Long Road North

Play around with roles and whatnot in here, I suppose.

Moderator: Moderators

Message
Author
User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#61 Post by The Rookie »

Phaing wrote:"That went great!" She shouts back over her shoulder at Elizabeth. "Wanna sting them so more, so the don't try to follow?"

She does cast a glance at the Inn, thinking of those boys that were so nice to her earlier. It is a shame to leave them behind... but unless they can ride bare-back, what can we do?
Wait... they are both Kiedran, can they run like cats, too?

"C'mon boys, the street is clear!"
Lief wrote:Elizabeth grunted as she was pulled up onto the horse, careful to keep her sword free of any obstacles. Like the horse.
"No. Should leave while they're distracted. They can't keep up on foot, but if they have horses... Better to get a good head start." Eliza responded, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the horses and the shouts of the wolves.
Eliza might be aware of how loud she's speaking, but Phaing's shouting had attracted some attention.

The wolves further up are still held up in their own mess, however they're not the only threat. Across the street, you finally get a glimpse of those crossbow men, hiding amongst the roof tops.

"There! Down there! The humans are escaping!One of the wolves calls out to the other 3 while reading his weapon Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Time to move.
kiabugboy wrote:"LEAVE, NOW!" Percy has had about enough to lose his patience already from all the trouble,
they rushed in a much quicker pace to the back door, making the basitin struggle quite a bit as he gets slightly dragged along, unable to keep up.

all three of them manages to exit through the back door, they saw the stables, already in ruins, shards of wood planks scattered all over the place and the remaining walls riddled with cracks and holes from the previous stampede. while they were witnessing the chaos, Judah caught a glimpse of two figures riding out on a horse, away from the commotion. One of them was shouting a word too faint for him to understand from the distance

"hey! over there"
he points towards them for Percy and the basitin to see
"Th-They got away.." John says happily through faded breath. "Wh-what about u-us. What are we going to do?"

As if on cue, there's a faint trotting noise coming from the distance. It seems not all of the beast had run off in the panic, it appears Percy's horse has decided to his wagon. A wagon that had been left out the back by the stable hand earlier in the night.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

User avatar
Phaing
Master
Posts: 268
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:31 am

Re: Long Road North

#62 Post by Phaing »

The Rookie wrote: The wolves further up are still held up in their own mess, however they're not the only threat. Across the street, you finally get a glimpse of those crossbow men, hiding amongst the roof tops.

"There! Down there! The humans are escaping!One of the wolves calls out to the other 3 while reading his weapon Fire! Fire! Fire!"
Well damn, Phaing's left arm is going to be worthless tomorrow, if not sooner, but that can't be helped now.
And guiding a horse with your feet isn't advisable when you have someone hanging on behind you. Signals can get crossed, or worse.

So, the reins go between her teeth as she leans into a command to RUN, and out comes the bow. Grinding through the pain, she brings up the bow and ... damn, only two arrows are attached. Elizabeth's leg is over the quiver.
This just keeps getting better and better.

Two will have to do, both snap-shots to keep heads down. The first one will be at the one on the rooftop that is most exposed. Number two will be at the guy that shouted the order, hopefully catching hm while he is still reloading.
[censored] the pain, striking back felt good. Now, time to encourage the horse to run flat-out and get us the hell out of here!
"If you’re going to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh; otherwise, they will kill you."

-George Bernard Shaw

User avatar
Lief
No hugs, I asplode.
Posts: 3871
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 5:37 am
Location: Somewhere, I'm sure.
Fav. Twokinds Character: Raine

Re: Long Road North

#63 Post by Lief »

Elizabeth let out her breath in a sharp hiss when the crossbowman spotted them. Riding double, and in the back at that, it would be near-impossible to put her sword away and draw her bow. She could probably manage to do so, but it would take more time than she'd like. And time was not on their side.

An illusion, perhaps? Elizabeth suppressed a shiver at the thought. She hadn't gotten along very well with illusions since her accident all those years ago.

