Graterras Chapter 2: A Second Chance [IC]

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth - Wall Team

Things were coming around and progress, she felt, was being made.

At least she could tell who was having a difficult time now-- actually, they all were at first. But, at the very least, they were trying their best.

And, this gave her a lot of chances to demonstrate her skill. Of course, for the good of the people, but, nevertheless...

It had been hours of training, and she felt a familiar grumble begin in the pit of her stomach. Being the survivalist she was, however, she was used to going long enough without food... But perhaps these people weren't.

Helzebeth was surprised. This was the first time she'd thought of... Well, the basic needs of other people. Looking at Jupiter as well, she wondered if she was hungry too, or if she was just like her-- swift hands and feet, keen, sharpened senses, and a stomach made of steel.

On the other hand she could feel Hunter's hunger as well and watched him stalk off, perhaps in search of livestock somewhere or wild game nearby. She could only hope he didn't attack the local livestock, as that would anger the townsfolk and throw things into disarray... Hunter was, at heart, a wild wolf after all, but sometimes hunger overrode all his other thoughts.

Edited June 21, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Odin and Jeneve- Scout Team

Nero was pounding on thegate asking to become. Naturally Odin was confused as hell. How on Earth did he get here first? "Oi, Nero! Is that you? What in the Nine Divines it is.....How the hell you get back before us, and where is Steele?"

Jupiter-Wall Team

It had been a long day of training, the people were working hard and trying to learn best they could. Jupiter made sure to be extra sure she was rough on Hawke. He was such a Naive one, she hoped she could make him understand that everyone needed to fight for the sake of the village, and not have the men be valiant and try and protect everyone. She finally realized she was straving, it had been a long day, and they didn't have time to stop for lunch earlier, they had practiced all day. Jupiter wanted to take a break, but didn't want it to sow on here face. There was work to be done. Then she thought of Brass, he was still in that Earthen Casket he had made. She Looked it for the first time noticing something written into the stone on the Front. Brass must of willed a small message into the front. It read "The Body is a temple, through it flows the power of Earth. Keep it fed and it will never betray you, keep it fit and it will always be by your side." "REPULSE!!!" shouted the Victonari inside. The Stone collapsed around him is a shower of dust, all the pillars he had been moving stopped. "We are done for the day, everyone, get your rest and feel your stomachs. We are not an army of undead, so we can't fight on an empty stomach and through weariness." his voice sounding like the booming sound of a boulder hitting the floor of a canyon. All stopped and listened to him. They had a half cheer, knowing it was best to not celebrate too much before a battle.

Jupiter went to find Helze, doing it pretty easily as her dress and garb stuck out among the sea of Brown Leather clad Militia. "How about we grab a bite to eat?" She said giggling "We need to relax a little and I would like to get out of this armour for a little bit, it is suffocating."

Brass went to find Dru, holding the Pendent he gave to him, he admired the simplicity of the design, it was Beautiful for that simple reason. It was no more than it needed to be, and no less. He tucked into his tunic on the left side. "Perhaps, we should have a mediation session in my tent before the battle, to relax our bodies, and be one with the Earth."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth - Wall Team

At that, Helzebeth nodded. "Yes, I suppose I should take these off for a while too. I haven't taken this stuff off, not since I left home... Also, Hunter has already gone off... I don't think he'd listen to me too eagerly at this point, but I'm sure he wouldn't touch too much of the local flock." The girl raised her head to the skies in search of the marvelous reptilian avian creature. "How about Nemesis, isn't she feeling peckish as well?" Realizing what she'd said, she added, after a beat, "Pardon the unintentional pun."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Jupiter- Wall Team

"Nemesis is sitting on the roof of my home, so I will take food to her when we eat." She said a smile on her face, then a little bit of shock over her face. "Oh I forgot to tell you, I typically eat on my roof, I like the way the wind blows through my Hair. I hope you don't mind." She gracefully moved a bound in her step, even if she was a bit tired. She came up to their house. It was a small cottage, simple nothing special, like most of the homes around. "I am going to go to my bedroom to undress you should be fine out here I would hope. No one else lives here so don't worry." she said as she padded off, her bare feet making almost no sound as she bounded across the wooden floor.

