Healing Refugees (Open)

[Deleted]

The winds howled fiercely as the convoy was simultaneously pushed and pulled along through the ever deepening snow. The men and women had decided to travel to a nearby village to aid those forced to flee their homes in the wake of the Etrurian slaughter. Elaina sat in the back of a covered cart with warm furs pulled over and around herself. Beneath the blanketing she clutched her mother's necklace. It thrummed warmly to the touch. How she missed her and father, and her home, and servants for that matter.

Regrettably she could not go back home, for there was no home to go back to. Her Uncle had tried to have her killed. She cut off all of her hair in a deal with the assassin but the man wanted her necklace, for it is the one thing tied to her family's fortune. Without the body there is no guarantee of her fate and thus, she remains hunted. Kind travelers and even companions came and went. There was Grimm, Orcleous, and the entertainer troupe. They had taught her to dance and she was quite good at it, so they said. It was not as though she had no lessons prior however, their dances were simply different, much more individual and even a bit provocative.

She was afforded little more time to sulk however as the cart came to a halt and a voice shouted, "We're here! Everybody let's get to work!" Elaina begrudgingly grabbed her staff and hopped out. The deep snow crunched underneath her boots and she sunk up to the middle of her shins. She breathed out to see her every breath and was quite thankful for her scarf and large coat. If not for those she doubted she could last long out here.

The group of freelance medics went to the tavern ignoring the pleas of the hungry and dying along the way. "Alright here is the deal," the leader spoke up. "Time and resources are limited. If they can't pay or gift us out anything they don't get attention. Its not our fault if they can't help themselves, and we don't need a target on our backs from the Etrurians. Shoot, if our guildmaster can work a deal to help out their troops I'm sure we'd get paid far handsomer."

His words sunk into Elaina's gut, they were far too cruel. He expected them all to pay for healing and aid? What good was a relief mission that was not about relieving the men and women, and goodness children who needed it? As if to answer her thoughts another placed a hand on her shoulder whispering, "Too few are going to survive as is, we ought to take what we can from them before they are corpses. So, help us out with the blankets Doll?"

"Y-yes, right away." Elaina moved away from the man uncomfortably and retrieved a small stack of blankets. The man beside her told her who to give blankets to and who to refuse. If she ever tried to give one out falsely he mad no mistake in not scolding her even threatening to take her off the project her third time.

[Orcleous]

"Man it is cold", spoke orlcoeus as he tighten his scarf around his neck. The champion had finally gotten his crimson armor winterized for the Illian weather, but even still the cold nipped at his nose. Luckily for him his afro kept his head warm, but the cold still ate at him. Orcleous began to wonder if he would ever get use to the chill. The weather itself seemed to just disagree with his entire being. Still Orcleous would have to simply get over it. He would be spending quite some time in Ilia for a while, now that he had joined up with its resistance. Well joined up makes it sound like the organization was something formal. There were only two of them at the moment. Orcleous and Argus. Orcleous being the muscle and Argus being the leader. There union into this fighting force was a weird one, but that was a story for another day. Now Orcleous was focus on the reason he was here, recruiting. They were going to need more than two people if they hopped to take on Eturia.

"Man this place looks like a hell hole", spoke Orcleous as he walked thought the town. The needy and despirate were all around. It was clear that Eturia was marching though the region. There were those who were sick and those who were simply cold. There was the starving and the ones that were out right dieing. For the first time in his life Orlcoeus wished he knew magic. If he did then he might have been able to aid these poor souls. As much as it pained Orcleous to look upon these people it did not make him go to his coin purse. Money, which Orcleous earned though blood and sweat, would not help these people. Sure it would give them a quick meal or a blanket from a greedy man, but that is it. It would be a poor meal and a poor blanket. They would die just as quickly. Plus Orcleous did not have enough coin to help them all. Still Orcleous was not made completely of stone. In a act of total kindness Orclous removed a scarf from around his neck and placed it around a young child he saw freezing alone by the road.

