Epic Escape( An Lp Log)

Some Basement somewhere where a captive hare and fox are, they end up getting free but it’s not an easy task or a boring one either!!!

"Well this bites." Vannon sighs as he hangs by a rope wrapped about his paws from the ceiling. The poor vulpine was in a sorry state. His clothes were a mess and his fur was unkempt. Their captors were a little sparse in terms of providing creature comforts for their victims, but for all their flaws they kept the hare and fox fed and watered.

As much consolation as it was to know they were most likely going to make them into coats at the end of all this anyway... The prisoners are alone for right now in the dark and somewhat damp basement of the building. The occasional creek of the wood floor above suggests there are at least 2 beasts in the building, possibly more.

Flint has been listening to the sounds above and trying to pinpoint where the lizards are. He still has his paws tried behind his back, but they are a little more lose than they were before. “You have a poor attitude chap and that gets you nowhere"

"I would say the bindings over my paws get me know where, /chap/." The fox says in agitation, "And your cheerful optimism hasn't paid out yet either." The fox squirms a bit where he hangs then sighs, "I always knew it would come to this. Poor cousin Lenard was stewed by lizards and also turned into a coat...and so was Chester, Vix, Brussels..." Vannon pauses to think for a moment, "No, no, Brussels was eaten by mice...I'm fairly sure...possibly. Eh, it's hard to keep track of. Either way, I should have known this was going to happen..."

Flint raises an eyebrow "I don't think mice eat fox meat, unless they were bally well strange mice and I am not too happy bein' here either. I went ahead and helped you and this is wot bally well happen to me and we been here how many days?"

"I lost count..." The fox sighs, "Look for what it's worth, yes, I am willing to admit that this /may/ be my fault. I'm fairly sure at least 80% of the blame is mine...possibly 60%..." The fox takes a deep breath, "But I am..." He chokes for a moment, "S-so...ssss...sooorrry for getting you involved. But if we don't find some way out of this mess I AM 100% sure they will kill us."

Flint nods as he tries to loosen the binds on his paws some more as he speaks "Anything in here....flint and stone? Some sort of thing to light something to see..weapon of any sort?"

The fox peers at the poorly lit room around them. "I see...empty crates, a few smashed ones, the brick walls are in poor repair...oh and tons of spiders. If you could work your way towards the crates then, maaaaaaaaaaaybe you could find something to cut your bonds. Unless you can find a loose brick..."

Flint sighs, he then looks around they are close to a wall. He takes a deep breath and goes to make the chair move using his foot paws and a few rough jerks of his body till he suddenly falls sideways with a yelp. He groans as a trail of blood forms on his forehead and blinks a few times as he looks to where he fell" ouch..." tilts his head when he sees a broken piece of brick and grins as he wiggles and scoots best he can so that piece of brick is in his paws and he starts to slowly move it across the ropes so they be cut off.

The fox cringes at the hare, "Or, you can just dig our way out by bludgeoning your head against the ground. Brilliant!"

The process for cutting the rope is slow, but it's /progress/.

Flint is a bit grumpy, "Just..be quiet. I am trying to get my paws free of this darn..rope." He works with the broken brick and grumbles once as he cuts his finger some but he has to try and keep going and he does so for about an hour and his paws are getting tired and very sore, but they are loosened more now.

Vannon can relate. His arms and wrists feel /horrible/ from hanging here. It doesn't keep him from whistling though as the hare works. With little warning Vannon pauses and gasps, "Someone's coming!" he hisses to the hare shortly before the door to the cellar bursts open.

"Rise and shine darlings!" Comes the voice of the lead kidnapper. He steps downward followed by Tska, a very portly red scaled lizard and Jim, the scrawny green reptile who walks with a hunch and wears an almost perpetual scowl across his face.

"And how are you lot this fine morning eh?" Says the smug yellow scaled lizard in the lead. He steps lightly, claws folded behind his back.

Flint stops what he is doing for now. His paws are very lose but he keeps them where they are, even though he could finish breaking the ropes on his own. He looks over at the lizard and narrows his eyes but is otherwise silent.

The lizards hardly notice. Tska leans against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, tail crossed over his legs. Jim just nervously rubs at his wrist in the far corner as the lead kidnapper steps closer, "What? No good mornings to me? Not even a quip from our sarcastic foxy friend." He wraps his claws around Vannon's muzzle and shakes him a bit.

"I'm saving them for when my boss comes to make you into luggage." The fox says with a smile.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaah...about that." Jim says from the back, "It's been over a week now, I'm fairly sure that they aren’t coming."

