Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Uncommon dangers (1x1 with Remembrance)

It had all started shortly over a week ago. In Roman controlled Italy, The volcano bearing the name Vesuvio had erupted. The ash clouds could be seen from the outer islands of Greece. The ancient greeks watched it in despair. Rome was no friend of the Greek city-states, but they couldn't help but feel sorry for the surrounding settlements (amongst which Pompeii is one). Greek prophets and doomsayers, however, predicted bad tidings, so mercenary corpses like Caelius' Crimson Manticores prepared for the worst - ready for predicted storm.

It started off slowly. For a long time there was silence. There were no Roman emmisaries, diplomats or soldiers coming from the Italian peninsula. A day passed, two.. Three... Still nothing. No traders either, not only roman. Germania, Gaul, Dacia... None if the northern realms sent any traders through italy - nothing came through. Life practically stopped while the greeks tried to figure out what was happening.
On the fifth day, it started. A man came across the border from Italy. Alone, unarmed or -armored and without an escort, Heavily wounded. It was Caelius who found him. He took him back to his commanding officer in the encampment of Crimson manticore, the mercenary band Caelius was currently working for. He didn't intend to stay long, but he liked the change of pace for now. The man told of horrors and demons pouring from Vesuvio and overrunning the Roman countryside. Cities stood no chance against the sudden brutality. At that point, he passed away.

Greece decided to pull back its armies to the Chaonia Gorge to prepare. It was a valley right next to the ionian sea, water on the left and mountains to their right. The large army pulled up a broad line facing Illyria to the north. That's where they'd come from if they did. It didn't take long. On the seventh day, A massive black and red horde poured into the valley from Illyria. The greeks had prepared for a fight against manticores, hydra's, harpies... Whatever demons they knew. regrettably for them, these were not their known demons. These were utter demons, twisted by their own corruption. They could be roughly divided into families, but none were alike. The greek army, not knowing how to respond, quickly fell back to the exit of the Gorge. There at the smallest point, thinking they'd have the advantage, they were flanked. Mer-demons, coming from out of the ionian sea, attacked the flanks of the army, sending the already discouraged forces in dissaray.

Caelius drove his horse into exhaustion running for the demons. he'd much rather fight, but there were too many assaulting the camp he'd just abandoned. Spear strapped to the saddle, shield dangling from a strap on his saddle's side and sword still in hand, he just kept going. He loved the fight, and he wanted to kill the demons, to honor his nickname 'he who stands'. But even he couldn't fight off a hundred of the monstrosities at the same time, it was just impossible. He would make a stand. But not right now.

A demon suddenly surged up from the side, but Caelius had spotted him right before he did. It was already on the way down to the creatures neck, and the warrior's sheer strength behind the slash cut the demon's head straight off. Caelius gritted his teeth and steered his horse into a forest in an attempt to lose them there.

Alesia had been running for days. Long before the tides of monsters were truly released from the bowels of Tartarus, she had began her journey away from the only home she had ever known. She'd gone first on the roads, having no need to hide why she was leaving other than she had nothing she was truly leaving behind. Then, as the great plumes of acrid smoke and fire brought the coming tides of demons, she fled the dirt roads and ran through woods, forests, and fields. Anywhere she could hide, she did hide, from both man and beast.

During the day the young woman rested in groves and between stones, finding what brief peace she could. Her dreams were constantly troubled by the glowing eyes of Hades, cruel laughter echoing in her ears, and foul demons devouring her, body and soul. When she woke, it was usually because she could rest no more, whether it had been mere minutes or hours. She would then rise, during day or night, and stumble and falter with her steps, getting away from a past she could hardly believe was her own.

It was one such time that Alesia woke to the smell of putrid flesh panting from the breath of a nearby creature. The twisted thing snuffled and sniffed, searching for prey and so startled was the girl, rudely awakened and having just been dragged down to face eternity by one such creature, that she screamed, an ear splitting sound that only drew the attention of the one she wished to avoid. Glowing yellow eyes snapped to her in moments, its blood shot eyes and drooling mouth filling her whole field of vision.

Hands and feet scrambled just as the beast lunged, pulling her out of its attack just in time. She thought briefly of the dagger roped to her waist, but it would do her no good and she knew it. Snapping at her heels had her jumping and swerving, looking desperately for an escape that came in the view of a forest not far from here. A tree with low enough branches could be her refuge. She hoped.

Plant life reached out and slashed at the woman running through the brush, snapping and biting with every stride she took. Her once fine dress of pale beige was cut and ruined, her face, more used to the fond eyes of admirers, was bruised and ugly. Worse yet, the creature behind her seemed to be running on a lot more energy than she had. She had no doubt, that her luck would run out soon. Jumping over roots, though, she continued, desperately seeking what she could only pray to find. Safety.

