08-18-05 3
Characters involved: Arlos, Zoe_Lang, Grim, Wren, Loki, & Amir.
Halyard Village: Main Street(#123920RJ)
The morning sun creates many shadows around the building and houses of halyard village main street. Crouching hidden in one of these shadows is Alros watching the hare side of the village, making himself unseen.
The morning sun suggests just one thing - that it's morning. Thus, the Colonel is awake with a steaming cup of tea in one paw. She's standing behind the hare barricade peering over, along with the few archer/sentries unfortunate enough to be posted at this time of day. One of them yawns, and the doe sends them a look. He fall silent mid-yawn, and she looks away.
Alros crouches and shuffles closer to the hare barricade searching it for a way over or around it. he has a grappling hook in one paw and a long slender dagger in the other.
Alros bites his lip trying to figure out a way past the barricade he counts how many hares are guarding the barricade
Not too long after the look, Zoe yawns herself. The other hares start to smirk, but the doe quickly cuts them a look and shakes her head. 'Don't even think about it,' in other words. She takes a sip of her tea and looks out over main street again, thoughtfully. Nothing moving that she can see, anyway. She glances to the hare nearest to her, "When's the last time ya saw anythin' movin'?" The reply: "... Not since I came on shift, ma'am."
Alros sticks his dagger in the ground right around the corner of the building and watches the reflection of the hares he pulls out a throwing dagger and liyes flat on the ground pulling himself so his head and one are out in veiw and then tosses the dagger at the head of a hare, quickly pulling out of view again.
The dagger strikes its intended victim in the forehead, but fortunately (for the hare, anyway) it only strikes a glancing blow. Nonetheless, the hare goes does down like a sack of bricks, arms flying instinctively up to his head as he cries out. The four other hares immediately turn and then seeing the other's plight, duck down. Zoe moves from her position and over to the injured hare, crouching beside him. "Well, there's somethin' movin' out there /now/... get 'em, get 'em! Whatcha doin' starin'?" The remaining three hares turn back to the barricade, arrows set to bow strings.
Alros curses the hares this is not what he intended. Plan B. he pulls out a glass bottle from the vermin side, empty, there is a few rocks in the bottle. Alros tosses the noise maker across to the other side it clanks and clings lound as it smacks a building opposite of alros who has another dagger in paw.
The noisemaker does make the noise. Unfortunately, it's not invisible on its way across, so if anything the diversion has proven to locate the offending vermin, and all arrows point to the origin of the bottle, though they cannot yet see their target from where he hides. Zoe has since called for a healer and a bow and so she returns to the barricade, bow and arrow now in paw. One of the archers nods in the direction that they are watching, and she too looks that way.
Grim makes his way along a roof top of a random building on the eastern area of town, he cuts the air with the sound of a very haunting tune from a small flute.
The arrows begin thucking into and around the hares. There is at least one noticeable scream. Hearing the hub-bub, more hares come running for the barricade, some with bows and some with blades. A return volley is sent vermin way, including an arrow from Zoe's bow. It strikes her target in the neck.
Grim sets himself down on the edge of the roof he was walking on, watching the battle below him and still playing his tune.
Alros studies the building he's hiding behind and notes a window about 2 hares above the hare side another 2 hare tall window right above him. 1+1=2. He tosses his grappling hook up to the window and begins climbing up the rope silently.
Not surprisingly, the arrows continue to fly back and forth. The hares have formed two lines, and each take turns firing off their arrows. The front line fires, ducks down to reload, and the second row jumps up to fire, and so on. This has the effect of minimizing their exposure time to the arrows. Zoe remains in the front line.
Alros climbs to the top and enters a cozy little home with a long hallway at the end is the window above the hare side. He watches the backs of the hares. Too many to handle.
Grim continues watching while playing his tune, he seems to enjoy providing the music to go with this skirmish.
Grim was watching the Wildcat's movements, since the fighting has quieted down he changes his tune to a more dramatic sounding note to add to the poor creatures current situation.
