duties while Crestierem waited for the one he will be travelling with, leaning against the wall as he waited. A few moments later, he would showed up. Crestierem waited for the traveller to pass him, then he would push himself off the wall that he leaned against, and follow in silence. Not entirely sure what kind of person his partner would turn out to be. Here I am again, travelling to Mineth Burg with a knight...but the circumstances of why I'm travelling to the valley village is completly differant... Crestierem thought with a sigh.

Kyo pratically stumbled through the great wooden doors of Tharkas. The road had been rough and wild, but he had finally made it to his goal. This city was his first step towards vengeance, his quest. He was seeking the murders of his brother and the same thieves that stole his blessed lance. A gaurd helped the weary traveler to his feet and directed him towards an inn. Thanking the military man, Kyo made his way down the indicated road.

His rest was a great relief for him. He slept for two full days, regaining his lost strength. When he finally awoke, he immediately set out to find Harad, a merchant that Kyo's father had implemented as the ring-leader of the murderous band. The only information that Father had given Kyo was that he had a shop located in Tharkas, it was called the "Desert Oasis." The young man scanned the busy marketplace around the inn he stayed at. Asking a passing stranger on the whereabouts of the store, Kyo was told that it was located in the first buildings of the town. In his weariness, Kyo had passed right by it on his way to the inn. Feeling foolish, Kyo thanked the man and made his way to the store.

Entering the establishment, Kyo walked up to the counter and requested the presence of Harad. The clerk went into a back room, coming back out with a burly, greasy merchant.

"Are you Harad?" Kyo asked, too impatient for formal introductions.

"No, I am Leroy. Harad put me in charge of this store." The man responded, a little bit of malice in his voice.

"Where is he?" Kyo asked again, still speaking quite quickly.

"Well, just waltzing into my store and ordering me around like this! It is UNHEARD of, boy." Leroy responded, literally spitting his dislike for Kyo.

"What will persuade you to tell me?" Kyo asked, a calm in his voice. He dropped his pouch of gold on the table.

"Hahahaha! You've got to be kidding me! Looks like only 2000 or 3000 gold in that little sack. Double it, and I'll tell you where Harad is." Leroy responded with a light chuckle. "If you can, boy."

"I'll return." Kyo said plainly, leaving the store.

Walking out of the store, Kyo searched for a source of money. The blazing sun scorched the young man as he tried several stores and inns, looking for a job, or charity. All of those leads lead to little more than a couple gold coins, which Kyo spent on a cold drink. After almost a full half day of wandering the monstrously large city, Kyo finally overheard a promising offer.

”Calm down, calm down. We sent 80 of our finest guards to help protect the twon…even if they are outnumbered by the orcs, I am positive that they can handle the untrained brutes with relative ease. However, it is true that we have no way of knowing how things will fare…” Here the man seemed to halt, looking around at the crowd. Every stopped to listen to him. “Alright, it seems wrong to ask, but I must. Is there any here who would go scout the village and inform me of its happenings? I must warn you, however, that the road will not be safe, and when you get there, you might find the entire village ransacked, and the orcish horde upon you. This trip…does not promise you your life. That said, is there still one of you who would go?”

A voice of acceptance followed the short speech. The crowd seemed to disperse afterwards. Another man, this one very mysterious approached the gaurd that had made the announcement. After, what looked like a test, the gaurd nodded his head and the man walked off, the same way as the man that had voiced his acceptance of the task. Approaching the gaurd, Kyo asked if there was any monetary reward for this quest. The gaurd told that the Duke had placed a reward of 10,000 gold to the man or men that completed the task. Kyo immediately asked for acceptance into the scout group. The gaurd took one look at Kyo up to down, making a concerned face, he shook his head telling the young Kyo that his figure did not match that of a strong adventurer. Depressed, Kyo turned to leave. Then for the crowd a woman screamed. A cloacked thief had taken the lady's gold poach. The gaurd went to stop the thief, but his bulky armor hendered his running ability. His call of chivalry kicking in, Kyo ran after the man. Even though he was pushing himself to the extreme, too many commoners blocked his path to the thief. Sighing, Kyo searched deep within himself, summoning up his innate powers of a Rionoliathnu Lancer. He soared above the large crowd with a single push of his legs. Cresting at about twenty feet, Kyo pulled his lance from his back, the shiny steel gleamed in the sunlight. Reversing his grip on it so that the hilt of the lance was in striking position, the Lancer descended onto the thief. The coward was stopped as the crowd peered up at the falling warrior. Looking up himself, the thief was smashed in the nose by Kyo's hilt. The man fell unconscious to the dirt road, his nose spilling crimson life blood. The gaurd finally reached the Lancer, shaking his hand for a job well done. Kyo asked again about the scouting job. Smiling, the gaurd told him to find the pair quick before they departed.

Gathering his items from the inn, Kyo went to the gates of the city, hoping his soon to be comrades hadn't left without him.

Crestierem waited for the knight who obviously took his time. During his waits, he "saw" something interesting. After he had left the captain, another person had spoken to him. And from what Crest could hear, the captain wouldn't allow the this volunteer to take the job, because of something about the man's build. A woman screamed, giving Crest immediate attention. Once he saw it was only a thief, Crest relaxed with a sigh. Tch, pitiful. In a time of need, a thief finds this the oppurtune time to go ahead and steal a pouch of gold...I guess it can't be helped, human nature. Crest thought. Either way, it doesn't concern me. Then suddenly, a figure flew out of the crowd to an incredible height, and landed ontop of the thief, rendering the thief unconcious. The person who had jumped the incredible height was the same person who had his offer declined a moment ago. Crestierem decided to take a second "look" on this character. The character held a pole-weapon with a blade at the end. A lance, the character held a lance which was all Crest really needed to find out what class this one was. Asking the captain again, this time his offer accepted, the lancer seemed to rush off and return quickly with numerous other items added on him. As the lancer approached, Crestierem turned his head skywards. Hmm...where is that other volunteer? Did he decide to quit? Crest thought slightly disappointed. No matter, I have no intention of backing down from this mission.

Once the lancer had reached Crest, he turned his attention back on him, pushing off the wall and stood up straight, facing the newcomer.
"Hello, my name is Crestierem," Crest introduced himself politely, giving a small bow. "You may call me Crest if you wish." Crest said, finishing his introduction and straightening up. "So, a lancer...you don't see too many of those in these parts. Come to think of it, I've rarely 'seen' any myself..." Crest added with a thought, smiling to himself. "...Huh...anyways, what made you accept such a treacherous mission?" Crest asked curiously...then after a thought had crossed his mind, he quickly added, "...If you don't mind me asking..." After a few moments of waiting, Crest "looked" to the sky again. "...I'm going to go ahead, the last one is taking too long." Crest said turning to the outside and began walking. "If you wish to follow, your, by all means, welcomed to do so. If you wish to wait for the other, your welcomed to do that as well." Crest said simply as he walked away, into the trees.

Hmmm...I guess knights are becoming a popular job... Crest thought as he trekked along, thinking back to all the other missions he had taken. On my first, there was Donovan, knight. Then in my second, Drayco, Kahlan, and Donovan again, all three knights...in my third, four knights I didn't bother learning their names...Then there was Valcrist from the Tournament of Champions...and an earlier encounter. Crest sighed counting the number of knights he had encountered. Too many people are thinking too highly of physical strength and not enough in anything else...it's a shame too. I've met two mages only, Lucille and Djinn...but there was no potential in them. I sensed nothing about them that might altar the fate of the world we live in...too bad... Crestierem was in such deep thought, that he almost missed a minor, but fatal, detail. A goblin jumped from ontop a high boulder, striking downwards with its axe to cleave the blind man in half. Crest jumped backwards, out of range of the deadly blow and fell on his back. Five other goblins came out of hiding to face their fresh meat. Crestierem sighed as he calmly got to his feet.
"I was wondering when you beasts would attack, I was starting to get bored." Crest said as he counted them. Six total. Two each if his comrades were with him. Crest pulled out two dirks, one for each hand, as he readied for battle. Crest became psyched about the battle at hand, thinking of nothing else except for the blood that will be spilled, but uncounciously, he wondered if his partners were beside him, or behind him.

Velvet had journeyed for about a week now. She had survived off of fruits and other wild foods for most of her journey, but her natural charm and innocence had also gotten her through some tight situations. This place was so strange to her, with so many strange concepts and alien laws, and she was having quite a hard time adapting. Velvet had finally discovered what "money" was, and that a "living" was a job that you had to do to obtain this "money."

Today, Velvet found herself looking down upon a strange formation of stones. Most of the stones were jagged and broken, but they were arranged in a circle. Inside the circle, there was a large number of crumbling houses, most of which were being fixed or mended by various townsfolk, mostly men but a few women were also willing to lend a hand. An important-looking man was surveying the rebuilding of the city, and it appeared as if they would be finished in no time.

The sound of pounding hooves reached Velvet's ears, and with at least a little trepidation, she turned to see a man astride a horse galloping towards her at full speed. The girl leaped aside to avoid the oncoming rider, barely avoiding being trampled. Miffed and disheveled, the young girl began to stride towards the city where the horseman was headed, determined to make him apologize for his impolite actions.

"I will," a voice rang out across the dilapidated village, followed by an explosion of babbling voices, which was then followed by another voice quelling the crowd. From the conversation, the young girl could gather that someone was being sent somewhere dangerous to find out about some people. Hardly anything worth knowing.

When the crowd had dispersed, the young girl headed over to the captain, who had also calmed the crowd earlier. He was obviously tired, judging by the gray circles beneath his eyes and his unkept hair, but he was willing to see her.

"Was there something?" asked the captain politely once seeing that she was a young woman.

"Yes, I wanted to go to this dangerous place that you spoke of just a moment ago," said Velvet in reply. This obviously took the captain aback, especially since the female elf looked to be only sixteen, despite her eighty years.

"You are young... I think it would be safer if you remained here, my lady," said the man, wiping his brow. "You would probably only be in the way."

Seeing that the man was going to be stubborn, Velvet took some more forceful action. About a half-hour later, Velvet exited the captain's barracks and began briskly walking towards the small village of Mineth Burg, where the captain had told her a band of fierce orcs were laying siege. The young elf from the woods set a rapid jog so that she could catch up with the warriors already heading out.


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Without warning the voice of GOD decended upon the grassy knoll that was Avalon. The remaining warriors who there stood found themselves in awe of the booming voice from above, that seemed to pierce the clouds, earth, and their very flesh. "Thou has shattered the restrictions of this realm like the wavering veneer of calm waters. For this trechary one of you shall perish and return to the lands from whence you came."

A bolt of lightning fell from the skies and split the ground asunder sending up gargantuan, jagged forms of the earth unstained by the bloods of many wars and the ever-pouring waters from the dark clouds above. This, indeed, was a warning. Then there was a light. Something unseen and unfamiliar to the darkened lands of Avalon which have been hidden from this pure essence for many a decade. When the light faded, Velvet was gone, returned to her homeland of Lienthala in the West, across the Innar Channels in the OUTER RIM. Never to venture forth unto the dark lands of the East without proper passage as provided by...

***Advertisement***: Your Local Ferryboat Bay Transit! Sending you everywhere you've wanted to be since 802 S.A.!

Though she was removed from this desolate land, all who bore witness to this uncommon event, the divine intervention of GOD, should consider themselves blessed. Not only were they basked in the warm light of the sun and holy spirit, the likes of which have not been seen in a great while, but their lives, too, were spared from the GOD's unknown wrath.

All should be lighter of heart on this day, until the deep gloom of Mineth fills their surroundings and the battle has reached its peak.

((This has been brought to you by:

A very irritated Admin by the name of Derhlith. Cool beans, huh? Now, Velvet, I did this just to make it more interesting as opposed to blatantly scolding you. But you, as stated in your registration, start out in the Outer Rim. Elves, like you are (being a Beast Tamer and all), begin in Lienthala, home of the Elves. And Lienthala, as stated, is in the Outer Rim. Now, you may spend the money at the Ferryboat Bay and travel to Avalon then join this quest, of which I will add an extra manpower, and some extra gold to facilitate you (not much though, since you did break the rules initially). But don't let this happen again.

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To Kyo and anyone else who is currently traversing the desolate lands of Avalon towards the secluded village of Mineth Burg:

I suggest to you, and I cannot express enough, the dire importants that rests upon your not recognizing Velvet in this quest until she properly returns by BOAT to Avalon from the Outer Rim. If you fail to remove her from your previous knowledge, introductions, and IC information, you shall be "smote" by GOD. --"Smote" = de-rewarded--

So Kyo, you'll probably need to edit your post, and Zavier & Co. need to keep that in mind. When Velvet returns, she is also unknown to all of you. Namely you Zavier as I know you know her outside of DI. Elves and Humans intermixing on peaceful terms hasn't happened since the 1,200 year anniversary of Peace in Hypeltheon, just 5 years before the Second Demon War broke out. So your knowledge of her would be next to nil, seeing as how only those of the "old world" and other important people of the High-Elf council traveled the Innar Channels to be at Tharkas Castle for the Celebration.))

"Well met friend. My name is Kyo, I hail from Rionoliathnu." Kyo said, answering the polite bow of the obvious magi with an outstretched hand. Taking the Lancer's offered greeting, the mage named Crestierem, or Crest, explained the missing third party member. Kyo explained the primary reason for the mission, gold. After the brief conversation, the mage left, having spent enough time waiting for the knight. Kyo thought that, although the mage looked strong, he would need help out in the wild. The knight would come, he was honor-bound to the quest. Making up his mind, Kyo walked out of the town after the mage.

The time passed in silence as the pair made their way slowly through the dense forest. The quite made Kyo nervous. His venture to the town had almost killed him, and now, that a single enemy had shown its face. The mage seemed at perfect calm, an obvious veteran of more than a couple battles. What if we get there, and nothing is left? What if we are captured? What if we fail in protecting the innocents of the town? All of these questions filled the head of the fairly green Lancer. That knight sure is taking a long time. Maybe he is right behind us. He will come, there is no question. He's duty as a knight will make him accept this dangerous mission for no better reason than to be a hero. My companion, although having an aura of being trust-worthy, is very mysterious. I guess all mages are like that though. His thoughts took him away from his guidance as he slipped on a mossy rock. Catching his balance before the fall, the missed-step brought a 'scoof' from his companion.