Caelius had just slowed down his horse when he had heard the scream from an even deeper part of the woods. A woman, probably alone, he figured. For a little while he tried listening to how many demons were chasing her, contemplating on wether he'd help her out or not. He quickly figured out there was only one though, as he listened to the thuds of the running beast. He gritted his teeth. "Ah crap, it's all to hell anyway." He took the spear loosely in his hand and unstrapped the shield, holding it close to his left flank. He then charged forward through the trees and towards the screaming lady.

He quickly caught up and saw the girl running, the beige dress easily visible among all of the green leaves. He then saw the heavy blackness that was the creature following her.
For a moment, Caelius decided to run paralell with them. The beasts own stomping sounds and his ragged, heavy breathing easily covered the thuds of Caelius' hooves, to the mercenary's great satisfaction. At one point, the girl ran across a path that crossed another. At that point, Caelius turned hard left and towards the path, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He turned in the saddle and thrusted the spear deep into the creature's side. He passed it and got off his horse on a small clearing a few meters away. He took the sword from his back and stood in a defensive position. To any human, Caelius would certainly have come across as intimidating.

The woman's breath was coming in short little gasps, a sure sign that she was running on her last reserves of energy. She took the chance to look behind her at the slavering beast only to yelp, duck, and weave to not end up in its jaws for doing so. The only thing it succeeded in doing was ensuring that she was as terrified as she was at the start and less likely to escape. Or perhaps, that hadn't changed at all. She was fairly certain to die at the claws of the creature that she helped bring into this world. It was a fitting end, in its own way, albiet one she very much desired not to have.

Soft boots took Alesia across a path, leaping over a root that was in her way on the other side, but exhaustion won out, making her stumble and trip over the treacherous tree. She scrambled at the dirt and bark on the other side of the path, desperate to rise before she felt the bearing of the demon on her back, only to catch a glimpse of a rider rush passed and hear the monster snarl out in pain.

Alesia flipped over, seeing the rider and beast run by, now set on each other and having forgotten the meal that didn't bite back. Only a bit away she could see the man dismount and prepare to fight the demon on stable ground, the thing in question already lunging and snapping to tear the weapon from the man. She used the time to catch her breath, to rest in case he should lose. If he did, she could use the time while the creature ate to run away and never look back again. A preferred fate perhaps. Though she could only wish for the same luck every time she came across such a thing, alone in the woods. Perhaps there was an even better ending to this tale.

The woman rose to her feet, angrily swiping her hair from her face and moving towards the fight rather than away. If she could just make certain that the man won, she could become his traveling companion. A place of safety at his side was better than wandering about in the woods, hoping to escape the tide of monsters and live out the life she'd traded the deed for. The dagger was pulled from the loop at her waist, but she looked on from a meter away, wary of approaching and noting that his spear was a far more worthy weapon against the beast.

Caelius had intently left his spear stuck in the monster's flank to obstruct him, which seemed to work so far. It didn't take long for the demon to lunge at him, but then again the man didn't expect it to. He deflected the first hit and allowed it to slide down to his right, causing the monster to follow the power behind his own blow. Caelius turned on his feet and slashed down, cutting a clean gash in between the thick natural armor surrounding his inner knees. He quickly sidestepped the spiked tail that attempted to hit him in the head and held his shield in front of him.

With the spear still stuck in its side and the wound in the back of the knee, the creature was now considerably slower than when Caelius first saw it. Of course, the demon knew this and therefore moved more carefully, trading speed for cunning. For a second, they circled around eachother, at one point allowing Caelius the view of the young woman getting closer again. He looked at her sternly and nodded no without warning the monster she was behind him. He couldn't have her killed just when he decided to rescue her! He gritted his teeth. He shouldn't have done it, they'd always get in the way eventually. He sighed. Nothing to do about it now.

The monster lunged again. Caelius hadn't expected the brazen attack, and threw himself backward. he managed to dodge the creature, but lost his shield in the process of doing so. Dirt had been smeared all across his face as he got up to one knee, his left hand on the ground for stabilizing and his sword still clutched in his right hand. The creature ran up to him as fast as he was still capable. Caelius jumped upward and kicked off against the tree behind him, sending himself flying just over the creature's back. He threw aside his blade and snatched the spear from its flank. With one loud roar, he drove the spear into the creatures back, deep into its core. The beast screamed, until the tip of the lance reached his heart - if they had one. It suddenly fell limp to the ground.

