[The Bronze Woods] Yukmen Hunting (Ninus, Wade, Shiyami)

by **Radiant** on July 26th, 2013, 8:46 am

The ghost dragged himself to the general direction Ama went... his barely conscious mind unaware on the pair of eyes watching him, the alpha...

"......................" Ama kept silent during the whole ordeal, the moment when she arrived at highwaymen camp, everything Ninus said clicked into place. So... he was talking about this family, but when I showed my appreciation for the knights, he half-lied... Ama just kept it all to herself, the disdain she felt for these scum, the insults she got, and the threats they gave her. She just follow along and let herself be examined and didn't answer with a single word, she didn't bother to shift to her human form as well, gods be damned if any of these scum lingered over her naked human body.

Ama knew that their previous work was rather futile... Yukmen corpses need to be burned post-haste for their corpses can infect the land with their curse and cause more of their ilk to be spawned near their remains.

She had no choice, she would have to run and ask for assistance to the knights, it was the most logical choice as they have no gnosis healer here and she would need it sooner than later. Without telling anything as these scum would sure prevent her, Ama left the tent and dashed away from the camp, heading to Syliras.

21st of Bell, Highwaymen Camp

Night has fallen over the Woods, the rain and thunder still raging in a persistent wrath. All seemed to go well for the party and with Wade explaining what happened, the bandits were visibly taken aback, a horde of Yukmen managed to drive the dire Kelvic along with her comrades away. But they were somewhat assured that the Yukmen couldn't come this way... or so they thought.

"Look there!" A highwaymen guard shook his fellow guard's shoulder and pointed to the forest, their swords ready to see a... shimmering young man with translucent body. He looked very exhausted and tired. From Wade's explanation, they deducted it was their Ninus' ghostly comrade. They sighed in relief, but soon tensed up as a chill went up their spine, their gut telling them that something was wrong, utterly wrong, and it was because the ghost... Shiyami... dragging his floating feet back and... unwittingly brought the Yukmen horde to their location...

"Yuk! Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!" The distinct chant went louder, louder, and louder until even with the rain and booms of thunders, the highwaymen would hear rumbling footsteps as the horde charged from the woods, phasing through the ghost, claws open, jaws clattering, and ready to tear these humans' throat apart. The horde had grown into double their previous size with over forty Yukmen now charging, lead by the same alpha.

"CONTACT!!!" One of the highwaymen shouted and ring the alarm bell, signalling something dangerous was heading to their location. "YUKMEN!! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!"

A highwaymen grabbed a battleaxe and gave it to Wade, no time for hostilities or suspicion, right now, they would all need to work together as sentient creatures against this monster.

OOCA big battle is coming!! I give you guys freedom in controlling various highwaymen fighting against the Yukmen! I will be doing that in my next reply as well.

Hold the line, gentlemen! Until Ama comes with backup!

by **Ninus Aurellius** on July 26th, 2013, 5:48 pm

The Prince of Rats

Freidys and Churchkey looked suspicious enough at the ghost, but when they heard the cries of the yukmen Friedys turned on their newest visitor. "You led them right to us!" he snarled in Shiyami's face. "By the gods if you weren't already dead you would be by now! You stupid, stupid fool! You didn't have the good sense to lose them before you came here?!"

Freidys didn't have much time to launch into a tirade, as the breathless healer came running up toward them. "The wolf left!" he yelped. "The wolf escaped the tent! She ran off into the woods after I bandaged her!"
The colour drained from most of the bandits' faces. Freidys looked about to pass out.
"Its not my fault! It's not like we chained her or-"
"How much logic does a man have to possess to figure out to tie up the Knights' dog before you heal her!" Churchkey rounded on the healer, who quailed under the angry pair of leaders. Freidys and Churchkey weren't very often united on things, but when it came to the knights they quite quickly set aside their problems and turned on a common enemy.

"We're dead....that's it then...we're all dead." one of the bandits mumbled. A few of them looked meaningfully at the horse, who was prancing at the end of his lead with his eyes rolling in panic.
"First man who touches that horse gets an axe through the back." Churchkey growled grimly, drawing his roughshod handaxes. "We're a family. We do this together. Freidys, check on Ninus. If he's fit to fight, let him.We need every man at this point. We deal with the Yukmen first, then we run from the knights. If the knights arrive before the Yukmen are finished...we deal with them as well. If me or Freidys fall, you are welcome to run as far and as fast as you can. I'd rather you die honorably in battle than with a noose."

