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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 27, 2009 13:09:50 GMT -5
Ashton was now finished with his other errands around the city. He’d had to drop off a couple of letters for the Father Superior here in Araluen as well as take care of some other personal business, but now he was done. It was nearing evening though, and he didn’t want to travel at night. He also didn’t want to go back to the monastery for the night or it would likely be another round of debate to let him out again.
Because he was a newly ordained priest, he had not been outside the walls of the monastery in several months, and some of the older priests felt that he should not be sent out into the world so soon after saying his vows. The only part of the priestly life he hated was being cooped up within the walls all the time.
If he went back for the night, though, he might not get out again for quite some time, so he wandered for a bit down near the Tannery and Livery end of the city and pondered getting a room for the night. He also needed a horse because he definitely did not want to walk all the way. He was still wearing his “nobleman” garb, which was a sin – technically, but it avoided a lot of unwanted attention that the priest robes normally solicited. He approached the Livery and began looking over the horses in the “for sale” paddock.
He had money and not just the money he’d gotten for his sister’s dowry. He had money of his own – another sin according to the Order. The money was what was left from his mother, her jewels and private hoard, from the night he’d run away from his father with his two sisters. This was all he had of an inheritance and he refused to give it to the church. He needed to make sure his sisters didn’t end up living on the streets again. Once their futures were secure, then he would give up his worldly wealth, but not before.
He picked out a tall, lean, black horse that stood in the corner of the pen with its head lowered. The colt was boney and its hips jutted out and you could see every rib. It looked like it was half dead on its feet and it ignored the other horses except when they got too close. Then it would lay back its ears and they would back off. Ash stood there watching the colt for several minutes, noting how the other horses stayed away from it for the most part. Though it looked like one of the worse choices in the pen at first glance Ash saw something in his eye and nodded to himself.
Just as he was about to go find the stable man, the guy came hobbling over, wiping grimy hands on a filthy leather apron. He held out his hand to Ash and Ash looked down at him over his nose in true noble fashion and pointedly ignored the hand. The Stableman withdrew his hand, brushing it on the apron again self-consciously. “Can I help yee, Sirrr?”
Ash nodded and pointed at the colt. “I want that black one over there in the corner.” The man shook his head and began pointing out a nice looking overly fat mare, “Begging yer Pardon, Lord, but ye don’ want that one. He a mean one he is. Now take this ole’ girl here. She’s a real beaut!”
Ash slowly turned to the man. “I said I want the black one, not a bunch of inane prattle from a stable boy!” He pulled out a pouch and handed over a gold coin. “I need a quality saddle, bridle, halter and saddle bags as well.”
“But, I am only trying to warn ye, Sirrr. Tha’ black, he done kicked me stable boy near to death. Been starving him ta take tha’ fight outta him, but he is jes’ one o’ them horses that’re no good. Ye would be much better off with the mare.”
Ash grabbed the man by his collar at his throat and began to twist the material until the stable man was having a hard time breathing. “I want the black. Do you understand, you simpleton?” The stableman nodded and Ash eased up on his grip. “Now get me the halter and lead and I will fetch him myself.”
The stableman quickly handed over a leather halter and Ash stepped into the paddock. The black horse raised his head slightly and laid his ears back in warning. Ash stopped and turned his back to the horse, fiddling with the halter. The horse looked at him curiously. After a few minutes Ash turned around and took two more steps forward. The horse laid his ears back again. Ash again turned his back and ignored the horse while the stable man watched, baffled.
After several minutes of this game, Ash started to move around the paddock and the horse took a step towards him, curious as to what Ash kept playing with that he couldn’t see. Each time Ash tried to approach though, he laid his ears back and as Ash got closer, he even stomped his foot and tossed his head in warning.
When Ash was within touching distance, he turned his back once more and then scooped some sugar out of his satchel and held his hand out behind him, not looking at the horse. He felt the soft breath as the colt sniffed at his hand and Ash took a step forward. The colt followed, reaching greedily for the sugar. Ash let him have some. Then he moved away and the colt followed.
Before the colt knew what had happened, Ash had placed the halter over his head with one hand while feeding him sugar with other. He led him out of the paddock and then set about getting the tack and feed he would need for the horse while the colt munched on some grain and dried grass.
