War of the One: Life of a Soldier [Sam 26]

[Brytan]

Brytan turned as the woman mentioned the rest of the army. Behind him the torches neared, carried by hundreds of soldiers. He looked at her again, clothes ragged and face covered in soot and dirt. An empty quiver and a used blade. Whoever this was, she knew how to handle herself.

"My name's Brytan. And those guys..." he indicated the army behind him with a nod of his head "...make up the army of King Balthasar."

He looked at the army and then in the direction of the guard post. Everything seemed clear, no more shouts or movement coming from the trees. Brytan sheethed his weapons and smirked, glancing sideways at the dead orcs at their feet. "This was a really bad gravetide for these guys." Two questions rose to the surface rather quickly after having looked once more at the fierce creatures that now lay dead. "So, tell me; who are you and why were these ugly critters chasing you through the forest?"

[Dranlen]

As the last Orc fell before him, Dranlen relinquished the sword that his father had given him. It had served him briefly but well, perhaps in time he would come across a blade that would last a bit longer.

Dranlen.... all ok ?

Turning to the sound of Langredoc's voice Dranlen replied.

"Much better than these creatures, though my sword broke, so I'll need to find another."

In fact he seemed to recall that at least one of the Orc's had carried a sword and he looked quickly to see if he could retrieve that weapon. Otherwise he would need to make do with the heavy axe until he found something more to his liking. Certainly the army was so poorly equipped he didn't think that he would find one there.

He had expected to feel elated at the victory, instead the sense of loss for his sword and the tiredness had robbed him of what pleasure he derived from a battle well fought. His concern then grew as he realised that Langredoc's voice was hoarse, not just from the ash and smoke but from something else.

"Are you hurt, or has the exertion worsened your throat?"

He looked around, unsure how many they had slain, or whether any friends had suffered. Brytan seemed to be talking to the small fugitive, and he wondered whether he could catch the words that passed between them. The approaching troops however might want a reason for being woken and the trouble had been dealt with so quickly he almost wondered whether they had been correct to raise the alarm.

Turning quickly back towards the fleeing orcs he muttered to Langredoc

"Do you think there will be any more, close behind?"

[Langredoc]

Langredoc was relieved to see the other young man, mostly unharmed. He realised that for the most the first fight would also be the last. But this guy was a survivor he decided. Especially with a broken sword.

He cut away a piece of cloth from the clothing of the creature to be used to clean his weapons. It smelled bad but it would serve its purpose until he had something better.

"Are you hurt, or has the exertion worsened your throat?", it was the voice of Dranlen.

And while Langredoc's eyes first watched the backs of the running creatures and then the approaching army he responded with his hoarse voice.

"It seems that everybody has something against my throat these days. But after some discussion he decided to give up. To bad for the sword, make sure to keep the parts, you can ask someone to mend it or sell the iron. Or you keep the hilt and replace the blade with a better one.. I bet that those creatures have a lot of friends, and they don't like us anymore... so they shall be back."

After a flicker he resumed "Lets join Brytan, it seems that he found something else on the battlefield... or someone."

He started walking towards Brytan.

[Dranlen]

"Thanks for the advice about the sword", at least his scabbard would hold the broken weapon he thought. Whilst retrieving the weapon from the bodies, first checking to make sure that they were indeed dead he also looked to see if they carried anything of value. It seemed unlikely but one never knew what could be found.

As he moved to retrieve his weapon from his first opponent he replied to Langredoc's comment about joining Brytan.

"I'll wait here and keep an eye and ear out in case they return."

Or at least he thought, in case we're meant to be still standing guard, which seemed reasonable. It made sense for at least one of them to go back to the couple who were talking, but not both of them, at least until a relief was here.

[Gavin Tylvan]

Orcs used curved sabers. Crude and heavy, they still were very sharp and dangerous. They would take some time getting used to, but all in all they were not so different from the long sword Dranlen used before. Replacing his own sword might be a smarter idea, but for now he had a weapon. Nothing could be done about his elation. He fought and he lived. That should have been enough.

