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Post by drenith on Mar 18, 2009 20:56:56 GMT -5
Drenith looked around the clearing "Anyone seen Tory?" He'd been so concentrated on Brandy that he hadn't even noticed she left. He looked around and saw some tracks about her size and decided to follow them.
He quietly snuck farther until he saw her near another man, he stood still for a moment hoping they wouldn't hear him. He decided to slowly creep behind a tree to evesdrop on them. He heard he say somthing about promising but wasn't able to hear anything else clearly. He pulled out his throwing knife in case he needed it.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 19, 2009 14:02:59 GMT -5
Once Ragnar was through patching up the girl on the ground, he turned to the Royal Scout who was still mounted on his gray charger. The horse was a magnificient creature and Ragnar couldn't help but take a brief moment to admire him, but the scout was bleeding from a slash on the chest and a knife wound in his leg.
"Wouyld ya liyke mea ta heylp ya?" He asked before he approached. He'd seen what that horse had done to his fellow Grizzlies and didn't want any part of that.
Ian nodded, "Think you can do so while I am mounted?" He didn't want to get off in case any more of these men came and because he wasn't sure he would be able to get back on. Right now his leg had gone a bit numb and it didn't hurt unless it got jostled.
Ragnar assessed his wounds and then stepped up slowly to the horse. Bandit eyed him, but let him approach, keeping an ear trained on Ragnar. "Pull uyp yer tuunic." Ragnar took some more of the paste he had made for Brandwyn and rubbed it in the wound on Ian's chest. It had already started to clot and Ragnar saw that it was actually very shallow. It looked much worse than it was. He applied some bandages and wrapped them on with strips tied all around Ian's torso.
The leg wound was far more serious. He prodded at it to assess the damage and Ian hissed in pain. "Soorry. Thiys iys gonna huyrt." The bone was cracked from the tip of the knife blade, but as far as Ragnar could tell it had not separated. Likely the crack was lengthwise following the flat of the blade instead of a cross the bone which was good. It would heal up faster.
He looked up at Ian, making sure he was ready and at Ian's nod, swiftly pulled the knife out. Blood welled up and Ragnar smeared some more herbs on it and quickly pressed a cotton patch down on it. Gradually the bleeding slowed. Ragnar replaced the patch and tied it around Ian's leg, trying not to move the bone any more than he had to.
"Iyt wiyll neeyd ta bea spliynted, butt no seynse iyn iyt riyght noow." Ragnar said. "Wayt untyl yoo donna hayve ta riyde anymoore tadaay."
Ragnar picked up Brandwyn's medical kit and looked around for any other of the ranger's friends that needed tending to. "Wus thea liyttle giryl huyrt?" he asked Ian.
"I don't think so, except for a knock on the head." Ian looked around. He saw Arrow and told Ragnar to go check on him. He didn't see Tory or Drenith. "Where are Tory and Drenith?" he asked Tandar.
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Post by Tandar on Mar 19, 2009 15:56:12 GMT -5
"Don't say anything to the others. I'm not working for Crowley."
Patrick removed his traveling cloak and laid it on the ground. He opened the pouches on the back of his belt and began assembling his crossbow. Unfolding the stock, he locked it into place and retrieved a bolt from his boot. "The mercenary helping Brandwyn knows me," he explained as he loaded the weapon. "I can't let him tell the others."
Palisade propped the crossbow on Caliber's saddle, peered through the scope, and took aim.
"You said there were two rangers," he murmured. "I only see one."
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 19, 2009 16:03:37 GMT -5
"There are two of them, well one and his apprentice." Tory looked around and didn't see Drenith anywhere.
"Wait a minute, how did they know we were in trouble? What if that merc already told them about you?" Tory asked, frightened. She wasn't sure she could stand by and let Patrick kill the merc or the rangers. She wanted to stay with him, but she wanted to be a ranger too. "Maybe it would be better to get out of here now, before they see you. I could catch up with you later. Meet you someplace."
She scanned the area of the battle and the treeline, but didn't see Drenith anywhere. That was strange, where was he? Had he seen Patrick or heard them talking?
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 19, 2009 20:01:17 GMT -5
Brandwyn moaned and slowly regained consciousness. She was lying on her stomach and things were spinning a bit when she first opened her eyes. She couldn't think what had happened for a moment, but then it all came back in a rush.
