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Post by ivory on Oct 16, 2009 10:21:05 GMT -5
Oooh, shiny. Adrian reached out to grab one of the swords aiming his way, then watched in puzzlement as it passed harmlessly through his reach. There was a slight twang at his feet and he looked down to find it embedded in the dirt. Wha--!? He bent down to grab it and almost lost his balance, but managed to right himself before he fell. Laughing, he gave a too-sharp tug and stumbled backwards as it whipped out of the ground, blinding the man that was charging at him, the man, he had yet to see. He waved the sword around a few times and slowly began to remember what he was supposed to do with it for years of harsh training couldn't compete with only a few drinks of ale. He attacked the man now, sword leading in one of the techniques that'd been honed in on him....only to trip over his feet and wind up face down in the dirt.
He managed to roll onto his back and bring his sword up in an attempt to block the oncoming blow, when he saw another sword already doing the job for him. He squinched his eyes together in an attempt to figure out who it was, but the man was already stepping around him and pushing his opponent back.
Adrian slowly (though in his mind, he moved quick enough) got on his feet and readied himself to fight. He managed to fend off the next man coming at him and on accident, cut deep into his side. The smell of sweat and the familiar-like routine helped to focus at least part of his mind, allowing him to get a strong enough grip on himself for survival.
Those moves were so familiar....He could've sworn he'd seen that person before. And then it came to him.
"William!"
The man who'd save him turned around to give a two-fingered wave just as another one of the thousand men came at him from behind. Adrian thought to call out a warning, but it wasn't in need. William wasn't stupid enough to drop his guard just to say hi to a friend....which reminded him - too late.
Adrian let out a groan as pain shot through his side with the point of a blade. Oh boy, was he feeling the lack of alcohol now....he struggled to not fall to his knees and even managed to deflect the next blow to his body, but the block was weak and the pain exquisite. Just a few more seconds and he'd get used tothe pain, so he'd be able to up his defense again....well, that was the plan anyways....
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 28, 2009 11:46:07 GMT -5
Henry kicked one of his opponents into the other one as he parried a slash from the third. The second man went down on one knee and screamed out, clutching it as he fell to his back and began rolling around in agony from having landed wrong on that knee.
The first guy picked himself up and circled around to try to divide Henry's attention. Henry knew if he didn't eliminate another one quickly,, he would be in trouble. He resisted the urge to look at Katrina, knowing she could take care of herself, but still worried for her safety.
He took a step forward towards the third guy and away from the first one, ignoring the guy on the ground after kciking the man's sword out of reach. His two opponents struck at the same time from opposite directions, but the first guy was farther away, so Henry turned to block the other man's slash at his head.
Unfortunately this opened up his left side and he underestimated how quickly the first guy could move. He felt the bite of cold steel slide into his side just under the rib cage. "Aaaahhhhhgggghh" He cried out and turned away from the man, keeping the sword from penetrating his lung or his heart. He stabbed downward at the guy's exposed neck and shoved his sword deep into the man's throat, cutting of the air supply.
The man let go of his sword, leaving it sticking into Henry's side and clawed at his throat as Henry pulled his blade free. They both sank to the ground in unison, but Henry managed to stay upright, on his knees, clutching at the man's sword in his side as he raised his own sword to block another blow.
"Shamus... help!" He said weakly and felt the taste of blood on his tongue, watching the first man struggling to breathe through his ruined throat.
Things started going red and all he could see was the point of his opponent's sword wavering in the air over his head. He felt himself falling backwards and to the side as everything went black and he knew no more.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 12, 2009 18:12:02 GMT -5
Katrina made a bee line straight for the Captain of the guard, knocking down any who tried to stop her with a slash of her sword, kick in the guts or knocking them out with the hilt.
She wanted to end this fight quickly and teach that Lord of the city a few things while she was at it.
The Captain motioned for one of his men on horseback to charge at her. She paused and waited for the charge. As the horse plunged down on her she stepped to the side, ducking her head under the man's sword swing and deftly sliced through the saddle girth without doing more than scratching the horse's flank.
