-=Adventure Zero - The Fall=-

Our Story Begins in the Gatehouse City outside of Silver Moon Citadel. It is a cool Summer night and the Irregulars are getting some much needed rest after returning from the Dread Desert on a successful contract. Another Day or so and the Contact would arrive to pay for the artifact and then the Irregulars could set off for Home to take on another Mission.

Alm lay in his bed at the Inn half asleep, his window open to let in the cool air and fill the room with the quiet meanderings of the city outside. But in the peace of night an odd sent made its way into the room Alm almost instantly shot up as the word "Orcs" left his mouth. In an instant Alm was up getting ready for battle and by the time the alarm bell started to ring he was already out the door of the Inn racing to meet the Orc's in combat. As for the Others their sleep would be interrupted by this bell which would put the entire city into a state of frenzy. Civilians made their way to the Gatehouse for protection while Knights funneled out of the gatehouse to aid and protect the civilians while they fled.

As the rest of the Irregulars were stirred and got themselves ready they would be stopped by Jing before leaving the Inn. After they were all gathered, minus Alm, Jing started to give his orders. "Alright everyone from what Stephan was able to find out, the City is under attack by Orcs lots of them. And Although Alm is an Idiot for running off on his own... He has his heart in the right place. So were going to go assist the Knights in the evacuation of the civilians. Xia, Freir you two go find Alm and help him," "The Idiot is fighting in the western district, seems the orcs broke through the wall there" Stephan broke in for a moment. "Right, Volux, Arden, Sara, you three head to the East district and help out as you can. If they broke in on the west its only a matter of time until the same happens in the East." Jing continued. "As for Myself, Shion, and Gwen we will head north to the main gate and assist there. Now Stephan, I know you don't "work for free" so go take that artifact and find the buyer meet up with us in three days in the village of Blackrock, from there we will go over our options. Remember everyone we are not here to win a war today, we are just here to cover the escape of civilians. We will come back to win this war when we are actually getting paid for it." Jing joked for a second, "Stay safe and remember if we get separated regroup at Blackrock Village, do not retreat into the Citadel we will be worthless trapped in there." Jing gave the last bit of his speech before telling everyone to head out.

As the Irregulars left the Inn they could see how bad things were going to get, Fires were already starting to spread near the Walls of the City and still a strong stream of panicked civilians were trying to force their way to the gatehouse. The sounds of Battle now echoed into the streets and although the Knights were holding of the Orc attack for now there was no telling how long it would last.

Volux sent a curt nod toward Jing, once again astounded by the leader's decisiveness and strength in dire situations. No matter how many times he fought alongside, no matter how difficult the situation, he always had a plan. Volux threw a quick glance towards Sera and Arden, but didn't take too much notice as to whether they followed him out of the inn. Before he'd even reached the door shouts of panic and the destructive cackle of flame eating buildings, stalls and people.

Panicked people streamed down the streets, a tidal wave slowing the advance of Volux towards the Eastern District. The sounds of the dead and dying slowly fading behind him left a sickness in the depth of his stomach, and faces of others he hadnt managed to save flashed momentarily across his vision. Volux didn't like this feeling, it left him feeling helpless, knowing he could ease their suffering but at the same time not...

No, Volux shook his head defiantly, you do not think like that. Think of the ones you could save; of their smiling faces and those of their families. His feet pounded almost as fast as his heart on the cobbled streets as he fought his way through the crowds. Thankfully, there seemed to be less people spilling out onto the streets, with the majority of civilians fleeing however some decided to arm themselves and brandish clumsily made instruments or old swords that had long ago seen their last maintenance.

"[color=8dc73f][/color]Fools" he cursed quietly, urging each group of the impromptu militia to leave it to the professionals. Some headed his advice, others scoffed and were even insulted that someone around half their age was telling them what to do. Volux let out a deep sigh and moved on, "If only i had Jing's charasma" he muttered "how many more people could i save them? How many people could i save from themselves?"

Freir let a sigh escape under his breath as he got up and made from his table at the back of the inn. If there was one thing he had no patience for was to babysit the strong heroic types when they were way over their heads. They were amazing decoys, he gave them that. At the very least he was partnered with Xia, whose style he did admire when she wasn't trying to get daddy dearest's attention. The ninja theatrics were a tad exaggerated but he did like her pragmatism when it came to fight.