She cautiously moved her arms and slowly raised up on her elbows to look around. The movement sent a twinge up her spine and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment in pain. When she opened them she saw blood in the dirt and her sword lying next to it. Had all that blood come from her? She stared at it in fear for a minute.
She tried to move her right foot, slowly and felt another twinge in her back, but she could move her foot and her leg. She tried the left one, it hurt worse, but again, she could move it. She rolled over slowly and sat up and looked around.
"Tandar? What is going on?" She noticed the bandage around her waist holding the thick bandage over her back in place. She looked up and saw Tandar standing near her. She felt very weak and tired, but the throbbing in her back kept her alert. She looked around and saw Ian on Bandit looking around and the captured Grizzly walking towards Arrow. She didn't see Drenith or Tory. "How long have I been out of it?" she wondered.
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Post by drenith on Mar 19, 2009 20:53:53 GMT -5
(OOC: I got a bad feeling I'm playing right into Tandar's trap.)
Drenith slowly walked out of the trees, "Boo" he said calmly, bow aimed at Palisade, "one move and your dead. Same goes for you Tory, though I'll kill him first." Drenith knew he was in trouble if he called for help, he'd die and they'd run but if he fired they fire back either way he'd die but he'd take Palisade with him. "Now drop the crossbow and move away from the horse." He was trying to be as calm as possible.
Dren made a quick clicking noise with his toung hoping to signal Adina so the others would follow. He was going to have to do somthing soon.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 19, 2009 21:25:52 GMT -5
(OOC: Ha Tandar! This is what you get for not posting right away! Na na nana na! No, Dren, I think we have foiled him this time!)
Ian saw Drenith's horse prick up her ears and move down the trail to where Tory had left Asfala and her own horse.
He could see Drenith with his bow pointed at someone, but couldn't see who was on the other side of the three horses. He spurred Bandit forward, knocking an arrow to his string as he did so.
As he got closer he saw Palisade with his crossbow leveled across Caliber's saddle, pointing down the road towards the Grizzly that had just patched Ian up. Drenith had his bow trained on Patrick and Tory looked frozen near the back end of Chip.
Ian drew his bow and pointed it at Palisade, not sure exactly what was going on, but he had his own suspicions. Where had Palisade been while the battle was taking place? He disappeared at the beginning and now suddenly he is back when it is over. Very convenient.
"Dren, what is going on here?" Ian asked, looking at Palisade.
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Post by drenith on Mar 19, 2009 22:02:42 GMT -5
Drenith felt relived when he heard Ian's voice, "I over heard Palisade saying he's a traitor and he set you up. He was going to kill Ragnar so he couldn't tell us."Drenith's eyes never left Palisade for a seconded knowing it would be fatal if he did. "Palisade, why did you betray us? Money, Land? Why'd you betray everyone who trusted you and even looked up to you." He growled the words thinking of what of happened had they not been there. "And Tory, why stay with him if he'd throw your life away, had me and Tandar not shown up you'd be lying on the ground dead."
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 20, 2009 5:34:24 GMT -5
Tory's heart sank at Drenith's words. She kept her eyes on him and gathered herself to move quickly, but did not move her hands towards any weapons. She was thinking furiously, but didn't see how Patrick was going to come out of this in one piece, with his freedom. Drenith had a clear shot at Patrick while Ian's shot was mostly blocked by Caliber, so though Ian was probably the better marksman, Drenith was a bigger threat at the moment, and he was angry.
"And Tory, why stay with him if he'd throw your life away, had me and Tandar not shown up you'd be lying on the ground dead." Drenith said.
"Because he saved me, back in Meric, from something worse than dying." She knew he wouldn't understand, no one could unless they had endured the years of torment that she had. She looked into Patrick's eyes, "He is the only one who has cared about me besides my parents, but unlike them, he is the only one who has protected me. I will follow him anywhere, even though I don't want to defect from the rangers and even though I don't like what he is doing." She looked back to Drenith, "you just don't understand anything!"
However Tory was dying to know why Patrick had decided to defect from the rangers. Would he answer Drenith's question. Knowing him as she did, probably not. He never revealed anything about himself if he could help it. She kept her eyes on Drenith, waiting for any indication that he was going to shoot.
