The Ghostfence rp: Playground 2 Options

[minque]

Welcome to continue in this thread!
Link to previous thread

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus

Apelles charged head-on into the fray, locking weapons with a lean, muscular Dunmer with a steel shortsword. He used his broadsword's longer reach to his advantage, but this Ashlander was fast, and good with his shortblade. He parried and deflected Appelles's blows with the grace of a young, yet experienced fighter. Apparently, Apelles had picked a fight with the best swordsman of the group.

The cravaners fought more competently than he had expected. Out of the corner of his eye, Apelles could see Dranas Heleran slicing straight through the torso of one of them. Not bad for a common drug dealer.

This fight, too, was an atypical one. In Apelles's experience, most swordfights were brutal, inelegant, and over very quickly - one fighter gained an advantage over another (usually brought about by an opponent's mistake) and capitalized on it. But the Ashlander was simply moving too fast to leave enough of an opening for Apelles to exploit. And the Ashlander was too busy defending himself from the long reach of Apelles's broadsword to make an attack. There was a time, perhaps, as a younger man, when he might have been fast enough to exploit the brief, fleeting seams in the Dunmer's defense. But the reality was, he wasn't - he would need to rely on his experience and cunning.

Then, the Dunmer finally began to tire - Apelles could see it in his face, and in his slightly slowed movements. Suddenly, he abandoned his defense and made a desperate lunge for the torso. Apelles, surprised, stepped back. The blade barely even managed to penetrate part of the dragonscale armor that he wore. It was but a surface wound - and he had left himself exposed. Apelles plunged his broadsword through the Dunmer's back into his vital organs.

Apelles looked around. The Ashlanders on the ground were all dead. He sheathed his sword, grabbed his bow, and turned to face the remaining archers.

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Sep 8 2010, 03:23 AM

[Dantrag]

OOC: hope you guys don't mind that i left a few alive; it makes sense to me, and gets things going faster.

Dralas

Dralas was about to let off another arrow, but he held back. With the death of their comrades on the ground, both archers were abandoning their positions and opting to flee.

Dralas let them go; they wouldn't be a threat anymore. He hoped. With the danger gone, Dralas stood up straight and exhaled a great sigh of relief. Relief turned quickly to sadness though, when he looked at the dead on the ground. He sat down on the rock that was previously his cover, waiting for the adrenalin to subside.

"Talk about unexpected," he said to nobody in particular, lighting a hackle-lo. He knew that the caravan had likely gone too far to catch up to now, and didn't even consider it.

Might as well sit for a moment before we all try to walk to ghostgate by ourselves.

[minque]

Rianne

Rianne hated senseless killing, and she was happy Dralas let two of their folks to get away. She went over to him and gently squeezed his left shoulder, to show him some support. She took his hand with the hackle-lo and inhaled the spicy smoke.

"Yeah, that was unexpected indeed" she said sadly...

I wonder..the caravan is far ahead of us, maybe we should just go ourselves

She looked at Dralas...and made a faint sign, hoping he would understand her thoughts

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

Dranas looked up from the bloodscape at his feet. The archers had melted away, hopefully never to return, and now he was free to feel pain again. And did he ever. His left shoulder was torn apart and bleeding heavily. He walked over to his (miraculously unwounded) guars and fumbled around in one of his packs with good arm. He found a vial the color of alabaster and drank it.

"Ugh," he groaned. The shoulder rapidly began to heal--blood vessels reconstructed themselves, tissues and ligaments found their proper places--it was both soothing and sickening. Inside a minute the gaping wound had been reduced to a modest scar.

Free of his agony, Dranas remembered that he was in the company of others.

"Is everyone alright? I've got a few extra potions for those who can't heal themselves."

[jack cloudy]

OOC: No problem. This isn't the game where no one ever heard of self-preservation. Fleeing makes sense.

Haz

Haz shook his head as the battle came to an end.
"That was delightfully barbaric. So much for this elegance in bloodshed those elves talk about." He thought.
"No, I'm fine." He then rasped, glad that the deep folds of his robe hid the arrow-wound he'd suffered. He was less glad now for having broken the oath of silence but now that he'd done, he would stick with it.
"If they find out I'm Argonian, I'm dead."

Haz looked at the older Dunmer beside him. Eno was still sitting on his knees, covering his face with both hands.
"This...is insanity. Why did they...why did we have to fight?" The man muttered.
"I think the old one requires healing though. Healing of the mind, not the body."

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus

"I have my own, thanks," he half-grunted, pulling a small vial from within his belt. He'd be damned before he took another comestible substance of any kind from Dranas Heleran.