Caelius retracted the spear from the dead demon and cleaned it, as well as his sword, on the grass. He put the sword back in its sheath on his back and strapped the shield and spear to his horse's saddle, leading it up to the girl. "Who are you?" He simply asked.

It was only now, watching the man fight the monster, that the woman got a true look at the horror she had released on the world. Grotesque and unnatural, it was the very creation of nightmares. Monsters were something the world was not at a loss about, but this creature should never have seen the light of day or even the sweet touch of night. It was made only to destroy, not live and thrive. This was a willing, savage army to purify Gaia like a burning flame rips through an old forest.

Light brown eyes caught the motion of the man's head and she heeded his warning. The blade in her hand lowered to her side and she backed a step or two away, giving the fighting pair room to battle as well as giving her a trunk to lean against, regaining herself while trying to think over the choices that had allowed her to bring such devastation upon the people. She could rationalize that only the strong would survive and leave those left behind an unstoppable force to take over all nations, but in her heart, she started to feel how wrong her choices had been.

The man's sudden roar brought Alesia out of her revery, snapping her mind back into focus on the fight at hand, but it seemed it was already over. She blinked, bringing a hand up to her heart to slow its pounding pace, having thought her savoir defeated for a brief glimpse of time and herself to be next, soon to find herself lost in Tartarus. She watched him draw free his spear and clean his weapons with quick efficiency that reminded her she still had her tiny dagger drawn. As she pushed it back into her belt loop, he spoke.

The woman blinked, considering the question and wondering if it held more meaning than just her name. "I am Alesia." Her voice was ragged from running and doing no more than screaming for speech in the last several days. She rose a hand to wipe self consciously across her face and cleared her throat. "Thank you for saving me..." She left her statement hanging in the air, clearly waiting for him to introduce himself like she had. While she waited, hands started a circuit over her form, trying to straighten her appearance, the type of action that said she was used to looking fine and was very embarrassed about finding herself in such a state.

Caelius looked her over for a bit. She wasn't wearing greek clothes, more like... Roman? He didn't think about that though. She was probably beautiful once, but the troubles of the road had worn her down, both physically and mentally. Not that he could blame her. If she indeed came from the Italian peninsula, she couldn't be anything else but tired. He chuckled at her attempt to straighten her appearance. "Don't worry about that." he said. "We all look pretty bashed up at the moment. Name's Caelius." he opened a saddlebag and took a small waterbag from it, throwing it over to her. "Drink."

Alesia flushed under his appraisal, becoming even more accutely aware of her travel worn appearance. She gave a weak smile and nod at his words, noting to herself that he was right in what he had to say, though a man could not understand a woman's trouble. She was only as good as her looks in many circles, and well she knew it, and used it. She caught the water tossed her way and drowned herself in it greedily, not thinking that it might have to last, only thinking that she needed to soothe the ache in her throat and body that said water was the best friend she had ever known. As she finished, she breathed heavily, having not taken a breath while she drank and smiled more truly as she moved forward, handing him back the water bag merely half full. "Thank you again. Both for saving my life and the water as well. I'm sure I would be gone if not for your timely arrival." She gave up trying to fix herself, but tucked a dirty strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Caelius. I only wish it was under better circumstanc-" She was cut off by a dark howl in the distance that had her whipping around and staring into the trees, her heart, only just then calm, pounding like a gallopping horse within her chest.

Caelius rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me?" he turned in the direction of the howl as well. He'd hoped to just go on alone as he'd initially been planning, but he had no choice but to take her with him or his rescue would've been for nothing. He scowled and got onto his horse. He rode it up to Alesia and without asking, pulled her onto the beast's back behind him. He guided her hands to the back of his armor, to one of the straps that held his sword in place. "Hold on tight." he just said, then ran off in the other direction from the howls. His shield once again dangling from the saddle, he now had his spear in hand as they escaped the trees and ended up on a grassy - or once grassy - plain. An olive tree escaped the tall grass here and there to greet the burning sun above them.
"Is it me, or is this place getting even hotter than usual?" he mumbled to no-one in particular. His horse whinnied softly as it ran. Caelius looked behind him. For a moment he thought he saw something moving in the trees, but whatever it was, it's gone again. He sighed and strapped the spear back to his saddle. He slowed the horse down slightly, just enough so that it could keep going for a few miles.

About an hour later, it was getting darker. Caelius had hoped to find a city or a settlement, or really anything for cover, but they hadn't managed to cross the plains yet. He steered his horse towards a lone tree and got off, helping Alesia off the beast as well. He pulled his saddlebag from the creature and started unpacking some basic nessecities. "No fire. Attracts them." He explained. he laid out a blanket for himself, and his spare one for here - not too close to him but not too far away either. He just sat down and took some of the heavier parts of his armor off, cleaning them thoroughly.

