Of Dragons and War III

[Miri Belakai]

Miri just rolled her eyes. "Ok, you two, if you think of a good one, we'll see."

She rubbed her shoulders tiredly. Second day of the journey, and she was already sore. This was going to be a long trip.

[Crin Dalmeiier]

Crin and Ame debated over it for over an hour, figuring almost immediately that anything containing the words, 'elf,' 'toots' or 'peanut butter' were out. As the suggestions started getting weirder and weirder, Miri wisely stopped listening.

Falcour and Talmour, meanwhile, passed the hour muttering in the gypsies' native tongue. B'en remained on his perch behind Falcour's saddle, although the clan leader would be sending the bird back to the castle to check in with Shela and Regent. After about an hour, they fell into a companionable silence, and Crin and Ame finally agree to just to stick to "Miri-Lai" (Fair Miri) as Miri's nickname.

If the Swordsman talked to anybody of what had occurred during his fainting spell, Crin did not know. She was too lost in her own thoughts, which were considerably more treacherous than they had been a few days before. She was no longer feeling mutinous, at least.

"Say, shouldn't your house be near here?" Talmour asked of Lady Rosaline. It looked as though the liquor was wearing off.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rosaline's head came up and she looked at Talmour, who had broken into her thoughts.

"Sorry, what was that?" She asked.

"I said, shouldn't your house be near here?" He asked again.

"Oh," she glanced around a bit, "aye, just around this bend and a little ways down the road. Perhaps another half hours ride." She smiled.

[Crin Dalmeiier]

Crin dozed off in the saddle, trusting that Ame, who was resolutely sticking next to her, would keep her for plummeting from the saddle to her death. Ame was reliable in that area, she kept an eye on the surrounding area, her hand never far from her quiver of arrows. She was a weathered traveler, having been riding around on horseback before she could even properly walk. It was just the way of life for gypsies.

Talmour and Falcour, perhaps sensing something on the air, tensed appropriately and shot the occasional confused look at Ame. She shrugged back, as perplexed as they were. All of them felt distinctly uncomfortable, and not one was sure why.

It was Crin who first realized the problem. About half an hour later, she jerked out of her doze, lifted her head, and sniffed the air. "Is anybody else smelling smoke?"

As though her words were some kind of cue, they crested a hill--and stared.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rose had drifted off to a light sleep after her breif conversation with Talmour. Rylus had been asleep longer than she had and had yet to show signed of waking up.
As the group had crested the hill, Rose had begun to fall into a deeper sleep.

[Swordsman]

Upon cresting the hill, Nækos went so far as to sit up a bit higher in his saddle in reaction to the scene laid out before him. What had been a small village was now a collection of burned-out shells of buildings. Bodies lay around, many still bleeding. None moving. The gutters beside the two streets ran red. A few fires still burned, sending up thin trails of light smoke. The Swordsman sighed.

"I feared as much..." he remarked to himself as much as anyone else around.

But then, movement - a medium-sized group of men, perhaps a dozen or twenty, mounted. They appeared from behind one of the last remaining walls, each armed, a few still carrying lit torches.

Nækos turned quickly to the group behind him, motioning urgently for silence. They complied, until Miri reached the crest and saw the view. Senyik quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, cutting off the shriek into a quick squeak.

Three men looked quickly up at their position.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rosaline's head came up sharply at Miri's squeak. She glanced around at the group a little confused, then realizing where they were, she looked down the hill. Just as she was about to scream, Talmour clamped a hand over her mouth, just as Senyik had done to Miri. Rose ripped his hand off and grabbed her brother's arm, though clamping her own hand over his mouth. His eyes filled with horror as they finally took in the scene, the horror quickly changed to rage.
Rosaline removed her hand from his mouth as the three that had apparently heard Miri's squeak turned their horses towards them, drawing their weapons.
Rosaline's hand flew to her sword and she began to draw it, but Talmour's hand grabbed her wrist. She shot him a look of daggers.

"Don't just go charging down there, think it through." He was obviously very sober now.

"Don't think I'm just going to sit her." She growled.

She snatched her hand away, drew her sword and dug her heals into Shadowmaker, causing him to spur down the hill. Rylus followed right in her shadow. Talmour looked to Falcour.

[Crin Dalmeiier]

Talmour traded glances with Falcour and finally looked at Crin. "Are we going to regret this?"

She shrugged and wrenched her Skii free. "Probably. Loser catches dinner?"

Talmour bit off a close-mouthed laugh. "I like steak."

"Jolly good for you."

Without warning, the two launched, into battle, skii and sword held ready right behind Lady Rosaline.

