A Light Load (Gael/Vallen)

[Midori]

The town of Orre was a mining town known for harvesting good quality iron from the northern mountains of Bern. It was nestled in between the Bernese Macendew and the Lycian territory of Araphen. Seasonal rains had accumulated atop the mountain's peak and unleashed a torrent of water, ice, and snow. The water found it's way through the cracks in between the rocks and froze. Causing the cracks to widen, causing a natural barrier of earth and rock to weaken. But as the weather warmed the snow melted and accumulated down the channels and valleys of the mountain pass. The plateau which served as the natural barrier between the snow peaked tops and human inhabited base below could not hold the sudden rush of water. It crumbled. It fell. A land slide of catastrophic proportions devastated the mining town below. Survivors of the mudslide sent out messengers to nearby territories to request aid. News spread across Bern and soon people from all places were steadily making their way north-westward towards Orre. Eventually, this news reached beyond the borders of Bern and into the Sacean territory.

The Chaklai were one of few tribes to send aid out towards the Bernese territory. Although their aid was small it was useful. A group of about fifteen Chaklai would ride out and aid the people. They would have sent out ore, but this was the time of year where the clan needed to focus on tending the land. They would bring with them two wagons of seed, mulch, and water. Their goal was to help replenish the farmlands that were ruined by the land slide. To help feed the people. Five of those fifteen were healers. They would heal the wounded and help to sooth the souls of the fallen.

The Chaklai felt that this trip through the Bernese country side would be dangerous. So they requested outside help. Flyers were placed around Macendew and people responded. A few mercenaries joined the caravan to bolster their ranks. Midori sighed softly. Lady Lucy a Valkyrie formerly from Ilia rode out in front. She was a short-blonde haired woman who had seen more then her fair share of battles. She knew the way to Orre and decided to take point. Behind her was one wagon being pulled by two strong oxen. Inside that wagon rode Skai. A blue haired sniper of the Chaklai, the son of a horse breeder. He was busy talking and entertaining a few of the other younger volunteers. Children or teenagers from the looks of it. Behind that wagon was Midori. She was riding her grey-spotted horse. They kept a steady pace behind the wagon watching Skai through the flaps as he made hand gestures.

"Ah.. he's telling the story about the boar." She spoke to herself. The healer had heard this story hundreds of times before. And each time Skai told it the boar seemed to grow in size. Behind her was the other wagon and scattered about between them were the rest of the people. Some on horseback some on foot. The day was mild. It wasn't overly bright as there were clouds in sky that occasionally covered the sun.

[Vallen Ipsen]

Living in the Barony of Lest, a cluster of three small towns on the edge of Bern at the Sacae border not far from the foothills of the mountains, Vallen was at least somewhat familiar with the local Sacaean tribes, although their cultures still eluded him to some degree. The spearman hadn't been barred from learning about Sacae and its people, and since trade was common between his home barony and the tribes across the border, he didn't have the same mentality to look down upon the Sacaeans as most others did in larger cities further from the border. When he saw a flyer posted asked for assistance to send an aid caravan to the recently devastated mining town of Orre, he requested permission from the Baroness to join the caravan as a show of solidarity to both the Sacaeans and his fellow Bernese citizens. Naturally, she approved, and Vallen made the venture to join up with them.

The possibility of an Ilian presence in the destination area was lingering in Vallen's mind as he strode along with the wagons. He walked between the two horse-powered transports, trying to stay vigilant and keep an eye on their surroundings. Things seemed calm and peaceful now, and the chatter of friendly conversation kept the monotony of wagon wheels against dirt and stone from grating on his nerves. He wasn't big on conversation with strangers, so he didn't speak up unless addressed, but that was just fine with him. It meant he appeared even more vigilant than usual, because he talked less and watched more.

The obsidian haired man kept the face plate of his helmet raised for the time being. He heard the mutterings of the woman at the back of the caravan, although he didn't understand what she said. It was no business of his, so for now he just kept alert.

[Gael]

In an effort to establish relations with other tribes the Greikah Tribe had began communicating with other tribes. This went from trading with other tribes to helping other tribes in any sort of fashion the Greikah could. They were currently assisting another tribe’s efforts to bring aid to Bern, something that many Greikah members were against seeing how it extended outside of Sacae’s borders. Eventually it was decided that they would assist their Sacaen brothers and sisters in their efforts. They didn’t offer much as they couldn’t afford to at the time but they decided to give the Chaklai some of their warriors to ensure a safe passage.