Freidys took off toward his tent, drawing his knives as he went. The man, transvestite though he was, was decently skilled with the blades. They all heard the yukmen drawing closer, and the noises bounced off the rocks and trees. It made it seem like the creatures were coming from all around them; the highwaymen had lived in the forest for years. They wouldn't fall for such an auditory hallucination.

Ninus had woken up. He felt the stiff bandages around his chest and had gingerly touched Cricet. She was alive, but she wasn't about to be moving anytime soon. She licked his hand tiredly and he moved her into the furs, cradling her in the softness. He could hear the yukmen drawing closer, and to his horror he realized his poison kit was still somewhere in the woods! His father or mother could find it after this was all over, but he hated the thought of it being away from him.

He still had the syringe, and he thanked the gods quietly for that at least. Freidys came into the tent, looking harried. "That wolf's gone to get her masters." Freidys said grimly, sitting down on the bed and kissing his son's forehead. "Its likely we're not going to survive this. There's a chance you might be hung with us. If me or your father dies to either Yukman or knight...I want you to take Jack and run far from here. I know you're not much of a horseman but Jack knows you."

Ninus slowly sat up and took his mother's hand. "I would sooner welcome the blackness and silence of the rope's embrace. Thy memory of thee and thine will be remembered fondly, if the gods have decided this day." he said quietly, slowly rising to his feet. He winced and gingerly touched his chest, noting a splint on his right arm. His wrist. He moved it experimentally and felt a dull pain throb through the bones. They must have cracked upon landing. He moved the syringe to his other hand. It was a decent stabbing weapon, but without Cricet to move the rats to his side his options were limited.

Freidys set his mouth in a grim line. "If they hang you then the horsepetching bastards will have really won. I mean it Ninus. If we fail, you run." The two exited the tent together in time to see the first Yukmen fly from the trees. Ninus saw a familiar, red-haired man running to greet them with a two-handed blade. His adoptive brother, aptly named Brother, was a giant in his own right and had a love of battle. Churchkey leapt to his side to aid him.

Freidys went back into the tent for only a moment, sheathing one of the knives and bringing out one of the oil lamps. A stick of firewood, a rag from the edges of his skirt, and the torch flared to life. Ninus stood his ground, and Jack shrieked a high-pitched whinny of terror from the rear of the camp. The pair, adoptive mother and son charged the line together, bringing some of the highwaymen with them. The ragtag group was armed with an assortment of scavenged weapons, but their enthusiasm made up for it.

Ninus managed to snag the side of a yukman with the syringe, pumping air into the creature's bloodstream. The tiny air bubble was the best weapon he had, and it traveled quite easily to the creature's brain and felled it. Freidys followed with the torch. "Burn any you kill!" he roared at the others. "Or we'll be fighting thousands by midnight!"

by **Shiyami** on July 27th, 2013, 3:17 pm

Putting his head into one hand, as Shiyami sat down. Unlike the living, he didn't have to worry about some random claw or fist that flew at, and through him. However, whether he was invulnerable to the Yukmen or not, he was not the happiest person at the moment. Why, you may ask? He was pissed off to no end, to the fact that these Yukmen managed to follow him without his realization. Last time he checked, they were creatures who relied on brute force over stealth. Since when could they tail someone without realizing? Sighing, Shiyami looked at the ensuing battles between the living and the mud.

There was, of course, another reason that fueled Shiyami's annoyance. His lack of fighting capability as of this moment. Due to the alpha ripping him apart, he lacked the soulmist to lift up a dagger. Not that he had a dagger to lift anyways. The lone dagger that he brought was somewhere back at the first area, in the morass of some random Yuman. I should've thought that through beforehand., Shiyami bemoaned in his mind. With nothing left to do, he just kept watch.

by **Wade** on July 28th, 2013, 3:58 am

The rain was still pounding about them and Wade could see the bandit troupe roaring and brandishing their weapons, but all that he could hear was his own heavy breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. He scratched his itching nose with one shaky hand before replacing it on the battleaxe given to him by the bandits. He was glad to have it, for he would probably just run off into the woods screaming like a terrified little child if he did not have a weapon steadying him.

