Misty Mountains (Justin/PM for Entry)

[Yorick]

The mountains were quiet and still. The early morning fog hung over them, a dense white blanket of cool, tingling droplets that condensed upon armor and left shimmering trails behind any who passed through it. Higher, hidden behind the fog, was a pass, a critical trade pathway and a route taken by many travelers. Today, however, that pass was closed, due to monster sightings in its vicinity. It was therefore the job of Cordelia Imogen Yorick, General from the Western Isles and Co-Leader of the Verdant Cross, to eradicate them.

In order to properly prepare for the impending battle, Yorick was at the base of the mountain, at the small town in the foothills near the road leading up and through. She was about to depart, and was busy finishing her second whiskey, enjoying the warming taste of the fiery beverage. Her flask was full, her armor was shined and oiled, and she was inspecting the surfaces of her newly-sharpened silver axe. It was quite satisfactory, a keen edge that was ready to slice through flesh, bone, scales, and exoskeletons alike, and her lance was similarly prepared. A hand axe hung on her belt, and a quiver of javelins crossed her back. All considered, the woman warrior was a fearsome sight, especially since she was upset about the lack of backup. The town had promised her a few men, but the only one ready to leave was Bruce, her mage ally and a fellow member of the Verdant Cross.

Upset was probably an understatement. Yorick was pissed as hell.

She had just finished roaring at the proprietor of the bar for the lack of able men, which was, of course, not his problem, and was finishing up a second tirade at Bruce, who took it graciously. He was used to such displays, but knew that it came from a good place. Yorick simply didn't want to get in over her head. Sometimes jobs got bad, and with only two people, it more often than not came down to a frantic, life-or-death scuffle that they were far too familiar with.

Still, they needed to leave to take advantage of the morning cool to get up into the mountains to the pass. If no one showed, they'd be forced to go it alone.

[Justin Delex]

Justin had wandered into the tavern, fog was the last thing he really felt like dealing with. It felt to cold to him and it dulled his senses a bit. A good drink could help that, he ordered himself a drink. Soon he would hear a voice belting out at, someone, he didn't see who yet. He turned to see the woman shouting in anger, at what seemed to now be at a mage. Oddly the mage seems to be clam, and handling the shouts with vigor, or something along those lines. From the what Justin was able to gather from the shouts she seemed to be short on man power. For what He couldn't be sure, perhaps it was a good paying job. Justin scratched the back of his head and stood up with his drink, walking over to the somewhat imposing woman.

"Hey there, you seem really pissed, and from what I heard you seem short on man power." Justin gave a small smile. "If you are looking for someone to help you with a job, well I might be able to help you out. Naturally it depends on the job. Also if you are willing to give a fair cut of whatever the pay is." He nodded as he took a sip from his drink, looking at the woman she seemed like she wasn't just a plain run of the mill mercenary leader, far from it, by the looks she knew well what she was doing, and what she was getting into, which with no doubt explained her rage. Lack of man power was a pretty serious thing.

[Yorick]

Yorick turned around sharply as a voice rang out. When she finished swiveling, she was greeted with a most underwhelming, and frankly slightly irritating sight. The only one speaking to her was a wiry, thin stick of a boy. He offered his services, conditionally, like any self-assured, overconfident mercenary. Hell, to Yorick, he looked little more than a babe, and so the General gave a guffaw of laughter before shrugging her shoulders.

"If you're the best we've got, we'll have to take you. Here's the deal, skinny boy. We're members of the Verdant Cross, a monster-slaying guild. I am one of the guild's co-leaders, Yorick. Today we're clearing the mountain pass of Bonewalkers. It's not going to be fun, and it's not going to be easy, so I recommend you have a sharp weapon and a healthy sense of self-preservation. You'll need it. Of course, you want to know what's in it for you. I'll tell ya that."

The General slammed her axe down into the table, cutting a deep groove and leaving the weapon vibrating there as she pointed a hand, encased in a sturdy gauntlet, at the man.

"The standard pay for guild members, regardless of rank, is yours upon completion. Usually, forty percent of the total reward goes to the guild for upkeep and equipment costs, twenty percent to travel, and the remaining forty is split between the members who participated in the job. So you'd get that standard pay. In addition, I'll buy you as many drinks as you can down once we get back. If that sounds good, get your weapon ready."

