The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[Andx]

Reinaan's heart sank as the elder described the situation. The bandits had already gathered outside the city looking for their group. Every possible course of action seemed wrought with danger, either to the Chosen themselves for the townspeople. While taking in the information the Draken glanced back at his spirit companion who had a smile on her face that said she recognized in this new evidence of her previous hypothesis. And though she seemed ready to say something at any moment, she kept her peace on the matter as she had agreed. Still, the boy seemed convinced his partner was in fact on to something. And so while the others began speaking Reinaan calmly slipped his jacket off and laid it over Kloqah's back with the rest of his belongings. The fire spirit giggled at the boy disrobing, apparently not realizing the severity of the situation at hand, and seemed convinced her partner now agreed with her. If this crazy idea of wearing clothes meant bad luck was even remotely true he wasn't going to test it. At least not until they were in a position where there wasn't someone looking to kill them.

 

The Elder seemed conflicted and appeared to be looking particularly at the Draken and Halfling as he spoke. He had a duty to his people but felt compassion toward their group as well. The Earth Chosen spoke saying they couldn't allow the bandits to harm the villagers, a sentiment the Fire Chosen shared. Then Lindow spoke suggesting they should fight them here. They had several hours to prepare an ambush and with the village's cooperation the spirits' magic it could very well work. Gilly made it very clear her eagerness to go fight off the bandits, citing their status as the Chosen as reason enough for them to undertake the effort. Reinaan felt they had a chance but it needed the Elder's help to exist.

 

"I agree we should fight them. The people here should be free to live and get water as they please." he said, adding his thoughts to the others. But then he focused on the Elder in particular as he stepped forward from Kloqah some. Ziiyol seemed captivated watching the sun reflect off his freshly exposed back scales as he did so. "Sir, we'll do everything we can to protect your people. The spirits might not know everything, but their power's real." he began. He then lowered his head and bowed as he'd been taught to do when addressing the elders of his own village, his tail sticking straight up in the air from the position. "You helped us, please let us help you."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The elder stroked his beard as he heard out the words of the Chosen. "Harumph, such vigor I haven't seen in a while. You truly wish to fight the bandits?" He looked around at them each. "It's a big risk..."

 

"Fought them before." Keres said with a half-shrug.

 

The elder seemed to think about this for a while. "Very well." He closed his eyes and let out a rattling sigh. "We've been cooped up here for far too long. This is no way for children to grow up...Come with me. You'll want to see what you're up against." The man brought them back to the gate.

 

The pair of guards, 17 year old boys wielding sharpened sticks, at the gate looked to him and the Chosen in surprise. One went for the door but the elder shook his head. "One of you, go around and gather the rest, get everyone in their homes and make sure nobody comes into the streets."

 

"Are we fighting them, sir?" One, eager, guard said.

"No...They are." The elder gestured towards the Chosen.

 

"But they'll kill them...and then kill us!" The other guard exclaimed.

 

"Quiet boy...I don't believe that to be true. Trust in me, child, please. I'm on my last leg let me at least do what I can to see my city freed."

 

There was some grumbling but also some level of acceptance.

 

The elder helped the Chosen each up the ladder to look through the slot in the gate that would allow them to see onto the sand at what they were to fight.

There were more than last time. 14 bandits were awaiting the opening of the door. However that was not what stood out. It was what the bandits had with them that was cause for concern.

Eight bandits were riding on the lizards that the group would be so familiar with. The four that were on foot were holding crossbows in their arms.

The last two were what Keres assumed they were going to use to break the wall down.

 

They were riding massive beasts. Creatures that Reinaan would have seen on rare occasion being used to aid mining back in the mountains. They seemed to be heavily scarred but were completely still as they waited orders from their riders.

 

Now that they knew what danger they faced the Chosen would have some time to prepare for the battle at hand.

[Alaina]

With everyone else seeming to be in agreement about needing to fight the bandits and helping the villagers out, it had appeared that they had managed to convince the elder to allow them to fight within his city. The Earth Chosen was naturally made nervous by this, as the fight itself was not one that would be in any way easy, and the damage that was bound to occur to the city was likely to be great. Yet still, all of the other alternatives appeared to have more detriments then this, and thus she had steeled herself for the oncoming battle. With their resolve made up, the group approached the exit to the city, where they had been greeted with the sight of just what their opposition was. The girl's eyes widened at what she had seen. 

 

The group that awaited them was definitely larger then the one they had encountered by the lake, and were the crossbowmen anything to go by, better equipped. However, this was not the first thing to draw the girl's attention. Standing at the vanguard, two enormous horned beasts, with skulls that seemed more like battering rams then anything else. The girl gulped at the thought of having to fight those, but did not try to despair in the thought. Instead, she joined everyone else once they had decided on needing a real strategy to fight against them. With that the group had gotten together, discussing what it was that they could do and how best to use those talents. Once they had finished their meeting, the group split off getting their preparations done, and getting into position. 

 

To the rooftops in order to disturb the charge of the horned beasts and strike at the bandits before they could enter the city, the Nature and Water Chosen took to the outer wall, getting the Water Chosen as much stored water as they could to aid in her powers. To the rooftops within the city, the Ice and Fire Chosen took what little they had in terms of javelins and spears that they began with and pilfered from the last bandit group, in order to strike at the bandits once inside. Which left to the ground and vanguard, the Earth and Thunder Chosen, meant to take the bandits and their beasts head on.  

 

The girl was, understandably, nervous  at the prospect of having to be on the same level as the rest of the bandits, yet it was all she could do. With her skills being geared to being on the front-line, and no way she could help in a way like the others could, this was the best she could do. Yet still, were she to face off against the horned beasts head to head, there was little she felt that she could do with her current arsenal. Needing a weapon with more weight and heft behind it, the girl made her way back to the shrine. Looking at the greatsword she had planted in the ground earlier, she slowly walked up to it and took a deep breath. Slowly reaching her hand out, she gripped the hilt of the weapon. "I'm sorry for not allowing you to rest," she muttered. Taking the sword out from the ground, she walked back to the others. "But I thank you for aiding us once more."

