Clamor at the Keep
Rona, Emma, Viddick, Cirith, Darkfur, wildcat guard [Punch]
With one of the guards down, and the other most likely not much more competent than the first, Rona spares a glance over at Emma, just to make sure she's not dead. The other three vermin are pretty much just standing around, staying out of the fight.
Emma stabs at the guard that was coming towards her...
A more aware guard would have easily deflected the blow, but this one is far from alert and aware, and he takes the spear to the stomach, doubling over, his weapon clattering to the stone floor. Rona smirks, turning back to her opponent she swings her shackle-flail at him, a blow he only barely blocks with his shield. Any of the servants still around are making for the exits.
Emma says, "huh...well that took care of that...um...are we gona go now?"
The vixen chuckles as she draws her flail back and swings it vertically and lower to the ground, catching the guard in the knees and bringing him down. Instantly Rona is on him, one paw holding him down, the other grabbing the guards own dagger and thrusting downwards at the guard's throat, ending him. She stands up, "Yer, now we can go." she says simply, one paw now bloody.
Emma stats for the door saying, "right..."
Viddick comes into the hall with Cirith, though hearing the noise causes him to fall back to the stairs, eye level just beneath the floor of the hall above. He whispers back to the slaver, "There's something going on up there. I think we may have our slaves, though the vixen's rags may be a bit big on you." He grins and slowly draws his sword. He makes eye contact with a guard across the hall, on the other side of the fray, who happens to notice in a lull in the action, and he whispers again, "Okay, I think we go now, surround them! Chaaaaarge!!!"
"Okay" Cirith says righ before he yells charge.
His Royal Highness is hiding behind a chair at the moment, hopefully unseen by the assailants, though unlikely that they hadn't seen him at the outset. "My rescuers!!" He cries out, peeking above the table-level and seeing Viddick and Cirith bolt into what should be a fairly decided scuffle. He spots a wine goblet atop the table and lunges for it, bringing it back down to him and taking a generous swig of the spirit.
Rona's attention is drawn to several things at once. Viddick and Cirith charging at them, the king poking his head up, and the entry of more guards. "The hell?" she mutters as she processes all of these. She looks over towards Emma and the other three vermin convicts, then back to Viddick and Cirith, who are rapidly gaining ground. Her eyes narrow and she answers the captain of the guard's charge with one of her own, her shackle flail swinging and the dagger held in a backpawed grip.
Emma was walking towards the door as the two rats charge, and goes to stab one them.
Viddick snarls and engages the squirrelmaid, sidestepping the stab and knocking the blade away and up, kicking at the squirrel's legs, as a few of the other guards come to his aid.
Cirith moves to whip the fox.
Darkfur decides to take matters into his own paws, crawling underneath the table and out to the center of the action, between legs of confused guards who are standing by to protect him, some even calling to the emperor, "Sire, stay back! Your Highness, let us--!" They look at each other, meanwhile Darkfur is getting closer, and withdraws a small blade from a side sheath, crawling up toward the vixen, whose back is turned to him.
Rona is completely unaware that she's being snuck up on, trying to deal with Cirith's whip, which cracks down mercilessly, a few times hitting her as she attempts to dodge it. She's trying to get in close, were the whip won't be effective, and she draws closer, but still taking the whip's blows. She swings the heavy shackle at Cirith, hoping to knock her off guard so she can get in and finish the slaver off with the dagger.
Viddick's act get's Emma to lose her spear and she jumps as he kicks her in the right leg. backing up from him, she moves to get the spear.
Viddick gestures to the guards in the brief moment of respite, careful to be out of the line of sight of the vixen, who's probably too busy herself to notice. Meanwhile, the rat slices down at the squirrelmaid to cut off her access to the spear, hopefully for him before she can retrieve the weapon. "No you don't!! Aargh!!"
Cirith backs up as Rona comes toward her, and whips some more.
Viddick meanwhile has enough time before the guards carry out Viddick's gestured order to lunge at the vixen, "Get back down to the dungeon-- you're /MY/ property!!" He brandishes the dagger in a violent arc directly toward the small of her back, half diving, half falling, as the guards are just about upon him...
Darkfur meanwhile has enough time before the guards carry out Viddick's gestured order to lunge at the vixen, "Get back down to the dungeon-- you're /MY/ property!!" He brandishes the dagger in a violent arc directly toward the small of her back, half diving, half falling, as the guards are just about upon him...
If expletives were lethal, Cirith would be six feet under in a heartbeat, as each time the whip hits Rona, a string of curses, mostly muttered, escape her. She flings the dagger at Cirith, and backs away from her, right into Darkfur's attack, the blade connecting about the middle of her back and moving down. She cries out in pain, true pain, not just the curses triggered by the bite of the whip, and slips backwards, falling towards the monarch.
Emma jumps back as Viddick slices down at her. She looks back to the fox as Rona falls.
Viddick quickly kicks away the spear, after his sword clangs against the stone tiles of the floor, and reaims the weapon down at her. "Up, on your paws! Cirith, see if those will do, I think I may have to pretend to be this one... ha! Your friends are doomed; we're heading back to the beach just as soon as we can dress as slaves. As luck would have it, two slaves, leaping right into our arms!"
