Elither had almost dozed off, leaning against the two ruckity orc boats, when armor clanking against the grinding sand was heard. Roughly a dozen elven rangers were coming towards him, and the boats from the west, and to the east was almost two dozen elven lancers coming. Some had leather armor, other's steel. Elither couldn't help but to laugh, when he opened his eyes to see what was causing the disturbance. Most of them just looked odd, some armor not matching other. "Well well, it seems the king couldn't benefit his workers with good armor." He said, as the elves looked to him. "Will you be joining us to find the orcs, Mister..?" One of the young elves asked. Elither pulled his hood up slightly, so that the youthful elf could see his cold red eyes, and pale complexion. "Well, if I wasn't, then why would I have been here waiting for hours?" Elither retorded, a bit of sarcasticness in it. The young elf blushed, and ducked behind some of the older ones. "Will there be any other's accomponing us?" One of the older, larger elves asked. "Dunno, haven't seen anything move 'cept you, besides a crab or two." Elither said, tossing a crab leg at the elf.

Elither closed his eyes, and stretched for a moment. "If I doze off, wake me up when we're ready to leave" And without another word, he pulled the hood back down over his face, and closed his eyes.

Elither had fallen asleep around noon, after the elves had arrived. His dreams were slurred, with bits and pieces cut out, and added in other places. The large tree that bared his clan had been burnt, skeletons of the ones he knew had been chopped up, like something had feasted upon them. The elder's staff laid upon the rickity rope bridge, snapped in half. He had found only a few other bodies besides the ones he knew, orcs. It seemed it had been them that had slain the ones he once knew. Out of nowhere, a small vision had appeared in his brain. A dull, large bloody hatchet like blade came down swiftly towards his skull.

NO!!!!!!

Elither woke from his very torturous slumber, his face covered with very cold sweat, almost like ice. He rubbed the top of the hood against his face, removing what sweat there was. "Damnit." He said aloud, removing the hood, wondering if any new compaignions had arrived..

(OOC: There might be bad grammar and spelling in this post, 'cause I can't check it on Microsoft word, Word's being a major pain in my ass, and won't work. ~_~)

Client: The Eliinuir (King), Maelofen
Task: It seems there are Orc raiding parties slithering across the Innar Channels and into the sacred forests of Lienthala. There are two out in the forests, somewhere. Trails and tracks have been spotted by scouts, and ships that regularly patrol the channel have located small makeshift rafts afloat in the surf covered in tattered leathers. It's believed that there are two raiding parties, anywhere from 10-20 Orcs each. They've attacked three of the only grounded cities in Lienthala: U'alir, Maiviir, Gilanui. Maiviir was razed to the ground and left smoldering rubble admid the tall, ancient trees. U'alir and Gilanui were defended, but at a high price in Elfish lives. There were originally 30 or 40 of these Orcs per party, but after many raids on those three cities, their numbers have dwindled.

Now, Maelfoen - son of Elithinur - wants you and a band of 10 Elfish Rangers and 20 Elfish Lancers to scout out in the woods and locate these two parties, and slaughter them. If they attempt to escape by boat, they will be sunk by our fleets in the Channels.

Once you're done, return to the Elfish Capital--Lienmanui--City in the Trees, and see the King for your reward.
Manpower Limit: 3
Rewards: 4,000 Gold each

Several things ran through his mind, as he read the parchment that was sent to him. It had explained about Two boats landing on the shore, full of Orcs, at least 2 dozen total. The king would reward each of whoever accepts the task four thousand gold, which he could use right now, but he wasn't sure. He had practically been out cast from the elves. Now they need his help? He was considering finding the money he needed another way. He's sitting on the damn throne, getting food served to him by females.. I don't see him out here risking his life to defend his damn kingdom.. He could easily pay more than that. Elither thought, walking along the beach to the island. A few tattered boats laid idle on the shore. By the looks of them, they weren't elven, which meant Elither knew what they belonged to, he should've guessed from the start by the way they were structed. They belonged to the orcs that were loose in Lienthala. "Well, guess I can wait." He told himself-- The note the king sent said for the rangers, lancers, and whoever else awaiting the adventure to meet by the orc's boats.

He sat against the side of the boat, after investigating the duo for a moment. It seemed they were heavily weaponed and armored, by the scrapes and gashes in the leather and wood beneath, were they situated and shifted. He smirked slightly, and laughed out loud. "This will be entertaining" He said, crumbling up the parchment in his hand.

"A letter?" wondered Velvet. "What's that?" An Elfin messenger had approached her not five minutes ago, a strange looking piece of bark in hand. The messenger claimed that some "orcs" had attacked several villages and now they needed help ridding the Outer Rim of their presence.

Orcs? she thought curiously. What are they?

The man was staring at her incredulously. "You don't know what a letter is?" he asked, disbelieving.

"No. Should I?" The male shook his head wryly, while running his hand through his hair.

"Well, perhaps I should go ask someone else for assistance. I had thought you were an able warrior judging by your bow, but I guess I was wrong."

As the man turned away, Velvet protested. "I would very much like to go and kill some orcs. I don't see why not knowing a letter is should keep me from it." Again, the elf smiled wryly, and there was a hint of a laugh on his face. "Is there something funny? Because if there is, I don't know that you should laugh about it," the young elf said crossly.

"No, nothing at all," the messenger said still grinning from ear to ear. The man proceeded to inform her of certain important details that she would "do well to know," and once everything was said and done, he wished her good luck and left for a nearby tavern.

"Hmph. Well then, that's not very polite. I'll just have to go find this place by myself." Supposedly, Velvet was going to rendezvous with a small force of elves consisting of 10 rangers and 20 lancers. Several other warriors were also being employed, but the exact number of those was unknown. As she turned out of the town, she wondered at what an orc looked like.

"Well... Orc sounds like fork... Perhaps Orcs have helmets that look like forks. Orc also sounds like pork... maybe they look like pigs. Yes, they must look like pigs with forks on their heads." With this most vivid description of an orc firmly ensconced in her mind, she walked through the forest, looking for any vicious pigs with forks on their heads.

"A message? What’s it say?" Shugotenshi said, hanging upside down from a tree.

"A messenger sent by Eliinuir, the king of Maelofen." the young elven boy told her.

"What’s he want?" Shugo asked.

"Its about some Orcs attacking cities and a 4000 gold reward to stop them." the boy explained.

Shugo's eyes brightened as she heard the phrase "4000 gold." She always loved to collect things of value, and gold is about as valuable as things get. She already has collected 3000 gold throughout her entire life, so getting 4000 gold in one task is the greatest jackpot of her life. Jumping out of the tree she ran to the village elder Edhil to ask if she may partake on this journey. Past the men gathering the hunt and past the children playing in the square she raced on all fours to the elders house.

Her village is a small one, not very much news comes from outside the village. So naturally the whole village knows of any news. Secluded in the forest, the village is not very well known and any fighting or wars generally don’t reach here. But this was different; someone sent a message out for an extermination job, and it seems they had someone in this village in mind to help with the task.

"Edhil Edhil!" Shugo said as she ran into the elders house.

