The fort town of Last Folly shouldn’t exist. It was out in the edges of the Ahara badlands. A place populated by roving orc clans, some of the most dangerous flora and fauna that Nea had to offer, and its cracks and corners were teeming with criminals and unsavory characters. No intelligent forward thinking entrepreneur would invest in any sort of enterprise that would involve building a mining town in that wretched place, but they did, and the gold came in droves. Outlaws that would raid the orc clans began to notice that those farther into the badlands had small pouches of elementia; small crystals that were very rare in Nea. They were used for magics, to power some of the most magnificent clockwork creations in the city of Lights, and to create some of the most dangerous weapons in the land.
 
The elementia rush began, with thousands seeking their fortune in a place that ate up the meek. If they were lucky enough to survive and find a small grain of elementia, the orc clans or a wandering raider would claim it from their cold, dead hands. This was when a collection of rich high mages, nobles, and barons pooled their resources together to find some way to dig up and transport elementia from Ahara to the Empire of Albion.  Soldiers, carts, mercenaries, miners, builders, and a thousand other things were sent into an expedition to find a place where a mining operation could begin. Months later Last Folly was founded, it sat right atop a network of tunnels that produced a trickle of elementia and required a large caravan of soldiers to transport it and keep it safe from raiders, orcs, and hungry drakes.
 
That had been ten years ago. Now Last Folly was a small Fort City. Orc tribes began to settle in and trade, soldiers would just wind up staying and starting up a family with a wildlands woman, the high council of mages opened up a small research school there to study Elementia, but Last Folly was still a shit hole. The Ahara badlands where never kind or forgiving, and nobody knew this Better than Argus. The young man had been a member of the Albion army and had been posted to Last Folly when his superiors noticed he had a knack for magic, he could work with the council of mages and help find a new vein of elemtia that would be the sole property of the Albion army. Argus did not adjust well, thousands of miles from home, he drunk, f***ed whores, and got into fights, sometimes with superiors. After two years Argus was expelled from the military and the High council wanted nothing to do with him.
 
With nothing better to do and no money, Argus joined the black fists mercenary company and this is where our story begins. A foreign merchant from the kingdom of Allure wants his cargo protected in the next caravan out of Last Folly and he’s paying good money for it. Argus has been giving this job and he must gather a small team to act as a guard for the merchant and his wares, whatever they may be.
 
Now, on an early Monday morning, Argus walked out of the Laughing Boar tavern with a fresh black eye and made his way to the Black Fists mess hall, directly across the street. The notice had gone out a few days ago that those who wanted part of this job where to Meet Argus here. Those seeking extra gold, a way out of Last Folly, or just to see the world would be there, ready to be part of the great caravan.
 
Argus went and sat by an empty table, grabbed an open bottle of whiskey and took a lar gulp before slamming the bottle down on the table.
 
“Ah, that burns real nice.”
 

Argus wiped his mouth and kicked his feet up on the table, waiting for those that would join him out of this hell hole.

"What a dump" Johan thought to himself.Frontier towns like Last Folly reminds Johan of the old album his father kept that contained pictures of South Africa's colonial days,Johan turns his head to the small slim tablet he held in his left hand.He tapped on the notes section,and searched for the details of his contract among the mess he keeps."Arrh ja daar,Laughing Boar tavern".He buries his tablet back into the right pocket of his trenchcoat-like vest.He adjusted his hat and smiled as he eyed the crowd entering and leaving the run-down tavern.

He walked inside,eyeing the bar immediately.He eyed the merrymaking sots strewn across the tables
he takes notice of the man feet first on the table,out of a mixture of fear and respect he looks away when the man directs his gaze into his.Johan took a seat at the bar,pondering what to poison himself with until deciding on a glass of good old water.He placed his rifle next to him as he slowly enjoyed the first refreshment he had since ending up on this dustbowl.

Lineak shook the dust off of his clothes as he entered what passed for a town.  A hole in the mud for sure but at least it was something.  Maybe he could find somewhere to take a bath at least, if he could afford it.  Trapping in the miserable god forsaken land was a joke.  Nothing lived out here, well nothing worth selling anyways.  He'd been able to keep his belly full and that was a start. 

The vast majority of the town was silent too silent.  The only noise coming from one small building, Lineak decided to investigate.  As he approached the door a man came flying through almost hitting him.  The man staggered to his feet before charging back inside with a drunk yell, "I'll keeeel you."

Well, that was interesting.  From past experience fighting drunks it wouldn't be much of a challenge to stomp a mud hole in him or others like him.  However, it might be the only availabe in a town this size.  It might just have to do.  He clenched and unclinched his fists, took a deep breath steadying himself for the fight to come.

He opened the door and gazed about in surprise.  A few overturned chairs were being turned rightside up but other than that there was no obvious sign there had been a brawl in the confines on the building.  That wouldn't do at all.  With a sigh he turned his back to the bar and started strolling accross the street.

