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 Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 7:07 pm
Zerynthia 4
Go home?! She wanted them to just go home?! What would happen to them if they did? Ana was really tough, but Nimia got scared when she shut a door too fast! She couldn't handle five rogues on her own!
"...No, no we're not." The thought of going out there was making her stomach roll over, but Zerynthia couldn't leave them behind. Something in the way that man touched her cousin's chin just filled her with dread and if they caught Ana...No, she'd heard enough stories. She'd seen plenty of rangers coming back with wounds they tried to hide and some didn't come back at all...
Zeri dug around in her side pouch and pulled out a little vial, then a needle she'd taken from home. "Remember the sleeping potion we weren't supposed to touch?" Well, she'd nabbed it. At the time she didn't know why other than it was a pretty purple liquid but now she knew. "Think you can jab them with it if I give you a distraction? You can't get caught."
If they were sleeping then Ana wouldn't get hurt and Nimia...Well, her cousin was using some kind of freaky magic now but STILL...
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 6:38 am
Adrenaline made Anahita's blood dance in her veins. Her breath came out in short puffs as she continued pushing her body faster, her boots thudding against the forest ground as she darted around trees and jumped over fallen vines to avoid getting tripped up. All she could do is hope that her distraction was enough for the girls to escape. If anything happened to them then she would never forgive herself! Her teeth bit sharply into her cheek at the thought as she finally slowed down to press her back against a rather large tree. Had the bandits kept up with her? A deep breath to try and quell her racing heart and then....thwack! Another arrow embedded itself into the tree next to her and Anahita's gaze widened with surprise.
Welp, it looked like they had kept up with her!
This was fine though. That meant that they hadn't returned to camp yet and maybe she could outmaneuver them to get back to Nimia in time. Her tangled thoughts were halted though as a leering voice echoed in the forest around her. "Come on out, girly. Would be a shame to have to hang your friend alone today." The nasally voice made Anahita flinch, her nails biting into her palms as she clenched her fists and attempted to remain calm. "Better yet if we find anythin' missing back there then we'll have ta take what we can back from the Matori ta make up fer it."
"Oh shut it." An exasperated female tone cut through the air and Anahita heard what surely was a shove as someone was pushed out of the way. "We have business here and just need you to tag along until it's finished. We'll let you and your finned friend go after." An attempt at a low laugh, whether friendly or not it still sent a shiver up Anahita's spine. "As long as things go well you could consider this a nice camping trip...a few days so just come on out, hmm?"
It took less than five seconds for Anahita to make her decision. Without saying a word she twisted away from the tree to shoot an arrow in the shoulder of the bulkier guy before darting away again. "THAT BI-" The voice faded with the yell of pain as Anahita darted back towards the camp. I'm coming back, Nimia. Just hold on!
[Anahita 5]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 6:52 am
"Good." Ezili's gaze gleamed as she looked towards Zeri for guidance. It was one thing to set up tricks every where and another thing entirely to find yourself fighting a group of bandits. If they returned would this make them rangers already? In the middle of the chaotic situation she could still find some amusement as she realized they were getting more action right now than some of the recruits. I'm the expert and I'm not even ten...yet. She taunted silently before considering Zeri's plan, her attention honing back in on her sister. That was right - they had to focus now so that she could laugh about this later.
"Avoid getting caught?" She replied with a wicked grin. "I can work with that." She held out her hand for the needle. "I just need to stab them in the leg or something, right?" Ezili's attention perked up when she noticed the hands, her mouth forming an 'o' of delight. She would have to learn that in the future if she got magic! But for now she was just focused on grabbing the needle and stabbing whoever she could once Zeri bolted into action.
"Ready when you are."
[Ezili 5]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:09 am
Nimia 5
"Get away from me!" Nimia kept walking back as quickly as she could, but everything she took her eyes off the men infront of her they took it as a sign to move faster. Eventually she decided not to look back at all which proved to be a bad idea. When the same Talean who'd snatched her lunged she jumped back, tripped over a satchel of some kind, and fell onto her back.
"Just grab her already! Can't you handle one girl?!"
