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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 10, 2009 5:25:15 GMT -5
When Tory came to, she was slung over the Grizzlie's shoulder, her hands swinging close to her feet, with her head bumping against his back. She carefully reached down and pulled out the crude knife she had made from her boot.
The man carrying her swatted her in her behind, "Stohp mooven!" He grunted at her.
Tory raised the knife and brought it down into his lower back, slightly off-center. The man screamed out and dropped her and clutched at the knife now buried in his kidney.
Tory hit the ground and rolled away from him and right up onto her feet, clutching the only weapon she had left, her throwing knife. She looked around and saw that Ian was in trouble, having only taken out one of the four men on him and from the look of it, she thought Bandit had done that job.
She couldn't find Patrick anywhere.
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Post by will on Mar 10, 2009 18:23:55 GMT -5
Arrow winced in pain as he limped across the woods. He had the WORST of time ever since Palisade sent him on the mini mission. His senses peaqued as he sensed movements in the woods. Even through the pain, he managed to perfectly blend into the darkness.
That's when he saw Tory. She was in a scuffle with some men that he knew nothing about. Even though he knew it was wrong, Arrow revealed his position....and what bits of secrecy he had left. He gripped his Katanesh and jumped out of the woods, and into the clearing.
"Tory!" He shouted uncharacteristically.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 10, 2009 18:42:48 GMT -5
Tory instinctively ducked down low and whirled around at the shout. She saw Arrow jump out of the woods and into the clearing, his weapon ready.
"Arrow!" She shouted back in relief. She had been worried about him and had wondered at Patrick's decision to leave the Inn without him. "Please help the scouts! I am ok." She pointed with her knife to Ian.
She was glad he was back and in one piece. She was worried about Patrick and hoped that Arrow would help her find him when this fight was over. Assuming they won it, that is.
She then turned her attention to the guy who had her knife in his back. She decided to try to retrieve the knife, so she switched the throwing blade to her left hand and made a lunge at the guy with her right hand.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 10, 2009 19:09:24 GMT -5
Brandwyn watched the third guy that had rushed towards her turn and dive for cover as she let loose her third arrow.
The shot hit him in the back, hitting his shoulder blade instead of a vital organ. Brandwyn wondered if that would keep the guy down or not.
Suddenly she heard someone shout, "Tory!" and spun Asfala around a quarter turn to face this new threat. She saw a tall youth with white hair jump out of the woods and come to Tory's aid. 'That must be our missing ranger apprentice.' Brandy thought, but then put her attention back on the two wounded men near her.
She drew her saber with her right hand and held her bow in her left and charged at the man with the arrow in his thigh, hollaring like a banshee and brandishing her sword at him, trying to intimidate him.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 11, 2009 13:12:39 GMT -5
Ian sucked in his breath as the sword tip slashed through his tunic and into his skin, but otherwise ignored the flash of pain and burning sensation the wound caused.
He turned Bandelero slightly and the horse took advantage of the turn to swipe a bite at the man who had just wounded his master. The gray horse bit down deep into the man's right arm, but the guy wriggled loose before Bandet could crush the bone. He screamed in fury as his prey escaped.
Ian used the momentum of Bandit's turn to strike the wounded man with his saber, but instead of connecting the sharp part of the blade with the guy's neck, his sword connected with the man's back just at the base of the neck as the guy tried to duck the blow. He heard a sickening crack and the man toppled to the ground and didn't move.
Ian turned his attention back to his other attacker, nudging Bandet back around so he could get a good swing in at the guy.
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Post by Tandar on Mar 11, 2009 17:31:44 GMT -5
The man with the knife sticking out of him collapsed, driving the crude blade in deeper.
The injured Grizzly near Ian dropped his broken two-handed sword in favor of a dirk he drew from his belt. He was in a lot of pain, but he pushed himself forward anyway. Clenching the weapon tight in his fist, the attacker drove it into the Royal Scout's right leg, piercing deep into the skin and breaking the bone.
The injured mercenary on Brandwyn jumped up to unhorse her. His gloved hand reached up and got a hold around her neck. He jerked back hard, pulling her off her mount and spraining her neck. The scout fell to the ground, but her assailant broke her fall.
Not far away, Arrow was about to face opposition as the two Grizzlies standing by began running toward him, their two-handed swords resting on their shoulders.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 11, 2009 19:00:17 GMT -5
Tory:
As Tory lunged to grab the knife, the Grizzly fell to the ground and landed on it. She looked up and saw two grizzlies charging towards Arrow. She was crouching on the ground between them and so she did a somersault out of their path and turned, aiming her throwing knife at the closest one.
Her throw was terrible. She had been aiming at his chest, but the knife struck his right knee and sunk into the bone up to the hilt.
Ian:
Ian cried out in pain as the Grizzly embedded the knife into his leg. He swung his saber at the injured man, barely holding his fury in check. He dropped his bow and the reins in his left hand and clutched the pommel of his saddle to keep from falling off the stallion. The horse knew what to do without his guidance. His right leg was nearly useless now to help keep him mounted and he knew it would not take much to unhorse him. If that happened, he would be virtually out of the battle, so he fought to stay on Bandit's back.
Ian swung his saber down on his opponent with all the force of his pain and fury behind it and slashed the guy's back open.
