Solo Dog and Bone

[Karin]

81st Winter, 515 AV
The Southern Bastion

The club felt splintery and new to Karin, as she rubbed her thumb along the handle. The group she had joined had blended into obscurity among the others, but because she felt no attachment to them, she didn't mind that they weren't there. What was more concerning was the ever furthering from Ionu's Mercy, and the ever closer sounds of combat: sickening thuds, screams, determined rallying and encouraging.

The group she was part of was being lead by an easily distinguishable person, not tall, but commanding and strong. He was also Isur, which made the girl grit her teeth. But she had no choice but to follow. After all, she wasn't a fighter, and she would be much safer in a group than by herself, even though her nature was a solitary one.

They walked for some time, although precisely how long it took the girl had no idea. The fighting became more frequent now, and occasionally the group stopped to tackle the monsters. Karin hadn't had a chance to fight yet, though. But she felt sure she would. If not because there were more and more of the creatures, but because of the sinking, plummeting feeling in her stomach.

And soon enough, as the frail, pale girl predicted, the fighting eventually reached her. It was sooner than she was ready for, in fact. The first thing she realised was that there was shouting from the Isur man. And then people nearby were bracing themselves, and holding their weapons closer, in readiness. Their band was made of roughly ten people, and Karin hadn't counted, but they were all now prepared to fight, even the ones at the back, like Karin.

Soon she realised why. The brisk air whipped around her face, in a sharp gust like icy fingernails as she peered so full of apprehension through the jostling bodies ahead of her. Although the day was nowhere near to its close, the air was dark and heavy, and hard to see through. It was either mist, or smoke, or perhaps a bit of both, as further down the street a crackled, darkly-burning pyre clawed and spit its embers into the dusky sky.

Through the mist and the smoke and the bitter smells came dark shadows. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were, or rather, not the specifics but their meaning. They seemed fast, and she was right, they were.

"HOLD OUT!"The harsh voice of the Isur man called out, and the men and woman in the front formed into a line. Karin was behind, her heart beating fast like a bird in her chest as she watched with fiercely blinking eyes at the oncoming beings. The first one reached the makeshift troops. It was now or never.

[Karin]

Up ahead of her, on the first line, the men and women fought against the dozen of beasts which were swarming. She couldn't count them, because her nerves were on end and her brain on overdrive, filled with nonsense and panic and plans to escape which would never work. The fighters were doing well, but a few of the snarling undead creatures managed to get past, all slavering jaws and blank eyes.

And the one that faced her now was a horror. It wasn't relenting either, it simply ran towards her. A harsh smack from the dusty man next to her, and the creature fell- for a tick. It got up again, and continued and now Karin had to do something, otherwise it would attack her.

With a heave of the club in her hand, she swung it in an arc. The weapon wobbled in her grip and as it hit the creature she almost lost it, to her immense terror. She heard a sob from somewhere close by, and it took her a while to realise that it came from her own lips. Thankfully the man nearby was holding it off, with the help of a Kelvic hawk.

So, she had a choice. Either run away in the heat of battle, or continue and try again. She was a mess, the splatter of mud and dark material which could be blood or whatever was held inside the creatures' veins covering her clothes. Her hair was scrabbled back in a ponytail and her cheeks were grey with dust from the nearby fire. Dust and ash.

But, like a person being pulled from the edge of a precipice, she strengthened her resolve, gulping and pulling a hand across her cheeks fiercely. She would do it.

The creature, a naked, human body with the grotesque, twisted head of a flat-muzzled dog, was snapping and biting into the arm of a silver-haired man, twig-thin and slumped unconscious. The dusty man and another person, a short-haired woman with a silver-flashing sword were protecting their compatriot.

They were able to drive it off, but as everyone else was busy fending off their own problems, the creature focussed on them as easy meat. The girl had to help them, otherwise the twig-man could die. As much as she was a coward, to some extent, she didn't want to let someone die. That would forever be on her conscious.

So, with a heave of her weapon, she ran forward. The creature had taken their fight a little way off, and so the girl's feet pounded the street for a few ticks before she reached them. She approached from behind, as that was where she was positioned, and with the biggest, strongest heave she could, she spun the club at the broad back of the creature.

[Karin]

Except she didn't see if she landed a hit, because this time, the club really did fall from her grasp, down onto the cobbles under her feet, cobbles splattered with gore and mud.

The girl gasped in shock and horror. Despite not knowing how to use the thing, if she didn't have a weapon at all, she would feel naked. And that was not a good thing. She scrabbled, feeling all the world as is she was under some kind of dark, churning waters. Not the waters of the ocean, but some horrible, twisted nightmare version, as she avoided flying limbs and snarls from the beast.