Meanwhile, the foreigner pulled up her own bow and fired the only two arrows she could get at. Holding the reigns with her teeth, no less. Impressive. And it gave Eliza an idea.

Her free hand grasped the foreigner's arm just below the elbow, the one which held the bow, and moved it back to point more or less at the roof with the crossbowman. With no hands to hang onto the horse, she tensed her legs to keep her straight. Eliza was careful to keep the pressure even, in case the horse had been taught to take direction from the rider's legs.

"Hold steady. Can you manage?"

Without waiting for a reply Elizabeth's hand dropped to her own quiver, fingers darting deftly through the fletching for just a second until they found what they were searching for. She retrieved three arrows, all with wooden tips. Practice arrows, likely.

She nocked all three arrows to the foreigner's short bow and drew them back, far as the bow could handle, and perhaps a bit farther. She mumbled a bit of nonsense, inadvertently whispering it into the foreigner's ear- Although all that could be made out was 'spark', and all three of the arrows caught flame. Elizabeth shifted her arm's positioning slightly, and that of the arrows, then loosed, all three aimed at the rooftop the wolves were on.

"Now, go left!" She shouted, almost immediately after loosing the arrows and returning her left hand to the back of the saddle. With some luck, if the foreigner and her horse reacted fast enough, any bolts the wolves would almost certainly loose, would miss them. And her own arrows strike true.

User avatar
kiabugboy
Templar GrandMaster
Posts: 899
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2015 2:15 pm
Location: the depths of the sewers, tending to my children
Contact:

Re: Long Road North

#64 Post by kiabugboy »

The Rookie wrote: "Wh-what about u-us. What are we going to do?"

As if on cue, there's a faint trotting noise coming from the distance. It seems not all of the beast had run off in the panic, it appears Percy's horse has decided to his wagon. A wagon that had been left out the back by the stable hand earlier in the night.
"Our ride's here" Percy said as the three walks up to the wagon, he attaches the harness to the horse before climbing up the front of the wagon to prepare to steer, leaving Judah with the basitin.
"go put him in the back"
Percy said in an uncaring manner.

Judah walks the injured basitin towards the back of the wagon, only after sparing a few seconds to give his faithful horse a pat on his cheeks, "Good boy, Arthur." it seems Judah has known the beast quite well as he has tended him over the years for Percy. Arthur replied with a huff nodding his head sideways to Judah.

the air felt strangely silent despite all the faint noises of burning and destruction in the distance, no one knew what was exactly happening to the whole town, but the sound of whiplash quickly broke the dreadful atmosphere as Percy is definitely not planning to stick around the damned town any longer "Hyaa!" he shouted to get the wagon moving

arthur begans to tread forward, the pace quickens, lightly shaking the various commodities in the cart making clanking and thumping noises of glass, wood, and steel.

The air was cold, the winds blowing with snow, the glow of the burning tavern appearing smaller and smaller in the distance.

and with that.. the three sets on to their journey

User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#65 Post by The Rookie »

Lief wrote:She nocked all three arrows to the foreigner's short bow and drew them back, far as the bow could handle, and perhaps a bit farther. She mumbled a bit of nonsense, inadvertently whispering it into the foreigner's ear- Although all that could be made out was 'spark', and all three of the arrows caught flame. Elizabeth shifted her arm's positioning slightly, and that of the arrows, then loosed, all three aimed at the rooftop the wolves were on.
The arrows fly high, and the wolves instinctively go for cover; hiding behind chimneys or leaping on to the adjoined roofs. They've certainly stopped shooting at you for now.

The arrows pepper the thatch roofing of the wolves' vantage point, igniting the straw but only causing a few smouldering fires thanks to the wet weather earlier in the day.
Lief wrote:"Now, go left!" She shouted, almost immediately after loosing the arrows and returning her left hand to the back of the saddle. With some luck, if the foreigner and her horse reacted fast enough, any bolts the wolves would almost certainly loose, would miss them. And her own arrows strike true.
//I'll leave that for Phaing, but your currently not being shot at.//
kiabugboy wrote:arthur begans to tread forward, the pace quickens, lightly shaking the various commodities in the cart making clanking and thumping noises of glass, wood, and steel.

