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 Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 6:57 pm
Ugh, more soldiers? And there were a lot of them, too. Their own army was going to hide; Rain didn't see the point. The enemies were here, unsuspecting, just walking through the village like it was an Easter stroll. Maybe they were going on an egg hunt. But really, there was a commander here. And the commander had a different smell. He smelled.... seasoned. Like beef jerky. He wasn't a fresh recruit, he seemed to have at least some experience. His loss would be a blow to their army, he'd imagine. But the man strode out in front of his army, of course, and while Rain did like chewing through people, he didn't have a death wish. Nossir. Instead, he snuck back through alleys, slipping through broken-out windows and behind destroyed walls, making his way to the back of the contingent that didn't have the commander.
Oh look, they'd sent a few troops out to search down alleys and inside houses. How convenient. The wolf grinned, tongue lolling from his mouth in a rather comical manner; no one was around to see, so why not have some fun? He was soon hidden inside a house, seated merrily inside a rather large wardrobe. Two soldiers entered; Rain watched them through the crack in the doors, grinning wider as he watched them move around the house, searching, one coming back with a chunk of bread that he munched on as he searched. But neither of them seemed inclined to search his hiding spot.
Ugh, he'd have to do this himself. The wolf gave a slight cough, then shook himself, causing the wardrobe to move and rattle. The soldier downstairs paused, looking at it oddly, then called for his partner, who hurried back down the stairs to join him. The first soldier tiptoed to the side of the wardrobe, then motioned at it. The other nodded, holding his sword at the ready; then the door was flung open, and the man's face widened in shock. Having expected a helpless civilian or possibly a human rebel, the sight of a massive wolf paralyzed him for just the slightest of seconds. And then Rain sprung, great jaws opening over the soldier's face and crushing his helmet into his skull.
A quick turn, and one paw laid open the throat of the other just as he was about to scream. A soundless gasp escaped him, and he clawed at the air with one hand, the other grasping at his throat as he fell to the ground. The wolf slipped up to this second one - he was younger, and looked a bit more tender. Teeth bit through the rawhide thongs holding together his armor, and then the wolf burrowed his muzzle into the man's chest, looking for the still-warm heart there to munch on.
The wolf trotted out of the house a few moments later, muzzle dripping crimson now as he licked his chops. Yummy. He hadn't had a treat like that in a while. Maybe he'd get some more in a minute. Oh look, there was another lone soldier up ahead. The wolf trotted forward, sneaking up behind the man as best a wolf the size of a small pony could.
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:38 pm
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  The enemy scouts clearly wasted no time in reaching the villages. The whole situation was completely troublesome. If the army had just arrived a little later, then Deborah, Needles, and all the soldiers and citizens would have been able to get out of the area. But no, things had to unfold in a way that would make Edward Murphy look back in time and go 'Daaaaamn, I should inspire a future law about this.' Of course, it could also just be one of those 'what goes around, comes around' things, as well. After all, they did just slaughter an enemy army. One problem though, Deborah somehow looked up through this post, slapped me, and said to stop with the bullshit, so I should move on, and get to her doing awesome stuff. I want a slurpee.
As the soldiers began walking through the streets, a pair were coming close to where Deborah was hidden. As an instinct to make sure she was completely hidden, the Kaftian took a step back, and crouched a little. However, when she did, something suddenly darted forward, creating a loud crashing noise as an object was knocked over. Deborah's eyes widened, and she froze in place. The soldiers outside of the alleyway obviously heard the noise and were beginning to come over. Their lances were out, signifying the utmost caution. Suddenly, a little cat jumped out from the darkness, screeched at the soldiers and ran off. The pair of scouts sighed then dropped their guard and continued on their way. Deborah began to breath again, and knew that she could not stay where she was.
With no soldiers near her at the moment, she began backing out of the alley. When she reached the other side, she carefully peered out, to see if there were any soldiers on that side as well. The coast was clear. Deborah slyly crept out of the ally and slid along the side of the house. When she reached the edge, she moved ever so slightly forward to see around the side. Two soldiers were coming down that street, so going that way would not work. Deborah began to turn around and head the other way, but she stopped when she saw something come out of a house across from the street the soldiers were walking down. A boy, a small one by the looks of him, had stumbled out and fallen to the ground. He was crying and calling out for his mother, asking where the Learanians were. Deborah cursed silently. Those soldiers had to have heard the lad, and it meant that if this army was aware of Learania's participation, they would now know that Learanian forces were there. More importantly at the moment, the boy was in possible danger.
When the boy got to his feet and turned around, Deborah held out her hand. Thankfully, the boy realized that she wanted him to stop and so he did. Unfortunately, the soldiers were still coming. There was no time to tell the boy to hide, so Deborah flung her hand, hoping that the boy would understand. She then quickly darted back to the alleyway, so that the enemy wouldn't see her. When she was hidden, she looked back to see that the boy did start to run, but it didn't stop the soldiers from seeing him. He didn't get far, either, as he very soon tripped and fell to the ground once more. The soldiers, who had chased after him when they saw the boy run, slowly began to get close enough to grab him. The look in the boy's eyes was pure, raw fear. He was trapped, and the soldiers were going to get him. However, before the soldiers could get a hold of him, one of them let out a sudden gasp, before falling to the side. The other began to turn, but was also hit on the back of the helmet, then again on the side of the helmet, sending him sprawling to the side. Both were unconscious.