"My my, calm down! What seems to be the trouble." Edhil said softly.

"A king wants help to get rid of some Orcs and I wanna go help!" Shugo exclaimed.

The elder had a long face, almost sad. He knew why the message was sent here. Edhil, the founder of this village, is over 1,500 years old. He founded this village to get away from the endless fighting and disputes that plagued the world, to have a people grow up in peace and serenity. But now Orcs have desecrated the sacred forests of Lienthala and may even threaten the entire village. Very few of the inhabitants know how to fight, and even fewer can fight well. Shugo always showed interest in the fight, so the elder reluctantly aided her in training...knowing that peace cannot be eternal.

"Shugotenshi, over these many past years you have brightened my life. You have inspired me and brought excitement to us all, sometimes more than we would have wished. If you go on this journey it will be your first time to encounter those from outside the village. People are not always as kind as we are, some may try to steal your belonging and others even try to hurt you." the elder explained slowly.

"I know all that, you've told me the stories. So can i go help out?" Shugo said.

The elder made a slight chuckle. "Oh Shugotenshi, you are too fast for your own good. Very well...you may go. But you must return safely, do you understand?"

She nodded and then ran out to prepare for her journey.

alone in his room the elder prayed silently, prayed for Shugotenshi's well being and safe return.

Shugo climbed the trees once more, in search of Orcs. The elves ran around the Orc camp looking for survivors. No more Orcs were in sight; at least none that still lived. Shugo observed the battlefield closely. She could see where the Orc gathered some of the prisoners and tortured them, their blood and the disrupted soil clearly visible. She saw where the Orc sharpened their crude weapons, the many stones and bricks covered in battle scars. One thing about the Orcs was clear, they could make anyplace home. Word came back from one elf, saying an Orc escaped and will no doubt inform others. All of the elves gathered around the ruined village to decide what to do next…

“It seems that this was just a clean up, the real forces must be elsewhere.” The self-proclaimed leading veteran lancer said. “We obviously will need a better attack plan, and better pay.” The group laughed silently. It is sometimes the job of a leader is to bring a slight chuckle, even if the circumstances are nothing to be laughed at. “Those lancers who attacked from the west will bury the dead, the rest will catch their breath. Once our kin have been given a proper burial, we will head out in the direction of the fleeing Orc. These creatures aren’t completely dumb so be aware they might have traps set.”

Shugo came to face the proclaimed leader and asked what she could do to help.

“Well what do you think you should do?” he asked her.

Shugotenshi rolled around on the ground while thinking, the jumped up and asked, “Is that a question that I know the answer to or your way of saying be quiet” she asked quite sincerely. The men had a laugh and set her off to scout in the treetops for any Orcs coming for them. Shugo grew up climbing trees and she loved to sneak around so it is only natural for her to enjoy it. She climbed to the highest point she could while still seeing the ground around her. She could easily climb to the treetops, but then she wouldn’t see any Orcs that come. Grabbing a branch and gripping it firmly she swung herself up the tree and into a nice formation of branches that made a lounge. Facing the direction the last Orc was seen fleeing from she peeled her eyes and watched diligently.

A squirrel runs by, another leaf falls, a worm slowly digs another hole. Many things were happening, but no sign of any Orcs. Shugo leaned back in the tree and sighed. “Why must my job always be so boring?” she asked herself. “Oh well, at least I don’t have to stick with the rest of them. Maybe I can get a spirit to tell me where the Orcs are?” Shugotenshi was always very adept with the spirits, she even had conversations with them and seems to learn from each one. She tried calling up the spirits. She calmed her mind and body while becoming tranquil with the world around her. She could easily talk to spirits without doing so, but then confusion arises and the wiser sprits usually need much attention to speak to.

As Shugo attempted to call upon the spirits, the others rested up…

((OCC: hehe, i like to talk. lets move out!))

Hopping from tree to tree, Shugotenshi tries to follow the directions listed on the map. Only wandering through the woods and never being to another town or village, let alone never using a map, was proving to be very difficult for her.

“Does it say north till the stream or west?” She said aloud to herself while scratching her head. Flipping the map, which was given along with the announcement for the job, she scratched her head. She knew how to tell which way was north, the trees told her. The problem lies within her inability to read the map. “Grr…stupid parchment.” She grumbled as she gnawed on the paper.

Just then she caught a glimpse of someone running on the ground. Staying perfectly still she closed her eyes in on the stranger. It was an elf, dressed in clothing much like her own. By the look of his running he was really in a hurry. “If he’s in a hurry he won’t see me following!” she thought to herself. Taking the parchment out of her mouth she re-read the announcement.

“…you and a band of 10 Elfish Rangers and 20 Elfish Lancers…“

“That must be one of the rangers!” she thought. If it was, then she would trust that he is heading for the gathering spot. If not, she won’t be any more lost than she is now. So she followed him, being sure to keep her distance. He was in a rush and most likely not checking if he was being followed, so no worries there. Running on the treetops Shugotenshi kept her target in sight. She could feel that these trees were different. Being spiritually aware she attempted to listen to the trees. However, because she was already preoccupied with chasing a ranger, she could only pick up bits and pieces…not enough to learn of anything. Shugotenshi quite enjoyed listening to the spirits, so she decided she would come back here to listen another day.

Suddenly, the trees ended, and a channel emerged. The ranger slowed down to catch his breath and met up with many others waiting there. Most carried large spears, some others looked much like rangers and one looked like he was sleeping.

“Should I wander in like that ranger did, or sneak in and surprise them?” Shugo thought to herself. “Maybe I should growl like an Orc and scare them! Oh wait…what does an Orc sound like? Well I could try to summon up a spirit to freak them out…” Shugo kept thinking of ways to scare her to be companions. She knew they would be upset with her if she did, but it would keep them sharp and she knew it would be only a joke. But as she continued to think, she heard a small crack. The branch on which she was sitting began to snap, and she fell to the ground with it. Quickly crawling to her feet she stood up and faced the group. With a large grin on her face she just stood there, judging the looks on everyone’s faces.

“Hello my name is Shugotenshi, Shugo for short. I was given this and it seems I will be joining you on your little party.” She held out the parchment, which had teeth marks on it from when she was gnawing on it. “So I’ll just wait over there until your ready to go!” She ran past the group and jumped into one of the boats behind them. The force of the jump pushed the boat out into the water, much to Shugo’s surprise. She quickly paddled the water with her hands to get back, but ended up going in circles in the water. A few of the elves laughed quietly as she struggled to bring the boat back.

“Seems we have a child on board.” one of them said.

“All the better, lightens the mood.” another responded.

(OCC: hope ya dont mind the early post, just wanted to get my intro to the party in ^_^)

The day was a fine one. The birds chirped their little tunes at one another, the sun beamed brightly upon the earth, and the leaves of the trees rustled softly in the breeze. Amidst this beauty was another type of beauty, a young girl who was not only beautiful by appearance, but was just the same on the inside, because this girl was young and innocent, unaware of the evils of the world. Surely she would grow experienced in the depravity of men, but for now she would bask in her youth.

