Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

[Sethera]

 

<OOC>

Chapter 1: Shaky Beginnings

 

Date: August 23rd, Year 556

Time: 9:00 AM (Terce)

Location: Castle Augusta, Galtea

 

BGM: Negotiation's not my strong suit...

 

To Your Royal Majesty King Reginald of Galtea, Head of House Nabudis, Archduke of Augusta, and my Honored Father,

 

I hope this letter finds you well. I regret to inform you that, while I am alive and unharmed, I bear grave news. Despite what you may have heard, I was kidnapped by goddess sympathizers and barely escaped. I will not mince words. They took me to a church within Pontus, and used my blood in a dark ritual to revive the goddess. Unfortunately, they succeeded. Fortunately, they didn't succeed in full, though even partially revived, She is a force to be reckoned with.

 

My apologies, father, but I cannot return just yet. Although Pontus may have been the ultimate cause of my kidnapping, the ones who did so were citizens of Galtea. The Pontics have been desperately searching for me, and I fear, if I return to the capital, I would be walking into a trap...

 

I will set out for Sochen within the day, where I hope to find sanctuary far from Pontus's borders while I determine my next course.

 

Written at Castle Balfon on the twenty-first day of the month of August, in the year of our hero-king, five hundred and fifty-six.

 

Per your daughter,

Catriona of House Nabudis, Heir Apparent

 

 

An intake of breath, and the letter found itself crumpled within a mailed fist. The owner, a white-haired man in ermine robes, breathed out through his nose. "Really..." he muttered. "That girl...does she have no sense of self-preservation? Still...to think they would be so bold as to pull this..." He paced his chambers, brow furrowed. "They've gone too far this time...not just the snakes from within, but Pontus as well."

 

He strode from the room, cape billowing behind him. "Looks like they all need a reminder on how I earned my title." The Winter King. Tempered in governance, but forged in battle.

 

 

Date: August 26th, Year 556

Time: 12:00 PM (Sext)

Location: Sage's Road, Histia side

 

BGM: Footsteps of Fate

 

Five days' march from the Galtean capital, a young woman in white and gold coughed, smiling grimly at the specks of black on her palm. Wiping it off on the grass discreetly, she took a deep breath of the air. We're making good progress, Catriona, she reassured herself. They had just crossed the Galtean-Histian border and were now on the Histian side of Sage's Road. And what had the goddess said? "By your blood I was revived, and by your blood you shall die. Before the sun rises on your next birthday, your life will reach its end." That was...August 18th of next year. So she still had time. Time to live and time to fight.

 

Catriona glanced around at the rest of the group. These people had all decided to join her on this journey. They had decided that it was worth it...to risk their lives so. Truly, they were no ordinary warriors. I just hope that we can find the Great Dragon...that this won't have been a fruitless search.

 

BGM: Strike!

 

The woman paused her step. That sound...the clash of metal on metal is as familiar to me as my own voice. "Fighting ahead!" she warned, starting to run. Past the bend in the road, where the trees began to hang overhead. Perfect spot for an ambush. The thought slowed her pace, though she was no less determined to see what lay ahead.

 

A covered wagon lay on its side, a man in plain garb and a floppy hat using it for cover while he fended off a gang of brigands with an iron poker. Despite being outnumbered nine to one, his face was set, and he seemed prepared to die defending his goods. Strange... Catriona mused. Most people would consider their lives of more value than their possessions. "We cannot just pass this by," she announced to the others. Though her mission was of paramount importance, she was not the type to shy away from confrontation. Besides, this man's courage had impressed her. He did not deserve to die this day.

 

The brigands hadn't seemed to notice them yet. Their leader, a beak-nosed fighter in simple armor, stood at the back, a large steel axe set into the ground beside him. The others, a mixture of axe-wielding fighters and a couple archers, had the wagon surrounded on three sides.

 

"Get him!" the leader roared. "The haul we'll get from this will be more than worth any bruises we take today."

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Decided to hit the ground running here. Basically, we just entered Histia and already something is happening. A bandit attack! We're starting on the left side of the map, just out of sight. So decide what you want your characters to do and stuff. Everybody on the roster is there from the start, so you can post. Fighting is anime-style, so you can do what you want, as long as you don't write the enemies out of commission. I figured turn-based would be tedious in an RP, so yeah.

Bazba - Fighter
-Steel Axe
-Hand Axe (Droppable)

 

Fighter x6
-Iron Axe

 

Archer x2
-Iron Bow

 

 

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura was bored. He had just been hired by what seemed to be a group that followed a pair of two princesses. Between assassins, some cults that kidnapped one of them and probably wanted her back, and just bandits, Asura figured he would get lots of fights. Well... he didn't have one yet, and it was boring him to no end. One of the princesses, Penelope had her nose buried in a book as her fu-- um... slave... no... no, that wasn't it either... knight! That's it, knight-- carried the rest. He sighed and looked up to the sky. He still didn't see them.
 
The eight stars, something his father taught him as a part of his upbringing. There were eight stars in the sky that could be seen at any time-- day or night, cloudy or clear-- to those that understood true strength. Most people would dismiss that was mere superstition, but he knew it was real, because he used to be able to see them himself. Why couldn't he now...? What was he missing that he had as a young child...? 
 
"Fighting ahead!" Asura snapped up to pay attention as the princess Catriona started to run. He grinned at the thought of a fight and chased after her, his hand gripping on the handle of his Bronze Sword. They ran past a bend, the trees starting to hang overhead, leading them to a covered wagon, where a man, despite being outnumbered nine to one, looked prepared to die defending his goods. Asura grin grew even more. He had an excuse to fight. Hopefully, these bandits could provide some challenge. "We cannot just pass this by," Catriona announced to the others. Of course they couldn't, this would be their first decent fight... he hoped.

"I got this one," Asura said, the grin never leaving his face as he dashed out to attack. Using his far superior speed, he caught the bandit closest to him off guard as he swung his sword to slash the bandit across the chest. Seeing an opening, he slashed yet again. Oh, now he was having fun! He turned to look at what the others were doing. They better hurry up unless they wanted him to have all the fun!
 
[spoiler=OOC] He attacked bandit A. Twice. With his sword. ... Yeah.

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Penelope had left the library at Sochen with great reluctance. However lucky for her she had brought what seemed like half the library with her on the journey. The bag containing it had proven too heavy for her, and Gunther had graciously took the bag off her hands.

She had her nose buried in one particular book, titled “Deadliest Critters Under Six Inches” while on the road. “Did you know there’s a spider that, when crushed, releases a sting that can kill a horse in under a minute? Seems it’s only identifiable by a long purple stripe down its back.” She spoke, still staring at the book.

Gunther, used to this lack of eye contact, just coughed nervously. “I did not...and I would have preferred to have not known.” the last part trailed into a mutter, which Penelope didn’t take notice of. Gunther from then on began glancing down at the road every other step, apparently on the lookout for a purple stripe. This continued on for nearly an hour, an hour during which he also kept sure to steer Penelope out of potholes and the like. Though in his experience she tended to miraculously avoid these anyway.

“It only lives in southeast Isauria, by the way.” Penelope said after a while, barely concealing a grin as she looked up at Gunther.

Any retort on Gunther’s end was interrupted by Princess Catriona’s grim warning. Gunther immediately brought his Steel Lance to his hand and looked to Penelope. The young girl gulped and nodded. They had been able to avoid much trouble so far, and Penelope had yet to be tested in a real fight. She began thinking, before even seeing the battle, of how to avoid the confrontation.

It turned out that a single merchant was beset by a group of bandits. Disgusting specimen, bandits. That was a view point that both Penelope and Gunther shared. However while Gunther agreed they had to be stopped, Penelope was not quite sure. “We’re not very well equipped, and we do not know these bandit’s strength. It may be best to find a more peaceful solution. I would suggest tricking them into believing a stronger force is in the wings and use sneak attacks to...”

And the plan was blown out of the water as their newly hired mercenary went into the fray without any visible plan. “Oh...oh...drat.” She said, unwilling to curse.
That was fine, no it wasn’t. She was being forced into this confrontation without being able to figure out a plan of action. She didn’t like this one bit. This was more her sister’s style, which obviously couldn’t be relied on for long if they were to survive this journey. This frustrated her to no end but now was the time to fight, not lament.

She scanned the battlefield quickly, immediately identifying the leader. “We need to strike at the head, Gunther. It is the quickest way to victory here.”

“Uh, Princess, with all due respect...that’s a lot of axe users...” Gunther seemed nervous, with good reason. These kind of strong, axe-using, enemies were the bane of the heavy Knight’s existence. Especially Gunther’s. He could already imagine the pain of those axes cutting through his armor and into his flesh...

