Hold the Line! - Arkadius Hogg - 30/06/2020
Jul 1, 2020 11:16:08 GMT
BB, Igrainne (RETIRED), and 4 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2020 11:16:08 GMT
Arkadius was sitting in an alleyway somewhere in Daring Heights, Ida the weasel familiar curled up and comfortable on his shoulder. Neither were making any noise and were still, ignored by pretty much everyone around them.
They had been sitting in the alleyway for ten minutes before Arkadius broke the silence over their mental connection. ‘It wasn’t my place to make that decision’, he paused for a moment, considering his next words. ‘I know either the Order Cavalry or the Errant Guard had to protect our retreat. I know whatever happened, one force wouldn’t make it out. But… by asking me who should stay, I sent people to their death. Regardless of who I chose, people were going to die, and I am in no way the right person to make any kind of call like that.’
Ida squeaked, breaking the physical silence between the pair. ‘You made a call. Whether it was the right or wrong call, you made a call. Somebody had to do it, and it was obvious that the two commanders could have argued about it until it didn’t really matter anymore. You made the call. And you know what? I feel like you made the right call, even if you don’t.’
Arkadius sighed, ‘I need to pick myself up, and I need to go speak to the Order, myself. I owe them that much. And if they ask for my head to repay, then… so be it.’
The lines were drawn. The battlefield was prepared, and the forces were set to engage… one way or another. Sheryl was giving a grand speech to the troops and the forces around them, but he couldn’t help but… not give it his full attention. He was severely distracted, for the second time in a year he was going to war for K’ul Goran, and this time was very different from the last… he was excited. He could feel it in his bones.
“She can talk for ages, can’t she?”, a familiar voice intoned as she approached Arkadius from the side. He smiled as he turned to face the newcomer, “Hah, that is one way to put it, Kassandra. I am glad to see you, and I’m glad that after everything… you’ve made it here. How about we make the next steps a little sweeter…?”
She smiled back, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m looking forward to fighting alongside you again, Arkadius. Of course, the first round is on you afterwards, but what about the second?”
“You’re on”, he replied, watching Kassandra return to the other troops. She’d left him with a smile on his face. His spirit was emboldened. He was ready. He returned to listening the events around him.
“And if all fails, the Glorious Company will extract themselves from Avernus, taking the Lady Merla with us,” Arvel announced, turning his gaze towards Sheryl. A shadow falls upon the halfling woman’s face, as she took a deep breath. Arkadius remained silent, but his overriding feeling was the fear of losing Sheryl again. But he knew it wasn’t his place to say anything. “Arvel,” Sheryl said grimly. “Ideally, if there is a way to get everyone out of here, then you must do it. Everyone who survives today deserves the chance to live another day.”
In the distance, a volcano erupted. The others were talking, and he noticed Sheryl alone for a moment, so he took a chance. He darted to her side, “Soo… Sheryl. Remember that key I sent you before?”
“I do,” was her simple response.
“I don't remember telling you what it was for. Underneath my bed, in FfirstMail, there's a chest. In the chest is my will, and gold. Enough to resurrect me, or put on a grand funeral. Your choice. And if I am dead… Well, congratulations. You and Matthew both own FfirstGroup.” He smiled sadly. “Arkadius…” she replied, considering her words, “You and Markas I both trust. If something were to happen to me, then… I trust you.”
Thunderous steps were heard over the horizon. The approaching army was close enough to now be heard. As he had said before, everything that had been brewing and building up for months was at the head. He’d been saying for weeks, it’s coming to a head, and now the head was rearing at them, not from afar but right in front of them. He took to the sky as soon as he heard the boots, a message cantrip aimed straight for Sheryl.
‘Be safe. Be brave. Be strong. But please come back with me alive.’
Several waves of the devil horde lay dead on the floor; Markas, Taz, Igrainne, Sheryl and BB had been doing amazing work taking them down, and Arkadius had even counted three counts for himself. ‘Kassandra is probably on more than me,’ he thought to himself, as he looked up into the sky to see writing forming in the clouds. Generator is down - time to leave was the general gist of the message. A smile formed on Arkadius’ face, the other team had done their stuff and it was time to leave. He threw another Eldritch Blast, the three rays darting through the air and hurtling towards the encroaching force, and few backwards towards the rear-guard, landing safely in the camp. As soon as he landed, Chloris Skysplitter, the commander of the Errant Guard forces, and Gretcha “Red” Coldiron, commander of the Order of the Crimson Fist’s Heavy Cavalry, both rapidly approached him, audibly arguing. “Arkadius, it’s time to make a retreat back towards the portal, but without a final stand, there’s no way everyone will make it out alive,” Red explained quickly, without pause.