“Sir, I don’ know if he ever been ridden.” The stable man said hesitantly as he packed the grain in the saddle bags.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ash handed him 2 gold pieces and the man didn’t argue about the low price, glad to get the troublesome horse off his hands. Ash spent several minutes grooming him and then placed the saddle on the horse’s back and attached the saddle bags. The colt stood contentedly except when the stable man came near; then he laid his ears back and kicked at him. Ash smiled to himself. This horse was exactly his type of horse. He mounted and turned the horse back towards the wharf and the black didn’t give him any trouble at all. The stable man stood there watching, shaking his head in amazement. Then he made the sign of a cross, wondering if the young nobleman had cast some spell over the horse.
Ash checked into an Inn and stabled the colt himself, telling the stable boy at the Inn to leave the horse alone. He then went to his room and began to read until it was time to sleep. Early in the morning he would be on his way to Greenfield Fief.
He never noticed the younger lad that slipped into the common room of the Inn and took up residence in a dark corner for the night.
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 27, 2009 13:10:44 GMT -5
Klicker was sitting still in a small, leaf covered clearing examining the ground when his horse pricked up his ears and looked slightly to the left. Klicker glanced that way with a sideways look while still leaning over his saddle to the right. He gripped the sword hilt, flexing his hand slightly. He didn’t see anything and his horse had gone back to standing half asleep, its ears relaxed and its eyes half closed. “Probably nothing,” Klicker muttered under his breath and went back to scanning the ground.
The ranger had entered the clearing, of that Klicker was sure, but he could find no trace of them anywhere after this point. He had been stuck here for a good 15 minutes and was unsure of which way to go. There was a rabbit trail on the other side, but if they had gone that way, there would have been a hoof print because the ground was wet and muddy there from a tiny spring trickling out from under a tree. So they obviously turned here, but which way did they go?
He gently nudged his horse around the edge of the clearing for the 10th time at least and looked for signs of the underbrush being swept in one direction, or a hoof print. Something. Anything. One full circuit and he pulled up in the center of the 10 foot clearing again.
There was nothing. No trace of them whatsoever anywhere that Klicker could find.
“Damn it!” Klicker swore again, a bit louder than he intended and his horse startled but then stood still, staring at a spot in the woods to the left. “Rangers!” Klicker muttered in a low growl, disgusted. Now what was he going to do? He was not lost, but it seemed he had definitely lost his prey.
He sat there on his horse and stared at the clearing and then scanned the woods again, his eyes coming to rest to the left where his horse was intently watching something. Rangers. He would bet his last gold piece that the ranger was out there watching him right this moment. He suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable. What was he to do now?
His horse continued to stare at one spot and Klicker found himself staring at the spot too and listening. He couldn’t see anyone there, but then if a ranger didn’t want you to see him, then you wouldn’t see him. Simple as that. There was no sign anyone was there.
After some deliberation with himself though, Klicker decided to head back to the city and make a report. His boss was not going to like it, and that meant Klicker was not going to be a happy man when he got back. He sighed, “Come on Pie, we might as well go on back. I lost ‘em. Damn Rangers.” He turned the spotted horse and cantered back the way he had come in, making a mental note of landmarks.
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Post by Cutebabys on Oct 28, 2009 2:27:46 GMT -5
"Leave hoofprints," Dag told his apprentice. It would make it easier for him to track the person down if he knew where the person was going. He briefly outlined the path for Chaos, telling him where to go. "I'll be right behind," he promised.
He smirked. The tracker was about to get tracked. He followed the man easily, staying hidden. The man was talking pretty loudly. He appeared to be leaving the place already. Not so fast, mister... Dag thought, sending an arrow to miss the man by an inch. It hit the tree next to the man. Perfect shot. Exactly where he wanted it to land.
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 29, 2009 21:38:41 GMT -5
Klicker felt the breeze of the arrow as it narrowly missed his head and couldn’t help but duck even though it was way too late for that. He pulled back on the reins and Pie skidded to a halt, puffing out steamy breath in the cool air.
Klicker slowly turned the horse and glanced at the arrow in the tree, then looked in the direction it had come from. Several options flitted through his mind instantaneously, but none of them were appealing.
What he couldn’t figure out was why the ranger had gone to the trouble of trying to loose him, and now revealed himself when Klicker had been turning back. Perhaps it was true and rangers did use sorcery to read people’s minds. He’d been thinking to double back and see if he could pick up the ranger’s footprints from the spot his horse had been staring at from the clearing.