After a while of sitting and drinking his whiskey, Argus noticed that the time for the open roll call came and went, with no Black fist members showing up for the job, except for one. Some young punk named Ryckert, apparently he was stranded on Nea and joined the black fist for some quick cash, but was itching to get out of Last Folly. This wasn’t enough though. The caravan to Albion’s capital city, Archon, was a rough trip. Half the travelers where criminals and the other half where greedy merchants willing to sell their mothers for a few credits. Then there were the orc clans, the raiders, and the hungry fucking animals constantly biting at their heels. It was a long and hard trip, and he would need strong men to protect what they were transporting, from the creatures of the badlands and from the other members of the caravan.
 
As Argus nursed his last whiskey glass a man walked in to the mess hall and walked towards the bar. The man eyed Argus for a second before taking a seat at the bar and ordering a glass of water. Argus snorted, poor sod, he did not know what he was getting into. Then Argus notice the man put a very nice looking rifle next to him. Hmm, Argus though, he might do. Argus stood and walked towards the bar.
 
“Listen, friend,” Argus said to the newcomer,” You don’t want to drink that, the water they sell around here will give you the shits for what will appear like an eternity, let me buy you a real drink.”
 
Argus motioned to the bartender who was non too pleased about his water being insulted and ordered two whiskeys, putting down two coins on the bar and pushing them to the bartender.
 
“Now,” Argus said, turning his attention back to the man,” My names Argus and I’m looking for capable men who want to make some gold, you the type?” Argus asked as his drink was brought to him.
 
Argus took it and gulped it down in one swig.
 

“Another one, bar keep.”

Johan stared at the glass of whisky,to be fair he hasn't had a real alcoholic drink since...well he graduated from the University of Pretoria almost 8 years ago.He took a swig and clenched his clear teeth."Ah burns a bit" he thinks to himself.He turns to the man named Argus as he downed another glass."So what do you say?" Argus asked.

Johan gazed back at the rifle leaning against the bar next to him,then back to Argus.To be honest he did not know what to say,this is his first real "merc" job and even that wasn't a idea of his own volition,but after getting in trouble with those smugglers he did not have much of a choice.His thoughts dwelt back to the contact who sent him here, an old friend from the UNSC Academy.

"Well Argus" he gazed back and held his hand out for a shake."I gotta pay you back for this drink somehow right" he gave a short smile.

Still nothing going on Lineak pondered the situation.  There had to be something worthwile to do in this dump.  Glancing around the empty street he strode towards what he hoped would be the "business" district.  Sure enough there were stalls selling local wares.  Funny looking produce, stuff that he would have fed to the animals back on the farm.  Stalls full of local arts and crafts and weapons now that was interesting.  Weapons were always interesting no matter what kind they were.  His keen eye took in the wide variety of bladed weapons as well as the simple firearms available.  The attentend came over, "Can I help you sir?"

Sir, now that was laughable.  Was there anybody around here deserving of that title? He didn't think so, and the lack of money in his pocket didn't think so either.  In any case it was fun looking at the wares but no way in hell he was goig to be able to afford anything at the moment.  "Just looking.  But I am curious do you know of any way to make a buck around here? Any kind of work, and I do mean any."

The man's face quickly turned from jovial to fearfull, "Back the way you came.  Go back to the bar I'm sure you can find something in your line of work there."

Your line of work.  Hell now that was funny.  What kind of work was that? This poor sap had no idea that until recently he'd been a lowly farmer.  Well not entirely a farmer but that was beside the point.  With a wry smile Lineak turned his attention away from the man and his weapons stall and back the way he had came.  Maybe this place wouldn't be too horrible after all.  What kind of work and / or workers could instill that amount of fear? He wasn't sure but he intended to find out.  Hopefully it would pay well.

A few short minutes later he approached the bar once again in time to hear the effects of drinking the local water.  That ruled out bathing with the local water then.  He'd be forced to deal with his road stench for who knew how long, fabulous.  With a sigh he fished in his pocket for a local coin and threw it to the barkeep.  "Not water but something cheap, huh?"

“Haha! Good man,” Argus beamed and gave Johan a pat on the back with one hand and with the other he shook his hand.
 
To celebrate Argus ordered another round of drinks. Things were going better than he had hoped. With him, Ryckert, and this new hired gun they would have no problem on the trip to Archon. The Caravan would be larger than normal this time, keeping away the smaller raiding groups and the orc war parties. As Argus’ order of drinks came he noticed a young man sitting a few seats from him in the bar. Argus noticed he had a rough look to him, someone who could carry himself in a fight, but he also had almost nothing on him. Hmm, Argus thought, he had some extra Black Fist gear in his room, he could give it to the boy, remove its cost from the lad’s cut, and he did have that extra shock blade he had won at the last Black Fist annual card game.  Yes, it would have to do, Argus needed to get the hell out of Last Folly, get to Archon, and get on a ship off world, he was tired of this backwater dump.
 