After some time had passed, Helze heard at Jupiter exclaim "You ready yet? I don't want to come out if you are still indecent."

(I will describe what she is wearing when you see her lol. I will try to keep it brief lol.))

[Flux]

Nero - Scout Team

"Oi, Nero! Is that you? What in the Nine Divines it is.....How the hell you get back before us, and where is Steele?"

Nero spun around, temporarily stopping his hammering on the gate to see Odin and Jeneve. So he had been thrown farther than they were. He spoke quickly, his serious demeanor keeping him calm.

"I can explain later, but for now this village has bigger worries. I've seen a glimpse of their army, and it's no pretty sight. As for Steele..." He was unsure of how to say things. He decided he would keep it simple. "He's still back there. He was holding out the last I saw, but we'll need to mobilize quickly if we're to have even a hope of saving him."

He was unsure of why he even cared about Steele. Normally, he just worried about himself and let others deal with their own problems. But it was that same feeling... He'd experienced it 3 times now. Once when he stepped in during the hopeless fight with the Gentleman, once in the woods with Steele, and again right now. That feeling that he should help people. He tried to ignore it as he thought over the matters at hand. He would have a lot to tell the village, and a short amount of time to do it.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth - Wall Team

Tying up the string on her simple white chemise so that not much of her chest would be exposed, Helzebeth answered back, "Yes, yes, I'm all ready." The huntress had not brought much extra garments, believing them to merely provide dead weight for her to drag around. Lain down by her bag was her set of leather armor(being the chest padding with the metal attachment for her bow, her arm pads, and her corset), as well as the protective padding for her shoulders and hips. She was, at first. quite hesitant in removing her armor, as it was only at home that she felt comfortable in darting around with nothing but light fabric on her back and legs. It almost felt strange to her to walk around in a strange, new land amongst even stranger and unfamiliar people in merely a blouse and dark leggings. For that reason she kept her boots on, along with her kneepads. In effect, she didn't realize how feminine she suddenly looked-- what vexed her was that she felt that she was unprotected, not that she felt exposed.

In the end, Helze shrugged it off. She would be having lunch with her sister anyhow, and on a rooftop as well-- she was fond of high places where everything was within her sight.

Something tugged at her mind. Where and how was the fatherly dwarf? She recalled that the jolly Thunderbrew had been assigned to the Scout Team. Perhaps he was all right-- he had skill and three hatchets, after all. Equally skilled comrades were grouped with him, so there should be nothing to worry about.

Still... The half-Elf considered having Hunter tail them, just for extra assurance, and that way she could tell if something was amiss through the wolf's emotions.

Helze sighed to herself and straightened up, adjusting the belt that held her dragon sword it its sheath, as well as the quiver hanging from her shoulder.

Travelling even lighter was, all right, tolerable, but she just could not go without her bow and arrow, or at least her sword.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Jupiter-Wall Team

"Alright, Sis, I am coming out." said Jupiter from behind the door. It opened with a slow creak, Jupiter just making sure Helze was ready for her. She walked out, still bare foot, out of her room. She was wearing a simple white dress, it looked stunning on her. It left little to the imagination, extenuating her lithe form. She was definitely in shape, Her body that of a runner's. It wasn't indecent, but was getting there. "I will get the food for us, and Nemesis." with that she went into another room for a second. There was a bit of banging and ruffling, as if she was looking for something. Jupiter then popped out with 2 bags and a fresh ferret over her shoulder. Where she got that was up to interpretation, but she had it now, no sense in questioning. She led Helze up to the roof. It was a hatch on the second floor. It was to have easy access to the roof, if it needed repairs. Nemesis shifted, feeling her master's happiness as she came onto the roof. "This is for you Miss." She said as she threw the ferret to Nemesis. Nemesis quickly caught even without use of her eyes. This spoke volumes about the smell and other senses of the Stifles Condor. If it weren't for that sash over her eyes, Helze would probably never know Nemesis was blind. Jupiter sat down and got unto devouring her meal. It was pretty unladylike to say the least. She tore at it almost like she had never seen food before.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth- Wall Team

What a nice figure she had.

