Brawl in the Fang and Claw Part Two
Just when you think it is safe to enter the Fang and Claw Tavern, we bring you a second part of the brawl!
Players are Vannon a grey furred archer fox (me)
Raziel the warrior wild cat
And Toran the arctic fox assassin
...an archer, a warrior, and an assassin all walk into a bar...this doesn't sound like the beginning of some rpg quest at all!
Once again this scene contains lots and lots of action.
Just another wonderful day in the Fang and Claw. The weather outside is blistering cold and snowing. The atmosphere inside is any but less hostile. The fight continues to rage like a wild fire that refuses to be put out. Crowded with travelers, most of who have professions that prey upon OTHER travelers, are all engaged in a no holds bared fight scene. Save for one lone fox who has enough sense to dodge out the nearest exit, the north side door. He dodges under a pair of fighters, moves around a pair of wrestling ferrets and finely at long last he is nearing the door. The fox breaths a sigh of relief. Already having two black eyes Vannon is starting to resemble a raccoon more than a grey fox.
Raziel is a tad busy at the moment, since the vulpine has most decidedly left him high and dry. The tall wildcat holds his position next to the bar, fending off the assorted beasts who stumble his way, using his sword, his spear, his claws - sometimes a combination of any two. His silvery eyes open wide as he spots a lanky ferret with a /battleaxe/ charging towards him. The feline sidesteps the attack, allowing him to bury the axe in the top of the bar, and ham-strings the mustelid with his sword in one motion. "This fight just won't die down..."
The door of the tavern swings open and an arctic fox walks in, his eyes slightly widened at the unexpected fight. His gaze flicks to the familiar fox running towards the door and walks towards him. "You, Vannon. What's caused this?" He demands, his normally cool demeanor having vanished with the introduction of a fight.
The grey furred fox comes to an abrupt halt when his fellow vulpine blocks his exit. Why is he asking questions? Can't he see that Vannon is trying to escape for his life! Before Kydo Vannon can tell the other fox this, probably in a high pitched yelp of terror, he is tackled to the side by a rat. Vannon's rapier clatters to the floor as he struggles to keep the vermin from plunging a knife into he heart. The two wrestle on the floor biting, kicking, clawing at each other.
Things are going slightly better at the bar. But...not by a wide margin. Raziel has managed to earn the ire of a particularly ill tempered tabby cat with a rapier, and is parrying and dodging for his life. He holds his spear in a balanced stance, more like a staff than a lance in these close quarters, but the reach is still enough for him to barely sweep the tabby off his paws, and pin him to the ground with the spear point. Reluctant to bring /more/ people into the fight, but feeling a bit overwhelmed, Raziel looks to the two foxes - well, one now, as Vannon is tackled - and calls, "Are you just going to stand around?!"
Toran looks up from the fallen fox at Raziel, confused. This wasn't his fight...but then again, he was always ready for a fight. Drawing his twin daggers, he plunges them into the back of the rat and kicks the still open tavern door closed before ripping his daggers out and sprinting into the midst of the fight, ducking, slashing, and stabbing with noteworthy speed.
The rat makes a gasp and a look of shock crosses his face before he slumps over the fox. Vannon quickly rolls the literal dead weight off of him. Rolling to his feet the grey furred vulpine has a crazy look to his eyes. Battered, stabbed, tired, and still denied the pie he was eating Vannon draws the bow from his back. In a fluid, almost machine like motion the fox notches arrows to his bow and looses them at any and all beasts around him, not carrying if they hit a vital spot or not. "I...am...tired...of...being...HIT!" He launches one projectile after every word.
Raziel is a bit more precise with his targets - the wildcat is only attacking beasts that pose an imminent threat, and letting the rest fight among themselves. That said, he gives very little quarter to those that /do/ decide to attack him, as evidenced by the spear he thrown through the heart of a rather unlucky stoat, and the rat clutching where his arm used to be. The grey, striped feline is still holding his own, amazingly, but is relieved to see the white fox diving through the crowd, and the grey fox finally taking some action.
Toran is also quite precise with his targets, having been trained in the art of killing, he knows which spots to slash and just the right spot to kick an unlucky stoat in the leg to elicit a scream and a sickening snap. He is just about to cut down another ferret when an arrow whizzes by and slams into his opponent's throat. The ferret lets out a gurgle before crumpling to the floor.
Vannon pins another fox to the wall by his shirt collar. An excellent shot...if he hadn't been aiming for the red furred vulpines belly. The situation has gone beyond chaos. Introducing chaos here would be to introduce a does of sanity. They have probably depopulated the Mossflower woods of bandits, thieves, and assassins in half by now. The problem is the other half is still here in tavern with them. The fox whistles loudly to the warrior feline and the white furred vulpine before shouting, "Out the far window!" He sends another arrow in the direction he is going to try and herd his 'allies'.
Raziel is more than happy to let these beasts fight it out among themselves - even if it means jumping out into a storm. Ah well; he has a thick coat, he'll be fine. The wildcat retrieves his spear, clocks a few more creatures over the head with the haft of his spear, as he spins and fights through the crowd, and kicks the window open, deciding that the latch is a small price to pay for the continued existence of his hide. "Coming?"
