Closed Big Problems, Little Squire (Archailist)

[Katelyn Marks]

He was putting holes in her reasons to be angry quicker than she could form new ones. The squire might as well have poured cold water on her for how much she was starting to fumble with her frustration. He was shooting arguments at her quickly, and Kat was still pinned down by that arrow aimed squarely at her chest. Her glare shifted back and forth between the two of them, trying to keep an eye on the bowman while watching and listening to the squirrel--who soon revealed himself to be a Pycon. She never would have thought, but why she couldn't comprehend. Of course she'd never seen one, but Kat knew there were such creatures.

Her brothers had seen one in Syliras a few years back. Said it looked every bit like the statue of a beautiful woman, but moved and talked like some kind of magic possessed it. The Pycon did finally try to apologize--sort of. It quickly turned into another tirade once they found out why she was out here. To Katelyn it wasn't very unreasonable. She was just trying to find the damnable thing, not do anything overly stupid. The redhead's eyes narrowed defensively and she felt a fresh wave of fierce anger fighting its way through her brittle self-control. It killed the apology that she herself was trying to muster, setting it aflame and then stomping it in the dirt.

"Don't make assumptions!" she snapped haughtily. "You think I'm an idiot? I'm not going to fight off bandits for a cow, but I'm also not going to go back to that old farmer who hired me and lie to his face. If she can't be found, I'll tell him that. If she can be brought back though, I will bring her back. There's a fine little reward waiting for me if I do, and with winter coming the money will give be a nice cushion until spring. I'm not stupid. I'm not going to kill myself over this job, no matter how much he promised me. The reward is for the cow alive, but if it's going to cost me my own life, then by the Gods let her succumb to the forest. Still, I'm going to at least put in some effort. He hired me for a task and I'm going to finish it."

But it seemed both of the squires wouldn't be having that. When the Pycon dismissed her and ordered her to come along, she set her chin stubbornly and gave both of them a hard stare--especially the boy with the bow. He seemed to have grown very serious during the squirrel's lecture, and she returned his heavy stare with her own. In the cold silence that followed, Kat made her decision. She wasn't sure if this was illegal. Squires held no titles--no roles of real authority. They were trainees. Rude ones at that.

With that final thought, Kat snarled under her breath and kicked her pony into action. She held tight her reins and spun the gelding in a quick circle, urging him forward back toward and up the stream the way they'd been traveling before. His muscles bunched beneath her--she felt him coil like a snake under the saddle and between her thighs. She leaned forward over his neck as he bounded forward, tearing and gouging the earth with his hooves as he reached for purchase. The first few strides were slow as he found ground, but in a few breaths he was galloping full tilt back through the trees along the narrow tract of water, snorting and lunging and burning the anxious energy he'd been building up.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He didn't want to make an argument out of the situation any more than he'd already done. Yet the girl stubbornly persisted, and with an angry sigh, he turned his attention back on her for the final push. "Whether or not you choose to fight them, there's still the problem of leaving you wandering around, not even sure where you're going yourself, and leaving you open for anyone to grab you and whisk you away to Sunberth or Ravok as a slave. Any wild animals to think they could get a quick bite out of you if they're fast enough. Just because you won't attack anything else, doesn't mean that those things won't attack you, without any provocation." If going out into the Wildlands and beyond was so risk-free, villages would crop up faster than spots on a teenage humans face.

"God, you say you're not an idiot, and yet you'd risk your life for nothing more than a bit of a cash prize if you bring back an animal most likely already dead..." He shook his head in pity, and then matched her dark stare with one of his own. The Pycons lack of irises, pupils, eyelids.. all these things usually made humans have second-doubts, and he knew it. In fact, he made full use of the handy little advantage. "I may not have the same authority as a knight but I can damn well take responsibility for saving you from yourself. You're coming back to Syliras." She likely didn't even know what he was really doing, taking full responsibility for everything that'd happened. He was doing her a massive favour.

And then she turned around and fled. For a moment, he simply sat there. Then he turned back to the fellow squire, frown still on his face, and pointed off in the direction she'd galloped. "You know we've got to chase her now." The disapproval on the other squires face was evident - perhaps not from the girl, but simply for still having to chase her after everything.

"Only so much you can do, you know Arch. People want to get themselves killed, doesn't matter how many times you chase after them and try to save them. They're gonna get themselves killed one way or another." Arch didn't want to think those things. He'd seen and heard of cultists in Nyka that would rather murder themselves than reveal anything about their groups. The thoughts made him shudder. Can't save everyone. Not everyone wants to be saved. Not everyone knows how much they need it.