The air was cold, the winds blowing with snow, the glow of the burning tavern appearing smaller and smaller in the distance.

and with that.. the three sets on to their journey
//I assume you didn't follow the same path as the girls out of town.//
With the commotion centred around the tavern the majority of the raiding party's vanguard had abandoned the town's exits in order to respond to the rally horn.

The one wolf guard who stood at the gate way seemed to be an inexperienced pup, this most likely being his first raid assuming from the quality of his hand-me-down gear. He leaps out of the way at the sight of the oncoming wagon barging through, clearly unequipped to handle such a thing on his own.

Both roads are heading North East out of town towards the human border, but nothing is stopping you from heading in any direction you see fit.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

User avatar
Lief
No hugs, I asplode.
Posts: 3871
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 5:37 am
Location: Somewhere, I'm sure.
Fav. Twokinds Character: Raine

Re: Long Road North

#66 Post by Lief »

The Rookie wrote:
Lief wrote:"Now, go left!" She shouted, almost immediately after loosing the arrows and returning her left hand to the back of the saddle. With some luck, if the foreigner and her horse reacted fast enough, any bolts the wolves would almost certainly loose, would miss them. And her own arrows strike true.
//I'll leave that for Phaing, but your currently not being shot at.//
((Ah. I'd thought that the wolves would have fired before taking cover. Oh well.))

User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#67 Post by The Rookie »

Lief wrote:((Ah. I'd thought that the wolves would have fired before taking cover. Oh well.))
Hmm.. Let's just assume they got as far as spotting, loading and aiming before being startled by the flaming arrows.//
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

User avatar
Phaing
Master
Posts: 268
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:31 am

Re: Long Road North

#68 Post by Phaing »

The Rookie wrote:
Lief wrote:((Ah. I'd thought that the wolves would have fired before taking cover. Oh well.))
Hmm.. Let's just assume they got as far as spotting, loading and aiming before being startled by the flaming arrows.//
//And taking advantage of that is my main priority now, maybe we can even open up a way out for the wagon//


"Take it!" Phaing lets Elizabeth take full control of her bow, and her left arm just drops limply to her side. She has the reins in her had again and has no plan left but to leave town immediately.
Okay, their heads are down... a sudden change in direction could be a good thing... or simply a good burst of speed is best at this point. The farther away something is, and the faster it is moving, the harder it is to hit. Hopefully we will be both of those soon.

"Hang on!" Phaing warns, and jinks Left.
"If you’re going to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh; otherwise, they will kill you."

-George Bernard Shaw

User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#69 Post by The Rookie »

Phaing wrote://And taking advantage of that is my main priority now, maybe we can even open up a way out for the wagon//
[/quote]//Sorry, I mightn't have been clear in my last thing. The wagon has already escaped via a different path.
Sorry, still getting used to this world building thing..//
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

User avatar
Lief
No hugs, I asplode.
Posts: 3871
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 5:37 am
Location: Somewhere, I'm sure.
Fav. Twokinds Character: Raine

Re: Long Road North

#70 Post by Lief »

Elizabeth grunted her acknowledgement, her left hand darting out to grab the bow before it could fall.

A short bow in one hand and a longsword in the other made it marginally difficult for Eliza to stay on the horse, but she managed somehow.

User avatar
kiabugboy
Templar GrandMaster
Posts: 899
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2015 2:15 pm
Location: the depths of the sewers, tending to my children
Contact:

Re: Long Road North

#71 Post by kiabugboy »

the night goes on as the wind continues to blow, causing creaking noises outside of the wagon with all the ropes and metal clips clattering on the wood supports. aside from that, things are deathly silent, the wagon now on the open road far from the commotion, arthur is now walking at a steady pace with the snowy road only very dimly lit by the stars in the near black night sky above.