One of those warriors was a son of the chieftains Gael. He was selected due to being one of the few Greikahs to actually have experience dealing with countries outside of Sacae. There were a few others assigned with Gael and he was put in charge. Gael was enthused to get to know other tribes and getting a chance to go outside of Sacae. It was also nice to help other people in need despite where their home or country they’re from. Hopefully the Greikah would learn to be a little more eager to help after this.

During their trip Gael found himself being pestered by those that went with him. It was no surprised that one of the main goals by the other Greikah was to protect Gael. Of course it made sense but having overprotective retainers didn’t help and caused nothing but a headache. Gael didn’t like being babied and having people breathe over his neck. At some point he managed to sneak away from them, ending up near one of the Chaklai members that was riding a horse and speaking to herself. As Gael walked passed her he hummed a tune that his mother used to when he was younger.

It was a Yulhani melody if memory served him right. Gael would often hum this melody to calm his mind or just to relax himself. He wasn’t exactly stressed at the moment so he was mainly just doing it because it was a nice tune to hum. Honestly he should probably be conversing more with the members of the other tribes but it was in Gael’s nature to be quiet and keep to himself mostly. Some probably found that part of him annoying but it was just his nature to be this way.

[Midori]

OOC- Next post there will be an attack just an fyi.
--
Midori continued to keep a steady pace behind the first wagon. She couldn’t see it from her vantage point but she figured that by now Lady Lucy either bored out of her skull at the moment or she’s talking to someone else. She peeked through the flaps to see Skai laughing. Damn it. Now I kinda wanna talk to someone. She was supposed to use this trail time to think and reflect on scripture. Possibly even meditate a bit at one of the scripture’s eternal questions, specifically the one about a tree falling in the woods and if it made a sound. Midori remembered that she thought she had an answer to it by saying yes. As there would be animals in the woods to hear the noise of the falling tree. While her answer was not wrong it wasn’t right according to the high monks. Then she was told she needed to reflect more on the issue and see what is beyond the wood and noise. A concept that seemed to go over her head at the time. But she was a young girl back then so perhaps she could grasp the concept now.

She took a deep breath and tried to clear her head. But she found that impossible to do. There was simply too much noise. The creaking wheels of the caravan, the sound of horse hooves, people talking, there was even a young man near her humming a tune. Midori thought the tune nice. She casually moved Ashes over a bit closer.

“Sorry for interrupting.. But that.. is a pretty tune.” She spoke towards the young man humming the tune.

[Vallen Ipsen]

Midori wasn't the only one to hear the faint humming of the young fellow's melody. It was a pleasant tune to break the sounds of dirt and rocks grinding under the wagon's wheels and the horses' hooves. But for one such as Vallen, who was focused on the task at hand, the melody was only a minor comfort. It added to the list of possible distractions around him, too. If not for the pleasant nature of it he might have been a bit annoyed, too. The soldier was actually happy that he wasn't inside the wagon to be directly in earshot of all the chatter going on therein.

He gave a quick glance back over his shoulder at the pink haired maiden and the humming boy as she addressed him about the melody. He turned his gaze forward again after that, but he kept an ear open to try and hear just where that comforting tune originated from. He would have to see about playing it on the pan flute some time. It had been ages since he'd practiced the flute anyway, and trying a new song would surely help him warm back up to the instrument.

[Midori]

The road through the country side started to change. The dark green grass beneath their feet slowly started to turn into a blackish mash of mud and dirt. The muddy terrain signaled the edge of the landslide's remains. A clear indication that they were getting closer to their destination. They were about a mile away from the village. Lady Lucy stopped the group for a moment so they could see the sheer magnitude of the destruction of the earth. This land slide was roughly a mile wide and they were only now just about to walk on the thinnest part of it. The further inland they would go the thicker the mud would become. And that was just the territory around the village, there was a very real chance that the village was still buried in mud. Even though it had been weeks since the initial land slide.

