Closed Saving the Innocent

[Claudia Blackwood]

She knew her words had gotten to him, as she saw a blush quickly creeping up on his visage as he quickly glanced down, not wanting to face her. Her plan to tease him had worked out quite well, and she was glad for it. The reaction he had was common and expected as it was with men. She could usually judge the character of men through their reactions. She was pleased to see that a big guy like him could still afford to get shy. He even followed up with a small cough, hope to fill the awkward silence with something else of his own. She found that rather cute, and couldn't help but give out a giggle.

She saw his mouth twitching, maybe he found it amusing himself. He probably wondered she thought of him now, but the answer was quite funny actually. On the contrary of what most people would expect, she actually liked him now alot more than before, being able to see the kind of person he is. A person that knew how to blush and have fun was always worth being a friend to. Or maybe it was just the mischievous side in her popping out once again. But the embarrassment the Akalak faced, was quickly forgotten, as the two of them went on to other things.

He finally replied to her earlier query, confirming that he was indeed born in Riverfall. "Aye, born Riverfall. Only know Akalak in Riverfall, me do. None no place else..." Looks like her second guess was right as well, according to him. There was indeed a scatter of Akalak elswhere, but most of their population were indeed in Riverfall. Not long after, as they reached the entrance of the woods, he answered her call of readiness with confidence. "Yes. Are you? I cannot wait see faces of bandits, hit where it hurts. They not take other kiddies we finish dealing with them." He even asked if she was ready herself, despite her being the first one to ask. That was good, confidence was surely to be required by them, by the time this day was through. She then commented on what he said, "Oh, I'm ready alright, let's go and save us a boy and smack some bandits. You're right, they won't be taking anymore kiddies when we're done with them."

She gave him a nod of agreement, and checked her armour and weapons once more. Satisfied with the preparation, she made the move to go forwards, entering the woods. Based on her limited experience of the woods, she knew that the only place of shelter from the hot afternoon sun would be at the ruins of the old watchtower. The three of them would most likely be together, and the two of them should as well. As she moved through the woods, heading towards the way she knew the tower would be, she eventually saw the outline of the ruins in the distance. They weren't far now for their destination now.

Before they got any further, Avanze had a question for her though. She saw him staring at her face, studying her. Her twin green orbs stared back at him curiously, a curious smile thrown back at him. "Why, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?" He began humming, which kinda peculiar, but all it did was transformed her smile into a grin. He then grunted suddenly, which surprised her. She wondered what he was thinking about. She wouldn't presume to know his thoughts.

He then finally spoke, "So, Claudia. You come often to woods? I has never been far away before." She replied him promptly, "Yes, I do come to the woods here quite often, to practise my hunting skills, or to just immerse myself in nature." She would then wait several chimes for any replies of his before moving on, getting ever close to their goal. Her instincts told her that they would indeed be at the tower. Several chimes later, they were more or less at the tower.

Moving any closer, and they would move out of cover and into the vicinity of the ruins. She hid beneath a rather large clumpy bush, and urged Avanze to do the same. When the blue guy got down, she checked to see if the big blue guy was sufficiently covered. Peering into the area to look for their targets, true enough, she found them easily as she saw three men sitting on a fallen log, drinking wine from a bottle and chatting and laughing away. They were even attempting any form of concealing themselves. They must think that no one was coming after them. What a cocky lot. Taking another look around, she did not manage to see their prisoner though. The boy must either be hidden somewhere behind them, or in the tower. With her initial scouting done, she looked over to Avanze and whispered

"So, any plans or anything?"

[Avanze]

Getting down to crouch next to Claudia, Avanze got close to the bush, as to hide in its leafy visage. He had to be extra careful; he was a big target, and his skin was bright. Easy for them to see him. Easy for a blind man to see him, he seemed so out of place. He got even lower to the ground, peering out from between the bushes at the trio. Oi, they didn't have any brains. He kept all three within his vision, watching how they talked and laughed while passing around a bottle. It irked him to see them so laid back; these seemed like amateur bandits. Real bandits were always on edge, waiting for someone to come and try to take them out, as they, Avanze and Claudia, that is, were about to do. He pondered their situation, watching them closely. He wasn't looking for the boy; they'd find him later. He was bound to be around nearby. To him, the most important thing was to incapacitate these guys; the way they were set up, this wouldn't be so much of a problem.

