A Highway to Hell (Open)

[Yorick]

Yorick, General of the Verdant Cross, Slayer of Fiends, and Warrior of the Western Isles, was well and truly at her wits' end. In front of her was a sheet of paper, a flyer she was trying to draft as an invitation to new members. But so far it was a mess of scribbled characters and sentence fragments. It made her so angry that she was about to slam her axe into it in rage. Though she had been taking lessons in reading and writing from priests, she still struggled, but abhorred asking for help from other laymen, feeling it was too demeaning and embarrassing. Plus, many others didn't know how to either.

Throwing the sheet down, she stood up and jump-dropped out of the rolling wagon, her heavy armor clanging in a warm and satisfying gong-like note as she hit the ground in stride. Her axe hung from her side, its silver blade gleaming near her throwing axe, and her lance and javelins affixed on her back. She was truly a one-woman wrecking crew, built to hit hard and last long.

The group of men traveling with her were an amalgamation of tough and squishy, every one armed but only a few dangerous. The group were mainly merchants, men with a cargo of goods and gold to be moved through Worde as fast as possible. Yorick had been hired, along with a few other more common folk, to ensure there were no incidents, bandits or Revenants alike.

So far it had been clear.

That was not in today's forecast.

With an odd mixture of Nabatan tribal spiritual hymn, baby-being-cooked-in-the-oven, and horse allowed to roam freely, a group of disgusting-smelling, grotesque-looking, half-decayed corpses began to fall from the trees and erupt from the ground.

A few men screamed. A few others nearly had accidents in their clothing.

Yorick sighed and drew her axe. Another day on the job.

"Everyone not hired, get in the wagon. Driver, halt the wagon now and get everyone as far inside as possible. Don't spook the horse, and untie it from the carriage so we don't get split up. Worst comes to worst we drag the damn wagon."

Her tone authoritative, the General pointed at the mercenaries surrounding her.

"Let's get a perimeter up around the wagon! Defend the cargo and the merchants. You, there, the one with the magic. You stay behind me and cast like your life depends on it. Because it does. Now let's move!"

[Yorick]

The axe-toting General watched as the mercenaries, most with expressions of mixed bravado and disgust, followed her commands and formed up. Good. They had ears, at least. That would make it easier to keep them alive. Swiftly swinging her axe in a figure eight, she noticed something odd. The magic user was standing beside her, his sleeves rolled up and his eyes twinkling happily.

"'Ey! I told you, get back. Can't have you people running into a group trying to play hero and getting your ass sliced apart by a bunch of half-wormed corpses! Get back, man, and get casting!"

The Revenants had continued to advance, closing their clump and surrounding the wagon. Yorick moved forward, preparing to attack, when she heard a voice cry out, saw a blur move past her, and then saw a strange and almost laughable sight, had it not been for the hordes of undead. The mage had charged, throwing caution to the wind, and had launched an uppercut directly into the gut of the Revenant. It would have caused Yorick to abandon the man for dead, if not for the fact that he had burnt the undead from within and left it a flaming husk.

"Fire Punch!"

Yorick shrugged. OK. Well, his call. If he was good he was good. Turning her attention to a shambling corpse, she swiveled and swung her axe like a bat, slicing straight through the undead's neck and watching it drop instantly to the ground. Silver. A damn good metal for killing abominations like these. She turned, saw one within range, and then stepped back as it launched itself at her, clawing her armor. The rotten claws scraped on the metal, but failed to pierce through. Ah, the beauty of armor. Why bother dodging when most attacks barely could puncture her think plate 'skin'?

"Thunder Punch!"

The mage was back at it, zapping another Revenant with a flashy hook to the body. A born boxer, that one. The rest of the mercenaries expanded the perimeter, meeting the fiends in a clash of claw and iron that filled the forest with the sounds of conflict. Yorick swung and missed, landed a slice that lopped an arm off, and generally continued to swing her axe around like a drunk guillotine. She was not drunk, but the prospect of being able to swing her axe around like she was made her so excited that she found it almost impossible to resist doing it in actuality.

"Ice Punch!"

Yorick rolled her eyes. As competent as he seemed, he was messing up her mojo.

"Keep it down out there, Fists of Fury! Some of us like to hear the sound heads make when they roll!"

[Yorick]

The battle raged on, if it could be called a battle, or raging. Mostly it was a group of mercenaries alternating between swiping at corpses and holding their noses. The exceptions were the General in gleaming bronze armor and the mage who ran around the cart punching things and roaring out the element he was using.

Yorick lumbered forward, raising her axe as she charged into another Revenant. As it swung its claws, she used her axe to 'block' one strike, watching the claw fall off and land on the ground, and wound up for another swing even as the half-rotted arm slammed into her midsection with a clang of armor blocking weird bone-like claw bits. Then she let the chop loose, swinging like Alex Rodriguez (now wait, who was that? Where had that name come from?) and watching as the Revenant's head went up, up, up...and then down, down, down, until it crashed into the ground and cracked, the rest of the body crumpling like a sack of potatoes to the ground.

