The Southern Continent (part 2)

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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Gabriel put his weight on the bloody stump of his ankle, although the loss of his extremity threw the Captain a little off-balance, it didn't reduce his ferocity or the strength with which he swung the durus blade in his hand. The Captain barked an order to his remaining men to attack the magic-user Khoo as he parried a series of strikes from his elven assailant. A fire-team made a beeline for the mage as the dozen others formed a defensive line against the reinforced hunters.

He threw himself into the woman's guard as he brushed a heart-piercing blow wide and brought his free arm down elbow-first into the forearm of Drusia's weapon-wielding limb. The metal-covered joint drew a dull smacking sound and a crunch as something gave way inside it. His follow-up swing was interrupted by Drusia gating clear of the blow which would've cut the woman in two. He wheeled around lopsidedly as she reappeared behind him and struck out with her undamaged arm, Gabriel made no effort to stop the strike, instead lifting his own and dropping it sharply as the blade bit savagely into his ribs. He trapped the limb with his free arm, holding her immobile, and brought the durus blade in an arc towards her throat...

A magically-charged blow struck the captain solidly in the side of his head, breaking his grasp on his elf and sending him crashing to the floor. Tamina staggered away from her intervention, one arm hung limply by her side as the Captain pushed his way to his feet. Wordlessly, she put her working hand on the injured elf and channeled. First a healing spell for the broken bone, then something to aid her against the Ralkin leader.

"His head." She said tonelessly, as the reflex-boosting spell diffused into her companion. "Cut it off."

Gabriel roared and staggered forward in a lopsided charge.

OOC Go for it, Dru. :)/OOC
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Drusia
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Drusia »

A magically-charged blow struck the captain solidly in the side of his head, breaking his grasp on his elf and sending him crashing to the floor. Wordlessly, she put her working hand on the injured elf and channeled. First a healing spell for the broken bone, then something to aid her against the Ralkin leader.
"His head." She said tonelessly, as the reflex-boosting spell diffused into her companion. "Cut it off."
Gabriel roared and staggered forward in a lopsided charge.


That was too fucking close. I can't believe he broke my arm. I'm also fairly impressed by Tamina's healing magic - broken arms usually take longer than that. I doubt I'm back to full capacity, but I'll take what I can get.

Tamina also seems... traumatized. I think that dead Kobold was her mother figure. We'll have to deal with that later. Right now...

A charge? Really? Make it easier why don't you.

I swing my Durus and gate forward - and bring my Durus cross his abdomen, slicing him in half. I take step, put one foot on his back, and cut off his sword arm. I kick his Durus away for good measure. He grabs at me with his other arm, but I shove him down into the dirt again.

"You should've stayed dead," I tell him. With that, I decapitate him.

-- Drusia

OOC: Edited.
Last edited by Drusia on December 19th, 2012, 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Alberich
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Me, I thought it was quite vicious enough for the occasion.]

The fire team heading for Khoo found his next barrier quite impenetrable without magic. The rest saw their invincible leader most painfully struck down.

As it was, they'd done as much as could be expected of any soldiers. They'd lost three quarters of their numbers without breaking - an amazing feat in itself - but now the situation had changed. There was no mercy in the eyes of the kobolds or the acts of the elf, and why should there have been? Surrender was out of the question.

Had they been fanatical devotees of the Ralkin cause, perhaps they'd have thrown themselves on the kobolds anyway, and fought to the bitter end. But they were mercenaries. Had Gabriel been popular and beloved perhaps they'd've been motivated to avenge him at the cost of their lives. But he'd been respected and feared instead.

The men furthest back ran first. Their heavy, arrow-proof armor was not ideal for running, especially not after a march through the hot, sticky jungle, the ordeal of breaching the flaming wall, and the stress of two battles, all in that same armor. The single pathway surrounded by jungle was not the most promising escape route, neither. Nonetheless it was the only chance they saw and they took it. The men up front saw their defensive line would be surrounded, and clustering together for an orderly retreat would simply make them victims for one of Khoo's wind-suck attacks. They, too, began to flee. No one volunteered for a valiant last stand to save the rest.