"So, any plans or anything?" Avanze gave a small grunt, as if saying 'no' and continued to watch the bandits. They were in a horrible exposed position; even Avanze could see that, and he wasn't the tactics savvy one. Etnava was quiet, only murmuring to Avanze to move his head this way and that to look in places. He, obviously, was coming up with the plans. Avanze could almost feel his Other's mind racing as he came up with strategies and discarded them, not liking the feel. They didn't have the type of weaponry that he could use; the only ranged weapon Claudia's bow.

Avanze set a hand onto Claudia's knee, squeezing it slightly as if to tell her to wait. He didn't actually know the word in Common, so he was forced to use small gestures for it. He didn't know many words, so he had to come up with a lot of ways to convey what he wanted. He removed his hand, before moving back a little bit. He was still following orders from Etnava, who wanted to take advantage of Claudia's skill with the longbow, no matter how good she was with it. He continued his humming, though now it was so quiet Avanze could barely hear it. He moved behind a tree, looking back at the bandits. Hey, I think that will work.... Avanze raised his eyebrow as he crept back towards Claudia, getting into his previous position.

He stared at the bandits a bit longer; they made him mad. The way they just talked and laughed, as if they hadn't done anything. As if they hadn't abducted an innocent little boy from his mother's loving arms. He wondered if he should let Etnava out to handle these guys; his berserk self would probably sustain a lot of injuries, but the bandits would be hurt more, or dead. He had serious thoughts on it, and he didn't have to run it by his brother. Etnava had easily read his thoughts, and fallen into a lapse of silence. Don't. I don't feel up to it... Hm. Still wounded from that tongue lashing he received awhile ago; he didn't want to make the case worse against him.

Avanze gave a slight nod, poking through Etnava's mind. He had actually come up with a good plan, however rugged it was. I'm working with limited material, here. Shut up. Avanze's lips grew into a smug little grin, before tapping Claudia's shoulder. He motioned for he to step back with him, so he could tell her. He was afraid his voice would carry, as he was loud even when he didn't want to be. He would pull her along to behind a tree several paces from their hiding spot so that he could tell her what he and Etnava thought might work, and see if she wanted to run it through or not.

"Etnava has plan. Would you like hear it, or have own plan?"

[Claudia Blackwood]

A grunt was the only answer Avanze gave in response to her question. She assumed that it meant that he had none. Well that was perfect, she had to come up with something of her own then. And her plans weren't usually all that smart. They usually involved a copious amount of recklessness to go along with a side of danger. And in this situation, it was starting to look no different. But a chime later, the Akalak placed a big blue hand on her knee, squeezing it lightly. She assumed he wanted to stop her from doing anything rash, which she was starting to feel like she might. She saw him crept slowly back towards a tree, taking a quick glance around before returning to his original position. She then saw him staring at the bandits with eyes full of hatred.

She on the other hand, looked at the bandits as prizes, well sort of. She needed them down and out, so that she could retrieve the boy, who should also be somewhere near in the vicinity. The trio were still as oblivious as ever, laughing and drinking away as they sat down on their make-shift chairs. Claudia hoped that the bottle they were drinking from was alcohol. The drunker they were, the better. Taking them out would be alot easier, considering the fact that the two of them were outnumbered anyway. Stacking the odds towards them wasn't a bad thing at all.

A slight tap on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts once more. He had motioned for her to step back. She did so. They went back to a tree several paces away, as apparently Avanze was afraid that his voice would carry and warn the bandits of their approach. She agreed, that was bad. Wary bandits were bad. They had enough odds stacked against them. They didn't need to add one more to the list. Now a relatively safe distance away, he spoke. "Etnava has plan. Would you like hear it, or have own plan?"

She was tired of waiting, the sky would soon become dark in a few more bells, and that would make their rescue attempt even more dangerous and risky that it was now. "I have a plan." She unslung her long bow from her back, drawing an arrow from her quiver as she did so. "This is my plan. Action." She scrambled across back near the bushes, and stood, slightly covered by shadows of the trees. Her gaze travelled over the three figures, the one the woman called the rat, the pig and the mouse.