Deborah looked down at the boy, as she lowered the bottom of her shaft. "Keep quiet, and come wit me. Ya moter been lookin' for ya." The boy stared for a moment, instead of beginning to get up, so Deborah lifted him up and began to run to where she saw one of her soldier's hide. She made it there quickly and easily with no interference from the enemy, and called her subordinate out. The mother was with him, and the boy ran to her, crying in relief. He was quickly hushed. It was bad enough that Deborah had knocked out those two scouts, as it meant that they had limited time to escape instead of just waiting for the scouts to pass by. They didn't need for their foes to know where they were actually located. "Take deh boy an' woman to deh far villages, and den use deh forest tah hide yaself as ya make ya way back tah Needles. Use deh back roads, since the enemy hasn't gotten dere yet. I'll get deh oters and follow ya"
Shortly after Deborah and the others parted, she made her way to the various places she saw her men go to. One by one, she had them make their way on a clear route through the villages, through the forest and back to where Needles was. Soon enough, all that was left to get were... the guild members. Deborah remembered that the swordsman went inside a house, but lost the wolf when he ran off so fast. She would just have to search until they were both found.
As she did, she searched one house but came up empty. She continued down the street cautiously and was about to turn a corner, when she stopped as a bang of thunder roared from the sky. Small droplets began to trickle about the street, slowly becoming more dense. The new sound drowned out the sound of other movement, and the lack of sunlight lessened intense shadows. Little did Deborah know that somebody was coming up behind her.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:13 pm
A man whom can conquer his fear can strive to conquer the world.>x-General Caesar-x< It turned out that maybe the scouts that were just searching and finding nothing were the lucky ones. Sure, they would have to face the General with bad news, but at least they go to stay alive. Of course, Augustus and the few others left with him didn't know what was happening to the unlucky ones that ended up running into the wolf, so he didn't consider himself or his troop lucky in the least. They weren't finding the enemy, civilians to question, or any signs of Lancelot: whether the Wyvern Captain was alive or dead.
Two of the scouts had encountered a boy. The youth was being quite a stubborn lad, not willing to come along where he'd be safe. He mentioned "Learania", a name that the soldiers weren't quite familiar with. It meant that he knew something, and couldn't just be let go. The two were about to grab him, possibly even make him tell where these "Learanians" were hiding. Who truly cared about the General's "ethics" when there was work to be done? Their ambitions never came to pass though, as they were both suddenly knocked out by something that they couldn't even see. It would bring humiliation upon them, maybe even demotion for such carelessness that couldn't be explained in any other way but the truth.
The three who searched near the wolf's area had a far worse fate. They didn't even see the enemy coming, and because of that, their lives were cut short. All this time they'd been prepared for human enemies, certainly not predators like the wolf. They didn't even get the chance to fight back, and since they were gone, nobody would warn their comrades either. Things were looking dismal, as the dark clouds finally sprinkled freezing rain.
Back at the area where a temporary camp was set up, Caesar's eyes traveled down to a golden pocket watch, which was either a birthday gift or a gift for his promotion to General, he couldn't remember which and didn't care at this very second. What he was concerned about was how many minutes had already gone by, and not a single scout reported back. What in the name of the great Land of Heroes was taking them so long?! The only way their search should be delayed was conflict with the enemy, but that was unlikely. The enemy was trying to hide, so engaging in a battle would be both foolish and reckless. If it wasn't that, then what happened to them? Something must have gone wrong with the mission he gave Augustus and his troops. Shutting the pocket watch, the General eyed the remainder of his Guard who stayed at his side. "We move in slowly, and don't startle anyone. If Augustus and his men are merely dallying, we'll at least set them in the right direction." Getting nods from his Guard, the tall man in blue armor marched into the village area. So far it was quiet, but it seemed almost too quiet. Maybe the rain that had at last arrived after being held by the clouds so long was making silent. All anyone could hear for miles around other than their own footfalls was the sounds of the drops pelting against rooftops, the metal of armor, and the cobblestones of the ground. The storm had begun, and its winds were beginning to pick up.
Elsewhere, as he searched, Augustus begun to feel frustration setting in. So many of his troop weren't returning to say what they have or haven't found. Didn't those recruits know how to do anything? Augustus knew that if he could, he would have his eyes alone search everything. But that was impossible. One didn't have eyes on the back of their head. "There's nothing here, as we can see. We have to scour the other areas, as some of us aren't being punctual." He said, mustering every bit of calm he possibly could. Caesar's subordinate would have never guessed that he would find at least three of his soldiers brought to the ends of their lives.
In the meantime, General Caesar continued to march the streets, given a blue helmet to be shielded from the rain by his attendants. Some wondered why he never bothered to wear such equipment in battle, and the answer was simple, really. Helmets, like a General's armor were restrictive. It was bad enough to have one's body slowed down by armor. The mind needed no such slowing in combat, where quick thinking was one of the factors to victory.
Up ahead, there was the silhouette of a person. This was no trick of the light, the General decided, he truly saw the back of a dark woman in red armor. She appeared to be looking for something, or maybe someone. Either way, it wasn't her lucky day for the Archanean General to be the one she found. He gripped his steel axe in a warning fashion. "Turn around, and drop that lance you're carrying. Things will be much easier if you just follow my orders."
« ● ● ● ● ● ● » All will fall to that which is greater, this is an inevitable truth.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:40 am
Well what’s so bad about a little coin toss now and then?