Finally the tension was uplifted. From behind a rock came forth six small Goblins. The sight of the hideous creature made Kyo snarl in disgust. The first surprise attack pushed the mage to the ground as he dove out of the way of an axe's deathblow. Kyo moved to his partner's side as he returned to his feet. Kyo slid his hand behind his shoulder, taking hold of his lance's hilt. Two Goblins came rushing towards Kyo. Accepting the challenge, the Lancer counter-charged, a warcry to Riono on his lips. As the distance closed to a few feet, Kyo brought the Gunge Lance out with lightning speed, bringing it down and around into a sweeping horizontal strike. The Goblins brought forth their axes in a defensive stance. Intelligent for a stinking animal. The sharp tip of the lance connected with both steel faces of the axes. The first Goblin was thrown sideways as the tremendous weapon impacted his comparingly puny axe. The second held his ground, with most of the impact taken by the first. The Goblins now rushed at the seemingly defenseless human. The Goblins pulled back their axes for dual diagnoal cleaves across Kyo's chest. With a fluid motion, the Lancer brought his lance back into a sideways defensive positon, striking out to parry the first axe, then bringing his weapon closely in to block the second. The dark monsters pressed the attack. Kyo wouldn't let them. He struck out, his lance extended the full way as he made a small dash forward. He struck one Goblin across the chest, pushing away and behind him, the second creature scampered to the side, avoiding the attack. Countering, the Goblin swung at Kyo's exposed back. The steel cut against the leather breastplate, leaving a red bruise on the human's back. Shrugging off the pain, Kyo renewed his offensive with a spiral horizontal attack. Spinning on his heel, the Lancer made two red gashes on the chest of the monster. Crimson blood began oozing from the wounds. The monster howled in pain as it dropped to the ground, clutching its injured torso. The second Goblin had now recovered and was rushing at Kyo. Dropping into a defensive stance, the Lancer waited for it. With a scream, the monster dived through the air, its axe being brought down in a diagnoal cut. Adjusting his lance to a positon where the hilt was tilted into the ground and the steel pointed up and outwards, the Goblin could do nothing but widen its eyes as it saw its impending doom. The creature flew onto the sharp point of the lance and slowly slid down the rest of the way, until it was about to the halfway point of the Gunge Lance. Making a tree useful, Kyo brought the edge of the lance to it, pulling it back as the corpse of the Goblin was taken off. Just as he was about to wipe his turn to check on Crest, Kyo was surprised as the other Goblin returned to its feet, the red gashes now bloody smears. The weakened monster rushed at the Lancer with abandonment. Making a feeble vertical strike, Kyo struck hard, sending the axe spiraling to the gorund, its edge becoming implanted in the turf. Bringing his hilt up, Kyo struck the temple of the monster with the blunt end. Flipping the lance in the air and catching it in a piercing deathblow position, Kyo struck the final attack for the monster, its cry of pain was its last words.

Having dealt with this first threat, Kyo checked on Crest to see how he was handling his share of the monsters, and if the knight had arrived yet.

(OOC- I've never recognized her in the first place Derhlith. You see when she was posting that, I was writing my post, so I never knew that she was joining our quest.)

(OOC: Sorry, that last post was me.)

Crestierem "watched" the lancer charge forward as two goblins charged him, both screaming their battle cries. Crestierem "stared" at his chosen opponents. The goblins laughed in their inhuman voices, thinking that the blind man will be an easy target. Crestierem began to examine his enemies as he pulled out his right hand from underneath his cloak and began to twirl a dirk around his fingers bored. One of them had a small wooden buckler and a hatchet ,while the other had a two-handed sword, crude, old, and rusty, barely sharp enough to cut flesh, but to a goblin, as long as it CAN cut, it's good enough to be a weapon. This should be easy enough, Crestierem thought as a smirk appeared on his face, I've dealt with goblins hundreds of times. This should be no differant.

The goblins charged Crestierem screaming their high pitched battle cries with a hint of ethusiasm in their voices. Crest reached into his cloak and pulled out three extra dirks, and swung his arm outwards, throwing the four dirks at his enemies. The one with the hatchet rose its wooden buckler and blocked the two flying towards it, while the other two dirks landed in the chest of the one weilding the two-handed sword which caused it to stagger forward. The one holding the hatchet charged Crestierem after its defence with weapon overhead. Once within range, the goblin slashed down-left. Crest ducked and leaned to the left, dodging the attack. Then the goblin swung its arm around and swung its small axe around and slashed down-right, and at the same time, advancing onto the blind mage. Crest took a step back while lowering his body and leaned to the other side dodging the attack once again, and before the goblin could attack again, Crest pulled out another dirk and slashed inwards, towards the monsters eyes. The goblin raised its wooden buckler with the two dirks still stuck in it, and the dirk that Crest weilded scrapped accross the buckler. The goblin, finding this another oppurtune moment to attack, slashed inward, putting all of its weight into the attack. Crestierem ducked under the attack, and the goblin spun around, revealing its back. Crest then stepped forward and stabbed his dirk into the monsters spine, holding the dirk upside down. The goblin screamed in pain as it jerked back with its shoulders and head. The goblin fell forward as Crest pulled out his weapon and returned his arms to the shadows of his cloak. The second goblin with the two-handed broadsword slashed heavily downwards at Crest's center to cleave him in half. Crestierem hopped to the side and thrust his dirk forward with his right hand, the dirk right-side up, aiming for the goblins fully exposed throat. The dirk landed neatly into the monsters neck with the sound of the heavy sword landing with a "thump" into the dirt. The goblin froze while death registered into the creatures brain, its eyes rolling back into its head. After a few seconds of smelling the foul beast, Crest slashed outwards from the monsters neck, making the blood spray away from the blind mage. The dead goblin fell over dead, and from behind the dead goblin came a spear shooting towards Crest's heart. Crest turned his body in surprise. Crest was cut on his left shoulder, and retreated a few steps to gain some distance between the goblin and himself. Crestierem was so intent on the two he and his partner were fighting, that he had forgotten about the two extra ones that were meant for the knight that never showed up. Fortunetly, the goblin didn't advance and waited, laughing with its high pitched voice, and apparently, the other extra decided to help his friends with the lancer. Crest sighed out of boredom.
"You and your species are beginning to become a nuisance." Crest said as he raised his right arm horizontally, with his hand open. The palm of his hand aimed towards the goblin. "Just die and get this over with." Crest said. And after he finished his sentance, a flame swirled into existance as a sphere and shot towards the goblin. Crest only heard the scream of the goblin just before the explosion that killed it. And because of the range between the two, Crest could feel the warm air blow past him, lifting his cloak behind him for a second. Once the smoke cleared all that was left was the charcoaled corpse of the creature, laying on the ground.

A small laugh escaped from Crest's lips. After the short chuckle, the blind mage sighed and adjusted his blind fold. "Seeing" his partner was finished with his battle as well, Crest began walking around the battlefield, collecting the dirks he had thrown or that were stuck on corpses.
"Are you alright?" Crest asked his partner as he pulled out the two dirks stuck in the wood buckler and examined them, putting them a foot away from his face and slowly turning them to "see" if the blades were becoming blunted or chipped. After the lancer, who introduced himself as Kyo, responded...if at all, Crest began walking on their original path towards Mineth Burg, returning his dirks to their usual hiding places. "We should get going, who knows what creatures fresh meat might bring out." Crest warned as he walked away from the battle field.

Crest continued his trek in silence, with the blood of goblins slowly fading away from his nostrils. But as soon as the scent left his nose, it reappeared to him again. Hmm...Probably the scent caught on a breeze of wind. Crest thought, but as he continued his travels, the stronger the smell became. Crest wasn't sure of what was going on and increased his pace forward, as if to walk away from the battle behind him, but the scent still, drew stronger. Crestierem's quickened walk, became a jog. He now knew that the scent was not behind him, but before him. Crest continued his jog until he came to a renment of battle, with four goblin corpses scattered around.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones having problems with goblins." Crest said to Kyo with a smile. Crest walked forward to the center of the small battlefield and examined the area. Crest sensed no use of magic in the area, and he "saw" no arrows used. Hmm...This is interesting...It is not a mage...none of them are burnt or drowned, mainly beaten in the face...meaning the person used his brawn...which is something elves dislike doing...From what I can tell, no beast had come in aid, otherwise the monsters would have been partially eaten...or at least torn...
"I can't tell what kind of person did this, only that he or she prefers strength of muscle and blade, rather than magic...if this person has any." Crestierem admitted quietly, but outloud. After a moments thought, Crest shrugged his shoulders and turned towards Kyo. "I hope your well fit, because we're going to have to increase our pace to make up for lost time." Crest said as he turned back to the original path and began his travels at an increased walking pace, to only rest when night has fallen, or if his comrade desperately needed it.

The forest almost seemed endless. Although he was surrounded by a calming and shade-ridden canopy, he couldn’t see much ahead of him in the way of where he was going. Sure, there was no fog, and he could see the trees along and around the small path he was traveling…but that was just it, he could only see the trees and the outline of the small path. Zavier kept his pace steady, although many times he was tempted to hurry. Truly time was of the essence, but then, he wasn’t quite sure what he would do when he got there.

In his home village, he had heard stories of orcs. When he was younger, he had been taught that they were simply similar to goblins; vicious, no sense of morals, and barbaric. However, when he became older and seriously began to learn the ways o the knight, he was taught the truth about many things: orcs, nations and their wars, girls…many things. The orcs were, to an extent, nothing like their goblin friends. While most goblins were relatively short and weak, preferring to attack in small or large groups as opposed to alone, orcs were another matter. The average orc could be the size of a middle-aged man, with strength to match a man in his prime. They carried a wide array of weapons, from daggers and short swords to crossbows and broadswords, much like the weapon Zavier was carrying at that moment. It did not matter to them whether they attacked in groups or not; they could gain food or treasure just as well either way.

In many ways, they were the singular alternative to the human. Unlike the goblins they were actually capable of constructing strategy to trap and ensnare their pray. When a big group of them go together, they were quite capable of leveling a village or two, mutilating the bodies of all its inhabitants as they made their way through. Anger burned through Zavier, anger that he had accumulated on his own, as well as anger that he knew had been instilled upon him when he was growing up. Regardless, this was hi errand; he would find some way to finish his mission, or he would die in the process. Whichever occurred first, he was a knight, and would never back out of his word.

Zavier figured he must have day dreamed again because all of the sudden he found himself within a small clearing. There was a small puddle of water, and by the looks of it it was very pure. The water seemed to almost bubble and ripple in the small crater, and while he was surrounded by trees he was happy for the break. He slowly made his way to the water, making sure that nothing was in it or around him. Satisfied he slowly knelt to the ground and cupped some of the water in his hands.

It was amazing. The water truly had to be pure, the drops of cold nourishment that made its way down his throat, which had become slightly parched, seeming to have been specifically created by God for him. He drank the water, making sure that he didn’t drink to much or too fast. Finally, after about a minute of drinking the water, he sat back, admiring the setting around him. As he looked towards the other edge of the clearing, opposite of the one he had entered through, his eyes glanced upon everything, finally resting…on an orc.

For a moment Zavier couldn’t move. While his eyes saw the orc, the orc seemed not to register with him. It didn’t make sense that an orc would be this far away from the village. He had traveled most of the day, the sun beginning to set probably in an hour or so, and for some reason there was an orc in front of him. As he gazed the orc stopped glancing around the field and finally noticed him, freezing in its place. For a moment, they both sat their, almost dazed by their situation. Suddenly, Zavier snapped out of it just as the Orc ran towards him. He quickly unsheathed his sword and brought up to parry that of the other orc, who carried a short sword. The monster was surprisingly strong, and Zavier felt his muscles in his arms tighten. He pushed harder as the monster strained itself against him, the metal of their weapons almost bending by the force of their exertion. The orc kneed Zavier in the stomach, pushing him away and almost to the ground. Zavier responded instantly, brandishing his sword in front of him. He took this crucial moment to size up his competition.

The orc was about his size, and by what Zavier could tell he only had a short sword equipped. This bothered Zavier, but he didn’t know why. At that moment the orc rushed towards him, and he rushed to meet it. The clang of their weapons reverberated throughout the area, and Zavier this time was able to gain the advantaged. He strained himself against the orc, but when the orc tried to push even higher Zavier spun to his left. The orc’s blade went straight to where Zavier was, and with the force of his extra push, he was sent ahead about 2 paces. Zavier then finished his revolving spin and slashed the orc on the back. In stead of screaming out in pain as Zavier thought he would, the monster swung himself and delivered a back hand to Zavier. Both fighters were moved slightly back, and by know, both were moving very quickly, both trying to gain the upper hand in the fight. Zavier rushed towards the orc, and as the orc lunged at him, he jumped into the air. He brought this sword down, the blade whistling with the speed he launched it at. However, the orc was no amateur. He anticipated the attack and brought his sword up, blocking Zavier’s attack. Zavier was almost caught off balance when he launched his body towards one of the trees. He smirked as he saw the orc chase him, and when he was in close proximity to the orc, he ran along its trunk and flipped back. Suddenly the orc found itself in frno to fZavier, and as Zavier rammed his body into it, the orc slammed into the tree, falling on the ground slowly afterwards.

“You foul beast! Tell me what you are doing here, and I may spare your life!” Zavier said, his left arm holding his left side. He had tired himself, which was not good in his current predicament. The orc began to slowly make its way up, moving as if it couldn’t completely catch its balance. “I said tell me why you are in this forest now!” Zavier screamed, trying to sound more intimidating. He moved one step closer to the creature, showing that he was true to his word. The orc raised its hands and began to bow towards Zavier. “Now that’s better, tell me what…hey!”

The orc, catching Zavier unaware, sprinted back the way it had come. Zavier grunted under his breath as he ran in pursuit. His eyes widened then narrowed as he realized why he had been so bothered when he saw the orc. He had heard that when they carried only small weapons, such as a dagger or short sword, then they weren’t part of some group or hunting on their own…they were scouting. Zavier realized the situation and sped up as fast as he could, seeing the orc ahead of him slightly.

‘Oh God…whatever I do, I have to stop that orc or they will be informed of our arrival. If that happens, the other two would be walking into an ambush and not even realize it. I have to kill it!”

The forest almost seemed endless. Although he was surrounded by a calming and shade-ridden canopy, he couldn’t see much ahead of him in the way of where he was going. Sure, there was no fog, and he could see the trees along and around the small path he was traveling…but that was just it, he could only see the trees and the outline of the small path. Zavier kept his pace steady, although many times he was tempted to hurry. Truly time was of the essence, but then, he wasn’t quite sure what he would do when he got there.

In his home village, he had heard stories of orcs. When he was younger, he had been taught that they were simply similar to goblins; vicious, no sense of morals, and barbaric. However, when he became older and seriously began to learn the ways o the knight, he was taught the truth about many things: orcs, nations and their wars, girls…many things. The orcs were, to an extent, nothing like their goblin friends. While most goblins were relatively short and weak, preferring to attack in small or large groups as opposed to alone, orcs were another matter. The average orc could be the size of a middle-aged man, with strength to match a man in his prime. They carried a wide array of weapons, from daggers and short swords to crossbows and broadswords, much like the weapon Zavier was carrying at that moment. It did not matter to them whether they attacked in groups or not; they could gain food or treasure just as well either way.

In many ways, they were the singular alternative to the human. Unlike the goblins they were actually capable of constructing strategy to trap and ensnare their pray. When a big group of them go together, they were quite capable of leveling a village or two, mutilating the bodies of all its inhabitants as they made their way through. Anger burned through Zavier, anger that he had accumulated on his own, as well as anger that he knew had been instilled upon him when he was growing up. Regardless, this was hi errand; he would find some way to finish his mission, or he would die in the process. Whichever occurred first, he was a knight, and would never back out of his word.

Zavier figured he must have day dreamed again because all of the sudden he found himself within a small clearing. There was a small puddle of water, and by the looks of it it was very pure. The water seemed to almost bubble and ripple in the small crater, and while he was surrounded by trees he was happy for the break. He slowly made his way to the water, making sure that nothing was in it or around him. Satisfied he slowly knelt to the ground and cupped some of the water in his hands.