A shadow of doubt entered his mind at the thought the ranger may have read his mind. So, now what? Why hadn’t the ranger just killed him?
Klicker sat there, looking in the direction he thought the ranger might be standing, He quickly grew impatient.
“Well, Ranger, you just going to stand there watching me, or did you have something else in mind?”
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Post by Cutebabys on Oct 31, 2009 9:35:22 GMT -5
Dag was about to open his mouth to ask something when the man snapped at him. He eyed the man who stood in front of him. "Why were you following us?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "It's not your position to get impatient. If I were impatient, that arrow would be through your head by now," he told the man, indicating the arrow at the nearby tree. He nocked an arrow quickly before the man could reply. "And don't think of running away - it won't do you much good," he continued.
[OOC: Chaos, if you want to come back you can now. And sorry for the short post...]
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 31, 2009 18:53:23 GMT -5
Klicker pinpointed where the ranger was standing by the sound of his voice, though he still couldn’t see him. He quickly looked through the bushes to each side for the apprentice, but couldn’t see him anywhere. His eyes flitted back to where the ranger had to be standing.
He thought about running, but knew if he moved his horse wouldn’t get two steps before he felt an arrow pierce his chest. “I have no doubt that if you wanted me dead, I would be by now.” He fingered the reins with one hand, resisting the urge to spur his horse into a gallop. He could never outrun an arrow.
He could deny he was following them, but the ranger would never buy it. Rangers had an uncanny ability to tell when someone was lying.
So, the truth it would have to be if he wanted to live through this. Just a matter of how much of the truth he should tell. He made the ranger wait a minute for his answer while he figured out an appropriately cryptic response.
With an unseen squeeze with his thigh muscles around the horse’s middle, he gently urged his horse to take a step toward where he thought the ranger was standing.
“Mmmm, why was I following you, you ask? Well…” Klicker stalled for a minute longer, “Just following orders. Let’s just say my boss is interested in anyone that does business with a certain priest.” He smiled as if at some private joke.
“Don’t suppose you’d care to tell me what he wanted, would you? I could be on my way and you on yours, nothing to worry about for either of us!” he said hopefully. His horse move forward another slow step, but he was careful not to move his hands on the reins or his sword which was still lying across the pommel of his saddle.
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Post by Cutebabys on Nov 20, 2009 4:38:44 GMT -5
[OOC: Hm...this goes against my plans but I'll post...]
"Nope," Dag said casually. He tilted his head to take in the situation. If he were to kill the man, what god would it to to him? He looked around, hoping that Chaos had come back. He sighed, hoping he would return soon. He would have to do something with this man and didn't want Chaos to be lost. In the end he decided he would wait for Chaos before letting the man in front of him go. He whacked the man's head, making him fall off the horse. He deftly tied the man up in a nonchalant manner. He didn't care about this man. This man would lead him to his master, whomever that was.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 20, 2009 13:41:26 GMT -5
The ranger moved so fast, Klicker hardly had time to realize he was being knocked in the head before everything went black. His sword clattered to the ground as he toppled from his horse. Pie shied sideways and moved away from the ranger, but then stopped. He was trained to stay with his master, but not let anyone else touch him.
When Klicker woke a few minutes later with a terrible headache, he found himself bound and his weapons removed. He should have known. Damn Rangers! He glared at the ranger for several minutes while the fog cleared from his brain, making a note that his horse was still in the clearing.
When his stomach had stopped reeling, and the trees stopped spinning he cleared his throat.
"So, I take it Rangers now go around arresting people simply for riding through the woods, eh?"
Klicker hadn't done anything more than follow the ranger, so knew he wasn't in any trouble legally. However, rangers were touchy folks and physically he was still in a great deal of danger and he knew it. He wracked his brains to try to figure a way out of the sticky situation, but nothing sprang to mind. He wondered what the ranger was waiting for, but then realized the apprentice wasn't anywhere around. "Ah, I see. You have lost your boy, haven't you?" It was a small jibe, and probably foolish, but he couldn't help it. He smirked at the ranger.
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Post by Cutebabys on Nov 21, 2009 8:39:32 GMT -5
"Well, I wouldn't call following a ranger "riding through the woods", would you?" Dag said, "smiling" dangerously and raising an eyebrow. Inside, he was fuming but he didn't let anything, any emotions show.