As the soldiers approached, Moon shone through the swirling ashes and the scene became a bit more clear. The girl before Brytan was clearly visible for a few flickers. Her clothing torn in inappropriate places she still held herself with pride. That she needed a new shirt and something to cover her legs was obvious. She was also most clearly a human, missing the distinct pointed ears of adhiels.

She sheathed the dagger and flashed a smile. "King Balthasar? So he comes. Mother knows we needed help." She offered her hand to him. "I am Laendral, Captain of the Emerald Guard. I was captured by Blayvanna's forces a couple of days ago. A couple of marks ago I managed to escape and these were sent to catch me. Obviously they failed. I thank you for your help." Still smiling she half turned to watch the approach of the torches. She felt better now. Help was on it's way.

[Brytan]

"A captain of the Emerald Guard?" Dominicus known Brytan never heard of them, but from the sound of it he was dealing with a soldier here, and in that a high ranking one. Not that he felt the sudden need to spring into a military pose, but it did point out the obvious fact that combat has been waged here for far longer than he or this army had been involved in.

"Blayvanna? Must be the gruesome female vision I've witnessed from a distance on the first tide of our arrival, a demon?" He knew little of the forces of the Nether. Nothing at all even, save for what he heard in the doctrine of the Church. He did know however that the named ones were most likely the worst kind to face head on.

Brytan took her hand and shook it. "My pleasure captain." He unclasped the simple cloak he was used to wearing when it rained in Roque, which, recently, had been quite often. His father had always impressed upon him the importance of manners, even in unusual situations. "Here, take this. At least until you can find some proper, mended clothing. Not everyone on this battlefield might be as...subtle." A quick grin shot across his face as he imagined what some of the other soldiers might think if they heard that. He couldn't care less.

He looked over to the trees and noticed Langredoc and Dranlen now that the moon came out, Langredoc moving over to him with Dranlen close behind. But where was Cryden?

"Excuse me captain, I have to check on one of the others who helped, I can't see him." He walked towards Langredoc and the trees behind and shouted across the field; "CRYDEN! CRYDEN, YOU OKAY?!"

[Dranlen]

There was little choice of blades however the heavy scimitar would do for the moment, he had a cursory glance to see whether the orcs carried a scabbard at all that might hold and protect the blade, if not he would need to think about that another time. For the moment he would keep watch out into the forest, in case the orcs made a return whilst listen to the snatches of conversation behind him.

[Langredoc]

Langredoc was annoyed about the fact that his throat hurt. So he took a gulp of the medicine, and the taste was even worse this time. It was not improving his mood, he felt dirty, annoyed and he was sure that this was only the start of all the trouble. Only one thing was positive about this situation. The smelly, dirty and very strong creature he just killed was for sure not a adhiel.

But when he arrived where he wanted to be, Brytan decided to walk away and start shouting for Cryden. So he stood there alone with the woman.

Her clothing was not really in a very good state, something he would have appreciated in other conditions, but now with all the other guys coming it proved more to be a potential problem.

With his hoarse voice he said "Shall I give you my tabard to cover you up a bit ?"

Always practical Langredoc then realised that he had not introduced himself nor asked her name. So he corrected that.

"I am Langredoc, nothing less, nothing more, and who are you ? And when do you think that those guys come back ? The warrior stands !"

He was really annoyed, otherwise he would not have ended with the red warrior battlecry, what was used among them also to confirm that it was important to prepare for battle.

But this was not a mercenary camp, so he should not have spoken like that. It was hard for him to keep his mouth shut in this way. Although he was used to be quiet and secretive, all what happened in the last few days had not been to his advantage, and shaken his normal selfcontrol.

But now he was back in control, annoyed his eyes pierced the eyes of the woman, waiting for answers....

[Gavin Tylvan]

Brytan got a playful punch to the shoulder and a quick laugh for his gentlemanly efforts. Laendral was aware of her state of undress, but she had been a soldier for long enough to be able to ignore it for a while. The gesture was appreciated. Her body was slowly cooling and the wind was quite chilly now. A slight shiver went through the girl's body as she wrapped the cloak around her shoulders. "Thank you. For the cloak and for the help. See to your man. I'll wait here."