For now, he ignored it. "I'll take the trees, make a shortcut through and to her. You ride on foot, and don't shoot any arrows at her, alright?" The boy eventually nodded, and the squirrel took his time climbing back up the branch he'd been perched on. "You gonna be able to keep up with her?" Why was he even asking. The boy was training to be a scout. If he didn't know how to track, what scout would he make?

[Katelyn Marks]

Part of her knew she was being silly, but he'd effectively injured her pride, and she was hard pressed to do everything she could to undermine him for it. They had definitely gotten off on the wrong foot. But it was too late now. She'd already set the ball rolling, and she didn't look back to see if they were following her. Katelyn rode hard along the stream's bank, her pony's hooves spraying earth and snow and frost behind them. It wouldn't take a master tracker to follow them--she wasn't trying to cover her trail, just get away.

Sebastian snorted with each stride, breath streaming and hooves reaching for purchase. Katelyn gave him his head and let him go as hard as he wanted, and when he started to flag she let him slow on his own volition. She didn't want to exhaust him. They slowed down gradually, easing from a gallop into a quick lope then a slow canter. She sat up straighter when he geared down into the slower gaits, taking some slack back in the reins and finally glancing behind her.

He kept up a steady canter for a while, and she couldn't be sure how far they'd gone but he'd kept at it for quite a long stretch it felt like. Katelyn eventually saw a break in the trees ahead and spied clear flat ground dusted with frost and pockets of snow. She saw movement between the gap--a dark figure passing between the trees. Startled, Katelyn reined up hard. Sebastian stumbled and slid in the mud, hooves dragging and trying to find some purchase. They skidded to a stop, leaving deep gouges in the upper bank, and she quickly dismounted and dropped her reins. Sebastian hobbled down into the water on his own and dipped his head to take a long drink.

Kat left him there to meander in and by the water. She crept toward the treeline, spurred forward by the sound of raucous laughter. When the wind shifted, she caught the scent of smoke and cooking fat. The thin crust of ice on the ground crunched silently underfoot and Katelyn ducked under low hanging branches that tried to snag her cloak and hair. She ended up at the edge of the clearing crouched low to the ground and peeking through the thick tangle of undergrowth.

What she saw made her stomach drop and her temple flare. Four men sat around a large fire with a haunch of meat cooking on a spit. A fifth was busy at work dressing the cow she'd been sent out to find. It was strung up in a strong tree, hanging lifelessly by its back legs. Its belly had been opened and its organs lay in a massive pile to the side. One front leg had already been taken away--the haunch they were currently cooking. All of them looked rough and half-wild. Their clothes and pieces of armor were mismatched, and it didn't look they knew how to properly wash. One of them pulled a piece off the meat with with his fingers and tasted it, savoring loudly and eliciting another round of laughter from his companions.

Katelyn was silently cursing every foul word she knew to herself.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

It didn't take too long for the squirrel to reach a high enough point in the trees that he could see the subtle movements here and there of the occasional bird passing through the trees, or the other rodents crawling through the soil. A horse wasn't a small thing, and the racket that echoed through the woodland was the dead giveaway that he really needed to pick out the general direction and follow it through. Just a few steps below and behind, he could hear the scout stopping and starting every few feet, checking for marks and little signs of her passing. If it was any different doing it on foot or doing it atop a horse, he showed little sign of it in the few glances he spared over his shoulder.

He caught up with her - not that she likely knew. For all the times she was looking back, she never looked up.. and the squirrel took full advantage of it by slipping lower and lower through the branches. He wasn't the quietest squirrel in the world, but the heavy hoofbeats of her mount managed to mask the small snapping of the branches adequately. At least, he thought it did. Just as he was getting comfortable, the girl stumbled to an abrupt stop that nearly had the squirrel toppling from his precarious perch. Shyke.. she must have seen.. Only, she didn't look up afterwards.

Instead, she.. got off her horse. Oh boy, what the petch is this. When he glanced up, everything became clear - the cow, the bandits, all of it. He hated to think what this meant for the girl, seeing as she'd come all this way for nothing, but she couldn't say that he'd never warned her of these very consequences. In the grim silence, broken frequently by the laughing of the shoddy men, he steadily descended down the spindly branches to one closest to the girl. "You know, I warned you that this would happen." He spoke softly, probably barely above hearing for the girl, in the hopes that the group wouldn't spot him until the time was right.

