Round 2: The Maddening (Orcleous vs The Madness)

[Orcleous]

There are some battles in life that you never forget, especially the ones where you loss. Orcleous had a few of those in his life, but none of them where like that one. There was this one fight. One fight where he completely loss. He threw everything he had at his opponent and still did not come out with victory. That fight left a mark, far deeper than any wound. It left something behind, something fearsome, something like fire. In his heart there was a burning desire for vengeance, for honor, and for pride. That creature he faced in the plains, he desired to do battle with it once again. When Orcleous heard rumors of the creature making its way across Lycia he dropped everything and moved to intercept. There was no way he was going to miss this opportunity. Xeldine, his apprentice wanted to come, but Orcleous forbid her. She was not ready for this fight and she would only prove a distraction. Orcleous was going to need everything if he wanted to defeat this monster.

It took Orcleous a week to get to Ostia, but he was sure he was in the right place. He could smell the evil in the air and he was completely sure it was not the hordes of monsters roaming around. Some how, someway he knew the creature was here. He could feel it in his bones. Naturally Orcleous check his back to make sure Xigshaw was firmly secure. He then pulled on his silver arming sword inside of his kite shield. He had to be sure he could draw the blade with relative ease. If he got into battle and his blade jammed in his sheath it could spell doom for him. "Armor, check; blade, check; Xigshaw, check." Orcleous was sure he was ready. For same measure Orcleous took a dagger and placed it in his boot. He was not sure if it would be useful, but you never knew right. With everything checked and in order Orcleous walked into the ruins of the cursed city. Drawing his silver sword from his shield Orcleous began to walk the ruined streets. He knew there where monsters roaming all around this area and he did not want to be caught off guard by any of them. He was after only one prey.

[The Madness]

She was present, yes. She had been busy during this week too. A week had passed since her new powers came to be, and a week it was that it took for her to start building her little group. Every day she had gone out to the mountains, and every day she had returned with at least one new undead thrall to do her bidding. She had around... Twelve? Around that number, one more or one less, the numbers did not ire her too much as of now. Once she'd have a few more she could leave and try to find herself a good home. A home where her little army would grow in preparation for her king to come.

She had made due with a tavern for now. She felt a strange closeness to ale and other such things... Perhaps the old host of this body had enjoyed drinking. Oh well. The basement was enough for her and her troops to base out at. Makeshift weapons and armor had been found from other corpses and undead, and her whole troupe had been armed to at the very least seem threatening. She had trained her mental connection with them all, and for once in her meager existence she felt truly like her king. Someone in control, someone in power... Oh, she wanted to see him so much. His coming would be grand.

Slowly she made her way up from the basement, looking trough the window in a solemn manner. This land was still under such a curse... A shame she'd bring this kind of a locale to all parts of Elibe. But, the king's orders were absolute. Perhaps after he came this all could end in abetter way, once humanity was gone and her kin would be in control of this land.

It was then that she spotted the dark skinned warrior. Simultaneously she sent an order to all twelve of her warriors. They'd be ready.

[Orcleous]

Orcleous walked through the streets. It was dead, eerie, and had a wrong feeling too them. He expected to run into one two undead by now, but instead it was just quite. Something was off. It was never this quite. Orcleous learned that from his days as a assassin. The moment everything was still was the moment someone was about to attack. Holding his sword in a ready position Orcleous turned the corner. As he walked he saw a old looking tavern. He was quite surprised the building survived in such good condition. Most of everything else here was burned out and destroyed. As Orcleous looked at the building he heard a familiar jingle. 'So there where some of them around' thought Orcleous to himself as he looked over his shoulder. The street he came down was empty, good that meant he could use it as a retreat point if things got harry.

"How about you all come on out", spoke Orcleous. The Hero expected to see bandits to his great surprise however he was meeting with the image of the undead. Undead wearing armor, and it was not ancient either. For a normal man this would be a complete mind blowing surprise, but for Orcleous ... well he has seen this before. The day he received the Fiery Dragon Sword. There was that man, the one who told him the secret to being a warrior. He turned into a zombie while wearing his full black armor. He was powerful too, but Orcleous doubted these things where just as strong. They where not undead paladins. He doubted that they where even true warriors.

With a bone chilling scream the first of the beast charged forward and attacked Orcleous. The monster was wielding an axe and swung with a downward slash. "This is why beast should not hold weapons", spoke Orcleous as he side stepped at the last moment and spun around it and slashed it in the side. If he had been facing a true warrior he would have known better than to attack that way. However these mindless drones well, what could you say. They where mindless. The silver sword had a devastating affect on the monster. The shock from the blade caused it to pause for a moment as it tried to adjust to the wound. Using that gap Orcleous lunged forward and stabbed his silver blade straight through the eye slot on the monster's helm. The blade pierced the skull and its body slumped over and fell to the ground.

