[Stumble Alley] Choices [Closed]

[Leviathan]

Title: Choices Timestamp: Day 24 of Summer, AV 511 Location: Stumble Alley, Sunberth Characters Present: Cade, Bob Barton, Antar, Aberdon, Drayton, Annassena, Dourne, Carina Posting Order: Leviathan, Cade, Drayton, Bob, Dourne, Antar, Annassena, Carina, Aberdon

Cloudy, cool, dim and gray. Sunberth was a vile place of vile people. It is often rumored elsewhere that the very streets are soiled with plague of wickedness, and anything eaten in this city has seeds of malevolence that sprout in the very soul of man and woman and child alike. Today, it was a peaceful day by Sunberth standards. It was cooler, which was a blessing for certain. Tempers were down, some. More people outdoors meant less people picking fights, perhaps in fear your victim has more allies lying around than you do. Perhaps, because, it was almost enjoyable to just be outside when the smell of waste littering the alleyways wasn't boiling in the sun. Even the passed out drunks seemed to sleep easier. For such a cloudy and grim looking day, it was almost pleasant. For Sunberth dwellers, it just almost heavenly. For most anyway. Sunberth, no matter how cool, how comfortable, how peaceful by its own standards. In Stumble Alley, you walked fast, looked behind you often, or else you paid the consequences of ever showing your face there. It was never a surprise to hear screaming of pain or terror coming from that way. But this time, there was a scream, a shrill, high pitched, womanly scream of terror. It wasn't someone being knifed or mugged, but she was screaming nevertheless. If someone, who just happened to have business in Stumble Alley were to investigate, or a truly heroic soul actually entered the maze of alleyways to hunt the pained victim down, or perhaps just someone curious enough to look, they would see something that only a truly heartless man could stomach. Four large men, each shirtless with the image of a scarlet colored dagger on their left pectoral, right where the heart was. There was a woman too, the crying sobbing screams that were, by now silenced by a swift kick to the jaw. Her clothing was shredded and ripped as one of those men, the Daggerhand, worked on her with violent, merciless thrusts. Each tear she shred was only met by laughter, grinning, jests. They called her 'whore' and 'bitch', as if she was willing to allow this ravaging, but she was powerless. Bleeding, eyes sealed as tightly as possible, tears mixed with bleeding lip as her dirty nails scraped viciously at the stone ground, searching for some sort of respite from this horror. Perhaps, there was a moment when she thought this had happened, as the man stood up, reclaimed his pants, and reclothed his legs. "Aight, who's next?" She would have been a fool if she truly expected it to be over so quickly. The next man fell on her, pressing her large grimey palm against the back of her head, pressing her cheek into that stone ground as he too worked on his savage thrusting. For men not willing to pay for whores, this is how you pleasured yourself.

[Cade]

“I’m next” A low deep toned growl emerged from the shadows behind the four men and the ravaged girl. The new monster with in the alley, clad in his dark studded leather armour, face concealed by his helmet that only exposed his defined mouth and chin along with his Svefran blue eyes from the visor slit. The Myrian half blood was born on the field of battle and bathed in the blood of the enemies felled by his mother and father. Cade was no less fiendish then those he emerged upon for it was the girl’s scream that attracted him into the alley, away from his other guild members who he hoped followed him in.

“I am next!.......” Cade drew his blade, his growl more defined in his myrian accented threat as he leafed his body into a defensive stance, his longsword positioned low in the fools guard. “I will not be having the left over’s from the rest of you filthy dogs! She is mine for the taking...... the rest of you can piss off or step forward to my blade” He barked as a sadistic smirk formed upon his exposed mouth anticipating battle. The barbarian was a man that longed for a good fight just as much as he longed for a good lay, forced or willing.

[Drayton]

Stumble Alley was, of course, deserted; there were no pickings to be had here. The shutters of empty and disintegrating houses shuddered in a small gust of wind. Eleanor picked her way through a small pile of smashed up boxes, holding no high hopes for finding anything of value. She wasn’t close enough to the Majestic for there to be anything interesting hiding beneath the rotting boards, and enough worms crawled through the swollen grain of the wood that any food would be questionable at best. Thankfully she wasn’t that hungry.

