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Post by markocross12 on Dec 24, 2012 6:24:59 GMT -9
[Longshot] "Indeed. You have some suspicion of what that... thing, was don't you? Some fell beast bent on destruction or some such thing?"
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Post by roxisvaskon on Dec 24, 2012 12:45:12 GMT -9
"Yes, but i wonder much more who the cloaked figure was, and i wonder why that man gave you sush orders. I do not claim to truly know this but I think you and everyone in your incampment were set up to die. You see there is some magic in this world that is so terrible in its power that it requires much prepraton... And, the darker end of the spectrum, sometimes calls for mass sacfice, of blood."
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Post by markocross12 on Dec 24, 2012 21:16:45 GMT -9
[Longshot] "I believe you are right cleric, however I feel that whatever was in the works that day, terrible as it surely was, failed. For if it had been successful then surely it would be the end of my tale. Alas it is not." *Longshot reclines in his chair, his mind seems a little more at ease then before and he seems to relax as he dives back into his tale.* <*In all his life Longshot had never heard such immense suffering. His soul seemed to bleed from the screams of the burning 10th army... the entire 10th army. It had been only a day since the attack on the camp, the 10th army had been weaken but they still had pushed on after licking their wounds. Their path had lead through a deep gorge that was devoid of life. General Gaunt had told the 8th squad to hang back and wait for everyone to pass before taking up the rear. They had paused a moment to gather their things back on to their horses when, seemingly out of nowhere their were screams. And just like that the army was in flames. But not natural fire... no this fire was dark as blood and had a stink of sulfur that suffused the air and caused the 8th squad to recoil.* [Longshot] "We have to do something lieutenant! They are dying!" [Mattox] "..." [Longshot] "Sir!" [Mattox] "Run..." [Longshot] "What!?" [Mattox] "You heard me sergeant! Gather the men, we are leaving." [Longshot] "Leaving!? Where too!? And what about the army are we just..." [Mattox] "The army is DEAD!!!" *Longshot froze. The words like ice in his veins." [Mattox] "They are gone. And we will not be joining them. Gather the men. We are returning home." [Longshot] "Home? To the capital!? That 2 weeks away, even on horse back! We'll never..." *Mattox drew his ornate cavalry sword and pressed the blade to Longshot's throat as he wispered the next words* [Mattox] "I did not ask for your opinion you miserable excuse for a man. Now you can either do as I say, or I can kill you. Are we understood." *Longshot nodded.* [Mattox] "Good. Then let's go." *Mattox withdrew his sword and Longshot heaved a sigh. He his own consience, and the training that told him to trust his leader, were at war. He struggled with himself for a moment as the screams behind him tore at his insides. Then the screaming grew quiet and his decision was made. He put the face guard of his helm down and, with tears in his eyes, gathered the 8th squad for their retreat.*>
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Post by roxisvaskon on Dec 26, 2012 19:58:27 GMT -9
*sigh*
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Post by morninglurker on Jan 1, 2013 11:26:24 GMT -9
[Bahram]"..." *In the narrow space under the small bed a short man grits his teeth in response to the story as it unfolds. His anger at the lieutenant for his disloyalty to those he swore to protect and at the speaking man for his failure to kill the slimy bastard when he had shown himself unworthy of followers burned on his face. where nobody could see him the man expressed his feelings with lips curled away from silently bared teeth, having more or less forgotten about picking pockets for the time being.*
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 2, 2013 20:32:46 GMT -9
[Longshot] "A fitting response.... That was a terrible day. I still here the screams in my sleep, and see the fire as it consumed what was, for me, the entire world." *He seems lost for a moment then speaks slowly* [Longshot] "In a matter of minutes nearly 3000 men, was reduced to 14... Tell me cleric, in all the travels of all your years have you heard anything to compare to that? Are such traggities common in the world of men... In the one hand I should hope not as such death and wanton destruction are surely most terrible things... But perhaps it would lighten my soul to know that these things happen and are as commonplace as any other phenomenon."
