Quest First Introductions[Templar]

[Valerie]

Valerie pulled to a stop, dismounting before her steed could even settle. A small grin touched her lips in turn, the small bit of concern she had been carrying melting away. Of course he was okay. He was Saul.

"And look at you: into trouble already," she called back. "Leave it to you to turn a simple recruit trip into chaos." She propped her foot up on the dirt mound, her eyes skimming the moat inquisitively.

"Are you expecting an army?" Her joking tone was caught by an edge of tension. The signs of preparation had not gone unnoticed to her. This was a town under siege. And she wasn't seeing any villages to boot.

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

"Oh, if I'm dead, you've been dead for a few hours."

He didn't bother answering the two of them for a moment, or really acknowledging their presence. He figured they were going to die in their crusade, so really they were just slabs of meat to be hung on a hook in yet another Templar-fueled crusade of justice, tranquility, and the Templar way or what have you.

He wondered why they were both referring to their fathers. Then he remembered that the people to the south of the Tundra didn't give a fuck about who their fathers were, and their names carried no weight to him.

He probably seemed like an idiot, a simpleton to them.

Didn't matter, they all seemed like religious zealots to him. End the curses, slaughter the undead, purify the land, all that good Templar jazz. Hopefully this time they'd manage to make it a few decades without extorting all the cities and stabbing each other.

"They sent me. They expect that'll be enough. I do too."

Arnor turned and gave the two a once over, running a hand through his hair. Not exactly working with the Elite of the Elite here.

 

[Saul Talith]

"Three to four hundred Ghouls." He wasn't about to sugar coat it for her.

Saul had never been one for beating around the bush, especially when it came to something like this. He doubted that Valerie had time to run, and he doubted even more that she would had he given her the option. Oddly enough they had been through worse situations than this.

He could recount a half dozen occasions where they had faced worse odds and come out on top.

Valerie standing there was a reminder of those times, and in an odd way that gave him a small bit of hope. Perhaps they would survive all of this after all. "On their way to kill yours truly."

Of course he tried to make it all about himself.

"Pissed off a necromancer and everything." He shrugged. "Ya know, Just another day."

 

[Valerie]

Valarie let out a low whistle, shaking her head as she absorbed the news. It would be enough to shake experienced soldiers. A simple glance around told her that they were outnumbered. She knew the number of men Saul left with, and without she knew the number they would need to walk out unscathed.

This was not it.

But they had gotten out of worse.

"Ana is going to reanimate you just to kill you again." She shook her head further, then started to peel off her armor and reach for a shovel. "You should return. We'll keep them distracted long enough, it should be enough to get you out."

He didn't have to tell her when they'd come, or how dire it was. The answers to these questions were evident all around her. And true to form, she did not flinch.

She jumped into the ditch, her templar cottons soon to be soiled.

 

[Saul Talith]

He scoffed. ”I could not more run than anyone else here.”

The words didn’t even really need to be said, they were as self evident as the sun in the sky and the stars at night.

Leaving a situation like this simply wasn’t in Saul’s ability. Even a decade ago he would have said no. Even when he hadn’t been part of the Templar he would have said no. These men and women were his responsibility.

There was no way he would leave them. ”Besides.”

He said with a shrug.

”It’s not so bad.” Saul tried to sound at least a little bit cheerful. ”The new recruits are quite good.”

Just then a rider appeared at the very edge of the forest. He was dressed in Templar Leathers, a curved sword on his hip and a bow on his back. A crude spyglass was clutched in one hand as he went galloping up to the ditch.

“They’re here. A mile out.”​

His words resounded in Saul’s ears.

 

[Ivo Coppercrow]

Ivo would have been offended if Arnor's assessment wasn't spot on. Everything the recruit had learned about fighting- really fighting -was picked up in his past six months of training whereas this big fellow seemed to have spent his whole life stumbling from brawl to brawl. Still, the wine-thief left a bad taste in the artificer's mouth; Just because he's right doesn't mean he gets to be a dick about it.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you'd love to talk about yourself some more," the recruit said quickly, attempting a sardonic smile. "But us two, we have actual work to do before the town gets overrun. Now, if you'll pardon me." He crossed to the dying embers of the tavern's hearth, taking a handful of still-glowing char in his glove and dropping it into the jury-rigged crucible bomb. It was two more scoops before the 'explosive' was packed tight, and its creator gave it a pair of gentle pats to assure its solidity.

"Kalianna, here," Ivo rose to his feet as he beckoned her over, taking great care as he held the veritable tripmine out in offering. "I still have fortifications to put up here. Just--... Be careful, alright? And stay far, far back once the dead get close. If I'm being honest, I have no idea how big this thing will go, and on the chance that it doesn't work, I'd rather have you live to scold me about it." Another brave smile crossed his face, blissfully unaware of the warning Saul had just received beyond the town's limit.

One mile was hardly any distance at all amidst such dire straits.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna raised an eyebrow at Arnor's statements, mentally scoffing. She wasn't exactly a born fighter, ready to throw down at a moment's notice over a cheap drink like he no doubt was, sure, but she was trained as well. Granted, she forwent a few of those lessons to learn music and illusion magic, but she as trained nonetheless.