The man went careening over his hors'es side with the saddle as the horse plunged past and kept on going, mowing down one of the captain's foot soldiers.
Katrina kept running forward as the Captain urged his mount to meet her. He took a swing down toard her neck and she blocked it with her own sword and reached up and pulled him from his horse. He landed on top of her and they both crashed to the ground.
It was then that she saw Henry hit the ground and not move. She roared and flung the Captain off of her and stood up just as he came to his feet and faced her. All she could think of was that Henry was dead and it was all for nothing but the stupid arrogance of a pompous jerk. She used her rage as she battled the Captain, her desperation to end this quickly intensified as she thought of Henry lying there bleeding, wondering if he was still alive.
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Post by JezusBagels on Nov 26, 2009 17:43:04 GMT -5
Tolsk had been somewhat deprived of enemies for the majority of the battle, as they all seemed quite content on ignoring him and killing the 'real' soldiers. Was it the clothes? He didn't really care. It made it easier for him to pick them off. They never even saw him coming. It didn't take much longer for their opponents to figure out who he was, though. After a rather tenuous onslaught of angry men with swords found themselves impaled on his own, he finally got a chance to catch his breath and take in the situation.
His gaze swept the area. Look for enemies. Hell, look for allies too, now that he thought of it. Damn. What did they look like? He squinted, wiping some blood off of his face. Not his own, thankfully. At last, he caught sight of the woman. Katrina. Didn't look too happy either. One guy on top of her. One guy dead. He recognized him... Damn.
Tolsk made a mad dash for his comrades, leaping over the corpses that littered his path and having to deflect more than a few blade along the way. He could kill them later, assuming they didn't stab him in the back as he ran. When he finally got close to his target, he raised his shield and swung it down, hoping to incapacitate the captain who was grappling with Katrina.
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Post by ivory on Nov 27, 2009 13:06:24 GMT -5
No, not William, Henry.
Ah, well, maybe the pain was messing with his head more than he thought it was. But any moment now. Yep, any moment now. Preferably before the next attack was launched by his opponent. Dang it, did he always have to take matters into his own hands? He ignored the words of a previous tought lesson by Sir Henry Lionheart of Caraway on the matter, and rolled to the side, clenching his teeth as he hit his wound. He staggered to his feet and lifted the sword enough to block the next attack, but when he stepped foward to counterstrike, he tripped and plowed head-first into his opponent's stomach. Luckily, he'd cought him by suprise [and himself, he might add] enough to force him to the ground and send the man's sword flying into one of his comrade's legs. Adrian placed a weak blow on the man's jaw before stabbing him with his left dagger, then staggering to his feet in time to take a hard whack to his head. Eyes rolling to the back of his skull, he collapsed once again, but this time, unconscious.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 30, 2009 13:51:40 GMT -5
Shamus stood over Henry battling a man determined to stick his sword in Henry to make sure he was dead. Shamus had seen Henry move though, after he hit the ground and despite the blood pooling under him, he thought his comrade was still alive. But he wouldn't be for long if this fight continued and he didn't get help.
Shamus kicked the man in the shin and the guy fell to that knee with a cry of pain. Shamus took advantage of him being off balance and drove his sword point first downward at the base of the guy's neck and into his lung. The man's scream of pain was cut off and he toppled backward as Shamus pulled his sword clear and looked around for more opponents.
The few remaining guards were running back to the castle except for the Captain that was battling Katrina. Shamus saw Tolsk run over to help Katrina and figured the two of them could handle one man without Shamus needing to get involved. Then he saw Adrian lying on the ground a few feet away. He appeared to be unconscious and bleeding as well, but not as hard as Henry was.
Shamus dropped to his knees and began to undo Henry's armor, looking for a way to get it off without pulling the sword out of Henry's side. As he poked and prodded Henry, the man-at-arms opened his eyes and moaned. Shamus grinned at him, "Welcome back! You missed most of the fun!"