Not having a lot of other women to observe back at home, and, once again, having only seen the elven thief, Helzebeth couldn't help staring at the outline of her sister's body in the plain but pretty garb. She was reminded of an angel, or say, a pixie of some sort... Or a cross in between, perhaps? Suddenly, Helze felt a bit conscious about her body. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, or something she had once taken into mind before. At some point even as they ascended the roof, she pondered upon her bodily shape, if she could ever hope to match that sort of form. Yes, she had utmost, maybe bordering on excessive, pride and confidence in her skills and physical strengths, but never before had she really taken into account her appearance, only really bothering about survival most of the time.

The great bird caught the carrion with ease. Helze's sudden curiosity with the human body switched to her fascination with Nemesis. That simple action told much about its acute perception. She, as well, could smell the food's scent, and remembering her hunger, dug in almost similarly to Jupiter. Her father had taught her to eat properly in the past, but after years of living with tame yet still feral beasts in the forests, she figured that table manners weren't all quite necessary.

And, they weren't eating at a table anyway.

Thus she ate and drank in what sight that the roof could provide, in comfort. She only hoped that Hunter wasn't getting into trouble...

Meanwhile, the wolf in question had been stalking a few choice prey-- no question about them being livestock, as they were usually better bred than what one could devour in the wild, taking no heed of the surprise and gasps and, perhaps, shrieks of the townsfolk who saw him. Hunter could not decide-- should he go for that plump hen, or that pretty little sheep, or that big, juicy-looking cow? Or should he just find a way out of the fenced village and hunt down wild game?

Edited June 23, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Jupiter-Wall Team

Jupiter ravaged her way through her food, quickly finishing before laying back. She her left leg over her right, showing the pads of her feet, they were rather rough looking, as if she walked around bare-foot all the time, and Helze figured she did seeing as she did it all during training. "It is a beautiful day, huh?" she said, a faint smile on her face. "A shame those bastards are going to ruin it." a green flame burned in those emerald eyes once again. Her face suddenly softened though, the flames disappearing quickly as they came. "Anything you want to ask me about while we are lazing about? I couldn't really think of anything to ask you myself." her voice returning to that almost sickly sweet tone.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth - Wall Team

"Well, at least we get to do some flexing after a good lunch," Helzebeth said about the perhaps inevitable battle. When it would come, she had no idea. But it didn't matter-- there was no questioning the fact that they would triumph and deliver hellfire in the form of a daunting rain of arrows.

The half-elf allowed the cool breeze to roll over them gently before thinking of a question for her dear sister. It had been a while since she'd stopped to lay around and just relax, letting nature calm and reinvigorate her.

She then lay back as well, stretching her arms out and resting her head, framed by her short, messy black hair on them before rolling over to face Jupiter.

"I hope you don't really mind me asking, but... Have you always been living here by yourself?"

Helze asked this rather tentatively, hoping she wasn't touching any nerves of some sort. While she did admire her fellow archer and felt a strong sense of kinship with her, in all her years of experience in dealing with people, she had never quite met another like Jupiter, whose expressions changed as quickly as the fickle seas she'd read of in storybooks. On the other hand, it was probably a more sensible question rather than a question about what being a woman was truly like, and if the things she'd read of women were true.

[Notus]

Marcus-Frontliners

Marcus got his atention turned towards the new conversation between the pair of villagers and the Akuma.

"That's the spirit. 'Impossible' is just a word." he said. He was still bothered by how headstrong Sigurd was acting in the matter of Orpheaus, but it seemed this would have to be solved at another time. He realized that he didn't know much about the bird man too, and decided to start a conversation to kill a bit of the tension. "Hey Akuma, where did you get this arm of yours? It seems like something from home to me."

[Ragnar]

Akuma -Frontliners

"Hey Akuma, where did you get this arm of yours? It seems like something from home to me."

He turns his attention to the Marcus. he sighed and returns his huge hammer between his wings "looks like we're on the same page fire templar," Akuma chuckles."as for your question the answer is Yes it is the same, I got this from a friend in the shifting sands who provides my needs and shelter, lets just say i'm his lab rat at that time and attaching this arm is quite excruciating." Akuma paused and feels his bio-tech arm. "but i'm not a permanent resident, i barely knew a few people back there until now. for you see i'm just a wandering outcast when my Kenku village got destroyed."