 

Once everything was over and done with, she went to stand at her position alongside the Thunder Chosen. The girl took a few deep breaths, to calm herself and steel her resolve for the coming fight. If they lost then they would be dead. If they lost then the demon problem would surely only be agitated further. But most importantly, if they lost, then the people of the city would continue to suffer. As such, losing was not an option. With her resolve in place, the girl held the blade to her side, awaiting the coming storm.

 

Once the signs of the battle starting were clear, the girl would to the Thunder Chosen and say, "um, excuse me, but, I need to give you this before it starts." Stretching out her free hand, the magic flowed from it and into the Thunder Chosen. While there was no real visible difference to it, the Thunder Chosen would feel his skin become harder and while it wasn't necessarily true armor, it was better than nothing. With that done, the girl simply thought, "Ackrin." Without a word, the spirit had merged into her form, providing her an improved version of the same defensive power she had just given the Thunder Chosen. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Fourteen enemies with their mounts. Two beasts that would cause the most concern for the time being. Anis had only ever seen them on passing and never knew much about them outside that they were being used for mining purposes, but just from looking at them was enough for Anis to know what the beasts were capable of. At the very least right now they were in a more advantageous position with them expecting the bandit to come at them on a fortified area, instead of being surrounded like their previous encounter.

 

There really was only one thing she could do, and so she approached the Elder with that one thing in mind.

 

"Is there any high position where I can see these bandits clearly? I would also need as much arrows as you are willing to give, and..." She took a glance on Shirin that was currently wrapping itself on her arm. "I would also need another bow if you have it."

 

Using the rough craft from these people rather than the fine-tuned products of her people was somewhat irritating, but Anis didn't have much option left anyway right now.

 

"The beast is a concern and I don't think I would be able to fell it in one shot, so I would leave those two to the rest of you. I am worried on their number however. To raid a settlement, even with them knowing that we're here, they seemed to be a bit...undermanned? Still a hunch, but be careful of surprises."

 

---

[Sethera]

Gilly bounced around as she listened to people talk, then looked through the slots with the rest of the group. "Only fourteen?! We can take 'em!" she said confidently after seeing their numbers. "One of us is equal to three, no five of them!"

 

And then it was go time! The halfling quickly followed orders to the city rooftops, grinning at Reiny boy the whole time. "Wow, isn't this cool?!" she shouted. "I'm sooo pumped, we're gonna be heroes!" Hob, using his surefooted climbing skills, had followed her, baa'ing nervously at all the excitement.

 

"So, so, what are we doing?" the girl asked.

 

"Weren't you paying attention?" Snow groaned from her shoulder. "We're going to be hailing down weapons from here."

 

"Ohhh! Wait then I can just use my ice spears! And so can you!" she hopped up and down.

 

"I wouldn't let anybody else use them," the rabbit cautioned. "You're fine because you're my Chosen, but most people's hands will start to freeze from holding ice for too long." He looked at Reinaan. "Your scales should protect you from any side effects, too," he nodded. Not to mention, as the Chosen of fire, he probably had some resilience to cold.

[Andx]

The Elder questioned their resolve to fight the bandits and after some confirmations he agreed to at least facilitate their attempt. It made the Draken happy to see the Elder willing to try and shake off the powers that oppressed him and his people. Granted that meant the Chosen and the entire village were going to be in some very real danger very quickly. The Elder brought them to the town's gate and helped them use the ladder to see what they were up against through a small opening in the gate. There were fourteen bandits in total but two of their mounts caught Reinaan's attention. Yet another reminder of home from the bandits. The two large rhino creatures were occasionally employed for mining purposes by humans in the mountains. The Draken of his village were occasionally employed as guides through the cave systems and the boy had accompanied a friend on one such occasion. It was there he had seen the enormous beasts. To be facing them in battle did not lift his spirits.

 

"They have goltaads." he said in some disbelief as he stepped down from the ladder to let the others get their view. Now before them was the task of fighting these bandits. The group came together with some ideas. The six of them directly fighting the fourteen bandits would be foolish. Several ideas were discussed. The Water and Nature Chosen would take to the wall while Reinaan and Gilly would climb the roofs of some nearby buildings. His role was to attack the bandits with spear tosses from above, in particular he needed to take the two with crossbows out first. With the other plans and preparations in place he returned to Kloqah's side. He stuffed his jacket which he had removed earlier in with one of the food bags then retrieved his spear and small carrying bag in the event he needed anything out of it. With spear in hand and nothing but his bag on his body Reinaan readied himself mentally. It felt like one of the many hunts he had been on.

 

With everything in place he lead the mount on the ground into a hiding space between some buildings, nearby the position Ryia and Lindow would take. "I need you to be good and stay put unless one of us comes and gets you alright?" he said to the mount who only huffed and pushed him away as if telling him to get on with it. The boy took it as an agreement to his proposal and so he turned and left her there. On his way to meet up with gilly to climb up onto the roofs he passed by the two Chosen who would remain on the ground. "Use her if you need to, I sure can't where I'll be." he said, entrusting Kloqah to them if they felt so inclined. He made his way to his position where the eccentric Ice Chosen had already climbed up onto the roofs ahead of him. Reinaan scaled the building himself and noticed her sheep mount had managed to make it up as well. The halfling's usual energy seemed unaffected by the circumstances they found themselves in. She seemed excited to let Reinaan use her ice spears as projectiles though the Ice Spirit offered some warnings about them.