Penelope laid a hand on his arm. “Worry not, I have a plan.” He looked to her and nodded. He had seen her strategy in action, albeit in board games, and he could at least say she wouldn’t send him recklessly into danger. It didn’t quite calm him, but it helped.

She had to be quick, she didn’t want Asura out there on his own for long. And the brief element of surprise wouldn‘t last long. “Feray, Alois, with me and Gunther. We will head around those trees to strike the leader. Gunther will stay in the front, and draw the archer’s fire. Do not worry, your armor should be able to handle that much. Feray and I shall use our magic to keep any of the axe-users from attacking, until we near the leader. Then we shall engage the archers quickly, and attack the leader in a group. The rest of you should attack the bandits near the merchant, move quickly but cautiously. Do not break far from the group. Malu, don’t get too close, but try and stay close enough that you can use your Rescue staff on the merchant if needed. Do not use it haphazardly, those are rare.”

She hoped everyone would listen, she hadn’t had much time to truly foster a rapport with these people but she hoped they would follow through. She wouldn't be surprised if some decided to ignore her plan, however. She nodded at Gunther. The Knight let out a deep sigh, resigned to his fate as an arrow shield, and they made their way through the trees.

An archer spotted them first, the closer of the two, and let out a shot. Gunther let out a short yelp that was punctuated with a ting as his armor blocked the shot. However the closest Fighter noticed their presence and decided to attack. Penelope gripped her Wind tome and launched an attack, sending a cutting wind edge towards the man, who had to pause to dodge out of the way. He wasn’t stopped by any means however and continued towards the Knight.

[Saiba Aisu]

As Princess Catriona paused for a moment to wipe her hands on the grass lining the road, a figure came to a silent halt close behind her, tied to her like a second shadow. Tall and slender, clad in an elegant blue military uniform trimmed with white lace, form-fitting black stockings and matching boots, Anaïs Balfon was as different from her royal charge as day was from night. Reddish-gold hair tumbled over her shoulders and halfway down her back in a long braided plait that shone in the sun, swaying gently with each movement, while her violet eyes flashed across the area, as if searching for potential threats.

 

Satisfied that the nearby weeds meant the princess no harm, she allowed herself to relax for a moment, her thoughts turning towards the mysterious events that had set this strange adventure into motion.

 

The Pontics... Princess Catriona... The dark goddess Inera... And now, the Great Dragon of Galtean legend. So many disparate puzzle pieces, waiting to be sorted, concealing a deeper truth. Still, whatever was happening, it wasn't Anaïs' job to make sense of it. Her duty was to Princess Catriona and Princess Penelope, to the kingdom of Galtea, and from the looks of things, she would have her work cut out for her. Apart from perhaps Gunther, she didn't trust half the members of their motley company as far as she could throw them.

 

"If by my life or by my death I can protect you, I will. My sword is yours. This I swear by the honor of my House."

 

The ancient words had flowed easily from her lips, almost automatically, as she had knelt before the princess in the hallways of Castle Balfon and pledged fealty. It wasn't the first time she had sworn her life to another, nor would it be the last. A soldier's life was not her own to do with as she pleased. A soldier lived only to serve. To fight, to protect, and if necessary, to kill.

 

Anaïs blinked, her reverie momentarily disrupted as the sound of clashing metal erupted from somewhere close by, around the curve of the road.

 

"Fighting ahead!" Catriona called out, breaking into a run, the young Myrmidon right at her footsteps.

 

Within moments they had arrived at the scene, watching as a single man attempted to fend off several bandits by an overturned wagon. The man was badly outarmed and outnumbered: even in the unlikely event he managed to overwhelm the assailants surrounding him, he would be cut down in moments by the two archers. Princess Penelope instantly began reciting one of her improvised plans at top-speed, trying to develop a coherent strategy for engaging the enemy. An admirable effort, but most likely pointless. It was obvious from a quick glance that most of their traveling companions lacked serious combat experience and formal military training. They might be capable of holding their own in a barnyard brawl, but in a fight like this with multiple combatants, anything could happen.

 

Anaïs' eyes narrowed as she made her choice, her gaze focused upon the trio of bandits that lay on the far side of where Asura was fighting. Though she was loathe to leave Catriona's side, she knew that the princess was more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides, every axe-warrior she felled would be one less for Catriona and Penelope to worry about later. It was time to dance.

 

While Gunther and Princess Penelope began to work their way towards the two archers and the bandit leader, Anaïs sprang into action, her long plait trailing behind her like a fishing lure. She drew Aurore from its scabbard with a single smooth movement as she ran, passing by Asura, faster and faster, leaping high into the air over the poker-wielding merchant. She landed lightly on his far side, parrying an incoming blow from the burliest of the three men. The bandit gasped in surprise and then growled, tightening his grip on his axe before letting loose with a powerful vertical swing, attempting to cleave the young woman in half.

 

"What the—?" he mumbled, taking a step back in confusion as Anaïs literally twirled out of harm's way, arms extended like a ballerina, leaving his axe swiping at empty air. Before he could recover, the blonde spun out of her pirouette, her blade flashing as she cut downwards with savage precision, severing his hand at the wrist. The man collapsed with a howl, cradling his mutilated limb, while his two companions roared in anger, lashing out at her with their own weapons.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

It had been nearly a year since the young man set out. He'd left his home on the banks of the Yanti in October of last year, and had been chasing after that damnable thief ever since. The Lanti Steppe, the Dran Mountains, the rugged countryside of southern Histia, he had crossed all of these and questioned every soul he met along the way, and what did he have to show for it? Nothing. There had been no word of the thief or his horse, and it was growing frustrating. Still, the young man had resolved not to turn back just yet. So, as he sat there on the side of the Sage's Road with a heavy pack on his back, a bit of hard jerky in his hand, and a worn map of the world stretched out before him, he was left wondering.

"I could follow the road north into Galtea," he muttered aloud between bites of meat, "but I'd probably just be turned around at the border. I could double back and follow a mountain road up into Western Pontus, but there's no tellin' if the bastard even went there." So far he'd had at least some way of knowing where the thief had gone, but he hadn't heard anything from the people he'd met on the road in Histia. As far as he knew, the trail ended here and he hadn't had much luck. "Nah, makes the most sense to just keep lookin' here." He nodded his head, and began packing the map away. That was when he heard it.

 

The sound of battle. His father had shared many stories with him about his time in the army, and one thing that had stuck with him was the description of what battle sounded like. That sickening mix of metal clashing with metal and flesh and bone being cut apart. Of course he'd had his fair share of fights on this journey of his, so he'd developed his own idea of what it sounded like. Between his own, albeit limited, experience and the tales of his father he knew what this was. So, he gripped the shaft of his weapon, stood up, and began dashing up the road towards the source of the sound.

 

Edrick's gaze fell upon quite a sight. A group of roving bandits harassing a poor man, who seemed to be a merchant from his clothing, alongside an overturned cart. He hated to say it, but there were just too many bandits for him to fight off even if the Merchant were better in a scuffle than he looked. He was about to resign the man to his fate, and pray that the Goddess accept him into the afterlife, when others joined the fight. The first was a man who looked quite a bit like the friendly nomads he'd encountered once or twice on the steppe. The second and third were a man in plated armor, obviously a professional soldier of Galtea based upon the heraldry he wore, and a girl his age dressed far more finely than he'd ever seen. Between her looks and the power she wielded, he thought he was seeing an angel. The fourth to join the fray was another woman, older and apparently a soldier like the knight in spite of her lighter armor, who dashed past the nomad and engaged the three bandits closest to him.

 

"Well, that makes things a bit more even, doesn't it?" He chuckled, raising his weapon before he dashed up the road and into the fray.

 

As Edrick ran up, there was little way he could have been missed by the party. His clothing, though worn and dirty from his travels, was bright against the paved stone road and forest about it, and he was quite tall for his age. He wore no armor. In fact the only thing that came close to qualifying as such were the heavy leather boots upon his feet and the matching work gloves on his hands. Even his weapon marked him out as a farmer, a crude but deadly spear formed from a scythe held at the ready to swing. Still, this farm boy was fast.

 

While the bandits nearest him were still distracted by the woman with the sword, he rushed in and was upon them before they had any hope of turning to face him. His speed and the reach of his warscythe were both put to use, as he brought its blade around in two great sweeps. His lack of skill in combat was unfortunately made evident, as the two standing bandits were each only struck once. Even so, Edrick made his strength known to those two. The one to his left had his back torn open in a shower of blood, and the one to his right had his leg nearly cut completely through at the knee. The one left reeling from losing his hand though was much less lucky. If he hadn't stepped back he would have escaped with a wound, but as it stood he'd stepped right into the path of Edrick's first swing. His neck was severed, and his head struck the ground to roll about like a blood-filled melon.