"I'M TRYING." He snarled. Step by step the lumbering man closer despite Nimia's struggles to get back to her feet. Even when she'd managed to get up he was right infront of her with a look of pure rage coloring those hauntingly green eyes. "I was gonna be nice to you, girl, but now I'm thinking some folk back in Oba might like you an awful lot."
He took a step forward, only to pull up short when Nimia spit on him. For a moment both of them looked just as shocked; Nimia more so since she'd meant for that to be a fire spell. His face was supposed to be covered in flame not...spittle...and Ooooooh she'd just made him angrier.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:14 am
Zerynthia carefully handed the materials over to Ezili with a nod. "Just one p***k, but you gotta make it a good one. It has to touch the blood."
If there was ever a chance to shine then this was it! All of Zeri's 'training' had pulled into this moment where she would save the day and be hailed as a Goddess of Magic. If she could just manage to overcome the lump in her throat and the bit of a tremor in her arms....Yeah, yeah she had this.
Zerynthia didn't waste any time in snaking her way away from their hiding spot toward the center of the action. At first she'd been unnoticed despite her appearance, mostly because all of the bigger targets were much taller, but once Zerynthia stood atop a crate she was loud enough to command attention.
The first thing she did was throw some fire powder onto the ground, causing a loud 'boom' and an awful lot of smoke. In the midst of the smoke the little wildling cackled. "I am Zerynthia, Magus of the Mists! You have trespassed on my lands and for that you must PAY."
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 8:57 am
She made it back. Anahita arrived at the edge of the camp, her chest heaving from so much exertion as she tried to take a moment to gather herself. That moment of calm, however, dissipated as quickly as the morning dew under a midday sun when she saw Zeri climbing a stack of crates. Oh, no no no! Anahita's gaze widened whenever she realized that her younger sibling was actually trying to gain attention instead of simply running away. It was a bold move and one that Anahita may have more respected had she not been afraid for the girl's life.
"I am Zerynthia, Magus of the Mists!" While the baffled spectators eventually broke out into laughter at the ridiculousness of a youngling appearing before them, Anahita felt her heart pounding in her ears again. What did they do now? If Zerynthia was still here then that meant that Ezili was nearby as well since the pair of girls were basically inseparable. Izzy would never leave Zeri here by herself, even Ana knew that. Ana was quickly surveying the situation though while Zeri kept attention with her smoke and words. The screen of smoke made it much easier for Anahita to slip forward, her gaze focused on Nimia and the man hovering in front of her. "Maybe we can just ship you to Oba." She hissed as she took the opportunity to whack the man with the hilt of her hunting knife, the heavy metal thwacking into the back of his skull and causing the man to crumble onto the ground next to Nimia.
Anahita crouched so that she could cut the ropes from her cousin's wrists. "Are you okay?" She moved as quickly as she could, doing her best to try and not cut the Matori's flesh while she got rid of the ropes. Their smoke screen and her younger sister's distracting act could only last so long...where was Ezili? There was also the issue of the three other bandits who were in the forest still looking for her. Anahita reached to help Nimia back up on her feet before searing pain went through her skull and a gasp left her.
"Looks like there's more than just a show going on today." Grumbled a Sautian, the man's fingers roughly pulling at her hair so that Anahita was forced a step backwards towards him."Where ya going now girl?" So there was another bandit that they had missed? Anahita let out a hiss of pain and frustration before closing her eyes with determination. If someone had her by the hair then there was only one solution...
Instead of aiming her knife at the man, Ana swung upwards so that teal strands of hair exploded in his face. "Back off." Her fingers tightened around her knife as she twisted around to place her body in between Nimia and the pale bandit, his blue gaze unnerving her even as she stood her ground. His hands were clenched around her sacrificed hair, but to Anahita's bewilderment the man started to suddenly sway back and forth before also collapsing on the other body. What...?
