The forest was calm and silent. A little too silent for the shaman. He had broken off from the others that marched toward the town. Being a shaman did give him a bit more liberties when it came down to it. The giant half-Orc half-Goliath needed to break away at times, he needed to get a feel for the area. Feel the spirits and their emotions, mostly pain and agony from these lost souls. Subtle foot steppes and growls of a rather large brown bear could be heard as it casually wandered towards the kneeling shaman. The bear and its many runic markings brushed against the shaman as it walked by.

[color=f26522]“Did you find anything Artur?”[/color] he didn’t have to talk to it vocally, the two were bonded after all. They could just as easily communicate telepathically. However, Genthok has found that the others prefer him to talk normally whenever possible. The bear looked at him for a moment before continuing to circle the shaman. Genthok never could get words out of the bear, just feelings. And right now there were two that his companion was giving off, one said “[i]No[/i]” the other was cautious. His instincts were true to the core, this place felt off, like a corruption was spreading through the forest.

The plants he had set out to gather where, strange. Mushrooms, vines, flowers, tree bark, and roots. All could be found here but they looked slightly different. As if mutated, if they were there at all. Whatever was influencing this place seemed to be coming from the direction the others had gone in. he had noticed he had been absent for some time, but he didn’t hear any signs of battle just yet. But, he had nothing left to do here, “[color=f26522]I suppose we should head back then, Come on Artur[/color]” the bear grunted and followed the shaman back towards the others.

The subtle noise of hollow bone hitting the stone and tattooed runes that littered his body could be heard as he wandered up to Ardur. It seemed that most of the other captains and inquisitors had already gathered at their leader’s side. Such an action can only mean one thing. They were preparing to go into the town.

Then suddenly as if knowing of their intentions, someone or something spoke to their minds. For him it was painful, as he had a slight resistance to it. This telepathy was the same he used when communicating with Artur. He stood there quietly behind the group and listened then began to speak while this thing was talking. Really he was thinking aloud as his mind seemed occupied. “[color=f26522]Telepathy?[/color]” looking to how the others reacted he could tell it was a new and strange experience for them. To him it always felt… cold.

[color=f26522]“Mass telepathy. It’s strong and powerful yet somehow familiar… why?”[/color] the half-breed snapped his fingers and looked to Ardur, [color=f26522]“War Chief”[/color] a name he called Ardur on occasion. [color=f26522]“My instincts tell me we could be dealing with a demon or devil of some notion. The corruption that floods the surrounding forest from the town could very well be a hell gate of some kind.”[/color] He hoped he was wrong about the gate, he had only dealt with one before and it was only open for a few hours. Not only does it mean someone opened it, but they also sacrificed something grate to do so. Of course there was always the chance he could be wrong The voice ended but was replaced with thunder… no. replaced by an earthquake.

“[color=f26522]If I may War Chief. The one who spoke to us all. He seems to have a flare for the dramatic. I can only guess that this city and its people simply bored him. The skeletons on the wall, destruction of the city…[/color]” interrupted momentarily by the metal champion that seemed to be the source of the sound. [color=f26522]“A champion in metal. We should prepare ourselves for horrors we cannot fathom. May the goddess bless us all.”[/color] Again he was cut off by a roar from this champion as it charged at them.

A few of the others took up positions and began to fight the beast, [color=f26522]“Artur. Fall back and help River, you won’t be much help with this one. River he’s all yours”[/color] his brown bear roared back at the champion before taking position near where River was. The shaman slowly walked up behind the flanks and set his hammer down. The champion was getting very close now and his companions didn’t seem to be in position just yet.

Genthok drew a small bone blade from its place on his shoulder, his eyes began to glow brighter as he spoke, [color=f26522]“payment is required in blood!”[/color] gripping the blade with his right hand and pulling it from his grasp with his left. [color=f26522]“Willingly sacrificed!”[/color] Genthok made a fist with his right hand and raised it high. Crimson blood slowly dripping down his arm. The champion was drawing closer. The surrounding men began to question why they were there. Sure, a likely reaction when facing certain doom. [color=f26522]“Hold your ground!”[/color] running his bloodied hand across his chest the runes began to glow the same color as his eyes.

A ghostly blue enveloped the runes and then his hands. The magic flowed through him, he could feel it in his very core. But, if he held on to this for too long it will consume him. With a great amount of force the half-breed slammed his hands on the ground. It looked like bolts of lightning, but they were running across the ground. The blue light branched out again and again under the feet of the soldiers. Then it bolted out from under them towards the giant. The ground in front of the soldiers began to crack and cave along the lines.

Genthok knew the giant was heavy, it’s metal after all and you can feel every step through the ground. This spell was a simple one all it did was destabilized the ground. He knew that this spell would more than likely not stop it. He only hoped that it would slow the creature down. [color=f26522]“Come friends are you to meet death, before your place is taken?”[/color] a simple saying, but he said it with a smile on his face. [color=f26522]“Today is going to be a good day.”[/color]