[Deleted]

With every new person she was forced to turn away a piece of Aurora continued to die, and shatter inside. "I came along because I thought we would be here to help them, to heal them, to make things better for them." Elaina looked to be on the verge of tears now, she just could not stand to see so much pain and suffering.

"Listen Doll, we ARE here to help them, we just have a limited amount of help to go around. You have to be able to take care of yourself before you can aid others, else you just waste everyone's time. No matter how much better we make it for them now, they will simply die later, some of them may have homes to go to in another part of Illia but the majority? The majority will have lost it all. Never thought I would hear about Remi falling, but as they say, that is life. Whole world is in a mess like this, ya know?"

"At least let me go out and tend to the wounded? I will use my own staff and supplies so I won't hinder you at all, please!" Elaina looked desperate and pleading. They were out of blankets and food for the night anyway, so the man agreed.

"Just try not to expend yourself while you are at this. We won't be looking for you if you go down."

Elaina slowly nodded before heading out into the market to offer whatever aid she could. Her healing was far from top notch but she certainly had come a log way with it, and atop Peanut it allowed her to be seen by many. If only she was a bit stronger, strong enough to heal many at once.

[Orcleous]

Alright time to do a bit of recruiting, thought Orcleous to himself as he began to wonder around the town. He was looking for men or maybe women, who looked as if they were ready to fight. It would be hard to notice with the moral being as low as it was, but Orcleous knew a desperate man when he saw one. To be honest though Orcleous felt a little bit bad about what he was doing. Recruiting among the desperate sounded pretty terrible and underhanded. The champion could not help but think back to his own days as a prisoner. That was his first introduction to war. Ever since then he had been fighting. If Orcleous had never been a prisoner he may have been a dirt farmer by now with a wife and two kids. The champion could not help but chuckle at the idea. He would make a poor father and he was sure that there was nobody who would want to make him there husband. Well there was one women. One person that held his heart and he thought he had hers. "Claira", he spoke. It was sad that they had to part ways, but it was for the best. She was safe where she was and her brother was protected.

"Alright lets get focus", shouted Orcleous as he smacked his face with his hands and began to focus on his job. As he walked around he saw something that caught his eye. There was a man, burly fellow, with a thick blue scarf. A familiar blue scarf. Upon noticing the piece of clothing blood began to rush to Orcleous head. Anger began to build up inside the pit of his stomach. "That is my scarf", spoke orcleous as he walked up to the man. There was only one thing on his mind, violence.

"Hey", shouted Orcleous as he walked up to the man. His weight caused the snow to crunch with a loud thump. The man at first ignored him and began to warm himself by a fire. However the wondering eeys from his fellow dirt bags and other people made him turn around. He looked in a bit of a shock when he noticed a six foot tall dark skinned man clad in crimson armor staring down at him.

"Umm", spoke the man as he tried to speak.

"Nice scar", spoke Orcleous. His voice held the inner anger that roared up inside of him.

"Oh this, well..."

Before the man could speak Orcleous snatched the piece of cloth off him and began to examine it. Yep it was mine, thought Orcleous as he noticed his name stitched into the fabric. He also noticed the blood that stained the top of it. Blood that he was sure did not belong to him.

"You know what, you can keep..." that was all the man could say before Orcleous acted. One swift punch nailed the man in the jaw sending him falling into the snow. With one punch Orcleous broke the man's jaw. He did not bother to stick around and here people either praise or complain about it. Instead he moved to find that little boy.

Retracing his steps orcleous found the boy. It was just as he expected it to the be. the young boy had a black eye and looked even colder than ever. "Hey kid", spoke Orcleous. The young boy turned around with a frighten stare. When his eyes fell upon orcleous they soften. He saw the scarf, with yet another blood stain. At the lest this time it was not his.

"Thanks mr, but I", spoke the boy.

