Sacred Fields of Shore

(Here we go with round 2!)

Black Shadow always took on jobs without knowing what he was getting himself into. Sometimes this would be no problems, and other times he would experience problems that would take him a long period of time to figure a way to clean up the mess. But money was money, and Black Shadow would rarely pass up an opportunity to earn money.

Black Shadow began most of his days walking through the marketplace. He would search for people in need of help in exchange for money, and would sometimes find jobs that would send him out into other places to hunt or kill something.

The end of each day, Black Shadow would go to his favorite local bar. Inside one could find some beautiful kills mounted on the walls, painting worth thousands, furniture found nowhere else, amazing beer, and a bartender that knew everyone who entered into his bar.

“Shadow!” the bartender shouted as he entered into the bar.

Every person inside stopped and stared, he had almost become a legend in the eyes of the people. Black Shadow nodded at the bartender and walked through the tables and people to the bar. He sat down and waited, then the man walked over and placed a glass of the finest beer in the place.

“So, what could Ol’ Demitri do for you today?” The bartender asked, already knowing the answer. Black Shadow pointed towards a board behind the bar with wanted posters. “Ah yes, the usual. Let’s see here, today we actually do have something new.”

The help wanted board was normally filled with “lost dog” or “missing person” which almost always lead to that missing thing having been killed, and then they would refuse to believe it and refuse to pay. Black Shadow never took those jobs.

Demitri walked to the board and pulled a piece of paper off, handing it to Black Shadow. “Someone came in just this morning with this. Gentlemen has been sitting in the corner over there all day. A few people have talked to him, I guess he needs more people. He’s willing to pay half up front.

Black Shadow stood and walked over the man. He was dressed in armor head to toe, his helmet sitting on the table next to him. In front of him was three piles of paper. Two piles were the same papers, one had signatures, the other had blank signature lines. The third pile of papers consisted of diagrams of a battlefield.

The man was staring at the papers, reading and rereading the documents, trying to make sure he knew every word it said. He was almost lost in thought, worried out of his mind. Whatever he was recruiting for was important to him, which meant good pay.

Black Shadow sat down across from the appearing paladin, waiting for him to notice Black Shadow. When it became apparent that the man would not notice him, his trance was too great, he kicked the table. Again, there was no response, and the man did not even flinch. Black Shadow was surprised, this job must have been very important.

He then reached out to grab a paper from the unsigned pile. In that instant, the man drew his sword and put it to Black Shadow’s neck.

“Who are you and what are you doing? This is a job for the strong willed and powerful. There is no place for the likes of you among the ranks of us.” The man said, his sword resting on Black Shadow’s neck. Black Shadow just took a breath and focused on his next movements.

Black Shadow closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. All the room was silent at this moment, knowing just what Black Shadow was capable of.

He thought to his training, move quickly and be ready for any outcome. The entire room waited for his next move, waiting for him to retaliate. Black Shadow slowly let his breath out, snapping his eyes open, and bringing his hand up. He knocked the sword to the side and pulled his bow from his back. Within a second he had the paladin backed in his seat, an arrow aimed directly at his forehead.

Black Shadow released the tension in the bowstring and returned the arrow to his quiver. He then picked up the paper again and pointed at it. The paladin was taken back, not expecting what just happened to take place.

“You are more than I expected from a man dressed in the likes of you. You have earned my respect.” The paladin said, bowing to Black Shadow. “This job, it won’t be easy, and I cannot guarantee your survival.” Black Shadow nodded, asking him to continue.

“We need to retake our castle, but we do not have enough men. This is a sacred place for our brotherhood, our home. It was taken from us, and we need it back. If you are willing to help us,” He said pulling out a coin purse, “I will give you this now, and the rest when we take it back. It is one thousand gold pieces, enough for a year’s worth of rent in this city, and one thousand pieces later.”

Black Shadow looked at the paladin and took the coin purse. He then took the quill and ink and signed the paper, handing it back to the paladin. “Thank you.” He said, handing Black Shadow a small piece of paper with a location. “Meet us here at that time, we will take back what’s ours.”

Black Shadow went three days later to the location specified in his instructions. When he arrived, there was not much to look at, a rusted up falling apart barn, a cart with a missing wheel, and the grass around was unkempt.

He reluctantly walked up to the large door and opened it, revealing much more than he anticipated. There were at least one hundred people, most of which were in normal mercenary equipment. There was a line of people waiting in a line, in the end they would receive a full suite of the paladin armor.

Black Shadow shut the door behind him and walked up to the line, assuming this is where he would need to go.

