Fantasy Realms of Nymserine: Main Thread [[CLOSED]]

[Zazz]

Azaria glared past Verity at the seaman, seething at his stupidity. She had only been protecting his own arse, after all. She contemplated leaving something sharp in it, instead, now, but thought better of it. She was here to repay her debt to Verity Ophelia; it would do her no good to slit his throat. Except, perhaps, that he would no longer irritate her.

But the halfling took a deep breath and backed down, forcing down the rage. She itched for action, and standing there was doing her no good. The half-elf stepped a little ways away from the group, not too far so she wouldn't hear them, and pulled out her throwing knives. One by one, they hit a tree off to the side, all landing in a perfect, angry line down the trunk.

 

[Melon Bomb]

Crisis averted? Charlotte had no intention of swaying the prickly thorn of an otherwise level stem, hopefully she will learn to curb her combative behavior with experience - assuming she planned to stick with the group, that is. Interesting to note that despite her resistance, she immediately folded to the hooded woman, perhaps an unspoken authority in their group. A second question, this time posed by the seafarer.

"Oh, I'm not interested in the gold," Charlotte said flatly, climbing down to solid earth. "You guys can keep the money." Settling in her seat, she sat cross-legged and leaned back, planting her hands into the soft grass.

"But I am interested in lending a hand," she continued with a grin, whipping out a basic diagram of the encampment. The drawing is hasty but comprehensible, one could tell she was a decent artist - laying it flat against the ground, several important details came to light.

Two lookouts on the watchtower, at least fifteen bandits active on the premises, a barbed five-foot high fence and a vertical gate that has to be opened from the inside. There were likely other minor details that she wasn't able to catch from her distance, like their exact armaments and such - either way, it should be enough information to put together some plan of attack.

 

[Zazz]

Once Azaria had released some of her aggression, she yanked her knives free and put them away along her belt. Her footsteps were light as a whisper as she rounded the group, coming up behind the newcomer. In the dark, she greeted the horse in silence and pet its glossy fur softly. Azaria's fingers combed through its mane, and the horse rested its head on hers.

Behind Charlotte, she took a look at the map and finally made her presence known. "I'll take the watchtower. I can use my bow from there and you lot can do whatever it is you do."

 

[Purize]

Verity looked Charlotte over. She seemed nice enough... and was apparently a member of some important family, but the fact that she was just in this fight for the hell of it made Verity a little uncertain. Whatever her motives may be, she did have a good layout of the camp, assuming it was accurate. Azaria camp over to look at it and said she'd take the tower. Verity nodded to her while keeping her eyes on the drawing. "That's a lot men for a bandit camp. This is all too organized for a group of petty criminals. Do you know who's leading them?"

It suddenly occurred to Verity that she didn't know everyone's fighting styles and that making a plan of attack would be difficult. From the looks of them, they were all capable warriors, but their numbers were far fewer than the bandits'. After a brief moment's hesitation, Verity silently resolved that she would have to use her mana in the fight. She wasn't keen on displaying her abilities in front of others, and even though she was confident enough in her sword skills, she knew that magic would give her the upper hand. So, that left everyone else. Roland had water magic and was a a natural with his swords, and apparently Azaria was was comfortable with the bow. She took a quick survey of the rest of the group, her eyes traveling over each of them, taling them in until her eyes finally rested on Charlotte.
"What can you do?" She asked casually. "Say Azaria takes the tower and sneaks in, how do the rest of us infiltrate the camp?"

Hopefully, she could trust this redhead and they wouldn't be lead into a trap... but as it was, she lacked the teamwork skills to make a cohesive plan of action. For years she'd traveled alone, fought alone. Other than small business and job interactions, her contact with people was nonexistent. She had long since fell into the comfort of solitude, so the new group of individuals that surrounded her now made her nervous and jumpy. All in all, strategy was not her strong suit...

Melon Bomb Zazz BugDozer73 SilverFlight Lekiel

 

[Melon Bomb]

Charlotte rubbed her hands together and warmed them up with her breath, tapping the front gate of the camp.

"To my knowledge, this is the only way in and out of the camp. I didn't see any way to hike this thing up from the outside but that's okay, they're going to do the honors. Once the watchtower's out, we start a fire close to their camp, but not too close." Setting fire to the fence itself posed two problems - first, they would make short work of it due to its proximity, and second, they would know they were being directly attacked. By idiots.

