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Post by JezusBagels on Jan 2, 2010 0:21:53 GMT -5
((again, you don't know Tolsk's name )) Tolsk nodded as he took the reins of a horse and mounted up, winding up his whip from the saddle. "Call me Perry," he replied. "I can ride well enough." He'd only ridden a horse a few times in his life, but if he could steer a beast across the desert under fire of spears and arrows, he was confident that a jaunt through the forest wouldn't prove too much of a challenge for him. He rode up to Katrina's side, making sure Adrian was close behind, and waited for her to lead the way.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 2, 2010 12:03:21 GMT -5
(OOC: Giggle! ok, Perry. I am going to assume that Katrina overheard Shammas introduce himself and so she knows his name is Perry. But I should warn you I don't keep track of alias names very well, so I may slip and refer to him as Tolsk again... just don't get mad. Not doing it on purpose.)
Katrina led the way back into the city and through the streets at a fast canter as she felt Henry growing colder and colder. She had to hurry. She hoped Perry (Tolsk) and Adrian could keep up, but she wasn't going to slow down for them.
She slowed down when she reached the street she remembered and saw the little sign displaying the twisted snake emblem usually associated with healers or doctors. She cantered up to it, narrowly missing a thin old man in a nice plain black tunic. He hollared something at her, but she ignored him.
She dismounted in front, leaving Henry sagging on the horse and pounded on the door of the doctor's house. She heard Tolks's horse clatter up as a plump woman answered the door, her eyse straying to the blood oozing out of her stomach. "My friend is gravely wounded. I need the doctor." She said in near-perfect Gallican.
The woman shook her head, but then peeked around Katrina to see Henry slumped in the saddle. "He has closed up for the evening." She said, but then was interupted by the doctor himself. He pushed her gently aside and stepped out onto the porch and took one glance at the blood pouring from Henry's side and then her own wound. He glanced at Tolsk and then at Adrian who was just behind Tolsk.
"Bring him in." He said and reentered the house.
Katrina motioned to Tolsk, "Perry, can you help me get him inside? I don't think I can carry him." She went around and pulled his foot out of the stirrup and waited for Tolsk to lend a hand. She knew if she pulled him off his horse they would both land on the ground.
Her own stomach wound was bleeding nearly as bad, but she had almost forgotten all about it in her concern over Henry.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jan 21, 2010 20:54:54 GMT -5
Tolsk nodded. He'd never had a companion or a friend that he'd cared too much about, but he'd seen many people who did. This wasn't a time for messing around. Or drinks, it occurred to him with a deep sigh. But he dismounted his horse and let Henry drop into his arms. He carried Henry inside and looked around, waiting for someone to tell him what to do.
"Where to, doc?" he asked impatiently.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 4, 2010 13:46:05 GMT -5
Katrina followed Tolsk in and saw the doctor motion Tolsk to follow him. He led them to a pristine white room in the middle of the house. The room contained a narrow bed that placed the patient at waist height for the doctor. There were dozens of candles around in nooks in the walls and three lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
The doctor motioned for Tolsk to set Henry down on the bed and then pulled a tray laden with strange instruments over from a shelf and lay it on the small bedside table as he began to work his way through Henry's clothing to get to the wound.
Henry groaned as the doctor prodded the wound deeply with his fingers, assessing the damage. Then he proceeded to mix up a potion from some herbs and steeped them in hot water. When strong enough he forced the warm liquid down Henry's throat and waited a few minutes for the drugs to take affect. Henry quieted and slipped into a deep sleep.
Quickly the doctor opened the wound with a strange looking device and Katrina watched in fascination he quickly stitched up tissue deep in the wound and then worked his way to the surface. He inserted a long piece of animal intestine into the wound as he worked and left the end hanging out and then sealed everything in with a pretty row of stitches. He then smeared some salve onto the wound and around the intestine tube.