[Anahita 6]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:03 am
Ezili nodded. "Easy peasy." It was like that festival game! Just instead of whacking the moles with the little hammer she was stabbing bandits in the behind. Amusement danced across her features as she watched Zeri darting away. When the performance began Ezili made her way towards the man that was on Nimia, her teal gaze narrowed in determination. First target located. But then Ana appeared like some sort of furious spirit from the smoke. Thankfully though Ezili hadn't moved forward just yet and so when the other bandit strode forward she took the chance to dart and stab him in the thigh with the needle.
"You're welcome." She managed with a grin towards her cousin and older sister before darting away again. Izzy adored races and so speed was something she specialized in. So while the other bandits were still baffled by Zeri's performance, Ezili slipped in and around crates and whatever else she could find so that she could stab them in turn. When the last body toppled over she found herself only taking a moment to applauded Zeri's act. "I didn't think it was that boring! They don't know what they're missing out on by sleeping." She teased her sister playfully before glancing around again.
"But uh...aren't there others? Should we prepare something for their return?"
[Ezili 6]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:41 am
Nimia 6
Zerynthia was going to get them killed! Even if she couldn't see past her attacker Nimia could hear the her younger cousin and the laughter her antics was bringing. She'd all, but accepted their now sealed fate when Ana appeared, felling her assailant with one hard blow. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." Shaken up and bruised, but Nimia was holding up as well as she could. The Matorian brought her wrists around to the front and spent a moment just massaging the raw skin as she looked around. "Ana, watch ou-!"
She couldn't even warn her cousin before the other girl was snatched up. Spirits there was no end to them! Nimia raised her hands, keen on forming first a protection circle around them with some glyphs she was drawing in the air until her cousin handled things on her own, and instead sending that same protection to Zerynthia. If she couldn't get the other girl to safety then she'd just bring it to her!
When she was done she turned back to see the paler rogue on the ground and...."Uhm...thank you." Nimia squeaked. Were they just saved by a kid?!
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:47 am
Zerynthia 6
Without so much as breaking her smile, Zeri gave a twirl and curtsied just like a proper little lady. "I think it was our best show ever, Izzy! You're always the perfect assistant." They hadn't been able to take their eyes off her! Which was good considering her smoke screen had given her sister such an advantage. When she stood to her full, imposing, miniscule height Zerynthia was practically beaming with pride.
"We need to set a trap! And we need to tie the others up before they get back. The sleeping potion only holds for an hour." Getting back down from the crates was more work than getting up, but if it was an inconvenience Zerynthia didn't show it. By the time she made it to the ground she was only a little sweaty.
"What do you think Captain Anahita? Think we can help you with a big twap or do we need to go home like good wittle girls?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:10 am
Anahita pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched everything unfolding before her. "A trap works." She admitted after a moment before shooting Zeri a frustrated glance towards her younger sister. "You're still in a load of trouble for following me, but you did help so...thank you." She let out a sigh before crossing her arms and studying the clearing. "I had a plan before certain wittle girls appeared from the bushes and delayed them." Since they had appeared and caused enough chaos it ruined her chances of destroying the camp and sneaking away before the bandits came back. At least somehow things had worked out in their favor for now.
"Alright. Grab some rope and we'll tie them up. Nimia can you do some sturdy knots?" She asked before moving towards the crates to search for anything useful. "Izzy and Zeri can do their thing and set up traps. They have to be done quickly and efficiently." She would definitely have to check their room when she got home to see if there was a new stash of spark powder and the like, but for once she was thankful for the girls' mischievousness. "We'll need to move swiftly. If we can tie up these guys we can drag them into that tent over there so that the others don't see anything." What type of set up could they do? She eyed the trees thoughtfully. A good rope trap could hang someone upside down while she wasn't certain they could take the time to dig a big enough hole for another type of trap. If they could trap the bandits then that would give them enough time to go back home and find some of the older rangers to help out...they could place them into holding until the rest came home and could give the bandits to the nearby authorities.
[Anahita 7]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:16 am
Ezili just sucked her bottom in to keep from laughing at Zeri's words. It looked like Ana was in for it! At least her older sister was relenting and not trying to chase them away now. It looked like they had a lot of work to do! "You did great." She nudged Zeri playfully before glancing about. If they had a limited amount of time what could they do? Her gaze bounced around the camp as she thought about things. "Do you have any of those sticky traps?" She whispered, placing a hand on her hip thoughtfully. "There's some loose canvas and we could cover it up with pine needles..." Though they could get out of their boots it would take a few minutes and they could swing something into them in that time. Some ropes from the nearby trees could have heavy things attached to them and she could pull the ropes to let them fly freely into whatever bandits got stuck in place.