It was amazing. The water truly had to be pure, the drops of cold nourishment that made its way down his throat, which had become slightly parched, seeming to have been specifically created by God for him. He drank the water, making sure that he didn’t drink to much or too fast. Finally, after about a minute of drinking the water, he sat back, admiring the setting around him. As he looked towards the other edge of the clearing, opposite of the one he had entered through, his eyes glanced upon everything, finally resting…on an orc.

For a moment Zavier couldn’t move. While his eyes saw the orc, the orc seemed not to register with him. It didn’t make sense that an orc would be this far away from the village. He had traveled most of the day, the sun beginning to set probably in an hour or so, and for some reason there was an orc in front of him. As he gazed the orc stopped glancing around the field and finally noticed him, freezing in its place. For a moment, they both sat their, almost dazed by their situation. Suddenly, Zavier snapped out of it just as the Orc ran towards him. He quickly unsheathed his sword and brought up to parry that of the other orc, who carried a short sword. The monster was surprisingly strong, and Zavier felt his muscles in his arms tighten. He pushed harder as the monster strained itself against him, the metal of their weapons almost bending by the force of their exertion. The orc kneed Zavier in the stomach, pushing him away and almost to the ground. Zavier responded instantly, brandishing his sword in front of him. He took this crucial moment to size up his competition.

The orc was about his size, and by what Zavier could tell he only had a short sword equipped. This bothered Zavier, but he didn’t know why. At that moment the orc rushed towards him, and he rushed to meet it. The clang of their weapons reverberated throughout the area, and Zavier this time was able to gain the advantaged. He strained himself against the orc, but when the orc tried to push even higher Zavier spun to his left. The orc’s blade went straight to where Zavier was, and with the force of his extra push, he was sent ahead about 2 paces. Zavier then finished his revolving spin and slashed the orc on the back. In stead of screaming out in pain as Zavier thought he would, the monster swung himself and delivered a back hand to Zavier. Both fighters were moved slightly back, and by know, both were moving very quickly, both trying to gain the upper hand in the fight. Zavier rushed towards the orc, and as the orc lunged at him, he jumped into the air. He brought this sword down, the blade whistling with the speed he launched it at. However, the orc was no amateur. He anticipated the attack and brought his sword up, blocking Zavier’s attack. Zavier was almost caught off balance when he launched his body towards one of the trees. He smirked as he saw the orc chase him, and when he was in close proximity to the orc, he ran along its trunk and flipped back. Suddenly the orc found itself in frno to fZavier, and as Zavier rammed his body into it, the orc slammed into the tree, falling on the ground slowly afterwards.

“You foul beast! Tell me what you are doing here, and I may spare your life!” Zavier said, his left arm holding his left side. He had tired himself, which was not good in his current predicament. The orc began to slowly make its way up, moving as if it couldn’t completely catch its balance. “I said tell me why you are in this forest now!” Zavier screamed, trying to sound more intimidating. He moved one step closer to the creature, showing that he was true to his word. The orc raised its hands and began to bow towards Zavier. “Now that’s better, tell me what…hey!”

The orc, catching Zavier unaware, sprinted back the way it had come. Zavier grunted under his breath as he ran in pursuit. His eyes widened then narrowed as he realized why he had been so bothered when he saw the orc. He had heard that when they carried only small weapons, such as a dagger or short sword, then they weren’t part of some group or hunting on their own…they were scouting. Zavier realized the situation and sped up as fast as he could, seeing the orc ahead of him slightly.

‘Oh God…whatever I do, I have to stop that orc or they will be informed of our arrival. If that happens, the other two would be walking into an ambush and not even realize it. I have to kill it!”

Kyo breathed in rhythm with his jogging pace. Crest was only a few strides ahead of them as the sun began to set around them. The orange and deep red light of the fading sun arched through the trees, created a very cozy feeling. Of course, this contradicted their situation. Crest had found evidence of a traveler that fit the description of their unknown companion. Estimating they time accumulated on the prints, they were about half a day behind the knight. They had been jogging at their fast pace since that morning and Kyo could definitely feel the strain that his armor put on him. The importance of finding their comrade before he reached the town was critical. Even though he was a knight, he was still only one knight.

The sunset gradually succumbed to the darkness, yet the mage and the lancer continued on. Finally the pair stopped, coincidently at the same spring that Zavier had stopped at early that day. They sat and drank of the cool spring, reliving the same refreshed feeling that their wayward companion had felt earlier. They began setting up a speedy camp, having lost half of the night already. "How far do you think we have to go before we catch up on him?" Kyo asked his companion. "I say another quarter of a day at our pace, if he stopped for the night is." Crest replied plainly. "Maybe we should continue, until we find him." The obviously weary lancer replied. Taking on look at him, Crest shook his cloaked hood. "Nothing good will come of exhaustion. Rest now, we'll continue at first light." Nodding his head in agreement, Kyo laid his head on a small pile of leaves that was his pillow. A small fire was their only source of heat in the chilling blackness. Sleeping very lightly, Kyo heard the crunching of leaves coming from his right. Lifting his head, he saw the outline of several humanoids. Kyo sighed, upset about the interruption of his sleep.

As quietly as they could be, the Goblins approached the "sleeping" pair of humans. Kyo arose, his lance extended out to his side. The sights of a towering man surrounded by the bright light of the nearby fire made the trio of Goblins hesitate, before their inevitable rush. Kyo sprinted also, only off to the side, becoming lost in the darkness and trees. The Goblins followed after him, their mouths drooling in bloodlust. The Goblins barked out commands in their incomprehensible language. Two of the Goblins carried rust-incrusted axes. The third held a fairly large broadsword, its shiny surface gleamed in low light, he (or she for all Kyo knew) was obviously the leader. Climbing up a low tree, Kyo sat perched on a branch, watching for the trio. One of the Goblins came under the lancer, jumping out of the tree in silence, he descended on his prey the lance pointed downward in a deathblow position. Only a lucky look saved the Goblin, it scrambled away with a terrified yelp. The sharp tip of the lance became implanted in the ground, trying once with a quick tug, Kyo abandoned his stuck weapon. The running Goblin turned around on the following Lancer, seeing his opponent unarmed, the little beast charged, foolishly. Kyo dodged the low swing of the rusted axe with a short hop. He countered with a jab to the Goblin’s cheek. The monster reeled back from the blow, rubbing its face with its free hand. The monster swung blindly at the man, making Kyo quickly side step to avoid the horizontal slash. Coming on again, Kyo made another jab, followed by and upper-cut and finished off with a sweeping roundhouse kick. The monster dropped to the ground from the barrage of quick attacks. Suddenly, a sickening pain erupted on Kyo’s right shoulder-blade. The Goblin pulled his axe out the ripped flesh as Kyo dropped to his knees. The monster prepared the deathblow as he pulled back his arm. Suddenly two dirks flew into the monster’s chest. He cried in pain as it crumpled to the ground. Arising from his knees Kyo saw the outlined image of Crest. “Why didn’t you wake me?” The mage asked with a grin. With a light chuckle, Kyo accepted the outstretched arm of assistance from his companion. Then the lead Goblin appeared, holding his broadsword with both hands. The pair looked and smiled at each other. The rushed together, Kyo with a battle cry to his god on his lips. The pair impacted the Goblin at the same time. The Goblin parried the strike of a dirk, but was hit by a jab into his stomach. The monster shrugged off the pain and made a large diagonal cross cut. Both of the humans skidded back, out of the range of the attack. Kyo then spotted his lance off to the side, still dug into the ground. He ran off, pulling the weapon out of the ground with the help of his momentum. Making a full circle back to the monster, which was distracted by Crest, Kyo called for his partner to back away. The monster cocked its head in confusion as the mage ran in retreat. Then, the steel tip of Kyo’s lance punctured its lung and appeared out of its chest. It could do nothing but breathe its last breath as it hung motionless from Kyo’s weapon.

Extracting his weapon, Kyo found Crest looking over the unconscious Goblin that Kyo had knocked out. He slit the beast’s throat with a small flick of his wrist. The pair agreed that they should start on their journey, sensing more danger in this place. They were only a mere half-mile from Zavier’s position, but he wasn’t stopping either.

Endless. Ever present, always continuing, never breaking or stopping.

The forest was alive, growing and shorting, trapping some travelers while allowing others, whom it chose specifically to make it through with relative ease. These were some of the insane thoughts Zavier had as he ran through the forest. He could see nothing, the evening having more or less given away, the moonlight shining throughout the forest. The sun had set, and only a few skew rays of light remained. Zavier had been chasing the orc for quite some time, and he had steadily gained on it. He knew that the o;rc had been injured when they first met, so the orc would have to give up before he did. The orc had shown amazing fortitude, getting as far as he did, but now it seemed it was running out of steam.

Suddenly the orc stopped. It looked at Zavier, exhaustion ever present on its face. Zavier himself was slightly out of breath, but he didn’t let it show. “Prepare yourself orc; you had escaped me, but you won’t now.” The only response he got from the orc was a snarl. Then, the monster started laughing. It laughed until it almost doubled over from the exertion of its muscles moving and its lack of air. This worried Zavier, but he didn’t show it either. “Why is it that you laugh, creature?...hmm…” Zavier noticed that the forest around him, the setting that had been so full of life when he had last thought to listen to it was deathly still. No owl hooted, no birds chirped, no animals howled. It was if the forest itself were trying to figure out what the orc had planned.

Zavier’s eyes dashed to the right as he saw movement. He saw movement in the right corner of his eye, then on the left again. “What in the world is this?,” he thought as the bushes and limbs began to move even more. He looked down and noticed that there was pieces of dead wood and burned leaves…no, not dead wood, burned wood, almost like charcoal…used for a…

“No,” Zavier said under his breath as he looked at the orc. The orc seemed to realize that Zavier knew and began laughing again. Zavier stood with his hand on his sword as 5 goblins made their way out of the bushes. “I had handled some…but I don’t know how I’ll fare if 5 of these things decide to jump me at once. I don’t have time for this!” The goblins seemed to start grinning and encircles him, but not touching him. Zavier held his broadsword before him as he watched the bushes began to move again, this time faster than the other. A goblin came out, and for a moment Zavier wondered what the issue was. Then he noticed that the goblin was a bit bigger than the others and had a short sword instead of a crudely made axe. The others seemed to rejoice upon seeing their leader, yet Zavier despaired.

He heard something and quickly looked in the directions of the orc. The orc had begun moving, hoping it wouldn’t be seen. “My life matters, but I will take my chances with the goblins. No matter what happens to me, information must not be sent that there are scouts on the way.” Zavier pulled his sword into the Monument stance, and as he pulled back, he launched it at the orc. The orc, his back to Zavier, never knew what was happening.

“Now, my sword is inside of that orc a little ways away. I somehow have to kill these goblins…wait, what’s that noise?”

Zavier heard movement…no, more controlled than that. He heard footsteps…

(OOC: Okay guys, this is where you meet me. There are 6 goblins, 5 of them basics, the 6th one a little stronger and carrying a sword. The rest have crude axes. Help me get my sword back!)

Again, and still, the pair continued on their run, hoping to catch up with the traveller ahead of them. If he was walking, we would have caught up to him by now... Crest estimated as he ran, breathing in synch to his steps so that less energy would be wasted. He must be jogging or running then...but why? With the heavy armor, a knight, scout or not, would take his or her time... Crest thought.

For a few more minutes, the pair ran, but their running slowed to a jog. And soon after, slowed to a hastened walk. "We've gotten far enough away from the corpses now, so we can worry less about danger now." Crest said through his heavy breathing. His legs ached from the constant running, which he was not used to. He was only used to long distant walks, which he has done for most of his life...from what he could remember. Crestierem drew in a deep breath, held it for a second, and exhaled. A few seconds later, he repeated it, helping himself slow his own breathing. Crestierem lifted his head and looked to the dark skies. And after a quick glance and the lancer, Kyo, he lifted his blindfold over his eye, away from his partner, and stared at the sky. Admiring the view of the moon and stars that glittered through the leaves of the branches overhead. Crestierem replaced the blindfold over his eyes and continued on as if nothing had happened. What a peaceful night... Crest thought, just before he remembered his earlier encounters with the goblins. Crest then began to listen to his surroundings, to make sure that nothing was planning on ambushing them. It was quiet...No birds chirped, no owls hooted. He didn't even hearn the bugs that wandered the night. Crestierem listened more intently to his surroundings. Still, he heard nothing, the forest had become deafly silent. Crest was familier to this, and knew what it meant...beasts roamed nearby. Crestierem suddenly sprinted forward, not sure if he left his surprised comrade behind. He continued on until he came to a small clearing, one man...yes, a man, surrounded by six goblins. One of them was larger then the rest, and was holding a short sword, while the five remaining smaller ones, held crudely made axes. Off to the side, was a dead orc with a sword impaled into it, sticking out of it's back. The five smaller goblins circled around the one man, like a pack of wolves ready to kill its prey. Hmm...six of them...the larger one is probably the leader...and by his size, he's probably stronger and more experianced... Crest examined. Then he realized that they still didn't notice him, or Kyo behind or beside him. But I have the element of surprise! Crest thought happily as he pulled out a single dirk and threw it at the larger one, aiming for it's neck. But to the mage's surprise, the goblins saw it and hit it out of the air, knocking it to the surrounded man's feet. The five smaller ones diverted their attention to the newcomers while the supposed leader, glared at them.
"Six against one hardly seems fair..." Crest said ethusiastically, with a grin on his face. Pulling another dirk out from the shadows of his cloak and twirling it around in his hand. "Let's even the odds a bit." Crest continued, his tone growing dangerous with the excitement of battle before him.

The larger goblin pointed at him and ordered something in their twisted language, and four of the smaller goblins charged at Crestierem and Kyo, leaving the last man with only one, unless the larger one decided to attack him as well. The group of four split into two groups of two, splitting up so that there were two goblins for both newcomers. Crestierem stopped twirling his dirk and threw it towards the throat of the closest goblin charging him. The goblin side-stepped and turned his body, dodging the dirk. But the goblin behind it didn't see it and the dirk landed into the shoulder of the goblin, making it stagger forward, but not killing it. The first goblin hopped forward, spinning in mid-air, landed in front of Crestierem and slashed horizontally, leaving it's front wide open. Crestierem ducked under the attack, and slashed upwards as he jumped backwards to gain some space between the two. The goblin recieved a small cut across it's chest, but it simply laughed and continued its attack by jumping forward and slashed downwards. The blind mage side-stepped to the left and heard the axe land in the dirt, and thrust his dirk into the goblins neck. By this time, the second goblin caught up and swung its axe from it's left side. The mage pushed the fatally wounded goblin into the axes path of the second goblin. The axe landed into the back of the first goblin and the creature tried to scream, but all that came out was the gargling sounds of the blood flowing out of its throat. Then, before the second goblin could figure out what just happened, Crestierem pulled back his left arm with his palm open, created a fireball, and sent it flying towards the creature. The goblin screamed as it dropped its weapon that was still stuck in its friend, and turned to run, but the fireball landed on the back of the beast and, from the explosion that followed, sent it flying forward with its body completly burnt.