Argus approached the young man, drink in hand.
 
“You, lad, someone your age must be looking for a good opportunity, no? though there aren’t many of those in this shithole, that’s for sure.”
 
Argus was feeling persuasive after getting Johan to join, increasing his ego and inflating his importance.
 

“I’m looking for good, strong men to partake on a journey across the Ahara badlands into the Oak forests of Albion that will take us to Archon; city of lights. You can arrive there with a recommendation from the Black fist mercenary company and with a healthy amount of credits in your pocket. From there you can do whatever you want, spend it on a whore house, drink it all away, or like me, get on a ship and head to the core worlds, I don’t care. So what do you say? Relatively simple job, make some credits, and get the hell out of this town,” Argus said, very proud of himself.

Lineak eyed the stranger sizing him up as he did so.  It seemed the man at the weapons stall had been correct about this place after all.  Mercenary work that was the name of the game, interesting.  If they were recruting him they must be desperate, and desperate men either paid well or ended up killing their employees.  He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, "I look that desperate for work do I? I suppose I must.  That you braved my aroma to talk to me tells me just how desperate you are.  Tell me just how dangerous is this mission of yours? It can't be a cake walk if you can't rely on your regulars."

He reached for the drink and forced himself to take another sip it tasted like pig slop mixed with fecal matter with a touch of liquid fire thrown in for good measure.  Gross for sure but hell it was cheap.  He looked over from the man infont of him the other figure at the bar.  "That one of your regulars or just some guy you're trying to pick up as well?

The young man rained on Argus’ parade a bit, but Argus shook it off.
 
“Dangerous? Of course it’s dangerous, it’s bloody mercenary work my boy! But that needn’t bother you, the caravan we will be travelling with will be large, most of the usual dangers will be giving us a wide berth,” Argus took another sip of the whiskey, the golden liquid burning as it went down his throat.
 
“Now as for why the regulars aren’t here, simple: No one wants to make the weeks long trip to Archon and then have to come back all the way back to Last Folly. Sadly, some of these mad bastards actually like this fucking place, the debauchery, the fighting, and the constant drinking. Me? I want to get the hell out of here, so does young Ryckert over there,” Argus pointed to Ryckert who was sitting at a table, his cloak pulled over his face, slowly spinning a dagger on the table,” and this fine fellow,” Argus walked back to Johan and put his hand on Johan’s shoulder,” is our newest member, who looks like he can take care of himself.”
 
“Now,” Argus walked back to Lineak,” the job requires us to protect a member of the mages council who will be transporting something very important, I don’t know what it is, and we just have to worry about keeping him safe and making sure he gets to Archon with his package. Simple.”
 
Argus grabbed his glass and downed the remaining whiskey.
 
“You up for something like that? The pay is good, we will be splitting it four ways, I’m a fair man, so long as you do your duty, and I will give you some gear, to make sure you make it there in one piece,” Argus told the young man, hoping that would be enough to convince him to partake in the contract.

"Keep your gear I don't need much.  Matter of fact anything else will just weigh me down.  As for the job it sounds, well it sounds like it gets me the hell away from here.  I'm far more than okay with that.  When do we leave? Er, would you spot me a few so I can get something to eat?"

Lineak watched the man's face and body language for any cues as to what he was really thinking.  Could it really be this simple to make some money, good money? What the hell had his family been doing waiting on corn and potatoes all those years? A glimmer of hope passed through his eyes as he thought about what money would mean to him.  It might offer a way to find out what had happened since that animal bit him.  It might do a lot of things for him.  Hell it might actually keep food in his belly for the foreseeable future.  At this point he wasn't sure which was a more tempting prospect.

Johan snuck a peek at the man Argus was talking to,it wasn't hard to eavesdrop considering the size of this shack.Argus mentioned pay which is always good to hear,as well as the job itself.Magic guys always make such a effort for things like these crystals I don't really mind as long as I get paid.What is strange however is this "Lineak character". He looks...off I cannot really place it,this man looks like a local frontierman,has the smell too..urgh...But despite all that this untrained civilian refuses to have any sort of weapon or  protective gear because it would "weigh him down?". Now that is interesting,is he a magic user? I hear all they need is books or wands or something,whatever the case may be at least there is another hired goon on this trip to nowhere.

Argus reached into his pocket and pulled out two silver pieces.
 
“Give this young man a good meal, Borris, I need him in tip top shape for tomorrow’s journey,” Argus said, throwing the two silver coins to the barkeep.
 
Argus clasped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly.
 