Too many to handle, indeed. Zoe's going to have to compliment Darklett on following her orders - the hares are indeed ready for battle at a moment's notice. Once the remaining vermin duck from view, a cheer goes up on the hare side, though they keep their arrows trained on the opposite side all the same. Zoe, on the other hand, tosses her bow down and draws her sword, just watching things for the moment.
Alros bites his lip till blood shows holding a dagger he watches zoe. This is his only chance, take out the leader. He tosses it with speed and acurasy at the area between the hares shoulder blades and ducks behind cover the window is to high for the hares to climb.
Grim watches the blade head for Zoe and increases the drama of the tune he plays.
Loki just strolled over to the vermin barricade, and one glimpse into the square shows that he needs to do something or other. Pulling his saber out, he climbs over the barricade, jogging towards the action. He hasn't made a noise yet, except for the scuffling as he crossed the barricade.
Zoe_Lang's flute playing /finally/ catches Zoe's ear as he increases the 'drama'. She turns just slightly to locate the source, and just as she does, the dagger hits her. Because of the turn, instead of center back, it snags in under her left shoulder blade, burying to the hilt. Crying out, she collapses down to her knees and doubles forward. "Ahh... bloody 'ell!" She reaches over her shoulder with her opposite paw and tries to reach it to pull it out, but it's just a fraction too low - and stabbing like fire. A good number of the archers' arrows swing 'round to train in the direction of the offending dagger while the other portion are trained on the approaching Loki. A good few arrows are sent in his direction.
Grim saddens his tune as Zoe is hit and chaos begins to take hold of the battle field again.
Alros backs up to the wall and runns dives out of the window apon hitting the ground he rolls once to be right beside zoe_lang a sword pointed at her neck...
Loki skids to a stop, shouting for help and dropping to the ground so the arrows go overhead. Several vermin from the east square appear, carrying bows. They jump or climb over the wall, and on the other side, open fire on the hares.
Grim keeps the slow sad sounding tune going, his gaze mostly focused on Zoe's predicament as it seems to be getting worse for the maiden.
Several hares with bows turn to face the threat of the newcome vermin, among them Wren, a young doe. The fighter, skilled with a bow, takes command of the group of hares, who begin to fire volleys at the enemy archers.
Zoe_Lang is in the process of getting up, and she's up to the point where she's back up from doubled over and is kneeling when the sword point finds her neck. Her eyes widening, Zoe goes absolutely still and turns her eyes around to Alros. He is eyed for a second before Zoe makes a quick moment, 'collapsing' backwards and then rolling right over - on her good shoulder. Still though, the dagger hilt is driven in further, and black spots appear before Zoe's eyes at the all new and special wave of pain. She staggers to her feet and stands, pulling a dagger from her belt. The archers paying attention to all of this draw their arrows back, but with Zoe so close they don't fire.
Grim decides to return to a more 'dramatic' sounding tune as Zoe is now in such pain and at sword point.
Alros keeps close to zoe so the archers can't fire bringing his sword in swift movements at her
Loki has gotten back up, and while the vermin archers fire back at the hares from cover, he dashes, bent almost double, towards the wildcat and hare nearby, his main objective being to get the wildcat out of the square as soon as possible.
Wren and her archers have no problem shooting at Loki, considering he's still a safe distance from Zoe. Two volleys are sent in his direction, before several hares are wounded by vermin archers. Their attention is turned away again, and they open fire on the vermin on the street.
Zoe_Lang manages to keep free of his sword point for the time being, though she's mostly just dodging and hasn't yet made any attacks. She lost her sword when she fell, and a dagger hasn't got much of a reach. Oh, and there's that whole 'in pain' thing. However, she takes advantage of one of his sword strikes and steps to the side and forward, bringing the dagger down in a stab at his sword arm.
The dagger plunges into his sword arm but he doesn't show any sign of pain except dropping his sword...
