Being the Hero

Taking another bite of his lunch, Yuki lets out a soft sigh as he sits back in his seat, relaxing as hie enjoys his meal in the tavern. After taking another bite of his steak Yuki shifts his gaze and glances around the tavern for a moment before turning his attention back to his food. The half-breed's attention remains on his food for only a few moments before the door to the tavern bursts open as one of the guards steps into the tavern looking for Yuki, " Smoke in the forest! " the guard yells out as he looks to Yuki. When the door burst open Yuki keeps his attentoin set upon his meal though as he hears the gaurd he lifts his attention to look at the guard as a frown takes form on his face. The guard sets his gaze upon Yuki and moves towards him as he continues to speak, " Sir we have spotted a rather large amount of smoke raising from the forest off to the west. We aren't sure what the source is though. " The guard says as he looks down at Yuki. Yuki watches the guard as he draws closer and as the male speaks Yuki listens to him, setting his fork and knife down as the guard explains the smoke in the forest. Though the thought came to him that it was simple something burning in the forest, Yuki decides to at least see how far away the smoke is and perhaps send out some scouts, " Lead the way. " The half-breed orders as he raises from his seat. By now some of the other patrons in the tavern had already made there way out of the tavern to see what all the commotion is about. The guard nods and begins to move away from the table and out of the tavern. As the guard begins to move Yuki follows after him as he leads the way out of the tavern. As he exits the tavern Yuki shifts his attention towards the west where the guard said he had seen smoke. As he turns his attention towards the west he could spot the smoke as it rose into the air off in the distance. " What are your orders sir? " The guard asks as he looks to Yuki. Yuki keeps his attention on the smoke for a moment before he hears the guard speak up and as he does Yuki shifts his attention to the guard. " Get word to the rangers, tell them to send out a three man scouting party to the west so we can find out what is going on. " Yuki says to the guard before he shifts his attention back to the west where the smoke is. " Yes sir. " The guard says before he pulls away from Yuki and goes to let the rangers know about the smoke in the west. As the guard leaves to go deliver the task to the rangers, Yuki begins to move and head towards the edge of the village as he wonders upon the smoke in the west. If it was a fire in the forest then there is danger of it getting to the village which wouldn't be good for the village.

EXP & PWC: 543

Already at what had become the road leading into the village, people from the villager had gathered as well as some of the guards from the village. Making his way towards the gathering Yuki glances to the group of people before he lifts his gaze, again looking towards the smoke as he moves through the people and to the guards. At the arrival of there leader the guards look to Yuki, " What are we going to do sir? " one of the guards asks as they look to Yuki. Hearing the question Yuki looks to the guard, " I have sent word for the rangers to send out a scout party to see what is going on. " Yuki says before turning his attention back towards the forest. If there is a fire coming this way Yuki wanted to know about it so he can prepare Theden and get things ready to save as much as they can, though if it is something else then he wishes to know what it might be. The guard gives a nod as he turns his attention from Yuki and back to the forest. As he watched the forest Yuki hoped that perhaps it is just a fire burning off in the distance somewhere and wont be any trouble. While Yuki watches the forest, the group of rangers that he had sent for make there way towards Yuki and the others, along with the rest of the rangers. As the rangers make there way to there leader and the other guards, a cry comes from the road leading to Theden, " H-HELP ME!!! " a woman yells out as she runs forwards, clutching something in her arms as she runs towards the group of people. Following behind the woman is a small group of four armed men running after her. Yuki turns his attention when he hears the sound of running footsteps and clanking metal and as he hears it he raises his arm to ready his men just as the cry of help comes out. The rangers and warriors turn there attention to the woman for only a brief moment before looking to the group behind the woman. Unsure what is going on and making a quick choice, Yuki speaks up, " Rangers, take aim at the group behind that woman and open fire. " He commands as he glances to the rangers. The group of rangers all nod and quickly draw back arrows as they take aim at the group of four armed men and fire with out hesitation. Before the group of men can react the volley of arrows cuts them down causing all four to fall to the ground.