The Tempest King Ahhh come on. Live a little! -------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm betting my happiness life on this one Things were going "so far so good" for Joshua, even as many people in many parts of the village were starting to get frustrated. He hadn't heard any shouts yet which he thought meant that everyone else was still undetected, even better was the fact that no one had bothered to come into the---- Ding-a-ling"Well so much for "So far so good" thought Joshua as the bell above the main entrance alerted him that someone had decided to search the building. Things were about to get tricky, thankfully the loud roar of cracking thunder gave him time to stealthily sneak up the stairs and remain undetected. Upstairs Joshua knew time was short, he needed an out, a quick scan of the room showed no hiding places that would go un-searched. Judgeing by the sounds coming from downstairs he didn't have long, walking slowly and surely in order to mask the sounds of his footsteps he strode over to the window on the other side of the room. "Not going to enjoy this am I?" He thought as he quietly lifted the window up and leaned out into the rain. Peering into the night, luckily there was no one stationed at the door. Taking a few steps back in order to get a running start, Joshua took a deep breath and cracked his neck as cautious footsteps resonated in the stairwell. He ran, no longer bothering to hide his presence, Joshua sprinted towards the open window and dove into thin air, as the ground rushed up to meet him, his feet landing first Joshua went with the momentum and pitched forwards rolling to minimize the impact. It wouldn't be long before the soldiers looked out the window, he'd made a lot of noise in his exit but that couldn't have been avoided. Swiftly snatching up his hat from the ground, Joshua ran through an alleyway disappearing into the dark, in case the soldiers decided to re-investigate the area, he kept moving. With a wary eye for patrols he randomly moved through the village searching for his comrades. It wasn't long before the swordmaster came upon a curious sight, what appeared to be two prone figures in the process of slowly pushing themselves back to their feet, unable to distinguish their armor from this distance he cautiously moved closer only to see that it was not Learnia issue. Drawing his weapon, quickening his pace Joshua was soon upon them and in the act of sending them back to sleep with the hilt of his sword. Since he'd come up behind them and both soliders were most likely still groggy from whatever hit them in the first place the swordmaster was confidant he hadn't been seen. "Obviously not your lucky day." He told the unconscious soldiers, before continuing on his way down the street and sticking to the shadows. He didn't know it but he was following the same path Deborah had taken, if he kept going this way he might run into her. C’est la vie, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tell you what, We'll flip on it, Heads, I win Tails, you lose DIE
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:54 pm
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Before Deborah began her turn, she stopped. There were sometimes things that a warrior just knew, even without being able to explain or understand it. The itching feeling telling somebody to or not to do something; an instinct. Growing up in the jungles of Kafti, Deborah had many of those and was taught to listen to them. But in this storm, her tribal instincts were not as sharp as they should have been. A boom of thunder came, along with a flash of lightning and Deborah saw the shadow of the danger behind her.
She moved to lash her spear back, not caring who it was. It if was an ally, the person theoretically would have signaled to her, somehow. The thought of it being Joshua entered her mind, but oddly didn't bother her. However, before Deborah managed to get a good grip on her spear so that she could swing it, she was stopped by the sudden order of a man. She emitted a subtle growl, aggravated that she had let this circumstance come to be. Using the storm as an excuse would not hold up in her mind. It was plain and simple to her that she had allowed herself to be caught off guard. Although, it was rather odd that this man had managed to be there- it was almost as if he had teleported. Plus, it seemed that he was not even close enough to kill her if she did move, like she had thought.
"Actually, tings were pretty easy, until your blue asses decided tah come on in here and drain my patience." she spat out, in reply. "Good job findin' me, I'll give ya dat. Howevah, I'm not too sure if ya head's on straight. Here's some tings ya did wrong. One, ya snuck up on me. Two, ya standin' all da way back dere. I could just run off right now. Deh only reason I'm not is because I can't have some soldier chasin' aftah me, lettin' deh oters know how tah find me. Tree, ya told me tah turn around, den drop my weapon. Four..." Deborah gave off a deceptive grin, then turned her head so that the man behind her to see. "ya completely let it slip ya mind dat I could have just been bait for a trap." She followed up her selective misinformation with a confident chuckle. "Don't believe me? Alright den... NOW!"
Naturally, the man would at least instinctively jump, or look around to see if anybody did come out to attack him. He might even be forced to flinch. Deborah took the obvious opportunity she had made for herself to turn around, spear in hand, and charge at him. She quickly came into striking range, and aimed a thrust of her spear toward the opening of the neck.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 5:55 pm
A man whom can conquer his fear can strive to conquer the world.>x-General Caesar-x< Caesar couldn't believe how careless he really became at this moment! Of course it was a trap, why else would a person in a soldier's armor be laying out in the open? These foes of his weren't the dim ones he faced in the past: at the very least they were civilized and intelligent. This time, the General was the fool for underestimating his enemy. Caesar cursed under his breath as his instincts told him to jump back, right in range of the lance.
Luckily for him, it didn't hit. At just the right time, one of the General's attendants gripped their superior's arm and pulled him to the left. The spear's tip grazed his armor, and didn't leave a scratch. That was a close call for the General, and he would not be seen falling into another enemy trap. He muttered a thanks to his faithful armored guard, and then Caesar gripped his steel axe taking steps to distance himself from this dangerous woman with a spear. "Clever move, I'll give you that. Don't think I'll fall for it twice, however." He said in a warning tone.
The leader of the Archanean army got into a stance to be battle ready, and without any warning, he swung his massive Steel Axe towards his opponent. Her courtesy of trying to trap Caesar was going to be returned, whether his strike hit or not. Even if he didn't capture this female warrior or take her down for that humiliation that she dealt him, Caesar was going to give her a difficult battle to escape from. He'd teach her to try and trap him. His loyal guards watched cautiously in the meantime, keeping an eye out for if she was going to pull something else.