Then she surveyed the scene of the conflict. The mercenaries were successfully eliminating the Revenants; only two remained. She watched in impressed silence as they hacked one to bits. And the last one?

"Fire Punch!"

That solved the issue of the last one.

The mage turned to her, smiling and a bit breathless.

"Sorry, Yorick ma'am. Couldn't help myself. Always wanted to try elemental punching, I really has. So I figures, why not try it out now? The way I sees it it's safer'n trying to practice on people."

Yorick laughed boisterously. The man was an amiable chap, pretty funny too. The caravan lurched onward, the driver having ignored Yorick's advice and kept the horse tethered. All was calm as they rolled along, or, in the case of the General and the man who skipped along beside her, walked.

Then the sound of screeching filled the air and two Bael emerged from the trees.

"For fC'mon, let's go! The men need our help!ks sake... Are you kidding me?"

Yorick charged forward. She needed a silver weapon with a bit more range. She'd have to get on that whole 'buying a silver lance' part once she got paid for all this nonsense. Until then, she would have to settle for the whole 'don't get impaled or bitten by giant spiders because that went poorly last time' part.

"All right, men! You all take Ugly over there! Kill it good and dead, and don't get bit! Trust me, it don't hurt but it sure as hell keeps you out of the action! Now, Fists of Fury! You and me, we'll take Uglier! Let's get going!"

She and the mage shared a glance, a nod of comradeship, and then they charged the overgrown tarantula, one with a silver axe held high above her head and another with his fists held near his face.

"Thunder Punch!"

The mage leaped into the air, both fists forward as he careened into the Bael's side. The monster jerked away, its legs skittering as it turned to face him. Almost immediately afterward, a large and shiny axe made its acquaintance with the Bael's side, cutting a gash in the hard, armorlike exterior of the abdomen.

"Uh... Axe chop!" Yorick yelled, her eyebrows raised. Was that a valid thing to yell out? It didn't sound as cool as 'Thunder Punch,' but, then again, he was punching the thing with lightning and she was chopping it with an axe. At least it was realistic.

[Orcleous]

It had been a very long and weird couple of weeks for Orcleous. At the moment he was separated from Claira, which he did not like. However he would have to endure it. It was always his calling to fight monsters. He had been fighting them since he first took up the sword and a desperate missive from his home village sent him chasing after them again. Apparently one of the young lads from the homestead got the idea that he could just up and become a hero. "Orcleous did it, so can I", he shouted before he ran away from home. The little fool. The runt had no idea of the hell Orcloeus has been though. Still that is why they asked him to find him, though that was a nearly impossible task. Not only did the kid have a month ahead of him, but Orcleous was no tracker. Still a message from home delivered by a Pegasus rider who spend three weeks looking for you is not one to ignore.

Following the rumors and leads that were sent in the note, thank God for them or Orcleous would have been completely lost, Orcleous discovered that the boy was heading toward Lycia. After a conversation with a few inn keepers and a few restaurant owners Orcleous pinned him heading toward Worde. The little fool wanted to get into the thick of the action. After reaching Worde it was one or two inns later before Orcleous found the fool inside of a abandoned building. He was skinny as hell and nearly dehydrated. The moment he ran into monsters he cowered like the fool he was and hid up in a attic. After paying a carriage to feed and take the boy back home Orcleous was ready to leave himself, but as you know fate seems to push him toward danger. Some nosy villager soon approached him and told him about their missing daughter. Apparently she ran off into the woods and got lost. The Champion was going to deny the request, but he could not help but once the tears started flowing from the mother's face he could not say no.

After a days track though the woods and following a trail of blood Orcloeus found the little girl, however she was not in the condition her mother had left her. She was still moving, but not as a person. Orcleous put her down for her own good and then began his hike back to the village.

"Great what am I going to tell the mother", spoke Orcleous as he carried large brown sack over his shoulders. The girl was easy to take down, but bringing her back was hard. Xigshaw already weighed enough, now he had to add another body onto his shoulders. If it was up to him he would simply dump the body, but he was sure the women would not take his word for it and come out into the woods looking for her dauther and meet the same fate. "Actually I am surpised that village is not already dead", spoke Orcleous as he rubbed his chin.

Recent events had done their job working on Orcleous face. Puberty was in full effect so Orcleous now had a mustache. His hair, unwashed and combed, now sat on top of his head like a muffin top. His crimson armor gleamed in the light passing though the trees as the dark skinned champion made his way toward his destination. However his travels would come to a sudden end as a horrifying sound filled the air.