The tavern door slammed open and three men walked in sheepishly, two with bows and one with a hefty-looking greatsword. They made their way over to Yorick and muttered apologies, attempting not to look at her. The General said nothing, simply glaring with eyes that could cut through armor, and ripped her axe from the table before marching outside.

Bruce, the mage, took it upon himself to pick up the slack.

"Everyone outside. We move out, now! Follow Yorick up to the pass."

As they all left, the mage turned to Justin and introduced himself.

"I am Bruce, a martial-artist mage and an associate of Yorick's from the guild. I do not believe you've introduced yourself; please, do me the honor of your name and style of combat, and I will relay it to Yorick. After all, we still have a strategy to formulate."

[Justin Delex]

Well, that was not what Justin was expected to happen. He blinked as he was called 'Skinny Boy'. He blinked a few times as she explain the job as a monster killing one, well better than nothing Justin thought to himself. He would listen as she began to tell the pay, 'Forty Percent' well it wasn't all that bad as long as the group wasn't to large. Though he really shouldn't complain about the pay considering he was pretty low on gold and did need some for food on his way around the lands. The loud slamming of the tavern doors drew his attention to them as the three men entered the room, by the looks they seemed they where late, and the way held their heads down showed it even more. A small 'heh' came from Justin as he watched the men, really being late is something one should never do, especially for a job.

Justin's focus would change once the mage spoke to him. He turned and faced the mage, Bruce he said his name was. Justin would hold a small pause before he would speak to the mage. "I'm Justin, I prefer a nice one handed sword or small blades really as I am the type to be agile in my attacks. Though I don't prefer head on attacks as a good plan usually saves you from getting injuries. Saved me from getting several I know that for sure." He would say giving a nod to Bruce. Seemed this was going to be a lot more interesting then he had expected it to be. Really a job is no fun when its boring, and worse when it didn't pay well at all. The combination of both was the most dreadful though.

[Yorick]

The young man introduced himself as ‘Justin,’ and Bruce nodded, giving a slight inclination of his head to indicate respect.

“Well met, Justin. You fight with the sword… I see. So too did Yorick, long before I met her. Then she forswore her agile armor for the heavy plate she now wears, and laid down her sword to focus on the axe and lance.

And I? I punch with the power of nature. I let loose the fury of flaming fists, freezing fists, shocking fists, slicing fists. I use all of nature to empower my strikes.”

The mage held the door open, ushering Justin out, and then strode off briskly to meet up with Yorick, who was leading the way, still talking to the new member of the gang as he went.

“I understand your aversion to direct, bullheaded charging, though I am afraid that that is what Yorick defaults to in a pinch. However, when we have the time, she’s got an interesting mind for strategy. Very uncommon. She will devise plans that seem to be utterly ridiculous, yet somehow work. I believe it’s because monsters don’t think as humans do – they either don’t think at all, like the Revenants, or they think as hunters, as predators, like the Baels and the Gargoyles. Using that knowledge, Yorick formulates her plans.

It is interesting to see her at work. You’ll be shocked, at first, and then you’ll appreciate her style. She is certainly coarse and rough to meet, but she won’t let you down in a pinch. Ever.”

The two of them had caught up to Yorick by this time, and Bruce took the opportunity to introduce Justin to Yorick. The General turned, giving the young man a brief, brusque nod, and then began to talk business.

“I’ve come up with a preliminary plan. We’ll station the two archers on either side of our position, towards the front.”

Bruce opened his mouth, undoubtedly to comment on the odd placement of the archers – usually, one placed ranged support at the rear – but chose not to speak, slowly closing his mouth again and allowing Yorick to continue.

“They’ll take advantage of the fog to shroud their positions. Bruce, you’ll be in the rear. I will go straight towards the pass, in an attempt to lure them out. Justin, you will be with me, as will the guy with the big sword. We’ll get as close as we can quietly, engage them, skirmish, and then, as they press forward, immediately retreat as fast as possible.