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 6, 2013 13:07:04 GMT -9
"... I may not look it, but by my peoples view I am very young. So my travels are not as extensive as I would like. So from first hand experiance, I couldn't say. But my studies are very in depth. And history tells us that tragities of that magnutude tind to happen often in times of war. So take that as you will.
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 11, 2013 10:42:50 GMT -9
[Longshot] "I don't know how to take it, but I thank you for your input." *He begins to pour himself another ale only to discover that he has emptied the bottle of all its contents. He seems momentarily disappointed then looks up.* [Longshot] "I guess that's a sign that it is time for me to continue my story. Very well..." <*They had been traveling for nearly a day and the fate of the 10th army still rested heavily on Longshot's mind. He had not slept the night before, and he would not sleep tonight either.* [Jars] "Sargent, you're doing that thing again." [Longshot] "To what thing are you referring Corporal?" [Jars] "The one where your eye loose focus and your expression turns dire." [Longshot] "Ah, that thing. Have you divided the commands as I asked?" [Jars] "Yes sir. I have told Hairraiser that we intend to separated the men into three groups. You will lead the first group, I'll lead the second and Corporal Hairraiser will lead the last." [Longshot] "Good. The assignments are as follows: I will lead Heater, Wings and Matches. You have Striker, Stretch and Verdan. Meaning Hairraiser gets Bolts, Lightwieght, Fidget and Cauldron." [Jars] "I feel sorry for you and Hairraiser! My group sounds pretty manageable, the most I have to worry about is Verdans er... abrasive approach to healing." [Longshot] "She's the best healer we have. Fidgets good for somethings but none of us have her magical talent. You also have to keep an eye on Striker, he's young and still too arrogant for his own good." [Jars] "True. It will be good to have Stretch with me. There's just something reassuring about having a hulking half-giant guarding your back. Still it seems you gave Hairraiser the worst of it. Having to deal with Bolts' craziness and Cauldron flare for the dramatic could drive any many crazy." [Longshot] "He'll do fine. He has experience with both of them so I'm sure he's figured out some way to deal with them by now. Additionally he has Fidget with him. Fidget has the coolest head among us, it will help to balance the more chaotic elements of the unit." [Jars] "I got to say that you picked the cream of the crop for your own command. Heater has the strongest arm in our squad and I've seen Wings out run birds in flight." [Longshot] "I chose them because my combat style is one of mutual support. Heater, as you said, is very strong but also very slow, so by utilizing Wings to respond to treats that appear to quickly for Heater to react to them and with Matches providing covering fire for both of them I an able to make a well rounded fighting unit." [Jars] "Matches. I feel like I dodged a bullet on that one" [Longshot] "How so?" [Jars] "Well... it's just... he frightens me a little." [Longshot] "He has more magical talent than all the rest of us put together." [Jars] "My point exactly. That's just too much power for any one person to be trusted with." [Longshot] "You seem to feel pretty strongly about that." [Jars] "Nothing against Matches, I like him well enough, but I hate magic.">
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 11, 2013 18:16:57 GMT -9
"!?...hmm."