“Alright gentlemen, get some good sleep, tomorrow we depart from Last Folly into what I hope will be a relatively boring and easy journey to Archon, the great city of lights. If you don’t have a place to sleep the Black Fist mercenary company was kind enough to purchase the upstairs room for the night, it holds four beds, make yourselves at home,” And with that Argus turned and headed upstairs, stopped, thought a moment, and faced his three men again,” Almost forgot, we will meet here at eight in the morning, don’t be late and please be ready, we do not, I repeat, we do not want to miss the caravan.”
 
Argus headed upstairs and took a hot shower before heading to bed and having a deep, dreamless slumber, the kind that you get when one drinks far too much. At seven his alarm went off and Argus begrudgingly got up. Argus dressed himself in his light leather armor and put on his black cloak then proceeded to strap his weapons belt where he sheath his shock blade and two hand cannons. Argus then went and woke up Ryckert, who appeared to be in the middle of a night terror.
 
“Get up boy and get something to eat, we have a long road ahead of us.”
 
Argus had taken a liking to the young man ever since he had walked into the Black Fist recruiting station in Last Folly a few months back. Ryckert had the dark sense of humor that a bastard like Argus appreciated. Ryckert was also good with a weapon, so he was uselful, which was more important to Argus. After talking to Ryckert Argus headed downstairs to the bar where the women who would had taken out the contract for her protection was waiting for them. At her feet lay an intricately designed case of pure silver about three feet wide and one foot tall.
 
“This, mister Argus, is what the council of mages is paying you to transport all the way to Archon,” Olivia said with a touch of distaste.
 
Olivia was a city girl, she grew up in Archon and studied at the Mage’s academy there, the best and brightest, but she was too bright. The richer families did not like a commoner girl to be doing better than their useless children, so she was given the honorable position of elementia researcher in Last Folly. Olivia had spent a year here and she was ready to get the hell out and head back home to Archon.
 
“My dear Olivia, don’t tell me you are still sore about the Council’s decision to send you out here for research, if they did it must have been for your knowledge and knack for magical research,” Argus grinned, he had been fucked over by the council and was taking every moment to enjoy the suffering of another academy member.
 
“Screw you, Argus, I actually had potential, I could have been in the actual council in a few years, I wasn’t a fuck up like you,” Olivia said with venom in her voice.
 
Argus eyes her up and down; She was wearing the cleaned and pressed clothes of a academy researcher, gray everything and very form fitting, with emerald green eyes and brunette hair.
 
“and that is the magical word, my dear, had. You had potential, you could have been in the council, now, you’re just a forgotten commoner girl. Now, is the cart outside?”
 
Yes, you bastard.”
 
“Excellent, I assume the Academy was considerate enough to stock it with provisions?” Olivia nodded,”  Okay, then we are ready, now as for payment-“
 
“You get it when we get there, and not a penny before then.”
 
“Fine, fine, let’s get going. The rest of my company is on its way down. I don’t want to be at the tail end of the caravan, that’s how you get taken out by raiders.”
 

Olivia shuddered and followed Argus to the cart where two brown horses stood ready to take them across the Ahara badlands.

A hot meal and a place to eat and he handn't even done anything to earn it yet, it was hard to believe that his luck had improved this much.He gratefully wolfed down the provided meal before heading upstairs to take a look around.  The room was adequate, but hell even open ground underneath the stars was adequate.  Lineak walked back down and unhurridly exited the town keeping his ears out for the sound of anybody following him.  He went five miles outside of the town and then veered from the road with a few hundred yards he pushed a rock away from its location and reached down into the hole that it had been covering. 

The gear wasn't much but it was more than he had ever needed.  One ten guage pump shotgun with a full complement of ammo, two revolvers one of them unlike anything he had seen before.  Well almost, there was a story behind that particular revolver.  Lineak also removed a  small assortment of twine, rope, and other odds and ends flushing out his kit.  With a grin he rolled the storne back into place.

The trek back to the bar was uneventful even as much as a fight would have pleased him.  Back in town he took a few minutes scouring the town for signs that the party might already have something following them.  Better to be prepared than to be a dead man.  Finding nothing he headed to the bar and then upstairs.  In the bed he fought to go to sleep, the bed was far too soft for a man like him.  Sighing he headed back downstairs and went looking for a stable of some kind where he could lie down in an empty stall.  The animals would give him notice if anybody entered after all.

:His internal alarm clock woke him up early, very early and he decided to head back upstairs in he tavern to give the illusion that he had slept in one of the beds.  After all he didn't want to seem as if he wasn't gratefull for the hospitatlity.

Johan sat in his bed he always had troubles sleeping before a job,he took his backpack that sat next to him and opened it to browse it's contents.He had over 4 extra magazines besides the ones on his bandolier,over 1kg of rope,a small medkit,several tracking rounds with a small GPS-like device and finally his binoculars.He always carried a knife on his person but rarely needs to use it.He took his rifle and started to gently stroke it with a napkin he burrowed from the barkeep.Despite the napkin's filth it was perfect for clearing out the dust that stuck into the rifle like glue.Dust is dangerous to a marksman and hunters know that the first shot is all that matters,should you miss you would sleep hungry.


