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 Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
At least today was a decent day. Jhin found himself glancing upwards, the crystal leaves of the trees casting a myriad of faint colors along the forest floor, and a rare smile crossed his lips. The weather was nice and everything was quiet. For a moment the weight on his shoulders seemed to shift, the last months of mourning attempting to slip away before coming back with an iron grip on his heart. Yaloh and Giya would not have allowed it to get so quiet like this. The thought made him shake his head sadly as he pondered his deceased friend and the previous ranger who had wooed him before the loss of their mutual friend caused her to drift away, her heartbreak forcing her away and back to the comforts of Oba where her family awaited her. Ever since then Jhin had been a bit more brittle, his fear of losing another relationship driving him to focus on his duties and become more of a loner than before. It was why he took a solo patrol today through what should have been a more peaceful area of the woods. His distraction was so great that he didn’t even realize he was towards the edges of the forest, his movements being tracked by a slim figure darting about in the shadows.
[Jhin 1]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
Kyril found herself traveling around the edges of Sauti. The hybrid had been visiting local towns, her artisan journey taking her through several countries, and now she was finding herself in the company of a caravan of merchants. It was strange though to travel like this with others again on wagons pulled by quhar and xaraan when she had grown so accustomed to Belrea and their airships and the like. Definitely a little bit bumpier. She noted as they hit another rock in the road that twisted towards the looming treeline of a vast forest. The merchants had apparently stated that it was the quickest route to go but others worried that they didn’t have the rangers nearby, something that made Kyril frown. Would it be acceptable to travel this way? She had wanted to get back towards Matori quickly so that she could see her family but now she was having doubts with the darkness of the forest stretching before them.
“Is it really safe?” She found herself asking before the first arrow whizzed past, her answer already found. Bandits. Great. Kyril found herself sighing as she watched a group of masked men emerge from the edges of the woods, rushing towards the wagons and taking what they could….including her satchel of belongings. “Sonuva-”
[Kyril 1]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
Jhin had already been on patrol when the shadow brushed past and swiped his bag. Maybe if the thief had chosen anyone else they would have been easily lost in the shadows of the forest but Jhin knew this area by heart and was already running after them with purpose. Even if it had just been his daily supply bag the archer was not about to allow someone to simply waltz out of the forest with his belongings! A frustrated groan left his lips as he noticed a bigger scene waiting for him just ahead and while he notched an arrow, sending it flying through the sleeve of the first thief, he realized it was far more than that he would be dealing with today. A whole group of bandits had taken it upon themselves to take the load away from the traveling caravan, a group of fools who had gone ahead towards their forest without waiting to get the rangers’ aid. Thankfully he wasn’t alone and the sounds of whistles could be heard through the tree as the rest of the rangers in the area were alerted and already racing towards the fight.
Taking his bag of belongings, Jhin shook his head at the leaf earthling and simply left him stuck against the tree before moving on to help the others. So much for an easy day, right? At least it gave him something to do as a decent distraction from all of the worries recently on his mind. The wind earthling shot another arrow, this time towards a man who was struggling with a hybrid woman over what looked like a bag of belongings.
[Jhin 2]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
“Let go!” Kyril hissed through her teeth as she proved surprisingly resilient against the bandit, her heeled boots digging into the dirt as she tugged her bag towards her. She had gifts in here for her family! There was no way she was simply letting this guy run away with her stuff! All of the toys that she had picked up for the twins, the charms and clothing for everyone else….all from Belrea so no way! Unfortunately she was far more of an artisan than an actual fighter so the thought of even using magic to push him back didn’t cross her mind, especially not if she wanted to keep her belongings from getting scorched or soaked. Thankfully an arrow found its way into the bandit’s side and when he dropped down to his knees, the young mystic grabbed her belongings and took a step backwards. “Thank you!” She managed as she noticed the wind earthling coming towards her, his bow already notched with another arrow.
