Duty Session 185: Clearing Castle Eas

With the discovery of the Castle Eas, Baroness Wake has called upon her fellow adventurers, seeking aid in clearing out the orcs that currently occupy it. The Castle lies in the mountains of the Fourland Dukedom, set upon a waterfall.

Difficulty:    Moderate
Rec. Party:    5+
Rewards:       2
World Rewards: The clearing of the castle will allow for it to be repaired and used for the benefit of People of the Land and Adventurers.

Baroness Wake
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    Now rightfully a Baroness recognized by the Fourland Dukedom, Wake is dedicated (understandably) to clearing her castle grounds of unruly, unsightly, and unbathed visitors. Specifically, she's after orcs. In the pursuit of this, she stands among a few pole tends on the rolling hills that stand near the beginning of a half-ruined road leading up to the Castle Eas in the mountains.

    "There will be an end of them," she murmurs to herself. "Not this day, perhaps, but some day to come." The Baroness is rather focused on her target, but she is keeping an eye out for others gathering here.
Merek
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    Merek walks along and before the hills that lead to that castle, he nods a bit to Wake, while he waits for an explanation of what they're doing today. "Alright," he notes.
Goldenblade
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Goldenblade shows up for this mission for her friend Wake. Now really Baroness Wake, she guesses. But they were friends before, or she hoped they were friends. And she'd been meaning to help, but everything's going on. Finally, though, she squeezes the time into her busy schedule. "Hey," she calls as she approaches, gilded mail and golden swords not a very stealthful image, but she's not great at the stealth thing. It's kind of an accidental skill she'd picked up. Like the building. She'd been a bricklayer before she came here, but now she's good at all sorts of construction.
Setsuna
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    Setsuna looks at the castle and then the gathering group and then back to the castle, " I suppose this is great warmup for push to the next floor. " It made sense , large group of people gathering to take a castle, that is effectively hat they would be facing. " I mean if you pretend the orcs are small goblins." Along with the other problems that come with floor 5, Xander still owed him for that one even if Xander doesn't know it yet.
Prophylaxis
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"Orks are bigger than goblins though...?" Prophylaxis looks at Setsuna with some degree of incredulity. Everyone knows goblins are small! It's just kind of their thing. The magus shakes his head and shrugs regardless. "...Anyway. Let's go for another round. Hopefully there's not a Monster Nest or something in the depths of the castle keeping their numbers topped off."

'Cause if so... That'd be a hell of a task, breaking in and tearing it down.

He glances over at Merek then, his expression turning contemplative. "Your sword is gone, I see," he says, nodding, "Good. It was not doing anything positive for your mental or physical health."
Vertina
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Vertina follows after Prophylaxis and Setsuna, hands folded behind her head. "So, you need help kicking some orcs out of some old castle? Sure. I can always uses a good workout.... And old castles are kinda cool to explore." The tomboy Salamander is usually good for a fight, regardless of how much she knows about what's going on.
Jazuhanzu
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"...ah..."

The Undine had not planned on stayiyng this long, but Wake had more or less dragged her with her when the others were assembling to Do The Thing.

In truth, she'd only been here to deliver a message from Queen Mifa to the Baroness. Matters of aristocracy, you see, and she had been conveniently in place after having returned to Fourland from Tsushima.

Which is why she's frankly looking a little befuddled, perhaps even costernated, that she's even here.

Still, she finally rolls her shoiulders with a shrug and seems to go along with it, eyeing the rest of the gathered. Goldenblade gets a nod, Merek a look of surprise. "Hey, Edgelord," she offers.

For the rest, a simple, "Hullo. I'm Jazz," she adds, a note of fatigue already having crept into her voice. That's all the socializing she can muster.
Baroness Wake
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    Baroness Wake slides into a curtsey, her head inclined deeply. The gesture is graceful, fit for a noble court, and looks almost as if it might be the start of a dance. "Thank you all for coming! I am Baroness Wake of Castle Eas. Our work today will lead us up into the mountains, across a bridge, and along a passage to continue the work of clearing out orcs from the Castle and the village. In particular, today I'm going to aim for the village, as I've yet to see our foes driven from that place."

    With the explanation done, she smiles at Goldenblade, "I'm delighted to see you, dear! I hope all is going well." The Baroness shares a somewhat guilty look with Jazz. The Baroness hopes she is forgiven for being so assertive!