Bandit sensed the change in Ian's balance when his master's leg was broken and spun away from the man attacking them, placing his hind quarters towards the man and let fly with both hind feet. Unfortunately for Ian, that maneuver had thrown off his aim, thus causing the slash on the man's back instead of hitting him in the neck as he had been aiming for.
Both of Bandelero's hooves landed on the man's right arm and Ian heard the satisfying double crack of bones breaking in at least two spots.
Brandwyn:
Brandwyn screamed in pain as the grizzly pulled her off Asfala by her neck. The scream was choked off as the grizzly squeezed her neck harder. She managed to keep hold of her sword, but dropped her bow as she made a grab for the saddle horn and missed it. She landed on top of her assailant and felt his left arm snap when they hit the ground with her on top of him.
She rolled over and leapt to her feet, rubbing her sprained neck with her left hand, keeping her guard up with her sword in her right hand and faced her opponent, watching the guy with the arrow in his back out of the corner of her eye.
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Post by Tandar on Mar 14, 2009 21:08:02 GMT -5
The mercenary with the arrow in his back passed out. The pain was just too much for him.
After successfully unhorsing Brandwyn and breaking his arm in the process, the injured Grizzly leaped to his feet. He cursed under his breath as he realized he could no longer wield his sword. Instead, he drew his dagger and made a lunge at the scout, stabbing her in the lower back.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 15, 2009 10:21:14 GMT -5
Brandwyn lunged at the man in the same instant, turning slightly, exposing her back to him at an angle as she plunged her saber into his back at the same moment he plunged his dagger into hers.
"AAAAiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee" She screamed loudly in agony as she finished her turn. The momentum pulled the dagger out of his hands, leaving it buried in her lower back near her spine. She staggered forward and fell to her knees and tried to crawl away from him, but each movement sent sharp spears of pain down her legs and up between her shoulder blades. She reached around and pulled the dagger free and then felt the blood start flowing down around her side and saw it drip into the dirt.
She crawled another foot and then collapsed with the dagger in her left hand, underneath her and her saber still in her right hand. She pretended she had passed out, lying with her face in the dirt, her forehead resting on her right arm and waited for the man to attack her again.
Brandwyn thought of Tandar as she lay there, waiting for the man to finish her off. 'Tandar, I'm sorry!' She thought she would never see him again and tears filled her eyes as much from that thought as from the fire in the small of her back from the knife wound.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 15, 2009 10:22:21 GMT -5
Ian spurred Bandit away from the Grizzly, trying to disengage from the battle for a breather. He was reeling in the saddle in pain. He looked around to see how the others were doing and noticed he was the only one still mounted. Brandwyn was on the ground now, but she had managed to kill at least one of her opponents and injure the other two. He was surprised to see that Tory appeared to have neutralized her opponent, though he wasn't sure if the man was dead or not.
He did not see Palisade anywhere, but didn't have a chance to wonder what had happened to him.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 15, 2009 20:26:33 GMT -5
Tory saw that no one was paying attention to her anymore and she felt naked without any weapons at all, so she dodged back over to the man lying prone on the ground with her knife in his kidney and rolled him over. She pulled her knife out and stood over him for a moment, debating on whether to finish him off or not.
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Post by Tandar on Mar 15, 2009 20:27:03 GMT -5
"Tandar, I'm sorry!"
Reaching for Brandwyn's throat, the mercenary began choking her, despite his broken arm. Although he no longer had a weapon, he was going to finish her off.
The Grizzly's grip loosened suddenly as twin arrows thudded into his chest.
"Sorry for what?"
Tandar knelt down beside the Royal Scout and reached for the handkerchief on his belt. He began tying it tightly around Brandy to stop the flow of blood from her wound.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 15, 2009 20:35:33 GMT -5
"That I got myself killed and I am not going to see you again-" Brandwyn broke off and suddenly realized that Tandar was really there beside her.
"Tandar!" She sobbed and grabbed a hold of him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Wh- What are you do- doing here?" Her words muffled by the sobs and his shoulder. She clung to him tightly in spite of the pain in her back.
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Post by drenith on Mar 15, 2009 22:28:35 GMT -5
Drenith rode out of the trees and fired at the man who was attacking Ian and hit the man's left arm and broke it as he rode to Ian he said "Miss us?" He motioned for Ragnar to come and told him, "I need you to treat Ian's wounds i'll hold them off while you bandage them okay." He looked at Ian "Trust me he'll help us and your losing too much blood. So let him." Drenith noticed Tandar at Brandwyn and saw Tory and Arrow "Hey you guys over here... uhh regroup or whatever you call it!"
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 16, 2009 5:40:46 GMT -5
Ian spun Bandit around at the sound of Drenith's voice, "Drenith! Thanks!" He pointed with his saber down the trail a bit where the last unharmed Grizzly was charging at the two apprentices. "You might want to shoot that guy. He is the last one I think."
Ian eased Bandit over nearer to Ragnar and noticed the man's hands were tied and he had a lead rope dangling from a noose around his neck. The man had obviously been beaten up. Ian looked him over dubiously and then back to Drenith, "Are you sure about him? Looks like he is your prisoner to me. He one of these bear paw pendant guys?"
Then Ian noticed that Brandwyn was bleeding profusely and Tandar was trying to patch her up while she was crying hysterically into his shoulder.
"Tandar! How bad is she?" He called and started to move Bandit over in that direction, all thoughts of his own injuries forgotten. There was a large pool of blood drying in the dirt under where Brandwyn had been lying.
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