Marineking

Jamas swore. No matter how well he understood the usefulnesses of rain, he hated being wet. He hid it as best as possible, but it was the simple truth, and seemed a bad omen, if only for him. He listened carefully to his commander's orders, nodding afterward. He understood the concepts that this battle would be fought upon; he had fought others very similar. Retreats were always important when you were outnumbered, only green fools thought they could end it with a single brilliant clash.

He tightened the grip he had on his spear, holding it the near blade with his left hand, and the middle with his right. He set his feet in a light stance, ready for sudden movement. This would be a conflict that required speed, and he was more then experienced in that. He remarked to himself again that he was lucky that he'd signed up with this group instead of some of the others. Dolosus was the only kind of man that Jamas felt he would be able to follow into such a fight.

He chortled at the thought of him being lucky, with a force more then three times his own bearing down upon him. Well, at least it would be over quickly, if nothing else. Finally, he breathed deeply and began preparing his mind for the bloodlust to come; the lust that would blind him to his pain and his enemies', and carry him through this.

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Xenonight2

"Deselin, we're sticking together. And we have only," he scratched his helmet, "I'd say fifteen, twenty minutes before they get ready. Although it's a good idea, Deselin, it's operating far beyond what we're required to do. The contract stated..." He frowned. "It's just no a good idea to separate, you got it?"

Yume started complaining. He frowned at her.

"Lady Furawa," he said quietly, through gritted teeth, "payment comes after the seige. Besides, you say 'everyday needs.' Look at the metropolis! They've cut off our supply line, so there's no everyday needs to buy. We need to focus on surviving, not on profit. If the thunderstorm doesn't kick up too much sand, we'll have plenty of water, but food doesn't just rain from the sky."

Dolosus gave a worried glance at Jamas, and started to say something before biting his lip.

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Icy

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shadowsworn

OOC: I almost missed this after waiting what felt like ages

@ Icy: Since Xeno hasn't confirmed it happened, I'm going to act as if there was only one arrow.

IC: Alyssa stood a half-step behind Jamas and Yume and the others in an attempt to shield herself from the clouds of sand and dust that blew over them like waves, getting in her eyes, mouth, and nose, and blowing stray wisps of her hair across her line of vision.

With a muffled ****** she kneeled down behind them, and, spitting in the palm of one hand, tried to clean her face slightly. With the other hand, she pulled out her short sword, to ensure that no sand had got in its scabbard.

The wind was truly howling today, as if protesting the bloodshed that would soon occur here. Alyssa listened for a moment, and thought she could almost hear voices in it.

Have there been battles here before?, she wondered. How many have died here, fighting, like I might today.

She shrugged, and grinned slightly.

No, this is to the end now. Not for the damn Union. I care nothing for it. This is about repaying blood shed, and about ensuring that when things settle again, I have a place in the world. I've seen what happens to people like me, old women living in alleyways going mad from neglect, or young women dying from illness or helpless at the hands of some bastard.

Her smile faded in a moment as she saw Yume fall to the ground, screaming. As she rolled onto her other side, Alyssa saw the black shaft sticking out of her, and hissed between her teeth. Scrambling forward, she tried to hold Yume down, whispering comforting words that she couldn't remember the moment they left her mouth.

"Is there a medic here?" she yelled back at Dolosus, "It doesn't look like it's gone deep, but I don't want to cripple her pulling it out."

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Deselin

((My name's Jallas, Xeno. :P))

Jallas just nodded at what the commander said. He understood the situation, but he was just itching for something to do to take his mind off of the impeding battle. If they happened to die here, then who else would fight? They had a slim chance, and in the end, Jallas accepted what might happen to them if they were to fail.

Without warning, however, the enemy had struck first. An arrow had landed right upon one of his fellow soldiers, and she fell to the ground, bleeding. Jallas instinctively nocked an arrow and aimed it into the wind-blown dust. He couldn't see anyone and released the tension on his string, but kept the arrow nocked and his free hand on his belt, just in case. He turned to the soldier that had been hit. Another woman was kneeling beside her now, and to answer the question she asked, Jallas said, "There's a medic's tent near the back of the formation, bring her there and see if they can cut the arrow and push it through." He was semi-learned in the medical arts, but he had nothing he could use at the moment besides his knives.

