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Post by markocross12 on Jan 18, 2013 11:35:20 GMT -9
[Longshot] "Aye. At most." *Longshot reguards the cleric for a moment then smiles.* [Longshot] "I suppose to a race as long lived as your, 16 must seem quite young. But for us humans it is nearly a man. In my county you had to be at least 16 to sign up to be a soldier, but it was not uncommon for 15 and even 14 year olds to lie about there age. And since there was no real way to prove their age if they were an unregistered birth, as so many of the ones out side the major cities are." [Longshot] "It was always my suspicion that Striker had lied about his age. At one time I considered turning him in to the military authorities, but he did his job. In fact he was a prodigy. I had never seen before a boy who showed such skill with a lance. When he had a good horse under him, he never missed." [Longshot] "I miss the lad... His death may well be the one that ways heaviest on my soul... If he had not died that day, I have no doubt that he would be the stuff legends by now. Their would be songs of his deeds and women and men alike would fall at his feet." *Longshot seemed to actually enjoy the thought of the young mans success. Then, as he comes around to the truth his expression becomes more gloomy* [Longshot] "He didn't deserve to die."
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 18, 2013 18:12:15 GMT -9
"if you don't mind me asking how old are you."
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 19, 2013 7:12:54 GMT -9
[Longshot] "Me? Why would you want to know such a trivial thing as that? I'm 27 in case it makes any difference. Among most other races that must be quite young. I'll admit that even for a human it is less than half a life time, though usually longer than an adventurer like myself can expect to live. I suppose you could say I'm old enough to have seen more than my share of horrors, and young enough to have to live with them for some time to come."
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 19, 2013 13:06:15 GMT -9
"hmm, just wondering, please continue."
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 27, 2013 15:03:07 GMT -9
*Longshot smirked* [Longshot] "Very well cleric. Keep your secrets." <*Night had come and the camp had been made by using an over hang that span two of the larger rocks in the formation as a strong point that the men and their horses could rest under and put their backs to in the event of an attack. The other two sides were partially made up of other rocks in the outcropping supplemented with barricades made from the squads lances. Matches had come up with an idea to create a large pot of alchemical reagents that could be launched into the air and hit with a burning hands to cause an explosion big enough to hopefully scatter the swarm. Additionally Verdan and Cauldron had put up a number of wards that would hopefully repel the beasts entirely.* *It had been a few hours since Longshot had buried Striker, and it seemed that Fidget was only getting worse. If they could not get to civilization soon, he would not make it. Longshot knew of a small lake town less then a day away, but the horses were in no shape to make the journey, and to go on foot would leave them all exposed should the beasts finally catch up to them.* *He sat in total darkness, as they had decided that a camp fire was far too risky, and tried to think of a way to get them home safely. They had only 7 horses left for the 12 men, and those horses were extremely thin. Longshot had had to make the tough call whether to feed the horses, or the men. In the end he had compromised by feeding the meat from the dead horses to his men and feeding the horses what was left of their military rations.* *As so many concerns buzzed through Longshots mind he heard a familiar flapping of wings.* [Jars] "They caught up with us! Everybody up! To your posts! We're ready this time you bastards!">
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 27, 2013 15:56:16 GMT -9
*the cleric leans forward a little, like a kid around the fire listening to the village story teller*
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 28, 2013 13:57:44 GMT -9
<*It had been quite some time since the swarm of beasts had caught up with them and, so far, the magic wards seemed to be holding.* [Verdan] "Yeah the wards are holding for now, but what happens when they wear off? I don't know about Cauldron but I'm pretty well tapped out of all my magic reserves after healing the horses and putting up those wards in the first place." [Cauldron] "Verdans right. Without her help I might not have been able to put up the wards at all." *Longshot looked out at the swarm of shrieking bodies continuously slamming against the magic barrier. He couldn't see it yet, but he knew the wards were weakening.* [Longshot] "How much time do we have before they break through?" [Cauldron] "Well, uh, it's difficult to say..." [Longshot] "Then give me your best guess damn it!" *He could sense them flinch behind him but he did not turn his attention from the swarm.* [Verdan] "Sir, our best guess is that we have less then an hour before the wards fail." [Longshot] "Define 'fail'" [Cauldron] "Sir?" [Longshot] "Magic isn't one of my areas of expertise so I need to know exactly what will happen as the wards begin to fail. So will the barrier disappear all at once? Will it become cracked? What does fail mean exactly?" [Verdan] "Sir, in this case it is likely that as the barrier degrades it will develop holes through which the creatures will be able to enter the warded area." [Longshot] "How long after the holes start to open before the barrier collapses entirely?" [Verdan] "Not more than a few minutes at most." [Jars] "What are you thinking Sergeant?" *Longshot turned to face his trusted corporal with the most stoic expression he had ever had in his life.* [Longshot] "Corporal, go get Matches. And tell him to bring that pot of reagents with him.">
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 29, 2013 17:12:37 GMT -9
* the dwarfs eyes dart back and forth every now and then, as though looking through mental referance books.*
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Post by markocross12 on Jan 30, 2013 11:45:55 GMT -9
