The Dead Forest (Increased Orc activity due to skirmish)

[Eternal Dirge]

Her attack was ferocious, driving in while he tried to reassess the situation. It was just rude was what it was, and Damion was far from appreciative. She came in with a double X, and he would not give her a big target, turning sideways with his damaged arm back. Her blades would clash off his stone knife as her hand came in towards his wounded arm. His own knife twirled in his fingers, coming to rest point down in a blur as he stabed sideways, aiming for her sticking arm as he ground on his heel, sending a hard heel kick back towards her ribs.

He could hear her husband thundering down towards them, but he refused to move now. They would need dealing with right now. If his kick connected, he'd come back down and move sideways on his chosen stair step, keeping his knife infront of him as a guard and tempting them with his wounded arm, hanging limply at his side.

Sweat ran down his face, peppering the stone beneath them with it when he moved, but he didn't feel fatigued yet.  

[Uberwulf X]

[they're big green people, stop overthinking it before i make up stats that makes everyone mad. D=> for the record, i was thinking one of those orcs from WoW. the gamer fuel commercial being an exception, i've seen them depicted as bigger than the elves they were pitted against. i've also seen warhammer pics and they're big. for the purposes of this, elves=human sized and not also fantatsic sizes, leaving orcs to be, as i said, 2x bigger (girth and about the same in height... though i'd actually say something around 7, 8 feet tall) and muscled. which is why chen would have to jump to execute-shoot him. certainly, i don't want those nasty tolkien... things.

which he didn't do, so that's coo.

also, i could've sworn that i already posted.]

All and once, they stopped, alarmed. If Zaar went down in one hit...

Fear began giving way to paranoia, which naturally-enough led to a highly defensive state. Weapons were drawn anew, and heads and eyes flashed here and there. To be sure, they saw the spectre, but it was probably just habit to be aware and look around when you're getting freaked out.

Hands tight on the hilt of large knives and clubs, they shuffled without certain idea of what to do.

"We all go, then!"

Because the ghost was a ghost, and if it could hurt them, they could hurt it. Simplistic as they might seem, they at least understood that. All the other mage-elves and such slinging magic... the magic could be blocked, and the magician usually stopped before he could cast once more. If the ghost dared remain, they would beat it into the ground! And they would retrieve their leader, and leave these dark, accursed woods.

It was obvious that their pride was at stake here, and they were more willing to protect that than their own well-being. Though they might not be able to beat it, they were numerous. A swarm, one carrying another and another dragging back to the cart... they could do it. Chen hadn't been attacked, and they had yet to be attacked despite being out in the open. Either it couldn't attack, or... it was scared!

They had a wagon to move, and a leader to retrieve. "Help or move," one orc said while he swung his spike-club-wielding hand forward, bringing the others in the entourage into cautious advance.  

[Chen Ning]

At the end of the day, orcs were orcs, and to them, if it exists, it could be hit. Thus, he gave a simple acknowledging nod and moved himself out of the way.

"Then I will place my trust in you all," he responded, keeping the paper held in his hand to show them that he was ready for to chant his spell at any time.  

[Maximos]

There was resistance and then a soft give, the tell tale sign of a blade kissing skin and then penetrating through. She was hit, if she made a sound it was inaudible, her mouth covered by layers of whitish gray cloth. The force of Damion's attack through her entire attack off, where a moment ago she was slashing with one arm, now that arm was driven back shoving her opposite arm forward, pressing it harder into a slash. A slash that might have connected had Damion not followed through with a swift kick.

With a smack a foot met torso and now she was recoiling, her upper body arched backwards unnaturally in an unnatural U while her feet clung to their hold.

She had a seconds, breaths, to look back and see the large figure of her lover barreling down on her with unstoppable force. No time to move, no room to dodge.