[The Madness]

One. She felt a small tinge of pain. Like a small child pinching her. She had eleven left, but one had been taken... Enough time for her to have made it to the rooftop with two more warriors. The nine left were waiting in the basement for her orders to move. The man... The man she had fought before. Strong he was, managing to defeat the armored monstrosity she had created in but one swing. Oh well, they were expendable. She could just kill more and more, and the more she killed the more she would have under her will.

Quick orders were given as the two undead beside her dropped down. They hopped off from the rooftop and onto the ground next to Orcelous, basically surrounding him. She'd hope this would at the very least briefly flinch him... Enough to have him stay still as she took a leaping step from the rooftop. She had one chance at this... Or else the fight would turn into a true showing of blood and death never seen in this town since the coming of the undead. She focused all of her strength into her arms, feeling nether moving trough them.

As she leaped she moved her spear so that the tip pointed towards the ground. She was right above the other and was falling rapidly. If the undead would keep the other still for long enough, she could possibly end this in one strike... Time would tell. She rapidly fell towards the other, her aim being to try and simply impale her sword trough the other's head or shoulder.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: SMITE]

[Orcleous]

'Still makes you wonder', thought orcleous to himself as he dispatched the undead. Why where undead wearing armor? What in the world... , before Orcleous could finish his thought two undead creatures landed on his left and right flank. There presence was a surprise and caused Orcleous to jump back with surprise. "What the H#...", shouted Orcleous when another surprised smashed into the stone street. Falling from above. It was the madness and from what Orcleous could see he just missed a one way ticket to death. Its spear dug into the earth and left a hole in the ground that told him that death was not the word if it had hit him. Orcleous had found his target, or rather it had found him.

Without wasting a moment the two creatures attacked. With weapons in there hands they rushed to take out Orcleous. The hero barely had time to recover from his retreat when the beast fell upon him. The first creature struck at him with a spear. Orcleous used his blade to redirect the tip of the spear and place the weapon of the first monster between him and the other. With his back toward a old house Orcleous was forced to throw down his silver blade. The weapon was effective at slaying the undead, but it could not pull him from this mess.

The second creature jumped into the air attempting to open the Hero's head like a melon. However Orcleous had other plans. Touching the hilt of his weapon Orcleous could feel Xigshaw's power radiating through his body. The power was a bit less than it was at full power, D#$^ this jealous axe, but it was enough for What Orcleous needed it to do. As the beast came down with its axe Orcleous jumped forward with the power of his legs. The Hero lunched forward like a arrow dodging the blow of the monster and rolling as he hit the ground. Quickly Orcleous jumped back onto his feet and pulled Xigshaw from his back. The mighty hammer radiated a divine aura as Orcleous felt its magic seep into his muscles.

"That was a close one", spoke Orcleous as he held his mighty axe. Two undead soldiers stood before him along with The Madness. This was going to be a harrowing battle.

[The Madness]

She'd narrow her eyes if she could. Sadly, the only effect that created on her eyes was a brighter red shine on them. She sent a mental order to the rest of her men. They'd all come out as she needed them, two more joining her and the two others for now. Five of them total if she was counted on the side. She could rush in and kill him. She knew she could do so, the man couldn't kill all five in one hit if they all just rushed, and then he would be hers as another thrall to join her little group.

Instead, she chose to raise her hand, causing all of her spearmen to form a wall of sorts in front of the man. He could not charge forwards without running into the spears, and if he tried to run away they'd just give chase to him. His only option would be to stay in place and listen as her voice soon invaded into the other's mind. It was much more... Smooth, and feminine since the last time the other had heart it. The monotone and the anger was gone, leaving but a feminine voice to whisper to the other's mind.

"Listen to me... Listen carefully indeed. For your time as a mortal is about to end. The king comes, and so does the end for your kin. The end for all of humanity will come when the king wipes out all of you, and the land shall be returned to the pure nature it once were... But I can make the loss painless for you. Submit, submit under me as a thrall, and your death shall be quick and painless.

[Orcleous]

As Orcleous stared on he noticed the Madness move the undead into a straight line. He thought that it could have been possible, but his mind did not want to accept it. This creature was controlling the undead. Like a general controlling his army the madness lined her forces up into a straight line and covered the length of the street. It was clear what she was going to do next. They where going to charge. Five spears in five different points of attack. It was clearly a bad position for Orcleous to find himself in. Still the Hero had a idea. He could pull himself out of this mess. However it would take some serious cunning and movement. The hero took a deep breath and exhaled air from his lungs. He was prepared to make his move when suddenly a voice once again appeared in his head. It was just like the first time he meet this monster, but this time it was different. The voice was calmer, soother, still just as mad. It spoke of a kind and submitting. As if Orcleous would submit. He cam here to kill this monster not submit to it. The arrogance of this beast.