Amir is on the rooftops again, sneaking along, when the sounds below attract his attention. Walking over to the edge, he looks down at the scene below. His mask is still over his face, and the falcon that accompanies him hovers just above him, beating its wings to keep in one place.
As soon as he drops the sword, Zoe twists the dagger in his flesh and yanks it out, and immediately kicks a powerful hind leg at his knee. Incapacitating him is as good as killing him as far as Zoe is concerned.
Wren groans as the weasel makes it over the barricade, dropping her bow in favor of her sword, dashing to stop him from reaching the Colonel, leaving the other hares behind. "Hey! Ovah here!"
Alros is kicked. Hard. he drops to his knees holding his bloody. getting a hold of him self he reaches out with his other arm for his sword before zoe gets it.
Grim brings his music to a slow stop as Zoe takes on the wildcat, now he just watches from his spot above the battle, he knows that he is no longer the long beast on the roof tops but he's more interested in the fighting below the stoat.
Amir sees this whole mess as an opportunity to fulfill his contract, and, quickly tying a rope around a nearby chimney, sliding about halfway down, checking the distance, then cutting the rope and dropping to the ground, about four feet from Zoe and Alros.
Seeing Alros go for his sword, Zoe immediately makes a wild leap for his back, trying to get her good arm around his neck and the dagger to his throat.
Grim sees an opportunity to add more to the drama again and starts to play a very fast paste tune on his flute.
Alros looks up as amir lands and zoe lands on his back he gropes for his sword desperate to get it
Loki spins as Wren yells at him, turning his attention to the haremaid. Kill her quick, then help the wildcat. That'll work. Pulling a dirk from his belt, he throws it towards Wren, then dashes towards her.
Wren is hit by the dagger, but the haremaid continues to run towards the weasel. Close enough, she thrusts the sword forward, hoping to hit him.
Zoe_Lang brings the dagger around and tries to stab it into Alros' neck, just at the point where neck meets shoulder. Amir's near presence is noted, but at the moment she's more concerned with the big honking wildcat.
Alros knows his life is in danger, he flips onto his back and grabs the dagger by the blade in both pawss the blade cutting paws and blood dripping but he pushes the blade away
Amir pulls a long dagger from somewhere under his robe, the blade covered with a sticky black fluid. The stoat certainly doesn't mess around. He steps forward, to the edge of the scuffle. The dagger, almost as long as a short sword, hovers just an inch or so from Zoe. "Alright, enough." His voice is deceptively calm.
Loki parries Wren's thrust, saber flicking towards her face in a surprise move.
Grim starts to slow his tune as the stoat makes his presence known, now going for a more ominous sounding one.
Wren cries out, as the saber cuts an ugly gash along her face, and she falls. As she does, however, she kicks out at Loki's knees, hoping to knock the weasel down. Several other hares are starting to head in her direction.
The dagger is pushed away, but Zoe holds onto it all the same. In fact, she's trying to press back and force it back down just when Amir's voice reaches her. She looks around and sees the blade, as well as what is covering it. Poison. She does her very best not to move, though she keeps hold of her dagger, seeing as how Alros is on the other end.
Alros amazingly smiles but holds the dagger away 'i had it under control' he says to amir blood is covering the wildcats body
Amir continues to hold the dagger near Zoe, his gaze flickering to Alros. "Yeah, whatever." No emotion. This is his job, no time for any nonsense. His eyes are the only thing to be seen, and these look back to Zoe. "You might want to let go of your dagger."
Grim continues the music as he watches the goings on below him.
Loki grunts, falling to the ground -again-. Ouch. Seeing the hares approaching, he attempts to gain some control over what's happening. "C'mon mates! Let's get out of here before we're all dead!" He crawls to his knees, saber flashing down at Wren.
Grim disappears almost as mysteriously as he appeared, the sound of his music seems to echo above the town though.
