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The Orc Knight

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12/26/2008 19:10:17   
HK 47
Member

The Kingdom of Lebanon was in turmoil for about the third time that year. Princess Leola had been kidnapped, bringing the total kidnappings up to around fifty. Once again the King had sent his knights to find her. This time, he sent five. None returned alive. Annoyed with his knights’ incompetence, King Jakgo put up posters around his kingdom. Each poster had a picture of the princess on it. The princess was a lovely lady, given blond hair that she always kept short. Her green eyes always seemed to have a fire behind them, even in the poster.

The poster read: “10,000 gold pieces to the man who brings Princess Leola before the King.” One of these posters was taken off of its wall by General Tommy, whose body was completely covered in armor. His face was hidden behind a metal mask resembling that of a blue skinned demon. A long blade was slung over his back, with another shorter blade by his left side. There were five throwing daggers that adorned his pockets, covered in a black powder. Finally, there was a backpack slung over his back, in front of the longer sword's sheath.

“10,000 gold eh? I could use that money,” General Tommy muttered. His voice was rough, deep, and gravely. “Just going to need some information about this kidnapping…”

General Tommy then looked to the castle which stood far above all other buildings in the Kingdom. There were archers walking all around the walls, making sure another kidnapping wouldn't happen. He then began to walk to the castle, his metal boots clanging against the ground with every step.

The civilians were all taking arms, grabbing whatever blades they could in hopes of finding the princess first. Their armors were all created at the last-minute and hastily donned, covering only the most vital areas. They then saddled up on their horses and rode into the forest, not even knowing who kidnapped the princess or where they were going.

For every ten families, three had the brains to stay behind. At least business was better than ever with the weapon and armor smiths. A small chuckle could be heard behind General Tommy’s helmet. “These guys don’t even know what to do. They’re brave, to say the least,” he muttered. "Too bad I'll be getting that reward money."

As General Tommy reached the gates into the castle, a few archers pointed their arrows at him. “Who are you?! Why are you here?!” one of them yelled down.

“I am here to see the king. I have read his poster and want some information before I blindly stumble into the forest looking for his daughter!” General Tommy yelled back up.

“Very well, you may enter! But we will be watching you!” the archer yelled back down.

General Tommy grinned. “Good, the first hurdle has been jumped…” he said quietly.

The gates inside the castle opened up. Five knights ran forward to General Tommy, training their swords on him. Their armor was pretty basic, having a full helmet, chain armor, long swords, and kite shields. The only definable feature was the symbol of their kingdom: a sword and an axe crossed together that was put on their shields.

“You there! Drop your weapons!” one knight yelled.

General Tommy sighed. “I never remove my weapons. Ever,” he growled.

“Then you are not allowed here!”

Within a flash, General Tommy clanged two knights’ heads together, bashed one knight over the head, and kicked the wind out of the last two knights in that order. “I can go in? Thank you!” General Tommy jested, walking into the castle. “Idiots…”

The castle was filled with many lords walking around. Most minded their own business, and when General Tommy passed they simply believed him to be another knight. General Tommy decided to approach one. “Excuse me, where is the King’s court room?” he asked.

The lord, a male Elf wearing a blue robe, turned to face General Tommy. “The King’s court room? I was just heading there myself. Would you like me to escort you?” the lord replied, his voice smooth.

“Yes, I would like that.”

“Then follow me.” The elf then began to walk off. General Tommy quickly followed behind, the clanging of his boots somewhat distracting.

“Nice armor,” the elf complimented, trying to strike up conversation.

“Thanks. Forged it and my blades myself,” General Tommy replied.

“Wow. So…you like being a knight?”

“It helps me get paid. Puts food on the table. Nothing else to say.”

“I see. Must be hard.”

“Not with my level of experience.”

The two reached the two big, looming doors that led to the throne room. “This is the place,” the elf said, knocking on the door. “Who are you anyway?”

“My name is General Tommy. Been a wandering sword for hire,” General Tommy replied.

The door opened up and inside was a very large chamber. On the opposite end were two thrones, one of which had the King, an old man, having grey hair and blue eyes. The other was empty.

King Jakgo looked up, seeing the two enter. “Ah, my friends. Come in, please,” he said, his voice calm despite the situation. General Tommy and the lord walked forward and knelt. Almost instantly the king realized that General Tommy was not one of his own. “Who might you be?”

General Tommy answered, “My name is General Tommy. I wander around, seeking kingdoms to work for. I saw your poster regarding your missing daughter, and I thought I could help. All I need is some information.”

“Why sure, go right ahead and ask.”

“Do we know who kidnapped them? Even a basic appearance?”

“Ah yes. There were two of them. One was a very large being, with fur covered all over it and two horns on its head. It held an axe and brutally murdered any of my knights who dared oppose it.”

“A minotaur. Great.”

“The other was a wizard, who shielded himself behind the Minotaur. For what reason he employed such a beast is a mystery to me.” King Jakgo began to think for reasons why the wizard was employing the Minotaur, but he was drawing a blank.

“A wizard is useless by himself. He likely hired the Minotaur for its brute strength and endurance,” General Tommy answered, looking around. “May I have something of the Princess’? I have an acute sense of smell and can probably track her with it.”

“I don’t believe you…but I’ll do it because none of my knights made it back,” King Jakgo replied, grabbing the dress. “This is my daughter’s dress. It will likely still have her scent. I trust you with this job, don’t screw up.”

“Hey man, I screw up and I’ll never see your ass again! Cause I’ll be dead!” General Tommy grabbed the dress and smelled it for a while. An orange path appeared before him. “I might need to keep this to keep the scent, if you don’t mind.”

“It’s okay. As long as you get results.”

“I’ll be going now.” General Tommy then exited the room, heading outside to see his horse.

“You sure we should trust this man? He said he’s a sword for hire, he might’ve been hired to assassinate us,” the Elf Lord noted.

“He has promise from what I see. Besides, my greatest knights have never come back," King Jakgo replied.

< Message edited by HK 47 -- 8/15/2009 12:08:34 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 1
12/26/2008 19:14:59   
HK 47
Member

General Tommy got onto his horse and looked back to the knights. “You guys happen to have a large ball of string with you?” he asked.

“Why would you want that?” a knight captain, categorized by his plate armor and his stance, asked.

“I think I’ll need it for the rescue,” General Tommy replied.

“Sure thing.” The captain then turned to three other grunt knights. “Get this man a lot of string.”

The knights had a confused look, but went regardless. As those three left, five more approached. The exact same five that General Tommy incapacitated on his way into the castle. “There he is! That’s the guy who walked in against our orders!” one yelled.

“Beat the crap out of us too!” another pointed out.

“Not again…look, I was just trying to get some information to save the princess, and I never, ever take off my weapons,” General Tommy replied.

“Well, he’s got the job. I suggest you stand down now,” the captain ordered.

“Fine…” the five knights grumbled.

The other three knights then returned, handing over a ball of string roughly the size of a baseball. “I hope this will suffice,” one knight says, handing it over to General Tommy.

“Yes. That’ll do very nicely. Thank you very much,” General Tommy said. He then turned his horse and snapped the reigns. “Hiya!” The horse reared up, neighed, and then began to ride off. “I promise I’ll return with the princess!”

“He’s dead…” the captain muttered. The knights then returned to their posts as if General Tommy hadn't come.

General Tommy smelled the dress that he borrowed, and an orange trail appeared before him. He turned his horse to follow the path. “I don’t know if I will make it, but I’ve taken worse than a Minotaur and a wizard,” he muttered.

As he rode through the woods, he kept his eyes open for any bandits. Sure enough, five bandits leaped out in front of him, wearing leather armor and brandishing axes. “Give us your money!” one yelled.

General Tommy got off his horse. “You gotta ask yourself one question now. ‘Do I feel lucky?’” He then drew his two swords. The longer blade had a carving of waves in it, while the other depicted the sky. “Do ya? Punks?”

The five bandits looked at each other, and grinned. “It’s five against one! Of course we’ll win!” one yelled.

“Then let’s dance.” General Tommy quickly leaped forward and plunged his blades through the stomach of one, then quickly decapitated him for the finishing blow. Two bandits ran forward to flank him, and swung their axes in a horizontal pattern. Unfortunately, General Tommy ducked and they ended up hitting each other.

The axes cut deep into the arms of the two attackers, causing them to let go in pain. General Tommy then kicked out their legs and thrusted his blades into both attackers, causing them to die. The last two bandits looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and began to run.

General Tommy drew two throwing daggers and threw them at his targets. One embedded itself into one enemy’s head, and the other was hit in the back. General Tommy grinned. “Boom,” he muttered.

As soon as he finished, both of the daggers exploded, blowing one bandit’s head off and the other had a giant hole in his body. “Too easy,” General Tommy said, wiping the blood stains off of his blades. “Just as I thought.”

General Tommy then got back onto his horse. “They’re gonna have to do better than five bandits if they want to kill me.” As if reading his mind, twenty bandits jumped down. “And now they stand a chance of hitting me.”

General Tommy got back off, and drew his swords again. One bandit who was wearing a mask ordered, “Down on your knees! You’re outnumbered!”

“You’re right. I am outnumbered. But not outgunned,” General Tommy replied, quickly leaping forward and cutting two bandits in two.

This startled the other bandits long enough for General Tommy to boot two in the head and thrust his blades into their hearts. “Kill him!” the masked bandit yelled.

The other bandits obliged and attacked. The bandits wildly swung their axes and maces at General Tommy’s body, but they either didn’t hit or didn’t faze him. General Tommy was treating this more like a dance, spinning and flipping while hacking off limbs and slicing at their chests. “This all you got?” General Tommy mused. “You’ll have to do better than this!”

This got the bandits a bit annoyed, and they became more reckless with their attacks. By this time they were already down to ten remaining bandits. The attacks were easier to predict because they started yelling as they swung. Their yells ranged from simple battle cries to something along the lines of “Stay still already!”

It was not uncommon for two bandits to swing from different sides, have General Tommy duck, and then accidentally hit the other in the wrist. Not only did this leave them severely wounded, but it also gave General Tommy a slight chuckle as he fought.

Two bandits charged from behind, only to have a classic action sequence follow: General Tommy, without looking, turned his swords into a backwards grip, and then thrusted both swords backwards, causing both bandits to be impaled. He pulled out the blades, and looked at the remaining two bandits: a bandit with a dagger, and the masked bandit.

The masked bandit held with him a Longsword, and it looked like he had skill with it. General Tommy quickly sliced the dagger bandit down without a second thought, and turned his gaze to the masked bandit. “You sure you want to fight me?” he asked in a cold, indifferent tone.

The masked bandit gulped, but attacked regardless. “Yes! I do! You killed my friends!” he yelled, swinging at General Tommy’s left leg.

This attack managed to hit, if only to have the sword stuck in the armor. General Tommy looked right at the masked bandit with a gaze that could be taken as “And now you die.” With that, General Tommy cut off that bandit’s legs, thrusted his blade into his heart while the other one chopped his head off. As to be expected, a fountain of blood occurred where there were once limbs and a head.

General Tommy grunted as the pain of the wounds settled in. “Agh…that was a good fight…but all for not,” he muttered, pulling the stuck sword out from his leg armor. Despite that the sword had hit his leg, it only dug in a slight bit, and didn't seem to cause a lot of damage to his walk. “Hmmm…nice craftsmanship. I could use this, if only for some gold on the market.”

He grabbed the masked bandit’s sheath and put it on his left side. He sheathed all three of his swords after flicking the blood off of them, and sighed. “Twenty bandits and it went all too quickly. Either I’m getting better or I’m running into worse bandits than before.”

He called his horse, who had taken cover nearby some bushes as was trained. The horse quickly rode out to meet General Tommy, momentarily stunned by all the bodies and bits of bodies. However, he shrugged it off, haven gotten used to the destruction that often followed his master.

General Tommy got on board and smelled the dress again. The trail appeared before him once more. He snapped the reins. “HIYA!” he yelled, and the two began to ride off, following the trail.

< Message edited by HK 47 -- 8/15/2009 12:06:13 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 2
12/26/2008 19:19:59   
HK 47
Member

General Tommy’s ride on his horse ended as he reached the entrance to a large cave. As he got off his horse, he thought to himself, “This must be the place.”

He got off his horse and looked at the cave. “Best leave a trail so that I don’t get lost. Good thing I brought along this string,” he muttered, pulling out the string. He looked around for a good place to put the string, something sturdy.

He was rewarded by finding a sturdy tree branch still attached to the tree. General Tommy then tied one end of the string to the tree branch, making sure that it was tight. Next thing he did was look over to his horse. “You have to stay here,” he said before entering the cave.

Now, the cave was pitch-black so one would assume General Tommy would be unable to see. However, as soon as it grew dark it turned into a black-and-white vision to General Tommy’s eyes. He smelled the dress one more time and began his path. After about an hour of traveling, filled with windy passageways, walls, and some dead bodies, he eventually overheard a conversation in the distance:

“Come on dear, what’s so bad about me?” a male voice asked. It was hard to make out the features in it.

“Maybe it has something to do with you kidnapping me in the middle of the night?” a female voice responded. This one was slightly easier to make out: a headstrong voice.

General Tommy began to draw closer to the location of the voices. He put his hands on his swords, ready to draw at any minute. The ball of string he tied onto one of the sheathes.

“Look, your father wouldn’t approve of me, so I wanted you to know me better,” the male voice said. It sounded vaguely of a heavy royal accent.

“And so you kidnapped me with no prior warning? You sure know how to treat a girl to the worst date ever.”

General Tommy by this time had reached the sources of the voices: an Elf wizard, a female princess wearing practical clothing that, for some reason, exposed her midsection. She was tied up to a post. There was also a Minotaur. The Minotaur stood roughly 8 ½ feet tall and was covered from head to toe in brown fur. The Wizard wore blue robes with a gold trim and had dirty blonde hair. The room was rather bright from all the torches.

General Tommy calculated the threat levels of the wizard and the Minotaur by their equipment. The Minotaur held by his side a fairly large axe, while all the wizard has was a dagger. “Okay, Minotaur goes down first,” he muttered.

“All I want is for you to love me!” the wizard said.

“I don’t know if it’s just me, but perhaps she’s trying to tell you something. Could it be ‘go away’?” General Tommy asked. This turned all heads over to his position.

“Who are you?!” the wizard yelled.

“No need to shout. We are in a cave that echoes,” General Tommy replied. “Regardless, my name is General Tommy. I was hired by this girl’s father to rescue her. Now, hand her over, or you and your ‘friend’ die.”

“Never!” the Elf yelled back, drawing his dagger.

“I hate to do this the hard way, but you leave me no choice then.” General Tommy quickly whirled around and drew his dual swords. The Minotaur attempted to crash his axe down upon General Tommy’s body, only to have it meet crossed swords. Then began a blade-push.

The Minotaur was surprised to see that the push was dead-even. Normally he would have the upper hand in seconds, but this one was even for longer, upwards of a minute. Then General Tommy disengaged his shorter sword and used it to impale the Minotaur. This caused him to break his push and left him open to attack.

However, the Wizard had prepared a Fireball spell. The Princess yelled, “Look out!”

General Tommy noticed the Wizard casting the spell, and came up with a plan. When the Fireball was launched, he climbed over the Minotaur and used him as a meat-shield. The blast of the Fireball landed straight into the Minotaur’s chest and caused severe 3rd degree burns.

This caused the Minotaur to slump over long enough for General Tommy to slice open the Minotaur’s throat. The Minotaur then hit the ground with a deft thud. This left the wizard alone.

“You can’t win! I am a master of the—“ the wizard began before catching an exploding dagger to the face.

“I’m not stupid,” General Tommy said before the dagger blew up. “But you certainly are.” He then ran up to the Princess’ post. “Nice rope. I could use this.”