"Bael", shouted Orcleous as he dropped the body. Orcleous had run into Baels before in the past and he knew better than to underestimate them. The fact that he heard there scream told him that they were not after him, but that changed little. It would be too easy for them to suddenly change targets and Orcleous needed to be ready for combat. Orcleous life was worth far more to him than the body of a zombified girl. Let it where it fell and drew out Luxcalibur, or better known as The Brilliance Before The Dawn. The magical silver blade gleamed with light as Orcleous drew it from its scabbard. The sword knew monsters where around, just like Orcleous. The blade hungered to slay the abomination and Orcleous was far to glad to fill its appetite. Xigsahw however cringed in disappointment, but Orcleous did not care at the moment. He needed something fast, powerful, and effective. Luxcalibur had the power of divine in its blade. The sword was born to slay evil.

Instead of moving away form the sound Orcleous moved closer. He never liked monsters and the idea of leaving such a powerful monster alive did not seem like a bright idea. These beast only grew stronger with age. If he let it live here it might ravage his village another day. Slay Evil Immediately, those three words were written onto his sword. Orcleous intended to follow them.

As Orcleous crossed a hill he saw one of the creatures being doubled teamed by a general and a mage. Good combination if you asked him, but that left the second beast, if there was only two, to do as it pleased. The giant spider began to attack the clearly less experience soldiers. One of the more brave ones rushed forward to fight the beast. Orcleous already realized how this was going to turn out. He could see a bad idea a mile away. Rushing forward Orcleous pushed over the hill and moved to assist the group.

"Die monster, you don't belong in this world", shouted one of the mercenaries as he rushed forward to try to take out the beast. His blade cut though the air, but only to be deflected by the killer legs of the spider monster. Its counter to his sword knocked the blade right out of its hand. The beast raised its second leg to attack with a killing blow, when Orcleous rushed in and covered the gap.

"Out of the way", shouted Orcleous as he pushed the soldier down. The leg from the spider came down directly aiming at Orcleous face. However the Champion managed to block the blow by holding the hilt of Luxcalibur and the glat of the blade. The magic in the sword began to activate. The divine flames began to engulf the leg of the beast. Screaming in agony the Bael backed up and separated itself from the warriors. It then began to hiss as all its eyes stared at the warrior in red.

"Sorry, but I am going to take your glory", spoke Orcleous to the young mercenary looking up at him from the harden dirt.

[Yorick]

There was much fighting and much clamor as the groups fought off the Bael partners. Yorick and the mage continued their assault, trading shots at the giant spider with the ease and grace of two competent fighters. There was no hesitation, no confusion between them - they understood how to open weaknesses for the other, how to move into and out of the strike zones, and how to distract the creature to allow for clean, relatively safe attacks.

The other group was not so fortunate. They clumped like a herd, scattered like flies, and swung wildly at whatever part of the Bael was closest. It was almost as if they had no better way of fighting the horror than yelling and hoping that a strike would land. Thankfully, the dark-skinned one arrived to help. Yorick couldn't recognize him at first glance, and there were more pressing matters than trying to figure out who he was. These matters began with 'B' and ended with 'ael.'

Ale... that would be nice right about now.

Focus!

Yorick swung, allowing her silver axe to carve a swift arc, before it slammed into the Bael's side and buried itself deep. She yanked it free, and the creature turned, hissing, as she raised it once more. Swiftly, it charged forward, swiping her guard aside and attempting to chomp down on her with its jaws. The fangs hit the tough metal of her armor with a dull ring and a screech as they scraped the surface, not managing to puncture through.

"Not this time, you son of a b-"

"Thunder Puuuuunch!"

"This time, I'll be the one having the last laugh! This is what armor does for you! It makes you resistant! Your poison can't hurt my armor, you eight-legged abomination! Gnash your teeth and grind your legs together, because I'm gonna carve you up!"

The General charged again, swinging her axe as she lumbered forward like a bull. Not much at first, but a scary sight bearing down on you. There was a crunch, and a whole lot of woman and a whole lot of armor followed a sharp axe blade into the face of the Bael, the axe marking a vertical line straight down, splitting the clump of eight eyes into two of four each and cracking through the mandibles.

[Orcleous]

With the spider monster backing up the remaining soldiers began to rally. "Alright we can do this", shouted one man as he gained his courage. Orcleous however was preparing himself for the next strike the monster would make. The beast had marked Orcleous as dangerous. The other mercenaries had proven themselves to be pretty much usless, but now with a bit of courage in them Orcleous could possible make use of them.

"Those with spears to the front", shouted Orcleous. As the orders left his mouth the spider monster rushed forward. Its killer legs lifted upward one after another. Seeing its advance Orcleous swung Luxcaliabur forward sending out a ranged attack. The spider monster however saw the attack coming. With a uncanny dodge the spider beast jumped to Orcleous right. Its body dodged the blow and the light slammed into the dirt. Taking advantage of its agility feat the spider rushed in the close the distance between it and Orcleous. Lifting its leg up the spider moved to slash at Orcleous, but its high leg was intercepted by the spear tips of two soldiers. The points of there spears stabbed into the joints of the attack Bael. The blow did little in actual damage, but the spear tip hit the nerves inside. This caused the spider to lower its leg and take two steps back.