Wren rolls to the side, but the saber still manages to hit her. She swoons, dropping her sword. The other hares are almost there, hopefully somebeast will save her. Two bucks turn their attention to Loki, while a doe in healer's guise pulls Wren away from the fight.
"Aye, sure... No need t' worry." Zoe releases the dagger slowly and holds up her paw, to show that it holds nothing.
Alros jumps up and grabs his sword pointing it at the hare nodding to amir 'you can go, she's my kill'
Amir is silent for a moment, free paw messing with the mask covering the lower half of his face. "Alright. But you owe me. I'll still collect my contract, anyway." The stoat turns to go, beginning a climb up a nearby wall.
Loki begins to fight with the two hares, slwoly backing towards the barricade now that things have been sorted out.
Zoe_Lang looks between Amir and Alros as they exchange words. Still she is still, not daring to move a muscle for the moment. Still the other archers around watch helplessly, though as Amir moves away and starts climbing the wall, the archers take advantage of this moment to lease some arrows at him.
Alros watches the arrows and thinks. if he kills her here he will be cut down by arrows. 'stand up, rabbit'
While the two hares fight with Loki, another has snuck behind Alros, quietly enough that his presence goes unnoticed for the moment.
Zoe_Lang eyes Alros silently for a moment before she slowly gets to her feet, grimacing at the pain in her shoulder which flares every time she moves. Her eyes narrow thoughtfully as she watches the wildcat. "Do ya have any idea how close t' dead ya are? Not even worryin' about yer wounds... Just look around ya, cat."
Amir makes it halfway up the wall, going at a fair clip, before the arrows fly towards him. A several miss, and quite a few are snagged in the semi-loose robe he's wearing, but one hits him in the lower back. Jumping to one side, he lands heavily on a low roof, crouching down in pain. His falcon swoops down, the small raptor landing on his shoulder and looking around at the beasts below.
Alros points the sword so close to zoe that the point is toucher her neck 'shuddup' he looks for a way out not noticing the hare behind him
Loki kicks out at the hares attacking him, leaping backwards, somehow managing to get over the barricade, and ducks into an alley, heading back to the east square. Whether the other vermin on the street make it back or not, he doesn't really care.
The hare behind Alros bites his lip nervously, lifting the butt of his javelin over the wildcat's head, bringing it down quickly. If the wildcat catches on, there's maybe a fifty percent chance of him being hit.
The sword point pierces the top layer of skin and she growls softly, but she still doesn't move, nor does she let on to the hare behind Alros. Her eyes remain trained on the wildcat.
Alros is surprised as the javelin butt hits his head hard. in a daze he drops his sword and clumps to his knees
Amir is obviously incapitated, despite all his skill and ability. Breathing heavily, and crouched low, he stays where he is, the falcon on his shoulder glaring at anybeast nearby, like a protective guardian.
The fighter behind Alros brings his javelin shaft down towards the wildcat's head, once more, just for good measure, hoping the blow will be as effective as the first was. Most of the other hares remain at a distance, bows at ready.
Alros head is smacked with a 'damnit' he falls to the ground half unconscious
As soon as Alros drops his sword, Zoe grabs it and steps back. As soon as Alros is down (and out), Zoe staggers down to one knee, leaning on the sword hilt. She looks up at the hare with the javelin. "I could... use a healah."
Amir slumps down, hoping the hare's will think he's dead and leave him be. The falcon somehow keeps its perch, still glaring at all and sundry.
The hare was about to apologize to the Colonel for cutting it so close, but instead, dashes off in search of someone to help. "Healah! We need a healah!"
A couple other hares move in on the semi-conscious Alros, one going to loop a rope around his neck while another tries to tie his arms behind his back. Even a semi-conscious wildcat might struggle against that, though. Zoe just watches, dazed, as she reaches over her shoulder to touch the dagger hilt again. Fun times. Meanwhile, some hares are in the process of noticing Amir. Hm.