“Yeah, it does seem good. Now can you get it off of me?” the Princess asked, trying to hide her feelings of complete awe from his efficiency.

“No sweat,” General Tommy replied while undoing the knots. He quickly noted, “These guys need to take a few lessons with knot-tying.”

“Yeah, I guess they do. You were pretty good back there.”

“You’re Leola I presume?”

“Yeah. My father sent five knights to track me down. All of them were killed.”

“Incompetent. Or they probably miscalculated threat levels.” By this time, the ropes were off. General Tommy decided to take the rope along with him.

“So…how do we get out of here?”

“I tied a string to the outside. All we have to do is follow the string.”

“You really thought this through.”

“I don’t leave things to chance.” General Tommy then grabbed a torch. “Stay close. I don’t need the torch, but you do.”

“You can see in the dark?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice,” Leola said, getting closer to General Tommy. “Well, lead the way Mr.…”

“Tommy. General Tommy.”

“Okay. I’ve never seen any of my father’s knight’s work like you. You from around my father’s kingdom?” Leola raised her eyebrows as she questioned.

“No. I’m a sword-for-hire. I wander around the world doing various mercenary jobs. It always ends badly when they realize who I really am…” General Tommy sighed at the end of that last sentence.

“Oh…I see…”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is getting you home.” The two then began their exit.

“How did you know where I was though?” Leola asked, confused.

“I have a keen sense of smell. Your father let me borrow one of your dresses so I could track you.”

“That seems odd…but it got results. Hey, do you have a spare sword I could use?” There was a quick flash across Leola's eyes as she asked.

This brought a confused look to General Tommy’s hidden face. “Why would you want one?” he asked.

“Because I want to be able to defend myself if I get attacked. I want lessons but father says ‘girls should never be allowed to have weapons! Now get back to the kitchen!’” Leola explained, emphasizing the “get back to the kitchen!”

“Not the nicest guy, is he?”

“You got that right. Can you please teach me on the way back?”

“We don’t have time to stop and teach you. There are bandits in those woods.” General Tommy continued to walk off, and Leola quickly followed.

< Message edited by HK 47 -- 8/15/2009 12:11:41 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 3
12/26/2008 19:26:19   
HK 47
Member

Leola and General Tommy began their ride back to Lebanon. General Tommy drove his horse while Leola sat from behind. Along the way General Tommy asked, “So how many times have you gotten kidnapped by now?”

“This is around the 50th time. My father’s an idiot who never once considers upgrading security,” Leola replied.

“He is an idiot. Listen, I can lend you this sword I took off of a dead bandit’s body. But I can’t give you lessons until we’re back in Lebanon.” General Tommy took out the long sword that he took off of the masked bandit’s body and handed it to Leola.

Leola’s eyes gleamed with glee and she grabbed the sword. “Thanks. You won’t regret it. So tell me about yourself.”

“All you need to know is that I’ve never been able to hold down a proper job in a kingdom. I always get kicked out when they realize who I truly am. That’s why I hide behind this mask and armor. I forged them myself.”

“Good craftsmanship. You make those swords and exploding daggers too?”

“Yep. Sorta a hobby of mine. I make my own weapons because it’s cheaper than letting weapon smiths do it, and their work is often of inferior quality.” General Tommy then turned his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…I kinda like having to deal with this stuff. I never wanted to be a pretty little princess who just stands there while everyone else does everything.”

“Is that why you wear those clothes? To prove that you’re not another pretty face?”

“Yeah. Dad always hates it when I wear this stuff, but I don’t give a damn about it.”

“Understandable. We should be reaching bandit territory soon, so get ready for a crash course with swords. Remember, defense is more important than offense. Bandits tend to ambush in numbers so we should watch each other’s backs," General Tommy said, keeping his eyes open for anything that could go wrong.

“Got it!”

As if on cue, a flaming arrow then landed right in front of the horse, causing it to rear up in fear. Three bandits then leaped down with axes drawn, all of their faces hidden behind masks. General Tommy stepped forward very coolly.

“There you are! You may have killed my brothers, but we will get revenge!” one bandit yelled.

“Go away,” General Tommy replied. “Before you end up like the other hundred that fought me.”

“Hundred? You killed a hundred of our brothers?!” the second bandit, possibly an elf, said.

“One,” General Tommy said.

“One? What do you mean one?” the third bandit, probably a Dwarf because of his short stature asked.

“Two,” General Tommy said, reaching for an exploding dagger.

“I don’t get this. One, two? Is he trying to count how many of us there are?” the first bandit asked.

“It’s three against one! What do you have to say about that?” the second bandit said.

“Three.” With that, General Tommy tossed his last exploding dagger at the third bandit, and drew both of his swords in one fluid motion. By the time the dagger exploded, the second bandit had to deal with General Tommy leaping right at him with his swords drawn.

The bandit tried to block the larger sword with his axe, only to have the smaller sword go straight into his gut. He coughed up blood and fell down as the sword came out. “Look out, behind you!” Leola yelled. The first bandit had gotten behind General Tommy and was just about to swing his axe.

General Tommy, using this moment, spun around and swung both of his blades. This forced the bandit to disengage and block. The two swords and the axe clang together and sparks began to fly as the two pushed and shoved. It was an even match for all of three seconds. Then the first bandit began to lean backwards as more force was applied.

“And then there were none,” General Tommy said before disengaging and using the bandit’s bad stance to land the killing blow through the heart. The last bandit’s eyes glassed over as the last thought in his mind went through his head:

What the hell was I thinking?” He then fell to the ground as General Tommy pulled his blades out and flicked off the blood.

Leola was completely and utterly stunned when she saw the sheer destruction. Three bandits attacked, none survived. The first one had two swords that went through his heart, the second had them go through his gut, and the third one wasn’t anywhere near recognizable due to the explosion.

“How did you do that?” Leola asked, genuinely stunned.

“Easy. I’ve had a lot of training and they were simple thugs with no actual military training,” General Tommy answered.

“Even still, it seemed like nothing!”

“I managed to slug my way through a hundred of these thugs. You think three of them would’ve been actually dangerous to me?”

“I guess not…I’m glad to have you protecting me.”

“Now let’s get going. I’m out of exploding daggers and there are going to be more bandits.” General Tommy got on his horse and snapped the reins. “HIYA!”

The horse reared up and rode off at higher speeds. Leola then began to think to herself, If he managed to kill a hundred bandits then I might not actually need to use this sword…no…I should hang onto this.

The rest of the ride was relatively peaceful compared to what happened before. Bandits only came in groups of two and they were slain without a second thought. Leola had begun to watch General Tommy and started to learn how he pressed his advantages, yet she still couldn’t comprehend his greater strength.

Every time blades were locked, General Tommy always won. Eventually Leola asked, “How are you so strong in that heavy armor?”

“…I’d rather not talk about it,” General Tommy answered.

“Why? It’s so amazing!”

“See, the strength comes from my lineage. I don’t trust you enough to tell you who I really am yet. I’ve learned not to trust anyone with that secret.”

“Oh…” Leola looked down. “I see…you’ve got to tell someone.”

“I have. Every time I get banished from the kingdom I work for." General Tommy looked down as he said this.

“Ouch.”

“Sun’s going down soon; we need to get a camp set up. It’s not very smart to ride at night," General Tommy said, steering the conversation away from his personal history.

“But you can see in the dark!” Leola objected. It could easily be told that she wanted to get home fast.

“Yes, but you can’t. I don’t leave anything to chance.” General Tommy pulled the horse over and got off. “I’ll go get the tents set up. You can try to help, or you can get food.”

“I’ll go with helping you. That way I won’t be kidnapped again,” Leola answered, grabbing one of the bags off of the horse. “Is this the tent bag?”

“No, that’s the horse feed bag,” General Tommy answered, grabbing the bag right next to it. “This is the tent bag.”

“Whoops.” Leola mentally slapped herself for being so stupid.

“Next time look inside the bag.” General Tommy opened up the tent bag and pulled out the collapsible tent. “It’ll help.”

“Sorry sir. So, how long have you been working this mercenary gig?”

“Seven years.”

“Wow. Must be hard, always wandering from place to place.”

“You get used to it after the first year. Or the first boot out of the village, whichever one comes first.”

“I feel sorry for that.”

“Nah, they always come up with a reason. I’m used to it. Now then, I’d like some help setting this tent up.” General Tommy started to pitch up the tent but he had problems keeping the stakes in.

“Sure thing.” Leola then ran up to help out General Tommy by keeping the stakes in. “You would think you would be better at this.”

“I prefer having help, but I can set it up after about three hours on my own. I never was good at setting up tents.” General Tommy didn't even seem to care that he admitted he wasn't that good at something.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 4
12/27/2008 12:26:53   
HK 47
Member

There was a nice fire roaring at the campsite when things started up. Tommy refused to take off his mask at all, even when sleeping, and that was the same for his armor. Leola’s curiosity eventually got the better of her and she reached for the mask.

In a flash Tommy grabbed her arm. “Never touch the mask,” he growled.

Leola jumped backwards. “You weren’t sleeping?” she asked.

“I was taught to sleep with one eye open, especially in this kind of a ‘neighborhood’. Now, go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Leola laid down on her sack and started to drift off to sleep. It was rather hard to sleep considering that she knew so little about her guard. She slept for only two hours, and then woke up. “I gotta see what’s under that mask…”

She crawled forward and heard Tommy snoring. It was unlikely that he still had one eye open. As such, she touched the mask. It was very smooth and cold to the touch. She got a good grip on the mask, while avoiding Tommy’s chin.

Slowly she pulled down the mask, trying to make as little noise as possible. Tommy’s upper face looked normal, but once she got to the nose it was completely different. It was turned upright like a pig’s, and his mouth also had tusks like a pig. His skin was a bright green color, which made her realize something. He's an Orc. This startled her. “Aah!” she yelled while dropping the mask.

General Tommy snapped up, noticed the mask on the ground, put it on, and drew his swords. “NEVER TELL ANYONE. Or I will kill you,” he snarled.

“I…I’m sorry…I…I didn’t think…” Leola stuttered.

“What? That an Orc can’t be a knight? That an Orc is incapable of being a hero? This is exactly why I wear my mask. I can’t take it off otherwise I get booted from the village.” General Tommy’s face then began to drip tears. “No matter how many good deeds I do, no matter how many lives I save…they all assume I’m just a monster…”

“I’m…I’m so sorry…I didn’t know it was that hard…”

“You could not do anything…but you can do me a favor and never tell anyone. I don’t want to lose my chance in the village before I show you’re safe.”

“I’ll keep your secret, I promise…as long as you teach me how to fight.”

“Now that’s being low," Tommy said. He then grinned. "I like that. That will get you far in a battle. Fine, I’ll teach you once we arrive in the village. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Understood. So, are you really a General?”

“Sorta. With every army there must be commandos and shock troopers. I am one of them. I was trained from near birth in the ways of combat and tactical maneuvers. I was at the top of my class.”

“I always thought Orcs were incapable of intelligent maneuvers.”

General Tommy’s gaze turned into a frown. “You don’t know Orcs from anything more than your Human and Elf stereotypes! I will have you know that my kind is a very sophisticated one! We are called brutes and idiots because it’s a mind game. We fool our opponent into thinking we’re dumb, and then lash at them while their guard is down.

“Those stories of a few Elves destroying an entire Orc army are completely untrue! Sure they got a few kills, but we destroyed them. We broke through their lines with cunning maneuvers and then we spared the survivors. And what do we get in return? Lies and slander!” Tommy's voice was raising in volume, as he was quite angry.

“I…I’m sorry, sir. I should’ve held my tongue.” Leola then bent down onto her knees. “Forgive me.”

“Very well. I left my unit and Orc society because…well…some things are true. I was in a small squad fighting a platoon of Elven soldiers. We easily brought them down with one casualty. I had the last Elf’s neck between my blades. And when I looked into his eyes…I saw…fear. And then…I just couldn’t do it." Tommy sighed, as if the memory was somewhat painful for him to remember. “My squadmates told me to kill him and exact revenge on our fallen brother. I told them I couldn’t…and they wanted to kill him. I held off the Orcs long enough for him to escape…then I decided to leave my kind behind and forge a new life.”

Leola looked up. “Do you know the name of the Elf you saved?” she asked, her eyes looked like she wanted to know everything.

“I didn’t know then. But, when I struck down the Orcs, I found his name. It was…Ylthorin. After that day, we never saw each other again.”

“Wow…that’s…amazing…” Leola said, taking in what he said, only half-believing him.

“Yes. Now then, duck.”

“Huh? Why?”

Tommy quickly grabbed Leola’s head and shoved her down just in time to avoid an arrow. “That’s why," Tommy finished.

Out of the brush came an Elf. His hair was incredibly dirty and wild. He wore a set of leather armor, and in his green eyes was a crazed man’s stare. “I finally found you! Now I can exact revenge on what you did to me seven years ago!” he said, his voice almost a snarl, filled with insanity.

“I’m sorry, do I owe you money?” Tommy asked, trying to rack his brain to remember who was that Elf.

“No. But you slaughtered my platoon! And you spared my life, to make me suffer!” The Elf's voice burned with utter hatred.

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Ylthorin?”

“Yeah, that’s my name! And it’ll be the last name you ever know!”

“Uh huh. Look, I didn’t spare you because I wanted to make you suffer. I just couldn’t kill you.”

“You lie! NOW DIE!” Ylthorin shot another arrow, only to have Tommy catch it between his fingers.

Tommy sighed afterwords and pulled out his swords. “You can leave now if you want. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Makes it all the easier for me!” Ylthorin shot yet another arrow, which was deflected by Tommy’s longer sword.

“Let me rephrase that. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you get in my way. Now I’m just going to return the princess. I suggest you stand down.” Tommy then got behind the princess and kept his shorter blade at her neck. “Unless you want this innocent princess to die.”

“What are you doing?!” Leola yelled.

“Just play along,” Tommy whispered. “Well, what’s it going to be Ylthorin?”

Ylthorin looked down his bow at Tommy, sighed and lowered the bow. “Alright. Alright, you can take her back. But I’ll be watching you,” he said.

“No, you won’t.” General Tommy quickly leaped up and brought his right boot to Ylthorin’s head, knocking him out. He then turned to Leola. “Sorry to drag you in, but we’ve got to get going now.”

Leola nodded. “I’ll help pack,” she said.

“No time. We need to move now.” Tommy then whistled sharply. His horse ran up and stopped without trampling Ylthorin’s body. Tommy lifted Leola onto the horse and then jumped on himself. “HIYA!”

The ride to Lebanon then began anew. “What happened to Ylthorin?” Leola asked.

“My best guess is Post-Traumatic Stress. Hits a lot of those who are sole survivors of an attack,” Tommy answered. He seemed somewhat distant.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 5
12/27/2008 12:39:23   
HK 47
Member

The ride to Lebanon was actually rather peaceful after the meeting with Ylthorin. Along the way, Leola asked, “Hey, how come you’re so fast in that heavy armor?”

Tommy answered, “This armor is actually made from Mithril. It’s tough as steel, but much lighter. Very effective building material for armor, although it’s rather pricy to find. On the opposite end, Adamantine is extremely tough and durable, but very heavy. Those two materials are perhaps the greatest building materials for armor, but I stick with Mithril for the tactical bonuses it provides.”

“Tactical bonuses?” Leola asked, raising her left eyebrow.

“With Mithril, you get a greater range of movement, and you can move faster. Adamantine simply makes you a damage sponge. Effective, yes, but not very practical on a battlefield or for work as a mercenary.”

“Oh. Lebanon should be coming into view now.” With that, the Kingdom of Lebanon came into view. It was morning, and the light gave way to the castle walls. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Tommy sighed. “Yes, it is. But beauty is of secondary concern to strategic locations.”