“Where the petch are those two…” she muttered, glancing up and down the cobbled street for a sign of her friends. Dem probably found a dice game somewhere on the way over, and the gods forbid that Janea would go somewhere without his flea bitten hide. Not the first time they’ve stood you up, and it won’t be the last. Her bony ribcage felt a little tight as the memory of Mark slipped into her mind, He was the only reliable one of the lot… Never let you down. Angrily the young woman lashed out at the pile of refuse in front of her. Just as her tattered boot collided with the mess a scream shattered the lonely silence of the alley.

Holy-! That wasn’t far off… she thought, sticking a blackened finger into her ear and rearranging the wax inside, as though the cry had caused her personal pain. Guess it isn’t that quiet of a day after all. If those two are going to be late again I may as well investigate, not like there’s anything to do round this forsaken street unless I want to pay. Before following the noise into the maze of distressed buildings and chipped cobblestones Eleanor pulled out her dagger, twisting the worn hilt into a ready position in her palm, just in case.

She moved slowly and along the sagging walls as she followed the noise, checking each corner before exposing herself fully. This alley had a bad reputation and though she was curious she wasn’t going to leap without looking. Not after hearing that scream.

The sight around the next corner made her brown eyes bulge. Four Daggerhands! She tugged at a dirty rag, watching their vicious treatment of the woman. I can’t fight four Daggerhands. I’d be lucky to bruise one… she thought, as the first man finished. I can’t just leave, can I? Maybe while he’s standing, I can throw something and distract them… They’re heavy I should be able to run faster. As she rubbed her sweaty palms on ragged pants, caught between disgust and fear another man stepped out of the shadows.

Good, maybe he’ll help her out! Eleanor couldn’t say she felt heroic, or sympathetic for the woman, but she was repulsed by the small scene in the alley, and it was difficult to convince herself she didn’t care or want it stopped. The bulky sword bearer dashed her hopes at an easy pass to a clean conscience though when he insisted it was his own turn.

Damnit! Crouched behind the corner, peering over a scant pile of refuse the girl fidgeted. Not making up your mind is as bad as walking away, but going in there you’ll be killed or enlisted as her replacement when they kill her. Just wait a little longer, maybe the sword man can distract or kill most of them and you can hop in a pull her away. Just don’t let them see you until then… This was a bad plan and the girl knew it. Her body protested as she waited, legs shaking and a hard lump rising up from her stomach, feeling as though it was the only thing holding back a churning gut-full of bile.

[Bob Barton]

The sound of the screams could be heard well into the main road. Trying to ignore those screams, Bob took a few more steps down the road. Convincing himself that this was Sunberth and that with his experience of living here for the past days it was better to not get into anybody else's business. But...the curiosity got the better of him as Bob found his subsequent steps turning and heading into the alley.

He walked in, sticking into the shadows a little to remain unseen. In anycase Bob did not want any trouble. Moving from debris to debris in the alley while trying to keep his body hidden behind them, he went closer and closer to the source of the sound. What Bob saw truly shocked him making him wish he just walked away. It was a woman being ravaged by four filthy animals of Sunberth. It took all his willpower to stop himself from vomiting on the spot. Never in his life he thought that there would be a place as bad as Sunberth to have something like this happen. Just when he thought he saw it all, another horror appeared claiming the woman. These men were truly animals fighting over the woman like a scrap of meat.

But an idea got into Bob's head. It would definitely make the world a better place to be rid of these...people. Bob could tell that even without the ownership claim, they are still not affiliated. The four men from the beginning were sporting some strange tattoos, probably to represent themselves as some sort of gang. Bob has such things in his travels. With luck, the fight will leave the winner weakened for Bob to go help the girl as well.

Bob clutched his hands at the crate he was hiding inside to vent out his frustrations of not being able to help the woman. But what can he do? He was only one tiny wimp among these giant monsters. No, Bob won't do anything unless he can truly make a difference. But he won't be leaving either. The least he can do is sit and watch the fate of the helpless woman.

[Dourne]

"Home, sweet home" Dourne said as he walked into the vile cesspit that was Stumble alley, Dourne had many memories here as a boy, being brutishly battered beyond comprehension, yet all those beatings he took, you would think he'd keep his distance from this disgusting place that stunk of rape, murder and death. All these beatings that he took in this alley infact made him stronger, "What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger" he repeated in his head as he continued to walk into the deserted maze of streets. Screams, screams and more screams was the normality here, women would really want death if they dared even go past the stone archway that signaled its entrance, this was indeed the passage to living hell.

