Chapter 45: The Escape

The party could not stand by and watch their selves be killed by an Orc Lord Pyromancer. They turned to the other side and ran there with all of their might, the Captain did so while trying not cause any problems for the Party. He was sure that he would try to fight it out, but it looks like the Captain can recognize danger when he sees one. The Captain ran while making sure that the Mages were able to cast feather spells on everyone. A woman, with long purple hair tied into a bun, tripped, however. The Captain saw this, and took her hand and pulled her back to running.

The Mages thanked the Captain, but an arrow hit the Captain’s back. The Captain grunted, he pulled the arrow and told the Mages to hurry. He went to the captain, telling him if he was okay. The Captain told him to go, which he complied while leading the Captain.

He looked at the Pyromancer and the green skins that are chasing after them. The Lady, who wielded her lance was the slowest, not because she was tired but because she was killing the Orc’s that could run faster than the party. Orcs are monsters that have ten times the strength of a normal man. They are beasts that even the knights have to look out for. They possess a brute strength that is enhanced by their ability to feel less pain. The lady is an ascended knight, but looking at her struggling against an Orc, made him even worry for the lady.

He had no love or respect for the lady but she keeps them alive. The lady struggled hard, this time she was sweating; he could see that the lady who has been fighting nothing but lower tier opponents was finally getting her match. He was not happy with this, and he prefers that all they would encounter are bandits, not Orc raiders like the ones chasing after them now.

His legs stretched, he then turned to the Captain who got grabbed by an Orc. The Captain, however, wrapped his legs around the Orc’s arm and uses the Orc’s strength against him. The Orc flipped, and before it could stand the Captain made a sawing motion on the throat of the Orc with his shark saw dagger, killing it.

The Captain stood, and then started running again. He, who saw the Captain did that widen his eyes. Killing an Orc, within three moves, and so efficient at it too made him in awe again. The Captain moves like a panther, and he was deadly, but to think he could fight an Orc too. He was surprised.

He kept running while keeping an eye on the Captain. Most of the Orcs have been killed by the Lady, and miraculously the party has no injured yet. But he thought too soon, there he saw five Orcs coming out of the bushes as if they were waiting for the Party. The Mages tried to cast their spells but with the Orcs mighty swings, the Mages could not even utter a phrase before dying. The sword-wielding people, however, manage to dodge, or at least draw their swords. He himself was able to defend, but one strike from Orc made his hands numb.

He then faced the Orc, with his teeth clenched hard. The Orc swung down, he managed to dodge by hair’s breadth and stab his sword into the chest of the Orc. The Orc scream but didn’t go down as it held his sword tightly and swung his axe at him.

Splash, he felt a burning sensation as he saw his shoulder slid down from his body. The shock of having his shoulders slicked numbed the pain, but as he looks at the Orc raising its axe, the last thing he saw was the Orc’s axe being brought down upon his head.

...

He saw the man, who was friends with Captain just die like that, his hands shivered badly. He then ran with all of his might as the Orcs keep on chasing him and the others through the forest. The party was being hunted. The Captain was able to fight back while the others could hardly kill any of the Orc’s due their ability to feel less pain. He was scared to the brim. His head feels like it was churning, and his breathing was so ragged that he could feel his chest tightened in pain. He saw the Orcs being mowed down by the Lady, but as he runs the Mage who had purple hair was grab by an Orc. The Orc open its jaw and was about to eat the Mage.

He stood there, and as he sees the purple hair Mage look at him in despair. He ran, and then uses the mithril sword he looted from the burned wagons and strikes the cheeks of the Orc, piercing the brains of the Orc. The Mage fell down, he then offered up his hand as he drags the Mage with him.

He heard the scream of others but right now he was holding someone. He then heard a roar; he looked at it and saw an Orc pouncing at them. He pushed the purple-haired mage away and tried to defend himself. But suddenly a lance pierced the Orc, and then with a thud followed by a crater appearing in front of him. He saw the Lady, who was carrying her maid with her left shoulder, crying as if she was absolutely scared.

“Mage quickly Heal her!”

The Lady demanded the mage to heal her maid. But the Mage saw that the wounds on the Maid were far too deep, her entrails were showing and half of her ribs are crushed. She wasn’t even breathing anymore. Her lips open, she told the lady that she was dead.

The lady howled, however, and demanded again to fix her maid up. The Mage shouted, saying that she cannot revive the dead. Even the High Priests of the God of Light’s could not resurrect the dead. The Lady heard the Mage clearly, and though he expected the lady to rage, he saw the Lady of Asmara, breaking down. Her face crumpled, and her mouth twitched, she was laughing yet the laugh of hers was full of sadness.

She was broken.

The Lady laughed like mad. Her lips turned into that of a devil, as she faces the Orcs near her and flashes like lightning, killing the orcs in an instant. The Lady then swings her lance while tears pour down her face; she then bent her knee as she then rushes to another Orc and began a killing spree.

He saw the lady’s wild actions. The mage near him pulled his hand and told him to go. He nods his head at the Mage and then went running away while trying to make sure that the rest of the survivors are not dead. The party has been decimated not by the first Orcs but because of the Ambush. He saw that most of the faces he knew in the party were. Other than the Captain, almost no one knows could recognize the friends they made in the party. He could not even recognize the Mage that he protected, and when he thought about it, he felt a rather fleeting emotion on his stomach.

He heard a boom, and when he looked at it, he saw the Captain dodging a strike from an Orc. The Captain does not even swing his sword, he only attacks and hits the vital organs of his enemies. So when the Orc failed to grabbed the Captain and let the Captain move freely, that Orc was already dead.

The Captain then turned to him and the Mage. He then told him to hide as he will go out there to help the Lady. He was surprised about that, the lady, who spat on his face. Would he try to help her? He could not understand but somehow thinking about the eccentricity of the Captain. He knew that this was the usual him.

The Captain left him and the Mage. Most of the party was dead. No one could lead them and without maps or foods. They might as well consider suicide. So far they have been relying on the Captain. And with their food possibly burned, or them just traveling alone scares them enough.

So he looked at the mage. He told the Mage his thoughts which the Mage agreed. They then chased after the Captain to help him. After all, the Captain has become a true ‘Captain’ for them. And with how things are, they might as well gamble their lives.