"This will help drain the wound of bad humor." The Doctor said in halting trader's tongue. "It needs to be removed in two or three days. You bring him back then, or earlier if he gets worse. He should not be moved far." The doctor washed his hands off in a basin on a nearby dresser and then proceeded to make up several small packets of herbs. He handed her the bundle. "He needs one of these every six hours in warm tea."
Then he looked her over and the other two making a move to attend to her wound which seemed to be the more severe.
Katrina stopped him with a raised hand and pointed to Adrian, "See to him next. I will be fine."
The doctor handed her a wad of bandage and then motioned for Adrian to sit down in the chair by the door. "Where are you injured?" He asked Adrian in trader's tongue.
Meanwhile Katrina looked at Tolsk. "Thanks for the help, Perry. Are you injured?" She pressed the bandages up to her stomach, noting that the blood was not slowing much. She was feeling light-headed and nauseous and she kept glancing at Henry, wondering if she had caused his wound. She couldn't remember much about the last part of the battle except a feeling of rage and a red haze as she mowed down her opponents. She closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to stay upright.
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Mri
Apprentice Scribe
:)
Posts: 207
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Post by Mri on Apr 1, 2010 21:12:27 GMT -5
Adrian was still in a hazy state of mind when they stopped outside of the doctor's. He followed the other's lead and dismounted, stumbling only a few steps before righting himself and heading inside. His own wounds were currently unfelt, them having been overwhelmed by the headache and nausea induced by too much drink.
He found a wooden chair by the door and immediately fell into it, eyes falling shut as someone asked, "Where to, doc?"
Sometime later, Adrian's body moved from the chair to stand on the opposite side of the door, then paced back again with seemingly perfect awareness of his surroundings. He seemed more awake in his sleepwalking than when he actually was and in some distant part of his brain, he was able to process the doc's words.
"Here."
No pointing, no movement of limb or body. Just simply the words, "here" and then he was completely within the world of sleep, deaf to the outside world of reality.
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Post by JezusBagels on Apr 24, 2010 13:52:44 GMT -5
Tolsk gave Katrina a small smile. "A few scratches here and there. Nothing I haven't dealt with before. You, though. You look like the living dead. You should get some sleep. I'll make sure the doc doesn't try any funny business," he said roughly. It was hard for him to be kind when there weren't any drinks in him or blood on him.
He awkwardly smiled and patted her on the shoulder. Soldiers did that, right? Then he sat in a chair in the corner and watched... nothing in particular.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 2, 2011 13:36:51 GMT -5
Several weeks later Katrina was wearily pouring over strategic maps in the command tent of the Araluen allied forces. The main army had moved inland and sent her troupe and some other small units far ahead to harass the enemy, in particular the supply lines and gather as many Gallican warriors as they could round up to join them back here at the site of what they planned to be the deciding battle.
Katrina studied the terrain map and determined that her Scotti forces would be better utilized in this battle than they had been early in the war playing policemen in La Rivage. Althouth they had all been itching to get into some real combat earlier, many of them were dead tired and most sporting wounds to some degree. Katrina had taken many of them with her on a raid of the enemy’s camp during the night. They, among others, were the bait that had lured the Aslavians right into position. It was an hour before dawn and everyone expected the two armies to engage in the morning, even though they had been marching throughout most of the night trying to catch Katrina’s troupe.
Katrina looked up at the sound of a familiar voice and smiled as she saw Captain Dougal stride into the tent. He made a report to Sir Horace and the tent erupted in cheers. Word finally trickled over to where she stood. The general of the Aslavian army was dead. Katrina sat down on a camp stool. Was it over then? Would they turn tail and run? She looked at Dougal and he seemed rather grim so she guessed not. They were still coming. Horace confirmed her suspicions when he ordered quiet.
