Major/Minor [Mila/PM For Entry]

[Mardok]

It was funny - Mardok...didn't know if anything had changed. He had gone into the world of man expecting it to be completely unrecognizable, and yet everything had an almost jarring sense of familiarity to it. Perhaps it was because Elibe was still Elibe, regardless what manner of beast dominated her fertile lands at the top of the food chain. The buildings his tribe had used were long gone, with human buildings propped up in their place.

Aesthetically they were different, but the same feeling was ever present. People, human or dragon, needed homes to live in. Places to appreciate art. Places to work out of and build out of. Places to harvest and store food in.

It...wasn't so different.

Mardok didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. He was almost afraid to actually peer that deeply into himself and determine just how he really felt about that realization - that a world completely alien to him may have been preferable in his mind, than one so familiar that it reminded the dragon of all that he no longer had.

He had passed through another human town, and managed to glean a bit of information from the confused but ultimately helpful civilians. It seemed he had officially stumbled his way into Lycia, specifically a section of the nation known as Kathelet. The words and names meant little to him, and he hadn't spent enough time in Bern to really make any noteworthy comparisons. All he knew was that people of both lands had reacted to him strangely. He was larger than most adult human males even un-transformed, perhaps that was what left them so...puzzled by his appearance.

Mardok didn't spend long in the town, though. He wanted to press on - to see if he could find Tieria or...anything that pertained to him at all. It was vague, but it was a goal all the same.

So when a group of armed men stepped out of the bushes and onto the road before him, Mardok's fist clenched tight.

He did not want people to stand before his goal.

"Whoa there big fellow."The largest man said. Mardok narrowed his dark eyes at the blade that lightly bounced on the man's shoulder. Their weapons...they'd hardly changed at all. "You don't seem like you're from around here. Guess we gotta give you the rundown, then."

Mardok stayed silent. He cautiously observed each of the five men. They weren't soldiers - they didn't look like them or carry themselves like them - but their equipment didn't seem to be of poor make. At least not to the dragon. It was probably best for him not to rely on knowledge that could be so thoroughly outdated. Their behaviors, though, were something Mardok could definitely recognize. The men all had their hands either near or on their weapons, and they had begun to stalk around him slowly, like predators encircling their prey.

"This here's a private road. Sure you can walk down it, but only if you're willing to part with some coin."

"...I do not have any." Mardok stated bluntly. He did not move even an inch, but his eyes continued to follow the men as best as they could. Two went behind him, but the other two and their leader stayed in front of him.

"Oh you don't say?" The leader sneered. Seemed he'd expected that answer. "Well that's a bloody shame now isn't it? Though I think we can come to an arrangement...like, say, that metal thing around your neck?" The brigand brought his blade around and pointed the tip at Mardok's throat, to point to the necklace in question. "Or maybe that strange chestplate?"

"I cannot do that." Mardok's tone was tense but firm. He would not let these bandits have any of his possessions - his few precious tethers to his old tribe, and his missing friend. "Let me pass."

"Tch, you're making this real difficult for yourself." Steel scraped all around him as weapons were drawn from their sheaths. The brigand walked up to Mardok, his head tilted up so he could look the large man in the eye. He didn't seem to be intimidated by the glare he received for his arrogance. That was his first mistake. "Last ch-"

His final taunt was interrupted when a heavy fist drove itself into his mouth. Mardok hadn't drawn on any of his stone's power for it, he simply drilled the brigand right in the nose with all his human body could muster.

It seemed this would be a violent day...

[Mila]

Hoo Boy. Things were not going well for Mila. She sage managed to return herself to Lycia after a few months of overall craziness. In those months, she learned a whole lot about Elibe. A whole lot of things that ultimately augmented her perceptions on a whole bunch of s*it. She learned that Humanity robbed the futures of all Dragons by winning the war known as the Scouring. She learned that dragons were still alive and kicking. She met Gar. Met a holy axe. Helped to fight a cyclops. Failed to defend a city against a bunch of baels. Met Althea and learned of her conditions. Learned of the Arum. And went through a whole period of general earth shattering realizations and overall feeling pretty sorry for herself.

And just when she was looking forward to reteaching a new year of students all about her monster studies, the school decided to boot her out. Apparently, there had been reports of the living dead invading areas out west and she needed to investigate as to why! She was both excited and heartbroken at the prospect of going out into the field again. She really wanted to spend some time staying in one place and doing regular scholarly things.

