Fur Trade

[Orcleous]

Orcleous came to Lyica in hopes of aiding the destruction of the monster plague. However great and noble his intentions where it still did not put food in his belly and coin in his pocket. Orcleous needed coin if he wanted to survive and simply finding and fighting random monsters was not going to get it. However fate seemed to be on Orcleous side. As he was visiting a nearby village Orcleous picked up on a bit of useful information. Apparently the fur of the Mauthe Doog was profitable in the region. It also sold for a higher price because of the danger of hunting one down. Eager to make coin and lower the number of monsters plaguing Lycia Orcleous took up his blade to go for a hunt.

"Take this Xeldine", spoke Orcleous as he handed his young apprentice a silver blade. The maiden looked at the sword for a moment with awe. She had never seen such a magnificent weapon before. The best weapons she had seen in her life was steel and that spoke mountains about her origins and the reason her caravan was destroyed.Steel was good, but if you fought monsters you needed silver.

"Wait why are you giving this to me", spoke the maiden as she looked up at Orcleous.

"Because silver is effective against monsters."

"Yeah that is my point your going to need", she spoke, but Orcleous cut her off.

"No you need it more than I do." The hero drew his iron sword from his shield and motioned toward the magical hammer on his back. "I got all the weapons I need. I can handle myself agaisnt these creatures, but you. Well you need a edge. Don't let them rip your face off and stay close to me", spoke Orcleous as he walked out the city gate. The young hero had put up flyers around town seeing if anybody was up to hunt for some furs and reduce the number of monsters around. Not many had answered the call and the ones that did seemed to be drunk. At the moment it looked as if it was simply going to be Orcleous and Xeldine for this mission.

[Lorna Scathach]

Lorna, once again, found herself staring at a flyer. This time she didn't have to struggle with the words at much, yet she was all the more hesitant. The young lady had just managed to get herself a new pauldron, though it was almost perfect replica of her old one, and he shoulder still didn't feel QUITE right. She had spent the past week or so simply resting from that endeavor, and that all started with a notice posted on a wall just like this one.

"Tch. At least it says to meet by the city gates," Lorna thought to herself. No creepy forts in the middle of nowhere this time. Perhaps this job was the real deal.

Lorna had done a bit of hunting since she began her training at Laus. Mostly basic game, the occasional fox hunt as well, but she found she was quite good at it. However these foul beasts that clawed there way out from the ruins of Ostia were far more dangerous than any animal Lorna had ever had the pleasure of hunting down and killing. They were, perhaps, even more dangerous than any man.

That sent a shiver through her body, and she knew at once she needed to investigate. Her injury had given her time off from training with the other recruits, but the time off ended in three days. What better way to end a vacation than with a battle against demonic creatures? Lorna tore the notice off the wall and rolled it up. Figured she may as well keep it in case she missed any details.

Lorna made her way through the city and soon reached the gates. There she saw a dark skinned man, well armored and well armed, and a young lady at her side. As few others were lingering around the area Lorna figured it was safe to assume they were who she was to meet with. So she waved at them and walked towards them, whistling to further get their attention.

"Hey, you the guy hiring for this job?" Lorna asked.

[Orcleous]

"Oh somebody finally got the courage to actually show up", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the young maiden. She was what 15 maybe 16, around the same age as Xeldine. Seems everyone was starting there military career around the same time. Orcleous first started fighting when he was 16. After two years he got really good at it. Still that was a topic and a subject for another day. It looked like Xeldine was going to have a buddy for the job. They where doing a simple kill and collect mission so Orcleoous did not think he needed any true great number of men, but then again you never know how it will turn out. He heard horror stories of packs reaching the size of fifty strong and assaulting towns. The one they where after only had ten members so it was not that dangerious.

"Alright let me give you a proper introduction. My name is Orcloeus", spoke the burly dark skin lad as he raised his hand out to shake hers. "This young lady", he spoke but Xeldine cut him off.

"The name is Xeldine", she spoke while holding Orcleous sword. She had a attitude on her face and a stance that said I don't like you. She was a troublesome apprentice, but Orcleous did not mind. It was lonely traveling by ones self and he had been fighting by himself for quite some time.