« ● ● ● ● ● ● » All will fall to that which is greater, this is an inevitable truth.
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:25 am
Well what’s so bad about a little coin toss now and then?
The Tempest King Ahhh come on. Live a little! -------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm betting my happiness life on this one The rain was falling more steadily now which was starting to annoy Joshua, he had never liked rain, although it could be a Godsend when you were in the desert, it screwed with his senses, slowed him down and the way it fell on his hat just pissed him off. Still not like he could stop it so the swordmaster just continued his stealthy creeping through the streets, he almost was seen once or twice but managed to escape under the cover of the rain. Everything was going smoothly; in fact if this kept up then they should--- Oh s**t. He could hear voices coming from up ahead, unable to make out what was being said from this distance due to the rain, he slowly moved closer until the group came into view a bunch of blue armored baddies... and what looked to be a woman with a lance. Deborah? Whoever she was she was in trouble and--- "NOW!" Just as the writer was starting to wonder if he'd actually be able to finish a paragraph without being interrupted, Deborah called out as if she was springing a trap... but… Joshua was the only one there... not only that they were all wearing armor. Not exactly Joshua’s specialty, but since the Captain had already engaged what looked like the main boss, Joshua would have to help. "Really?" he whined in his head as he started moving up behind the line of soldiers who were watching their General, unlike Deborah these guys didn't have super-awesome jungle sense, and Joshua, sneaky guy that he is, managed to get right up behind a pair without being detected (The fact that they were watching Deborah intently helped). Quickly Joshua snaked his left hand out over the top of the guy's head, and gripping the visor of his helmet by the slots in the face mask he yanked it back towards him. Hard. The man's surprised head obviously followed and going down on one knee like a football player listening to a pep talk from his coach, Joshua brought the man to the ground with a loud clatter of armor as the man fell on his back. Visor up, the man’s face was completely unprotected as Joshua brought his sword directly into it point first. If it hadn’t gone right through to connect with the inside of the helmet Joshua would be surprised. Getting to his feet and hopping backwards to a safe distance before the other guards could react; the red-head brought his sword which was stained with the blood of the now dead guard into a defensive position. "Hey, Deborah! This counts as absolutely necessary right?" since Deborah had been facing in the direction he'd come the Kaftian had probably seen him and therefore hopefully wouldn't be surprised by his arrival. General Ceaser on the other hand was welcome to s**t brix. Unfortunately for Joshua the guards were no longer watching Deborah, as more then a few pairs of eyes turned towards him he sighed. He couldn’t surprise them easily if they we’re looking right at him, he’d have to get clever. “Next time I’m bringing an armorslayer, uhhh Deborah? As much as I’d like to kick these guy’s around a bit they have the luck of numbers… and although the others are on their way maybe we should pull back until they get here?” He bluffed loudly, never taking his eyes off of the soldiers in front of him, praying Deborah would take the hint and retreat while Joshua had their attention. Not that he planned to stick around long after she left; the second that she started running he planned to book it in the opposite direction. One disadvantage of all that armor was if Joshua and Deborah did start running their pursuers wouldn’t be able to keep up. C’est la vie, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tell you what, We'll flip on it, Heads, I win Tails, you lose DIE
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:41 am
A man whom can conquer his fear can strive to conquer the world.>x-General Caesar-x< Commotion was something that Augustus learned in his early years of the knighthood as to be a sign of trouble. He was definitely hearing it, and thought he should act upon his teachings and experience on the battlefield. Whenever there was noise, one went towards it with a weapon drawn and asked questions later. He pointed his Steel lance in the direction, where he definitely was hearing the signs of a struggle. "This way! The one in battle might very well be Lancelot." How his luck would be grand if it was the Wyvern Captain in battle, just needing the aid of his comrades. Not only would he be able to bring one of his superiors back in one piece, but he just might be named a hero for it.
Much to the Archanean knight's terror though, it wasn't Lancelot who was in trouble at all: it was General Caesar. The enemy had set a trap for him, and what was worse, that swordmaster landed a killing blow upon one of his elite guardsmen, doing the deed in a swift and brutal motion that those types of fighters were known for. There wasn't a lot of time to plan out what he should do in this situation, but then again, why plan when there was only one thing that mattered?
He took a step forward, with his squad of five armor knights taking similar steps (but careful not to bunch together and thus get in one another's way), and all their spears were pointed out and ready to strike. Augustus aimed and took a stab at the swordmaster who dared sneak up upon his comrade from behind. There was going to be vengeance if he had anything to say about it. His priority lied in aiding General Caesar of course, but avenging the fallen guardsman was a close second. If the redhead didn't dodge his stab, it would hit him harder than Augustus ever hit anyone.
« ● ● ● ● ● ● » All will fall to that which is greater, this is an inevitable truth.
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:41 am
Well what’s so bad about a little coin toss now and then?