Mila was still piecing the reasons why monsters suddenly walk the earth again. She had several facts as to how these monsters do the things they do. Biological reasons. Just because reasons. Chaotic reasons. But, the why reason, that was an answer that eluded her. But, the why’s would have to wait for another day, the sage had work to do! She arrived in Kathaleet a yesterday. And after resting in a charming little inn, chatting with the locals, sampling the local cuisine, she felt ready to do the things she was supposed to do. Originally, the sage had two guards with her. But, as the weeks pressed on the two guards ultimately left the sage to fend for herself. Which was fine. Mila was used to travelling alone.

The sage traveled in her upgraded traveling gear. She wore her usual attire but, she sported a new set of finger-less gloves. Her arms and legs were wrapped up in linen. Her head was wrapped in a hood scarf. And she wore a large dark brown poncho like cloak. The large sleeves went down to her elbows. And the bottom of the cloak went down to her knees. She sported a set of goggles on her forehead and usually kept the hood up. Her hair was done in a low braid. The only bits of it that peeked out under the scarf were tufts of her unruly bangs. Her bag was tucked away under her cloak and close to her body. The sage had memorized Gaea and Volcannon, so she no longer needed to keep it out to cast. The newest tome Flora was kept on the outer pocket of her bag. She was not so confident with that tome yet and needed to read the words of the spell to make it work. Her ‘pet’ elemental, was safely tucked away in it’s bottle. Which hung from a special holder on her belt. Her staff doubled as a walking stick. She dressed so unusually in order to hide her body from the public eye, as people tended to treat lone women differently.

She took the advice of the locals and scouted out the area where the monsters have been sighted. She decided to look closer towards one of the nearby farm lands. A farmer stated he found one of his calves slaughtered in an unusual manner. She found the hunted heifer in a bloody pile of red flesh. Mila noted that the flies were swarming all over the damn thing but the maggots have not yet hatched. Which, meant that this calf was killed sometime during the night.

Gash marks. Consistent with weaponry. Meaning.. This poor guy wasn’t killed by Mauthe Doogs or shredded by Reverant claws. No webbing.. Not a bael.

She kept her gaze towards the ground and noticed a set of unusual tracks. Mila traced her finger over the footprint. Noted the size, shape, pattern, and quantity of the footprints. Bonewalkers. She noticed a boot impression.

Some armored. Going.. That way.

--
OOC- That way being towards the road areaish

[Mardok]

Given his bitter acceptance of humanity’s triumph over his kind along with his diminished power in this modern Elibe, along with the fact that some humans were...fine people, Mardok had decided he would abstain from violence. However this was self-defense - these humans would definitely have attacked him first had he not landed his first strike.

As the leader of the brigands staggered back from his punch Mardok whirled around to the two bandits behind him. Indeed their weapons had been drawn, his ears had not deceived him, but only one of them had the reflexes to raise their weapon immediately. So Mardok lunged forward and grabbed the shoulders of the brigand who had not reacted accordingly, before throwing that bandit into the other one.

The two slammed together before they crumpled down onto the dirt road. Convinced that would buy him some time for the other three attackers. Of course things would not prove themselves to be so simple, and Mardok felt something hard slam into the back of his chest plate. One of the brigands had drove their shield into him, and caused him to stumble forward. Before the large dragon could turn around the sound of sharp steel sang through the air, and Mardok felt the back of his leggings grow wet with blood.

A cut to the thigh. It hurt, but he’d experienced far greater pain in his time. The sting that echoed through his body was only met with a burst of rage, and Mardok tapped into the great emerald that rested just above his chest. His dark eyes flashed golden as he turned to his attacker - the brigand’s leader no less. He was a confident swordsman - his shield raised in front of him with his blade pulled back for a careful thrust.

He was not ready for the force his shield was about to be met with.

With an angry snarl Mardok raised his right leg and drove it hard into the shield, his muscles strengthened by the power of his dragon stone. The force was enough to throw brigand back - the dragon’s boot even left a bit of a dent in the metal shield as well. Mardok planted that leg down HARD on the ground and raised an arm to take the axe of another brigand. The metal cut deep into his forearm, having fell just below his bracer, and forced a snarl of pain from the dragon.

His golden eyes caught the advance of another enemy, so he grabbed the weapon arm of the axe-wielding brigand and, axe still buried in his arm, tossed that one into the other as he did with the two behind him.

“This...is proving troublesome...” Mardok thought to himself as he ripped the axe from his arm with a groan of pain and tossed it aside. He could toss these fools around but it wasn’t easy for him to find the opportunity to land a decisive blow. Mardok had not spent all that much time training his “human” body either throughout his life. The dragon was out of his element and at a great disadvantage.

As he was about to learn, however, help sometimes came from the strangest of places…as further down the dirt road, behind where the brigands had been blockading, a number of figures marched towards the struggle in a form Mardok would not have conceived in his wildest dreams.

Armed skeletons, raised from their graves to wreak havoc upon the living…

Man or dragon alike.

