Port of Damned Souls [Justin/Luke/PM for Entry]

[Yorick]

The small port town of Mengar in the province of Badon had a long and troubled past. Razed with some regularity by roaming pirates, then abandoned and resettled multiple times after the rise of the monsters, the crudely built, slipshod buildings now stood empty. Mengar was in the middle of one of its periods of abandonment; its inhabitants had died from illness and monster attacks, leaving no one to care for the overgrown gardens and the burnt-out hearths. Rumors floated in of strange creatures lighting the fires and building ships at the docks, but no one trusted these words of drunken men and ragged women.

Yorick had come to the area to fulfill a contract. She wasn’t much of a fan of the Badon area in general, and the vicinity of Mengar seemed especially seedy and greasy. She felt as if wherever she went, dozens of gaunt eyes followed her, waiting for her to trip or drop a coin. But one of the higher-ups in the Badon circles wanted the port town operational again, and he had offered a good reward. So Yorick obliged, answering the call with as many of the guild as she could muster. That came to about a half-dozen men, not including the swordsman named Justin who had accompanied her there from the last job, and Bruce, who stuck with her faithfully. Mila was elsewhere, on business, so unfortunately Yorick could not count on the support of her close friend.

The group was currently resting at a crossroads; a kilometer, give or take, separated them from the first gates of Mengar. The men had been well fed and well berthed the night before, and Yorick was also feeling in fine form. The cut on her face was still healing, but she felt no worse for the wear than any other time. Her weapons were shining, freshly sharpened and balanced, and her shield had been reforged, though her armor still bore the scrapes and dings of the battle with the Bonewalkers.

“Right, men. Let’s prepare to leave soon! Finish the coffee and the fruit, but don’t stuff yourselves. This is simply to give you some energy for the fight to come. I anticipate a rough time, so steel yourselves.”

Indeed, the General did not know exactly what to expect, though she had her suspicions. Most likely Revenants, perhaps Bonewalkers. Entombed likely as well. It would be no picnic, that’s for sure.

She waved Justin over, and once he joined her and Bruce, she nodded, getting right to the gist of the matter.

“Are you both ready? I plan to keep us as a unit and send the other men as another group. We’ll have to fight hard, and I bet they’ll come to us, rather than us to them. So I think having two distinct groups is smart.”

[Justin Delex]

Justin had been following Yorick and Bruce since the events at the pass. Apparently they where now headed to Mengar. He didn't know a lot about it, only what Yorick informed him on the way there. It was port town in Badon, a province with a pretty bad past of being raided, razed, and ruined. That was already bad enough but now rumors of monsters where floating around about the town. This is where they came in, they where going in to take down whatever it was that might be waltzing around and stirring things up. Though to Justin it didn't make much sense for monsters to be lighting fires and building ships.

He sat near on the ground drinking coffee from a mug, it was nice and warm, not to strong though. Overly strong coffee was one of the worst ways to drink it, sure some might like it that way, but Justin didn't. He also ate from some dried jerky he had, while not the best around it held for a nice long time making it good for longer trips.

Justin would stand up after finishing both and look to Yorick after she had finished speaking. "You know, I have been thinking about this new job. Doesn't seem odd that monsters would be lighting fires, and building ships? I mean I get some are very well organized, but so well that they can build whole ships? As well was I wouldn't think creatures that roam the darkness would need light." Justin rubbed his chin as he pondered what he said. He was sure monsters wouldn't be this well organized, because if they where they would clearly be causing far more trouble then they already where.

[Luke Pendragon]

Any sellsword worth their salt would have known that the sort of job that required you to meet up with a government official in a less than reputable manner and being told not to talk about said job was more than likely suicide. However, it was going to pay damn well and this sellsword was in no place to turn away any sort of income. Whether or not he would come to regret that decision had yet to be known but it was looking like he was going to need a strong drink and a week’s time spent in a bed.

The port town of Mengar and its infamy were more than familiar to Luke. During his times traveling with his uncle he had been to Mengar a few times. Mostly for jobs or trying secure passage somewhere where discretion was heavily stressed. Dealing with pirates was either a hit or a miss in Luke’s experience. They can be a fun punch to hang around with, have a drink and tell stories or they can be sneaky little rats and bloodthirsty mongrels who can be a plague on a poor port town. Despite all that, Luke would have preferred dealing with pirates than what he came to.

He had been sent to scout out the town and uncover what had been actually happening there. No one would trust the word of crazy people shouting about monsters and ghouls. To make sure that the province did not descend into madness from the realization that their homes were being attacked by monsters, a reality that most people would have to come to terms with eventually. Luke did not have much experience dealing with these monsters before. The only experience he had was learning about them while traveling with his uncle. If he had known this was going to happen he would have asked more questions.

Hindsight aside, things went smoother than most probably expected from the lad. When entering the town it was quite deserted. Luke was going to chalk it up to it being just that, a ghost town. It didn’t take too long before he found himself spotting one of those monsters people had been going on about. The stench was horrendous and now that Luke knew what was lurking about he went to make his leave. It was when he tried to leave that he came face to face with one of these monsters. A skeleton swinging a sword about like a mad man had found Luke.