Henry groaned and tried to sit up, but Shamus pushed him back. "What happened?" he asked weakly as he realized he was too dizzy to stand and then saw the sword hilt wavering in the air above his side.
"You apparently zigged when you should have zagged and that fellow there," Shamus pointed with a bloody finger, "stuck you with his sword. Now hold still." Shamus was having a hard time getting the straps of the armor undone that were slick with Henry's blood.
"Kat?" Henry gasped and tried to twist around to see the Knight, but Shamus held him down again.
"Stop moving." Shamus gritted his teeth as he tugged on an armor strap, finally liberating Henry from his leather shell. "She's fine. Mopping up the Captain with our new frieng's help." He pulled the armor off and the sword out of Henry's side in the same motion and threw them to the side.
Henry sighed in relief and then felt another wave of dizziness wash over him. He fainted as Shamus prodded his wound and worked frantically to stop the bleeding.
______________________________
Katrina was loosing consciousness from the grip of the Captain around her throat. Slowly he was strangling her and she didn't seem to have enough strength to move his mass from off her body. She managed to twist and gulp in a fresh bit of air, but the man's grip tightened on her throat after, making it impossible to get another breath.
She tried to buck him off and then kick him off, but that didn't work. Finally she forced her hips off the ground and pushed off with her right foot hard and twisted her torso to the left, managing to slowly roll him to the left just as she saw Tolsk smash his shield down on the man's head.
The grip on her neck abruptly loosened as the Captain was knocked unconscious, but then his full weight came crashing down on top of her and she couldn't move. She tried to shove him off as she managed to gasp in a small amount of air, but he was just too heavy. If she couldn't get him off her chest, she would still suffocate.
"Help!!" She gasped weakly, having just enough air to croak out, "help! Get him off me!" Then things turned even redder and started to fade to black as she started to slip into unconsciousness from lack of air.
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Post by JezusBagels on Nov 30, 2009 15:45:00 GMT -5
((by the by, he doesn't use his real name. I don't think he ever actually introduced himself... Anyway, if he did, it's Perry Wales))
Tolsk leaned over and, with no lack of effort, rolled the unconscious man off of Katrina's body. "That one needs to lay off the ale," he said with a grin, trying to lighten the air around them. He extended a hand to help her stand up and scanned the area as he waited for her to regain her footing. The other men seemed to be handling the enemies well enough, but there were still plenty more and a few of them had noticed their captain in jeopardy now.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 2, 2009 14:48:58 GMT -5
(OOC: ok, sorry about that. I went back an fixed it. You're right, Kat introduced herself, but Tolsk never did.)
Katrina sucked in a loud mouthful of air as she gripped Tolsk's hand and let him pull her to her feet. She bent over a moment rubbing her throat with a gloved hand gasping for breath as she scanned the area for enemies. Her eyes fell on Henry and she saw him try to sit-up as Shamus shoved him back down and then he slumped when the sword was removed from his side.
She was about to go help Shamus when four men advanced on Katrina and Tolsk, attacking in a classic triangle formation with the one behind still mounted on his horse, using a spear. The three in front presented a sheild wall to guard the man on the horse. Katrina contemplated throwing one of her knives at the rider, but dismissed the idea. She wasn't very good at knife throwing. "Split up!" She said to her new mercenary friend and abruptly sidestepped to the left. With any luck they would all go after one of them, leaving the other able to flank them and get to the mounted man with the spear.
The spear was suddenly thrust into Katrina's face and she barely managed to deflect it with her sword, sending the point skittering along the side of her helm, making it ring like a bell.
At the edges of her vision she could see that most of the guard had moved off a slight distance and were regrouping, those on foot mounting and preparing to charge down on Katrina's tiny patrol.
"Shamus! Incoming!" Katrina yelled, then she ducked down low, under the sword swing of the opponent in front of her and tried to spin around to his left side to break up the lock of shields he was maintaining with his buddies. She swept her blade low, trying to take out his knees, but it made no contact as the man turned toward her and jumped backward, up against the horse of the man behind him with the spear.