"Now are you going to listen, hmm?" He could hear soft rustling behind them, and turned his head just enough to assure himself that it wasn't a fifth member of the group. Just the fellow squire dipping his head as he approached and dismounted too. "Now that we've spotted them, we can't leave empty-handed." True enough, if there were bandits or rogues that were stealing cattle and making a nuisance of themselves in the Bronze Woods, they needed to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Ideally, he'd like to take at least one or two of them back to the Tank and get them to face the charges and sentences. They were only two squires, however, against twice as many adversaries.

They had surprise, though. They had range. If everything worked out just right, they could make this work. If Katelyn could show that she wasn't half-bad with that tiny little dagger of hers, it might just win a little respect back. Not that he supposed she'd care about the respect of a squirrel in the first place, and especially not after this. He just remained silent as Narick unhitched the bow from around his shoulder, and an arrow from the quiver. "Aim for the legs and arms." The squire nodded slowly.

[Katelyn Marks]

She heard the deep whisper above her and it took everything she had not to jump. Kat sucked in a sharp breath through flared nostrils and very deliberately and slowly turned around to meet the blank gaze of the Pycon. He was perched on a low branch right near her head, perfectly at ease up in the tree. She realized she would be fascinated by him if she wasn't so furious at everyone. The day had gone horribly.

When the other Squire joined them she shot him an unfriendly glare but kept her remarks to herself. She looked back at the clay creature peering down at her and ground her teeth. After a long pause she sighed, and the human Squire unstrung his bow, ready to follow the Pycon into battle.

"You're outnumbered. It's five against two--three if you count my miserable ass, and all I have is my dagger. You honestly expect this to go well?"

Apparently they did. The young man looked confident, and she couldn't really tell what the squirrel was thinking. He didn't exactly have an expressive face. More so than a real squirrel perhaps, but still hard to read. Katelyn looked back at the group of thieves and scowled. Finally she yanked her dagger from its scabbard and shifted into a ready crouch.

"I was going to just go back," she remarked. "Who's the reckless one now?"

OOCI'm sorry for the length of this one, but thanks for being patient!

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

After another quick scan, he turned back to her and sighed. "No, I don't expect it to go well at all." They were squires, after all. It wasn't like they could go back and call for reinforcements though. They were pressed too deep into the forest; it'd take most of the day to go back to the city, inform the knights, collect a decent-sized group and then head back to the same place. By then, the group would have moved on, most likely, and they'd spent a very long time trying to catch up with just a group of five. Similarly, leaving one hanging around to keep an eye on them just turned a two-against-five into an one-against-five, which was a risk just not worth taking. "However, the reckless thing would be to turn around and leave this group to wander around the Bronze Woods even more, taking what they please.. be it the lives of cattle or actual people."

"Besides, they don't know we're here. Yet. If I take down all the archers, and Narick helps in taking down the rest, we'll be able to take them down quick and easy." With that, he turned and hopped up to the next branch up, following the lines of the branches along through the trees and towards the group. As long as he kept a suitable distance, he was safe - they wouldn't suspect a squirrel of anything, and indeed they didn't. He was pretty much able to align himself directly above the group of five as they crowded around the slaughtered animal. Times like these, he wished that he kept weapons with him.. they'd be especially useful here.

Narick, meanwhile, notched up the first arrow and strung out the bow just next to Katelyn. "Just stay back, alright? I could use your help if they get a little too close." All the boy had was a dagger in his belt to deal with close-combat, and goodness knew he was barely adequate in it. Katelyn would likely be more useful in the upcoming skirmish than she knew. "Here we go.. hope you're ready. You're gonna have to help us 'escort' these guys back to the city as well, I hope you know." That was going to be the real challenge, after all. Controlling five thieves, armed or not, all the way back in a march to Syliras and the awaiting Tank.. goodness knew how the knights managed to do it.

[Katelyn Marks]

She regarded the Pycon for a brief moment before nodding. He had a point, and Kat couldn't help but respect him for his honorable dedication. He was doing his duty at least. That didn't mean she had to love him. Katelyn watched him climb back up into the branches high above, and actually lost sight of him several times as she followed his path toward the group of criminals. She spotted him again when he was perched above the slaughtered cow, and shifted nervously before the other Squire piped up quietly.

The disgruntled redhead released a gusty sigh and moved back a little closer to the young archer. Today was definitely not a good day. She'd never been in a fight before--not like this was going to be. Katelyn had only ever used her dagger in practice with her brothers, and they'd taught her the bare basics. She found that her hand was trembling faintly, making her blade shiver in her tight grip.