The woman let out a small startled sound and turned back to her new companion, working with him to get onto the back of the horse and get out of here as soon as possible. She clung to the back of his armor, the strap giving a perfect hand hold and clung with her thighs to the strong animal beneath them. The last thing she wanted now was to be left alone once more to the errors of her ways. It was bad enough that they rode in silence, allowing her to think and dwell on her most recent mistake.

Alesia stayed silent the whole ride. The only time she was tempted to speak is when he spoke himself, but the question he asked was nothing she could truly answer. The sun beat down on their skin, sweat slid down her flesh and made mud on her body with the dirt she'd gathered from traveling. However, she couldn't say that it was any hotter or colder than usual. She'd never been this far from her home. She knew next to nothing about how it should be though she supposed, in the great scheme of things, she was not so very far away.

As night neared and the small party dismounted, the woman's hands clinging to his arms to get down from their mount, she'd never felt more exhausted. She gave an absent minded nod to his words, not feeling a care for whether there was a fire or not. Instead she fell on the blanket he laid out and slipped into sleep almost instantly, the events of the day catching up with her in one fell swoop.

They came like they did every night. Hot breath, foul smelling and harsh lifting out of the burning hole in the earth. Claws reached up over the lip of dirt and stone and strong armored bodies of demons hefted themselves free to feast on the world they had been gifted. Then they were running, not in fear, but in hunt, chasing their prey with a single minded-ness that came with true carnal desires. Alesia ran from them, panting and sweating, blood dripping from her where she hadn't been quick enough to dodge their attacks and her sides aching, demanding that she rest as she had no energy left. Always she fell, tripping over stone, hole, branch, or carcass. Always they caught her. She could feel their eyes burning into her, and then their claws and teeth tearing her apart, ravenously eating her alive.

Alesia woke with a gasp, some hours past when the two had stopped for the night. Her heart pounded in her chest but she slowed her breathing, knowing the dream as one who had seen it often could. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, debating on trying to return to the land of dreams, or staying awake until they were on their way once more.

Caelius slept with one eye open, so to speak. Ever since he was a kid had he learned to do that - a mercenary's life was a constant danger and the need for vigilance was always high. When Alesia awoke again, heart beating from the dream, he sensed it and woke as well. he sat up against the tree for a second and looked at her. He sighed. Why did he take on such a burden? He made a note to himself to drop her off at the first survivors camp they'd find and then go on alone.
"If you don't want to sleep, then don't. But I suggest you do, we've got a great distance to cover." With that, he laid himself down again and closed his eyes, once again sleeping on constant guard.

Alesia stayed away for another hour before she was able to force herself back to sleep. Even then, it was not as restful as it should have been. Instead of stillness, she constantly moved, rolling back and forth on the spare blanket, keeping herself from the deep dreamful sleep that brought such nightmares into her mind. When the sun started to show its colors on the horizon, she could no longer lay there. She rose, packing up the blanket carefully and waiting for her companion to rise. She'd have made some form of breakfast, but she didn't care to dig through his packs and be caught like a theif, fumbling to explain herself.

Caelius rose from his blanket shortly after Alesia did. He looked at her and at the way she was looking at him. He sighed, reached into his backpack and threw her a piece of bread. "Not too much at a time, we'll need what we have." he explained. He put the bread back in the bag and hung it back to his saddle, which he then strapped on his horse's back again. He wasn't going to eat - no need yet. He checked the straps and pulled one of them a little tighter. At that moment he heard a screach. he looked up at the sky.
The greeks had one disadvantage: they didn't know the demons. Or at least, they didn't know most of them. Some of them were familiar, like these harpies. Two of them, thinking Caelius and Alesia as easy prey, came soaring down from the skies. Caelius took his spear from the horse and managed to lunge, piercing the first harpy's chest. He then lost grip because of the sudden heavy wait, and took the sword from his back. "COME ON!" he yelled. The harpy came down at him after it was first trying to provoke Alesia. He sidestepped it and with one backhand slash, cleaved its head right off. He quickly cleaned his blade, pulled the spear free and got on his horse, reaching out for the woman to get on. "Come on, if they got here, the others won't be far behind." He had bearly finished his sentence when a loud roar emerged from the center of the woods.