Black Shadow watched the people ahead of them. Each one was filling out paperwork and being talked to by a paladin. Most men appeared confused, these were no soldiers.

Then one of the paladins walked up to Black Shadow. He removed his helmet and Black Shadow recognized him as the one who recruited him.

“Thank you for coming.” The Paladin said. “My name is Erin.” Black Shadow extended his hand and the two shook hands. “Why don’t you talk?” The paladin asked curiously. Black Shadow waved his hand in front of his neck, a universal sign that usually means “my tongue was cut out”. Black Shadow began to adopt this as a way to tell people he can’t talk, even though he still had his tongue.

“Oh, I see. Well thank you for joining us.” The Paladin said. “You are going to need that set of armor, those clothes won’t protect you from a thing.”

Black Shadow waved his hands in front of him, he did not do too well with armor.

“Attention everyone.” A deep voice boomed from a balcony above the large doors. “We will be moving out in exactly one hour. We will march upon the Sacred Field of Shore, take on the enemy, eliminate all in our path, and take back what is ours. It has been far too long since we have set foot in our homeland, and now is the time we will make our return. Some of us will die, but many will survive, and those that do will be rewarded greatly for your service. Now, prepare for departure, and make any goodbyes you must.”

Black Shadow listened carefully to the words spoken. Some will die, they planned on people to die, the enemy would be a tough enemy to take on if this was the case. And they planned on just marching in and taking them on head on? That is suicide, enemy archers would pick them off within seconds. No, Black Shadow could not do that, march in like that. But without a way of communication he feared they would think he is abandoning them.

He looked around the building, the men who were there had scared looks upon their faces. They knew they would not last very long. This mission was nothing more than a heroic last chance for these paladins, there were obviously very few of them left. They wanted to take back what was theirs or die trying.

Black Shadow looked around again, waiting for the all clear. He would not let these men die in vain. He had to do something, he knew what it was like to lose what is rightfully yours, and to fight for it back. He would help them win if it was the last thing he did.

“Move out, we will be there within twenty minutes. Have no fear, fight for yourself, fight for a girl, fight for your children, and win this battle.” The soldier’s deep voice boomed. Everyone stood and grabbed their weapons. What was a few paladins in armor now appeared to be over one hundred. But Black Shadow and the others knew the truth, they were no paladins, they were mercenaries.

They began their march, walking in a big group together, following the five paladins leading the small army. The men would quickly grow tired, they were not used to this heavy armor. They would have to stop often, and what was a twenty-minute journey became well over an hour’s march.

The road was a winding one, with plenty of obstacles. Fallen trees often caused delays, and small patches of water that would need to be crossed would wash away the path and create confusion. The men were not ready for this journey, and when the time came for battle, many would not be ready.

Black Shadow stayed near the back, watching and listening for any danger. Most of the journey did not have any problems, yet at one point Black Shadow heard a noise from his right. He drew an arrow and fired it, killing a man in a tree. His lifeless body fell from the tree and onto the cold forest floor. Black Shadow examined the body, noticing it was pitch black, almost skeletal.

“That is a scout for our enemy.” Paladin Erin said, coming up to examine the kill as well. “These filthy creatures will pay for what they have done.”

Black Shadow reached down and grabbed the bow of the creature, a black bow made of bone.

As they drew closer to their destination the sounds of war drums would be heard, growing louder with every step. Voices soon came into earshot. The sounds echoed throughout the trail, and fear began to spread throughout the company.

“Listen up!” The leader’s deep voice boomed. “We are here. Prepare yourselves men, this is going to be bloody.”

In that instant, the five paladins unsheathed their swords and turned to the edge of the trail. Looking ahead, Black Shadow could see a large church. Stone towers with archers, just as he expected, remained on watch. A legion of the skeletal creatures stood in front of the large wooden doors, black weapons made of bone in their hands. Others were in front, dancing to the drums, and others were holding flaming torches.

One of the Paladins raised his sword in the air and began to speak. “This is our home, and they can no longer dwell in the sacred halls! Let us unite and destroy these foul creatures! Are you with me?” There was silence other than a few soft voices saying “Yes!” “I said, are you with me?” He said again, raising his sword higher. This time every man in the company raised their weapons as well.

“Yes!” They all shouted.

“Then Let’s do this! Charge!” he said pointing his sword at the church. Black Shadow reached out and grabbed the Paladins arm, stopping him from charging in himself. “How dare you? Withhold me from defending my home?”

Black Shadow simply pointed at the tower tops, the Paladin realizing what he was pointing at, the archers. He just condemned the men to death, every one of them. “Wait! He shouted, but it was too late, nothing would stop the charge at this point.