A calm breeze passed through the area bringing with it the scent of cold and mist. Lady Lucy looked around and saw fog starting to roll in from the mountain side. She halted the group in order to inform them about sticking together and to have the wagons light torches. Their movement through the country side would be halted significantly as the fog would limit their vision. The wagons were soon equipped with lit lanterns to help them see. A few folk who were on foot were given lit torches and went into certain positions around the group. The group marched forward into the unknown. The group was not alone. They would soon learn that there were things lurking in the fog.

[Gael]

Gael had stopped and turned to whomever it was that had stopped him, a young lady from the Chaklai tribe if Gael remembered correctly. He wished he knew more about the tribe as he found them interesting from the little that he did know. This trip would be a good opportunity to learn more about the tribe. It was definitely one of the points of this mission, for the Greikah at least anyway. Gael smiled at her question, he always enjoyed sharing information about his tribe with other people. Especially when it had to do with him personally as it did here.

”Oh it’s quite fine. The melody I was humming is Yulhani in origin. My mother would often sing it to me. It’s somewhat a lullaby,” Gael would explain. There was much Gael had wished to discuss with the woman riding her horse but the sight of their surroundings having changed took his attention. It also took the attention of his retainers who were now gathering around him. Their job was to still protect the wagon and all those who had volunteered for this mission so Gael had order them to spread out and to keep vigilant. Last thing they needed was to let their guard down and others get hurt.

The fog made it hard for Gael to get a good idea of their surroundings and seeing how he was an archer that made things even more complicated. The torches made it a bit better but there would still be difficulties getting any good shots if something were to happen. Gael had a bad feeling about all of this, he wasn’t sure why or what he thought was going to happen but he’d keep his eyes open. There was no telling what could possibly lurking out there inside of the fog and the Greikah kept their promises so no one was going to die today.

[Vallen Ipsen]

It was an odd transition over the last few moments in terms of feeling and atmosphere. From the chatter of friendly camaraderie and the humming of a soothing melody...to the hushed silence and chilling fog that had just rolled in. Torches lit to try and push back the haze of the fog, but it wasn't doing a very effective job. The silence didn't extend just to those among the caravan around the wagons, though. Everything around them in the fog had fallen silent. No birds chirped, no fuzzy woodland creatures scurried about. Only the sound of the slow and uneasy footfalls of the caravan in the mud could be heard.

The mud would making moving very difficult. Add the greatly reduced visibility of the fog to that, and this was already a recipe for disaster. Vallen wasn't the spineless type at all, but there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and a chill ran down his spine. He didn't draw his weapon, but something weighed heavily on his mind. The sky had been clear before they arrived here, and the air wasn't nearly moist enough for fog this dense. Something was wrong, and Vallen didn't like how this was turning. This isn't the sort of difficulties he expected to encounter on this mission.

[Midori]

The mist had a strange scent. It smelled as if there was both very cold but also smokey. An experienced magic user could probably attribute it to the scent of a fimbulvetr spell and fire. It didn’t take long for the group to be surrounded. A voice came out from the mist, commanding the convoy to lay down their arms and surrender their goods. If they complied no harm would befall them. When Lady Lucy, explained that they were on a humanitarian mission, to aid those who were afflicted by the landslide. The voice only grew louder, repeating it’s demands, but this time it had sent a warning shot out from the mist. A large icicle came crashing down from the sky towards the middle of the group.

Fortunately, those in the middle managed to move away in time. The icicle spear melted almost as quickly as it appeared. Skai had himself perched on top of the wagon with his silver bow drawn. He was ready to fire at the first sign of movement. While, this mist made it difficult for most folk to see, Skai was experienced in this sort of thing.

“We refuse to surrender our goods. There are sick people who need this more than a band of raiders. Everyone to arms!” One of the women who were in the wagon with him stepped out. In her hands was a green tinted book with a crescent pattern on it. Midori recognized her as one of their volunteer mages. She focused hard and used the spell Excalibur to blow away the misty smoke from the immediate area before she collapsed to the ground. The other woman who was with her gently guided her back inside. She would be unable to fight. Her efforts granted the group some much needed visibility.

Skai and the others started to shout out numbers. Five raiders on the right side. Three of them mercenaries. Two of them snipers. A sage with yellow hair was in front of them, wielding the fimbulvetr spell. To their left, three fighters. Each of them wielding an axe. The hired mercenaries and Chaklai who could fight sprung into action. They all took defensive formations around the wagons and waited for the enemy to come towards them. Midori and one other healer were close towards the center of the group. Ready to ride out in all directions to heal wounds. Lady Lucy and two others would protect the front end from the sage’s magic attacks. Skai would be providing long range support from his lofty perch.