Bruce, I know you prefer close-combat, but for this one time, you absolutely must strike from range first. Let loose your most devastating ranged magic on them as they chase after the three of us. Bonewalkers are smart, but they think like we do and will fall for the same traps we do. They’ll think we were surprised and will chase us, moving en masse, and then you can thin their numbers by means of a massive, strong strike. Once you hit them, the archers will open fire and Justin here will accompany me straight at them. We’ll do a head-on charge, me in the center and the two sword users flanking, and then Bruce, you can come from the rear to start your punching performance. With all of us pushing them back towards the closed quarters of the pass, they’ll bunch up, and the two archers will simply make it worse for them. That’s how we’ll clear them from the pass. We’ll jam them together and kill every single one of them – again.

Gentlemen, your thoughts?"

[Justin Delex]

Justin would listen in on the plan, a hit and run, then pulling the ones that chase into a basic ranged ambush, sounded simple enough. Usually they worked for the better for him since being fleet footed was something he was good at. Justin mulled over a few thoughts then an idea had come to him, the areas around them where passes, the one they where clearing out no different. "How wide is the pass they are in? I'm thinking if its narrow enough that we can try to bottle neck them into a group, that would let Bruce here have a better shot a hitting with a large area spell, failing that if the pass is to wide we could always try to draw a few out first and chip away at the numbers." Justin would stand there arms crossed and leaned back a bit.

It wasn't the best plan he had come up with, but considering it was just off the top of his head it was something he came up with. He would look around him trying to gauge the looks and thoughts of what the others thought of his idea. Perhaps it was a stupid plan, though he couldn't be sure since he hadn't been down that pass yet. A bottle neck was really the best option if they could pull it off as far as Justin knew, bottle necks forced the ranks into a group making them easy pickings for any mage who could throw out a large enough spell, and could allowing those with swords and Axes to stand off to the side and pick off anything charging through and cut it down.

[Yorick]

Yorick listened as the skinny man detailed his ideas. Certainly, it would be lovely to try and bottleneck the Bonewalkers, but the issue of scale and geography made that much more easily said than done.

“Well, the only problem with trying to bottleneck them is the terrain. The pass itself is as wide as the road we’re walking on now; it’s one of the few manageable paths through these mountains, and the only one through that stretch. That’s why it’s of critical importance to the traders and travelers who use the road. So yes, it is pretty close quarters, but there’s still far too much room to really ‘group’ them up as you are describing. However, I like the thought – we can see if there’s a path to draw them through that will get them as close as possible.

Now, as for drawing a few out – Bonewalkers are smart, young one. You clearly haven’t fought against these things very much, if at all. The way they work is in small squads, like the Sacaean raiding parties. They move in their groups, and communicate somehow. So if we start sniping them early, they’ll catch on and it’ll ruin any chance of an attack on their main mass by Bruce.”

Yorick finished talking as she continued to walk, and there was brief silence for a little. Then, as they crested a hill, the General held up her hand to halt the group and pointed downward. There, amid the fog, boulders and rubble left by rockslides could be seen, their outlines faint through the mist.

“There is the pass. Everyone… positions. Archers, I give you a fifty-count to take up your posts and ready yourselves.”

The two archers moved off into the mist, drawing their bows and nocking arrows. Bruce stepped back, closing his eyes and muttering to himself as he began to summon his power. The town mercenary drew his greatsword, and Yorick lifted her large silver axe from her belt, holding it in her right hand and slashing experimentally. She nodded, then turned to Justin.

“Get ready. Move forward, engage, and fight until I give the signal to drop back, at which point you need to book it back here. OK, guys… Here we go!”

With that, Yorick marched forward, calmly and quietly, waiting for the monsters to leap forth and attack. She did not have long to wait. The Bonewalkers appeared from the rocks, clambering over them and moving towards them with the unnerving clicking of bone on bone and dry, dead teeth clattering in bleached jaws.

The General smiled as the first monster hurled itself towards her, its skull grinning in that devilish way only a Bonewalker can. She waited until it was close, then twisted from her waist, putting her weight behind a swing that sent her silver axe cleaving into the dry skull, shattering it in an explosion of bone that left nothing left of the monster but a crumpled, cluttered pile of bones.