He looked about and saw the bandits had charged the Yukmen and engaged them head on. They fought ferociously as they defended their home. Wade looked wildly about, his eyes fixing on a puddle or water hitting the leaves of a tree. He was confused, baffled by this situation for a moment.

A Yukman arose before him in the downpour and the chaos. Wade's gaze snapped to it and he took a step back. The Yukman advanced with its huge head leering at him. He licked his dried lips and tightened his grip on his battleaxe, held down at his left side. The Yukman walked in range and reached for him.

Wade whipped his axe up to the right and knocked aside the two arms of the Yukman. It recoiled and stumbled backwards, both arms knocked wide to its right. Wade's axe was far right as well, but he recovered faster and, shifting his weight left rapidly, he swung his axe back in and ripped off the front of the retreating Yukman's deformed face. It collapsed on the ground in front of him.

Wade's chest heaved as his breathing still dominated his hearing. Another Yukman, not caring that Wade was tired, came out of the sheets of rain. It had some marks on its body, signs that it had been in a fight, but besides a slight limp it looked as if it was ready to fight. Wade held is axe down at his side as he had with the last one, figuring that he would just repeat the same action in his second duel of the battle.

The Yukman reached for him and Wade swung his axe with all of his strength behind it, all of his weight shifting from left to right. The Yukman smoothly stepped back and evaded the blow. His axe didn't connect with anything and instead flew out into open space and Wade stumbled after it. His eyes widened in surprise at the Yukman's intelligence.

The Yukman gave a "Yuk!" of triumph as it stepped forward and punched Wade directly in the face with a rock-studded fist. Wade's stumble changed direction and he nearly fell onto his butt as his vision struggled to decide whether it would cloud over or erupt into flashing lights. His cheek where the Yukman had hit him was completely numb and only the outskirts of the blow stung.

Wade shook his head furiously as he tried to regain his balance before the Yukman was upon him once again. He heard the beast roar "Yuk!" and snapped his gaze back up but just in time to catch another fist in the face. He stumbled to his left with one hand on his right eye. The blow jarred him all the way down his spine and now he could not feel anything on his face at all. He tried to blink with that eye but it would not respond nor would it grant him vision.

He retreated as quickly as he could with minimal risk of falling on his butt. He knew if he did he was dead; he could not bring his axe to bare with the force needed to drive back the monster from a seated position. He heard another "Yuk!" and knew the Yukman had closed the distance. Wade's gaze was fixed on the muddy ground and he did not see it approach, but he knew it was before him.

Blindly he lashed out with his axe. He swept it across from left to right, swinging from hip level up to shoulder level. He connected with something and it gave way before the bite of his axe. He swung his axe back and forth a few more times, sometimes hitting something and sometimes swishing through open air. It didn't matter though as the frantic swinging was meant only to buy him time to steady himself.

Wade could not open his right eye and attempts to do so only brought waves of searing pain. So, he locked his left on the Yukman. It was still advancing upon him despite the numerous cuts and gashes on its arms. It sent a fist punching at him. Wade accepted the blow with his left shoulder. He drowned out the Yukman's triumphant "Yuk!" with a roar of his own as he completed the trade; his axe buried itself in the Yukman's head.

This Yukman, too, fell to the ground and did not move. Wade planted his axe in the thing's face one more time just to be sure. Then he fell to his knees with his chest heaving.

Wade paused a moment as suddenly the sounds of rain and battle forced its way past his heavy breathing. He looked about him to see the battle in full tilt with many Yukmen bashing themselves against the less numerous but no less fierce bandits.

Wade ripped his axe out of the Yukman and stumbled to his feet with the intention of joining the battle.

by **Radiant** on August 2nd, 2013, 4:52 am

The battle was joined, bandits against landspawn monsters. The Yukmen was leaping, tearing, punching, and biting everything they could get their hands on, bandits, their tents, their equipments, they didn't care.

The alpha roared and charged in with his minions, his massive hand grabbed a bandit's head, lifted his body, and he used his other hand to grip the bandits's waist, then he pulled with all his might, the sickening gory sound of flesh, organs, and bones being torn apart echoed in the battlefield. The poor sob was literally half the man he's used to be and the alpha used the bandit's mutilated body as throwing weapons, heaving them to... the young warrior holding the battleaxe, Wade.

