As Cross downed the first Troll, the men were inspired and they began to aid in the battle.
The Guildmaster wasn't quite as fast as Cross, but made it quickly enough. He engaged a troll and swung his massive axe, as he did so it burst into flames, scarring the troll and cutting the armor with its white-hot blade. The rest of the gaurds were not so well equipped, however. They fought valiantly, but for an ordinary run of mill gaurd... there was little chance. They attacked the trolls in groups, but they were being killed on the spot. These trolls were not your average troll, these trolls stood almost 9 and a half feet tall. They seemed to know what they were doing better as well. With wide sweeping strokes they threw men against the walls. Some trolls were in the back hurling rocks that were more accuratly described as boulders. Their leader, wearing gold and black armor and weilding a sword that no human could ever hope to use, began issuing orders and the trolls began to route the human gaurd. By normal standards, their numbers were small. But these were trolls, and they stood 24 strong: not including the one Cross had killed. Their leader was huge by troll standards, he looked to have giant's blood in him as he stood 11 feet tall. His size and his massive, powerful build intimidated the human soldiers. He bellowed a threat to his enemies "Humans! You have stolen our most sacred relic! And we will demolish your puny town until we find it!"
Nobody knew what he was talking about, except one theif. He was shaking in his boots. He had not expected it to come to this. He took out his prize and looked at it. Truly, it was a wonderous stone, but what had he cost the people here? A ruby, the size of a human head and roughly the shape of a heart was in his hands. It was strange, but the ruby heart seemed to beat as he held it. He couldn't give it back now! It would cost him his life! He spied Arabella, and wasn't sure if she had seen the item or not... quickly he put it back in its bag, and the theif began to run. A prize this valuable would set him for life!

Cross would not stand for this. Something deep inside him tugged away at his mind, saying that these soldiers could do better. "Archers! Form up! Aim for the eyes!!! Blind them, pierce them, kill them! Prepare the ballistas and catapaults! To arms!!!"

The spectre knew how hard it was to hit a moving target, and also knew that if any more got close to the gate it would be demolished. He began to circle the trolls as swiftly as he could, grazing them with his scythe as he went. He wasn't exactly superhuman when it came to speed, but it was enough to keep the less intelligent ones still. Trolls tried to swing at Cross as he went, only to find it was like trying to catch the wind.

The tougher ones paid no mind to the whirling spirit around them, and continued their advance. Come on, you fools... Pull yourselves together... Before these trolls tear you apart... Where is our cover?

"My name's Arabella." She looked at the demon thing with the scythe- he seemed comfortable calling orders. "How can I help?" She said, her voice cutting through the noise of the battle. The soldiers really were being useless- they just stood up there in stunned silence except for a few trying to help out. She shook her head. Some mortals simply couldn't do a thing in a crisis.

She retrieved her dagger from the troll's neck only to dodge a blow from another one. How many of these thing are there? She had no idea who would want to organize and arm such a force of beasts. Not that it mattered. Who ever had imperiled that little girl she saved was hr foe- payed or not.

The men on the wall were trying their best, but they were impeded by the trolls throwing boulders at them. Most of the ballista had been demolished. The Guildmaster stood his ground and rallied fighters with him, together they began taking down trolls one at a time as they got to the gates. At this point the elite royal gaurd began to appear on the scene. They wore distinctly better armor that was somewhat ornate and carried the kings bannar. Several took to the walls and began firing flaming arrows at the trolls, and a few spellcasters began pelting down blasts of ice, fire, and lightning... though any real spellcaster could out do them easily... this kingdom has no real mages guild and therefor no real mages to speak of. The ground infantry took to the field like a storm, and the human forces began to hold the gates.
The leader of the trolls spied Cross, and went straight for him. His size and build belied his speed, as he quickly made it to Cross and began swinging wildly at him. Most of his strikes were of average quality, but the occasional lightning fast strike came in unison with a flash of light from the bracers he was wearing.

Cross was forced into a constant backstep (the term 'backstep' used loosely, since Cross had no feet with which to step), constantly having to dodge or parry the massive, brutish strikes. He could not hope to fly out of the troll's reach; ten feet was his maximum flying capability, and this one was eleven. Glancing over at Arabella, he said "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you mind helping me with yon troll? It is terribly overpowering, and I do believe I require assistance."

