[Defence] Patrolling - Veleraen Darius

[Adder]

As the gates shuddered to a close behind Veleraen and the locking bars were dropped into place, one of Garret Stonebloods aides climbed down from the wall and stood looking up at the giant. ”That was good work out there my boy and you have the eye of the deputy commander himself on you. I want you take a break from the fighting for a while and take what remains of the men here that you command for this engagement,” and at this he pointed over to a group of about twenty resting over by a wall, ” and take them on a patrol through the streets. The walls are secure for the time being but we need to ensure that the city itself is secure.”

“Get yourself sorted out, get your men sorted out and organised and then I want you over in the Merchant districts to make sure there isn’t any looting or anything of that sort.”

He turned away and grabbed a sergeant ”Get some bodies and get these gates reinforced”

[Veleraen]

OOC: Edited, I now realize i have 20 men Thanks Darius ^_^;;.


IC:

The rush that the giant got from battle was still embedded within him, still surging through his veins, but Veleraen was trying to keep himself from getting too excited and started to breath heavier to slow his heart down. The giant reached over and recovered his shield that he had discarded on top of the battlement and held onto it with his right hand and his helmet under his left arm, his left hand carrying his Halberd. His shield was littered with arrows, and the shield itself being at least six feet in diameter, it was a testament as to how much pain he would've suffered if he hadn't had it in the first place.

Still a little shooken up his experience on the bridge, Veleraen looked over to see one of the Commander's aides come down from the battlement and speak to him. "That was good work out there my boy and you have the eye of the deputy commander himself on you. I want you take a break from the fighting for a while and take what remains of the men here that you command for this engagement and take them on a patrol through the streets. The walls are secure for the time being but we need to ensure that the city itself is secure.” The titan could only help but smile as he was actually being taken away from the fighting. It was true though, Veleraen wasn't actually as much use on the battlements, being a giant and all fifteen feet above the top of the wall if he were to stand on the battlements would make him an obvious target. Thinking back to it, the giant actually wondered how many men he had taken off the field on his risky journey in to the fray. Veleraen hadn't bothered to count as to how many bodies he had picked up and brought back to the battlements. It was truly amazing what a person could do under stress and under such extreme conditions.

"Yes, sir. Just doing my duty sir. I'll get my men ready and set in five minutes." Veleraen gave the man a salute and adjusted himself in his armour after the man left. "I have the eye of the Deputy Commander himself? Well, I must be doing something right." The giant chuckled to himself and turned to find Darius riding up on his mount and dismounting. "I have combat experience, weapons training, and a mount well-bred for combat. Where I best help?"

The giant looked the human up and down and nodded approvingly. "Well, I'm Sergeant Veleraen, you're welcome to join my unit. We're heading out to the Merchant districts to make sure there are no people looting or anything of that sort. It's common in a situation like this, unfortunately people don't learn or understand..." The giant looked over to the Saurus that Darian rode in on and eyed it over and then his eyes veered back to Darius. "Well, we're all on foot, so can either risk your mount and ride it with us, or you can store it at the nearest stable and come back, either way, we're leaving in five minutes, with or without you." Veleraen nodded affirmingly and then turned to his men.

"ATTEN-HUT! Alright men! Listen up and listen up good! I'm your new Sergeant, Sergeant Veleraen. I've been given orders to go on patrol inside the city to secure the Merchant Districts from rioting and looting. You are to arrest anyone caught looting and round them up to be brought to the Gaol. You have five minutes to recooperate and get your things together. You did an excellent job out there, you held your positions out there, and that is something to be proud about. Aslan bless us all."

Veleraen made sure all of his men were geared up and ready. The giant turned to Darius with a curious eye. "So stranger, what brings you into this fight? I don't believe I got your name..." Veleraen flipped his full helm onto the palm of his hand, a large crease where the spear had hit him in the helm and then flipped it back onto his head, a mask of steel covering his visage. Two hardened green eyes staring out from the eye slits in his helm.

After five minutes or so was up, Veleraen inspected his men and made sure they were in good shape. "ATTEN HUT! I WANT A COLUMN FORMATION, TWO MEN ABREAST! MAKE IT HAPPEN!" Veleraen walked up to the front ranks of his men and nodded. In a matter of seconds, his men were in formation and he was pleased. They were soldiers, they knew what to do, when they were told to it, and they knew how to do it well, very well.