"Nah, that's just Jak being sly and devious. He probably already has beasts staking out this joint as we speak!"

"Uh. Actually he pretty much told us we could keep you..."

"Seriously?" Vannon whimpers then says with a gulp, "D-does that mean..."

"Don't worry," The lead lizard pats the fox on the head, "You won't be stewed alone. Not if the Long Patrol keep dragging their boots with /his/ ransom too. Tell me hare, does Long Patrol stand for taking a /long/ time." The reptile laughs at his own joke, even when the others don't.

Flint glares as he moves his fingers some and goes to slowly get more of the rope broke as he speaks, "I be sure they are lookin' for me and your be dead soon enough ya foul furless beasts"

The reptile only smirks at the hare. He leans over him and replies softly, "Don't worry, you'll join the ranks of the furless soon enough..." chuckling to himself the lizard turns and walks away, letting his tail brush against the fox's nose as he stalks his way up the stairs.

"Ugh, all this talk of stewing a beast makes me gag." Jim complains.

"Eh, it beats cannibalism." Tska shrugs as he walks up the stairs.

"Heh, very funny Tska." Jim rolls his eyes as he follows and then pauses, "Wait...you were joking, right? Right?" After a moment or two the hare and fox are alone once again.

Flint ignores the urge to break whats left of the ropes and punch the lizard out. He takes a few deep breaths and then goes to pull his paws apart as hard as he can and grunts as the ropes break more and then the just come lose and he sort of tumbles and rolls a little ways from the chair with a cough and groan. His wrists are bleeding and have deep red lines on them, as does his lower arm a little. A couple fingers on each paw bleed from the brick.

The fox grins in delight as he watches the hare get free, "Woot. Great job. Now get me down from here and let's blow this joint!" The fox wags his tail in giddy delight.

Flint studies the fox as he is tied up and frowns. He rubs his paws and goes to look in the crates for any kind of blade to better cut the ropes than just some half broken brick.

Alas that is all there is, half broken planks of wood and loose rocks. "Anytime now." The fox's tail still wags, "You can get me down anytime now. Anytime. No hurry. Just preferably before they come back to turn me into soup. But really, anytime now." His smile is nervous, remembering how he was in a similar position a while ago...and chose NOT to save the hare. But that was all water under the bridge now, right?

Right?

Flint frowns "I was looking for something better to get you lose with." He grumbles and goes over using his paws to loosen ropes on his right paw first and then his right leg. "You can try and help too ya know" He shakes his head "We could throw rocks maybe or slam them in the head with a broken plank of wood.

The fox shrugs, "Well, usually I would just use my teeth to bite through the rope but," He glances down to where his feet are tied off to the ground as well, "I can't really reach either rope." The fox looks up at the ceiling, "Maybe...maybe we don't have to cut the rope. Look." Van gestures with his head to the single lantern in the room hanging from the wall. It's a glass and metal contraption. "If your plan really is to jump someone, I would suggest putting that out..."

The fox shrugs, "Well, usually I would just use my teeth to bite through the rope but," He glances down to where his feet are tied off to the ground as well, "I can't really reach either rope." The fox looks up at the ceiling, "Maybe...maybe we don't have to cut the rope. Look." Van gestures with his head to the single lantern in the room hanging from the wall. It's a glass and metal contraption. "If your plan really is to jump someone, I would suggest putting that out..."

Flint looks at the lantern and goes to break it with a wooden board, it crashes to the floor and he gets the broken glass and uses it to start cutting the rest of the ropes.

The fox's tail continues to wag most happily, "Yes! Yes! That's using yer old noggin. We will make you a bonified fox out of you yet! We will...uh...we will...do you smell something burning?" He turns back to the lantern were a small fire has remained. The burning oil spills across the stone cellar floor which isn't too much of a problem in a stone room, until it reaches the wood of the door frame.

The fire begins quickly, racing up the door frame and threatening to reach the wood ceiling.

"Faster." The fox says, "You must cut FASTER!"

Flint eyes go wide "That..That’s not good." He starts to cut the ropes faster as the flames go up to the next floor and gulps slightly. A small bit of oil is even by another crate that has some a bottle of ale in it, well let’s hope that doesn’t attract too attention to them. He coughs as some smoke starts to fill the room and the ropes are almost cut through...." Try to break them some with teeth"

Up above the lizards are...lounging mostly as their leader tries to figure out their next course of action. So far no one has come to collect their captives, and no one wants to join their gang. Things are...not going according to their fearless leaders plans.