'Oh crap", spoke Orcleous as he tanked the two soldiers. At the moment the spider's sudden jump in agility had caught him off guard. Orcleous was sure, though arogance only, that he would have been okay after that attack, but he was sure he would have taken a lot of damage. He was open in that moment. That last slash flying slash of his was far too flashy and way to big. Orcleous had learned his lesson.

As the spider rushed back in to attack again Orcleous stepped forward. The two soldiers from before moved in as well to try and counter the beast, but the creature was not having it. The beast raised its leg up, but instead of bringing it down like before it swiped it to the side. The first soldier turned his body and held out his shield, but the force from the spiders attack was too great. With one swipe of its arms it knocked the man off his feet and sent him flying into the other. With a clear line of attack open the deadly spider rushed forward and struck at Orcleous. Following the same attack the spider swung its leg from the side instead of upwards. Orcleous however was ready for this.

"Sneak attacks only work once", shouted Orcloeus as he jumped into the air above the horizontal attack, and above the head of the beast. Coming down with the full force of his body Orcleous aimed to split the skull of the monster clean in half. The spider however was not going to allow that. Again its ability to uncannily dodge. A quick jump backwards not only moved it out of Orcleous attack range, but also caused it to stab the point of its leg down onto some fool soldiers body. His screams of agony were short as the drop in blood pressure caused him to pass out.

"Crap agian", spoke Orlcoeus. This time the spider changed its attack. Suddenly turning its body upright the spider lunched a ball of white goop out of his lower body. Orcleous, not knowning what it was, attempted to dodge, but the ball of goop caught the tail end of his blade. The force of the attack knocked Luxcalibur out of Orcleous hand, though not far. The sword was stuck to the ground by the giant white blob, that Orcleous now realized was Spider web. The creature was hopping to trap the Champion down, but it could settle for his pesky holy sword.

Grabbing hold of the hilt Orcleous attempted to pull the sword off the ground, but the strength of the web was too strong. The blade would not budge. The creature then rushed forward assured in its victory over the Champion and began to attack with its legs once more. Without his sword the Bale knew it had the advantage. Its claw came down toward the unarmed orcleous. Stepping forward Orcleous was able to dodge the giant spider's attack, but now he was close to the mouth of the beast. Pushing back onto its legs the monster moved to try and outright bite into Orlcoeus. However it was in for one heck of a surprise.

As Orcleous stepped forward and dodged the blow of the giant spider he unleashed the strap that held Xigshaw in place. Dodging the blow Orcleous placed his hand on the handle of the mighty warhammer. The moment he touched it, Xigshaws power began to flow though him. It was less than maximum thanks to Xigshaw's jealous nature, but it was more than enough to save his hide. Pulling the hammer down Orcleous was able to use its iron shaft as a shield to block off the beast mouth. Only a inch away the spiders fangs, dripping with poison, snapped attempting to bite the Champions head off. For a moment things looked bleak for the Champion, but the beast suddenly let out a sharp snarl of pain and leaped away from the Champion.

As the beast attempted to kill Orcleous the other soldiers stepped in. Taking the opportunity they struck the spider in its lower body. The pain caused the spider to retreat freeing Orlceous from its assault.

"Thanks a lot", spoke the Champion. With Xigshaw at the ready Orcleous faced toward the beast. With the rest of the unit rallying around him he was sure this would not take too long. "All I need is one good blow", spoke Orcleous

[Yorick]

Yorick ripped her axe free, looking at the Bael with a mixture of disgust, contempt, and scorn. It was on its last throes now, as Bruce leaped from above, smashing both his fists into the beast's thorax and screaming "Ice Punch!" at the top of his lungs. The crystals of magical ice erupted from the Bael, and it collapsed straight down to the ground, flattening its legs outward as it slumped like some sort of wheel, spokes extended.

The mage, giddy, jumped up, somersaulting off and pumping two flaming fists into the air, giving a war-whoop as he smiled broadly at Yorick.

"Yeah man! Way to kill it! We did it! One Bael down, one to go. That was a piece of cake for this dynamic duo!"

Yorick, meanwhile, went over to make sure the Bael was truly dead. She kicked it, and, not satisfied with killing it once, chopped her way through its head to kill it twice. The spider's brain fluids seeped all over the ground as the General straightened up, armor clanking as she rose, and only then allowed herself a smile. The battle had turned to a rout. The first wave had been taken care of with ease, and even the Baels did not prove too much of a challenge. A quick glance assured her that the mysterious ally had indeed all but finished off his beast, with the other men teaming up on it as well, and so she gave a barking laugh and punched the mage playfully.

"Good fight, man. What do they call you? I'm Yorick, General of the Verdant Cross. I fight monsters. It's what I do."

The response was quick and cheerful, accompanied by a deep bow and a flashy salute.