"Lets move out!" Veleraen raised his halberd over his head and rotated his arm in a forward motion and started to march in unison with the other troops. Soon they would be in the Merchant Districts, and hopefully the people wouldn't be running amok.

[Darius]

OOC: Let the fun being indeed. By the way, Adder mentioned twenty, Vel. "a group of about twenty resting over by a wall."

Darius' question when unanswered at first, as another soldier spoke to the giant. Darius listened, curious what the words would be. The first words out of the other soldier's mouth increased Darius' respect for the giant. "He has the eye of the deputy commander himself? Evidently this giant makes these daring moves frequently . . . and pulls them off too, or he wouldn't still be here." The next words were equally significant, and Darius' thoughts continued, "So the odds are, the giant is now going to ask me to help patrol the streets. Slim chance that I'll be fighting any of the scum outside." Darius thought, tinged with irritation and disappointment in equal measure. "I'll what's best for others; my wishes are nothing compared to the lives of the citizens." another part of Darius thought. And still another thought arose in his mind, "I'm far more likely to live, away from the more fierce fighting." Darius shoved that thought away with irritation. He was still both irritated and disappointed at the idea of being sent to patrol within the city, but Darius would do what was best for others, even though he didn't like it much.

Having gotten the gist of the message Darius mostly ignored the rest of the other soldier's words, and instead studied the giant. The giant had a huge shield that was filled with arrows like a pincushion would be filled with needles, and he carried a massive halberd in his left hand. "I'd be willing to bet that giant can really use that halberd well. Given his size, and his likely skill, he'd be terrifically deadly." Darius continued watching the giant, noting the smile from the other soldier's words, "I wonder if he's just glad to get out of the fiercest combat, or what? He's no coward, so I guess he just welcomes a break. I certainly would in his place.", and seeing the precision of his salute.

Then the giant turned his way, and offered a reply. Now Darius could put both a name and rank with the giant, Sergeant Veleraen. Unsurprisingly, the giant asked him to come with him to patrol the city for looters and such. When Veleraen mentioned leaving behind his Saurus, Darius considered it briefly, but quickly decided to keep Midnight with him. "I'd hate to lose Midnight to the fighting, but . . . that’s not really all that likely, especially where we're going . . .and Midnight can fight, at least as well as I can, and quite possibly better. Finally, Midnight offers me mobility, considering how fast he moves." The Sergeant concluded by saying they were leaving in fifteen minutes, with or without him. "Well . . . I guess it will be with me then." Darius thought.

Darius watched passively as Velervaen briefly addressed his men, and frowned slightly as he mentioned Aslan. "I think I'd prefer to do this without the gods, if my past is any suggestion of what their blessings are." Darius thought bleakly. Veleraen turned to Darius and asked, " So stranger, what brings you into this fight? I don't believe I got your name..." As Veleraen put on his helmet, Darius replied, "My name is Darius Val Oren, and I had the fortune, or misfortune, of arriving in the city a few days ago. I'm a former Captain of the Thanal Guard in Daltina, and I have trained with you Veldar here in Zerdargia."

Darius switched subjects, to answer Veleraen's earlier comment about Midnight. "Incidentally, I think I'll keep Midnight, that’s my Saurus, if you don't mind. Midnight was bred to fight, has scales that work near as well as armor, and can run three times faster than a horse, so . . . he's a bit of a help. I'd ask how you are involved in this but that'd be a waste of time." Darius finished his words with a smile and a look to Veleraen's uniform. Darius had left out more than he had told Veleraen, but he had no interest in detailing how he lost his left hand, or some other parts of his history.

After a couple more minutes, Veleraen addressed the troops again, ordering them into two columns three men across. Darius wondered where he should be, but figured that if Veleraen wanted him somewhere, he would tell Darius specifically. The soldiers snapped into place, and Darius admired the precision of the Veldar troops. "Of course, they were thought of as one of the best armies in Alleria for a reason," Darius thought. Darius followed Veleraen's words, remounted Midnight, and followed alongside the troops. As they went towards the Merchant District, a brief, ironic thought crossed Darius' mind, and brought a slight smile to his face. "On Midnight, I can almost see eye to eye with Veleraen."

