Completed [The Bronze Woods] Yukmen Hunting (Ninus, Wade, Shiyami)

[Shiyami]

Shiyami, being a ghost who has been avoiding fights for awhile, when given permission to let loose, he did just that. And with a vengeance too. After blinking into the Yukmen, he counted four of them who turned their attention over to him. Slashing at each other through him, he smiled. Being a ghost, has some major advantages in a physical fight such as these. Swing around his arm, with the dagger hugging his hand, he was originally slashing at their heads. Slowly, his swings started to grow more erratic, as Shiyami started to lose himself in combat. When he realized what was happening, it was too late. He couldn't stop it. He was shifting to his other personality. It wasn't just the second, combat perspective if you will. Dangerously, he had went into his insane side. His left eye flicked open now, his swings going this way and that, all with a demonic smile on his face. His left eye was also drawing lines in the air, lines the color of blood, that seemed to linger for a short moment. This was similar to those times when he was under the guise of Ake Aug. His comrades might recognize his past, thanks to the uniqueness of his left eye, but right now, Shiyami did not care.

"I'LL SEND YOU ALL BACK TO THE GROUND, IN PIECES!!!", he yelled, while slashing at whatever part of the Yukmen was the closest to him. Basically put, he wasn't slicing the enemies with precision. No, he was flailing his blade to anything that moved, will leaving a trail whenever he moved his head. Not that it wasn't effective however. However, it seemed one of the Yukmen realized he was intangible, and switched targets. No caring whichever comrade of his that was targeted by this Yukmen, he shoved his dagger at the head of the Yukman in question. The dagger pierced the skull, and stayed there, as the body fell with a thud. "See you on the other side!", he laughed. Though Shiyami probably should've thought that plan through, as he was without a blade. Not that he cared much for anyways. Turning back to the other three, he picked up a stone from the ground, before using it to bash anything moving near him.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus looked at the group of Yukmen. The alpha, and his subjects. They seemed to be a lot like the rats he sheltered as brothers. Intelligent to a certain degree, and with an alpha that was larger than the others. Eight quickly turned to four as Ninus saw the poison doing its work. Two of them felled by the yew, one of them with an arrow in the stomach, the other in its chest. Ninus assessed what he had...the syringe, the bolts (which didn't do much good), and the poison kit. Four turned to three as the ghost stabbed one of them in the skull. He felt something close around his ankle and reflexively tried to yank it free, only to find he was stuck. A yukman's hand was securely locked around his skinny ankle, and Ninus knew he didn't have much time. The ground was already splitting from the yukman forming under its veil. Ninus felt his heart pick up its pacing, but knew panic wouldn't serve him well at all. He withdrew the syringe and, with a calculated strike, neatly sunk the wide bronze needle into the yukman's flesh. He depressed the plunger and watched the hand tighten around his ankle. It shivered, then released, and the ground settled. Ninus knelt and pried the fingers from around his ankle. There was still the alpha to deal with, and the creature wouldn't have been idle. He was huge, but Ninus heard a few very familiar snarls. Ninus looked down to see Cricet next to him, her fur standing on end and a deep snarl rising in her throat. She had her eyes focused on one of the yukmen, and her legs were gathering under her. Ninus brandished the syringe and lifted his other arm, pointing directly at the yukman Cricet was focused on. Cricet charged. The creature snarled and swung its large, rock encrusted hands at the rats, but the nimble creature easily leapt aside and clambered up its legs, attacking its face, neck, eyes, and mouth. The yukman screamed and lifted his hands to attempt to get Cricet off. Cricet sunk her teeth into an eye and it burst like an egg. She tore at the wound, opening it further, sinking into muscle and fat. Ninus calmly approached the screaming, stumbling creature and sucked air into the syringe. With a quick, calculated plunge he struck, burying the needle into the base of the neck and injecting air. Ninus had enough miscalculations using the device to know what would happen. The yukman swung at him wildly, completely blinded, then stumbled and fell to the ground. Air in the bloodstream was deadly, though Ninus knew not why or how. Ninus had seen a helpless man, drunk, eaten alive before by rats in lean times. Cricet wouldn't waste the bodies if she found them later. The poisoner whistled sharply and Cricet looked to him. "Thou hast fought bravely, and thou shalt fight bravely again." Ninus told her, eyeing the remaining two yukmen. One normal one, and the now extraordinarily angered alpha. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the alpha, and Cricet flicked an ear in understanding of the taught command. Cricet charged, fangs bared. Ninus wasn't slow in coming behind her, poison kit settled by the edge of the clearing and the syringe in his hand.Cricet had the good sense to wait for Ninus. She wasn't sure about tackling such a large opponent, and wouldn't do so without her master. But at his bidding she attacked, and he was close behind.