 

"No need to worry, Reiny's scales are incredibly resilient." Ziiyol said as she carressed the boy's arm and hand. Reinaan shook his arm some to get her to stop and perhaps focus on the fast approaching battle. "Yeah I'll be fine, just keep the weapons coming. But Gilly," he started as placed a hand one of the girl's shoulders as if to try and hush a vibrating piece of metal. "You need to stop moving around so much. Noise can give us away and that puts us in danger. No bouncing, no shouting, just silent precise throwing and hiding. Got it?" he said hoping he was getting through.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The plan was put into motion. Keres was now across from Anis, on opposite sides of the gate, with a barrel of water next to her. It was all that the city could spare. A single, knee-height, barrel. But it was all she would need she hoped.

 

Their plan was risky and put a lot of faith in Lindow and Ryia being able to handle the charge. But Keres thought it was the best chance they had. They at least had a plan this time. She knew that together they'd be able to do this.

 

"What's taking so long old man, open up!" the bandit called from on top of his rhino. She took a deep breath and grabbed onto the lever next to her, pulling it and opening up the gate.

 

 

The initial charge was not what Keres had expected. Instead of the rhino, three lizard mounted bandits came into the city, spread several feet apart in an arrow pattern, with a crossbowman between them.

 

Keres did nothing. That wasn't her target and it would not be good to reveal herself just then. The lizard riders moved in quickly, looked around, and spotted Lindow and Ryia. They charged towards the group while the crossbowman lined up a shot on Lindow.

 

Behind them, at a fair distance, came the first rhino, accompanied by three more lizards and a crossbowman in the same formation as the others. Keres acted immediately, using water in her canteen to spread over the rhino as it entered the city. Casting her spell she gave the rhino visions of fire. The rhino panicked and began stomping around, crushing one of the lizard riders in the process.

 

The other two lizard riders scattered, going around the rhino, while the crossbowman backed away and turned, spotting Keres and preparing to fire upon her.

 

Meanwhile the second rhino rider, along with two more lizards and two crossbowmen, stayed outside of the gate.

 

[spoiler=OOC][spoiler=Map]

 

Alright here it is the battle has commenced! If the crossbowmen aren't interrupted they will fire upon Lindow and Keres. But keep in mind interrupting them will allow for the others to move so you might miss a chance there. Or you might draw fire instead. Something to note about the wall is that the area Keres and Anis are make it impossible to see above the wall. Unless they step onto a small platform a foot above which will give them a view.

Also the bandits outside are lined up with rhino in middle, crossbow on either side, and lizard next to crossbow.

Remember to talk to me about actions if you so wish.

 

[Sethera]

"No need to worry, Reiny's scales are incredibly resilient." Ziiyol said as she carressed the boy's arm and hand. Snow nodded at her reassurance, ignoring the sight of her affectionate gestures.

 

Reinaan shook his arm some as he spoke next. "Yeah I'll be fine, just keep the weapons coming. But Gilly," he started as placed a hand one of the girl's shoulders as if to try and hush a vibrating piece of metal. "You need to stop moving around so much. Noise can give us away and that puts us in danger. No bouncing, no shouting, just silent precise throwing and hiding. Got it?" he said hoping he was getting through.

 

"Okie-dokie artichokie!" she chirped, before continuing, "I always wondered if it was pronounced artichoke or artichokie, but I never knew what it actually was until I met Snow. He knows everything, it's so unfair! Sheesh, I wish I were a spirit, but then again I could get eaten, but then again a bear could meet me and decide to eat me too. I guess it's a dog-eat-dog world, isn't it?"

 

"Were you even listening?" Snow muttered.

 

"Of course I was! No noise, bouncing, shouting, and stuff, but the baddies aren't here yet sooo--"

 

"What's taking so long old man, open up!"

 

"Now would be a good time to be quiet," the rabbit warned, but Gilly had already gone silent, though her body practically buzzed in anticipation. She began to create ice spears, until there was a row of them lined up in front of both Chosens, ready to be used. She could only make so many at a time, but since Reiny boy had other weapons, it wasn't like it'd be a big deal if she ran out.

 

Soon afterward the gate opened, and the vanguard streamed in. Mute Girl did something strange with her water, causing one of the rhinos to panic and stomp over one of the lizard riders. The others tried to avoid it as best they could, and one of the crossbowmen turned to Mute Girl, looking like it would attack her. The other one had aimed at Mr. Lindow, which, how could anybody think that they could target one of the only people in the group with a sense of humor and get away with it? The answer was: they couldn't.

 

Gilly almost yelled out a war cry, but got headbutted in the side by Hob right when she was about to do so. Sheepishly, she picked up an ice spear and threw it down at the crossbowman.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Gilly throws an ice spear at Crossbow 1, or d

 

 

[Andx]

While awaiting the battle's start, Reinaan was a bit worried nothing he said had gotten through to the halfing as he usual energy continued. Thankfully between her spirit and her mount she seemed to actually be somewhat under control. The boy had a small pile of ice spears at his feet due to the Ice Chosen's work. As he handled one it was certainly cold to the touch but his scales dulled the edge. He lightly tapped the end of the weapon and was surprised at the sharpness. Satisifed he could use these effectively he fixed his eyes on the gateway while laying himself low to the roof he was on. He had to make an active effort to lay his tail down as well which otherwise would have been sticking straight up while on his stomach as he was.

 

As with their plan the bandits were allowed into the city rather than made to wait until they employed the large goltaads to ram the wall down. It wouldn't do much good for the people to kill the bandits but leave their home in ruin. The Draken's focus was on the first advance of the bandits, three lizard riders and a crossbowman. The bowman were to be their priority targets. This first group took note of Ryia and Lindow and the crossbow wielder was quick to aim in their direction. Another group advanced farther back including one of the large rhino creatures. Reinaan's focus had to be on this initial group. He saw Gilly take aim at the man with the crossbow. Finally raising himself up from the roof some, the Fire Chosen took hold of one of the ice spears and eyed the head of the lizard riders. They were advancing straight ahead at the duo on the ground, their speed was constant, an easy shot if the hunter had ever seen one. Aiming for the rider's chest, the boy hurled the projectile with the confidence and strength only a Draken could offer to the task. Only a soft grunt escaped for the exertion but otherwise there were no words. This was a serious hunt and it had to be taken seriously if all involved were to make it out alive. Without waiting to see the result he lowered himself again to the roof to do what he could to obscure himself from view and grabbed hold of another ice spear. He would need to be ready to attack whichever bandit became the most dangerous at any moment.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reinaan tosses an ice spear aimted for bandit a's chest.