Jallas turned away from the scene and looked back to the glint of the shields. He tried not to lose himself in thought because they could be attack at any moment, but he couldn't help himself and he drifted off to see the same memory again, but no father as usual. And in his memories he stayed, searching desperately to try to find at least a glimpse of his fathers' face.

((I'm starting to develop my past a little now so bear with me if it doesn't look all that great.))

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Xenonight2

Dolosus ducked down and looked at the sky when he heard Yume cry out. Most of the arrows were aimed at the middle of the Union's formation, and since the Hedge Knights were at the flank, only a few arrows hit them. It was just bad luck.

He rushed over to Yume to check her wound. Alyssa was right, it wasn't deep, but she'd be out of the battle. Dolosus nodded to Jallas ((did I get it right this time, Deselin? :P)), and said: "Good idea. She's going to be out of the combat for a few days." He finished checking the wound, and stood up.

"Knights," he said, trying to restore order. "We have a change of plans. We can't seperate, and we're not a good fighting force missing two of our men. Since this is just a diversion battle, we're not needed on the frontlin--" He froze for a second, then coughed to hide it and continued, "Ahem, the frontlines. We're all going to the medic tent and hold that position. I have a feeling in my gut that this battle isn't all it seems to be." He frowned back at the Imperial Order. "They wouldn't just waste arrows like that. The thunderstorm is going to whip up the sand and all of those arrows will be lost." He shook his head. "Something's wrong here. We're heading back. Can Yume walk?"

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Pipster

Rankor lay back in a distant non-descript wall, sharpening his daggers, occasionally glancing up to see the pace of the group ahead, the one he was attached to. Something appeared to happen, a body dropped and a shout of fright was heard. He grunted, looking up once more and began mumbling something. "May as well join in before being accused of desertion..." He snorted, looking at the group of five, hoarding around the fallen body.

He then pushed off the wall with his back and joined them, and without saying anything, considering it non-compulsory, simply stared down at the injured woman.

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Xenonight2

OOC: Icy, what are you doing? One, there are no houses in the middle of the dunes. Did I ever describe houses? No. Why would there be houses in the middle of nowhere and when would they catch on fire? Secondly, why would innocents be slain? Who killed them? And what are they doing next to a battlefield? They would all be inside the city, which is several miles away. Thirdly, it was clearly implicit that the storm would take a while to reach the battle considering that the first description was that it was far in the distance. Storms just don't sneak up on people like that out of nowhere.

Shadowsworn, I let everyone have a lot of freedom when it comes to changing the story and affecting the flow of it. However, that comes with a lot of responsibility.

Icy, this is your only warning. Please don't keep making such nonsensical posts. From now on, ask me permission if you're going to suddenly change the environment such as storms or arrows, because I don't trust you any more. If you don't, then I'm going to have to kick you for disrupting the RP. I don't mean to be to harsh, since this is just a game, but there are a few rules and you're not making this fun.

Correct, I did not forbid you. Because you never asked me about the stuff in that post.

Anyway, guys, ignore Icy's post.

IC:

Dolosus looked up. "Can Yume still walk?"

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Marineking

Planting the butt of his spear in the sandy ground, Jamas let out a deep breath. It was never pleasant having to revert from the beginnings of a blood rage to a retreat, but long years of discipline always paid off, and he started cooling down, a bit at least. Adrenaline didn't wear off so fast; indeed, probably wouldn't as long as that army was staring down at him.

Calmer now, he surveyed that army, and after a moment, decided it was probably best that they were retreating. He wasn't a coward, but things didn't look good here, and throwing your life away for honor was a fools game. Nodding, he marched over to the others. Being as careful as he could without wasting time, he placed his left hand under Yume's unwounded shoulder and began hauling her to her feet. "Don't see why not," he responded a bit tartly to his commander, "the shoulder doesn't exactly have much use in the walking process." Maybe he said that a bit impatiently. Well, too late now. "Here, put your arm around my shoulders and shift your weight onto me so you can walk easier," he told Yume, his voice softer now.

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shadowsworn

Alyssa considered Dolosus's question for a moment, then shrugged. She stood up slowly, watching the approaching enemy army.

"What about this position, Dolosus? Will they attack here... and... what if we're seen retreating against orders? Won't we be risking accusations of treason?"

Her voice quavered slightly on the last word, and she bent her head, pretending to be concerned with wiping her clothes of the clinging sand for a moment, as she composed herself. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him with a hard look in her eye, awaiting his response.

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