 

Hoping to avoid giving the bandits a chance to retaliate with their axes and make use of the advantage those weapons gave them, Edrick turned and dashed towards the nearest of the archers with his warscythe ready for another strike. He hoped to take as much advantage of the surprise from his entrance as he could.

[Alaina]

It hadn't been long since he had joined the party, but there was some sort of feeling of disappointment welling up within Alois. He might not have been all that far from his home village, but nevertheless, everything still seemed to look the same, nothing really being able to match the grandiose outside world he had envisioned. And then there was the people themselves. None of them seemed all too special, and just seemed to have some sort of noble title attached to their name. He wasn't too familiar with the concept of nobles of all different families, but all that seemed to do was make them seem more uptight and annoying. And then there was Gunther. Alois wasn't entirely sure what it was about the little subservient brick head, but there was something about his pansy face that just made Alois want to give him a glare every once in awhile.

 

As he continued to silently judge the party while being bored with the current situation, his train of thought was derailed by the sacrificial princess's announcement. His attention perked up at the prospect of fighting, not overly excited but just having something to do. Pulling the axe off his back and keeping it just at the ready and by his side, he looked onward as the situation with the merchant presented itself. As soon as they got anywhere close to them, both the blonde haired woman and the dude toting around around the sword zipped off as fast as they could to get in on some of the bloodshed. Typical sword fighters. 

 

As he was getting ready to go into the fight himself, it seemed that the little shrimp princess had some kind of plan or something that she wanted them to follow, but Alois wasn't even half paying attention as she spoke. He just sort of nodded and said, "right, yes" in quite the same fashion a disinterested person would just nod along while someone ranted about their day. When she was done telling him everything that needed to be done, he just sort of gave a short wave as he jogged off saying, "good luck with that short stuff."

 

The sword guy, Asura, was not exactly in the best of positions, having jumped right into three of them. So Alois went to go assist the user by trying to catch one of the bandits off guard. "Hey ugly," the bandit turned his attention towards Alois as the boy charged in at full speed, axe held in both hands, and jumping straight towards the bandit with a powerful swing. Yes, the swing would do massive amounts of damage to the bandit, in the hypothetical universe where Alois managed to hit him. As it turns out, the bandit barely had to react to the boy as he had swung too early and from a bit too far away, missing the mark completely. 

 

A bit embarrassed by the miss and having to recover after landing on the ground, the now clearly angered bandit used his own axe to try and cleave Alois in two. With some last second reactions and a bit of the bandit's own ineptitude with aiming a swing, only slashing a bit through his shirt, and leaving only a mild scratch across his torso and a big wound to his wardrobe. In an effort to retaliate, Alois swung his own axe back at the bandit, smashing the side without the blade against the torso of the bandit causing him to wince and stagger back in pain. 

 

[spoiler=tldr]

Alois attacked Bandit B

 

 

[Saiba Aisu]

BGM

 

It happened out of nowhere. One moment, Anaïs was poised in a dancing stance, blade at the ready, perfectly in control of the situation. The first of the three men had already been neutralized, his dominant hand severed cleanly at the wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon. The next thing she knew, a tall young man had burst from the undergrowth behind the remaining two brigands, lashing out with a warscythe—of all things!—in wide sweeps. The stranger's technique may have been amateurish, but there was no mistaking the strength that lay behind his blows. The unsuspecting bandits had no time to react to the surprise attack, folding before him like stalks of wheat, their faces contorted in agony.

 

Anaïs winced as the first bandit, the one she had taken such pains to disarm, inadvertently stumbled backwards into the swing. His death was swift—and hopefully—painless. Lesser soldiers would have cried out in shock at the youth's unexpected appearance, or even wasted valuable time gaping in horror at the bloody head rolling through the weeds, but not Anaïs. Years of experience had long since hardened her to the cruel realities of death and war. For every action, there was a consequence; for every step in the dance, a price to be paid. Before the man's headless body had finished collapsing beside his crippled fellows, blood spewing from its neck, Anaïs was on the move once more, her golden plait trailing behind her as she ran at full speed back towards the rest of the party.

 

Protect the Princess. Catriona. Protect the Princess.

 

The words were like an obsessive chorus, like a feverish mantra, echoing through her mind again and again. Who was the strange youth wielding a warscythe? What were his intentions? Was he alone, or were there others hiding in the trees, waiting to strike? She did not know. All she knew was that the situation had changed.

 

She hurtled past the merchant, still clutching his poker with an expression of shock. Much like Catriona, she admired the man's courage and determination—leaving him at the mercy of the scythe-wielding stranger was unfortunate, but unavoidable. Gathering her strength, Anaïs leaped high into the air once more, arching her body and letting the force of her jump carry her over the first group of bandits, still battling furiously against Asura and Alois.

 

She hit the ground running, pummeling the road with every step, until she came to a sliding halt before Princess Catriona and the others. Whirling around, she raised Aurore once more, its long blade glinting silver as she assumed a defensive stance, determined to protect her royal charge to the last breath.

 

"Stay close, my lady," she murmured in her low voice. "There may be more of them."

[Supreme Gamesmaster]

Feray was not a soldier. She had no training in fighting in formation or defending against a wall of lances. She had no killer instinct that would let her react in times of crisis. She could not gracefully dance across the battlefield; she could not stand firm against an enemy offensive. She was no hero. But she was an expert at not being seen.

 

She separated from the princess almost immediately - they were supposed to be sneaking, after all, and a large group would attract suspicion. But she wasn't running off. She kept the princess just with in eyeshot, tracking her as if she were stalking a caravan through the woods. Her travellers' cloak, thrown over her mage's robes, blended well with the dull green-brown of the forest scenery.

 

She was practically melting underneath two robes in summer, but this was a time of war, and she had to make sacrifices.

 

The battle thus far was a disaster, even to Feray's untrained eye. Half the fighters had gone off half-cocked. She'd met that sort before, in the not-infrequent instances bandits tried to mug her on the road. They were her favourite kind - they were so easy to manipulate. Their opponents had hemmed them in, pressing on their force with suffocating strength. They couldn't actually make a dent in the cohort, mind, and the only corpses on the battlefield so far were bandits' bodies. But the party looked like they were losing, running about like headless chickens.

 

A fighter was headed towards them. An arrogant lout, no doubt. The swagger in his step Penelope cast a wind spell at him, but her spell was clumsy enough for him to dodge out of the way. Were she a trained fighter she'd probably notice his body movements - how he had to stop to evade the spell, how he barely managed to lean out of the way of the pressure blast, how he was probably off balance for a second and there was where she should strike. Alas, she wasn't, and she didn't notice any of that. Instead she watched his eyes. She watched as the blast of wind cut so close to his face it ruffled his hair. She watched as for a moment his eyes widened with fear, as the wind blasting past him sucked the breath from his lungs. But then she watched his slight smile as the spell flew past him, she watched his eyes set with a new determination. He'd survived a brush with the elemental, the mysterious, the magical, and survived. Now he thought he could handle it. Now he charged with grim confidence towards them, sure of his strength, determined to do them in.

 

She'd better fix that. She darted up a bit to the south of Gunther, moving as quickly as she could while still remaining quiet and unseen. She flipped open her book as she moved, tore out a page, whispered an incantation under her breath. She slipped in - closer - just a bit closer - there, a clear shot. She stopped for a second to line up her hit. It didn't matter if she struck him too badly. The important thing was, she had to hit. If he thought he could handle the power of magic, she had to prove there was something he'd sorely missed. She had to scare him. A fireball from nowhere ought to do the trick.

She pointed a slender finger just into his path. "Elfire!"

 

He saw it out of the corner of his eye, and a dark instinct somewhere within her lit up at the uncertainty she opened in him gave way to fear. As the fireball raced towards him, she couldn't help but whisper -

 

"Burn."

[a bad post]

Meifing lagged slightly behind the group, not for any particular reason however, she was simply enjoying the feeling of the gentle breeze in her hair and rustling of the grass on her feet. The day was beautiful, and though the shaman had enjoyed many days like this in her life she appreciated them each and every time. Her peace was quickly interrupted however as up ahead Meifing noticed that the leader of their merry band had stopped appearing to see something on the other side of the hill. 

 

"Hm? I wonder what all the commotion is about." Meifing frowned watched one by one her allies drift from her sight. "What a bother, charging forth without spending time enjoy the wonders of the open road. I suppose I better catch up to them lest I be left behind." Hiking up her long robes Meifing ascended to the peak of the hill to be greeted by the sight of her allies engaged in battle against several brigands. "How brutish."

