The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I'm speaking strictly on behalf of myself and my partner here, but I do believe that this would be the time for us to be on the offensive. If we're gone, the bandits would just come and raid this village again - not to mention they would still come after us anyway after how much we had done to their numbers.

 

Give us a bit of preparation and resting time to gather ourselves, and we would be ready for this."

 

For once, she wholeheartedly agreed with what the Draken said. That was a surprise. And well, personally this felt more like what she's more capable of doing. Hunting preys, raiding rival camps or nearby bandits, even after a long time since she lived there, she could feel that it was her calling.

 

Anis then remembered about the crossbow that Shirin managed to secure, and an idea came to her mind. Having it be close to her wasn't really something she would like normally, but...

 

"Do you have any tools and perhaps a few spare scrap metal here? I have something that I need to try building out."

 

Construction wasn't really her forte, but if she's good with craftmanship, she should be able to figure out something, right?

Shirin must've been laughing as hard as it could now if it could hear her thoughts now.

 

---

[Alaina]

With the Nature Chosen being able to stabilize Lindow, the Earth Chosen let out a sigh of relief only to then be a bit caught off guard by the cheers of the people from the town. While it wasn't as though she had never helped others by fighting before, the most non-contractual gratitude she had ever recieved was merely a small thanks. To see the people both happy and relieved, as if a large weight had been lifted from them, made the girl's spirit rise a bit. As she looked around, she was even more relieved to once again affirm that not one of them had died in this ordeal. As she did a quick survey of the area, she then winced in pain as her shoulder throbbed once more, only to then be brought over to a healer.

 

Once her wound had been patched up, the girl reconvened with the rest of her party as the elder had called them over. The man expressed much gratitude to them, however, he seemed to have one more favor to ask of them. As the reality of the situation caught up with her again, the girl grew a bit more pensive as he laid out the situation to them. It was true, that were the bandits to stay unchecked they would eventually learn about this fight and seek retribution on the defenseless villagers. Even without that, they had proved to be a force that had harried the group at every turn they took throughout the desert so far. Overall, it would be in both of their best interests to take out the bandits and, as the girl looked at the prostrating Elder, she knew that there was no way that she could leave these people to fend for themselves. Especially for a problem that they had basically created. 

 

She was a bit taken aback by the mule that appeared, not really expecting to be gifted such a thing but being appreciative of it all the same. As the other members of the group stated that they would help, the girl nodded with a resolute expression on her face, saying, "we'll face them. Just, hm, do you know where we should look for them?" 

[Hälō]

Lindow yawned drearily as he sat up from his bed. Adjusting the bandage wrapped around his forehead, the chosen of lightning recalled the horror show that had been his dreams since the battle. He had been drowned in blood. Again, and again, and again by the men who were the former owners of the spirits he had consumed. But that wasn't the worse part...  He could still his hear own voice screaming self-righteous dribble as he watched Lindow struggle against the two dead men.  

 

To say he was eager to kill the leader of the bandits would have been an understatement. He smiled as the rest of his companions agreed to take on the task of hunting the rest of the bandits down. "Just put some steel in my hands, and we'll take care of the rest." He addressed the village elder before turning to Ryia. "I'm assuming they left no small supply of weaponry littered all over the place, we should stock up on theri supplies." 

 

"Oh, and there won't be any need to go searching for them..." He said with a smirk whilst nodding towards the exit, knowing Kloqah more than likely rested nearby. "I'm sure our lizard friend remembers how to get home."

[Sethera]

The elder seemed pretty pleased with their work. Gilly puffed out her chest. "It was nothing for the great Gilly!" she boasted. He then asked for the group to help him out with defeating the bandits, to which the others seemed pretty willing to do. The stick-in-the-mud woman asked for some scrap metal, Pinky was wondering where they were, but Mr. Lindow had a good idea. That they'd just follow Reiny boy's lizard!

 

Also they got a mule. Gilly looked it over, before poking it. "Hey there, muley, you gonna come with us then?" she giggled. "And of course we're gonna fight the bandits! Those bullies still need to be taught a lesson."

 

Hob looked at the mule and baa'ed.

 

Meanwhile, Snow seemed to have remembered something, and nudged his Chosen. "Gilly, you should show the others that stone you found."