But love shines through. Unable to stop himself the bull of a man took an extended stride and leaned as far forward as he could so that as his foot hit the ground his shoulders and chest were far lower than they would normally have been. His massive shoulder impacted his wife's inverted chest. As opposed to breaking or snapping, she bent like rubber band. Her legs flipped nimbly over her chest landing farther over his back turning the entire motion into a sort of contortionists cartwheel as she vaulted off his back, and into another quick aerial spin.

Her husband, whipped both arms out to either side. Damion could step, but would have to step far and wide enough to avoid being caught in the width of the huge mans arms, lest he be caught in the biggest and deadliest hug he had ever experienced.

To aid in this, a few well placed knives would be cast downwards, attempting to predict and pre-empt Damion's dodge.  

[Uberwulf X]

It wasn't that they thought the spirit could fight, but more that if it decided to be stupid and fight, they could beat its head in.

Orcs were orcs, indeed.

Ever steadily did they creep upon their leader, eyes focusing on the specter hovering over his body like some watchful predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They too were hunters, sneaking up on the unsuspecting prey, waiting for the moment where they could take up offensive defense and end this dangerous journey through the woods.

When the ghost attacked, they were one and all surprised and staggered. Indeed, the ones closest to the wave and others fell; only one had been able to keep both feet. The others were quickly rising though, grunts and alarmed shouts tossing commands and directions.

Confusion gave way to anger, as this was stupid. How could this ghost come from nowhere? This journey had been made many times, and none of their scouts or other channels of communication had told them of any avenging spirits waiting to strike down honest travelers.

And yet here they were with an unconscious leader they were trying to retrieve. It wasn't so much fear that had them ready to simply leave.

"Only get Zaar! Need to get cargo to camp!"

Some didn't take kindly to that idea, but there was no overt rejection to it. With that, advance started anew.

"Surround him," was the next order. "Can't fight us all!" And so were the five orcs moving to set a sort of perimeter around this mystical fighter, this spirit that had already shown ability to attack them if together. But what about when spread, with a healthy five feet between it and them? Oh-ho... there was indeed some intelligence that was constantly being denied them. They had a plan, and they were carrying it out with enough teamwork to show that they had some sense about doing things.

But so did the beasts they were constantly being taken for.

In any event, two of them at the spirit's fore backed immediately to get to and protect Zaar. The other three took up the role of distraction and threatening, waving weapons and taking swings to make the spirit focus on them, lest it wanted to get cracked upside the head. Only when the spirit was busy did the two making a barrier between their leader and the enemy quickly take Zaar's arms between them, lift, and drag him out and to the caravan.

[edit: likewise altered for clarity and detail.]  

[Eternal Dirge]

The man had made the right move indeed, his arms out wide his hands ready to grab and all ready to crush. But it left his head open, and for those who could get there, his stomach. Damions options had sadly been cut in half with the damage to his left arm, but he was going to give it a try. As his burly opponent came flying in, Damions good right arm would snap forward, snagging the front of his clothes(whatever they may be) near the neck, gripping tightly as he pivoted off his left leg and carried his right around to smash into the bigger mans trailing ankle.

The stomp would prevent that leg from lifting off the ground, and leg across would prevent him from lifting that free foot up and over, and would put him on Damion's hips. With a grunt and yank, he would send the larger man flying much further than he intended, letting go with his hand to catapult him skyward, using his greater weight and forward momentum to aid in the cast.

But of course he wasn't out of hot water yet, and as he pivoted he'd smack his palm into the ground, shooting the step immediately behind him(towards the Wife) up into the air, the ground below it following to make a impromptu wall for amoment as he reached to his arm, gritting his teeth as he pulled 2 of the three knives out, hoping that the lowest one would prevent him from bleeding out as he set the knife handle of one into his mouth. His back was set against his newly made wall, his mind trying to find that anger again and failing.  

