Ferin tensed as the archers fired their weapons, gritting his teeth at the proclamation hat it was no more than the wind, perhaps. There wasn't a point to worrying over natural occurrences. Nonetheless, his hands gripped the hilts of his readied daggers in preparation for the possibility that it 'was' more than just the wind...
Two men, with swords raised, went over to the area that had just got littered by arrows and crossbow bolts. Like nervous scouts their first day out, they poked at the bushes hoping to hit something that's already stopped moving. With a few swings, something finally fled the blades in a blur. A rodent scurried up as far as it could up a nearby tree which left the men baffled.
"It was a squirrel, it was a damned squirrel!"
There was a unanimous groan all around the caravan as men put away their weapons, with some laughing at how ridiculous this all was.
"You should have stuck it anyway, lest its mates rain down on us brandishing..."
The joker was interrupted by a low rumbling that came over the ground beneath them. As the strength of the quake rose, the horses tried to buck and go in any which direction they could, causing them to fall over the uneasiness of the ground. Men and women too began to stumble over themselves as the quake persisted.
As it began to seem like the ground was ready to swallow them whole, two giant walls of rock erupted from the ground on either side of the caravan. As quickly as the 15 ft walls came, there followed a cry in an indistinguishable language ringing from either side of the road.
Warriors in unrecognizable gear began to flood from the brush and ran straight toward the caravan. They brandished curved, bloody, curved swords and other strange weapons as they clashed with the confused vanguard.
With a loud war shriek, a mysterious bandit flew toward Ferin with his sword held over his head, ready to bring it down over the mercenary.
::With the rumble in the earth and things starting to shake, she released her clenched fists to use them to support herself within the box. She could hear the sounds of people calling out in a language she did not know and the sound of weapons being drawn and swung. She wanted to act. She wanted to trow herself against the walls of the crate until it burst open and she was free to aide in repelling the attack. Alas, she could not. While she might...MIGHT...succeed in driving them off and possibly saving a few lives, there was no gaurntee her efforts would make any difference at all. And in the end the thieves would still be out there to raid and kill again. She would have only put a bandage on a mortal wound.
So she rested her head against the wood and braced herself as she counted off each cry of pain as she fought back tears...
Creating a tally of what these bandits would owe once she was finally free to act. And she would be sure they were held responsible for every family that lost someone here.
But they were not the only ones that she would make atone for this. It was her own plan after all. It didn't matter that she saw no other option, these people's death's were just as much on her head in her opinion.
-If this was the best choice. Why does it hurt so bad and feel so wrong?-::
Silent as a shadow on padded feet...
Ferin [M:10:50:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=855]The shadows conceal many secrets.[0:Out Cold][1:Present]
And thus, it was time to see if he were still capable of defending himself with these worn out knives. It had been a very long time since he had engaged in full on combat... Ever since he had lost his blades, he had truly tried to avoid encounters like this. But he was prepared to take on at least four of them with the poison he had applied to his blades, maybe even more. As the bandit charged towards him, he was prepared to begin his attempts at taking it's life.
A bullheaded rush like this man was performing could end very badly indeed if he was against a more lithe opponent. Especially if he was in a heavier set of armor, odds are this would be much more difficult for him. Ferin ran forward a few steps into the bandit's charge, lowering his shoulder and trying to sidestep at the last second. His aim would be to cause an opening in the bandit's guard, allowing him to thrust through a gap in armor, or any immediately accesible location on his (Or it's) Body.
Ferin's agility proved him well as he managed to not only avoid being stumbled by the miniature quake, but maneuver his way out of the charge. The zealous attack backfired, as the warrior did not intent on someone so skilled to be among the men guarding the supplies. As he dove down on Ferin, the young mercenary sidestepped around him whilst cutting into a chink in his armor.
Before the warrior could retaliate, the fever of the poison began to overtake him, and paralyze his body. He fell where he landed shortly after.