She nodded to Ivo's response, adding, "Leave some of the wine for us, too." She watched the artificer fill the crucible with the char, going to him when he beckoned. Gingerly taking the crucible bomb , she looked at his handiwork, clearly impressed by the speed of its crafting. "I'd like to live to see that happen too, Ivo. I'll try my best, don't worry. We should hopefully still have some time before the horde comes." She met his smile with one of her own, oblivious to the utter irony of what she just said. "Good luck."

The explosive in hand, Kalianna briskly walked to the Mayor's House, exceedingly careful not to accidentally drop the crucible bomb. She decided that'd be a rather silly end to have. Entering the slightly crumpled abode, she scanned the area. The ghoul still laid motionless on the ground, its innards blasted across the wooden floor, mixed with rubble and fractured wood. She nestled the crucible bomb in the middle of the building, where its explosion would - hopefully, assuming it worked - encompass the entire area. Now, it was time for the illusions. After all, what good was there in a trap if it wasn't convincing?

Templars suddenly seemed to manifest out of thin air, weapons at the ready and armor donned. One by one, they began to pace around the area, some standing by openings with arrows drawn while others stood by with swords and shields. A few were outside the building, to further the illusion of this being their bunker. Soon, it appeared as though the building was their temporary stronghold, the explosion obscured by illusionary rubble so as to not raise any suspicions. She mentally conditioned the illusions to avoid contact, and to retreat further inside once the horde was in place. A few finishing touches, and the trap was set.

 

[Valerie]

Valerie stood stiff in the ditch, her shovel embedding into the dirt as the news rippled somberly through the men around her.

There was an uncomfortable feeling of unsureness bubbling up inside of her. Saul's insistence to stay was expected. His resolve to always stand by his men made up the core of Saul, and it was undoubtedly one of the reasons he had been able to rise to the position he held today.

Valerie held him to such a high esteem because of his unwavering work ethic. Asking him to change this would be asking him to be a lesser version of himself. She would never do that.

But he was the leader of the allegiance now. And he had a newborn to go home to. Her chest twisted in the realization that his death would no longer be a simple gesture of adhering to who he was.

His death would shatter a great many things. Would she be adhering to their vision if she just stood by and let him die besides her?

The men around them kicked into action, but she remained still. It was a rare moment that Valerie could be struck unsure and wordless, but in this new circumstance, she was just that.

She stared at him silently, the confliction shining through her eyes.

 

[Saul Talith]

"Too late now." Saul said to her with a smile.

He hadn't exactly planned it that way, but it worked out. A sharp whistle passed through his lips, one of the Templar Sergeants running up to him holding sword and some of the pieces of his armor.

Without a word Saul quickly pulled the plates into place, grasping the armor and quickly slotting each piece where it belonged. His fingers pressed them, and then with the last snap of one of the last metal clasps he looked to Valerie.

"Come on." He motioned to her. "The Recruits are at the Mayor's house."

Other Templar had taken up position all around the village, most of them on the roof tops that remained so that they could fire down on the ghouls.

"I'd rather not get caught out here." Saul said as he caught his helmet and glanced back, the first ghoul stumbling out of the tree line behind him.

 

[Valerie]

'Too late now.'

That it was. Valerie's conundrum fell to the wayside, the choice taken from her. If there was no escape, they'd just have to win. There was nothing else to it.

She wordlessly opened up her pack, the shinny full suit she had been wearing left on the ground as a pair of wore leathers were dawned on in its place. A sword was unbuckled from her steed and situated on her waist. In a few moments both Templar had made quick work of readying themselves.

She nodded at his request to move deeper in, bundling her metal armor into a cloth and tossing it over her shoulder as they walked.

'The new recruits are quite good.'

"Let's hope they are good enough," she murmured belatedly.

"A mercenary came in with me from the south. Says he was hired. The Axe of Knottington?" Her tone spoke of her opinion of said man, nothing else being commented further.

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

The Nordenfiir was left to his own devices.

He watched the undead horde, now visible, shamble towards the town. He walked to the edge of the lines, stopping only briefly. He dropped to a knee, removing his cuirass and undershirt. The marks of the Svalen marked his body, identifying him as a man maturing with his soul as much as his age. He watched the Templars man the edge of the lines, and some of them manuevered back while the witch worked her magics on the illusions.

He stowed his cuirass and shirt in the tavern, and looked ahead, holding the Silver-bladed longsword in one hand, and the Axe of Knottington in the other. He stopped as he walked back, and looked down at the mud. He reached down and placed his hand into it, wetting it with the soil. He pressed the mud to his chest, marking his chest. The soil of the town, to mark him as a defender. He rotated the axe, watching the undead come.

He didn't say anything to the Templars, he simply stood at the edge, slightly ahead of them, crouched. The undead came, like destiny itself. It was fate incarnate, the shambling horde of ghouls descending on the town. He tightened his grip on his weapons, baring his teeth.

The Templars around him could swear that at that moment, Arnor smelled just a little different.

Like an animal.