He tightened his sword under his belt while walking past the captain's daughter. "Let's get going then, lady Sanada." He spoke while walking towards the door. "The quicker we bail out Alm, the quicker we can get everyone out of here." Despite uttering those words a small part inside he did feel excitement for knowing he was about to bash some of the Ogres.

Covering his head with his cowl, Freir stepped outside the Inn, spinning on his heels to check if Xia was following behind him.

Nights like these were melancholy. The sweet, warm scent of a summer night was contradicted by the staple coolness of a desert’s air when the sun had set. Seraphim, as usual, sat on the inner ledge of a window and stared out into the peaceful citadel with a blank smile on her face. Homunculi didn’t require the necessities of a human. Food, drink, sleep... If she had wanted she could have taken part in such intricacies, but it was simply a waste. Who would want to sleep away such a gorgeous night such as this?

As her dreamy blue eyes floated lazily along the little houses, something caught her attention. Was that... smoke? Yes, a small tendril of gray smoke curling its way into the gentle blackness of the sky. Perhaps a chimney? I don’t remember ever seeing one atop the houses... Sera sat up straight on the ledge, a lump forming in her throat as the choking gray thickened. It wasn’t long until the fire reached a visual height, and the sirens went off with a shocking blare.

The clicks of her black heels echoed lightly off the walls as the pale girl ran as quickly as she could down the stairs and to the group, pinching the ends of her dress so it wouldn’t get trapped under her hurried steps.

Sera stood off to the indirect side of Jing as she always did, white gloved hands respectfully folded by her belt. She had expected to help the mercenaries out into the field, and perhaps be on healing duty for retrieved citizens. With her lack of personal defense or attacks, the “healing angel” usually wouldn’t be in the thick of it. However...

”Right, Volux, Arden, Sera, you three head to the East district and help out as you can.”

The homunculus nodded absent-mindedly along with his words, freezing after a bit of a delayed reaction of hearing her own name. The shocked face snapped towards the leader, mouth dropped in a wide “o” shape. M-me? Well, I know my healing is most likely needed, but won’t I get in the way?

It wasn’t her decision. If Jing ordered it, then he must know what he is doing. Still, Sera was a bit worried. Volux had already raced out, and so Sera deftly lifted the ends of her dress once more and made her way after him.

As expected, Jing has set it so that it was an effective strategy. Seraphim has her delicate hands clasped before her chest, translucent blue wings spread behind her and her spirit stone glowing bright in her core from the exertion. ”There’s one under the debri there. A child is stuck off to the right.” As she continued to tell the other two where to retrieve the trapped citizens from her insight, Sera went to work Healing each one individually, before she pointed them off to the nearest way out of the citadel. This was working brilliantly thus far... then again, she really shouldn’t have doubted the leader.

@Arthanus@stoneString


Xia was armed and ready before she was even awake. Her trained body glides through a silent rehearsed ritual with a cold innate efficiency. While her hands danced a swift and familiar dance, loading her weapons and tools into their designated holdings, her eyes and ears readily scanned her surroundings.

She cursed herself for not being the first to awaken.

Alert and ready she drank in the situation as others started to arise. She listened intently as her father spoke. An eager excitement arose within her along with the growing opportunity to prove herself.

A sky-eyed northerner spoke to her as he passed, while Xia cared little of who she was teamed with she couldn't deny the faint hint of - relief- he added to the situation.
They understood each other on the battlefield and she considered him neither a hinderance nor distraction. But perhaps... competition.

As Frier past her, Xia slipped into his shadow. She read his hips, with his cowl blocking his peripheral and the commotion covering her gentle steps she slid past him as he turned to look for her. Without pause or hesitation she began to move with some haste towards their destination. One hand held the sheathed sword on her back at her hips while the other carried her naginata on her right shoulder.
Looking back she flashed a taunting playful smile at Frier. It was her shy, silent subtle way to tell him that he wasn't taking the lead on this one.

She ran towards the western district in search of Alm.