    Having been here before, the Baroness takes the lead. She moves stealthily, but does not vanish. It's impossible to guide and be utterly out of sight, after all. Eventually, she pauses and raises a hand to call for quiet. Carefully she points ahead, having guided the party to a point where they can spy what lies ahead.

    Ahead, there are is a long bridge and on it are orcs with great hammers and others who even now have set fire to the timbers. "Well, they are at it again... We'll have to juggle everything at the same time here and ensure the bridge isn't taken down. It looks like it needs some repairing, too."
Goldenblade
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Goldenblade smiles to Jazz, and nods to Wake about all going well. "As well as can be expected," she smirks. "Overcommitted as usual, but eager to be at the foe." She smirks guiltily, admitting, "So, I won't be on my A-game, I guess. But my B-game's pretty good." Quietly making her way to the hidden observation site with the others, she looks out over the bridge. And the orcs.

She nods as Wake describes what must be done. "I can handle the repairs, I think," she offers.

So when the party advances, she's carrying a heavy repair hammer, rather than her weapons, and she darts out, doing hasty repairs on the weakest parts before the orcs can do the final damage to some of the bridge pieces. She actually gets quite a few of the places repaired as the party inconveniences the orcs past their ability to stop her.
Prophylaxis
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"Jazz huh? I've always been partial to jazz. Especially the smooth jazz that makes you feel like you're driving through a foggy city in the middle of a rainstorm," Prophylaxis sighs wistfully as memories of the Real World briefly flicker across his conscious mind. "I am Prophylaxis of the Scale Emblem Alliance. Pleased to meet you."

If nothing else, he can sense a kindred 'tired out of their right mind' spirit in this Undine. The doctor looks as though he's been operating on barely any sleep and an IV drip of caffiene, but is somehow staying upright in spite of it.

It's probably due to experience. Do enough consecutive twenty-four hour shifts and you learn to ignore the hallucinations.

"They're at it again, huh?" The Doctor mutters at the orcs' continued assault on that poor, beleaguered bridge. Do they do this every time someone approaches, or are they constantly trying to tear it down? He shrugs, considers chucking another bowling ball down into the vandals, and then decides to take a different tack...

...By striking the earth and launching a barrage of razor-sharp stone spikes at them instead.

Gotta keep these things on their toes.
Setsuna
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    Setsuna looks over at the orcs on the otherside and considers for a moment, last time he just renforced the bridge with earth slabs. This time however he was feeling a little more wrathful as he summons a stalagmite infront of him and takes a moment before for grinning and stating, "Fire One." The Stalagmite launches over the bridge at one of the orcs with the giant hammers.
Vertina
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As the party gets under way Vertina raises a brow at Wake's mannerisms, then leans over to murmur to Prophylaxis "I didn't know you knew royalty."

Not something she really needs to worry about. Especially when they've already got enemy encounters after only such a short trek. "That bridge looks like it could be a landmark or something. What a bunch of jerks!"

Okay, there's Orcs. And there's fires. Well she can't do much with Water, but Vertina can still kill two problems with one stone, metaphorically speaking.

It's not stone, but it is dirt and sand. She slams a fist into the ground, bending the earth to throw up a huge spray of the sediment, blasting into orcs to knock them off the bridge and smother some of the flames the same way one would throw sand on fire to deprive it of oxygen.
Merek
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    Merek begins using the water magic to put out the fire, while he nods a bit to the party, then he takes the time to look to people.
Jazuhanzu
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Water is Jazz's specialty, and honestly, her ability to call it seems pretty stroing. A raised hand and a called down jet spray of it is applied to the blazes. She doesn't really seem to be paying as much attention to it all as you'd think, as if it's a little boring. Her tentacles, sprouting from either sideo f herh ead and hanging down her shoulders, have tips that point this way and that, questioning and searching even as she doen't seem to be paying them any heed. She answers Prophylaxis with a, "Eh. Only listened to it occasionally, in reality." OF course, her actual character name is translated as 'Jazz Hands', and she *does* wiggle her fingers when casting.
Baroness Wake
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    Goldenblade's work has every desired impact. In fact, the excellence of the repairs captures so much of Wake's attention, that her attempts to douse some of the fire with water end up only soak down one of the orcs, who glares at her.

