The Republic of Atria wrote:Francis
Rudolph Thorbecke
Rudolph let Puk roost on his outstretched arm and ordered him to really everything he had seen. Apparently the situation was heading south very very fast as any semblance of formations were gone as soldiers deserted or made valiant stands in loose mobs against these mysterious beings. Especially the two human armies as Puk called them "hunched ballmen of fire" were devastating their forces. His crow once again flew to the sky to observe once more leaving Rudolph to sheathe his blade and make a run for it away from the armies. The problem was that it seemed everywhere around him there were scores of men and elves dying, fleeing, or in the process of dying by foolishly fighting to the end.
It seemed the only path that seemed relatively clear was the one to the temple. Just great, the one place where all the fighting was going to start over. Just as the structure was in his view he spotted a trio of demons armed with spears and large rectangular shields killing mercilessly soldiers that had fallen over while running away. He could hear their death wailed as spears plunged into their chest and this unnerving atrocity made Rudolph run with all his speed hand clenched on his sword on the path. Two demons were close together stabbing bodies on the ground while a third was much farther away on the path. As the last one was going to be killed Rudolph jumped at the last second and thrusted the tip of his sword in the gap between the demon's helmet and cuirass. Golden glowing blood spurted from the wound as he pulled back to raise his shield to the other two. They had the advantage of reach with their spears but he had other things in plan. As the closest one jabbed his spear at Rudolph, the swordsmen swatted it away with his shield and rolled forward to be right up to the demon's feet. He threw his sword upward and jabbed the demon's throat compelling it to fall backwards.
The last one finally caught up and jabbed at Rudolph with its spear and safe behind its large shield Rudolph only had the briefest glimpse of it as he turned back. Thankfully this was when his runesmithed armor came in handy as the magic properties of it forced his body to supernaturally dodge the attack from behind as a black blur of speed. He hit the spear downward with his shield as he once again ran forward and flipped the sword in the air and grabbed it by its blade. He pivoted on his feet to land a crushing blow on the demon's help with the sword guard. It lurched backward giving him the opportunity to trip the demon and jab at its throat. The soldier the demon trio had been wanting to kill seemingly ran off which was no concern for him. Now to make a clean getaway- His thoughts were to be interrupted by a ear busting roar from behind the path to the temple and it was nothing else but some demonic warbeast ran over a group of Tasharans in the distance and was now making a straight path to him.
"Damn it!," cursed Rudolph as the beast was furiously charging at him, 'What are these things even supposed to be!"
It was too close for him to run away now. His only was chance was to go up! Right before the beast was on him he lept upwards and stabbed its neck making his sword act as an anchor for him to cling to. With his other hand he grasped onto its coarse fur riding it like a bull as it kept running to the temple in a mad rage. Once the two were there it looked like demons had already made their presence known although it looked one fellow was doing just fine. Rudolph freed his sword from the beast's neck and he slid down its side to run next to the scythe wielder he had met earlier.
"Greetings, stranger. Can't say I expected to see you so soon again. Especially with some goat that got way too buff chasing after me," joked Rudolph half-halfheartedly. It occurred to him he still had his backpack on so he unstrapped it and chucked it behind a tree stump. He'd need all his agility right now. "If you don't mind lets bring that thing down a peg. We can each slice a leg or two to unbalance it."
Time for deliberation would be short as it came charging at them once again. Rudolph threw himself forward to roll on the floor and once he was back on his feet he slashed at the goat monster's back leg severing something. But the beast turned around and swatted him with the broadside of its horns and fortunately it was only a glancing blow. It looked like it was ready to stomp on him with its hooves.