"I wasn't going to sleep hungry" Johan thought to himself as he drifted to sleep.


Johan awoke to the sound of a conversation and reluctantly he got out of bed.He packed his kit and slung his rifle around his back.His boots thumped as he walked down the stairs,the bar for once was empty and as he exited the bar he found Argus and a company of women alongside a strange silver case.Johan wasn't impressed,having to transport women around in a place like this only means trouble and that comes from experience. "So boss,I am guessing these fine ladies have the pleasure of our protection either that or they are here for our pleasure?" .Distasteful joke he thought to himself as he saw the women obviously offended.Embarrassment caused Johan to stand in the rear of the convoy with his head down.



This is going to be one heck of a day

Lineak waited patiently with half closed eyes for the men to leave the room.  He watched the man clean his rifle with interest.  This one knew what he as doing.  Although with time to spare he would have field stripped it instead of just wiping it down.  A few minutes after the last man had left Lineak walked down stairs.  He nodded to the man who had hired him and gave a partial wave to the others.

"I'll be back before it's time to go.  Have some things to take care of."  There was that of course.  It was senseless having a trap line out here and having the animals starve to death instead of putting a bullet in them. Then there was the other reason.  He headed outside the tavern and hit the road leading out of town.  Once he enountered the stone from the previous night he began a winding course up and around the landscape.  Stopping often to check various snares, pitfalls, and the occasional actual trap. 

Most were empty but that was okay.  Some of these needed to be reset and that was fine too.  A few minutes per trap and he continued on his way.  Halfway through his trap line he came upon what he was hoping to find.  A decent sized vermin of some kind native to this hell hole.  The creature stood about six inches high and from tip of the nose to tip of the tail was around three feet in length.  Large canines were visible and they were bared at him as he approached.  He chuckled quietly before quickly reaching down and breaking the beast's neck.  Wasting no time he began to skin the animal not attempting to keep the hide intact, but only to remove it.  Minutes later he began greedily feasting on the raw flesh.

The scent of blood must have attacted other carnivores because Lineak heard growls and whines approaching from the north.  These might actually be worth taking the time to deal with he thought.  He quickly finished his meal and headed north eyes, ears and nose tuned into the enviromment.  Even then it was more luck than skill that saved his life.  A strange animal the size of a large bear with massive tusks like a boar and huge claws came flyout out of nowhere towards him.  The only warning the clack clack of it's claws on the rocks. 

The sound caused Lineak to turn his head in time to see one gigantic paw swipe towards him.  Instinct had him drop onto the ground in a forward roll while pulling a revolver free.  He fired three shots in rappid succession only to find the beast turn on him and attempt to run him through with it's tusks.  If the revolver wasn't going to cut it then it was shotgun time.  Lineak didn't aim, there wasn't time.  The shotgun was worn by a shoulder strap and he quicly pulled it down to his hip and pulled the trigger. 

He watched fascinated as the head and neck of the beast vaporized.  "I'll be damned.  Going to have to check what I loaded this thing with."  With more beasts like the first making noise in the distance he decided now was as good a time as any to head back to the town.   He'd have to find some fresh clothes now that he was covered in blown up beast parts.

Argus simply grinned and shook his head at Johan’s comment, amused by the reaction of the three Academy researchers and their instant revulsion. Argus and his men weren’t ugly, but they had the roughness of men who had to live harsh conditions. Argus climbed on top of the cart, next to Olivia, while Ryckert and Johan guarded the rear.
 
"I'll be back before it's time to go, have some things to take care of," lineak informed Argus as they were ready to leave.
 
“Hmm, fine, just meet us outside the city since we will already be with the caravan, we will be flying the flag of the Black Fist,” As Argus said this Ryckert climbed atop the cart and placed a medium sized banner showing the crest and colors of the Black fist mercenary company, a white background with a black fist clenched, ready for battle.
 
Lineak nodded and left, Argus turned his attention back to the cart and spurred the horses on. After a half hour of riding they reached the Fort gates and headed out with the rest of the hundreds of carts, horses, wagons, and merchants ready to make the trek across the Ahara badlands. Argus was pleased to see a regiment of Albion soldiers with them, making the trip back to Archon after their rotation out here was over. This would make things easier if things went south.
 
“Typical,” Oliva muttered,” the academy spends good money on your services and already your men abandon us.
 
“ The young lad will come back, don’t worry about him, he has the air of someone itching to get out of Last Folly,” Argus said, then turned to face Olivia,” Just like you and me, that desperation of watching our lives pass us by as we drown in the dust of that shit stain of a town.”
 