“The Order Cavalry are prepared to charge,” Red continued, before being promptly cut off by Chloris, “No. This is a stand for the Errant Guard to take, it is our land we are fighting for, and we should-”
“Both of you stop arguing. What are you approaching me with this for? I am not the right person to argue to. I’m not making this decisi…” Arkadius started arguing back, before sighing and going quiet for a few moments. “No. I’ve decided,” he said, a burst of confidence hitting his voice, “I don’t have time to explain my thoughts, but the Errant Guard should pull back to K’ul Goran, and the Cavalry are best placed to cover the retreat.
Go.” He finished, turning back to the battleground and remaining forces behind him, casting Thaumaturgy on himself, raising his voice loud enough to be heard by all. “Get the f**k out of here,” was his short and simple message.
He turned, slipping into the crowd of forces retreating, speaking out and yelling to build morale and keep them moving towards the portal. He prayed to himself for a moment that everyone would make it, tears falling from his eyes as he began to understand the gravity of what he had just done. He looked back at the battle-line far behind him, further away in the distance, but he could see what he was dreading: the Order of the Crimson Fist’s Heavy Cavalry, vanishing into the devil’s line, directly engaging. A deep surge of guilt and insecurity waved over him, and he felt that he had made the wrong choice for the right reasons. He would be facing the consequences and the regret of this decision for years to come.
The group all stood in a ruined turnip field, having just left the portal and returned to K’ul Goran. Arkadius, even though he was first through the portal before the rest of the team, was hiding away at the back away from everyone else. He didn’t have it in him to speak to people, and when the forces commanders began speaking, everyone there but Red… he slipped away. He sent two Message cantrips before he slipped away, one to Kassandra and one to Sheryl;
Kassandra: “I am sorry. I owe you drinks, but not right now. I will catch up with you later. I’m glad you’re alive”
Sheryl: "Need to be alone. I feel like... Crap." “Okay, Arkadius. If you need anything, please let me know…” “I put people to death. I can’t be celebrated for that.”
They had been sitting in the alleyway for ten minutes before Arkadius broke the silence over their mental connection. ‘It wasn’t my place to make that decision’, he paused for a moment, considering his next words. ‘I know either the Order Cavalry or the Errant Guard had to protect our retreat. I know whatever happened, one force wouldn’t make it out. But… by asking me who should stay, I sent people to their death. Regardless of who I chose, people were going to die, and I am in no way the right person to make any kind of call like that.’
Ida squeaked, breaking the physical silence between the pair. ‘You made a call. Whether it was the right or wrong call, you made a call. Somebody had to do it, and it was obvious that the two commanders could have argued about it until it didn’t really matter anymore. You made the call. And you know what? I feel like you made the right call, even if you don’t.’
Arkadius sighed, ‘I need to pick myself up, and I need to go speak to the Order, myself. I owe them that much. And if they ask for my head to repay, then… so be it.’
The lines were drawn. The battlefield was prepared, and the forces were set to engage… one way or another. Sheryl was giving a grand speech to the troops and the forces around them, but he couldn’t help but… not give it his full attention. He was severely distracted, for the second time in a year he was going to war for K’ul Goran, and this time was very different from the last… he was excited. He could feel it in his bones.
“She can talk for ages, can’t she?”, a familiar voice intoned as she approached Arkadius from the side. He smiled as he turned to face the newcomer, “Hah, that is one way to put it, Kassandra. I am glad to see you, and I’m glad that after everything… you’ve made it here. How about we make the next steps a little sweeter…?”
She smiled back, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m looking forward to fighting alongside you again, Arkadius. Of course, the first round is on you afterwards, but what about the second?”
“You’re on”, he replied, watching Kassandra return to the other troops. She’d left him with a smile on his face. His spirit was emboldened. He was ready. He returned to listening the events around him.