Crestierem sighed and "looked" to his companions to "see" if the battle had finished, or was still continuing.

As Kyo jogged along, he knew that a large battle ensued. The encounter came with little surprise to the man. He quickly took in the scene. Six goblins, a dead Orc, and a Knight...who was unarmed! Kyo spotted his sword, its base shining in the moon light, for that was all that was still not deep inside in the Orc's back. Kyo mission was clear, re-arm his wayward companion. As he began thinking of a way to initate combat, a dirk from his friend flew through the air. Kyo could hardly see it, it flew so quickly. Still, the Goblin batted it out of the air like it was going a quarter of its actual speed. The mage didn't seem to mind his failed attempt, in fact he smiled as four Goblins came at them. The broke up into two groups, and the skirmish began.

Kyo started in a counter-charge as his two Goblin adversaries began their's. Unfortunately for the beasts, Kyo held a large lance, compared to their dull axes. Kyo held the lance in a reverse grip, masking its length from the enemy. As they closed to about five feet, Kyo spun the lance around his right shoulder and gripped it with both hands. The distance was instantly cut to one foot, which the Goblins couldn't hope to stop their bloodlust charge in that amount. Kyo lance stroke right in the abdomen of one of the Goblins. With a quick motion, Kyo dropped to his feet and spun his lance in a circle, the first Goblin's body (for it was still alive) still attached. The Goblin-Lance collided with the second Goblin's back and sent it tumbling forward. However, the move had thrown off Kyo's center balance, making him tumble over as well. Kyo opened his eyes after the he instinctivly shut them for the fall. A rust-crusted axe descended on him, it came from the Goblin that was stuck on his lance! Kyo sent his head off to the left, trying to dodge the inevitable. The blow landed on his right check, the steel cut deep, as Kyo let out a cry of pain. His crimson life-blood immediately began flowing from the wound, his body trying desperately to bind it up and stave off the infection. As if using its last energy for the attack, the Goblin hunched over, and slowly began sliding off the lance. The second Goblin had recovered by now, and was charging at the injured Kyo. Kyo made his way to a crouched position, he spotted the knight's sword straight ahead of him. The Goblin prevented a straight run to it, so the Lancer thought up a better idea. Making sure his path path was clear, Kyo pushed off with his legs, sending him high up in the air. The Goblin stopped and looked skyward, confused by this odd action. The next thing the beast saw was Kyo descending on it! The lance cut through an outstreched tree branch, making a loud cracking sound, as the wood chips fell, so continued the Lancer. The Goblin tried running away, put the descent was just too quick. The sharp tip of the lance pierced the right shoulder of the Goblin, going all the way through the body and a half-inch through the dirt below. The Goblin made a wild swing with its axe, but Kyo had rolled away from his weapon, and ran for the sword. The other Goblins were all busy with battle, none would stop him. Kyo yanked hard on the deeply implanted sword, "It must of been a strong throw" Kyo muttered to himself as he finally freed the weapon. "Knight! Catch!" Kyo yelled at the knight, who looked over at him, the new look of hope shined in his eyes as he saw his blade. Kyo made a perfect end-over-end throw back to the knight, who caught it at his hilt, in a perfect position for a strike on his adversary. Kyo looked back to his Goblin, it was still convulsing on the lance, yelping in pain. A dirk flew and impacted with the beast's throat, stopping the screaming, and the life of the monster.

"I couldn't stand that screaming." Crest explained as Kyo looked over at him. They both turned towards their last companion, seeing the outcome of the battle.

Two fighters were helping him, yet Zavier was still worried. They had taken on four of the goblins, both of them taking two a piece…yet they had left the head goblin and one of his subordinates to him. As they faced their charges, Zavier ran towards the lower goblin. The monster must have thought him paralyzed with fear because as Zavier reached him he seemed to snap back to reality, albeit too late. Zavier brought his knee into the creature’s stomach and brought both of his fists down hard into its head. The monster was stunned, and Zavier did it again. He bashed the monster in the skull, knowing that eventually the pressure would win against the bone. As the monster drew in one of its last breaths Zavier picked it up. He then ran towards the dead orc, his sword still impaled in the creature. As he reached his sword and pulled it out he felt something slam into the goblin he had thrown across his back. His presumption had been true after all.

The head goblin had thrown a dagger at him, one that Zavier hadn’t seen. Zavier slowly placed the dying goblin on the ground and pulled the broadsword in front of him. The head goblin brought out a broadsword of his own, and the two warriors stared at one another. As if they both were judging time and the same exact increments they began running, each person brandishing their broadswords towards one another. Zavier looked at the goblin and thought back to his studies, trying to find the weakness in the goblin’s form. The goblin was holding the sword out almost a foot in front of him, obviously going for a purely offensive maneuver. Zavier laughed. Of course it would; these creatures were too stupid to think of strategy. It would try to knock him out with one blow, and if Zavier could somehow find a way to go against or even avoid that powerful strike, the goblin would lose the advantage of the fight. Zavier put on an even better burst of speed, not wanting the goblin to have time to rethink his position. As the goblin swung its sword in a surprisingly fast arc Zavier leaped forward. The sword missed his body by inches, and as they arc was completed Zavier was kneeled down behind the goblin. He turned around, life burning throughout his body. He quickly spun and readied his body.

“Brave Slash…umff!”

Zavier’s eyes widened. The goblin had actually thought enough, and had the actual capability to bring its foot back and up, slamming Zavier in the face, cutting his move short. Zavier flew a few paces backwards but quickly stood up in time to bring his sword towards his neck, where the goblin had rushed to put his. The goblin pushed with all his might as Zavier pushed with his, the goblin trying to take Zavier’s life, Zavier trying to save it. Zavier could see all of the powerful muscles on the orc flexing and he felt his own muscles beginning to tire. “He could do this…all day,” he thought, “but I can’t. I have to find some way…there it is!” In an instant Zavier made his entire body flip backwards as he brought his legs up, launching the goblin over him. The goblin smashed into a tree that was behind them and appeared stunned for a moment. Zavier righted himself and rushed again, ramming the orc into the tree. The orc swaggered for a moment and then swung his entire body, the sword becoming a saw for a few seconds. Zavier felt the blade before he saw it. His body had instinctively moved, but not quickly enough. He moved back, feeling a small amount of blood coming from his stomach area. He looked back at the goblin, his eyes becoming crystal. The goblin laughed and charged towards him, this time with his sword held very close to his body. Zavier recognized the stance made for defense, which meant that the goblin must have been greatly injured. Zavier rushed towards him and pulled the blade behind him, having only his left arm in front. “The trick is to make him have to attack. That way there is a very small delay that will cost him everything,” Zavier thought as he looked the orc over and over. The monster was surprised when Zavier ran at it and pretended to throw him with his hand into the forest trees again. It brought its sword down in an attempt to slice Zavier’s arm but Zavier spun. The monster was now completely defenseless and Zavier had his sword ready. He quickly jabbed and slashed, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 times, the orc screaming each time the sword dug into his flesh. After a few more hits Zavier ran back towards the tree, pushing himself off to give him even more speed. The orc was very injured and turned towards Zavier, the sword barely held in its hand. As it yelled Zavier yelled, and the goblin swung first. However, because of the wincing that his body did because of the stretching of his raw skin, his attack was off centered. Zavier slid his sword along the ground, and with both hands pushing it he came up, completely slicing the head of the orc.

After a few moments of rest Zavier walked back to the middle of the clearing. The other two had finished disposing of their monsters and looked at Zavier expectantly. Zavier walked towards them and felt slightly light headed. “I hope you guys don’t mind if I sit down for a bit. My name is Zavier Dragonus, and I’m a Knight. You guys must be no the same mission as me; if not, you wouldn’t have been likely going this way, and you certainly wouldn’t have helped me out. So, if you guys don’t mind telling me who you are, I would love to hear it. Then, we can get back to our task. The village is just a little

Crestierem went around the battlefield, collecting the dirks he had thrown throughout the battle, while letting Kyo and the knight, who introduced himself as Zavier Dragonus, introduce one another. "My name is Crestierem...just Crestierem..." Crest added, thinking of Zavier's last name, "...you may call me Crest for short if you wish." The blind mage finished as he pulled out another dirk from another corpse, examining it before finally returning it to its usualy hiding place underneath his cloak. After retrieving all of his dirks, he walked over to the other two. "I suggest we walk away from this area and rest for the night. Who knows what beasts blood attracts from the darkness." Crestierem suggested, turning his head to the side, as if he was "looking" for something. After a moment of thought, Crest turned around and headed for Mineth Burg.

After travelling about half a mile, the group stopped to rest for the night. But since they couldn't find a clearing, they had to make do with the largest avaliable space that remained. "I'll keep first watch," Crestierem volunteered. "I've had the most sleep from the night, and my 'vision' is probably better than both of yours combined in this darkness." Crestierem said as he looked away. Once his two comrades quieted and resting, the blind mage finally took careful examinations of the party he was in, and the situation they might get into in the next day. Hmm...we seem to have a well-rounded party...A knight for strength, a lancer for speed, and a mage for support. Now if we had a cleric to heal our wounds, and an archer of some kind, this would be a very well-rounded party. The blind mage thought with a quiet snicker. As for Mineth Burg... Crestierem thought, growing serious again, What is there to expect? Eighty well trained knights are there to fight off the one hundred fifty orcs...and aiding the eighty knights might be ten, fifteen...twenty villagers tops...unexperianced and probably more of a nuisance rather than help... The blind mage sighed frusterated. What does the duke expect three or four extra men to do? Change the tides of an already lost battle? Again, Crest sighed. No matter, it is already too late to turn back. And besides, the hands of fate might be on our side this time... Crest thought. Satisified with that thought, the blind mage decided to concentrate his thoughts on the situation at hand, and did so throughout the uneventful night, but Crest could not help but feel that they were being watched from unseen eyes.

Crest "saw" the light of the sun long before the sun actually rose into sight. And with it, awoke the two warriors he travelled with. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" Crest welcomed, fully awake, as if he had slept throughout the night he watched. The group packed up and prepared for travel. "We'll most likely reach Mineth Burg at night, midday if we run the entire time, but I doubt you'd want to tire yourselves out before we reach the village." Crest estimated, "...and I suggest we keep our guards up from now on. We are travelling very close to enemy territory, and might run into some patrols on the way..." Crestierem suggested. The sun finally rose from behind the horizan into sight, familier to its duty, but oblivious to the battle at hand, being fought, or worst...long lost.

"My name is Kyo Lionheart, well met Zavier Dragonus." Kyo introduced himself to his companion. The now completed group made their way to the edge of teh forest trail that led to Mineth Burg. They made camp just at the edge. Crest graciously offered to keep night watch as Zavier and Kyo slept. Little amounts of words were exchanged between the pair, only polite light conversation. They did hit a serious issue, however, when the topic of their mission emerged. Zavier explained the true nature of Orcs, who were a new thing to the young Kyo. He spoke of their intelligence, tactics, and ruthlessness. After his explaination, Kyo had little hope of seeing the town standing the next day.

They were awaken by their partner, who was surprising active at that early hour. The dawning red sun split through dark gray clouds on the horizon, a storm was coming. The group finally crested the last hill overlooking Mineth Burg. The scene was one of utter destruction. Kyo gazed upon the town, or the smoldering image that used to be the city, rather. The whole west side of the town was black and gray with ash, the other side still stood, but signs of conflict were evident on the buildings of the town. Bodies of the dead still lay untouched by graveman's hands, Orc and Man alike, although the ladder were outnumbered by the first. Small fires still burned, no person available to extinguish them. The stank of death entered even the far away nostrils of the Human Lancer. Kyo's gaze shifted to the north, were battle raged. He saw shining pieces of armor, the knights were still alive. Their situation was grim however. Kyo could not get an accurate count of the remaining force, but it looked like half, if not a quarter, of its original strength. The Orcs created a black wave that swarmed around the shining image of the knights. Their right flank was already broken and from their vantage point, the group could see that a small force of Orcs were heading to strike at the exposed left flank of the humans, the flank that faced Kyo's party. "We must do something." Zavier said softly, overcome by the scene. "Yes, let's go." Crest agreed plainly.

"If it be my time, then so be it. The hands of destiny hold my fate now. I head now to only two things, death or glory. The story of Kyo now truely begins." Kyo thought to himself as he slowly tied his black silk bandanna around his forehead, his hair falling over the piece of cloth. He tied it strongly behind his head, and lifted his face with a new sense of self. His companions noticed this, but said nothing, they knew what they must do.

They made their way down the hillside, keeping the Orc group in their sights. Kyo quickly counted the Orc force, they were ten stong. They couldn't take ten Orcs by themselves, they had to warn the overwhelmed knights. As they switched directions, Crest stopped the group, pointing off towards the direction of the Orc force. As Zavier and Kyo looked over, three Orcs came into view, obvious scouts for the larger group. The humans unsheathed their respective weapons as the Orcs noticed them. One ran back as the others rushed forward. "I'll take the runner." Crest said as he dashed off. Kyo nodded his agreement, but the Mage was already gone. Shrugging, Kyo prepared himself for his challenge, his first Orc. The monster came one with a small shortsword, the basic weapon of a scout. Not waiting for the monster, Kyo charged at it, his lance reversed gripped behind him. The combatants closed as Kyo extended his lance out to his right and sweeped it across in a wide arc. The monster brought up his weapon in defense, stopping the attack. The monster pushed back, sending Kyo way off balance. Stumbling, the monster came in hard with a piercing strike aimed at Kyo's heart. Kyo bent backwards, almost straight horizontally to avoid the attack, the sword soaring barely an inch over his face. He extended his lance to the exposed belly of the beast. The monster hopped back just in time, reducing the impact of the attack. With a primal scream, the Orc came on again. He worked with an amazing technique for a monster, a double diagnoal cross attack with controlled rhythm. Kyo sent his body back and left, then back an right, floating just beyond the reach of the blows. Aggrivated, the Orc let fly a gauntlet-clad fist. The blow struck Kyo right in the chest, making the air in his lungs gush out in one exasperated cough. The Orc continued the attack with an uppercut sending Ko flying back, and landing on his back. He brought his lance up, straight vertically in the air. The Orc fell on the extended lance as it brought down its sword in a deathblow vertical slash. The Orc let out a piercing scream as blood seeped out of the wound. With amazing mettle, the Orc pulled himself off of the lance, as more of its crimson lifeblood flowed. It glutched its wound as it prepared another strike at Kyo. Unfortunately for the Orc, Kyo had recovered and gotten to his feet. He sent his lance behind him and kicked out at the monster, using the weapon as a brace. The monster reeled back, trying to bring up its sword. Kyo made a sweeping arc move, crashing into the Orc with the solid metal shaft of the lance. The monster fell hard to the ground, breathing heavily through screeches of pain. Kyo spun his lance around in his hand, bringing it down swiftly. The sharp point piereced the light armor of the orc scout and drove into its heart. A final cry of pain erupted from the monster's lips just as it died. Kyo looked around, seeing how the others were faring.

Zavier watched the scout as it rushed towards him. He had already fought one, and he fleet that he had a take on their strategy. Although it appeared numerous times they their sole intent was to attack big in a hope to finish their aggressor in one blow, they many times were able to follow this strategy up with a great support and parrying. Zavier knew this, and he had learned it well when he had fought the previous orc. Now was the time to put his theory to work.