Stumble Alley, years ago wasn't the worse place in the city, the occasional tavern there, odd home here, but as time took its course and as Dourne grew up and changed, this place changed with him and not for the better. Continuing down the same lanes that he'd known since he was a very stupid boy, he walked upon a girl being ravaged by the lowest scum that could ever grace the streets of Sunberth. Walking past some people that were witnessing the horror, he approached the incident.
Dourne was a killer, a ruthless killer but he didn't agree with the defiling of women especially after witnessing the destruction of his fragile mother by his own monster of a father, back in his teen years.

Quicking the pace towards the four large men, Dourne shouted "Now, lads Thats no way to treat a lady.", Raising his voice as the men ignored him, he roared "Get off the girl and ill maybe give you the courtesy of pissing on your bodied as they lay on the ground headless!".

Dourne had committed some of the worse atrocities imaginable but not one of them has been rape. Ignoring the familiar sight that appeared out of the shadows. Dourne drew his massive, black-steel axe that was his Legacy off his back and held it with one hand ready to attack. His muscle tense for the coming fight as adrenaline rushed through his entire body, with a cruel, cold-blooded grin and a rub of his beard, he shouted "Which reminds me, do you want to know how i got these scars?" while gliding his fingers over the right portion of his face, slowly approaching the men.

[Antar]

Noth was in a terrible position right now, hiding out in the shadows of stumble alley behind a mass of crates. He'd been sparring against Mok earlier that morning and still felt a little unease and tired right now, but when Cade had stormed off with a wild gleam in his eye, Antar had decided to follow the brute. Unsure of where the big lug had been going he had kept his distance, coming upon the alley only to find the myrian wanted some extra pickings of the tempestuous lute. A couple of men who were taking advantage of some poor woman and ravaging her to sate their own desires. Worse yet, it seemed Cade had his own opinion as to whom should pluck the forbidden fruit first and had howled out a challenge like the barbarian he was.

Noth wasn't a fan of rape. He might kill someone in cold blood, track down orphans for stealing from him and sell the survivors on a slave block as a means of completing his revenge. But he drew the line at rape. He liked his women willing, and hated the idea of going into the act of something so ... personal without the music of soft laughter accompanying the pleasant sighs of passion. 'There once had been this nobilae's daughter up north with emerald eyes and flaxen hair who had been exquisite with this peach blossom perfum-' Noth snorted and shook his head, clearing the cobwebs of memory as he reminded himself where he was.

The rogue was in an alley, in Sunberth, and there were four large men that his compatriot seemed hellbent on antagonizing to steal their prize. Reaching behind his back, Noth unlimbered his bow and in one smooth motion drew an arrow from his quiver to knock it upon the bowstring. Still in the shadows, he sighted down towards the nearest target that was in his line of sight and made ready to fire if need be. Crouching to one knee for his shot Noth leaned his back upon a crate to steady himself as he drew the string back beside his cheek. Taking aim on the target's center of mass, Noth smiled coldy to himself at the thought of practicing his shooting against some live targets.

oocBob it would be really hilarious if the crate Noth is leaning on is the one Bob is hiding in. But it's up to you.

[Annassena]

Annassena paused as she walked through the streets of Sunberth, green eyes flashing with malicious curiousity as the sounds of screams met her ears. A small smirk caught the corners of her lips as the female, in the form of a slight, diminutive woman, turned to face Stumble Alley, a place she took to at times in the night, slithering through the refuse of human bodies as she hunted her next meal among the homeless. It was broad day now, and curiousity, as well as the whispers from the shadows that trailed her half-reluctantly, coaxed her to investigate.

And she did. Striding into the alley, her green eyes wide as she stared into any shadow, perceiving leering faces. She had been blessed to never be hindered by darkness, and she used that gift to ensure that anyone who decided to attack her would be identified before they took notice. One of these people could end up as her next meal. If they were lucky enough.

The Dhani, in her human guise, paused as she glimpsed a woman being ravaged mercilessly by several men, and she felt disgust, but not with the men. The woman was repulsive, weak. She was easy prey. Screams weren't going to get anything done, and if it were Annassena there, she would be doing her best to rip off the cock of the man trying to take her. If that cost her a life, then so be it. When she would be reborn as another creature, she'd make sure to be something even greater and stronger than her current race.

Green eyes scanned the alley as another brute took up position behind the woman, and the darkness at her ear whispered of others watching, and one planning to attack. There was another woman, they said, a bony, scrawny runt. Wouldn't it be fun to let them take her?

