Aftermath 50.

The Kaldel Plains...

"There the side door" says Gorlic the former arena fighter, who nods his head to where they should go.
Infront of Gorlic and Pallen the blademaster. Sasha the former mercenary hurries forward, and kicks open the side door to the long, low building that the illegal wreckers use as a tavern.
"Get out!" shouts Sasha the former mercenary after she enters, and finds a number of the locals who were up early, have gathered in here when they heard all the commotion going on towards the east side of the village.
"Get clear of the village for a bit" says the good looking woman with just one eye, and a gnarly looking scar down the left side of her face, the same side that she has no eye.
"It isn't safe" adds the former mercenary who hails from the kingdom of Girdane, while Gorlic and Pallen hurry in through the side door, carrying the unconscious Samiel between them.
As the locals scatter, heading out the other doors. Both the former arena fighter originally from the city-state of Brattonbury, and the dangerous blademaster who hails from the kingdom of Girdane. Unceremoniously dump the unconscious mage onto the floor.
"He's heavier than he looks" says Gorlic, who like the tall plainsman who is a blademaster, is breathing heavily.
"Damn mage needs to loose some weight" sourly says Pallen the blademaster, who then hurries back and closes the side door that his lover Sasha kicked open.
Then he joins her at a nearby window, and as they look out of it and see that the darkness of predawn is giving away to the gloom of dawn, and as Gorlic rummages around in his pockets.
The dangerous blademaster who though born and raised in the kingdom of Girdane, is actually a plainsman like his parents were, asks the former arena fighter from the coastal city-state of Brattonbury "Are you sure that thing is an ork?".
"Definitely sure" says Gorlic, who pulls something out of one of his pockets, but it isn't what he's looking for.
"I saw one when i first started off in the arenas back home, about fourteen years ago now" adds the Brattonburian who continues with "The thing was in the stands in the crowd, I'll never forget seeing it. Damn thing spent all day yelling and swearing at everyone down on the sands. And that's when it wasn't drinking and eating everything in sight".
"Is that it?" murmurs Gorlic, who after taking something out of a pocket, murmurs "No".
The former arena fighter from the coast of the Southlands, then says "I didn't get close to it at all. But those i know who did, said the thing smelled like a dung heap. And in the sticky summer heat we get in Brattonbury, you can imagine how bad it reeked".
"It did kind of pong" quietly says Sasha who is sure she caught a whiff of the ork as it ran to where they were positioned on the east side of the village.
Then the former mercenary from the kingdom of Girdane, and her lover the blademaster who are looking outside through an open window, look at Gorlic, who says "Got it" in a triumphant tone of voice after taking out a small glass vial from the bottom of an inside pocket in his cloak.
Then as Pallen the blademaster says "Think there's fighting on the north side of the village, i can hear it" and from not all that far away they hear the loud roar of the ork again.
The former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury undoes the stopper in the vial, and after making a face of disgust as Samiel has vomit down his front, and flecks of it over his face and chin, he opens the mouth of the powerful mage, and pours the contents of the vial into his mouth.
"Is it working?" asks Sasha the former mercenary "I'm not sure" says Gorlic, who after a few moments of silence adds "I think it is". As he's pretty sure the spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare is starting to stir.
"Wake up mage!" shouts the former arena fighter, who knows he'll probably never get another opportunity to do it, so he slaps the face of Samiel.
"Yeah i think he's waking" says Gorlic after hearing Samiel groan "Don't know how long it'll take for him to fully wake though" adds the Brattonburian, who took up a life of crime after finishing his fairly average career in the famous fighting arenas of his homeland.
"We can't wait for him" says Pallen the blademaster, who nods out the window as he continues with "We've got to help them with what's going on out there".
"I agree" says his lover Sasha, who then adds "The mage will just have to help out when he's able to" the good looking one eyed woman follows that with "Thing is, which way do we go?".
The former mercenary from the kingdom of Girdane looks at her lover the plainsman, then she looks over at Gorlic, before looking back at Pallen beside her, and says "Towards that ork?" she then adds "Or over to the north side of the village?".
"North side of the village" quickly says the former arena fighter from Brattonbury who makes it pretty clear what he thinks they should do.
"Well?" asks Sasha as she looks at Pallen as the darkness outside continues to lighten as dawn takes over on what feels like it's going to be another cold morning here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
The former mercenary lifts a questioning eyebrow, and though she usually decides what they do when it comes to something they'll do in the wrecking crew.
But when it comes to combat, specifically battle, she'll defer to her lover Pallen.
Who slightly nods, then looks over at Gorlic, and the dangerous blademaster asks him "What's the best way to defeat an ork?".
The former arena fighter sourly smiles as he figured Pallen would most likely go for the harder option. And in harder, Gorlic is of the opinion it's an impossible option.
"I know how lethal you are with your sword Pallen" says the Brattonburian, who continues with "But you'll have no chance against that ork" he quickly adds "You could have three feet of your blade in it's guts, and it would only get more annoyed with you, then it'll probably grab you and bite your face off".
Gorlic who has never actually seen an ork in action. Listened to plenty of others in the fighting arenas of Brattonbury who had seen an ork in battle.
Some of the experienced arena fighters had fought during the battle of Vexil. And there was an ork in that particular battle. The largest and most famous battle in all the Southlands in the last four hundred and fifty years. Since the war against the Holy Norstran Empire that had come across the Great Western Ocean and invaded the Southlands over four and half centuries ago.
And every man, woman, or dwarf or elf or troll, in the fighting arenas of Brattonbury who saw that ork fight in the battle of Vexil.
Told Gorlic it was truly a fool who stood against that ork, who cut down everyone who came up against him.