She skipped along lightly, smiling to herself absently and humming a tune that she had heard coming from a tavern. The road which she traveled was solitary, no houses or towns marred its wild splendor, its wondrous appearance. It was true, a day like this could be found but once in a lifetime, and to be on a road like this on a day like this was undoubtedly a blessing from the Gods. Perhaps the girl had gained their favor.

A small time later, she found herself quite hungry, as her stomach informed her, and she was going to have to make discovering some food a top priority, lest she starve and die. It just so happened that a small cottage was perched upon a small knoll which was shaped just right for it to hang over the road. From the little house came a steady trail of smoke, which undoubtedly meant that someone was currently inhabiting the building, which also undoubtedly meant that that someone was either cooking food or warming his hands by the fire, and who would do that in this weather? Eager to discover if that certain someone would be willing to donate some food, Velvet dashed to the front of the door and knocked lightly. Earlier in a different town, she had simply walked into the door without knocking and was promptly meant with a cross face and a large amount of yelling. For some reason, people would not allow others into their houses unless the knocked first, and even then, the person might not admit the knocker.

This time, however, her knock was answered by a kindly old Elven lady who smiled up at Velvet warmly. "Now what's a young girl like yourself doing all alone on the road?" asked she. Velvet replied that she was going to fight Orcs for the king, which made the old lady laugh. Of course she didn't believe that this young girl would actually go fight Orcs, but Velvet did not realize this, and ernestly went on about how she thought Orcs looked like pigs that wore forked helmets.

"No, no, my dear. Orcs are a vicious lot. You would not want to cross roads with an angry Orc, no, no, no." This caused Velvet to inquire why, and the woman answered, "Because Orcs will try to kill you and eat you for food." This struck Velvet, who had never eaten meat in her life, as a very strange thing to do, and asked why an Orc would eat someone. "Well, I suppose Orcs need to eat things to," she said in reply.

Not long afterwards, the pair were deeply ensconced in a pair of armchairs, and both were discussing pleasantly about anything and everything from delicious fruits to favorite songs. When the soup was ready (that's what the smoke was from), the old woman served a bowl to each of them, which Velvet ravenously ate. Not long after, the young girl found herself quite tired, and with a full belly, she fell right to sleep.
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"I don't want to do this. She's such a nice little girl." Velvet was slowly coming to consciousness when she discovered both her hands and feet were bound together very tightly by long rope.

"We must, or they will kill our little boy." An arguement ensued, with the second voice as the victor and the first finally giving in. Directly afterwards, Velvet could here light footsteps approaching the room she was lying in, which was devoid of anything save her possessions, a bit of straw, and a wooden door.

A most distraught Velvet was pondering as to why the lady would do this when the single wooden door swung open. From it came the kindly old lady followed by an old Elven man, both of whom wore grim expressions upon their wrinkled faces. Without responding to Velvet's inquiries, they lifted her from the ground, not bothering to undo her bonds, and took her outside. Continuing to ignore her, they tossed her into the back of a cart which had a small pony hitched to it, then the old man said farewell to the woman, and they drove off.

The trip was boring and did nothing to soothe her tightly strung nerves, but the girl was curious to discover what these people wanted with her. Finally, the cart came to a halt inside a dark cave, and the girl could hear a gruff voice speaking incoherently. Velvet was roughly tossed to the sandy floor, directly beneath the grinning maw of what was undoubtedly an Orc. Velvet's heart skipped a beat.

"Good. You bring me food." The Orc was obviously not well versed with language, and his deep voice resonated throughout the cavern. "Will save for later. Put food there," he said, pointing to a corner in the cave. The old man hoisted her onto his shoulder and brought her to the corner, where Velvet began to give vent to her infinite questions.

"Why are you doing this? Free me, I can beat that Orc,. He's not so tough. That's an orc right? Where's the old lady?" she said without pause, her questions continued, but the old man would not respond. With a grim nod of his head, he rose to his feet and turned from the bound Elven girl. "Please, free me," she inquired, now panicked. Suddenly, the man turned. With a resolute expression on his face, he untied the young girl, still not responding to Velvet's words.

"Go, kill him," he finally said. Then, without a word, he drew his knife and threw it with all his might straight towards the Orc's unprotected neck. The knife buried itself deep within the Orc's neck, but did not go deep enough to kill it. With a cry of anger, the Orc turned from its meal and charged the old man. Velvet's bow was in her hands, yet she did not draw an arrow from her quiver, or pull the bowstring back. In fact, she did not even raise her weapon, so terrified was she. The man stared in disbelief. He had just listened to this foolish girl who claimed that she would destroy his enemy, and now when the time came to do so, she stood frozen in her tracks, unable to do anything save stare dumbly at the oncoming demon. Fear broke into anger, anger at Velvet and at himself -- he should not have listened to the stupid girl. The man turned to flee from the orc, but it was too late -- moments later, his head rolled.

"No!" cried Velvet. Now, now, when it was too late, did the girl snap from her paralysis. "No!" With arms fueled by adrenaline, rage, and fear, she drew her bow and simultaneously drew an arrow. With aim born from desperation, she fired upon the orc, again and again. Some missed, some hit, but when it was over, the orc was dead at her feet. Trembling, Velvet fainted.
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She awoke, the corpse of the Orc now being inhabited by maggots and all sorts of unpleasant insect life. The same did not hold for the old man, for his body was far too skinny and weak for any of the maggot's taste. Maybe his muscles did not agree with the scavengers. Half-eaten venison was still clenched in the Orc's hand, along with his double-bladed axe, which was crude to say the least.

Velvet rose to her feet, existing in a dream state. She walked towards the rendezvous point, not thinking, or anything else at all. She had been blooded -- and she was not handling it well.
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Later on that perfect afternoon, a more composed Velvet strode into the encampment of 20 lancers and 10 rangers. Her face was slightly pale, but she hid her pain well.

Opening his eyes, Elither noticed a new member of the party, it seemed. She was young.

“Seems we have a child on board.” One of the lancer's said.

“All the better, lightens the mood.” A ranger responded.

"Maybe, maybe not" Elither replied, with a stretch. He yawned lightly, and got to his feet. "Seems the king's more of a coward than I thought, sending an invitation to a girl” Elither was not being sexist, but the elven girl that stood in front of him was not that old, for an elf anyways. The king sent an invitation to a girl, not even a woman. He really is sad. I guess that’s what I should expect, in these times. With a slight nod to the girl, he sat down on the side of the boat. “Well then, you’re coming with us? Fine by me, I guess. My names Elither.” He looked to the rangers, and lancers for a moment. “Do you know how many invitations the king sent?”

”Yes, three of them.” A lancer replied. “Well then.. Twenty of you, ten rangers, and three of us.. Thirty three. Hmm… Well, that is if-“ He was cut off from his sentence, by Another coming their way. She was pale, but it looked as though it was from some kind of illness, he wasn’t sure though. “Well then, is that the third?” He asked a lancer, closing his eyes. Elither put a hand inside his cloak for a moment, and fondled a small pouch of gold. After this, I’ll be taking my leave from this realm..

