Re: Province (RPG THREAD)

[Damxge]

I stood, back against the tree, gazing into the night to where a soft flicker of orange managed to shine through the trees, the whisper of men reaching my ears, quickly followed by the shuffling of weapons. I looked up into the darkness above me where Small had been perched, though I couldn't tell if he were still there or not through the pitch blackness. The beast-man had, too, disappeared into the night. All of this stealth and hiding did not suit me, but it was necessary now. While I might take a few sword blows and live, my companions were far more frail and victory was no victory if there was no one to share in it with.

The party was growing increasingly near and would soon stumble upon our camp to find me standing here seemingly alone. I frowned at the thought, would that not be favorable? I felt as if I were thinking more along the lines of the beast-man and Small; this gave me some small amount of satisfaction and a plan began to develop. I would allow them to discover me, I could not sneak away without alerting them, so it was the only option. I would draw their attention long enough for my companions to get a good position when the fighting starts. A well placed ballista could change the fate of a battle, and an archer was basically a small ballista. And then they were here.

Twelve men, all armored and armed with blades and pikes, the leader holding aloft a torch, singing the leaves above as he walked. As one, the party halted, several men gasping and taking a quick step back. Weapons were lowered and no one budged, the standoff stretching on for a solid five minutes as I stood stock still, staring them down. I was just wondering how long it would take for my companions to find a good position when an arrow streaked out of the trees to our left, skewering the man with the torch through the neck, another from the right taking down one of the pike-wielders. With a roar, I lunged forward, tearing my axes from their holsters on my back, slashing wildly into the group as they recoiled in fear. The forest going dark as the torch hit the ground, its flame dying to a dull flicker, just enough light to discern who I was tearing to pieces, their red crest flashing in my mind as my vengeful rage took hold, the whistle of arrows barely audible over the crash of metal on metal.

[LordTomyh]

Watching, waiting. Damta felt a tingle go down his spine making his tail twitch. He felt a primal pause, the wait just before the pounce. A sensation that made his body quiver with anticipation. The Tall Man stared off with the men, the silence stretching on. His feline face set grimly the Leonian rose and nocked an arrow. He found no pleasure in spilling blood, just or nay. But if truly these men had evil in their hearts, then let his arrows speed them to their judgment.

Inhaling, Damta raised his bow, drew back the arrow, and aimed the head for one of the pikeman.

An arrow felled a man opposite from the Leonian. Damta let out his breath.”

“Ah.”

The string slapped his leathered wrist. As the pikeman fell Damta nocked another arrow, inhaling.

“Beh”

Another man fell, through Damtas kills paled to the Tall Mans. He doubted the larger human, like his small ilk if they are of the same family, could see in the dark.

But Damta could.

A man threw down his pike and turned to flee.

“Tseh”

The man went down with a wordless scream. Looking back to the fight Damta saw one last kill, a man with a dagger advance on the Tall Man from behind.

“Deh”

The man screamed as two arrows pierced his body, one from either side, and he fell to the ground. The Tall Man finished his own kill and turned to the noise, seeing the shot man drowning on his own blood. A swift boot through his head put him from his misery.

“Is that still my kill?” Dyris asked emerging from the woods. Damta appeared across from him, bow stowed and hands clasped in front of him.

“I do not tally my kills in sport,” the Leonian said, making a motion of pray in front of him before seeking out his arrows.

“But that last kill belonged to all of us. Tall Man simply ended his poor and miserable life.”

[Conor]

The night fell silent again. With the fire in mere embers and the morning a good few hours away, it was almost as if time itself had stopped.
The three of us stood as a unit, arrow-filled corpses littering the ground. As the shortest one of the group, dwarfed by the Leonian's right-up stature and Big's towering presence, I felt slightly more than useless.

"You fired one arrow. you get one back." the Leonian purred as he went to recollect what he could. As he yanked his equipment from each body, Big turned down to face me, crouching to my height.

"Why the hesitation, tiny man?" his voice mumbled, sounding like a small earthquake in my ears. I looked up from the peak of my hood and shrugged. He obviously remembered the shot I fired a day ago.

"I have no idea what happened with that last arrow I fire - you know, the exploding one - but i didn't want to risk it again."

At this moment, the Leonian fetched me one arrow back, looking a bit worn and torn compared to the cat's own personal collection, which seemed far superior in craft.

"It's definitely not your arrows. You may as well be firing twigs." he said, shoving the projectile into my palm as I glanced it over. With a confused expression on my face, the silence returned.

"Enough stalling!" Big announced "Now is the time to strike! My battle blood is flowing!" the giant slammed his fists together before scooping up one of the dead soldier's pikes in his giant hand, lifting it with ease. "Where i'm from, this arrow would make for a lack-luster distraction." he let out a giggle "But your kind are so small that this should be perfect!"

Big set off first, abandoning our camp without a second thought and hauling off into the forest and towards the enemy outpost - the ones he seemed to despise so much. "Are you going to tell him that pike isn't an arrow?" the Leonian whispered to me. I gave nothing but a slight grin.
I thought it best to do a quick checkup of the soldiers, finding a small key on the captain's person. It may be of some use.
Seeing as Big moved with such great strides, the Leonian and I were required to move at a steady jog to keep up. The giant was on a mission. And as the light from the outpost in the distance began to appear scarcely through our shelter of branches and leaves, I came to a halt.

"Big, who are these men? What do you have against them?" Big turned my way, looking down at me with an intimidating look "'Cause I got sh*t to do..."

[Sponsored content]