    The glaring doesn't last long. Or rather, it lasts for the rest of the orc's life. One of the spikes splits the beast's head. It bursts into pixels a moment later. It's uncertain if it was on its toes at the time. One of his kin is rushing forward to strike and ends up catching Setsuna's stalagmite with its neck. Its roar ends mid-shout in another burst of pixellated death.

Other orcs try to rush the destruction, both the burning and the smashing. Vertina's sand blasting attack has an interesting effect. One of the orcs is bearing a torch and oil. With the gust blowing at it, the fire turns the monster into a torch and then it is thrown off the side, crashing into the waters below. Another orc is blinded, stumbles, and falls off the bridge a moment later.

    Merek's blasts of water drive the last flames off the surface of the bridge, but it seems that the plunging orc torch has lit more timbers on fire. By good fortune, these are extinguished by the magical waters of Jazz. The final to fall throws a torch, but the aim is poor and it sails uselessly off the side of the bridge.

    With this obstacle cleared, the party is able to safely ascend. "So far, so good. Now up ahead there is a pass. We will not be taking the secret passage to the mines, though. Today, we head to the village. There will be a view of the castle, but our destination is not the Dome of Stars on this day."

    The pass itself is eventually reached. It is a sheer-walled road that winds its ways through the mountain peaks. Wake pauses on the way, gesturing vaguely to her left. "The doors to the mine are on this side. They lead to the Castle Eas itself, should you wish to come that way in the future. If you like, I shall guide you then, as well." But today, the path is straight ahead.
Setsuna
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    Setsuna grins as he watches the stalagmite pierce the orc, "Poor guy, looks like he had a splitting headache." The impish grn, the giggling laugh, one may suspect that Setsuna was an imp trapped in a humans body. Either way the group moves forward and as if to pass the time Setsuna works some earth magic while they walk. Apparently taking Wake's words to heart as he places his hand on the earth wall and magical grafiti apepars with big arrows pointing out the secret passage. " I am sure that will fade by the time someone else comes through here."
Goldenblade
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Once we pass thr bridge, Goldenblade and the others move forward to find a pass obstructed by an avalanche. But we're not going that way, anyhow, nor are we going to the secret passage Wake mentions. It's just as well, she doesn't see it. So she'll follow the others where they lead. She's kind of lost now, she's relying on Wake for where to go.

Straight ahead, and down into the village is the plan. She follows, looking around warily.
Merek
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    Merek tries seeking the path with magic. He finds what might be some kind of path, though that doesn't look like the path they are looking for, either way he walks along that.
Vertina
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As soon as Wake points the way Vertina is off at a dash into the woods. She has no desire to stand around looking for secret passages, not when there's more Orcs to be found and fight! There's a vage flickering around her as she runs ahead, thanks to her spiritual aura charing up to be ready for when she does find more enemies to contend with.
Prophylaxis
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"Ah, well," Prophylaxis looks just a little bit crestfallen. He thought he found another jazz lover! "That's too bad. If we were on the outside, I would have been able to recommend some good stuff." Too bad, so sad. At least he made the attempt.

With the orcs thoroughly dispatch, Prophylaxis follows the others onward to the same familiar hillside he'd seen now twice before. "So we're /not/ going through the mines again? Well, no reason to worry about trying to pick the terrain apart, then." Instead, Prophylaxis turns his arcane talents to gently smoothing out their way forward, creating a makeshift road to speed them along to their intended destination.

"I mean, 'royalty,'" Prophylaxis asides to Vertina. "'Baroness' is just the first part of her character name. We actually used to be in the same guild, before we all got tossed into the game, if you'd believe that."

"Though I guess she does have an official noble title now, so there /is/ that."
Jazuhanzu
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"It's not as if I don't like it," adds Jazz at the crestfallen look from Prophylaxis.

Setsuna just gets a weird look before she shrugs her shoulders and turns to Wake, giving her a nod. "CArry on, I guess," she adds.

She pulls the feather duster that sits on the inside of her long coat from it. Its tip glows. It's a wand-class feather duster, apparently.

For real.

Seems she has it atr the ready as they pass along, ready to assist in clearing rubble if need be... probably by making it smaller rubble.
Baroness Wake
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    "No mines this time," Baroness Wake confirms. "And indeed, I am now a Baroness in truth." Clearly she's delighted with the title. "And unlike many, I had to earn it rather than fall into it by fortune of birth. Though I would also point out that many hands helped me get there, which makes me all the more pleased."

