Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GiglameshDespair]

OOC thread. Keep any and all OOC in the OOC! Do not have any OOC in this thread! Breaking this rule will lead to punishment!

Witch Hunters of Arouca
Prologue: Of Fateful First Encounters

Near Callerton, Than province

It has been a long trek from the forest to reach the cave, constantly alert to the risk of the clay minions this witch favours rising from the underbrush to attack. Finally, the cave ahead is in sight.

You're a party of six - four fresh recruits and two more experienced (to a degree) to lead them. The Witch lurking in Callertown Cave seems to create feeble minions, and with all the hardened troops at the front, it falls to you to purge the Witch from the caves and protect the nearby town. With homunculi in the woods, the lumberjacks refuse to work, and the wood needed for the war effort has stopped flowing. You were given orders by a messenger, his head wrapped in a hasty bandage, who barely spared a few words as he continued riding south-west. 

Normally, your sargeant would be present, but he left on orders elsewhere a week ago.

You pause in front of the cave, summoning up the courage to go in. If the experienced soldiers have anything to say to the recruits, now is the time...

Darkpaladin109, SeriousConcentrate, PrivateNomad, FelixSparks, Cheesecake and Flameboy99 are in!

[PrivateNomad]

The woman which people know as 'Rose', the Faceless One, stands by a rock face staring into the cave mouth with her fire tome clasped in her hand.
"..."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Henry glanced at Devin as both stood in front of the cave. Neither were foolish enough to have their backs to it, of course, but he felt that perhaps one of them ought to speak to the recruits. After a further moment, Henry moved so his back was against the rock wall instead of the opening to the cave and turned his attention to the green soldiers.

"...This is the part where, if Devin or I were your sergeant, we would give you a rallying speech. I'm not good at those. Instead I'll tell you the facts. Witches are stronger than humans. Some of them very much so."

His voice trembled very slightly as he spoke of witches. It was likely no one even noticed, or if they did, they might chalk it up to nervousness of a first command.

"But they die like anything else, and this one is weaker than most. We were sent alone because our superiors know we can handle this one, and because the four of you need experience fighting an actual witch and not just their minions."

The soldier planted the butt of his spear on the ground.

"The most important thing to keep in mind during this battle - during any battle - is to keep your head. Figuratively and literally. If you panic, if you lose focus, if you try to show off, you can get yourself hurt or killed. You can get your fellow soldiers hurt or killed. Play it smart, think a few steps ahead, and listen to Devin and me. We've fought these creatures before."

Henry tapped the small ribbon hanging from his right forearm. It was red with a white border.

"If you get hurt, use your vulneraries, but if your injuries are more serious call for me. I'm an experienced field healer and I'll do all I can to keep you healthy."

"Now, I don't know exactly what we're walking into. We do know it will be dark, and that there will be a Witch and her homunculi in there. We don't know the terrain, how many foes, or what traps may be set for us. So let's proceed with the utmost caution, and do our best to stick together."

His helmet turned, the darkened slits facing toward each recruit in turn.

"Any last minute preparations, prayers, comments, or questions?"

[FelixSparks]

Alex stands in front of the cave, nervously adjusting his hilt. It was his first battle... his first REAL battle, anyway.... And... the speech that Henry had just given was... not that inspiring.... it only made him MORE nervous...

[flame99]

Arian's horse, named Streak, snorted nervously upon approaching the cave mouth. He wondered if the horse would have any difficulty moving through the rocky ground inside. He gently patted the horse reassuringly, though more for his own good than the animal's. He pulled his lance out, looking over the smooth, well-polished metal. This would be the first time he's been in a battle to the death. Oh, sure, he's sparred before, but things are different when a small mistake could result in your death.

Banishing the thoughts from his mind, he instead steeled his nerves. Streak was a good horse, and he was a good horseman. Nothing bad would come to them. Right? Right.

"None from me, sir."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Henry shuffled a bit at being called sir. He looked over at Alex, who was looking worried, then back to Arian.

"Right, well, while a good dose of caution will go a long way, there's no need to be nervous. I understand that this will be your first battle with a Witch, if not your first battle entirely, but Devin and I are here. We've fought stronger homunculi that this Witch can muster before, and we're still here. As long as we work together, use our heads, and take advantage of our skills, there's no reason all six of us shouldn't walk out of here just fine."

He looked at the cave entrance.

"If the height stays the same as it is here, Arian and Rider should be able to stay mounted, so that's one less concern."

[FelixSparks]

Alex nods after a moment, and places his hand on the hilt of his sword, trying to calm himself. "Right... And, we should be fine as long as we stick together, right?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Henry nodded.

"Correct. If you go too far away, you might be out of reach when you need help the most. It's the most common cause of death on the battlefield."

The soldier slightly adjusted his footing, for comfort.

"All that being said, this is not a one man show - I don't know everything, and this is my first command, shared with Devin of course. So when we're in there, if you think of a good tactic or maneuver, feel free to let everyone know. Remember the command codes you were taught when you say them though; the Witches haven't figured them out yet so we can retain the element of surprise."

[PrivateNomad]

"...sir."

[Cheesecake]

"Aye, sir. And don't worry, sir, we won't mess up your first time in command."

Rider stroked his horse's mane and got saddled up.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Henry chuckled quietly, caught by surprise by Rider's words.

"I'm more concerned with keeping you all alive than I am with becoming a leader."

He wasn't sure how good a sergeant he would be, or if he even wanted the position. For now he was content to be part of the rank and file and do what his duty required of him.

[PrivateNomad]

"...sir, I don't like being ignored..."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Sorry, I wasn't aware you wanted to say something; I thought you were agreeing. What's on your mind?"

[PrivateNomad]

"...it's just that... I'm a bit nervous because I don't know exactly what we are facing."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Well, a Witch isn't a human, we know that much. What they are, are eldritch beings that want to wipe us all out. As for homunculi, what they look like and how they are armed depends on the Witch. Given this one is hiding out in a cave, they could be made of stone, although since she's supposedly a weaker one mud may be more likely. Homunculi and Witches both are usually humanoid, although homunculi look more like marionettes... unless the Witch is using corpses for her homunculi. The only way to know for sure is to advance."

"Generally speaking, the less a Witch resembles humans, the more likely her homunculi won't either. It's thought that this has something to do with how strong they are, given that the more monstrous Witches and homunculi are rare, and we're lucky that's the case."