Getting into position, she nocked the arrow and drew back the bow and aimed for the belly of the pig. He was the biggest target, and presented the biggest surface area for her to hit. Her archery skills weren't that good, and she needed all the help she could get. She let loose the arrow, and it zoomed past the large target, alerting the bandits. Petch. Claudia knew that it was now or never, and nocked another arrow, firing once more, this time taking more careful aim, drawing back the bow string carefully, taking the time she needed to line up her shot, as she took a deep breath, and fired. The arrow zoomed into its target this time, embedding itself in the pig man's protruding belly.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted into the air, shocking everyone in the vicinity. Even the two other bandits jumped in fright. They had no idea what was going on. But it wasn't long before they figured it out, when they see their friend with an arrow sticking out of his belly screaming.

Claudia turned back to the look at Avanze "How’s this for a plan? Let’s kill us some bandits!" She unsheathed her gladius and got into a defensive stance as she waited for the imminent attack. She sure as petch hoped her blue comrade was ready for this. A series of yells and shouts indicated that the two remaining bandits had spotted them. From her position, she got see the third bandit, the pig man sitting in shock cradling his stomach with the arrow in it. She could see the man known as the rat charging towards her, his sword raised, while the younger boy, the mouse charged towards her the Akalak. She thought it weird that the boy charged towards the bigger target, maybe he had something to prove or compensate for.

[Avanze]

"I have a plan." She unslung her long bow from her back, drawing an arrow from her quiver as she did so. "This is my plan. Action." He watched her slip into the shadows of the trees, her eyes on the trio. Avanze gave a small grunt, moving up so that he was crouching in the bushes. He rather didn't care about not going in without a plan; it was Etnava who was fuming. He had spent his much useful brainpower on this whole well thought out plan, and she just wanted to run in like a half-brain. Avanze's like for her immediately grew stronger. If anyone could piss Etnava, they were good in his book. Oi, don't make me go off on you, you yellow bellied coward. Avanze would have scoffed, if he wasn't attempting to be quiet. He just saw and watched, waiting for Claudia to- twang went the bow string.

He watched as the arrow missed the big guy, which made him pause. He had been about to explode from the bush when it hit, hopefully taking the bandits by surprise while they were shocked. At least, he thought it would work. He wasn't particularly sure, as this was probably the first situation he was in that anything like it. He hoped the inexperience hadn't shown on his face when it was visible. Though, hopefully it would just be a go in, kick some butt, then walk away with the kid. It sure did seem like that.

He heard the twang of the bow string again as she fired another arrow, this time piercing the big guy's big gut. That's what happens when you don't wear armor and you're a bandit.... He had stood up when the man screamed, the sound making his blood run cold. He became frozen, taken aback by the pure agony in the bandits voice.

"How’s this for a plan? Let’s kill us some bandits!" He watched as she unsheathed her gladius and get into her stance, which shocked him back into action. He wasn't going to let her fight by herself while he stood still like an idiot. He wrapped his covered fist around the hilt of his lakan, drawing it so that he held it underhand. He fell back into a crouch, though he was higher up this time. He moved his his arm that held the lakan, his right, up near his face, the blade touching his forearm as he twisted his wrist slightly. His free hand, which was held into a powerful fist, was across his abdomen, his right leg leading. While her stance was defensive, his was pure offensive, though he also waited for them to come.

When the rat and mouse came at them, he noticed how the rat went after the woman, the mouse running after him. Really, now? He wondered what was going through this boy's head as he narrowed his eyes, focusing on his target. No matter how big or small, if his kid tried to hit him, he'd get what he earned.

He attacked. He watched as the mouse brought his sword up, one hand over the other. Oi, who starts off with an arc? Dumb petcher.... Avanze watched the sword swing, waiting until it started its downward movement. As it started coming down with all the strength the boy could muster, which was rather impressive, he moved to his side, sending a fist at his head. He had still been in motion, and stupidly miscalculated where his head would be once he stopped. He pulled his fist back, hoping to get back into his stance to come at the mouse with his lakan before he came back with the sword.

The mouse, instead of going straight for an attack, swung his blade around to bring it back for a more powerful hit, like an idiot. He should have at least came with an elbow, or that is what Avanze thought. He wasn't that good with planning during fights, but it would be what he would do.

Avanze, meanwhile, had brought his fist back, shifting quickly into a temporary stance. If he had been better with his lakan, he could have cut the mouse's neck, ending his life in a spray of blood. He didn't have that much skill though. What was possible, though, was a quick stab. He brought his arm up so as to get a good downswing, getting the boy the boy in the shoulder. The boy screamed as his grip on his sword weakened, which made him lose it and send his weapon flying off to who knows where. Avanze had unknowingly cut a tendon; a really good hit, but doubtful that he would pull it off again. He still only thought the boy was screaming more than he should be, but he had never been stabbed himself.