 

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

In the end, the group decided that the best course of action was to ambush the enemies by opening the gates. Anis hid atop the walls alongside Keres while the others went to their designated spot as they waited. They were meant to eliminate the rhino rider firsthand, however as the plan was put into motion, it was instead the lizard riders that arrived first, with them a crossbowman. That could be quite an issue. Gilly and Reinaan were first to act as Anis prepared herself to snipe at the pioneer group. Gilly threw an ice spear at the crossbowman, but missed completely, which made the crossbowman seemingly started to open fire at her and Reinaan, however at that time too, Reinaan's own hit managed to down one of the riders. The other two simply chose to charge faster towards Lindow and Ryia's position. It seemed like it would be Anis' cue to act. Getting into position, she carefully aimed at the crossbowman as his attention was still taken by Reinaan and Gilly, and the moment she felt the wind and timing was right, she fired the arrow at him. The arrows she had now had been poisoned with hemlock poison beforehand, and even if Anis missed his head, as long as she was able to hit him it would hopefully be able to down him.

 

With that done, Anis started to take aim at the other two riders, waiting for a moment where she could take a clear shot at them.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Fired a poisoned arrow at d, takes aim at the bandits not being hit by Reinaan]

 

 

 

---

[Hälō]

The party had started. With Anis' arrow finding it's mark in the crossbowmen's neck, the bandit fired off his own arrow towards Gilly with just about the aim one would expect from someone who had just been shot from out of no where. This meant that the last two remaining riders were left to the ground team...

 

"These two are pretty eager to die, huh?" Lindow glanced at Ryia as the two enemy riders increased the speed of their charge. Not wanting to disappoint, Lindow waited until the first of the men came into range, before suddenly bursting into movement. In a single fluid motion, the thunder chosen dove to the left whilst simultaneously sending one of his daggers flying towards the speeding rider. 

 

Seeing the danger, the first rider forced his mount into an abrupt turn, causing Lindow's dagger to plunge itself into his lizards side in what seemed to be a painful but non-life threatening wound. Lindow's least favorite kind of kind of injury...

 

Watching as the his first target gestured for his comrade to hurry and try to cut him off, Lindow found himself smirking. Did these fools really think he was running?! Quickly stepping to the opposite side of the second rider's lizard to avoid their initial attack, Lindow's hands glided down to his blade whilst he pivoted to let the mount's head pass him. "There!" He cooed before slicing at the creature's throat with a swift upwards stroke of his sword. 

 

Unable to maintain balance with his mount spasming in pain, the second rider hastily from the back of the injured lizard and slammed his body into Lindow in a sloppy last minute tackle. The lightning chosen was sure to maintain his grip on his sword as he tumbled to the ground with the bandit on top of him. Remembering Ryia's spell, he quickly began attempting to slam his hardened elbow into the other man's face before he could gain control of the situation. 

 

[spoiler= OCC] Lindow throws dagger into one of the remaining lizards. He is then is attacked by the second rider, injured their lizard, and is now on the ground with said rider after being tackled.

 

[Alaina]

The group had all gotten to their positions, waiting for the fight to begin. While she had resolved to fight with all she had, the wait was building up her nerves. To calm herself, she merely gripped her new greatsword tighter, and attempted to steady her breathing. However, soon, the gate to the city began to open up, and the bandits began to enter. At first glance, she could swear that the group was smaller than what they had originally seen waiting outside. Whether this was for better or worse, she was not sure, but it was soon that their group had been discovered all the same. The fight beginning, their plan began as the water splashed on the large mountain beast started to thrash about and immediately kill one of the bandits. 

 

As the first volley of lances was thrown, one of the bandits was immediately defeated while the crossbow wielder was now focused on the halfling as his target. Seeing this, the Earth Chosen separated her spirit from her, and picked up her blade getting ready to attack. Ackrin marched forward, and as the Nature Chosen's arrow flew the sky, the Earth Spirit summoned up a ring of rocks, that it then pelted at the other crossbowman. Meanwhile, the Earth Chosen stood her ground alongside the Thunder Chosen as the two riders that were left charged at them. The girl stood back as the Thunder Chosen began to engage both of them, planting the greatsword into the ground so it wouldn't move from its spot. 

 

As the Thunder Chosen had fought the riders, one of them had eventually fallen onto him, prompting the girl to fully draw her mace and shield, and charge at the man. As the two were in a struggle, the girl struck at the bandit, who was presumably on top, with her mace. 

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Ackrin Attacks Crossbow 2, or Bandit H, by shooting rocks at him 

Mah gurl attacks whatever bandit is currently atop Lindow with her mace. 

 

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The bandit on top of Lindow took the elbow to the face without flinching. He then tried to bite down on the man's wrist, teeth going for the veins there, but found his teeth meeting surprising amount of resistance. He then was hit in the back of the head by a mace and everything was starbursts for a while. Dazed he was unable to react but he was still conscious, and his lizard, wounded as it was, started to turn towards Ryia.

 

As it did, the 2nd lizard rider turned towards her as well, slashing down at her with his blade.

 

As the crossbowman took an arrow to the throat, his bolt was fired towards Gilly. If she did not move quickly it would pierce her right thigh.

 

The crossbowman aiming at Keres was hit by a bunch of rocks. However his shot still went flying...striking Keres's cloak near her waist and pinning it to the wall. The fourth lizard rider moved into a position that would guard the crossbowman from the ranged attackers and readied a javelin, preparing to throw it at whoever next targeted the crossbowman near him.

 

The other, 5th, lizard rider spurred his mount forward as he charged Ryia. The girl had a lizard biting at her from her left, a bandit slashing on her right, and another bandit approaching from her front.