Ezili pursed her lips and started to dig about, tugging the canvas free from the crates so that she could drag it onto the ground next to them while Ana started looking for ropes so that she could tie up the bandits next to them.
[Ezili 7]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 12:31 pm
Nimia 7
"...And if they had run off with you no one would have known." Nimia grumbled under her breath before moving off to work on the knots. Getting through to any of these girls was going to take more effort than she had at the moment.
With a wave of her hand the ghastly vision of a skeletal hand faded from view only to be replaced with another, this time of a regular hand. It helped to lift one of the more muscular rogues and drag him toward the tent. Without the help of her magic there was no way Nimia was going to be able to move them and even with Ana's help it might take too long. One by one she focused on dragging the slumped figures into the tent, trying her best to organize them with a mixture of the hand and sitting the bodies up.
Even then she spaced them out just incase one tried to free another.
Now that they were properly in place Nimia got to work binding them. First she started with their wrists, then the ankles, then a steady length of rope to connect the two. It wouldn't be comfortable, was likely overkill, but she was spooked enough not to care.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 12:35 pm
Zerynthia 7
The little magician shrugged her shoulders. "Your opinion or mine; doesn't matter." After all, the facts were there and when Ezili nudged her she bumped her back with a little giggle. "I'm out of the sticky traps, but I still have some glue from the other day." She bought it simply because it was clear and wouldn't be seen as easily when she spread it on her siblings pillowcases. It wasn't as plentiful as the sticky traps, but there was still a fair amount left when she pulled it free of her bag. "Think it'll be enough?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 12:43 pm
Anahita took a moment to appreciate Nimia's magic. It still unnerved her to realize that someone could simply summon ghostly hands to do their work but at the same time she knew that without it they would be in even more trouble. "Thank you, Nimia." She managed as she followed her cousin to help tie up the last couple of bandits. The teen reached up to wipe a hand across her forehead, her fingers flicking away the beads of sweat and grim that had accumulated there since her run in the forest. It felt weird to not have the weight of her hair and she grimaced as she picked up the lost ponytail and tucked it in her sash to get rid of later.
"I have some arrows that I can dip in sleeping potion." Anahita murmured thoughtfully as she glanced towards Nimia. "Should we just take the girls once they're finished and hide?" Her gaze was thoughtful as she surveyed the camp once more ."How good at climbing trees are you?" That one over there looked particularly strong with large enough limbs to hold them...if she could get a good position then she could aim at the bandits from there. Either way they had to move quickly, surely time was running out. Anahita was surprisingly limber and strong despite her build and could probably have the younger girls hold onto her back and carry them up one at a time if they moved within the next few minutes.
[Anahita 8]
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 12:51 pm
Ezili ran her fingers across her chin thoughtfully. "That should work." She glanced between the trees and grabbed at another coil of rope that had been left on the ground. "Glue the canvas and I'm going to go climbing." She peeked over her shoulder to make certain Anahita didn't see her before grinning back at Zeri. "I watched them tying knots plenty of times." The youngling was confident as she disappeared with the rope into the forest, her small shape disappearing into the shadows until she was climbing up into the trees like a squirrel, her fingers flying as fast as possible to tie knots together. The hardest part would be tying the big stone that she saw near the trees and lifting it into the air. That will be a headache, but more so for the bad guys.
Her lips pursed she left the tied up rock on the ground and went back to check on Zeri, perking up whenever she noticed her older sister and cousin finishing up in the nearby tent. "Anyone game for lifting a rock?" Her gaze went towards Nimia with interest. "What about ghosty?" Yes, why she would most definitely refer to the creepy spirit hands as ghosty. If she could high-five the thing then she could but Izzy figured her hand would just slide through and she'd look silly.
[Ezili 8]
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