[Radiant]

The battle so far has gone well, with Wade taking out three Yukmen, the now berserk ghost was fully utilizing his invulnerability to normal physical attacks, and Ninus could take care of himself after all. However... Ama was having a hard time in taking down this huge Yukmen, it didn't seem to notice or be affected by the poisoned arrow lodging on his body as he continued to parry, block, counter, and swung his massive arms at the dire white wolf. Ama dodged by jumping back and planted her massive body beneath on an ordinary Yukmen, she wasn't surprised and used the opportunity to rip the Yukmen's throat apart with her jaws.

Ama then charged at the Alpha again, leaping with her jaws and claws out, but... *HOWL!* a pained howl full of pain erupted from her as the Alpha punched her straight in the gut with his massive right arm. Ama's body shuddered at the impact, the alpha continued his attack by swinging down both of his hands in a double-handed chop, bringing Ama down to the ground.

"Ga...gahak!" Ama coughed and blood were spurting from her jaw and nose, this did not bode well, she didn't think the alpha was this strong. She looked to her right and found the last ordinary Yukman was charging at her as well. She needed backup... now.

It first came in the form of... the giant rat charging alone at the Alpha. Ama wanted to warn Circet but went silent when the alpha punched Cricet as she leaped to his body, her body flying through the air and fell unceremoniously on the ground, the ordinary forest rats were visibly taken aback by the fall of their leader. The alpha didn't give them anytime to pause as it suddenly leaped and kicked Ninus square in his chest, also sending him flying backwards like his rat mistress.

Some distance away, the ghost finished the last ordinary Yukman though. But this was just the beginning. Time seemed to stop and the rain went silent... when the alpha howled with a voice that shuddered the very air, trees, branches, leaves, and the party.

This... is not good

Ama's gut feeling was right when distinct cries echoed all around them, swiftly getting louder and louder each second.

"Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk! Yuk yuk yuk!"

The ground seemd to tremble as a horde of no less than twenty Yukmen charged from the forest depths behind the alpha, answering his battle call. The Yukmen ran with their claws open and jaws clattering, shouting their howl.

Ama did the first thing she could do, lest all of them would die.. except the ghost. She howled and an explosion of light erupted from her, staggering the alpha and the rest of the Yukmen horde. She then quickly grabbed the unconscious Cricet with her mouth and told Wade to lift Ninus up to her body, he couldn't run in his wounded state. Ama then gave Cricet to Wade and told him to abandon his battleaxe and get up on her back. Her face saying We need to run... now!

OOCThis is a dire situation, use your wits and survive this, gentlemen!

Shiyami, you are free to do as you choose as the yukmen couldn't attack you but I suggest doing the obvious actions first.

[Shiyami]

Shiyami was grinning like a madman, as he finally ripped apart the last of the Yukmen around him. Or, at least that was originally what he thought. When the alpha called the horde of Yukmen from the forest, it was enough of a surprise to allow Shiyami to switch to the combat perspective. 'Twenty and some odd hostiles. One leader. Friendly wounded. Chance of winning a frontal: minimal at best. Retreat: still low chance of survival.', was the train of thought that Shiyami had. However, he thought a small plan, that may work, but would probably hurt to no end after, and probably be the most bravest, yet dumbest plan ever.