“You have a very practical mind.”

“You need one when you’re a mercenary. Now then, let’s get you home. Some of the civilians might want to kidnap you to bring to the king. They’ll want that reward of 10,000 gold pieces.” Tommy got off his horse and began to walk.

“10,000? That’s rather low. Father once gave out 100,000 gold pieces for my return.” Leola had her arms crossed as if insulted.

“That must’ve been around the fifth time you were captured. After ten kidnaps it becomes more of a chore than something of great concern. Now then, let’s focus on the mission at hand.” Tommy went through whatever sacks he kept, and found a hooded robe. “Put this on, it’ll disguise you from the commoners.”

“Thanks,” Leola replied, putting the robe on over her clothing. “You’re a nice guy. Never thought that—“

“An Orc can be compassionate?” Tommy asked, his gaze lowering.

“Sorry. Let’s pretend I never said that last part.”

“Yes. Let’s. Alright, let’s get going.” Tommy entered the kingdom, remaining alert. His horse and Leola quickly followed suit.

Inside the castle town, some families wept as their husbands and fathers never returned from their goal. Tommy sighed. “Poor saps,” he muttered.

“It is sad to see this. Shouldn’t we give them a consolation?” Leola asked.

“I would, but I’m broke. And we can’t risk compromising your position. So let’s focus on getting into the castle.” Tommy remained close to Leola as he said this. “And remember, if you tell anyone about who I am I will kill you.”

“Yes sir.” Leola quickly began to jog forward towards the castle. Tommy and the horse followed suit.

When the castle walls were reached some archers pointed their bows at Tommy and Leola. “You again? Have you found the princess?” one of them yelled down.

Leola removed the hood from the robe. “I’m right here!” she yelled up.

“Princess Leola! Glad to see you’re alive! Come in!”

The castle gates opened up, and the two entered. The horse went into the stables. Tommy grinned. “Without anything out of place,” he muttered.

“What about Ylthorin?” Leola asked.

“He’ll be off our trail for a while. For now, we’re home free.”

The two entered Jakgo’s throne room, and he was startled to see Tommy back so early. “Already? It’s been less than a full day since I sent you out!” he said.

“I told you, I’m not like most knights. Your daughter is safe, and the crooks have been killed. I believe my reward was 10,000 gold?” Tommy replied.

“Yes, of course.” King Jakgo turned to a nearby knight. “Give him his reward.”

The Knight walked forward and handed a heavy sack of gold over. “Here you are. Don’t spend it all in one place,” the knight said; his voice monotonous.

“Never would dream of it,” Tommy replied, grabbing the sack. He then turned his gaze to the king. “If there are any other missions you want me to do, simply say the word and I will do them without hesitation or mercy.”

“We have nothing important as of now, General. You may relax in the town, and help take down the posters. Oh and here’s a bonus for doing it so quickly.” King Jakgo handed over a shield. It was a simple kite shield design, bearing the symbol of the kingdom. “This shield ran through my family. Do not lose it.”

“Of course I will not, sir.” Tommy grabbed the shield and holstered it over his back. “If you do not mind, I must fulfill a promise I made to Leola. I wish to do it in private.”

“Very well. Where exactly do you wish this to take place?” Jakgo asked.

“I think the royal armory is suitable.” Leola knew that Tommy wanted to go there to teach her how to fight, but Jakgo was confused.

“The armory? Why there?” King Jakgo asked, raising his right eyebrow, as if expecting a strange answer.

“You wouldn’t expect someone to do something private there, now would you?” Tommy asked; his voice very smooth.

“Good point. Very well, the Royal Armory is yours to use with Leola.”

Tommy pumped his right fist. “Yes,” he said, his face beaming despite that it was hidden behind a mask.

“Good luck with whatever plan you have in mind.”

“Thank you.” General Tommy turned to Leola. “Please come with me.”

Leola nodded and followed behind. It was only after they left that Jakgo realized that there was a sword on Leola’s side. He rubbed his eyes and pushed it aside as a trick of the light.

“Is something wrong milord?” the nearby knight asked.

“For a moment there, I thought Leola had a sword by her side,” Jakgo replied.

“I thought I was the only one who noticed that.”

“Weird.” Jakgo shook his head and rubbed his eyes, putting what he thought was an illusion aside.

In the armory, Tommy soundproofed the room and locked the door. He turned to Leola. “Now that we have the armory to ourselves, we can begin your combat training. Take out the sword I gave you,” he instructed.

Leola nodded and drew her sword. General Tommy then handed the shield he received from Jakgo to Leola. “The sword and shield. A classical combat technique, and very effective. It has failed very few users, but it is not the greatest combat technique. You will learn this method,” Tommy explained.

“What do you assume is the greatest?” Leola asked, putting the shield over her left arm.

“Hard to say. Each form has its ups and downs. I personally wield dual swords for the sheer offensive might. You do not see many people fighting with dual swords, and as such it catches them off-guard. You wouldn’t believe how many I took down because they were not prepared for my style,” Tommy replied.

“So, what shall I learn first?” Leola asked.

“First comes the combat stance. Show me yours.”

Leola nodded, and took a fighting stance. She kept her shield close to her body, and her sword was kept nearly at arm’s length. Tommy nodded. “Not a bad stance, but there’s a big flaw in it,” he pointed out.

“What could it be?” Leola asked, keeping the stance. Her right arm began to grow tired from exerting so much energy to keep up her sword.

“That’s it. By keeping the sword so far from your body, it has to expend more energy to keep it up due to the fact that there is less leverage. By keeping the sword closer to the body, less energy is spent to keep it up,” Tommy replied, bringing the sword closer to the body.

“Thanks for the advice. So what now?” Leola asked.

“Now we start with some basic combat swings. Show me an upwards swing,” Tommy ordered. Leola unleashed her might and swung up with all her strength, only to receive a frown from Tommy. “Too much energy, you’ll wear yourself down too quickly. The momentum is what is relied on in combat, not how much you put into it. You need to put less energy into the swing so that you can strike more often and recover quicker.”

“Thanks for the information. I’ll try to remember that next time.”

“Next off, let’s see a stab.”

Leola brought her sword back and thrusted. “YAAH!” she yelled.

Tommy shook his head. “You shouldn’t give big openings like bringing that sword back all the way. It lets the enemy know you’re going for a stab,” he explained.

“Oh…sorry.”

“It’s fine. You are new at this. Okay, let’s continue this later, we didn’t get much sleep," Tommy said, yawning when he finished.

< Message edited by HK 47 -- 8/15/2009 12:19:01 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 6
12/27/2008 12:51:31   
HK 47
Member

Tommy was called before King Jakgo after the lesson was concluded. Of course Tommy and Leola arrived, although Leola wasn't exactly called on to arrive. Tommy kneeled before the king. “What is it, milord?” he asked.

King Jakgo sighed. “I have a mission for you,” he answered.

“What is it, sir?”

“There’s a delivery that needs to be done with a neighboring village. My daughter will also be going along, and you have gotten great results before. Perhaps you would be interested in going on this mission? The convoy will be going through bandit filled territory.”

Tommy looked up. “How much will this pay?”

“About 100 Gold Pieces.”

“Thank you, I will accept. However, I need to rebuild some of my equipment for maximum efficiency.”

“Very well then, the convoy wasn’t due to leave for another week. What specific equipment were you looking to rebuild?”

“Just some exploding daggers.”

“Exploding daggers? That seems pretty hardcore for a weapon, don’t you think?” Jakgo was not exactly believing that Tommy was crazy enough to actually build exploding daggers.

“If it hurts, it works. It will work as a very effective deterrent for any bandit crazy enough to attack.”

“Very well, I shall have the smiths begin—“

“Milord, I build my own weapons and armor. I will handle this myself.”

“Very well then. Oh, and I thought I saw Leola with a weapon by her side.”

Tommy grinned beneath his mask. “Now why would I give her a weapon? She is a female, isn’t she?”

Leola looked at Tommy, and realized that he was attempting to trick Jakgo. And it worked. “You are wise, young knight. It must’ve been a trick of the light,” Jakgo said.

“Yes, an illusion. Now, I shall go and build my equipment. Good luck with preparing the convoy.” Tommy then began to leave, with Leola running quickly behind.

“General, are you sure you’re up to this task?” Leola asked, concerned.

“I’ve faced worse than a couple bandits. This mission will be quite easy for me. I guess I’ll be stuck being your bodyguard,” Tommy answered.

“Is there something wrong with guarding the princess?”

“No. But a simple convoy mission seems far below my caliber. Oh well.”

“Can I watch you build those exploding daggers?”

Tommy looked around. Seeing nobody, he lowered his voice to a whisper, as a just in case. “You can watch from a distance. Make it look like you aren’t intentionally watching, so as to remove unwanted attention. Perhaps we can get a lecture in while nobody’s around.”

“That would be nice,” Leola replied, also lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Come now,” Tommy said; his voice back to normal.

Leola nodded and followed quickly behind. When Tommy and Leola reached the local forge, many knights were looking around for good weapons, swinging them around and having mock duels. “Lots of brutes. We should be very careful,” Tommy said, half-mocking the knights.

Leola nodded, and both walked in. Walking in must’ve triggered some sort of alarm, as everyone in the place turned their heads to the two newcomers. Seeing the Princess in her cloak made them simply shrug and turn back to testing the weapons. One knight walked up to Tommy. “Hello there, you must be the one who saved the princess,” the knight said.

“Word travels around fast,” Tommy observed. “I’m merely here to borrow the forgery.”

“Who is this one?” the knight asked, tilting his head towards Leola.

“Just a peasant here to observe,” Leola said, making her voice sound a bit more like a peasant would, older and a bit crazier.

“Ah, very well. Carry on.” The knight then walked off and grabbed a claymore, swinging it in a mock fight against the air.

“Nice cover-up,” Tommy whispered. “This should keep them off our tracks.”

“For now at least,” Leola whispered back. “Now it’s time to observe."

Tommy walked up to the forge, grabbed a couple sturdy bars of steel, put them in a melting pot, and put it into the forge. Heat began to slowly eat away at the metal, while Tommy made sure to keep the heat going.

“You see, you can’t grab just any bar of metal. Impurities tend to show up if you do, and those Impurities will cause many weak spots in the weapon. While my daggers are rigged to explode nearly on contact, I still need the least amount of impurities so that they will dig into the body and then erupt to maximum effect,” Tommy explained.

“Thanks for the advice,” Leola noted. “How long will this take?”

“It should take a couple hours, but this will give me ten daggers. I should get the mold ready.” Tommy then grabbed a nearby mold of a dagger and put it in the position where the molten metal would reach it. “Now we wait.”

Leola sighed. “Alright then. I guess I’ll watch the knights whack each other with their whacking sticks,” she replied, and turned to face the knights.

“Those knights seem to have little regard for themselves,” Tommy observed.

“How can you tell?”

Tommy pointed out the flaws in their form. “They seem to keep the shields further from their bodies than needed. This makes it easier for a sidewinder to land a strike. Those knights with spears are thrusting with too much power. And the knights with the axes are chopping with way too much force. An axe’s head is designed to increase the force of the impact, and thus less is needed to be applied.”

“Perhaps you would like to put your money where your mouth is?” a knight asked.

“Your funeral.” Tommy turned to Leola. “Keep those flames alive.”

“Understood,” Leola replied.

“You impudent wretch! I am the land’s greatest knight! None have defeated me!” the knight began, before Tommy lashed forward and almost lopped off an arm.

“I’m sorry, were you in the middle of something?” Tommy asked, almost laughing as he said that line.

The knight’s eyes narrowed as he drew his sword. “I’ll kill you!” he yelled.

“Isn’t that the point of a fight like this?” Tommy asked before slicing at the knight’s feet.

The knight was able to hop over, but came crashing down. All that heavy armor made it hard for him to jump, so he only just avoided the sweep. Tommy then took advantage of this and planted his boot on the knight’s chest.

The knight’s eyes widened, and the other knights dropped their weapons in awe. Tommy sighed. “Greatest knight my ass!” he yelled, before planting both of his swords into the knight’s heart and head.

The knight’s eyes glazed over as he died. All the knights looked at Tommy, stunned as he pulled out his swords from the dead body. “You defeated the greatest knight in the land! You are truly a formidable warrior!” one knight yelled.

Tommy flicked the blood off his swords. “That was the greatest? I’ve seen bandits who are more fearsome!” he yelled.

Leola looked stunned, almost forgetting the keep the flames alive. “That was way too fast…” she thought.

Tommy looked to Leola. “And here’s the next lesson: Overconfidence is never a good thing. This knight had overconfidence, and he paid for it with his life. Had he overestimated me, he would’ve stood a much better chance," he said, as if not caring that he took a knight's life.

Leola nodded. “I understand, sir.” She honestly was still stunned by how fast the fight went.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 7
12/27/2008 13:11:32   
HK 47
Member

The next few hours in the forge were very calm. The knights still never got over the fact that the greatest knight fell so quickly. Tommy managed to forge ten daggers, as he predicted. Leola eventually asked Tommy, “Why did you lunge why he was talking?”

Tommy answered, “To catch him off-guard. Those who monologue are wide open for an attack. I always take every opportunity I can get. Now then, I think the convoy’s waiting.”

“Let’s go then,” Leola replied. The two then exited the forge. Tommy pulled out some black powder and put it onto the daggers. “That what makes the daggers explode?”

“Yep. It’s very effective at doing the job,” Tommy answered, sheathing the daggers. “The spark that will be produced from piercing the armor will spark the powder and cause it to go boom. The last daggers I had were magically enchanted to explode against anything.”

“Nice. That is a very clever idea.”

“Indeed.” The two then reached the convoy. There were about ten fully armored knights on horses, and another ten going on foot. The convoy vehicles, little more than a roofed wagon, carried numerous weapons inside. There were five such vehicles that needed protection.

“This is going to be fun,” Tommy muttered. “Leola, perhaps you would be able to fight the bandits in this convoy.”

“I think I could. I still have that sword and shield,” Leola answered. “Still, you’ve got more experience than I do. You’ll need to help me out.”

“Of course. Otherwise the king would have my head.” Tommy approached an unhelmeted knight, who was an Elf, judging by his pronounced facial features and the pointy ears. “Greetings. The king sent me here to help guard this convoy.”

The Elf looked back. “Sure thing. Who are you again?” he asked. His voice was smooth and very calm.

“General Tommy,” was the reply.

“The one who killed our greatest knight?” the Elf asked, raising his right eyebrow.

“Word travels around fast. Yes, I killed him.”

“Good. That guy was really arrogant. Someone had to teach him a lesson, but he was a bit too good for most of us. How did you beat him?”

“Easy. I knocked him down and stabbed him. Not that hard, considering he wore all that heavy armor.”

“That is pretty good. Anyways, welcome to the escort. We need to drop off these weapons to an allied village that is going to war soon. We’ll be passing through bandit territory, and they’ll likely want some of our weapons for themselves."

”You managed to kill our greatest knight AND you rescued the princess in half the time any of our knights could. You are very welcome here. Is the princess here?”

Leola removed the hood from her cloak. “Yes, I am here,” she replied.

“Good. Your father did want you on this convoy to show the village we are there to help,” the Elf knight replied. “We just hope you won’t be kidnapped…again.”

“Me too. It gets so annoying that father never upgrades security around here.”

“With General Tommy, he may not need to anymore.”

“Don’t get overconfident. I am but one man,” Tommy answered.

“Perhaps. Even still, I feel safer knowing you’ll be with us.”

“When does this convoy move out?” Tommy asked.

“We were just going to leave. Where’s your horse?”

“Don’t worry. I’m good with or without my horse.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s move out men!” the Elf replied, moving his horse up front.