"They're going to have to open the gate to put the fire out and investigate," she continued, briefly checking in to see that they were following along. "Once that happens, we charge in together - the worst that can happen is that we get divided and conquered, we don't have the luxury to split our numbers. I have a shield so I've got no problem being the vanguard." Her finger traced the perimeter, making note of the geometric shapes lined around the interior. "There are platforms pushed up against he walls, if we have any other rangers on the team, keep an eye out for bowmen on higher ground. We do this right and they probably won't even know what hit 'em." She concluded the presentation of her plan, surveying their faces for agreement or. . . lack thereof.

"What's the verdict? Anyone have any better ideas?" she asked aloud.

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland listened as Verity and Charlotte spoke, his eyes locked into the map looking around. They were outnumbered, so any plan without surprise was a plan written in blood. That would require the guard tower to be silenced, and the only one here Roland guessed could scale that rock pillar was the stick in the mud halfling. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and looking out over the fence. Charlottes plan was a good one except it made them trapped between a scoring force on one side and a main group on the other, leaving them vulnerable in a choke point. If they could open up the gates wider, it would give them a much larger chance of success. Roland looked at his hands and then at Verity. “Actually, I have an idea.”

Roland pointed to the sticks making up the fence. “That gate is the only way in and out, making it easily defendable from the inside. Without a bigger breach point we won’t last long on the offensive. I know some... Merfolk spells, I can freeze a portion of the fence solid. If something can hit it with enough force, it could shatter the wood and open a larger mouth to enter.” Roland looked from Verity to Pyrrhus, both having the means to crush an ice fence. He was eager to see if either would volunteer

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus listened intently to the ideas being bandied about. He thought they were all good.
"I can shatter a frozen wood wall with one kick." He announced to Roland proudly, stomping a back hoof. "Once it is open I believe I can defend it, prevent the bandits from circling around to flank us." He patted the two large knives at his equine shoulders. "Then it will simply be a matter of taking them out quickly so they can't organize a counter strike. They certainly seem organized. Do you suppose these are the type of bandits to surrender once their leader is down?"

BugDozer73 Purize Zazz Lekiel Melon Bomb

 

[BugDozer73]

"I don't know, but there is certainly a way to find out." Roland stood, facing the bandit camp with a look of eagerness in his eyes.
He felt the wind blow warmly through the night air, carrying the few clouds through the star lit sky like a moving picture. It was a wonderful night for a raid on bloodthirsty bandits. Roland smiled, his hands resting comfortably on the hilts of his blades.

"everyone ready for some excitement?"

 

[Purize]

The camp walls loomed in the distance, the sun sinking lower in the horizon, giving the group the cover of darkness. Looking at the gate, she could almost envision the plan happening as it was explained. She was starting to feel a little better about working with others. If they worked as a team, they could do a lot of damage. ""Sounds good to me." She said, nodding along to everyone's comments as they were given.