It was then that Cross to a hit to the side. A moderate blow, chunks of porcelain flew with a ringing sound, and Cross collapsed to the earth, crying out in pain. The troll saw the opportunity, smashing away at Cross with vicious clubs strikes, each of which were only weakly parried but the weakened apparition beneath.

The Guildmaster saw Cross in dire circumstances, he wouldn't lose his first member this way! Not this quickly, not again! He led a barreling charge through the trolls, leaving most of the royal gaurd at the gates. He was an expert combatant who had years of elite training under his belt, he jumped, ducked and tumbled through the flurry of blows and made it to Cross. The town gates were severly lacking without him, but the archers and mages on the wall compensated by throwing vials of acid at the trolls, blinding some and throwing others into fits of rage. Some of the acid got on the humans as well, but sacrifices had to be made in order to win this battle and the trolls really were getting the worse for it. When the Guildmaster was withing range he jumped in the air and slashed the leader across the chest, as he couldn't hope to reach the head without aid. His axe cut into the leader's armor, and forced the leader to defend himself from the attack. It was easy to tell that the Guildmaster was good, but he couldn't hold out like this for long... he was being flanked by the trolls, surrounded in the worst way by three of them and the leader. As he fought he grabbed soemthing out of his belt and dropped it near Cross, it was a vial of red liquid. The Guildmaster yelled to Cross "Drink it! Quickly!"
(Its a healing potion.)
(I have to take care of some things, so lets not carry this too much further at the moment.)

Instead, Cross crawled along the earth, gathering together the glassy shards of his hide and piecing them together on himself, as a child would a puzzle. Popping the cork then, he poured the red liquid onto the wound, and the cracks sealed themselves up, becoming on whole piece again.

Taking advantage of the Guildmaster's distraction, Cross wheeled around behind the mighty troll, sounding a tremendous battle cry as he made a crescent-moon swing with his scythe, the whirling arc of steel devouring troll flesh as it ate its way through the leader's throat. The troll coughed and sputtered as pitch-black blood spewed from the gash, falling over to expire. Panting heavily from the exertion, Cross gazed upon the Guildmaster with respect and admiration. "Thank you, sir. I owe you my life."

The Guildmaster didn't reply just yet, With the troll leader gone the enemy had become discouraged. The humans began to press the attack and finish them off. Arabella had fought admirably, the Guildmaster would take her and Cross's actions into consideration and attempt to find a fitting reward.
Meanwhile, the rain continued to grow stronger. By this time it was pouring down, and cleanup would be a horrible, nasty job.
Elsewhere in the kingdom, the thief who had stolen the troll's sacred relic had made his way to the palace to present the king with his prize. After all, only a king would have enough money to buy such a thing. Truely it held considerable value. Paid well for the artifact, the thief would later leave the kingdom to live a life of luxury elsewhere in less threatened lands.
While the thief thought he had come out of the deal better off, he had no idea what he had just sold to the king... but the king knew well what it was, and how useful this item would be.

Raisa entered the town through the north gate. Today, since it was raining, she was wearing a long white cloak with it's edges frayed and covered in mud. And, of course, the hood was covering her face. Raisa was almost like a cat when it came to getting wet and would do almost anything to avoid it. Rain while traveling, however, is a pretty hard thing to avoid... So, a cloak would have to do... Sadly, the garment was fairly soaked by the time she even made it into the town. There was a huge commotion. She gathered from asking a number of people that there were trolls at the southern gate!

When the 'young' mage made it to the southern gate, she climbed up with the other mages and saw these trolls. Two decapitated and about twenty more still alive. "You sillies," she said to herself, "You can't just cut off a trolls head and expect it to be dead. You need fire!" Raisa smiled at the chance to use magic so soon after her arrival. And, lucky for them, she had her 'fireball' spell memorized! She could cast it twice. Along with a number of other fire spells in her repitoire. This morning, as she was looking through her spells and deciding which to memorize for the day, it had just felt like such a ... 'fire' day.
And it seemed she was right.

Raisa now spoke to the one who looked most like a leader telling him simply that she would 'help out' before she began casting a spell.