 

"Huh? Oh, yeah," the girl took the stone out of her bag, "Looks pretty, but you can't eat it. Do you want to keep it, Snow?"

 

The rabbit shook his head. "No, just show it to Keres. She might be able to learn something from it."

 

The halfling shrugged, before turning to Mute Girl. "Hey, do you know anything about this?" she bounced in place. "Maybe it can make food! Do you know if it can do that? Ooh, that'd be so cool, but it probably can't--wait! That's why it was in that shark's mouth! Cuz it can make food! Ohhh, I'm sooo smart!"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

It was a complete consensus. Given how the journey has been so far Keres was honestly surprised they all agreed to take out the bandit leader. Keres nodded in agreement. She was low on water, and likely would only be able to carry what she had in the container she used for her magic, but she had to learn how to make that work anyway. This had taught her she can't rely on having a stable water source.

 

"Do you have any tools and perhaps a few spare scrap metal here? I have something that I need to try building out."

"we'll face them. Just, hm, do you know where we should look for them?"

"I'm sure our lizard friend remembers how to get home."

 

The elder looked to the trio. "Hrm. The bandits have three camps around the lake. He could be at any one of those. The lizard might not be from the same camp...but it might be able to track them down nonetheless. As for scrap, we don't have much of anything here I'm afraid. Perhaps a small amount. I will go check. And, Chosen...thank you."

 

The elder left to find any metal they might have laying around and Gilly and her spirit began to discuss something.

Keres heard her name and turned to them in time for Gilly to approach her.

"Hey, do you know anything about this?" she bounced in place. "Maybe it can make food! Do you know if it can do that? Ooh, that'd be so cool, but it probably can't--wait! That's why it was in that shark's mouth! Cuz it can make food! Ohhh, I'm sooo smart!"

 

Keres was only half listening to what the girl said. The object she was holding out was taking much of her attention. This was... "Control magic." Keres said. If it was inside the shark's mouth..."The shark was sent by someone." Why? Was it just a coincidence? Or...was someone targeting them? In either case they would have to be even more careful.

 

Meanwhile the mule brayed at Hob.

 

Soon after this exchange the elder would return with a pittance of scrap metal for Anis and, once everyone finished up what they had to do, the group set out once again. After one more bit of advice from the man. "Their leader. He has an amulet. It can protect from magical attacks. It once was a treasure that we kept here. Know this. It only can survive a limited amount of magic before it breaks. If you defeat him with it in tact feel free to keep it for yourself."

-----

The journey back through the desert was uneventful. Keres started to wonder if perhaps the bandits are why they hadn't encountered many monsters yet. Though the bandits were monsters in their own way.

 

As they made their way to the lake, with Kloqah leading, Keres rode on the mule. She hadn't wanted to take it from the others but after thinking about it logically she knew she had to conserve her strength. Plus it was rather difficult to move across the sand with these robes and the mule was surprisingly good at traveling on it. 

 

It would take a few hours of travel but they would then see the signs of an encampment towards the north-east of the lake. It was similar to the one they found on the way there. Small buildings that provided shade, supplies laying around, but there was a key difference.

The buildings were laid out in a 90 degree angle from the lake. It was almost as though the point was to draw you to the area in the middle.

 

 

The structure that was there was larger than the rest. But it was what was in front of it that drew the group's attention. Two lizard riders stood at either side of it. And behind them, in the middle, a man sat on what looked to be a makeshift throne.

The man looked out at the group with a blank expression, his chin in the palm of his hand, elbow leaning against the arm of the throne. "I knew when my men didn't send the messenger bird back that they had fallen. But I did not expect the mercenaries to be such a pitiful lot. And now you've come to my home to take my head." He snapped his fingers and the riders advanced. "You are welcome to try. You are welcome to fail."

[spoiler=OOC] Note that if you guys wanted some time to interact feel free to mention this. I just didn't want to waste time if people wanted to get right into it. So yeah. Here we go. Three enemies are all there seem to be. The lake is a few minutes walk away from the bandit chief.