The chaos continue to ensue, as the surprise attack fell many of the vanguard who were knocked down by the earth magic. Those who managed to regain themselves had difficulty holding back the oncoming waves of strange soldiers.
A group of men attempting to guard Neko's wagon came face to face with an unarmed assailant in robes. Believing they had the opportunity to slay him where he stood, they charged not realizing they were against a mage. The powerful vortex of wind shot forth and carried the men up easily as if they were paper. They were thrown through the wagon, shattering it open. The bodies landed on the other side, splintered and bloodied.
With the wagon barely holding together thanks to the magic, Neko could now see what was going on outside thanks to the breach.
All of a sudden, a rope with weight flew and wrapped itself around Ferin's neck. The end of it, he could see, was being handled by another stranger with the rope in one hand and a blade in the other. He tugged hard against the rope, either hoping to pull Ferin in or maybe just waiting for him to run out of air.
::She braced herself as the impact rattled the box she was in. Her arms tensed against the sides of the crate as she looked out at the bloody remains of the men near her.
As she watched the destruction unfold around her, she rolled her hands into tight fists and the tiny claws once again dug into her palms as she tried to keep control.
It was for the good of the mission, she kept telling herself. If she revealed herself now, then all the lives lost would be for nothing as the plan would be spoiled as their hopes of finding the raider's base would become near nonexistant.
Man and woman continued to die like dogs being put down as the battle waged. It was only a matter of seconds before the entire caravan was broken and the only duty left was to die.
Neko had to sit there and bare witness as blood flew in every direction, women screamed, and men gnashed their teeth. So it was with a brief moment of thanks that the carnage stopped.
The attackers had all quit what they were doing, as did everyone else, when they felt the tremble beneath their feet. It was like the earth magic the caravan had encountered earlier only it seemed that it was not done by the bandits this time for they to appeared clueless as to what was causing the tremors now.
It all became still then, a thin, terrible calm where one could feel the electricity going up the back and the eyes ever so subtlety twitching over to one direction so's to see where the face of darkness waits to stare back.
With an explosion of force, the wall at the front of the caravan collapsed throwing debris in every which direction. A large portion of wall fell on the wagon, causing it to shatter on impact. Neko's box was sent flying over 20ft away with the crate shattering on impact and sending Neko rolling until she came to a stop.
When she recovered to see what was going on the remaining men of the vanguard would be on the retreat, trying to escape with their lives. [Ferin is among those on the retreat]
Those few that remained fought to get paid, so this farce wouldn't go completely wasted. It was with a new enemy now that both side seemed to cooperate, barely, as they now had three towering giant to face.
They were ugly brutes standing at over 6 m, with oaken clubs the size of a man, and a stench Neko could smell from where she lay. The monsters threw their clubs haphazardly in every direction, breaking and slamming every body they made contact with whilst sending it hurling into the forest or straight into a trunk.
::Neko rose to a crouch, the adrenaline in her system pushing back any pain she felt from the landing temporarily. She took just a moment to take in the destruction about her. That cause by the initial attack and the coming of the trolls.
-Oh, Flarb!
Quick! We have a problem! Trolls. They've attacked the caravan and the bandits! My cover is blown. All this death was pointless!-
She pushed down the sadness she felt over what she now saw as the senseless deaths of the mercenaries and used it to fuel her determination to have SOMETHING good come of it.
She raced to find some kind of cover that would hide her from the sight of the trolls but also bring her closer to one. She drew her sai as she went, ready to try to dodge anything that kept her from her goal. She needed to try and get behind one of them...::
I was afraid of that. We're kinda delayed at the moment, for the same reason
Quick sounded out of breath, even though he was speaking through his mind. A possible sign that he was fighting similar creatures himself at that very moment.
The large trolls were completely reckless, not caring what was in their way as they pummeled all life they saw into the ground. Even the mysterious warriors had difficulty dealing with the beasts, evidently their art lay in surprise, not being surprised. Those few that knew magic tried to bring down one of the beasts by flinging rock and pushing with wind.