EXP & PWC: 458

The woman finally begins to sink to her knees, still clutching something in her arms. With out hesitation Yuki begins to move forwards first, quickly moving to the woman's aid before she falls to the ground. Yuki takes the woman into his arms and holds her as the rangers and guards move up and around the two to cover them. The woman looks up at Yuki, now that he has caught her, in her arms rests a young infant. " P-Please... " The woman murmurs as she looks up at Yuki. Holding the woman Yuki looks down at her, glancing to the child in her arms before he shifts his gaze to her face, " What? Why where those men after you? " He asks as he looks down at her. The woman shifts her gaze from Yuki and looks down at the child in her arms for a brief moment before lifting her gaze back to Yuki " Please you have to help my village! " She crys out as her knees begin to give out and she starts to sink to the ground. Yuki keeps the woman up now that she is not standing on her own and frowns faintly, " Where is your village and what happened to it? " He asks as he carefully sets the woman onto the ground before letting her go. " T-The west... bandits attacked my village. " She says as she looks towards the smoke. Lifting his gaze Yuki looks towards the smoke and growls softly, " Get this woman to the hospital. " Yuki says as he glances to some of the villagers that had come closer to see what is going on. After the order Yuki looks to the guards, " Muster the forces, we ride to see what is going on and aid this woman's village. " Yuki orders as the villagers take the woman away. One of the guards nods, " Yes sir! " he says before he quickly runs off to muster the rest of Theden's forces. With that Yuki lets out another growl as he glances to the rangers, " I guess there is no need for that scouting party, however you will be coming along to help. " He says as he glances between some of the rangers. Though they already knew they would be going, the rangers nod in acknowledgement. Knowing that time was not on his side, Yuki begins to focus his magic and summon to his aid some of his familiars large enough to be mounts. After summoning the mounts Yuki looks back to the rangers " I want a group of you to ride out and find this village and do a little reconnaissance on this village she spoke of. You are not to engage in battle just see what is going on. " Yuki says to the rangers. A group of the rangers move over to the mounts Yuki had summoned and climb onto them, " Yes sir, we will see what is going and wait for your arrival. " One of the rangers says as the group mount up before heading out.

EXP & PWC: 525

As the group of rangers mount up and head out as he had orderd, Yuki looks to the rest of the group, " Prepare to march for battle. " He says to the rest of the group before he turns and begins to move back to his house to get ready as well. Making his way back to his house, Yuki takes a quick glance around before making his way back to his room to grab the things he will need. Moving over to where he keeps his weapon, Yuki grabs the large blade and pulls it from its resting spot before slipping it onto the harness on his back before letting out a soft sigh as he glances around his room once again. Having gotten his weapon Yuki turns and leaves his room before heading out of his house and back to the west side of Theden. Making his way back to the area where the woman had shown up Yuki notices the rest of his troops have already arrived and are waiting on him. Seeing that all of his troops had arrived Yuki gives a faint nod before he speaks up, " We are going to move out and head west towards the smoke and the village the woman said is being attacked. I have already sent a group of scouts ahead to do some reconnaissance of the area so when we arrived we should have some useful information. " Yuki says to the group before he takes a moment to again call upon more of his kin to come to there aid. Calling upon his magic Yuki summons more mounts for him and the rest of the group of troops with him so they can cover ground quicker. After taking a moment to summon mounts for the group, Yuki climbs atop his, the largest of the group and once he has climbed atop the beast he looks to his troops as they climb onto there mounts. Once everyone had mounted up like him, Yuki gives the signal to begin moving as he starts to move first, taking lead of the group. Following Yuki's lead the group of rangers and soldiers begins to move, following after there leader. Taking lead of the group Yuki leads the way out of Theden and into the forest, following the road as he begins to head west, heading towards the source of the smoke, a village the woman spoke of that is being attacked. After taking lead Yuki glances back to make sure his troops are following him before he turns his attention back ahead of him as he begins to wonder upon the likely hood that this is a trap rather then a true call for help. Setting his gaze ahead of the group Yuki begins to wonder upon this call for help being a trap rather then a true bandit attack, if it is a trap hopefully he will know about it ahead of time rather then march blindly int it.