[Garrone Laiforge]

Laiforge was watching to see what he was supposed to do next by command of one of the officers or sergeants, when one of them came straight to him. It seemed very unexpected to him, but never the less, he didn't mind a little direction in this disastirous situation. The Sergeant spoke directly to Laiforge sternly, "Dwarf, there is a party going out into the city to patrol the streets, and make sure of the safe being of the inner city. You look as though you are decent enough to go with them. You can find them easily enough, look towards the giant, Sergeant Veleraen. He will be leading the patrol. Let him know that you were sent to join up with him and his men." Laiforge nodded and looked over to the right and was not suprised at all to see Veleraen over by the gates, as he had just come through a few minutes prior.

Laiforge got up and started to make his way over towards Veleraen as he noticed that Veleraen was starting to gather his men togethar and head out on patrol. He also noticed that another man had joined up with them, riding what must have been something other than a horse for the shere heigth of the animal, maybe a Saurus. He knew that he would be joining up with a good group of men just from the looks of it. There were at least 15, maybe more, Veldar under Veleraen and that was a blessing right there in itself. Now that Veleraen and his group were starting to head out Laiforge quickened his pace which was not as easy as it was for most since dwarfs had small legs. Yet, slowly but surely he caught up with Veleraen.

Calling out to Veleraen, "Sergeant Veleraen, Sergeant Veleraen. I have been instructed by one of the other sergeants patroling the wall, that I am to join up with you and your group to patrol the city. I hope that I can be of good use. My name is Garrone Laiforge. I must say that it was quite amazing what you did out there, I mean bringing in all those people that was quite a feat. I am quite honored to be in a group with you Sir, with someone with that kind of bravery and loyalty to his fellow companions." Laiforge was out of breath after running, if you could call it running, and talking as soon as he got up to the Sergeant.

Laiforge couldn't keep his eyes off the horse like animal, it was an amazing looking creature. That of something you don't see everyday, and if you do you are in a very odd perfession.

[Veleraen]

Veleraen and his squad were about to move out when another soldier came running up to the Sergeant, this time it was a dwarf. "Everyone wants a piece of the action these brightenings.." Veleraen grinned behind his full helmet, hiding his face. Looking down at Garrone who looked like he was out of breath as he had ran all the way up to the giant, trying to catch up with him.

"Sergeant Veleraen, Sergeant Veleraen. I have been instructed by one of the other sergeants patroling the wall, that I am to join up with you and your group to patrol the city. I hope that I can be of good use. My name is Garrone Laiforge. I must say that it was quite amazing what you did out there, I mean bringing in all those people that was quite a feat. I am quite honored to be in a group with you Sir, with someone with that kind of bravery and loyalty to his fellow companions." The dwarf stated, and all Veleraen could do was chuckle. "Well, Recruit Garrone, welcome to the squad. I'm sure you'd do the same thing if you were in my position Recruit, just doing my duty. We're heading to the merchant district to sort out all the looting and rioting that might be occurring down there. Now, get in formation and we'll be on our way." Veleraen stretched his shoulders back and cracked his neck, trying to relax underneath the armour, but it wasn't working too well, as the adrenaline was still rushing through his system from his excursion outside the walls.

As the group marched down the street toward the Merchant District, Veleraen shouted out a marching tune for the rest of the squad to follow and entertain themselves with as they marched.

"I don't know what I've been told..
Those ugly orcs are gonna fold!
Hittem on the head with a frying pan..
Stab'em in the chest and kickem in the can!

Hup, one, two, three, four. Hup!

My momma says I can fight..
I can do it, day or night...
Whether or not I live or die,
The Veldar Elite do not cry.

Hup, one, two, three, four. Hup!"

The cheer carried on for a while until it got boring and then Veleraen stopped for a while to let the men's throat's rest for a bit. Turning to Darius, he looked over as he rode beside the marching giant. "So, Darius, you say you were Captain of the Thanal Guard in Daltina? What made you quit such a prestigous position? I hope it was not a forced decision. I'm glad you were trained here, the Veldar are the best of the best." Veleraen turned his head to the front, still listening to what Darius had to say back to him.

It was somewhat of a long march, but soon the squad came upon the Merchant District, and hopefully Veleraen wouldn't have to issue any orders that he would regret for the rest of his life.

[Adder]

The squad seemed to pull together under the command of its new sergeant. The voices were enthusiastic as they joined in with the words and they appeared proud if not a little awed to be under the command of the young giant, someone who had helped to get them back safely under enemy fire and then remained outside the closed gates of the city rescuing his comrades before fighting off orcs with his bare hands. Rumours flashed around the squad when they thought he was not looking and snatches of gossip could be heard, ”deputy commander himself thanked him, twenty orcs with his bare hands,” and so forth. The squad glanced around them with pride and were relieved to be given a break from the fighting for a short while. They knew that with such a huge besieging army they would be back on the front line again, but this time with their new sergeant.