    Ignoring the secret passage, the party moves ahead towards the end of the pass. Standing there is a rather shoddy-looking gate. While the structure may not be terribly formidible, the rain of arrows that the party is suddenly confronted by is trouble enough. Clearly these orcs must be dealt with one way or another, either by taking out the gate or simply blasting them to bits.

    "No need to wait on ceremony, my friends! Let's scatter them to the winds!" She charges ahead, vanishing mid-stride from view. She'll flicker back into sight a few strides later, and then gone again.
Merek
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    "Fire?" Merek then asks of the party, and nods a bit to each of them, "Fire." The man charges along into the enemies, while he swings up into the orcs, then along into that door, his fists aflame, "RAGNAROK'S WISDOM!"
Prophylaxis
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"Congratulations on that, by the way," the doctor says of Wake's new title.

Ah look, orc archers manning (orcing?) a rickety old gate. "Indeed," Prophylaxis nods to Merek, a sphere of flame swelling from a miniscule ember atop his staff. He swings his weapon like a baseball bat, sending the fiery bead overtop of the orcish archers... Where it explodes, unleashing a catastrophic conflagration that flash-fries a dozen orcs where they stand. "Fire."

It's what's cooking.
Setsuna
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    Setsuna steps up as he looks at the gate, " So they built the gate out of wood? That seems like a ill planned decision. What if there was a spark. " Setsuna begins to cast and a magic circle appears around the top of his staff, it says it is fire and some air magic mixed in. Around the gate the air would dry out as the spell would be intentionally made to dry out the structure. " I mean imagine a hot day just dried everything out."
Goldenblade
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Goldenblade nods as Wake, but has to wonder. "There was a song my kids liked, something about a killer speaking like a baroness. How's that work, exactly?" As for the orcs, that's a simple matter of KILL IT WITH FIRE. Drawing both blades, she blade-dances through their ranks, fiery swords leaving burning wounds, the fire spreadying all around as she twirls and piroettes. She does a graceful turn, blades held directly over her head, and with a ... well, if there were a soundtrack, the crecendo would be here, and she plunges her blades into another orc. The melody would begin again as she goes after the next, who defends himself frantically before the flames all around him consume him, and another crescendo as this one dies as well. If Goldenblade were writing the soundtrack.
Vertina
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"Yeah this is more like it!" Vertina stares down the disgorging of orcs on a rush with a gleeful and slightly unsettling smile. She plants a foot into the ground, tail swishing a few times as she pulls a flash from her belt. Pops the cork off with her thumb. "I've got just the drink for the occasion, too." She quickly chugs down the contents, and flings the bottle aside.

Then opens her mouth again, and in some strange combination of a roar and a huge belch sends a prodiginous gout of flame surging into the enemy charge, igniting them and their leather armor on fire!

Salamanders have fire breath. Fire magic can make that fire breath even stronger. And you know what else can make that stronger?

Alcohol. It is very fammable too, after all.

Never let anyone tell you a Brewer can't apply their craft to combat.
Baroness Wake
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    Merek's idea works, it seems. It works so well, that half the orc's leather helmets are on fire. Apparently the leather was a bit too thoroughly oiled. By wonderful luck, though, their suffering is swiftly cut short. The first instance is the fireball that Prophylaxis sends barreling at them. It's hard to say if they turn to pixels. They are just gone in the flames.

    But things are just getting warmed-up. So to speak. And then Setsuna's rather unique mixture of air and fire leaves the timbers dried. They are so dried, in fact, that they smolder in spots and crack in others as the water rushes out as steam.

    There's really nothing going well for the orcs. The few archers who aren't on fire at this point are suddenly joined by Goldenblade. She'll have to forgive them for their poor welcome. Of course, some pardon must be granted to their lack of manners, since she's reducing them to pixels.

    In the chaos, some orcs get the burning urge to charge the enemy. It goes well for as much as half a dozen steps or so, and then they are confronted by Vertina. The flames she blasts out are simply more than they can handle.

    Amidst all this fire, the timbers burst into flames. Not in one spot, but in dozens. The pumping of air into the structure works like a mighty bellows, and by the time Wake finally moves forward to deal with the door, fires are all around. She kicks the door then, but the frame is all of metal and it stands. Two seconds later, the wooden wall around the door-ALL OF IT-collapses, leaving just the door and its metal frame standing.