EXP & PWC: 510

Yuki thinks upon such things and battle plans through the trip, remaining silent as he leads the way. Drawing closer to the source of the smoke Yuki notices one of the rangers up ahead flagging him down. Spotting one of the rangers, Yuki glances around for a moment before he brings the group to a halt and climbs from his mount, giving the rest of the group the signal to stay before he goes over to the ranger to see what is going on. As Yuki comes up the ranger begins to speak to him, " Sir we have scouted the village out like you said and stand ready to attack. There is a group of roughly forty bandits in the village ransacking the place. " The ranger says while looking at her leader. Coming to the ranger Yuki stops and as the ranger speaks he listens to her, taking in what she has to say before he gives the signal for the rest of the group to dismount and come to him. The rest of the rangers and archers dismount and make there way over to Yuki and the ranger before she begins to explain things in the village. While she explains to the rest of the forces Yuki takes a moment to think upon what she has said about the bandits in the village and after taking a moment to think he waits for her to finish before he begins to explain the plan of attack. " Alright, we are going to split into three groups of ten and head to three different locations around the village. " The ranger takes a moment to draw out the villages basic layout in the dirt before Yuki begins to indicate the locations of the three groups, " I want you all to be positioned at these three locations. I will be here, " He says, pointing to one of the locations around the village, " And I will lead the attack. My group will come in and begin the attack with warriors up front and the rangers providing cover and taking out anything they can. After I have started the attack, I want this group, " He points to the group opposite his location at the other side of the village, " To come in begin there attack as well, with any luck we will pin the bandits between us. The third group will join in the attack and do what they can to take out any stragglers that try and escape. Killing all the bandits would be a nice thing, however don't put yourselves in any unnecessary risk and go after the bandits should they flee the village, do you understand? " Yuki asks as he looks to the group.

EXP & PWC: 475

The group had listened to the battle plan laid out by there leader and as he ask they all give a nod, " Yes sir we understand. " One of the warriors says as he looks to Yuki, which is followed by the rest saying the same 'Yes sir' comment like the warrior. As his troops confirm what he has told them he gives a faint nod and glances around for a brief moment, " Alright. With that settled lets break up into our groups and move out. " Yuki says to the group of rangers and warriors. With the order the group begins to break up into three smaller groups, though with rangers already scouting the village they make sure to compensate for the reduced numbers. Breaking off into three groups, each group moves through the forest around the villager under attack, moving to there locations around the village. Leading one of the groups through the forest and to the point indicated next to the village. Coming to a stop with his group, Yuki looks out at the burning buildings of the village and the group of bandits causing chaos in the village. After taking a moment to see what all is going on, Yuki decides to waste no time in getting the attack under way so he gives his group the signal to attack before he reaches back and grabs his blade and pulls it from his back as he rushes from the tree line and into the village. Following the lead of there leader, the group with Yuki move forwards, the rangers taking up position behind the main group as the warriors move up to follow Yuki as he rushes forwards, letting out a battle cry as they rush forwards blades and shields at the ready. The bandits are quick to take notice of the newcomers at the cry of battle and a group rush into combat the six that had come out of the forest. As a group of bandits rush to meet him and his warriors, Yuki lets out a growl as he swings down with his colossal blade and looses a torrent of unseen force, striking one of the charging bandits and knocking the man backwards and to the ground. Even though one of the bandits had been knocked away the rest continue to charge and the group of bandits and warriors quickly clash with the sound of clanging metal. No stranger to battle Yuki too clashes with one of the bandits, the bandit's sword coming to strike his blade as he uses it as a shield to block the incoming attack. As the warriors and there leader clash with the bandits, the rangers begin to scan the are as they get ready to open fire at the group of bandits that had already come to fight.

