Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-24510587-20190221011452/@comment-25828117-20190221024835

Graicus was incredibly touched by the fact that Cade went to the trouble of procuring flowers for this occasion.

"Thank you. Nohaden'Cade." He said in a most sincere tone as he accepted the  daisies.

He bent down to place them on the grave.

"It's my fault."

-

The whooping of the forsworn was the worst. Graicus could hear them in the distance. Mocking. Cheering. They usually did this if they had gotten one of the scouts on his runs and torn him to pieces.

His hand tremored when it did not hold anything. Hunger and exhaustion took their tole. The supply-line that connected them with the civilized world had been cut a month ago. They had to live on measly rations that had days where nobody ate anything. To make matters worse, Brittlebone had set in among some of the men.

Graicus brought his trembling hand under his other arm, he could feel his ribs through the tunic. He had always been skinny but now he looked sickly and gaunt. The whooping stopped.

The imperial legionnaire looked up into the night sky, trying to listen for anything. Now that they had shut up it felt too quiet. They had been going at it for hours on end, it had gotten hypnotic in a terrifying sort of way.

"Magefire!" A voice called out suddenly and before Graicus knew what was going on the main tent of the camp was set alight by a flaming ball of fire.

The battle cry of the forsworn followed and they would show no mercy. Months they had worn them out, watched them. Toyed with them. Now they would come down from their mountains and finish it.

Graicus unsheathed his gladius on pure instinct and slashed at the beastly looking creature that hopped into the dig-out with him. Before he knew it, he had killed another and another. They were just going to keep coming.

Graicus needed to get out, he couldn't stay in this hole as bodies started to pile up. A flash of fear ran over him. A vision of him being buried alive by corpses.

Need to get out!

The legionnaire abandoned his post. The line had to be breaking anyway. It was pure chaos. He ran for the crags and stumbled on a small raised rock he couldn't see in all the confusion and darkness of the night.

Now he lay there, vulnerable for any attack and he could hear a reachman run up to him from behind. They must've followed him.

The legionnaire rolled onto his back and saw the shadow approach, bringing itself low to slice his throat no doubt. It was too dark. He didn't know.

It appeared to be raising a weapon and Graicus acted fast. His gladius shot out from his compromised position and sliced off a good chunk of his assailant's neck who quickly clutched for it and stepped into the moonlight.

"Pavo..."

The face of his friend was that of pure panic. He had tried to help Graicus to get him back up to his feet in the confusion of battle and now he was bleeding. Breathing became difficult.

"Oh no! no no! No!" Graicus scrambled back up to catch his friend who collapsed against the rock.

"Pavo, I didn't know! I didn't know Pavo! Oh gods. Help!"

"Someone get a healer! Help!" Graicus' pleas were lost in the confusion of battle.

-

"I... killed him." Graicus mumbled, it sounded like a weight was being lifted off of him.

"I killed him!"