[Gael]

There weren’t many words that were exchanged between the Greikah as the events began to transpire before them. They had got into their formations and ready their weapons for anything that might come toward them. The archers covered both sides, ready to fire at the first sign of an enemy in sight. A few shamans were with them, dark magic being a practice that had been brought in with the Yulhani. Horseback warriors prepared their bows and those who remained practiced the art of swordplay. They had formed a tight and powerful wall of arrows and steel, ready for their attackers.

Once the misty smoke had been cleared it didn’t take much time for the Greikah to start numbering and marking where their enemies were. They awaited the order of Gael before they would make a move but it seemed like there wouldn’t be much of a choice. These mercenaries were after the contents of their wagon and would surely cause them harm if they saw fit and there was no way that Gael was going to allow either to happen. There wouldn’t be any loss of life due to these scum as long as Gael had any say in it.

Their first priority was to find and target all the long distance fighters. They would probably cause the most trouble and would provide their ground fighters with cover, making it harder to take them down. Once they were identified Gael, along with his fellow archers making it a total of three, took aim. They ready their shots, trying their best to get a good eye on them. Once they saw the right moment they would let their arrows fly and hopefully take out their opposition. Last thing they need was for people to start getting hit by stray arrows.

[Vallen Ipsen]

Vallen had been in a few minor skirmishes before, but this was his first real taste of battle. These goons weren't mindless brigands. They were organized, tactical, and skilled. It's likely that there were a few amongst the enemy forces that he'd have no chance against in a one on one confrontation. Still, he was a front line fighter. Without hesitation he pulled the lance from his back when the voice of the enemy echoed through the fog. As the other members of the caravan began to form up around the wagons to defend their precious cargo, Vallen did the same and fell into formation with them. Protecting the healers, cargo, and giving the archers time to do their work was his main focus.

He wouldn't have to do anything too bold. Unfortunately forming a phalanx was impossible. He didn't have a shield like a more heavily armored knight, and even if he did...there weren't others around to form a wall with. The fog began to dissipate, clearly showing the locations of their enemies and their numbers. As far as the numbers game went, Vallen was uncertain if things were in their favor. There could be more enemies hiding nearby waiting to ambush if they made an aggressive move or if the current enemy force started to falter.

Vallen doubted he could stand up to snipers or that rather skilled mage that the opposition had grouped together. No doubt the right side was their main attacking force. Vallen knew he'd fare better against the mercenaries than the fighters, so despite having to stare down two snipers and a powerful mage, he positioned himself between the forces on the right side and their own archers and healers. Vallen was no coward, and he wouldn't act as such. But at the same time he wouldn't rush in recklessly. The enemy had to make the first move since they were the aggressors in this situation. Those mercenaries would have to make openings for the mage and their snipers. Vallen just got into his battle stance, Lance set to defend if they charged, and waited.

The first Mercenary charged forward, and the other two followed, wanting to overwhelm the front line and cut through. The enemy snipers loosed their arrows at the caravan's front line fighters. Vallen was one of the ones to take an arrow, too. It would have nailed him square in the chest, but he jerked to one side and took the arrow to the shoulder. His grip on his lance was loosed and he dropped to a knee from the pain, but he braced his lance against his knee with his good arm and dug in to hold his ground. He thrust with his good arm after catching his balance. It didn't kill the mercenary that charged at him, as his stance had been lowered too much for him to extend for a killing blow, but he did stab the attacker in the hip and put him on the ground with a thud. Vallen's left arm was almost useless with that arrow wedged in the front of his shoulder. Even if he got healing, taking that arrow out would take time and it would be painful. This was a very poor way to start his first real battle...


(OOC: Thanks for waiting on me guys. Sorry it took so long. Hopefully this was worth the wait!)

[Midori]

(OOC- sorry this took so long! Please feel free to take control of some of the defending mercenary npc's.)