Olivia muttered something but Argus didn’t hear it or simply chose to ignore it, this would be a long trip and he didn’t want to spend all of it arguing with her. Once the chaos of everyone trying to figure out where to place themselves in the caravan, a few swinging fists to settle arguments of carts hitting other carts, and a small fire that was quickly put out, the caravan finally smooth out and started moving east, towards the Red canyons. That would be the most dangerous part of their trip, as raiders and brigands could attack from the top, leaving them completely defenseless. Argus felt that wouldn’t happen, there was no group large enough to attack them with these many in the caravan, but he will still feel better once they cleared the canyons, after that it would be smooth sailing to Archon. They would ride today until they made it to the foot of the canyon and then rest for the night, getting up early and making the day long trip through the canyon early tomorrow.
 

What Argus didn’t know was that there was a force building far in the distance, waiting, hungry for what was promised to them, ready to attack and take what was theirs at the right time.

As he approached the town he could see the caravan was begining its slow tedious crawl out of town and onto its journey.  The sheer number of soldiers present was a surprise and not one that was entirely welcomed.  He'd had his encounters with men in uniform.  Not all of them exactly pleasant.  Sighing he decided to find his way to where the boss and the others might possibly be.  If the job was babysitting it might be okay to go ahead and scout the area.  He spotted the flag and approached forgetting his blood soaked clothing as he did. 

 "Was wondering if you have a task for us to do or if I could go ahead and have a look up ahead?"
He hoped of course that bit of recon would be allowed.  It would get him away from the soldiers as well as away from all of the other people for a little while.  Already he was having second thoughts.  Way too many people how did I get suckered into being around all of these people?

Johan seemed surprised with the large number of soldiers and carts accompanying the caravan on the journey to Archon,what was more suprising was the sudden appearance of Lineak in blood soaked clothing."What is this guy's story,first he refuses gear then leaves and now comes back with a shotgun,soaked in blood with a revolver..no wait two revolvers which is way above the paygrade of a local around this back-end of the galaxy.

"Was wondering if you have a task for us to do or if I could go ahead and have a look up ahead?"he asked Argus at the front.Just who did this guy hire? Was he a magic user?

Focusing on the task at hand Johan buried his thoughts and marched along his gaze never leaving the surrounding area.

Argus did a double take when Lineak showed up covered in dried blood very nonchalantly.
 
“What the bloody hell?” Argus studied to see in the young man had any wounds, but noticed the blood wasn’t Lineak’s.
 
Argus reached behind him into the cart and pulled out a black linen cloak, tossed it to Lineak and told him to put it on.
 
“We don’t need to have the Albion army asking us questions, now cover yourself up.”
 
Thankfully Olivia and the other two researchers were asleep, oblivious to the insanity happening a few feet from them.
 
“You want something to do? Just keep a perimeter around us, make sure no one is eyeing our cart or that any unsavory types get too close. Use force if you have to,” Argus knew the types who were in Last Folly, you couldn’t trust them even if you were in the same caravan. Argus couldn’t risk being surrounded, boxed in, and having everything stolen.
 
Hours passed and the caravan inched its way across the badlands, uneventful and boring. The Red canyons came into view around mid day, and then at sun down they were directly at the entrance to the canyon path. The caravan stopped and made camp. Argus and Ryckert set up their little camp, preparing the food and setting up their perimeter. Argus instructed Lineak and Johan to keep any other group from getting too close from setting up camp next to them. Argus didn’t want to bother keeping watch all night.
 
The group sat and ate dinner, a hearty stew, talked amongst themselves and then one by one headed to bed. Lineak kept first watch, and then it was Argus’ turn. It was midnight and Argus was having trouble staying awake, nothing would come at them here, maybe he could doze off for a few minutes, it wouldn’t hurt….
 
Argus closed his eyes, his head slowly slumping forward and then he snapped back awake. In the distance he saw movement, fast, it was someone on horseback. Argus stood quickly and put out the camp’s fire. Suddenly hundreds of torches lit up, illuminating a large force of orcs and human raiders. It was gigantic, easily outnumbering the fighting force the caravan had.
 
Argus stood there, stupefied. No, no,no,no, this couldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be an easy job. The force started moving slowly towards them, but no one in the caravan had noticed them yet.
 
Argus snapped out of his shock and woke his small group.
 
“Everyone get up, get up, shit just went south!”
 
Argus shook everyone awake, all of them looking confused or angry.
 
“Lineak, listen, you and Ryckert take the women and the silver case, head towards the canyon on foot. Warn everyone we are under attack but don’t stop, the canyon splits into two roads. Take the right path, it’s rocky and small, whoever is attacking us won’t take it since they are on horses, stick to the shadows and wait for us there, keep that case and the women safe, now go!” Everyone was looking ar Argus, they were in shock and confused.
 
“Go! If we wait panic and chaos will take hold of the caravan and then we won’t be able to leave. Go now and get a head start, that way me and Johan can slip between the chaos easily and meet you there once we figure out what the hell is going on.”
 