 

The rhino rider was attempting to calm his beast but it wasn't going all that well. He stayed on but couldn't direct it. Thus he had no control in its direction as it charged blindly towards the building that Reinaan and Gilly occupied.

 

There was a warcry as the other two lizard riders, accompanied by the crossbowmen, suddenly charged into the city and headed southward.

Keres, who had been trying to yank the bolt out, stopped as she took aim at one of the crossbowmen. With a flick of her wrist she sent water down towards him, slapping and wrapping around his wrists and forcing him to drop his crossbow.

 

Meanwhile the last rhino rider outside acted. He charged forward...into the wall near Anis, who was sent, from the sudden impact, down towards the ground below.

 

[spoiler=OOC]Let's see if I get this right....

Bandit A and D are dead.

Bandit C is dazed and off his mount.

His mount is trying to bite Ryia, though it's wounded.

Bandit B is trying to slash at Ryia

Bandit E (Rhino) is heading for Gilly and Reinaan, though is confused

Bandit F is protecting Bandit H and ready to throw a javelin at the first to attack

Bandit G is charging towards Ryia

Bandit H is reloading

Bandits I-L have arrived.

Bandit I is unarmed atm

Bandit L (Rhino) rammed the wall.

 

Anis is knocked off the wall

Keres is pinned to the wall

Lindow is in control of the wrestling situation with C

Ryia has three bandits/lizards after her

Reinaan is safe but Rhino is near

Gilly must move or take a bolt to the knee

 

[spoiler=Map]

 

 

[Sethera]

Gilly gaped when she saw that her incredible throw...missed! "Aww rats!" she snapped her fingers. "Too bad, I guess. But the great Gilly never gives up! I'll show you--" she was quickly quieted by Snow, who landed on her mouth, which also caused her to fall backward and miss the arrow that had been shooting for her knee. Instead, it landed between her legs, to which she gasped. "Oh wow, that almost hit me! You're pretty good, Mr. Crossbowman, but I'm even better!" she cried, especially after she saw him taken down by Stick-in-the-Mud Woman's arrows.

 

With that, the halfling began to throw another spear, this one at the rhino charging toward them, causing the rabbit, who had hopped off of her, to roll his eyes. "Your talents do not lie in throwing spears, so why do you even bother?" he muttered.

 

"Shush, I have a bigger target this time, there's no way I can miss!" the girl boasted, before pausing to think as it got closer. "Wait...I think I have a better idea!" she grinned, eyes lighting up. Lowering her spear, she waited till the rhino was close enough, before dropping down, body almost horizontal as she clung to the spear, headed straight for the rhino below. "Hyah!" she shouted as it hit right in the neck, but the thick hide prevented it from getting very far. Still, it was more success than she'd had before. "Serves you right!" she crowed as she attempted to drill it even deeper.

 

Snow, seeing the actions of his idiotic Chosen, shook his head before landing on her shoulder. While Gilly was concentrating on the rhino, he'd do well to distract the rider. Jumping at the man's eyes, he materialized a mini-snowstorm around him, hoping to blind the man while the halfling dealt with his mount.

 

Hob looked down, thinking about jumping down as well, but decided to wait. He might land on his rider, and that would be bad. And he wasn't a bad sheep.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Urgh! Not like this! Shirin, I choose you!"

 

As she was busy trying to get a better aim at the lizard riders, Anis weren't able to steady herself in time to withstand the shock as the walls were being rammed by one of the beasts. She fell down from her position, but she managed to attain some control of the situation and enlarged Shirin and ordered it to hang in anywhere it could. It bit down on a position on the wall and managed to act like an anchor preventing Anis from hitting the ground and becoming dead meat. While Shirin couldn't last like that forever and finally gave in just a few seconds later, it allowed Anis to land properly and rush aside to avoid being targetted by anyone (it's still pretty painful but she didn't break any bones this way). After making sure that her bow and arrows are still with her, she went towards the area near the building where Reinaan and Gilly was situated, and reunited herself with Ileca. Earlier she was worried that Ileca would only get to a direct combat that'd cause her death with how disadvantageous it'd be for her so Anis told her to hide there and just attack anyone that passed rather than joining the battle directly (much to Ileca's chagrin). But now, with her original role done and finished after she fell down, it's time for them to fight together, just like what they're meant for.

 

Riding on top of Ileca with Shirin wrapping itself on her waist, Anis returned to the battlefield, and avoided engaging with the beast that had entered the city. Instead, she took aim towards the crossbowman near the gate that was being planked by another rider, and fired a shot at him. While it was certainly properly aimed, Anis' goal was not really try sniping him off. She had seen enough of the lizards to know their movement and speed, and so she aimed so that she could kite around some of the riders around the city and shoot at them from Ileca's back. Even if they're armed with javelin, it's not something that you'd easily aim at a moving target - meanwhile Anis' entire life had revolved around hunting while constantly moving. She only had to make sure that she could safely be out of the crossbow range, and so she started to move around, aiming to take continuous shots at the riders and hopefully drawing them out of the masses so she could kill them one by one rather than dealing with them en-masse.

[spoiler=OOC]

Anis managed to hung momentarily with Shirin's help but fell not long after (still enough time to not break her bones), and went out to get Ileca and attempted to shoot Crossbow 2 in the hope that Lizard 4 would be drawn to her so she could eliminate him by kiting him around the village complex.

 

If she saw none of the bandits had the intent to move at her, she'll take the risk of sniping Crossbow 2 again.