The Tempest King Ahhh come on. Live a little! -------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm betting my happiness life on this one Thankfully people wearing armour generally (Please tell me you get this) as a rule weren't very sneaky, or else Joshua might have been breathing through a newly made hole in his back. But the clanking and clattering of many quick steps in the rain gave them away long before Augustus was in striking position. Still, aware that if he looked away from the General's guards that they make try to take advantage of his momentary distraction he waited. Soon a break in the steps behind him signalled an attack and Joshua was forced to make a move. As the lance sped towards his exposed back Joshua spun to the left, the weapon passed him by mere millimetres and he grabbed for the shaft with his free hand catching it just under where the metal tip ended. Keen gambling eyes assessed the situation in a second; six men total, five wearing heavy armour, one (the one who had attacked him) wearing heavy riding armour. Oh goodie, heavy riding armour. Completing his spin so that he was facing his attacker, Joshua yanked his left hand back while holding onto the lance shaft near the tip, as his arm reached its maximum rotation he released the shaft. If the man had a weak grip on his weapon then it would fly out of his hands and land somewhere behind Joshua, if the Great Knight had a firm grip of his weapon then he might stumble forwards towards Joshua, who with a flash of his blade lunged forwards, leaning into the strike and aiming for the mouth, flat of the blade pointed towards the sky and catching the rain. In the poor visibility and the fact that he had only gotten a second to observe his opponent, the swordmaster was unsure if Augustus was wearing a helmet or not, even if he was the mouth was most likely unprotected. Besides a sword through the mouth had the same effect as one through the eyes, death most of the time, a nasty scar and a subdued enemy the rest. Aware that the numbers were stacked against him, Joshua didn't attempt a second strike despite having the speed to do so. Normally against a lance using opponent he'd close in to such a range that the long weapon was useless and rain blows on vulnerable points in the armour, if he did that here though he'd just get stabbed by one of the other soldiers. So closing in wasn’t an option. Quickly hopping back and to the side he positioned himself so his left side was towards Ceasers men and his right was towards Augustus and his troops backing up a bit so that every last solider was at the very least in his peripheral. "Deborah!" He called out, unable to see her fight anymore. "Damn, everything was going so well, just like my luck to run into an army of armor units""Deborah, enemy reinforcements!" Having the captain aware of the newcomers couldn't hurt. Now that he'd warned her his only thoughts were of how to save his own skin. He was drawing a blank. Things weren’t looking good, and Joshua had already used his ace in the hole. Well, he’d simply have to pull another ace out of his a** then. (Get it? “ace in the hole”?) C’est la vie, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tell you what, We'll flip on it, Heads, I win Tails, you lose DIE
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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:29 pm
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Deborah jumped back after her lunge, and would have done so no matter what the results had been. This man was fortunate that his soldiers were attentive and bold enough to rescue their commander, by pulling him out of the way. It was not so fortunate however, for Deborah. Now, she was outnumbered and lacked an element of surprise. Yet even still... she had been through worse.
When the man spoke to her, Deborah simply scoffed. Of course he would not fall for that again. Well, he would if he was just that naive, but most people tend not to be. The man then took his time getting into a battle stance. Deborah mocked him in her thoughts for his slow and predictable movements. Thick armor made movement slow and swinging an axe was based upon the building up of strength. Essentially, they are powerful weapons, but reckless and easy to avoid. Before the man swung his weapon, Deborah glanced passed him to see what his men would do and saw somebody coming up behind them. She made no noticeable reaction that would alert them, but was actually a little shocked and nervous to see that it was Joshua. Her attention quickly came back to the knight, when the axe came at her, and she just took a few quick steps back, to maintain safe distance. Originally, she had planned to attack, but she had been trying to figure out what that swordsman was going to do. After the dodge, she and everybody else found out.
An enemy soldier was down and Joshua was the cause. Deborah certainly did not like him all too much (not that he was the only one she disliked) but in this case, he had managed to do something good. With two of them, they would probably manage to fend off the rest and escape. When the fool spoke to her, she rolled her eyes. She knew he was being a wise a**, for of course this required fighting. As he continued, she raised an eyebrow. She realized that he was... trying to bluff, but it didn't really have any ground. Yes, they needed to escape, but where exactly were they going to go? Run right back to their army, hoping to lose their pursuers? They needed secrecy to get the whole army out of there and back to the capital. Deborah sure as hell was not going to run while Joshua drew the enemy's attention. She just ignored him.
The man and Deborah clashed several times, but no significant hits were given. The man was very skilled at guarding his vital areas, despite his lack of speed, which made him a challenge. After a clash of weaponry, Deborah jumped back for a moment. She waited for a pause in the thunder and then let out a long, high pitched whistle for no apparent reason. Just then, more enemy soldiers soon showed up. It wasn't too surprising, since they were making the sounds of combat, Deborah supposed. And of course, as was his apparent nature, Joshua sprung into the action of fighting them. His warning to her was received, and the Kaftian knew more than ever that this was getting out of hand. The thought of Joshua's attempt at a bluff came into Deborah's mind, and decided that instead of her leaving, it would be best for him to get away, when the chance came. "Joshua! Break away, an' get yo a** outta here! Leave dem tah me! Dat's an ordah!!"
It was clear in her mind that she would be able to keep them busy while Joshua got a big enough lead out of the area. Once Deborah thought enough time had passed, she would also flee, knowing that she would be able to outrun most and take detours to lose the others. Her attention had not drifted from the man she was facing, though. She was eying him the entire time, ready to react if he chose to move. Taking note of the arrival of his troops more than likely was why he had paused, and since Deborah had paused as well he was able to safely do so. Now however, Deborah was ready to attack again. She let out another whistle, same as the first, then darted toward the man. Adrenaline kicked in, as did the tunnel vision, but it did not stop her from performing unpredictable zigzag movements, to confuse her opponent. Movement like that was second nature to her fighting style, both in combat and in hunting. When within spear range, she suddenly altered direction, heading toward where a nicely swinging axe would not be able to follow, without breaking a wrist. She thrust her spear forward and up, toward underneath the exposed arm, where the armor did not cover. It was not the best of places to land a hit, but Deborah would take it if she could. Plus, if the attack was deep enough, the underside of limbs was never a place where one wanted to be cut. Ever.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:53 pm
There was a commotion. The tangy copper smell of blood wafted into the wolf's nostrils; the strike of metal upon metal echoed in his ears. There was a fight. It seemed to be a rather one-sided fight, though; there were many more of one side than the other, all coated in metal. How ridiculous. It was silly to put fresh meat into those tin containers; it made it so much more difficult to get at and by the time you did, you'd ruined many of the good pieces. Oh well. He wasn't hungry anymore, anyway, so he didn't really have any reason to go over there... but, it would give him more chances to fight. Decisions, decisions. The wolf sat in the middle of the road, considering. His tongue lolled out of his mouth a bit, but he paid it no heed. It wasn't as if anyone was around to see him. His decision came, not really a difficult one.