As the squad came to the outliers of the district that they had been ordered to, a young dwarf ran towards them, his arms pumping and head down. He actually skidded to a stop in front of the squad and stood for a moment, out of breath and unable to do anything other than wave his arms a bit while he gulped in air.

Some of the redness faded from the young dwarfs face and he straightened up out the crouch he had dropped into, one hand leaning against the corner of the building. Eventually some sounds came out, ”something… shadows… paving falling.” He waved his arms about a bit more and seemed to think that he had communicated something meaningful to the squad that stared at him curiously.

[Darius]

Darius watch from upon Midnight as a dwarf made his way to Sgt. Veleraen. "He seems quite eager," Darius thought to himself as he watched Garrone huff and puff, trying to catch his breath after speaking and running. "For a dwarf, anyways…" Then Darius mentally laughed at himself, "You were quite interested in getting into the fray yourself, just a moment ago. You know better than to be excited about battle." Darius reminded himself, but then thought, "But…this is a chance to get back at that …filth. This is hardly like other battles I've known." In any case, Darius returned his attention to the present and to the Sgt.'s reply.

Veleraen welcomed Garrone to the squad, explained what they were going to do, then order Garrone into formation. Keeping a smile off his face, Darius enjoyed the realization that not being in the military at the moment definitely came with some advantages. Not having to take orders was a definite plus, for though Darius was a firm believer in discipline, he also was very independent.

As the group began their march down the street, they sang inane marching ditties that ostensibly kept the pace but were in fact more just an opportunity to insult their enemies and offer random comments of various aspects of life. Darius had to continue to hide his smile, though it was from enjoyment of the ditties as much as the humor. Darius thought back to some of the various ditties he knew, and quickly decided that Sgt. Veleraen had chosen from among the less provocative of the choices available to him. The songs carried on for a while, and Darius continued to listen.

However, Veleraen stopped after a while, and began a conversation with Darius. Darius thought, "He's probing, curious why anyone would leave such a position…and curious if I'm as good as such a rank implies." Darius replied with a slight smile, "Well Sergeant, think about it like this: Imagine you are suddenly promoted to General of all military forces in Enamoria. Now, you know that should you make a mistake, it could be grievous and could cost hundreds or even thousands of men their lives. Would you want the position, knowing that? I suspect you would do what I did, which is take the position, unthinking of the consequences. Then, you would likely realize, like I did, that this position is more than you would like, or are ready for. Perhaps you are wiser than I and would reject such an idea from the start, or perhaps you have everything you need now to be a general."

Darius sighed briefly, and then continued, "In any case, no it was not a forced decision. Nor did I commit any grave error while Captain. You could ask the Thane I guarded, Nashkel An'gor, and I am certain he would tell you I did an excellent job and that he would welcome me back. However, I did not feel that I was the best man for the job, and I was not willing to risk the lives of my men or possibly, and much worse, the life of my friend and Thane Nashkel, all because I too much enjoyed a position I was not well-equipped for. So, I stepped down, and I firmly believe that a better man has the job. Even now that I am a better warrior, my experience at leading others is limited. Honestly, I expect I'd do a passable job, but I'd most be relying on common sense. A long answer to your question, but . . . It needed one." After this Darius fell silent, not yet ready to ask questions of his own.

As they arrived at the Merchant District, Darius watched a dwarf run up much the way Garrone had earlier, but with much greater urgency. The dwarf skidded to a halt and tried to speak, but did little more than wave his arms till he caught his breath. Finally he gasped the words, "Something…shadows…paving falling." Darius thoughts leapt at him: "Well, it looks like I will be involved in a something after, though it is yet to be seen what exactly is going on. The way dwarf is acting, its not good news, and its terrifically urgent. Or in other words, something has gone seriously wrong. Yep…I'm definitely involved in something, something serious." Darius concluded his thoughts with a mental sigh.