She looked at her new elven companion. "You can take the tower and we'll start the fire in the front." She turned her attention to the rest of them. "Once the fire is set, we will use the distraction to sneak around the backside of the camp, opposite of the gates, and break in by freezing and smashing." Verity described her vision of the plan with sporadic hand movements and gestures, making little effort to hit hit someone in the face. "At that point we surge in and take them out. But we should be on the lookout for their leader." She nodded to Pyrrhus, as he brought up the point about them probably backing down if their leader was taken out. She crossed her arms in front of her and smiled cheerfully. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

~~~~

After they had dispersed and gathered supplies for the fire, they sat and waited quietly for Azaria to take out her tower.

 

[Zazz]

The half-elf nodded at the princess's words. She would take the tower - treehouse, really - and then Verity, Roland, and the rest would ram their way in. "Try not to die." It all seemed like a terrible plan, but the half-elf merely strode off towards the trees. Along the way, she pulled out the stick of charcoal she normally used to hide the pointed tips of her ears and smeared some over her face to blend into the night. Crickets covered the already non-existent sound of her footsteps. The breeze that followed them from the sea rippled softly through the leaves of the trees, creating a sense of calm and belonging in her heart. The night welcomed her. She was the night.

From where she stood hidden behind a tree, Azaria could see both of the guardsmen's backs. What fools. Either there was a catch, or they were actually that daft. Either way, she needed to take them both out silently. She weighed her options. If she used her bow, she'd kill one for sure, but the other would make noise before he, too, was shot down. Knives could work, but she did not have a clear shot of both men, and she did not have time to wait for one. No, she would have to get up close.

A silent black blur, she crept out of the trees, her sharp eyes on the guards, until she was under their platform with her back against the tree trunk. She quietly unsheathed her red-jeweled dagger and listened; there was a bit of random chatter, here and there, but mostly just the creaking of weight being shifted from foot to foot. The half-elf put her blade between her teeth and climbed.

There was a light thud as boots swung up and landed squarely on the platform. She'd already sunk her blade in the first guard's neck and guided his fall within the post by the time the other turned around. She went in for the second kill.

Melon Bomb

 

[Melon Bomb]

Today was a strange day.

Normally there was only one person out on lookouts at night, but something was different this time. In the upper branches of the tree, the wind was sharp with cold and the sound of crickets offered atmosphere to their little chats. The watchman on the right leaned on his longbow, peering out into the night woods with a sigh. This wasn't the life he imagined when he initially set out to be an adventurer, full of passion and excitement to romp through his own fair share of glory days. Instead, he was stuck here babysitting a camp full of thieves, murderers, and other unscrupulous sorts.

"So when are we going to pawn off our last haul?" he asked, briefly glancing to the woman at his side. "Money's been tight. . . at least for me, anyway. I don't know if I can cover the expenses anymore, maybe I should call it quits. . . And, you know. Get a real job."

"I'm not in charge of your life," she laughed, resting into the banister. "You're your own man now, do what's best for you."

He slapped at his own face a few times, holding still for a moment before he dropped his hands and let out another sigh, softer this time. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. The real world is a scary place. . . money, relationships, expectations - I'm just running away from it all."

"We're all running away from something, you don't have to be-"

Before she could finish, the man's neck split open and her eyes widened in realization. . . but only a little bit.

In a flash, her quarterstaff was in her hands and she expertly deflected the assassin's second strike with a side-step and twirl of her weapon. So someone came after all. A dark specter of a being, infiltrating without a sound - if she wasn't careful, it could've been her bleeding out on the floor, with the camp likely to follow.

But she was very, very, careful.

"Sorry mate," Kezine Nadale grinned with a heavy breath, squeezing the grip around her staff. "But I'm on guard duty today."

She slammed her staff downward, aiming for a direct blow to Azaria's skull. In its wake, an incredible wave of force blasted out from around her, emitting a deafening crack from the watchtower post like the sudden call of thunder. Heavy branches snapped like twigs, the wooden platform splintered and shattered, and the dead guard's body was tossed over the rail like a toy.

Kezine Nadale, 300 gold bounty. Powerful mage, and leader of the bandit camp.

"Formation!"

