a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Apr 12, 2012 16:14:27 GMT -5
Tessa watched the scene unfolding beneath her, she suddenly began to formulate a plan. Behind the thief was a tree and one of the branches extended above him. She began to climb higher, then she jumped from tree to tree her feet never making a sound. She eventually came to the tree behind the thief and looked down at the head of the man. She withdrew the largest rock from her pocket and held it over him head. Then she looked toward the ranger, wondering if he had noticed her.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 16, 2012 21:48:41 GMT -5
Marcus, who had just jumped into the tree right before the Lady Courier had shouted, spun around the tree trunk like a monkey at home in the branches. He didn't know what the danger was at first and hoped to foil any attempt of someone to shoot him in the back. He looked down to Olivia and saw she was in the arms of a rather unkempt man who held a knife to her throat.
Instantly an arrow was drawn and pointing at the man's head. Marcus was confident he could make the shot- if the man held still, though balancing on a branch against the tree trunk made it slightly more difficult.
"Try and shoot me, ranger," the bandit snarled. The man kept the knife tight and angled at the Lady's throat.
If the man moved, however, the arrow could hit the courier and Marcus didn't want to take the chance. He swiftly tallied up his options, studying the outlaw and wondering if he could difuse this situatrion with talk. Deciding that was unlikely, he flicked his gaze to the girl and saw she was poised to drop a rock on the outlaw's head. He tried with a look to tell her to go ahead without giving anything away that she was there, then turned back to the bandit and the knife he held at the woman's throat. Marc narrowed his focus on his target and let loose an arrow.
Zzzpppthhht! Thud!
The arrow embedded itself into the exposed elbow of their attacker and before it stopped quivering there was another arrow knocked and drawn. This one was aimed at the bandit's eye. The first arrow, if he had hit the right spot, should have caused the man to involuntarily drop the knife or at worst would make his knife wielding hand useless for a while until the arrow was removed. Either way, it should take care of the immediate threat to the Lady courier.
"Drop the knife and let her go." Marcus said in a cold, hard voice. All trace of his normal jovial personality was gone. He was deadly calm, his mind moving at the speed of light but outwardly he was cold as ice.
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Apr 17, 2012 6:45:26 GMT -5
Tessa noticed the way the ranger had looked at her, she decided he had agreed with her plan. Then suddenly an arrow appeared in the man's elbow. Tessa jerked in surprise. Then she peered back down, made sure the rock was right above the man's head, and let go. She watched as it sailed down through the air.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Apr 17, 2012 17:02:34 GMT -5
Olivia paused and remained still as Marcus spoke and nearly jumped when he shot the arrow at the man. She inwardly growled in frustration. She hated being used as a shield and being helpless!
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Post by connor on Apr 17, 2012 23:48:09 GMT -5
Snarken screamed as the arrow flew into his arm. But he didn't even breath before the rock hit his head. He dropped the knife and passed out. He recovered quickly, and with a menacing glare grumbled, "Darn you, ranger." Tried getting up, but was too weak to move. Snarken had been captured.
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Apr 18, 2012 7:01:20 GMT -5
Tessa almost felt like cheering at the victory, but she sensed that wouldn't be proper. Instead she climbed a safe distance away from the theif then jumped from the tree. She stood with her dress swishing around her feet.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Apr 18, 2012 7:12:12 GMT -5
Olivia glared at Snarken and nearly kicked him out of spite. "Serves you right!" then with an indignant toss of her hair she turned her back on him and went to collect her bag which she had set down while she was waiting for the ranger.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 18, 2012 14:41:01 GMT -5
Marcus watched the rock smack the bandit on the head and flashed a grin at the girl in the tree, ”Nice one!” and then he scrambled out of the tree just as the man dropped the knife from limp fingers and toppled to the ground, releasing the courier. Keeping his arrow trained on the man who was already coming around, Marc saw that the courier looked like she was about to kick the snot out of the bandit. She checked herself though as the man came to and glared at Marcus. "Darn you, ranger." Marcus flicked the knife out of his reach with a soft booted toe.
"Serves you right!" said the courier as she turned her back angrily. Marcus suppressed a grin of admiration. The Lady was a bold one and had handled the situation extremely well. Both the women had as a matter of fact. But now what was he going to do with a prisoner on his hands?