"Show some better manners Xeldine", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the young crimson haired maiden. "Remember she could probably defeat you in a a fight. I am not going to be around all the time to deter people from picking fights with you. Anyway", spoke Orcleous as he moved to change the subject. "It looks like we are all there is. It is not a big job as we are only killing ten of the beast. HOwever we need to be careful because the creatures are known to be vicious."

[Lorna Scathach]

So the man seemed to be in charge of the operation. He introduced himself, but when he went to introduce his apprentice the young lady cut him off rudely. There was a defiant look in her eyes, one that disdain or disrespect for Lorna. It only made Lorna grin at the woman, though. If she stepped out of line she'd be sure to put the bitch in her place. She didn't give a damn if she had it in with the leader of the operation.

"So we're killing ten of the monsters? Fine by me...shame no one else showed up, but more fun for us I suppose," Lorna stated with a grin, "The name's Lorna, by the way. Recruit for Laus military,"

Lorna looked over the pair and took note of their gear: silver weapons. She had heard that silver weaponry was one's best bet when it came to fighting these hellspawn. Unfortunately Lorna did not have nearly the needed amount of gold to purchase one for herself, not to mention it was so situational. How often would she be hunting monsters anyway? From what she heard Laus was mobilizing and going to march soon enough. Humans, Etrurians and Lycians that didn't ally with Marquess Laus, were to be her enemies. How often would she need silver for that? There were plenty of better weapon options for fighting other humans than a silver one.

So, as always, Lorna would make do with her iron lance.

"Well, shall we be off then?"

[Orcleous]

"A recruit", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the maiden. "So you are with the army then, now that is interesting."

"Not really, that just means she knows how to fight with a group", spoke Xeldine a she began to walk off. "We are losing day light so we should get moving. I don't want to try and fight monsters in the dead of night." Without another word the young lady marched off leaving Orcleous and Lorna behind.

"Sorry about that", spoke Orcleous as he looked at Lorna. "She lost her family to monsters not that long ago and she seems to be angry at... well everything. Just ignore everything she says", spoke Orcleous as he let off a slight chuckle. The Hero then began to follow behind the young maiden and eventually taking the lead. She knew where the spot Orcleous wanted to fight the beast, but she was not skilled enough to take point.

---
After a hour of walking Orcleous reached the destination he was looking for. The area seemed a bit normal, but it had a eerie feeling to it. There where a few animal bones scattered on the ground and the smell of decayed flesh could faintly be scent in the air. "Yep this is the place", spoke Orcleous as he looked around. "According to everything we heard this should be the heart of the land the pack hunts in so be careful."

"Man this place stinks", spoke Xeldine as she looked around. The young maiden's heart rate jumped as she saw the bones. Her mind began to drift back to the time she was stuck in the carriage.

"Hey Xeldine stick close to me", shouted Orcleous suddenly. The Hero stared into the nearby bushes. He thought he saw some movement and did not want to let the amiden wonder off. "Lorna pull in close too", spoke Orcleous toward the new maiden. He did not like the way this looked.

"Remember she is a recruit she can handle hers...", spoke Xeldine. The Red headed maiden was cut off by a beast lunching itself from the bushes and lunging at her. Instinctively the maiden fell backwards and in her fear she dropped the blade. "Xeldine", shouted Orcleous as he moved to aid the girl, but another dog jumped out the woods and made a lunge at the hero.

[Lorna Scathach]

Lorna shot Xeldine sneer, and was just about to shoot a comment her way when Orcleous explained her situation. Lorna supposed that she could relate to that, if only a little bit. That sort of past didn't entitle her to act so cold to everyone though: it just gave her a reason to really hate monsters. Still, it wasn't any of Lorna's business to really comment on that so she simply nodded at Orcleous.

"Right...well, whatever. Let's get moving,"

-

Lorna scanned the area thoroughly. The scent alone told her that they were close to something's territory, and judging by the pure carnage around the area it was likely that of their prey. Though she was tough-minded it was still Lorna's first time experiencing the scent of death and decay. It didn't make her queasy but it did make her feel a little more anxious than normal. She had come here expecting to have to fight and kill monsters, but it didn't feel truly real until she saw the bones of their victims.