 Ryckert nodded and motioned for Lineak and the women to follow him. Ryckert grabbed the silver case and then was gone with the group.
 
“Alright Johan, let’s see those rifle skills, we need to slow them down to give everyone a chance to get ready.”
 
Argus knew exactly what he was doing. Chaos would break out once the attacking horde was spotted, everyone would go into a panic and it would be a slaughter. Argus needed that panic to create an opening for him and his men to slip away into the darkness.
 
Suddenly a hail of fire arrows came flying from the riders, illuminating the sky, it almost looked beautiful, before they came crashing down on the farthest section of the caravan, lighting it up in a violent fire.
 
“Shoot, Johan! Take them out and make them trip amongst themselves before they get too close!”
 

Argus pulled out his twin revolvers and began firing, alerting the rest of the caravan as to what was happening. The soldiers came out and began breaking carts into a sort of protective barrier, trapping the other members of the caravan to the charging horde. The raiders crashed hard into the first few merchants in the back, chopping them and trampling them. Their screams filled the night sky. Argus motioned for Johan to follow him up the hastily built defense wall which was nothing more than turned over wagons, and then began shooting at the oncoming raiders.

Grrr babysitting it was indeed.  Watch the perimeter make sure nobody gets too close.  What rubbish.  Then again it did give him the opportunity to throw a few punches and once or twice to pat on the but of a pistol as a warning to somebody overly eager to try his hand.  All in all just a boring time of things though.  When the caravan stopped for the night Lineak was told he had first watch fine by him.  He kept his back to the fire as he scanned the distant horizon trying to keep his night vision from being effected too much by the fireligh.  That was a joke.  Will all of the fires going there was no way to avoid it.  The watch ended unevntfully and Lineak was happy to go crawl undera blanket and drift off into oblivion.

"Everyone get up, get up, shit just went south!”


“Lineak, listen, you and Ryckert take the women and the silver case, head towards the canyon on foot. Warn everyone we are under attack but don’t stop, the canyon splits into two roads. Take the right path, it’s rocky and small, whoever is attacking us won’t take it since they are on horses, stick to the shadows and wait for us there, keep that case and the women safe, now go!”

Lineak nodded dumbly.  He should have known that his wasn't going to be easy.  Hell hadn't he even questioned the difficulty of he mission before taking it? He cursed himself as he began walking.  Approaching the women Lineak made no attempt to minimize the situation.

"Get off of your asses of die here.  We're leaving right fucking now, got it?"

The cold derisive glares he got in return fueled his anger for these pompous women.  Not thinking or caring he reached in and grabbeb one throwing her over his left shoulder. 

"Damnit, I said it's time to move. SO MOVE!" Without a backward glance he turned and began following Ryckert.  As he approached him he shouted over to him, "If you find a high vantage point over looking the path we can set up a kill zone.  I made sure to grab some of the esentialls fpr trapping he hell out of the area.  It's something I can't seem to get away from.  It'll slow them down anyways, any brave enough to come this way.  At least until the others rejoin us and we can keep moving."

Johan reacted immediately his training kicking back in as he followed Argus into cover behind a wagon.

'Damnit!" Johan set his rifle on the edge of the wagon,he activated the night-vision on his scope and began to take aim."So many he thought,well over 2000 men at least,twice the size of the regiment of soldiers nowhere to be seen".He took deep breaths stabilizing himself,Johan trusted Argus.Moving targets ain't easy to kill,then Johan realized "they are riding horses,if there is one thing hunting in the "veld" taught him is that horses and "bucks" are one and the same.He wasn't up against a horde of orc raiders,he was up against a team of horses.He adjusted his aim from the orcs and focused the on their mounts.Making sure to shoot them either in the head or cripple them in the legs.Ignoring the fallen and panicking orcs being trampled by their own.

Johan fired shot after shot with his semi-automatic rifle,almost always hitting his mark.He made sure to target the orcs closest to their position as well as the ones carrying torches in order to at least blind their cohorts.Johan made sure to time his shots between Argus's so that if either of them need to reload they wouldn't stop firing altogether.His thoughts focused on surviving,he wanted to run and to leave his newfound "mates" and their treasure behind.

"Yet I still owe Argus a drink" Johan thought back."Bloody hell the pay better be worth it!" he shouted to Argus as he reloaded another magazine into his rifle.

"Bloody hell the pay better be worth it!"
 
Argus barely heard Johan, but he faced him and gave him a forced smirk, things were not going the way Argus had hoped for. Argus stood behind cover with Johan and an assorted group of caravan members. Most of the soldiers were focused of setting up defenses, hastily breaking down wagons and carts, pushing them against the wall of turnover wagons. The raiders and orcs rode closer, jumping over the firewall that their fire arrows had created. They butchered and shot down all the unlucky members of the caravan unfortunate enough to not make it over the crudely built wall.
 
