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The Crystal [pg-16]

Leon watched as a metal fist crashed into the side of Jen's face. This was the last thing they needed, to get caught up into a battle now. Leon raised his left arm, and pointed it at the man as he ran up. He fired a bolt from the crossbow through the man's left arm. Leon unsheathed his sword quickly, and tried to stab the man in the heart, but missed. Leon hit him in the hip with his blade. It was a good enough hit to make him fall, and for the rest of the group to continue on. Leon looked for Jen, who had apparently kept going. He watched as Kabutops viciously attacked the downed man. Leon now feared that he had fallen behind, but noticed that Kabutops had run ahead of the rest of the team. They got back into formation, and continued onwards.
 
Shen nodded before looking around the camp. "Do we have any horses stabled nearby?" He thought that the faster they got back the better things would go.
 
Marc turned to the White Knight and said,"I don't think so. I think the horses are on the other side of town. The next quickest thing that we can ride is Houndoom. Although, I'm the only one that can ride him. In fact I'll head off to defend the town now. You two wait a while and bring reinforcements, ok?"
 
Jen watched as the huge Pokémon attacked her aggressor, and nodded her thanks to Leon, smiling weakly. She knew that they had to keep pressing forwards, and Spoink helpfully pointed her west again, so she kept walking.

[Are you sure you are alright?] Spoink asked as they progressed. His light was dimming and he was breathing heavily - it was a long way for such a small Pokémon and he was beginning to tire.

"I'm fine. We just need to keep going, right? And avoid the battle," Jen said, quietly but confidently.

[Jen.]

"What?" Jen looked at Spoink's stern expression.

[You're shaking. You might be in shock. You should rest, as soon as we get to our location. It is not far now, I can assure you, but you must rest, get warm and have something to eat.]

"Spoink, I'm fine. You're tired too, so let's just keep going. And I don't think we'll have that long to rest, so... so shush," Jen finished, scowling. She kept walking and ignored Spoink's face as he frowned at her.
 
"I doubt you would be able to fit onto your Houndoom's back, they aren't very big, besides, don't forget who gives the orders and makes the decisions around here." Shen said, gesturing towards Adric.
 
"Just an idea, and don't worry, I can fit on Houndoom quite easily. One of the advantages to being lanky."

Marc decided that he was fed up of waiting, we needed to act fast. The White Knight was at least trying to be useful but Adric wasn't taking command of the situation.

We need to have a plan, not just be sitting here waiting for people to act. We're the people expected to take action after all.
 
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(OOC: Rainbow, go ahead and continue the conversation. Fill in some generic answers or completely skip it.)
Blade started to focus once he heard sounds of battle. Blade pulled out Azzurro, his blue bladed katana.
Just in case...
Blade then ordered Lametto to return.
Can't lose Lametto...
Blade began to pick up his pace to keep up.
A few minutes later, Blade heard the distinct twang of a longbow. Blade scanned the space between the battle and the group, looking for the arrow. Blade found it, pulled out his newly crafted shield...
THUNK
Blade was about to pull the shield away when another arrow hit it
THUNK
Blade pulled the shield away, and looked at the position of the arrows:
One was right at the edge closest to Blade; it would've hit Lise.
The second was on the farthest edge; it would've hit Leon.
(OOC: Wow... this took a lot longer to type than I thought...)
 
[[OOC: I accidentally deleted all this text, so now I'mma have to rewrite it... :| ))

Jen span around in shock as she heard the thunk of arrows into wood. Blade had managed to protect the group from the attack, but she was suddenly wary of her vulnerable position, separated from them. She could see Spoink tiring and made a snap decision, scooping him into the crook of her elbow. His tail kept pumping so as to keep his heart beating, but he seemed thankful for the rest.

[You've strayed a bit. Turn to your left... that's it. Now keep going. We should be approaching our location soon.] Spoink said, closing his eyes a little.

"Don't fall asleep; I need your help. If anything - arrows, bolts, swords - comes at us, I need you to do that thing you did with the claw and stop them before they hit us. Can you do that for me?" Jen asked Spoink, picking up the pace a little.

[Yes. That will be simple. For the record, though, that 'thing' is called telekinesis. It will be easy for me to use.] Spoink blinked a couple more times, his light fading.

"Spoink, you have to keep your light on. The group will lose us if you don't," Jen urged. The battle raging around her suddenly made her more anxious - she didn't want to be alone in it, and with Spoink in her arms, she would be half the fighter she was normally.