"Make them notice her." Annassena said in the silken language none other but the blessed of Akajia could understand. She licked her lips absently as the shadows debated ignoring her command, and smiled again. "Such beautiful darkness... Didn't you just say it would be fun?" They agreed, grudgingly, and left Annassena to her designs, going to flit along walls like the shadows of moving bodies, hopefully drawing eyes to the woman who watched in horror.

After they'd gone, Annassena tucked her form across the alley from the man with a bow, her green eyes narrowing as she observed him prepare to take a shot. Like the man stupid enough to challenge the ones enjoying themselves, this little rodent was going to get himself killed.

Were all the people stupid enough to interrupt a gang rape truly that impossible retarded? Well... Once someone died, she'd have her food.

Her tongue flicked across her lips hungrily.

[Carina]

That day had been a relatively calm day-- as calm as Sunberth could be with all the miscreants that populated it. Aside from the common sounds of heated arguments and laughter at anothers expense, nothing really stuck out. Breaking that calm was a blood curdling scream that rang out and echoed through the surrounding streets and byways. Looking back in the direction it had come from, Carina turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Cade running towards whatever or whoever had made the noise. And although his rash actions and continuous search for a good fight, annoyed her, she too was curious as to what caused the sudden outburst. Quickly she took to following after him at a hurried pace, yelling out to him but once when she saw him running headlong into what she recalled as Stumble Alley. Carina came to a sudden halt as she approached the entrance, only scanning the seemingly abandoned streets ahead. As she stood, her heart pounding, recalling the whispered talk and stories that the tavern's drunks shared with each other. Each one was ether mysterious, or gruesome, to which she wandered how they were able to speak of them if nobody survived through a night in such a place. Remembering those stories, she was reluctant to fallow after the Myrian, but the curiosity of what scene was unfolding through its entrance itched at her mind. In the end she gave into it, deciding that if she wanted to go and see, she needed to at least follow behind Cade; he would provide some margin of protection if things got sticky. Because of the delay in her decision, Carina was forced to play catch up as she ran after Cade. After running past the threshold, her first thoughts focused around what tragedy might befall her now that she was in Stumble Alley. But as her imagination conjured up more perverse and disturbing images, she shooed them away, reminding herself that wasn't even nightfall yet. The screaming that grew in volume as she grew nearer, was soon accompanied by the gruff voices of men. While she was listening to the pained screams of the woman, her eyes were fixed on Cade as he turned down a side alley that was lined with wooden boxes. Turning down the alley as well, she saw that several other men and women had gathered nearby to watch whatever spectacle there was. But unlike most of the onlookers, Cade, once again, ran recklessly into a direct confrontation with what looked to be four other large and muscular men. Standing behind Cade a ways, but in front of the other onlookers by a few feet, Carina stared at the group that huddled together near the end of the alleyway. Four men, each with a scarlet dagger tattooed over their chest, encircled a woman who was laying helplessly on the cold cobbled ground. By now her screams had fell silent and was replaced with loud sobbing. Seemingly unaffected by this vulgar show of animalistic nature, Carina looked on with placid features, only moving a few wild strands of hair from her face. Instead of concerning herself with the well being of the abused woman, she wandered what group the men represented and if she needed to concern herself with them. If they were from one of the other gang's in Sunberth, she may very well end up speaking with them in the future, under diplomatic context. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Cade answer the question of who wanted the girl next. She wasn't surprised that he would be so quick to jump in on something like this, but she still thought it was ridiculous. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she glanced back over her shoulder at the others observers. Seeing three men and a woman, she was unaware of the second woman that waited in the shadows. Turning her focus back to Cade and the group of men, it seemed he was the only one that planned on doing anything reckless at this point. Letting a quiet sigh escape her lips, she mumbled to herself. "I don't know if this is interesting, or just bothersome...." After a moment, she called out to Cade. "Cade, why are you so willing to fight over these dogs leftover scraps? Surely you, a strong warrior, could find another, juicer piece of fresh meat, elsewhere. Or are you a vulture that prefers picking over withered and dead corpses?" Carina couldn't have cared less for the battered woman on the ground, but as a member of the Crimson Edge, she thought it best to learn a bit more about who exactly they were pitting themselves against, if Cade were to attack now. With how new their group was, if they weren't careful they would be snuffed out before they knew it. Looking back over her shoulder again, she counted what group members were preset, and to her disappointment it was only three including herself. A total of four members. That would have been fine too, if each of them were well versed in combat, but she figured that Bob, like herself, had little experience on the battle field. Looking at Cade once more, she spoke. "Think carefully about your actions, Cade. What you do here will surely have its repercussions in the future. Repercussions that could very well end us if we are not mindful." Carina wandered if their mere presence would aggravate the four men, maybe provoking them to attack another. She also wandered if these men would be confident enough in their own fighting skills, that they would be willing to take on the entire group of onlookers at the same time.