 

[Alaina]

As the group had come to the decision of dealing with the bandits, they decided to follow the lizard back to a bandit camp, in hopes that it would bring them to the bandit group's boss. The fact that he had an amulet that stopped magical attacks was a bit disconcerting to the girl, as the lightning sword of Lindow's had been how they dealt with both leaders of the bandit groups they had run into so far. Yet still, they would just have to work around it just like they had the other disadvantages they had gone against thus far. With the weapons and gear they had taken from the bandits they had just beaten, the Earth Chosen only took a sword from one of them, merely to give her an extra weapon while using her shield. She then took her canteen and presented it to the Water Chosen saying, "I, um, think this'll work better for you. Well, um, more than it would me. Um. Yeah." While the Earth Chosen was concerned about the "control magic" that the Water Chosen had mentioned, it was likely a different issue then the one they were working on right now, as the bandits from earlier had been taken surprise by the sudden shark attack. That and none of the other animals they had seemed to have those strange stones in them. 

 

With the preparation done, the group began their journey through the desert sands, following Reinaan's lizard. They merely had enough rest to get back into fighting form, yet given they were throwing themselves right back into the fire, she wasn't sure it could really be considered a rest. Yet still, she knew the sooner this was finished, the less difficult it would be for everyone further down the line, and thus she kept her face resolute in expression and voice silent as they marched. As they made it into the encampment, it seemed to be strangely devoid of people. The layout suggested it was the main hideout of the bandits, and whoever the leader was, clearly wished to make his presence as leader known. I

 

t was soon that they saw him, a man with a commanding and imposing air about him sitting atop a throne. As he made his challenge to the group, the two riders beside him charged at them. The girl stood at the front, ready to guard against the riders, though still trying to take note of her surroundings. While they had fought two groups of moderate size before hand, the girl hardly thought that it was all there was of the bandits. And so that only three were visible at the moment, the Earth Chosen was filled with a sense of foreboding about what was being planned here by the boss. As such, the girl kept on the defensive, not wanting to split away from the rest of the group just yet. 

[Sethera]

"Control magic," Mute Girl said. "The shark was sent by someone."

 

"Huh?" Gilly stopped her bouncing to tip her head to the side. "Sooo...what you're saying is, it doesn't make food?"

 

"That is unsettling," Snow said, ignoring his Chosen's words. He had known there was something off about that item, but not exactly what. Now that he knew, he wished he had shown it to Keres sooner. Then again, he hadn't been able to, since it had been with the halfling the whole time.

 

Hob perked his ears forward and baa'd again at the mule.

 

The elder returned with some scrap metal for the Nature Chosen, and then spoke to them all. "Their leader. He has an amulet. It can protect from magical attacks. It once was a treasure that we kept here. Know this. It only can survive a limited amount of magic before it breaks. If you defeat him with it in tact feel free to keep it for yourself."

 

"Magic?" Gilly asked. "So wait, would my ice spears count as magic? Cuz they're really sharp and that's how they hurt bad guys but I guess they wouldn't exist if Snowy weren't helping out."

 

Whether her question was answered or not, the halfling, her mount, and her spirit accompanied the others to the bandit leader. He sat on a makeshift throne with an air of casual arrogance. "I knew when my men didn't send the messenger bird back that they had fallen. But I did not expect the mercenaries to be such a pitiful lot. And now you've come to my home to take my head." He snapped his fingers and the two lizard riders at his side advanced. "You are welcome to try. You are welcome to fail."

 

Gilly saw that Pinky was standing there all ready to fight and knew that it was her time to shine once again! Standing tall and proud, chest puffed out, she said, "You bet your lake we're ready to try! And we'll do more than try. We'll win!"

 

Snow frowned as he glanced around the area. He is not surprised at all, yet he faces us with only two men. He is either incredibly strong, a fool, or he is hiding something. Whichever it was, the spirit wouldn't let his guard down.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Well, so much for Anis' original plan - she was soon faced with the reality of her plan's actual likelihood to even be reasonably achievable, and in the end she settled with the crossbow being on Keres' hand, while she got herself a few of the javelins left by the bandits before the group left, and kept the scraps the elder gave her on her pack. The mention of Control magic was something concerning, but Anis felt that there were too little that they know about it to worry too much about that topic for now.