[Mila]

She kept following the path beyond the farmers territory and out unto the wilds beyond. The scruffy brushes and tree bark scuffed up her cloak some. And there were little burs bunched up on the bottom ends of her clothes. Lovely. Those were going to be fun to pull off later with a set of tweezers. She heard the sounds of movement and immediately clung low to the ground. She put the goggles over her eyes and saw the conglomeration of skeletons.

They were each armed with a various assortment of close range weaponry. Mila noted that to be a good thing. Long range weapons tended to prove troublesome for the young sage. Arrows were harder to dodge than a traditional sword or lance. They also had the added benefit of potentially being silent up until the point of impact.

She continued to examine the bonewalkers some more. They were each very uh clean as far as she could tell. Meaning that they weren't too freshly risen from their crypts. They didn't have too many patches or rotted flesh upon their bodies. They didn't sport any signs of injury. Meaning whatever humans they came across did not or could not put up a fight against them. That put a frown on Mila's face. She glossed down the road as to what the shambling mass of undead were walking towards.

She had to squint to see what it was. It appeared to be a group of men having some sort of brawl. If she had to guess, someone was getting robbed. Now she had half a heart to let those highwaymen get slaughtered by a bunch of bonewalkers but, that wasn't what she was here for. She was to help deal with the bonewalkers and prevent death and destruction. So she decided to make her way downwards towards them.

“Run! Monsters are coming!” She shouted once she was within ear shot.

“Warn the village!”

[Mardok]

Mardok was not used doing battle in this weak form. The training he’d undergone and the battles of the Scouring he had partaken in...only his true body had been used for those. If not for the sheer size and natural strength of Mardok’s body, let alone what little he could draw from his stone, these highwaymen would have already slaughtered him and taken from his corpse what little he carried.

This disadvantage - this weakness - infuriated him further. It was all Mardok could do to keep himself from seething with rage as he watched his foes rise to their feet around him. How did he win this fight? Was he going to lose to humans again?

“Tsk...you’re so damn strong even without a weapon.” The bandit leader spat as he raised his shield before him once again. His comrades raised their weapons and left the dragon surrounded. “But you’re not going to win this, you know. One by one we’ll get a hit in. Too many more wounds like that and we can just wait for you to bleed to death. I’d take this opportunity to just surrender, if I were you.”

Mardok didn’t dare take his eyes away from the brigands, but he knew the man referred to the gash in his arm left by that axe. He felt blood run down his arm...and he knew he was right. It would be a while before this wound slowed him down, but another two or three like it and…

The voice of a woman suddenly interrupted the scene. Mardok and the bandits all turned to gaze at her, while she shouted something...about monsters? Mardok was not familiar with the term…

“M-Monsters?” One of the bandits behind Mardok gulped at the term. A few of the ones before him grew pale and glanced at their chief with a look of genuine concern. It seemed they were familiar with the term - it frightened them. The chief, however, just seemed to grow frustrated. He glowered at the woman and then sneered.

“Oh yeah, we’ll warn the village. Maybe...I don’t know, tomorrow.” He let out a hollow, barking laugh and sheathed his sword. The man spat on the ground and shook his head before he muttered. “Like hell I’m getting involved with those fiends again…”

Mardok kept his guard up, but he could hear and see the other highwaymen sheathe their weapons. “Let’s cut our losses lads! We’re leaving.” The bandits followed their leader as he strolled back into the trees. It was so casual, as if he had left a party rather than a battle…Mardok didn’t like it. There was the chance they would watch him from the distance - maybe jump him again once he was further away from the “monsters”.

Still, Mardok wasn’t sure what to do. Did he warn the village as the woman seemed to want? Not...not all the humans were his enemies. But what even were these monsters? The dragon drew a deep breath in an effort to calm himself from the previous battle, before he asked the woman.

“...What are the monsters?”

[Mila]

Well that didn't go as expected. So those guys WERE highway men. And they WERE harassing some guy for whatever sort of money he may or may not have. And those jerks WEREN'T Going to warn the village about the impending undead attacks. Great! Just Great! Not only that, those jerks also had the gall to run away and hide in wilds! Thus leaving them free to come after her when her back was turned! AND they now knew she was a woman because she cannot disguise her voice when she was talking. Or in this case screaming and running. Gods Please don't let this bite me in the ass later. With the bandits gone Mila was left with the lone man in front of her. She had to take a step back to fully grasp the size of him. The man rivaled Perun in terms of muscularity and height. But, not hair. 