He raised his voice to call out to the rest of the group. "Anyone who doesn't is more than welcome to mine or his. Frankly, we're lucky we weren't all killed. We were fortunate to have been subjected to one of the most poorly-executed attacks I've ever witnessed. Rather surprising to see Ashlanders botch a raid so badly.

"The archers were well-hidden, but just far enough away so they couldn't shoot once their friends got close. That's the stupid part - they didn't need to get close; just block our path. If they'd stayed put inside the foyada and not gotten close, we wouldn't be standing here right now.

"They hadn't counted on us organizing ourselves so quickly - they probably expected us to panic and not try to fight back. They didn't think it mattered what they did. They thought we were weak. They broke Rule #1 of combat: never underestimate your opponent. They also counted on the archers annihilating us quickly. They didn't. But if that guar had died twenty feet closer to the edge of the foyada, they certainly would have. It was luck - luck and stupidity that kept us alive."

He wiped some of the blood off his sword. "We need to catch up with the caravan by nightfall. If we set up camp alone tonight, there's a good chance they'll attack us again. We have no way of knowing how many of them are left - there could be three, or thirteen, or thirty for all I know. And I can guarantee you they won't make the same mistakes they did this time. If they do come back, hey'll come back in bigger numbers - and better prepared to fight. Thanks to those two witnesses, they will know exactly how tough we are, and what our weaknesses might be. We wouldn't stand a chance."

In truth, he doubted that this would happen. The Ashlanders had been routed and demoralized. But he wasn't prepared to rule out the possibility entirely.

"We can make it to Assarnatamat about an hour after the caravan does if we double-time it the rest of the way. So I wouldn't nurse your wounds too long."

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Sep 8 2010, 03:29 AM

[Dantrag]

Dralas

Despite what Appelles said, Dralas didn't think that the ashlanders would be back. They were rogues, and not part of any official tribe. Rag-tag bands like that didn't have the numbers to spare. They had probably seen most, if not all of that particular group. Dralas knew all three of the archers, but none of the others that lay dead around them. The only explanation he could come up with was that the Shishara brothers were exiled, and joined a group of rogue ashlanders. The Erabenimsun wouldn't be found so far west anyway. Either way, in the world of the caravan, the escort was the authority, so Dralas held his tongue.

With no wounds of his own to lick, Dralas climbed up to where the archers had been to examine the body he'd killed. Up close, there was no doubt. This was indeed Musan Shishara. A few months ago, there were four Shishara brothers. As of now, there were now two dead by Dralas' hand. And two more out there.

But why were they exiled? Were they after me personally or was it coincidence?

He took Musan's quiver of arrows and his canteen. He would have buried the mer, but there was no time.

[Olen]

Rothan

Rothan waved away the healing potion and cast a healing spell, his wounded arm made it clumsy and he had to cast a second before the gash was reduced to a scab and his ribs were well enough to continue. He sighed and looked at the dead, all ashlanders and none worthy of proper burial.

"I think the old one requires healing though. Healing of the mind, not the body," the pilgrim said. His voice was raspy, from disuse Rothan guessed.

He went to the pair, "Are you alright?" he directed the question to both then looked up, "Is anyone injured, we might want to conserve potions and if it's mild my magic might be enough."

[jack cloudy]

Haz

Haz nodded in response to the priest's question.
"I'm fine. The archers never hit me." He said, making sure not to hold his arm which still hurt. He then bent down and pulled Eno back onto his feet.
"Physically, the old man is fine. It's only his mind that's ill...or weak." He continued.
"Maybe he'll become better when he's calmed down."

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

"If everyone's alright now we bloody well ought to get moving. I'll have these guars ready to go in just a moment here, and once I'm moving I ain't going to be slowing down for any stragglers, eh?"

Not waiting for any reply, Dranas re-secured his load and gave it a brief inspection. It would work. He took up the leather leads and took a step forward.

"Let's go."

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna

Erna panted with a grin of manic glee, his chest rising and falling rapidly as the adrenaline pumping through his veins began to subside. After a few moments of standing there, savouring the pure, destructive joy of the short moment, Erna shook his head to try and clear it. He didn't want to enjoy himself too much-his sudden and unprovoked yell of 'Mehrunes Dagon' had nearly given him away, and if it wasn't for the din of battle his travelling companions would definitely have noticed him.

He crouched down next to the corpse of one of the Ashlanders he had killed, poking at the man's crushed windpipe, before getting up and calling out; "Anybody got a potion?"

He would have rather left the few cuts and bruises he had sustained present as a tribute to his master, but he could ill afford to draw suspicion to himself.