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 12, 2013 2:14:20 GMT -9
<*They had settled for the night on the vast plateau that marked the edge of their lords realm. The night had passed uneventfully and, just as he had predicted, Longshot did not sleep. The morning clean up was a sluggish effort as none of them seemed to have the will to increase their pace. The loss of their comrades had effected all of them.* [Jars] "We need to move on. If we don't speed up our routine it'll be weeks before we can get home, not to mention those storm clouds forming behind us." [Longshot] "Storm clouds?" [Jars] "There see, back the way we came." [Longshot] "Must be a fast moving storm, those weren't there an hour ago... Funny, I don't feel any wind." *Hairraiser had been listening in a short distance away and until now he had not said a word.* [Hairraiser] "I've got a bad feeling about that storm Sargent." [Jars] "You have a bad feeling about everything." [Longshot] "Hush Jars. Bear put a great deal of faith in Hairraiser's hunches. Who am I to disagree with her. Tell the men to double time the clean up. I want to be gone long before that cloud reaches us. Where is the Lieutenant?" [Jars] "I haven't seen his yet this morning. Probably still sleeping in his tent." [Longshot] "Is he? Well send someone to wake him, tell him we have to leave in a hurry." [Jars] "Right." *The half-elf corporal walked off in the direction of the main camp and started rousting the men to get the camp struck faster. He pulled Cauldron aside for a moment and then the plump little man jogged to the Lieutenant's oversized tent.* *Longshot turned his attention to the man standing next to him. Hairraiser had always been a trim fellow, but since Bear's death at the hands of the terrible creature he had become almost skeletal. He barely spoke or ate and Longshot had noticed that he would not make eye contact with anyone anymore.* [Longshot] "She had a great deal of faith in you... She always said you had a sense for trouble. To be honest I never put much stock in it until... that night. We all carry her with us. Like an unseen banner that we wish we could let go of, yet feel compelled to raise." *Through this Hairraiser did not move. He stared at the ground and would not raise his eyes. That was when Longshot saw the first tear hit the ground. He was about to say more when Jars' return drew his attention.* [Longshot] "Report." [Jars] "I have the men striking camp as quickly as they can, but that cloud is moving pretty fast." *Longshot looked up to see that it had indeed gotten a lot closer. At this distance he could see that there was definitely something odd about these clouds. They seemed to pulse unevenly, the edges expanding out in odd misshapen lumps, then contracting back into the form of the cloud to create wobbling divots.* [Longshot] "Very well, let's get out of here as quickly as..." [Cauldron] "Sir! The Lieutenant is gone!" [Longshot] "What do you mean gone!?" [Cauldron] "He's not in his tent, nor anywhere else in the camp, and his horse is missing." [Jars] "The bastard left without us!" [Longshot] "We don't know that Corporal." [Jars] "Right he just dissipated into thin air." [Longshot] "Right now we don't know..." [Hairraiser] "Sirs, I suggest we continue this another time. We have bigger problems!" *Hairraiser pointed to the clouds that were now no more than a half a mile away. At this range Longshot could see that these weren't cloud, they were a swarm of small winged creatures. And they looked angry.* [Jars] "It's too late to out run them." [Longshot] "Then we must fight. Commanders to your unit! Mount every body up, I want a stand chevron formation in the next two minutes. Go!" *The other three men ran off to assemble themselves. Longshot took one last look at the cloud and muttered* [Longshot] "Gods, watch over us." *Then he rounded and ran to gather his men.*>
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 12, 2013 14:33:35 GMT -9
*wince*
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 14, 2013 4:00:22 GMT -9
<*Because the creatures were too small to easily hit with a lance, Longshot had order that all the men use their secondary weapons, as these stood a better chance of making a dent in the swarm. The winged creatures soon surrounded the force of horsemen. The creatures had mostly human features; arms, legs, a human head and torso, but they were only 2 feet tall with a 3 foot wing-span and horns on their heads. For some reason the creatures did not just fly past but instead wheeled around the squad relentlessly attacking the men and their steeds. The beasts did not attack like an organized unit but as a chaotic mass of claws and fangs. And while, for the most part, the squads heavy armor was preventing them from taking any fatal damage, the beasts were wearing the men down and would soon over take them.* *Long shot fired off another volley of arrows that he could only pray would find a target, as aiming had proven impossible. The half-orc at his side seemed to be having only slightly more luck with his giant red hot great-axe, but even so most of his swings would slam the ground without hitting a singly beast. Wings was having slightly more luck with his longsword as he expertly struck at his targets, hitting more often then not. But of Longshot's unit it was Matches who stood out when it came to kills. The mage had fired off at least six magic bolts of energy before creatures had overwhelmed their position and was now releasing huge gouts of fire from his hands on a regular basis. While the beast appeared to have some degree of resistance to the flames each of the burst of fire felled several of the winged beast.