Orcleous called her over to him and she took a quick step in his direction before Xeldine was beset by one of the foul creatures! It was hideous, and it stank worse than the entire area did. For a moment Lorna couldn't truly believe what she was seeing, but she didn't have the time to think about that now.

Lorna went to dash towards Orcleous and Xeldine, but another doog shot out from the bushes and cut her path off. It snarled and growled like a rabbid dog, snapping it's jaws in her direction. Lorna cursed and drew her lance into a ready position, not even hesitating to thrust it at the fiend.

"Just stick with her Orcleous! I'll handle myself over here!" Though Lorna shouted out these words even she had a bit of trouble believing them. The doog managed to dodge thrust after thrust from her lance before it finally weaved around the long weapon and lunged at Lorna. The burgundy haired recruit was forced to throw herself to the side to dodge the attack and scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could.

"Bloody hell this bastard is fast!" She cursed mentally as she turned to face the nasty beast once again.

[Orcleous]

"By the gods", shouted Xeldine as she raised her right hand in defense against the beast. The creature chomped down on her forearm sending a wave of pain radiating through her body. The only thing keeping the beast from breaker her arm was the arm guards that Orcleous had made her wear before coming out here. He said that the limbs where the points the monsters liked to attack the most he was not lying. Even protected by a ring of steel Xeldine could steel feel the pain of the crunched. She screamed out in agony as the monster attempted to chop completely through the iron.

As Xeldine struggled to stay alive Orcleous had to deal with his won problem. The beast that lunged at him slammed into the plate armor of Orcleous. The blow knocked him backwards, but Orcleous was able to stay on his feet. The monster however moved to try and take his legs off underneath him. However it chose the wrong opponent to try that on. Instead of swinging his sword at the beast Orcleous grabbed hold of the magical hammer on his back. Once his hand touched the handle he felt its power rush through his body. With the might of Xigshaw flowing though is veins Orcleous kicked the monster in the jaw. The blow was enough to shatter its jaw as he flew back in pain.

"Xeldine", spoke Orlcoeus as he turned toward his fool of a apprentice. The maiden was still struggling with the beast. however the scream of its jaw broken companion made the monster fear Orlceous. So rather than try and finish the maiden off there it began to drag the young novice off by the arm. As it pulled her alone Xeldine was able to grab a hold of the beast. "Let go", she shouted as she stabbed the silver blade into the eye of the monster. The blow was quite effective and the beast let go of her arm as it screamed in pain.

"Good job", spoke Orcleous as he rushed to her position. With him next to her he was sure she would be in far less danger.

[Lorna Scathach]

Lorna cursed yet again as the doog continued to evade the tip of her lance. For something that snapped and slobbered like a mad beast it fought with cunning and instinct. Lorna kept her offensive up, thrusting her lance repeatedly at the creature. Even if it kept dodging she needed to pressure it into performing another counter-attack, without leaving herself open for it. That was the only way she was going to kill this foul demon.

Eventually that time did come. The doog leaped at Lorna after hopping away from her lance, snapping it's jaws in mid-air as if they had a mind of their own. Lorna quickly brought her lance back and cried out as she aimed to thrust her weapon straight through the doog's mouth...

Unfortunately, Lorna's aim was off. She did manage to catch the side of the doog's mouth, her lance ripping through it's thin flesh and cutting it from the left side of it's mouth down to a bit of it's neck. That alone was enough to force the doog off balance, causing it to hit the ground next to Lorna and rolling. The creature writhed and howled in agony as it's thick, dark blood poured out from it's wound.

Lorna grinned a little as she slowly approached the downed creature. Seeing this mindless murdering monster so helpless on the ground...it gave her a chill through her spine.