    "Well.. I suppose we'll just have to go around it," Wake declares. She takes a single step to the right and proceeds on the way.

    Coming back to an earlier point, Wake says to Goldenblade, "Killer Queen? It's the inspiration of my title, actually. I love that song! I'm not sure I fit the bill exactly, but I suppose I'm dangerous in my own respectable way."

    Along the way to the village, the great domes and pinnacles of Castle Eas can be seen to the left. The massive structure sets on a vast foundation, which itself is perched on a collossal waterfall.

    Baroness Wake pauses there, to admire her home. "Soon you shall be free to shine again," she whispers faintly. With some reluctance, she goes on, leading the party closer to the village.

    At the edge of the village, the group is brought to a halt and hordes of orcs lie ahead. "We'll want to deal with that barracks and wipe out all these orcs," notes Wake. Though frankly, with this group, what she adds after is perhaps more important, "Please remember that we want to leave some of the village in tact, so let's focus our fiery fury."
Merek
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    Merek lifts up a hand while he walks along to the barracks of the village, lighting the fodder while he begings to swing flame. The place begins to shimmer along with the fire that lifts up, the man adjusting the scarf while he walks along, blasting orcs away and taking the time to generally wipe away the place.
Goldenblade
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It's one thing to suggest to Goldenblade not to burn everything, but when there's such a bunch of orcs and dry kindling and such around, the chance to burn everything seems, well, like a no-brainer. Swords wreathed in flames cut through our foes, and their HP bars fall faster than ... than a thing falling very fast. Though, really, technically, all things fall at the same speed. At least up until terminal velocity. So, their HP bars are falling like something with a very fast terminal velocity.
Vertina
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Vertina looks one way. Looks the other way. Glances off for a moment as Wake mentions not wanting to burn the entire place down. ".. Right. Okay, we can do that. It's not like I'm incapable of using fire."

She doesn't really wait for an response before strolling over to the building being used as barracks. "But you might still need to rebuild some. Fine? Fine." She sizes up the side of the building.

And then snaps up a leg, pivots on the other, and spins around to slam one of her tremor inducing kicks into the wall. This knocks a large portion of the wall in. More importantly, it knocks it over on many of the orcs using the building. They don't all die from part of the structure collapsing on them, but the ones that stagger out are dazed, cut up, and stuck with splinters; making them easy to finish off.

"This is an eyesore," Vertina adds with a snort. "You wouldn't want to keep it with the rest of the royal village anyways."
Prophylaxis
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Ah, so there are more orcs inside these huts! Prophylaxis nods, already beginning to wind up yet more heinously destructive fire magic when Wake is only halfway through her explanation. His fireball has already swollen to dangerous proportions and he's only moments away from hurling it at a barracks that is positioned precariously between a tavern and what looks to be an orphanage. (who would put these three things next to each other? Is the orphanage still occupied?!)

And then Wake finishes with her plea for a more /focused/ application of firepower, and Prophylaxis is forced to abruptly halt his attack... but there's a problem. His staff is already in motion. It sweeps wide, swings up, and finally launches its payload...

...Directly overhead, where it goes boom in a very pretty explosion.

"...Should have waited, huh?" The doctor says, sheepishly.

Well... At least Jazz does in fact like jazz. Or at least doesn't hate jazz? That's a good thing to learn, right? Right.
Setsuna
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    Setsuna follows behind Goldenblade into battle , straight into the heart of battle, usually a unsafe spot for a spell caster, but the grin on Setsuna's face shows he is more wrapped up in the battle then thinking tactics. He smashes the palm of his hand into one of the orc's face and then swings the staff up into the orc's jaw. Who would have knon it was possible Setsuna could do anything in close proximity.
Jazuhanzu
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Orcs. Of course.

Jazz is distracted by goats at the moment, at least initially. She's busy trying to shoo them and encountering moderate success.

"Darn things," she mutters, "darn things and their creepy eyegballs. Why did they have to model goat eyeballs so realistically?" Mutter mutter, grumble.
Baroness Wake
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    The village isn't the most lovely thing, that is true, and the best remnants of it is stone, which hopefully can survive the party's work. From the start, the orcs are hot and bothered. They come in waves. Some tumble swiftly to Merek's fire, several others make it to Goldenblade, only to be brought down in scalding fashion. Pixels bursts come from all sides.