* *In all the confusion the units had become separated from each other. Longshot was concerned about the units being separated but told himself not to worry too much as he had designed each unit to be an effective fighting force unto itself. However, as the press of the creatures became more intense, and Matches ran out of juice, it became obvious that their only choice was to retreat.* *Longshot shouted with all his might in hopes that, over all the noise and confusion, the other units would hear him.* [Longshot] "We have to retreat! We must try to out run them!" *He and his unit wheeled in time and spurred their mounts to run in the direction of the capital. But the creatures did not want to give up that easily, they pursued the men on horse back with cheers of victory on their lips. It was soon clear that the horses were faster than the winged creatures, and those cheers turned to shouts as Longshot's unit cleared the central mass.* *Once free he saw that one of the units was already out of the swarm and ahead of him... But he saw only three horses. He quickly tried to identify the group. It was Jars' group, Jars was in the lead followed by Stretch and Verdan. And on the back of Verdan's horse was tied the lifeless body of a fair hair young lad. With a heavy heart Longshot sighed, "So," He thought "Striker is dead. What a waste, the boy had such potential... and to die so young as he, who but barely begun to live..."* *He heard the other squad behind him but could not bring himself to turn, could not bring himself to see how many more lives he had lost.*>
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 17, 2013 13:18:44 GMT -9
*walks across the room and hands his still full mug to longshot turns back and sits.*
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 17, 2013 17:39:08 GMT -9
*Longshot looks at the glass for a moment.* [Longshot] "Thank you cleric but no. I am already having to cut through a fog to see the past. Funny, usually that's an effect that I seek out. But not this time. This time I will remember." <*They had been fleeing the swarm for three full days without rest. Both man and horse where nearly ready to collapse. They had lost site of the swarm early in the day, but Longshot had insisted they put some distance between them and the cloud of beasts. And now there was a outcrop of rocks on the horizon.* [Jars] "Sir, we have to stop. The horses are spent." [Longshot] "Agreed. Alright everyone, we set up camp by the outcropping." *They rode up beside the rocks and stopped to dismount and unpack. As Longshot dismounted his horse collapsed to the ground, as did two of the others, and the rest were beyond exhausted.* [Longshot] "Verdan. See what you can do with those horses." *The grumpy half-elf female saluted and then began to use her magical talents to help keep the rest of the horses alive as they calmed down from the long, hard ride.* [Longshot] "Hairraiser. Take Bolts, Stretch, and Matches. Come up with a plan to fortify this place in case the swarm catches up to us. I want to be ready this time." [Hairraiser] "Aye sir. I'll try to work a miracle for you." *If Longshot didn't know better he would have said that the smirk that accompanied that comment demoted a joke.* *Longshot turned to the two bodies that had been laid carefully on the ground. One dead, the other breathing heavily with fever. Fidget had been bitten in the left leg by one of the bests. The bite had been deep and Longshot suspected it was infected.* [Longshot] "Jars. Heater. Start a fire and try to help Fidget, his wound is swollen, it may be infected. Let me know as soon as he is stable enough to talk, and have Verdan help you when she finishes with the horses." *Heater did his best to carefully pick up the unconscious man as Jars nodded to Longshot before moving further into the outcrop to start the fire.* *Longshot had been dreading his next order, he wished will all his heart that he did not have to give it. But even more so he hoped to never give it again. The thought of loosing more of his men was a very real fear in his mind.* [Longshot] "Wings. Lightweight. As soon as the horse are up for it go find a good place to bury Striker... He deserves that much. In the mean time help Verdan. I'll prepare the body." *the two men looked at each other a moment, before saluting their leader and moving to help the horses.* *Longshot turned his attention to the body of the young boy. He could not be more than 16. Longshot sat down next to his old companion. Though, now that he thought about it, he actually knew very little about the lad. Reguardless, he felt that he had know the man in a way that even his childhood friends never could.* *As he began to prepare the body, he spoke the rights of the soldier over the body. It was an old prayer that was said to protect the body and help guide the soul of a soldier to a land of peace, were he could rest his sword arm and finally know comfort.*>
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 17, 2013 20:56:44 GMT -9
"16?"
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