 

Making her way to side of their healer Meifing took stock of the battlefield with a frown, taking careful notice of the archers near the rear of the enemy's formation. Meifing also took painful notice in the ways in which her allies where hopelessly outmatched by even these untrained brutes. 

 

"They have no form, strategy, or synergy what so ever," Meifing muttered half to Malu, "that younger princess, she's supposed to be some sort of genius isn't she, if she can't even command a group of this size effectively though I wonder how we will fare when more difficult opponents... more professional, uniform, and well-trained opponents stand in our way." At that moment however Meifing was interrupted by the whiz of an arrow sailing past her ear. Meifing's eyes quickly trained themselves on the offending archer who began knocking back another arrow.

 

"Stay back child," Meifing said producing a tome from within her robes, while also placing herself between Malu and the archer. Opening the book a spell circle expanded from around Meifing, ancient words floated in a circle around the dark mage, who began speaking in a language long lost to the people of Mysia as the dark energy danced across her fingers. Before the archer could let her second arrow go, the purple lightening of Meifing's tome had already lept from her fingers sending a bolt of energy straight into the archer's chest. It appeared, however, that the archer was ready for more, as the woman dusted herself off a angered grimace on her face as she glared at Meifing.

 

"Get back down, you offense to nature," Meifing scowled, sending another bolt the archer's way. This time though it appeared the woman was ready as she quickly ducked into cover avoiding the purple bolts. "You can't hide forever," Meifing muttered, "and when you come out you're all mine."

[ÆƵ–]

"How ya' doin' big guy?" Malu'kai said, patting their horsey companion on the neck. Igrid let out a snort and wobbled his head a bit, his mane making elegant black waves. "That bad, huh? I'm sure we'll stop soon bud, just a lil' more."

 

Malu'kai had been with this princess since day one of her epic quest, and they gained some... unique additions. Like Anaïs, for example. A fierce noble-lady who apparently knew Catriona from the past. She was elegant and kind, but she seemed to be detached from the group, only really connecting with Catriona. What's her deal?

 

Then there was Meifing. She was a weird one. She was pretty, but damn was she a weirdo. She was, what Malu'kai considered, obsessed with nature. Whenever she got the chance she would bend down on all fours and just stare at a flower or a bush, and write down whatever the f*** she wrote about. She seemed nice enough, but getting past the layer of weird would be a challenge for anyone. How old is she, anyways? She looks fairly young, but no one that young could ever be that f***ing weird.

 

And how could they forget about Alois? He wasn't like the others. Yeah, he was a guy. A pompous, egotistical guy. Sure he was tiny, but man did the kid have a mouth. It wasn't a foul mouth like Malu'kai had, but more of a mouth you want give a good punch to. He seemed like a funking idiot, but he knew what he was doing with an ax (though that came from his own mouth), so he earned a place in the party. If I ever get a chance to bruise that bastard I will not hesitate to take it.

 

Feray was also a memorable character. Memorable in the way that she seemed to want to flirt everything off. She was good at it, but man was it a strange tactic. I'm just glad she hasn't actually bedded anyone. That would be weird. 

 

There was also Princess Catriona's little sister and her guard. They were quite a pair. Malu'kai even felt a little sorry for the guy, what with all the nasty tricks his charge would play on him. Then again, he wasn't the smartest thing. And that girl, so cool and collected. They shivered at the thought of what might be going on in her mind. How these two have survived together without one of them dying is a mystery to me. Well, maybe they just stayed in the fort the whole time.

 

Then there came Asura. He only got in recently. He's just some rude numskull sellsword to Malu'kai. Not only that, but they seemed kinda... off. Better keep my eye on this one. We may be paying him, but that doesn't mean he can't snap.

 

As Malu'kai and Igrid arrived with the others (except Meifing, who was probably looking at more plants), they saw the fighting that was taking place. Metal clashing and blood spurting. Penelope speaking orders, trying to direct things as best she could despite the way that a few of them already lashed out. Only half listening, Malu'kai heard something about a merchant and their Rescue staff. But before they could ask again, Penelope was off with her group for what seemed to be the boss. Malu'kai attempted to catch up, but was distracted by the arrow that nearly flew into their arm. Just then, Meifing appeared in front of them, blocking any further shots that might be fired at the mounted healer. "Stay back child", she said. She then did what she did best, besides writing her notes: dark magic. "Thanks fer th' firepower, girly. But I gotta try and catch up with the lil' princess up there. I've got a bad feeling... C'mon Igrid!"

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Malu'kai moves a space or two behind Penelope's "second party"

 

 

[Sethera]

Catriona ran for the civilian, but found her way barred by fighting. Asura had swept into the fray like a whirlwind, hitting the nearest bandit twice in one go. The bandit retaliated in a wide, arcing swing that missed by what seemed like miles. The bandit nearby had missed his own swing, staggering in pain from Alois's blow, but going for a swing anyway. He missed, and stuck his axe into the cracks between the cobblestones.

 

Going for easier prey, Asura's bandit charged at Penelope, but changed his mind and went for Malu'kai instead when he saw them. Seizing this chance, Catriona rushed forward, blocking a blow aimed to cleave the horse in twain with her own weapon. For a second it was her strength against his...and she was stronger. Pushing forward and knocking him off balance, she slashed his chest, opening up the wound even further. He's dead, she observed. A wound that deep, unless he applies a vulnerary right away...

 

But the bandit apparently didn't have one, and a look of despair flitted across his face. Gritting his teeth and shouting, he lunged for the lord and subsequently impaled himself on her sword.

 

The woman straightened from her crouched stance, pulling her sword out from the bandit's chest as she did so. A familiar blonde blur raced up to her, revealing itself to be Anaïs when it stopped. "Stay close, my lady," she murmured. "There may be more of them." Catriona couldn't help the sigh she released. "Your concern is appreciated," she replied, lips quirking at the familiar words. This wasn't the first time they had performed this particular song and dance. "But I can take care of myself." She glanced pointedly at the fallen bandit in front of her.

 

Meanwhile, the bandit targeting Gunther had attacked, hitting him for a fair chunk of damage. However, the knight's armor had protected him from the full force of the blow. Before the fighter could do more than howl in frustration, a ball of fire hit his chest, and his howls heightened in pitch. Thinking the source to be Penelope, he threw himself at the tactician in a full-bodied tackle, shoving her onto the ground. He then chopped downward with his axe, aiming for the tactician's neck...

 

On the other side, both the remaining fighters turned to face Edrick, and both attacked at the same time. While the one on his right missed, impaired by his leg, the one on his left hit, slashing his side open. The archer nearby took this opportunity to fire an arrow at the lancer's back, while the one that had ducked into cover backed up to fire at Meifing, managing to hit her in the shoulder. Seeing this, the civilian man rushed at the bandit who had managed to hit Edrick, and stabbed him in the back with the iron poker, exacerbating the wound already there.

 

Meanwhile, the boss had set his eyes on Feray. "Magic," he snarled. Running forward, he swung his axe in a lumberjack chop. However, he had been a bit too eager to swing, as it went wide. But the strength of the swing...the howl of displaced air...it was enough to make even the cockiest battler take pause.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Fighter A attacks Malu'kai but is killed by Catriona.

Fighter B attacks Alois again but misses, and sticks his axe into the ground.

Fighter C is struck by the fireball and tackles Penelope, chopping downward.

Fighter E attacks Edrick and misses.

Fighter F attacks Edrick and hits.

NPC attacks Fighter F.

Archer A hits Meifing in the shoulder.

Archer B hits Edrick in the back. Edrick is now pretty wounded.

Bazba attacks Feray but misses.

 

 

[Supreme Gamesmaster]

She didn't kill him.

 

She didn't even make him hesitate.

 

Complete failure. Complete, total failure. In fact, she'd just made the situation worse in every way. Now the bandit she'd hit was tackling Penelope, while his clothes were on fire, and Feray couldn't do a damn thing about it because some other idiot was bearing down on her with an axe faster than she could think. Damn, she thought, I knew I'd screw this up, but I didn't think I'd do it that quickly. If I can't scare them and I can't stop them, what the hell good am I doing here?

 

She started muttering another incantation as the fighter approached him, but her tongue felt like a dead fish in her mouth and when he stood over her with his axe raised she couldn't make any sound at all. He let the axe fall -

 

It'd be wrong to say Feray dodged it. Her reaction time was nowhere near fast enough to dodge. She just stood there, immobile, unable to react, frozen in a moment of panic. She should have died, really, or at least lost an arm. But by pure luck, she got the bandit who had all the form and grace of a blind rhino. His swing went wide, and only the rush of wind past her ear jolted her back to reality.