*ROAAAAAAAAAAR!!!* The Akalak-based Yukman charged and slammed his shoulder to the warrior, Wade noticed and tried as best as he could to parry the powerful blows with his axe. The boy was actually doing a rather good job, but his experience was simply not enough as the Yukman ripped the axe from the boy's hands and tried to slam the axe against Wade himself. He was interrupted as Ninus' brother tackled it from the side, allowing Wade to recover himself and took back his battle. "Go! I'll handle this petcher! RRRRAAAAGH!!" Brother and Alpha then engaged in a brutal duel.

Freidys and Churchkey won't let just some kind of mud bastards ruined their home, the husband and wife charged together, slashing, stabbing, and bashing Yukmen in a duo deadly dance of death. Their son, Ninus, couldn't really do much due to his wounds, but his help of finishing dying or distracted Yukmen off and burning their corpses with the torch definitely counts.

However... no matter how hard they fought, the Yukmen were simply too much, a group of just over twenty livings against about forty ravenous Yukmen... it was a desperate battle. The bandits were now down to about eight men, not including Wade, Ninus, Brother, Freidys, and Churchkey. "Tch! This is bad!" Freidys clicked his tongue in annoyance, the bandit side were now regrouping, they opted to make a last stand by making a circle formation, with all of them, except Shiyami, gathering and facing the surrounding Yukmen.

The Alpha lifted brother up and threw him, his large body almost crashing into Ninus, but he landed on the ground and recovered "Ninus, that one's... really strong! And I mean it!"

The ghost could just watch in annoyance, he's invulnerable, yet unable to help his comrades. He could only watch as the Yukmen inched in closer to the group... their fate sealed... or was it?

*HOOWL!!!*

The beautiful, courageous howl of a wolf echoed in the area. Momentarily distracting almost everyone, all eyes turned to the direction of the howl and... they could see Ama standing proud and tall, her body shining with purifying light. At her sides were two knights in their shining armor, riding their noble steeds.

"So... it is as you said, Ama... Yukmen, landspawns" One of the knight beside Ama, a senior knight named Ser Wade was rubbing his stubble in calculating eyes. "And also... ah, bandits"

Ama turned her neck to Wade and nodded, but there was something in her eyes that seemed to remind him of something she told him when she came back to Syliras bells ago, wounded and heaving.

"Understood, we will kill the monsters first then round those bandits up, then we'll free your comrade, Wade. As for Ninus, we'll discuss it later... and you said there was a ghost among you as well? Hmmm... tell the ghost to come to us later as well..."

"Alright, Knights!!" Sera Natasha, the female knight beside Ama, brandished her longsword and raised it high. Her gesture was immediately followed by a group of no less than fifty horse-riding knights all raising their lances and readying their shields, shouting in battlecry.

"For Sylir! CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGEEEEEE!!" With that, Sera Natasha, Ser Wade, Ama, and the knights galloped forward to the battlefield. Their might ready to crush every Yukmen there was and burn their corpses to oblivion.

OOCAlright! Hold the line just a little bit more!

I will RP the knights arriving and butchering the Yukmen in my next reply.

Shiyami, you can post your reactions at the spectacle you're seeing at least.

You've done a great job, without you, the rest of us would have a very slim chance to survive without casualties back in that clearing.

This quest is almost over! Go go go!

by **Ninus Aurellius** on August 2nd, 2013, 6:55 am

The Prince of Rats

Freidys scowled at Ama as Brother and Churchkey fought, eventually forming a small circle with Ninus wielding the torch. Freidys snarled. "Run, Ninus. I mean it. Run." he snapped, knives at the ready and blood running down his arms. He had to get very close in order to slash and stab at the Yukmen, and it was clear while the grunts weren't beyond his skill, the alpha definitely was. Churchkey, likewise, fell back with Freidys and Brother to Ninus.

"Fifty. We can't take fifty. We've lost ten men already. That leaves us with us three and seven excluding you, Ninus." Churchkey grunted as the bandits were forced to fall back. A few of them broke and ran, terrified at the sight of the knights. Churchkey, true to his word, disarmed himself of one of his axes by burying it in the spine of a man who attempted to mount Jack. "I meant what I said!" Churchkey roared at the dying man, turning and slashing the throat of a yukman who thought him distracted. Freidys followed with his torch.