The armors were, of course, still advancing on Joshua; honestly, the swordmaster didn't have much chance against six of them no matter how skilled he might be. And to tell the truth, nobody in this army seemed all that skilled to the wolf. He'd rather have gone after the other one; that one had a peculiar smell to him. But the strange woman was already fighting him, and stealing someone else's prey was one thing he still considered below himself. So he contented himself with the other set, padding up behind them with soft footsteps.
They wouldn't hear him. They couldn't, not through the rain, and of course they couldn't simply turn their heads to check with that armor. So by the time one knight did realize something was coming and begin to turn, it was too late; the wolf's great jaws had a hold on his arm, teeth pressing slight indents into the metal from the force. Rain growled, then placed a great paw against the knight's armor and PULLED, flicking his head to the side as he did so. The armor was strong, and underneath was mail; it didn't come loose. What did, however, was the man's arm. Rain left the now screaming man, having taken only a few moments to do this, and chose the next armor in line as a target.
This one had just turned towards him, lance coming up, a bit hesitantly; it was almost as if he'd never seen a laguz before. Rain took advantage of this, rushing in before the lance was fully up and bearing the man to the ground under the weight of his own armor. His muzzle pushed open the visor on the man's helmet to reveal a terrified face; and then his paw came down, claws ripping into the knight's face. Not to kill; simply to maim. And the man was certainly incapacitated; no one could fight well while blinded.
The next armor would have punctured a hole in his side if Rain hadn't been ready. He was already moving, and the lance simply slashed across his hindquarters; a minor injury, not even worth worrying about. The wolf took up a new position on the other side of the street; now there were three knights with Augustus, pinned between Joshua and Rain. Which one was a more attractive target?
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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:05 pm
A man whom can conquer his fear can strive to conquer the world.>x-General Caesar-x< As expected, Deborah was swift enough to dodge the first strike of the General’s axe. He knew that any experienced soldier would never be hit by the first swing of an axe, slice of a sword or stab of a spear. It wasn’t like in the plays where a hero could cut down his foes in one blow. Battles, even smaller ones took time and effort. One had to watch their opponent carefully, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and find out how to exploit each of them. As their blows clashed, already the leader of the Archanean Legion was getting an idea of his rival’s power. She was not average, he’d give her that.
Only a little time passed before reinforcements came to the enemy, or rather, just a single man acting as backup to the spear-wielding woman. Really, one swordmaster was all? How could two of them take on the numbers which Caesar had gathered? It was a ridiculous feat that the redhead showed up alone. He was just asking to get a lance right through him. For a brief moment, there was a silence and then a gasp, when one of the guards had fallen behind Caesar. The General wanted so badly to be angry, but chose to keep his head cool. Anger would cloud his judgment, and make him think of using that terrible power he used before, having little to no control over his own actions. Caesar would never allow that to happen if it wasn’t necessary, and Decimus was hardly ‘necessary’ against two enemy ruffians.
Thanks to his being attentive to his surroundings, he was able to keep a closer eye on Deborah and be prepared for the strike she was launching at him. Although she’d told Joshua to run for it, he doubted that the redhead would be doing any running after he just took down one of the armored guards whom were all so very close to one another. Shortly after those words, his eyes followed the zigzag movements of the spear-wielding woman. The adrenaline rush that overcame Deborah made her hard to follow even with the keenest of eyes, so what direction she was going in was going to be hard to follow.
Anyone who got this high up in the military ranks knew their own weaknesses well enough to get the idea of where an enemy would strike first. Otherwise, such longevity would be impossible on the battlefield. In the back of his mind, Caesar's very instincts were nagging him that the vulnerable place under his armor was being targeted. Against her speed, he would not avoid being stricken, but at the very least, he could avoid being killed. At the right time, he bent his arm so that his one weakness was not exposed, but he didn't avoid injury entirely. The spear made its way up to pierce into the space between the General's bracers and shoulder armor. The blow left a sting, but luckily it wasn't crippling. Caesar took a swing with his Steel Axe, gritting his teeth in the process. If this pain meant that he could either get the enemy away, or make them lose a limb if they didn't, he'd bare it all.
Augustus couldn’t believe that the swordsman went and caught his spear tip! What a foolish move to make, as there was so many ways that he could strike him down while in such a hold. Joshua had some fancy footwork, but blades would do nothing if they landed against his armor. When the swordsman's blade came toward his head, Augustus leaned to the side, to let the blade hit upon the top of the shoulder armor, which forced the blade up. He followed through with a swing of his spear, but due to his opponent's position, it was more used as a bludgeon to the swordsman's side with the shaft. It wasn't exactly the most desired action, but it forced the red head back, nonetheless. ”You made a big mistake going after me, boy.” Augustus said, glaring at the enemy swordsman. It would take quick reaction now to avoid the weapon’s blow, and for Joshua to both survive and escape just like his commander told him to. All the while, Augustus’s followers were already pointing javelins at the sword wielding speedster, ready to throw them if he made that narrow escape of their leader’s blow.