“And if all fails, the Glorious Company will extract themselves from Avernus, taking the Lady Merla with us,” Arvel announced, turning his gaze towards Sheryl. A shadow falls upon the halfling woman’s face, as she took a deep breath. Arkadius remained silent, but his overriding feeling was the fear of losing Sheryl again. But he knew it wasn’t his place to say anything. “Arvel,” Sheryl said grimly. “Ideally, if there is a way to get everyone out of here, then you must do it. Everyone who survives today deserves the chance to live another day.”
In the distance, a volcano erupted. The others were talking, and he noticed Sheryl alone for a moment, so he took a chance. He darted to her side, “Soo… Sheryl. Remember that key I sent you before?”
“I do,” was her simple response.
“I don't remember telling you what it was for. Underneath my bed, in FfirstMail, there's a chest. In the chest is my will, and gold. Enough to resurrect me, or put on a grand funeral. Your choice. And if I am dead… Well, congratulations. You and Matthew both own FfirstGroup.” He smiled sadly. “Arkadius…” she replied, considering her words, “You and Markas I both trust. If something were to happen to me, then… I trust you.”
Thunderous steps were heard over the horizon. The approaching army was close enough to now be heard. As he had said before, everything that had been brewing and building up for months was at the head. He’d been saying for weeks, it’s coming to a head, and now the head was rearing at them, not from afar but right in front of them. He took to the sky as soon as he heard the boots, a message cantrip aimed straight for Sheryl.
‘Be safe. Be brave. Be strong. But please come back with me alive.’
Several waves of the devil horde lay dead on the floor; Markas, Taz, Igrainne, Sheryl and BB had been doing amazing work taking them down, and Arkadius had even counted three counts for himself. ‘Kassandra is probably on more than me,’ he thought to himself, as he looked up into the sky to see writing forming in the clouds. Generator is down - time to leave was the general gist of the message. A smile formed on Arkadius’ face, the other team had done their stuff and it was time to leave. He threw another Eldritch Blast, the three rays darting through the air and hurtling towards the encroaching force, and few backwards towards the rear-guard, landing safely in the camp. As soon as he landed, Chloris Skysplitter, the commander of the Errant Guard forces, and Gretcha “Red” Coldiron, commander of the Order of the Crimson Fist’s Heavy Cavalry, both rapidly approached him, audibly arguing. “Arkadius, it’s time to make a retreat back towards the portal, but without a final stand, there’s no way everyone will make it out alive,” Red explained quickly, without pause.
“The Order Cavalry are prepared to charge,” Red continued, before being promptly cut off by Chloris, “No. This is a stand for the Errant Guard to take, it is our land we are fighting for, and we should-”
“Both of you stop arguing. What are you approaching me with this for? I am not the right person to argue to. I’m not making this decisi…” Arkadius started arguing back, before sighing and going quiet for a few moments. “No. I’ve decided,” he said, a burst of confidence hitting his voice, “I don’t have time to explain my thoughts, but the Errant Guard should pull back to K’ul Goran, and the Cavalry are best placed to cover the retreat.
Go.” He finished, turning back to the battleground and remaining forces behind him, casting Thaumaturgy on himself, raising his voice loud enough to be heard by all. “Get the f**k out of here,” was his short and simple message.
He turned, slipping into the crowd of forces retreating, speaking out and yelling to build morale and keep them moving towards the portal. He prayed to himself for a moment that everyone would make it, tears falling from his eyes as he began to understand the gravity of what he had just done. He looked back at the battle-line far behind him, further away in the distance, but he could see what he was dreading: the Order of the Crimson Fist’s Heavy Cavalry, vanishing into the devil’s line, directly engaging. A deep surge of guilt and insecurity waved over him, and he felt that he had made the wrong choice for the right reasons. He would be facing the consequences and the regret of this decision for years to come.
The group all stood in a ruined turnip field, having just left the portal and returned to K’ul Goran. Arkadius, even though he was first through the portal before the rest of the team, was hiding away at the back away from everyone else. He didn’t have it in him to speak to people, and when the forces commanders began speaking, everyone there but Red… he slipped away. He sent two Message cantrips before he slipped away, one to Kassandra and one to Sheryl;
Kassandra: “I am sorry. I owe you drinks, but not right now. I will catch up with you later. I’m glad you’re alive”
Sheryl: "Need to be alone. I feel like... Crap." “Okay, Arkadius. If you need anything, please let me know…” “I put people to death. I can’t be celebrated for that.”