Damn. It wasn't the retort that actually annoyed Dagbert. It was actually the fact that he realized the man in front of him was speaking the truth. He sighed, as if tired of this whole business, [which he was]. "I could still put an arrow through your heart right now," he said. It was most probably true. With the an in front of him tied up, he could kill the man easily. Technically, even if the man wasn't tied up, Dag could still dispose of him. "Name?" he asked.
I'm going to continue without Chaos for now... I don't want to stay here for too long. Hopefully he'll know to track us... he thought. He glanced at the direction in which Chaos had gone and stood up.
"Forget it. Go," Dag said, cutting the man's ropes. He glanced at the forest again, this time in mock worry. Chaos could find them again. They would meet again. However he needed to know who this man's master was and what business he had to do with the priest. Hopefully it would be worth his time.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 22, 2009 1:02:53 GMT -5
Klicker eyed the ranger suspiciously after he cut him loose, trying to figure out what angle the ranger was pursueing. He seemed irrititated and worried and Klicker knew from past experience that annoying rangers was risky at best and deadly most of the time.
Undoubtedly the man would try to track him, Klicker thought as he rubbed his wrists where the ropes had bit into them. He whistled and Pie came trotting over and nussled his chest. Klicker stroked him under the jaw and then swung up into the saddle. He was a bit relunctant to ride away from the ranger though, after the man had hinted about shooting him.
He also was still unarmed and it was never wise to ride around these woods alone and unarmed. His men weren't the only ones roaming this forrest and he was more likely to run into real bandits than his own guys this far from Redmont. With his sword and horseman's bow he wouldn't mind that, but without his weapons he felt pretty vulnerable. As much as he hated rangers, he was actually better off in the ranger's company for now.
"How about an exchange of information? I answer one of your questions, then you answer one of mine?" Klicker suggested, making a note of where his weapons had been stashed. "Then you can give me my weapons back and we can go our seperate ways." He didn't figure the ranger would ask the right questions to get any real information out of him, so it was worth the risk if he could find out what Ash was up to now.
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Post by Cutebabys on Nov 23, 2009 4:39:10 GMT -5
"I didn't say you could take your horse," Dagbert pointed out. He wasn't planning to let the man have the horse. Sure, Poseidon [his horse's name] could easily outrun the man, but yet having the horse with him was a dangerous idea. His intuition told him not to, and rangers tend to follow their intuition.
Smirking, he said, "And why should I trust you, may I ask?" He cocked his head and smiled, a bit too innocently. The man in front of him would have his ways to evade the question. He was tempted, but he knew he shouldn't. What the man asked might be too dangerous for him to answer. He didn't want to take the risk. Not for the first time, he wondered why the man had tracked him. It was only to pass the letters...perhaps he didn't know that.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 29, 2009 18:53:57 GMT -5
"So your plan is to turn me out in these endless woods with naught but the clothes on my back?" Klicker asked incredulously, and they said Rangers were supposed to be the good guys. No wonder no one trusted them much.
"You might as well shoot and kill me now. Save me from a slow, painful death at the hands of bandits, or wandering lost until I starve." Klicker held out his hands wide, " I am not leaving my horse behind. You're going to have to shoot me off of him. Besides, he will just follow me anyway. I trained him from the day he was born and no other hand has ever touched him. He won't let you near him." There was no way he would walk off into the woods without Pie. He'd let the ranger shoot him first.
He could tell the ranger was trying to figure him out just as much as he was trying to figure out the ranger. He berated himself for even trying to track the man. He knew better. It had been a stupid thing to do. He sighed and hung his head, shaking it slightly. "You going to shoot me in the back if I ride away now?"
Suddenly the trees around them erupted with motion and six men stepped into the clearing. Four had crossbows, two aimed at Klicker and two at the ranger. The other two brandished swords.
"He won't, but I definitely will." Said a low pitched voice. The owner of the voice stepped into the clearing, revealing a huge, muscle bound man with a bushy beard and a bald head. The man had a long bow much like the ranger's bow with a knocked arrow pointed at the ranger. "Drop the bow and arrows on the ground, Ranger." Without taking his eyes off the ranger he added, "and you get down off that horse." He said to Klicker.
Klicker didn't move. Instead he waited for the ranger's reaction. His situation just went from sticky to downright bad. He wondered how the men had snuck up on them without either horse alerting them. They must have been downwind. Klicker scanned the woods wondering if there were more of them out there. If there were only seven, he and the ranger could take them - providing those first two crossbow bolts pointed at each of them missed. The odds weren't good, and his weapons were on the ground near the ranger. He looked back to the ranger, ready to act if the man decided he was going to fight.