 

After resting for a while and going through the desert, they were then greeted by the leader of the bandits himself, and he had with himself an anti-magic amulet, which would mean Anis' poisons wouldn't work on him. Even then, anti-magic protection would only go so far. Yet he faced the group with only two riders on his side. It's unlikely that he already ran out of men.

 

Something was off.

 

Not sure about what was off yet, Anis pulled her bow and fired an arrow straight at the boss as soon as she got herself in a clear position to shoot and avoid the lizard riders. For once they had the advantage here, so it'd be best to capitalize on it before they inevitably sprung whatever trickery the bandit leader had prepared for them.

 

---

[Andx]

With everyone in agreement, the group found themselves about the desert on the way to find the leader of the bandits. Reinaan had asked Kloqah if she knew the way to their base and while she seemed unhappy about it she seemed to be cooperative in taking them there. Before leaving the spoils from the previous battle were distributed among the group. The Draken had a supply of javelins now stored on his mount and he made it a point to hold on to the explosive rock they had found. This he kept in his bag which remained the only thing about his body. He wanted to be ready at any moment and never felt more prepared for a fight than when he bared it all. He mounted Kloqah fairly easily this time. It was less awkward each time he attempted it and hoped it would soon just be muscle memory.

 

The lizard atop the lizard led the way through the desert. Reinaan made no attempt to hold the reigns as only Kloqah knew where it was they wanted to go. It was helpful to not have to do anything but scan his surroundings. It really helped him focus on what was all around them. And for the most part that was a lot of sand. After a while it seemed they would be heading back toward the lake. It made sense that if they controlled the lake their headquarters would be on or near it somewhere. It had been several hours and finally signs of the base emerged. The group was spotted quickly by the bandits. There was a scarier looking man sitting in some kind of elaborate chair and a few lizard riding bandits. The man expressed great confidence they would be unable to kill him which only served to excite the battle ready Fire Chosen.

 

The lizard riders were advancing and while Anis fired at the leader himself, Reinaan's focus was on the approaching foes. He grabbed hold of Kloqah's reigns with his left hand and held one of the bandits own javelins in his right. He let out a bit of yell, some word in ancient draken akin to a battle cry. Almost without direction the mount charged as the Draken desired. And despite the fact he was moving himself and aiming at a moving target, the boy took aim and powerfully launched the javelin in hand at the right of the two approaching bandits. He readied another, wanting to be ready to trade blows with either of their enemies as their mounts would inevitably approach each other.

[Hälō]

"You are welcome to try. You are welcome to fail."

 

And with that, the festivities had begun.

 

Lindow liked this man's style. Watching as two riders charged forth, the chosen of thunder grabbed hold of his cloak's collar. With a grunt, he yanked it free from his body and tossed it to the side, revealing the dark blue light armor vest hidden underneath. Now with nothing inhibiting is mobility, the witch hunter rolled his shoulders and took a step forward towards the enemies.

 

On his belt, Lindow now brandished a pair of twin scimitars, which went rather nicely with the two daggers he had also relieved from the fallen bandits in the village. With those counted along with the two small blades that he had already always carried on his person, he looked more the part of the 'Chosen of Murder' than he ever did Thunder. 

 

After Reinaan moved to meet the riders with his javelins, Lindow quickly drew one of his daggers and twirled it skillfully whilst lining up his shot. With his eyepatch making the closing of his left eye a tad redundant, Lindow licked his lips before sending the dagger flying towards the face the rider on the left's mount with intention of taking the lizards eye.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres clutched the crossbow awkwardly, still unsure how she was supposed to hold it, and tried to aim it at the bandit on the left. She pulled the trigger and...the shot went wide by a fairly large margin. Well then. Perhaps she should stick to magic for now.

 

Reinaan's javelin throw was met by the bandit using the shaft of his own javelin to block the attack. Tossing aside that javelin he pulled out another as the two approached each other. The bandit came around Reinaan's left and thrust his javelin towards the Draken's abdomen.

 

Lindow, having also thrown something at a bandit, would meet with marginally better results. Though he was unable to hit the creature in the eye it did cut into the mount's throat. It didn't seem to do much to slow it down as the bandit turned its path to meet with Lindow. From atop the mount the bandit thrust his javelin at Lindow.