[Swordsman]

Nækos looked to Meekal. "Want some fighting experience?"

[Moonitic]

Meekal looked toward the foe, then back at Nækos. With a gulp & a quick prayer to Craig, he nodded. "I suppose now is as good a time as any."

[Swordsman]

"Let's rock, then." He spurred Onyx into a gallop, drawing the sabre, and taking off down the hill after the others.

[Moonitic]

"Yay," Meekal muttered, wondering for a brief moment what he had gotten himself into before raising his new, shining weapon & urging his mount to join in the fray.

[Crin Dalmeiier]

Talmour, Falcour, and Crin, all remembering hunting together and fighting against the various beasts, mercenaries, and whatevers that would get in their way, easily fell in together, swords and skii flashing. Led by a furious Rosaline, they hit the line head-on with a noise like two rocks clapping together in midair. The Raiders had always relied more on brute strength and weaponry than skill, so the gypsies and the party had a distinct disadvantage. Crin dispatched a torch almost immediatlely, chopping it easily in half and sending sparks showering over its bearer.

Before the man could even shout out his pain, she slammed the offensive half of the skii through his thinnish armor and twisted. He gurgled and died.

Talmour ducked a wild swing from his own opponent and struck quickly for the hilt, missing by a few inches. The man, who looked to be in need of a new set of teeth, as well as a shower, struck back and Talmour was forced to duck again from the odd angle. Talmour used the opportunity to snatch his bootknife up, and plunged it straight into the other man's thigh. As the raider shouted out, Talmour kindly separated his head from his body. Hollering, Talmour went off to protect Lady Rosaline's back, since most of the raiders had pinpointed on her. Falcour dispatched a raider easily and moved to cover Crin's back, although she obviously didn't need it.

Ame, left with no other choice than to rely on her daggers, hung back with Miri. They couldn't use their arrows with their friends fighting in such close combat.

"Might as well start checking on the wounded," she told the ex-princess, and headed off to see if there were any alive in the village.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Zelda had also flown down the hill after Rose, in need of a good fight herself.

Talmour had caught up to Rose and they faught side by side. One of the raiders, seeminly new to the whole concept, was caught by surprise and didn't have time to fight off Rosealine's sword. Instead, it drove into his gut. She twisted the blade then pulled it free, going for the next raider.

Rylus was trying to fight off two men at once as Zelda was catching up. One of Rylus' attackers went to slice down at him from behind, Zelda snatched up her dagger and threw it at the raider. It slammed home just to the left of the heart and he fell to the ground with a thump.

Rose and Talmour faught the left side of the remaining group, Rylus and Zelda the right. Nækos, Meekal, Senyik, and Darion drove down the middle of them.

[Miri Belakai]

Quietly, so as not to attract attention, Miri slipped away from the battle, motioning for Ame to follow her. They crept through the trees on the side of the village, the sounds of battle becoming softer with distance. At last, they returned to the main road, on the opposite side of the village from the battle. The raiders had obviously started here, then systematically destroying the village on their way down the center road.

Ame took the left side of the street, Miri, the right. The first house was obviously empty; she dusted some dirt over the small fires still burning, and went to the next. An injured man lay to the side of the doorstep, moaning with pain. Miri knelt next to him, oblivious to the dirt, grime, and blood that stained the lower half of her white skirt. Adjusting his body to a better position, she found two sword thrusts to his shoulder and a nasty gash on his side. He also seemed to have been knocked unconscious at one point.

Miri did what she could for the man, then went in the house, which was barely still standing. She found, to her horror, the bodies of the two women the man had been trying to protect.

A soft, crying sound drifted in from the next room. Miri hurried in, and discovered the noise was coming from under a fallen set of drawers and clothes. Carefully, she lifted the drawers off one by one. A small, hand-carved cradle lay upside-down, protecting a pile of blankets...and a baby.

Feeling more maternal that she ever had before, Miri turned and lifted the child, whose soft face with open blue eyes looked to be about six months old, and returned to the street. The man by the door seemed to be a bit more awake, and overjoyed at the sight of the baby. Once again, she kneeled in the muck.

“Your child?”

The man struggled to speak. “My sister’s son.”

“I will carry him with me as I check the other houses. Stay and rest. Could the raiders have been here for any other particular reason?”

Shaking his head slightly, the man closed his eyes in exhaustion and despair.

Miri continued down the street, holding the babe in her arms. She caught sight of Ame a few times, as they passed from empty house to house. Miri found only seven more people alive, all badly wounded. Even as she drew closer, the battle sounds became fewer and slower. And stopped.

