Mad Pursuit (Part 1, Group 2)
Viddick, Dangeon, Tundutwaa, Rayuwil
Viddick, Bratsche, and Pauken. Three rats on a mission. They seem to be alone, the moon is completely covered by cloud, and Viddick stalks in front of the cart down the hill to the northern bank of the great river they call a 'stream'. "Gads, mates... since they closed the gates o' that fortress, there isn't been anything goin' /or/ comin'. Word travels quick indeed - that fox sure knows what 'es doin'. Let's just hope those chumps stay inside... just a bit further, an' we'll rest. He looks into the cart as he walks, "I think 'e means to drown you, princess. 'S my guess anyway."
Bratsche and Pauken have more work keeping the cart from running away from them than anything else! If they let go, she'd probably do just that... they slip and slide on the wet, snow-covered dirt, chuckling at Viddick's taunt, as they keep the cart in control going down the hill.
Dangeon glares at Viddick and even tries to wriggle about to aim a kick at him. It is a very awkward position though and even she doesn't expect to achieve anything, though perhaps she feels better for trying.
Viddick turns around and scoffs, "You sure do try, don't you... dunno how that fox plans to keep you from murderin' him - although this drownin' business is makin' less and less sense now... 'e's payin' for ya, I don't think I'd drown somethin' I paid for. So calm it down in there, relax. Fate is fate, eh?" He slips and knocks his head against the front of the cart and slides down the path a bit, "No, no!!! Stop 'er!! Stop!!!!" The cart keeps going though, at least a bit after it's told to cease its movement. Enough. It keeps going enough for a sickening *crunch* and a screaming rat...
Dangeon would flail. She certainly wriggles in panic as the cart moves. But as it stops, and she hears all that, the doe just gets a smug little grin. As far as she's concerned, she did that.
Bratsche and Pauken both look at each other and immediately panic. They let go of the cart and there's immediately another *crunch* to accompany the first. Luckily for Viddick, it's the same limb, now fractured in another place. That doesn't stop him screaming even louder, "AHHHHH!!!!!!! Fuumblin' damn idiots!!!! What the hell?!! M'arm, oooooaaaahhhhhahaha!!! G... get 'er, you fools!!! After 'er!!! Ohhh, G-g-good g-g-galleons of ff-frolickin' f..." The rat leans up with his other arm, but he can only use one - the other drags limply on the ground. "Oooh, that stupid fox, I wish 'e gets hit by that cart!!"
Viddick watches helplessly as the cart careens towards the raging water, which must be just above freezing. He secretly hopes she freezes and drowns, gritting his teeth at the pain and watching the fumbling idiots running after her.
Out from behind a rock, just at the edge of the broadstream, is you-know-who. The black fox, barely but a shadow, leaps out in front of the cart, unafraid... he swings his heavy axe around and completely shatters one wheel of the cart, and the thing drops onto its axle, digs into the ground and comes to a skidding stop. Quickly enough afterwards, the fox swings his axe right into the nearest rat, unable to stop himself coming down the slippery hillside, and the axe goes right into his middle and sticks there.
Dangeon makes loud, unhappy noises at the ride and the rather sudden end to it. She's sure she has several new bruises -and- she's been bounced into a very awkward, semi rolled over position; with her paws stuck, this leaves her uncomfortably half-twisting around at her middle.
Pauken looks in horror first at the fox, then at Bratsche, his buddy, as the axe rips open his middle. Pauken was never brave, and his knees buckle and he falls to the ground, unable to move. Meanwhile, Bratsche's eyes have found a new meaning for 'wide open' and they're staring past the fox, unable to focus on anything except the pain shooting up from his middle. He utters the most blood-curdling scream, a hundred times higher in pitch than Viddick's, which causing the rat higher up on the hill to start visibly shaking.
Tundutwaa steps over Bratsche and walks over to Pauken and says, disgust dripping from his voice, "Get up. You too, Fiddick! Your arm will heal in a few monfs time... I'f decided that somebeast must pay for almost loosing my catch, so I hope you don't mind about your friend." He walks around the cart, surveying the hare. "Quite exciting, wasn't that, Dangeon? Heheeehehe..."
Viddick manages to lift himself up with a groan and uses all three remaining available limbs to crabwalk down the hill. He isn't as afraid as Pauken, but he's still a bit in shock at the display of violence. "F-fox, you go too far... there is n-no need to k-k-kill those h-helping you."
Meanwhile, Nidlorf is walking up to the southern bank at an angle, staying clear of any open paths. His party cuts a path in front of him with their swords, as he and Zen look up at the sky, "You've taught her well, Zen... but... I don't see her. She was supposed to spot anything suspicious - did you /define/ suspicious to her?"
Dangeon shakes her head and is trying to wriggle her behind back into relative... well, it's not comfort, but a position that isn't unnatural, at least. She flatly ignores the fox.
Zen nods his head as he rubs his neck. "Yes, but I'm begning to think she's more concerned about what's suspicious only to her and not us... probably like a flower... Ugh, if only she'd be a little older..." He grumbles softly as he glances around. "I'm sure she'll return with something..."