The spell required a set of components that she pulled from a pouch on her belt, what looked like a weird little dance, and a very intricate chant in an ancient and complex language. When she finished calling forth whatever power it was she was summoning, she pointed in the direction of a group of trolls and a ball of fire shot from her finger.

The little dark elf, however, didn't even think about the reaction the people might have had to seeing the pitch black skin of her arms and fingers, or the gleam from her bright red eyes from under her cloak.

Arabella almost reached Cross before he was hit but she felt a whisper of wind behind her as the club of a troll nearly his her wing. She saw a mage with skin like strips of night casting a fire spell and she decided it was time for some of her magic. She got to a spot where the trolls couldn't reach her and and called for a fork of lighting.

One flickered to the ground narrowly missing a troll she prepared to call another one and it shot down, striking of the things clubs and electrefying it but not quite destryoing it.

The trolls were by this time down for the count. With the assistance of the heroes the battle was quickly ended. Now the gaurd began tending to their wounded, and disposing of the troll's bodies in a makeshift funeral pyre fueld by lamp oil. The Guildmaster managed to disappear somewhere along the lines, though where exactly he went nobody was sure. Three servants went to each of the heroes in turn, rewarding them for their efforts.
The first servant was a young man who probably hadn't been enlisted long. He was assigned to give Cross his reward. It might normally be a problem, but this man was one of the people who had seen Cross in the guild hall. He ran up and greeted Cross, handing him a letter as he did. The letter contained the guild commision of 100 silver and an additional 100 silver for bravery in battle.
The second and theird servants looked like your average run of the mill gaurd. They handed a letter to both Raisa and Arabella that informed them of the Heroes Guild and a notice saying that if they joined they would each be paid 150 silver. (100 for commision and 50 for aid in battle.) The people in the town would treat these three heroes well today, for their part in the protection of the city and its inhabitants.

Arabella took the letter from the servant thanking him and tending to her bruised wing. It would be sore and discolored for two or three days but she could fly it if she had to. She busied herself with opening the envelope to ignore the throbbing. In the envelope was enough money to keep her on the road and well fed for weeks to come- she could quit this hero thing now and still be clear of money trouble till she reached the next kingdom! But those trolls... the little girl... it had somehow become her duty to see this through.

Cross smiled when he was greeted with cheers and smiles in the local pub. After being accustomed to such things as angry mobs, trigger-happy acolytes, and paladins, Cross found it all too relaxing to be in good company. There were people who were moved enough to buy drinks for him, pearly-eyed children asking to hear the story of the battle, and even women sensually caressing his porcelain skin. Anyone would be happy in that position.

However, there was a sour note to be heard in this symphony of triumph.

Cross asked around as this tribute continued, asking people if they had heard his name before that occasion. People claimed not to have known, or lied and spun stories to his face of supposed conquests and battles. Those who fabricated tales described him the way he looked now, and he needed information on how he used to be. All the beer, awestruck children, and loose women in the world meant nothing if Cross could not uncover his past.

The wraith sighed. It would take many a drink to overcome this disappointment. He signaled the barkeep for another drink, and prepared himself for a long night...

Raisa recieved the letter from the very generic looking messanger and opened it to see an invitation to join some guild called the "Heroes' " guild. She figured she might if there wasn't a mages' guild... Which she didn't think there was. She hadn't heard of a mages' guild in this area. Truthfully, this was most of the reason she had come in the first place. This little mage wanted to know why she hadn't heard of a guild for magic in the area. Maybe she could even found one!

Raisa decided to go and check out this guild before perhaps going to say hello to the king.... You know, don't wanna get killed because they think you're a baddie.... Even if you do look a bit like a demon, that doesn't mean you have to be thrown in with that lot! Raisa smiled to herself and softly hummed an upbeat tune to herself as she made her way to the newly established Heroes' Guild.

Once inside the building, Raisa lowered the hood of her cape, again, not even thinking that the people might be scared of a dark elf. She held out the letter and pointed to it as she spoke, the smile on her face showed off her pointed teeth and her red eyes were bright with excitement,
"I came to join this guild! But, I don't need the extra money from helping out with the fight~ I really didn't do much at all... Just cast a fireball, it's a really simple spell, so I don't need compensation for the magic I used. I don't even really need the other houndred silver! The mages' gulid back home will cover anything I'd need. See, I'm the great Mage Cyrognomy's only living apprentice! He wants to make sure I'm well taken care of."