<*It had taken only a few moments to get everything ready and once that was done all that was left to do was wait. Longshot had experienced the anxiety that comes before an immanent battle before but this time it was different. Always before he had been the aggressor, charging into battle with a 10 foot lance and 200 pound horse between him and his foes. But not this time. This time he had no lance to strike with, and no mount to carry him. In fact he did not even have enough space between him and the edge of what would soon be the battlefield to justify the use of a bow.* *This was a whole different beast from the anxiety he was used to, this was fear. The fear of staring down an enemy you know that you can't beat. The fear of knowing that you would die this day. No peace to be found and no comfort to return home to. It was a fear that chilled he to the bone.* *But he had to try. Had to try and get his men out, had to protect them from danger, the way a father protects his family. If even one of them could stumble away from this with his life then it would all be worth it.* *All at once the barrier began to fail. The beasts shrieked with a fiendish glee as they began to stream through the openings that began to form. So far though, they were coming through at a manageable rate and the squad was holding them at back.* [Jars] "Stand your ground! Hold them in check for just a little longer." [Longshot] "Matches are you ready?" [Matches] "Yes sir." *The wiry wizard had been pointing one hand at a large pot on the far end of the barrier, the end which was now seething with small flying bodies.* [Longshot] "Wait for my signal..." *The gaps grew larger and the beasts began to press hard against the squad as the barrier neared total colaspe.* [Longshot] "Now!" *And just like that there was a blinding flash of fire, a deafening explosion shook the ground and threw Longshot into the air. The smell of burning flesh was everywhere as he plummeted back to the ground. But the trip down was much farther than it should have been. Longshot realized with a start that the rock formation that they had used as a base was actually the sealed entrance to an underground cave system, and that the explosion of the alchemical reagents had blasted a hole into those caves.* *He landed with a thud and hit his shoulder hard. He looked up to see that the explosion had sealed the way back out. On the plus side this meant that, aside from the numerous corpses, none of the beasts had followed them through. In spite of the pain in his shoulder he called out.* [Longshot] "Sound off. Tell me injuries." [Jars] "I landed okay sergeant, nothing broken." [Hairraiser] "I think I hit my head, but I seem to be okay." [Verdan] "Whose stupid idea was it to blow up the ground!" [Bolts] "Are you kidding? People pay big money for a thrill like that." [Cauldron] "I seem to be alright. And Fidget landed on me, he's still breathing." [Longshot] "Heater you okay?" [Heater] "I broke an arm." [Longshot] "And Stretch?" [Jars] "I don't see him or Matches and Wings either." [Longshot] "And Lightweight." *The reply was faint and muffled* [Lightweight] "I'm... not feeling... too good... sir..." *Longshot looked around and finally found the halfling with only his head and right arm sticking out from under a large pointed rock that had speared the man when he had fallen. He rush to try and remove the rock.* [Longshot] "Verdan! Get over here! Heater give me a hand with..." [Lightweight] "Don't... bother sergeant. I'm... too far... gone." *The words came between coughed up blood and wheezing breaths. Longshot continued to push against the rock with all his might even as his shoulder screamed in agony.* [Longshot] "I won't give up that easy!" *Lightweight reached out his only arm and tried feebly to grab Longshot's leg. He smiled as he released his final breath.* [Lightweight] "Thank you... sir...">
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Post by roxisvaskon on Jan 30, 2013 20:02:03 GMT -9
"(muffeled) by the gods"
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Post by markocross12 on Feb 1, 2013 10:49:11 GMT -9
<*They had been underground for several hours now and had established a makeshift campsite at the cave entrance through which they had fallen. Longshot had sent Hairraiser and Bolts to explore deeper into the cave system and see if they could find a way out. They were supposed to have come back an hour ago.* [Jars] "Should we go look for them?" [Longshot] "..." [Jars] "Sir?" [Longshot] "How is Fidget doing?" [Jars] "Still breathing, for now." [Longshot] "How much horse meat do we have left?" [Jars] "Enough for two days. Three if Hairraiser and Bolts don't come back before then." *Things were quickly spiraling out of Longshot's control. His squad was now split into three parts, two of his men were dead, and another was on deaths door, on top of that they only had a few days worth of food and no water. They had considered eating the dead beasts at first but Longshot quickly dismissed the idea for fear of the meat being toxic. He had however agreed to use their bodies as fuel to create a campfire that had made their stay underground a little more bearable.* *And then there was the matter with the over sized spiders they had found roaming the cave ceilings. So far the creatures had shied away from the camp but Longshot was concerned what would happen if they decided to contest the arrival of strangers in their world.* [Jars] "What do we do?" [Longshot] "I have no idea..." [Jars] "What?" [Longshot] "We should go look for Hairraiser and Bolts but I can't afford to split us up again and Fidget is in no condition to be moved. So we just have to wait and hope they find their way back." [Jars] "Sir, if I may." [Longshot] "Yes?" [Jars] "Well... Fidget is nearly dead anyway... And he is no doubt in a great deal of pain... Maybe it would be best if we just... Put him out of his misery..." *Silence passed between them.* [Longshot] "No. I won't lose anyone else. Not if I can help it." [Jars] "Yes sir." *Heater approached them at this time with his axe slung over his shoulder and gripped in his one remaining arm as the other one had to be removed due the the risk of internal bleeding.* [Heater] "The spiders are growing bolder." [Longshot] "Have they left the ceiling of the cave yet?" [Heater] "No, but their numbers have increased." [Jars] "They smell death on us." [Longshot] "Keep an eye on them. All we can do for now.">
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Post by roxisvaskon on Feb 1, 2013 20:59:01 GMT -9
*takes swig from water skin*
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