However, before he could put his plan into action, the explosion of light happened. Even if he wasn't facing in the direction of the explosion, he felt it. The best way to describe it, would probably be getting hit by a battering ram when he was materialized. Clutching his sides in pain, for some odd reason, the light made a small part of his mind calmer. Sighing audibly when the light dissipated, hefaced the crowd of Yukmen. Deciding to try his plan once again, he looked over his shoulder, before saying, "I can buy you a chime. Probably less though. Don't waste it.", in a very calm voice. It wasn't his usual tone, the one people who are bored or arrogant used. It was one of calm, one that someone would use to make their idea seem less dangerous -'Suicide mission...'- than it really was.

Turning his attention back to the Yukmen horde, he singled out the alpha. If his plan was to work, he required the alpha to be volatile enough to send everything on whatever attacks it. Flying as fast as he could to the alpha, before pushing his palms at the alpha's shoulders, using soulmist to enact the actual push. It wasn't an actual attack, more of a form of drawing attention. The alpha, annoyed now, swung its fist at Shiyami. 'This...is going to hurt...', Shiyami grimaced, before putting the most crucial part of the plan into action. Letting the alpha think he was substantial. Right before the fist would've fazed into Shiyami, he Materialized. Getting hit with the full force of the impact, Shiyami, who hasn't been touched by physical attacks in years, doubled over in pain. However, if one looked carefully, one could see a smile on his face. It seemed that the plan worked, as the rest of the horde, wanting to mimic, followed suit, and attempted to get to Shiyami. Skirting back slightly, he started flying around, in the general direciton opposite of his companions, picking up whatever was on the ground, and throwing it at the nearest Yukmen, Materializing whenever the Yukmen was about to faze through, to keep up the pretense, or charade. Of course, this plan probably won't work forever, so Shiyami could only pray that his companions would not pull a stupid stunt like him, and choose the smart way out.

[Wade]

Wade cast his gaze about, his grip on his battleaxe very loose. He watched Ama get beat back by the Alpha Yukman. Either his arrow or Ninus's poison hadn't done the trick of weakening it enough to give the great White Wolf a fighting chance.

Wade started to head over toward Ama, determined to help her end this fight. The Yukman kicked Ninus and sent him flying over towards Wade, but he hefted his axe and prepared to charge. He froze midstride, his courage broken, as he heard Yukmen in the woods all about them erupt into their strange chant. Apparently the group they had slaughtered was not all of them. Wade could not imagine going toe to toe with a larger group of Yukmen after his experience with the trio that had attacked him.

Ama erupted into a flare of blinding light. Wade shielded his eyes in the crook of his elbow but when he blinked away the blindness he noticed the Yukmen were taken more aback than he was by the blazing light of the sun being dropped right into their midst.