 

His stupid swing had left him off balance. She took the opportunity to kick his ankle, hard, sending him toppling to the ground. A sweep like that wasn't enough to do any lasting damage, but that didn't matter. All Feray wanted in that moment was to run. And run she did. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, away from the fight.

 

She could have deserted them then. She could have run away and left all this fighting to the rest of these uncoordinated dolts. The thought did occur to her, as she slowly came to her senses. But she dismissed it as quickly as it came. For some reason abandoning them felt... wrong. She couldn't place why. They hadn't even told her what they were doing. But for some reason, rather than mapping out plans for escape, Feray's mind started working on tactical manoeuvres.

 

Stick with the plan, she thought. We're supposed to keep the bandits off us until we reach the boss. Yeah, fat lot of good I did at that. Where the hell is the boss...

 

She glanced around and realized, after the fact, that the bandit she'd left grimacing and wiping dirt out of his eyes was the very bandit leader they were looking for. Whoops. Well, phase one out is complete, I guess.

 

Penelope and Gunther were tied up with the flaming bandit Feray had created. If the boss bore down on them, it'd be a disaster. She had to keep him distracted from the rest of the group, even if only for a few seconds. She muttered another incantation on short breath, then whirled around, stopping her retreat dead in its tracks.

 

"You know you're actually supposed to hit people with that axe, right?" she said. "Elfire!"

 

Rather than stopping to watch the explosion, she ducked behind some trees, tossed off her traveller's cloak, and peered out. She had to make sure he could see her to follow her. If he didn't follow her... well, then she wasn't just a liability in battle, she was a fatal liability.

 

That said, she realized, my magic might look impressive, but apparently these people have seen it before. And I'm apparently not strong enough to actually do any damage. So I'm not really a threat. If they wise up to that fact... or if I miss, ever... and if these bandits don't have egos so thin I can deflate them with my playground insults... then I won't be worth chasing. And then I'll walk away from here with the deaths of all these people on my conscience.

 

She let that thought linger for a moment. Then she started another incantation.

 

[spoiler=OOC]Didn't realize we were supposed to do this, sorry. I moved south one space. (Thought I was on a forest already, whoops.) Obviously Feray has no idea she's walking straight into that archer's range. I imagine the tactician could probably tell her, but thanks to Feray, she's a little tied up. :'o

 

[Alaina]

A cocky grin flashed across Alois's face as the hit he delivered seemed to wind his opponent. Bringing his axe back to his side, the young fighter motioned towards himself with his free hand at the fighter, attempting to provoke him. "C'mon big guy," he taunted, "that all you got?" Alois got himself ready for the bandit's retaliation, as the man had charged at him with his own axe at the ready. Taking a quick back step away from the bandit, the effort proved to be ultimately unneeded as the man had missed regardless and got his axe stuck in the ground. With that, the bandits fate was sealed. 

 

Or it would have been, had Alois not had his attention drawn away by another close by bandit. Seeing that the bossy princess was getting barreled down by the not so petite bandit, Alois could only infer as to what was going to happen next. There was zero chance someone with as small a frame as hers could handle someone with that kind of strength just bull rushing her. "Tsk," Alois clicked his tongue in frustration. Alois turned his back to his prior opponent and started running, watching as the girl was taken down almost immediately. As the bandit brought back his axe, Alois knew what he could do about this. He wasn't fast or graceful enough to just stop the axe from up close, and he certainly didn't have the great aiming skills to throw his own axe and make sure it hit the bandit, (and not the downed girl.) So he used the only other projectile he had available. Himself.

 

Pushing off the ground with all he could muster, the young boy threw himself at the bandit, effectively charging into the bandit with his shoulder. The attack had caused Alois to completely lose his own balance and fall onto the ground, but simultaneously, he had knocked the bandit away from pasta princess. Picking himself back up, he got a grip on his axe once more as he saw the bandit start to recollect himself from the attack. Gripping his axe with both hands, Alois then went to bring down his axe blade on the bandit fighter as the bandit attempted to retaliate. 

 

[spoiler=tldr]

Alois bull rushed Bandit C and then attacked him. 

 

 

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Well, so much for hit and run. While Edrick had charged in and brought the bandits before him low, he had the misfortune of the woman who'd been engaging them before running off just as he'd been trying to. That of course meant that the axe-wielding bandits now only had him to focus on, and that was far from a good thing. The bandit with the wounded leg missed his swing, thankfully, as he stumbled on the now useless appendage. The other was not so clumsy, and the young farmer soon enough felt the axe digging into his side. He felt two ribs crack as the flesh was parted by an edge far too dull to make it anything close to painless, and as he turned himself back to face the axe men his back erupted in pain. Thankfully the arrow hadn't hit anything especially vital, though the shot had buried the head in his shoulder blade. Retreat felt like a good option right now. A very good option in fact. He wasn't a soldier, and he was fast enough that he could probably get away if he ran. Then he could find his way to a town, purchase a Vulnerary or two, and be well enough to get back on the road. Unfortunately, someone else had a different idea.

 

The man he'd assumed to be a merchant, who'd been assailed by these bandits in the first place, ran up and stabbed the fellow he'd cut across the back. That made things difficult. He couldn't just dash out and leave the man to handle them on his own, even if the archer would at least probably not bother with the poor man at this point. The man with the rod had held his own at least for a bit, but he would probably end up cut to bits by the man between them. Thankfully, as the young man turned his gaze momentarily towards the other side of the battleground, he noted the presence of several others that were also fighting the bandits. Notably among them was the woman who'd run off as soon as he'd engaged the bandits. 

 

"Well, this is a pickle," he thought, before ultimately deciding on his course of action. He couldn't just leave the man on his own, and with this party right here there was a chance he wasn't just going to die if he stayed in the fight. "Inera watch over me." The prayer was muttered under his breath, and he brought his weapon about to level the tip with the bandit who had cut open his side. Close as they were, and with the man surprised to take a rod in his wound, it was a simple matter to just shove that curved blade into his chest. The blade pushed through skin, cut through bone, and politely introduced itself to the man's internal organs. He probably would have screamed, if his lungs weren't rapidly filling with blood. Turning his attention to the man with the wounded leg, Edrick made to withdraw his warscythe and swing it at him. Only...there was one problem.

 

"Damned thing's stuck..." The blade, which had been angled vertically when it was thrust, found itself stuck in the dying bandit's chest. Certainly a morbid image to be sure, but right now he needed to do something before the fellow got lucky with a swing. So, rather than try to tear it out, Edrick simply released his hold on the shaft and sent a vicious kick at the stumbling bandit. It didn't kill him, even as strong as he was he couldn't kill a man just with a kick, but it did send him sprawling away and gave the young lancer some room to work with. The threats to him in melee handled for the moment, Edrick turned towards the archer and raised his fists in a rough imitation of a boxing pose. Mostly, he just wanted to be able to see the man so he could try and dodge his next shot if possible. "Any help at all would be appreciated!" He called out, remembering that there was an entire party that had rolled up down the road since he'd joined the fight. Sure he'd heard a few sounds over there that he couldn't quite explain, but that didn't mean they were using dark magic... did it?

 

[spoiler=ooc]

Edrick stabbed Bandit F, kicked Bandit E to the ground, and turned to face Archer B so he can be ready to dodge his next shot.

 

[Saiba Aisu]

"Your concern is appreciated," Catriona replied, in a voice that suggested she was torn between exasperation and amusement at Anaïs' reaction. "But I can take care of myself."

 

The Crown Princess glanced pointedly at the corpse of the fallen bandit that lay before her, as if to her emphasize her words. This time, although she nodded silently, it was Anaïs' turn to suppress the urge to sigh. That was the problem with guarding hardened warriors, rather than simple civilians. In the case of the latter, she could usually count on her military knowledge and years of experience to sway her charges into doing things her way, which more often than not involved them sitting safely by the sidelines while she got up close and personal with the enemy.

 

Catriona, however, appeared to have other ideas and quite frankly, who could blame her? The princess' skill with a blade was practically legendary, renowned across the entire kingdom: she was hardly a slacker in that department. Truth be told, after fighting alongside her during their campaigns at the Galtean-Pontic Border, Anaïs had even found herself dreaming of the opportunity to cross swords with her royal charge once or twice—all in the interest of improving their skills, of course. As a capable warrior in her own right, it made sense that Catriona wouldn't take kindly to be treated like a child... Although it sure would have made Anaïs' job a whole lot easier.

 

I know you can take care of yourself, the young Myrmidon thought as she turned back towards the battlefield, her violet eyes flashing as she drank in the details of the chaotic dance that surrounded them. That doesn't change the fact that I'm expendable and you're not.