"No", spoke Orcleous as he walked up to the boy and placed the scarf around his neck. He then opend his travel bag and pulled out a white claok. He did not even ask the boy if he wanted it. Instead he wrapped it around the young boys neck. The cloak hung to the ground like a over sized blanket. "You will freeze to death like this."

"yeah, but i would rather freeze then be beaten", spoke the boy. He understood that before the day was though someone else would assault him for his items. Orcleous also understood that. The very idea sickend him to his stomach, but it was the truth of this world.

"what is your name kid", spoke Orcleous as he whipped the snow off the young boys head. His eyes fixated on the his turquoise hair. It was a rare color, rarely seen. Orcleous could only guess what blood line it came from.

"Sparks", spoke the boy.

"Good name", spoke orcleous. "My name is Orcleous and from now on i am going to be your new master."

"Mater", spoke the boy with confusion. "Am I a slave now", he asked.

"Slave", spoke Orcleous with surprise. He did not expect that. The champion gave off a light chuckle and looked the boy in the eyes. "Nah, far from it. I am going to teach you the way of the sword little Hawk. By the time I am done you are ging to be a legend." The young boy looked at Orcleous and saw the giant hexagon rod on his back. He was sure that was not a sword, but he kept that to himself. There was no point in angering the guy hwo just saved him from the cold and avenged his stolen scarf.

What am I doing, thought Orcleous to himself. Here he was picking up a random kid. the last time he did this he got Xeldine. She was a fine apprentice, but a thorn in his side at times. At the very least however she could defend herself. This kid looked around the same age, but hunger had drained him of any significant strength. He would be a even bigger burden. Still orclous could not leave the boy to freeze to death. The only way to save him would be to take him with him. the thought did not sit well with orcleous.

[Deleted]

Elaina set to work healing all those that she could. There were too many to count and her ability as a healer was far from poor but was also far from superior. She could heal the flesh and ease muscles but that was the limit. Wounds that went too deep, bones that fractured or snapped, ailments from the cold, all of it was beyond her still, and it hurt.

How had she never known the world was this bad? How was she so unaware? Ostia? She only knew that her family would never return there again, Hargus? A mere whisper in the halls. Etruria? A holy capital. She was kept in the dark so thoroughly by her father in a way her Uncle had saved her. Saved her of ignorance and obliviousness. But he condemned her to the status of beggar as well. Now she knew the truth but could do oh so little.

There were so many that needed healing she simply could not keep up. Her energy was failing fast and she had to peel away. As Peanut trotted away from the people she spotted a familiar sight. How could anyone forget the sight of Orcleous? A large dark skinned man In heavy Crimson Plate and, it would seem, has developed a remarkable afro and stash. Of course, she too had grown her hair long again. The hair she had been so famous for.

"So the Crimson Man and the Porcelain Princess meet for the third time!" She said in her most theatrical voice possible. She smiled at him before noticing the young boy with him. "Are you alright?" She asks soothingly. Holding up her staff she tries to ease the child's pain.

[Orcleous]

You have to be kidding me, thought Orcleous as he heard a voice behind him. The champion turned around to see a familiar face. "Elaina', spoke the Champion with a smile. It had been a long time since the two of them had actually meet one another. The last time Orcleous could remember was during that ball in Bern. That was a exciting moment. Swords, flames, and everything in between. If Orcleous still remembered correctly she still had his mask. At this point though he no longer needed it. Assassinations were no longer his trade, thought he might be picking it back up again soon. Now thought he was fighting monsters and now starting a resistance. Orcleous began to wonder however if she was still dancing. The last time he caught one of her shows he was quite entranced.

"He looks a bit roughed up but", spoke Orcleous but the maiden already moved to heal the boy. The young sparks took the healing with pleasure. The black eye that he gained vanished and the pain in his face went away. Orcleous however stared on. Elaina seemed to be tired to Orcleous. She should not have wasted the energy. Sure the kid was in pain, but the cold was getting rid of the swelling. He would have been better off taking the pain and learning a leason form it. Still it was not Orcleous call on who she used her magic on. That choice was hers and hers alone.