Through the former arena fighter does remember a lot of conjecture from the experienced fighters in the arenas who were present at the battle of Vexil, as to what side of the battle the ork was actually on.
As there were many arguments about it being on the attackers side, and on the city side. Sometimes even both. Which is actually what happened.
And that particular ork at the battle of Vexil. Is the same one Gorlic saw in the stands in the fighting arenas in Brattonbury when he got his career in the arenas underway.
And it's the same ork, they hear roaring just a couple hundred feet away from the long, low building that he, along with Sasha and Pallen, and semi-conscious Samiel are in at the moment.
"So I'd advise you not to do anything idiotic like that" says the former arena fighter from the coast of the Southlands, who then adds "The only chance of taking it down is to turn it into a pin cushion, then shoot it some more".
Gorlic who has stood up, gestures down at the barely moving Samiel, and says "Or have the mage or one of the other spellcasters blast it to bits".
"Samiel didn't exactly do that well trying to cast upon it before" dryly says the tall plainsman with the long hair, who then adds "But i get your point".
The dangerous blademaster who was born and raised in the kingdom of Girdane, it's also where he trained to be a blademaster, then says "We'll cut across to the north side of the village, and see what we can do there".
Both Gorlic and Sasha nod at that, then the good looking, one eyed woman then asks the usually hotheaded former arena fighter "Is he awake yet?" as she points to the mage from the city-state of Tuledare who is on the floor.
"Not fully" says Gorlic, who bends down and opens one of Samiel's eyelids and finds a dazed look in left eye of the powerful mage.
"We can't wait for him" says Sasha who then adds "Let's go". The former mercenary from the kingdom of Girdane heads out the side door first. Followed by her lover Pallen. And then Gorlic, though only after the Brattonburian slaps the still dazed Samiel across the face again, to try and help him wake up a bit more quicker.
The trio of Sasha, Pallen and Gorlic head through the village, making their way to the north side, where fighting can be heard, and where one loud voice can be heard over the others shouting what sounds like "Saint Mar-che!" and "Narille!" quite often.
The former mercenary from Girdane, Sasha spots one of the other wreckers up on a roof of a house with a crossbow in his hands, who calls down to them as they pass "There's something damn big that way between the houses!" as he gestures with his weapon to the east.
"I know!" calls back Sasha, who continues with "Shoot it if it comes this way!".
"And stay the hell away from it!" adds Pallen as they run by the roundhouse with the crossbowman on the rooftop.
Gorlic looks away to their left between an open space between a couple of houses, where he gets a clear view of the village green.
"Holy shit" mutters the former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury, who then tells the couple running infront of him "One of the ships on the green is on fire".
Pallen glances that way, then mutters "Hell". But they don't stop and head that way, they continue on towards the north side of the village as the darkness starts to dissipate, and the light of a new day here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains starts to take over.
They round a corner, and look away to their left, where they see fighting near some of the wagons that have been placed between some of the houses, here on the north side of village.
Sasha and Pallen, then Gorlic hurry that way only to see a large heavily armoured figure rushing towards them.
"A fucking knight?" murmurs the former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury as he looks between the couple right infront of him, and spots the large man, in a full suit of plate armour running this way.
And just as Sasha is thinking to herself that the knight is moving pretty quick for someone in all that armour. He runs into them, shouting "Saint Mar-che!".
The good looking woman with just one eye, and gnarly looking scar down one side of her face, is clipped by the knight's shield and goes reeling off to one side.
While the tall plainsman who is her lover, dives to one side, to dodge out of the way of a wicked looking pick that's swung at him.
While the former arena fighter from the coast of the Southlands, yelps "Fuck!" just before he's hit full on with the knight's shield, which sends him to the ground.
The heavily armoured knight doesn't stop, he keeps running in the direction that the three of them have come from, heading further into the village.
The couple Sasha and Pallen who are getting up from the ground, look to the nearby wagons, where they hear Arvelle the plainsman shout out to them "Get him!" the leader of the crew of the illegal wreckers adds "Don't let that knight get away!".
The former mercenary and the dangerous blademaster, who sees that the tall plainsman with the shaved head who leads them, is struggling to keep at bay a man with a pair of long daggers, and a dark cloth wrapped around the lower half of his face.
While a handful of other wreckers, are fighting an attractive looking young woman with a shortsword, and muscular looking man in a long leather apron, wielding a hammer.
The couple from the kingdom of Girdane who met on opposite sides of a battlefield in their homeland, share a look. Then once they're up off the ground, they turn and head back the way they came from.
"Gorlic come on" says Sasha as she and Pallen head off to pursue the large knight who knocked them all down.
"Coming" mutters Gorlic who groans as he struggles to get up off the ground. The former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury winces when he eventually stands up.
Then with a slight limp, he hurries after the former mercenary and the dangerous blademaster who both hail from the kingdom of Girdane.
"A knight?" mutters Gorlic, who then silently adds, what the fuck is a knight doing here?
While further infront of him in the village, both Sasha and Pallen are thinking the same thing.
The couple from Girdane who noticed that the trio who were attacking Arvelle and the others with him, were all in some kind of black uniform by the looks of it.
Have no real difficulty in finding which way the knight has gone, as they hear him repeatedly shout "Saint Mar-che!" or "Narille!" every so often.
Sasha, who is pretty certain that Narille is the name of one of the gods, glances at her lover beside her as it continues to get brighter as the sun starts to rise in the east.
Pallen glances at her too, as they've both realised that the knight is more or less heading to where they can also hear the roaring of that ork.
A bit further behind the couple, Gorlic as he hobbles along after them, has realised the same thing.
The former arena fighter mutters "Fucking hell" as he along with the former mercenary and the dangerous blademaster head further into the village, in pursuit of the knight . . . . . .