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Post by drenith on Mar 20, 2009 17:31:53 GMT -5
Drenith smiled at her words, "Luckey you, you had parents. You didn't have to go through watching them die you were spared the pain. I had to kive in a ward for ten hellish years because bandit decide to rob my parents and I barly got out alive. You see this scar, he touched his face, have you ever had a bloodgushing cut when you were five? ON YOUR FACE! I had to spend almost my whole life being picked on and beat up because I looked and acted diffrent than the others. So yeah I guess I don't know your pain. I KNOW WORSE! The rangers saved me from hell, so if you decide to leave us, then I have no choice but to kill you."
Drenith was infuriated at her. She was so ignorrant at the true face of the world, the world he knew. If she walked out on the corps he'd personally hunt both of them down killing anyone who stopped him.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 20, 2009 19:19:27 GMT -5
Tory glared at Drenith. A scar. He had one scar. Boohoo! "Yeah, I had parents. I have a mother who hid this from my father." She turned around and lifted her tunic showing him her back riddled with hundreds of whip scars over the top of more whip scars.
"You don't know anything about hell." She turned back around, dropping her tunic back down and glared at him again. "Try getting raped over and over during the nights by a fat slob of a pig who spends his days whipping you at his mistress's whim, while your mom lets it happen and hides it from your father. Then you will know what hell is."
Tory had managed to move a bit closer to Patrick when she had turned. She was just as angry at Drenith as he was at her. He thought he was so superior, but she was ready, if he tried to shoot Patrick, she knew what she would do. "Like I said, you don't know anything."
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Post by drenith on Mar 20, 2009 19:29:05 GMT -5
Drenith was shocked at the scars, he had no idea what she'd gone through. If that was her life then he understood. She'd seen the face of evil and still made that choice. He knew what she'd gone through in one flash. Her life, she had parents, but hers didn't care, he couldn't think of what was worse. All his life he'd thought he had the worst life on earth and still tried to endure. He looked her straight in the eye "No I do know things, things you possibly coudn't imagine happening, but I don't know what your life is like either." He lowered his bow, never moving his eyes from her, "I understand your choice as should understand mine. And if you want to leave your old life behind I completly understand, I won't try to make you change your mind. But I will warn you, if you do this no matter what happens you will be hunted to death but to help take this." He tossed her his bow and turned to leave he thought he knew pain, but now he only knew the half of it, "If you want to kill me I'd understand. But remember every life you take a hundred more want to take yours."
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 20, 2009 19:50:31 GMT -5
Tory's eyes filled with tears as she caught his bow. Maybe he did understand, at least some of it. She looked back to Patrick. Now everything was up to him, unless Ian made the choice for him. She looked to her right and saw that Ian still had his bow trained on Patrick.
She looked back to Patrick and let the bow fall from her fingers. "I can't shoot them, not even for you." She said softly. "Get away. I would only slow you down and make it easier for them to find you." Tears slid down Tory's cheeks. She didn't take her eyes off Patrick.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 20, 2009 20:04:32 GMT -5
"So, Palisade." Ian said in a deadly soft voice. "It's true? You set us up and Brandy might be dying."
Ian was angry, but he held his anger in a tightly coiled knot.
"Why? What did you hope to gain by it?" He just couldn't understand people who betrayed their countrymen, let alone friends.
He could understand somewhat why Tory was loyal to him, but he couldn't understand how Patrick could leave her behind to be killed.
He kept the arrow pointing straight at Patrick's face. Would he be able to get off a second shot before that first crossbow bolt hit him? It would be close.
He had no illusions about the outcome if Palisade decided to fire on him. Ian was good, he knew for a fact Patrick was better. That didn't stop him, though.
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Post by Tandar on Mar 20, 2009 20:19:57 GMT -5
Palisade hesitated. He was unsure what to do now that his cover was blown.
'I could flee, but where would I go? If I kill the mercenary, what good would come from it? After all, Drenith already told them. Would Ian really shoot me?'
Patrick lowered his crossbow and slung it across his back. "We should get moving. Let's mount up!"
The ranger climbed onto Caliber and waited for the rest.
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