He decided to try something new. He knew it would be daring, he knew that it might cost him the entire fight, not just the possibility of an injury…but death also. But, now was not the time to try to be safe. Their counterparts, the knights who had been sent to help Mineth Burg were already faring badly, and it was important that they finish off these scouts in complete earnest. Zavier rushed towards the orc, this time holding his blade at his right side. The blade was not completely parallel to his center of mass, but a space away, giving him an extended range. The orc looked at him, anger mirrored in his eyes. Zavier ran, calling on all the energy that his legs could handle. He wanted to perform this technique perfectly, but not having completely tried it before, he was worried. The orc also ran towards him, and as they reached about a foot apart…Zavier turned.

The orc slashed, believing that Zavier would try to rush it with an attack that would carry him possibly past the orc, at the very least right beside him. However, Zavier had stopped and was turning, putting a halt to his rhythm. Zavier felt himself turning slowly, imagining the look on the orcs face. He imagined the surprise, even slight admiration for the animal…but he also imagined the fear. And that gave him his will to finish his attack. He finished his 180 degree turn, and as he reached a direct polar opposite direction, he jumped backwards.

It wasn’t easy. He felt the armor on his body, felt his muscles in his legs, and throughout his entire body tighten as he forced his body to adhere to his will. He completely pulled his body together, and as he moved backwards in the air he looked down. The orc had just finished his strike and was trying to recover, his eyes the only thing fast enough to follow Zavier’s minutes. Zavier was not even sure if it had registered in the orcs mind that he could truly, ultimately be in danger. The creatures were mildly intelligent…but just mildly. Zavier reached the pinnacle of his jump, right on top of the orc and began his descent. He didn’t try to maintain his ball form now; he simply stretched himself out, his sword extending in front of him to his fullest. As he rushed towards the orc’s body he smiled.

He had won this fight.

The sword made an almost complete movement through the orcs head. It stopped as it reached the top of the spinal cord, the first vertebrae in the monster’s back. Zavier flipped forwards, breathing hard. He turned around, smirking as the orc’s lifeless body fell. He quickly pulled his sword out and looked at the blood upon it. “So much bloodshed…is this what life is truly like? There was death, even some killing in my village…but I never thought I would be a part of killing like this. But it doesn’t matter; for now, my mission is to help my fellow soldiers, in any way I can. Even if that means that I am to die.”

Zavier finished and found Kyo, who was a small distance away. He knew the fighter known as crest was chasing after the orc scout, and although he wanted to join him he didn’t want to waste the time. “Kyo, you and I have to do a few things. I will run towards the orc group, and hopefully that will disrupt them. Knowing the orcs, they will rile up against any warrior that comes against them, regardless as to how many of them there are. While I am running in that direction you are to head towards the Knights. They will most likely be able to hold off the orcs…if they know about them. Your job will be to fight your way to them, killing any enemy that is in the way. Tell the Knights to watch their backs and then join them. When Crest is done with the scout, and I don’t think we have to worry about him not finishing the job, he will most likely join us in the fighting. I don’t know; something is bugging me about the knights I see who are fighting and the number dead…it doesn’t seem right.” Zavier shrugged here and relaxed himself. He would need complete quickness, every ounce of power he bring, and that wouldn’t truly happen if he was stressed. “Do this, Kyo. We have to stop these people from perishing. If you see any men who are able to fight, call them to you, although I don’t know how many are left. The problem with the knights will most likely come to me…until then, however, think nothing of it. Now, go!”

Zavier sped towards the sizeable group of orcs that were making their way towards the patch in the Knights defenses. He didn’t look back to see if his companion was doing what he had said. Whatever he decided, he would make the decision he saw as the best. He focused on the orcs, and he tried to think which he could kill. They obviously didn’t consider the heads as any valuable target. They war armor on their chests and legs, but Zavier could tell that their backs were not extremely fortified. Their heads carried nothing but their matted hair, what little they had, and their ugly scowls and toothless grins. He would have to disrupt them, but at what cost?

“ORCS! I AM ZAVIER DRAGONUS!” The orc group seemed to stop in unison, and in the same way looked to face their opponent. Most of them stopped completely, while some began to pace slowly. “If you want an enemy, come to me!”

Many of the orcs took the bait, running towards Zavier. No doubt they probably saw him as easy game, a single knight when they had obviously killed many of them together. The orcs who didn’t run towards him stopped and faced the others, obviously laughing at Zavier. Only one orc continued to run, appearing to be one of the commanders, and he cared little to the sport of the others. If he kept running at his current speed, he would most likely meet Kyo near the flanking position.

Zavier gritted his teeth. He couldn’t think of anyone else. All he had to rely on was his strength, his blade, his skill…and the favor of God.

Crestierem had been chasing the scout for a few seconds now, but he was only keeping up with the orc, not reducing the distance between them. This is getting irritating...I have to first cripple it before I can kill it...but FlameBlast is too flashy and may attract attention... Crest thought as he pulled out a dirk. He pulled back his right arm with dirk at hand, holding it by the blade as he tried to stop and recover whatever energy he could in the little time he'd have. His feet slid as he stopped in his tracks and threw the dirk forward, the small knife spinning in the air before landing into the orcs right leg. The orc stumbled forward before it fell face first into the dirt. Crest had hoped to make a fatal wound, but "saw" that he crippled it instead, and with that, he began to walk towards the fallen runner, who was now trying to regain his footing.
"You cannot run from me anymore, orc..." Crestierem announced to his enemy with a sly smile.
"I know that, human..." The orc rasped in distaste, speaking the last word with a sneer as it drew its short sword from its sheath. The orc looked at Crestierem up and down, and when he saw the blindfold over humans eyes, he grinned at his advantage.

The orc charged forward as fast as it could, but with its leg injured, he couldn't run very fast. Crestierem was about to burn it alive with the End of Time spell, when he reconsidered. Still too flashy, I went after the runner to stop the main group knowledge of our arrival, not for game...I'll have to stick with dirks in this battle... Crestierem thought as he pulled out four dirks from his cloak and sent them flying towards his charging enemy. The orc blocked the one flying towards his neck, and another towards his sword arm, but the last two hit him in his left arm and chest. Before Crest could pull out another handfold to throw, the orc was within range of attack and slashed down-right with its right hand. Crestierem jumped backwards, out of range of the attack, as he also pulled out a single dirk, and hopped back forward, thrusting the dirk forward towards the orcs throat. But before the dirk could make contact, the orc brought its left hand around and punched Crestierem in the side of his face, sending him flying to the side, leaving only a small cut on the orcs neck from the tip of the dirk. As soon as Crest landed onto the ground, he curled his body, and rolled to his feet. A bruise from the hit was already appearing on his cheek. The orc wasted no time to let its enemy recover and charged Crest again with its sword pointing at the sky. Tch, forget about being silent, I'm tired of close quarter battles... Crestierem thought as the orc closed the space between them. Crest pulled back his right arm and sent his dirk flying, then with his left hand, he clasped his hand into a fist, and reopened it with a fireball in his hand, and sent that flying as well. After sending both objects flying, he began to chant the words of magic. The orc blocked the dirk out of the air. when he saw the fireball, he placed his weapon in front of him in hopes that it would provide some protection. The fireball flew into the sword and exploded on contact, sending the orc flying backwards , burnt, and the sword out of his hands. By this time, Crestierem finished his spell, and a wall of fire appeared in front of Crestierem, but surrouned the orc who was pushing himself up to his feet. The ring of fire closed in around the orc and swallowing him into a tornado of flame.

Crestierem sighed in relief. He was out of practice, and tired from travelling the whole morning running to reach Mineth Burg by noon, from the persistance of the Lancer, Kyo. Any who saw this would know that at least a mage was here... Crest thought as he "stared" at the fire. Crestierem turned his attention to the battle betweens the knights and orcs. The knights were being slowly pushed back. Tch, this is what happens when you arrogance gets the best of you... Crestierem whispered to the knights mentally. Tch, no time to regroup with the other two, I will have to join the fight as soon as possible... Crest thought as he turned to run towards the battle, but right then, the orc in the spell ran out of the fire and tried to stab Crestierem with a small sharp object in the chest, before he could react. Crestierem took out another dirk and spun around the orcs extended arm, and thrust it into the back of the orcs neck, and dug it deep. The orc fell dead, burnt black to look almost like charcoal with a dirk in its hand.
"Whew, that was a close one..." Crest said with a smirk on his face. His back stung after the close attack. Crest reached back and touched the part that stung, felt some moisture. So, the orc managed to cut me, with my own dirk at that... Crest thought as he faced the battlefield again. Nothing to worry about, I have bigger things to be concerned with anyways. Crest thought as he ran forward.

Crestierem finally reached the battle from behind the knights, which was irritating to do, because almost every knight that would see him that was not in immediate battle came up to him and offered to lead him to a safe place where the villagers hid, and every time, Crestierem had to repeat his reasons for being there, that he was sent by the duke of Tharkas Castle as a scout and minor reinforcements, not blind villager who lost his way and ended up near the battlefield. Once he was close enough to target the orcs, but far away enough to not be harmed form their weapons, Crest began to chant, aiming at the orcs, but far enough so that the knights would not be affected by the spell. The stamina drained from his body as the price for the spell, and replaced it with the magical powers that dwelled from within him. A white orb appeared in the sky, slowly growing as Crest drew nearer to the end of his spell. The spell was completed, and the orb shot into the enemy ranks exploding upon contact, with a bright light spreading out a couple meters before fading away. Those in the center of the landing were blown outwards, badly wounded, while those near it, screamed out in horror for their lack of sight. Without waiting to rest and recover, Crestierem rechanted the spell, repeating the process and conclusion. After the fifth Circle of Light, Crestierem wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, and after a few seconds of light rest, continued his role in the battle.

Kyo nodded his agreement with Zavier's orders. Kyo know that the group needed a leader, and he was willing to give the position to the charismatic knight. Besides, he didn't want that kind of responsibility, he was only here for the money anyway, a successful mission meant a return trip home. Still, Kyo's honor pulled him to help these dreary knights and the equally hopeless citizens of the town. As he rushed off towards the shining knights' position, Kyo ran into another problem. As he came up about a quarter mile from the main battle Kyo saw the flipping tongues of a fire, and the swaying of tent cloth. Making a quick assesment, Kyo saw three Orcs, appearing to be a small outpost, or something along the lines of that. Instead of just going around the encampment, Kyo knew he had to take these grunts out if he was to continue to the main battle.

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Grundel sat down next to the fire, even in the day time this realm was far cooler than his "home." His spear was laid on the ground beside him, within easy grasping reach if an adversary approached. The large Orc flared his nostrils as he took in the smell of his latest catch, a small furry creature, he had no idea what the tiny beast might be called. Another large Orc approached from Grundel's right, his comrade Kunke.

"Nice dinner!" Kunke said, saliva beginning to form around the creature's lips.

"My dinner!" Grundel corrected, thrusting a large thumb into his oversized chest

Grundel stood up as Kunke stepped towards him, brandishing his large axe. Just as the two were about to take swipes at each other a third Orc stepped in between them, this one's name was Bogird and was the leader of this trio.

"Stop you fools, we come to fight weakling human, not Kunke or Grundel!" The "wisest" of the three Orcs stated forcefully.

The pair backed down from one another and returned to their earlier activites. As Grundel poked at the fire, he heard a crackle of twigs coming form outside of the small camp. Picking up his spear, he went to investigate.
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Kyo sculded himself as he lifted his foot gently off the broken twigs. He wasn't surprised when he heard the heavy footfalls of an approaching Orc. He put a hand on the hilt of his lance behind his back, and fell against a large tree. He held his breath, not to hide his position but to avoid smelling the foul Orc. The adversary finally came around from the other side of the tree trunk, his head outstretched in a observeratory fashion. Kyo struck hard, unsheathed and striking with his lance in one fluid motion. The creature heard the steel lance pulling free of it's holdings and managed to bring his spear up cross-ways in defense. The lance tip struck against the wooden shaft of the spear, pressing it against the strong chest of Grundel. The Orc pushed off the strike with all of its might, pushing Kyo back a few steps. The creature followed up with a strong fist aimed at Kyo's face. A slide and curve motion by Kyo made him dodge the attack, and put him in another good position to strike. He sent his lance flying out towards the exposed flank of Grundel. The tip pierced the tough skin of the Orc, releasing black blood. The monster howl of pain was cut short by the punch of Kyo to the creature's throat. All that came up was a gurggle. The beast recovered and sent his spear out and around, hitting Kyo in the back with the shaft, the blow knocking Kyo out to the left of the monster. Having lost the element of surprise, Kyo prepared himself for the coming strike of the Orc. However, the lack of action made Grundel grow unaffection for combat, and he decided to run back to his comrades at the camp. Caught by surprise by this tactic, Kyo had to sprint to catch up with the creature. Just as Grundel breached the edge of the encampment, Kyo sent his lance out straight, right through the creature back, piercing its heart and exploding out of the front of its chest.

Kunke came upon the scene, seeing only Grundel face down in the dirt, a large puncture wound evident on his back. Having no need to check for signs of life from his comrade, Kunke held his axe with both of his large hands. Then he heard a sharp whistle. He looked all around him, finding nothing. Then a flash of silver and black as Kyo descended down on him, landing just behind and to the right of the Orc. A large red gash appeared on the left chest and shoulder of Kunke as he yelled in pain. The wound making the effort of wielding his axe with both hands impossible, Kunke swung wildly in a full circle with his large weapon. The quickness of the Orc surprised Kyo, a short hop was all he could muster, sending him out of the deathblow range, but giving him a long red cut along his abdominal. The monster looked back at Kyo, his eyes bloodshot red, the look of bloodlust overcame the beast. He rushed at the Lancer, who was of course superbly faster than the Orc. Kyo made a quick sidestep, watching as Kunke went rushing past him. He sent his lance out to its full extent and swung it low, tripping up the brute. Kunke stumbled forward and into a mighty oak tree, quickly holting his stumbles. He slumpped to the ground unconcious. Kyo could tell that these Orcs were rusty fighters at beast. He expected much more from the real thing and not just their Goblin kin. Walking over to the hunched over Orc, Kyo could not believe his eyes as the axe flew up over the Orc's head, straight at Kyo's own head. Kyo's dash was too slow as the blade cut into the left shoulder of the lancer. Kyo spun backwards, cursing himself for falling for such a cheap trick. Roaring with fury, Kyo dashed back to the Orc and implanted his lance deep into the neck of Kunke, who was still trying to get to his feet. Black blood sprayed, then oozed form the wound. Kunke laid motionless on the ground, now truely defeated.

Bogird had heard the fight, and had even seen the human lancer. He decided that this foe was too great for single combat. The Orc decided to run back to the main group, making make a run at the knights from behind. He was surely not going to stay and fight this flying man. Kyo saw the Orc run off towards the battle. Following close, Kyo say a great sign as he finally came to the battlefield. A large fiery blast erupted in the Orc ranks, his comrade Crest's work no doubt. So now, Kyo set off to inform the knights of the incoming Orc raiders that Zavier was hopefully running from now. Kyo set himself in the line of knights and bagan to do his part for the cause.