Yorick kept walking, moving farther forward, welcoming new challengers. The next Bonewalker raced towards her, leaping and swinging its sword downward in an attempt to split her skull. In a swift motion, Yorick lifted her heavy shield, allowing the attack to slam into it. The impact barely moved her, and she lowered the shield to see the thing almost staring in confusion. The attack barely scratched the shield, even with the full force of the creature behind it. Yorick gave a hearty chuckle and bashed the thing with her shield, knocking it over and giving her the opportunity to smash its head as well. Straightening up, she turned to see how the other two fighters were faring.

[Justin Delex]

Well that blew his plan out of the water, both plans. Justin shook his head and he walked with the others. Really he hadn't been up this way before so he wasn't sure about the passes really. He would stay quiet as he followed the group through the fog. It was still cold to him and he still didn't like it at all, but at least it gave them some cover from being spotted from a distance. The still air made it easy to hear pretty much anything right now, mostly though it was the sounds of the footsteps of himself and those around him.

He would stop once Yorick spoke. As Yorick would give the two archer their orders and as Bruce prepared himself he would look at what the terrain was, well what he could see of it through the fog at least. Carefully studying it and getting an idea of what he could use it for. He looked a Yorick and nodded before following her into the fog.

Justin stayed low as a walker would rush at him, bones clattering and weapon held Justin grinned as the creature attempted a full downward swing on him, a telegraphed move simple enough to sidestep out of the way for Himself. The clang of metal and rock rang out as Justin would avoid the weapon, then countered with a stab through the Bonewalkers skull bringing his blade out through the front causing the creature to collapse to nothing more than a pile of bones. Justin grinned and it fell to the ground, only to hear the sound of another approaching. This one seemed a bit smarter, if they could be, it didn't recklessly try to rush him. Justin readied himself for this one. It would come at him slashing at him, he would attempt to step back but the creature reached further then he expect and got a hit on his left arm, while it hurt it didn't cut all the way, there was bleeding but Justin could pull through. He would bring the his sword down on the skull of the Bonewalker splitting it and causing it to collapse like the last. Justin Breathed out and watched for more of the Bonewalkers, while waiting for their signal to pull back now.

[Yorick]

The heavy fog was swirling, beginning to clear, and the hazy forms Yorick could barely discern through it gradually began to become clearer. There were many Bonewalkers. Hell, there were too many. That solidified the position in Yorick’s mind, and she barked out one command:

“Pull back!”

The retreat was to be instantaneous; Yorick began to backpedal, her steps solid and rhythmic as she began to put distance between herself and the oncoming skeleton warriors. As she did so, she continued to raise her shield and smack the charging Bonewalkers backwards, keeping them at bay until she felt herself encountering the beginning of the hill they had charged down. She certainly hoped Justin and the other mercenary were out of the pass, because things were about to get nasty.

“BRUCE!”

The mage responded instantaneously, giving an almost inhuman scream and hurling his arms to the sky, summoning all of his power to him. But instead of sending a fireball, or a burst of lightning, or a flash of freezing cold, as Yorick had hoped, the mage himself charged at the mass of reanimated bones, his whole body covered in flames as he ran straight into the foe with a battle cry that caused Yorick to cringe and shake her head.

“FIRE… PUNCH!”

The flaming mage blitzed through the Bonewalkers, hurling punches and kicks that spread hot, red flames throughout the crowd. The heat also began to burn off the fog, and as the mist cleared the battle began in earnest.

Yorick raced into the fray after Bruce, trusting that the two swordsmen would follow suit. But all she focused on was the moment, and her silver axe rose, glimmering, as she gave a roar and charged at the enemies with renewed vigor. The two archers let loose, firing down at the rear of the clumped Bonewalkers, and the mercenary with the greatsword swung his mighty weapon, spinning like a top in an attempt to cut down many of the fiends in one powerful stroke.

Yorick found herself face to face with an entirely different fiend; in front of her, almost cackling, was a blackened skeleton, its sword wickedly sharp in the clutches of its bony fingers. This was no Bonewalker. This was a Wight.

The General gritted her teeth. She hadn’t planned to be fighting Wights. Those things were brutal and vicious. This one was no different; it slashed towards her with remarkable speed, forcing the woman to raise her shield to block the attack. Metal rang out in a dull, gong-like sound as the strike shook her a bit in her firm stance. She countered, pushing to bash the creature like she had its fellows, but met only air as the Wight, empowered by its fel magic, leaped over her head and rolled, coming up behind her.