"But enough about that" Akuma quickly changes the topic. "i'm just hoping i won't lose another arm in this upcoming battle." the Birdman jokingly said to Marcus as he laughs.

Akuma decided to get to know the fire templar even more."So whats your story Marcus? why do you choose to embark on this quest? you have a place to call home back in the Shifting sands, unlike me."

[Jory]

Drug'thok- Wall Team

"Perhaps, we should have a mediation session in my tent before the battle, to relax our bodies, and be one with the Earth."

Dru reflected on the last battle he had participated in. His magic had been quite useless against The Gentleman, and it made him shudder to recall the dark aura of that monster. "Indeed we must, Brass. I must meditate on my last opponent. I fear that was not the last I'll ever see of him. I need to be wiser when I next face him." The half-Orc gazed seriously at the Victonari. "We have looked upon the face of evil, Brass." With that, the troubled sorcerer turned and walked wordlessly toward Brass's tent.

[Notus]

Marcus-Frontliners

Marcus grinned at Akuma's good humoured answer. The Kenku seemed a rather funny fellow. He flinched a bit at the last question though. That was something he was trying to push of his mind since he left the Shifting Sands. "Yeah, Im got a home back there, and family - you may have heard about the D'Arthais there - but... " he paused, thinking a bit. "I believe a man shouldn't be measured by his family alone. I want to get my fame and fortune by myself." Then he smiled again. "Besides, the alternative would be getting some office job, and that's way too boring to my taste."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Jupiter-Wall Team

"I have lived alone for a little while now, since my brother passed. He was deadly ill and I took care of him for the most part. Shame his life was cut so short. Never had a mom, well I did, but she died during child birth, my dad was the only one I had for awhile. All the other girls used to make fun of me saying I was too much like a boy." She sighed. "It was in my nature I guess, but I didn't care. Others thought I was strange for other reasons, mostly that I don't wear shoes. I don't tell people this often, but I hate wearing shoes. It feels unnatural to me. I like to feel the dirt and the grass in-between my toes. Hell, I don't even like the trappings of clothing, but got to be decent in public." She giggled. "You know Helze, you are pretty without all that armour on, I don't know why you would wear such bulky stuff. I would feel like I am being suffocated for sure."

Orpheaus-Frontliners

Orpheaus strolled over to the others trying not to alert them to much to his presence, as not to set of Sigurd again. He had regained his composure for the most part. "Marcus, the final preparations are underway, could I ask you to gather all you companions? I will be changing into my armour.

All of a sudden Odin appeared, with Jeneve and Nero in tow. He looked ragged like he had been running for some time, Jeneve also looked tired. Nero on the other hand looked a bit dusty, but was otherwise fine. "Oi, we need to talk to all of ya, there is bad trouble coming." Odin said, panting between words. "There is a Death Knight in the Forest. Steele was fighting him, but there is no way he lasted, he saved us and somehow Nero got away."

"A Death Knight? Here? This isn't good." Orpheaus said, a serious look coming over his face. "This is grave news. Luckily, all you heros are here, without all of you.....we wouldn't be able to even combat this. A Death Knight is a powerful undead, all of you would be wise to not underestimate it."

"Anyway, Marcus, most definitly gather the others, we need to plan for war, meet me at the the town center where we talked before." With that Orpheaus turned, he walked with a renewed passion. Fighting Spirit could be felt flowing from him, as he strode away to get his armour and his sword, Sunglimmer.

[Notus]

Marcus-Frontliners

"Oh hey, so it's getting started? Great, I'll go get them." Marcus answered quickly. A big grin appeared on the young man's face, as he contempled the prospect of a good fight, and rather hastily he went to call his companions.

The Fire Templar repeated the warning to Sigurd and Akuma, and then headed towards the wall, crossing with Xavier in the way and telling him to go to the center. He also passed by Brass's tent and repeated the call to Dru and the big Victonari.

Arriving in the wall he noticed Helzebeth talking to a woman he didn't know.