[I'm... trying. It's... I'm so tired...] Even telepathically, Spoink sounded weak. Jen guessed that it took a lot of energy to keep a light on for so long, but now that it was fading, the dark seemed more prominent than ever.

Suddenly the light went out. Spoink fell asleep. And Jen was left alone in the dark, the sounds of the battle filling her ears and yet detached from her.

She was now truly alone. She squinted into the darkness - when had it gotten so dark? - for signs of the group, but there were none. She could be dead and they would never know.
 
Jen ran back and picked up her Spoink. "Hey, wa-" A few arrow flew right by them. Leon looked ahead as Spoink's light started to dim. They were getting out of the battle now, slowly but surly. Suddenly Spoink's light completely faded. The light from the moon was blocked out by the forest that had recently surrounded them. The battle behind them was dimming out, and the sound of pokemon grew. Leon snapped a branch off on of the trees by the edge of the forest where he could still see. Walking over to Blade, he stuck his shield with his sword, sparking, and then igniting the branch. "Thanks".

Leon looked through the woods with his small torch. He found Jen, with Spoink asleep in her arms. How could the little guy fall asleep? They had just ran through a battle! Leon walked over to her, the group following behind. "I'll lead from here. We still have a ways to go. At the edge of the forest is a camp. We will stop there to rest for a few minuets. Leon led now, but was still close to the group, as he had the only light. They walked for a few more minuets, and then the glow of torches appeared through the overgrown forest.

Kabutops slashed some of the vines in the way, and the group finally stepped out into the camp ground. Leon checked to see that they all made it, and then walked up to the general's tent. "Sir, Leon Adalwolf, reporting for duty."

"Bout time you got here son. We were just getting ready to move out. You remember the plans, right boy?"

"Of course." Leon was confused why the general was talking formally, but then remembered that he hadn't met them all yet. He decided to not judge the new commander until the battle was over.

"Alright men, lets move out!" The general and his men charged out of the camp, and at the Arleon lines. They didn't meet any resistance, as the troops had now moved to the battle that Leon had left behind.

"Alright, rest up. We are going to follow them in about 10 minuets. They are drawing out all of Arleon's reserved forces, then we will slip in past them."
 
LordSephy said:
"I doubt you would be able to fit onto your Houndoom's back, they aren't very big, besides, don't forget who gives the orders and makes the decisions around here." Shen said, gesturing towards Adric.
Click to expand...

seal said:
"Just an idea, and don't worry, I can fit on Houndoom quite easily. One of the advantages to being lanky."

Marc decided that he was fed up of waiting, we needed to act fast. The White Knight was at least trying to be useful but Adric wasn't taking command of the situation.

We need to have a plan, not just be sitting here waiting for people to act. We're the people expected to take action after all.
Click to expand...

Adric pondered to himself for a while, but the sound of his name snapped him back into action.

"How about this - you and Marc should ride into town and hold back the Witherians - you can use the horses that Marc and I used to get here. As for me, I'll go and get reinforcements and try to attack the Witherians from behind."
 
Jen sighed with relief as Leon announced a rest period. After being rescued - yes, she would go as far as to say rescued, as she had thought herself lost in the darkness - by him, she had grown wearier and wearier with travel, but knew that a short rest would be enough for her. Whether it would be for Spoink, though, was the question. She tried to shake him awake but he was deeply asleep.

"Um... may I sharpen my knives? I don't... have a stone, so if there was one I could borrow...?" Jen seemed uncertain, as the only people she was even vaguely familiar with was her little group, and even some of them - namely Blade, but to a lesser extend Talulah - hadn't been formally introduced to her. She looked at Leon expectantly.
 
"I'm sure you can find one around here. They left in a hurry, and will come back, but shouldn't mind. The next part, we will be sprinting it. Thought that you would all like to know." Leon looked around the camp, not finding much. A few fires still burned, but most were dead from the soldiers knowing they were leavening soon, and uncaring to tend them. Leon spied some bread, and walked over to take a peace, then remembered something. "Everyone, look around. They were supposed to leave us a pack of equipment." Leon searched the camp grounds, then decided that it might be best to look in the generals tent. He was amazed that it was taking this long to find a huge staff of supplies.
 