"Do we just wait for his signal--whatever that is?" she asked in a hushed tone, unable to hide the uneasy lilt in her voice.

They obviously had the element of surprise. Couldn't he just shoot one of those arrows from here and take one of them out? Then the Pycon could drop down on their heads, and everything would be over quicker than she could say 'This is bullshyke'. Because it was definitely bullshyke.

OOCI know, another short one. Wasn't much I could do, though! Come combat time hopefully I'll be able to get more out.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He took his time, waiting patiently until he was sure they weren't going to move. Can't screw it up. One chance. One chance and that's it. If he messed it up, the one thing they had even remotely close to an advantage was lost. Even if he pulled it off perfectly, there was a pretty high chance that they could still end up going horribly wrong. Even if all of them performed perfectly.. goodness knew how this was eventually going to end up, but the squirrel would be damned if he wasn't going to try his best to minimize damage. "... NOW!" The three sat filling their mouths lifted their heads just in time to see the one in the middle tumble backwards and slam his head into the ground, courtesy of a small but heavy squirrel landing straight on his face. One of the group burst into laughter while the others sprung into action, grabbing whatever was available and immediately turning down on the squirrel.. giving just enough time for Narick to line up his first shot and fire.

The first part of the plan seemed to be working. They'd surprised the group long enough to get a few quick hits down. Narick's arrow sailed straight through the air and scraped through the bicep of one of the other men, slicing through his mismatched armor and halting his advance to try and attack Archailist with a brandished Kopis. "Bad move." That voice was much closer to Narick than he'd expected. One of the group, who'd stood near the slaughtered cow, hovered dangerously close to Katelyn and the squire with a bloodied long dagger in one hand and a grim smile etched into his face. One thing we didn't plan for.. Arch was too busy to do anything.

"Quick, get him!" Narick practically shouted at Katelyn while struggling to pull out another arrow from his quiver and line it up with the new face. They were far too close.. the guy wasn't stupid and kept moving every time the shot lined up. He didn't even bother reaching for the dagger at his hip.. petch knew he wouldn't be able to do anything with it if he tried. Archailist was too hung up as well.. as hard as the landing had been, the helmet was dented and nearly crushed but the man underneath it was relatively unscathed. Hands grasped for the squirrel and he struggled to escape before things got too close for comfort, but his escape just opened up more room for the others to grab their weapons as well. Two held bows.. two held close weapons.

"Back away!" It wasn't obvious who he was actually shouting at - the armed thieves or Katelyn and Narick. Likely both. Weapons were being aimed squarely at Katelyn and the squirrel alike.. Narick was still struggling with his weapon in the hopes of turning the tides before things got too messy. If only they could regroup, if only they could collaborate and come up with a new plan after this, things could go so much better. "Just calm down.. take it easy." The more time he stalled, backing away slowly with his arms out to either side, the more of a plan he could make before trying anything else drastic. At least the bows were being pointed at him, not Narick or Katelyn.. that could be even more disastrous. Hold on... bows. They take a long time to reload.

OOCI hope I'm leaving enough room for you to make decent replies. D:

[Katelyn Marks]

The cold silence as she watched and waited for the Squires to make their move only mounted her stress. It all led to the explosive crescendo of the ambush, and while Katelyn tried to ready herself with false words of confident encouragement, she wasn't at all prepared for the chaos that ensued. The Pycon's loud, uncharacteristically deep command startled the criminals before shit quickly hit the fan. The young man behind her released his first arrow when the squirrel crashed onto his victim's face, and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry as the back of his head smashed into the cold frozen ground.

The twang of the bow behind her made her heart sputter, and the air hissed as the broadhead sliced the air and found its target, but it didn't look to be a very damaging hit. After her initial shock--and admittedly horror--she spun on the Squire with a surprised smile. They were good.

"Nice sh--," she started to compliment, but an angry snarl cut her off and she stiffened, smile instantly turning into a fearful grimace.

Katelyn turned and met the glare of the rather unhappy bandit who'd snuck up on them. She obviously wasn't a very watchful guard. In her defense this was only the second time she'd seen battle. The redhead stood quickly on trembling legs and glance down at the bloody dagger clutched in the man's dirty hand. Red droplets stained the snow where he stood watching them like a feral animal sizing up prey.