“This will be the day, gentlemen, of the end of this war. The Aslavians are demoralized, their leader dead and already several men have deserted during these early morning hours and are heading back east again. But the main army continues and we will be forced to engage them.” Horace pointed at the main map on the table in front of him. “We go through with the attack as planned. Dougal, have your men set off a signal when the first third of the army is beyond this point.” Horace pointed to a spot on the map. “We will attack them from this side and bring up the main part of the army in front of them.”
Katrina looked on and saw the elevated ground with scrub brush on the southern side of the narrow valley Horace had chosen. She had just ridden through the area and most of her men were actually still there where she had ordered them to take cover. “Sir Horace, my men are here and along here,” she pointed. “If you can get me some fresh troupes we can attack from this side and we will have at least half of the Aslavian army crushed in this pincer movement. I have a feeling that many of them will then flee since the bulk of them were enslaved along the way and have no desire to fight anyway.”
Horace nodded, “My thoughts exactly. Offer them quarter if they choose to surrender,” Horace ordered everyone. “I would prefer to kill as few as is needed to turn the tide of battle. Tindale, take your century and set up here just past the Scotti force.” Horace showed the area next to Katrina’s men. “Just don’t get in their way,” he grinned at Katrina and she smiled wearily back. Tindale nodded and tipped his head to Katrina. Horace looked around the room at his advisors and Captains. “Everyone understand your roles?” There were no more questions. This was it; the end of the war was in sight. “Take your stations then.” Horace ordered and watched everyone file out of the command tent.
The final battle was going to begin within an hour and although they were still outnumbered three to one, Horace felt confident for the first time since setting foot in Gallica this time that they actually did have more than a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this war. He looked at Dougal who was now speaking with Katrina and smiled. They owed that chance to Dougal and his men and in no small measure to Katrina as well for the devastation her Scotti warriors had inflicted on the Aslavian supply line earlier that night. If they were lucky, this next sunset would see them watching the hind parts of the Aslavians as they high-tailed it back home.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 8, 2011 8:59:36 GMT -5
Hours later Katrina sat on Ace, the mare's head hanging low, on a low rise and watched the remains of the Aslavian Army running back toward the border of Toscano. They were defeated. Araluen and Gallica had turned the tied and the Toscano men that had been forced to fight with the Aslavians turned on their slave masters and struck them down.
Once Toscano had started, a group of Arridi also turned on the Aslavians and that started a landslide effect that ultimately led to all the men that had been conquered over the last several months by the Aslavians either surrendering, deserting or turning to fight on the Aslavians.
The fighting was now over. Some of the Araluen's forces were chasing the survivors of the Aslavian army back into Toscano to ensure they did not regroup, but fortunately Katrina and Dougal's men were spared that task. It had been days since any of them had had any rest and many of the Scotti were wounded.
Katrina took her banner from her faithful retainer and waved it over her head in a signal to regroup around her. The charging silver unicorn on the black field gleamed in the afternoon sunlight and seemed to come alive on the silk banner.
Her voice was nearly hoarse from shouting orders all day and the previous night and she was so tired she thought she was going to fall off Ace, but she was proud of her men under her command and wanted to make sure all were accounted for.
"To me! To me!" She cried out across the field. Her voice carried on the wind now and the Scotti began to reform around her. When most were assembled, standing quietly before her, some resting on their weapons or sitting in a heap on the ground she held up her hand to speak. "Form ranks and do a roll call," she said to Shamus quietly. Louder she said, "Then lets collect our dead and give them a rousing send-off. Tonight we celebrate our victory and tomorrow we go home!"
The men cheered her and raised their weapons in salute. Katrina smiled at them and raised her banner. After weeks of battles and skirmishes the war was finally over. She looked to her left and saw Dougal standing on another rise and she smiled at him and waved. If she worked it right, she was going to be on the same ship as he for the trip back home. She wondered if he could see the mischevious glint in her eye as she smiled triumphantly at him.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 12, 2011 9:13:15 GMT -5
(this thread is now closed.)
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