Orcleous chuckled as he looked up at the row of armored zombies. As if rotten flesh in tin cans could stand up to the might of Xigshaw. Orcleous dropped the weapon from his shoulder and let the mighty hammer slam into the stone. The force from his release caused the street to be crushed under the weight of the mighty hammer. "I am going to take that spear and shove it up your $%% and turn you into a candy apple", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the new creature of madness. Without wasting a moment Orcleous pulled his hammer off the ground and charged. It was not toward the wall of zombies with spears, but toward the building next to him. Swinging his hammer Orcloeus knocked the the door clean off the building and rushed into the structure. Without missing a beat he smashed his holy hammer into the wall on the other side and pushed into the new road. After moving into the new street Orcleous sprinted toward his left in search of a bigger building. This would not be Orcleous first time fighting more than one person and one thing he knew was that multiple enemies where easier to take down in doors than they where out.

As Orcleous retreated he found the structure he was looking for. It was a two story house, just what he wanted. Ramming Xigshaw into the door he knocked the wooden structure out of its hinges. Alright lets see what they got", spoke Orcleous as he turned around and held Xigshaw over his head. He waited for the beast to attack. He would be ready.

[The Madness]

So the human wanted to play, eh? She had sensed the holy magics within that weapon of his... It would be dangerous for her men and perhaps even herself. Not that she would be in any true danger, she was far too powerful for the man to truly even damage herself. Perhaps her armor would have to be fixed or maybe she would even lose her helmet, but she would still leave this confrontation a winner. Now, how should she go about handling this. She had a basic idea on where he would go... The two story house she had seen before was a well defensible spot.

She had a few plans. She could try and dig out under him, but the floor was made from wood, if she remembered right. Breaking trough that would alert the hider. She could try and starve the other out. A solid plan, since she and her men did not need any sleep. They could just wait him out until he has to sleep or when he dies from lack of sleep, but that would be no fun now would it? Instead, she had a plan. She'd need to sacrifice around two of her men for it, but it'd have to work.

First thing she did was get out her two most expendable soldiers. Weak they had been, one a sickly old woman before death and the other having been a thin young boy of a man. Both were not meant to carry such weights on their backs. They were stripped from most of their armor, only leaving a protective breastplate. Their skin was old and rotting, ready to fall of almost instantly even though their deaths had happened only a mere few days from now. A sad thing to others, but to her such things were good... For the humans were impure.

Next, she took a few stones and a wooden plank. She had to spend a good while hitting them, but after a few she managed to lit the plank on fire. The next phase could start. She handed the burning plank to the old, undead woman, and sent her along with the younger boy to burn the building. They used the burning plank to lit themselves on fire and jumped inside the building. He'd have to be smoked out, unless he could somehow put down the fire that would soon follow.

[Orcleous]

"What the hell", spoke Orcleous with surprise as as the five did not follow. It was strange and raised a alarm. There was only two possibilities that began to radiate through Orcleous mind as he noticed the lack of monsters. The first was that they where trying to protect that particular street. It was possible, but he doubted it. The second was that they where trying to find a way to flank him and gain a advantage. However to do that they would need more than five undead and the Madness him, itself. As Orcleous looked out over the road he saw something that did not look good. From what he could see something on fire was moving in his direction. "They are setting themselves on fire", shouted Orcleous as the creature charged toward the building. Now this was troublesome. Here Orcleous had the entire idea of using the layout of the building to funnel the undead into manageable sizes. Now he was going to have to get a new plan.

Boom! Orcleous could hear the sound of the creatures hitting the wood with there bodies. No doubt that the structure would soon go up in flames. Using the moment Orcleous rushed out the building and dashed to the nearest building on the same side of the street. Using the power of Xigshaw he kicked open the door as if he was going to rush into the home and then rushed across the street as fast as he could. If the monsters did not follow him then he was sure they could not see him, well he figured they could not. For all he knew they could sense life energy or something. Still Orcleous wanted to try and even the playing field a bit. Using the power of his magical hammer Orcleous strengthen his legs and jumped up onto the top of the single story house. Jumping across the roof Orcleous moved back over into the main street and made a dash for his sliver sword he had dropped on the ground. The entire trip he kept his eyes on the roofs above and on the road. He was not going to be ambushed that way twice. After reaching his sword Orcleous grabbed it and placed it inside of its scabbard. "Alright back where you belong", spoke Orcleous as he looked around for any sign of the monsters.