[Chen Ning]

Haha, the monk finally decided to jump into the fray of things! Chen was happy to have such an understand person on his side, especially one who understood the ways of things. Others would have just stayed where they were, being all dumbfounded with no clue to what they should do. Yet, Tenkai held a certain connection to these things, common sense that worked with intellect to allow him to analyze even very abstract concepts. And thanks to this, the monk had completed the plan by coming out in the guise of the ghost itself, just what Chen wanted him to do from the beginning. He was the perfect image of what went through the detective's mind when he was making up this ghost story, as the image reminded him of the many childhood stories he heard and read of vengeful spirits from the dead coming back to haunt people.

"Heh, you're good, my friend. Now that their attention is grabbed..."

Chen would move backwards into the trees to have himself disappear from sight. When he did this, he made his way along the border of them in the direction of the cart itself. Slipping through like a snake, he was hoping to get to the cart in time before the orcs make their way themselves to allow him to slip out, move to the opposite side of the wagon to put himself out of view in case the orcs gave a glance toward the cart, and attempt to give a peek into what contents lie in their delivery.

((My post is short, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to get to the cart automatically. Consider this an "attempt" to. It's up to you whether I succeed without obstacle or not, Ecks. Trying not to do things too drastically. ))  

[Maximos]

Damion's very first realization would likely have been how heavy this man truly was. Despite the fact he only had to bear a portion of his weight, it was alot. Alot more than muscle alone could provide.

The larger man was tossed, his body did not infact impact the staircase, as Damion was only a few steps from the ground to begin with. Instead it smashed into the solid dirt, making a small crater and kicking up a fluffy dirt cloud. Damion was momentarily left with one foe.

His wall shot up without fail, but he would almost immediately be able to hear the gentle chizel taps of blades impacting the stone wall, and climbing higher, and higher. He had bought himself a few seconds at most...

...But as he pulled the knives from his arm, and found not blood but a few pink stained maggots slipping from his cuts and falling wet on the staircase, the question remained, despite the seconds he had bought, how much time did he really have left?  

[Eternal Dirge]

" Never try that.....oh gods..." Blood, gore, these were things that hardly raised more than an eyebrow on the earth elemental, desensitized as he was to such brutal violence, but the sight of those maggots slipping out was almost enough to make him vomit. His gorge rose and itt ook all he could not to lose what was left of whatever was in his stomach. Or replacing it, you never know. What he did know was that he had better resume moving.

He flung the two knives down at the giant of a man, maintaining his crouch, before going to spin around it, using a hand to support himself as nausea continued rolling over him. The wall wouldn't likely survive a hit from that giant, but Damion had something else up his sleeve should he be able to take the high ground with little contest. It occured to him that he might be forgetting something, and a quick glance skyward reminded him that he hadn't so much as hurt the blade witch, just kept her from knifing him in the back.

He groaned, still trying to shift around his wall, thinking that perhaps she would be coming over the top and he could shove the wall over ontop of her. Either way, Highground ho!  

[Uberwulf X]

It was like the scene in Kill Bill where The Bride rose her sword, and the 88 members around her all gasped and took a half step back. One might even imagine the "camera" being panned over for such a shot, so well halted were the orcs. There would be no glances to the human; they told him to move away, and from peripherals heard and saw him comply. It was enough for them. One issue dealt with, now it was on to the next, which was the extrication of their leader, and themselves.

Truly, while a couple wavered in their resolve, thinking it might be best to consider Zaar lost, they were in the minority. Certainly the second in command, if he could be identified (the one Zaar was making fix the wheel) would be most unpleased with any ideas about turning tail.

The ghost did nothing to attack... however, it did prepare itself to do so. This was acceptable enough threat.

"Attack!"

Renewed vigor found the orcs rushing in, four swinging up and over and aiming to simultaneously pound and stab the ghost into the ground, while the one to the ghost's immediate left had the bright idea to crack its ethereal ribs with wide right-to-left arc, using a horizontal swing with his club.


Meanwhile, Chen was unhindered in his path back to the carriage, and he'd be able to hear the orc team launch into their full attack. The guy had every right to be confident, as he'd tricked the orcs and was about to get that knowledge which he so deserved.

