silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kat examined the positions of the men from the shadows, then flitted back up the corridor. Trying to think of a silent way to get Dominic's attention, since he obviously couldn't see her, she settled for huffing a silent breath on him and waiting a second before she described as quietly as she could and in as few words as possible the number and composition of the forces below.
Coincidentally, she described a plan much like the one that Dominic had been thinking of, where the men would distract those below with bright lights, yelling and possibly fighting, while she would retrieve Mina.
She wished beyond wishing that she had Marcus with her. His magic, at least, was helpful. A marker spell to let them track a mark. A marked mark, in fact.
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dominic listened intently to her and nodded, smiling. Thank goodness she'd thought to come back to the group. He added a little something in a low whisper, low enough that only those with very sharp hearing, very close by could detect it. He actually was thanking that clanging of water on tin coming from behind them. It muffled their approach.
"Okay, Kat. I'll have the guys raise some hell and pull back. If you get a chance to snuff out their light sources all the better. Mina comes first though. If you can't find another way out down there then we'll try and draw them into the bone room and hold them so you can sneak past."
Spoken like a true General. But he had no illusions that he'd only be of some use in the fight. If only he could get them in darkness, he'd have a huge advantage. Plus he had absolutely no way of effectively fighting in the corridor with his staff, there wasn't enough space. He waited for Kat to get back into position before nodding at Ramon and shuffling to the back of the men. He instructed them to draw back up the tunnel, to get the men out of the chamber.
Go time. He sucked in a huge breath and in a commanding bellow he roared "In the name of the Kingsguard! Throw down your weapons and come out!" He backed away as the men around him readied themselves. He felt such a coward, hiding behind the others, but what could he really do? Listen, that's what. He listened hard, harder than he ever had before, trying to pick out distinctive voices of any men that would be rushing to meet them. If he could hear one clearly enough then he'd be able to mimic the voice. If he could do that then he could probably ensure that any men that stayed behind to guard Adamina could be drawn into pursuit.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Dominic's bellow did what all shouts do in enclosed spaces. It bounced off the walls, it echoed into the hall, and it stirred everyone into life. Ramon and his men added to that din. They made noise, shouts, bangs, the thunder of stomping feet; they sounded like an army to the lackadaisical guards. An army with a name, and a ruler behind them.
The dozen or so men all armed with maces or mauls came rushing back up the stone stairs directly into the flare of light they could see coming from the Temple of Bones. Vayu had told them to hold the room and that is what they intended to do.
Katerina had two choices in the midst of this fury. She could cling to the ledge. That would keep her in shadow hopefully unnoticed as the guards passed. Her other option would be to drop to the ground on the other side of the ledge, now, while they were climbing the stairs. The last one was trickier. There was no light below. She had no knowledge of what might be beneath the ledge.
She could be dropping straight into the arms of a god who adored helpless females.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
She was by no means helpless. She bolted down the corridor as fast as her body would take her, hopping through shadows and launching herself over the edge, aiming for the opposing wall so that she could arrest her forward momentum.
Besides, if this... whatever got her, then it was less likely he'd get Mina. She had a chance at a life to live, for no animal was she.
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dominic turned to head back into the tunnel from which they'd come, leading his men with him. Still keeping his ears open for the sounds of the approaching men he had no idea if they could win this in a straight fight. He whispered to those about him as they reached the end of the tunnel, the pursuit only a moment away.
"You said there were heavy benches. Upend the sturdiest ones and get them to the entrance. Corral those guys into the tunnel and we can more easily hold them. Quick!"
They didn't have to win the fight just yet, just piss them off enough and whittle their numbers to make a better fighting retreat. He was taking one hell of a gamble. If there wasn't another exit from the chamber then Kat would be trapped, but there was only one route back so if there was no other exit they were ALL trapped and would have to fight all the way back to the sinkhole and cover a climbing retreat. Those were not good odds. He tried to be calm, but the panic was starting to show as sweat beaded his brow and his face became paler as the shouts of the oncoming pursuit rang in his ears.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Katerina made the leap to the other wall with seconds to spare and cold air rushing past her face. The stone and mortar construction of that surface was so beaten up it allowed her dexterous hands and limber feet clinging spots. It was frightfully dark; but she only needed to go straight down.
She was descending deeper underground, too, if the sloping floor was any indication, not to mention the winding stone walkway.
And there were… noises. Rattling ones.
**********
The Bard, on the other hand, did not have to worry about the dark or noises. There was a hell of a ruckus in the Temple of Bones and plenty of light to see by for Ramon and his compatriots. They reacted fast when Dominic told them to block the door with the benches. Unfortunately for them the guards had heavy weaponry. Nevertheless, the chaos was enough to bottle up the hallway confuse the enemy and give them breathing space.