[Kyril 2]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
“Must be a rather important thing.” Noted Jhin before firing another arrow towards a bandit who got a bit too close to a merchant. Why did this caravan even think of coming in this way without alerting them? Anyone stopping for supplies always got warned at the local towns about the forests...a sigh left his lips before he found himself tugging the hybrid woman to the side, another thief trying to get too close to her and her belongings. Did they truly not learn their lesson by now? Seriously, these guys were obnoxious. “Careful.” He murmured before blocking the man’s attack with his arm, the hard leather of his armguard catching the brunt of the blow.
[Jhin 3]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
Kyril winced when she saw the man take the blow for her. Thankfully the hard leather stopped the dagger’s blade but if the archer hadn’t stepped in for her then she could only imagine how differently things would have played out since she had thin material and no hard leather to protect herself. I’ll have to thank him later. Well that was if they got out of this situation with their lives. Kyril had the feeling that the earthlings who had come after the bandits had plenty of experience, but it didn’t stop her heart from racing every time someone else dashed towards them or another body fell to the ground. There were just so many! It couldn’t be a simple planned theft, but more so an actual battle in some war between those rough bandits and the rangers who came out of the forest. It would be her luck that she decided to follow this caravan into a warzone instead of simply waiting to take the longer route. It was a shame that they didn’t include that information when she paid for her seat!
“Are you ok?” She began as he knocked the attacker backwards into another bandit. At least Kyril wasn’t trying to be completely useless, the hybrid woman stuck out her foot so that she could aim a well placed kicked on another bandit so that they tripped instead of landing another blow on the ranger. And then when she spotted someone else in danger Kyril found herself moving forward to try and help, her satchel swinging out to thwack another bandit before they could attack a merchant for their wares. What worried Kyril more though was the small Oban youngling hiding behind the merchant, their wide crimson gaze making her fury grow.
[Kyril 3]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:37 pm
“Absolutely wonderful.” Replied Jhin as he ignored the throbbing in his arm and focused on another target. His focus, however, was quickly diverted whenever the woman he had been protecting darted off to try and attack another of the bandits. Seriously?! Jhin’s head rolled back for a moment as if requesting solace from the heavens before he darted after her. At least when he caught up, he realized she had been trying to protect a merchant and their youngling. A sigh left his lips before he moved around so that he could help the hybrid woman fend off the bandit. Those damn wares better be worth a fortune. His irritation would have to wait though since there were more important matters at hand.
[Jhin 4]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
Kyril’s chest tightened with worry, but once again the archer came to her rescue. Even if he seemed annoyed by the situation, she was thankful that he was in the area along with the others to help out the merchants. The hybrid could only imagine what would have happened without their aid. The few guards that the merchants had were already struggling and a shiver went down her spine when she noticed that some of them weren’t moving any longer. Maybe I should have just allowed them to take my belongings… She started before shaking her head against the thought. These people didn’t seem to care if you gave up easily or not. They wanted to take what they wanted and that included lives apparently. That realization made her fight back harder as she grabbed a loose wooden plank and swung it around to try and push back the bandit.
[Kyril 4]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
And she was now swinging a piece of wood like a weapon. Admittedly there was a flicker of amusement that went through Jhin’s mind before he found himself focusing on the second bandit who had come back to try and fight as well. While the sounds of battle raged about them, Jhin found himself relying on the hybrid woman to swing her improvised weapon while he fended off the flurry of slashing attacks from the other bandit. Left, left, right! He took a step backwards to dodge another blow before raising his fist to shatter a few of the guy’s ribs with a strong punch. Even if Jhin preferred the bow he still had trained in other ways and it showed with the way he slammed into the bandit’s weak spot, his teal gaze burning brightly as he stared down the wind earthling who staggered backwards.
[Jhin 5]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
Kyril let out a sigh of relief whenever the archer seemingly took down the other bandit. “Now it’s just you.” She commented with a smirk towards the leaf earthling who continued walking towards her, his battle axe getting a bit too close for comfort. So far she had managed to keep darting about, his swings barely missing her body as she recalled all of the dancing moves she had learned from her mother so many years ago, While the ranger next to her continued his fight, she found herself just trying to get some distance away from the injured merchant and their daughter so that they wouldn’t get injured.