"They're armored, and they're not going to let us go on the virtue of us doing their petching work for them." Freidys spat.
"Asses cannot see a hand betwixt the eyes, be it friendly or cruel." Ninus answered breathlessly, nursing his ribs and his wrist. He looked to the tent with Cricet, hopefully she was resting and not trying to help him. "One is not fleet of foot enough to out run the donkey, she will trod upon you with metalshod hooves. No graves does she dig, no respect does she warrant. She strikes her master with her teeth as she would a coyote."
"You've got that right." Churchkey growled.

"Just stick together. We've survived this long." Brother growled. He was flagging as well, and the point of his greatsword didn't lift far from the earth. For all his size he was exhausted, and sweat had turned his fiery beard and hair amber. "Little brother, get out of here. Freidys is right. Nothing is going to come of this if you get hung."

"Thou who hast protected me when my size was dwarfed by thee, I return my debt tenfold. Thou who nursed me, I show my gratitude. Thou who taught me to speak, I follow with silence." Ninus growled, shakily drawing the syringe. "Thy graves are long in the making, and shall be made on a heath above the sun long after Cricet rests in the earth and I am old and grey."

Ninus lifted his head to Ama. "Ama! Ass in wolf's clothing! Thou shalt not condemn the men who made the Prince of Rats! I swear on my life thy betrayal of those who healed thee shall not be complete! Know I lie not, and know I prepare my grave this day for my own corpse." he snarled, watching Freidys distract one of the yukmen while Churchkey buried his remaining axe in the back of its head.

"Pushing your luck, kid." Churchkey grunted. "She'll kill you the same way she will us."
"Ninus..." Freidys grabbed Ninus by the back of his shirt with a deceptively strong hand, shoving the injured poisoner toward the panicking horse. "If you do not get on that horse, and run from here, I promise you I will slit my own throat rather than be rounded up." he said gravely.

Ninus scowled and ran toward Jack. He paused and yanked his father's axe out of the back of the corpse who had attempted to steal the gelding. He grit his teeth in pain as he held the axe in his bad hand, grasping a hunk of the old black mane. He hauled himself up clumsily onto the aging gelding's back and untied the rope behind his head, kicking him toward the yukmen. Jack shied and tried to rear but Ninus reached up with his good hand and grabbed at the graying forlock, forcing Jack straight at the alpha. "I shall blind thee and thine if thine cowardice consumes thy soul. Remember thy slain master, an armored ass now long dead in the ground." he snarled meaningfully in the horse's ear. Though Jack couldn't understand, the low snarl was enough to make him charge forward at Ninus' next kick.

Ninus gripped with his legs as he had been taught, though the gelding was bouncing with a rough stride. Jack had once been the horse of a low-ranking knight, the selfsame one Churchkey's gang had killed. The horse was now ten years older, but some spark of his training still remained in him. He charged more meaningfully and Ninus shifted the axe shakily to his good hand. Gripping Jack's mane with his bad wrist was going to make the break worse, and he could barely make a fist now. Tears sprang to his eyes as Jack barreled past Freidys, Churchkey and Brother.

"That's not what I meant.." Freidys growled to himself as he spotted Ninus heading straight for the alpha.

The poisoner yanked the horse up short in front of the creature. "Thou hast brought your doom on thy front door, but it will not depart that way." Ninus snarled, dizzy with agony. His plan was simple. He had to distract the alpha so the others could cut it down. He was determined now, he had to be part of the alpha's death. The creature that had hurt Cricet and brought down hell upon his family. "Come, coward, the earth that birthed thee was a latrine!" Ninus snarled as Jack backed up, out of striking range of the beast. His eyes were rolling and he was clearly ready to run. Exactly what Ninus wanted. The poisoner threw the axe, glancing over the alpha's shoulder and tearing a fist-sized stone from the creature's shoulder. If that didn't distract it, nothing would.

When the alpha lunged for him Ninus yanked Jack around, feeling the bones in his wrist grind and lose the ability to grip completely. The horse charged straight at the knights, leading the alpha away from his fellows and into almost certain slaughter. Ninus hunkered down on Jack's back and let his injured wrist dangle limply at his side, using his remaining good hand to get ahold of the horse. He had to hang on and double back when the knights had slain the yukmen.

by **Wade** on August 3rd, 2013, 12:27 am

Wade was pretty certain he was dead. He wasn't a corpse just yet, but it would not be long before he was just a cold, lifeless figure on the ground. He wondered if the knights would pick his ragged body out to be much different from the many bandits that were strewn across the ground. Then again, he wondered if he really was.