Alesia watched her companion rise, waiting patiently on the outside for him to move. Her dreams were still there, sitting in the back of her mind and telling her that there was danger. A danger that they should have fled from some time ago. Instead she was tossed bread which she caught cupped between her hands. A nod of thanks and understanding was what he got from her in return before she tucked her teeth into the meager meal, enjoying it though knowing it would only make her more hungry in the long run.

The call of the harpy had the woman's head snapping up, and the last few bites of bread falling to the ground. She darted up, pulling her dagger on instinct though how it would help her against the creatures in the sky, she didn't know. Moving back towards their guardian tree of the evening, making it more difficult to just drop in on her from above. Although, one still seemed terribly tempted to do so. It came at her through the branches, flexing talons at her and screeching at her just out of reach. Whenever a foot came to close, a dagger came up, slashing wildly, hoping to cause some kind of harm to tell it to find and easier prey. A lucky cut had the creature flying towards the male on the wings of his command and they were both quick to rush to his side.

The brunette tucked her dagger away and ran, reaching his side afdter the harpy had been cleaved and waiting for him to get on the horse before allowing him to help hoist her aboard as well. "Speed on!" She clung to where she'd held on the day before, but her head was turned over her shoulder, worriedly searching for the beasts in the wood, somehow hoping that they would mysteriously be destroyed by the Gods, though she knew it was unlikely to be so easily gifted upon her. Though every God had his price.

Caelius started urgin his horse into a run. He could and would fight more, but couldn't risk Alesia in that. This was why he liked travelling alone - now he had to carry a burden.
His frown was deep as he thought where they could go, until he remembered an island not far south. "There's an island named Corkyra, just over the border to Epirus to the south. If there are refugee camps, there's sure to be one on the island." He looked at the sun's setting. They could probably ride on to the harbor and cross at nightfall if they hurried and weren't obstructed along the way. He nodded to himself. He'd drop off Alesia there and go on alone.

Alesia had a hard time looking away from the forest behind them. Any moment the beasts would break free and fight surge forth, aching to devour them. It made her shudder and cling all the harder to him until she heard him speak. Her head snapped back to him, staring at the back of his head for a long moment. "You think to find survivers on an island? Are you mad?" Her thighs tightened on the horse, her dress warped around her lower body. "An island is where this started!" Of course, she had started this and wouldn't do so again, but she had no desire to go back to a setting where escape was difficult and slow. "I have no desire to be surrounded by water on all sides should another mountain split open and flood us with yet more demons!"

Caelius frowned. "A mountain that split open?" he asked. "Where did you learn of that?" As far as he knew, no-one knew where the demons came from. So why did this young woman know? He was suddenly filled with distrust, but ignored it for now. He continued his case anyway. "Corkyra has no large mountains, and while the sea might provide difficulty getting off the island - it should also provide a difficulty for the demons to get in, should there be a refugee camp. Which I expect there should be. The people living in the village off coast on the main land should be able to tell them about it.

Alesia paused a long moment after his question before shrugging lightly. "Rumors. Stories from others fleeing the carnage." she bit her bottom lip, listening quietly to his reasoning but still feeling that this wasn't where she wanted to go. Where either of them should go. "And what if the beasts can swim? What do we do when they surround us?" She tilted her head back over her shoulder, looking behind them for a lomng moment, narrowing her eyes when she saw shadows shifting and churning from the trees. "They're coming."

Caelius nodded at her last words. "Yes, they are. But if I remember correctly, these'll be the small and fast ones... Annoying to deal with at most." While this was true, Caelius couldn't allow the demons to swarm the two of them. He looked around to find a set of mountains to their left. They weren't high, but they could probably escape there. And if they couldn't, at least they had the high ground.
He turned his horse and urged it towards the mountain. "We'll hide there. If that doesn't work, at least there's the high ground." He looked back at her. "I can't protect you 24/7. Be ready in case we have to fight." he simply stated before he focused back on riding the horse.

Alesia stared over her shoulder at the coming creatures. He was right of course. Those that were surging to the front and running after them were smaller than their brethren. So they weren't like the large beast that had hunted her in the wood, but that didn't mean they couldn't take a sizable bite out of her body and leave her screaming. She nodded to her companions words, acknowledging his statement, but started thinking as well. "I'm decent with a bow. Far better than I am with my dagger, but I don't have one and it's been a considerable amount of time since I've used one."

Behind them the demon's drooled and howled to each other, strange mixes of beasts that had never been seen before. They hungered for flesh, and blood, and the hunt. The two they chased were so very good at running and that made the catching all the better.

[Sorry for the long wait. Between work and other things... As much as I love RP, it isn't top priority. I wouldn't even respond to my game thread if not for the fact it only takes one word. x.x]