[Garrone Laiforge]

Laiforge had been accepted into the group and was told to form into line with the rest of the squad. So, he went to the back of the group for the time being and made a point at the end of the double lines that they had already made, since there was an uneven number of men. It was also half to the effect that Laiforge didn't like to be put in marching groups, but rather be where he could walk with the higher ups. He had been aloud to on occasion, but only when he was about ready to be sent somewhere else from where he was. Laiforge was altogethar happy though he had seen Sgt. Velerean in action outside the gates, and knew that he was with a very courageous man.

As the group walked along they sang little ditties to keep themselves occupied, and to just be cheery, or at least that was what Laiforge guessed. Something to keep their spirits up. That died down after awhile though getting tiresome to some of the men.

Out of nowhere it seemed a young dwarf came running up to the group and skidding to a halt. Taking a few deep breaths, eventually some sounds came out, ”something… shadows… paving falling.” He waved his arms about a bit more and seemed to think that he had communicated something meaningful to the squad that stared at him curiously. Laiforge saw that the poor young dwarf had no doubt seen something that was obviosly very awkward, and he really wanted the group to know about it. So, Laiforge quickly ran over to the young dwarfs side and gave him a shoulder to lean on. Hopeing that the dwarf might be able to regain some of his composure, Laiforge tried to hold him up as much as possible. After a couple of minutes had passed Laiforge asked the young dwarf, "Now what was it exactly that you saw and where was it? Can you take us to it if Sgt. Veleraen wants you to? It might be something of urgency, as you already know." Laiforge tried to keep a very calm look in his eyes although he wanted to hurry this dwarf along with his words, as he knew whatever this was could be nothing good for them.

Laiforge glanced over at the Sgt. and Darius, trying to see if they were getting impatient or might have something to say to the young dwarf.

[Veleraen]

The giant had come up with the marching rhyme in his head, on the spot, and hadn't really thought it over, but the men seemed to be enjoying themselves in the time of war and that was the most important thing being their Sergeant. The large ears of the Giant picked up some of the rumours that were spreading amongst the men, and he decided against correcting them, for it would only cause only more confusion and more questions to be answered. Just as long as the men respected the chain of command and did what they were told, they would serve well in the Veldar Elite.

Veleraen listened to Darius and his explanation of his past experiences with the Captain of the Thanal Guard, and when he mentioned Nashkel Angor, his eyes lit up with interest. "I know of Nashkel as well. I met with him in Malice before we fought together there on the battlefield side by side. He is an accomplished warrior, although I am afraid on the political side of things, he is not as favoured. I understand your plight. being in command and having to risk the lives of your men is not an easy task at all. All you can do is trust and have faith in your men and they will return the favour. I rely on my men as much as they rely on me and believe me and sometimes you must just have faith." Veleraen smiled beneath his visage of steel. "The burden of command is always greatest when lives are at stake..."

At that moment, a stout dwarf came huffing and puffing down the road in front of the squad and starting raving on about Shadows and Paving falling. Veleraen looked at the small dwarf and called out to the rest of his squad. "Halt March! ATTEN HUT!" Veleraen knelt down to the dwarf that was trying to speak and leaned in so that they could talk.

"What is this you speak of my good dwarven friend? Show us where this shadow is, we will help." Veleraen reached behind his back and pulled out a flask of cold water from his pack and gave it to the dwarf to drink. He obviously was exhausted from running and it looked like he needed a good drink of water to cool him off and get him back into phase with the rest of the world around him. Turning to Darius, Veleraen spoke in confidence to him. "Darius, if we find this shadow thing this man is talking about, I am going to need you to take your mount and report back to the Deputy Commander at the battlements at once. You can get there the fastest and I am going to depend on you to get the report to the commander as fast as humanly possible." Veleraen's eyes pierced through the eyes slits over to Darius' hoping the Giant could trust him to do a vital duty to the city.

"Okay," Veleraen said down to the smaller dwarf. "Show us where you have seen this 'shadow', lead us there and we will do what we can. Squadron! Atten hut! March! Lead the way my dwarven friend." With that, Veleraen waited for the dwarf to lead the way and the squad marched along with the rest of them, onto their new destination, wherever and whatever it might be.

[Adder]

The dwarf recovered quickly with the ministrations supplied though perhaps relief at finding help before he expired from lack of breath was the thing foremost in his mind. He was quite winded from sprinting down the street and it never occurred to him that he had not explained things very well, but the sergeant seemed to be satisfied and so he led the way back the way he had come from, but kept dodging ahead, impatient that they get back as fast as possible.

After a while he led the squad to the back of a small crowd that stood and looked up at
a mysterious bank of shadow