"Who's the predator now? Bitch!" She shouted, stabbing the beast's torso four times with her lance. It let out yelps and growls of pain with each stab, but on the fourth one it finally went silent. Lorna's lance must have found the beast's heart. The burgundy haired recruit pulled her lance out of the creature and bent over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

All the same she couldn't help but grin. "That...was immensely satisfying,"

[Orcleous]

The wounded beast lunged forward in its attempt to take Orcleous young apprentice, but the Hero had enough. As it jumped Orcleous rushed forward. He began to channel the natural energy through his body as he pulled back his leg to strike. "SMITE", shouted Orcleous as his leg cut through the air. With the force of the legendary hammer sitting on Orcleous back his foot meet with the beast face. The blow was so powerful that it sent the wild wolf flying backwards slamming into a tree and killing it instantly.

"What was that", spoke Xeldine as she saw the demise of the beast. She was sure that Orcleous was not strong enough to simply pull off such a move through pure physical force alone. There was something going on. Something she did not see that Orcleous did. "How did you", she spoke then the pain in her arm started to come back.

"Worry about that later", spoke Orcleous as he pulled her off the ground. He handed her a bottle of whiskey and turned his eyes back to the bushes. For the moment it seemed that they where not attacking again. It must be due to the death of three members of there pack. The wolves where vicious, but they where not completely stupid. The next time they came at them Orcleous knew there assault would be far more vicious. "Hurry up and pore that on your arm. Then quickly wrapp it up with bandages. We don't know when the next wave is going to come, but I can assure you it will be quick."

"Right", she spoke as she opened the bottle. Her arm was in pretty bad shape, but the metal cuff prevented any serious damage. It was mostly small slashes and small marks, but all together it looked like a bloody mess. As the alchool hit a siring pain shot through the young girls arm. She complained, but Orcleous knew she would be alright.

"Lorna you should pull in", spoke Orcleous as he turned toward the young soldier. She handled herself well. She had skill, if only his fool of a apprentice was so adaptable. "Nice work with the lance, but don't focus so much on one enemy. What would you have done if another dog had jumped out the bushes while you where taking your time eliminating that one", spoke Orcleous. He stayed close to his apprentice, but moved over a bit toward the young lady. "Your strikes should be precise and pin point. If not then you run the risk of wasting to much energy or being caught off guard by your enemy."

[Lorna Scathach]

Lorna glanced over at the older man while she tried to catch her breath. She gave him a glare, but despite that she knew that he was right. Had there been a second monster she most certainly would have been overwhelmed, and had her aim been off by just another half an inch she would have met her doom at the maws of just the one beast she had slain. Though it didn't help that it took so much force and so many strikes to down the monster, but Lorna attributed that to her weapon over her skill. Regardless, Lorna had done well: but there was much to improve on if she hoped to survive this hunt.

"Right...I understand. Got too caught up in the blood and the action," Lorna replied, making her way over to the man and her apprentice. Lorna had been too caught up in her fight to really pay much attention to how Orcleous and Xeldine, another mistake on her part, but while Orcleous seemed none the worse for wear Xeldine seemed a bit shaken up. Lorna had little doubts that the mouthy young woman had nearly met her end as well, probably had to be rescued by Orcleous. Had Xeldine been just a bit ruder Lorna would probably had mocked her openly. Instead she just smirked, still feeling the rush off her battle.

"So what, we need seven more?" Damn, that would be tricky. Just one of those things tired Lorna out for a minute or two.

[Orcleous]

Orcleous watched as the young women gave him a glare. It was a bit disrespectful, but to Orcleous it was meh. He received worse from his Bullheaded apprentice. Speaking of Xeldine she was a bit too quite of late. She was probably humbled by her near death experiences. That or she was too busy trying to wrap her arm up at the moment. If Orcleous was a betting man he would place money on that one. Man having a apprentice was a pain. As the soldier began to speak Xeldine threw herself back into the conversation. From what Orcleous could tell she was a bit upset with the smirk she received earlier. "So Orcleous what was that move you did earlier? You know the one where you kicked the dog into the tree."

"Probably going to make that three more", spoke Orcleous ignoring Xeldine and looking directly at Lorna. His eyes then shifted to the bush where movement could clearly be seen. Xeldine however was not paying attention, like always, and was still trying to argue.

"Hey don't ..."