"Bruce. I'm a wandering mage, skilled in the art of the long-forgotten Elemental Punches! It's my calling to spread my art through the land, but I see no better way to hone my skills than a bunch of fighting. So that's how I came to merc work. But now I have quite the new idea. What say you let me join up with you?"

Yorick's eyebrows shot up. Join up? Fine, the Verdant Cross needed talent anyway. But what did this guy have to gain? Normal merc work paid just as well as monster-hunting, and could often be less dangerous. But if that was his cup of tea, fine. She'd take him.

"Why the hell not? Welcome aboard. You're the right kind of insane, I suppose.

Oi, you! Over there with the rest of the men! Thanks for the aid. What do they call you?"

[Orcleous]

OC: Sorry about the wait Ryu, I had work. When I got home I was too tired to post.

IC:

At this point Orcleous had gotten tired of this beast. Its ability to jump and move around, despite its size, was making the fight far more difficult than it would normally be. Orcleous was not sure what kind of spider this was, he was betting it was some kind of jumping spider Bael, but he was sure it was going to die soon. The best weapon to do the job was Luxcalibur. The Paladin's sword was imbuned with the power of divine and made of the holy silver metal, but the spider was smart and stuck the blade to the ground with its web. Orcleous was sure he could free it if he had the time, but at the moment the spider was the big problem. The rest of the soldiers had rallied to fight now, but they were useless in a direct confrontation. Most of there weapons could not even pierce the beast hide. The only advantage they had was that the monster was focusing mainly on Orcleous, for good reason mind you. Only when it stopped to try to kill him that they stood a chance. Every beast, even giant spiders, have weak points. If they can stab their spears in its eyes, joints, and connections of its body they could do damage.

"What do you ...", spoke one of the soldiers as he attempted to gain insight from Orcleous. However the spider was not going to give them time to come up with a plan. The creature leaned forward on its back legs and presented its lower abdominal stinger. Without wasting another moment the beast shot out four balls of white goop, that Orcleous now knew as spider web.

"Webbing", shouted the Champion as he dodged the incoming ball of web. Only one of them was aimed at him. The other three flew and slammed into the soldiers who had stabbed it into the joints earlier. The one that shot toward Orcleous flew by the Champion and slammed into the face of the man trying to get orders. He screamed with both fear and panic as the spider web covered his face, nose, mouth, and all. "I can't breath", he shouted with as much effort as possible. No one could understand him, due to the web muffling his voice, but it was universally understood what was going on. The other three gentlemen were pinned down trying to get up.

"Get him free", shouted Orcleous as he charged toward the spider with Xigshaw in hand. The Champion was tired of this beast. If range attacks were not going to work then Orlceous would have to take it out the old fashion way. He needed to get close and he needed to smash the beast. That was the only way he was going to end this fight. The spider, being as wise as a serpent, began to focus its attention on Orcleous. The beast fired off two more balls of goop. Orcleous dodged the first in a epic fashion, but the spider saw that coming. As the Champion side stepped the attack, the second ball of goop slammed into his left leg. The white plaster pinned it to the ground. "What the", spoke Orcleous as he attempted to pull his leg free. Victory was now the beasts. The moment the spider saw that Orcleous leg was caught it jumped forward though the air. Its fangs at the ready and its target was the dark skinned Champion from Bern.

The soldiers looked in horror as the spider leaped though the air. Everything seemed to slow down as their hero's fate was sealed. The beast would bit though his armor and pump his body filled with venom. After that it would move to slaughtering its way though the rest of them. This would have been the fate of Orcleous, but their was something that the soldiers and the giant spider did not know. Xigshaw, the giant hulking hammer, was not just a mass of steel. Xigshaw was a magical weapon, and the weapon had the power to enhance strength, far beyond the normal human limits. As the spider leaped into the air Orcleous drew upon the power of his weapon. Xigshaw's power enhanced the leg muscles in Orcleous legs and with a single mighty push he shoot himself off the ground in a impressive vertical jump. The jump placed him right above the spider as it came down to sink its fangs in. The beast had missed.

"Its is over", shouted Orcleous as his legs touched the ground. The giant spider, still bewildered trying to figure out how Orcleous was able to break free from its web clump, was furious. As Orcleous hit the ground the beast swung its mighty claw trying to slash the Champion. Orcleous however was ready for the attack. As the beast swung its claw only one work escaped Orcleous mouth "Adept". Turning his body Orcleous swung the mighty weapon Xigshaw. The Warhammer slammed into the attacking claw, the force from the attack not only deflected the incoming strike, but it also cracked open the arm of the beast claw. "Not done yet", shouted Orcleous as the natural energy flowed though his body. In the speed of one of Xigshaw's normal attacks, Orcleous had attacked twice. The first blow destroyed the arm and the second, Orleous hammer extended to the heavens. For the soldiers time itself seemed to stop as they saw the mighty club coming down towards the beast head. A loud thundering sould filled the air as Xigshaw connected with the skull of the beast. The blow shattered the spiders thick exoskeleton and turned its brain into mush. The spiders legs began to kick out in all direction as the spiders body attempted to respond. The creature then fell over dead onto the ground.