Knowing that a full blown battle with this would lead to the others finding his location and his chances of escaping being little to none existence, Luke decided to make his leave. Barely making it out of that godforsaken town with his life, Luke strolled down the road drinking from his flask. He would report his findings and get his money but that would not be the end of it. The official offered him another job to meet with a group that he been sent to take care of the town and give them insight. Luke was reluctant at the initial request but it was a simple job that didn’t require him going inside the town again.

Luke had accepted the job and when the time came he made his way toward where this group of poor souls would be. As he approached the group he took a swing of his flask before he’d speak up. ”Which one of you is the leader of this little group?” He’d ask, taking another swing of his flask afterward. Seeing how there was no need for him to get involved too much in the clearing of the town he didn’t care much if he drank a bit too much. While it might seem unprofessional to do so he wasn’t in the mood to care much about being professional.

[Yorick]

Yorick finished her coffee, and shook out her joints as best as she could in her heavy armor, clanking like a combination between a closing portcullis and a wet dog trying to dry itself while covered in jingle bells. Satisfied with the stretching, she swung her arms, limbering them, and then looked pensively at Justin as he spoke. He did make some interesting points. The General took some time to think, drawing her Hand Axe and tossing it, watching it whirl away and then back to her as she thought. Continuing to lob her weapon lazily, she answered the thin swordsman, giving him the best explanation she could produce.

“The rumors are probably just that – gossip spread on the wind, wives’ tales and the ramblings of drunken men. But I do know that Bonewalkers and Wights are intelligent; I’ve heard tales of them sailing rotten, half-destroyed ships kept afloat by evil magic. If they can sail a ship, why shouldn’t they be able to build one?”

Fire, though. That was another thing. Monsters didn’t need fire or heat, unless that was simply gossip. It probably wasn’t anything to be concerned about, but Yorick still noted it and kept it in the back of her mind, just in case.

“OK, men! Let’s move out! We march and we clear Mengar!”

As the group of monster hunters packed their travel bags and set off down the road, Yorick, leading with Bruce and Justin, saw a man coming towards them, taking occasional swigs from a flask. Ah, to be able to drink and enjoy a stroll! Yorick was briefly jealous of the chap, before she consoled herself with the thought of waves of drinks after the job was successfully completed.

The traveler spoke, his demeanor casual and even a bit slack. He certainly was no sort of highwayman, or, if so, he was a very skilled con artist.

“I’m leading this band, and we’re heading down to Mengar! You look to be coming from Mengar, which strikes me as a little odd, seein’ as how Mengar’s full of monsters. What’s going on, my good man? They call me Yorick, and I’m a co-leader of the Verdant Cross guild.”

[Justin Delex]

Justin watched as Yorick lobbed the axe back and forth. Waiting to hear what she though of what he had brought up. It just didn't make sense to him that monsters would be that organized. Justin listen to Yoricks explanation of what she suspected, He balanced a throw knife in his palm by its hilt. "Hmm Didn't know Bonewalkers and Wights could be that organized and that smart. Though it could be rumors, or perhaps a bunch of Bandits roaming around wearing disguises to scare people off while they use it as a base." Justin added in before he gave the knife a small toss in the air and caught it by the handle. "Wouldn't surprise me at all it was bandits, they would do anything to scare people out of their money."He would finish off saying.

Justin stood as Yorick gave the order to move on. Standing to his feet and rolling his shoulders. He put the knife he was messing with away. Checking over the rest of his gear before he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and turning to see the man who had came down the road. He watched as the man drank from his flask, a Drunkard perhaps? Or not he spoke clear, asking for the leader of the group. Justin looked to Yorick who was already giving the answers before Justin could even speak. He shrugged as she spoke and leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for the two to work out what was going on. It seems he came from Mengar himself, not sure what he was doing that way if the town was full of monsters or bandits. Perhaps the man was lost, then again with the way he asked for their leader Justin came to fully doubt that the man was lost.

[Luke Pendragon]

He didn’t really need an answer to his question as to him it was pretty obvious who the leader was just by looking at this group. They looked prepared enough and definitely showed signs of being experienced. Were they experienced in a way that made them ready for what they were going to be facing in Mengar? Luke honestly had no idea so further time spent studying them would clarify that or not. The one called Yorick seemingly had a cheery disposition about her which wasn’t expected at all. He wasn’t sure if it was endearing or comical but as of now that wasn’t what Luke was focusing on.

When it was pointed out that it was odd that he was coming from Mengar, Luke chuckled a bit. Odd wasn’t the word he would have used, stupid was more like it. ”What’s going on is that I’m not getting paid enough to deal with this.” Luke grumbled as he took another swig of his drink before speaking again. ”Name’s Luke Pendragon, I was hired to scout out Mengar and give you any intel that you might need before going in there.” He wanted to make it clear that wasn’t here to do any fighting.

”Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Another swig was taken. ”How much experience does you and your group having fighting monsters?” HE wasn’t really familiar with the name Verdant Cross. It was possible that he might have heard the name once or twice before during his travels but he wasn’t positive about it. Hopefully this group had some idea as to what exactly they could be facing in there. If they went in there with nothing more than the information that Luke would be able to give they probably wouldn’t be too successful but how many groups can say they fight monsters like these on a daily basis?