 

The bandit's leader stayed seated on his throne. Even as Anis fired an arrow at him. With a simple motion, he drew his blade from its scabbard and cut the arrow in twain before it could reach him. His expression of lazy confidence hadn't changed and he still remained sitting but now his blade was drawn.

 

A bird flew from the west and landed on the man's shoulder. He looked at it and nodded before sending it off once more.

[Sethera]

Gilly puffed up her cheeks in indignation that nobody had paid attention to her awesomesauce words! Not only Keres, but the elder, and now this bully! But then again, maybe her words were just too awesome? That was probably it. She nodded to herself. Of course.

 

Seeing that everybody was busy fighting, the halfling decided to start as well. Materializing an ice spear, she threw it at the bandit that her good friend Reiny boy had thrown his javelin at. She was going to attack the leader, but turns out he was pretty good with a sword, so maybe that was a bad idea. Probably.

 

And then a bird flew on his shoulder and Gilly wasn't sure what was going on anymore, but it was cute. "Cute birdie!" she squealed.

[Alaina]

With all of the opening moves being made by the chosen, the riders charging them and the bandit leader on the throne seemed to be of a different caliber then the ones they had fought up to this point. She couldn't help but feel nervous as the man had effortlessly cut an arrow out of the air, but they had come too far for her to be simply stopped by nerves now. Readying herself, as the knife that Lindow had thrown hit its mark, it seemed the lizard wasn't stopping its charge any time soon. And so, moving in to intercept the attack, the Earth Chosen put up her shield to block the javelin thrust. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I should try that out sometimes."

 

Anis muttered those words in a mix of both amusement and annoyance after her arrow was broken mid air by the bandit chief's sword. She pulled another arrow from her quiver, and moved around a bit to see what she could aim to do. She could perhaps try to help the frontliners in staving off the riders, but they're a bit too close for her. However, soon a bird came to the chief's side, and after seemingly communicating with him, it flew away once more.

 

Who sent it?
 

It's bad news. Whatever the message was, she couldn't let the bird fly away. As it was on the air, Anis aimed her bow up, and fired at it. She might be in a bad position right now but her experience in hunting, with birds being common targets and the fact that the bird should still be in her sight should hopefully allow her to hit.

 

---

[Hälō]

"Hm, missed." Lindow sighed as he watched his projectile veer away from it's intended target. 

 

Though Lindow's dagger had managed to slice at the creature's throat, the wound did nothing to stop the lizard's charge, and now it's rider shifted to thrust at the blade wielding chosen. Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the incoming attack, Lindow allowed Ryia to do what she did best.

 

He sprang into motion just as the rider's spear connect with the girl's shield; darting past Ryia whilst bringing his hands down to one of the scimitars at his hip. With a grunt, Lindow pivoted back the way he came whilst drawing his bade in wide slash aimed under the riders's spear arm as the two passed each other.

[Andx]

The Draken's first offensive had proved unsuccessful as the rider had deflected the projectile with a javelin of his own. Reinaan saw the man readying another weapon, apparently the bandit was thinking what he had been thinking. However the man on the lizard had maneuvered to the Fire Chosen's left side and his javelin was in his right. Trading blows was going to be difficult like that. He could already feel Kloqah beginning to turn to the right, perhaps looking to circle back around. And so the boy released his grip on the reigns in his left hand and the javelin in this right which tumbled to the desert below. Despite both being moving and his opponent moving he saw the intended target of the bandit's attack and readied his hands to catch the shaft of the weapon, hopefully before it ran him through.

 

The attack came quickly but sure enough Reinaan was able to grab hold of the weapon before it pierced him. He wanted to drag the bandit off the mount if at all possible. But by pulling on the weapon the man simple relinquished his grip and the moving lizards separated them once again. Kloqah was quick to circle back, putting the reptillian duo between the riders and the still seated leader of the bandits. The mount charged forward again at the bandit they had attempted to engage. Reinaan readied no weapon, as his goal was to get the bandit off of his mount which would render him much more susceptible to attack. As the mounts drew closer again, Reinaan stood atop Kloqah's back and leapt forward at the man, hoping to tackle him from off his own mount. The bandit drew his sword and slashed at the incoming Fire Chosen. The sword cut into the boy's left shoulder, his own momentum helping to cut through the scales. But the fact remained the large reptile boy was still flying through the air at a respectable speed. And so the man and Draken fell to the desert floor below. Reinaan was on top from the tackle which helped in pinning the man down. However his sword arm was still free. And with the pummel of the weapon he began to reapeatedly pound at the boy's back. Each impact elicited a grunt from the Fire Chosen as he took the blows.