And just like that the battle was on. Skai and the rest of the archers went about trying to take out the support of the opposing forces. Arrows were launched between both parties. While Skai managed to avoid getting hit by one there were a handful of mercenaries who weren’t so lucky. Skai focused his attention on one sniper to the right. They had a bit of a stare down. Each man had their bow drawn and ready to fire. But, yet they refused to move. With the bulk of the enemy sniper’s forces charging forward to attack those defending the right side, the opposing sniper became distracted. It was a very brief lapse in judgement, but it was all the opportunity that Skai needed. He let go of his bowstring and let the arrow fly. The silver tipped arrow found it’s mark and one of the opposing snipers went down.

Lady Lucy went about in distracting the Sage. The Valkyrie was at a disadvantage when it came about fighting users of Anima magic. Her light magic was weaker than his elemental tomes. Both, spell casters were of a significantly higher level than the average bandit. Both spell casters had good resistance when it came to taking hits of magic. Which meant that this was going to be a bit of a long, drawn out fight between both units. Lady Lucy was going to have to rely on the support of the physical units to deal the final blow. Eventually. But all was not lost for the Valkyrie. She had more experience in the art of war then the younger sage. And she had a horse. Who knew how to dodge every manner of spell that came her way. And if truly desperate she could always have the beast charge forward at the man and trample him. The seasoned Valkyrie focused on the target in front of her. She gathered the strength of her devotion, her desire to protect her protege, and willpower to do the right thing, and manifested it into a semi-physical form. A ball of light that shined in brilliance. She held up into her air and focused it until it burst into several rays of light. These rays then went about into trying to pierce through the sage’s flesh.

The sage protected himself by summoning a veil of water and spinning so that it surrounded him. This thin veil of water caught most of the spell’s searing rays. The water evaporated. Leaving the sage relatively unscathed. He summoned a whip of water and attempted to strike at the seasoned veteran with it. The end of the whip of water was tipped with a palm sized spear tip of ice.

Midori and the other healer set about healing those who were wounded. They started with those who had the worst wounds first. Those who were on the front lines that took the arrows. Some of the more seasoned folks managed to pull the arrow out of their flesh. The other healer set about healing those closer to her. She was responsible for the forces on the left. Midori took to healing those on the right. And both would spot check or take turns healing what they could of the front. Lady Lucy had a fortify staff on her and knew how to use it. The only problem would be when she could heal. Midori doubted that the enemy sage would give the Valkyrie the time to use that staff.

Midori pulled on Ashes reigns and pulled her to the closest wounded person near her. A mercenary who had been slashed by one of the raiding mercenaries. The swordswoman was momentarily locked in a stalemate with her raider opponent. Midori quietly focused on her heal staff. A warm blue light emerged from the glass orb on top and healed the woman’s wound. She eventually gained the upper hand when the wound on her hip started to heal. Her pain subsided and she was able to kill the raider who struck her. Midori then moved on to the next person. A lancer with an arrow in his shoulder.

[Gael]

Killing was an unfortunate part of life and one that Gael wasn’t unfamiliar with. It was expected of him to be able to not only defend himself but the people of his tribe. So learning how to kill and being a tested warrior was something he’d have to do. However, Gael always had his qualms about killing. Being someone who believed that most if not all life is precious, killing wasn’t an easy thing to do and he never enjoyed doing it. As such whenever he would let an arrow fly he made sure that was the only course of action to take and that he was alright doing it.

This was no game that he was playing; he was ending someone else’s life. No longer would they be able to see their family or loved ones. Those who cared about them would mourn and come to hate the person that took them from them. Killing was a extremely important topic for Gael and one he couldn’t take lightly. As such he always calmed himself before firing his first arrow. He’d mark his target and then take an extremely quick moment to assure himself as to what he was doing and then fire.

The sound of arrows flying was the only thing he heard, watching as arrows would make their mark and people would drop. The Greikah archers readied their bows for their next attack while their brothers and sisters fended off their attackers. A few swordsmen had clashed with the mercenaries, their Sacaen swordsmanship proving too much for the attackers to handle. Dark magic tore and overcame a few other mercenaries that were unfortunate enough to come near them. Gael didn’t have the best understanding when it came to magic nor did he want to mess around with it so he was just enjoying the fact that they had some on their side.