She stood there dumbly until Narrick yelled at her to move, and her stomach rolled with fright at the realization at what was happening. I have to fight this man, a small voice in her mind whimpered. How good was he with that knife? She hoped to the Gods no better than she was with hers. While these thoughts rushed through her head in the span of just a few heartbeats, the man reacted far faster than she did. He lunched for her with one hand outstretched and the other poised the stab, blade aimed toward her face.

Katelyn's body moved instinctively, driven by fear and a sense of survival. He came down at her hard and fast, but she wasn't a thin little reed to be blown over so easily. She grabbed his forearms and braced her legs in the slick snow, trying to find purchase as she slid back from the force of his attack. Her muscles, while defined for a woman, strained with the effort of holding him off. They grappled a moment before he struck out with a foot, catching her in the side of the knee and sweeping her off her feet.

Both of them crashed to the cold ground in a painful heap, him landing on top of her and nearly impaling with the blade in the shoulder. They both scrabbled on the ground for the upper hand, him trying to drive his dagger into her and Katelyn holding his descending arm at bay with some significant effort. She had dropped her dagger in the fall and it lay closeby in the snow, but she feared if she tried to grab for it that it would give him the upper hand in their battle of strength.

Instead attacked his face with her other hand, scratching with her nails and finally driving a thumb into his eye. It was a crude attack, but she knew it was an effective one and her brothers had told her once before exactly where to dig in. Her fingernail pried into the weak inner corner where his tear duct was, and she felt hot flesh give to the pressure. He screamed and reared away, clutching his face in defense taking a a little weight off of her body.

"Get him!" she screamed at the young archer, trying to scrabble for her dagger in the snow while she had the chance, but her fingers brushed the hilt uselessly and pushed it a little farther away.

OOCBing bang boom!

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Their stand-off had turned into a game of chicken. If they loosed the arrows and they missed, the game was over; by the time they'd notched up another arrow and readied it, the squirrel could make it back to Katelyn and Narick. The odds wouldn't be great now that they were outed, but at least it wasn't as bad as what it was now. Scattered and surrounded, they didn't stand much of a chance at all. Even against one, Katelyn seemed to be in a spot of bother.. though he could only tell from the rustling of bushes and shouts. He didn't dare look away from the others, neither them from him. They simply stood there, teeth bared and clenched in their mouths, bared for the opposition to see. As much as it pained him, he was stuck unless Katelyn and Narick pulled through and finished off. "Come on.. fight! Fight hard, because your life depends on it!" His deep voice bellowed through the woods with all the strength he could muster but it still only seemed like a tiny squeak to the squirrel that spoke.

"Shut up!" One of the bows was raised a little higher with the bowstring drawn back far, but the Pycon glared back with its pupil-less eyes, daring him to make a move. Nothing. He's not that stupid.

Meanwhile, Narick was still struggling with himself and the bow. The arrow was still there, but he couldn't shoot for fear of catching Katelyn as well. He could only wave the thing around, struggling to try and find any sure-fire point of injury. Then he suddenly reeled back; a perfect shot. Point blank he lined himself up and shot an arrow straight through his side, just above the hip and down inside. The man was left howling like a strangled wolf as the bow was thrown aside and Narick raised both arms, locking them around the guy's neck and dragging him backwards and off Kat, into the dirt. He wasn't a big guy, far from it.. but he had armour on, he had weight.

"I've got him. It's alright." Things weren't alright. Even with the dagger finally wrestled out from the man's hand too, lying on the ground with the blade covered in soil as well as dried blood, Arch was still stuck in perpetual limbo. At least he could hear that Kat and Narick were okay by now. Unfortunately, so could the others.

One of the archers looked over at the other two men, each with a sword in hand. "Get in there. Don't come out until everything's gone." The moment his eyes moved off Arch, the Pycon turned and made a break for the bushes, trying to use his tail as much as possible to dart left and right. He was a slow target for the archers but with enough erratic movement, the two arrows dug into the dirt with only minor scrapes over his leg and tail. It stung, but at least it wasn't one through the head.

"Guys, run! Get back on the horses!" The game was up. They weren't going to take them all on at once after all.. even one was a trial enough. Even in retreat, he could hear the archers readying more arrows to volley at them on the way out, not to mention the other two without bows rushing forwards at full sprint.. which was much faster than the squirrel could ever hope of matching, even on four legs. He could survive though.. climb some trees, hide out among the undergrowth and wait out his pursuers until they either got bored or got scared and moved on.

That would be an option not available for either Katelyn nor Narick. Even if their horses were caught up in the arrows, it'd be over.