Especially when they start to smell smoke coming from the floor below. "Is that..." Tska gasps as fire races across the floor board.

"Holy...Tska! Jim! The prisoners! Get the prisoners!" The lizards however make no motion to do so, they are already making a dash for the door even as fire races up the walls.

Plumes of smoke begin to raise over Halyard, coming from a small two story house by the docks.

Meanwhile the ropes come free from Vannon's fore paws. He falls with a THWUMP against his fuzzy tail and quickly tries to undo the bindings of his feet. Around them the cellar continues to be engulfed by flames...

Flint frowns, he seems to debate on just leaving the fox here to roast but that would be mean and cruel. He uses the glass to help the fox cut whats left of the rope and goes to race up the stairs “Come on chap we gotta get out of here!" He tries the door and notices right away..duhhhh..it’s locked. He takes a deep breath and goes to slam his shoulder into the door a few times and then gasps as he and the door fall forwards, well seems the fire and his shoulder both helped the door get free. He looks around as fire is starting to spread quickly and there is smoke all around. He coughs and tries to find a doorway.

When the smoke started billowing up from the shack near the docks, it was a pretty good clue as to where something shady might be going down. With the information they gathered previously from the lizards' own admissions, it was really only a matter of time before Jaksor showed up to 'rescue' Vannon. And so it is that the polecat strides resolutely toward the burning shack, John Wesley in tow, his bronze hook gleaming in the sun and dancing with the reflection of the flames that poke energetically from the windows. "Looks about right," He comments expectantly to John Wesley, whose frantic stare is significantly more unsettled than Jaks'. "John Wesley norra get burned-ed forra stoopid Foxface!" He whines, but the boss keeps walking.

Felicity has been doing one last day of spying before going back to the Mountain. She is in her service uniform, but is keeping a brown cloak pulled tightly about her to conceal that fact as much as possible. She's pretty sure she knows where her uncle is being held prisoner, but she wants to be absolutely sure. But then! The she spots the smoke. It's coming from the docks, where she thought for sure the building is. She breaks into a dead run, looping her sling onto her left wrist and loading it, then, drawing her sword, she unwittingly comes up behind the Reaver peoples and tries to politely scoot past them to get to the burning building. She's, like, 99% positive that her uncle is in that building, and no verminish vermin is gonna stand in her way of saving him!

The fox isn't too far behind, coughing as he goes up the stairs, leading into a sparsely decorated living room. The exit to the house is right in front of them. "Just keep moving, we are almost ther-"

The lizard drops from the ceiling into the middle of the floor. His yellow scales are covered in soot and his eyes are wide with madness, "You ruined EVERYTHING!" The lizard stands, hunched over like some combination of sentient being and primal animal, tail flicking behind him and clutching a short sword in his claw. He hisses and lunges at the hare and fox!

Outside the less crazy of the lizards stand in abject shock as they watch the house quickly start to go up in smoke. "Well...so much for that job, right?" Tska whistles low in reply to Jim. Jim continues, "We should probably get going before-" he turns to do just that, spotting the weasel, hare, and Jaksor coming on their way to the house, "Oh ssss-" he gasps

"Ssssssnap..."

Flint has no weapon on him and has no clue where his saber even is. He looks around quickly and spots the first thing he can get his bleeding paws on, and That’s a fancy looking vase he throws at the oncoming lizard and then races towards a spear leaning on a wall and holds it in his paws as he is right by the door now.

Jaksor's hook reaches forward as he lunges for the nearest hissing, stuttering lizard, the tip grabbing hold of whatever it can around the lizard's shoulder area and pulling him close to growl in his face. "Remember me?" The look of abject terror scrawled across the reptile's face confirms that, yes, he does indeed remember. "Scaly-butt say yes-no!" John Wesley cackles with glee, pulling his cleaver from his belt to wave it in the air with manic fury. Back in the poor lizard's face, Jaksor is still snarling. "Is my fox inside? /Is he inside?/" A lean, powerful arm, pawless though it may be, jostles the hob's momentary hostage to stir the long, forked tongue into action.

Felicity sees the polecat do his thing and decides to jump into the fray! Wrapping the straps of her sling around her paw a few times, she leaps forward and swings it like a flexible club at Tska. She then kicks out at him with her strong Runner's legs and goes to hit him with the pommel of her short sword. "Where is my uncle, you worthless piece of sea scum?? Is he in there?!"