Alros grunts as he is tied up but lays limp, to dazed to struggle
Amir remains as still as a dead beast could possibly be, his breathing covered by his robe, which flutters slightly in the breeze. Meanwhile, the falcon hops to the edge of the porch roof, glaring down at the hares.
The hare-in-search-of-healer returns, almost dragging the doe who had been busy with Wren only moments before. "Colonel! Ah found a healah!"
A volley of arrows shoot off at the glaring falcon, but it seems that Amir's ruse has worked - they don't go for him.
Amir continues his ruse, until he hears the arrows fired. The falcon is possibly his only friend on earth, and he cannot allow it to be killed. Knowing he'll regret his action, he whistles sharply, and the falcon flies over to him as the arrows clatter where it was a second before.
"... Good." She tosses away Alros' sword and slowly sits. She reaches for the dagger again. "Get this outta me..." She watches as Alros is trussed up. "Take 'im int' one o' the buildin's and keep three guards on 'im at all times... I want 'im taken back t' the mountain once he's well 'nough. See what ya c'n find out from him."
The hares tending to Alros nod their assent and try to lift him, to drag him off to one of the buildings as requested.
Alros is dragged of by the hares one last glare at zoe before going fully unconscious
The fighter kneels to help the healer, taking the dagger in his paw, about to pull it out, but his attention is drawn by the vermin chap above. Whatever he is, stoat, weasel, its hard to tell with his robe and whatnot. "What about him, Colonel?"
"Capture 'im if ya can... kill 'im if ya can't." Zoe looks up at Amir, eyes narrowed.
The hare nods, pulling the dagger out of Zoe, (Eww.) and still carrying it, pulls himself up to the roof, crouching beside Amir and his falcon. "Right mate. Let's get yah down."
The healer, meanwhile, bustles around Zoe, doing what she can, considering she's out on the street and Zoe is sitting down. "Have yah fixed up in a tick, Colonel."
Amir knows its over, and rolls onto his side, feeling the arrow in his back snap about halfway along its length. "Alright." No good fighting. The falcon hisses, and the stoat reaches up with both paws, removing his mask and taking the raptor from his shoulder. Shaking his head, he manages to slide off the roof, hitting the ground below.
Zoe_Lang allows the healer to do her thing while she keeps an eye on the Amir situation. When he hits the ground below, she shakes her head. "Search 'im - carefully. He's got poison."
The fighter blinks, studying Amir's face, follows the stoat, landing beside him. "Yes ma'am." He turns to the stoat, grabbing him roughly under the arms, and pulling him up, leaning him against the wall. He begins at the stoat's shoulders, patting his clothing, checking for weaponry.
Amir groans. Under the robe, at his waist, hang numerous weapons and poisons. The hare will undoubtedly find them all.
The fighter's search reaches Amir's waist, and he frowns as he hears the clink of metal. "Take yah robe off, mate. Nice try, hidin' everythin' under yah robe."
Once the healer has tended to Zoe's wound, the Colonel slowly stands and crosses over to watch the process more carefully. "Ya shoulda killed me when ya had the chance, stoat. You /an'/ the cat might still be free."
Amir sighs, letting his falcon go, taking off his outer robe. Underneath is a tunic, and trousers. A belt around his middle holds various things, including a rope, knives, and several vials and flasks. His longsword is already on the ground, so all his weaponry is now in sight.
The fighter chuckles in surprise. "Yah a professional, Ah'll give yah that much." He begins taking the weapons from the stoat's belt, holding up the stoat's equipment. "All of these poisons?"
Amir doesn't say anything, looking at the wall in front of him. The falcon has perched on his shoulder once more, and hisses at the buck.
Seeing that all is in hand, Zoe makes a mental note of the fighter seeing to Amir, in order to give him a proper commendation once this is all over. She turns to leave, though she pauses long enough to give one final word. "Keep 'im in a separate area from the cat... three guards, all times." With that, she leaves.