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Shamus had just stuffed a clean bandage into Henry's wound when Katrina yelled. He looked up in time to see a line of 7 horsemen preparing to charge down on them. His face turned white and he whispered, "Lord help us!"
Henry was in no shape to fight, though he would likely regain conciousness shortly, so Shamus stepped over to Adrian and quickly tried to find out what was wrong with him. There was a large bump with a cut on his head and a bruise outlining the pommel of a sword starting to appear.
Watching the riders, he quickly brought out the skunk weed again and waved it under Adrians nose, hoping it would wake the knight up and sober him up at the same time. They were going to need him.
He started to shake Adrian, looking for other wounds too as he waved the weed around, catching a good whif of it himself. He coughed and pressed a bandage to Adrian's head to stop the minor bleeding.
______
Henry groaned and opened his eyes. The pain in his ribs somewhat subdued now. He looked around and saw Shamus' back, bent over Adrian. Then he twisted slightly and saw the back side of a horse with two men in front of it and Katrina's boots peeking out from under their sheilds beyond them.
"Damn!" He rolled over and struggled to his feet, oblivious to the line of men about to ride down on them all. "Time to call for help." He reached into his tunic at his throat and drew out a bosun's whistle and put it to his lips. Cupping it with both hands he blew a long, loud note that rose upward in intensity and pitch and then dropped of low suddenly. He repeated the note two more times and then clutched his side with one hand as he picked up his sword with the other and began to stalk the man on the horse.
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Post by JezusBagels on Dec 2, 2009 23:25:50 GMT -5
Tolsk grinned. He loved moments like these. Without contemplation or doubt, he sheathed his sword and unbuckled the long whip from his side. He clasped the end and let the rest fall to the ground. Then he looked for his target. The one on the horse. The one with the spear. He lifted the whip and lashed out towards the spear. It wrapped itself around the long weapon.
It surprised the horseman and he started tugging on it mindlessly. No use. Tolsk heaved and forced the spear out of the man's hands. Catching the spear in his free hand, he made eye contact with the--now disarmed--man on the horse. He lifted the spear and cast it away, right into the man's chest. The corpse fell off its steed and landed in the dirt. With a crack of the whip, Tolsk turned to face the next man that dared cross him.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 4, 2009 11:51:27 GMT -5
Katrina watched with admiration as the spear embedded itself in the chest of it's owner and the man toppled to the ground. But she didn't have much chance to appreciate the finesse with which Tolsk wielded his whip since the man in front of her took a swing at her head again. She blocked it with her dagger, having left her sheild on her horse near the edge of the city with the reinforcements, but the force of the blow actually drove her to one knee.
Instead of fighting the fall, she went with it and used her momentum to somersault under the man's sword arm and spring to her feet behind him, right infront of the nervous horse. She grabbed the reins under the horse's chin with the hand that held the dagger and stabbed her opponent square in the middle of the back.
He screamed and she pushed him off her sword with her foot as he toppled face-first into the dirt, writhing in pain. The man next to him, in the center of the formation, watched helplessly as two of his bodies were cut down. Enraged, he turned to slice across Katrina's stomach, using the momentum of his spin to add force to his cut.
Katrina was pressed up against the horse that was trying to plunge sideways, pushing her right into the path of the sword. She got her sword up just in time to partially block it, but felt the blade cut deep through her armor and then felt the bite of cold steel across her abdomen.
The familiar pain plunged her back in time, back to the infamous battle that had been the reason for her being knighted. The memories temporarily clouded her vision and her mind. She was suddenly reliving the most horrible day of her life. She no longer saw the man in front of her as a city guard, she now saw the Scotti warrior that blocked her path to her revenge.
Katrina roared in pain and anger and released the horse, absentmindedly giving it a tug on the reins to back up just before letting it go. She then grabbed her sword with both hands and bellowed a fierce battle cry as she swung down on the man who had just tried to gut her. Everything was bathed in a red haze and she had one thought on her mind; 'Kill them! Kill them all.'