He watched the boy go down, still screaming his bloody head off. He didn't seem to be dying anytime soon, so Avanze crouched, sending a heavy metal covered fist to the boy's face, hearing the crunch of a broken nose. It sure shut him up. Finally.... He looked at the mouse, who was now unconscious, and hopefully would be for awhile. He removed his gauntlets, rubbing his fists thoughtfully, before remembering Claudia. He shoved his hand back into the metal glove, turning back. He watched her fight, making sure that if she needed backup, she'd have it. Though, he doubted she would.

[Claudia Blackwood]

As the bigger rat come towards her, brandishing his sword like a man, Claudia got ready for the strike that would come. Sure, enough a downward slash came towards her, and she quickly brought up her gladius parrying the man's blade. Following that, she aimed a horizontal slash towards the man, but he quickly stepped back, avoiding her swing. He then returned with another attack, this time focusing on her mid-section, as she had tried on her last strike. She leapt aside, getting out of the way of his attack, sending his arm forwards, to which she quickly returned yet another attack, which was quickly blocked by her quarry once more. The two of them exchanged several blows against each other, neither gaining the upper ground against each other. The next time their blades clashed however, instead of following up with another attack, he instead pressed on, using his strength to push towards her.

Unwilling to be pushed back, she used force of her own, and pushed back towards him. With the two of them in such close-quarters, he then resorted to using a dirty tactic. With his grip still on the sword, he sent a heavy kick towards her gut, and she gasped in shock and the force of the blow. As she was left gasping for air, he sent a slash towards her chest, but thankfully, the slash was caught by the small lamellae plates on her armour, sending it grazing over the breastplate. The armour had saved her life. Quickly recovering and recognising the direness of the situation, she got back in her game, and focused. His lips had spread into a grin, excited that he had caught her off-guard. She had to remember that she was fighting bandits here, and they would not hesitate to play dirty.

She got into her stance, and waited for him to come once more. His morale lifted by his somewhat successful attempt earlier, he would definitely try again once more. Soon enough, a couple of ticks later, he attacked, a series of two slashes towards her. She quickly brought up blade up to parry the left strike followed by the upwards slash. Claudia then retaliated in kind, sending several slashes his way. This yielded her more results than the previous. She had managed to slash him on his unprotected arm, drawing blood and sending a red line down his arm. He yowled in fury and rage, and rushed towards her, all notion for swordplay and tactics forgotten and all.

He barrelled into her, knocking her to the ground. Surprised by the sudden maneuver, she fell, with him on-top of her. He seemed to have dropped his sword in the struggle, and started sending a hail of punches towards her face. As she started to bring her arms up to absorb the blows, she realised her other hand was still clutching the gladius. Bringing one arm up to absorb the blows, albeit not very successfully, as several blows made their mark, striking her, still she persevered, and quickly sent her sword arm upwards, thrusting her blade into his chest.

She felt the blade penetrating leather and into flesh, and the blow quickly stopped. His eyes grew wide, and he let out a groan, before collapsing onto her. He was done for. Struggling to push his corpse off her, she finally did so, and got up, looking down at her chest. Her armour was now soaked with the rat's blood, and it was nasty looking. Better his than hers, she thought to herself. It was then that she realised that Avanze was here as well. She looked around before noticing him watching her. "Well, I guess we did it."

[Avanze]

He tilted his head, watching the fight between the rat and Claudia. He wondered where she had gotten her training; she was the first he had seen to use a gladius. Most went for a longsword or other traditional weapon. The gladius was so rare to him, it could have been labeled as an exotic weapon. And she handled it quite well. He wondered who would triumph in a fight between the two of them.

He was snapped out of his musings by the sound of a sword against armor; someone had landed a stroke. By the grin on the rat's face, he guessed he had gotten past her defense. He tensed slightly, though didn't engage; she looked unharmed, the sword probably only glancing off of her armor. He watched as a lull in the combat formed; the bandit was the first to attack. He watched as he executed two sword-strokes: a left slash, with an upward one following close behind. Claudia brought the gladius up to parry, before catching him with a slash of her own. The line of red blood and his howl alerted him to the landed blow.