Orcs never bothered with scabbards. Just tuck a blade in your belt and you are all set to go. It meant you got cut from time to time, but orcs were not as soft as humans. The reinforcements were almost there. Sergeant Cleyden lead about twenty men straight for the guard post. Torches turned the darkness back and their flickering light showed the full extent of the scene. Orcish faces held expressions of dread and pain. Contorted into grimaces they almost looked sad. "Secure the area. You, private. Report?" This last bit was directed at Dranlen as the newly arrived soldiers positioned themselves, while the others checked the orcs and made sure hey were all dead.

Brytan found Cryden sitting with his back against the tree. He was still alive, though several wounds covered his body. The one on his thigh bled the worst. Smiling weakly, the young man waved Brytan closer. "Hey, pal. Could ya get me a healer? That brute nearly took my leg off. Hurts like Hell. I think I'll be okay, but a bit of help would not hurt. I'll just sit right here and bleed a bit." The boy managed a weak laugh. Though he was trying to make the light of situation he was not so well of.

Laendral was gazing towards the approaching soldiers when Langredoc came. Chuckling, she nodded. "What is this? Dress Laendral up contest?" With a wink she shook her head a bit. "Don't bother. I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." Still semi-naked, the cloak Brytan gave her did a great job of hiding most of the danger zones. Her legs were still pretty bare, and considering they were quite nice, it might be a problem. She did not pay attention to it. "Oh, sorry. I'm Laendral. Could you point me to someone in charge here. I need to discuss something with him. Or her."

[Brytan]

Brytan acknowledged Laendral's thanks briefly before heading off back towards the guardpost. He had noticed the state of her clothing and acted upon it gentlemanly, but in the back of his mind other thoughts roamed. He didn't give himself much time to linger on romantic fantasies to long, one of the people that had kept him alive might be bleeding out somewhere.

The sergeant and his men were also approaching them, Langredoc passing Brytan on his way back to the cover the trees provided. As he noticed Cryden sitting down, bleeding out of several wounds he hurried over to him to check if he was still alive. But when Cryden beckoned him over and started talking to him, at least that worry was dealt with.

Behind him he could hear the sergeant shout his orders. The footsteps of many men sounding around them. "No worries, I'll get someone."

Brytan got up, looking for the sergeant. He was adressing Dranlen and joined the two only briefly as Dranlen reported on the situation. "No need to make double work out of that."

"Sir, Cryden is hurt over there by the trees. He needs a healer." He pointed to Cryden and awaited the sergeant's response.

[Dranlen]

Dranlen knew he should be brief but also wanted to give some of the reasoning behind his sounding the alert.

"We were alerted to a group, of large creatures running towards the camps. They seemed to be chasing after the young woman over there, however as I was unwilling to let such a number of Orcs into the sleeping camp, nor was I aware of whether they were a vanguard, I sounded the alarm. It seems though as there are no more following, however two at least escaped our blades, so if there are more of them following at a slower pace they will be aware of our presence soon."

He waited for the sergeants response.

ooc Away fro a few days, until Tuesday

[Langredoc]

The words spoken by Laendral provoked a grin on Langredocś face. "A dress up contest ?" he said."No, normally it would be a desperate attempt to seduce you. But its easy to find officers in this army. They are the loud guys." he pointed at the officer at his horse. "I go back to the guys, maybe your....escorts decide to return with friends. And we prefer to be ready." So he ended with the greeting "Good travels." And move off... back to his guard position

[Gavin Tylvan]

Pointing at one of his man, Clyden motioned for him to follow Brytan. THe man had a burlap bag slung over his shoulder from which a soft clinking sound came. Casting a questioning glance at the soldier the healer waited for him to lead him to Cryden. The boy was still where he left him and was still bleeding. Healer got to him and knelt close. "Hello. Who are you? Can I hug you?" The man was clearly delusional. "Oh, boy." He opened the bag and pulled several sharp knives out. Cutting open Cryden's clothing, he set of cleaning his wounds. "Here. Press this cloth here till I wrap it up." He held a piece of cloth for Brytan to hold on the thigh wound. It was a deep gash, with pieces of flesh being completely torn away. Being strong and having a damaged sword had its benefits. It was not a cut, but a tear and it bled horribly. Pouring some foul smelling liquid over it, the healer started wrapping the bandages over it. It took him some time, but after a couple of burns Cryden was wrapped up like a mummy and sleeping like a baby. "Go tell the Sergeant to get me a pair of stretchers. We need to carry him away. You okay? Did they manage to get you too?" Even as he asked the man's eyes roamed over Brytan's body seeking for any sign of injury.