"Prepare yourself for combat", shouted Orcleous drowning her out. Another beast lunged from the bushes, but to Orcleous great surprise his apprentice was actually ready this time. As it jumped forward Xeldine quickly shuffled to the side. It was a clear indication to Orcleous that she was actually paying attention. Probably because the first time nearly cost her her life. As she dodged the attack she stabbed forward. Her blade cut into the fur of the beast and drew blood. Orcleous watched the attack for a moment before moving to deal with his own opponent. It was clear to him that Xeldine was better, but she lacked the strength to properly attack. If she had been using a regular iron sword she would not have drawn blood from that attack. He was going to have to force her to start working out her arms.

As Orcleous turned back toward his own problems he noticed that there where two of the beast aiming for him instead of one. It was clear to him that they saw him as a threat and rightfully so. Though he figured there goal was not to kill him, but rather to keep him busy. All of there attacks where half hearted as one would say. They attacked with there fangs, but would pull off at the last minute. They where cautious. They just wanted to attack him enough to keep him from aiding the other two and then probably jump him with greater numbers.

"Pretty smart for a mindless hound", spoke Orcleous as he swung his sword at one of the beast. It jumped back to avoid the blow and as it did so its friend lunged forward to try and take advantage of a opening. Orcleous however predicted this would happen. As it jumped Orcleous brought back his shield and slammed it into its jaw. The blow knocked the beast out the air, but was far from killing it. However Orcleous was the first to draw blood a good sign.

[Lorna Scathach]

Three more? Lorna was confused by Orcleous' words. Had the man changed his mind about their quota? Lorna soon realized that was not the case. She watched as the man's apprentice started to complain before another beast lunged at the pair. Lorna looked to where this one had appeared from and expected another beast: but none came yet. So she turned her attention to the other two while trying to keep her eyes peeled for more.

This time Xeldine held her own against just one, but it would be a hard fought battle if she aimed to kill the monstrosity. Either way she seemed to be doing fine, but Orcleous was jumped by two more of the creatures. Hey, if they managed to kill these then they'd fill their quota! With that thought in mind Lorna readied her lance and charged at one of the beasts as it circled Orcleous, thrusting at it and catching it's leg.

The iron weapon did little to really harm the beast, though. Tch, it seemed this one had a tougher hide. She did however manage to trip the thing up, causing it to tumble across the ground before standing up and charging her. Lorna hopped to the side and slashed her lance out at the creature, making contact once again but drawing no blood. Damn, how was this one so much tougher?

Making a sharp turn the creature rapidly approached Lorna and jumped, and she was too slow to move out of the way. Lorna was knocked down on to her back, her lance still in her hands as the beast landed on top of her. It snapped it's jaws at her face and neck while Lorna desperately used the shaft of her lance to keep it at bay. She felt her blood boil as it's slobber fell on her face and neck, grunting as she tried her damnedest to roll over and shove the nasty fiend off of her.

Eventually Lorna was able to throw it off of her and, having no time to catch her breath, forced herself to her feet and readied her lance again. That had been far, FAR, too close for comfort

[Orcleous]

Occ: Sorry Siegfried the way I worded that last comment caused some confusion. Orcleous said no three because he saw four of them in the bush moving to try and attack them. We are still going to ten.

Just what I needed, thought ORcleous as Lorna took one of the beast off him. With this the battle would now be one on one and Orcleous could handle that with ease. Without its friend to back it up the other beast lost its brazen nature. It understood the power difference, that was good. Seeing a opening Orcleous rushed forward with his blade. His goal was to take the head of the mosnter with a thrust attack. However achieving that goal was more difficult than one would think. As Orcleous stabbed forward with his blade the beast jumped to Orcleous right side and doded the thrust. It would have counted with a lunge, but ORcleous saw it coming. Pulling is blade to the right ORcleous cut open the beast skin with his iron sword. The blade was not every effective, but Orcleous had the power behind his arm t cancel that defect.

"One down", spoke Orcleous as he saw the beast blood spill from its head. He was about to go help Lorna when suddenly he was struck from behind. Orcleous knew he had seen four of the creatures moving in the bush. Now the fourth one had shown itself. Falling to the ground Orcleouls rolled over to recover. The demon dog however had no plans of letting its prey get back onto its feet. It lunged forward again throwing its body into the Hero. To its surpise however Orcleous did not budge, or rather Orcleous pushed back with enough force that the monster's assault was canceled. With one knee on the ground and a iron blade in the dirt Orcleous right hand was grabbing the hilt of his mighty war hammer. Xigshaw's power radiated through his body as the holy axe empowered the hero. Orcleous never liked using the weapon, but in this case he would make a exception.