Darkfur falls backward underneath the vixen, eyes wide with perverse jubilation, as he reclaims the blade and is pulled backward against his will, fighting the guards with all his might, "No!! No, you fools, she is not dead! Let me finish her!! Aaargghhh!!! Arghh!!" The guards don't know what to do with the monarch now that he's away from immediate danger, and so they just stand between him and the bleeding slave, unsure of who to take orders from.
With a paw held to the bleeding wound on her back, the vixen pulls herself back up, glaring angrily at the king. She glances over her shoulder where the other three vermin slaves were standing. They're now long gone. Rona attempts to go towards Darkfur, wanting nothing more than to bash his skull in, but she can't quite manage it, falling to her knees with a muffled curse.
Emma spits at Viddick as she moves back.
Cirith whips Rona again.
Viddick looks down at his tunic, not even wanting to touch the filth and grime of a slave to wipe it from him. He has more important things. "I thought I said to keep him off! It won't do to have blood on her clothes if they're to be part of our disguises! Your Majesty, all respect and honor, of /course/. We could have handled the situation, my leige, if you would but let us."
The largest of the guards is a wildcat, short but thickly built. His arm is hooked around the king's armpit, just loosely enough that Darkfur's lunges tug it up and down in staccato spikes. But the effort of subduing his enraged Highness is barely taxing to the cat, who mumbles rather pointless sedative phrases in an accent thickened by lack of education.
"Viddick, did you tell these brutes to stop me? Why.... or, should I not call you Viddick, then?" The emperor struggles again against the wildcat's hold, "Treacherous doppelganger! Oh, of all the rats in the kingdom, I had hoped you would be the last I'd have my paw forced to this end... but perhaps your interests and mine are not as they would be, if you were who you pretend to be! Guards, seize him!!" The other guards look at each other, to the one holding Darkfur, and to Viddick. What on earth to do?
Cirith says, "huh... umm... my Lord, are you sure that is wise to do?"
"Oh, gives it a rest already!" Rona yells as the whip cracks painfully down on her already injured back. She follows this up with some decidedly uncomplimentary remarks about Cirith, spat under her breath as she struggles to get up, blood soaking the back of her clothes.
"..." Viddick waits, for a moment or two, then takes advantage of the lack of reponse, "Your Majesty, we have things well in paw. You are sick right now, the entire kingdom knows it, and I would draw a vote of no confidence amongst the council, a temporary one of course, but you see we are up against time in apprehending the one who knows of this secret. If it is still of import to you, sire, we shall have him in paw, and continue with the plan to steal into Mossflower."
Emma starts moving towards the spear on the floor
If anything, the king's order only strengthens the wildcat's grip on his arm. "Captin?" he calls. "'Ow do we know dis ain' a impost'r roight 'ere?" He shakes Darkfur a bit.
"Noooo!! Aaargh, let me...go!!! No! You are not my captain; I am now convinced! What need have you of disguises, hm? If you are indeed Viddick? No, no, no, see.. /your/ objective was to kill him, prevent me from killing this.. this... servant of yours-- and, then..." He hacks and coughs loudly, foam forming across the corners of his mouth and spit flying from his every syllable, "...then! You would have that escaped shrew escape further from my grasp and the secret gone forever! Viddick!! Viddick!! Where are you?! Call out to me!!! Notch!!! Dangeon, my queen!!! There are..." He's losing his footing now, hanging onto the wildcat and struggling in exasperation, "There are living eff....effigies of yo... al arou.." His head rocks back and he blacks out.
Even preoccupied with the pain of the wound in her back, Darkwatcher's outburst gives her pause, and she watches him. "What the hell was that?" she asks simply. She grits her teeth as she holds her paw tighter against her back, trying to stop the bloodflow.
Even preoccupied with the pain of the wound in her back, Darkfur's outburst gives Rona pause, and she watches him. "What the hell was that?" she asks simply. She grits her teeth as she holds her paw tighter against her back, trying to stop the bloodflow.
Seeing that no one cares about her picking up the spear, Emma moves behind Viddick to stab him.
Cirith looks at the king, then her eyes catch Emma going to stub the Captin of the guard and yells "Oh you sneky little...!!" she whips the spear from the squirrel.
Viddick cuts Emma off from the spear.
Emma jumps to the side, and swings at Viddick with clenched paws.
One of the guards come up from behind the squirrel and nocks her out cold.
Rona is still lying on the floor bleeding.
The wildcat hefts the unconscious king up, encircling his waist with a hirsute arm. Carefully, he sets down the royal bulk into a chair and watches for signs of movement.
"Okay, well we need to get to the point of this backtracking mission and get back out to intercept the others. Cirith, get what you can that isn't ruined by that wound from the vixen, and I'll disguise myself as this one." Viddick has no regard for the slaves, carrying out the switcheroo coldly and without hesitation. "Guards, throw them back down into the cells, where these two belong. Take the king up to his bedchamber, see that he's guarded properly."
Rona has mostly staunched the flow of blood from her wounds, even crawling a few feet. She looks over her shoulder at Viddick as he speaks, "There is no way you're taking my clothes an' throwing me back down there." she growls, gripping the chain of her shackle-flail tightly. She really has no room to swing it, but if anybeast reaches for her, she'll likely just hit them over the head with the heavy iron cuff.
Ever loyal to the hierarchy, the burly guard nods unflinching assent. He gathers the limp monarch into his arms once again, as gently as he is able, and hefts him onto his shoulder. Another guard flanks him as he lopes toward the stairs.