 

[Saul Talith]

"No idea who that is." Saul answered with a shrug. "But we could use all hands we can ge-"

The Lord Captain found himself cut off by the shouts of alert. A few of the men were still in the ditch, though as soon as the call went out all of them scrambled up onto their feet and out of the small moat than had been dug.

They moved just as the mercenary that Valerie had spoken of arrived, the man reaching low to cover himself in odd cakes of mud.

Saul glanced at Valerie questioningly, his nose crinkling slightly as he looked at the man and then back towards his friend. For a moment he found himself questioning things, but then the echoes of a hundred shambling ghouls pulled him back. "What are you waiting for?!"

The Lord Captain called to the waiting Templar.

"FIRE YOUR GODDAMN BOWS!" There was a raucous sound of bowstrings smacking against wood as a dozen arrows went flying.

It would do little against the horde, but anything counted at this point.

The Ghouls shambled forward, slow, lumbering, but their mass in the hundreds as they moved closer and closer to the town.

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

Theme​

Arnor felt it pertinent that he was the first to act, the first to manuever towards the enemy. The arrows sped by him, cracking the very air that he was running through. The Ghouls were slow, but he crossed the distance, his long legs striding. His powerful body stopped short of the ghouls, screaming.

His scream was that of a man unhinged.

Something evil in him, something primal and absolutely savage.

His sword rained down on a ghoul like a waterfall, cleaving the rotting flesh, and the ghoul- in half. His axe turned and made contact with another ghoul- and curious to the Templars watching, set it on fire. The fire spread to the nearby ghouls, sending them screaming. They would not fall from the fire- no, they would only feel it's only holy fire.

He turned and cut down ghoul after ghoul, until the Templars saw him surrounded, enveloped by gray skin and hungry, gnashing jaws. Arnor disappeared in the crowd of Ghouls, after setting a blaze that they now marched through...

 

[Valerie]

Valerie looked on in nothing short of utter horror-- her lips parted, her skin paling.

It wasn't often you watch someone them ride out into their death like an utter fool, but from her position in front of the city, that was exactly what this was. "...Fall back," she croaked, shoving her reaction away behind a grimace.

"Into the walls, make them come to us."

She gave her steed a firm smack in the ass, sending it baring behind what defenses they had strung up. There was nothing graceful about her scramble up the other side of the mote, her hands firmly on her pommel as archers fired off another volley of arrows.

She turned around just in time to see impact, her gaze scattering to the lump of a pile where the Axe of Knottingham had lain. "Fool of man."

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

In war, there were often sights that men did not forget.

The visage of Arnor Skuldsson charging directly at the horde, then being overwhelmed, certain to die, condemned by his bloodlust. But his anger, his hate- that manifested, outside of his human form.

His sword and axe came flying back at the Templar lines. As if they were discarded.

And then, came a great roar.

And the ghouls- a great many number of them, broke formation. The ones that enveloped Arnor were ripped apart, thrown around like ragdolls. And in that great horde of undead, creatures from hell...

Rose a great white bear.

And it roared, unlike any animal in the Summer Lands. The roar of the Nordenfiir, the reality of who and what he was displayed for all that were defending the town. The Axe of Knottington indeed, had come to their aid. And the stories were all true, the great bearpeople of the North- the bear then charged back, slaying a great many number of Ghouls in his path before reaching the Templar lines, and turned to face the horde, side by side with the Templars.

Reasonably, some of them were afraid of the giant fucking bear.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul's blade swept through the Ghoul's spine, the creatures skin sizzling and burning as his blessed blade bisected it and sent it reeling onto the ground.

A second later his boot came down on the creatures skull, cracking and breaking it as he looked up to see a massive bear suddenly standing among his fellows. The Creature tore into the ghouls, ripping apart the shambling husks.

The Lord Captain did a double take, fingers tightening on his blade as he shot Valerie a questioning look.

Who the hell had she brought?

"Pull them into the pits!" Saul shouted to his companions, his blade slicing through another ghoul as he grasped a second with his hand. A pulse suddenly ran through his fingertips, the ghouls chest exploding in a gory ichor.

Even as they cut down scores of ghouls more seemed to come. They shambled from the forest and lurched across the field.

Something drove them, pushed them forward. As they came in their numbers some seemed to move faster, more viciously, their skin hardening against blade and claw as magic enveloped their flesh.

 

[Valerie]

Valerie didn't need Saul's helmet to be off to understand the gaze his helmeted head turned her way.

She gave a helpless shrug, looking high nigh as shocked herself as she turned away from the sight of a giant fucking bear erupting form a pile of dead. There were questions to be had, but first there was survival.

"DON'T SHOOT!" She roared, holding off her archers.

She stared down the bear, words unspoken-- I'm giving you a chance here. Don't blow it.

What choice did she have? It was possible death by bear or certain death by ghouls. She couldn't believe she was even entertaining this.

"Fall back with us. Into our traps."

Following Saul's orders, Valerie kept her ground to allow the ghouls to hit the pits. Her jaw clenched at the shifting state of their nature-- faster, harder--

Her blade came down through the collarbone of the first ghoul to scramble over the bodies that had filled the pits, cleaving it in two.

"Eyes peeled for the necromancer!" The only real way to end this battle and come out clean.