Black Shadow held his finger up in a “One minute” fashion. He removed his bow from his back, pulling out one of his arrows. He drew the string back, aiming it at tone of the creatures. The wind was strong, so he would need to aim a bit higher and off to the side. He made his adjustments, released the arrow, and watched. The arrow flew through the sky, then hit a perfect hit, right between the eyes.

The creature stumbled back, hit the wall, then fell forward off the side of the tower. The drums stopped, and the chanting ceased. Every creature looked to where the now deceased friendly was, and then to where the arrow came from.

The chants turned now to angry chants, and the drums became heavier. The creatures started to bang their weapons and shields together. The sound was very ominous, and stroke fear into the hearts of the men.

Black Shadow simply readied another arrow, aimed and fired, another direct hit. For every archer that fell it seemed like another appeared.

Black Shadow kept firing his arrows, not holding back. Paladin Eric watched surprised, he could use a man like him on more missions.

More and more creatures fell, the archers on top now trying to combat and shoot Black Shadow. But Black Shadow’s bow was far superior, and could shoot much farther than theirs.

Black Shadow pilled another arrow from his quiver and began to write on the ground. “will destroy tower, ok?”

Eric looked at the message and was taken back. He did not want this to happen, but realized it may be the only way to stop the onslaught of the men.

“Do it.” He said reluctantly. “Just help us win, that’s all we want. We can rebuild anything you destroy.”

Black Shadow pulled one of his diamond tip arrows from his quiver. He took a look at his bow strings and pulled back both the white and yellow string. The white string was a sonic boom, allowing the arrow to travel faster than the speed of sound. The yellow would cause a shockwave to extend out from the arrow.

Black Shadow released the arrow, a loud sonic boom echoed from the battlefield. The arrow hit the tower almost as soon as it left the string. It crashed into the side of the tower, going into the wall. It went into a solid area, about half way through. Then the shockwave happened. Because it was stuck in the wall, the shockwave tore the building apart.

It began to collapse, killing all the creatures in it. Black Shadow then looked at Paladin Erin. “Thank you.” He said. “Now let’s go.”

The two pulled their swords from their sheaths and charged in, attacking and killing all the creatures in their path. Many men were slain by the creatures, yet more survived than were killed.

Black Shadow sung his sword, cutting the head of a creature clean off. With every swing, he would kill another enemy. He was trained in his skills in the sword, something many people would often doubt about him.

Alongside Paladin Erin, the two were killing many more than the others. The other four Paladins closed in and the six created a small circle, killing any that charged them. They were unstoppable, nothing would break through their defenses. Hundreds of creatures charged, and the remaining mercenaries joined in the circle, mowing down all the enemies that charged.

After a hard-fought battle, they made it into the church, very few creatures remained inside. The men went through with no mercy, killing even those who surrendered.

When the battle was over, Paladin Erin stood in front of everyone and counted the remaining men. Of one-hundred-thirty men, only thirty-five remained.

“Thank you all for your service.” The Paladin said. “We could never have done this without you all. We could never have made it half way without our friend Black Shadow, he took out the archers, and without him the battle would have been over before it began.”

Black Shadow was lifted up off his feet by a few men before he could react, and all the men began to cheer. Black Shadow waved his hands, signaling them to stop cheering and put him down. He was no more special than anyone else, and he only did what he had to protect the men who hired him.

Paladin Erin signaled the men to put him down, then walked up to him. “Black Shadow I wanted to thank you for your service. We could never have done this without you, you have done us a great service.”

Black Shadow nodded and shook the Paladin’s hand.

“Please, if you ever need something, just call on me, I will help you.” He said, putting his hand on Black Shadow’s shoulder. He nodded back, and released the Paladin’s hand. “We promised you that you would be paid again if we made it. We always stay true to our promises, here is your payment, and for your exceptional services, we wanted to give you some extra.”

Black Shadow took the bag of money, surprised by the amount. “There’s two-thousand gold coins in there, you deserve it. Take it, and remember us.”

Black Shadow looked at Paladin Erin, nodded in thanks, and closed the coin purse. He again shook the Paladin’s hand, then started his journey home, thankful that he was alive, and that he earned this gold to provide for his daughter.

Name of Judgement: Sacred Fields of Shore
Type of Judgement: No Judgement

Rewards:

Blackshadow:
3080 EXP
230 GP

Spoils:
A bow made of black bone [bone], taken from GP rewards to the cost of 100 GP.
"A bow made of Black Bones, nothing special about it."


Inclusive of Althanas Festival 3x EXP bonus.

“The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

All rewards have been added.