Tska turns to the rather high pitched scream of Jim as he blabs out, "It's not my fault! We didn't start the fire! It's not my fault!" The pot bellied lizard then hisses in anger as he takes a blow to the snout from the hare's paw. He steps backward, slapping the kick away from him with his paw and then side stepping the sword hilt strike. "Look on the bright side lass, you have one less birthday party to worry about..." Tska draws his cutlass and goes to strike down the hare.

Meanwhile...

The yellow lizard turns and follows the hare hissing like an animal as he does. With his back turned to him Vannon leaps at the reptile, trying to tackle him. At the last moment the lizard turns again, slapping his thick tail against the fox's side, sending him flying head first into a wall. "I'll send you back to the mountain in pieces hare..." The reptile hisses again before slashing at Flint.

Flint is not too good with a spear but he is trying as he jabs at the lizard. He coughs as smoke enters his lungs and wonders how this lizard is handling smoke so well. He has little room to move and so the claws of the lizard go across his shoulder. He holds back any yelps and goes to stab at the lizard again with the spear as he edges towards the door and the outside.

When Felicity runs in, Jaksor concludes that the whole of the LP may be inbound momentarily and decides that actions need to be kicked up a notch. "John, int' th' fire! Don't let th' long-ears get Vannon!" The polecat slings the dazed lizard away from himself, rushing the front door and smashing it down with a mighty kick. Hopefully Flint wasn't too close. Fire and smoke belches up towards him, framing his figure like some sort of one-pawed harbinger from Hellgates itself. John Wesley remains stupidly outside, smashing his cleaver into the walls and windows, shrieking in his hooligan-ish tongue.

Oh, Tska just had to say that. Lissie roars and swings her loaded sling at him again. She stumbles slightly as she gets hit with his sword (not in a vital place, fortunately, but she's still bleeding), then goes to stab him with her sword, then tries to dart past him into the burning building. "Uncle Flint! I'm here! Eulaliaaaaaaa!!!" Let him know that rescue is here! Even if it's stalled outside because of chubby red lizards.

Twisting like a snake the spear scores a glancing blow across his underbelly and side as Stripes the lizard tries to dodge the hare's attack. He doesn't bother howling in rage, he just continues slashing wildly with his short sword, trying to hack the hare apart. Failing that, his spear.

The lizard pauses mid swing to watch the door burst open and Jaksor stride in like death itself.

In his adrenalin induced state Stripes takes this illustration rather...literally. A loud scream fills the air and he begins to back away, "No...no...it's not...you're not really here! You can't be!"

It's a wonderful distraction from the fox slowly getting off the floor. With a loud growl he leaps again at the lizard who nearly staggers under the fox's weight. "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screams as Vannon comes at him like a wild animal, sinking his teeth into his neck and digging his claws into his back.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He reaches up, pulling the fox over his shoulder where Vannon rolls to all fours, growling.

"You...you are all dead! DEAD!" The lizard gasps heavily before lunging at all three beasts in a mad flurry of sword strikes.

Outside Tska leaps in front of the hare, trying to block her path, "Where do you think you are going little hare? You're fight is with me lass!"

Jim simply curls into a ball and cries before trying to scurry away from this madness.

Flint sidesteps and barely avoids a life threatening injury from both the lizard boss and Jak, he turns and gasps as he sees he image of...well he is not sure what to call it, a nightmare from a dibbun's nightmare is in the doorway. He falls backwards and onto his bottom and then slowly stands again as blood goes down his arm from his shoulder and his paws and wrists are bloody from the rope and brick he used earlier to get free. He goes to try and stand and get to the doorway after the entry is clear again.

With a low growl of primal fury, the scimitar at Jaksor's side comes slithering forth like a foul beast sliding from its lair, licked with flame and wreathed in smoke. The polecat's sinister stride carries him irresistibly forward, leveling a heavy slash at Stripe's face and laying it bare to the bone. His hook, a snare of the underworld, reaches up to the ceiling and latches onto a burning beam. The muscles stand out briefly on his shoulder as the hob drags the flaming chunk of wood free of its moorings and brings it crashing down atop the yellow-scaled reptile, crushing him in a pile of blazing char and ash.

Felicity growls in unadulterated frustration. Oh, it. is. on. "Ffffffine, you bloody excuse for a...a..." She curses uncharacteristically, then attacks, swinging both flexible club (loaded sling) and sword with furious skill, trying to quickly kill him and get it over with. As billows of heat pour from out of the open doorway, the hare maid advances like an avenging whirling tornado of pain and potential death, the light from the flames turning her auburn fur a fiery hue. Blue eyes hard and blazing, she screeches, "To Hellgates with ye! Eulaaalliiiaaaaaaaa!!!"