Marc grunted his approval to Adric, before taking a horse and jumping on it. The White Knight was a little bit slower, but he wasn't used to riding anywhere with speed. He's used to having plenty of time to dawdle around the place. Marc, meanwhile, lives in the wilderness, so is prepared to run at any moment. Houndoom was running beside him, clearly anticipating blood in the battle that isn't too far ahead.

Marc and Houndoom ran through the wilderness with pace, the White Knight would catch up in his own sweet, merry time. Houndoom appeared to be enjoying the thought of a battle, it had been a while since their last battle together. The weather was nice, although it was nighttime, this would only suit Houndoom. Eventually, Marc looked down on the battle from a nearby hill. Time for soem fun, he thought.
 
Jen politely followed suit in searching for supplies, but she was more concerned about finding a sharpening stone. Back at home, there was always one to hand, and rackfuls of knives to sharpen as chores or punishment. That was back before...

Taking a deep breath, Jen continued to search. She glanced back at Spoink, who was asleep leant against a log, and then turned back to her hunt. Eventually she found the grey slab, and took it by the handle, carrying it over to said log and forgetting all about the supplies. She pulled out each kukri in turn and inspected it, holding it at various angles, before drawing it back and forth across the stone, grinding the edge to a sharp point. She tested one by swiping at a branch that protruded from the log, and grinned as it sliced through with ease. She tucked the kukri back into her belt and allowed her aching limbs to rest, at ease in the knowledge that her weapons were primed and she was ready to kill.
 
Ten minutes.
Either go meet Jennifer since she's part of the team, or work on my armor...
Blade looked around for a moment.
Okay, Jennifer is gone...somewhere... I guess I'll work on my armor...
Blade set to work on his armor, and after about 5 minutes, was almost finished. Another 5 minutes, and Blade was finished.
(OOC: Before you say anything, keep in mind that the plates of the armor just needed to be attached to the leather/mythril/cotton part...)
Blade tried on his new armor, just as Leon started to tell everyone it was time to go.
 
Talulah and Blade's conversation was cut short as they hit the battlefield. For the first time in a while, the feeling of battle readiness crept up Talulah's spine, to settle fuzzily on the top of her head. She grinned, reaching for the hilt of the sword on her waist. She was just about to pull it out and go to war when Leon called back, stopping her.

"Don't stop!" he called over his shoulder at them. "These men are doing their job! We are needed elsewhere, just keep going!"

With a huff, Talulah took her hand off her waist. Looking around, she saw that the battle was rather small, but still extremely aggressive. In her head, she cheered on the Witherian soliders, grinning wide every time they got in a good hit. Once or twice she had to dodge a misplaced shield or off-swung sword, but otherwise the battle seemed to be completely ignoring them. It was an odd feeling, but then she heard the arrows. They whistled through the air with a high pitched scream.

With no shield, Talulah braced herself and stuck up her arm to guard her face, hoping the bit of armor would be enough to deflect any well-aimed arrows away from her face. Hearing and feeling nothing hit, she looked up to see Blade standing over her, his shield still deflecting a few arrows. She let out a sigh of relief, before noticing the Kabutops was gone from behind her.

Frantically she glanced around Blade, her heart jumping sporadically as she tried to locate Lise. The face came into view, peering around Blade as if Talulah was glancing in a fun-house mirror. Talulah made a surprised face, but there was no time to linger. An armored Arleon soldier slammed into her, and Talulah would have none of it. Turning and taking the blow in the shoulder, she shifted her feet and shoved back hard in one brutal motion. The Arleon armor slammed forward, away from her smaller body and straight into the sword of a waiting Wither shoulder.

"Hah!" Talulah cried out. Battle was so satisfying-- there was really nothing quite like it. But looking up from her assisted kill, Talulah noticed something wasn't right. The light that had been bouncing along ahead up until now, lighting the way, had disappeared, along with Leon, Kabutops, and Jen.

Blade ran ahead of her, and so Talulah followed him, hoping he knew where they were headed. They caught up to Kabutops, and followed him through a path he'd ripped into the foliage. There Leon and Jen looked down on a sleeping gray blob.

He got tired huh? Talulah thought to herself, glancing down at Lise, who was now in full view, but with eyes staring straight at the Spoink. Poor little guy.

Leon began to walk again, signaling them to follow. A little longer following him and they reached a small Witherian camp. Leon had a brief word with the general, then told them all they only had 10 minutes to rest up. Talulah, despite herself, immediately walked over to Lise, standing close enough to pat the bird on the head softly. He chirped quietly, happy to be back next to his friend. Talulah rolled her eyes, but kept patting him.