"Hey girls, sorry to interrupt but Orpheaus is calling everyone to the town center. Seems like it's fun time!" Marcus called with a smile.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth - Wall Team

Sitting up and looking down at her figure again, Helzebeth said, "You really think so? Though, to be honest, I've never really given much thought to my body... See, life has always been about surviving for me." Idly, almost without thinking, she traced the dragon that made up the hilt of her short sword. "As for the armor... I wear it in memory of my father, who kept this gear for me secretly. I suppose that he was meaning to present it to me at some point, but... One day, he never came back home." It probably could have just been the glint of the sun or Jupiter's imagination, but the normally stoic, if not prideful huntress wore the lightest, almost invisible veil of longing and sorrow on her visage.

Helze would have opened her mouth to say more, but upon spotting a familiar Fire Templar approaching from a distance, she shut it again and wiped her face of any trace of what she thought to be pathetic emotions.

"Well, it looks like we'll be burning that delicious lunch sooner than we'd thought after all." The half-Elf stood and stretched, then offered a hand to help her sister up.

[Chim]

Sigurd - Frontliners

Sigurd was hammering nails like they were the ones to blame for everything, which led to some broken planks. Whenever that happened he started to blame the local carpenters. he was about to start a new rampage on the poor fellows, when Marcus informed him about the upcoming battle. "Finally!" he yelled. "Let's get this over with so I can start hunting me some Gentleman!"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Jupiter-Wall Team

"Aye, I guess we will." She said as she burped loudly. "Whoops sorry." she said with a giggle. "Haven't pigged out like that in awhile. We best get back into our gear, and get to the town square I am sure Orpheaus is waiting for us. He is patient though, but I am not worried about him, it is Brass who will chew us out."

Brass-Wall Team 2

Brass tried to hide his displeasure with being interrupted in his Meditation, but Brass wasn't very good at hiding things. "Alright Marcus, we will head over right away." He said, probably looking extremely goofy trying to fake smile. The Giant Stood up, and grabbed his Walking Stick. "It comes time Earth Brother, remember, even though the Earth may reel back from you, you are the one that has to calm it. Treat it as if that Black Tar feeling isn't there and it will heed your call. Just remember what happened at the bridge and you will be fine."

Orpheaus-Town Square, Briefing.

The heros had gathered. Along with many of the militia and villagers. Orpheaus stood in the middle of the group of them, in his Golden Armour, Brass next to him. Orpheaus had a much different air about him this time. One could feel the passion welling up from him. The energy didn't feel hostile, but more like a positive energy. His eyes seemed to glow with the passion to fight, so that others didn't have to. It was clear now why Brass had utmost confidence in the Victonari. "Lend me your ears everyone! This will be a bloody struggle. Especially, now that we know of a Death Knight heading this army of the Undead. However, that doesn't matter, even if we hadn't known we would still fight with our all to protect these homes of yours. Undead don't have the things we do. We have Courage, we have Spirit, and most importantly, we have the power to overcome any odds. We cannot lose to this soulless creatures." He drew his sword and held it high above his head. He then planted it into the ground. "We all fight as one today. There is no time for the squabbles of the past. Nothing can divide us if we all fight with our spirits as one." Militia and Villagers started to cheer, and for once Brass didn't stop them. The cheering and whopping wasn't a celebration this time, it was hundreds of unified souls showing they were ready. Though many of the faces in the crowd were forgotten, no one would even forget what happened that day, during the battle of Passtrough. "To the Heros who entered town this day to help us fight, May I ask you a favor? We still must come up with a plan of attack. I would like you to all meet me in the Boar's Head Inn." and with that his speech ended. He bowed to the people around him. and trudged off in the direction of the Inn he had mentioned. Most of the Heros had already gathered in the same area. "I guess we should follow him" said Odin. The Dwarf Father had a somewhat grave look on his face, but he wasn't one to quit the others knew this. He had fought hard in the battle of Brinestar (more like slaughter of Brinestar.), even taking down the disgusting General. "Aye, I do believe so." said a familiar rocky voice. Brass had come to join the heros. "This meeting is a little more in depth than the run-down I gave you guys earlier, now that we know of the Death Knight."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Feeling a surge of relief as she realized that Odin Thunderbrew had returned, along with the rest of the squad, seemingly all right despite the skirmish with the Death Knight(she noticed, however, that the sorcerer-- Nero Darkwinter, she tried to remember-- looked quite ruffled). On the other hand, as she nodded quietly in agreement to Brass' words, she wondered where the heck Hunter could possibly be. Reaching out towards Hunter's consciousness, tied to her very mind and soul, and felt only hunger and the beginning of desperation. If only she could will him mentally to come to her, as she hadn't finished off her lunch...