Percy sat silently like always, watching the road
Judah however was heard going through the various crates, bottles, and baskets of vials or herbs in the back all the while occasionally checking on the injured guest as he rummages around for any sort of healing items

"h-hey, don't sleep just yet..." he gives a light pat on the basitin who was drifting off, worried that he was succumbing to his wounds

"uh.. what's your name? island guy, or whatever they call you" Judah tries to strike a conversation to keep him awake and conscious

he opens a small wooden crate to find an assortment of potion vials containing several different pre-made remedies. They even came with labels indicating their intended uses, certainly fetching a higher price to purchase than the usual healing herbs in the market

"ah-hah"
"okay, let's see... itches, no,
mold removal... definitely not,
'terrible serpent' aphrodisiac, uh.....why is this here... "
Judah reads to himself as he goes through the individual bottles.
"cuts and burns, bruises,... oh wait.." he picks up one of the bottles that reads "open wounds"

"alright, this might help"
he walks over to the basitin and inspects his wounds.
it seems peculiar that the arrow only penetrated a relatively non lethal area on his shoulder, but it seemed to have severely weakened the basitin greatly. There weren't even that much blood pouring out as he had previously thought, instead the blood seems to be weirdly clotted and unable to stream out like a liquid. "what the hell was in that thing.." Judah thought to himself, confused

"okay, we need to get that cauterized.." Judah told the injured guest.
but as he said so the wagon began to slow down nearing to a halt.

"okay people, old arthur here's too exhausted to keep walking in the cold, and frankly, so am i.."
"we're already pretty far from the town, so best we just call it a night for now"
he told the two

"Judah, start a fire will ya, won't want the three of us frozen solid by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning"

User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#72 Post by The Rookie »

Phaing wrote:"Take it!" Phaing lets Elizabeth take full control of her bow, and her left arm just drops limply to her side. She has the reins in her had again and has no plan left but to leave town immediately.
Okay, their heads are down... a sudden change in direction could be a good thing... or simply a good burst of speed is best at this point. The farther away something is, and the faster it is moving, the harder it is to hit. Hopefully we will be both of those soon.

"Hang on!" Phaing warns, and jinks Left.
Lief wrote:Elizabeth grunted her acknowledgement, her left hand darting out to grab the bow before it could fall.

A short bow in one hand and a longsword in the other made it marginally difficult for Eliza to stay on the horse, but she managed somehow.
What ever the plan is, better make it quick. The wolves on the roof tops are starting to recover from the earlier scare and are now coming out of hiding in order aim. Although something below quickly catches their attention and leaves them distracted.

If you have eyes on the main body of the raiding party that had been split during the stampede, you can see that they're almost back into formation; and that they are being greeted by the rather large sword wielding brute. The captain from the tavern.

The wolf captain is carrying someone in his arms. From the distance it's hard to tell, but one thing for certain is that the body belongs to a female snow wolf.

"<Put her with the others!>" he bellows out, tossing the girl's body carelessly into the arms of two dog raiders who had been waiting off to the side. The wolf appears as if he's about to take command of the troop, when suddenly a vicious female voice calls from the back of the pack, shattering his bravado, and reducing him to a trembling coward.

"<Where is he?! Where is that useless whelp?!>"

The crowd of raiders begins to split down the middle as a figure appears pushing her way down the centre. It's female dog keidran, almost a foot shorter than the wolves that crowd around her, and she's dressed in multi layered chain, leather and plate armour. Her general appearance closely reflects that of a border collie, the majority of her fur is made of back and white, with patches of brown upon her cheeks. She'd almost be considered beautiful if not for the disfiguring scar that runs diagonally across her face.