Steel met silver as the General twisted, swinging her axe to try and hit the Wight as it stood up. The fiend had already risen and was attacking in a two-handed, cleaving stroke, and their weapons clashed in a fierce confrontation. For a moment, neither moved, but then the Wight ripped its sword free and tried to stab at the General. This time, though, Yorick did not bother to block the wild, wayward strike, and laughed as the point of the sword hit her armor, scraping along it before falling to the side. It had failed to puncture her heavy plating.

“I don’t dodge because you can’t touch me!”

The woman of the Isles struck, slicing off the Wight’s off-hand arm. Her silver weapon prevented it from reattaching the lost limb, meaning that it could no longer use both arms to add more power to its strokes. That was a good thing. But the battle was just beginning.

[Justin Delex]

"Pull back!" Justin heard, he had no problem doing that as he began to pull away from the large numbers of Bonewalkers that he could see now. Figures there would be more, these few where likely nothing more then scouts, the runts of their litter so to say, would explain why they went down so easily. Justin would stand with Yorick and watch as Bruce rushed into the pile and began to beat the Bonewalkers down, it was strange to see a mage use brute force and throw themselves into the fray like that, but was it a sight. Justin grinned as he followed Yorick into the fray.

He would pull off to the side a bit trying to draw one of the Bonewalkers off, one seemed to take the bait as it shuffled towards Justin. He brought his blade across the dead creatures face, unlike before it didn't drop as easy. "Yeah....figured as much." Justin muttered. The creature then brought its blade down, Justin would step back watching the tip pass in front of his face, he pushed in for a counter and struck again the skull. The creature would stumble a bit as if it didn't expect such a hard hit. This time though it swung its blade at Justin in a wild manner being hard to predict, this led to Justin getting a hit across the upper arm this time. "Ok....that hurt.." Justin said before striking hard again this time dropping the Bonewalker. "Ok....that's one...several to go.." He would look at the numbers left and would see Yorick engaged with a Blackened Skeleton, by the looks it had to be some kind of leader. If he could keep others off Yorick she would likely be able to take that one down with ease.

[Yorick]

The battle with the Wight continued. Yorick was using her full strength, slamming strike after strike towards the charred bones of the undead husk, but the monster skillfully parried each of her advances. Their duel continued, the larger battle around them drowned out in Yorick’s ears, replaced by a dull hum and the tunnel vision of pure concentration on a single foe.

As the Wight moved in with an overhand, arcing slash, Yorick swung her shield to meet it, gritting her teeth as the sword screeched and scraped across the heavy metal. She firmly repulsed the strike, though, and then countered with a slash of her own, as fast as she could muster. Again, her stroke met nothing but air, as the Wight jumped faster and higher than any human could hope to, rising into the air and then descending down to attack from above. Yorick barely had time to raise her shield, and the Wight landed on it, causing her to stumble backwards under the unexpected weight. The fiend leaped off, running towards her and trying to stab her with sword outstretched like a lance.

Yorick reacted instinctively, hurling her axe at the Wight like it was a tomahawk or throwing axe. Though the axe was not designed for that type of fighting, it was effective at close range, knocking the Wight back and pinning it to the rocky ground under the weight and power of the silver. The General closed the distance and slammed her shield down, using the edge to knock the Wight’s head away from the body, and then stomped on the skull, shattering it and grinding the bone to powder under her heavy armor.

Only then did she realize that the two archers and both swordsmen had been furiously fighting to keep the Bonewalkers from swarming her as she fought the Wight. But where was Bruce?

A quick survey showed that he was rapidly getting surrounded, being pinned by encroaching undead who were forcing him back towards a rocky formation. The General rushed to his rescue, her boots thundering over the packed earth as she charged headlong into the Bonewalkers, only slowing to pick up her silver axe on the way. As she bashed them aside, they leaped upon her, skeleton after skeleton adding its weight and pulling the General down under their mass. Yorick slashed with her axe, swatting as if at gnats, but the resilient, chattering bones continued to leap at her. It was becoming rapidly lopsided when Yorick heard an all-too-familiar shout, and one that she couldn’t have been happier to hear.