"...Wuh...?"

He was met with a moving shadow, eyes acclimated to seeing in the darkness and able to see out much better than Chen could see in. After a very short scramble-- and we're talking about the time needed to grab something at one's left side and point it out with one hand-- there was a glint.

"Urah!"

That grunt was the only warning Chen had before he received a crossbow bolt in the chest from the hidden guard that had been alluded to.

If it mattered at this point, Chen's moving the canvas door would let in light that would allow to shine, along with the bolt, some other metals behind the hulking shadow that began to make its way out of the wagon to see who'd just been shot.  

[Maximos]

The two knives sailed through the air, stabbed, and then broke off as the giant man continued to roll down the stairwell. He didnt seen phased. At the bottom of the stairs two gigantic hands dug into the edge of the crater, and in a bolt he was off.

As Damion looked back, there she was at the very top of the stone wall. Graceful and calm. Her nimble legs followed the walls motions. If it fell she would leap with seemingly no effort.

With a wall behind him, and a boulder of a man rushing up at him....Damion was between a rock and a hard place. This was a fight he would be very hard pressed to win. Speed, strength, defense and attack, these two were excellently matched. And while Damion had earth and its toughness and strength on his side, that was only one half of the coin. He needed something else.

As the muscle bound man rushed up the stairs faster and faster, harder and stronger, the need only became clearer. These two were running the clock, every second that passed was a second of his life gone by. Dawn was coming, and Nikolai was furthering his goals unhindered. Two arms as thick as tree trunks were reaching for the earth elemental.

And then there was a blur of black and the large man fell. His enormous form topped forward, his momentum carried him feet over head the final few steps, rolling past Damion and into his wall shattering it like a stack of bowling pins.

The woman in white fell gracefully beside her downed husband who immediately began to pick himself up off the ground, an arm clearly missing, severed at the shoulder. With a loud wet thump a massive limb was tossed on the ground beside Damion.

Are you done playing?

Said a voice beside him, as a familiar hooded figure ascended the steps casually. Uriel twirled his scythe once, casting off a line of green fluid.

We dont have all night.

The husband and wife stood beside each other, summing up the situation. Speed and strength versus strength and speed. And then they moved. The frail woman leaping forward a good 20ft above the Reaper and Elemental ready to rain down the appropriate knives, her husband picked up one of the larger broken rocks in his massive arm and like a star Olympian chucked it with bone crushing force at the waiting duo.  

[Eternal Dirge]

" Nah, I was just getting 'em warmed up for you boss." Damion said, his reaction automatic, the words falling from his mouth as the arm thumped down, his arms dropping with them from a high guard. " S'not a party without you after all." A weak smile found it's way onto his face, faultering only as he pulled the last knife from his arm. He didn't know how the other man could do it, fight so hard and for so long without tiring. Their size wasn't so different, perhaps it had something to do with training?

In any case, he had to focus, they weren't out of it yet.

" Go low."

The rock was flying, and so was their feminine opponent, sailing high into the air with the power of her legs, a rock thrown from her brute husband flying towards them with all the strength of his corded muscles. Damion wanted some bayback, the rock could wait two seconds. His own arms were strong, strong enough for what he planned on doing. With a grinding of his feet he spun, slapping a hand to the stone wall, gripping it unnaturally as he pulled hard. The stone warped and pulled like putty in his hands, a blur exploding from his snapping right arm as he flung the 3 foor long spear upwards. His arm moved much like a boxers right hook, putting him in a good place to avoid the rock.

Despite it's weight, Damion's arms were strong, and the stone spear flew like a thunderbolt, the head of the spear wide and exceedingly short, designed to hit and stick. But being made completely of stone made it more deadly, more damaging. He had thrown where he knew she'd end up, trusting in his strength and the weight to break through any guard she threw. If not, he would throw the rock up in the way, his hands already in line to snag the thing, his eyes glowing an acid green.