Thread: People Of Death Mountain ((Dark Dreams & ArcturusV))

A pebble, a rumble, dust in the skies. The men knew that rocky doom was coming. Landslides were not unheard of on Death Mountain, and the troupe had already suffered through several. At the first signs, Janus's arm whipped out, pointing his longsword to the cliff in one motion. He screamed out COVER! as the men scrambled for the cliff side. Janus lead the way, pressing his back against the cliff at a point where it cut back in upon itself just slightly, giving the smallest overhead slope outwards, away from his spot. Kneeling down there, his shield raised overhead, he waved over his men. Three of them were too slow, large boulders raining down, knocking into them, one flattened with a crunch he knew could not have left the man alive. The other knocked in the chest as one of them rebounded off the ground, carrying him off the narrow trail they had been hiking up and down the next drop, far out of sight, his screams trailing off. Two more were clipped on their way towards Janus, an arm broken from the way it hung limp at his side, and another who seemed in a daze as he slumped against the cliff, having taken a fairly smaller rock to the helmet. Only one came out unscratched as Janus did, huddling next to him, holding his shield up, overlapping Janus's right side, the two Hylian Eagle insignias pointed towards the sky. Not that Janus thought a shield would stop a boulder. Not in the least. But he knew, in the back of his Knight's Training that such symbols and actions bolstered men where courage would fail. Bravado, false or otherwise, often carrying the day. Those reflexes still kicked in, despite the wizard's curse making such things as fear and morale meaningless. He huddled there until the rocks stopped rumbling. His shield moved aside slightly as he stood up, watching the sky for a last, unexpected surprise... ... A figure, humanoid, hylian? Janus could see the barest sign of a leg as the assailant scrambled away, slipping on the rocks. He could feel the Wizard in his mind, studying the image and the memory, tearing apart his mind. His hand loosened on his blade, gripping at his helmet. It hurt so much. He staggered a step away as more of the Wizard's power entered his mind. He barely kept on his feet, his breathing ragged as the Wizard finally slipped away from him. He stepped back, picking up his blade, looking over the soldiers left in his command. He stood over the injured two, his face seeming to be impossibly dark, little more than shadows and bright red eyes beneath the helm. We have no use for the fallen, his voice seemed to be two speaking in unison. His blade rose up, plunging with two deft strikes into the injured men, sliding between helmet and breastplate, watching their blood ooze out and their life fade away. He turned towards the surviving soldier, Find them, he commanded again, in that dual voice. The man snapped off a quick salute, standing up as quickly as he could. The soldier walked towards the west, along the path, his eyes searching the cliffs above, looking for a place to ascend. And Janus just as quickly turned east, continuing upon the trail they had been on. The darkness faded from around his face. He felt weary but compelled to go on. He saw blood on his naked blade, but could not recall who's it was.