@Cherrywitch@MojaveCourier



It was happening again, he was falling. Falling and falling endlessly into a pure consuming darkness. Panic stricken he was as he knew the ground, where ever it was, would be hastily encroaching. Filled with a fearful anticipation. At any second now it would rush to meet him. Any one of these passing moments could be his last.
But a cold wind continued to rush violently over him and pull at his clothes as he tumbled out of control. He wanted so badly to scream for help! But he could't...
He wanted so desperately to reach out and find aid! But his body wouldn't obey...
He just kept tumbling, paralysed and waiting to die.
Then, over the thunderous roar of passing deafening winds, he heard a voice. It stayed with him no matter how far he fell.

"... Arden, Sara, you three head to the East district and help out as you can. If they broke in on the west its only a matter of time until the same happens in the East."

It was Jing. Arden groggily opened his heavy eyes while trying to understand why they were no longer sleeping. He missed much else of what was said. He soon realised everyone else was already wide awake and arming themselves.
'An attack!?' Arden immediately thought to himself. 'Had they been followed?' Wiping the heavy sweat from his brow he frantically started to clumsily paw at his scattered possessions, trying to gather his things and ready his weapons and armour as quick as he could. Crumbling under the pressure, only further agitated by the ongoing commotion, Arden continued to fumble his straps, drop his sword and finally, trip over his bedding.

Eventually he exploded out the door and into the cool nights air. The Alarm bells rung even louder out here without the shelter of closed walls. Ruffled, panicked and confused Arden swung his head as he looked around, wide eyed surveying the scene. He caught a glimpse of Sara in the distance. Knowing only that he was supposed to be with her, he gave chase with all his might. Eventually catching her he continued to follow and obey her directions. Helping people anywhere he could all whilst trying to further understand the situation.

Alm had rushed out of the Inn before the panic had set in allowing him to survey the scene a bit. He quickly made his way up a ladder to the Inn's roof to get a better view of the area, it was there he saw it. A group of orcs had detached themselves from the forces attacking the main gate and were moving to the West. Alm knew that the Knights would concentrate themselves at the Main Gate as that was where the main threat was at so he made his way to the west. Alm would not let these beasts run free through the city before the civilians had a chance to escape.

On his way Alm was able to recruit three of the Empire Knights to join him on the West side, he didn't know how many Orcs had detached themselves but hopefully the four of them would be able to hold them off long enough for the signal to retreat to be sounded. As Alm made it to the Western wall it seemed he was a little late to the party, A section of the wall was destroyed as if the Orcs had hit it with a battering Ram and a small number of Orcs were already inside attacking Civilians as they tried to flee. Alm rushed ahead the Knights close behind him charging the Orcs.

The fist orc fell with ease as it had not seen Alm coming, From his charge Alm made a powerful slash upward across the Orc's body nearly cleaving it in two. And using the Momentum of the swing he pivoted around at the next gracefully manuring the weapon to deliver a powerful jab to the face of a second Orc. As the Orc stumbled back it was quickly ran through by one of the Empire Knights. With only a few more orcs inside the walls Alm turned his attention to the whole in the wall in an attempt to prevent more orcs from entering while the Empire Knights finished off the Orcs inside.

That was until a powerful thud was heard and one of the Empire Knights flew past Alm smacking into the wall limp. Alm quickly turned back to see a War Troll with a massive club preparing to take out another of the Empire knights who quickly rolled away from the attack. "Well Damn, how did I miss you?" Alm asked himself turning his full attention to the Troll readying himself. "Guess that explains how the wall got busted open..." He commented Lowering himself into a more agile stance ready to dodge the Troll's attacks. And as he did his eyes started to faintly turn silver, the air around Alm seemed to get colder, and a bit of frost seemed to swirl around his blade. "Change of plans, Knights focus on the hole in the gate, I'll kill this thing." Alm yelled out to the two remaining knights who quickly agreed to the strategy and retreated behind Alm to get to the busted gate.

From the corner of his eye, Freir watched Xia run past him. He rolled his eyes at the prospect of being the designated adult of the group. While the Irregulars did have the talent, some of the ranks lacked the maturity. Much like when he grew up under the northern priest's roof, he found himself bailing out children out of their own trouble.