The convoy began its movement away from the castle, through the village, and towards the bandit territory. Tommy was simply glad that it was only partially past midday, allowing for a good amount of ground to be covered.

As soon as they entered bandit territory, some bandits noticed the convoy. “Oi, what’s with that convoy?” one asked. This bandit had a slight royal accent to his voice.

“Hell if I know. But if there’s knights guarding them, it must be filled with goodies,” a Dwarf bandit replied. This one had a very heavy accent to his voice.

“And there’s the Princess to. We could kidnap her and hold her for ransom.”

“Hang on…” the Dwarf bandit replied, noticing Tommy. “Isn’t that the guy who killed over a hundred of our brothers?”

“Yeah, I think that is the bloke. Not good.”

“We’ll have to ambush that guy, when he is isolated from the rest of them. Couple arrows in the back should paralyze him.”

“For now, we follow and gather some more of our friends.” The two bandits then began to move ahead of the convoy, studying the defenses.

Tommy had already smelled the bandits hiding in the trees, but didn’t bother to tell anyone. His sense of smell gave him only two unknown smells, none of which counted the sweaty, meaty knights traveling with him. Just two? They must know not to come here. They’ll be watching though for the right moment, he thought.

Leola noticed Tommy looking into the trees. “Notice anything strange?” she whispered, guessing that he noticed some bandits.

“Just two bandits. Nothing major,” Tommy replied.

“Only two? They must be scouts.”

“Probably. They must be monitoring the territory, knowing to ambush those who travel alone. Twenty knights and I make it far too dangerous.”

“Just you alone makes it far too dangerous for fifty bandits, let alone two," Leola pointed out.

“Don’t overestimate my abilities. Either way, they’ll be watching us, maybe gather up some more bandits,” General Tommy replied, remembering to point out that he isn't invincible.

“What plan do you have in mind?”

“Depends on the size of the bandit ambush, their race, and exactly how the ambush us. They’ll probably want to take me out first. Maybe a couple arrows to the back.”

“That’ll be hard. You knew that Ylthorin was going to shoot you with an arrow without any signs.”

“You mean aside from the arrowhead poking out from the brush? I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, but I should be able to smell them," Tommy pointed out.

“Alright.”

“Something wrong?” one knight asked. His face was hidden behind a full helmet.

“No. Nothing’s wrong,” Tommy answered.

“Very well then.” The knight returned to riding his horse.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 8
1/1/2009 18:19:49   
HK 47
Member

The convoy moved at a reasonable pace, considering they were in a thick forest deep in bandit territory. They only stopped to rest. When night came, the convoy stopped, due to the danger of going deeper into bandit territory at night. “We should rest for the night,” one knight suggested.

“Really now? I thought that we should just tire ourselves out,” Tommy replied, his voice having a very thick sarcastic tone to it.

“Why would…oh, good one," the knight replied, frowning.

“Seriously though, we should get ready to sleep for the night. I’ll go and get us food,” Tommy said, starting to walk off. “I’ll try not to cause too much damage.”

“Good luck,” the Elf knight replied, knowing that Tommy could take it.

“Wait for me!” Leola yelled, quickly running up to catch Tommy.

“Hold it girl! You’re to stay with us; it’s too dangerous out there!” the Elf Knight yelled, grabbing her right arm as she ran. He thought he caught a glimpse of the sword that she had hidden, but admitted to himself that it was a good idea for her to have a weapon. It would reduce the chance of being kidnapped.

Leola simply sighed. Tommy had a slight chuckle. “Don’t worry Princess, I’ll give you a good share of the food!” he replied, walking into the forest.

Tommy’s actual mission was to find the bandits that were going to ambush the knights. As soon as he dropped out of the line of sight of the knights, he climbed up the trees and began to leap around on them. The branches were sturdy and withstood him and his armor, which would've thrown anyone who didn't know his armor was constructed of Mirthril off.

Tommy thought he noticed motion out of the corner of his right eye. He quickly turned to the right and saw ten bandits, all running through the trees. Among them, the Elf and the Dwarf bandit were there, in the front of the party. “That’s not enough bandits to take over a convoy…there’s bound to be a horde of bandits…” he muttered.

The Elf bandit grinned. “This scouting force should give us a good knowledge of their defenses. As long as we aren’t caught off-guard, we’ll have the element of surprise,” he said, leaping from branch to branch.

“Yeah, we’ll need a good ambush to take down that knight who killed a hundred of our brothers,” the Dwarf bandit replied.

Tommy concluded, “These must be scouts. I’d best pick them off quietly, which means no explosives.” He then leaped forward, catching up with the bandits.

Leola muttered to herself, “I hate the fact that I can’t do anything. I’m not another pretty face. Stupid father, stupid knights. Good thing General Tommy understands.” She then sighed, and looked to the night sky. "I hope that he comes back alright..."

The Elf knight walked up to Leola. "Who gave you that sword?" he asked, his eyes filled with compassion.

"W-W-What sword? No sword here!" Leola replied, trying to dodge the bullet and the wrath of her father.

"Don't lie, I saw that sword when I grabbed you. Whoever gave it to you, tell him I said thanks."

"Wait...what?" Leola asked, here eyes now filled with confusion.

"I know that you have been kidnapped so many times. And I for one am glad that you will now be able to properly defend yourself. Who gave it to you?"

Leola gulped. "Thomas. He said that he'd train me on ways to fight. I've...I've always wanted to know. To know how to fight for myself and those I love."

"The way of the warrior is not an easy path. But Thomas is a great teacher, I can tell. He will train you well." The Elf Knight then walked back to the other knights, who were busy wrestling each other for no other reason than to pass the time.

The bandit scouting force was close to the convoy when the Elf bandit heard Tommy following. He stopped. “Hold it. I think someone’s following us,” he said.

“You sure?” the Dwarf bandit asked.

One of the human bandits was then decapitated by Tommy, and another lost his right arm. “Yep, I’m pretty sure,” the Elf bandit answered.

Tommy looked at the eight uninjured bandits with a cold remorse. “Where might you be going?” he asked, trying to scare the bandits.

The intimidation worked, as a cold shiver went down the bandits’ spines. “We, uh, were just…taking a walk!” the Elf bandit replied.

“Out on the treetops? Odd place to go for a walk," Tommy replied, obviously knowing their true intentions.

“Well, we were trying to have a change of scenery, you…you know,” was the answer. The Elf Bandit looked around, averting his gaze from the knight standing at him eye level.

“Uh huh. And why do you happen to be going in the direction of a convoy of knights with a supply of weapons?”

“Wait, you knew?” the Elf Bandit asked, raising his right eyebrow. He had played right into Tommy's hand.

“Gotcha.” Tommy’s eyes gleamed wickedly behind his mask as he quickly cut down the Elf bandit and the Dwarf bandit.

The remaining bandits panicked and ran. Tommy herded them over to the convoy. When the bandits leaped out into the clearing, the knights looked up and saw the bandits, who were more concerned with not being cut down by Tommy as realizing that they weren’t in a classic cartoon. The bandits fell down to the ground as the laws of gravity kicked in, missing the convoy wagons by mere centimeters. Tommy then leaped out from the treetops, and brought his swords down on one bandit. The last five bandits scrambled to escape before the knights walked up to them. “Put down your weapons,” the Elf knight ordered.

Tommy pulled his swords out from the dead bandit and looked at the bandits. “You’d best do as he says,” he growled.

Leola was the first to notice the falling bandits, and was scared by Tommy’s gaze and how cold he sounded. He’s really scary when he gets serious… she thought. Leola was even subconsciously shaking.

The bandits, now cowering at Tommy’s boots, began to beg him to spare their lives. Tommy simply sighed. “Cowards. I’ve now lost all will to kill you,” he said. Tommy’s voice then descended into a lower growl than before. “But if you do try to attack us again, I won’t think twice before killing you. Got it?”

The bandits only whimpered and nodded. “Y-Y-Yes sir!” one human bandit said, mustering all the courage he could. It was quite obvious that all of them were scared to the point where they would be seeing that scene in their nightmares.

“Good.” Tommy turned to the knights. “You can take their weapons. I’m sure our friends will be glad to have their weapons. They might also have some food on them.”

The knights nodded and searched the bandits. The bandits were left with very basic supplies: some food, a dagger, and the clothes on their backs (their leather armor was confiscated). The bandits quickly scampered up and ran as fast as they could, sometimes stumbling as they ran. They obviously didn't want another run-in with the convoy. Which is understandable, given that they were scared out of their wits by one man, had everything of theirs taken, and lost a few of their men.

Leola looked at Tommy, then she gazed at the fleeing bandits, then back to Tommy. “Don’t want to get on his bad side…” she muttered.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 9
1/1/2009 18:33:15   
HK 47
Member

The whole convoy was up and running after the second ambush, and began moving as fast as they could. With the ambush force defeated, they knew not to wait around. Tommy followed the convoy while running through the trees. Leola was close by Tommy, one branch behind him. Although she was somewhat clumsy.

The convoy managed to escape the woods without further incident. Ylthorin, having heard the sound of battle, ran to the ambush scene, only to find that General Tommy had escaped. “DAMN IT!” he yelled. “Alright General, I’ll find you yet!”

Ylthorin surveyed the surroundings, and saw the tracks. However, Ylthorin went in the wrong direction, thinking that going west was the correct direction, when the convoy went east.

As the forest ended, Tommy leaped down and barrel rolled. Leola attempted the same, and came up relatively unscathed (but she did get one cut over her knee). “Not bad,” Tommy complimented.

“Thanks. I just did what you did,” Leola answered. “Now how much further are we from the drop-off point?”

Tommy sighed. “You should ask the ones with the map. But I’m sure that we’re safe now. Nobody’s stupid to ambush a heavily armed convoy in a wide-open field. But we should cover some more ground.”

“Good point. Let’s go!” Leola quickly began to run off.

“Wait!” Tommy yelled, chasing after Leola.

“There she goes, craving excitement,” the Elf knight muttered.

Leola managed to run ahead of the convoy, stopped, turned around, and asked, “Uh…which way do we go?”

Tommy facepalmed in response to the question. “Just stay with us,” he replied.

“Okay.” Leola quickly jogged back to Tommy’s position. She knew that Tommy could offer more protection than any of the other knights.

Tommy looked to the night sky, and muttered, “If only I had the heart…” He was remembering one of the missions he was in before.

“What?” Leola asked.

“Nothing. Let’s keep moving.” Tommy quickly looked down.

“Hey, what can you tell me of Orcish culture?” Leola whispered.

“Not the right place to talk about it,” Tommy answered.

“Okay.” Leola had a look of disappointment on her face, but she understood. Tommy couldn’t afford to blow his cover.

The convoy managed to reach the village without any further ambushes. There were several people to visit them, all of them wearing some form of armor. Tommy walked up first. “Hello. We got a delivery of a lot of weapons and armor. You the guys?” he asked.

“Yep. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Who might you be?” one of the soldiers, a male human wearing some chainmail and holding a longsword asked.

“Just call me General Tommy.”

“Okay then. Our boys will start unloading. Had some troubles getting here?”

“Just a few bandits, nothing major.”

Princess Leola looked towards Tommy. “Yeah, nothing major,” she muttered, remembering the devastation he caused.

“Okay. Thanks for the supplies, we need them for this war,” the leader replied.

“Status on the war?” Tommy asked.

“Well, the resistance won’t give up, but we’ve got them on the ropes. With your supply drop, we’ve got enough weapons and armor to win this war. I also heard that you were delivering troops too.”

“First I heard of it,” Tommy replied, tilting his head to the left. "Also, you can't use conventional tactics against an unconventional army."

“Not you, the other knights. Also, they aren't 'unconventional' by any means." The soldier sighed, remembering the battles he fought.

The Elf knight nodded. “Indeed. We are honored to help you in your time of need.” He then turned and looked to Leola. “Milady, you should leave now.”

“So I came all this way for nothing?!” Leola yelled.

“Of course there was a reason. You were coming to prove we were the supply caravan from Lebanon. Now, you and General Tommy are sure to be able to make it back to the kingdom with few incidents.”

“Understood. Come Leola, we need to hurry,” Tommy replied.

“What about resting?” Leola asked.

“What about training?” Tommy asked, trying to get Leola to push to her limits.

“Good point.” Leola quickly began to jog behind Tommy, but she kept her distance.

“Nice guy. Hope he makes it past the bandits,” the leader noted.

“He will. So, what’s our first order on the agenda?” the Elf Knight answered.

“We need to unload all of this equipment. We should hurry; we don’t know when the rebels would attack.” The leader then ran behind one of the caravan vehicles and began to unload a crate of weapons.

Tommy and Leola found a nearby horse and mounted it. Tommy kicked the horse’s sides. “HIYA!” he yelled, and the horse quickly began to run off.

“Are you sure you can control this creature?” Leola asked.

“Are we dead yet?” Tommy asked in a rhetorically.

“Good point. So, you know a shortcut?”

“Shortest path is always a straight line, but that’ll take us directly through bandit territory, and I suspect their camp. We’ll use the treetops to avoid being spotted, or we can stay low and move slowly. Either way, we need to keep enemy contact to a minimal,” Tommy answered, bringing the horse close to bandit turf. “Which path do you want to take?”

Leola considered her options. “We’ll take the treetops. Less chance of being spotted,” she replied. Leola chose this actually because she never went running around on tree branches and wanted to give it a try again.

“Sure thing. Just be careful which branches you jump on. The smaller ones have a good chance of breaking if you jump on them. Stick to the thick branches.”

The horse arrived at bandit territory, and it stopped there, rearing up. Tommy and Leola fell off the horse, and the horse ran off. “Insensitive horse,” Leola muttered, noticing Tommy’s mask fell off, and she quickly put it back on.

“Thanks,” Tommy replied, groaning as he got up.

“What can you tell me of the Orcish community?” Leola asked.

“I’ll say more when we’re in the trees, don’t want to attract attention.” Tommy quickly began to scale the nearest tree. Leola did the exact same to a different tree. It was somewhat harder for Leola, being that she didn't have the same level of upper body strength (or indeed, the same level of physical strength in any part of her body).
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 10
1/1/2009 18:51:23   
HK 47
Member

The run through the trees with Leola was rather quiet, until Leola asked, “So what’s Orcish culture like? You said you would tell me.”

Tommy answered, “That I did. Orcish culture is actually rather easy to get used to. We thrive off of honor that is gained in battle, even the women. We are all equals. The highest honor is to be accepted into the commandos like I was. Commandos are perhaps the strongest of all the soldiers, given that we’re trained for a very long time of our lives.

“Most commandos have a specific skill that is best for our soldiers. Mine for example is my cunning tactical mind. Of course, nothing is complete without a flaw, and mine is thinking strategically. But I’ve made it this far.”

"There's a difference between strategy and tactics?" Leola asked.

"Yes. Strategy is the overall plan, while tactics is more of a 'plan-in-progress'."

“Ah. Hang on, I need some rest,” Leola replied, stopping on her branch. Tommy quickly stopped on the next branch he landed on.

“You’re doing well so far. I always seem to move faster in the trees than on the ground.”

“You think we’re going the right way?”

“I’m sure of it,” Tommy replied. He then sniffed the air. “Incoming bandits. Five of em. Six, tops.”

“What should we do?”

“Easy. We go down.” Tommy then began to slide down the tree trunk.

“Okay,” Leola replied, sliding down as well. Unfortunately, this began to tear at her clothing. When Leola reached the ground, there were several rips in the fabric, but nothing major. “Ouch…”

“Don’t worry. You get used to sliding down a rough tree after about the third time. Just another reason why I love to wear a lot of metal armor. It can't be easily ripped at,” Tommy replied, hiding in a nearby bush.

Leola then began to hear the approach of the bandits in the trees, and she then sought cover. She was able to make out some of the conversation.

“So sir, you think that convoy’s coming back?” one bandit asked.