"Dang, what kind of Bael was that", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the corpse of the beast. In the background the soldiers, who he was leading at the moment, were going crazy with excitement. Orcleous however was still staring at the spider. It was the first time he had encountered such things from Baels, though he had only fought them once though that was inside of a desert. Maybe the ones in the desert where not as agile due to their lack of water. That would explain the lack of web as well, but their was one thing clear in Orcleous mind, he needed to know more about his enemy.

After a moment of observing the dead orcleous turned his attention back onto what mattered the most, Luxcalibur. If he had Lux this battle would have ended far quicker. It was a armature mistake letting his weapon get knocked out of his hand, Orcleous would not let it happen again. Using Xigshaws power, which had weaken due to him picking up Luxcalibur, Orcleous pulled the blade out of the goop. He then reattached Xigshaw to his back and began to whip off the blade. As he finished attending to his sword Yorick called out to him. The maiden had forgotten his name, and at this point he was sure she had forgotten who he was.

"YOu don't remember who I am", spoke Orcleous with disbelief as he looked at Yorick. The expression faded as Orcleous placed his sword back into its sheath. He then unstrapped Xigshaw and slammed it into the dirt. "I am pretty sure you remember this thing though", spoke Orcleous. "The name is Orcloeus. We did a job together back in the Village of Isengaurd. I had hired a group of mercenaries to take out some Gargoyles near my home village. Together we fought against the horde of winged beast and came out on top. After that I said I would join up and that I would make my way toward Lycia once I settled accounts in Bern." This all was true, but Orcleous decided it was best to leave out the part about him lolly gagging around. Not to mention his thing with Claira. Still Yorick did not need to know about that. All she needed to know was who Orcleous was, and that fact that he was suppose to be joining up with her band of monster slayers.

[Yorick]

As the man reintroduced himself, Yorick nodded. That was right, Orcleous. She remembered him, but it took a bit. After all, the Gargoyle fight had been a while back, she’d been busy since then, and he’d left to take care of business. So now he was back, having found her. That was good. The Verdant Cross could always use more members, especially since there were lots of monsters and lots of jobs taking them out. He had good timing, this guy.

"I do recall you then, Orcleous. Now that you’ve taken care of your business, and helped me with some of mine, I’m glad to see you. There would have been many fewer of these chumps had you not showed up. So thanks, man, for bearing some of the weight. You don’t look wounded, so I guess the medicine can stay in the cart. Now then, it looks to me like you’re a tough and capable fighter, so I’ll ask you this: are you up to fight Bonewalkers? Lots of them? Because if you are, there’s an Ostian job we’re taking that involves clearing out a town of them. If you’re in, come on with me tomorrow once we get the caravan delivered. I’m heading off there as soon as I can. If you don’t want to, I suppose you can sit it out, but we need all the skilled fighters we can muster up."

As she spoke, Yorick cleaned her axe, wiping the Bael innards off of it and then setting to work rubbing her armor, shining it and removing all of the gunk before it dried and became a real problem. She liked to have her equipment in good shape, so it was one of few things she was fastidious about.

OOC: If you want to fight the Bonewalkers, join in on this thread.

[Orcleous]

As Yorick was speaking Orcleous was going though the motions of restrapping Xigshaw to his back. It was good that she remembered him, but he was still upset she just forgot him out of the blue. Orcleous was a beast in that fight against the flying abominations and to make it worse he was the one paying them. Still there was no helping it. She had forgotten and now she remembered. That was life. Orcleous was just going to have to get over it and keep on chucking. Besides this was his first real offer from the guild. Beforehand it was a side bar deal back in Bern. Now she was giving him the full join up line. Orcleous had made it his personal life mission to fight against the monster threat, so joining up with them was a move in the right direction.

"Yeah sure, I will come along to take out the bone men,but first I am sure you are going to need some help finishing this job up." Orcleous did not want to outright and say it, but the crew they had on this job seemed to stink. Orcleous had nothing against the hard fighting men, especially since a few of them saved his hide earlier, but they were not really equipped for monster fighting. There should be a long more silver weapons around, and if not silver then there should be magic. Not to mention that the skill level of the individual soldier did not seem that high. Shoot as a group they were disorganized and they fought like novices. Clearly this was a group put together by a cheap man who did not want to spend much money on outfitting his men. Then again he was hiring mercenaries, which told a lot. He knew Yorick could hold her own, but the others he was not so sure. Still, Orcleous managed to survive with a crappy iron sword and a heart of iron will so he could not count them all out yet.