[Miri Belakai]

Quietly, so as not to attract attention, Miri slipped away from the battle, motioning for Ame to follow her. They crept through the trees on the side of the village, the sounds of battle becoming softer with distance. At last, they returned to the main road, on the opposite side of the village from the battle. The raiders had obviously started here, then systematically destroying the village on their way down the center road.

Ame took the left side of the street, Miri, the right. The first house was obviously empty; she dusted some dirt over the small fires still burning, and went to the next. An injured man lay to the side of the doorstep, moaning with pain. Miri knelt next to him, oblivious to the dirt, grime, and blood that stained the lower half of her white skirt. Adjusting his body to a better position, she found two sword thrusts to his shoulder and a nasty gash on his side. He also seemed to have been knocked unconscious at one point.

Miri did what she could for the man, then went in the house, which was barely still standing. She found, to her horror, the bodies of the two women the man had been trying to protect.

A soft, crying sound drifted in from the next room. Miri hurried in, and discovered the noise was coming from under a fallen set of drawers and clothes. Carefully, she lifted the drawers off one by one. A small, hand-carved cradle lay upside-down, protecting a pile of blankets...and a baby.

Feeling more maternal that she ever had before, Miri turned and lifted the child, whose soft face with open blue eyes looked to be about six months old, and returned to the street. The man by the door seemed to be a bit more awake, and relieved at the sight of the baby. Once again, she kneeled in the muck.

“Your child?”

The man struggled to speak. “My sister’s son.”

“I will carry him with me as I check the other houses. Stay and rest. Could the raiders have been here for any other particular reason?”

Shaking his head slightly, the man closed his eyes in exhaustion and despair.

Miri continued down the street, holding the babe in her arms. She caught sight of Ame a few times, as they passed from empty house to house. Miri found only four more people alive, all badly wounded. Even as she drew closer, the battle sounds became fewer and slower. And stopped.

[Iwant2bafencer]

As the fighting grew less and less, Rosaline walked through the bodies of the different raiders. She finally found what she was looking for. The raider that Zelda had thrown her dagger at was on the ground but not dead.
Rosaline knelt next to him.

"Perhaps you can tell me why you're here." She spoke in a cool tone.

He gave no answer.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked

It took him a while, but he soon lifted his head off the ground.

"You're the daughter of a *****." He coughed as blood came up. "I'm not telling you anything."

Rosaline grabbed the dagger in his chest and slammed it the rest of the way in. With a twist of her wrist, he was dead.

[Zelda]

"That was clever," Zelda commented, as she watched Rosaline finish the raider off. "We could have let Naekos try to get something out of him."

Rosalines eyes glinted with a fevour that was very rarely seen. She glared at Zelda and stalked off, leaving the queen to retrieve her dagger from the dead raider.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rosaline went after Shadowmaker who had moved off towards the village. She swung up and went quickly down the road to her house, which was nestled next to the hill.
Once there, she stepped down and without a pause moved into the ruble. She pushed aside chard and fallen doors, dressers, her own matriss. She stood in the middle of the burnt house with her hands on her hips, then moved to where the door should have been.
Just before she got there, the remainder of the house came crashing down. She threw her arms over her head and tried to make it out, but there wasn't enough time. Seconds later she was buried.

[Crin Dalmeiier]

"Holy--!"

Talmour had fallen to checking for wounded when the fighting tapered off, so he didn't actually see the house collapse on Lady Rosaline. But he certainly heard it, and he was most assuredly the first person to reach the wreckage, Crin sprinting not far behind. She hauled on his arm before he could dive straight in.

"NO--the rest of the house could collapse on you!" Crin pointed to the pieces of the structure that were still intact.

He didn't care. Shaking her off, he grabbed up a flat slab of wood from a smoldering pile nearby and held it over his head like a shield. Without even sparing a look at Crin, he plunged straight into the mess, throwing anything that got in his way aside. Crin muttered an oath to gods that she was sure didn't exist and followed him. It was boiling hot, and the wood blistered at their hands, but Talmour ripped his cloak off and wrapped his hands in the garment. Crin did the same and the two continued to dig, shouting Rosaline's name.

"Over here!" Crin shouted at her friend, seeing nothing more than the toe of a boot sticking out from under a pile of debris. She hurried clawed at the pile, hissing at the pain it caused. Talmour seemed to cross ten feet in two steps. He yanked most of the pile off, enough to free at least one of Lady Rosaline's arms. While Crin cleared the debris off of her legs, he secured a grip around her torso and forcibly hauled her from the pile. "Is she breathing?"