"<Thyra? What are you doi->"
"<I'm here because someone called away the bulk of my forces to the tavern, yet I don't see a single solider or even a Neutral damned militia!>" the keidran growls as she continues to close the gap between the captain and herself.
"<No, Ma'am; but there were two human women, one was a wit- Gragh!>" the wolf cries as Thyra delivers a powerful blow to the brute's jaw; sending him reeling.
"<Two women?! Two human women were enough to not only stop you from carrying out your orders, but kill off most of your party as well?!>"

"<No no, there was also an old man. He surprised us an- Owfff!" the wolf gasped as Thyra delivered a second powerful blow to his stomach, this time with the round hilt of a dagger, causing him to lurch forward as the wind was knocked out of his body.

Thyra grabs the wolf by the cheeks, pulling his face down to match her height "So you're telling me that I've lost more than 30% of my potential slave income, just because your worthless mongrel hide was thwarted by two human women and an old man? Is that correct?>" she ask, staring daggers into the brute's eyes.

"<T-There was also a young leopard servant...>" he mutters apologetically.

"<Oh, now I see. That changes everything...>" Thyra says, as she loosens her grip on the wolf's cheeks, givning him to patronising pats of the side of his face; only to shoot her arm around the back of his neck and deliver a crushing knee to his crouch; causing the wolf to fall to the ground.

"<Right. Sargent?!>" she calls over her shoulder. "<Aye, Ma'am>"
"<Saxon here wishes to be escorted back to the camp and await for my return. Understood?>"
"<Understood.>"
"<Good. As for the rest of you, take what you can and burn the rest.>" she says, taking a few steps away from Saxon before turning back to deliver a swift kick to his face."<And triple pay to whoever brings me the heads of the curs who caused Saxon here so much trouble!>"

//I'm just going to leave Kia's thing for the moment in order to you guys time to catch up.//
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

User avatar
Phaing
Master
Posts: 268
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:31 am

Re: Long Road North

#73 Post by Phaing »

The Rookie wrote:What ever the plan is, better make it quick. The wolves on the roof tops are starting to recover from the earlier scare and are now coming out of hiding in order aim. Although something below quickly catches their attention and leaves them distracted.
//Sorry, didn't realize I was holding things up.
Plan? Heh, who needs plans when you can wing it?//

While they are looking away, Phaing sends her horse down an ally instead of charging down the street. Hopefully it will look as if they just vanished.

Phaing pushes the air out of her lungs and reaches back over her shoulder for the bow so she can stow it away. Instead of crying out, the breath whooshes back into her lungs while she uses her abused arm to do that.

"Gawd day-um, that freaking stings! Okay, hold on, for real! This just might suck [censored]!"

Her horse is not a racer, but he plows through a hedge like it is nothing, and bounds through a gap in the trees that seemed too narrow until you were suddenly past it. Thunder (the horse) comes into its own on the outskirts, where the best way out appears to be a small damn across the creek. It is really just a stone wall about 18" wide, but this animal was bred to be a Mountain Horse, and he stakes to it and gets you across with a certain amount of horsey-pride... if the arch of his neck is any indication.
Phaing pets his neck and cooes "Good boy, I'll have to steal you a few apples for that."

and later ...
kiabugboy wrote:....

"Judah, start a fire will ya, won't want the three of us frozen solid by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning"
The fire will be all we need to find them, after a long, jarring ride that has Phaing groaning with pain by the time we get there.

To Elizabeth; "I don't suppose you have a sling in your pack? Mmm.... nevermind, would you mind having a look at that fire, see who's there and how threatening they are to the likes of us?"
"If you’re going to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh; otherwise, they will kill you."

-George Bernard Shaw

User avatar
Lief
No hugs, I asplode.
Posts: 3871
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 5:37 am
Location: Somewhere, I'm sure.
Fav. Twokinds Character: Raine

Re: Long Road North

#74 Post by Lief »

Elizabeth stayed silent for the majority of the ride, although at some point she did manage to sheath her sword.
Phaing wrote:To Elizabeth; "I don't suppose you have a sling in your pack? Mmm.... nevermind, would you mind having a look at that fire, see who's there and how threatening they are to the likes of us?"
Looking towards the fire, Eliza responded in a quiet tone that wouldn't carry far. "No sling. Could make one."