[The Madness]

Well. She knew she shouldn't invest in this piece of real estate anymore, what with it soon being up in flames thanks to her igniting that house. Sparks would fly out and at some point the whole town would be burning down. She could just leave. He'd be a burning mess if he did not do the same, yet... He seemed to be so strong, so full of life. The perfect target to become a general of hers. The king needed strong men and women on his side, and those strong men and women needed their undead slaves to do their bidding.

She could try and surround him again. Force him into an alleyway and let him rot there until he'd try to charge forwards in his last blaze of glory or whatever these humans did for their deaths. A bit strange, really. Death should be a pragmatic thing. You failed in life and in servitude to your own king, and you should die in shame and desolation because of such things. Humans were a strange breed, after all. Dreams and their own lives before everything else. It's why the world's ruined, after all. Because of their impure ambitions for this plane of existence.

She'd let him come. Nine men were left, and she could not afford to lose any more in stupid suicide charges. Instead, she formed a defensive perimeter near an alleyway, covering both entrances to it with spearmen. The fire was far away for now, they'd manage fine.

[Orcleous]

As Orcleous looked around for the undead or the madness itself he found none. The madness was not waiting for him, nor was it prowling the streets. This however did not make orcleous drop his guard, but sent him into high alert. He figured the beast was going to ambush him, jump out a dark corner and strike at him with its spear. For a moment Orcleous stepped lightly and moved quickly to avoid danger. However his fears soon came to a end when he saw a group of monster blocking a alleyway. Not being a fool and bringing himself into full view Orcleous pulled back and jumped onto a nearby building. Taking a look from the protection of the roof Orcleous looked over the edge to see that the madness had barricaded itself into a alleyway. "What the hell", spoke Orcleous to himself. He was sure the monster would be coming after him. It started the fight on both occasions and now its seemed that it had shifted completely to the defensive side.

"D#$% it", shouted Orcleous in his mind as he punched the tiles on the roof. At the moment he was not calling upon the holy hammers power so he did not break a hole in the roof. The way things where now there was no way Orcleous was going to be able to get to the monster. Its defense was to great or rather the cost was to great. Orcleous could jump on the nearby roof and strike at madness from above, but he would only get one chance. After that death was a certain. He could charge the lines, but death was certain. He could also attack from the inside of the buildings and open a hole into the alleyway, but that would also lead to death. There was no way Orcleous was going to get to it.

As Orcleous looked on he saw the fire spreading from the building. It would not be too long before the fire caught the entire city. He could wait till it reached the monster and see what it did, but he already knew that answer. In the plains of sacae Orcleous set the thing on fire with Fiery and it barely even tickled. There was no way fire was going to kill that monster. Maybe is servants, but that did not matter. That fire would eventually spread and kill Orcleous as well. Unlike the creature he needed to breath and was vulnerable to flames. No matter how Orcleous looked at it the beast had put a stop to his plans.

Jumping from the building and hitting the ground Orcleous began to pull off. There was no way he was going to get through that wall of soldiers and no way he was just going to throw his life away. Orcleous wanted to kill the beast, but at the moment that was not possible. Orcleous would be back, there was no doubt of that. However he was going to need help. The madness was gathering a army of the dead Orcleous was going to have to get a force of the living. "Lets see how skilled those guys at cross are", spoke Orcleous as he began to retreat from the city.

[Orc leaves thread]

[The Madness]

She waited, and she waited. The son of man was not coming. The fire was reaching them at an evergrowing rate and soon enough they would burn. Or, well. Fire was no real threat to her. She could try and make herself a nether cocoon to protect herself in until it was gone. Yet, her men were a valuable asset. Nine were left, and nine would be needed for her next goal. So, they left and ran as fast as they could, the fires licking their trail the whole way trough. A stressful experience, perhaps. If any of them could feel stress, that is.

What she needed next was to salvage. She sent her undead to the burned ruins of the town. While most of the wood was unusable, the stone was still there. It took ruining some weapons and turning them into makeshift shovels and pickaxes, but soon the pavement stones and the stones making up for some other structures in the town were dug out. She'd have to say many a prayer for mother nature once this was over, for she would cry her salty tears upon this ground for what she did and will do.

First, she had her men mold the stones by striking them against the ground, trough some basic tools, whatever was needed. Soon, she had actual pickaxes. Thus began to formations of Caer Gethin. First, it'd be but some basic stone walls that would not be very tall... But she had the time and the men to make this work. She dedicated three men to going out and gathering wood with their axes. The earthmother would be paid in turn with planted seeds. She sent three others to make a mine, for precious stone and metals. The last three were taken with her for another hunt.

For the King was coming.

[THREAD OVER]