Rue took the arrows from Alec and nodded in thanks. She cleaned the rest of the arrowheads and replaced them in her quiver as she considered what they should do.
"I say we search the bodies. It won't take us too long and it's better to be somewhat prepared to what we're facing up ahead."
Suddenly remembering the skeletal figure, she turned back to face him.
"Will you be joining us, sir?" she asked, still unsure of his motives.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Nodding after him, Alec ticks off a half-hearted, two-fingered salute. "Searching the bodies. Gotcha." He starts patting down corpses, flipping them over and checking for any valuables as well.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Rue narrowed her eyes at the skeleton but didn't say anything. She joined Alec in their search of the bodies. She unsure of what they were looking for but she kept her eyes peeled for anything seemingly interesting.
The two began their search of the bodies but gave no thought to their surroundings. Just as Alec found a pouch with some paltry sum of gold in it, an arrow lodged in his back, narrowly missing his spine. He fell forward immediately, it was a dangerous injury.
The shot had come from the woods and Rue could immediately see a shadow slip from one tree to the next, concealed by the foliage.
There attackers weren't done and weren't going to ignore an opportunity to kill them apparently. Another shot whistled from the trees, but Rue was able to dodge it with some ease. Alec was a sitting duck though and it was only a matter of very little time before another shot aimed for him....
Rue ran to where Alec lay on the ground. She knew she couldn't heal him and fight off their attackers at the same time so she did her best to guard as much of his body as she could.
"Don't move!" she cried. "You'll only make the injury worse, unless you think you can pull out the arrow without doing further damage." Judging by his position on the ground, she doubted he would be able to, but he seemed to be in no shape to fight.
She loaded her bow and pointed it at the tree where she saw the shadow, waiting for the next shot so she could determine the location of their attacker. Who are these bastards? she thought.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Collapsed over the corpse of a particularly foul smelling man, he gropes behind him for the arrow's shaft. Pulling it out, he concentrates for a moment, and crushes the arrow head into a ball, removing the shaft somewhat safely - though still horribly painfully. He struggles to a knee, and glances up at the skeletal figure perched on the rock. "You could help, you know," he hisses through gritted teeth.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Alec finds it incredibly hard to so much as kneel. Rue meanwhile is locked onto the direction of their attackers - THERE. One shot, then two come flying from the trees; it is obvious that there were two archers taking aim at them.
She could tell the first was wild but the second was true and would hit before they could hope to move Alec....
But that would get me in trouble with them. Then there's a risk of me getting hurt. I don't like that very much, because I've got stuff I need to do, and I can't do it if I'm dead. Again.
Of all the graveyards in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine.
Rue leapt in front of Alec in an attempt to shield him from the oncoming arrow. She knew that if he got hit once more, he would be incapacitated at the very least. She tried to deflect the arrow with her bow, but she knew that if she couldn't, better she take the shot than him. She hoped she would be able to turn her body slightly so the arrow only pierced her arm or leg, and nothing vital.
She aimed her bow once more at the trees where the arrows had come from and judged the position of the attackers as best as she could. She loaded two arrows in her bow, hoping if one didn't find their mark, the other would, and shot at the trees. She wondered how many were hiding up there, and how many she could take on by herself.
Wait, she thought. The skeleton is here too. But then she heard his remark to Alec. "Again..." how can you die "again?" But this wasn't the time to ask. It was clear he wasn't helping them and she needed to protect both herself and Alec from the unseen attackers.
The arrow hit and hit hard, piercing Rue's thigh. It sunk in, bouncing off the bone and stuck in place. Her own arrows took flight, one missing but the second finding it's mark - a shadowy figure dropping from the tree like a rag doll. The second attacker took flight at that moment, dropping from their tree and scurrying off into the woods.
This was obviously an ambush and remaining in the open wasn't an option, they had to act fast.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Fantastic," Alec grunts. "Just terrific. Now you're wounded too." Struggling - at this point - to breathe, he glances around. "There's got to be something to hide behind. A rock, a stray tree, something."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
She gritted her teeth as the arrow penetrated her thigh, but she knew Alec was in much worse condition. After she saw what had become of the opposing archers due to her arrows, she limped over to where Alec lay. She tried to lift him to carry him to safety, but she was too weak. She looked up to the ever-so-smug skeleton.
"Please," she asked. "Just help me carry him behind those trees." She motioned towards the trees opposite the ones where the archers had been hiding. "If you won't tolerate is behind 'your' rock, at least help me get him over there."