However, the benches were old wood. The guards had mauls and sooner or later the benches would break. Dominic needed a new idea and quick.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dominic tried to centre himself and stop his legs turning to jelly. This was the most lethally stupid part of his plan, potentially. He whipped off his coat, reaching down and snatching up a hunk of wood to wrap it in, making it seem a bundle that, hopefully, would look like a cradled child in swaddling. With a bare moment to spare he yelled for Ramon to join him.
"Give 'em just enough of a fight to draw them into the room and away from where they came. I'll go for the entrance tunnel and shout that I've got the girl. Hopefully they'll be confused and angry enough to believe me and follow me into the tunnel. All I want you to do is buy me a little time then let them pursue, then go after Kat." He had to hope he was faster in the dark, that his acting ability drew them on, and that he could either hide or climb out before he was caught. His gibbering terror was welling up, but he was glad now of it. Terror is a great motivator for running away.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
There were things in this world that were to be feared, this Kat knew well. However, she followed the philosophy of her old friend Susan: don't get scared, get angry. She ran deeper, seeking Mina with sight, sound and smell. She could smell the old bones all around her, and the deep tones of the damp earth, the mustiness of the caves. Somewhere in here, she'd find a frightened little girl. Or a target. A target would be nice about now.
Kat’s target came in the form of an unholy union of man and bug.
It walked upright on two legs and it had two arms on each side of its upper body, four in all. It had no hands, no maces, mauls, or other weaponry; but the curved pincers on the end of its swaying appendages were large and lethal. Chitinous armor wrapped around the spine of the misbegotten monster and clung to the front from groin to throat. The head, if you could call it that, was egg shaped and sat on its shoulders with no discernible joint, neck, or connection.
It blended perfectly into the stone. Kat would have never seen it but for the sudden motion in front of her when it broke away from the wall with a loud rattle and began to scurry forward.
**********
Ramon swung his head around at Dominic's shout. There was a dark ugly smear on one side of his face, but his eyes were alert, wide and bright, there was a fascinated smile plastered on his lips, too.
"You got it Singer! But, I have to tell you that little catgirl made it across. I saw her cling to the wall. It was AMAZING."
There was a thundering sound that shook the floor Dominic was standing on. Debris from a shattered bench flew into the Temple from the doorway. It did not slow Ramon down in the least. He picked up a broken piece of wood twice the size of his arm and ran for the melee erupting in a half a dozen places among the rest of his companions.
If Dominic was going to make good on his distraction now was the time, before the gypsies were crushed like the bench had been.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom swore. He swore and swore and swore under his breath. He couldn't see anything but he didn't need eyes to know exactly how deeply in trouble he was. He expected a band of particularly cunning slavers, not a damn army. And now he was going to try and convince all of them to run after him up a tunnel that might not have had an exit or any kind of hiding place. He remembered the contours, the lines they'd taken. He could navigate up it at what would seem an insane speed to most, though little more than a jog in truth. They'd be blinded by their own lights for a moment, but only for as long as it took for their eyes to adjust. And what if they had enchantments to see in the dark?
It was just stage fright, he told himself. He'd fought that before. He turned and bellowed loud and forceful, making his voice fierce with triumph, drip with overconfidence and arrogance. He wanted them to know he'd already won and there was nothing they could do to stop him from getting away with their prize and, if they were anything like most men doing the bidding of someone who'd kidnap a child, they'd be terrified of losing. Terrified and angry and bloodthirsty and made all the more rash by it. Oh by every single god, spirit and ethereal did he hope it made them rash.
"Well done men! Hold them here while I take the girl back to her father! We shall be rewarded, every one!" He grinned a cocksure grin, an expression that lit up his face before turning with the bundle in his arms and ducking into the tunnel, moving as fast as he dare, sweeping his staff before him and moving in his shuffling gait. He stayed as low as he could, small as he could, in case he'd missed some outcropping on the way down, his mind fizzing and popping with memory. He had to trust his fate to his body, one that had learned to walk easily, but now had to run for its life.
He prayed Ramon could get his men out of the way, keep them safe. He prayed that he could get away. He prayed that little Mina and Kat were safe. He prayed that, if his end did come, it wouldn't hurt. And he reminded himself of what he felt when he left home for the last time. That truly living for one day, only to die the next, was better than simply surviving for an eternity.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kat gave a wild, animalistic roar, the sound echoing and amplifying down the tunnel. Knock it over. Through the legs and trip it, flip it. Get it on its back or get on its back. Insects were quick when they were little, but she was hoping it was a little slower now that it was bigger. Where would the heart be? Would there be a heart? Better to go for the head. Find a spot between one of those armor plates behind the head and shove the blade in as deep as it would go.
I am ending this thread. Thank you Dominic and Kat for participating. With Wistvale moving forward in time this thread, like several others, is being cleaned up.
Take 50 gold a piece and +10 acclaim.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”