The great White Wolf ran up to him then with a massive rat hanging out of her mouth. She gestured toward him and then to Ninus. Wade nodded and, tossing aside his battleaxe, picked up the slender man. He draped the fallen prince across the wolf's back. He hesitated when the wolf offered him the rat but he chose not to argue with the wise wolf. He grabbed the rat and jumped onto the wolf's back, wondering what they were going to do next. Or if they were even going to be able to get away from the horde of Yukmen.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats The moment Ninus saw Cricet get struck his heart felt like it froze in his chest. He stared at her body as it flew through the air, his muscles slowing. He didn't notice the alpha until time accelerated again and he saw a glimpse of the yukman. Then pain blossomed in his chest and he fell to the ground. Pain gripped around his entire being, and he felt like a stone had been set on his heart and lungs that he simply couldn't move. He knew he had to get away, to get to Cricet. He didn't know if Ama would leave her to die, his experience with most people had been disgust at the sight of his constant companion. His dizzied vision saw Cricet's limp body picked up by Ama's great jaws, and for a moment he was determined to kill her if she meant the rat harm. He wasn't coherent enough to understand what the wolf was doing, and his protest at Cricet being picked up in such large jaws was a wordless whine of breathless pain. He felt himself lifted into the air, and settled upon a soft, narrow, and furred back. Instinctually, he held on, resting his cheek against the nape of her neck. He blurrily saw Cricet being handed to Wade, and desperately wanted to tell the man to be careful. Compressing his chest felt awful and he heard bones grinding against one another. He knew of only one safe place from the chattering of the yukmen around them, but would his parents ever forgive him? He knew where they would go, where they had rock and river at their backs. "Glade.....river....fifteen miles.....east...haven.." he mumbled against Ama's fur, hoping to the gods she heard him. "Healer there....mother...father.." If and when Ama decided to take him there, he blacked out several times throughout the journey. Life was spinning, light and darkness as his eyes rolled open, then squeezed shut to protect themselves. He caught snatches of their surroundings....a birch tree that looked halfway familiar here, a small dip in the earth that conjured up memories of running around the woods as a child. The highwaymen would be furious, he knew. They feared and hated the knights, and knew well of the Kelvic on their side. Furthermore, Ama would probably figure out the half truth, and if she sold out his family he would pay for his life with theirs.

OOCI have been given approval by Radiant to use Ninus' family NPCs.

[Radiant]

Run, run, run. Ama didn't waste any time, she immediately darted off, away from this horrible place. She gave a nod to the ghost, knowing that whatever he was planning to do, he would be safe... little did she know that Shiyami was planning to deliberately get himself in harm's way to give them some chance. "Ha... ha..." Her ragged breath echoed in the forest between the heavy rain, booms of thunder, and distant 'Yuk Yuk!' of Yukmen chasing the ghost.

Her internal wound and the weight on her back was noticeably taking its toll as Ama couldn't run as fast as she usually could. If Wade had brought his battleaxe, Ama could be slow down significantly and they would not have a chance to survive this. Ama was in a major dilemma, she wasn't sure she could make the journey back to Syliras in her state and in this kind of storm, she wasn't sure that any knights would be patrolling as well.

That's when the Prince spoke between heaved breaths, telling her to go east... and something about healer, father, and mother. Ama assumed Ninus' family lived there, but didn't he said his family were rats? How could rats be healers? Against her better judgement, Ama decided to take her chances with Ninus rather than sure death due to exhaustion. She followed Ninus' guidance, relying on him to keep watch of where she was going.

At Shiyami's location

The ghost was going a good job in distracting the Yukman horde, no matter how painful it may looked. But then the Alpha decided to end this chase and he motioned his hand to grab Shiyami's head and without giving him the chance to unmaterialize himself, he crushed Shiyami's head with his hand complete with his other hand ripping apart Shiyami's right arm. Soulmist flying everywhere as large part of the ghost's soulmist body was damaged. It was unlikely Shiyami could continue materializing himself, he would be forced to rest.

Seeing that this annoying fly was done with, the alpha howled again, followed by the Yukmen following his chant. He then stomped the ground, searching for the party but could find nothing. It howled in anger, it was tired after the battle with the giant wolf, it was smaller compared to Ama but its strength and speed made up for it. It sat down on the ground and seemed to be resting, the Yukmen horde broke their short-lived organization and wandered everywhere, spreading devastation. They should be stopped, but it's unlikely they would get far when the knights determined they were a large enough threat, knights would storm in and cut every one of these landspawn to pieces. For now... they could enjoy their brief moment of victory.

OOCAlright, Ninus, you can RP Ama arriving at your family's location.