And the wolf struck again. The knights that were paying so much attention to both duels that were occurring failed to pay attention to their surroundings, and were stricken down by this fierce, wild creature. It was unbelievable how easy they fell, but before one knew it, there was now only three standing between Augustus and Joshua. Which target was more appealing? Well, their leader was handling the redhead. It was time to teach this animal a lesson. Raising their spears, two of the knights prepared to defend, while on of them stuck his lance at Rain, who was fast approaching.
« ● ● ● ● ● ● » All will fall to that which is greater, this is an inevitable truth.
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:12 pm
Well what’s so bad about a little coin toss now and then?
The Tempest King Ahhh come on. Live a little! -------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm betting my happiness life on this one "Would you rather I attacked your subordinates? I don't really have a lot of options here do I? I figure if I take you down first I might have a chance." Joshua was getting annoyed, not only did the Great Knight not die but he managed to score a hit that was definitely going to bruise later. He heard Deborah's order and although he didn't like leaving the table while on a losing streak it couldn't be helped, the pair was screwed if they couldn't get away. "Easier said then done." Joshua thought as he tried to think of a way to escape being surrounded by people in armour, usually when this happened he just pinched himself and would wake up from the nightmare. If he ran at Augustus he'd have to avoid not only the Great Knights spear, but a shitton of javelins from behind, not even he could dodge them all and the slightest injury could stop him from escaping. A loud tearing sound and a tortured scream came from behind him unexpectedly (but not unwelcome) spurred him into action. "Lady Luck is on my side today!" He called out as he started his run towards Augustus, sword raised the swordmaster looked more like a charging bandit then anything, he even went as far as to yell a bloodcurdling war cry at the top of his lungs... so when Joshua, in the biggest anti-climax of the day, broke his feet down like a receiver trying to avoid a tackle just before he came into range of Augustus spear and turned on a dime darting down a continently placed alleyway, Augustus was probably surprised. Laughing now as he ran, imagining the look on Augustus's face, Joshua followed Deborah's order and ran at top speed. Sure the Great Knight and his group could follow, they wouldn't catch him but hey, it’s the thought that counts. C’est la vie, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tell you what, We'll flip on it, Heads, I win Tails, you lose DIE
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:29 pm
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The spear lodged into the arm of the enemy, but it was not where Deborah wanted it to go. The fact that this man had been able to determine the likely target meant that he was not your pushover commander. Taking a hit, to avoid being maimed or critically injured showed the depth of the fighting ability that this man had. He knew better than to think that one could go through a fight without getting hurt. When blades were involved, cutting could not be avoided.
The axe came whirling toward Deborah, but she saw it in time to jump back. As she jumped, her dreads were blown in front of her, and one of the dreads didn't make the dodge. A chunk of that one lock fell to the ground, as the axe finished passing by. The spear came out with a slight tussle, but Deborah raised her arms over the swinging axe, so that she didn't lose her arms and was able to keep a hold of her weapon. The man was slow but knew how to keep his foes at a distance.
Deborah took the pause in combat to notice that that wolf had shown up. She also saw that Joshua had managed to actually follow an order. With him gone, all that was needed was to stall for some time, so that Joshua could get away. So, instead of continuing clashing with Caesar, Deborah darted over to Rain. She let out a startling shriek and made repetitions of small thrusts with her lance toward the enemy soldiers. As she did this, she would growl a little and move about in a frantic fashion, but made sure to stay in a general area and keep at least three feet away from all foes. Her goal was to appear as a crazed lunatic. From her experience, even trained soldiers were reluctant to come at foes with a combative intent, when they seemed terribly vicious. The huge wolf beside her probably helped things, too.
"It about time ya got heyah, wolf. Glad ya heard my whistal. We gettin' away in a minute, and ya may not like what will be done, but ya don't got much of a choice, so just go wit it." Deborah turned from Rain for a moment to release a bellowing battle cry toward a soldier who was getting antsy enough to try coming at her. Not far behind that soldier was the leader that had just been fighting. She didn't think that he would simply stand there, even with his injury. To be cautious, she waved her hand behind her as a signal to Rain, and began to creep back. All enemies were in front of them, and it was there goal to simply keep them at a distance. Well, it was a goal that they had met well enough. Deborah surmised that she had bought enough time for all her men to get away, so now it was her and the wolf's turn.
"Alright, let's go!" Deborah suddenly cried, as she proceeded to grab onto Rain's back and jump onto it. She knew that the laguz wouldn't like it, and she didn't like having to ride on somebody, herself. But Rain was a wolf who was big enough to be ridden and was fast enough so that they could get away, without the soldiers being able to follow. In case the wolf was too shocked at what she was doing to react, Deborah grabbed a chunk of fur and pulled it, so that he would start to run off. She didn't even give the soldier's a chance to react. None of them probably thought that she would ride the creature away, not even their commander. In any case, all the Learanian forces in the villages had made it out.
When Deborah and Rain finally made their way through the woods and up to where they were camped, they were naturally relieved to see that everyone was still there. The soldiers who had left the villages before them were the first to meet and welcome them back. Even Joshua had managed to find his way back. (Man, he was on a role.) Needles was there as well, and Deborah caught up with her on how things were going. Thankfully, all the villagers had arrived, and they had managed to keep their presence a secret from the enemy's army. A messenger had also arrived from Alihi's army, telling them that they had failed to take the city, but were heading back with the citizens. Details aside, they were ready to make full retreat back to the capital, and now that Deborah had returned, those very orders were issued.