Scanning the battlefield, Gael had noticed a magic user and one that was using water magic. This one seemed quite powerful and would more than likely be a nuisance to the group. Luckily this sage was distracted so it gave Gael enough time to ready his bow and take aim at the sage. Once he believed the shot could be taken he let his arrow fly. He planned for it to be a clean and quick kill, eliminating a large threat to the group and making things easier for them was the goal.

[Midori]

(OOC- I think enough time has passed)

The sage used his spiked water whip to try and strike at Lady Lucy. Lady Lucy was swift with her reaction. She wordlessly ordered for her horse Cinnamon to jump back. She fired a blast of light magic outwards to blind the sage and his cohorts. The sage was forced to pull up his arms towards his face to shield himself from the light. And that’s when the arrow met its mark. The sage stepped back in obvious pain. His hand covering the arrow that was lodged into his gut. But, one arrow would not be enough to kill him. While he was seriously injured, he was still alive, and he could still fight.

Slowly but surely the numbers of the opposition started to thin out. The archers were doing a spectacular job at crippling the limbs of the ground fighters. While the few magic casters they had, used powerful spells to run the opposition through. Anima, light, and dark magic all working together in a strange, bloody, harmony, in order to keep those on the humanitarian mission alive. Skai felt that the numbers had thinned out enough for him to focus on the sage’s two cronies. He waited for the opportune moment and fired. A silver tipped arrow soared through the air, with speeds that made it seem like a silver bolt. The bolt found it’s mark and knocked out one of the two supporters. The other turned to see his partner had fallen to the ground, only to join him on the floor, as a second silver tipped bolt found his head. The sage had been rendered crippled and alone. Lady Lucy struck the sage again with a divine rays of lights. The sage was distracted by the arrow in his gut. He couldn’t muster the spells to defend himself from the holy rays like he did before. Bright rays of concentrated light seared through his flesh and he fell to the ground.

Midori on the other hand went ahead and helped the lancer with the arrow in his shoulder. She pulled from her pocket sleeves a knife and vial of red liquid. She apologized to the lancer as she went to work. Her voice was calm as she explained exactly what she had to do. The vial of red liquid was poured onto the wound, it was used as a sort of antiseptic, the knife was used to cut the arrow out of the shoulder. Midori was very quick and very skilled at pulling out the arrow. At the end of it all her hands were bloody, but she gripped her staff and healed the wound.

“I’m sorry about that. But I couldn’t heal you with the arrow still in you.” Technically she could heal with the arrow in a person. But that meant that the flesh would heal with the arrow still lodged into the body. Midori quickly rubbed her hands clean with a rag and resumed her healing duties. The wounded took advantage of the brief lull between attacks to pull back towards the healers. Those without arrows lodged into their bodies were healed first. This consisted of folks who had been slashed, poked, and bludgeoned. Midori and the other healer went to work. Her staff was pointed out towards those she felt were the ones who were most hurt. Those who were on the backs of their comrades.

The light from her staff glowed and helped to mend their wounds. Her skill with a staff was average at best. But, that did not stop her from trying to tend to as many of the wounded as possible. Her staff almost seemed to glow nonstop with a warm blue light. This light mended flesh, stopped bleeding, dulled pain, but at the cost of Midori’s time and energy. With each heal, her body grew weaker, her heart rate increased, and she became increasingly more tired. Eventually, she couldn’t keep herself sitting upright. She gripped the horn of Ashes’ saddle and used it to keep herself from falling off. The hand that held her staff was pushed close to her chest. She was panting hard.
--

OOC- The last response to this was on May 20. It is now 7/1/16. I have chosen to tack on this extra in order to write out a conclusion and end this thread.

The battle continued on until each of the raiders had either fallen or fled. The wounded were treated and healed. The cargo was counted and eventually the people began to move again. This set back would not delay them from delivering the goods needed to help the people. After about another week of traveling the mercy caravan arrived at the village. They were relieved to see that a majority of the refugees had made a camp for themselves on the outskirts of the buried village. After some introductions the Chaklai and the volunteers went to work. They would spend weeks helping to rebuild what what lost. Slowly, they rebuilt the farmlands and made a shelter for them. The healers were deployed to aid the hurt and sick. Word started to spread, other volunteers emerged, and slowly the broken village managed to assemble itself. Once the Chaklai felt that these people were in a much more reasonable position, the group left.

{end thread}