Round and round she went in the boat, just spinning while waiting for whatever was next. The water gleamed from the rays of the sun; the overall glum day had a spark of sunlight for a moment. The elfish lancers leaned on their spears and the rangers looked restless. Stroke after stroke Shugotenshi managed to get the boat back to shore and quickly jumped to the solid ground. She crawled on all fours very quickly, running around looking for anything. She dug in the sand and found a few shelled creatures, then immediately tried to see if they were edible. The snail like creature inside of the shell refused to come out, so she tried to get it out the old fashioned way. She looked left and right, then her eyes settled on one individual who seemed to keep from the group.

“Look out!” Shugo shouted, throwing the shelled creature at him. The figure lashed out his blade and sliced the creature in half. The slimy creature, now on his clothes, squirmed about in it’s own goo. Shugo ran up, promptly took it off his clothes, and threw it in her mouth. She sat on the ground as a dog would, chewing slowly. A sudden look of disgust consumed her face and she spat out the creature on the ground.

“What do you cut with that thing? It tastes like foul week old blood…not to say that I know what that tastes like.” She said.

“I cut whatever needs to be, usually whatever is in my way.” He said.

“Well you should wash it, it leaves a bad taste.” Shugo suggested.

“I usually clean it a bit, wipe it with something or whatnot.” He replied.

“Wipe it with leaves, if you can find some fresh ones they leave a nice aftertaste. I know there are a few types down a ways from my village that I like to use as a substitute for bread sometimes, especially when the seasons are cold. There is another type of leaf that’s good for cold, its quite large and I use it as a cover. There’s not as many after dry years though, that’s why I try to water them.” She rambled on. Most of the elves had tuned her out, some actually listened and the one that she was talking to didn’t seem to care what she said.

After a while of talking the independent one decided that the party should move out. Shugo decided that she’d lead the way.

“Follow me!” She shouted as she ran off into the woods. “I have great smelling and I can smell any tracks they would have left behind!”

“But do you know what an Orc smells like?” an elf shouted. Shugotenshi then stopped. She sat down and rolled over so she faced the group slowly, then she ran back to them on all fours.

“Do you?” She asked the elf, staring at his face.

“Here, this is from an Orc and has plenty of blood in it.” A one of the lancers said holding out a cloth. Shugotenshi jumped at the cloth and took it from the elves hand with her mouth. She rolled around on the ground sniffing and chewing on it, then threw it back to the elf that had shown it to her.

Shugo sniffed the ground and went around in small circles much like a dog would. She then slowly worked her way over to the young girl that had joined the party. In wavy patterns she moved slowly up to the girl, then looked up at her and stared into her eyes. Then she suddenly jumped on the girl’s back and chewed her hair. The girl screamed very loudly and was overtaken by Shugotenshi’s strange actions, and the other elves all had mixed reactions.

“That’s enough! Get off of her!” the independent one shouted, running over to the two. Shugo quickly jumped off and ran to the group of lancers, near the one who gave her the blood spattered cloth.

“She smells like Orc, but her hair tastes like elves!” Shugo told them all. All faces now looked at the terrified girl.

Velvet gazed across the great expanse of water that was known as the sea. Shugotenshi, however, spun around in circles from boredom. For the first fifteen minutes, the young girl was all aglow with curiosity, but soon the novelty of riding on the ship wore off, and now she could barely contain herself. All the other warriors, excluding Elither, a solitary elf who usually kept to himself, smiled at the young girl's antics, but before long, they had landed ashore.

Shugo was the first to leap from the boat and explore the surrounding area, and she immediately dug into the sand, later procuring a snail. Velvet was still attempting to regain her land-legs, when a bit of commotion arose between Shugo and Elither, started by the snail. As it happened, Shugo decided she wanted to eat the snail, but after finding it now to her liking, she spat it out and began dashing around in her search for something to do.

Meanwhile, Velvet was still adjusting to the stable ground, when the wild girl jumped on her and began biting her and pulling her hair. Velvet, caught totally by surprise, was completely helpless and could do nothing to fend off her attack. Abruptly, she stopped her onslaught of scratches and bites at the orders of one of the lancers. Her alibi for her actions was this: "She smells like Orc, but her hair tastes like elves!"

All of the lancers turned to stare at Velvet, who was disheveled and confused. "Well, what do you have to say to that?"

Once faced by a coherent question, one that Velvet could actually interpret, the girl was fine. She rose to her feet after regaining her composure and responded, "I was attacked by an Orc on my way to the rendezvous point." The lancer nodded, but a few of the other seemed a bit doubtful. However, there was much work to be done, so they set out immediately, not wasting another minute.

They headed into the forest, the lancers in a column, while the rangers and Shugo fanned out around the group. Several other rangers had been sent ahead to provide reconnaissance, while a couple lancers had been left behind to guard the ship. At about noon, the leader called for a halt, and lunch was served. The rations consisted of hard crusty bread that gave energy, but not much in the way of tastiness. Velvet herself, who had lived mostly off fruit all her life, was not very partial to the stuff, but since it was the only food around, she forced it down her throat. At just about the time they were finishing, a pair of rangers came into the camp.

"We've found the Orcs!" one of them informed. "They lie not one mile from our current position, and I believe they number in about two dozen. Last we saw of them, they were torturing their prisoners, sir." At this, several of the lancers grumbled about attacking immediately, while others mentioned "ambush" and "trick."

"Very well, we've found our quarry -- time to take them down. Move out!" The warriors broke camp, and began marching through the woods in a staggered formation, flitting from tree to tree like shadows in the night. Not long afterwards, they had reached the Orc encampment. Orders were given to kill the sentries and surround the Orcs, then wait for the signal before attacking. Velvet had been paired with a grizzled (if you can call any elf "grizzled") veteran ranger, whose face was covered with scars, and had obviously seen many a battle.

"Come on, young 'un," he whispered. "Let's go." She followed the elf through the brush to the far side of the camp, where a drunken Orc had fallen asleep while on sentry duty. Another, more responsible Orc stood not fifteen feet away, his eyes scanning alertly for any type of movement. "You take the drunken one. I'll get the other," the older elf said, clutching his sword. Nodding, Velvet stalked silently towards the inert form of the drunken Orc. The other elf passed by Velvet's Orc silently, and then shimmied up a tree that stood nearby his own.

Velvet diverted her attention back to the Orc in front of her. Drawing an arrow from her quiver, she jammed the sharp point straight into its throat, killing it in its sleep. A muffled cry came from the brush, and before long, the ranger strode out from the underbrush, without a scratch on him.

"Let's hide this corpse," he said, motioning to the dead Orc on the ground. Velvet nodded, and the two of them picked the Orc up off the ground and hid him in a nearby tree. Then, they lay on the ground in the brush and waited for the signal. The stupid Orcs wouldn't know what hit them.