Did... this elf not know how to shut her mouth...? If not interupted she might just ramble on and tell anyone listening her whole life story along with anything else that happens to cross her mind! But, surprisingly, she ended this seemingly unending stream of thought with "But, I can't talk any more about that. It's a secret~"

((My thoghts here are that... whoever she's talking to just sort of starts ignoring her... I mean... She's just rambling........ I know I'd quit paying attention, although if you want me to edit in whatever else she talks about, then I could. Or I could list the topics and just put down a bit of general stuff she'd say...))

Some people listened to the dark elf's rant for a minute, maybe two, before leaving. She didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular...
It was starting to get late in the day. The Heroes Guild had been completed and was fully furnished by this time. Workers were repairing the walls and ballista. This group of trolls had caused considerable damage, many were injured and just as many had died. However, the king had secretly aquired a powerful artifact from a thief that had stolen it from the trolls. Nobody knew its true potential, except the king and his advisor.
The death count was reported at 17.
21 more were injured.
The local blacksmith got his hands on the trolls equipment, and has begun to smelt the metal in order to create more powerful items. He is working in conjunction with some of the king's mages in order to create some magical equipment for the heroes.

Alexandria walked the halls of the heroes guild. Those who walked near were spooked by her presence due to her body being inhabited by the spirit of Death. Those who were magically adept would see the black aura emanating off of her like billowing black smoke that was Death's presence.

((I know... not the best introduction XP))

A group of people were meeting in secret to discuss whats going on in the kingdom.
The Thieves Guild has been inactive for quite some time, but with the recent troubles starting they looked to their leader for a plan of action. Many of them were good fighters or archers, some of them even boasted some magical prowess. They met in their old meeting place: A secret underground building in the sewers. With the rain the water level was a bit high, but this had happened before and everyone knew where and where not to go. Ned had gotten his hands on an artifact and sold it to the king for a fourtune! the business at hand was what to do now? They had all heard about how he had done it. He had told them, and boasted about it. The tribute to the guild Ned had paid was huge! (Members of the guild pay a 15% commision fee on stolen goods and gold earned.) The discussion would probably last all night...

Drake was in utter disgust. The sewers were absolutely horrid, was this really where the oh so famous Thieves Guild were? Drake walked in without hesitating into the meeting, some olf was boasting about some grand trickery that he had committed. Drake walked straight to him and asked, "Is this the best you can come up with? Selling mere trinkets for a high price? IF this is what the famed Thieves Guild is all about then it is no wonder you meet in the sewers like a bunch of rats!"

He smiled at some of the angry faces, a murmur ran rampant through the crowd like wildfire. He turned to them, "My comrades, you are better than this! Where is your honor as thieves? You should be robbing the privileged for millions, not thousands! The King has an entire store room of gold for the pickings." This made some anxious with greed, many began to grin at the prospect of a room full of gold.

Drake just walked out, grinned that he had stirred their imaginations. Now he casted his illusionary spell over them. It would last long enough, he hoped, to motivate them to immediate action. He walked out of the sewers, with a sly gleam in his eye as he headed out into the rain in search of an inn to wash up.

(( >: O I had a great post in the makings and then accidentally hit the wrong key and lost it all!! CRAI... And, it's okay, ninja. Not all first posts need to be horribly long or anything. I'm sure it's fine so long as you get your point across.... And I almost think that my posts are too lengthy... > >;; ))

Raisa looked around to see that next to everyone had left. She shrugged it off, they must have just been tired, so they left so that they could get some sleep. Yeah, that's it! That's it exactly! She was just thinking that this would be her chance to go and find the guild master, when she felt the presence of very strong and very dark magic. She stiffened and turned to look at the new-comer.