Eventually though she got cornered with the wagon right behind her and Kyril let out a gasp as she found the axe swinging straight for her. Out of pure instinct she raised the block of wood she had been trying to fend him off with in front of her body and the impact of the axe blade jarred her arms, sending pain all the way up her shoulders and forcing her to take a step back. The splintered wood of the wagon bit sharply into her back and she found herself wincing with pain though thankfully she also found herself relieved to see that the blade of the axe was embedded into the wooden plank and not her chest.
[Kyril 5]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
The world seemed to slow as Jhin turned from his finished fight to try and help out the hybrid woman. His gaze widened when he saw the axe swinging straight for her throat, but when everything caught up he realized she had managed to catch the weapon with the wooden plank. The frustrated bandit wasn’t about to allow that situation to last much longer, however, and was already moving to try and use the embedded axe as leverage to shove the woman to the ground so that he could crush her throat with that very piece of wood. Jhin was already moving at that point and managed to barrel into the larger bandit’s body so that he could shove the man backwards and away from the hybrid woman.
[Jhin 6]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
Kyril’s whole body seemed to collapse when the ranger darted in to save her once again. Her shaking hands let go of the wooden board so that it dropped to the ground, the axe propping it awkwardly, but when she watched both men struggling on the ground Kyril knew she had to act. There has to be something…aha! Her hand patted around on the dirt as she stayed on the ground, her legs refusing to move as she rested her back against the wagon for support, and a heavy skillet that had fallen from the wagon found its way into her fingers. Kyril winced against the pain in her arm before pulling back and letting the iron skillet fly straight towards the larger bandit’s head. The disgusting noise from impact gave her all the proof she needed that she had aimed true, a fact further proven when the man collapsed towards the side with a groan.
[Kyril 6]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:38 pm
Jhin was so focused on his struggle against the bandit that he didn’t even notice the flying object until it was too late. Both of the men froze, their eyes widening with surprise, but then soon enough the larger bandit’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head as his hold slipped. Jhin let out a grunt before pushing the man to the side, watching as his unconscious body fell over, and then slowly he managed to stand as well. Thankfully he had protected himself decently enough but even Jhin could feel a few bruises spreading along his body, especially around his neck where the man had tried to grab at him during their struggle. “I appreciate that.” He managed with a rare smile before glancing around. It looked like most of the fighting was finally dying down around them.
[Jhin 7]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:40 pm
“You’re welcome.” Replied Kyril as she slowly shifted so that she could push herself from the ground. Sharp pain immediately surrounded her ankle, but she bit down sharply on her bottom lip to keep from screaming out. The last thing she wanted to do was attract even more attention, not when they finally had a break in the fighting. Instead, she found herself glancing towards the two that were hiding nearby. At least she had managed to distract the bandit from them while the ranger took care of things.
“Do you think you can stand?” She found herself asking the merchant, her amber gaze studying the pair with concern. “Unless those wares are more valuable than your lives, I would suggest finding somewhere safer until this is over.” Watch her speaking like she was some sort of confident warrior, hah! Still, Kyril was an older sibling and she knew that sometimes you had to keep calm even when your body ached to run away.
[Kyril 7]
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:41 pm
Jhin watched as the stranger helped the merchant and youngling up. He found himself hesitating while they looked around, the battle finally dying down as most of the rangers chased off the bandits, and one of his companions came running towards them. “I can take anyone to a safer area. We’ll push back the rest and then let the merchants come back to reclaim their belongings…the wagons are completely destroyed for the most part.” Some were even on fire from where flaming arrows had shot into the wheels while frightened quhar and xaraan had broken free and flipped other wagons.
“Thanks, Arin.” He looked at the trio standing behind him. “Go ahead with him. We’ll do our best to confirm its safe so you can reclaim what you can.”
[Jhin 8]
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