Elither sat on the side of the boat for a while, thinking to himself. His feet slowly ground the sand on the shore, making his flat-soled bootprints. The first one to arrive besides the lancers and rangers suddenly through a snail at him. Elither used his right hand to unsheath his short sword, and send it into a quick and narrow arched strike at the snail-shell. The shell had shattered from the impact, exposing the slimey ectopod's body beneath. The girl had picked it up, and started to chew it. Elither shook his head, and closed his eyes, sliding the blade back into the sheath at his side. Suddenly snail guts, flesh, and slimeyness sprayed all over his cloak. Opening his eyes, he saw that the girl wore an expression of great dislike and disgusted on her face. Closing his eyes once more, he heard her ramble about how his blade was dirty. "My blade's dirty because people like you annoy me 'til I get irritated." She stopped for a moment, looked at him oddly, then stopped. Standing up from the boat's side, he walked across the beach for about one hundred meters. Elither looked to the sky. It was beautiful, clouds and the rays of the sun had been etched into it.

There was a moment when havoc had grasped ahold of everything. Elither turned around, and opened his eyes at all the commotion. The odd girl had jumped on the more silent and pale one, and started sniffing and biting at her hair, mummbling something about how she smelled like orc. Elither sighed, and muttered "Idiots" before closing his eyes, and walking to the edge of the forest. He leaned against a rough barked tree, and propped his right foot upon it as well. Elither crossed his arms over his chest, and watched the Lancers, Rangers, and the two that had accepted the invitation. Over and over again things like They won't be much help would race through his mind. He tried to doubt his thoughts, but the way the one was acting, she wouldn't be much help. Sighing, he thought it was time to go and start their prowl.


He made his way through the outer ring of the forest, using his blade to cut swiftly at hanging vines, and limbs. Some he had managed to get past, but other's were too crowded, and in order to get through without hacking them away would've made far much noise than they should. They were hunting orcs, and they needed to be quiet in order to do so. It was around about three hours before they had come across anything devistating that the orcs had done. A small village in the forest had been slaughtered, and burned. Elither stopped, standing idle in the middle of four hutts, burning. He looked down, and saw a home made ragdoll for a small child, its hair was burning, slowly letting smoke in the air. There was a piece of wood covering something. Elither used his foot to move the piece of wood away, when he saw but a small hand, a childs hand. It was almost ash. The finger nails were still burning. Elither winced from the sight, and moved the wood back over the burning corpse. He had heard about how terrible orcs were, but never seen it. This had left a scar in Elither's mind. They didn't even hesitate to harm or kill young children. An elder lancer walked past Elither, with a dead orc's corpse dragging behind him. "Gonna hide it, incase any others return here, this one was watching the village burn" he said, tossing the orc's body inside one of the burning hutts.

The young girl and a few others went to take the sentry guards, while the independent one walked into the side of the village. Much burning and smoke was seen within the former village, now it’s just an Orc campground. Shugo decided to get a better view and find their leader. Many trees were around the former village, so she took her time and climbed one that overarched the center. From one branch to another, she slowly creeped her way up and over. The Orcs were down below, most asleep, some bickering amongst themselves. Looking around Shugo saw the independent one off to the side, well away from the Orcs. They were scattered around, one sleeping on a crumbled house foundation, another on some bodies.

Shugo was a master of the blade, or at least she considered herself one. Looking around she plotted her next move. She had one shot to jump down and strike, but where should she? Or would she at all? She could yell down once the fight began and tell the elves where every Orc was, or even toss branches down to confuse them.

“Oh, I wish we’d talk this out before hand” she thought to herself. One by one the elves huddled around the encampment. Silently they gathered as two of the Orcs began to fight. It was a weary fight, they both seemed tired. The elves hoped that it would die down, because if too many woke up it would make their attack harder. Shugo moved around in the trees to get a better view, keeping her eye on the events below. It was obvious that the stress was high, if one elf attacked the others would surely follow. The young girl was out of sight, most likely still stalking the sentries. Shugo hoped that the young girl wouldn’t have to fight here, not in this dense camp.

A few Orcs awakened to complain about the noise the other two were making. A new quarrel ensued, and the three began to fight. Shugo remembered the quarrels back in the village; they would start serious but die down quickly. However, when one Orc picked up and axe with both of his hands and swiped the others head off, Shugo new that Orcs were nothing like elves. Congratulating himself and lying back down the Orc went into his slumber again, as did the other who was fighting with the now decapitated Orc.

“One less for us to kill” Shugo thought to herself. “Maybe if we just leave them be they will thin their own numbers!” However wishful thinking that was, it was her and the groups job to put an end to the Orcs here and now. Nearly all of the elves were in perfect ambush positions, and the independent one was poised to strike two sleeping Orcs. He had a perfect position, he could easily swipe ones neck then jump to the next. All he was waiting for is the signal. Not a signal of any elf, just the small tap that they all needed to jump into the fray with full offense. Orcs seemed big and strong to Shugo, so her agility would prove very useful.

“It’s now or never,” Shugo thought. Readying her position she aimed at the best target. One Orc was wearing what seemed to be special equipment. By the looks of it he was the leader, take out the leader and the rest will flee…or just be confused. Of course, by the way they are so ready to kill one another…maybe it won’t matter. “It’ll be one less to get,” she thought. Drawing her rapier she leaned back, and jumped down to the ground. Flying down she could see all of the elves ready…ready to jump in and take them out. Flying down Shugo extended her blade and met the body of the Orc, landing on its chest and her sword landing in its neck. The Orc made a loud screech and jumped up, then held its neck and walked around. The battle had begun.

Elither moved away from the corpse of the child. Wiping a tear from his cheek, he heard a few grunts, and shifts somewhere off the the left of the burning hutts. Moving closely around the buildings, he wiped sweat carefully from his face, making sure not to wake what he had heard. Stepping carefully on the ash, so it muffled his feet, he noticed two of them, backs against eachother. Elither made for the one to his left, the bigger of the two. Using one hand to cover its mouth, he pulled out his Shortblade from the sheath at his right side, and carefully pressed it against the neck. The orc had just enough time to open its eyes, before Elither slid the blade firmly against the throat. Blood leaked down on the ground, as the body of the orc fidgeted around hopelessly, causing the other to shift in its sleep. Making sure to get to the small one, he covered its mouth the same way, to stifle any noise. He didn't bother taking time, he hacked the orc's throat with his blade, almost severing the head from the body. Suddenly, something had interuppted Elither's prowl. A loud roar like screech echoed through out the burning village. Obviously one of the more in-experienced ones had tried to take one on, and hadn't slain it when they should have. The sound came from the leader of this pack of orcs, and he was still alive..

"In-experienced fools." He said aloud, moving to another orc. He had stirred, and carelssly looked around for his short stubby blade. Elither swung his shortblade out at the beasts skull. A muffled thud echoed barely through the burning hutts Elither was enclosed in, as his blade stopped abruptly halfway through the orcs skull. Its eyes rolled in the back of its head, as blood slowly drooled down its face, and off onto its body and ground. "Three down.." Elither said, jerking the blade free from the beasts skull. Flicking the blade in the air some, specks of orc blood sprayed over the ground, so that his blade was only left with a very thin layer of blood dripping from it. Hearing roars, and loud thuds from footsteps close by, Elither threw his back against one side of a hutt that wasn't burning yet. Hidden in what shadows that were there, Elither watched two or three orcs run by, blades risen and ready for strike, while Elither's keen ears heard one of the lancers yell from pain, and fall to his death..