"I don't know where this wagon is going", spoke Orcleous as he looked around the forrest. His eyes trialed the wood line looking for any sign of monsters, bot the human and none human kind. "However we should keep moving. The longer we sit in once spot the more attention we draw towards ourselves." After Orlceous spoke he began to watch the eyes of the people around him. He wanted to find out who the leader was, but simply asking would not give him a absolute identification. Some times people work though proxies and dummy leaders. Orcloeus needed to know who was the guy calling all the big shots.

[Yorick]

The two warriors finished their cleanup almost in synchrony, the man strapping his axe back on his back and Yorick hanging hers on her side as the whole caravan began to move forward, jerking and then settling back into its rhythm. The mercenaries picked themselves up, bruised and cut but not killed by the Bael attack, and they all continued the march through the forest. It was quiet, men mumbling among themselves, very different from the swaggering air they had held before the fight. That was probably because Bael were known as maneaters for a reason... These spiders were deadly.

"Wagon's bound for edge of Worde. I leave them at next town, since that's dropoff. From there I'm heading to Ostia, and given that you're in for the Walkers, we'll meet there. For now though, I would appreciate your help in finishing the delivery. Safe or no pay, so I sure as hell don't want to have fought through that mess for nothing."

The General sighed. The post-fight calm, even though it allowed her to catch her breath, also meant that it was a return to the same walking and drudgery that it had been before the combat. She didn't like doing nothing. She'd rather fight a hundred Bael than have to spend a month just walking about and eating meals. What a waste. Actually, that was entirely possible. Three Baels a day? That would be a training regimen that would make her tough as the seaside rocks, which still stand sharp as knives to cut up unsuspecting boats. Ah, the Isles. She missed them.

The mage approached, falling into step beside the two melee fighters, his cloak tossed over his shoulder to let himself cool off and his hair a mess after all of his jumping and punching. Yorick gave a nod to the man, a simple acknowledgement of his skill, and they walked in silence for a while longer.

"Orcleous, what's the deal with that sword? It's magic, innit? Looks to be some sort of lightning sword or something, way it's glowing there."

[Orcleous]

So here Orcleous was, out one job and into the next. He had tossed that corpse back into the woods once he had joined up with the caravan, the Champion decided to simply leave it their. Not only did he not really know where it was, but he could not hold down the travelers for something as simple as that. They were going to have to settle with a simple letter. Orcleous usually like to finish jobs in perfect order, but in this case he could let it slide. It was not really a real job, but more of a request. This thing however was a full job. Not to mention it also had to do with the new calling on life he had just accepted. He needed to make sure that this caravan made it to safety. Every little victory is one giant step against the beast that now invade their lands.

"So to the next village then", spoke Orcleous as Yorick gave him some kind of direction to their quest. The champion was happy that they were not going to nabata, or some kind of far away place. Caravans usually travled far, or at least the ones Orcleous had been on. Still this mattered very little in the long run. Orcleous was becoming a member of Verdent Cross. This meant that he was going to have to take on jobs he probably did not like, but as long as they slew monsters, which was the guilds prime directive, then Orcleous would follow along.

As the group traveled a irrie calm set over their company. Orcleous was sure that it was in response to the Baels that had attacked earlier, but it was probably more so toward not attracting attention. Worde was known to be filled with beast and making noise was a easy way to meet them all. Though Orlceous saw the caravan's attempt to limit noise to be foolish. They were a caravan and as a result they were naturally loud. The men could not talk at all, but the stumping of their feet, the rattling of their armor, and the sound of the cart always made noise. The beast could hear them, but at the very least Orcleous and the gang could hear them as well if they arrived.

"I wonder what it is going to be this time", spoke Orcleous to himself as he touched the hilt of his blade. The champion was looking forward to fighting a new type of monster. So far he has fought and defeated every type of beast. Well all the beast types he knew of. He was sure that there were more out there, but he has yet to encounter them. Orcleous focus toward monster units was brought to the sudden questioning delivered by Yorick. The maiden began to ask Orcleous questions about his sword and the magic that raged within the blade. The very topic sent a smile across Orcleous face. He always had so little time to talk about Luxcalibur. The blade was not only a holy relic to his village, but it also slew monsters with quite ease.

"Oh you mean Luxcalibur", spoke Orcleous as he looked at Yorick. He then began to draw the blade from it's sheath. The very action sent out a gleam o light radiating from the blade of the sword. "Yeah and no", spoke Orcleous toward the general. "This sword is indeed a magical sword, but it is not empowered by the power of lightning. Instead the blade is empowered by the magic of Divine. Not only that, but the blade is made up of silver. When you combine both holly silver and the power of holy magic most monsters don't even make it past the first swing." Orcleous was showing off and talking smack, but that Bael he encountered earlier had bothered him.

[Yorick]

"So to the next village then."

"Yep. Just to the next village."