“I’m an idiot. Regardless as to how strong or weak or lucky or fortunate or blessed or cursed…whatever I think is happening to me, that still is no excuse for being an idiot!” These are the thoughts that flew through Zavier’s mind as he sprinted towards the orcs. They looked at him, anger and destruction mirrored in their eyes. They seemed to be live for two purposes; to eat, and to kill, two things that they naturally did very well. And here was Zavier, a level one knight, rushing across a plain towards numerous of these idiots. But then, it didn’t matter. He had to remind himself numerous times that what he was doing was right; he was sacrificing himself for his team, and that was all that could have been expected of him. If someone didn’t warn the knights, this job being designated for Kyo, then the knights wouldn’t make it. If someone didn’t help give the reinforcements, this job being for Crest, then there would be no way the knights could hold the orcs off long enough. And if it wasn’t for some crazy, motivated, overzealous fellow to stop a mass or orcs from moving to early against the held-up knights, this job being for him, then all would simply fall apart.

Zavier had a few moments to think as he made his way towards his opponents, the final echo of his voice across the expanse dwindling as the battle raged on. It had worked out perfectly; the strongest was going to reinforce the other knights who were already fighting. The faster of the two fighters, the lancer, was going to warn them of what was going to happen. And Zavier, someone who specialized in fighting, was going to try and…do what exactly?

“No time to think about it; I have to start now!” Zavier was just in range of some of the orcs when he jumped slightly. His small leap took him into the air and many of the weapons simply missed their marks. As soon as Zavier was high enough he spun his body around very quickly, his sword expertly ripping through the think skulls of the orcs. 5 died where they stood, and a couple others were injured. The other orcs stopped for a moment, sizing Zavier up. He was obviously not a very strong human in their eyes; actually, they looked at him as a piece of meat, or something to be eaten or destroyed, which is why they were surprised by the fact that he had actually killed a few of them. They quickly regrouped, and although they attacked, they came at Zavier very slowly this time, making sure their attacks were precise.

“Not good enough!” Zavier screamed as he rushed them instead. The orcs, no matter how they tried it seemed to be, they always fell into the old trick. Get into something new, and you would most likely fool them before they realized what was happening. Then, if you somehow managed to alter the trick again, sometimes even replacing the new attack with the first you perfected, they would all be slaughtered by that also. Thus, Zavier performed the same attack at a different altitude and killed 2 more and injured the wounded one even further. Some of the other orcs began to become disgruntled, irritated that their soldiers were being killed so easily by a solitaire knight.

“Zavier, bring it down a notch. If they begin believing that they can’t fight and overtake you, they may rush back towards the village…” Just then an explosion rocked their bodies. Everyone who was conscious of it turned to look at Mineth Burg. Zavier did also, only to remember the fact that the orcs would go to their primary locations if their interest in it once again peaked. An now, with explosions knocking some of their comrades out of the way, a new challenge seemed to present itself. Zavier knew that could be trouble and he rushed towards the orcs.

As he brought his sword up he felt something tap him on the shoulder. As he looked, a fist landed straight into his chest. The orcs started laughing as one of their own posed over Zavier. He brought his foot down, slamming it into Zavier’s chest. Zavier felt this ribs bending under the pressure, but he would not cry out. If he began to cry, even remotely, it was possible that even some of the orcs would begin to tire of it. If he held on, at least just a little longer, he would have a better chance of keeping them there. But, just because he wasn’t going to scream didn’t mean that he necessarily had to take that abuse. The orc became over confident and tried to hit him again, but Zavier was ready. He caught the monster’s leg and twisted, the monster screaming in pain as it felt its bones separate from one another. Zavier smirked and launched himself up, sending his entire body crashing down on the orcs leg. The orc screamed in pain and pulled its foot away, its toothless an sometimes slothful screams piercing the air. Zavier was sure that some of the members of the main fighting knight and orc group could hear them. Some of the other orcs laughed as they saw what was happening, Zavier stood up, a smile on his face.

“I can take any of you on. You’re nothing to me. Which one of you wants to try himself against a true warrior?” The orcs looked at him, wary mirrored in some of their eyes. Zavier smirked on the outside, but on the inside he felt horrible. He had been using so much energy since this entire fiasco began, and the hits he had received had hurt him considerably. He was struggling to keep his body from shaking, and he was breathing deeply through his nostrils, although he didn’t allow it to be seen. “I hope this bluff works…this could get really bad for me…ahh, spoke to soon.” One of the orcs that had been standing and watching for a while stepped up. The others began to laugh and cheer as he came, and partly that was a good thing. Besides the fact that Zavier was most likely about to get jumped by the entire group of them in a bit, their minds were almost completely of what they were supposed to be doing. “If I can buy even a few more seconds…those seconds would be important.” Zavier brought his broadsword into both his hands and readied it to his left, going him a good amount of defense and a moderate amount of offense towards the orc. As the monster walked forwards he noticed a slight gleam in the orc’s eye. As it neared him, it went into the same pose that he was in Zavier’s eyes slightly widened as he then changed to a form that was exactly the opposite. His sword as not held with his right hand at his right, and his left hand traveled the tilt of it. He could now perform very good offensive moves, but his defense was only moderate power.

“You are obviously no typical orc. Not many orcs I have faced in the past couple of days can match my stance and find more or less another stance equal to it. Tell me, fighter, what is your name?”

“I am called Kul’Karak in your tongue human. I am here to reduce you to the level of the swine you are, whether it is to enslave you…or kill you all like a slaughter house.” The orcs obviously understood what he was saying and began to yell loudly, rooting on their fighter. Zavier realized that it was Kul’Karak that they had been chanting; he wondered what they had thought about when they chose the fighter.

“Well…fair enough, but you see, I can’t let that happen. I will have to make an example out of you!” Zavier rushed at the fighter, surprised that his body still had enough power to run at such a speed. The orc ran towards him also and attacked first, using his left arm to push his blade even further towards Zavier, giving it an extra boon of energy. Zavier brought his sword into its complete defense stance and blocked the attack, sending it spinning to the side. He then performed his own attack, slicing at his enemy. The enemy had spun yet somehow managed to bring his sword in time to block the attack, although it was not as successive as Zavier did. Zavier launched and grabbed the fighter, slamming into the ground. Zavier tried to jump and land on the monster as the orc grabbed his feet. Zavier felt his body swinging as he landed on the grass. He quickly drew his sword and tried to attack the orc on the ground but the orc kicked his weapon away. Zavier flipped over the orc to get it and as he grabbed the sword he heard 2 steps behind him. He flipped forwards, but in the middle of his attack he extended his blade as far as possible. When he landed he looked at his enemy. His enemy lay with his chest slit open, his eyes slightly glazed…yet the monster was still breathing.

“You no true orc! We make you suffer before you die good!” the orcs screamed in unison at their fallen fighter.

“What savages…pathetic. I don’t see any of you coming to fight me? At least this creature had…honor.” Zavier walked over to the orc, and he felt as thought the creature was pleading with him. He quickly brought his sword into the monsters skull, putting an end to its misery. Zavier looked up…and didn’t like what he saw. The orcs were snarling, not liking their decisions to be overwritten. Zavier turned and began to run as they all began to chase him, each person internet on killing him. If they had been alone, it would be no problem, but the fact that they were attacking in a group would possibly cause problems. He ran, ran as fast as he could around the village. He would try to lead the group astray. However, looking back he was dismayed. More and more of the orcs were slowing and making their way towards Mineth. Suddenly a small parchment flew and hit Zavier in the face. He quickly grabbed it and looked at it, noticing human handwriting had been placed on it.

Zavier ran towards Mineth Burg, getting in front of the other orcs. Now, the Knights had to know that they were about to be surrounded…yet still, something didn’t make sense. Zavier thought of the parchment and read it, and as he did so he received his answer. He knew why the knights had bothered him when he had first seen them.

“Crest, Kyo, if you can here me, listen up! Things are about to get a lot better for us, but for right now, fight with everything you have…and with some that you don’t have! We have to save some of the residents of this town!”

(OOC: What Zavier read is about to make its way into my next post. Be ready, it’s gonna tilt the balance…if that’s not giving it away.)

"What?" Crestierem asked as he turned around tiredly. He had heard his name somewhere, but if his name had been called, the sounds of battle washed the rest of the message away. The blind mage was exhausted, he breathed heavily with his shoulders slouching, sweat constantly dripping from his forhead. He returned his attention back to the battle at hand, wiped off more sweat from his forhead before he began casting another spell. The words of magic flowed out of his lips, taking some more stamina with it, and replacing it with the energies of magic. Another orb appeared into the sky over the orc ranks, growing larger as Crestierem drew nearer to the end of the spell. Crestierem finished the spell, and the glowing sphere shot straight down into the enemy, again, blowing them outwards, and blinding those near the explosion. Crestierem fell to his knees, almost to the point where he could fall asleep sitting up.
"Too many..." Crestierem gasped between breathes, "...there's too many..." the blind mage repeated. His eyes were heavy, and he wanted to sleep, right there, just out of reach of the battle. Crestierem struggled to keep his eyes open from beneath the blindfold that covered them, even though it made no differance of his sight, for he only saw darkness, but he still struggled for conciousness.

Crestierem was sitting in the library of the Cethindol Tower, reading another book of the recorded history left behind. He read them as if he was a boy, reading some fictional story of a hero saving the world...but he had a feeling that they were inaccurate in some way...dramatized in the eyes of the humans, but he had no proof, only a gut feeling. The mage was not surprised by what any of the books told, only interested in what was written, hoping to find something of his own past, by reading those of others.

His eyes shot open, returning Crestierem back to the battlefield. He wasn't sure how long he was asleep for, but not long, considering the battle was still being fought. The knights still fighting and the warriors slain or wounded were not much differant than when he could last remember. Crestierem pushed himself back to his feet, still tired and exhausted, but not as much as before. This time, I will stick with the more simple spells... Crestierem thought as he spread his arms wide, clenching his hands into fists. He opened his hands, and two fireballs appeared in his hands, one in each. He tossed them up and over the knight ranks, arced in the air and fell straight into the enemy, where they exploded, burning all those in the small area. As soon as he had tossed the first two, he created two more and tossed them as well. He continued to toss them, looking like a group of archer letting loose a volley of flaming arrows, that exploded upon impact. Once in awhile, he would raise his free arm high into the air, then dropping it, letting loose a temporary waterfall that drowned or pounded the orcs near the front ranks of the enemy, and then returned to the barrage of magical bombs. I hope the tides turn in our favor soon. I can't last much longer... Crestierem thought as he set loose another pair of flaming spheres.

Kyo spun his lance in a wide arc, fending off the ever-chargin Orc horde. Does it ever stop? Kyo though to himself, he had been fighting for the better part of three hours without a single second of rest. Just as he was recovering from his attack, an Orc made a wild dive over his fallen comrades, soaring high into the air. He landed as gracefully as an Orc could, successfully penetrating the knight's lines. Kyo knew that he had to slaughter this beast so no other of his kin would attempt this same manuever, and if a dozen or so breached the knights lines...Kyo didn't want to think of the outcome. He turned towards the Orc who was raising its Broadsword more a large vertical cut. Kyo struck first, thrusting his lance out towards the beasts extended arm. The sharp tip punctured the skin right at the Orc's elbow, causing a loud scream to be added to the overall noise of battle. The strength flew from the Orc's arm making the broadsword unbearable for the creature. Kyo knew that an Orc was still dangerous, even when unarmed. Proving this, the Orc made a stong jab, hitting Kyo in the upper chest. Kyo was pushed back a couple of feet due to this large attack. The Orc came on again, this time with a cross to Kyo's face. The lancer fell to the ground, unable to get his defenses up in time to stop the attack. Kyo wiped the blood that started to seep from his lips. The Orc, knowing no such thing as mercy picked Kyo up by the lancer's collar with his uninjured arm. The Orc made an evil, snarled, toothed grin as he brought Kyo up to eye-level. As the lancer was held even higher, more Orcs looked on, seeing the success of their comrade's wild tactic of jumping the weak points in the knight's line. They began forming plans to do the same, if this lancer was killed. With a grunt, the Orc threw Kyo high into the air and prepared a finishing kick. The fool, Kyo was at home in the sky. He redirected his path to were his fallen lance laid. The Orc's blind kick went unanswered as Kyo picked up his lance. As the Orc looked around for the lancer, a sharp pain erupted on his back. He dropped to his knees in agony as Kyo pulled out the lance. The beast laid face down, defeated.

Just as Kyo was about to go back and support the lines, he heard a calling coming from the back of the knight's ranks. A man wearing on cloth was beckoning his attention, he was obviously a cleric sent with the knights, bodies of the dead and injured surrounded the man of God. Kyo answered his call, knowing that it must be serious to pull a warrior away from the fighting.

"Help me sir, these men need water and I've run out. There is a well in town that should give up some. Please help" the priest said, breathing heavily from the continuation of his strenuos work. Kyo accepted and headed out for the town. Unknown to Kyo, an old adverary had spotted his movements, and headed out to fight the slayer of his comrades, Bogird the Orc hurried towards Kyo.

Just as Kyo approached the edge of town, he saw the well, stationed in the center of the small village. Walking over he was blinded sided and thrown to the ground. Opening his eyes after the fall, Kyo saw two men standing over him, two shiny hand axes each were held by both.

"I guess he is no Orc, but he be no knight either. Speak lad, who be ye?" One of the men said with a heavy local dialect.

"Kyo, a lancer of Riono, sent here to assist the knights." Kyo replied, making up that last bit, he was only sent to scout the situation.

"Lancer, ye say, I don't know why, but I believe ye lad, here." The man said, extending a hand for aid.

Kyo explained his mission, and the men offered their aid, introducing themselves as Theodore and Gilven. They group headed out to the well. When they got there, they had a slight problem. The bucket was missing, and the rope had been cut, making the well useless. Just then, Kyo got an idea. At the surprise of the other men, he jumped down into the well. The men looked after him, but lost him in the darkness of the well. Then, after about ten seconds, Kyo soar past the lip of the well, a bucket of water held in his each hand. Landing with ease, the lancer smilied at the impressed Theodore and Given. Kyo continued this until all three men had two buckets of water apiece. The group started their return trip to the battlefield. Just then, Bogird the Orc appeared before them, his two-handed sword held in an offensive posture. Kyo told the men to go on, he'd take the Orc. He placed his buckets of water on the ground as the men fanned out to avoid the Orc. Bogird could care less about those men, his vengeance stood with Kyo. The Orc charged as Kyo unsheathed the lance from his shoulder. The combatants closed on each other quickly. The battle ensued, both went all out. Kyo made several spiral attacks, one lower than the one before it and so on. The Orc placed his large sword vertically, affectively blocking all the attacks. Bogird made a large diagnoal slash, Kyo position his lance counter-diagnoal, intercepting the strong strike, unfortunately, the attack pushed on and made a red gash across Kyo's chest. Making a thrust, Kyo scored a hit on the Orc's right arm as it moved out of deathblow-range. The monster shrugged off the pain and continued his attacks. He made several sweeping horizontal strikes wildly. Kyo jumped over the Orc with a perfect sommersault, landing at the exposed back of the Orc. He planted his feet and sent the lance backwards, without looking. The quickness of Kyo assured the kill. He felt the lance enter the Orc. He tore it back out violently, severing the spine of the Orc. It fell to the ground dead. As he was recovering from his wound, two more Orcs came rushing at him. With a look of giving up, Kyo slumped his shoulders. Two silver axes streaked through the sky, hitting both of the Orcs in the back of the neck. The beasts crumpled to the ground revealing Theodore and Gilven standing a short distance away. With a smile of thanks, the three went back to the battle and delivered the water. The cleric thanked them a thousand times and continued his work, distriputing the water. With Theodore and Gilven at his flanks, Kyo rejoined the lines of battle.