[Leviathan]

Cade's sudden appearance seemed not to disturb the Daggerhand men in the least, as the man currently mounting the suffering woman didn't even bother to look at Cade. Oh, he heard him, chuckled he did, but he had more important matters to attend to, like his own pleasure. One of the men took a step forward, towards Cade, and smirked. "Look what we have here boys. It's his turn. So be it, drop to your knees and show us that pretty tongue of yours." The gang of Daggerhand exploded into laughter at this. Mockery was all they would give Cade. That is until he drew his blade. The three men who weren't currently petching the woman on the ground likewise drew their assortment of weapons. One man unhooked a small ax, no bigger than a hatchet in one hand, and a larger, one-handed battleaxe in the other. The man who taunted Cade, obviously the leader of this small squad of four, drew a sword much like Cade's own longsword. And the third man picked up a crossbow, which he must have laid down chimes ago when he was having his turn with the girl. A large, heavy, crossbow. He was, possibly, the scariest looking man of the four. Red hair, cut very short to the point where you could see a scare than ran from above his eye, to up the right side of his scalp and stopped nearly at the very center of his head. His deep green eyes watched Antar silently. He might have been hidden, but this man had seen him a mile away, and there was no doubt that such a large crossbow could easily take a man off his feet with a single shot. The man with two axes shifted his attention to Dourne as he approached from a different path in the alleyway (their location happened to be the intersection of three directions, east, west, and south). "Scars? Lemme guess, daddy beat you after he petched you up royally eh? Get lost 'efore you die." They would give Dourne a chance to flee, but Cade, he had already signed his deathwish. They had no intention of letting him go, or more importantly, letting his lovely female friend leave. To the victor goes the spoils. "It'd be more fun to get paid for it." The whispering shadows nodded vigorously in agreement as they spoke to the Dhani stalker. She also had yet to be noticed, but the shadows, thankfully could talk as much as they wanted and not be heard, not unless you were marked as she was. Still, they might have been on a fairly friendly basis with Annassena, but they weren't without desires themselves. Even the shadows of men wanted the same as those with bodies, for some reason. They had yet to obey her. AberdonI skipped you for now. I think you told me you were on a brief hiatus for the weekend? You can post after Carina's next post.

[Cade]

The barbarian stood on the outskirts of the daggerhands with in the ally, body and sword gleaming of challenge to the reavers before him. His lusted for slaying this day and blood was in demand. Cade only grinned a wolfish unsettling grin at the men before him while taking a more comfortable grip on the hilt of his longsword. His myrian blood boiled for battle as his Svefran blue eyes focused upon the daggerhand's obvious leader " I kneel to no man and my tongue is only for the women" the barbarian chuckled through is wolfish grin.

He looked back upon the beautiful Carina, a women that has known the beast for sometime now "The girls cries drew me into this ally but its these men that my sword craves for..... more then my loins for that ravaged meat. I will have battle" Snarled the myrian half blood as his attentions fell back to the daggerhands.

Cade could of insulted these men but such courtesies he found to be a waste of time. A warriors steel would only speak the truth for it decides if one falls or if one lives for another day. The barbarian's long sword moved from the bladed fools guard to the higher attack position for Cade was not waiting for this Daggerhand mutt to finish his insolent threats and insults. No, Cade was going to let steel do the talking as he savagely rushed forward at the rival gang's leadership. His need for the killing was his higher calling this day, for some could see this as a scene to make a statement against a rival gang but this was nothing more then to quench the barbarian's craving for battle.

The Crimson Hand's battle cry ripped through the alley, his eyes focused upon his target as his blade fell upon group's leader with all the might he could muster with the aim of cleaving the man in half. His ears prayed for the sound of steel impacting on meat as his nostrils waited for the distinctive smell of a man's insides being exposed to the outside world.