“If it does, we’ll be ready for em. So long as that crazy knight isn’t there. He managed to wipe out all those bandits, and that’s respectable,” another bandit replied.

“But sir, what if he is there?”

“Then I guess we’ll have to knock him out with a poisoned arrow.”

The bandits then came into view. There were five of them. Three Elves, one Dwarf, and one Human. Each one wore leather armor and carried maces, but the human carried a longsword.

“Sir, you think this plan will work? There’s only five of us,” one of the Elves asked.

“Sure it will. You Elves use your magic and blast apart the knights, while our Dwarf friend knocks out certain knights and that crazy knight, and I’ll swipe the equipment,” the human replied.

"Hey wait a second, how come you don't do any work?"

"Because I'm the guy leading this group, duh."

Tommy rolled slightly to the side, causing the bush he was in to rustle. “Did you hear that?” one of the Elf bandits asked.

“Aye laddie, that I did,” the Dwarf bandit, who had a very heavy accent, replied.

“Sounded like it came from down below.”

“What fool’d come through our turf without an armed escort?”

“Well, we may as well mug them for their gold and other valuables,” the human bandit replied, leaping down to the ground. Unfortunately, he forgot that falling hurts and he didn’t roll when he hit the ground. “OUCH!”

Tommy chuckled. The other bandits slid down the tree trunks to reach the ground. “Come on out laddie! Ye can’t hide forever!” the Dwarf bandit ordered.

Tommy answered by assassinating one of the Elf bandits via a stab through the heart. Leola then rushed another Elf, who was still startled from his other brother dieing. With that, he took a stab in the gut. He doubled over as the blade came out, and hit the ground, dead.

The last Elf bandit jumped, and quickly drew his mace. The Dwarf bandit also drew his mace, and the human bandit was staggering back up. Tommy grinned. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you to do a barrel roll when you hit the ground?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” the human bandit replied. “It’s two against…aw crap…” The human bandit just realized that he was dealing with Tommy.

“What’s the matter laddie?” the Dwarf bandit asked.

“That’s the crazy knight,” the human bandit answered, pointing towards Tommy.

“There’s but one thing we can do in a situation like this.”

“And that is?”

The Dwarf bandit quickly dropped his mace and began to run. “RUN AWAY!”

The Elf and the human bandits nodded to each other and ran off. Tommy grunted, “Cowards.”

Leola flicked the blood off of her sword, as did Tommy. Leola looked disgusted at the dead bandit’s body. “Ugh…” she said.

“Killing’s not easy to do the first time through. However, as time progresses, it becomes increasingly easier to do, until it’s nearly second nature,” Tommy answered, sheathing his swords. “It's just a fact of life. Now then, I suggest we get moving again.”

Leola nodded. “Yes sir!” she replied, climbing up a nearby tree. Tommy did the same.

The two then began to leap from branch to branch, intent on getting back to Lebanon. All the way in Lebanon, King Jakgo sighed. “I do so hope my daughter is okay,” he said.

“Don’t worry sir, I’m sure that she’s fine,” a bodyguard replied. Like the other bodyguards, he had a face-concealing helmet, and a full suit of plate mail armor. There was a longsword by his side, with a backup axe. He also had a kite shield over his back.

“Yes, I hope so as well.” King Jakgo was actually more concerned with his son, who, as always, was confined to his room for being outright rude to the guests of the kingdom.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 11
1/1/2009 18:58:42   
HK 47
Member

The rest of the run back to Lebanon was quick and without incident. When the two returned back to the land, they were given a great welcome. Many civilians ran up to the two, and gave them hugs. Tommy was taken back by this gesture, and fell over as another kid rammed into the pile. “GET OFF ME!” he yelled.

The kids immediately understood and got off of him. Tommy grunted as he stood back up. Leola was being mobbed by countless civilians. Tommy decided to wade through the crowd towards Leola. “Leola, you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just fine,” Leola replied. “Not used to this?”

“Oh I’ve had a hero’s welcome before. I just don’t usually have people mob me,” Tommy answered. “We should get back to King Jakgo. He’ll be waiting for us.”

Leola nodded. “Yes sir!” she replied, wading through the crowd.

“Back off everyone, we’re going to see the king now. Stand aside if you know what’s good for you,” Tommy growled.

The crowd quickly dispersed. “Was it really needed to give a threat?” Leola asked.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

One small boy walked up to Tommy. “Hey, who might you be?” he asked.

“My name is General Tommy. And you are?” Tommy replied.

“Jacobson,” the boy replied. It was obvious that he was quite happy to see Tommy.

“Pleasure.”

“I’ve heard that you managed to slay a hundred bandits. That you defeated the land’s greatest knight. That you—“

“I get the picture. And yes, I did do those things. So what do you need?”

Jacobson pulled out a small piece of paper and a feather pen. “Autograph?”

“An autograph? First time I’ve been asked for that. Okay then.” Tommy took the feather pen, which had some ink on it. He then quickly signed his name. “General Tommy, the Masked Knight.”

Jacobson grabbed the paper as soon as he was finished. “Thanks man!” He then ran off.

“Already I have a fan. Will be a disappointment when he learns the truth.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” Leola replied.

“It’s inevitable. Every time I screw up and reveal my face.” Tommy touched his mask. “It always happens.”

“I will make sure to keep your secret.”

“That’s all I ask. Now then, let’s get going. Your father will be waiting for us, with my payment.”

Tommy began to run to the castle, Leola following behind. “Wait up!” she yelled.

Tommy stopped. “And I’m the one wearing armor,” he replied.

Leola caught up, and began to run further. “Fooled you!”

“Nice one!” Tommy replied, chasing after her at high speeds. His movement was slightly slower, but he caught up as Leola had to rest. The two were just outside the throne room.

Tommy walked into the room in a dignified walk. Leola quickly followed him inside. “My friends, you have returned! Was the shipment delivered?” King Jakgo asked, his face beaming.

“Yes milord. The shipment was complete. Now about that payment,” Tommy replied, a gleam in his eyes.

“Ah yes. 100 gold pieces this time, as it was a minor errand.” The big bodyguard knight walked up and chucked a sack of gold at Tommy’s face.

Tommy caught it just in time to stop it from colliding with his face. “Pleasure doing business with you. Now then, Leola and I have some business to attend to.”

“Of course. Off to the armory with you two then.” King Jakgo waved his hand in a dismissed fashion.

“Yes, milord.” Tommy began to walk off, with Leola following behind.

“Whatever happened to your clothing?” King Jakgo asked, obviously asking Leola.

“Slid down a tree trunk,” Leola answered, being bluntly honest.

“A tree trunk? But…why?”

“There were some bandits approaching from the treetops. We didn’t want to get spotted.”

“Ah. Very well.” King Jakgo didn't even seem to care that his daughter was attempting such dangerous stunts.

Leola and Tommy then entered the armory. As before, the place was sealed off. Tommy grinned. “Alright, we need to work on your stamina and strength. You only got as far as you did out of adrenaline, which takes the boy beyond normal limits. But a warrior never relies on adrenaline alone.”

“So how would we fix this?” Leola asked.

“Easy. You are going to work out. Combat lessons will ensue shortly thereafter.” Tommy then looked towards the blunt weapons. “Use those as lifting weights.”

“Yes sir!” Leola replied, quickly running towards them.

She must really want to fight. Most women I know oppose working out. Ah well, she is not like most women, General Tommy thought to himself.

Leola grabbed a nearby mace with one hand and began to lift it up. Unfortunately, it was quite heavy for her. She wound up dropping it. “On second thought, let’s do combat first, then go and work out somewhere else,” Tommy replied.

“Yes sir, very good idea,” Leola replied, grunting.

“Alright, bring out your sword,” Tommy ordered. Leola drew her sword eagerly. “Alright, this lesson will be about a slash vs. stab. A slash is best against unarmored or lightly armored foes because it cuts straight through the armor, and can deal more massive damage. However, a stab can easily exploit the flaws in heavy armor, and it only takes about…two inches to pierce something vital, on a usual standpoint.”

“Understood. Slash against lightly armored, stab vs. heavily armored,” Leola replied.

“I’m not quite done. A stab is slightly harder to block than a slash, but in my experience it seems to require a tad bit more energy. It matters little to me, considering that I have strength and endurance beyond most humans, considering my severely difficult training.”

“How long did you train?”

“20 years. I’m 32.”

“Isn’t that near the age limit of an Orc?” Leola asked, raising her right eyebrow.

Tommy’s mouth frowned. “No. Orcs don’t usually live past the age of 35 because we die on the battlefield. Believe me, I’ve seen some 60-year-old Orcs. Orcs live as long as humans, but mature much quicker.”

“Oh, sorry sir.” Leola looked down at the ground.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 12
1/1/2009 19:07:18   
HK 47
Member

After the little training session, Leola-disguised as a peasant-and General Tommy both went to the knight’s training rooms. Inside laid a multitude of workout equipment, all of them weights. There were no knights stretching whatsoever.

Tommy grunted, “All brawn, no brains…upsetting.”

“Alright sir, which one should I do first?” Leola asked.

“Let’s start with basic weights. Can’t do things that are too heavy first off, lest you burn up your body. Then we’ll do some cardio by running around the outskirts of the kingdom, all while wearing some chainmail. The extra weight helps with running around, as it forces you to work harder,” Tommy answered.

“Yes sir!” Leola replied, rushing off to pick up some 6 lb. weights. She found it a slight strain to curl them, but managed to do it regardless. She pulled off five reps, and then had to stop. “This stuff is quite heavy…”

“Really now? I hadn’t noticed,” Tommy replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Of course they’re supposed to be heavy to you, you’ve just begun.”

The next few hours involved lifting various weights with different fashions. Leola found it fairly hard to do, considering that she was wearing a robe that made her sweat faster. When she was done, she was extremely tired, but Tommy didn't care.

“Alright, let’s get you some chainmail,” Tommy said, grabbing a set of chainmail armor.

“I’m…tired…” Leola answered between breaths.

“This is the same training I went through when I was younger. It shouldn’t be that hard for you,” Tommy replied, walking forward with the armor in his hands. “Now then, I’m going to put this on. Don’t struggle.”

Leola only nodded, a bit too weak to struggle anyway. Tommy then began to put the armor on her. Leola willingly obliged, and it came on with a good sense of ease. The armor felt rather heavy on her though. However, she took it with good grace, knowing armor is a vital part of combat.

“So what now…sir…?” Leola asked, still a bit out of breath.

“We start running, that’s what,” Tommy answered, opening the door. “Move it.”

“Yes…sir…” Leola at that time was a bit upset at what she had to go through, but knew it was important for her to run while exhausted. She managed to move her legs, albeit somewhat sluggishly.

Tommy began to jog along with her, leading the way. Leola simply followed behind as best as she could. When they reached the outskirts of Lebanon, Leola had to stop and rest. Tommy sighed. “Fine, we’ll rest for a bit,” he said.

Leola couldn’t help but feel a small amount of relief for the fact that she was now able to relax. However, just then an earthquake occurred and a hole began to open up at Leola’s feet. “This doesn’t make seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeense!” Leola yelled as she began to fall down the hole.

“Leola!” Tommy yelled, quickly beginning his slide down into the hole.

Leola managed to save her life by stabbing her sword into a nearby wall. The wall was blood-red, which made her wonder if this was a magic anomaly…that is, until the wall started to bleed. A thunderous roar was heard as a pair of large red eyes locked onto Leola. “Uh oh…” Leola muttered.

A quick flame aroused from the mouth, and it turned out that she was staring a dragon right in the face. Leola quickly pulled the sword out and leaped off, driven by adrenaline. And not a moment too soon, as was proven by a breath of fire just barely avoiding burning her body. It did manage to catch a few locks of hair though.

Leola grunted as she turned towards the dragon. Magical torches then lit up around the cavern, and the dragon came into full-view. It was lying down, but even then it was roughly the size of a one-story building. From head to tail, it probably was about the size of a bus. Its wings were about the same size as a pterodactyl’s. And boy did that dragon look angry.

Leola quickly took cover as another wave of fire came out of the dragon’s mouth. Leola’s adrenaline kicked her into overdrive as she dove for cover, driven by fear of death. The Dragon snarled. “What are you doing here, human?!” it yelled.

“It was an accident, I swear!” Leola yelled.

“Yeah, says you and about five hundred other nuts with swords and shields. What and I suppose a hole randomly opened up at your feet so you stabbed your sword into me to save your life?”

“Uh…actually…”

“Enough talk! You will—“

“OI!” General Tommy yelled as he reached the bottom floor. His blades were already drawn. “Leave her alone.”

“And who are you to order me around, human?!” the dragon yelled.

“General Tommy. This lady is under my protection.”

“So YOU ordered her to kill me! For that you will die!”

Tommy quickly rolled to the ground as the dragon fired off some of his fire breath again. Tommy quickly began to calculate the odds.

Given the dragon’s wounded state, the size of his body, and his mood, I predict about an even 50-50 split. If I can just get on top of the dragon, I can end the fight by stabbing my swords into his head. Even a dragon can’t survive without his brain, Tommy calculated.

Tommy looked to Leola. “I need you to draw the dragon’s fire, pun not intended. I’m going to get on top of him,” he ordered.

“Yes sir!” Leola yelled, now driven by courage, knowing that Tommy will protect her. Leola readied her shield and ran out into the dragon’s line of sight. “Hey ugly! Over here!”

“Arrogant human!” the dragon yelled, firing off his fire breath towards Leola, who rolled to the side to avoid.

“Missed me!”

“Stay still already!” the dragon yelled, breathing some more fire, and again missing. It was obvious that he was getting more annoyed with each attack.

Tommy managed to reach the dragon’s tail, and began to run up it. However, the dragon’s eyes leveled with Tommy’s. “Uh…hi…” Tommy said, before stabbing one of the dragon’s eyes.

“OW! MY EYE!” the dragon yelled, flailing about to get Tommy off. However, Tommy dug into the dragon by stabbing his swords into the back.

General Tommy began to run to the dragon’s head as the dragon grew tired, readying his swords for the final blow. Once he reached the neck, he held on tight as he plunged his swords into the dragon’s skull. “DIE!” General Tommy yelled.

The dragon snarled and gurgled as his life ebbed away. “AGH! GRAH!” the dragon yelled, as his life ended.

The dragon collapsed on his side, to Leola’s relief. By this time, her adrenaline was wearing off and she was slammed by her workout and running. She collapsed as she ran out of energy.

General Tommy sighed. “Always gotta do all the work around here,” he muttered. He then shouldered Leola as he began his climb back up.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 13
1/1/2009 19:24:43   
HK 47
Member

Leola jumped when she woke up, thinking she was still in the dragon’s den. Instead, she was in her room, lying in her bed. When she looked outside, she noticed that it was night time. “I must’ve been out for quite a while…” she muttered.

“That you were,” Tommy answered. He was standing across the room, at the doorway. “Sorry about pushing you too hard, I forgot that humans are not as…resilient…as my kind.”

“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine. My only question is how did that hole open up beneath my feet?” Leola looked down.

“Don’t worry. Whoever decided to do that is obviously not a friendly person, perhaps wanting you dead. Who do you know would do that?” Tommy replied.

“I don’t know. Lebanon has few enemies,” Leola answered bluntly.

“I see. Then I guess Lebanon has an enemy now.” General Tommy was guessing it was Ylthorin's fault, as he is crazy enough to warrant something like that.

Rewinding back to the crumbling hole part, Ylthorin found Tommy and Leola going out for a run. “Finally! I will kill General Tommy by making him fall down a very long hole, and there will be a dragon down there!” Ylthorin yelled, aiming his right hand over at Tommy. “FALL!”