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Post by Cutebabys on Dec 4, 2009 13:00:49 GMT -5
[OOC: Yeah, I got all those. But I couldn't make up my mind about which one I'd use. Wrote long, long paragraphs and still hadn't decided...]
Dagbert cursed silently. There was a slight chance, just a slight one, that Chaos might come back. But if he hadn't come all these while, why would he come now? He couldn't keep his hopes on that. He racked his brain for another idea. There was another possibility, of course. There always was. He could shoot one man, then duck. Whatever it was, he certainly wasn't going down without a fight. Or was it better to let himself be caught, then escape later? It was too risky. Once he put down his longbow, they could shoot him before he had a chance to get his knives out. He glanced at the man beside him. He wasn't getting down from his horse either. It appeared the two of them weren't going to submit to orders so easily.
He thought back to the idea of shooting one of the men, then avoiding the other's. But that would leave the man following him killed. He didn't want to let the man die, forgetting that he would have one-handedly killed the man a minute ago. He would have to act fast, these men didn't seem patient. Forget it. He sighed and put the longbow down, hoping they wouldn't remember about the knives or see them.
[OOC: And that's a simplified version of what I had in mind...haha]
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 6, 2009 19:58:58 GMT -5
Klicker watched the ranger put his bow on the ground with mixed feelings, somewhat relieved that they weren't going to fight and yet apprehensive at what these men were planning.
But without weapons and up against these odds, he didn't have a chance. He couldn't outrun a crossbow bolt any more than he could a ranger arrow.
Fortunately for him though, none of the bandits were standing on the off side of his horse. The side that just happened to conceal a dagger in the skirt of the saddle. He slipped it out and up his shirt at the waist so he belt held it place against his skin.
Then he slid to the ground and smacked Pie on the butt. "Flee!" he ordered and the pinto took off at a run into the trees. Klicker knew he wouldn't go far, but he wanted his horse out of bow shot, just in case. He stepped into the path of the aimed crossbows, just in case they tried to shoot the horse.
He held out his hands in surrender. "Sorry, you are a bit late. This guy here already took everything of value off of me." Which wasn't true. The ranger had only removed his weapons. His money pouch was still tucked into his pants.
The outlaw just laughed and motioned for them both to sit down on the ground. "Both of you, over there in the middle of the clearing and have a seat."
One of the men gathered up their weapons that were discarded on the ground while one of the crossbowmen set his weapon aside and pulled some rope out of the pack he carried over his shoulder. He waited until both captives were seated and then tied their wrists together to each other. He cut the rope and then tied up their ankles too.
The bandit leader looked on with a smirk on his face. "Well, now what should I do with a vagabond and a ranger in my forest?" He said good naturedly as he set his men to making camp. The sun was just starting to set and the forest drew dark rather quickly.
Before long there was a fire roaring in the middle of the clearing and some rabbits roasting over the flame. The smell made Klicker's stomach rumble. He wondered if the ranger's apprentice was out there and almost wished the boy was hanging around for a chance to rescue his mentor.
The leader didn't let them have much chance for a conversation, since he never took his eyes off the pair. Klicker began to feel like a bug caught in a spider web. The best he could hope for now was that the bandits would go to sleep and give them a chance to escape.
He wondered why the bandits had even captured them. They hadn't even searched them for money. Not normal for bandits. Then he noticed that the men wore fairly decent clothing too, not rags.
Klicker leaned his head back and turned it away from the leader and whispered to the ranger, "slavers not bandits" in a barely audible breath. "any plans?"
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Post by Cutebabys on Dec 7, 2009 2:06:20 GMT -5
Dagbert took a seat. He had no other choice. He still had the two knives, which, thankfully they didn't take. But he still wasn't too hopeful on that. Everyone knew about rangers...and their skill with a longbow. But did people know about their skill with knives? Perhaps some did...
He didn't take his eyes of the bandit leader, knowing that he wouldn't take his eyes off Dag and the man either. He bit his lip, his mind racing for an escape plan. The best he could hope for was for Chaos to come back. But since he didn't appear to be coming back, he'd have to make another plan. The best solution was to wait. To wait until they felt safe that their prisoners weren't doing anything, or maybe the bandit leader'd be left alone. He could easily throw a knife.
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