The group was quiet, only the noises of travel disrupting the calm forest. In fact, there was little noise whatsoever coming from the forest, which made Yorick slightly uneasy. However, with the imminent threats defeated, she focused on walking, recovering her stamina, and listening to Orcleous as he described his magical sword. It looked pretty nifty, though she wasn't much of one for magical weapons. Give her good hard silver and thick plate armor any day. The silver killed the monsters, and the steel armor kept her safe and sound, if a bit sweaty.

"Oh you mean Luxcalibur."

Luxcalibur. That name sounded vaguely familiar. Perhaps she'd heard it somewhere, or something like it. It rang a bell, but she couldn't place where she would have heard of Luxcalibur, or anything sort of like it. Maybe Mila mentioned something like it once? Kind of sounded like "deluxe calendar." What would that signify?

"This sword is indeed a magical sword, but it is not empowered by the power of lightning. Instead the blade is empowered by the magic of Divine. Not only that, but the blade is made up of silver. When you combine both holy silver and the power of holy magic most monsters don't even make it past the first swing."

It sounded like Luxcalibur was indeed suited to the task of killing monsters. That was a relief, especially as she knew she'd need his help for the Bonewalker mission. The more competent hands she had to help with the task, the less likely anyone was to get hurt.

"Interesting sword, and interesting description. I assume it has some sort of backstory? Was it made for you, or something like that? I don't see many magical weapons, and I sure haven't seen any holy swords. Sounds like that would come from a church, almost."

[Orcleous]

"Luxcalibur", spoke Orcleous as he stared down at the blade. The Champion was shocked that she would suggest someone would take the time out to make such a fine weapon for him. Orcleous was strong, but he was not that important on the grand scheme of things in this world. No one would take the time to make a magical sword for a nobody like him, especially of this fine make. "Unfortunately no", spoke Orcleous as he drew the blade from its sheath. He stared at the master work and awed at the craftsmanship of the ancients. The blade held up well considering its age, but then again it was a magical weapon. Magic had a way of keeping old things fresh."

"Luxcalibur was forged a long time ago", spoke Orcleous as he began to go into the story. His mind shifted back to his father who had passed the tale onto him, just before he presented the sword. Luxcalibur is known as the paladin's blade. It is a sword that was created for a group of warriors that exist in the oldest days of man. This was during the time that monsters roamed the land in droves and humanity was still young. Warriors of old took these kind of blades in order to fight the beasts. This one belonged to a champion who was said to have slain a cyclopse, but he lost his life in the process. The sword was burred with him inside of his grave. Recent events caused it to surface and my father passed the blade onto me", spoke the champion. Orcleous then resheated his sword. His eyes turned to the woods, which seemed to go on forever.

"So far so quite", spoke Orcleous as he looked around. The lack of sound made him nervous. Quite usually followed ambushes in any line of work. The quite of the forest meant that monsters were afoot, or they use to be. Most of the natural animals seemed to have fled. Normally you would her a few birds or squirls around moving from tree to tree. However now it was quite. The forest was still and the stillness was unnerving. Orcleous would rather deal with a charging beast than to simply guess where he thought the monster was coming from. Still he and Yorick were not the only ones on this job. Their position was pretty good. If anything came out it would probably hit the others first. This would give him some time to adjust and get ready.

[Yorick]

"Unfortunately no. Luxcalibur was forged a long time ago. It is known as the paladin's blade. It is a sword that was created for a group of warriors that exist in the oldest days of man. This was during the time that monsters roamed the land in droves and humanity was still young. Warriors of old took these kind of blades in order to fight the beasts. This one belonged to a champion who was said to have slain a Cyclops, but he lost his life in the process. The sword was burred with him inside of his grave. Recent events caused it to surface and my father passed the blade onto me."

Yorick gave an interested harrumph as Orcleous finished his story. A Paladin's blade? At least Orcleous was putting it to good use. She didn't know many paladins, but they all seemed kind of... dull. Uptight. Her pal here seemed much more likely to get a lot of good wear out of that sword. If anything, she could see its magic being perfect for hunting monsters. So it was really a weapon suited to a niche task... Making it a novelty that was extremely helpful. Unlike other magic weapons, it looked like it lacked versatility, but made up for it in effectiveness against its target group.

There was no sound in the tress at all. Yorick stopped, suddenly very wary. This smelled of an ambush. But what? And from where?

The questions were quickly answered as a volley of arrows, perhaps a half dozen strong, peppered her breastplate. None punctured her armor, but the General was startled and stepped back, swearing as she caught sight of a few skulls, jaws clicking in some sort of macabre attempt at laughter. Yorick began speaking to Orcleous and Bruce, moving to the front of the wagon. Through the trees, she saw a clearing and a bit beyond that the town. They were nearly through... This would be the last struggle.

"Bonewalkers! Not too many. Looks like little more than a straggling group, probably separated from a main pack. Let's take them out! Careful of the arrows, though."

The General moved forward, her bronze-colored armor gleaming and her axe held firmly upright, its silver edge keen and ready to split some reanimated heads.