The captain had given the order so there was nothing he could do. In his few years with the Bloodrose he had learned, sometimes painfully, that mutiny and mouthing off when not needed would only result in trouble for him and his superiors. Resigned to his duties, he followed his insecure companion with his eyes.

Xia's naivety was something he envied though. The smile she flashed reminded him once more of the orphans from back home. Of something he did not allow himself to have. As with his foster siblings, he did not wish for an innocent smile to become an infant's demise. Verily, if Freir would let himself grow closer to his partners he would later berate her for treating the situation like a game.

He gripped the pommel of his sword and bolted behind Xia after letting a final thought run through his head:

"Children will be children."

@Arthanus@stoneString


arrived just in time to watch a fully grown heavily armoured knight get swatted through the air like a fly. It was a bleak reminder of the reality of the situation, still Xia didn't give it much thought. With screams and chaos still raging around her she slipped through the carnage like a whirling blade of death, never holding still and never losing momentum. She wasn't going to take on the ogre directly, not yet, instead focusing her efforts on the remaining rabble terrorising the locals. Alm would be alright for some time, he seemed to be confident and surging with magic.

The first one she was too late. An Orc was removing his axe from a fallen young mans back. As Xia passed the gruesome creature she whipped her spear around in a blurry flourish before following the momentum with a sharp spin. The Orc behind her collapsed to its knees as the muscles in its legs opened forth and began spilling blood from two large slashes. It would not die but became easy pickings for Freir who should be following close behind.

Xia didn't hesitate or slow, charging straight at an awaiting hungry Orc. The bloodlust in its sadistic eyes made her sick with anger. It easily parried against her oncoming lunge propelling the momentum of her polearm up over its head and meanwhile creating a large opening along its muscular side. A gap she quickly filled with her side arm. She used the full force of her weight behind the blade to puncture it deep into the leathery green skin of the surprised Orc. It went so deep that she had to forfeit the weapon or give up her momentum. Another gift for Freir.

The third Orc wasn't in her plan. Charging out of a nearby building, coated in fresh blood, it's wide heavy swing narrowly missed her as she evaded with a roll. As it readied itself to attack again Xia just kept moving, leaving the slow monster behind as she carried on to the hole in the wall. The ground suddenly shook as the ogre acted. More orcs took it as a call to swarm the entrance. With her glaive steady in one hand, the other got busy throwing out utilities as she continued to snake across the battlefield. Shuriken were hurtled at the ogre from a distance. Then more at an Orc about to engage a knight. Lastly a smoke screen was thrown up as three of her bombs went off around the make shift entrance, obscuring the vision of anyone or thing entering.

Freir silently trailed Xia's footsteps. As the sound of steel clashing against steel intensified, he tapped into his sword's Soul Stone and cast an Evasion spell, one of his favourites. This little trick confused the victims around him and, as long as he didn't do anything to attract attention to himself, gave the burglar an easier time slipping past commotions. He turned around the corner in time to observe Xia charging a small ogre party in a fury. He spied Alm towards the side, stirring up his frost magic in preparation to take on a behemoth of a troll. These targets weren't what interested Freir however.

Without pause, the northern thief kept up his pace. He approached an orc, still trying to recover from Xia's vicious attack towards it's shins, and rammed his boot into the creature's sternum. Freir's smaller frame betrayed his strength. His foot destroyed his opponents ribs and was placed precisely enough to induce immediate hearth failure from blunt trauma. Without giving the downed fiend a second thought, Freir rushed forwards, one hand reaching for the small axe strapped to his belt. In one swift movement, the axe flew from his belt and found the throat of another orc distracted by Xia's assault. As his second victim hit the ground, the turquoise eyed Irregular proceeded his march. His attention turned towards the Orc that his partner had slipped past. He took advantage of the monster's distraction to hurl his weapon towards the back of it's skull. His aim was true and the orc's body hit the ground with a loud thud.