What Raisa saw made her want to run as fast and as far away as she possibly could. This new person was being possessed by a very dark spirit. The mage could see quite a bit of the spirit and could feel death's chill run down her spine. The room was made considerably darker from the pitch black smoke billowing out around the evil spirit. Raisa's nose srunched up and she covered it with her gloved hand to try and keep from breathing in too much of the stench of death. The little drow knew that this being was powerful and her staying around such a presence for too long may just end up sucking away all her life.

The elf practically ran up to the receptionist, and actually speechlessly, showed the letter. She received the key to what would be her room along with her reward. She practically ran down the hall and up the stairs to her room. (Number 213, in case you wanted to know...) Raisa was very glad to be away from the death. But, she began to wonder about the person.

Surely, those who had not been surrounding by magic for nearly a hundred years would not recognize that stench (or even notice the smell!).... Or the eerie figure of death following the poor person.
Surely, the person did not want to be possessed by such a fate... And, surely, someone who knew their magic as well as Raisa could do something to help. Right? Raisa had lived with and loved magic all of her life. It wouldn't be exaggerating too much to say that Raisa's life blood was practically magic itself... Well, maybe that is exaggerating a bit much, but close enough, right? Deep inside, Raisa knew that the day she could no longer preform magic would be the day the she died. Perhaps not externally, but she would definitely lose her will to continue living.

(You didn't say what the spell did, I'm going to assume invisability?)
Many of the thieves saw this as their chance, but others were unsure. After all, the guild had been inactive for a long time... Still, a crime spree would hit the kingdom soon enough.

The Guildmaster for the Heroes Guild approached Alexandria. He hadn't greeted her yet nor had he given her the commision fee and room key. He found it uneasy being near her, but he was used to this kind of thing from his younger years. "I haven't had a chance to meet with you yet, I'm sorry for the delay. Here is your 100 silver commision fee and a key to your room. Its right down the hall here." He handed her the key and silver in an envelope as he motioned to the room the key went to.
(He's being careful to hide his accent. First impressions with a lady and all.)

Alexandria looked to the kinb and took the money and key. Her hood covered the upper half of her face so her identity wouldn't be known. Though the people that knew her had died almost 400 years ago she had learned in that span of time to be careful. Her voice echoed slightly as she spoke "Thank you your highness" she bowed "I am known as Thanatas" She stood back up

Drake walked in calmly, with almost a skip in his step as he went to the receptionist. He gave a flirtatious smile, making her blush as he asked, "I choose the right Inn to stay in tonight. There is such a beautiful woman working here, may I ask for a room to stay in Miss?" She fumbled a yes, as she gave him key with a embarrassed smile.

He began to make himself to the room... 214. Ah, adding the numbers would equal to 7. It must be a sign of good fortune, he thought to himself. Drake went into his room and undressed, putting on a towel, he called a maid from the inn. Her face was bright red when she saw his sleek athletic body. "Could you be a dear and wash these right away?" he said casually, she nodded and ran away with his garments.

After his bath, he found his clothes neatly folded. Drake couldn't help but smile, he would reward her later before she died with an illusion. He got dressed and proceeded downstairs, he was very hungry from all the sweet talking he had to do.

((I based my post off of your Le-Krynn, hope that wasn't a bad thing >_<))

The Guildmaster was taken aback. "Thanatas, I am not the king. I am merely the Guildmaster here." This had never happened before, and The Guildmaster was very surprised by this case of mistaken identity.

(The thieves guild is going to be active tonight, but I will get to those details when the time comes.)

Alexandria nodded "I apologise... your attire confused me" She looked around the empty halls. "Why are there not many people her guild master?"

(I made my own villain! Mostly because I wanted to. I guess this means you all can have two profiles as well should you desire it.)

Cordain wandered the streets of the city. Everyone knew who he was, but nobody wanted to try anything. After all, he had just murdered a gaurd for trying to arrest him, the Poor fool.
His pockets were feeling a tad heavy, so Cordain decided to go into the magic shop. He left with more than he went in with, considering the two rings he had stolen. On a reconsideration he went back in and paid to have his weapons enchanted. Flaming daggers might be a nice touch, as well as his new throwing dagger he had enchanted. After paying the man (and shortchanging him) Cordain decided to visit the Heroes Guild to see what kind of people were taking on the King's plea for help.
(He isn't there yet, just on his way.)