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Mri
Apprentice Scribe
:)
Posts: 207
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Post by Mri on Dec 27, 2009 20:34:24 GMT -5
Adrian groaned as he came to, his head and side hurting like the seven hounds of hell had torn into his flesh. He squeezed his eyes before opening them, then gave a shake of his head to clear his vision, immediately wishing he hadn't. His head hurt! But alas, he had naught the time to pay it heed as the battle was still in pursuit.
Staggering to his feet, he brought his sword up to arms, ready to charge the nearest man when he realized something amis. Only Katrina and that other man was standing, where was Henry and Shamus? And then he saw them, but before he could try to offer his assistance, he was pressed upon by a soldier.
He fought bitterly and hard, his pain acting as an acute antidote to the liquor he'd consumed. He stumbled once, twice, but each time managed to right himself before his opponent could sink his blade into his tender flesh and as they progressed, his footing became more sure. He went through the paces that had been whacked into him during his training, ignoring the pain as well as he could, and within minutes, he slipped his sword through his target's defense, stabbing him through his chest.
Adrian winced at the slight resistance as his steel met bone, but continued in his thrust until the sword passed through the other side. He pulled it back out with a grimace, offered a prayer for the man's soul, and tried to make his way to Henry's side.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 29, 2009 12:54:49 GMT -5
Henry felt fire in his side from the sword wound and he could hardly breathe. He clutched at the makeshift bandaged and then realized he wasn’t wearing his body armor. He looked around and saw it lying on the ground next to a sword. The blood on the blade of the sword went from the tip up the blade a good 4 inches. Henry’s eyes widened in fear at how deep it had penetrated. He knew from past experience on the battlefield that not many survived a wound like that.
He whirled back around when he heard the man on the horse hit the ground and watched as if everything were moving in slow motion as Katrina attacked another man, the horse plunging wildly around her. He saw the blade cut into her abdomen as the horse pushed her into the path of the enemy’s sword.
“Katrina!” He yelled and took a few steps forward, only to be knocked over by the rear end of the horse as it finally broke free and plunged back toward the city. He struggled to his feet, using the sword as a crutch and then froze as he saw the look on Katrina’s face and heard the battle cry she used against the Scotti. She struck down the third man and started to turn toward their new friend they had met in the bar.
“Look out! Henry called out to Tolsk and pointed to Katrina. “She is berserking! Get away from her!” he tried to reach her, but he felt like he was moving through deep water. His legs were growing colder and his fingers stiffening up. He looked to his side and saw the blood seeping out around the bandage.
As he sunk to his knees again, he saw two things that scared the hell out of him. To his right was a small line of horsemen from the city guard that were charging down on Katrina, Tolsk and Shamus and to his left he saw their allies, a line of Scotti warriors, charging up to meet them. Henry and his friends were caught in the middle and Katrina looked like she didn’t recognize friend from foe.
Then everything turned to a red haze as he toppled forward, the sword falling to the ground. The last thing he heard was Katrina snarling in fury.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 29, 2009 13:23:56 GMT -5
Katrina saw another Scotti, a very large Scotti, she thought with confusion for a moment and was about to attack him when she heard the thunder of horse’s hooves. She turned to her right and saw several riders charging straight for her. She roared in fury and turned to face them, charging forward herself.
Two rode straight at her, one on each side. Katrina saw their Scotti tartans and her anger boiled over. With her right hand she slashed her sword across the abdomen of the one on the right and used her dagger placed along her left arm to divert the other man’s swing. The sword glanced off her armor, leaving a scratch along her arm, but not doing any other damage. The man on the right toppled from his horse, clutching his stomach and she whirled on him, plunging her blade into his throat as his horse kept right on going.
The horseman on her left went plunging past and Katrina could hear the sounds of fighting behind her, but she was too busy with the other three horsemen that had circled her to worry about anything else at the moment. Something nagged in the back of her mind that these men were not fighting like Scotti warriors. They were too synchronized and coordinated. But she pushed the thought aside and continued the deadly dance.