Sergeant nodded to Dranlen. "Well, done soldier. Get the rest of your squad and go take some rest. You deserved it.I'll have the others take over." Turning to the rest, he started issuing orders. "Oscar. You and Leben take two squads and deploy about three miles further into this blasted plain. I don't want any more surprises like this. Triple the guards and make sure I sleep for the rest of the night. I don't want to be woken up again. Is that understood?" Nobody contradict him. The Sergeant was not a man you would want to contradict. Nodding once he set off back towards the camp.

"Thank you. See you later, Langredoc." There was something like a wink as the man turned to walk away. "Take care." With that she turned and walked towards the man mercenary indicated. Stopping before the mounted man she leaned closer and exchanged some words with the man. He pointed back towards the glowing tent where the KIng was and sent her off under escort from four men. Army was up in turmoil. Enemy was gone, and they did well for their first skirmish. How they would fare in a real battle was yet to be decided.

[Brytan]

The medic came across as a rather odd character, but he seemed to know what he was doing as he tended to Cryden. Brytan assisted wherever he could and followed the man's instructions as Cryden was bandaged up for transport.

He checked himself for injuries, not having had time to think about anything during the fight, rather than staying alive. Other than a sore throat, which felt slightly bruised, he seemed to be ok. "I'm alright, doesn't look like they took any parts of me along with them as they hit the ground."

Brytan got up quickly as he felt no need to be examined like Cryden had been, and seeing how this guy worked he would be bandaged up entirely with or without injury if he lingered near him for too long. Ï'll go see about that stretcher."

Moving back to the sergeant he looked around at what happened. Orders were being issued quickly, guards were set up to patrol the area for further signs of threat. Brytan breathed a sigh of relief as he watched a large portion of the army realising that danger was much closer than they had realised. He felt lucky he was still alive to realise it himself.

"Sir, the surgeon requests a stretcher to carry Cryden to safety." he spoke as he arrived at the spot where the sergeant was barking out orders, waiting for the man to finish his repore. A short glance shot around to see where Laendral was going. It didn't surprise him she was being taken to the main tent. "I wonder why they took her prisoner, these guys don't seem refined enough to keep anyone alive they can brutally slay..."

[Dranlen]

"Well, done soldier. Get the rest of your squad and go take some rest. You deserved it.I'll have the others take over."

"Yes, Sergeant."

He did not for one moment think that the Sergeants command indicated that it was his squad, but perhaps he had responded as required this time. Turning to Langredoc he asked,

"Did you require the healer Langredoc? If not, we better get some rest, for tomorrow might be a long day, and if the enemy is that close then perhaps we should get as much rest as possible. Perhaps we can help Brytan carry Cryden back."

He would certainly help carry their injured colleague should the option arise, but if he was taken elsewhere he would not be troubled. He did wonder whether Brytan would return with them, as the Sergeant probably wanted his experienced men to act as scouts, those he knew and would trust.

His thoughts he kept to himself, but should Langredoc choose to talk of his opinions of what had gone on, he would respond in a low voice whilst settling down.

Returning to their camp would not take long and Dranlen spent a short time inspecting, and if necessary cleaning his new blade, leaving it near to hand, just in case they were wakened in the night. He suspected that the Orc's would be long gone, judging by the fatigue they showed in the brief combat he wondered how far they had to travel to reach their fellows, hopefully far enough such that no more calls would be heard that night.

Replacing his mask he settled to get as much sleep as possible, but it did not come easily. The adrenalin from the short but brutal combat still flowed through him and but at least when he did drop off he slept well, tired and more importantly, alive.