As he recovered his axe, he saw his captain's daughter along with a small contingent of guards heading towards a new group of invaders. "This one has a more suitable mark", he observed. With Xia's rearguard secured, he picked up a felled guardsman's shield and dashed into an alley between two houses. As he ran, he once again tapped into the Soul Stone and produced another one of his trademark tricks. He cast a Reinforcement spell on his right glove and readied himself to flank his opponents.

As soon as Xia's smokebombs exploded, momentarily lowering the guard of the orcs, Freir leapt from his hiding place. For a few moments he soared over several orcs' heads before ramming the shield into the back of the neck of a tall orc standing at the back of the group. Before two surrounding orcs could understand what had just transpired, the thief dropped the shield in order to regain his footing, taking the moment to slash the heels of his nearest enemy and, without dropping a beat, uppercutting the next one's jaw with his hard reinforced fist. Freir then retreated towards the smokescreen, not wanting to be caught in the middle of an enraged group of monstrous orcs. Now that the pack leader laid on the ground with a broken neck, the group would loose whatever organisation they had in their ranks.

With directions from Sereph, Volux fought through piles of debris, flames and people to reach those stranded and in need. Those with major injuries, injuries where they didnt have the time for him to faff about with herbs that were unlikely to save them quick enough, he brought to Sereph; but those with simple cuts and burns he patched up quickly. To Volux, time seemed to be stretching out so slowly, each scream an eternity and each loss infinite sorrow. There was light at the end of the tunnel however, as the Eastern edge of the Gatehouse City seemed to be clearing, as many of the residents appeared to be clearing out towards the Citadel. To safety.

Volux looked at Sereph as she brought another person to his attention and sighed, resentfully, before refocusing on the task at hand. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he worked, moving objects like fallen beams out of the evacuation path, or carrying children to a safer place to prevent them being trampled to death.

"Serath" he shouted, "what next? It feels like we're running out of people to evacuate"

-=Northen Gate=-

As Jing and his group made it to their destination things looked grim. Although the guards were holding the gate, their lines were faltering. Jing Immediately got to work He sent Shion up to the roofs for a better position to rain arrows and Gwen to help the injured knights in order to determine who would be able to get back into the fight and who would be sent back to the gatehouse with the civilians. Jing himself moved to the front giving orders to the knights and joining the battle himself. In an instant the air around the front gate changed, Jing's presence seemed to give the knights a second wind , His commands upheld to a point where the Knight Captain of the gate submitted his authority to Jing. With this change the front gate would hold out until the civilians were evacuated, unless the battle took a drastic turn for the worst.

-=Eastern District=-

Luckily the eastern district had not been plagued with orcs just yet so the evacuation was going along nicely. But that was about to change as the orcs who had been unable to go through the wall started to go over. And although there weren't many Orcs who would be able to make it over the walls the lack of presence in the district by the Knights made those few orcs very dangerous. As Volux stopped to talk to Seraphim a few of these orcs started to come onto the street that they were on. The three orcs smiled seeing new prey and started to close in on the group ready to fight.

-=Western District=-

With Xia and Freir joining the battle Alm felt a little more at ease although he couldn't turn his attention away from the massive creature before him and it was then that it seemed the time to wait was over as the Troll started to charge Alm. It brought down its massive club but the beast was slow, Alm was able to dodge past the troll while making an attack of his own. As soon as he was out of the trolls attack Alm quickly turned and slashed at the Troll's leg, the attack hit but the cut was not deep the thick skin of the creature meant this would not be an easy fight. But it was as Alm had expected and as his blade had made contact Alm had sent a bit of his magic energy through the blade creating a small patch of frost on the troll's leg, it didn't seem like much it was the first piece of Alm's plan.

This dance would continue for a bit as the Troll attacked Alm would dodge and make what would seem to be a superficial attack leaving a bit of frost behind each time. After this cycle repeated about ten times it was clear that the troll was getting enraged and Alm was starting to tire. But his preparations were now complete this time wouldn't be the same bout of attack and dodge. When the Troll charged Alm stood his ground changing his stance to meet the Troll's charge head on. As the troll got closer it seemed to slow down until it raised its club where it completely stopped Ice formations jetted out from each of Alm's wounds on the beast and the frost covered its entire body. In that Moment Alm made one heavy slash upward with his Naginata severing the Troll's main arm at the shoulder. After making his attack Alm follower up with a Spinning slash keeping up his momentum taking one of the troll's legs as well before moving away from the toppling beast. As the Arm and the troll itself hit the floor they shattered just like the Ice Sculpture it had become. Now the Orc's without their captain and their Troll were unorganized and panicked making them easy pickings for the Knights, Xia, and Freir. Alm on the other hand took a moment to catch his breath preparing to continue the fight with the Orcs if needed.