Marc gestured with the point of the arrow, “on your feet and place your good hand on that tree trunk.” He gestured again to the tree he’d just vacated and stepped around behind the man. Then he glanced at both the women, “I am going to need to patch him up and then take him to the castle to see what they want to do with him, but my mentor’s cabin is only about five minutes from here and I know he has the stuff needed to tend this wound,” he explained. “There might be more outlaws around here and I can’t let either of you go wandering alone, so I would appreciate it if you both come with me to Rick’s cabin.” Then he turned to Tessa, “besides, I would like to discuss something with you, little Bluebird, that I think you might find interesting – a proposal of sorts.”
He couldn’t force either one to come with him and suspected the courier might refuse, but he hoped she wouldn’t venture out in these woods alone. In the city he had heard several reports that the wilds surrounding Araluen Castle were riddled with outlaws and beggars and many fleeing the plague had fallen victim to the gangs of bandits roaming the woods. With Rick and Crowley gone to the gathering for a week, he could only imagine how much worse it was now than when they had left.
Then he turned back to the man he had captured and studied him as he bound the man’s left arm behind him and then his injured right arm to the front of him, wrapping a bandage from his ranger kit around the wound and the arrow shaft to stop the flow of blood. “We’ll take this arrow out at Rick’s place. He has everything we need there since my kit is depleted. I was going to refill it from his stores anyway.”
He said to the bandit, “What’s your name and what’s your story?”
He hated this part of his job. Was the man a lazy thief, or just someone down on his luck and needing a break to get back on his feet? Marcus liked to find out for that would determine how he dealt with the man. He had little sympathy for men who earned their living by preying on hard-working folks and were simply too lazy to work and earn and honest living. Was this that kind of man? Marcus couldn’t tell yet, so he wasn’t judgmental or friendly at this point. This was business. This was his job.
“Alright, that should hold you for now. Start walking,” he took up his bow and gestured to the two girls. “Ladies?” Then he indicated the direction to the southwest where there was a faint deer trail and waited for the bandit to start walking.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Apr 18, 2012 21:13:02 GMT -5
Olivia paused in booting her bag over her shoulder at his request. She slowly lowered it as she thought through her options. If there were Bandits around then going off to the outlying village with her message through the woods was not a good idea. Of course she probably should dig out her dagger that one of her Ranger friends had given her for her birthday two months ago. Why she hadn't of put it on before she had no idea. She quickly decided that she would go with them, but not stay at the cabin she would continue on to the road and from there go to the village. "All right Ranger Marcus I will go with you to your masters cabin, but there i will leave you. I have a message that needs to be delivered. I will take the main road as that will be safer than these woods if in fact bandits are on the prowl."
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Post by connor on Apr 18, 2012 23:00:54 GMT -5
"On your feet, and put your good hand on that tree trunk." Snarken got up and felt his body sear in pain. His arm burned where the arrow had tore through flesh, and there was already a throbbing lump on his head. Shaking, he put his hand on the tree. He decided he had no chance of escape so begrudgingly he made the decision to do what the ranger said. "What's your name, and what's your story?" Snarken scowled. He had spent his last part of his life burying his past. He swore he would never think of it again. "The name is Snarken Blackfeather. I grew up outside of Araluen City, we were poor. Me father fought in the wars and never came back. My mum died early and I had no money. A got an addiction to gambling and ran up a quite a sum of debt. I took to pick pocketing, grabbing some money. I got quite skilled at it and a group of ruffians approached me. They wanted me to join them but I ran away. They would have just brought more trouble. I was hiding in the woods when you came by.
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Apr 19, 2012 6:59:26 GMT -5
Tessa had already decided to go with Marcus. She was only a ward, he was a ranger. Besides, that proposal he spoke of had piqued her interests. She waited for him to get the thief walking.
She began to think about Marc as she waited. She almost found it funny that he would call her Bluebird as nothing on her was blue, that is, other than her hair when the sun hit it right. He seemed to be quite a funny man, but serious in dangerous situations.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 19, 2012 9:16:08 GMT -5
"All right Ranger Marcus I will go with you to your masters cabin, but there i will leave you. I have a message that needs to be delivered. I will take the main road as that will be safer than these woods if in fact bandits are on the prowl." The Courier said.