Tska blocks the first sword blow easily enough, but the sling strikes him in the head causing him to shout in pain. The distraction is enough to let the hare land a strike with her sword across his chest. Back slamming against the door frame behind him the lizard rolls to his side, getting quickly back to his feet.

With one paw clutching his chest he finds himself on the defense now.

Inside Vannon can only watch as Stripes takes the sword to the face, spinning him about and onto one knee, "My eye! My ey-" is about as long as he gets to complain about it before the very building crashes in on him. The floor creaks under him and he falls with the debris into the rising flames below him.

His screams are short lived...

"Time to go!" The fox says, turning for the door. He hesitates again, glancing at the hare. With a twinge of guilt the fox goes to help the hare outside.

Flint gasps as the building is literally falling in on them. He sways and looks ready to pass out, he starts to punch the fox when he is grabbed by the arm and then he notices it's Vannon and groans, the punch is forgotten. Like he could punch anyways as he is too tried to do much but try and stay awake. He gets into the street and collapses coughing roughly and has blood all over his arm from his clawed shoulder. Blood on his paws from a brick and rope marks on his wrists, deep ones as he shivers some. He coughs again roughly and looks at the burning pile of what used to be a building. He groans again as he leans against Vannon and just sort of goes quiet.

Just as quickly and menacingly as he appeared, Jaksor makes off into the city streets, looping his hook through John Wesley's collar as he rounds the corner of the shack and dragging the maniacal little weasel along with him.

Felicity barely sees her uncle make it out into the street before she is attacking the lizard again, swinging at him furiously from left and right.....literally. "NO. BEAST. 'URTS. MY. FAMILY. AND. GETS. AWAY. WITH. IT!!!!" Each word is accentuated by a strike, her rage boiling over like water in a pot over a fire.

The lizard defends to the best of his ability, but each strike comes closer and closer to bringing his death. He doesn't even have the time to make a quip at the hare. Tska cringes with each strike.

The blades clash again and again until the hare hits his sword hard enough to send it flying out of the lizard’s paws. Falling backward onto his rump Tska looks up at his advisory, eyes wide with fear, lips trembling as he hold a paw out in front of him unable to summon the words to ask for parley beyond, "Wait!"

Felicity looks truly terrifying in the light of the flames as she bares her teeth and growls, "Too late!" She whips at him with her sling, then stabs at his chest! And again! And again! And again until he dies....or starts fighting back once again.

"No! W-" Tska gasps and cringes as the blade sinks into his softened flesh. Jim watches from behind a crate the shadow of the lizard thrashing about as the blade impales his figure more than once. In the end his thrashings grow still and the lizard rolls onto his side bleeding out from his chest and belly.

For the fox's part he simply watches, eyebrow raised as the hare goes to town on the beast. He lays Flint out on the ground then backs away from Felicity, slowly until he turns and flees from the burning building. And he thought Jaksor was stabby...

Felicity slumps to the ground, not bothering with the ash that is falling upon her from the blazing building. Breathing heavily, she rests her forehead on her knees and just rests for a little bit. She will check on her uncle in a few moments, and then she will drag the lizard to the nearest tanner...

Flint has not moved since he was laid down by Vannon, in fact it seems he has passes out for a brief moment as that sort of thing can happen when one was in a room of heat and smoke.

Jim gulps at the murder of Tska. "Barbarians...idiots...I told them this would happen..." He quietly slinks away from the scene, rubbing his tail nervously as he goes.

"I tell you the place was around here somewhere..." Rsk says as he rounds the corner. The reptile is reading a crudely drawn map while his companion in crime follows along. The marbled vixen rolls her eyes, "Seriously, why didn't you ask for better direct-" The two stop short as Jim practically runs into them.

"Oh, hey! Jim! We were just coming to find you! Hey, is that job still open? The one for body guard work?" Rsk says happily.

Glancing over his shoulder Jim watches the house go down in flames. "Actually...yes! You're both hired. You're first job is to get me as far away from here as possible..."

Felicity finally looks up at her uncle. After cleaning her blade and putting it and her sling and stone away, she clutches the wound at her side and slowly hobbles over to him. First she needs to get him to the clinic......then she'll come back for the dead lizard's hide.

Flint will remain passed out; his own wounds need tending to, as well as Felicity’s wound or wounds. In fact she will most likely need help getting him and herself to the clinic so it’s a good thing a friendly beaver happens to be passing by and goes to carry the unconcious Flint, while at the same time he walks with Felicity and they are soon at the clinic and the healers can tend to any wounds they have.