 

The boy's chest expanded as he breathed in deeply. A familiar burning enveloped the whole of his upper body as he began emitting a stream of fire directly onto the man's face. In a shout of pain the man quickly shoved one of his arms into the Draken's mouth, limiting the effectiveness of the breath attack. In response the boy's jaw shut powerfully around the arm, the teeth digging into the flesh through the bandit's coverings. The Draken began flailing his claws at the man's face, attempting to get a good place to dig into. The man meanwhile dropped his sword and began feeling for something. He had a knife on him, and was looking to use it to get his assailant off of him. The weapon dug into the Fire Chosen's hip which was met with a cry of pain muffled by the arm the boy was biting into. Reinaan's claws weren't able to dig into his target and so the bandit's face was merely gashed several times.

 

With this approach in the ground scuffle proving ineffective, the boy reached a hand for the bandit's hand that was holding the knife currently lodged in his body. His hand grasped firmly onto the hand and he began to squeeze it with all his might and attempt to snap it with a twisting motion. However the bandit had manged to get a knee up off the ground and had lodged it into Reinaan's abdomen, attempting to push him off. There wasn't much the Draken could do but hold his ground. His teeth were clamped into one arm, one had attempting to break the wrist of the other arm and he was being pushed on by the bandit attempting to get him off. The two both seemed unmovable. However it was clear from the knife still pushing inside of the Draken's hip that he would quickly lose the exchange without outside help. Kloqah had circled back toward the main group after the initial move and attempting to merge with Ziiyol in the given circumstances would be an exercise in internal combustion. So the two stayed locked in their struggle, each moment feeling like an eternity for them as they exerted themselves all they could to save their own lives.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The moment that the bandit's javelin hit Ryia's shield he felt it start to splinter he let go of it. Both of the bandits seem to, unlike the others they had met, realize that holding onto their weapons at all times might not be the best course of action.

And so by the time that Lindow attacked the bandit had drawn his blade and his and Lindow's met each other with a clanging of steel. As the two were in their lock the bandit kicked at Lindow's head with a booted foot, hitting him in the forehead.

 

The bandit under Reinaan had taken quite the beating meanwhile. A burned and bitten arm. A bruised wrist. And a Draken on top of him. But he had the advantage of steel inside the boy's body and it wouldn't be long before Reinaan weakened from the pain and he'd have the advantage. That is until an ice spear fell from the sky and pierced his upper arm. Which caused him to let go of the knife.

 

The bird, as it flew away towards the north-west, was hit by an arrow and brought to the ground.

 

Keres moved towards Reinaan, only to realize he was on top of his foe, whom was injured quite a lot already. Then there was the others. She couldn't quite tell how the fight was going at first. It was two on one but the bandit looked to be holding his own.

 

The mage gathered some of her water, forming the magic around it, and sent it towards the bandit's lizard like a whip, striking the beast in the back end and causing it to surge forward suddenly.

The bandit tumbled off the back of it, though he rolled to his feet almost right away, and the lizard continued onward without him.

[Andx]

Reinaan found himself struggling to continue grappling with his foe. His body ached from the continued exertion and the knife in his hip send surging spikes of pain through his system. His teeth held fast in the man's arm but he was struggling to get anywhere else, especially with the man's knee in his gut. Despite being so engaged, a sound caught the boy's ears. Something was flying through the air toward them. Before he could even react, Gilly's ice spear found it's mark in the upper arm of the bandit. The sudden injury caused the man to relinquish his grip on the knife.

 

Without skipping a beat the Draken hunter pounced. A sickening snap sounded as the Fire Chosen broke the wrist of the hand that had plunged the knife into his body. The man cried out again in pain and could no longer effectively resist the furious reptile on top of him. Reinaan dug his right hand's claws into the arm he was biting before releasing it from his jaws. At once he moved the arm aside and with all the strength he could muster plunged his left hand's claws into the neck of the man on the ground. Life faded quickly from the man as his blood drained onto the desert sand below and his body went limp.