With a huff, she blew into her whistle, ringing out through every corner of the camp. Like clockwork, groups of bandits moved in unison and manned the platforms, one crossbow after another mounting the fences. Hunting dogs were released from their kennels and small groups of shield-bearing bandits stood together awaiting orders. A few scouts grabbed their lanterns and slipped out through the back entrance with the dogs, silently signaling to the others. If the light went out or went still, they would know which direction to go.

They were not going to go down easily.

 

[Zazz]

Azaria managed to evade the death blow by a hair; she twisted and suddenly the ground broke beneath her feet, and there was yelling and ringing in her ears. She laid there, at the base of the tree, in a pile of splinters, and stared dazedly up at the stars. They were out of focus. She'd hit her head in the fall and everything was heavy. Her head spun when she turned it to reach for her bloody dagger, and her fingers slowly closed around the handle. She had to protect the princess. It was her responsibility.

The assassin stumbled to her feet and wavered a little, blinking, trying to focus on the lanterns spreading out. Protect the princess. Azaria threw her knives as best she could at the scouts before slumping forward, eyes closed.

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus listened intently in the silence. They had found a small stand of saplings with brush enough to obscure his bulk, but the encroaching darkness was quickly taking over that task.
Gone was the jovial banter and easy stance. Pyrrhus' muscles were taught and he, prepared. Battle was not new to him, and he had learned enough on his travels to know when to be silent, and to wait.
The guard tree was an inky silhouette on star-spangled indigo, but Pyrrhus could not make out the shapes on top of it. He thought he saw a flash of movement, the glint of a blade, and when the loud crack sounded and the whistle blew the bottom dropped from his stomach.
"That isn't good."
The sound of baying dogs echoed through the clearing and Pyrrhus could see lanterns filling out of the gate.
"They've sent search parties. We've lost the element of surprise," but there was something that concerned him more. Their assassin had yet to return.
Pyrrhus gritted his teeth. What he was planning next was brainless even by his standards.
"I can run swifter than anyone here. I'll look for our halfling, distract the scouts if I can. You need to find another angle."
He didn't wait for an answer, there wasn't time. For all her foul temper Pyrrhus was not about to leave an ally behind. He wheeled around and cantered towards the camp.
The dogs picked up his scent easily as he tore through the low scrub. Their keening grew excited.
The guard tree rose up before him, by now he wasn't sure if he had been seen or by how many, but what mattered most was that he had found her, a few paces away from where she had fallen. He knelt and moved to take her in his arms, gently as newly-hatched chick. He whispered to her even as he looked around to assess the danger.
"Lady fair, you cannot bow out just yet. We need you. Do you think you can ride?"

((Not sure if Azaria is still conscious at this point, but she can push him away if she wants, I left it open))

BugDozer73 Purize Melon Bomb Lekiel Zazz

 

[Lekiel]

Fernwe had been skipping jovially and humming a tune along the rear as they headed towards the bandit camp. Her eyes glinting with excitement whether it was for the mere fact that she was now surrounded by so many people, doing oh-so-glorious adventurer things, or the oncoming bloodbath; remains to be seen. When the girl with the flame hair approached, instigating a slight scuffle between her now teammates, Fernwe for once, could be seen silent. Her Jovial mood had all but vanished, leaving an expressionless facade upon her face. But almost as soon as it was gone, her cheery mood returned when her comrades settled their disagreement.

, . ; ` ' ~ * ~ ' ` ; . , . ; ` ' ~ * ~ ' ` ; . , . ; ` ' ~ * ~ ' ` ; .

​

"This is A-AMAZING!!!" Fernwe exclaimed in an audible whisper, her voice shivering in excitement as she stood bouncing on her feet beside the human Roland, under the cover of the dark trees. The top of her head bumping into a leafy stem, causing a dinner-plate sized leaf to flap in Roland's face. Somewhere in the nearby brush, a light ticking sound could be heard, as Finwinne began prowling about. They were waiting for Azaria the AssassinOoooh! we've got roles now!!! to do her covert thang. Fernwe had watched the whole planning procedure with bated breath, fists balled up with barely contained enthusiasm. So caught up she was, just from the fact that she was included into a group that it seemed like she wasn't even paying attention to what was being said when the others volunteered their roles. Nevertheless, she had heard enough to know that Azaria the Assassin would be going on ahead first, and they were to wait.

"Azaria Quickfire, Charlotte Flamehair..." Fernwe had started naming each of them, mostly out of boredom as they waited. "Pyrrhus the Centaur, Roland the... jumpy... bladesman, and Verity-..." Fernwe's brow furrowed, as she struggled to describe the silver haired elf. Suddenly her eyes caught a distant flash of white, a moment later, CRACKKK! the resounding shockwave in the wake of a spell rustled the trees around her. The half-fairy looked up, brown orbs staring wide in awe.