The hole opened up, but it screwed up and hit Leola instead. “Dammit! I meant General Tommy, not the princess you stupid spell!” Ylthorin yelled, before dashing out of sight.

Back at the Princess’ chamber in the current time, Tommy looked at Leola. “We should rest for the night. The king might have some more dangerous missions for us later on,” he said before walking out of the room.

“Wait,” Leola said. Tommy stopped to listen. “Listen, I’m really glad that you came and saved me. You know how to come through for a girl.”

“I am simply doing my job. I cannot allow the princess of Lebanon to simply die,” Tommy answered. “Now, I am tired. I am going to go rest.”

With that, Tommy closed the door. Leola sighed. “He sure is a nice guy.” She then went to bed.

When morning came, Jakgo summoned Leola and Tommy to the throne room. Both obviously ran to meet him. When they arrived, Tommy looked to the king, kneeling. “What is it, milord?” he asked.

“Yes, welcome,” King Jakgo replied. “Now then, I have a mission for you General.”

“I am ready to serve.”

“Good. It’s a simple escort mission. One of my ambassadors is going to a nearby village to check up on the militia. You are going to help him get there.”

Tommy’s eyes gleamed. “Very well. I’ll expect my payment in the usual manner.”

“Good. Now then Leola, you need to stay here. I have to go and check up on someone important outside of the castle.”

“Yes sir,” Leola replied, obviously upset that she gets the easier mission. “I will do as you command.”

“Your mission is more important than the General’s mission. Besides, women are not to fight. They are to stay in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning,” King Jakgo replied. Tommy snorted, causing King Jakgo to look at him. “Is there a problem?”

Tommy shook his head. “No sir. I will get on my escort mission as soon as I finish eating,” he answered.

“Then off with both of you.” King Jakgo stood up and exited the room.

“Why was I not hired to escort the king?” Tommy asked.

“He believes you are not ready,” a nearby knight captain, a Dwarf, judging by his short stature and full beard, replied.

“Understandable. Well, time to go,” Tommy replied, leaving the room.

Leola took her Princess robes and went to change into them. “See you when you get back, General,” she said.

“Don’t worry, this mission won’t take long,” Tommy answered. He then closed the throne room doors behind him. When Tommy entered the mess room, it sure lived up to the name. Knights everywhere were chewing down their food like animals. It somewhat disgusted Tommy, but he knew that these knights were not very sophisticated.

Tommy walked up to the chef and asked, “What’s on the menu?”

“We’ve got chicken, steak, rice, and some baked carrots,” the chef replied.

“Nice menu. I’ll take some chicken, some rice, and a couple baked carrots,” Tommy answered.

“Yer the first knight I know that went with the carrots. You must not be from around here,” the chef replied, putting the food on a plate. There were three chicken legs, about a hundred grains of rice, and two baked carrots.

“Indeed I’m not.” Tommy took the plate, and gave the chef five gold pieces. “For your troubles.”

“Thank you very much sir. First knight I know that tips the chef too.”

“I’m not like most knights.” Tommy then took his seat. One knight noticed the mask as both he and Tommy were eating.

“How do you plan to eat yer food with that mask on?” the knight asked.

Tommy opened up part of the mouth portion of his mask and put the chicken in there, ripping open the food. “That’s how,” Tommy answered; his mouth full.

“Why don’t ya just take off that mask?” the knight asked.

“For protection. Not for my sake.”

“Weird.”

Tommy continued to chow down on the food, and then moved onto the rice. Unlike the knights, who simply grabbed it and shoved it down their throats, Tommy pulled out some chopsticks from his backpack and ate the rice in a very refined manner. The carrots were eaten like the knights, however.

“Yer one odd knight, ya know that?” a knight captain replied.

“Yeah, you can say that,” Tommy answered. He then closed up the mask before any noticed the strange teeth placement.

“Heard you took on a hundred bandits by yerself.”

“That I did.”

“Never seen anyone able to take on those many bandits by themselves! Ye must be a very good fighter, or those bandits are stupider than ever.”

Laughter occurred after hearing that. “Or both.” Tommy then stood up. “Now, I’ve got a mission to accomplish. A simple escort mission.”

“Ah. Good luck with that.” The knight then returned to stuffing his face with food.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 14
1/1/2009 19:30:58   
HK 47
Member

Tommy reached the diplomat he had to escort: a simple human male wearing an elegant robe. A dagger was by his side although it was quite obvious he had no combat training. “You’re the diplomat, right?” Tommy asked.

“Yes, that is I. And you are my escort, right?” the diplomat replied. His voice was quite elegant, but it was unusually high.

“Indeed. General Tommy’s the name.”

“Ah. Now I know I’m safe.”

“Don’t overestimate me. There’s always the off-chance that you will get killed by a rouge arrow.”

“Either way, I trust you more than the random meatbag knights.” The diplomat emphasized the word “meatbag”.

“They know how to fight, at the very least. Now, let’s get going. Sooner we get there the better.” Tommy got on his horse with enough rations to make it to his target and back.

“Indeed good sir,” the diplomat replied, getting on his horse. This horse had on some armor, but it looked quite uncomfortable.

Tommy asked, “Will we be going through the main roads?”

“Yes, that we are. Why?”

Tommy grunted. “That’s a bad idea. We’re prime targets for bandits. Let’s go through the woods.”

“Yes sir. I trust your judgment.”

“HIYA!” Tommy yelled, snapping the reins on his horse. The horse reared up, neighed, and began to move off.

The diplomat did the same, although his horse moved slower due to the armor. Tommy sighed. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Don’t worry General. We’ll make it,” the diplomat said.

“Alright, but don’t blame me if we get ambushed.” Tommy took up the front, making sure to use his enhanced sense of smell to his advantage. Nothing ever registered except the smell of the horses and the diplomat.

When the two reached the forest, a pair of bandits noticed the duo. And they decided against attacking, because Tommy was there. They wouldn’t underestimate his abilities this time. “I hope that things go our way,” Tommy said, keeping himself calm.

“And if not you can show me your moves,” the diplomat replied.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Okay then…” Tommy said, a bit confused. Nonetheless, he kept his mind on the mission.

Night came, and still no bandits. This was good, considering that Tommy wanted it that way. As the two set up camp, the Orc bandit walked out of the shadows. “Sir, I need to warn you about something,” he said.

“What would it be?” Tommy asked. The diplomat paid no attention.

“There’s a large bandit ambush going to happen just outside of the forest. Not enough to cause worry, but they might capture and/or kill the diplomat with you.”

“Ah. Numbers?” Tommy was merely trying to calculate survival chances.

“About a hundred and fifty.”

“That’s all? Too bad for them. Thanks for the info.”

“My pleasure sir.” The Orc bandit then vanished into the shadows and up the trees.

“Who was your friend?” the diplomat asked.

“An informant. Apparently there’s going to be a large ambush up ahead. Hundred and fifty bandits against me and you,” Tommy answered.

“That just doesn’t seem fair.”

“Yeah. Maybe if it was just me, it’d be fair.” Tommy sighed, finishing up camp. “For now, we should rest. We want to be ready for when the ambush occurs.”
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 15
1/1/2009 19:35:57   
HK 47
Member

Morning came, and Tommy was the first one up. He quickly began his checks, keeping an eye out for any bandits. He looked for his supplies, and there weren’t any raids. He checked for the diplomat, and he was still there. He checked his weapons and his horse; they were all there, right where he left them. It was as if the bandits stopped caring.

Tommy grinned. “So far so good. But if my comrade was correct, it will get harder. Best hurry and hope we can get past the ambush area before they are ready,” he said, waking up the diplomat. “Sir, it’s time to move, now.”

The diplomat nodded. “Yes sir.” He quickly stood up and got on his horse, who was still half-asleep.

Tommy got on his horse and began to take point. He quickly began to smell the air for any scent of bandits. Nothing yet.

Almost outside of the forest, there were indeed a hundred and fifty bandits lying in wait, though most were extremely tired. “When is that damn diplomat showing up?” one asked, obviously on edge.

“Calm down man, we’re all tired. Look, I know that guy is coming through here, okay? We just need to wait a bit longer. Then we’ll get the drop on em and rob him for all his money,” another bandit, probably a leader, replied.

“You sure? I heard he’s being guarded by General Tommy. That bastard took out over a hundred of our comrades.”

“I’m sure those numbers were highly exaggerated. There’s no way one man could take down a hundred of us alone.”

“Alright, but don’t blame me if he kills us all.”

Over at Tommy’s end, he and the diplomat were getting closer to the ambush site. “I sense an ambush,” the diplomat said.

Tommy smelled the air, and indeed, over a hundred and fifty unique signatures came through. “I smell the ambush. And boy do those bandits stink,” Tommy said, waving his hand in front of his face so as to ward off the countless smells. "Haven't they ever heard of a good bath?"

“Heh. So, how well do you think we’ll do?”

Tommy began calculating some numbers. “90% chance of survival, 9% chance one of us is captured, and -5% chance that one of us is killed,” he replied.

“That comes out to 94%...”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own.” Tommy drew his blades. “Now duck.”

The diplomat did as he was told and avoided getting hit with an arrow. That same arrow was deflected by Tommy’s swords. The bandit that fired that arrow was stunned. “That was impressive,” the bandit said.

The leader simply whapped him one, and caused that bandit to fall out of the tree. Tommy quickly threw one of his explosive daggers in the direction of that tree, and hit a mace, causing it to erupt in the leader’s waist. This easily killed the leader.

Remaining bandits all charged en masse so that they could overwhelm Tommy with sheer weight of numbers, to no avail. Tommy knocked one bandit down, and used that bandit as a meatshield, stopping attacks to the front. He deflected rear attacks to the degree that it looked like he had ESP regarding the matter.

Tommy quickly began slicing up bandits with his free arm, and the diplomat fought back as well, stabbing in critical areas to the body’s systems. Surely enough, the bandits fled when their numbers reached below fifty.

Tommy decided to break his meatshield’s neck, and checked in on the diplomat. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just fine. Can’t believe we made it so easily,” the diplomat replied.

“You tend to get used to such surprises when dealing with bandits. They are unorganized and very poor combatants individually, so they have to rely on ambushes and sheer weight of numbers to win. It’s not uncommon for them to run when their numbers are low enough. Now we’ve got work to do,” Tommy answered, taking some daggers from the bandit’s bodies and lining them with black powder, and then walking off.

“Yes sir!” the diplomat replied, quickly running to catch up with Tommy.

Once outside the bandit forest, General Tommy looked to the diplomat. “So where exactly are we going again?” he asked.

“The Kingdom of Saleen to discuss an alliance treaty,” the diplomat answered.

“Aw crap,” General Tommy said, as he remembered his time under the King of Saleen.

“What?”

“I’ve been…banished from Saleen. I can bring you to the kingdom, but I will not go into the place itself,” General Tommy answered, trying to think up a false reason why he was banished. "Hey wait a second, I thought you were going to check up on the local militia."

“I'm doing both. And why were you banished?”

“I was…I got into an argument over the king’s policies. Suffice to say that I wasn’t…kind in my words. So I was banished for hate speeches against the king. Nothing else to say there.”

“Ah. Well, I don’t want to ignore what he set forth. You will wait outside the city walls for me.”

“Understood.” Tommy quickly began to ride forth, in hopes to reach Saleen before people realized that he had returned for diplomatic reasons.

All the way in Lebanon, Leola had grown bored of her wait in the throne room. Jakgo still hadn’t returned from whatever mission it was that he was going on, and neither had Tommy. It was at times like this when Leola would often amuse herself by bringing a guard before her to talk.

This time however, she decided to go and watch how the knights fought in her usual peasant disguise. She figured, If I can learn from the knights and improve on their technique, then perhaps Tommy can teach me some of his more advanced moves. Then again, I still need to wok out and build strength to pull off such moves…man; I hope that he comes back soon…

So Leola got dressed up in her peasant disguise so that she could learn how the knights fought and adapt her own style of fighting to it. She grabbed her sword and shield as well, as she figured that she would need them. She hid them beneath the heavy robes, as if the knights saw them, they would grow suspicious as to how she acquired them. Swords were a sign of nobility, and a peasant having a sword, let alone a sword and shield, raises questions as to how they got it. They might assume that she stole them off the dead body of their rightful owner. And then her father would find out her little secret.

Leola managed to hide the weapon and shield effectively, and ran off to find the training grounds. Sure enough, she found several knights in training, and decided to watch from a fair distance. The knights often fought by wide, sweeping motions intended to break the light armor that bandits often wore. Those who became archers often wore chainmail instead of plate armor. And many were deadly accurate with their bows. Leola began to calculate how to improve on the knight’s style of fighting.

Those knights seem to do a lot of sweeping motions, Leola thought. Perhaps if I use those and the occasional stab to throw off my opponent’s guard, things will be much easier for me to do. Then I will have to adapt my own fighting motions so that it doesn’t look like I stole the style from the knights and instead was self-taught, which I kind of am.

General Tommy and the diplomat reached Saleen. Tommy looked back in the direction of Lebanon. Strange. For a moment there I thought Leola was taking the initiative in learning how to fight… he thought.

“Something up General?” the diplomat asked.

“No. You go on ahead. I’ll wait in this spot,” Tommy answered. He was going to go and take a nap, as he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 16
1/1/2009 19:39:19   
HK 47
Member

The kingdom of Saleen came into view within a couple hours of walking. The walls were quite high for a kingdom. There was a set of 40-foot-tall double doors right at the entrance.

The diplomat wondered, “Why did they make the doors so high?”

Tommy was waiting a fair distance off, but knew what the diplomat wondered. However, he was too far away to give an answer, so he just waited. Two archers looked down to the diplomat. “Who are you?” one of the archers, an Elf by the look of his pointy chin and ears, asked.

“I am the diplomat from the Kingdom of Lebanon, here to discuss an alliance with your kingdom!” the diplomat yelled back up.

“Ah! We were waiting for you! Please, do come in!” the archer replied, giving the order to open the oversized doors.

The diplomat quickly entered, and the doors closed behind him. Tommy sighed. “Might as well get comfortable,” he muttered, and found a soft patch of dirt to lie down on.

All the way in Lebanon, Leola had studied enough of the knight’s movements to adapt to her own style of fighting, and improved on them. She quickly went off to work out again, having grown bored of watching the knights. When she entered, all the knights quickly gave her a stare.

One of them walked up to her. “Why are you here, Welch?” he asked, obviously annoyed a “peasant” came into their training room.

“I merely wish to exercise,” Leola answered.

“I do so hope that you jest. Nobody here but a knight works out in this room,” the knight answered.

“I have studied your way of fighting. Perhaps I can show you what I’ve learned?” Leola asked; a gleam in her eyes. This would be the perfect opportunity to try out her new moves.

The knights went into a thunderous uproar. “Alright, I’ll humor you peasant. Prepare for battle!” the knight replied, drawing his sword.

Leola pulled out her hidden sword and shield, and made the first strike by stabbing at what she assumed was a weak point in the armor. It hit, but it didn’t smash through the armor. She was using a cutting sword, not a stabbing sword.

The knight was stunned by her quick move, and fell on his back. This gave Leola enough time to jump up and use downward momentum to plunge the sword right through the breastplate of his armor. The blow was fatal, and the knight’s life was ended.

The other knights were awestruck by the speed of which she killed the knight. Leola’s hood unfortunately fell off her head while she jumped up, revealing her identity. “Princess Leola?! You want to fight?!” a knight captain asked.

“Yes. I have grown tired of the cooking and cleaning classes my father forces onto me. I want to know how to fight, to fend for myself. If nothing else, it’ll lessen the kidnappings. Please, keep this a secret. If my father found out I was learning how to fight…” Leola replied. She tilted her head down as she finished the last sentence.

“I understand. We all understand, right?” a knight captain said, looking to the others.