The bandits were still fiercely fighting against the Yukmen with everything they had. Wade's eyes locked on the one who went by the title Brother. Brother had just saved his life when the Alpha-Yukman had leapt forward and batted aside all of his defenses as if he were a child holding a wooden sword. The Yukman had beaten back Brother as well and given him quite the punishment for saving little Wade from its clutches.

Wade started at the arrival of Ama the White Wolf and the Syliran Knights. The first feeling to hit him was that of hope; he had been under the protective wing of the knights his entire life and it seemed they were sweeping down to protect him once again. When he looked around at the bandits that he had been fighting a bloody battle alongside, though, he felt a deepening fear. The Knights were a notoriously strict lot and it would not lay heavy on their conscience to strike down the bandits as well, even the one who had saved Wade's life. They would probably see it as hitting two birds with one stone.

Paralyzed by hopeless situation the bandits were in, Wade stood for a moment and just watched the battle unfold. Then he realized that for him, there was only one course. He had no say in what happened after the battle. He could only fight to survive and save what bandit lives he could.

Wade hefted his battleaxe and leapt forward into the fray, grunting away his weariness and the pain that echoed across his entire body. He slashed at a Yukman but misjudged the distance because of his useless right eye and only clipped the thing's shoulder. The Yukman turned to engage him. Wade's face wrinkled in fury and forced his axe back in with the intent of sending its head soaring away.

His axe connected and his blow nearly jarred the axe from his hand. The battleaxe buried itself so far into the side of the Yukman's head that when it fell Wade nearly fell over himself as he tried to keep a firm grip on his axe. He stomped on the thing's face and, with the extra leverage, wrenched his axe free. He searched eagerly for his next victim as the blood in his veins boiled.

Wade spotted another Yukman closing in on him and he swept his battleaxe across to send it back on its heels. It recoiled to evade the blow before resuming its charge. However, its momentum was now spent and when it came in for a vicious punch all it did was bloody Wade's mouth. He winced as his teeth bit into his own tongue and the taste of metal assaulted him, but in his enraged state he was prepared to accept the blow just to deliver one of his own.

He hacked into the Yukman's side once, twice, and then a third time. It fell back but Wade kept coming. He brought the axe up high and rained blows down on the Yukman until its arms could no longer fend off the attacks.

Wade spat his own red blood down on the Yukman's corpse and he sought another outlet for his anger.

He turned about and another Yukman was coming at him. They were just too numerous and either too stupid or too stubborn to give up fighting him. Wade hefted his axe above his head to once more unleash his onslaught of furious attacks.

However, his one working eye clouded over with darkness. He stumbled backward as his ears erupted in loud ringing. He didn't know where his axe was anymore. He fell to his knees, only vaguely registering he was about to die.

Then an armored horse plowed over the Yukman.

by **Shiyami** on August 3rd, 2013, 4:50 am

With the blood and gore within the bandit's camp, one would expect themselves to be terrified, or believe themselves to be in a nightmare. Normally, the living prefer events to be more peaceful, with a lot less blood. However, when Shiyami was looking at the situation being played out in front of his very eyes, he only felt...annoyance. Alright, annoyance and a tad bit intrigued. But that is not the point. Here he was, a blasted ghost, that is invulnerable to everything these Yukmen can throw at him...and he couldn't do shyke. He even lost his dagger! He could only watch the certain death that would occur to the bandits an his comrades. On the bright side, he may have more fellow ghosts to talk to in the near future!

His thoughts and feelings were stopped, when the dire wolf -What was her name again?...Ah yes. It was Ama.- came charging back, this time with two of the Knights -Dip-clanking damn petching slow shykes...Why couldn't they have accompanied us beforehand? It would've at least prevented a few unneeded casualties that occurred.- who charged into combat as well. Watching the scene proceed, he noticed Ninus charging into combat on the horse...with an injured wrist?! "Stupid. Granted, he is brave, have to give him credit for that. But, it is still a stupid stunt he's pulling there...", Shiyami muttered to himself, before turning his eyes to Wade, just in time to see him take a punch to the face. Well, at least there was less energy stored within the moving charge that the Yukman had, before recoiling.