"Thank you", spoke young Sparks as the magic faded. The boy was a bit confused. On this day he had received far more kindness than he had his entire life. First the cloak and now the healing.

"Are you sure you are going to be ok", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the maiden? "You look a bit tired.Have you been healing all the people around here", he spoke in a questioning manner. It was then that Orcleous got a good look at the maiden. She was, well beautiful. It was not that she was not beautiful the first time he meet her, but now with the long hair. His heart kind of skipped a beat. It was then however that Claira popped into his mind. Control yourself Orcloeus, his brain told him. You already have someone back home. Don't go chasing every fish in the sea."

[Deleted]

It was true, Elaina was exhausted but the sight of the injured child spurred her to take action, and well, gaining points with Orcleous was far from a bad thing right? He helped her out and while still a mystery to her she felt she could trust him. Even if she never told him her secret outright she knew he had to know the truth. Or so she believed, she found it hard to discredit him with the notion he did not know.

Elaina offered the young Sparks the warmest smile she could muster, "You are VERY welcome!" She hopped off of Peanut and ruffled his hair. She did it instinctively, she always loved when her father did it to her even if she always complained and argued for him not to mess it up.

When Orc asked her if she was tired her first thought was 'oh yes, very!' but she remained stalwart. "I am hanging in there Sir." She flashed him a smile and brushed her hair behind one of her ears. She leaned against Peanut letting him support her legs. "So then, what brings you to Illia? I can only imagine it has to do with, well, this?" She subtly gestured to everything around. She looked at him more seriously after, "You are here to fight are you not?" If he was not here for that then she suspected he would not be there in the first place. After all the only time they met in Illia was when monsters needed to die. Wait, did that actually happen? Perhaps she was mistaken.

[Orcleous]

"Pshaw, you know me a bit to well", spoke Orcleous. They had just meet after such a long time apart, but she could read him like a book. That was not a good thing. Either Orlcoeus had become to easy to read or she was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. Orcleous was a mercenary after all. He went were there was coin and violence. Though in recently that all changed. He was now fighting for a cause, something new and foreign to him. Orcleous had always fought for himself and acted on his own desires. Now he was fighting for a idea and a group of people. How much had he changed without him realizing it, but then again he was still the same. The maiden's words proved that.

"Where there is war you will find me and people like me. Unfortunately I might be staying here for quite some time. The situation in Ilia has gotten quite ... well how do I put it, dark. Things don't look well for the nation and to make it worse I kind of ticked off the Eturian army. Naturally one in my profession would fell, but. Well how do I put this. Looking at these people, the suffering, and all the things going on I can't just rally walk away. There is way to much stuff going down.

As Orcleous spoke the young lad looked up and followed the conversation. Most of it went over his head. His cold nose and fingers provided a great distraction. However the information on Orcleous seemed to get his attention. He wanted to know who this man was, the man who saved him. Not to mention he wanted to know about the kind women. The two of them seemed to know each other and apparently trusted one another. they would not be having this kind of conversation if they did not.

"Um, am I going to have to fight too, Master orcleous', asked the boy. His question cut through the conversation and brought a dim light onto Orcleous moral. There was no way he could force the boy into a fight, and at the same time he could not force any of these people. He came for easy troops, but once he got here he found that recruiting was a lot harder than he thought, mainly on moral principle.

"In this war, don't kid yourself kid. your just going to get yourself killed. you need to be trained first and foremost. After that ..."

"But I want to fight", spoke the boy as he looked up at Orcleous. The kid had a fire in his eyes. The young boy was staring to realized the rules of this world. The fact that the strong dictated the weak and that by fighing he could gain power. Power to no longer bet beat up. Power to direct his life. For Orcleous however it was a slippery slope.

[Deleted]

Elaina smiled at his comment about her knowing him well. "No, I don't know a lick about you sir, you are simply easy to read." She put her hands on her hips, "And I can guess as to why you are here specifically too." Her smile faded as she looked at the wounded and weakened, those with no hope or anything to live for. No chance to as things stood.