“Of course we do, sir!” the knights answered in unison. This brought a smile to Leola’s face.

At least the knights understand me, she thought.

All the way over where Tommy lay down, a couple knights from Saleen found him. “Hey, isn’t this…?” one asked.

Tommy woke up, startled. “Aw crap,” he said.

“What are you doing here, Orc filth?!” the second knight asked, his sword already drawn.

“I was passing by. I do not intend to harm your kingdom in any manner whatsoever. I worked for that kingdom for quite a while, don’t you remember?” Tommy answered.

“So that you could take it down from—“

“No. I left the Orcs behind seven years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. I am a mercenary, not a spy. Can you not understand?” Tommy's hidden face was showing signs of annoyance, but not in his tone of voice.

“Well…you have never shown signs of disloyalty…you always accepted missions with gusto…” the first knight muttered.

“Right. Your king however, like all of them, never seems to understand this though. They get one look at my face…and I’ve lost my job again. It has become infuriating. I can never get a break. Besides, I work for Lebanon now,” Tommy answered.

“Isn’t that the kingdom that we were going to discuss an alliance with?” the second knight asked.

“Yeah, it was. Heard that their princess gets into a crapload of trouble every year,” the first knight replied.

“More like ten craploads. It’s almost as if she has a quota of getting kidnapped. At least three times every year. I’ve been secretly teaching her how to fight so that she can resist capture. Her father however, is blindly devoted to tradition, and would not understand why I am teaching her you to fight. Leola also knows who I am, and accepts me for it. I don’t want to blow my cover. Keep this on the down-low, okay?” Tommy replied.

“Understood,” the first and second knights said simultaneously.

“You should go now,” the second knight said.

“Can’t yet. The real reason I was here was to escort the diplomat from Lebanon here. He’s inside the kingdom’s walls, so I have to wait until he gets out. I can’t go inside because I’m still banished,” Tommy answered.

“Ah. Well then, you might as well get comfortable.”

“My thoughts exactly. I was having a nice sleep until you guys came and woke me up.”

“Sorry to disturb then. See you later.” The two knights then left.

Tommy then laid back down on the grass and went back to sleep. His dream was a memory of when he was accepted into Commando training. It felt so long ago, yet it was only three decades ago.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 17
1/1/2009 19:43:21   
HK 47
Member

“Thomas, great news!” an Orc male--a soldier, by the look of his heavy armor and the axe over his back--said.

“What is it, Father?” Thomas Gro-Alack, AKA General Tommy, asked. He was a young Orc of around four years old. To a human, this would translate into about ten. His jet-black hair was kept very short, military regulation short, to be more precise.

“You’ve been asked to join the Commandos!”

Thomas Gro-Alack’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?!” To an Orc, being accepted into the Commandos is the highest honor.

“Yes my son! You know the honor this has! You’re the 2nd youngest Orc to be accepted!” It was true; the youngest commando was three years old. The oldest Orc accepted was around twenty.

“Yeah. I should honor what I have been given and devote all of my training to it!” Thomas Gro-Alack quickly ran off to meet the Commando training class.

When Thomas Gro-Alack arrived, class was just about to start. Thomas was in the starting class, which was good for him. The trainer was an experienced Orc Commando, around age 35. “Ah, our newest student has arrived,” he said, noticing Thomas’ entrance. The trainer’s voice was actually rather smooth for an Orc. An Orc’s voice tends to sound like they’re growling, but this voice sounded like a Human’s. Perhaps because he was only Half-Orc.

“Greetings brothers. I am sorry I nearly missed this class, but I had only just gotten word I was accepted,” Thomas said, bowing.

“Do not worry brother, we understand. We did only send the message today.”

“I thank your forgiveness. I will make certain to devote all of my time to training.”

“You shouldn’t overdo it Brother Thomas. Any being does have their limits," the experienced commando pointed out.

Thomas bowed once more. “Yes, sir. Well, what was going to happen?”

The trainer grinned. “We’re going to do many laps around the town. Double time.” After a couple seconds, the trainer then began to yell. “THAT MEANS NOW!”

The students quickly began to run. Thomas took the lead almost instantly, determined to keep himself at the top of his game.

The memory quickly faded as Tommy got kicked in the gut. Instinctively, Tommy leaped up and drew his swords. It was the diplomat. “Don’t do that again. Almost killed you,” Tommy said.

“Sorry to disturb your sleep. But we need to go back,” the diplomat answered.

“Result for the diplomacy?”

“They accepted the alliance.”

"The militia?"

"Running just well."

“Did they ask who escorted you?” Tommy looked back to the Kingdom of Saleen.

“No, they didn’t. Good thing too, given that you had a bad record with them. Let’s go.”

Tommy nodded, sheathed his swords, and quickly began the walk back to Lebanon. The diplomat quickly followed. Tommy sighed. “Can’t believe how crazy I was back then…” he muttered

“What?”

“Nothing.” Tommy quickly returned back to the mission at hand. That being: Escort the diplomat back to Lebanon.

All the way in Lebanon, King Jakgo returned from whatever mission he was on. His first job was to find Princess Leola, who had just returned to the throne room after her training. The knights were kind enough to give her pointers in her training routine.

Jakgo looked at Leola. “You seem tired,” he said.

“Did some running around the kingdom. Nothing major,” Leola replied, lying so as to avoid the fact that she was training for combat.

Jakgo took the bait. “I understand. Must keep your cardio up for you cooking and cleaning. Now then, where is General Tommy?”

Leola plainly replied, “He’s not back yet. I get the feeling he will arrive soon.”

“Ah. Good. I shall await his return here. You should return to your classes.”

“Yes father.” Leola quickly walked off, still somewhat annoyed that her father never understood his first-born daughter.

Over at Tommy’s end, he and the diplomat had just entered the bandit forest. “Well, looks like it’ll be an easy run through the forest. Those bandits won’t bother us again,” he pointed out cheerfully.

“Hopefully,” the diplomat said.

“Just stay low and move slowly. It’s unlikely that those bandits would try anything against us as long as they notice my mask.”

“Yes sir.”

The two then began to walk all the way back to Lebanon. When night fell, the two exited the forest, and were nearing Lebanon. The diplomat pointed out, “Getting late. Should we set up camp?”

Tommy shook his head. “Lot easier to navigate by stars when outside of a forest. Let’s keep moving,” was his answer.

“Yes sir.”

By this time, Leola had entered her room. But her thoughts kept on returning to Tommy. Why do I keep thinking of him? He’s an Orc, it wouldn’t work out…but…he’s shown so much…compassion. He’s given me a chance to do what I’ve always wanted…Snap out of it Leola! You need to sleep. Leola sighed, and lay down in her bed. If nothing else, any being needs rest.

Tommy and the diplomat, on the other hand, stopped for nothing. They kept on moving through the night, in an attempt to reach Lebanon quickly. Tommy thought to himself, I hope Leola hasn’t gotten herself into trouble again…
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 18
1/1/2009 19:55:28   
HK 47
Member

Tommy and the diplomat moved throughout the night, reaching Lebanon just as the sun came up. A few civilians were already up, doing their daily chores. When they saw Tommy and the diplomat, they let out a silent sigh of relief. This meant that the diplomacy went well.

The two entered the castle and made their way to the throne room. King Jakgo was already there, having anticipated their arrival. “How did the meeting go?” he asked.

“Quite well, actually. They have accepted the terms of alliance,” the diplomat answered.

“Excellent! And as for you Thomas, you’ve earned your pay once more.” King Jakgo handed a sack of 300 Gold Pieces over to Tommy. “I am quite glad to have you in this kingdom.”

Tommy nodded. “I’m just glad I have a place to work for,” he answered.

“Ah. Leola seemed quite worried for your wellbeing. Perhaps you should go check on her.”

“I shall do so at once, milord.” Tommy quickly began to leave the room, but stopped short when a voice rang out.

“DYNAMITE!” the voice began. A window was shattered as a man leaped through it. “ENTRANCE!” The same man landed right on top of two guards. He wore a metal mask covering his entire face…and it didn’t look like he had eye holes on them. He held an iron staff by his side, and spiked boots. What was perhaps most peculiar was the fact that he wore colored underwear on the OUTSIDE of his pants. The colors were much like that of a jester, being red and purple. The man clapped his hands together over his head, and said but one word.

“Dy-no-MYTE!” the man said, his head moved from side to side as he said each syllable. The man quickly ran off through the door.

“What the hell was that guy doing?” General Tommy asked.

“That guy?! I thought he wasn’t anywhere near this kingdom!” Jakgo yelled.

“Who is that guy?”

“He goes by the name ‘Lance’. He’s a thief, nothing more.”

“Ah. Well, that was odd, nonetheless. I shall now go and check on Leola.” Tommy then exited the room.

Leola had only just woken up. For her, it seemed like time had slowed down since Tommy left, perhaps because he was important to her for her training. She slowly stretched out her arms. “Took you long enough to wake up,” Tommy said.

“WHAT THE?!” Leola said, quickly pulling the covers up. Like most people in Lebanon, she slept without clothes on. She quickly darted her eyes about the room, trying to find whoever was watching her sleep.

Her eyes finally met Tommy, who was leaning back against the door. She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh…it’s you…don’t scare me like that, okay?” she said. She still didn’t put the covers down though, perhaps out of concern for her body.

“Don’t worry, I won’t try anything. I’m above that,” Tommy said, noticing her worry. “Your father said you were worried about me, so I went to check on you.”

Leola nodded. “Yeah…I don’t know why, but my thoughts keep on coming back to you,” she replied.

“Heh. You know, for a moment while I was out doing my job, I could’ve sworn I got the feeling that you were taking an active look on your training.”

Leola nodded. “I was bored, so I went to watch the knights train. They kinda know that I’m training with you now…”

“Their thoughts?” Tommy asked, raising his left eyebrow behind his mask.

“They accept it. I won’t need my disguise anymore,” Leola answered. “Now could you let me dress alone?”

Tommy nodded. “Of course. I’ll be outside the room if you need me.” Tommy then opened the door inside, went outside to the halls, and closed the door.

Leola quickly dressed herself, eager to resume her training. She was now craving training from Tommy now, and she knew that the knight’s combat styles are somewhat flawed. When she exited, Tommy was already walking to their training room at the armory. Leola quickly caught up. “How did you know that I—“ she began.

“It was kinda obvious. Don’t try to kid yourself. You really want to know how to fight. Seeing as how you watched the knights train, I guess we can move up a notch, and start training with armor on. It won’t be easy though, as standard steel armor weighs quite a lot. It’s less than Iron armor, at least,” Tommy answered.

Leola nodded. “It may be harder for me to get inside, because none of the armors Lebanon offers are for females. Father’s regulations and all,” she replied.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find a way, even if we have to forge you your own breastplate,” General Tommy replied.

“Yes sir!” Leola shouted in a military tone. This drew the attention of all the people in the hall.

Tommy then stared at Leola for a short while. “Try not to be so loud next time, okay?” he finally said.

“Sorry. Well, let’s get on it!” Leola quickly began to race off to the training room.

“Crazy girl,” Tommy muttered, and gave chase. When the two entered the armory, a couple knights were already there, holding some metal armor.

“Ah. There you guys are. We already took the liberty of forging Lady Leola some armor for her. We’ll help you put it on,” the knight captain--a Dwarf, by his short stature, his beard, and his actually rather light accent--said.

“Thanks. Well, let’s do it,” Tommy said, quickly beginning to help Leola put it on. First came the chainmail. That was easy to put on, although Leola felt it chaff her skin a bit. Next came the metal boots. This was perhaps even easier to put on, although Leola immediately found it somewhat harder to move her feet.

Next came the greaves. This part was quick, and the greaves covered quite a bit of her legs. But this made it even harder for Leola to move her legs and feet. Next off came her gloves. First the leather gloves, then the metal gloves. As soon as both were put on, Leola’s hands dropped to the side, it was quite heavy.

Then came the arm plating. This almost forced Leola’s arms to her side, but she was able to muster up enough strength to lift them up for the breastplate. The breastplate covered up the front of her gut and chest, and quite effectively too. It still kept her feminine curves, to which she was somewhat disgusted, but accepted it, as it would only hurt otherwise. Then came the rest of the cuirass. This kept her quite weighed down, but she was able to stand up, to her happiness.

Finally, the helmet. She had to put her hair up in a bun for it to be put on properly, but it worked. The helmet was visored, so it was possible to see her face. Tommy however quickly fixed that problem by putting in a mask that he had forged a while back. It looked like a golden dragon's face.

After it was all put in, Tommy asked, “Can you walk?”

Leola managed to move her feet in response. It was weighted, and somewhat awkward.

“Good. Then we’re moving on. It’s time for the next part of the training routine. Just keep that mask on until we reach the training room. Then you’ll be safe from prying eyes.”

Tommy began to walk off to the training room, with the other knights behind him. Leola quickly began to move ahead, although she didn’t move as fast as she used to. “Well, looks like its time for some harder training…” she muttered.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 19
1/1/2009 20:04:37   
HK 47
Member

Tommy slowly, but surely, walked off to the smith. Along the way, he noticed that there was a play going on, entitled, “The Masked Knight.”

Tommy assumed that it had to do with him, and thus he entered. The stage director was just setting up the first scene, when he noticed Tommy walk in. “He’s here!” he said. This stage director was a Halfling, and thus very short. The body was slim and athletic, and the hair was black.

The rest of the stage crew quickly noticed Tommy’s entrance, and looked right at him. Tommy waved his hand. “Hi,” is all he said.

“We were just going to start up our play. Would you care to play the lead?” the stage director asked.

“Why not? Just give me the script.”

“Yes, of course.” The stage director quickly turned to the crew. “Get this man his script, ASAP!”

One of the crewmen, an Elf, gave Tommy his script. “Here you go good sir. I am honored to be working with Lebanon’s star,” he said.

“It’s an honor just to be recognized,” Tommy replied. He quickly began to flip through the script to find his lines. The first thing he noticed was the fight against the Minotaur and the wizard.

Instead of it being a quick and relatively bloodless battle, it showed it being a climactic clash, with Tommy making the rookie mistake of attacking the wizard first. It also showed him being hit several times but shrugging it off.

Next thing was when Leola took off the mask. They showed General Tommy as a human with a horrible scar over his right eye. Tommy objected to this. “Excuse me, but the mask shouldn’t come off. And for the record, I don’t have a horrible scar. The mask is for something else,” he said.

“So we’ll cut that scene then,” the Halfling said.

“Also, how did you know that Leola knew my little secret?”

“We have our ways.”

Tommy sighed, and continued to flip through the script. It detailed all of his adventures, his clash against the dragon, and his numerous raids in bandit territory. However, it always made Tommy look like an overly-eager rookie.

Tommy cast the thought aside, and began memorizing his lines. By about the third read-through, he had them all memorized, including his stage directions. “Got it,” he said.

“Good. Alright, let’s rehearse. Our play comes in tonight!” the stage director ordered.

The actors took their places. The play went through almost perfectly on the first try. The only mistake was Tommy “editing” some of the lines to be more like the real thing. But he eventually settled for the less realistic stage version.

The crowd managed to fill in near the time for the play. Tommy took a deep breath, and remembered his training.

Thomas, what do you do when confronted with a large army? He remembered his instructor say.

Do I take out the biggest threat first? Tommy asked.

No, you rely on your brothers to pull off the best act of all time!

This time, his “brothers” were the other actors. Tommy calmed his mind, and began his act.

The Halfling director stepped out beyond the curtains. “My friends, today we give you a very special presentation of Lebanon’s greatest hero, the Masked Knight! Starring the Masked Knight himself!” he yelled.

A loud cheer came up from the crowd, although a few disbelieved it was Tommy playing his own role. Tommy sighed. “Well, let’s see how much of a fool I make of myself,” he muttered.