"WOW!"

 

[Zazz]

Never had she expected to be relieved to hear that handsome voice; Azaria had been so close to succumbing to the heavy darkness closing in on her head when Pyrrhus lifted her gently. "Pyrrhus, I... Run." She let him haul her little self onto his back and she tried not to sway, she ended up wrapping an arm around his torso and pressing her forehead to his back. He was warm. It felt nice. Green eyes hid from the world, a dagger gripped tightly in the assassin's hand as the darkness claimed her.

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland sat in the trees next to the bouncing elf, and thought it irritated him, he couldn't help but to smile at her unbridled enthusiasm. One leaf to his face later and he was glaring at the halfling, but he reminded himself to focus.

We can do this.. as long as we follow the plan, we can do this...

A quick pulse of energy and a loud crack, and Roland knew Azaria had failed. Pyrrhus bolted out of where they waited, calling out about rescuing our friend. Before Roland could even protest, Pyrrhus was gone, thundering over the plain. Roland cursed silently beneath his breath, and drew both his blades, slinking out of the cover of the trees and relying solely on the darkness. Roland quickly approached the first scout, swords low while he crouched, until he reached the man, who's eyes widened at the notice of Roland approached. He shouted and dropped his lantern, struggling to draw his blade. Roland sprung forward with cruel experience, lashing out with his first blade. The scout quickly deflected his first strike, and his second, stumbling backwards with a desperation to keep pace, but Roland's advance was ferocious. An over extension and Roland slashed hard through the Scouts torso, who let out a pained scream as he fell to one knee. Roland drove his blade through the mans chest with ease, silencing the mans torment.

In a moment, a quick blur and a crossbow bolt whisked past, grazing Roland arm and slicing through his sleeve, leaving a line of fresh blood. Roland gripped his wound and cussed. With his right blade he quickly deflected another bolt, and a third, stepping back with each deflection. His brow began to sweat in concentration, and he knew he wouldn't be able to deflect them all. He dropped his left blade and held out his hand, chanting in Merfolk. His voice seemed to echo through the the camp like a god speaking, his voice laced with magic.

"Ilnari kar uthran gal Akna!"

Roland's words formed large sea green symbols on the ground before him that flashed brightly before hissing and spewing water up like a geyser. The water burst upwards quickly and began to slow, forming a wall in between him and the archers, and the water began to freeze, quickly forming into a wall. Roland grabbed his other blade and listened as the sound of several other bolts made contact with the other side of the barrier. He looked back at his other companions and waved for them to follow.

"Hurry!"

He was cut short however, of one of the dogs leaping forward and attacking him: he barely had enough time to grab its maw and keep it from closing on his neck. The snarling beast flailed on him aggressively, drooling and trying to shut its mouth. It was hard for Roland to focus on anything else, but he could faintly hear the sound of the other scouts rushing towards him.

 

[Purize]

Silence and anticipation was all that followed Azaria's absence. Verity knelt in the bushes with the others, one palm pressed to the ground as she waited. Her eyes scanned the darkness, its thick veil falling completely over the land and draining all colors to hues of dark blue and grey. The tree in the distance that served as the enemy watch tower was a silhouette against the shimmering night sky. For a moment, everything seemed so still... and then suddenly it all exploded into life. There was a pulse of energy, and the powerful hum of magic rang out into the air. The platform of the tree ruptured and fell to the ground in splinters. Following that was a cacophony of motion within the walls of the camp. Lights went on and hounds began to howl.

Verity's stomach knotted and a terrible feeling came over her, not only because she knew Azaria had been in that tree, but because she could feel the power of the nearby mage. Pyrrhus announced that he was going to run and rescue Azaria, and while Verity too worried for her safety, It probably wasn't best to go running straight into danger... Oh, well he was already gone. Verity sent out a silent prayer for the both of them.

Roland was the next to jump out from their cover. He ran off towards the approaching scouts and made quick work of one of them, while also catching the attention of the new crossbow archers over the wall of the camp. Verity stood as well and unsheathed her sword, its dim glow lighting up the night around them just as a wall of ice shot out of the ground in front of Roland as he chanted. She ran towards him, her cloak flying behind her like a streak of white through the darkness.