Before she really knew what had happened, she had killed all three men and now looked around for more targets. Behind her was a whole line of Scotti warriors. She turned around and gave another battle roar and charged at them, the thought still burning in her mind that they must pay. Especially Him, and if he was hiding among them, she would find Him and kill any of them that got in her way.
There loomed a big Scotti in front of her and she took a swing at him as she ran, not bothering to slow down to engage him in battle. She planned to just mow them down until she found her real target; the man that had killed their child.
(OOC: She is charging down on Tolsk now… but she thinks he is a very big Scotti warrior. I would prefer it if you don’t kill her, Jezus! lol)
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Post by JezusBagels on Dec 29, 2009 13:33:00 GMT -5
Tolsk had been, quite pleasantly, killing enemy after enemy, temporarily oblivious of the slaughter happening behind him. When he finally did turn around, it took him a moment to process what was happening. Lots of dead people... Katrina looking very, very angry... And running straight at me... Uh-oh...
Fortunately, having no real loyalty to the woman other than the promise of money and beer, he had no qualms about his next course of action. He deftly raised his shield and, with no lack of force, knocked her weapon straight out of her hand. Then, with his free hand, punched her in the side of the head. He'd done it before. When dealing with mad drunkards who felt like stabbing the other bar patrons for no reason other than that the sword was shiny, it helped to know how to knock some sense into people.
He grabbed her by the chin. "You alright in there?" he asked, hoping she would take the joke and not punch him back.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 29, 2009 14:14:29 GMT -5
Katrina felt her sword go flying out of her hand as it exploded in pain and before she could react, a fist came plowing into the side of her head.
She staggered as she felt a large hand grab her face and thought the hand was much too big for a Scotti warrior.
"You alright in there?"
The voice was oddly familiar. Her head throbbed and suddenly she recognized who was holding her upright. Panic seized her as she then realized she had just gone berserk and had been reliving that day back in Macindaw five years ago. She went limp in his grip as tears welled up in her eyes. What had she done? She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw her soldiers looking on with surprise and then her eyes fell on the still form of her man-at-arms.
“Henrggryyy” she tried to say, but her jaw wouldn’t move with Tolsk holding onto it. She twisted away from him as she dropped her sword and ran to his side, dropping to her knees. “Henry! Henry! You can’t die. Oh God! What did I do to you?” She cradled his head in her lap and looked around at the carnage around her. She had done it again and she couldn’t even remember exactly what had happened. She only knew she would never forgive herself if she had killed Henry. Tears streamed down her face as she yelled for help.
“Get him on my horse!” She commanded as a Scotti soldier brought Ace up beside her. She helped them lift Henry into the saddle and then climbed up behind him. She saw Adrian bleeding and Shamus looking on in concern. “Shamus, take command.” She ordered. “Go get that son of a Blam! Lord of this City and bring him back to camp – no. wait.” She fought down her first instinct to exact revenge. He was a Lord and she had to follow protocol, no matter how much she wanted to rip his head from his shoulders.
“If that captain is still alive, bring him and any survivors to camp – in chains. Maybe Sir Horace will want to send a message to that idiot up there in the city.” She turned her horse to the city and started to spur Ace forward when Shamus jumped in and grabbed the reins.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Shamus asked her.
“To that healer in the city that we passed.” Katrina cradled Henry in her arms, his head lolling limply on her shoulder. “Make sure Adrian gets some medical attention too. He looks a bit dazed.”
Shamus nodded and let go of the horse. He looked at Tolsk and then the others awaiting orders. “Hey you, go with her, and take Adrian with you.” He saw that a couple of the men held their horses and he grabbed the reins of his, Adrian’s and Henry’s horse. He handed the reins of his horse over to Adrian, then the other set of reins to Tolsk.
“Do you know how to ride?” Shamus asked as he swung up into his saddle, making sure Adrian was mounting his horse too. "By the way, my name's Shamus, what is yours?" he asked Tolsk.
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