Zavier ran, frantic. He had the manuscript in one of the folds of his armor, stuck away to make sure that nothing would happen to it. Just having it near him seemed to give him a renewed sense of purpose. What they had done, the difficulty they had in coming to Mineth Burg, and the overwhelming sense of destruction that presented itself to them when they arrived…everything seemed to pale when compared to what could be, what should be, what must be…

Zavier ran towards the little village, pondering their situation. He could still hear the death-cries and war cries of the fighting armies, and as valiant and well trained as the Knights were fighting, there was no way they could win. Even with the no-surprise poly done by Zavier and Kyo and Crest to warn them of their situation, the knights were still fighting almost in a circle. The orc group was spread around them in tight circle formation…but Zavier could see the dead bodies of those who had assailed the knights…and he could see the bodies of those the orcs dared assail. To him, it was all senseless. He was well aware that the orcs and humans had major differences, differences which led to problems, and anger, and hatred, and finally into things like this, the destruction of Mineth Burg. But why? Why had the lords of the orcs decided to upset the balance of things? What if they simply wished to make everything better for everyone…what if they turned their attention to making the world a better place for everyone? Wouldn’t that be more worth their time then trying to destroy a small village of people who barely knew what an orc was, let alone wanted to slay one. These people wanted to simply live out their lives in peace…they simply wanted to be with their loved ones and live a life that they can be assured in.

And what of his own village? What was to say that the orc=lords would not one day decided to destroy his village, to take it over and destroy any and all who dared oppose their self-asserted rule? Would he not be doing the same thing he was doing now? Would he not be running towards the village, having left it undefended, seeming to have thrown his cares in the world while his village was slowly but surely destroyed? He was but one man, that was true…but how a man had made a difference some many times by relying on himself and no one else!

As Zavier neared the city tears pooled within his eyes. He could see the bodies of men thrown about the streets…some decapitated, some mangled, some destroyed almost beyond recognition. These people didn’t deserve it. Why did they have to suffer for what those with power did? It just didn’t seem fair. Tears pooled even harder as Zavier saw the bodies of women, some strewn and ravaged, a look of pure sadness and hatred mirrored…no, not mirrored, chiseled into their frail and delicate frames. They had been embarrassed and insulted in the worst way possible…and what’s more, they were more than likely made to watch as their husbands were beaten, and their husbands were probably forced to watch as their women were mistreated horribly.

Fire burned within Zavier, and when he touched the manuscript fire seemed to sear through his entire body. In just a little while, they would get what they deserved.

Suddenly Zavier heard a noise…different from the sounds of the far-gone dying or the wounded becoming the far-gone. It was different from the sounds of metal clanking against metal, of men in battle fighting against other men in battle. Zavier heard…discussion, human intelligent discussion. He quickly ran along the streets, putting his ear against the walls to hone in on the source of the noise. Finally he found the building and knocked. It became deathly silent, and Zavier thought about how he looked. It was no surprise that the people would respond as they did; their homes were being destroyed by an invading force.

“Is anyone in there?” Zavier said in a loud whisper, not wanting to draw attention to them from the orcs. “I am Zavier Dragonus, and I have been sent by the Tharkas Kingdom. I need to know; are there humans inside of this building?”

“Yes young man!” Someone said before they were rudely shushed. “Listen to him; he is obviously not an orc! His speech is too good!”

“But you don’t know what side he is on! It could be a ruse by the enemy to give ourselves away!” A female voice said.

“I don’t’ thinks o, and I don’t care. I’m tired of sitting here while our young men fight a battle they know they can’t win. If this stranger can help us…I’m not going to sit here and wait fro him to come to me!”

Amidst an outburst of ruckus and loud discussion the door to the house was slung open. Zavier’s heart leaped as he saw numerous, many women, men, and children. Most of the men seemed to be in their later years, but the women seemed to stretch the entire spectrum. There were numerous children as well, some sleeping, some walking around, some grabbing what Zavier could only surmise to be their parents. The man who must have been talking walked up to Zavier, a smile on his face.

“I am Theus, pleased to meet you Zavier. You said you come to us from Tharkas?”

Zavier quickly grabbed the man’s hand and stepped into the shelter, quickly closing the door behind him. “I do. They sent me and a couple of others to see how the situation fared and to offer any aid we saw needed. I was wondering if there were any survivors left, but I feared for the worst.”

“Indeed. Our village has suffered horrendously, but we shall prevail, for even if the orcs were to bury us, were to burn us to the ground, we would still find a way to protect ourselves and live. We of Mineth Burg may not be incredibly strong or powerful, but we do know how to keep living.”

“Well said. Well, I think for the moment it would be best if you all stayed here. The battle wages this very hour, and I fear if you were to come out now you would most likely be seen and found out.”

“You are most likely right Zavier. But tell us…do you think we have a chance? Do you believe that those knights and our sons have enough power to destroy these invaders?”

Zavier looked at the eyes of all the people in that shelter. They looked so frail, so easily destroyed, yet in their eyes burned a fierceness that went against all obstacles. It told Zavier that these were a people who would not give up easily, who would always fight if they could. But right now…they needed something to pick them up. Right now, they needed an inspiration to make sure that the fire didn’t burn out. Even if the inspiration wasn’t necessarily true…they still needed something to believe anyway.

“I…I didn’t. When I stepped from the forest and laid eyes upon the village, I was positive that we wouldn’t make it out alive. I thought that today I would give my life for a village…and that even if we lost, even if all of our efforts were in vain, I would still be able to die knowing that I attempted to help someone. To me, that was enough reason to come here. I’m not here for the money I was promised…I’m here to help those who need me, and I’m also here to find remnants of my own past. What monetary values are placed on this mission mean little to me. Were it not that I needed money to live, I wouldn’t even be taking any for this assignment.

“Like I said, I thought there was no help. But then, something miraculous happened. After I killed a few orcs in my way, this manuscript came and hit me. I picked it up and read it…and I knew that we had a chance.’ Zavier took the manuscript out of his fold and gave it to the old men. Zavier watched as the old man’s eyes lit up…and when he looked at Zavier, pure amazement was mirrored there. Others began to gather around the old man, wondering at the note.

“Is this possible son? Are you certain this is no trick?”

“I’m positive. In fact, I think…” Zavier was interrupted by a new sound outside. It wasn’t any of the sounds that he had heard previously. It was a pure sound, a solitary sound, of 2 simple notes put together. They seemed to come from a horn that was off to a certain distance away. Zavier’s heart began to quicken its pace; he knew it was now time.

“I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that the time has come for us to win this battle.”

Zavier stepped outside and many of the people rushed with him. As they stepped onto the street they could see the horn blower. Soon after he finished, a mass of horsemen began riding towards the knights where they were trying to stave off the orcs. Zavier counted 40 riders strong, and remembered what had happened when he had looked at the battle in the first place.

Zavier knew how many knights had been dispatched…and while he saw a majority of them here, some had been missing. He had only put that together when the manuscript had been given to him by a scout. And that manuscript read:

Tell them to hold on. We are soon here. See if any survive. Will be there within 10 minutes.

TK

Zavier realized that the TK stood for Tharkas Kingdom, and his heart had jumped. He watched as the horse riders made their way towards the orcs, who now had to find a way to face against this new foe. They tried to turn towards these new fighters, and the knights who were pinned down began to fight even harder. Soon, the orc numbers seemed to rapidly drop, and an end seemed near.

“I guess some of them were sent to scout and went back and gathered themselves some horses and the like. But I’m glad. It looks like this battle will be over very soon. “Zavier looked at the village people, bid them farewell, and raced towards the battle, eager to have his share of the end.

(OOC: I hope you guys liked the horsemen coming.)

The battle continued to rage on, while Crestierem stayed behind the lines to provide what little support he could. Crest quickly wiped his forhead with his left sleave, already damp with sweat, as well as the mage's right sleave, and took a few deep breaths. The blind mage began to chant again, a simple spell with Crestierem's experiance, but still more complicated than Flameblasts and Cleansing Falls. The familier procedure repeated again, draining his stamina and replacing it with the flow of magic through him. A ring of fire bursted out of the ground within the enemy ranks, and almost immediately, inclosed onto the enemy within the circle, with the height of the fire rising higher until it reached the center, burning anything inside. Crestierem could hear the scream of the orcs ring out of the blazing flames, and out of the sounds of battle that continued to echo throughout the field. Crestierem clenched his right hand into a fist, and opened it slowly. The flaming sphere that was supposed to appear over his palm sparked and flickered, as if reluctant to appear before it's summoner. This is my last... Crestierem thought as he "stared" into the flame. I'm drained of my magical capabilities for the time being. After this, I will have to fight in close combat with my dirks, though I'm not sure how effective that will be against swords, axes, maces, and morning stars... Crestierem sighed at the thought of him charging into a battle for knights, with only a knife in hand, in a crowded enviroment.

Crest prepared to send the fireball flying, when a few orcs broke through the knight lines before him, and charged at him. Crestierem through the fireball straight forward, into the stomach of one of the orcs. The explosion sent the single orc flying backwards, burnt and charcoaled. Tch, what a waste... Crestierem thought as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a handful of dirks, then immediately sent them flying. Two of the dirks hit one orc in the neck and shoulder, two other dirks hit another orc in the head and into the orcs open mouth, and the fifth dirk cut off the ear of another orc. Two of them fell forward dead, five more continued their charge, including the one with the missing ear. Crestierem began to examine them as he pulled out another handful of dirks, knowing that he'd have to fight them in close combat. Two of them had axes, one of the two was a pole-armed battle axe, the other had a hatchet and buckler, the third that followed closely behind had a sword and a large shield similar to those the knights used, the one with the missing ear (and obviously oblivious to the pain) held a spear with a barbed tip. The blind mage was unable to make an accurate examination of the last one with the four other orcs closing the distance between them rapidly, but all Crestierem knew was that the fifth one held a great two-handed broadsword that was almost the same size as him! Crestierem sent the handful of dirks flying forward towards their targets. One of them landed neatly into the wooden buckler the of the hatchet wielder, two were deflected off the shield of the knight-like orc, and the last dirk landed softly in the leg of the orc with the pole battle axe. ...Not my day... Crestierem thought as he pulled out a single dirk for the well anticipated close combat.

The orc with the hatchet and buckler was the first to reach him, and swung down to cleave the mage's skull. Crestierem spun clockwise and to the right of the attack, and slashed outwards, towards the orcs neck. Instead, the dirk scrapped accross the wooden buckler, and before Crestierem could move to get around the defence, a heavy battle axe landed into the dirk between the two, causing the mage to instinctively jump back. As soon as Crest's toe touched the ground, the knight-equipped orc slashed horizontally at Crestierem's neck. Crest ducked and heard the sword whiz over his head. By this time, the pole-axeman had recovered from its attack and slashed downwards at Crestierem again. Crest jumbed backwards from his ducking position, and threw his dirk at the orcs legs. Crest "saw" the dirk land into the shin of one of them, before his back landed onto the dirt. Wanting a quick recovery, Crsetierem curled his body, and rolled backwards onto his feet, but as soon as he got to his feet, a sharp pain stabbed into the back of his left shoulder. The blind mage "looked" behind him to see the earless orc holding the spear that impaled into Crest's shoulder. The orc pulled out its weapon, and possibly some flesh with it, and prepared for another lunge. Crestierem spun around, pulling out another dirk, and redirected the path of the spear as the orc lunged, using the blade of the small knife. Crest felt the spear jerk to a halt and something grunt behind him, before he removed the dirk from the orc spear and thrust it into the orcs fully exposed throat. As the orc in front of the mage died, Crest took the time to "look" behind him and find out what made the sound. He "saw" the orc with the hatchet and buckler dead, but still standing, behind him, with the spear impaled into its forhead.

Before Crestierem could make a mental comment about luck, he heard heavy footsteps, and spun clockwise and to the left, removing his dirk from the orcs throat and slashing outwards again, leaving a small cut on the orcs arm. A large battle axe flew downwards to where Crest used to be, and chopped the spear in half, causing both dead orcs to fall onto their backs, and landed into the dirt with a force that vibrated the ground. Before the orc could recover from its repitative attacks, Crest charged the orc and thrust his dirk into the side of the monsters neck. The orc froze, as if stunned. Crest finished his attack by slashing outwards witht he dirk still buried into the flesh, making the dark blood spray away from Crest. The beast began to lean backwards, but before it began to fall, the knight-equipped orc came into "view," hidden behind its dead comrade from Crest's "line of sight" and thrust its sword forward towards teh mage's heart. Crest turned his body, having the sword fly past him and leaving only a small cut across his chest, and Crest stabbed his dirk into the orcs stomach, causing it to stop in front of him, and double forward. Crest then pulled out his dirk and, spinning the dirk upside down, stabbed the small knife into the back of the orcs neck, killing it almost instantly.

Crest took a few more deep breaths to slow his rapid breathing. His heart pounded on his chest, his body ached, and he was exhausted near death. He could have dropped onto the ground and fallen asleep instantly, maybe even before he hit the ground, but something was bothering him, something was missing. He tried the concentrate, and clear his thoughts on this feeling, but it proved to be impossible with half of his mind demanding him to sleep, and the second half almost agreeing with the first half.