“Thunder Punch!”

Bruce, who had been simply trying to lure the Bonewalkers as he regained strength, had mustered up his power and let loose a flurry of lightning-infused jabs that sent shocks through all the nearby Walkers – and Yorick. She yelled in momentary pain as the electric shock jolted her, but the effect was more detrimental to the undead, who fell from her, briefly stunned. Taking the opportunity, Yorick played golf, swinging through the piles of jumbled bones and simply trying to destroy as much as she could. As they rose once more, Yorick and Bruce found themselves backed near Justin and the other swordsman. Yorick examined the situation. Not too bad; they were just barely outnumbered now.

“Keep it up! No time to tire now. Let’s fight these last ones off!”

[Justin Delex]

Justin watched as the wright and Yorick battled out it seemed she might have a bit of trouble until the thing leaped at her, her blocking it with the shield and then crushing its skull. Justin grinned at the display of raw power, maybe he would hang around a bit longer with this group. He didn't have much time to think it over before he saw Bruce unleash a bolt of lighting into the mass of walkers that had piled on Yorick and would devastate the pile, but it seems Yorick also got hit, Justin would watch as Yorick shook it off and began knocking away several walkers, he soon realized they where surrounding him and began to back up.

Justin would find himself back to back with Bruce, Yorick and the other swordsman with walkers all around them. He would examine the damage on them all. It seemed most where at least a bit battered from Bruce's lightning barrage from just a bit ago. That did give them a bit of an edge. "Well....it seems they are really thinned out now. So how are we going to play this from here? They still have a handful left yet." Justin would say. Looking over the crowd again, they did have a good chance at finishing off the rest of these undead creatures, though the would have to play their cards right. It shouldn't be much more trouble if the display Bruce and Yorick had a few moments ago. Maybe if Justin and the swords man could pull a few away Yorick and Bruce could smash any that they didn't and then finish off the ones that did. For now he waited for Yoricks next order.

[Yorick]

Yorick nodded as the swordsman spoke. He was right on the money. They’d thinned out the mass of Bonewalkers pretty well; it was just cleanup now.

“Everyone stick together! Let’s watch each other’s back and finish the job! Hit hard and make sure you don’t get hit!”

The General struck out, slashing at a skeleton with her axe. The fiend jumped backwards, its teeth clattering as it jabbed its lance at her armor. Yorick stepped sideways, letting the probing attacks go past her, and then swung her rear leg back towards the foe, using her momentum to swing and cut through the middle of the Bonewalker. As it crumpled, she gave one more chop to finish it off, sucking in a breath and exhaling in a heavy sigh. She was beginning to tire out. Armor was heavy, and she’d been hitting hard.

Bruce handled two undead trying to gut him with trademark style; as they swung from opposite directions, he jumped, letting their weapons pass under him and clash against each other, and then as he fell punched his arms outward, two small but long icicles forming from his fists to skewer their heads. He let the ice magic shatter, watching both opponents crumple into twin piles of bones, and then gave a big double-thumbs up to Yorick.

The two archers took aim, firing at different Bonewalkers and both connecting, though neither made the tougher headshot. The lull that the shots created, though, as the monsters reassembled themselves, allowed the swordfighter to chop his greatsword like a spike down on one skull and gave Justin the opportunity to finish the last in a similar manner.

There was a brief moment of silence and peace, and then one final creature leaped forth, a scythe in its bony grasp. This was a Wight, slightly larger than normal, and certainly more aggressive. It charged forward, swinging its weapon in a fast arc, the metal humming through the air towards Bruce’s back.

Yorick leaped forwards, roaring, and raising her shield up to block the attack. There was a heavy bang, the sound of metal slamming into metal, and the General was thrown backwards, her dented shield clattering nearby and her silver axe bouncing out of her grasp. She turned, grabbing onto a rock formation, and began to hoist herself upright, aware that the creature would be capitalizing and trying to attack. Indeed, it bounded forward to slash at her, but an arrow pierced it straight through the back, sending it sprawling as well. It reassembled much more quickly than the others, and was on its feet and moving before Yorick had even gotten fully to her feet. Bruce was there to intercept it, however, and dove into it, tackling the bones with hands covered in flames. As the bones broke apart once more, he rolled, rising to his feet and panting. He and Yorick had fought hard, and they had little more in the tank. This was getting to be a bad situation; the others needed to step up.

