The Army of Orcs

Legions amassed before us, terrifying and animalistic in their form. Their big like snouts covered in slobber and snot. Their boar tusks glinting in the light of the sun. Metal glanced off of their crudely made blades. Their footsteps pounded into the Earth, creating a cacophonous rhythm that assailed our ears like a death drum. The group surrounded me, they stared with their jaws dropped at the scene before us. Solo players that were wandering the fields ran away from the masses of Orcs, some were trampled, stabbed in the back. The beasts snickered in glee as players exploded into polygons. Their flames of their respawning souls hovering the field like a firefly.

"Look at them all!" Eric called from beside me. I froze, my blood pounded in my ears, my heart raced. Palms sweaty, I glanced around us in the woods for any signs of the other groups. I didn't know if this was a foe I should take on, if I die here, I'm dead. I gazed out across the field to the approaching enemy, I noticed a flashing system message above the heads of the army. It read 'SYSTEM EVENT' and a slow counter counted down a couple of hours. It was counting down the time until they reached the city.

"We're screwed." Lianne the swordswoman spoke next to my ear. I nodded, clenching my fists at my sides. There was no way we could kill them all. This was a death sentence, and for the players in the city! How many Lost Souls are there? I turned to the male archer.

"Search for the other parties and warn them, then run to the city and gather all of the guilds you can muster. System event incoming!" I called. He nodded and ran off into the woods. I stayed where I was, analyzing the situation. There were hundreds of soldiers coming our way.

In the distance I saw a figure running from the horde. Rapier drawn; her lithe armour glinted in the sunlight. Auburn locks blew behind her as she ran, I saw bright green eyes wide in terror, a mouth opened in a silent scream. The horde was closing in on her, she was slowing, beginning to tire. I gasped.

"Aine!" I yelled. Her head snapped toward us and she ran in our direction, I saw the Orcs salivating as the grew closer to her, their weapons raised. She dashed with all of her speed, waving through bushes and trees and leaping over fallen logs. She was approaching the forest; she was almost to us! Then she stumbled, falling forward over some exposed roots in the ground. She landed on her hands and knees in the grass, she stared behind her with a look of fear.

"Stay here!" I spun and yelled at Lianne, then launched myself down the hill toward the fields. I ran at breakneck speed, my heart pounding in my ears. The orc army was oncoming, I beelined across the plains aiming for Aine. As I approached, the army was just reaching her. An Orc chieftain raised his barbed spear and lowered it down toward Aine's back. Aine tried to scramble away.

Just as the spear was inches from her back I slashed at the spear in the hand of the orc, his right arm separated from his body and the orc screamed. It snorted from its pig-like nose. I stepped forward, thrusting my sword in the gut of the beast. He fell, the warriors surrounding him looked confused, they started to break formation and wander about in odd directions. They snarled and raised their weapons at me.

"Get up!" I shouted at Aine, who was still frozen in fear, blood spattered on her face from my fight. She nodded and scrambled to her feet. Taking advantage of the dazed nature of the Orcs, I gripped her hand, we spun on our tail and ran. The orcs were regaining their composure, forming a solid line and marching forward. They began to close in on the sides, attempting to surround us. I held my sword aloft and hacked at the three in front of me, slicing my blade across their bellies, they fell to the ground and burst into polygons.

Aine pulled out her rapier, she slashed and stabbed at the orcs surrounding us. They were closing in, the crowds around us getting thicker and their weapons raised. I felt a sharp stab at my back, a blade slid across my armor. I gasped and lurched forward. Spinning around I sliced at the beasts behind me. There were so many of them, they were overwhelming us.

Orcs began to fall in front of us. I heard grunting and slashing, squeals of pain and despair. A path cleared before us and I saw Lianne and Eric, as well as the others slashing down the orcs that were circling us. I gasped, my hand over my mouth.

"I told you to stay put!" I cried. Worried for their safety. Lianne snarled and ran an orc through the chest with her long blade.

"Run!" She shouted. I took a deep breath and nodded. Grabbing Aine's hand again, we launched and broke through the circle of orcs, standing on the outside, I turned and raised my sword. I couldn't leave these guys to fight alone. I saw Eric take a slash across his chest and he groaned. I launched forward, striking at the neck of the attacker, its head severed and fell to the ground. It exploded.

I lifted my fingers to signal a retreat to the team. We all started backing slowly toward the treeline, away from the oncoming Orcs. They continued to march forward, some chased us. The female mage cried out as a spear pierced her back. She fell to the ground. I yelled and launched forward, cutting down the beast that struck her. It was too late, her figure on the ground exploded into polygons. A small glowing wisp hovered in place where she had lain. "RESPAWN TIME" counted down from ten minutes.

I sighed in relief. Not a Lost Soul. The orcs closed in on us once again. We continued our retreat backwards, barely staying out of the clutches of the oncoming monsters. Their nostrils dripped with snot, and their beady eyes flared with exhilaration as they approached us. They were sick. I trembled as the masses closed in around us. Gripping my sword firmly I planted my feet. If this was the end, I was going to go down fighting.

"Fayre!" I heard a loud scream across the plains. I spun and turned toward the noise. Vane stood at the top of the hill at the edge of the trees. His swords gleamed in his hands. His face looked terrified, he launched himself down the hill. Behind him, I gasped at the awesome sight. Hundreds of players were emerging from the tree lines, weapons at the ready. And down the hill Vane dashed, leading the charge.