Marc wasn’t so sure that was sound thinking. Usually bandits hung out just off the roads in order to ambush unsuspecting travelers. “Perhaps we can find a larger party heading in that general direction that you could travel with,” he suggested. “I think it unwise to travel alone, especially unarmed as you are.”
They just started walking when the outlaw answered his questions. "The name is Snarken Blackfeather. I grew up outside of Araluen City, we were poor. Me father fought in the wars and never came back. My mum died early and I had no money. A got an addiction to gambling and ran up a quite a sum of debt. I took to pick pocketing, grabbing some money. I got quite skilled at it and a group of ruffians approached me. They wanted me to join them but I ran away. They would have just brought more trouble. I was hiding in the woods when you came by.”
So another hard luck case that tended to make bad decisions, at least he had decided to avoid joining the gang. But that also confirmed they weren’t alone out here in the woods. He turned to his ranger horse that was following along right behind him. “Spirit, take point! Rick’s cabin.” The horse bobbed his head and trotted up in front of Snarken, flicking his ears back and forth as if listening for anything unusual. Spirit knew these woods better than Marc and he would alert them if anyone was lurking around.
“So now I have to figure out what to do with you after we patch up that arm.” Marcus said to Snarken. “and after we grab a bit of food. Maybe I will get lucky and Rick will show up while we are there.”
He pondered what his options were as they trudged through the woods behind his horse. They reached the small ranger cabin without incident and Spirit went straight into his old stall in the lean-to behind the cabin. The front door was unlocked and Marcus directed Snarken to take a seat at the table.
Marcus looked at Tessa as he was tying Snarken’s good arm to the back of the chair. “Keep an eye on him for me, will you? Just holler if he moves.” Then he went into Rick’s room and grabbed the extra medkit Rick kept stocked at all times. He sat it on the kitchen counter out of Snarken’s reach and field of vision and began to rummage through it. He emptied a small pouch into an empty mug and then started a fire in the hearth and placed some water to boil.
“My Lady,” he said to Olivia, “could I have a word with you outside while this water heats up?” he handed Tessa his throwing knife. “If he so much as twitches an eyebrow, stick this in him and holler, okay? I will be right here on the porch.” He made sure there were no weapons within sight or reach of Snarken and then stepped out on the porch with Olivia, carrying his bow.
Once they were out of earshot of Snarken, Marcus asked softly, “Please, Lady, tell me your name and where you are headed so that as soon as I figure out what to do with him I can come and make sure you have reached your destination safely.” Marcus knew all the nearby villages and homesteads, though some of the people may have moved on that he had known when he was an apprentice. “Better yet, if your message is not urgent, and you could but delay a half hour or so, I can escort you. Although I am quite sure your training has equipped you to handle most situations, the fact remains that these are dangerous times for a woman traveling alone.”
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Apr 19, 2012 10:48:00 GMT -5
Olivia smiled a little. "My name is Olivia, and don't worry about me. I often travel alone, much to the distress the men at arms in Norgate. Ranger Marcus you sound like our own ranger in Norgate. So I will tell you what I told him. It is always dangerous for a woman to travel alone. It has never been safe. But one person traveling alone can move quicker and be less noticeable than many. Besides, many people have told me I'm as stubborn as a mule." she paused and a general smile came to her face. "Trust me there is little you can do to keep me here besides knocking me unconscious. And I won't be unarmed." She parted her cloak a little to reveal the knife she had put on. She put her hand on the hilt. "I might be small and a woman Ranger Marcus, but I can be a force to be reckoned with if I so choose. I'm sure I will be just fine."
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Apr 19, 2012 16:08:25 GMT -5
“If he so much as twitches and eyebrow, stick this in him and holler, okay? I will be right here on the porch.” Tessa nodded and took the knife, she watched the man carefully. She wondered what he was talking about with the Courier.
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Post by connor on Apr 19, 2012 18:07:06 GMT -5
Snarken was in pain. His head hurt like a hammer had whacked it. His arm was on fire. He took notice of the girl for the first time and realized she must of dropped the rock on him. He wondered what would happen to him. The penalty for attacking a ranger and a member of the diplomatic service could not be good. He wondered if he would be hanged. These could be the last few days of his life he realized. The world got darker and he fell asleep.
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