Far from dead, the impetuous Alleece was all for pursuing - to finish every last one, no matter what. But would any cooler head prevail?

There were plenty of prisoners unconscious on the ground -- Angrist's nonlethal attacks had seen to that.

Udo, on later examination, would prove to be in better shape than it appeared - he was down mostly from magical exhaustion, having seriously underestimated the strength of the attack he'd had to counter. He could be healed easily whenever someone had the time or the power to do it.

[OOC2: I don't mind editing or deleting all this if you'd prefer - just moving things along based on what you said before.]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Just sent a pm to Dru suggesting a possible 'cooler' edit. Giving it a day before I carry on./OOC
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Tamina's attention was not on the fleeing men at the conclusion of the battle, although she was dimly aware of Riiki pulling one of the disabled soldiers across the ground and barking at the hunters he was with to bind the captured men for interrogation. Alleece, meanwhile, had regained consciousness and was chasing the other invaders down with the remainder of the kobold warriors. The scene was so much static to the mage; her eyes were riveted to the remains of the Ralkin Captain strewn about the jungle floor.

'Remains', however, was a misleading word as Gabriel was not quite dead. His limbs twitched and jerked, she could see the thin, crackling lines of energy discharging themselves from the stump of his neck, lapping the ground as if trying to seize his decapitated head and pull it back to it's rightful place. The magic came from stones lodged inside the Captain's body; just another nature violating abomination from Aleron, no doubt. Tamina walked forward on numb legs and picked the head up.

If Gabriel had anything to say at the end of his life, he wasn't in a position to say it. The kobold stared at the rolling eyes and gaping jaw for a moment, then pitched the head into the nearest campfire. The flames caught immediately, Gabriel's body gave one last jerk and grew still, the glowing stones inside him faded to black. The deed done, the kobold slumped back down next to Leli without a word.

"<Got one of the bastards!>" Riiki reappeared at that moment, dragging a bound and wild-eyed soldier who he threw unceremoniously to the ground for the inspection of those still in the village. He spoke in halting, hissing tones to Khoo and Drusia.

"Got questions? Ask him."

OOC Sorry Al, Tammy's on another planet right now. Khoo can heal right?

Well, that's all from Gabriel, can't believe I introduced this guy two years ago. He was a fun guy to play, he deserves a hand!... what? Too soon? :D /OOC
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Well done, Jack! Khoo does know basic healing magic, and will happily apply it until he's ready to fall over, but he has nothing else to say at the moment, so just treat him as an animated first-aid kit. :geek:
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Skipping this forward a little while./OOC

And so, an hour later.

With Udo back on his feet thanks to Khoo's medical skills, the three non-kobold travellers were seated around the central fire of the village in the company of a tearful and angry Alleece. With the Black guard gone the village had turned into a place of mourning. Tamina had disappeared into the Elder's hut as her tribesmen gathered their dead to prepare for burial. No-one had spoken to her since her departure.

The questioning of the captives had given them the information they'd sought. The troupe of men had come to the Southern Continent under the orders of a high-profile businessman by the name of Lucas Logan, whose company was based in Port Lorrel. Logan's Exports covered significant (although how significant was not for a footsoldier to know) parts of the grain and timber passing through the Port. The company also had investments in the arms, alcohol and tabacco trades, along with fair amount of muscle to keep the operations running smoothly. However, in the last week things had taken a left turn.