Able to make out Volux’s voice from the crackling of flames, Seraphim forced her Insight to try and see any more body signatures lurking under the broken debri. Sera parted her lips to tell the two it was safe to bring it back, when a cold feeling ran down her spine. Her eyes shot vigorously around the battlefield behind her eyelids, her Insight allowing her to see the colder bodies of the Orcs.

Oh no oh no oh no! I’m not prepared for fighting, how will I, what will I—?

Her thoughts cut off abruptly as her Insight tracked the Orcs inching closer, lions stalking towards its prey. Sera grit her teeth, and shouted out for both Volux and Arden to hear her usually soft voice. ”Three Orcs are approaching from the side! I’ll defend you both, so don’t worry!”

From head to toe, a curtain seemed to draw up around both Volux and Arden. Weightless but sturdy like armor, the magical shields held tight around them to take any extra blows from the oncoming orcs. Sera was fully concentrated, breathing steadily as she monitored the field. She would heal as soon as one was injured, and replace the shield if it was cracked. She would do her very best to be useful in the fight.

Arden was lost to the waves of commotion as some settlers fled and others bustled about in confusion. Instead of immediate evacuation many sought out friends, family or possessions, despite young Arden desperately urging them otherwise. As he tried to hurry them on with the others many stopped to help him thinking he was but a child in distress. It was frustrating and tiresome. The ambient panic, confusion and stress sank into him as he absorbed it like a sponge. He could feel the dense worry and fear that flooded the townsfolk. It prevented him from holding a clear thought as his head spun and ached profusely, he felt scattered beyond belief. Then suddenly it all amplified with the presence of orcs.

Truly caught up in the waves of commotion Arden fell victim to the overwhelming fear of the people. Protective bubble or not, as the townsfolk's thoughts finally aligned so too did Arden's and like the rest he began to scrabble and flee. Jostled about by many erratic scared people Arden soon found himself lost in the still silence of a distant alley way. Screams and shouts echoed from nearby but here the air was still. Smoke had darkened the thin line of sky and here alone, away from the commotion he found a calmness. Arden manage to find his thoughts and focus his trembling hands.
He didn't know what to do.
What could he do anyway?

"You're late, Jing." A high pitched, tiny voice said from the midst of the crowds, herself struggling to break through the tide of worries and flesh that was escaping from the vanguard and the orcs, where a line of Knights still valiantly stood. Thanks to her nimbleness she was not trampled, but she managed to reach the frontlines, a bag in her hand.

She eyed the crashing waves of the horde, as she mysteriously pulled something from the bag. Maybe something that could change the tide of war? Some kind of secret weapon? No. Just an apple, which she promptly and greedily bit, filling her cheeks with sweet and crunchy apple pulp, much to the incredulous stare of knights and several people who surrounded her.

"What is a kid doing here?? Shoo shoo!" Someone said.

"Fancy an apple? Well, I guess not. Alright." She said to herself as she pointed a dainty little hand to the Orc columns, behind the lines of Shields. Arcane words were whispered, and a small giggle came from her lips.

"This is going to smell...a bit." She said, as out of nowhere, sizeable orbs of fire appeared from her hands, and flung in an arc, burst and scatter aminds the thick of the Orc horde. Being so many cluttered together made such easy targets, weren't they?

With the tides of battle quickly changing with the elemental ferocity of fire and ice, Xia saw no more glory to be gained here amongst these sorcerers, merely cleaning up their mess. She did what she did well and slipped into the ever looming shadows, instead focusing her attention on finding those that in light of recent events might no longer wish to be found. She would not let the enemy cowards flee or hide from what they had started. She began hunting and tracking in silence.