An attack dog came out of nowhere, snarling as it lunged at Roland. Verity yelled out and threw out her palm. It glowed as mana came forth like smoke and formed itself into a ball and shot out towards the canine. When her Focus made contact, the dog was thrown off and sent tumbling on the ground. It began to get up, tail tucked between its legs. It saw the crystalized mana hovering next to it and yelped before running off down the dirt road. Verity ran up to Roland and knelt over him, holding out a hand for him. "Are you alright? Come on, you have to get up!"

She gave him space to stand and looked toward the camp. They were safe behind the barricade of ice, the sound of bolts tapping on the other side still audible as they tried to break through. She could just barely see the fence on the other side. "I think I can blast through the fence and get us inside... but I would need you to cover me." She glanced back to Roland, concern written all over her face. She didn't want the reward anymore, she just wanted to get through this insanity alive.

Zazz SilverFlight BugDozer73 Lekiel Melon Bomb

oO*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*Oo​

The priests bickered at this Ali character for quite some time, Brother Matthew having taken Miss Tieve to her room long since then. Brother Avery was the one currently interrogating the Magi. He asked him what he had said to the Oracle and what she had touched. "This demon artifact," he began with his face still red. "Where did you acquire it? What is its function? I'll have you know that if there is any permanent damage to Miss Tieve, you will be held personally responsible. It's considered high treason to obstruct the activities of the Oracle." Poor Master Avery did have the tendency to babble on endlessly. Tieve often thought it was because he liked the sound of his own voice. Ali the Magi would certainly have his hands full with this one, but at least wasn't kicked out of the Library immediately due to Avery's adamant questioning... In her chambers she slept peacefully, nothing seeming to be physically wrong with her.
Brendanfp

 

[Melon Bomb]

The watchtower was in shambles, but the tree itself remained standing. At its summit, Kezine hefted a spear over her shoulder with impeccable form, poised like an Olympic thrower. Her eyes were trained on the moving lights, watching as they flickered in and out through the canopies. It wasn't long before a scream pierced the night, and a light went still - without an ounce of hesitation, she hurled the spear forward with all of her might. From the instant it left her hand, there was a roar of pure noise as the missile fired through the mire of branches like lightning, blasting the ice wall apart until it was nothing more than chunks on the grassy plain. It narrowly whizzed past Verity, leaving a crater in the ground where it struck.

She held a hand flat over her brow, squinting into the darkness.

"Ah. . . did I miss?"

-

She should've known better than anyone else here. No matter how good a plan sounds on paper - as she's understood through personal experience - plans fail. And not only did it fail, but they had neglected to make a backup. What should they do? Charge in? Fall back?

While she stood there, thinking, the others were rushing into action.

Dammit. . . I can't be standing here doing nothing!

Charlotte urgently waved her hand over, signaling the others to follow. Keeping a solid running pace, she side-stepped the ice fragments as they flew past her, covering the position in front of Verity and Roland with her heater shield making up for the lost wall. Bolts clattered and deflected against its surface - but even with a shield, they were going to have to stay moving if they wanted to stay alive.

"What's the plan?" she grunted, feeling her nerves jump with every strike against the steel. "Are we running? Or are we fighting?"

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland rose shakily to his feet after the dogs forceful removal, and nodded thankfully at the silver haired elf. She looked over at the fence while they took cover behind his wall, now covered in bolts wedged deep in the ice. The shield was already beginning to crack, and would not hold out to much longer. A long whistling noise began, snapping Roland to attention, and he could see an approaching light hurtling towards the ice, the scream growing louder and louder.

"GET DOWN!" He cried, and dove forward, grabbing Verity and hitting the floor just as his wall exploded with a blinding light, sending chunks of ice in all directions. Quickly, there new friend seemed to be in front of them, deflecting off the attacks like a paladin. He looked at her with awe, before she called for a decision. Roland stood, dragging Verity to her feet with a smile, a wild look in his eyes. Something clicked in him, and the world around him shifted into two ships bombarding each other with cannon shells.

"We fight! Verity, blow that wall to bits, we will cover you!"

Roland Rushed forward, blades sheathed, and moved like a blur, dodging bolts left and right. Several of them grazed him, and one hit its mark on his right arm, causing him to wince. He kept running, and summoned another spell, throwing out his left hand and chanting:

"Lakroin gal haruna tat havaek!"

Water rose from the ground, growing quickly into a tidal wave behind him. It surged forward, crashing against the wall and dousing all the archers, leaving them momentaierly stunned, spluttering for breath.

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus helped the injured Azaria over his equine shoulders, felt the press of her body on his back.