The rumors were that the employee's who worked at the headquarters of the company had arrived for work to find stacks of fresh assignments piled on their desks with 'urgent' being for most common word to find on them. Several small time businesses had been brought up and debts had been collected, wagons had been sent to the trading post owned by the company to retrieve supplies, gunsmiths and blacksmiths had had their shelves cleared. The merchant had militiarised his security and poured money into the recruiting, training and arming of more soldiers. The operation had been headed by veterans of Logan's security and ex-miltia men, including the newly-pardoned Gabriel Averis, whose remains were now so much ashes in the wind. The leaders of the military division had issued them with bounty notices for Drusia, Tamina and Jaime, along with descriptions of the tactics and magic they used.

"There wasn't even an 'or alive' under the pictures." The terrified soldier Riiki dragged to them had stammered. "I don't know the reason, but Logan has a really big grudge against you."

As far as information about The Black Guard was concerned, the group learned that the invasion force had stood for about half of Logan's soldiers at the time of their departure, however, the businessman's sudden investment into muscle, coupled with his promise of handsome wages, was drawing dozens more by the day. One new addition who had drawn attention was a half-elf by the name of Eli. He'd appeared from nowhere as a confidant of the old man and an officer in the Guard shortly after the changes had begun.

"I heard from one of the grunts he was Logan's illegitimate son, but no-one's had the courage to ask him about it."

Alleece had returned shortly after the interrogation in the company of a half dozen hunters with the news that a handful of the Ralkin had made it back to their ship at Grendell and ran for the horizon. She'd listened to the information about Logan stone-faced and hurried off to talk with the older kobolds the survivors of the village were now looking to for leadership. The younger members of the killikah were, for the most part, in various stages of shock or grief, crying in anguish or roaring in anger between tending to their losses.

Now, the young kobold was leaning on the highwayman for comfort and clasping his arm tightly as she reflected on what was to come next.

"We've talked it over." She said quietly. "Even without those men telling their employer what happened, he'll know eventually. If he sends another attack... we won't make it... we've got to go."

OOC If anyone needs any information that the soldiers are likely to know pm me and I'll fill you in./OOC
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

This was turning into a little more of an adventure than Khoo had bargained for.

He was groggy from casting healing spells, but not too groggy to ask one simple question. "Go? Go where?"

[OOC: In other words, back to you, Jack.]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Alleece shrugged and sighed.

"There's a another tribe near the coast, about two days travel to the east. Many of us have relatives there. They'll take us in... and they'll want to know what happened." She released Udo from her grasp, straightened, and looked around at the travellers. "And where will you go now?"

OOC Tamina'll be back momentarily. Given the fight everyone's been through, I thought someone should raise the possibility of running back to their homes. Hope the tribe's plans to vacate the area didn't come out the left field, I was never planning on bringing all the killikah to Port Lorrel anyway./OOC
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Browncoat »

Angrist wrote quickly on his slate and handed it to Udo for him to read aloud

"The real question is what Tamina wants. We are strangers; our leaving is more when, than if, but if she stays, they will hunt you to get to her."
As soon as Udo finished, Angrist snatched the slate to write more.

"They may hunt you anyway if they can't find her. It may be better if we bring the fight to them"
Even as protestations started to form, Angrist was finishing his statement.

"Not your people, but we strangers who can draw their attention away. After all, we might give them cause to reconsider"
Angrist was looking pointedly at Drusia as Udo read the last part. He'd seen the manner with which she defeated Gabriel which had been no small part in the helpfulness of the prisoners. And her fighting was a force to be reckoned with. Still...she was an elf, and he was a half-elf. Angrist had read the tales of the Errant War and even with his mutilated ears, he was at risk. He needed to observe and learn what sort of person she was; could he trust her?

{I'll do my best to do the right thing even if it costs my life, but it would be nice to know if I should sleep with one eye open}
Angrist knew he was not a leader; he would go his own way, or he would go with others, but he would never lead. What happened next was up to the others. He could only wait and react.

[OOC: Thought it would be fun to put a dash of prejudice into Angrist. It makes him feel more real to me. Oh and btw, Happy Saturnalia everybody ;) ]
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