 

The boy was winded from the exchanged and rested himself for a moment atop his kill. But before long he pushed himself off onto the hot sand. Standing brought with it more fierce pains as Reinaan attempted to stand and walk. The knife was still lodged in his left hip, and moving that leg in general only served to remind his body of that fact. His own blood dripping from the wound and the blood of the bandit from his claws, the boy limped over back toward Kloqah who had ended up close by Gilly. Upon reaching the mount's side he collapsed and leaned his back into her. She seemed irritated but didn't protest. The Draken fumbled around at his side until his hand fell upon the hilt of the weapon lodged in his body. His left hand clasped around it as his whole body tensed in expectation of incoming pain. He held his breath and all at once withdrew the knife. One more strong surge of pain shot through the wound and surroudning area. He painfully winced and finally gasped for air. Blood was flowing more freely now with the weapon removed but the pain would begin to fade slowly.

 

Still panting the boy looked over to Gilly. His condition aside he called out to her and mustered what he could of usual energetic attitude. "Hey! Nice aiming there. I owe ya one this time." he said smiling. In reality he likely owed the girl his life and he would be sure to do all he could to repay the debt in time. After taking a moment to apply his people's salve to the knife wound to begin the process of closing the scale layer, Reinaan staggered to his feet and eventually got back onto Kloqah. He could still fight but the more walking and running she did for the two of them the better. He drew one of the few remaining javelins from the bandits and pointed his mount toward the bandit leader, still sitting and watching the scene unfold. "He's next girl." he said simply. She snorted in reply, seemingly prepared for another round. The duo would charge in once the group was ready to focus their efforts on this man.

[Alaina]

As the man went to go in for another attack atop his mount, he seemed to be ejected off of it as the lizard rushed forward. While he was less dangerous now, the man managed to recover smoothly and still seemed plenty threatening. The girl held up her shield, advancing ahead of everyone else, though slowly. Reminded of the last time she faced off against a bandit who was stronger than the rest, the girl knew she couldn't just recklessly charge in. And so as she kept her guard up, awaiting her opponent's attack, the bandit took the initiative, charging forward himself. As she raised her shield to defend, he slashed at the side she was not defending. Pivoting to face his blade, the man pivoted as well, forcing her to use her mace's shaft as a means to parry the blade away. While she had deflected it, the man was none too deterred by it. Going in for another slash, coming from up high, the girl raised her shield to defend against it. However, seeing the blade disappear from sight, she realized what had happened. Stepping backward, the blade cut through the girl's armor, giving her a shallow cut across her torso. Wincing in pain, the girl kept her shield up as she paid more attention to her opponent, staying on guard as the opponent seemed to be much smarter then the bandits they had fought thus far. 

[Sethera]

Reiny boy looked over at Gilly. He seemed pretty energetic still for having had a knife in his hip. "Hey! Nice aiming there. I owe ya one this time."

 

"No problem!" the halfling fist pumped. "The great Gilly comes through again!"

 

"I'm surprised it hit in the first place."

 

"Oh, you," Gilly stuck out her tongue at the spirit. "Of course it hit! It's cuz I'm so awesome!"

 

"Keep thinking that," Snow glanced over the battlefield, eyes centering on the leader.

 

Meanwhile the halfling girl charged at the other bandit from the side where her friends weren't. It'd be bad if she hit them. She had her ice spear out, ready to skewer him if he didn't pay attention to her.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The bandit leader gave Reinaan a wave. "You know." He called out. "I would rather you come at me without that mount. Those lizards are hard to come by and it would be a shame to kill one of them."

 

The one facing Ryia seemed confident. "If all you can do is block yer outta luck. Tis easy to get around a shield. And with this all I need is to nick ya." He reached into a pouch and poured some kind of liquid from it onto the blade. As he took a step to attack Ryia Gilly came from the side and stabbed him in the thigh. "Argh dammit!" He cursed and swung the sword swiftly, aiming for Gilly's neck.

 

As Lindow readied himself for his next move he'd be struck in the back by a crossbow bolt. Behind them and off to the right was another group of bandits, who looked to have traveled quite the distance. Three with crossbows stood between two buildings while a pair with swords drawn stood in front of them.