Toran's gaze snaps to the window, where he spots the fox and cat leaving. With several slashes, he reduces a weasel to ribbons before darting off towards the window, cutting and stabbing his way through the crowd and even spinning over the doubled over bodies of various vermin.
Vannon tucks his feet to his chest as he bounds through the window in a single leap, one paw holding tightly to his bow, the other onto his hat. He hits the snow outside and yelps as he trips and face plants into the ground. The good news is the snow has started to pile up from the heavy wind and snow fall making their escape into the night all that much easier. The bad news...the snow has started to pile up from the heavy wind and snow fall has made the weather outside cold and probably not the best place to stay for an extended period of time.
Raziel gives a single glance back, before the striped cat jumps out the window as well, landing lightly on his paws next to Vannon. He looks around at the eerily lit white expanse as the snow continues to fall, and smirks a little. It's better than in there, at least. The cat pulls back the black cloth he wears on his shoulder, returning it to it's use as a proper cloak, and pulling the hood up. "It's likely the fight won't blow over until morning. Unfortunately, the storm may last just as long." The cat is calm, though there's still a hint of exasperation in his voice.
The last thing to come from the window is Toran, diving out with his daggers sheathed. He hits the snow in a roll, the momentum from his fall into the roll bringing him to his feet. The fox scans the area, almost indistinguishable from the landscape and making his armor look like no one is wearing it, but rather that it is floating. He remains silent and listens to the sounds and screams of fighting from inside a bit jealously, though secretly he was glad to be out of there.
Vannon picks his head up out of the snow. He hazards a look back before getting to his feet. "Time to get out of erk!" the fox falls back to his knees after trying to get up, paw dropping his bow so he can clutch the side of his stomach. "Oh...for-forgot about that..." The fox whimpers. Vannon swallows the pain and tries to chuckle, "That is going to ruin my whole day." He goes back to whimpering a moment later.
Raziel blinks slowly. "Of course." He leans down to check on the fox, and see just how bad the wound is. "I'm no miracle worker, but...I do have some minor knowledge of field dressings." He grumbles, "I'm much better at making wounds than fixing them, however..."
Toran raises an eyebrow at the injured fox. He certainly didn't have knowledge of healing, nor did he have any wish to. Plus he wasn't exactly fond of the fox in light of what had happened last time they had met. He also felt uncomfortable being with two creatures he didn't know, so he chooses to still remain silent.
Still clutching his stomach the grey fox leans back to also examine his own wound. In reality no wound is minor, but at the very least this one won't prove fatal. Blood loss might over time though. Vannon chuckles dryly, "Heh, I know a little bit about patchin people up too...you kind of have to learn when you have eight siblings... one time I fell out of this tree and..." Vannon winces. Adrenaline wearing off now, and after landing on his wound from jumping from the window, he is starting to regret spending his money on food, not armor. A ferret comes flying out of another window down the way. "Heh, looks like the badger is up on his feet again..."
Raziel frowns a bit as he looks up. "Perhaps I should have dealt with him, to spare everyone else the trouble." The feline flicks an ear, and directs his attention back to the fox. "Not my concern now." He picks up a pawful of snow, and simply states, "You will not like this, but it'll slow the bleeding, and it's about as clean as you're going to get." The wildcat presses the snow against the vulpine's wound, and holds it there for a (presumably agonizing) moment.
Toran winces slightly as he watches the snow being pressed against the fox's wound. Ouch, that can't feel good. It certainly made him thankful for the armor he wore, though none of the vermin had gotten close enough for it to be needed.
The fox gasps in shock as the snow is pressed into the wound. He collapses forward into the wildcat then slumps over onto his side, passed out from the ordeal. Down the road even in the wind and snow a large group of Ferreval guards is seen coming down the road way, lighting up the wilderness with their torches. Apparently some one HAD managed to get word out that the Fang and Claw was being torn up by a fight.
Raziel wipes away most of the snow, and tears a strip of red cloth from the vulpine's clothing to make an impromptu bandage. The fox will thank him later. Or, possibly not. It matters little to the wildcat. The cat frowns a bit as he catches a glimpse of the approaching torches, and growls a little. "Guards, come to break up the fight, no doubt. Good for those left alive; bad for us. Too many questions." The striped feline picks the unconscious fox up, draping him over his shoulder after a bit of difficulty. "We should probably go somewhere that...isn't here."
The fox nods, though the movement isn't quite visible with the whiteness of his fur against the backdrop of snow. Looking around, he points towards the road. "We'll move south to the Black Gull Tavern. It'll give shelter and hopefully no fights are going on right now."
Vannon groans softly on top of the wildcat. He is in no condition to argue though. The guards are closer now. The sound of their foot paws can be heard through the weather.
Toran leads the way, his daggers drawn once again and his snow covered armor along with his snow white fur making him very difficult to see. "Right, come on. We need to get Vannon someplace safe and find somebeast to treat that wound." Without having realized it, he was saying more than he really meant to, but his mind was focused on helping Vannon, even though he didn't quite like the other fox. He could only hope that they would find help at Black Gull....