Another beast is indeed keeping an eye out for suspicious sights. From a bough of a barren pine tree, a falcon's golden eye peers down, unseen. Its owner perches, motionless but for the stroke of the wind through his golden-brown feathers.
Tundutwaa looks at Viddick, "Well, you went too far with my cart. About an inch or so farther and she'd be a freezing rock at the bottom of the Broadstream." The fox keeps an eye in the sky as well. "If we were seen, and your screams heard, then all the more I must hurry... I don't like to be in a hurry, Fiddick... you don't get paid for putting me into more and more elevated levels of stress..." The fox points his axe at Pauken, "You - go untie the boat that's upstream a ways... bring it here."
Suddenly, the king hears a scream... and another shortly after. "Zen, we're in luck! Let us go see, quickly - chop those bushes lads, quick! There is activity across the stream!" The king stops looking for the bat and runs after the others. He calls after them, "Stay inside the brush if you can! I want to be hidden, still!"
Poppy plops right out of the sky after the scream is heard. "Hiiee!" She lands on Zen's head. "Wot we doin'?" Sing-song voice. And... no report. Did she forget?
Viddick watches Pauken go to get the boat, "A boat, eh? Should have guessed... yore about to lead those others on a wild goose chase, aren'tcha? Hah... ow..." He rubs at his arm, still shaking a bit, from the cold and from shock... "Whaddaya want so bad from 'em?"
Zen covers his muzzle and grabs his muzzle shut to keep himself from screaming a Poppy flumps right on his head! He pants and then takes Poppy in his paws... "Shhhh.... Master Zen says whisper really really softly..." He then looks at Nidlorf and then calms himself. "Ok... report?"
Tundutwaa uses the edge of his axe to cut loose one of the haremaid's bonds, and quickly tries to use his strength to tie it to the other behind the haremaid's back. "Don't struggle, dear - the more you fex me the more you'll regret it later, I assure you..." She still has the gag on from before, and he thinks she's trying to say something, but he perks his ears. Nah, probably nothing.
An involuntary tremble runs through the falcon's body, and he puffs himself up to fend off the biting cold. Still he watches, with particular interest in the micromanaging king.
Dangeon pipes up from the cart "'m nmm mmnmn mm m mmnm!" A pause "... M mnn mnnmmnn."
Poppy giggles happily. "Dere is no ones here!" She reports cheekily then thinks. "Oh. But some rats anna hares anna fox is playing a cart game!"
Shortly after, the third scream reaches the party across the stream and they all stop dead. That scream was definitely... different. Rodigero looks back at the king, "Creepin' croakers... somebeast just got murdered, my lord, right ahead of us..."
Rayuwil takes a deep breath. "Well, what are we waiting for. We've all seen it before - and there's little we can do to help from here, is there? I say, still remain undercover. I want to see them without them seeing us." He looks back at Zen. "This is what you signed up for, lad. I won't lie. If you don't want to see, I can tell you what is happening...?"
Pauken finally comes up with the boat, not wanting to make the same mistake with it that he made with the cart! He keeps it from drifting off, but doesn't let his footing suffer as a result, managing the two with all of his brain power. "H-here, sir... the b-boat. A-are we gettin' in?"
Viddick shakes his head, the fox's back to him. He puts a paw in his face when Pauken asks his question.
Zen squeeks softly at Nidlorf and shivers... "I want to see... I've been in worse... probably..." He keeps low as he gently pets Poppy. "Good going, you did a wonderful job.. Now I need you to say here and keep a look out quietly..." He winks and smiles, "I'm real proud of ya.."
Tundutwaa tilts his head at the rat. "Tie it off to the cart." The rat does so. The axe comes down right between the poor rat's ears, and he drops like a stone, falling into the boat. "Yes and no. Hahahahaha!!!!" He picks up the body with his free paw and dumps him out onto the bank, right next to Dangeon. The rat is looking right at her, dead.
Viddick can't take much more of this. He draws his sword with the good paw and backs up the bank, "You really wanna waste time on me, f-fox? You'd b-b-best get g-goin', before I decide to t-t-tell somebeast of this t-t-treachery." He stays out of range but doesn't run.
Dangeon looks disappointingly unaffected. She looks back at the rat and almost shrugs. But she seems to have decided to watch the fox and rat instead, from where she's been dumped on the bank. There's much more interest shown in that exchange.
Poppy beams and nods, before fluttering off into the trees. She's likely to get distracted and go to play for a while.
Tundutwaa cuts Dangeon's bonds free of the cart, although they're still tied to each other behind her back. "Oh Fiddick... I wouldn't waste time on you, don't worry so much... by the way... I'd be slightly more worried about them finding you than me. So long!!" He rolls her over into the boat and cuts loose the rope tied to the cart. He leaves Viddick standing on the bank, still backing away from the scene, watching the fox make off with the hare.
Rayuwil looks over at Zen, "Good thinking, lad. Keep her away from this - it's too much for her to see... that fox... it can't be, do you think? He never carried an axe, I don't think, though... sure looks like..." He elbows Rodigero, "He's kidnapped somebeast, doesn't it seem like it?"
Viddick watches the fox go, and then his wake disappear. He stands there, completely baffled. He has no idea what to do now. Absolutely none...
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