@Cherrywitch @dark light

Volux

The stomping of feet alerted Volux to the orc's arrival, their lumbering physique making the boys heart skip several beat. "Ah" he exclaimed, a wave of fear breaking over him like rocks. But like rocks, he stood his ground, waiting for the water to retreat. The orcs stepped closer, much to Volux's dismay, and drew their long crude swords; vicious grins spreading across their ugly mugs.

A warm feeling overcame him. Was it bravery? Courage? Or was it just a reckless side effect of whatever magicks had been lain upon him? Either way, Volux did not care. After seeing Arden melt into the crowd through the corner of his eye, he urged Sereph to go find him, "I've got this" he whispered with an unusual fire burning in his eyes.

Stepping forward he drew his rapier, and wiped it, almost as if cleaning dust from the blade, on his cloak. Drawing it again, albeit this time from between the folds of his mantle, it seemed to glisten with a green liquid, and a grin started to spread across his own face.

The first orc charged on it's own, seemingly believing that the medic would be no challenge for someone of it's stature and battle prowess, knocked over a merchant cart in it's eagerness to reach it's 'victim'. Splintered wood and goods flew through the air, but Volux held his ground, side stepping at the last second as the oaf ploughed through. It seemed to slow slightly before tripping over itself, seeming almost... dazed? On closer inspection however, dead seemed like a more fitting term, as the brute seemed to have a deep gash in his left side, narrowly missing the ribs and directly piercing the heart.

Volux stood between the corpse behind him, and the two remaining orcs, a look of disgust on his face at the sight of his gorgeous blade bloodied once more. Sending a filthy look back towards the orc, Volux knew that the other two wouldn't underestimate him, or his companions, next time.

-=Northern Gate=- @AtomicNut

Jing was not surprised when Sybille showed up at the gate the "Young" half elf had been following around the Irregulars for the last two months attempting to join them whenever she could. But Jing had held back on the idea, although she was a talented mage and had more training than most of the current Irregulars she still looked so young and had the maturity level to match her looks. But this was the first time Jing had actually saw Sybille in actual combat and so far she was a bit impressive although he wouldn't say so out loud.

The defense of the gate was going well Jing with the Knights covering the entry way and Shion, Gwen, and Sybille giving covering fire the gate itself seemed impenetrable. That was until a bell started to ring from the gatehouse, it seemed that the knight captain had decided that enough of the civilians had been evacuated and was now calling for the knights retreat. It only took the knights beside Jing a moment to decide if they were going to stay or flee and soon enough Jing stood alone at the city gate as the Knights themselves fell back to the Gatehouse.

In an instant the battle changed from defense to survival "Shion we're leaving too, give the signal to retreat" Jing yelled as he continued to fight at the gate trying to give Gwen, Shion and Sybille a chance to retreat back a bit before he let the Orcs stream into the gate. Shion nodded at Jing's command and readied an arrow which he shot strait up into the air. The arrow made a loud whistling noise as it flew up into the sky before going off like a little firework signaling for the Irregulars to retreat as well. Then as Shion started to make his way back jumping from rooftop to rooftop he suddenly fell, impaled by a spear thrown by an Orc who had made its way inside the city from another point. "I got one boss!!" the Orc yelled before getting scorched by a fireball launched by Gwen as she made her way to Shion in an attempt to save the boy.

By the time Gwen and Jing had made their way to Shion it was to late Jing took a moment to look around knowing things were bad before turning yo Sybille. "Sybille, I need to ask you a favor," He said in a serous tone, "Take this letter and find Xia. She will be making her way to Blackrock Village. Please deliver the letter to her." he said as he pulled a sealed envelope from his shirt. "Actually this isn't a request it's your first order as a member of the Bloodrose Irregulars," Jing added while pulling out a wooden token with the Bloodrose Irregulars' symbol on it and adding it to the letter. Jing then turned to Gwen and gave her a nod to leave as well. "You're about to do something stupid and you expect me to leave? Fat chance boss, Someone has to make sure you get back home." She replied before turning to Sybille, "Run along now I'll make sure he gets through this, ohh and welcome to the Irregulars." Gwen said to the half elf before turning her gaze at the main gate with Orcs now pouring through. With a small chant she created two walls of flame that seemed to make a funnel with Jing taking his position at the mouth of the funnel.