The signal came, the sound of hooting owl. Velvet's partner, the veteran, ran straight into the Orcish camp, his sword slashing like a hurrican of death. Velvet hung back, her an arrow nocked on her bow and her hand ready to let an arrow fly within a moment's notice. Fortunately, her acquaintance was far too experienced to be taken down by a single Orc, so the girl's help wasn't needed.

The attack was a swift one, and without wasting another moment, Velvet's friend had already spotted another Orc and dashed towards it. Spying an Orc, Velvet aimed her bow, then fired. The arrow flew past the Orc's head and buried itself in the trunk of a tree. Velvet let out a sigh of relief and a grunt of irritation directly afterwards -- she hadn't hit one of her friends, but she didn't kill the intended Orc. The target couldn't pursue his attacker because another warrior had jumped on it, bashing it on the head with the hilt of his sword.

Velvet stood in the center of the fray, not knowing what to do, when another Orc appeared from behind a wall. She nocked an arrow to her bow, released... hit! The stupid demon let out a wail of anger as it ripped the arrow from his shoulder, but before he could continue his charge, Velvet shot another arrow which put the thing out of its misery.

Before she knew it, the veteran stood several feet from her, as he warded off several more Orcs. Velvet could not get a clear shot, however, and she could only watch helplessly. Fortunately, the warrior was doing quite well by himself, and he yelled to Velvet, "Get the prisoners to safety!" The girl nodded, and ran over to the prisoners, who were trapped in large cages. Drawing an arrow from her quiver, she used it to hack through the prisoners bonds, after unlocking the cage with a key she picked up off of an Orcish corpse.

"Let's go! Follow me!" the poor prisoners, who consisted of raggedly dressed women and children with a sprinkling of too-old men, readily followed. The girl spotted the lone one, Elither, hiding behind a hut, ready to ambush several more orcs. As they ran for the cover of the woods, Velvet came across an injured lancer, and with the help of the prisoners, she dragged him into the forest and safety.

There, they waited for the sounds of battle to stop, and many of the freed prisoners celebrated their freedom and gave the girl their gratitude. Soon, the battle was over, and the victory was the elves. But not without cost. A half a dozen of the lancers had been killed, as were three of the rangers, but the Orcs had been vanquished, although several had escaped. Luckily, this was this was one of only several tribes, so the work was almost done. Or so they thought.

(OCC: since you decided to skip the battle then this will be a semi-flashback post :D)

The Orcs saw Shugotenshi with her rapier, covered in their fellow Orcs blood. One made a loud bloodcurdling cry, a battle cry. Two Orcs immediately rushed towards her, unleashing their giant battle-axes. They might have great strength, but she had agility. The first Orc swung at her vertically downwards, and she easily moved to the side. The Orc then lifted his weapon up and swung horizontally, and to avoid the strike all she needed to do was duck. Shugo lunged at the Orcs legs and cut deeply into one. She then flew between his legs and strait in front of the other Orc. He held two smaller axes both covered in dry blood. With one swing diagonally at her followed by a vertical swing, the Orc tried furiously to hit her. But Shugo dodged one and then the other, circled around the Orcs back and stabbed his neck. The Orc wouldn’t die so easily however, it swung around with both axes and tried to cut Shugo down to size. But she easily jumped onto the Orc head and took another stab into its neck.

But as she lifted her head to prepare to land on the ground, she saw the Orc of whose leg she cut with his giant ax lifted well above his head ready to strike her down. Quickly Shugo jumped aside to the ground as the Orc then drove the ax into his fellow Orcs skull. Shugo, realizing that the Orc was now off balance, jumped to his head and drove her sword into it’s neck. Dropping the giant ax it swung its arms wildly at her in a desperate attempt to hurt her. But before it could make any progress, the Orc fell face first to the ground. Shugo smiled in her silent celebration, but she then heard a loud scream of pain from right behind her. She quickly turned around to see an Orc with a sword through it’s neck standing behind her holding an ax in its hand, as if it was ready to strike. It the fell to the ground, someone had slain it right before it came to her.

“Hey! I was gonna get him too!” Shugo shouted to the one who had slain the Orc. “Oh, I never got your name.”

“Elither Daegovad, and you should be more careful.” He said.

“Ok, but you have to be careful too Elith!” Shugo replied.

As the battle continued many lancers died. They were not fast enough to escape the Orcs wrath, and not strong enough to overcome them with brute force. The other young Girl managed to find some prisoners, most likely being saved as food for the glutinous Orcs. For the moment they celebrated, and mourned as well for their fallen comrades.

(Now now, don't rush things. =P You'll get more money and levels if you drawl it out some! ^_^!)

Elither crept around the burning hutt, the cloak becoming hotter, and actually starting to smoke. If orc's being slayed meant his cloak being burned, then he'd happily choose the orcs over the cloak. Finally getting his chance to ambush Three orc, he took the oppurtunity. They had been the one's that had slain the Lancer. An axe laid embedded in his chest, while their was axe wounds in the lancer's neck, and his skull; It had been a young lancer, too in-experienced to handle several on his own. This fueled Elither with anger. He felt that the orc's had violated some owth, and ganged up with several on a young, almost defenseless person, like the child he had seen charred to death. He stuffed his blade carefully inside the sheath, and jerked his bow quietly from the strap at his side. Knotching two arrows upon the bow, he held it Horizontally, aimed at Two of the orc's backs. Pulling the bowstring taught, he squinted one eye for a split second, to make sure his aim was true. Releasing the arrow, the string gave off a 'twinging' sound. The arrows flight was just as predicted, driving into the left of the orc's back, and into the cold black hearts of the orcs. One of the orcs fell straight into a live, and very fueled fire, while the other fell upon its own axe, the axe cleaving into its chest. Elither didn't waste time, for he pulled another arrow from his quiver, and placed it on his bow, almost taking no aim. The Orc had turned around, just as he let it fire, with another 'twinging' of the bow string. The arrow flew straight into the orc's mouth, after slicing through the lips, and breaking through the teeth; the tip of the arrow just coming out of the back of its head. It fell face first to the ground, the arrow shoving further from its head.


He figured at least a dozen orcs have been slain so far, and there couldn't be too many more at this village. So he stopped stalking, and made his way around the village, finishing off the rest of the orcs that weren't already dead, so they couldn't escape and send word about this little vigilante small army that was brng together for one cause: To slay them. It only took him a few minutes to, it seemed the older, more experienced ones did fair jobs themselves. He was on his way, to see if the casualties on their side had been counted yet, when he came across the odd girl. She had just slain two orc, when a third had been sneaking up behind her, readying his axe to cleave her back. He lunged at the orc, drawing his blade into a very quick strike. The blade struck into the orc's neck, and out the other side. The girl turned around, just as specks of blood, along with spurts sprayed the small area, covering her partially in it. He twisted the blade of his shortsword, just to make sure, before kicking the orc off his blade.

“Hey! I was gonna get him too!” Shugo shouted to Elither, as he kicked the orc. “Oh, I never got your name."

