ATTACKED!!

[Rue]

Looking at their opponents, Rue worked out a battle plan in her head.

"I'll take the archers, you take the others," she said to Alec. He seemed more equipped to fight hand-to-hand than she was, and she was better with her bow than her dagger anyway.

She reached back, swinging her bow off her shoulder and taking her shooting stance. She notched an arrow in her bow and sent it flying towards the archer who shot at Alec. She turned slightly, rearmed her bow, and sent several more arrows flying at the archers on the other side.

[Alec]

Ducking left, Alec runs at the men armed for close combat. Pulling the spikes out on his gloves as he runs, he ducks left as a sword whistles by his head. He jumps at the offending party, smashing a spiked fist into the man's forehead, killing him. A club flashes in front of his face, clipping his brow. He thrusts a foot into one of the man's knees, breaking his neck with a practiced motion. Looking at the other six, he brings his hands up, one hand dripping with blood. "Come on. I'm just one kid, you can't really be this pathetic."

[Rue]

Rue was momentarily distracted by Alec's immediate kill, but an arrow close to her head brought back her attention. She dropped to the ground in order to avoid getting speared in the eye by the arrow and rolled back up, landing on one knee. From the ground, she shot another volley of arrows into the line of archers. One arrow hit a man in the chest before he could react and he fell back into the bushes. Two of the archers dodged the arrows, but one jumped out of the way a second too late. The arrow head buried deep in his stomach, he keeled over trying to take it out. Rue turned around to the other line of archers opposite the ones she just attacked and launched a volley of arrows into their midst. At the same time, they fired at her. She managed to deflect most of their arrows with her bow, but one of them pierced her upper right arm. She cringed in pain but ignored it, knowing that it was not a fatal injury and this was not the time to deal with it.

[Alec]

One man breaks for Alec, swinging what looked like a hatchet with a long haft. Dodging to the left, Alec takes the man's arm and snaps it over his knee, then grabs his head and slams his knee into it twice. Taking the fallen axe, he pulls the head off and, holding it in the palm of his hand, raises it several inches off of his hand. Looking at the remaining bandits, and sends it flying at the nearest one, burying it in the man's neck.

Jumping at another, vaulting off of the collapsing man's body, he drives his knee into the bandit's chest, forcing him to the ground, crushing some ribs. Bounding off of the gasping man's chest, he kicks him once in the ear and nods as he stops moving. "Three left," he gasps, starting to lose some steam.

[Rue]

The volley of arrows that she had sent at the other four archers has nearly all met their marks. Two of the men barely had time to rearm their bows before Rue's arrows pierced their skulls. Another man rolled out of the way, and the fourth took the arrows aimed at him and his companion to the back as he tried to turn and run out of range. He wasn't dead, but he had slowed down considerably, making him an easy target. Rue shot another arrow at him, killing him.

Now there were three enemy archers left, the one in front of her and two behind. She hoped that the one in front if her would be temporarily distracted by his dying companions, so she turned back to the other two to see their arrows flying through the air, straight at her. She dove to the side, ducked behind the bushes, and snuck up behind them. Seeing as she was so close to them, she didn't see the use in wasting any more arrows. Her quiver was running low, after all. She drew her dagger from her belt and approached the pair noiselessly, swiftly slitting the throat of one of them. Before the other could react, she threw her knife at his chest. As she turned to face the last archer standing, she heard the telltale thump that meant her dagger had hit its target.

[Grayell]

(Still waiting on Alec...)

[Alec]

Breathing heavily, a light shines at the center of Alec's eyes. Reaching down to his waist, he pulls a pouch open, and fishes out three good-sized marbles. Rolling them about in his hand, looks the remaining three men. Leveling his palm, he ticks a finger up, raising the marbles. He whirls them in the air several times, intent upon the marbles. A man charges at him, swinging a crudely made shortsword. He flicks a finger, and the marble flies through his head, stopping him short. Sighing, he makes a fist under the two floating marbles and then extends his fingers, in an almost petulant gesture of disinterest. The marbles whiz through the air, one finding a man's heart - crushing several ribs - and the other marble destroys half the other man's face, entering his eye.

[Grayell]

The enemy had been slaughtered summarily, leaving the hill soaked in their blood. Rue had an arrows through her arm but Alec apparently had come through unscathed. They'd gotten no information - so other than the fact the cart had apparently been attacked in the woods and no the field, what they do next is entirely upon them.

[Skulldon]

Skul sauntered by as the bloodshed ended, looking around nonchalantly.

Well then. This looks sticky.

He kicked a corpse idly.

[Alec]

Glancing at the corpse ridden hillside, Alec walks to the closes killed with a marble. Flipping him over, he starts pawing through the pulpy remains of the man's skull. "A-ha," he mumbles, pulling a bloody marble out of the mess, dropping it into the canvas sack. Doing this again with the other man with half of a skull, he walks to the one who's chest is caved in. He shakes his head, and passes it by, returning to Rue.

Passing by Skul, Alec stops and looks at the figure more intently. "You're......" he trails off, then shakes his head, and continues on.

He grimaces, noticing the arrow poking out of her arm. "Are you alright?" He looks at the protruding arrowhead, and grimaces again. "I'd help, but am afraid I'd do more harm than good. No healing magic, and no medical knowledge - well, beyond theory."

[Skulldon]

Yes I am. Skulduggery. Homicide.

He straightened his posture.

[Rue]

Rue knelt to the ground and studied the arrow in her arm. She looked up at Alec and replied,

"Oh, I'll be fine. It's not that deep, and I can heal anyway."

She dropped her weapons to the ground, inhaled deeply, and carefully pulled the arrow out. She then put the fingers of her other hand to her arm, murmuring some words under her breath. A blue light traveled from her fingertips into the gash on her arm, and it slowly closed up. She shook her arm gently, then stood.

"See?" she said to Alec, smiling. "Good as new." Her arm was a little sore now, but she would be fine.

She then turned to see an unfamiliar person standing on the hill with them. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Hello there, what can we do for you?"

[Skulldon]

Nothing, my dear. Just passing through. I'm attracted to the sound of carnage.

He looked at another corpse.

Any idea who they are?

[Rue]

Rue shook her head and recounted the story of the flaming cart and the woman's warning of something in the woods.

"...So we came in here, looking for what it might be. Then they popped up and attacked us, and, well, here we are."

She bent down and began retrieving her arrows from the ground and the attackers' bodies.

"Help me collect these, will you?" she said to Alec. "My quiver's almost empty."

[Alec]

Nodding, he jogs to the furthest corpse, and starts collecting arrows, heading back towards her. Meeting in the middle, he hands a fistful of arrows to her, heads wiped clean of blood and gore on the tall grass.

"So," he begins, looking towards the woods. "We can search the corpses for any type of orders they might have - wasting what very well might be valuable time - or strike off into the woods, having no idea what we're veritably sprinting into." Glancing at Rue, he grins. "I don't like our chances for the wood, but I'll go with what the lady wants." He gestures at her, "You've got the healing hands, after all."