 

 

 

---

[Andx]

Reinaan had kept his eyes trained on the battle near Ryia and Lindow, looking to support them as needed. He swore in old Draken as he noticed Gilly missed the crossbowman entirely. He had killed his target but the ranged attacker was more directly threatening to the group. Enemies appeared to be converging on Ryia and after quickly assessing his position relative to them, taking out the rider attempting to slash at her seemed the most reliable shot. While still crouched in his position fire from the various crossbows came their way. The draken had to make no movement to dodge however Gilly was flailing about. Standing up briefly Reinaan thrust another ice spear down on the battlefield, aiming for the center of the back of the rider who was slashing at the Earth Chosen. Just after the spear left his hand Reinaan nearly stumbled as the earth seemed to be shaking underneath him. As it happened it was the confused rhino charging toward the building he and Gilly were standing on. Taking a moment to steady himself Reinaan grabbed another ice spear and was ready to jump from the roof of the building. He was about to call to the halfling to do the same when he saw the girl jump at the massive creature with a spear in hand.

 

"Are you insane?!" he yelled out in disbelief at Gilly's actions. He looked to see if he couldn't throw another spear at the rider of the large beast but knowing how Gilly was prone to move he couldn't safely take that shot. Instead he lowered himself again, one hand on the ledge of the building's roof, the other grasping a spear. The hunter in him was patient in this setting. When another ideal shot opened up to help either Gilly or the two on the ground he would take it. But at the same time he needed to be ready to jump off the building if the rhino continued charging.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reinaan launches a spear aimed for B's back. Ready and waiting on the roof top to take another shot or bail from the roof if need be.

 

 

[Alaina]

With her mace striking the man atop the Thunder Chosen, the girl soon heard the hisses and growls of the lizard near her. Though without a rider, the creature still seemed ready to fight against her, maw opened as it went to bite down at her. Noticing this, the girl did a short hop out of the way, only to notice that two more bandits seemed to be converging on her; one atop a lizard and one on foot. The on foot, though, seemed to stagger as a spear struck him, though was still very much alive. The one on top of the lizard, however, kept on his charge, bringing his sword down on the girl. Raising her shield to defend against the attack, the blade bounced off harmlessly, however the mount did not stop. Instead, as the original ride by was met with resistance it instead knocked into the girl. 

 

Being unable to brace herself against the weight of the entire lizard the girl was knocked down on to her tailbone, and on her behest, she called Ackrin back to her. As the goat-like spirit made its way over to the girl, merging back into her, the bandit dismounted his lizard, getting ready to strike at the girl. As he brought down the blade for a stab, the girl managed to bring her shield up and parry the blade away. However, this was then followed up by the bandit kicking her in the face. Being unable to actually block against it, she merely took the attack and while the blow was lessened by her spirit partner, it still caused a large sting to burst throughout her and forced a bit further back. 

 

[spoiler=OOC]

The girl wonder dodges the lizards bite.

Bandit B was hit by the spear in the back, but it didn't pierce him and merely caused him to fumble. 

Bandit G's attack was blocked, but its lizard ended up bowling the girl over and forcing her onto the ground. 

Bandit G then dismounts, stabs at her, it gets parried and then kicks her in the face.

 

 

[Hälō]

Lindow wasted no time in taking the advantage of the opening Ryia provided him. Without missing a beat, he quickly grabbed the second dagger from his hip and brought it up under the stunned bandit's chin, cleanly stabbing him through the head. The Chosen of Thunder completely ignored the spray of blood that decorated his robes, instead focusing his attention on the bandit that had engaged Ryia, whilst taking note of one that had been struck by the spear, who was now attempting to circle around them. 

 

"I've got your back~" He cooed to his comrade whilst yanking the dagger free from his latest victim's skull. Seeing his chance directly after the bandit moved to kick the earth chosen in the face, Lindow sent his dagger flying in the bandit's direction whilst bringing himself up to his feet. The blade quickly found it's mark, lodging itself into the man's shoulder. Hopefully that would even the playing field... 

 

Scooping up the blade of the bandit he had stabbed through the head, Lindow skillfully twirled his own scimitar into a reverse grip and readied it for a defensive maneuver whilst dashing towards the bandit that had been attempting to circle the group. He greeted the other man with a left handed thrust from his newly acquired weapon. Though Lindow found his strike was quickly knocked downwards by the bandit, who then proceeded to follow up by slashing towards the witch hunter's throat. 

 

Lindow's eyes narrowed in focus. Grunting from the sudden effort, Lindow quickly pulled his left hand back and pivoted his body slightly whilst using his right hand to swing his second sword up under the bandit's slash in an attempt to slice the other man's wrist and knock the blade forcefully upwards with an angled strike.

 

[spoiler= OOC]

 

Lindow kills bandit C by stabbing him through the skull.

Lindow throws dagger at bandit G, lodging it in his shoulder.

Lindow equipes bandit C's sword and engages bandit B 

Bandit B deflects Lindow's stab and retaliates.

Lindow attempts to counter. 

 

 

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Ah, gak, bleh, you filthy little animal." The rhino rider whom Gilly had went after said as he tried to cover his face from the snowstorm that suddenly enveloped his body. He got from his seat unsteadily and took hold of his bladed spear. He wasn't in the best position to fight but Gilly wasn't far away, nor was there that much room on the rhino, so when he swung his weapon in an arc it would connect with Gilly unless something was done.

 

The rhino, starting to calm from its earlier confusion, now had a pain in its neck that distracted it. The beast slammed into the corner of the building, crushing part of it, though Reinaan would still be able to stay on the roof if he chose, and caused the already unbalanced rider to become even more unbalanced, hanging onto his precarious position just barely.

 

Anis's arrow would be blocked by the rider. Who would then proceed to chase after her, putting away their sword and grabbing for one of three javelins at his side. He winced as an arrow his him in the side but it didn't keep him from tossing a javelin in Anis's direction as they were turning a corner. Regardless of what happened with the javelin the rider would continue his pursuit.

 

The crossbowman the lizard rider had protected would be ready for another shot. And, looking at his targets, he would notice Reinaan, cover partially blown away by the rhino, and he'd take a shot at the Draken warrior.