When he crashed into her, both of them falling towards the ground. He watched the rat lose hold of his sword, and proceed to land blows against her face with his fist. Avanze's muscles bunched as he started a sprint towards them, but was too late when he got closer; she had impaled the fool. When the bandit collapsed, Avanze resumed his travel, though at a much slower pace. He grabbed one of the rat's now dead arms and helped pull the corpse from her now blood-soaked form. "Well, I guess we did it." Avanze nodded at that, still staring down at the man. He crouched, hearing the slight groan of stretching leather. He ran a finger along the rat's armor, which was plain leather. While not the best, it could still be used.

"Think we take armor and sell?" He looked up at Claudia, still crouched. I doubt it. Not many people would buy armor that came from a corpse; you'd have a hard time getting money for the blood-stained thing. Avanze gave a slight nod, getting up. He didn't mention what Etnava had said; it had slipped his mind as he heard a loud, agonized groan come from the pig. He walked over to the mouse, grabbing the lad's arm; he could probably get some answers from him if need be. He slipped his lakan back into the sheathe on his back, dragging the mouse near the pig.

Letting go, he let the boy fall near the fat man's feet; he crossed his arms, a cloudy expression coming over his face. Grab the arrow. Avanze did so, which brought another wave of pained groans. Twist it slowly. Again, Avanze listened to his other, giving the arrow lodged into the pig's big belly a slow twist. This caused tears to fall from the man's eyes, which elicited a stop from Avanze. A slightly disgusted expression came over his face now, sharp and alert, though he looked slightly queasy. "Where is boy?" This he roared into the pig's face, making the wounded man quake in fear.

Avanze was disgusted with himself, as he felt blood touch his fingers. He watched the mouse and pig, alternating between looking at them as he waited a response.

[Claudia Blackwood]

As Claudia stumbled out from the corpse of the dead man, her armour felt significantly heavier than it was before. Drenched in sweat and with her armour coated in a layer of the man's vital liquid, she accepted Avanze's arm, helping herself up before taking a knee to rest on the ground. Taking several chimes to catch her breath, she realised that contrary to what she said earlier, they weren't done yet. While two of the remaining bandits were out of action, they had yet to locate the boy, the purpose of their mission in the first place. As she took a break, He had taken the liberty to inspect the dead man's armour, asking aloud if they should take his armour back to sell.

Although the leather armour was drenched in the dead man's blood, it was not that big of a problem. All it needed was a good soak to remove whatever visible blood there would be present. What was more significant was the large hole created by her gladius where it had penetrated the rat earlier. No one was going to buy broken armour, certainly not knowing if the piece would armour they were able to buy failed in saving the previous owner's life. They were better off grabbing the armour and selling it off to the leather-workers. They would be to strip the leather down, reusing the parts that they still deem usable. That way the armour wouldn't be a total waste lying in the forest.

A loud agonised groan broke her back from her thoughts and she saw Avanze interrogating the pig. He had also brought the mouse seated together with the pig. She walked over to him, interested in finding the boy and completing the job. Claudia watched as he twisted the arrow lodged in the man's stomach. She grimaced as the man let out an agonised series of cries. After all, she was the one responsible for the arrow. But she shook that thought from her mind, he was a bandit. He kidnapped a boy. He deserved what he got. Avanze then roared into the man's face "Where is Boy?" The pudgy man shook from what could be a combination of fear and pain.

This was no help. The pig was too delirious to be of any help, uttering gibberish among cries of anguish and pain. The mouse was not any better, only whimpering the whole time as Avanze's interrogating gaze fell over the two of them. At this rate, she doubted they would ever learn the location of the boy. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and made to move to explore the rest of the ruins, especially the tower close-by. She had a feeling; he could be in that thing. She then informed Avanze that she would be checking up on that ruined tower up ahead, since the interrogation was going nowhere. "I'll be checking up on the tower ahead. He's got to be in there somewhere."

As she stepped forwards and made her way towards the bronze watchtower, what was left of the bronze still gleamed whenever the rays of sun touched it. She could only imagine what it was like in all of its splendour. It must have quite the magnificent sight. It was a shame that such a beautiful piece of architecture had fallen to waste. A series of loud crashes and thuds stopped her in her tracks. It was then that she noticed the source of the commotion. A heavy bronze door. The door must have been once the entrance of the bronze-watch tower. A young head of a boy poked through the heavy bronze door that sat ajar. His eyes shone with worry and anxiety.