“Elither Daegovad, and you should be more careful.” He said.

“Ok, but you have to be careful too Elith!” Shugo replied.

"Thanks, but I don't need to be." His right eye twitched as she called him "Elith", obviously he did not like it.

Half a dozen Lancers, and a handful of the in-experienced rangers was the count of casualties, but it was to a cause. When they had finally gotten through the first of the battles against the orc, Elither threw himself on the ground, his back against a tree, cleaning his blade, and any of his arrows that he could recover off, with a stained dirty cloth. A few of the prisoners sat to watch him, but he took very little notice. He didn't like people watching him much.

(OCC: hey Velvet was the one who rushed it!)

Very few Orc remained after the massive fight. Some hid behind trees while others openly taunted the elves into fighting. Shugo climbed the trees again to get a good view. Many branches cracked as she rushed up, but she wasn’t worried about it. The battle was already in the elves favor. Shugotenshi reached a good vantage point and looked around. Most of the Orc hid behind trees a bit away from the elven solider masses. One looked like he was wounded, an arrow in his shoulder and a bloodthirsty look on his face. Another was in a ditch, obviously heavily wounded. Three more lie behind them, but they didn’t seem like much of a threat for now. The Orc may be strong, but the elves had then on the run. One Orc signaled to another and that one to another and they gathered together one by one. Shugo realized they were planning a counter attack and decided to inform the others. Jumping down branch by branch she landed soundly on the ground near Elither.

“Elith, there are five Orc due north gathering for a counter attack, one to the east that’s wounded, one to the west mortally wounded and three to the south.” Shugo reported.

“You take the wounded ones, I’ll get the ones to the south.” Elither replied.

“Hey I strong enough to take more than wounded!” Shugo pouted back at him. Without arguing any further she rushed of to the east. Slowly she moved around the trees and brush that covered the land, being as quiet as she could. She reached the point where the injured Orc was, it lie just on the other side of the tree. Shugo thought for a moment on how this attack should be done. She knew not if the Orc was ready for combat off guard or even asleep. Shugo climbed up the tree and slowly and went around to the Orcs side. She made sure that she was well over six feet above the ground and went as quietly as she could. Peeking her head out around the corner she saw the Orc was looking strait up at her! Startled she jumped back around the tree and climbed up to the tops. She didn’t know what to do; the Orc was easily defeatable but how should she go about killing it.

“Come down and fight me!” the Orc shouted to her. Shugo knew she had to take care of him sometime. Shugo clung to the tree as she bided her time. But suddenly she heard a loud scream down below. Peeking out around the tree she saw the Orc with an arrow in his neck. Looking around Shugo found the young girl with her bow in shooting position. “She obviously can handle a bow,” Shugo thought to herself.

(OOC: I wasn't in a large part of the battle. I was getting the hostages out, silly. You guys stretch the battle out, I'm going to do some plot enhancing.)

Velvet was miffed. The reason being was that she was forced to mope through this accursed swamp in search of the remaining Orcs. As it was, nearly all the stupid pigs had been vanquished, but she knew that the commander was right for not taking any chances. Again, she had been paired with the veteran, who was now sporting a couple more scars.

The strong elf would go first, while Velvet would scout around, her bow strung and ready to fire at the first sign of one of the hairy beasts. They had been trudging through the swamp for hours, and they were now heading back to camp after hours of not seeing anything.

Suddenly, the snap of a branch breaking echoed through the swamp. "There!" yelled the veteran, pointing to an Orc far to the right. Aiming her bow at 45 degrees, so that she would get the maximum distance, she drew her bowstring back as far as it would go, so far that it was shaking from the strain. The Orc ran. She released.

The arrow whistled through the air, and with a little luck, it would hit its target. Luck smiled upon her that day. With a fleshy thunk, the arrow drove straight into the fleeing creature's neck, killing it instantly.

"Nice shot," congratulated the veteran with a nod.

"Thank you," replied Velvet, blushing slightly. They continued their sojourn back to camp, when her partner found some interesting footprints easily discernable in the mud. After a small debate, the pair decided to head back to camp, and inform the others of the Orc presence. But they didn't see the Orc presence that was right on top of them.

From the trees came at least half a dozen Orcs, all of which were toting sharp sabres and other nasty implements of war. Velvet's partner had already whipped out his sabre, while Velvet herself let an arrow fly, which buried itself deep into one of the Orc's shoulder, forcing it to drop its axe. The veteran let out a roar, and leaped upon the nearest Orc, his sabre making a metallic crack against the scimitar of the Orc. Velvet let another fly, then let out a grunt of irritation, because the arrow whiffed over the Orc's head. How could she miss at this range? Quickly, she let another fly, but was sad to discover that the Orc had used its axe to deflect the arrow. By this time, it was too late to let another arrow loose, so she simply drew one from her quiver and, holding it by its wooden shaft, she thrust it into the Orc's throat. The Orc, thinking that the young girl was now easy prey, was unprepared for such an aggressive maneuver, and paid for it dearly.

Turning, Velvet let fly another arrow, killing this one with an arrow head to the heart, and afterwards, she discovered that all of the Orcs were dead. All except the one that she had shot in the shoulder at the onset of the battle.

"He's gone to warn his tribe! We must warn the others!"

“Elith, there are five Orc due north gathering for a counter attack, one to the east that’s wounded, one to the west mortally wounded and three to the south.” Shugo reported to Elither, while he was nearly completed on cleaning his blade. "Damnit.. Alright, you take the wounded one's, all take the ones to the south." Elither stood up, stretched for a moment, ignoring what Shugo was saying. He sped off, to the south. Leaping from the ground, and kicking off part of the tree trunk, he landed nimbly on a large, thick tree-branch. He silently leapt from one branch to another, making his way non-stop to the south, taking short breathes every moment or two. He arrived, just above the orcs within five minutes of his departure from the make-shift camp for the prisoners. The orcs were huddled up, grunting and talking, seemingly deciding whether or not to make a counter-attack. Elither didn't give them any chance. He unsheathed his Flashblade silently, and pulled an arrow from his quiver. Leaping down upon the three, he let his blade fall down atop an orc's skull, cleaving it. And the arrow he let drag roughly along another orc's face, ripping the skin, and taking an eye with it. He landed, crouched down. Spinning on his left foot, he jerked the blade from the orc's skull, and let it sweep toward another orc's legs. The dull side of his blade met with the orc's ankles, causing it to lose it's balance. Elither flung himself upon the orc, and drove his blade into the orc's shoulder with all he had. Bone's crunched, and snapped under the blade, and muscle, and fat tore on the blade. Elither jerked the blade from that shoulder, towards the other as hard as he possibly could, entering the chest cavity. Ripping the blade from the orc, who was fidgeting, and bleeding from the mouth, and wound. He looked around to the only living one left, who was missing an eye.

"Damn you!" The orc bellowed, trying to run away. Elither dropped his blade, and pulled his bow from his side. He knotched the already bloody arrow on the bow, and pulled the string taught, squinting an eye aiming. He released the arrow, the string giving off a gentle twanging sound. The arrow drove in through the back of the orc's skull, and drove out the orc's forehead. He continued to run for a few seconds, his head wobbling on his neck, before it fell to the ground dead. Elither picked up his blade, sheathed it, and returned back to camp.