 

Still, what was done was done. The princess had spoken, and according to the ancient oath she had sworn, Anaïs was obligated to obey without question. She was merely a tool, a weapon, to be used and discarded by Catriona as she saw fit. There was no point in getting upset over it—especially not when there was still so much to be done.

 

"Of course, my lady," she murmured evenly, bowing her head slightly in deference. "Forgive my enthusiasm."

 

At that moment, the flow of battle took a hideous turn for the worse. Despite being nailed squarely in the chest by one of Feray's fireballs, the bandit that Gunther was supposed to be handling made a sudden dive for Penelope, tackling the young princess to the ground. Before the brigand had finished raising his axe for the fatal strike, Anaïs leaped forward, brandishing Aurore, preparing to lash out with a full-power blow that would sever the man's arms. Yet fast as she was, she knew she was too late—the pair was just out of reach, the bandit's axe was already hurtling towards Penelope's exposed neck, and she had no time, no time...

 

Alois crashed into the bandit from the side, the force of his tackle interrupting the man's deadly blow at the last minute, carrying them both away from the downed princess, where they promptly began to grapple with each other. Not even a full second later, Anaïs landed lightly on the other side of Penelope. She planted her legs firmly on the ground and assumed a defensive stance, using her own body as a shield, trying to cover as much space as possible. Her fierce violet gaze was trained upon the remaining bandit that lay just out of reach to her left, licking his lips nervously and clutching his axe, unsure whether or not he should strike.

 

"Don't even think about it," she advised in a cold ringing voice, her eyes narrowing. "Unless you have a death wish."

 

Bold and foolhardy words, but hopefully they would be enough to intimidate him and buy some time for Penelope to get back to her feet. Until she did, however, Anaïs was at a distinct disadvantage, forced to stand her ground, unable to use her evasive dancing for fear of leaving the girl exposed.

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura's happiness at the prospect of a good fight was starting to slowly fade as he saw Alois swing at a bandit... and miss completely. That wasn't the thing that disappointed him, however. It was the fact the bandit swung back... and barely nicked the boy. No, he didn't want Alois to get hurt, but the fact that the bandit messed up such a prime opportunity to counter attack told him these were not the people that would liven up his bored life.  

 

All hope of a good fight was flushed right out of his system when the one he attacked dashed off to attack.. oh, what was that person's name...? Malu'kai, that was it. Running off instead of facing him like a man, what a coward. Thankfully, the princess took care of that bandit pretty easily. Granted, he did slash him twice, so he probably wasn't in the best of shape. He checked on the merchant who they were protecting. He seemed okay so far. However, the random farmer that ran in to help did not seem 'okay' at all.

 

Or was he? He did take a hit, yes, but he managed to stab one with a scythe and kick down another one. That wasn't too shabby for someone with obviously no formal training. Still, better safe than sorry...

 

 "Any help at all would be appreciated!" the farmer called out. Well, help was coming now. Asura rushed down the path, closing the distance, holding his sword backwards, so the blade was pointed behind him instead at his enemy. The nomadic swordsman then leaped into the air and started to spin, his sword catching the light and flashing dangerously. He let gravity take over as he fell back to earth and landed on his feet, using the momentum to stab the bandit 'farm boy' had kicked down. He stood up and turned towards the archer staring them down. 

 

"You could give up now. I'm sure you have a family to go back to," He said in a bored tone as he rested his blade on his shoulder, hoping the blood painted on the blade would intimidate the bandit.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The attack landed, dealing slight damage to Gunther. Still, it caused pain to course through her, which made him freeze in place and hesitate. It hurt, he was hurt, luckily it wasn’t anything major so Gunther was able to break through the pain. Unluckily it wasn’t fast enough, for the bandit rushed Penelope right after. And Gunther, in all his armor, was too slow to be able to intercept.

Penelope let out a cry of alarm as the flaming bandit brought her to the ground. She gasped in pain as she landed, and the wind was knocked out of her. She couldn’t do anything but watch as the bandit began the swing that would end her life.

Until Alois gave him a taste of his own medicine and knocked him over. Penelope would have to thank the Fighter somehow...of course had he stuck to the plan perhaps this wouldn’t have happened in the first place...
There was no time to waste, a battle was underway. She looked to Gunther, who was avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry, Princess, I...”

Penelope shook her head. “Stop that, no time for regret, Feray is in danger, protect her. Be careful.” She was talking in a clipped tone, in part out of pain, in part because she was trying to focus. They had the number advantage but if even one of them were killed this would be a total failure. Gunther was at an disadvantage against the Fighter who was clearly the leader, however he was strong enough to take at least one hit. And with both the magic users nearby, hopefully they got the hint.

The merchant was in good hands, it seemed, as a new ally appeared, and Asura rushed to his rescue. His rashness bothered her, but that would’ve probably been the general plan anyway.

Penelope noticed Anais standing off against the northern bandit, and Catriona was nearby as well, he was as good as gone. So that means...

There was a clash of steel as Alois’ axe hit the axe of bandit that he had tackled off of her. They clashed like that, seemingly at a stale-mate. One which Penelope was lucky enough to be in perfect position to end. She drew Katarina out of her sheath, and went forward. She moved the bandit’s side and swung her sword in an arc. “Just as planned!" She managed to strike at an entirely unprotected portion of his side, and dug her blade deep, slashing a critical wound open. The bandit let out a gasp and dropped, he wouldn’t live much longer.

Penelope felt a brief moment of elation, she did it! And then she looked at the body, at the man's life-blood pouring out onto the ground...it was terrible. Nothing like it had described in her books. She took a few steps back, trembling slightly, unable to tear her gaze away but wanting to look anywhere else.

Gunther had moved before Penelope, realizing what she meant immediately. He didn’t want to approach such a powerful looking axe-user but it was that or run...and that would’ve put him in an even worse position. Cursing himself for even having the thought, Gunther headed towards where Feray had previous been, and attacked the bandit leader. The stab was easily parried by the boss, and the crooked smile the Fighter gave Gunther made the Knight gulp. This was going to hurt.
[spoiler=OOC]
Now if I got this right...Bandit C is one space down, and Penelope is where Gunther was, as she landed a crit on Bandit C. Gunther meanwhile moved one space down to where FERAY was, and attacked, and missed, Boss Bandit.

Then, not sure if a few steps is enough to place her one square back but if so, that's where she is.

 

[ÆƵ–]

“Damn, people are gettin f***ed up here. Igrid, you think we can make it through this?” Malu’kai spoke these words to their hooved friend, who in reply bobbed their head and stamped a hoof. “That’s the spirit, boy. Let’s ride!”
 
As they spoke these words, they looked out over the battlefield. Blood, metal, fire, trees… Wait, fire?! Thought it was only for a brief moment, Malu’kai saw the terror of the man on fire tackle Penelope. “Don’t touch her!” they shouted, reaching out a hand. But they did not move, and Penelope laid on the ground with the entorched man readying a swing. Good thing Alois was there to tackle the tackler, and in turn untackling the original tacklee. “Gods damn, that was terrifying. But at least she’s safe.”
 
It was at this moment that Malu’kai heard it: "Any help at all would be appreciated!" Looking around the plane, they see no one in the immediate vicinity, that could have said that. But out of the corner of their eye, they saw a blur running away from the party. It was the sellsword, Asura. “Oy, what the f*** are you runnin’ off for? We’ve got bandits to fight you f***up!” Malu’kai shouted. Asura didn’t even look back, he just ran off to the cart. As Malu’kai followed him with their eyes, they then saw the source of the slightly sarcastic shout for help: It was a boy. He couldn’t be any older than eighteen. And he was fighting. And he was in danger. And Asura was running towards him. “Asura I swear to gods if there is a hair on that head harmed... “ As they said this, they took the Rescue staff off of their back, their knuckles turning pale with the force of their rage-filled grip.
 
“Get that precious child over here and out of that maniac’s way!” Upon half-shouting these words, the staff light up in a glorious emerald green, and a circle of the same color grew around the boy that Asura was rushing to. Then in an instant, the light went out, and the boy disappeared from the spot. Turning Igrid and themself around, Malu’kai looked down at the young boy. “I got you, youngin. You’re safe now. I’m Malu’kai, and this fine man I’m riding is Igrid. Any questions?”

[a bad post]

The archer again rolled out from behind her cover firing a quick shot which found its mark in Meifing's shoulder.

 

"Guh!" Meifing dropped her book taking cover behind one of the trees nearby. Gritting her teeth the dark mage ripped the arrow from her shoulder tossing it aside. "Well then it appears the time for mercy has ended." Fishing inside her robes Meifing produced another tome, this one exuding a dark energy. Normally she would not have resorted to using this tome so easily, however their only healer was pre-occupied with something else it appeared, and this would needed treatment quiet soon. "You've made a grave mistake, young lady...."