[Yorick]

Yorick listened to the man’s introduction; what followed was what seemed to be the typical complaints of a mercenary who feels he is unjustly compensated. Yorick had felt similarly many times, back before she could command a just rate, and she too had taken to drink to soothe the thorny, nagging frustration.

”What’s going on is that I’m not getting paid enough to deal with this. Name’s Luke Pendragon, I was hired to scout out Mengar and give you any intel that you might need before going in there. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. How much experience does you and your group having fighting monsters?”

“Stop drinking and get your sword ready, then. Luke Pendragon, I commission you as a hired man of the Verdant Cross for this operation. Effective immediately, you are considered a temporary guild member, and as such will receive a cut of the 40% of our total pay that goes to each of us. Don’t believe me? Justin here has only been with us for one other job. He stuck on, not just because we’re a pretty hard-hitting bunch, but also because there ain’t much money in freelancing, as I bet you know.

You asked how much experience we have fighting monsters.

The six over there have perhaps had a few skirmishes between them all; they’re good fighters, guardsmen and mercenaries like you. They just haven’t fought the fiends is all. Justin here has a battle behind him; he helped me clear a pass from a Bonewalker occupation. Bruce, the mage over there, has been with me a while. And I… I’ve been fighting monsters for longer than you want to imagine. They’re not going away, and so I’ve dedicated myself to fighting them. I train for these battles, I tailor my weaponry and gear for these battles, and I earn my keep killing the fiends of Hell.

I fear no monster. I respect some, like the powerful Baels and the fierce Gargoyles, but I fear no monster. For when one has a will of silver, and a weapon of the same fine material… The battle becomes much easier. Steel yourself, Luke Pendragon. I won’t take no for an answer. You will see what it means to be a monster hunter.”

Yorick raised her silver axe, letting the light shine upon its edge.

“Prepare yourselves. We march… Into Mengar.”

With that, the General began the trek down the short road to the gates of Mengar.

“Tell me what you discovered when you scouted, Pendragon.”

[Justin Delex]

Justin stayed against the tree as the two spoke, as Yorick gave a small introduction He would give a small wave to the man. "You scouted Mengar huh? Sounds hellish, wouldn't want to be the first one in myself but, it seems someone needs to do it." Justin gave a grin as he pushed off the tree. "At least we got someone who has some know of what we are going into. I really don't like the idea of going into a fight blind."Justin began to walk with Yorick and the rest of the group to the port town of Mengar.

"Well Yorick has a point on freelance work. It usually doesn't pay the best, isn't easy to find odd jobs. Also sometimes the jobs are a total bust and not worth doing." Justin said as he walked with the group. "Also I found one to many jobs that could of easily ended up with me in a ditch."Justin looked around the path they walked, making sure there wasn't anything lying in wait for them and waiting for a chance to ambush the group. If these Bonewalkers are this smart, he wasn't going to put it past them that they would also set up ambushes. Monsters this smart where to much of a danger to others, it was a good thing that a group like Yoricks as around. Without them monsters would clearly be ravaging more areas then just abandoned towns and mountain passes in the thick of fog. Hopefully this next set would be less trouble then the ones at the pass where, Justin highly doubted that thought though.

[Luke Pendragon]

Luke had gone for another drink of his flask, only stopping as he found himself in a moment of disbelief. It seemed that he had failed in making it clear that he did not want anything to do with Mengar at this point and Yorick’s commission took him off guard for a moment. The way she spoke was nice and all but it would take a bit more than that to convince Luke to go back to that monster invested town. Money or not, Luke would prefer to see the light of day tomorrow and fighting against monsters didn’t seem like it would help that goal.

From the way she had described her group it was clear that they had experience fighting monsters, hell that seemed to be the point of the group in the first place. Hearing that had put the question of readiness to bed. If there was anyone to be stuck with when it came to fighting monsters someone who has been doing it a while was better than having to deal with someone who had little to no experience in such field. However, that did not change the fact that Luke didn’t want much to do with this. He still needed to give a report on what was happening in Mengar so he took a long swig before following behind.

The man known as Justin had chimed in and he did have a point when it came to the downsides of freelancing but Luke never had many qualms with it. ”The place is crawling with monsters, so I didn’t have a chance to get scout as much as I’d like.” Luke began. ”But from what I’ve gathered the most of the monster’s forces consists of revenants and bonewalkers. They seemed to have gathered deeper into the port town but bonewalkers patrol the town which I had the great opportunity of running into one.” If there was anything else going on in that town he had no idea.

”They’re more organized than I thought they’d be. Figured they’d be running around mindlessly but the fact that there’s some organization would suggest that there might be more going on than I thought. I couldn’t discover any more than that due to being attacked by a bonewalker.” Despite being told to stop drinking the lad took another sip from his flask before putting it away. Yorick had definitely made a good case as to why Luke should not worry much about their capabilities dealing with monsters. Still wasn’t keen on the idea of going back into Mengar.