    With a considerable crushing sound, the wall gives way to Vertina's kick. A great collapse follows, as the entire roof crashes down on the unsightly inhabitants.

    Just as a knot of orcs start to form up, two things go very wrong. First, the orc barking orders at them turns to have his nose crushed by Setsuna's palm, and then his staff shatters the orc's jaw. Shortly after, the most bizarre of attacks finds the orcs, as the creepy-eyed goats decide to go into a full-on panic and stampede into the village, trampling and ramming orcs. Somehow the goat charge knocks a torch onto the barracks and it goes up in flames.

    For Wake's part, she incinerates a few orcs that get in her way as she marches into the center of the town. She doesn't get terribly far before the great clearing is found. Just as she starts to explain how once goods from all around the land were sold here by people of the land, the orc bosses roar a challenge and charge.

    "Interrupting orcs," mutters the Baroness. "The worst kind."
Goldenblade
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Goldenblade chuckles as we wade through the carnage, killing orcs left and right. This, at least, is a good time. Athletes feel this way then they're exerting themselves hard. It's an endorphin rush. Spotting two interrupting boss orcs facing us, she kicks in her afterburners, leaping into the fray so fast that she leaves a trail of flames on the ground. Her movement is lighning fast, or maybe fire-fast should be a thing now, she's going so fast she leaves scortchmarks all around the orcs, burning them as it pens them in, all in addition to the actual beating she's laying down with twin swords.
Merek
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    Merek looks to the orcs while he sheaths the twin blades, then he draws a greatsword weapon. He then begins to swing into both female orc bosses while he shifts the weapon, "FROST SHOCK!" The freezing lightning begins to shimmer along their frame while he swings up into each. Like the flame which he wielded in the village, he seems to be putting a lot of power into that magic. "DANCE AMID FIELDS OF ICE!" The weapon swings, then the ice begins breaking along them with a nice lightning.
Setsuna
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    Spotting the Orc bosses Setsuna nods in acceptance before turning back to some of recently made orc corpses. His magic circle under him as he issues the corpses a single command, "Arise." The orc bodies rise up , soul less eyes as they stair at the sisters. Retrieviing their weapons they roar at ther ex-bosses and charge in head on to meet them as Setsuna just watches. "Sometimes it really is the simply things we must enjoy."
Prophylaxis
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Not exactly the most graceful display of magic in the world. Prophylaxis is satisfied, regardless, but... "Goat eyes are actually very interesting. The aperture of the pupil is designed specifically to give them a wide field of view, and is common in many herbivorous prey species, including goats, sheep and horses. Toads use them too due to the position of their eyes on their bodies, and can achieve an impressive visual range as a result. Contrast to predatory animals, especially nocturnal hunters, like cats and so on. They have strangely shaped pupils as well, but for different--"

"Ah," Prophylaxis pauses as the two orc bosses make their appearance. He frowns and taps his staff against the ground, causing a thorny bramble of translucent, almost crystalline vines to shoot out from the surrounding environment and arrest their movement. "Right, the lecture should wait, I guess. But if you want to know /really/ weird eyes, take a look at an octopus' sometime."
Jazuhanzu
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"...yeah," says Jazz after a long moment of staring at Merek.

"Definitely continuing to call you McEdgeLord," she nods.

Then she's turning her attention towards the charging orcs. She lets outy a sigh (that only really sounds like an adorable anime-girl sigh because she ... is kind of an adorable anime girl) and then calls out, "Blackest Abyss, deepest waters, let your denizes grasp and hold them."

And indeed, black kelp like vines shoot from the ground, grabbing at the charging orcs to slow thier charge, sharpened points on their stems digging into flesh.
Vertina
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Vertina follows the Baroness into the center of town as orcs and goats scatter in various other directions. Then she stops short... and steps to the side just as there's a roar and a whip snapping through the air where she had been standing. A martial artist's danger sense pays off once again. The blonde tomboy grins, and then cricks her neck to one side. "Oh good. I was almost afraid the fighting was over with." Then hurtles herself once more into the dangerous fray. Just as she's getting in close the Whip Orc snaps her flaming length of pain viciously at her.

And Vertina catchs it in her hand! Her own fiery aura resisting the weapon's flames, she quickly twirls her arm to wrap more of the whip length around her forearm to keep it from being pulled away and used to attack the others. Heels dig into the pavement as she tug-o-wars against the Whip Orc's strength. Until in frustration the boss gives a mighty heave, enough to yank even the tough Salamander off her feet and towards the orc.