She swung down off the horse gracefully, barely making a noise despite the snow on the ground. She doffed her cloak and handed it up to the foreign girl. Elizabeth didn't like parting with it, but the white of it would stand out in the dark.

"Fire's small. Can't see. Wait here."

Elizabeth started in the direction of the fire, patting the horse's neck as she passed. She moved quickly and quietly, with no small amount of grace. It was the movement of a seasoned hunter, someone who has spent years in the forest hunting what would run if it heard even the softest of noises.

She disappeared from sight a few moments later, having been swallowed up by the darkness. Only to return from the same direction five minutes later.

"The ones from the inn," she paused, realizing that could be taken badly. "The merchant, his slave, and the Basitin. Their horse and cart, as well."

User avatar
The Rookie
Grand Templar
Posts: 1332
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:34 am
Location: Australia

Re: Long Road North

#75 Post by The Rookie »

kiabugboy wrote:"h-hey, don't sleep just yet..." he gives a light pat on the basitin who was drifting off, worried that he was succumbing to his wounds

"uh.. what's your name? island guy, or whatever they call you" Judah tries to strike a conversation to keep him awake and conscious
"John.. It's John.." the basitin says through a tired and groggy voice.
kiabugboy wrote:It seems peculiar that the arrow only penetrated a relatively non lethal area on his shoulder, but it seemed to have severely weakened the basitin greatly. There weren't even that much blood pouring out as he had previously thought, instead the blood seems to be weirdly clotted and unable to stream out like a liquid. "what the hell was in that thing.." Judah thought to himself, confused.
The site of the wound indeed appeared to be minimising blood loss, as well as releasing a sweet pungent smell similar to sarsaparilla root and garlic.

Clearly this wasn't an ordinary bolt, but you'd need to remove it to learn more.
kiabugboy wrote:"okay, we need to get that cauterized.." Judah told the injured guest.
but as he said so the wagon began to slow down nearing to a halt.
"No! No... Just help me pull it out in one piece and clean the wound. It should take care of itself from there..." John ask, seeming so sure in his words.
kiabugboy wrote:"okay people, old arthur here's too exhausted to keep walking in the cold, and frankly, so am i.."
"we're already pretty far from the town, so best we just call it a night for now"
he told the two

"Judah, start a fire will ya, won't want the three of us frozen solid by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning"
John agrees, giving a nod as he attempts to dismount from the cartridge; his movements slow and deliberate.
Phaing wrote:The fire will be all we need to find them, after a long, jarring ride that has Phaing groaning with pain by the time we get there.

To Elizabeth; "I don't suppose you have a sling in your pack? Mmm.... nevermind, would you mind having a look at that fire, see who's there and how threatening they are to the likes of us?"
Lief wrote:Elizabeth stayed silent for the majority of the ride, although at some point she did manage to sheath her sword.

She swung down off the horse gracefully, barely making a noise despite the snow on the ground. She doffed her cloak and handed it up to the foreign girl. Elizabeth didn't like parting with it, but the white of it would stand out in the dark.

"Fire's small. Can't see. Wait here."

Elizabeth started in the direction of the fire, patting the horse's neck as she passed. She moved quickly and quietly, with no small amount of grace. It was the movement of a seasoned hunter, someone who has spent years in the forest hunting what would run if it heard even the softest of noises.

She disappeared from sight a few moments later, having been swallowed up by the darkness. Only to return from the same direction five minutes later.

"The ones from the inn," she paused, realizing that could be taken badly. "The merchant, his slave, and the Basitin. Their horse and cart, as well."
While on a good day the basitin might have still heard you creeping around, he's having trouble focusing on anything that's not the immediately obvious to him, such as Judah. You're both free to approach the camp how ever you'd like.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Image
Image

Post Reply