Turning his attention back to the scene, his eyes fell upon a dagger. Most likely dropped from the fallen bandit. Reaching out, Shiyami growled in annoyance as he found that his soulmist hadn't regenerated enough for him to lift it. "Tch. Useless...", was his angry words, directed at himself.

by **Radiant** on August 3rd, 2013, 5:33 pm

Booming thunder, raging wind, and crashing raindrops, it all represented the awe-inducing form of the charging Syliran Knights, trained group of men and women ready to serve Sylir and smite all that opposed civilization and peace. Their voice boomed like thunder, their charge fast like the wind, and their might crashed upon the enemy like metallic heavy raindrops.

The knights roaring form would soon claim their first victim, the alpha Yukmen. It had so foolishly charged to the knights, following one of the bandits, Ser Wade brandished his longsword and focused his djed, the energy from his body flowed to his right arm, which he used to wield his blade. The battle fueled his adrenaline and gnosis, doubling his strength, and then he swung with all his might to the charging Alpha.

*SLIIIIIIIICE!!!*

The combination of his mastery, his flux, and Yahal's gnosis resulted in one mighty cleave that tore through the Alpha yukmen's neck all the way through to his nape, cutting its head clean off its body. The alpha fell with a thud and his corpse was immediately trampled by the knight's steeds. The knights roared in battle-fury as the Yukmen's leader was down, this would not be a battle, this would be a slaughter.

At last, they arrived, Ama made the first strike by leaping to the fray and an explosion of light erupted from her, staggering the Yukmen. The knights then came with their lances, their momentum slamming into the yukmen horde. Knocking them down, trampling them, and they brandished their longsword to finish off any remaining Yukmen or stragglers.

The battle was quick and brutal, Sera Natasha slammed her boot into a fallen Yukman's head and immediately ordered for some of the knights to round up the corpses - both Yukmen and bandits - to burn them, while she ordered the rest to capture and round up the bandits. The knights came in swiftly and tied up the hands of every non-knights in the area, save for Ama and Shiyami. Then they put the bandits together with Sera Natasha inspecting each of them.

Ama approached Wade and licked him, informing the knights that he was not one of the bandits. Natasha gave the order and a knight cut loose his bindings and helped him to stand up. "Brave young man you are, Ama told me about you. Go now, you need a healer... Ama will give you your rewards later and should you be interested in joining the order, you can rest assured that you have my recommendation, Wade..."

She then chuckled a bit at the curious similarity between the young man's name and the senior knight's name "Forgive me, but I'm not used to pronouncing 'Wade' without the 'Ser' title. Alright, you must go now, I insist..." The gentle but firm look on her eyes were both an advice and an order at the same time. The Knights would took this matter into their hands now,
a knight then came with his horse and motioned for Wade to get on it. Wade (The young man) acknowledged him and rode the horse together with the knight, then they galloped to Syliras.

Ser Wade noticed the approaching ghost and walked to Shiyami, nodding in respect "Though you are a spirit, but you have helped us mortals in eradicating these landspawns. For that, you have our thanks... now then, spirit, you should follow the young man who has the same name as I am, Ama had arranged for a courier to give you your rewards there" Shiyami acknowledged the senior knight and he left the scene.

Now came the matter about the bandits and their ilk... Ninus was not exactly one of them but he had connections with them so he would be held here to be interrogated, he may be spared as there are no evidence of him partaking in bandit activity but it depends on his next actions, Ama had told them that this man held the knights in disdain and Wade deducted that he could be a potential threat in the future. Any hostility and disrespect shown and the knights would put him down, right here, right now. Bandits do not deserve trials, an honorable death by execution is too good for them, they deserve swift judgement at the end of a blade. But... that's a story for another time...

OOCGood job, everyone! It has been a very fun and rewarding experience!

I will post your grades soon!

Ninus, I will start your personal thread later. Remember that you are the one who offered me to involve his family into this so I deserve the right to determine their fate as long as it makes sense in-universe.

by **Radiant** on August 3rd, 2013, 6:17 pm

Wade :

Ninus :

Shiyami :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+4 XP
Socialization	+2 XP
Weapon: Battleaxe	+5 XP
Weapon: Shortbow	+3 XP
Endurance	+4 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+5 XP
Socialization	+3 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP
Poison	+4 XP
Botany	+2 XP
Weapon: Syringe	+3 XP
Animal Husbandry	+3 XP
Endurance	+2 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Soulmist Projection	+3 XP
Materialization	+3 XP

Completed [The Bronze Woods] Yukmen Hunting (Ninus, Wade, Shiyami)