"I'm not running anywhere without you," he said softly. Only when a crossbow bolt stuck into the tree inches over his head with a loud THWACK! did Pyrrhus remember there were still quite a few enemies trained on him. He rose, tucking Azaira's free hand into the leather straps of his harness.
"Hold tight now my lady, and stay with me." He tried to think of what would keep her from losing consciousness. "How many insults can you think to call Roland at this moment? Come now, more than a few I'd wager."
He drew his blades, two feet each of thick, polished steel and brandished them in the dark. Pyrrhus directed a cold, savage gaze at the dim forest surrounding him.
"I'll give you a chance to leave now," he growled, loud and threatening, "or, you will all fall before the sun rises."
The next bolt he saw being knocked. A quick blade stroke and the steel sang as the bolt was deflected harmlessly to the side. Pyrrhus began to move forward, breaking into a canter.
A bolt took him in the shoulder and he nearly dropped one of his blades, but his momentum carried him forward and he swung his good arm down to cleave the unfortunate's skull. Another man he elbowed in the face, feeling bone crunch and then he turned back to the direction of their friends.
The ice wall shattered, crystal rain cascading down upon the battle field. Confusion sprang up as massive chunks of ice began hitting the earth, Pyrrhus guessed more than one bandit had been wounded with that little endeavor. His weapons came up as he dodged the larger pieces, deflecting the smaller away from the small form on his back. He came out of it with only a few blows that would bruise his rump and flanks.
Picking his way about the devastation he managed to clear the open area and slip into the forest proper mostly unhindered.
The forest muted much of the combat, thick, leafy limbs obscuring them from vision.
Only when he made sure they were clear of the scouts did his hand go to his bloody shoulder and the bolt lodged firmly in his muscle.
"Ah...damn, that hurt!" He took the bolt gingerly between his hands and snapped the shaft close to its entry point.
Then he looked back over his shoulder at his passenger. "You'll be safe here, or, as safe as you could be in the middle of a battle, our friends are not far. I can charm the plants here to hide you."

Zazz

 

[Zazz]

The half-elf groaned against Pyrrhus's back, trying to focus. His skin was warm against her lips. She didn't bother to open her eyes while she answered groggily, "Clart bucket... salty swine... boar..." She tried to recall his face. "Right-handed barnicle chewer..." She gripped the centaur's harness and her dagger tightly, feeling the wind in her hair. "Hatchet."

They reached the quiet of the forest. Azaria inhaled deeply, taking in the earthy scent of living trees and the floral musk of centaur sweat. She recognized the woody scent of sandalwood. It was a comforting smell. Raising her head, she rubbed away the charcoal she'd left on his back. "No, I... here. Fine." She tried to dismount him and ended up stumbling right over to a tree. She waved him off. "Go. Help th'others.."

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus' arm was out in a flash to steady her, his blade thudding on the soft earth by his hooves. Her constant pauses and stuttering worried him.
"Hush," he soothed. Following her slowly. He closed his eyes, held up a hand to press it gently on the side of her face. On the ground she barely came higher than his equine shoulder.
He focused his thoughts, concentrated them into the magics he had learned. The healing would take time, but if he began it now it would clear her mind, take away some of the pain he knew she was hiding.
The spell took only a few moments, and with it cast he drew back, retrieving his blade from the grassy ground.
"Stay safe. I'll see to the others."
Pyrrhus then commanded a second spell, growing the leaves of ferns and saplings to bow over where the halfling stood.
Then he turned on his heels and galloped back towards the fight.

Zazz

 

[Purize]

As the ice exploded around her, Roland grabbed hold of Verity and took cover on the ground. She felt shards fall over her, thankfully nothing hit anything important, but she knew she would have cuts and bruises from the blast. When she got up she realized her cloak was tattered by several large cuts in the fabric. She bit back the urge to yell profanities and yanked the cloak off. It was a nice piece of clothing and she'd paid handsomely for it.... She would collect it later to wash and stitch it, but for now it would be more of a burden to try and fight with it.

Verity nodded to Charlotte in silent thanks as she ran over to cover them with her shield. As Roland ran forward to create a distraction from the crossbowman, Verity focused on the fence and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She clapped her hands together and blue light began to swirl around her. It lifted her hair and necklace into the air and as she drew her palms apart, a ball of mana grew between them. It spun, faster and faster until she took a step back and threw her arms forward, sending her Focus streaming forth with a high-pitched whistle. It crashed into the fence and burst apart into fragments and shavings of wood. The entry way was wide enough for three Centaurs to enter side-by-side, and while it left Verity a little light-headed, she was proud of the sizable hole she made. "Teach you to mess with my designer cloak," she grumbled to herself.