They ran... they ran... they ran. The pair had to make it to the camp, and warn the others, but that was easier said than done. Already, it seemed that the Orcs were gaining on them. How that single Orc had called so many Orcs to him so fast was a mystery, but Velvet had no time to ponder that. What she did have time for was forcing her aching lungs to suck in yet another breath, whip her exhausted legs onward, and will her heart to beat all the faster. It seemed to her that every root, every branch, every vine wanted to impede her, and already she was covered in minor scratches and cuts.

She hadn't yet tripped, but it would be only a matter of time before she made a mistake, a mistake that would be fatal. But all she must do is make it to the camp, which was, by her judgment, approximately one mile away.

How many Orcs were chasing them, the girl could not know, but she estimated that there was about twenty. From the sounds of the pursuing Orcs, it sounded as if there was double that much.

An arrow buried itself into the ground not four feet away. An Orc let out a howl. Faster, they ran. They were almost there, it was only a few hundred more yards. The ranger with her had spotted a sentry, standing guard-duty.

"Run! The Orcs are coming!" called the ranger to the sentry with the last bit of his breath. The sentry, taking the hint, turned and dashed around the perimeter, warning the other sentries.

A hundred more yards. The Orcs were pulling away. They had made it. Velvet dashed straight into the camp, and immediately collapsed to the ground, but the ranger still had enough air in him to gasp out, "Orcs!" before he too, fell to the ground, struggling to breath.

"Orcs!" cried the sergeant that they had warned. "Orcs! Reinforce the perimeter! Orcs are coming!" The elves leapt into action. They would have to, because Velvet had made a mistake. There was more than a mere 20 Orcs on their tail. There was double that number.

Elither sat perched up in a branch, hidden well with the dark green cloak, blending in with the surroundings; Leaves, green bark, vines, and even small saplings that had managed to reach the height he was. He was almost back to the camp, maybe a quarter of a mile, when his keen ears picked up sounds. Pants, and feet stomping against the forest floor: running. Elither put his body against the branch, and laid down upon it, watching. The other girl, Velvet, and an elder, veteran Ranger was running, and for a reason. Elither’s eyes picked up very dark outlines of not even a dozen, more around almost four dozen orc’s chasing after them. They were almost to camp, and the rangers, and lancer’s wouldn’t have a chance to defend the assault that was laid at their feet. Elither had an idea though, something he managed to pick up along his way, in his journey’s. Looking around, he saw several saplings, thorny shrubs, and vines. This would be perfect. He placed a hand on the branch, and closed his eyes, whispering to the tree. Not being able to control such large tree’s yet, he could use this tree, to reach the vines, shrubs, and saplings he’d need. I need your help, please allow me to guide you where I need you to be.. Elither beckoned in thought with them. The saplings shuttered in agreement, the vine’s wriggled in place, and the shrubs shook. Velvet, and the veteran had past Elither, and the orc were on their way. The shrubs bent over, and blocked the path to the camp. The saplings bent themselves backwards, as though ropes were attached to the tip’s, and the vines dropped to the ground. The orc’s feet stomped down roughly on the ground, as they charged through. Vines pulled themselves up, grasping on not only orcs feet, but neck’s, and arms, lifting them into the air, like puppets on strings. They tried to wriggle free, but only entangled themselves even more. The saplings seemed to let go of the hold they had, bent backwards. Several popped against the orc’s face’s, the orc’s losing eyes, teeth, and blood. They fell down with the impact of the saplings. Elither stood up from the branch, and leapt nimbly from the branch he was on, onto another. He had at least bought the ranger’s, and lancer’s a good ten minutes to gather for a counter assault.

A dark green cloak billowed in the wind, as Elither dropped into the burned village. The ranger's and Lancer's had formed together, in the opening to the forest, where the orc's were coming. Elither's mind began to make fast work. Those were many orc... too many. That had to of been all of them... those boat's wouldn't have carried many more than that. After agreeing with his thoughts, Elither stood up from his knee, where he landed. Beginning to walk over to the lancer's and ranger's, he withdrew his bow, and gripped the firm wooden handle. "Ranger's, Lancer's." Elither spoke, nodding to them. "This assault they are planning, will be the last. They're all together.. Every single one of them. There shouldn't be anymore left, after this. Hopefully, we'll win this battle." Elither nodded once more, after the nods from the warriors. A thought crossed Elither's mind, but slowly died. The other two seemed to have retreated with the villager's that survived. Oh well, at least I won't have a guilty concience if one of them died. Before he could think about it any longer, yells, screams, and grunts sounded the alarm, the orc's were near.

Elither lifted himself onto a small shack like house, that managed to survive the great fire that burned most of the village. Pulling two arrows from his quiver, he knotched them onto his bow, and aimed to the only opening that spewed into the village. The work that the forest did for him just a few minutes before had been good. They not only destroyed many orc's, but also closed up every opening but one, which gave the lancer's, ranger's, and Elither the edge in the battle. A small sapling shook, before orc's came pouring out of the opening. Elither let the arrow's fly from his bow. Two orc's were thrown back from the impact of the arrow's, which had landed in one of the orc's left shoulder, and the other arrow into the chest of the other. Elither smirked, seeing that the forest did better than he thought. Half of the army of orc that had chased the girl, and the ranger had been destroyed. Taking two more arrows from his quiver, he closed his eyes. The heads of the arrow's began glowing, but a dark purple glow, almost black. He was using a charge shot on both arrows. Opening his eyes, he let the arrow's fly. One arrow passed straight through the chest of one orc, through the right shoulder of another, and into the neck of a shorter orc behind the two, while the other one went straight through an orc's forehead, and lodged itself into the right eyesocket of the one behind that.

The lancer's charged the orc's, with their long spears. Cries of orc's rung through the air, as several orc's were lifted into the air, and thrown off the long spears. The rangers charged into the fight, slashing violently with their rapier's. The flesh was torn from the orc, as the rapier's met their mark. The orc's were defeated from the beginning, but they still had fight left in them. An orc with a crossbow had aimed at an elder ranger, with a bandaged eye. The latch that kept the arrow on the bow had rung, which meant the arrow went flying. A scream from the elf ranger met Elither's ear, before he fell to his death.

Elither was breathing hard. He was rested against the side of the shack like house, with two arrows inbedded within his gut, and right collarbone. Three ranger's lay dead at the edge of the forest, spear's laid on the ground, their master's dead. A few orc were crawling, but had no chance to survive. Coughing, Elither staggered to his feet, with the help of the shack's wall. Limping toward where the battle was fought, he shook his head. Over-all, five ranger's were dead, and eight lancer's. But the battle was over, their death's were not in vein. Elither looked to the darkened sky for a moment, before limping along with the survivors to collect their reward.

Elither + 2 Lvls, 4500 Gold
Velvet + 2 Lvls, 5000 Gold
Shugo + 2 Lvls, 3800 Gold