[Gavin Tylvan]

Sergeant Cleyden was an efficient man. A single nod a gaze at his Corporal and the man was already running to get the stretchers. It took him less than half a burn to produce one. Even if one was unavailable he would have found a way to procure it. Cleyden was a harsh men, but he kept his lads alive. Being on his good side was a wise thing to do. The Corporal knew that as he panted holding a stretcher.

Not even considering to send Brytan and Dranlen to do it Sergeant picked two random soldiers and simply pointed towards the spot where Cryden lay. GRabbing the stretchers they rushed to the spot and placed the wounded lad on top of it with care. Lifting the lad with a grunt they took a position behind the healer and scampered off towards the camp. That left Dranlen, Brytan and Langredoc to pretty much fend for themselves. They were free to choose their own destiny. at least until the morning.

OOC: Feel free to post your actions till the morning. I will create a new thread tomorrow and we will do a bit of a time jump

[Brytan]

"Sir, if that is all I will return to my post now." Brytan had encountered the orc attack only burns into his watch and he figured since his time hadn't passed he better finish it, also since he of all those involved in the skirmish seemed to be least injured. He had noticed that his "superiors" took good care of their own, but also that they were less likely to tolerate insubordinance, even more so after the recent struggle.

"Go with the flow."

He turned to Dranlen. "Thanks for your help, not sure if we would have made it, Cryden and me, if it hadn't been for you and Langredoc." After which Brytan returned to his post near the trees, most likely now swarming with the extra guards the sergeant had ordered. He took a little time to inspect the corpses of the orcs. He was a thief after all, and it was almost second nature to check for valuables or usefull items. They had been short on equipment from the start and an extra blade or a few coins never hurt anyone.

The events of the past few burns started to sink in as he sat by the trees, watching the people around him go about their business. He prefered the silence, but he felt good in knowing that he helped save someone's life today. "Laendral... Captain of the Emerald Guard." The image of the woman passed before his mind's eye, the way she took out the orc, the way she had looked as they spoke, however briefly.

"I killed."

Before, it had all been training, practice. Target dummies and bells to teach him to sneak and prowl, to attack using speed and agility. But he had never spilled blood before. Accused of spilling blood, sure. Only last eveningtide had he been accused and exhonorated of murdering the Lady Souived. Now, blood was on his hands. He drew his daggers out and started cleaning them as he mused over the events of the past few burns. As the moon rose higher over the scarred forest he recalled the rush he had felt when taking the life of the vicious monster. He had been trained to kill whoever stood in his way, if need be alone. Today he killed in the name of Dominicus, to save an innocent life.

Or was she? She was mixed up in this war which seemed to have ravaged the area for far longer than he was aware of. He honestly had no idea of her innocence, and judging from her skills and the number they had sent to catch her, the enemy obviously didn't think her very innocent.

When he was relieved of his watch, he slept. He dreamed of the attack, he adrenaline surging through his veins all over. Waking several times during Gravetide with the image of dead orcs and murdering Laendral on his retina.

"War sucks."

[Dranlen]

"Thanks for your help, not sure if we would have made it, Cryden and me, if it hadn't been for you and Langredoc."

"Perhaps we should stick together, in the future as well, so it seems as though Cryden might take a while to heal. Goodnight Brytan and well fought. I only hope we avoid Cryden's fate."

He replied, more tired than he wished to be, he continued with his chosen action retiring after he had at least found a drink and a small amount of food, though it would sit heavy with him he knew.

[Gavin Tylvan]

Not much happened that night. Nothing of any real significance. No new attacks. No more deaths. Army slept. Army dreamed. Army shivered and cursed. It was a war. It was not a picnic. Still, this was not what anyone expected. Even war should have some good sides. So far what most of them failed to notice were just those good sides. Pain, death and suffering were aplenty. There was nothing to loot. There was supposed to be loot. All they had were Sergants and howling wind in the night.

OOC: New threads has been opened for you. It is not longer impassable. It has been fun writting with you guys. I shall skill it soon.

[Morg]

Skilled