 

Rather than a circle surrounding Meifing this time dark mist began to pool around the druid's feet. "Nosferatu..." As soon as Meifing had spoken the deadly words the mist began to expand wrapping around the enemy archer immobilizing her and a dark veil of purple energy surrounded her headed making her appear to be some sort of dark bride. Encased now in Nosferatu's dark embrace the archer was no longer visible, and only her horrified screams could be heard before her lifeless now heavily aged body was dropped to the ground and the mist dispersed.

 

"What foul business that is..." Meifing scowled touching her fingers to the now patched wound, stowing the ancient tome again within her robes. Looking around Meifing noticed that the young mage girl had entered the forest as well, and had likely seen her use Nosferatu. "Well that could be quite a problem." Mefing pursed her lips as she retrieved her other tome from where it had fallen.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The fire magic was dangerous, the bandit’s boss realized, but he wasn’t one to run from danger. So instead he ran towards the danger. He moved quickly enough to just narrowly avoid the attack, but not quickly enough to reach the Mage before the Knight intercepted with a horribly aimed attack. He grinned widely. Screw chasing the magic user into the woods, this would be much easier prey.
And so he brought down the axe.

Catriona cursed, having witnessed her sister be brought down. She had been foolish, and didn’t notice. Before she could take revenge, she was surprised to see the young Fighter they had brought with them rushing to defend Penelope.“Well she always did have strange admirers.” But even more surprising than that was how Penelope counter attacked and slayed the bandit. Catriona found herself somewhat proud of her sister. She noticed the reaction Penelope had but couldn’t bother with helping her. There was a battle underway, and besides, Penelope had to work this out herself.
She heard rather than saw Gunther’s injury. There was a sickening sound of metal cutting through metal and hitting flesh, followed by a scream.
She whipped around and saw the largest of the bandits with an axe buried into Gunther’s chest. “Damn!” She cried out in anger, as another of her allies was struck right before her eyes, and without further thought she leapt into action. Holding her sword low and to the side, the Lord rushed past her sister, around Gunther, and towards the bandit.

She brought her sword up in an arc, aiming for the boss bandit. But, it seemed her opponent had some skill of his own. He pulled away from Gunther, letting the Knight drop, and blocked her blade. He swung back at Catriona, and she had to jump back to avoid the attack. Feeling the adrenaline rush through her, Catriona didn’t bother with words. She thrust her sword at the bandit, who wasn’t quite able to dodge. The blade sunk into his side and she was rewarded with a grunt of pain. Glancing up at the larger man, she expected to see pain or panic in his eyes. Instead she found a fierce glint that bespoke of much brutality. The man reared his head back and then slammed it into Catriona’s. The girl was taken by surprise by the unconventional attack and was staggered, open for his next attack, which seemed to be coming soon in the form of an overhead swing.

The bandit that was being threatened by a female Myrmidon was somewhat frozen in place. He didn’t want to charge in and get sliced to pieces, nor did he want to run and face his leader’s wrath later. And then he saw their boss’ successful strike on the Knight and it emboldened him. That and the fact that the purple haired girl had left. He ran, not at the Myrmidon, but past her and towards the lance using boy near the horse...woman? Raising his axe he brought it in a sweeping arc, aiming to take the boy’s head off at the shoulders.

Having just seen his two allies be laid low, and a farm boy vanishing into nothing, and having a frightening man staring him down, the Archer was not having a good time. In fact he’s pretty sure he wet himself a little. However just as he was about to bolt he saw movement. The bandit that the swordsman had stabbed hadn’t been killed, and he lashed out with a, somewhat sluggish, slash with his axe. He struck the man in the side, cutting a wound into the unexpecting man. The archer almost let out a cheer and backed away some paces. Beginning to steady his shaking hands to take a shot at the swordsman.

“I’m in trouble.” thought the Thief that had been hiding in the forest nearby. He had been ordered to stay there, out of sight, just in case of an ambush. Unfortunately he had fallen asleep and only woke up when the attack was already underway. Lucky for him, he had a chance to redeem himself so the boss didn’t off him for his mistake. A lovely young magic user had wandered close to his hiding place. A dark mage at that. He would have to take action. Silently pulling his blade out, he crept closer, closer...and then attacked, cutting deep into the woman’s back, then pulling back and thrusting forward.

[spoiler=OOC]Errr I don’t know how to do those map things but here’s the previous.

So this is how I see it. Asura is where Fighter F was. Fighter E is behind him. Archer B is one step down.
Edrick is one to the left of Malu and Fighter B is above him.
Penelope, Anois, Gunther, and Feray are all one space down. And Catriona is to the right of the leader.
Thief is to the left of Mei

Archer A is dead
Archer B is readying a shot at Asura
Fighter B attacked Edrick
Fighter C is dead
Fighter E is wounded but attacked Asura, hitting him in the side.
Fighter F is dead
Boss Fighter attacked and majorly wounded Gunther, then was attacked by Catriona. She wounded him somewhat but he headbutted and stunned her, before getting ready for the coup de grace.
And the Thief sneak attacked Mei, wounded her in the back, and is preparing to stab through her.

I...THINK I got it all, please tell me OOC or PM or Skype if I made a mistake.

 

[Alaina]

The bandit ended up being stronger than Alois was giving him credit for. As the two had clashed their axes, they entered a sort of power struggle, causing each one to push back against the other's axe with each of their full strengths. It seemed to be a bit of a stalemate, but Alois was certain that he would be the victor. Even if he wasn't stronger than the bandit, it mattered little as a third party had entered the fray to end this confrontation. He saw someone about half the bandit's size come in and shout something, while cutting into the bandit with her sword. As the clash between the two ended, Alois couldn't help but stifle a laughter at the fact that the short stack princess had yelled, "just as planned." 

 

This sort of laughter was quickly brought to an immediate stop, as pansy face took an axe not so well to his body. Seeing another of his group members being taken down by a bandit, Alois got his tackling shoulder ready, as he was going to save another person from certain death by axe. However, he soon saw that the more combat suited princess sprung into action and started fighting herself. Well, surely she'd have this covered, and thus that gave Alois more time to actually do an attack and not just a tackle. As such, Alois gripped his weapon tight with both hands and started to charge at the bandit leader. While the princess didn't seem to have the situation entirely under control, that ultimately didn't change what Alois was going to do. There was the odd thought that, axes, of all things, were what was bringing this group to its knees left right and center, but that too did not effect what Alois was doing. Once in range, he swung his axe at the side of the bandit leader as hard as he could at his side to try and bring the man down. 

 

[spoiler=tldr]

Alois went to attack the bandit leader 

 

 

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Edrick was not having a good day. What he'd thought was just going to be a simple case of helping out a group of travelers had turned into a battle that was consistently putting his life in danger. Things had been looking up when that swordsman, who looked quite a bit like the nomads that would occasionally come into town to trade, came along and apparently dispatched the bandit. He was even coming up with a plan for how to get out of the next bit: dodge the archer's shot, rip his warscythe out of the dead bandit's chest, cut down the archer, and then push the bandit he'd kicked down the rest of the way from apparently dead into definitely dead. After that, he hadn't been sure what he'd do... though the most attractive option had been to run off and hide behind a tree for a little while. This whole thing was getting to be too much for him.

 

"Hey,"  he began, turning his head so he could look back and see the swordsman who'd come to his rescue, "make sure-" an unpleasant sensation of vertigo overcame the young man, and before he knew it he was no longer between an archer and a myrmidon. He was on the far side of the battlefield, and thoroughly disoriented. "-he's dead..."

 

Well, now he was panicking. He'd never heard of any magic that could pick someone up and move them somewhere else in an instant, so he assumed it was dark magic. He forgot the pain in his side and his shoulder, and began frantically looking around like a gopher that had gotten into a sack of coffee. All he wanted to do was turn and run as fast as he could to get away from there, though he had enough senses left in him to know that from where he was the open road led up to Galtea. He couldn't go there, and not just because of the prevalence of dark magic. Thankfully, in spite of his panic, he was aware enough to notice that one of the bandits was charging him. 

 

He ducked below the sweep of that axe, the blade whistling through the air above him. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he steadied himself on the ground, and made ready to spring back up. He remembered the fights he'd gotten into with the other boys back in his village, and so he clenched his hands so tightly the skin on his fingers turned white. As he rose up, he brought his left fist up hard and fast towards the bandit's chin. He felt the impact, his fist forcing the bandit's chin up and his head back. Edrick heard the sickening sound of flesh tearing and bone cracking as the fighter's neck broke, and his body went limp. A wordless cry of pain, fear, and rage escaped the young farmer's mouth as the force of his rise momentarily lifted him off the ground, and sent the bandit flopping to the ground like a dead fish.