Suddenly, Crestierem landed face first into the dirt, feeling a painful sting on his back, from his right shoulder, to his left hip. Some force had pushed him forward before the blind mage could tell what was going on. A large, strong hand grabbed Crest's scalp and lifted his head out of the dirt. Then it came to him. The feeling of something missing, was the fifth orc with the large two-handed broadsword. the one he was forced to rush his examinations with and didn't quite complete them. Crestierem spun his dirk right-side-up and stabbed the orc in the wrist that held him. The orc screamed and pulled its hand back, letting the mage go. Crest took this oppurtunity to gain some distance between himself and the orc, and crawled away as quickly as possible. Once he gained a few feet, he pushed himself to his feet and turned towards his new opponent. The orc snorted and went into its battle stance. Crestierem, in turn, flipped his dirk upside-down again and placed his arm in front of his chest, with his hand partially covering his face. While he waited for the orc to charge, Crestierem took the time to "look" around. No other orc had breached through the knight lines that Crest could "see," the knights were still alive and holding out, but the enemy were still persistant and continued their attack, still confident that they'll win this battle. He returnede his attention to the deul at hand. He was at a great disadvantage, and Crestierem knew it. He was exhausted, fatigued, and currently out of magic, while his opponent was strong, well rested, and trained from combat. His opponent began its charge, and Crest began his. The orc had his body turned, with its blade near the ground on his side, the tip pointing backwards. Crest didn't have the time or energy to readjust his attack and his dirk landed into the orcs shoulder. Crestierem pushed off the orc, letting go of the dirk, and jumped back, hoping to gain some distance between the orc and himself. The creature simply took the hit into its muscular arm, and slashed diagonally upwards, leaving a gash across the mages chest. Crestierem fell onto his back on the dirt, his "vision" dissappearing. A few seconds later, a horn sounded off. Crest felt the ground vibrate underneath him. The tone of the battle change its tone to a positive one, full of hope and cheers from the knights. But the blind mage couldn't cheer with them, nor could he continue his role in the battle. Instead, the sounds of battle faded away from him, and the rumbling of the ground weakened until it no longer existed. Well...that was entertaining... Crest thought as he fell into unconciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crestierem woke up with a horrible headache, as if a pair a dwarves had been hammering his head the entire time he was asleep. Crestierem sat up from the bed he laid in and looked around. He was in one of the larger rooms of the inn, possibly the diner transformed into a ward for the injured, with several other beds around him, filled with the soilders who were fortunate enough to survive the battle. Another hammer fell on his head, and with it, the returning headache. Crestierem placed the palm of his hand on his head, as if to stop it from shaking form pain, but the movement caused more pain from his injuries, though not as painful as his head. Crestierem cursed quietly as he looked down to see his wounds bound and wrapped. He looked at the floor beside him, to see his shirt muffler, and cloak, cleaned, sewn, and neatly folded, and beside them were his boots. On top of his clothes was laid his blindfold. Crestierem reached up and touched his temple, and felt flesh, instead of the strip of cloth that covered his eyes. Again, Crestierem cursed quietly as he snatched up his blindfold. Crest looked around again, and seeing all the knights still asleep, he quietly got out of his bed, and walked to the front door wearing pants and bandages and blindfold in hand. He opened the door as quietly as he could, walked outside, and closed it behind him. He took in a few deep breaths of fresh air, and stared skywards, seeing the stars and moon hanging in the heavens. I wonder how long I've been asleep for... Crest thought curiously. I wonder if I've been left behind... Crest thought a few seconds later, looking down at the streets of Mineth Burg, his mental tone changing instantly to his usual pestimistic tone. Crestierem sighed, and went back inside the inn, and back to the bed he'd been placed at. Well, there's no way to find out for now...not until the morning at least... Crestierem thought as he laid back in bed, tying his blindfold over his eyes before returning to his slumber, to awake the following day.

(OOC: Sorry for taking so long to post this. I've been busy for the last few days and only got to look around and not enough time to post. Thank you for your patience by the way. ^_^)

The silver lance flew again, striking another true hit on the enemy ranks, one of the countless Orcs that continued to charge. Kyo let a deep breath as he continued his rythmn, spot..strike..recover over and over again. The lancer was beginning to think that his lance would break from this extreme use. He hadn't the time to think about that as another Orc came within his range. This one wielded two morning stars, and wore a single spiked helmet, odd for an Orc. With a series of blows, the beast pounded through a knight that was standing beside Kyo. Taking the advantage, Kyo thrusted out his lance. The Orc was prepared though as it used its morning stars to redirected the lance, then making a thunderous strike against it, almost knocking the weapon from Kyo's hands. The blow did set the lancer off-balance greatly as the Orc continued its attack. One morning star descended on the falling human as the other one swept around to Kyo’s stomach to create a pincer hold. The move was successful, causing Kyo to let out a scream of pain as his face twisted into one of anguish. The Orc lifted Kyo back up vertically. A deep toned 'thud' echoed out onto the battlefield as the lance dropped to the blood-stained ground. Constantly squeezing, the barbed heads of the morning stars dug deeper and deeper into the punctured leather armor of Kyo. Blood began to seep from the human's back and chest, as his vision began to darken. The pressure was relentless, the Orc sensed the kill at hand. Just as Kyo's spine and sternum were about to collapse a series of horn blasts sounded in the close distance. The Orc released his death-hold as he turned toward the sounds. What the creature saw made even his boldness flicker out like a candle in a gale. A score of armored knights with battle steads descended onto the tried battlefield.

Kyo was dropped mercifully to the ground, breathing in air as quickly as he could. The Orc hesitated, its brain trying to fully think out the situation, deciding whether to turn tail and flee, or try and take on this new enemy. As the slow creature was pondering, the lancer was recovering, a new malice brewing. The Orc finally decided to join with many of its brethren in regrouping. As he turned to flee, he was stopped by another imposing image. A human stood there wearing tattered leather armor, shredded black cloth pants, holding a solid silver lance, a simple cloth bandanna flowed in the wind around his head, his dirty blonde hair being blown back in the wind, revealing a face of pure intimidation. The Orc stood there, unable to move in sight of this image. Kyo did not hold back, he sent the lance to work, making it fly towards the Orc's stomach. Its hesitation costing the Orc everything, it sent its morning stars down a second too late. The lance punctured the tough skin of the creature, creating a piercing scream that had become common place on this now hollowed ground. Not wasting time, Kyo pulled up with a tenasity never before shown, the shiny lance flew free from the Orc's left shoulder. Its torso torn in half, the Orc literally fell apart a look of pain and known defeat forever imprinted on its face.

Wiping his lance clean with the blackened garments of his fallen adversary, Kyo looked towards the charging knights. They had impacted with the Orc horde, driving a wedge into the ranks of the beasts, all in the immediate path of the cavalry fell away from their relative battle positions, human and orc alike. The knights left a wake of black blood, scores of Orcs lay dead were five minutes before, they were winning against the dwindling human force. As if something was missing, Kyo noticed the lack of spells coming from his comrade Crest, he couldn't help but worry. The lancer went off to find his new friend, seeing if assistance was required. Making his way through the now ravaged ranks of battle, Kyo searched for the now silent Crest. It was certain that he would eventually met up with an adversary in this hunt, it wasn't a long wait either. An Orc holding a simple broadsword and a wirst buckler practically ran into the lancer as it tried to escape from the cascading tide of human calvary. Kyo ducked as the Orc made a simple instinctual slash towards the forehead of the lancer. Sending the blunt end of the lance out, Kyo impacted with the exposed stomach of the creature. Reeling back, the Orc came on again with the buckler, catching Kyo's cheek, sending him falling to the ground. The Orc reversed its grip on the broadsword, feeling a deathblow coming on. Kyo rolled out of the way as the blade descended. It hit nothing but trampled ground. Kyo rolled back up to his knees, stabbing out with his lance. The Orc sent his buckler across, trying to stop the attack. It did manage to get in the lance's way, but the puny shield splintered and broke, allowing the lance to continue into the creature's thigh. Twisting a pulling out the lance, Kyo continued the assault with a jab towards the beast's face. The punch connected right between the eyes of the Orc, making its bloodshot vision orbs roll back in its ugly head. With any more time to waste, Kyo struck again with the lance, this time into the chest of the Orc. A cry of pain was the last audible noise the monster made as it collapsed to the ground from its knees.

All in the town had heard the thunderous gallops of the incoming knights. The females of a family who had hid in their house when their male relatives went to defend the town now became brave and wondered out of the relative safety of the townhouse. Several Orcs on the edge of the battle knew that the fight was lost for now, at least against the armed men of the community. They spotted the women wondering undefended in the streets. The merciless beasts didn't have to think twice about a plan of action, an unarmed maiden was far easier to kill than a well-armed and trained knight. The Orcs didn't notice it, but these women were being watched by one of these well-trained males that they now feared, if ever so slightly. Kyo's sense of chivalry led him away from the search of his comrade and towards the impending slaughter that was about to take place. As the monsters rushed, the damsels could do nothing but scream, they were physically frozen in terror for they had never seen an Orc before. Just as the Orcs, three total, closed within ten feet, a shadow descended from the sky. Kyo landed on one knee and one open palm, his lance extended outwards in his other hand. The Orcs immediately stopped their charge and accessed their new foe. Kyo wouldn't let them. Just as quickly as he had descended, he ascended back up into the brightness of the midday sun. Blind to his movements by the excessive light, the Orcs had no idea the fate that awaited them. First a lance entered straight through the head of one Orc, killing him instantly, pulling it out with the grace of a dancer. As he landed, he made a sweeping arc, catching the other two Orcs at the waist. The two halves of each Orc fell apart to the ground. The women, too terrified to offer a thanks, simply ran back off to their house. Kyo needed no thanks, it was his duty, no, his pleasure.

Kyo continued in the battle until the next day. The Orcs had abandoned their positions....for now. The time had come for the exodus of the town. Crest had apparently fell unconcious during the battle. Kyo wasn't surprised, he could only imagine the physical drain that all that spellcasting took out of the mage. He went to see him at a local building. The Lancer had not yet met up with Zavier yet, but he was certain that he would come across him at Crest's bedside.

Zavier was tired. This entire ordeal had been something totally unthinkable. He knew that going to Mineth Burg, while knowing that there was a great many orcs who would most likely over power the orcs, would prove to be an interesting challenge. He had been through a great deal of difficulty to get to where he was. Here he sat, in the streets of a village that had been destroyed in many sections. The last of the orcs had been finally routed and dispatched, although it was quite possible that some of the most cowardly of the clan had escaped. Which, in itself, didn’t really matter; Zavier had read a long time ago that orcs who fled in battle were offered horrible deaths as atonement.

He was mentally and physically exhausted. When he had first confronted an orc scout in the forest, he had been forced to fight for his life. That meant that he had to focus on what he was doing, and think of new strategies that would take out the monster with the smallest energy loss possible. Then, when the scout had tried to run away, he had been forced to lay chase. He had finally cornered the creature…at least, that’s what he thought before the goblin group had come into the picture. He had thrown his sword in order to kill the orc…but in the process, he had left himself completely defenseless. He would have died then…for a just and noble cause, yes. The fact that he would have stopped the scout from reporting to his superiors would have made his death worth it. So, in a sense, he had been ready to die…and then, the miracle happened.

Two fighters, one apparently a lancer and the other a mage, appeared to fight for him. They dispatched some of the creatures while allowing Zavier to recover his sword. He quickly finished off the leader, and they were on their way. They ran into other creatures along the way, but those creatures were easily dispatched of, and soon everything was fine. He had gotten the chance to actually present himself to Crest and Kyo, who apparently were sent on the expedition of information as well. They soon became comrades, at least in the fighting sense, and made their way. After about 2 days work, they finally found another orc scout group. Crest had run ahead while he and Kyo had destroyed them. When they cleared the forest, however, they were in total shock.

They could smell the blood of the soldiers and orcs who had fought against one another. The fighting was still going on, and parts of Mineth Burg were burning. The knights were fighting valiantly, but it seemed they would be overrun. In his opinion, the knights had the more ability, that is, they had the more skill and tactics in their favor. However, the orcs had something that had decided battles for ages: more men. They were surrounding the small group of knights, small because of how they looked in comparison with the other fighters. They had spotted a section of the orcs who were trying to out flank the knights, and it looked as though they would succeed. All three had sprung into action, and that’s when Zavier had been hit in the head with the manuscript. That’s when he his hope was renewed, and when the knights were warned of the impending flank he had rushed to town to find any survivors. He had found some, locked together and trying to stay out of sight. And that’s when the riders came.

Looking back, it seemed to all be so simple. His body was worn, and his sword was stained from the battle. As he held the blade into the air, he could barely see its outline. Regardless as to the low ability of the weapon, it was still very well made, and he was glad to have used it.

He slowly got up and made his way into a make shift Inn. He, Crest, and Kyo had been given permission to stay the night, which would be full of the mourning for those who had been lost. The bodies were already beginning to be moved for burial, and the village members hoped to begin building and living again soon. This attack on them would never leave their minds…but they could learn to come to grips with it over time. Zavier finally walked into the Inn and looked at Crest, who appeared to be sleeping. He gently pulled off his over armor, parts of his body still aching and wincing in intervals. As he lay onto the bed, he looked over to his comrade. He was an extremely powerful mage, and he had done well. Zavier could see the flames and powers erupt from him as he fought against the orcs, and he had been invaluable in the quest. In fact, they all had been; he didn’t believe that the mission could have succeeded if they all hadn’t been apart of the effort. “And that makes us all the closer friends…” Zavier thought. He slowly began to drift to sleep, as it was already late into the night.

The next morning he rose to see Kyo lying in another bed. The sun had been up for a little while, and he got up to stretch. He was a bit tense in some places, but he was well enough. He quickly went to Kyo’s side and pushed him gently. The Lancer woke up with a start, his body tensed for battle. Zavier laughed as he saw this, thinking of his cat back home that hated to be woken up.

“Good morning Kyo…and a very good morning it is.”

“Good morning Zavier. Indeed, we have faired well I must say. And how’s…” Kyo trailed off as he looked towards Crest. Zavier walked towards Crest as Kyo slowly began to get out of bed. As he gently pushed Crest, Kyo came to stand next to him, his face beaming. Crest slowly turned towards them, and although he looked as though he would have preferred more sleep, he seemed ok and well rested.

“Good morning Crest,” Kyo and Zavier both spoke.

“Good morning gentlemen. Is it safe for me to believe that we were successful?”

“I would say so. We are actually planning on heading out as soon as we get some breakfast and some rations. Care to come with us?”

Crest lay still for a moment, then made his way out of bed. As he gathered his things together he spoke over his shoulder, “I think I will go with you. Let’s go to Tharkas.”

The trio got breakfast, and after receiving 3 horses from the knights who were still stationed there, as well as some bread, water, and a small bit of cheese they made their way. They were told of a shortcut, a way which cut through eh woods at a much quicker rate than they had gone. Soon, after a day and a half, they approached the gates of Tharkas.

As they made their way in, some people paid them no attention. Others, who had known that they were going to check on Mineth Burg began to surround them, cheering as they passed by. Each bowed, slightly embarrassed by the appraisal. They finally approached the main gate where the Duke of Tharkas was rushing to meet them. As they reached him they made their ways off of their horses and kneeled to him. He bowed back, and then began to ask questions.




It was a full 3 hours before they were done. The Duke wanted to know every detail, from how they met up to what they did leading up to Mineth Burg, of the incredible fight between man and orc that ensued, and of how the day ended. As they concluded with the Knight Riders, he smiled. He was very pleased, and was very thankful to each of them.

When they finally got done they made their way outside of the castle. Having been paid their reward, they looked towards what to do.

“I don’t know about you gentlemen,” Zavier offered as he slowly made his way towards a familiar building, “but I could use a bit more sleep.”

“As could I,” Kyo said, following him.

“You know, sleep doesn’t sound too bad right now.” Crest said as he also followed. Zavier stopped and turned around, facing his 3 comrades, his first true friends outside of his home village. He through out his hand, and they slapped theirs together, a great symbol of trust and loyalty between three men.

“Gentlemen, let us remain friends until the end of time.” Zavier said, and they all nodded in agreement. After a few more moments they made their way towards the small Tharkas Inn.


(Well, this is the final post. Wren, it is ready for you to grade. Guys, good job. I really appreciated this.)

A truly excellent job. This is the way quests should be done! ^_^

Everyone + 2 lvls, 10,000 Gold