While Shiyami... you can do as you like. But remember that the Alpha did some major damage to your soulmist.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats When Ama found the river, she would find the highwaymen. There were roughly twenty of them camped close to the riverbank, five men spread out in a protective half-circle about the perimeter. The tents were patched and ragged, the men rough and scarred, but the cooking fire was high and the men were cheerful. They were far from the roads through the woods, which was their mainstay of money holding up caravans for "tolls" and generally wreaking havoc. Their first sign of Ama came from the single old black horse that the camp had stolen years ago. Old Jack pricked up his ears and snorted, then shied away from his peg and whinnied nervously. He yanked at his halter and half-reared when Ama drew closer, smelling wolf and blood, the two things a horse absolutely could not deal with. The men drew their weapons, expecting a bear or some of the Yukmen to come out of the trees...and not the white wolf of the forest. Certainly not the white wolf carrying Ninus! The men bristled, not sure what to do. The wolf they weren't sure to kill or to help, especially with Ninus on her back. The stranger was carrying Cricet, the giant rat they all recognized. They ended up ringing her, several of them wielding rather unconventional weapons like pig poles and fishing spears. One of the men ran to the largest tent in the middle of the camp, a large patched thing made from several other smaller tents that had a pavilion-like design. He came running out soon enough, with what looked like a woman on his heels. Except as 'she' drew closer, it was quite obviously male. His long hair trailed down past his hips, salt and pepper due to his age and very clean shaven. He was in his late forties or early fifties, which he would hardly admit to. He wore a ragged skirt around his waist, which fell to tatters about his unshod feet, and a shirt obviously scavenged from someone with a larger chest fell about his frame. A belt struggled to stay on his waist, burdened with a pair of knives. Mismatched earrings hung from both ears, and a roughshod necklace of simple clay beads about his throat. He stood at the edge of the circle surrounding the wolf, staring at Ninus. His first thought was one of horror; Ninus was clearly injured, as was the wolf and the man settled behind Ninus. Another man came up, unbidden. He was much taller than the surprised transvestite standing next to him, broader in the chest with a frown furrowing cheerful features. His once black hair had gone silver, and his eyes were a warm hazel. "What the petching hell is this..." he mumbled under his breath. "What does it look like?" the transvestite snarled at him. "Freidys...not now. Stick the wolf and get them off of it, for the gods' sake...or we'll have the knights prancing around with nooses." Churchkey ordered, but the men stopped at Freidys' swiftly barked order. "Stop! Are you mad? If we kill it, if we CAN kill it, knights will swarm this area wondering where their blasted Kelvic pet went! Then its the noose for all of us, or worse! Don't be a fool...get Ninus off of it, and whomever the petch that is, and get them into my tent. Hurry!" Freidys snapped. It all came down to who the men feared most as far as wrath. The two leaders of the bandit group had long been at odds with one another, and while Churchkey had a fine head on his shoulders...Freidys would make life hell. They looked apologetically to Churchkey and closed in on Ama gingerly, lifting Ninus off of her back and carrying him to the tent. One of the men took Cricet from Wade, gently feeling her. "Got some broken ribs, ain't hurt too bad." he muttered to Freidys, who waved his assessment aside and pointed at the pavilion. Cricet was carried in after Ninus. The men looked at Ama, Freidys noting the blood on her lips, and the exhausted way she held her stance. If the highwaymen were to be rid of running from her and the knights forever...now was their chance. With the kelvic gone their forest would be that much safer. Freidys bit his lip. He knew Churchkey would love nothing more than to slice her head off...and it influenced his next decision. "Get her into the tent as well." he said finally, drawing surprised looks. "Well? I didn't say stare numbly like a bunch of squires at a pissing contest, I said move!" Freidys enforced his order. "I guess its up to you to explain what the petch is going on then." Churchkey grunted at Wade as he was pulled unceremoniously from Ama's back and the wolf was poked and herded toward the pavilion. "It had better be a good explanation young man." Freidys chimed in. Both of them stared at him, arms across chests, waiting for Wade to speak. There, a harried healer was binding Ninus' chest and setting a broken wrist he hadn't even noticed he'd suffered. "His bloody sternum buckled like a drunk whore." He growled as he worked swiftly. Ninus groaned in pain when the bones were properly set, but the bed he was laying in he recognized. A ragtag pile of bear, deer, and sheep furs with a straw pallet underneath; his mother's bed. He smelled the smaller cooking fire in the center of the tent, blowing whisps of smoke through a hole in the tent cieling. If he forced his eyes open, he could see the cracked and ragged chest at the foot of the bed, and his mother's books. A few oil lanterns kept the place decently lit. When the healer had done with him, he moved to Cricet, though her anatomy was much harder to bandage. Ninus was grateful she was alive; he thought the punch would have ended her. Ama was ignored until last...and the healer was very hesitant about approaching. "You bite my hand off, and I'll give Freidys that fur ruff he's been wanting, eh?" the healer warned her, kneeling next to her and feeling her. Internal bleeding, for sure. A few snapped ribs, strained shoulder. It was the internal bleeding he was afraid of. "You don't need a petching healer, you need magic..." the man mumbled as he did what he could. Ninus opened his eyes to see Ama in the tent with them. He was glad his mother and father hadn't decided to kill her....his being on her back had done a lot to prevent that.