 

"I am not dying here!" The farmboy shouted as he felt his feet come back to the ground, his arms shaking uncontrollably and his breathing ragged thanks in part to a terrifying brush with death but mostly the axe wound in his side. He began looking around again... and that was when he saw her. Just past the mounted woman between him and the rest of the fighting, she was engaged with the leader of the bandits. While the others saw Catriona, Edrick, his mind addled by panic and blood loss, or maybe he simply caught sight of something the others could not, saw the Goddess Inera herself. More importantly, he saw that the big guy was striking at her, and he just could not accept that. So, Rather than just let the bandits' leader strike her down, he charged. Rather than try and punch the fellow, he instead leveled his good shoulder on the boss and rammed it into his side. Since the fellow had been readying an overhead swing, it wasn't much of a challenge to knock the unsuspecting foe off balance and send him staggering several feet to the side. He grinned, and made ready to stab the... oh yeah, he didn't have his weapon. That certainly put a damper on things. So, his words slurred a bit from the delirium of blood loss, Edrick shouted out. "Someone throw me a spear!"

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura could see that the Archer was terrified out of his mind. Perfect. That made him more likely to surrender. He didn't want to kill some weakling who probably didn't even want to be here. Then they could take the farm boy to Malu'kai and have her... um... him... it heal the guy. Asura was confident the rest of the group could handle one bandit boss.

Before the two could attack the archer, farm boy disappeared in a flash of light. Well... that was not something you saw every day. Asura looked up at the sky blankly. Was it one of the gods? Did a demon snatch him up? ... Was it aliens?! He made a mental note to ask someone what an alien was after the battle. The light show made Asura forget one basic rule of combat though...

 

The Fighter he stabbed was not dead. Even worse, he caught him completely off guard and struck the swordsman in the side, cutting him and causing him to bleed, the pain snapping Asura back into reality. The nomad place his hand over the wound and felt a warm and somewhat sticky substance start to coat his palm. He looked down and looked at it. He saw blood. His blood. The coward not only had attacked him dishonorably and in a deceptive way, but caused him to bleed.

Asura snapped. His vision was tinted red as he spun around to retaliate, slashing the man's neck with his blade. However, the sudden motion cause his side to protest with more pain, and the swordsman instinctively grabbed his side. In the split second he did, he realized he left himself wide open for the archer.

Oh... crap. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Gunther shouted out in agony as the axe bit deep into his body, right past his defenses. This guy was strong! Gunther collapsed by the force of the blow, combined with the sudden pain. He nearly blacked out from it, and could do nothing to respond. He knew he had to get up, pick his lance back up, and get to the battle. His companions needed him...and yet...he couldn't, he just couldn't. Damn damn damn, Gunther cursed his own pathetic nature as the battle raged on, and he clutched at his bleeding wound. The worst part is he knew Penelope would blame herself for this...

 

 

Penelope blamed herself totally for what happened to Gunther. It had hurt her more than any attack the bandits could have done to her to see him go down like that. She hadn't wanted to send him into that fight but what could she do? Feray would have died had she not sent him to interfere. The only upside was this took her out of the shock at having killed her first man. "Malu, get to Gunther and do it NOW! We have our chance to turn this around and I will not lose a single one of you!"

 

And to make sure of that, she'd have to abandon this fight. The boss was currently surrounded and she was sure they could work together to bring him down. She had heard the sound of magic from the forest to the south, dark magic from what Penelope could tell. She couldn't quite see what was happening but she thought they would also have it covered. The one she was worried about was...

Asura, the mercenary they had hired, who apparently was a reckless idiot to rival her sister. She ran forward quickly, to get near to the Archer as they readied an arrow. She wouldn't reach him in time to attack with her blade. Luckily she didn't need it.

 

She cast her Wind spell, sending a slashing gust into the bowman, which caused his shot to miss Asura. Penelope kept going, hoping to use this to her advantage, and brought her sword in an arc, aiming for the man's back.

 

 

"Oi dey shoula been back by now what's takin...da fock?" A burly Fighter appeared onto the battlefield from the North, and saw his companions being set upon by a gaggle of enemies. And they...were losing? "Bloody ell, these wankers can't do nothin' without me." He charged into battle, taking swing at the first foe nearest to him, a female Myrmidon.

 

[spoiler=OOC]More or less, Penelope ordered Malu to heal Gunther, attacked the Archer with Wind, then prepared to attack with sword. Gunther is just laying there, bleeding. And new Fighter appeared to attack Anais. And look, Sethera did the map thing!

 

 

[Saiba Aisu]

Things couldn't be worse. Their motley party was in total disarray, scattered across the battlefield like the four winds, with several members appearing to have sustained heavy injuries from the bandit posse. While most were fighting with greater skill and courage than the young Myrmidon had expected—a pleasant enough surprise, she had to admit—it was clear that the lack of a central strategy was hurting them. Badly. As if on cue, Gunther let loose an unearthly scream as the bandit leader buried his axe deep in his chest.

 

Still, it would appear that the blow hadn't been quite enough to finish off the Knight. There was still time to act. Gunther was still alive, though badly wounded, and Penelope appeared to be out of danger for the moment. That just left...

 

"My lady!" Anaïs cried out in warning, trying in vain to prevent Catriona from leaping into the fray. The Crown Princess paid her no heed, hurtling towards the bandit leader like a woman possessed, lashing out with her own weapon. For a moment, it seemed like the Lord had the upper hand, landing an early blow on her opponent which would have given most men something to pause and think about.

 

The bandit leader, apparently, was not most men.

 

"CATRIONA!" Anaïs yelled, her voice raw and harsh, watching in horror as the bandit leader ignored the injury, preferring instead to nail the princess with a savage headbutt, causing her to stagger backwards, defenseless before the incoming blow.

 

For the second time in less than five minutes, a opportune rescuer intervened at the last moment, using his shoulder to lead into a charging tackle that knocked the bandit leader a few feet to the side, saving the princess' life. It was the mysterious young man that had appeared from before, the one who had been wielding a scythe! Was he an ally after all, or was he acting under some other motivation? More importantly, how had he managed to cover so much ground so quickly from where she had last seen him, at the far end of the wagon, especially with those injuries? It was almost like magic.

 

Although Catriona seemed unharmed for the time being, Anaïs wasn't going to take any chances, especially since her would-be rescuer appeared to be unarmed. He was brave, she would give him that much, but bravery wouldn't last for long against the bandit leader's axe. And neither would the youth, from the look of his wounds, unless he received treatment quickly. Her muscles straining to coax every ounce of speed from her limbs, Anaïs began to dash to the scene, violet eyes narrowed, so close, almost there...

 

There was the sound of pounding footsteps from behind, a deep masculine grunt, and the cold song of metal whistling through the air. Anaïs let her battle instincts take over, throwing herself forward in a low dodge roll, only just managing to evade the deadly blow. Turning a somersault in the road to dispel her momentum, tearing her black stockings and kicking up clouds of dust in the process, she gazed at the rapidly advancing form of another bandit, almost as burly as his boss. It was just as she had feared: more hostiles concealed just out of sight along the road, waiting to strike.

 

Up until now, every one of Anaïs' movements had been careful, deliberate, and painstaking executed. A mild waltz, if you will, with no intention of killing her opponents if she could avoid it. The young Myrmidon got to her feet and raised Aurore towards her opponent, mindless of her unraveling plait and the tattered hair ribbon that fluttered to the ground behind her.

 

"You're in my way," Anaïs said simply.

 

She leaped forward in a new dance, feverish and frenetic, dancing fearlessly in and out of the man's axe strikes in a mad caper like one of the Maenads of legend, her reddish-gold hair flying like flames. Caught off-guard by her unusual movements, the bandit growled and redoubled his efforts, but to no avail. He shifted his weight, stumbled, and stepped, slightly off balance. That was all the opening she needed. Without breaking rhythm, Anaïs ducked under his blow and whirled, spinning like a top, her booted foot swinging out and catching the man squarely at the knee. The bandit cursed as his leg buckled involuntarily, forcing him down on one knee, his fingers still curled around the handle of his axe. There was no time for him to speak, no time to beg for mercy. The young Myrmidon lashed out towards the man's exposed neck, weaving a deadly web of silver with her blade.

 

[spoiler=Tldr.]Sorry for the long post, there was a lot to react to. Basically, Anaïs—now sans perfect braid—is trying to decapitate the bandit that most recently appeared and almost got the drop on her.