As the Learanian force began to escort the villagers to Archesis, an elderly man came up to Deborah. "You are a commander of the Learanian army here, yes? I would like to thank you for saving us from that man and his wyverns. The risk of death was well worth being relinquished from that life of oppression... I have always held good thoughts for Learania, especially after meeting that man, close to a year ago. Though I mistook him for an Adlian at first, he revealed himself to me as being with your country. He helped my family, when we lived up north, and in return I answered the questions he had about Mordache. I used to be a soldier for that country, so I knew all too well when I discouraged him from venturing there, but he seemed well intent on going. Ah.. in any case, please accept this gift. It isn't much, but we would all like you to have it, if it can aid you in your fight." Deborah at first ignored the man when he began to speak with her, and saw that he was just continuing to speak, regardless. Though the old cook did ramble a bit, Deborah raised an eyebrow at the story he told her about the man he had met. "..." She had a good idea that she knew who the old man was speaking of, but chose to not make a big deal about it. It really wasn't important to her. The gift was important, however. When it was handed to her, she could see that the case was crude and torn. When she opened it however, she saw to her surprise that it was an energy ring. "...Tank you. I accept dis gift." She put the ring on her finger and could instantly feel the effect that it was said to have. Some relics were valuable for their practical uses. Dracosheilds were handy shields, reading secret books could give a lot of information to somebody, but ring artifacts were said to actually contain an imbued magical power. It was always nice to come upon them.
After the ring was placed on her finger, Deborah glanced back to the man. He had a disturbing old person expression of pleasure. "We should get movin' Dis isn't deh best place tah stand around." The old man smiled, bowed slightly and continued on with the others. Deborah turned and looked back toward the field and the villages. It seemed the enemy was starting to head east. It was a good thing that Alihi's group had been forced back, after all. However, the enemy would eventually meet them in battle once more. When that time came, Deborah would do all she could to take out their armies.
With a simple scoff, the Learanian Captain turned and began to head back to the capital with everyone else.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:39 am
A man whom can conquer his fear can strive to conquer the world.>x-General Caesar-x< And now the swordmaster had the gall to mouth off to him? Augustus was losing his patience with the redheaded lad, and fast. Luck didn’t seem to be on the Great Knight’s side at all, as his steel lance’s tip missed the target of Joshua’s vitals, the swordmaster mocked him further, and then eventually disappeared into a nearby alley. Calling his men, Augustus only led a brief pursuit before losing tracks of the swordsman in the strange hat completely. It was a humiliating that such a small fry could outwit Augustus, one of Caesar’s most trusted, but then again, maybe it was better this way. Surely, they would meet again, and at that time, there would be no running for either of them. ”Stop the pursuit, everyone. We must return to the General’s side and finish this!” Augustus ordered, as he finally called his armored steed with a whistle of his own to charge into battle. It was time to end this short and sweet.
Or at least, that’s what was in his mind until actually returning to General Caesar’s battlefield. He eyed two of the other Guard members backing off cautiously, while Caesar’s eyes and mind were sharp for an opening. The woman in the red armor had gone mad. She was shrieking like a banshee and thrusting her spear this way and that, as if the madness of the battlefield had finally seeped into her mind and just made the female warrior completely bonkers. There was no quick and dirty way to approach this, or he might lance one of his companions if he got too close. With careful aim, he decided to strike at a distance, a javelin in his grip and ready to fly…
Caesar was not taken by surprise of this turn of events at all. His expression never changed, but he was backing out of range of the spear to avoid a nasty stick in the face. How someone would just suddenly flip out like this, he had no clue, but maybe her weapon was cursed, just like his own. Either way, all Caesar had to do was look for an opening, and all of this would be over. Just when he saw the crazed spear-wielder leave her left right open, Caesar saw her just… jump on the wolf, taking off in a direction so suddenly, his eyes couldn’t pinpoint where. Another clever move, he noted with disappointment of not being able to see the mad thrashes of the spear as a mere act.
At the same moment, Augustus lowered the javelin. She was too quick to throw the projectile at, especially making such a sudden move as to get on the wolf’s back and take off, unseen and unheard. It was almost as if the woman had vanished without a trace. A chilling thought, when one got down to it, but the Great Knight was not about to let that run in the course of his mind. His attention shifted to his superior. Although Caesar was injured, that was expected in battle. Compared to the previous fights that the Estarcian companies engaged the Legion in, this was the one with the fewest casualties. But could both Augustus and Caesar call it a victory? They weren’t here picking a fight; they were here for a different reason. ”From what we saw of the area, Lancelot is nowhere to be found, General. We combed the area best we could, and there’s no signs he’s here.”
”I see…” Caesar replied, as he now uncorked the bottle of a Vulnerary and started to sip it to dull the pain in his shoulder just a little. ”We have no choice but to march in the direction intended then. Augustus, prepare your riders to scout ahead. This time, nothing shall hinder us on the way to Altiplos. Meeting with our tactician is vital at this moment more than ever. Forward, soldiers of the Legion!” The General’s powerful voice resonated throughout the ranks, and those who made it through the ordeals of this mission gone wrong still held their heads up high. As long as their leader stood tall and proud, they had no reason to worry. Surely, this time they would reach Altiplos. And surely, Caesar thought as a personal wish of his own, Lancelot would be found alive. All they needed to do was keep on marching.
« ● ● ● ● ● ● » All will fall to that which is greater, this is an inevitable truth.
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