The Orc general

You turn your horse and kick to full gallop, battering aside those who would pull you from your saddle. You swipe left and right with your magic infused sword, aiding your troops as you may, but your attention is ahead where a knot of orcs surrounds their chieftain. As you pound closer it becomes clear he has also seen you. You burn a volley of arrows from the left to ash as they come in, then scream a challenge at your target. His fanged mouth splits in bestial delight and he waves you in, double headed axe whirling easily in one hand while a spiked buckler waits in the other.

Unwilling to slow or to leave our horse to the mercies of the orcs you continue your headlong gallop, vaulting from his back as you approach. Your horse canters free whilst you land two footed, felling one of several smaller orcs in the war band. Channeling magic to keep you upright and moving, you spin from foe to foe, leaving them dead and dying when they cannot match your speed. In moments you are face to face with the towering bulk of the general. The stink of the immense creature hits you as he howls into your face, the massive axe swooping toward you in a deadly arc. You duck out of the way and avoid the return sweep with a quick dive. The axe bites the ground where you had just been standing. Your dive turns into a roll and you come easily, your sword whirling swiftly toward dark green flesh. Before it can slide home though, the buckler slams into place, catching the point of your sword head on with vicious ****. Your hand is half numb and you look at the small shield in shock, seeing blue worms of magic coruscating across its beaten surface.

The general roars in triumph, wrenching his weapon free and whipping it ferociously at head height. It is all you can do to roll again, moving desperately to stay ahead of this powerful speedy foe.

You can hear cries of encouragement from the bands of elves pouring after your pressuring the ring of orcs on this side of the battlefield. Your fight is inspiring them as you wished, though it remains to be seen if you can win.

You pass your sword to your off hand, flexing your fingers in the hope of regaining your dexterity. In the meantime you cast a flurry of magical shards at your foe’s face, forcing him to dodge. You move quickly, circling and keeping guard, taunting with both blade and fire, seeking an opening. In the end it is the general that gains the opening. You stray a little too close to the edge of the collapsing circle of warriors and a spiked club whirls from the crowd to catch the back of your thigh. The damage is almost nothing as your runed magic flashes in your defence, absorbing the blow. But your stumble and recovery allows the huge orc to close with you in moments. Your magic rushes through your sword, lightening it and making the edge razor sharp, but in your weaker hand your defence is lacking. His initial rush catches you with his huge spiked shoulder plate, keeping you off balance. His weapon moves against yours again and again, meeting every pattern and whirl with horrendous ****. Your moves start to be only just in time, each block making you just a little slower to move next time. The chieftain’s face is one big snarling grin, his breath hissing at you as he grunts and as bd slashes rhythmically. You are tiring now, being beaten down, even your magic beginning to reach its limits if endurance. As if sending this, the orc redoubles his blows. Your sword catches the axe at the wrong angle, clanging from your weakened grasp to the matted grass. In an instant his shoulder plate hits you in a stunning blow.. sending you staggering back. A shield hits you between the shoulder blades, knocking the wind from you. You gasp, stumbling forward again and meet a seemingly vast green forehead coming the other way.

You look up from the ground as the orc raises his arms in triumph, orbited by several metal bugs above. The horde howls its approval and bloodlust, and boils over the field toward your hapless little army. The general looks down at your with a snort of derision as your eyes flutter. He bends toward you with a leer and at that point thankfully your consciousness fades...