[minque]

Rianne

Rianne handed Erna a vial, a purple one which she took from her backpack. it was a good potent potion, made by herself in fact.

"Here you are" she said politely "it will get you fixed rapidly" she added with a faint smile

Then she looked for Dralas and noticed he'd gone up to the rock where the archers had been. He was standing looking at the corpses. Rianne sensed some awkward feelings and went up to him.

"Did you know him?" she asked...

[Dantrag]

Dralas

Dralas nodded solemnly, "For as long as I can remember."

His mind was full of scattered thoughts at that moment, and he didn't know what else to say. Maybe nothing needed to be said. He noticed Dranas moving along, and the others getting ready. He finished off his hackle-lo and tossed the rest on the ground.

"I think they're trying to move," he finally said, "Want to help me get Morrie so we can go?"

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna

Erna gulped down the potion Rianne had given him and nodded his thanks to her as she went off to have heart to heart with her ashlander boyfriend.

He wandered over to his guar, which had stayed where it was during the fight. That was good; it meant that his experiment was working. Just to be sure, hem ran a hand over the tiny, almost invisible runes etched into its back and felt a throb of power from them, instigating a grunt from his guar.

He grabbed the reins and called; "C'mon, let's go!"

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

Eno was still shivering as the pilgrim led him firmly back to his Guar.
"We can't give you time to rest. You'll have to come with us now." The hooded man rasped. If it was meant to be apologetic, it didn't sound like it.

The instrument-maker had been shocked by the sudden battle. There was no way he could deny it. But it wasn't just because of the bloodshed and his response to it, it was also the knowledge that he was the only one who had practically collapsed into a gibbering wreck.
"I shouldn't be like this. I was Redoran once, ALMSIVI! Am I not supposed to be strong of mind and spirit? Just what happened that I become so stressed at the mere thought of combat?" He thought, his body now moving on its own and guiding his Guar, the Kagouti bone strapped to its side bobbing with each step.

He knew the answer to that question of course. Some people could face death while their spirit remained tranquil like the lake that housed Vivec. But others, like him would be swept away in the raging waves of their own fear. He had faced death, and had sunk beneath the waves. That was why he was no longer Redoran, and that was why he had broken down now.

[minque]

Rianne

"Sure!" She smiled and snapped her fingers twice. The big Guar came shambling towards her, waving its big head

She put her hand on its neck and whispered something in its ear...

"Ok, let's get moving then."

Rianne took out her flute and started playing....

[Dantrag]

OOC: how fast are we trying to get to ghostgate? i think we should try to get there soon...

Dralas

As the flute played its melody, his thoughts drifted-- mostly towards the past. Back to a time where he and the Shishara brothers hunted together. Musan even saved his life once when they were young. They had accidentally stumbled on a kagouti's nest, and the mother kagouti was none too happy. Dralas remembered being cornered by a steep cliff, and closing his eyes tightly, fully expecting to die. If given another second, the kagouti would have impaled him, but Musan had shown up with an arrow just in time.

And I repaid the favor by killing him. he thought to himself bitterly. So much in life could change so quickly. The ironic thought crossed his mind that Musan had always been far better with a bow and arrow than he.

His mind snapped back to the present, and he stared at the ground. There were hundreds of footprints left by the men, mer, and guars ahead of them, but it was unnecessary to follow them. The foyada was the ashlander equivalent of a road, and it was one he'd seen often. Dralas predicted that it would be a fairly smooth journey from here, assuming his luck would leave him alone for a day or two.

Dralas found this leg of the trip more enjoyable than the previous. Traipsing around with the caravan seemed like living in a moving city, while traveling with a small group such as this was more to his liking.

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

Satisfied that at least some of the party was ready to move, Dranas turned and started walking, and quickly. Probably they wouldn't be able to catch up with the caravan this night, but he wanted to cover as much ground as possible.

He steered his guars around the fallen ashlanders and moved implacably up the foyada.

[jack cloudy]

Haz

Haz looked at the fallen Dunmer and sneered. He had no love for them and welcomed their death but at the same time, he cursed them for the delay they had caused. Who knew how far the caravan had gotten ahead of them now. And while they'd survived this obstacle, they might not be so fortunate next time. Not to mention that their tools of healing were limited.
"And the fact that I can't use them." He thought, rubbing the wound on his arm.

He looked at the only woman in the group, who was playing a flute.
"So soon after killing their own kind. Have they no love for their own blood brothers and sisters? How barbaric."

He next focussed his attention on the pale one. The man seemed to think himself the leader, and Haz wondered how long it would be before someone would challenge him for that position.
"It doesn't seem as if the others take his word willingly."