 

Keres let out a soft surprised noise as she saw the bolt strike Lindow. The bandits were still a fair distance away but it wouldn't be long before the other two crossbowmen fired. Though she was more concerned about Gilly at the moment.

 

With a quick spell she launched a small torrent of water out at the bandit as he attacked, hitting him in the face and causing him to reel back, sword swinging over Gilly's head.

 

[Hälō]

Lindow snarled in pain. He had been shot, that was the only explanation for the sudden and intense wave of pain that traveled through his back. Peering over to his attackers, Lindow cursed under his breath as he spotted the three crossbowmen accompanied by two swordsmen. 

 

The party was in a bad position. Nonetheless, they needed to handle the matter at hand first... 

 

Watching Keres knock Gilly's attacker backwards with a blast of water, Lindow quickly grabbed one of his daggers and tossed it towards the bandit whilst they staggered. Wincing from the new pain that blossomed from the movement of his shoulder, Lindow followed this up by moving forward, before pivoting to the side and thrusting his blade towards the center of the bandit's body.  

[Sethera]

Gilly blinked. Suddenly there was a sword going for her, and then there wasn't. Mute Girl had splashed water onto the bandit, and then his attack went over her head.

 

Now there were a lot of people who would say that Gilly was dumb, and the halfling would be the first to agree that, well, she wasn't really the nerdy, stay-in-a-tower-and-study kind of person. She was more a girl of action, and of food! But she did have enough wits about her to realize that she almost died, and that Mute Girl had saved her.

 

Grinning brightly at Mute Girl, who maybe wasn't so bad after all, the halfling realized in that second of distraction that Mr. Lindow had taken over fighting the bandit for her again! Pouting, the girl glanced around for a new target, realizing the presence of the reinforcements almost the exact same moment she saw the crossbow bolt sticking out of her friend's back.

 

"Whoa, more of them?!" she shouted, whirling Hob around to face the bandits, but not moving forward. If they got close enough she'd throw a spear at them.

[Andx]

The lizard duo both snarled as the bandit leader taunted Reinaan to fight him without riding Kloqah. He seemed so confident he could take them. If the man had simply been hoping to anger the Draken, he'd succeeded. In getting riled up while the others finished the bandit they were engaged with, the usually sharp hunter hadn't noticed the other group of bandits moving towards them. It was the sound of a bolt finding its mark that took the group as a whole by surprise. Lindow had taken a hit to the back but was still moving. He seemed okay for now, or at least Reinaan hoped he would be.

 

With more enemies coming toward them, the boy knew they would soon be in a position he wanted no part of. Being attacked from both sides was sure to overwhelm them, even if the one side was only this one man. Riding toward the oncoming bandits would be inviting crossbow fire and a back attack from the leader. There was only one thing to do.

 

The boy's eyes focused back on the leader. Kloqah seemed aware of his intentions. Even if the others weren't ready yet, the Draken knew this man needed to die quickly. Readying one of the javelins in hand he sat up straight on the lizard's back. "Ziiyol, it's time." he said simply. And without a word the fire spirt at his side dissipated and merged with him. Sparks danced every which way off the boy's scales as the power assimilated. There was little room for mistakes here. With a yell and a light tap to the creature's sides, Kloqah charged forward toward the man. Her path had them on track to pass by his left side and as they approached Reinaan would lead out with his javelin, looking to run the man through in the process.

[Alaina]

The girl kept her stance wary as the man dripped what she could only assume to be poison on his blade. While she was awaiting his next move, it seemed that Lindow was struck by a sudden bolt, causing the girl's attention to turn over and see that more bandits had joined the fray. The situation was turning from bad to worse, and they needed to deal with the enemy in front of them before they could reasonably deal with the ones coming from behind. As such, she went to follow up the Thunder Chosen as he went in for his attack. The dagger that Lindow threw struck the man, though it didn't do all that much damage as it was stopped by leather armor. The Thunder Chosen's blade was then parried, forcing the blade downward, and the bandit went to back hand the man. As the two blades struck, however, the Earth Chosen went in to strike back at the man, bringing her mace up to strike at the bandit's arm.