She hated this, she hated all of this, suffering, pain, and only one possibility for hope, to fight. If they took up arms they would have a chance, they could find a future or die fighting for it, not freezing and starving for nothing. Before she could express more of her thoughts the young Sparks spoke up. She had to commend Orcleous for not letting the boy fight but she found Sparks' dejected reaction highly disturbing.

The boy was just so young. Did he wish to fight knowing the truth of the horror he faced? Did he wish to impress Orc? What drove him to say so? "Fighting is all well and good, but what if I taught you how to heal? There is much need for it and there is no reason for you to go on the front lines."

Elaina realized her implications after the fact and her face shot to Orc's "Er, well," Could she commit to this? To fighting? She was here to help people from the war, not fuel it, but... she made her choice. "If you would have me that is."

[Orcleous]

"Hold on a second", spoke Orcleous as he looked at Elaina. "Do you understand what you are getting yourself into. Eturia is the strongest military force on the continent. There knights are some of the most discipline fighters to ever match across the fields. There holy magic can heal vast armies and rip straight thought plate armor. This is not something to take lightly Elaina. You can die and I am not talking about the quick death either. I am talking about the slow kind. With that being said though, i can not turn down any soldiers. The Order of Maltet is small at the moment and we can use as many operatives as we can get. Even more so with you being a healer. We are going to need support more than ever."

So even Elaina wants to join up. She would be a most valuable member. Not only was she good with the staff, but Orcleous was sure she had the silver tong they needed. Her noble blood might cause a problem down the line thought, or it might even just make them more official. He could not guess at the moment. Well it was better than having a old pig farmer doing there Pr runs. Orcleous did not do so well when he dropped that speech earlier. He knew he should have went with his first choice, but no he had to get fancy. I fight for my friends and so should you, would have been a perfect speech.

"Actually now that I think about it, what are you doing here? Were you not with some other group? I am pretty sure they are gong to be upset about losing a healer, and a pretty one at that."

"I don't mind learning how to heal people", spoke Sparks timing in. "However I still want to know how to fight. I need to know how to defend myself."

[Deleted]

Elaina smiled softly, if pained, as Orc tried to reason her out of her mad idea. "Orcleous, Sir, I appreciate your concern, but you know as well as I do, I have nothing to go back to," and by extension to live for. She would never say it or show it but it had been a worry and thought that had come to her far too often. She may not be an Illian but she could sympathize with the refugees here. Perhaps she could turn that into something good.

Solemnly she adds, "I have been slowly dying for a very long time now, but perhaps here I can find a new life, a new purpose and meaning." She caught herself, "I am terribly sorry Sir, I just started getting very heavy there." She quickly quieted up.

"The old group was a temporary solution to a very long lasting problem. I joined with them so I could get by, but after their shows, especially the one for Gall, that time came to its end. I have just been living very nomadic for a while now." She looked at the people that were gathered around their makeshift fires, and shelters. Some had blankets. others did not, some had food, others went without. "I'm not like you Orc, I am not strong. I am a coward who could not even stand up to her uncle. I let you fight that battle while I continue to run." She looked at him solemnly.

"I know you came here for soldiers, I am not naive. I abhor violence because I know if people could just speak to one another they could find a middle ground and better answers, but that is not the way of this world. The Etrurians have embarked upon their great and terrible holy war. They are the only nation that has not been wracked to devastation by war yet and they have the time but the Illians have just lost their hold on Bern, and now Etruria encroaches. These people have nothing left, only each other and waning hopes." She closed her eyes and lowered her head as if in prayer. "That is why, if you need soldiers then I will help you!"

"Illians!" Elaina called out in her most bombastic theatre voice. She was a singer, a dancer, and a story teller, it was time to put that to good use. "My name is Elaina..." she paused, she never wanted to reveal her name but, she had to, many, if not most would not know her family, but their influence reached far, and her familial roots went back to Illia. "Elaina Gall! And just like the rest of you here, I too have lost everything I once had, when my home was set on fire and my father poisoned! I have lived a half-life since then wandering the world pleading for scraps too scared to help myself."