Quicly the beast tried to snap it's jaws at orcleous, but the Hero was prepared for that. As it moved Orcleous backhanded it with enough force to send it flying back. Standing up off the ground Orcleous pulled the massive hammer off his back and raised it into the air. The dog shook its head to regain its surroundings, but as it looked up it was only meet with a shadow. From the air came down the mighty weapon that was Xigshaw. The axe smashed into the bones and flesh of the monster turning it into a imprent on the ground. "To think I would draw my holy axe against such weak beast", spoke Orcleous as he looked around for either more dogs or to see if his companions where in trouble.

[Lorna Scathach]

OOC: Ah okay, no problem, I'll just edit it

"Dirty mongrel," Lorna spat, thrusting her lance out at the beast as it ran circles around her. Lorna had at least learned by this point not to put too much of into these thrusts, lest she leave herself open to being counterattacked. If that fiend got on top of her again she wasn't sure she could force it off. So she was merely poking at it, trying to throw it off balance and trying not to leave herself open again.

However, despite her inability to hit the beast at the time, Lorna did have a bit of confidence. After all, no matter how swift and agile these creatures were, they only really had one method of attacking. They would run and lunge at their target, like a wolf or a mad dog. They weren't versed in the art of combat, to the monster this wasn't a fight or a battle, this was just a hunt.

Lorna smirked to herself just a bit, her blood pumping with battlelust. "Yeah...a hunt gone wrong,"

The beast lunged again, attempting to get on Lorna's right flank, and opened it's maw wide. But she was ready. Lorna pivoted and thrusted her lance forward, and this time she did not miss her mark. Her weapon went clear into the mouth of the beast and pierced through the back of it's neck. The fiend made a hideous gurgling sound it practically fell onto Lorna's lance, sliding down down the polearm as it's life faded. Lorna raised her boot to the thing's torso and pushed it off her weapon, drawing the lance back out as she did so. When the beast hit the ground Lorna grinned triumphantly.

This wasn't so hard at all. Humans were more difficult opponents than any animal or beast.

[Orcleous]

Orlcoeus looked around to see how the two of them where doing. Lorna seemed to have finished off her opponent. That was good. His fool hardy apprentice however seemed to be having more trouble with the one she was fighting. The young maind was covered with scraches and the bleeding coming from her leg told that she had droppped her guard in the middle of the fight. However she was still standing and the beast she was facing against was bleeding just as bad as she was, actually it was worse. The advantage of a silver weapon was truly helping the young maiden. Orcleous was sure if she was holding a iron sword she probably be dead right about now. However Orcleous did not move to aid her. She needed to learn how to fight on her own. Instead the Hero's attention was turned to the bushes. He was sure the last three where around here somewhere, but they had not shown themselves. This was troublesome.

Suddenly Orcleous heard a sound come from behind him. He knew exactly what it was. Quickly turning around Orcleous brought down his magical hammer. However the beast where far smarter than to let themselves be smashed by the sudden attack. Instead of facing Orcleous head on the one on the right moved off to attack Orcleous apprentice from behind. The other two took Orcleous left and right flank.

"Oh no you don't", spoke Orcleous as he turned and kicked one of the charging dogs. The other one slammed into his back and caused him to stumble. However a strong stomp helped the Hero to regain his balance. He had let go of his might hammer, however that did not make Orcleous defenseless. As the beast lunged again to attack with its jaw's Orcleous offered up his arm. The monster clamped down on the thick metal with its teeth and Orcleous pulled a iron knife from his pocket and stabbed it clean through the eye.

"Xeldine", he shouted as he turned to look at his apprentice. The maiden was once again in the dirt, but this time she had her blade in the beast mouth prevented it from biting her head off. The first dog she was fighting was dead on the ground, from what Orcleous could tell it probably passed out from blood loss.