“You’ll do great man,” the Elf who gave him his script replied. The Elf was playing the role of the wizard. The Dragon was in fact played by a Dragon, but the Minotaur was a human in a costume. There was a wide array of his previous adversaries, and even a version of Leola.

“Thanks,” Tommy replied.

“And now, without further a due, let the play begin!” the Halfling said, walking behind the curtain.

Tommy took another calming stance, and then walked out onto the play. He approached the man playing King Jakgo--another old human--and said, “I have traveled from afar to find work here in this wonderful kingdom. What quests do you have for me?”

The fake King Jakgo replied, “My daughter has been kidnapped. You must rescue her. Do so, and I shall award you greatly.”

Tommy bowed. “I shall leave at once.” The curtain dropped as the scenery changed. When it came back up, Tommy was asking random civilians as to what they saw. Only one, a Halfling, gave the correct answer.

“I saw a Minotaur and an Elf take the Princess to a dungeon. You should go find her,” he said.

“Very well,” Tommy replied, running off-stage right.

The curtain dropped. As the background was changed, one of the cast members came up and handed Tommy some plastic swords. “So as to avoid any…damages to the cast members,” he explained.

Tommy eyed the cast member--the Elf Wizard—as if he was checking to make sure he wasn’t the real thing. It was almost impossible to tell except for the one area where one eye color didn’t match the other.

Tommy looked at the other cast members and their weapons. They all had the gleam that came when metal was hit with light. Those are real weapons! he concluded. Someone’s trying to get me killed…and I think I know who…

Tommy took the plastic swords. “I’ll go and swap these out now,” he said, although he was lying. He walked off to his dressing room and dropped the plastic swords off in the trash.

Next thing Tommy did was walk back to take his place at the stage. He had reached his targets. “So, you have the princess,” Tommy said, following the script.

“Yes. Now die!” the Elf Wizard replied, shooting a fireball at Tommy.

Tommy stepped to the side, causing the fireball to miss. The Minotaur then charged, holding his axe up high. Tommy met the axe with his own blades. The clang of metal on metal was heard, and sparks began to fly as both Tommy and the Minotaur dueled.

The crowd gazed in amazement. Just like before, it was a fair shove, although this one was for only a couple seconds. Then Tommy’s Orcish strength began to push back the axe. As soon as he finished shoving it back, he took the offense and landed two quick swipes on the body.

The wizard had prepared another fireball, but Tommy reenacted what had happened before, by taking the Minotaur as a meatshield. The Minotaur took the fireball directly on his body, and began yelling in pain.

Tommy silenced him by snapping his neck. The Stage Director looked confused. “This wasn’t in the script…” he muttered.

“It looks like he’s onto us…” an Elf said, walking out of the shadows. It was Ylthorin.

The Elf Wizard prepared another fireball, only to have Tommy whip out an exploding dagger and throw it directly into the fireball. Another, much larger explosion occurred, causing the Elf Wizard to become little more than two small feet.

Tommy untied the fake princess and said, “This is some quality rope.”

The curtain dropped as the next scene approached. The fake princess said, “You didn’t follow the script.”

Tommy simply pointed out, “The crowd loved it. An overeager rookie never can do what I’ve done, so I’m reenacting what actually occurred.”

“Alright…are those two really dead?”

“No, of course not,” Tommy said, once again lying. “Those magical effects only make them look dead.”

The next scene approached as Tommy and the fake princess walked out on stage. This scene was when Tommy’s mask came off, and Ylthorin attacked. However, Tommy was prepared.

When the metal mask came off, a balaclava was underneath it. “Yes, behind my mask, is another mask. Always need to make sure that my identity isn’t revealed,” Tommy explained.

When he had gone to throw out the fake swords, Tommy had noticed a balaclava nearby, one that would be able to cover up his teeth too. He had taken off his helmet and put it on before he walked out. However, the stage director was not amused. The crowd, on the other hand, loved it.

Ylthorin then walked out. However, there was something different. He wore a monocle on his left eye. “Right ho good sir! You are no hero! You have slaughtered innocents!” he said, attempting a fake royal accent.

“Killing innocents? I never intend to do just that. Any such events are purely accidental in nature. What does it mean to you?” Tommy replied. He also whispered, “And why are you wearing a monocle?”

Ylthorin replied, “This monocle shows that I am a fancy man, unlike you, brute! Now, let us fight!”

Tommy saw that combat would be inevitable, but he once again reenacted what had happened before. He took the fake princess hostage. “No, I don’t think I will. Leave, or I will kill her,” he said.

“What?!” the fake princess yelled.

“Just play along,” Tommy whispered, albeit it loud enough so that the viewers could hear it.

Ylthorin knew that Tommy means what he says. “Taking a princess as a hostage? You brute!” he yelled.

Tommy sighed, and once again reenacted what had actually happened, by leaping off of the princess, yelling, “I leave a boot to the head!” and slamming his right boot right on Ylthorin’s head.

Ylthorin smashed into the ground, almost splintering the wood. Tommy then turned to the princess. “Sorry to put you in such a situation. Let us hurry back to the king,” he explained, and the two ran off stage.

The rest of the play went by rather smoothly, going exactly how things went by Tommy’s discretion. The battles were often quick and relatively bloodless. At the end of the play, the crowd went wild. “ENCORE! ENCORE!” the crowd yelled.

Tommy looked up out of a window, noticing that it was almost time for the mission. “Sorry good sirs, but I cannot. I have a mission to complete. Adios!” Tommy said, and ran off to the castle.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 20
1/1/2009 20:11:49   
HK 47
Member

quickly arrived to meet up with King Jakgo and the rest of his escort. To his surprise, Leola was also there, having her sword and shield with her. King Jakgo looked at Leola. “Why do you have such items? Only a male is suited to wield weapons,” he said.

“I tend to disagree, sir,” Tommy replied. “Females can be just as capable as males. Where I came from, females were just as good a warrior as a male; they just needed a chance to prove themselves.”

“She doesn’t know how to use that thing!” King Jakgo yelled.

“Actually, I’ve been secretly training Leola on how to fight. If nothing else, it’ll reduce the number of kidnappings,” Tommy answered.

“I don’t see how any male would love a fighter.”

“I don’t see how anyone could love someone who couldn’t put up a fight if they had to. Think about it. Leola has a nasty reputation for getting kidnapped three times every year. I doubt any husband would want to waste their time rescuing her every time. If she knows how to fight, then she won’t get kidnapped as often and thus she may find a better suitor.”

Leola blushed as Tommy verbally sparred her father into letting her keep what she had been working forward to. King Jakgo stroked his beard for a few seconds, and then sighed. “Your words make sense. Very well, Leola can keep her weapon and the family shield. But if she is killed because of it, I will have your head,” he concluded.

Tommy bowed. “Thank you sir,” he said. “Now, let’s get going. Can’t keep who we’re meeting busy now.”

King Jakgo nodded. “Of course,” he said, taking the lead.

Tommy got onto his horse and began to ride right next to King Jakgo. “So where are we going anyway?” he asked.

“Small village just outside of the country’s borders. I hope that we can get them to join our side,” King Jakgo answered.

“You’re intending to unite all of the country?”

“Yes. We should not keep secrets from our fellow man.”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah…right.”

“Something wrong?” King Jakgo asked, raising his right eyebrow.

“Nothing, sir. Let’s get back to the mission at hand.”

After riding into bandit territory, Tommy’s contact in the bandits walked up. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the bandits are going to organize a large strike,” he said.

“How large?” Tommy asked.

“Three hundred bandits, all going to attack. We had gotten word that you were going to pass through here. I recommend you take a different route.”

King Jakgo looked at Leola, then his guard, then Tommy. “No. We will continue our path,” he said, firmly.

“Your funerals,” the Orc bandit replied, and then sank into the shadows.

Tommy sighed. “300 bandits against roughly 10 knights, Leola, you, and me. Heh. They don’t stand a chance,” he half-joked.

The group pressed onward, deliberately walking into the trap. Tommy smelled the bandits long before they attacked, and even pointed out the directions they were moving in.

Surely enough, 300 bandits jumped down from the trees, arrows and daggers flying around. The knights however, were ready, and leaped off to defend their king. Leola had a gleam in her eyes as she drew her sword and shield and ran off into battle. Tommy leaped off of his horse, drawing both of his swords, and then landed by slicing two bandits in half. A couple of the bandits were intimidated when they saw the mask, but they fought regardless.

The knights, Leola, and Tommy fought bravely, but it was a losing battle. More and more bandits poured out of the woods, desperate to attack and get a king’s ransom. One bandit made the mistake of knocking Tommy’s helmet and mask off with a rogue dagger.

Luckily, Tommy’s balaclava remained in place. General Tommy quickly threw a dagger to kill that bandit in a fiery eruption. However, another bandit almost came out of nowhere and sliced upward. Tommy just barely avoided getting nicked with the sword, but unfortunately, his balaclava did not have the same luck. It was sliced off.

Everyone stopped and looked as the balaclava came off. Tommy’s green skin glistened in the sun, and his blue eyes had a fire in them. His dark hair was kept cleanly shaven. And boy was he pissed. Tommy let out a primal snarl and began to wildly attack any bandit that came near him, overwhelming them with a pure barrage of attacks. He even charged at other bandits, smashing their skulls in, slicing their appendages off, all sorts of brutal acts.

One bandit yelled, “RETREAT!” and the others, obviously awaiting this order, ran off. Tommy however wasn’t about to give up, and threw every last dagger he picked up at the bandits, nailing another twenty in the back.

Tommy’s breath was deep. “Never. EVER. Touch the mask,” he snarled. He then realized that his helmet was also off. “****.”

King Jakgo was startled to realize who Tommy really was. “You…you’re an Orc!” he yelled. “Guards!”

The knights quickly formed a defensive perimeter around their king. Tommy simply grabbed his helmet and mask. “Let me guess. I’m banished from Lebanon,” he said.

“You’re damn right! Leave Orc filth, and never return!” King Jakgo yelled.

“Of course. Just like every king before you.” Tommy simply walked off into the forest.

Leola had a look of concern on her face. “Be careful!” she yelled.

“You are never to see that…that beast…ever again,” King Jakgo ordered to Leola.

“Y-Y-Yes…father.” Leola looked down, upset at her father's order.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 21
1/1/2009 20:18:38   
HK 47
Member

Tommy had laid down to rest. He had lost almost all of his energy in that wild rage that he had when his mask came off. He smelled someone approach. Someone familiar. “Leola?” he asked, not even turning around.

“Yes. I’ve had enough of my father. He doesn’t understand me, or anyone but himself. I want to be with you,” Leola answered. She seemed…almost happy that she left.

“The life of a mercenary will be filled with peril. I don’t know if you would be ready for this,” Tommy answered. In truth, he never had a partner before, and he never wanted to risk it.

“I am ready. You trained me. You taught me everything I know about battle. I want to be a fighter, like I always have. And you…you understand me.”

Tommy sighed. “Guess I can’t talk you out of it. Alright, I need to rest for the night,” he said.

Leola walked closer to Tommy. “Where will we go?” she asked.

“I know this necromancer. His name is Toren. He and I are old friends. He knows who I really am, and accepts me. He was the first human to ever do so, you being the second. He will provide us refuge until we can find a new kingdom to work for,” Tommy answered.

“Okay,” Leola said. “If nothing else, I will at least be away from my ignorant father.”

“Leola. I have the feeling there will be repercussions. Big ones. Are you sure you wish to do so?” Tommy asked, standing up.

“Yes. I am certain.”

“Very well. We leave in the morning.” Tommy then began to go to sleep. Leola, having finally gotten peace of mind, did the same.

All the way over at King Jakgo’s escort, one knight noticed that Leola had not appeared since they banished Tommy. “Sir, where’s Leola?” he asked King Jakgo.

“Wait, he’s not with any of you?” King Jakgo asked.

“No sir. We haven’t seen her since you banished General Tommy.”

“Then that Orc kidnapped her! We will hunt him down, and exterminate him!” King Jakgo yelled into the heavens.

“You want him dead?” a voice asked. King Jakgo looked over to the source. He saw Ylthorin step out of the shadows. “I too wish for General Tommy to be dead. I can hunt him down for you. I am oh so close to finding, and eliminating him.”

“Yes. Do so, and you shall be greatly rewarded,” King Jakgo replied.

“I want no reward. I just want to kill that bastard.” Ylthorin quickly vanished, hot on the trail of General Tommy.

Morning came, and Tommy and Leola were already moving over to the mountains. Tommy thought he caught a whiff of someone, but it died out. “What the?” he muttered.

“What is it?” Leola asked.

“I could’ve sworn I smelled someone, but now it’s gone,” Tommy answered.

“Your senses betray you. As you left me to die,” Ylthorin said, quickly shooting a fireball over at Tommy.

Tommy quickly parried the blow and drew his swords. “Ylthorin! Come out coward!” he yelled.

“But of course,” Ylthorin said, leaping down. Ylthorin held by his sides two swords, both of equal length. Each one was a short sword in size, but they curved along the blade, and had only one edge.

Tommy immediately looked at Ylthorin with disgust. “Don’t you ever give up?” he said.

“NO! I will never stop! NOT UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!” Ylthorin yelled back.

Leola instinctively began to draw her sword and shield, but Tommy put his left hand out in front of her. “No. This is my fight, not yours,” he said.

Leola nodded, but kept her sword at the ready. Tommy made the first move, leaping forward in an almost blurred motion, swinging his right and left swords at the same time.

Ylthorin leaped back, and made his attack: two quick thrusts at Tommy’s midsection. Tommy parried the blows, and smacked Ylthorin’s head with the hilt of his blade. The battle raged on for hours, blades clanging, and neither one making any headway on the other. When one thrusted, the other parried. When one slashed, the other blocked and countered. Ylthorin’s advantage was the fact that he never stayed with one style for too long. He constantly switched up his fighting style every thirty seconds.

This kept Tommy always guessing what he would do next. However, Tommy had much more combat experience than Ylthorin, which was ironic, considering that Ylthorin was hundreds of years older. Soon enough however, Ylthorin’s insanity got the better of Tommy. Ylthorin wildly spun around, and knocked Tommy’s longer sword out of his right hand. Forced to fight only with his shorter sword, Tommy found himself on the defense more than the offense.

Ylthorin also managed to smash that sword away, and booted Tommy to the ground. Tommy stared right at Ylthorin, whose eyes were filled with glee. “And now, it ends!” Ylthorin yelled, raising his swords.

“I knew it would be you,” Tommy said.

Ylthorin began to swing his swords down, but stopped short. A look of startle filled Ylthorin’s gaze as he noticed that a sword had penetrated through his back and heart, and out his chest. Ylthorin could only mouth one word. “No.”

Tommy looked behind Ylthorin, and saw that Leola had taken her chance and plunged her blade in a fatal move. “Told ya I could fight,” she said.

Ylthorin’s eyes glazed over as he died. Leola pulled her sword out of Ylthorin’s body, and shoved Ylthorin’s corpse to the side. She put out her left hand, to help Tommy stand up. Tommy took the help, and was back on his feet. He quickly picked up his swords, and sheathed them. “That was reckless. Thanks,” he said.

Leola flicked the blood off her sword, much like how Tommy did, and sheathed it. “You’re welcome,” Leola answered.

“I guess you won’t be too much of a problem then. Off to Toren’s.” Tommy quickly got back on his horse and rode off, with Leola in quick pursuit.

By this time, King Jakgo had called in a favor. He handed out posters of Tommy’s face to numerous different mercenaries. “This man has kidnapped my daughter. I want you to find him…and kill him. Bring my daughter back unharmed,” he ordered.

The mercenaries gleamed at the reward: 100,000 gold pieces. “We shall do so at once,” one mercenary, a human male, wielding a rapier, said.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 22
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