-=Western District=- @Dark Light@stoneString

After his moment of rest Alm moved to return to the Knights and Freir for the moment the battle was in their favor the current group of orcs on the run but the next group had yet to make its way through the walls. "Good job," Alm commented to Freir, "Thanks to you guys I didn't have to worry about anything but Ugly over there." He continued before looking around a bit. "Where did Xia go? wasn't she with you?" Alm asked noticing that the girl seemed to disappear during the fighting. "We have to find her Jing will kill me of anything were to happen to her after you two were sent to help me out..." Alm added, but before he could start to move to try and find Xia it happened. The bell at the gatehouse rang the knights who had fought beside them left leaving Alm and Freir by themselves. ".... We really need to find her now..." Alm said looking around. "If the knights are retreating it won't be long before we get that order" Alm said knowing the obvious route of the battle. Then as if on Que another group of orcs started to come through the opening in the gate as the whistling arrow was released signaling the Irregular's retreat aswell. Alm readied his weapon and took up his stance. "Ten on two, maybe three, think we should take them or make our retreat?" Alm asked ready for whichever action Freir decided because he would not leave an ally alone to fight these creatures and he didn't want to let them roam free so in his conflicted state Alm left the decision to his team members.

-=Eastern District=- @MojaveCourier@Dark Light@Cherrywitch

When the Bell sounded nothing changed in the Eastern District, most who wanted to flee already had and there were no knights around to retreat anyway there was just the few orcs in the area wanting to destroy all and the members of the Irregulars there to save those who were left. The small skirmish would continue on until the Whistling arrow was released And although it was the Irregular's sign to retreat it also seemed as a call to the Orcs as after the arrow was released A swarm of orcs appeared at the end of the street charging almost as an incentive to retreat from battle.

As the smoke started to settle and the signal for retreat was heard, Alm's words ringed true in Freir's head. As his brain started working a mile a minute, he swiftly scanned their surroundings. Xia was either still hidden somewhere near or, most likely, had taken off at the thought of gaining other glories in battle. Alm and himself, good warriors as they were, had already been fighting for some time while what seemed like fresh endless hordes of orcs made their way to the center of the city.

"Holding our ground is out of the question," Freir retorted. "Both retreat signals have been made so we can't count on backup from now on and I have the feeling that this is just the welcoming committee. Besides, there's probably a good reason why we've been called back."

Despite having arrived at the Irregulars as an insolent troublemaker who made a mockery of the chain of command, the northerner had learned, rather painfully, that in battle you're more likely to live longer if you do as the more experienced soldiers tell you. If it had been anyone else, Freir would have left the company a long time ago but Captain Sanada was a man he could tolerate taking orders from.

"There's a good to fair chance that Lady Sanada might ignore the call for retreat in order to raise her body count," the blonde haired thief mused. "We'll look over the area for 10 minutes and try to run into her. Any longer and we risk getting caught under the orcs' swords ourselves." Freir strapped his axe to his belt and readied himself to start running. "Stay near me and don't engage them directly. Tracking is not my strong suit but I know a thing or two about staying out of sight."

Bells and whistles erupted over the ongoing screams and crashes. Arden had heard the sudden noise but in his panicked frightened state he barely recognised it for what it was. He sat on the dirt floor, back pressed firmly against a wall, arms wrapped around his knees hugging himself tightly.

Heavy footsteps trampled in the nrl ear distance, growing and nearing the entrance of the long alley way. Arden's heart erupted in his throat as he held his breath in fearful anticipation. Grunts of orcs could be heard as well as the clatter of their horrific weapons. Arden couldn't look. The sound passed. The orcs carried on by and the trampling faded.

Quivering Arden exhaled a deep breath. He felt light headed and dizzy. It was difficult for him to bring himself to stand, but he did. Using the wall for support he stumbled out of the alley way. Realising the whistle for the alarm it was he found his feet and quickly ran off in the direction of their planned retreat.

@MojaveCourier@Cherrywitch