 

Lindow's blade cut into the bandit attacking from behind's wrist and the man quickly dropped his blade in order to not lose a hand. The bandit moved backwards while fumbling in his pouch, pulling out a now-familiar yellowish stone, similar to the object that the previous bandits had used as an explosive.

 

The other bandit, knife in shoulder, took advantage of Lindow turning his attention. He dove at the man and drove his sword forward. Even if Lindow avoided being pierced entirely the blade would cause an injury.

 

Meanwhile the three of the four bandits that had arrived later were moving in a steady pace towards the two grounded Chosen. The crossbowmen stopping to ready their shots. The one whom had lost his weapon picked it up again and thus was behind the rest of the group.

 

The rhino rider outside had moved towards the other wall now, the one with Keres on it. The mage had seen from what happened to Anis what came next and had braced herself, holding onto the small shelf of wood that usually allowed for one to look over the wall, and managed to keep from falling off.

However the rider had another idea in mind. Leaping from the rhino, he moved over and on top of the wall, landing with a low thud next to Keres.

 

The man turned his weapon on her and Keres felt a bit of fear. The way this man held himself...he was different than the others. Was this the group's leader?

Keres took some of the water from the barrel behind her and doused the man in it, hoping to knock him over the edge, but he stayed on his feet.
"A Water mage is it? Explains the mess we found. Looks like I have you to thank for killing some of our boys. It's only fair I return the favor."

[spoiler=OOC]Note: Just realized I have lower case l and upper case L. While making map I thought the l was an I...er...i. You can see my confusion whoops.

Bandit b is wounded but prepared to use an explosive against Lindow and Ryia

Bandit c is dead

Bandit e has crushed a portion of the building via rhino, and is trying to attack Gilly.

Bandit f has chased Anis, throwing a javelin as Ileca turns to go around the corner.

Bandit g stabbed at Lindow's back

Bandit h is shooting towards Reinaan

Bandit I has scooped up his crossbow and is lagging behind j, k, and l who are moving towards Ryia and Lindow

Bandit L rammed into the wall and the rider, the Sub-Boss, has engaged in battle with Keres.

[spoiler=Map]

 

 

[Sethera]

"Are you insane?!" Reiny boy yelled down at Gilly.

 

Gilly looked up from attempting to drill her ice spear into the rhino at that, just in time to hear the rider curse an insult at Snowy. Bristling, the girl glared at him just in time to see his attempt to swing his bladed spear at her. Bringing up her shield to block the strike, the girl materialized another ice spear and attempted to stab it at the man, aiming for his eye. "Yaaah!" she yelled out savagely. "You don't get to call Snowy a filthy animal, you jerk!"

 

The aforementioned rabbit kept his focus on the rider. Even if Gilly hit him, it wasn't as if it would hurt too much, seeing as he was the spirit of ice.

 

Hob gazed down at the group from his position above. He still couldn't jump down, could he? Flattening his ears, he let out a mournful baa before noticing an arrow headed straight for the Draken beside him. He headbutted the boy to the side with a hop-skip of sorts to avoid the arrow himself.

[Andx]

Not long after Gilly's attempt at attacking the massive rhino, the beast bumped up into the building the Draken was standing on. Reinaan held a hand onto the edge of the building in order to prevent himself from losing balance from the shaking. Looking at things it seemed Ryia and Lindow would be needing help quickly as bandits began converging on them. His mind focused on the man who was grabbing at his explosive yellow rock, his left hand still tender from the earlier wounds a similar rock had inflicted at the lake. By focusing on this, Reinaan had missed the crossbowmen take aim and fire at him. He was readying to throw the ice spear in his hand off towards the bandits the Chosen on the ground were fighting when Gilly's sheep rather forcefully rammed into him with his head, knocking him to the side.

 

The young man's footing was no longer sure and though he was out of the arrow's path, he wasn't able to throw the spear as he had intended. He could feel his balance returning, just a few more steps. A step or two more and he'd catch himself and take aim and take out another bandit. Just that single one more step. Only there we no roof underfoot. "Dammit!" he yelled as he rolled over the edge of the building. He was able to cling onto the wall of the building some with the claws in his free hand and feet. He still fell to the ground with a bit of a thud but it could have been worse. Though he had dropped it, he still had the one ice spear with him, as well as his own hunting spear. The Fire Chosen was on the ground now, not entirely within the original plan but they would have to make it work. The crossbowman had mostly all converged and were readying to fire. Steadying himself and taking a moment to aim, the boy hurled the ice spear with all his might at the crossbowman standing between him and the farther off lizard rider. The explosive still worried him but he needed to keep these crossbows off of the others.

 

With Ziiyol staying close at hand, Reinaan charged in the direciton he had thrown the ice spear, this time readying his own spear for a weapon. But as he moved he saw the nearest lizard rider had injured Lindow. And so his charge now would be focused on slamming into this rider, spear tip leading the way, in an attempt to get him off of his ally.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reinaan falls off the building, is now on the ground, north of k.

Throws ice spear at k.

Charges g trying to get him off Lindow.

 

 

[Alaina]

After she had been struck by an attack, she took a bit to shake herself back to her senses. The bandit that had struck at her then seemed to have his attention taken up by something else. Looking, she noticed that he had a dagger in his shoulder, and turned to the Thunder Chosen who had attacked him. With blade in hand, the bandit charged at him, and while the girl might've usually been inclined to aid him, there was something far more pressing to her side. Seeing that there was a bandit trying to grab something from his pocket, and knowing from previous experience what that more than likely was, the girl felt some urgency rise through her. Stumbling back from him and and attempting to get to her feet, the girl readied herself. As the man seemed ready to throw the pouch, she would then conjure a wall of earth to uproot itself in front of the man, with the intent to intercept the inevitable blast.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Alright, he followed us. Just do it as we usually would, Ileca."
 