She breathed, "So I know, I know what you are experiencing now! Your homes and livelihoods have been taken from you! You have no jobs, no food, families torn apart, and the harshness of Illia threatens to take your lives every night! I ask you, to look around you, to look upon your fellow man, your families, your friends! Do you wish to accept this fate? To just roll over and let the Etrurians win like this!?"

She seemed to have found her voice now, all semblance of fear gone. "I will not ask all of you to fight, but you all have skills, valuable talents and nowhere to put them to use! There is a resistance Illians! A place for you to turn to and find new meaning! If you wish to fight, then fight! This man, Orcleous, is the strongest warrior I know, and he can teach you! If you do not wish to fight, I can teach to heal, or carpenters can build, there are many ways to help! So please, help the resistance to help yourselves!"

She suddenly lost all the confidence she once exuded and looked back to Orcleous, "I just made them mad didn't I?"

[Orcleous]

so she finally said it, thought Orcleous to himself. He had kept a lot of that knowledge to himself however at this point she was ready for everyone to know. Still with the political scene going crazy that meant that she was now completely in danger. There is no way Orcleous could deny her now. Still the Champion wished she would not have done that. She just drew a lot of attention toward them. People began to move and look and several of them began to walk away. Orcleous could smell trouble in the air. Still a few of them began to move toward them. Her speech had a bit of a mix review. Some people thought that the young girl was nothing more than a fool spouting off none sense. Others saw her as a beacon of hope. They could fight, they could resit. From what Orcleous could tell her entire movement could go either way. It was then however that a single set words began to move though the crowd.

"Faint of heart"

That was all Orcleous heard, but he soon understood the whispers. He had gained a mark on his reputation after events in Lycia. The Illians and the Lycians were the main ones to take notice. It was a small margine of people who knew of it, but one small crack was enough to sink a ship. As whispers spread thought the crowd people began to disperse away and move back to there graveling. There momentum was lost. At the very core of Elaina speech was Orcleous combat prowess. Once that fell into question everything else crumbled. Rumors and whispers stopped the mass, but it did not stop a few individuals. They marched on twoard the duo anyway following there mustard seed of faith.

"No Elaina", spoke Orcleous as he moved to greet the three people that walked up to them. He turned back to look at her. "It seems that I killed it", he spoke as he began to introduce himself to the two women and a single man. As Orcleous poulticed and talked young sparks looked up at the maiden.

"so can you teach me magic then", spoke the boy. He like the others was ready to fight. If Orcleous was not going to let him fight with weapons then he would at least learn magic. He was sure that combat magic would be taught to him eventually.

"Alright I think that is enough here", spoke Orcleous as he finished talking to the three. So far they had recruited a blacksmith, which was a blessing. A seamstress, which would mean there clothing were set, and there young daughter, which Orlcoeus had no idea what to do with her. He would probably throw her at Elaina or teach her to count numbers. If he could pass logistics onto somebody else then he would die a happy man.

Walking up to the maiden Orcleous placed his hand on her shoulder. "Well Elaina welcome aboard", spoke the Champion.

[Deleted]

The people seemed to not take too well to her message. Did she say something wrong? Was it because she identified herself as a non-Illian? Were they just not convinced? She had appeared to have gathered the confidence of half the crowd, far more than she could have hoped, but then they said something she did not understand, 'Faint of Heart,' What did that mean?

Only three came along, a single family. It was disheartening to watch the masses walk away, but in the same stretch it was wondrous to see how her words had managed to at least move someone. A blacksmith, a seamstress, and their daughter.

She let Orcleous speak with them and arrange, whatever it was they would be doing, needed to know, or whatever he was telling them. She had spoken on blind faith in the man and his cause honestly. But out of everyone she met she felt she could trust Orcleous, he was a rough and crude man for certain, but he was honest and kind to her. And Sparks for that matter, she did not know their story yet, but she could infer he was among the refugees.