EXP & PWC: 498

As the battle begins to break out more of the bandits quickly rush to the aid of there comrades, though as they do so the second group of Yuki's force come from the forest with the rangers opening with a volley of arrows to take out two bandits with in sight before the warriors engage another three. With the appearance of the second attackers the bandits are forced to break into two groups to go and combat the second force as well as the first that had appeared. The two rangers with Yuki take aim at two of the bandits and open fire, taking the two out before searching for new targets. As another group of bandits draw closer Yuki glances to them before he turns his attention back to the bandit before him and comes down with his sword, stabbing the blade into the bandit's chest preventing his escape and taking the life from him. Pulling his blade from the dead bandit Yuki rushes forwards to clash with another of the bandits as the three warriors with him each finish off the bandits they are fighting with before clashing with another three. Out of the forest the third group with Yuki moves to take advantage of the situation and rush into combat with the bandits before they can overwhelm the two groups. Slicing his way through the next bandit Yuki moves forwards to clash with the next, unfortunately non of these bandits had the skill nor physical capabilities that the half-breed possessed. Clashing with the next bandit Yuki meets the male with a quick forward thrust from his blade, impaling the bandit upon his blade and lifting him from the ground as he lets out a howling roar of a battle cry. Some of the bandits, hearing the cry, stop and look to the half-breed before charging him, four in total rush in at the half-breed to engage him simultaneously. As the four bandits come at him, Yuki tightens his grip on his blade and holds it at the ready as he shifts his gaze between the four. Clashing with one of the four Yuki brings his sword up and swings out, knocking the bandit back before he quickly shifts his attention to the next bandit as he lashes out with a swift kick to the bandit's chest knocking the bandit to the ground, however as Yuki knocks the bandit to the ground one of the remaining two bandits attacking him strike out at the half-breed with his sword and slash the half-breed across the back with his blade, slicing through his coat and into his back. As he feels the cold metal slice into his back, Yuki arches his back forwards as he lets out a hiss of pain which his followed by a growl as he begins to turn and face the bandit that struck him.

EXP & PWC: 519

Turning to face the bandit that had struck him, Yuki comes around with his blade, lashing out with a horizontal slash through the air with all his force. The bandit is ready for the half-breeds counter attack, however he doesn't know the full power behind the half-breed's attack and though he has his sword up to use as a defense as the attack from the half-breed strikes him the force behind the attack sends him flying through the air away from the half-breed. After knocking the bandit away Yuki shifts his attention to the last one and growls at the bandit. The bandit looks at Yuki and as he growls the bandit turns and begins to run. As the bandit begins to run away Yuki watches him for a moment as he thinks about going after the bandit but something catches his attention. Turning Yuki notices a man and some robed figures that seems to be helping them fight back and defending a group of villagers from the bandits. Seeing this Yuki begins to move, rushing to aid the ones fighting against the bandits. Before Yuki can get to the group the one leading the fight is struck down by what seems to be the bandit leader, the leader running his sword through the man before dropping him to the ground. With a growl Yuki rushes for the bandit leader, however before he can get to the leader the leader slices down one of the robed figures. Catching the bandit leader off guard Yuki cleaves into him with his blade, slicing the man's right arm clean off in one single swipe of his blade. The bandit leader lets out a cry of pain as he steps back and grabs the numb that is left of his right arm. After cutting the bandit leaders arm off Yuki follows through and strikes at him again, however the bandit leader pulls back evading the attack and begins to run. As the bandit leader begins to run Yuki decides not to go after the male and instead shifts his attention and glances around to see how the rest of his forces are fairing in combat. Around him Yuki could see that his forces where finishing off the rest of the bandits and that there fights had been won as well, meaning that the over all fight had been won as well. Though they had one the fight the village was in ruins and probably lost, something that is rather unfortunate. With a soft sigh Yuki glances around the ruins of the village for a moment as he rests his blade back on the harness on his back.

EXP & PWC: 474

With the bandits taken care of, Yuki turns to the villagers and begins to search for the leader of the village. As he searches for the leader of the village Yuki has his troops make sure the village is safe from any further attack. When he finds the village leader Yuki finds that the leader had been injured during the attack and didn't seem to have much time left in this world before he would be moving onto the next. After finding the village leader Yuki speaks with them, telling them where he comes from and that he is willing to help and offer the survivors shelter in Theden where they will be safe. After taking some time to talk with the dying village leader Yuki lets the village leader speak to his people telling them what will happen now and how they should go to Theden with Yuki where they will be safe instead of staying here in the remains of the village. With the assurance of there safety from there dying village leader, the villagers agree to go with Yuki back to Theden. After taking care of business the village leader passes on and Yuki helps the villagers burry the village leader before letting them gather there things while he has his troops gather what they can salvage before taking them back to Theden.


EXP & PWC: 247

Promotional Tour x2 Completed