[Notus]

"I guess we should follow him"

"Yay. I'm right behind you Odin." Marcus told the dwarf. While that he checked his sword and shield, tightening the leather straps of the scabbard. All seemed to be in place.

[Jory]

Drug'thok Grunara

The sorcerer nodded approvingly at Orphaeus's words. A born leader, although he doesn't seem to care much for the burden, Dru thought to himself. He then turned his attention to the remainder of the group, who had started to move toward the inn. "I'm of a mind with Marcus and Odin. Let us join Orphaeus to talk about strategy. There is nothing here we should fear, especially knowing what else is out there." The half-Orc shuddered as he recalled the feeling of the sword cutting him down that day. That's not something I'd like to repeat. So I guess we have to win.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

A Far Away Place

"Do you think the Crimson King's army has taken a foothold in Passtrough yet?" said a tiny voice. "No Idea Magdelin, The Shadowed Isles are much too far from here for my magics to reach. I would love to observe his battle. I assume His armies will make short work of any opposition with that Death Knight at the head." said the Gentleman. He rested his chin on his hand, as the small fairy girl, Magdelin flew closer to him. Hastur, the imp sat on his shoulder. "Of course, He hasn't failed us before, now that he has a stable grasp on the Deathdirge Swamp I am sure he will quickly plunge the Shadowed Isles into Chaos." he said. "Whatever, hurry up with that, my people need your help more right now." Magdelin snapped. "All in due time dearest Magdelin. We will not let the vile humans subjugate your race, or destroy their homeland much longer." replied The Gentleman.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The air was still with a charged energy. Orpheaus sat at the middle of the of the table, as opposed to what most leaders would do taking a seat at the head of the table. It was deadly quiet, a blade could probably cut the tension that hung in the air. The heros filed in quickly, filling the seats. Brass took a seat next to Orpheaus, his hulking size dwarfing the Golden Victonari once more. He held onto the simple wooden walking stick he always carried. Jupiter took a seat next to her new-found sister, whispering to her that Brass asked her tobe there, to avoid Helzebeth being confused.. Odin also took a seat on the other side of Helze. "Heros, I guess that is what I can call you." Spoke the Golden Victonari, his chin in his hand."I am sure you know how grave our situation here is. But there is a few things we must discuss." Brass stood up, and walked over to the bar counter, he came back with a parchment of paper, and laid it out across the table. It was a map of the area. "The bulk of the army is lesser undead, Skeletons mostly. These will not be much of a problem, with as many of us at our caliber here we can make short work of them. It is the Death Knight and the Infernal Bone Golems we must worry about. I implore you CInder Knights to exercise the utmost of care, and it may not be possible to use your flame magics. The Bone Golems attract Fire in an unnatural way, your Fire won't do much other than power their flames. However, this will not matter. I need to use my Anti-magic Shell in the fight against the Death Knight and I need you 2, and Sigurd to assist me in that fight. We 4 should be able to take him on. However, we have to get to him in the first place. That is where the archers come into play, we need to to thin their numbers so we can bust trough, and then Akuma and the militia will hold off the army while we try and defeat the Death Knight. Anything any of you want to contribute, we need to work on this plan together, or we will fail, so speak up now."

[Chim]

Sigurd had a hard time keeping his mouth shut after he saw Orpheaus wearing his golden armor again. He only did so because of Bjorn’s promise. After he took a seat, far away from Orpheaus, he took a deep breath when he suddenly noticed a new face. He eyed the woman for a while without really knowing why he found her interesting. He shook the thoughts off as Orpheaus asked for questions. “I have one. What will the big guy be doing?” he said while pointing at Brass. “He might be useful if he comes with us.” Sigurd tried to be as polite as he could without sounding forced. If he could pick any Victonari to fight alongside with, it would be Brass.