The swordsman attempted to do just that, slicing with both hands at the Wight, but the blackened skeleton used its wide scythe blade to block the attack, then forced the sword to the side with great force, disarming the swordsman as he fell to his side. The scythe flashed through the air, downward towards him, and he closed his eyes, before the sharp sound of metal on metal rang out. Yorick was standing, shield abandoned, using her silver axe to push the scythe back. Her face was contorted in grim determination, and she pushed with all of her might. The swordsman scrambled away to retrieve his weapon and the stalemate continued, as Yorick’s axe steadily slipped backwards towards her. She was simply being overpowered.

[Justin Delex]

Justin would break through the circle the moment he could dragging off another Bonewalker, it was beaten quiet a bit by Bruce's earlier assault, its movements seemed to be far more ragged and easily predictable. The creature would attempt to rush at Justin. He would find it easy to block off the attack and strike the Bonewalker. The creature seemed further stunned then before, it took its time to turn around and attempt a pitiful attack that Justin would duck under and follow in with a strike to the skull and finish it off.

Justin would turn to see the last off the Bonewalkers be finished off and he gave a grin, it seemed this went far better then he expected. "Hey that went pretty well. Seems like they are all-" He would be cut off by a Wight suddenly jumping out and attacking. "Oh that just figures." Justin muttered out, he need a moment to cover his earlier wound, he would quick pull out a line of bandage and begin to wrap it around the upper arm wound, the lower one wasn't bad enough to need treatment instantly. As he would wrap it around he would hear the sound of Metal on metal and looks see Yorick losing her shield and axe, watching the battle ensue he would see Bruce stop the creature from taking advantage of Yorick. Though it seemed to turn grim rather fast and the creature got back up like nothing happen. Just how much of a hit could that thing take? Justin would continue tending the wrapping, as he would begin to finish up the dressing he heard the clash of metal on metal on again. He looked and saw Yorick struggling with the creature, no time to clean it up, messy dressing would have to do. Justin gripped his blade and rushed at the Wight, as he closed in and brought his sword downwards on its skull. Even if he didn't kill it, he hoped it would be drawn off Yorick enough for her to regain a balance.

[Yorick]

The thin swordsman was wrapping his wounds and tending his injuries. If Yorick wasn’t busy trying not to get mauled by a very aggressive Wight, she might have chewed him out for being a self-centered prick. However, now was not the time for that. Instead, she continued to grapple with the creature, pressing with all her might to try and repulse its attack. The effort was unsuccessful; in a burst of strength, it pushed forward, sending her sprawling backwards. The thing cackled – she swore she heard it laugh – and swung its scythe. If the phrase ‘brush with Death’ had a literal meaning, this would be it. The swing was dead-on, fast and accurate, but the General twisted her body, trying to roll away. While she couldn’t get out of the way, she avoided being beheaded and merely gained a long cut down the side of her face. The point of the scythe ended in the rocky ground near her neck, and Yorick breathed deeply as she looked up at the face of the Wight she believed she would finally fall to.

An arrow burst forth into the bones, sending the thing in a heap, and then as it began to reassemble, the young swordsman came running, cleaving downwards onto the skull. It was a solid hit, which sent the creature’s cranium sailing into the air, bouncing off the rocks and then rolling towards the other swordsman, who tried a chip shot. He succeeded in smashing the jaw off of it, and the rest of the head arced towards Bruce, who coiled up an arm and then punched it straight on. The skull briefly seemed to hang in midair as it was encased in ice, and then shattered in a spectacular explosion of bones and crystalline ice fragments.

The battle was over.

Yorick let out a sigh. She could feel the blood running from the cut on her face, and she was sore, tired, and on her back. There also was not a handy nearby rock formation to use as a crutch to get up. So she rolled onto her stomach, pushed herself onto her knees, and then used her axe as a cane to finally work herself into a standing position.

“Anyone have a f’king vulnerary on them? I never did grab another after that last job.”