[Shiyami]

"Tch...I'm slacking...", Shiyami groaned in pain, as he floated a few inches above the ground. Normally, he would try to walk on the ground, out of habit, as too cause less trouble for the populace, but right now, he was in too much pain. He had gotten careless, and stayed materialized when the alpha grabbed him, and literally tore him apart. Well, his soulmist, that is. If he was a human, he would be dead right now. However, even as a ghost, Shiyami didn't come out unscathed. His soulmist was forcefully ripped off, his remaining scattered in patches around his body. Basically put, he was in a load of shyke, if he wanted to fight still.

Barely pulling himself together -literally-, just enough to move forward at an extremely slow pace, Shiyami moved for about a chime. Remembering that one of his comrades had mentioned something to the wolf, he tried to remember what it was. Healers to the...yeast? No...ah, east! Remembering that, he slowly and painfully turned around, before dragging himself in that general direction

oocNot much to do for now, so short post is short...

[Wade]

The White Wolf was soldiering on through the forest and trees passed by so quickly that Wade's eyes widened several times in fear as he expected to crash right into them. He felt Ama shuddering underneath him at times and heard her wheeze slightly as she struggled to keep up a furious pace with her wounds. They headed in the direction the semi-conscious Ninus directed them through the pounding rain and Wade could only hope that they were heading somewhere safe.

Wade clutched the giant rat close to his body as it, too, seemed to be struggling just to keep breathing. He felt very awkward there, holding a giant version of something that he wouldn't have hesitated to smash if he'd spotted in his room. But it was apparently the precious pet of the man lying across the wolf's back in front of him and now that they were comrades through battle he would not let the rat go.

They must have crossed some sort of boundary and entered some camp in the woods, Wade figured, when a ring of men suddenly surrounded their small group. They were rough looking individuals and all of them sported weapons. Each one of them had the dangerous eyes that reminded him of the scoundrel woman Sigriet, but they their gazes communicated only confusion. They were looking to one another for answers as the group burst into the clearing.

Wade nudged Ninus but did not get an intelligible response. The bandits apparently came to an agreement though, spurred by two graying leaders that had appeared, and they carried off Ninus and his pet rat. Wade felt heavy hands grasp him and roughly pull him down as well. He wished dearly that he had his battleaxe as the wolf, too, was led away from him. He found himself alone a circle of bandits, both of the leaders staring him down.

They asked-or rather, demanded an explanation from him. They stared at him expectantly but seemed to Wade as if they were deciding whether or not he would look better with his head somewhere other than his shoulders. It was a struggle for Wade to not bring his hand to the dagger in his belt, denying himself the comfort for fear that the bandits might have hot hands and strike him down for the action.

Wade swallowed the lump in his throat and stretched his back, still aching from where it had been struck by the Yukman. "We uh..." he began haltingly. "The storm that came in stirred up a horde of Yukmen in the woods. We went out to try to slay them, but..." He paused as he felt pain jolt through his lungs. "They overpowered us. Ninus said we could find safety here." He looked at the trees fearfully. "They're still out there."