Which... is exactly what Vertina wanted.

"RAGNAROK'S WISDOM!" Her enemy suddenly hurtling towards her faster than expected, the Whip Orc can do little to stop the massive flaming punch sent directly for her face as Vertina uses the momentum of being yanked with the whip against it's own wielder.
Baroness Wake
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    Wake can put up with insults, but this is her home now, and there is a price to be paid for trespassing. She moves against the whip-wielder, marking that one to be her foe. She slides past the strike of the lash, then strikes in a blurry succession to the enemy's knee, groin, and gut. She stays so close that the whip is nearly useless.

    Goldenblade's fire seems to confuse the enemy for a time, and limits their mobility. Finally the sword-wielding knight leaps free, taking the damage and lashing out in useless rage as Merek's frost shock starts to drain her hp bar even further.

    This attack is only just cleared when the whip-wielding orc leaps away from Wake and lands right in the midst of zombified orcs. Her former soldiers immediately attack, forcing her back again and swiftly weakening her.

    Both orcs get little chance to do more than direct attacks at zombies. They do little damage to the players. Things grow rather more unfavorable when Prophylaxis's snaring attack strikes home. They aren't stopped utterly, but they are slowed considerably. Yet even as they hack at these, Jazz's kelp winds about them. Their hp drains farther yet, and suddenly the orc knight collapses.

    The remaining orc looks at her fallen kin and bellows in rage. A timer suddenly pops up and starts to rapidly count down. The whole time, the orc fights, its attack on Vertina coming with just a second or two left. With a last roar of anger the creature collapses from the punch. The timer hangs there for a moment, showing 0.6 on it. It then vanishes. The day has been won!
Vertina
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Vertina blows her knuckles off after the fight. Then makes a face. "I'm gonna have to douse my fists in alcohol just to get the stench off them." But at least the bosses are dead and the town is mostly intact. Hopefully the orcs won't be able to regroup too quickly. "That was a good workout though. Orcs just have such punchable faces."
Baroness Wake
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    The Baroness surveys the village ruins slowly. Certainly there are some things that were damaged. The hated barracks was flattened, which is all to the good, and some other damage done. But as most of the damage fell on orcish additions, the ashes are a clear upgrade.

    "I thank you all for your service to my home. When this space is cleared again, I hope you will visit. The refugees of Ezzo will be invited in particular. I have enough experience with those facing such plight in the other world that I shall take great joy in gathering them in a place that is strong, beautiful, and safe."

    "I know it doesn't look like it yet, but I have come this far, and if I must do it all with my own two hands, this place will be rebuilt." Wake cannot help but speak with intensity. This is her dream.
Goldenblade
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Goldenblade stands amid the flaming ruins of the fight area, her own fires, the ones she caused, at least, slowly guttering out. She bows her head to Wake, and says, "I'm happy to help you. And I enjoy building, so I'm happy to do what restoration I can." She looks around curiously. "Definitely a nice location, though, if a bit far off the beaten track."
Merek
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    Merek nods a bit when all would be finished, taking what looks to be a moment adjusting the scarf, "Thank you," he notes then along to the Baroness Wake.
Prophylaxis
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"Mm," Prophylaxis answers. How many Ezzo refugees are even left...? Many he had recruited, himself, to help rebuild Tolbana. But if there are still enough to resettle Castle Eas...

Well, maybe Wake knows something he doesn't.

"Be careful," is all he says. "Many of them are Spriggans, and many of the other Landers don't take kindly to them. You'll want to keep an eye out to make sure that tensions don't rise too far."
Baroness Wake
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    "It is indeed. My hope is that being out here will make it safer. There are numerous places where it can be well defended by few against many," the Baroness explains. "But more than that, I am focused on making it a jewel."

    Wake curtseys deeply to Goldenblade, "And truly, if you are able to help with the work that lies ahead, I shall be most grateful. I am blessed to have so many good friends who wish to make my dreams come to life."

    The Baroness nods to Prophylaxis, "Many are. And I understand that. All the more, I'd like to gather any here who wish for more than the lot they have now. And there are yet more refugees to come. The undead army has driven many from their homes. But we must not stay here now.. our work is done here."

    On the way out, Wake again stops to take a good, long look at the Castle Eas. She turns away, sensing that the day is fading to evening.