Ileca simply nodded in agreement as she noticed that one of the lizard riders had taken the bait. He had prepared his javelin too, but it didn't seem like he was going to fire right now. Looking at their current path, Anis understood why. They were reaching the edge of the city already, and would have to turn corner soon, which would give the bandit an ample amount of opportunity to hit them. Noticing it, Anis whispered that fact to Ileca and both agreed on a plan. The two would then continue on to the edge of the city, and motioned to look like they were going to turn corner. However, instead of turning corner, Ileca would instead made a sharp half-circle turn and rush like a madman towards the bandit just as he threw his javelin according to the assumption that they would turn corner. It still managed to graze Anis, but it's not more than a minor inconvenience as she was still able to fire a direct shot towards the bandit's head before unsheathing her short sword as Ileca jumped in on him. She would attempt to finish him off with a quick stroke to the head as Ileca kept him in a disarrayed state assuming he survived the arrow hit.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Anis did a 180 and turned towards the bandit chasing her, got grazed with a javelin, and fired a shot towards his head before Ileca jumped on him and Anis attempted to finish him off with her sword.

 

 

 

---

[Hälō]

Sensing movement from his flank, Lindow quickly turning whilst attempting to leap to the side to avoid the on coming danger. Though it seemed he was too late. The sting of the bandit's strike bit into his ribs as the man's blade grazed his side, shredding his robe and leaving a long cut a few inches under the base of Lindow's armpit whilst he pivoted to dodge.

 

Watching as the bandit's body followed through with the lunge, Lindow quickly slashed at his attacker's back using the sword in his right hand, before stepping away just as Reinaan came barreling through. Blood had begun to flow from his wound, but Lindow was no stranger to pain. Quickly reaching into his kit and placing an Adrenaline Herb into his mouth, the Thunder Chosen set his sights on the approaching enemies. His eyes glowing with magic as he readied himself for the next wave of attacks.  

 

[spoiler= OOC]

Lindow is cut on his side by Bandit G.

Lindow attempts to slice at Bandit G's back before Reinaan attacks.

Lindow uses Adrenaline Herb.

Lindow prepares for attacks of J, K, and I

 

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The bandit targeting Gilly would find his attack blocked. Clearly not having expected any resistance, the man lurched forward, unsteady. The jab, due to the girl's height and the man's angle, struck the bandit in the chest. It didn't fully pierce his body but it did manage to knock him off of the rhino and onto the ground below. The rhino, meanwhile, continued forward. Though due to its injuries and confusion it ended up crashing itself into the ground and becoming dazed.

 

The southern crossbowman didn't expect the sudden ice spear to come from the Draken boy. He raised up his crossbow in haste and the ice spear shattered upon it. Unfortunately for him this caused the device considerable damage and thus it would be rendered useless.

The man scoffed and pulled a curved dagger from his belt before hoping onto the lizard beside him, sitting behind its original rider.

 

The bandit that had wounded Lindow stumbled a bit as he had put too much force into his attack. Lindow's blade cut across his back and he yelped out in pain. Turning to his assailant, the bandit was unable to actually attack. For he suddenly had a spear thrust through his side, courtesy of Reinaan.

As the man gasped out and blood spurted from his wound he used the last of his energy to try an cleave through Reinaan's skull.

 

Nearby the bandit's ally noticed that his companion for this fight was going down. Deciding that now was the perfect time to use it, the man tossed the stone. He had intended for it to land in the area between the three Chosen, which would have resulted in fairly serious injuries and potentially took them out of the fight.

However Ryia's reaction stopped that. the stone hit earth and exploded...on the opposite side the bandit had intended. Caught in the blast the bandit was blown backwards and, as he landed, it was clear his injuries were too severe to go on.

 

The southern trio charged forward as this was going on. They would reach Lindow quickly, all coming directly for him. The former crossbowman would dismount several feet earlier but the two lizard riders would both swing their swords at Lindow, one from each direction, the moment they got within range.

 

As Anis fired upon the lizard rider, the bandit forced his lizard to rear up and take the arrow in his stead. As the bird charged him, he rolled off the side of the lizard, letting it be the victim of Ileca's mad attack. Thus Anis's attack also missed its mark. The lizard rider, now grounded with a fatally wounded mount nearby, drew his sword and slashed at Ileca's leg.

 

Keres watched the bandit approach. She was unsure if she could handle this fight but she would try and focus and see if she could get an ope-

The bandit rushed her, stepping nimbly despite the size of the walkway. He swung his polearm and Keres backed away hastily. She didn't get far before running into the barrel, knocking it to the side. As it fell, Keres tried to gather as much of the water before the barrel hit the ground and splintered. It wasn't all of it but she was now holding in the air a sizeable amount of water.

 

The bandit chuckled darkly and kept going forward, swinging again with a swiftness that Keres couldn't keep up with. She brought around the water and used it to grip the bandit's weapon.

 

Seemingly expecting this the bandit held onto his polearm with one hand and grabbed out a knife with the other. He pulled himself forward and thrust the knife at Keres, who tried to go to the side to dodge.

 

However "the side" in this case was off the edge of the walkway and she went tumbling down.

She used the water that was holding onto the bandit's weapon to create a makeshift cushion for her landing and, though she got soaked, the landing wasn't nearly as harsh as it should have been.

 

As she lay there she saw the bandit whistle for his rhino, who began going around towards the gate, and the crossbowman nearest Keres turned his sight onto her prone figure.

 

The other crossbowman didn't even bother looking over at the mage. Instead he focused on the cluster of Chosen nearby. He steadied himself and took shot at Reinaan, hoping to catch him while the Draken was distracted by the riders.

[spoiler=OOC]Bandits b and g are dead.

Bandit e has fallen off his rhino and the rhino, with Gilly on it, has crashed to the ground

Bandit f sacrificed his lizard and is now going for Ileca with a sword

Bandit h is aiming their crossbow for Keres

Bandit i is aiming for Reinaan and shooting

Bandit j lost their crossbow and is trailing behind with a dagger

Bandits k and l are going for Lindow

The sub-bosses rhino is at the gate and the rider has knocked Keres from the wall

[spoiler=Map]