The others had managed to get a strike in from her distraction though, and eventually Karin had the club in her grasp again, feeling angry at herself for being so useless. The corpse of the creature lay on the ground, and so she could actually feel useful she slammed her club into it, over and over again, feeling horrible and terrible and crazy all at the same time.

She'd broken its skin, she saw with a twisted delight. Good. She stood there, sweat dripping down her brow. Around her, the fight had moved on, and she was alone on the street. The sounds of violence echoed around nearby, but she stood there for a chime, breathing, getting calm, feeling her heart go from bird wing flutter to solid, steady drum beat.

She would rejoin the fighting, she thought. Perhaps, now that she'd covered her club in the things blood, she would be able to fight. She felt like she could, she felt like she could do anything. If she wanted to get back to Alvadas and the things she knew, then she was going to fight for it.

She lunged forwards, running towards the nearest sounds. Rounding a corner, a small battle unfolded, and she slid straight into it. This time, the fight seemed to be more organised. They were holding their ground.

Karin saw a disfigured person, with hands made of crabs and she swung at it in a wide arc sideways. It tried to grab her club and she wrested it free, desperately. It was far closer than she wanted it to be, and with a gasp she pushed it away, her fingers physically touching its chest.

It felt cold, slimey. She didn't know if that was because... oh. They're dead things. Of course. With a retch, she put two hands on the handle, and lifted the club high in the air, before bringing it down as hard as she physically could on the creatures head.

[Karin]

The club broke on the creature's head, and made a satisfying thunk. The girl lifted up the weapon again with grim determination. Thankfully the creature seemed slow, and stupid. This time she altered the swing a little, clumsily striking the side of the monster's head. Perhaps it wasn't the most effective way to bring it down, but Karin didn't know any better.

Thankfully, the blow seemed to work, and the creature toppled. She watched, with a great degree of vicious enthusiasm. She wasn't a particularly spiteful individual, but these were not real people, they were animals. They were inhumane. She was allowed to feel relief that it was dead.

But, apparently, the animal still had some fight in it. Before her eyes, she watched as its sharply clawed hand reached, scrabbling at her arm and pulling her down with a sharp yank, sending Karin sprawling painfully on the cobbles.

Her heart beat into her chest in sheer panic, and her left hand struggled to lift the club to bring it down again on the creature. It let out a hiss, its breath uncomfortably close and disgustingly scented. But before she could move, to get out of the way, or to harm the animal, it bit down on her right arm.

It's teeth were rotting, and with disgust she retched at the feeling of its teeth breaking on her skin. And then the pain hit, dull at first whilst her adrenaline worked in overdrive, but gradually getting stronger.

Before the creature could gain enough momentum to attack her again, someone's blade protruded from the animal's head, killing it instantly. Karin's own head was a mess of thoughts and feelings, so caught up in the moment.

She lay, sprawled and uncomfortable on the cobbles whilst the man dragged the creature away to the side, where some people were making a barrier of corpses. Karin simply lay there, shuddering from shock. She glanced at the wound. She was no doctor, but it didn't look as bad as some others she'd seen.

But, who was she to tell? Full of pain, with tears trapped behind a barrier of hurt, the girl struggled to push herself up with her left arm. The man who'd killed the undead thing returned, and silently offered her his arm, pulling her up.

She was soon standing, but standing awkwardly, with only her left arm properly functioning, as she let her right arm hang awkwardly, blood starting to trickle down her grimy skin. Her head was pounding, her heart felt uncomfortable, and so with shaky steps she went and sat against a nearby wall, hoping against hope that someone would find her, someone would take care of her, and that she wouldn't die out here, slowly dripping to death of all things surrounded by disgust and grime...

[Sayana]

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it.

 

Karin

Skills

• Observation: 3
• Weapon: Club: 3
• Endurance: 3
• Running: 2
• Unarmed Combat: 1

Lores

• Alvadas event: Undead battle of Winter 515
• Club: Basic swinging
• Chaos and horror of battle
• Combat: Hanging onto one's weapon

Miscellaneous

• Bite on right arm, 10 days to heal

Comments: You really captured the chaos and horror of battle. It felt a little weak in terms of its ending, but that might have been the point since Karin is so ill-equipped for battle. Still, I enjoyed the imagery you provoked and Karin's reactions to the fighting as a non-fighter.

Your Grader,

Sayana

Boxcode design: Firenze