As the battle continued, Neko found herself sneaking up to one that had it's back turned whilst it tinkered with one of the wagons. The monster ripped a horse from its harness and threw the poor beast at a few men of the vanguard, crushing them under the force and weight.
I'll do what I can, but you better get here, Quick!-
Her face set in a determined look, she flipped her sai to a reverse grip, the length held tight to her forearms with the tips extending just a bit past her elbows. She pumped her arms as she raced towards the back of the giant troll, hoping its interest was drawn enough to keep its attention from her.
As she built up speed as she neared the bock of the troll, she dropped to her knees and let her momentum carry her forward between the giant legs of the beast.
Should her slide prove a success, she intends to lash out with her sai in an attempt to drive them deep into whatever joint she can reach on either side, hoping the force of her slide will draw the weapons free and carry her beneath the cover of the wagon on the other side.::
As Neko slid under the beast, her blades cut deep and the surprise of it made the troll reel and lose balance. With a few misplaced steps, the creature fell back against a tree, breaking it as he tried to grab onto it to break his fall.
Seeing the opportunity, a nearby earth mage ripped a piece of road from the ground and hurled it at the face of the troll, completely knocking it on its back. The creature roared in pain as it fell, blood trickling from its forehead. It cupped its face with both hands as it writhed on the fores floor in pain, letting go of its weapon entirely.
Another troll bull rushed its way past the wagon Neko hid under, ramming all those in the way to the side or completely crushing those underfoot. It tried to reach its mate, but the remaining bandits took a lesson from the other troll and started going for the legs.
::She rolls out from the far side of the wagon and leaps to climb atop it. She bounds her way across the uneven surface of the cargo still held there and coils her body just before leaping at the troll that had come to help its comrade, her Sai held tip down with the intent to bury them deep into the flesh of the troll as high as her jump can carry her and use them to hold herself there.::
The appearance of a Hatchling surprised everyone, on both sides, but her arrival was of no concern at the moment. Only the fact that she knew when to strike.
The massive troll swung its weapon in all directions, like a bull flailing its horns. The warriors on the ground were having a hard time trying to knock it down to land the finishing blow when Neko appeared. The Hatchling launched herself at just the right moment, avoiding the mighty swing of the club and attaching herself to the chest of the monster. With a roar of surprise, the troll fell and a quake followed when its back slammed against the road.
Before anyone else could do anything, the monster immediately made to seize Neko. Its massive hand quickly snatched her off its body and held her up in the air, to get a good look of the bug that bit him.
Only Neko's head and feet were free from the grasp, with her weapons still stuck on the troll.
She tried to wiggle free, but the grip of the troll was too powerful and she could not get her hands free to reach her gear. Left with little choice and no other options immediatly available to her, she looked the troll dead in the face and called upon her limited knowledge of Dark Magic, taught to her by Father, to pull as many tiny fishhook like barbs from the shadows on its face to jab and poke at it in the hopes that it would release her.
Only as the barbs were already on their way to attack did she consider the beast may squash her instead and her body tensed as she shut her eyes tight against what may come...
As the creature set eyes on the tiny thing that got stabby with it, the troll got ready to squeeze the Hatchling so hard her eyeballs would sore for miles. Neko was just beginning to feel the pressure when the dark tendrils of her magic found their way into the irises of the monster. With yet another roar of surprise, the creature let go of Neko and covered its face with both hands.
As she got her balance back, Neko could see that the troll was clawing at its own eyes, as if it knew there was still something there eating away at them. To the horror of those around it, the troll actually dug out its own eyeballs and threw them away, now in worse pain than it was moments ago and raving mad as it crawled back up and flailed like a rabid steer.
The now blind troll swept and pounded at every little noise it heard, and wouldn't be satisfied until it was sure everything around it was dead. A mighty arm swing came toward Neko in the swirling madness.