"Wow. You are a big guy... Looks like they did a number on you. Hold still I'm going to heal you." She spoke softly and calmly. The sage then quietly grabbed her staff and focused. She channeled her magic towards the glass orb and quietly let it expel out in a soft warm white light. This light healed the muscular man's wounds and dulled any pain. She turned around to glance at the bone walkers. They were still a fair bit away. But, they were moving quickly. They had probably picked up on Mila's fresh footprints and determined that there was fresh prey nearby. She turned back around and readressed the large man. 

"As to what monsters. They appear to be your average group of bone walkers. Skeletons of the dead made to walk the earth. They like to rip the living to shreds and scavenge whatever weapon or tool they deem useful." At least I THINK they are all bone-walkers. Gods don't let there be a Wight among their midst.

[Mardok]

The human woman approached him after the brigands from before had seemingly fled the scene. She told him to hold still while she brought out what had to be a ‘staff’ and pointed it towards him. As the woman began to visibly focus the orb at the staff’s tip began to glow, and with that glow came a gentle, soothing sensation. Mardok watched as the wound on his arm gradually shrank - thought it did not close entirely. The pain the wound caused, however, was significantly reduced. What was once a gash had been mitigated to that of a scratch.

“I see...thank you.” The dragon found himself expressing gratitude more and more since...well, since he’d nearly been felled ages ago. At first it was to Tieria - but she was an old friend. Now, though, it was to human strangers. Sometimes they would attempt to kill him for the most shameless of reasons. Other times they would extend him aid for no other reason than the kindness of their heart. Were all humans creatures of such extremes? No...these were just actions. No doubt dragons could be just as extreme in their actions if not more so.

This didn’t seem like the best time for Mardok to contemplate his view on humanity, however. The woman had made these monsters sound like quite the urgent threat - and Mardok was now in debted to her. Warding off those brigands had clearly not been her intention but it was the result of her actions all the same, and her healing of his arm was far more direct.

“What do you intend to do about them? These bonewalkers? You’ve made them sound quite dangerous.” Mardok’s questions were direct and innocent. There was no judgement in his tone or gaze, for he did not have enough context to form one. “How close are they?”

If the two had hearing on par with that of a predatory animal, or even a rabbit, they would no doubt be able to ascertain with certainty the proximity of the bone walkers. They were still well within the forest of trees, but the road that Mardok and the woman stood at would soon be within view. As the minutes passed the sound of their rusted armor and old bones scraping against one enough would become clearer and clearer still...

[Mila]

"You are welcome." She replied to this thanks. Well I was supposed to scout them, but your mugging kinda, stopped that. Mila turned back around to look at the oncoming horde of undead. She could see their heads and bodies bobbing up and down the path in a macarbre march. She raised her palms up and cupped them over her eyes. She had to squint a bit. The goggles couldn't magnify anything, they were simply there to keep the wind and dirt out of her eyes. 

"How far.. maybe.. a half mile.. maybe..quarter of a mile. Sorry I'm terrible with explaining distance. Point is, they are close. And getting closer." She hoped she wasn't coming off as some sort of jerk ass. But, time was of the essence and she didn't know if this man could fight. Sure, he was a mountain of muscle but he WAS just getting mugged a few moments ago. Maybe he's some sort of lumberjack? Or miner? Or some.. other worker that required a large body of strength. 

"I.." She sighed.

"I intend to fight them. I was hired by the town to track and deal with the undead." She put her staff away. She took a breath and focused. Fire.. would be bad. Things are green here but still.. kinda flammable. So, Volcannon is out. Flora.. i'm still learning. Gaea.. seems like the best bet.

"I've counted about ten of those bonewalkers. Might be less, since their tracks tend to run together. But, I'm going to stall for time." She cracked her knuckles. Breathe. She was lucky. The earth here was softer then usual. Probably due to the earlier rain storm or just simply the quality of the soil. She could feel the magic of the earth in her feet, it trailed up her body and into her hands. The magic she felt, wasn't hard like the stone or the packed dirt that graced the arena back on the isles. Though, that didn't mean the earth was not with out resistance. There were things in the way of her manipulation of the earth, roots, rocks, and greenery. 

"I don't know who you are stranger or what you can do. But, if you can fight, I'd appreciate the assistance. If you cannot. Then please run and warn the town. Those things have already taken lives.. don't need them taking any more." She turned back towards the large man and gave him a bit of a nod. Then she returned her gaze out towards the distance. She went quiet and slowly began to channel her magic. She picked the furthest point of earth her eyes could see and focused on that one spot. The bonewalkers were following the path. That made things easier at least for right now. She moved her hands in a sort of overlapping spiral motion and the earth responded in turn. Those with a sharper sense of hearing could pick up on the subtle shuffling of the earth. How it slowly started to crack and crumble. Easy.. does it now.. visualize.. the pit fall.