Talulah poked around the camp, Lise in tow, but they couldn't seem to find any of the supplies Leon had mentioned. No matter to her-- she had all the supplies she could need-- but she felt bad about not being able to deliver to her officer. Wandering around, she spotted Jen and her Spoink resting their muscles near a log. A sense of concern washed over Talulah, and she walked directly over to them with a determined stride.

"Hey," she said softly, squatting down to get eye-level with Spoink, but obviously talking to Jen, "are you okay? I saw the light go out when we were out there on the battle field. Lise and I were worried about you guys."
 
"Hey, are you okay? I saw the light go out when we were out there on the battle field. Lise and I were worried about you guys." Jen looked up at Talulah as she talked, and then smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I was pretty worried myself. I think it was just that Spoink was using up his energy with the light," she replied, gently patting Spoink on the head. He squirmed in his sleep, pressing harder against her hand. His tail still bounced, but outwards rather than down, constantly keeping him alive. "I always worry about Spoink. His life-force is so simple... stop bouncing and he'll..." Jen bit her lip. She could hear things that clearly weren't concious in Spoink's mind, but were being transmitted anyway.

They chilled her to the bone. She shook herself and tried her hardest to ignore them, but it was hard when Spoink was speaking directly into her mind.

"How about you?" Jen asked. "I saw you got shot at earlier. It's only thanks to Blade that you didn't get hit, right?" Jen was only relaying what she had seen in the chaos of the battlefield - Blade's sheild protecting both Talulah and Leon, who had otherwise been oblivious from her perspective.
 
"Right" Was the only response Shen gave to Adric's idea before hopping on the horst nearest to him, Shen was used to traveling and could do so quite quickly, but the weight of his armor slowed down his horse for a couple minutes, but when the horse got used to it he went to full speed and came up on Marc quickly. "Come on, I don't want to push these horses to hard but we've got to make it there as soon as possible." He called to Marc before racing ahead as fast as the horse would carry him, they were almost there, hopefully the place would still be saveable.
 
(OOC: This should be fun :cer_evil: Good luck Arleons.)
The small town was just another farming village. Riding up, you can see the glow of light. Fire is sweeping across the farmlands, and heading for the heart of town. Witherian soldiers follow the fire, and destroy anything the fire did not take for itself. You stand in town square. A well sits in the middle of the open area, with dirt surrounding it. A ring of shops border the southern half of the square and the town hall sits to the north. Past a few rows of shops are the farms that are still standing. Screams can be heard as another farm falls to the fire, or worse, the Witherains. The town square is ground zero. Your last stand against the fire, and the Witherians. A small group of towns people who survived stand beside you. A few of them have bows, most have short swords, and some you can tell ran to the town hall to warn the mayor, and are only armed with pitchforks. Half of the people here don't even have a weapon. You must now choose: Do you rush into the front lines, Battle in the streets, defend the square, or just try to hold the town hall.

Leon walked into the general's tent. The inside was Witherian red. Leon couldn't help but smirk. There was a map of their plan on a table. Beside the table was a small bed. The tent was bordered by a few weapons racks. A suit of plate armor stood by the door. Leon looked around some more, and found a sack in the corner. He walked up to it, and opened it. This was their supplies. A note also fell out.

"Welcome to my tent Leon. I hope you like the place. In this pack, you will find the following:

1 map
5 sleeping bags
3 days worth of meals for your squad
5 suits of civilian cloths (Witherian though)
15 bolts and arrows
1 sharpening stone
1 hammer
1 lantern
5 matches (These were particularly hard to come by)

Good luck, boy. I hope our sacrifice is not for nothing, and you complete your mission."

Leon walked out of the tent deep in thought with the bag over his shoulder. "Alright, your ten minuets is up. Let's move!" Leon looked out at his squad and made sure they were ready to go before taking off.
 
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"Well yea, but luckily--"

"Alright," Leon interrupted, walking out of a nearby tent. "Your ten minutes is up. Let's move!"

"Ugh," Talulah murmured, "I don't think I will ever get to finish a conversation with anyone.

She turned shakily and walked over towards Leon, shooting him daggers with her eyes. Then all at once, she caught herself. What on earth was she doing? Acting like a selfish little eight-year-old, that's what!

Immediately, her face became serious, and she stood waiting for the others to come over, and to listen to Leon's eventual orders.
 
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