She waved to Charlotte and Roland when it was clear enough for them to charge in.

 

[Melon Bomb]

Kezine took her time climbing the frayed rope ladder, down into the camp now illuminated by torches. She waved casually to Bertrand who was overseeing the battle from this elevated post.

"Are we winning?" she asked as she hopped down, half in jest and half in genuine sincerity.

"We-"

He swiftly ducked as a torrent of water bombarded the fence, sweeping half the standing archers off the platform. They struck the ground below at dangerous angles, the hardier ones recovering immediately, and the less-than fortunate ones starting to black out. The scout leader Bertrand rose back to his feet, now drenched in. . . briny sea water?

"No. They've got a mage," he said redundantly, briefly surveying the damage. "Could be more than one, we do not know the full scale of their forces yet."

"Alright Bert, what's our game plan?"

Bertrand made rapid hand gestures to the able-bodied crew, signaling for them to fan out to the sides with their shields up. A brilliant azure light reflected against the terrain - the surrounding grass, the trees, the wooden barricade - they were all painted with strong shades of blue as the silver-haired elf balled up a continuously expanding locus of mana, presumably to tear a hole straight through their wall. Something about her seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it, though this was hardly the time to be matching faces.

"The fence is going to blow open," he stated to his leader matter-of-factly, then diving for cover. The bandit mage acknowledged in silence and strolled over to the direct center of the projected blast. She maintained a strong stance, holding her staff at her side like a bat as she waited patiently for the spell to launch. . .

-

Charlotte nodded as he gave his verdict. She liked a team with some backbone.

Charging in after Roland, she threw her shield up and kept the two (mostly) out of harm's way, noticing the barrage lighten in the presence of heavy armor. The magic bolt was a blur as it collided with the wall, blowing out chunks of wood. But before she even had the time to blink, those same blocks of wood came flying back at them at nearly five times the speed. A huge slab of wood slammed into her shield and Charlotte was flung backward a good few meters, tumbling head-over-heel until a solid tree trunk stopped her in her tracks.

Shit. . .

Was her arm broken? Her body was numbed with shock, for a few moments she couldn't feel her limbs. By some miracle, her body responded to her command but not without difficulty. Shakily, the woman pulled herself up and hefted her shield once again - it felt heavy in her hand but she ignored the lead-weight strain in her arm. She was definitely going to feel this in the morning.

"We have a front door you know," Kezine said, walking slowly through the rubble with her staff over her shoulder. "Why don't you come back after you've learned some manners?"

From opposite sides, several bandits rushed forward and formed a v-wall of shields, rows of spears between them in military formation. In the back line, a handful crossbowmen were lining up their shots, training their weapons on the enemy - a few more still held position atop the platforms inside the camp, aiming downward.

It's always the mages, she thought to herself, spitting blood into the dirt as she steadied herself against the tree. Cheating bastards. . .

She smiled weakly as her eyes briefly locked with Kezine's.

But it makes taking them down that much more fun.

 

[Zazz]

Some time later, Azaria crawled out of her hiding spot; whatever the centaur had done to her, it seemed to have helped, at least a little. Her stride was a little less broken, her mind a little clearer. Still, she felt dizzy, and her focus was not all there.

But she knew she had to protect the princess. Her oath was at stake. Her honour. No blasted mage was going to take away her honour, no matter how powerful. Azaria leaned against the trees along her way, even as they thinned and the noise grew audible. The splinters caught in the back of her neck itched and stung, but she pushed on forward, ignoring the ones embedded in her palms. She had more important things to worry about, like walking in a straight line. She needed to find a tree from which she could see into the camp, but that had enough cover. She checked to make sure her bow was still with her, along with her arrows. A few of her knives seemed to be missing; she couldn't remember throwing them at the scouts.

The half-elf found a suitable spot in a tree, invisible in the dark of night. Her head spun from the haphazard climb, and her vision was hindered by both the lack of light and her dizzied brain. She couldn't aim and fire nearly as fast nor as well as usual, but the bodies she aimed for were, indeed, struck by her arrow. She did her best to take out the rangers closest to the rear, the ones that would not be noticed until it was too late. Her arrows were black; they wouldn't even be seen until they were buried in flesh.