Did Orcleous have a bad reputation? She was surprised by this revelation but the boy pulled her attention away first. "I would be happy to teach you what I know, but I fear I do not know any combative magic yet. I ought to get around to it in time though. When I do I will be sure to share that with you too."

Orcleous grabbed her attention once more with a touch. "Oh, uh, thank you." She looked sideways before asking, "What did they all mean by, 'Faint of Heart?'"

[Orcleous]

"Right meet me by the horse", spoke orcleous as he sent the family ahead. The Champion figured this was going to happen. so once the maiden had asked him the question Orcleous had already thought up a plan. He had given the daughter a bag of coins and asked her to go buy a wagon. If she ran off with the money Orcleous would be ticked, but he could survive. He knew there faces and he use to be an assassin. Orcleous did not think he would have a hard time finding them. Refuges were the envious type. If someone had more than them they were willing to pull them down for it. A few gold coins and Orlceuos knew he could find them. Still on that note Orcleous was going to have to begin to trust these people anyway. As a result this would be his first act of trust. If they bought the wagon they pass. If they ran off with his money he would hunt them down and kill them. Easy.

"Right, The Faint of Heart", spoke orcleous as he took a deep breath. It was sad that it was easier for him to plan to murder people then it was to talk about his past embarrassments. "The Faint of Heart is a title the people of Lycia so graciously gifted me. It is a mark of shame for my cowardice in a battle. Now I know what you are thinking, Orc you don't seem like a coward. If you are not thinking that then clearly there is something wrong with your head. However there was a battle in the past that I fought in and I did run away from."

The Champion stopped to take a deep breath and gather up all the facts in his mind. It was hard for him to talk about the madness. He had retreated from the beast twice now and that very fact ate into his very soul. "There was this monster, a beast with no head. It was covered in dark magic and moved with little effort. I called it The Madness, because it had some kind of ability. When I was around the beast it could get into my head. Thousand and thousands of screaming voices. This creature not only had that kind of power but its spear itself could create the undead from people it slew. Its victims would come back under its control. It was a true monster. However I got the idea in my head that I could take on the monster. So I hear word about it in Ostia and went charging after it. I found the monster in a abandon town near the boarder region. There I encountered its minions and battled my way to it. It was in the middle of the fight that I realized that things were not going to go my way. The beast had far to many minions and I was but one man. There was also a fire spreading thought the city and as a result everything was being burned down. Eventually I decided that it was not worth the risk. I pulled out and allowed the monster to go on living. It was the greatest shame of my career, but i am sure that if I countiued to fight I would not be standing before you now. Once I returned I gained the nickname Faint of Heart. it has stuck with me ever since", spoke the Champion.

[Deleted]

As Elaina listened to Orc's tale she frowned before catching herself with such an unseemly face and correcting herself. So, he had fought some absurd monstrosity, alone from the sounds of it and because he could not win he was ridiculed and defamed for his actions. That was not even remotely fair! Wait, did he go out making large boasts about winning when he left? For a mercenary their rep IS everything.

"What a lot of craven fools then. What right do they have to discredit you over a battle they themselves dared not even face?" And no, he did not seem like a coward, he was making himself a face of a resistance against THE largest and healthiest military force in a land with the most battered group. None could call him a coward truthfully. Still, Orcleous had discredited himself as well, admitting that he had acted out of cowardliness.

"Well, it is an uphill battle, but I have decided to face this battle with you. So you can count on me!" She made a determined fist and showed him her staff. "I may not be good for much but I can stay safe and heal others. With the proper training, maybe I will be able to do even more." She began to pet Peanut's side. "Oh, I decided I am not going to even bother with quitting this last job, they did not even live up to their end of the bargain. There is just one selfish request I would like to make. When all of this is over, I will need help to reclaim my house and name."