Argus could hear their screams, women, children, and men attempting to climb over only for an arrow to lodge itself on their back. Bodies began to pile up on the other side of the wall, Argus could see their lifeless faces through the cracks, forever staring into the void. Argus took a deep breath and went back up, shooting his pistols one after the other, hitting horses, orcs, human raiders, his teeth clenched and his eyes dead focused on the oncoming horde. Other defenders were shot down, falling backwards and creating panic amongst the remaining huddled group.
 
Everyone kept shooting, trying to hold them back, before Argus noticed that the horde had stopped moving forward and were dismounting. They formed ranks and sent the horses backwards. They took a charging stance, then two figures came walking forwards. One was a large, powerful orc, the other an average man covered in layer of dark cloth, his face hidden by a large hood. The man in the black hood came forward and raised one hand, causing the fire wall to rise and become violent. Argus could feel the heat.
 
“These are no ordinary raiders,” Argus said to Johan, fear rising in his voice.
 
The Giant orc stepped forward and raised his monstrous cleaver toward them and spoke.
 
“We wunt da akademy lasses, ya ‘ear, and their silver case, or else yer’ all goin’ to be split open.”
 
His voice was thunderous and had a terrifying effect on the surviving members of the caravan; they instantly began to search for the Olivia and the other women, fights broke out as false accusations were made. The orc grew bored and called a smaller orc to him who had a bag filled with explosive bottle. The giant orc grabbed one and tossed it towards the wagon wall. Argus had no time to react, he saw the bottle arc towards them, land amongst the piles of bodies, and explode.
 
Argus and Johan were thrown backwards, the wall vaporized away, and body parts came flying down all over the place. Argus landed hard on the dirt floor, all he could hear was the ringing in his ears, but he could see the cloaked man through the newly made hole in the wall. The black man began to whisper something and the dead bodies began to twitch and move, slowly rising, their eyes glowing red. Panic and chaos over took the survivors, some running to dead loves ones only to be grabbed by the thralls and bitten, others starting screaming about traitors and fighting other members of the caravan.
 
Argus snapped out of his shock and stood, there was nothing that could be done here. The raiders began to move closer; the dead thralls were taking down the old and infirm, arrows came flying in again, one almost hitting Argus.
 
Argus looked around and saw Johan a few yards away from him.
 
“ We need to leave, there is nothing we can do here,” Argus yelled at him, defeated.
 
Argus waved at Johan to follow him and began pushing his way deeper in the canyon, heading to the smaller, hidden path that Ryckert and Lineak had taken previously.
 
 
Ryckert pulled the hood down from his cloak, beads of sweat rolled down the side of his head. He had come to this planet by accident and then been stranded here, now when he had finally found a way out all hell broke loose. It was hard to see in the dark, but they couldn’t risk lighting a torch and giving themselves away.
 
Lineak mentioned something about traps, but Ryckert waves away the idea.
 
“The point of taking this path was so we wouldn’t be followed, we leave traps and they are going to know someone came this way, better to just wait for them and then quietly make out way out of here under the cover of darkness.”
 
Olivia and the other two researchers were quietly sitting by a rock, shaken by how fast their luck had gone to shit. Ryckert grinned, they must be shitting themselves, he thought.
 
“Don’t worry, no need for the traps, we are already here,” A shrill voice called out in the darkness.
 
Three lanky, sinewy orcs came climbing down the canyon walls like spiders then jumped down with feline grace in front of the group. The all held small daggers, rusty and crude, then lunged to attack.

The force of the explosion sent Johan flying,he slid hard against the ground his rifle still held firmly in his hands.

There was a ringing in his ears and a thumping pain in his head.

"We need to leave" he heard Argus yell,Johan slowly stood up with his rifle at the ready,he was dazed but not defeated.He followed Argus into the hidden path in the canyon and made sure to cover their tracks with a small shrub he picked up in the chaos.

As he caught up with Argus and Ryckert he spotted three orcs  lunging to attack,he fired on one killing him instantly before being rushed by another who knocked him over and held him in a dangerous struggle.

It takes all of Johan's strength to keep the crude dagger from piercing his heart.

Daggers, three orcs were coming to attack with daggers?  Lineak almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation.  With the chaos going on with the cavaran he doubted very much that anyone would hear him fire the shotgun even in the confines of the valley.  He lowered the shotgun from his shoulder onto his right hip and pulled the trigger aiming it at the orc on the right.  The 10 guage kicked like a mule followed almost instantly by the orc being completely engulfed in flames. 

What the bloody hell did I load the shotgun with? Lineak had no clue but he intended to find out.  First things first though there was the other orc to deal with and manuvering with the weight of a woman on his other shoulder made things a little bit difficult.  He knew from past experience he would not be able to react in time to kill the last orc.  All he could do was hope that one of the other men would be quick enough with their firearms to deal with the threat.  He did not relish the thought of getting stabbed although he was curious how quickly he'd heal from the injury.