Closed A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

A Rogue tests the mettle of a Nykan Trade Caravan

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While Sylira is by far the most civilized region of Mizahar, countless surprises and encounters await the traveler in its rural wilderness. Called the Wildlands, Syliran's wilderness is comprised of gradual rolling hills in the south that become deep wilderness in the north. Ruins abound throughout the wildlands, and only the well-marked roads are safe.

A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Imass on March 14th, 2016, 4:11 am

The Scene

MAP :
Legend:
*Must scroll to the right to see the whole map.
*The section of map shown is showing roughly a 100 yard section of the Kabrin Road. Each square indicated a 5 ft by 5 ft section.
*The area is heavily wooded, all sorts of deciduous trees and green shrubbery. The light green ground indicates short grass. The dark ground indicated thick undergrowth. The tree are indicated with images.
*The road is split briefly by an old and extremely tall oak tree.
*There is a Syliran Banner on the East side of the tree indicating Syliras is 2 days ride away. (w-7)
*To the south-west there is a large stump that has been there nearly 100 years.
(b-12)
*To the north-east there is a camp fire, roughly one week old. (G-0)
Image


On the last leg of the journey from Nyka, the the trade caravan has found themselves traveling westward along the Kabrin road. The caravan comprises of four covered wagons. One wagon is full of luxury goods only made in Nyka; the other three are full of metal ignots, tools, and trade good blessed by Uphis. The contents of the wagon are unknown to the guards and workers. The utmost secrecy has been kept to keep bandits' noses out of the loop.

The vanguard comprises of two mounted mercenaries. They are the finest quality mercenaries, fully adorned in battle attire; lances, swords, and shields hung on their bodies.

The main group of the caravan consisted of a ten lesser mercenaries.

Six of said troops, were lesser men hoping to work up enough honor and Mizah to purchase better gear and claim glory for future endeavors. They each wore leathers or no armor and carried a simple weapon.

Four of the main group were bowmen, each one sitting on a respective covered wagon to protect the drivers and tradesmen.

One of these bowmen was a Syliran Knight, whom under dire circumstances needed to seek employment to return to his country-land of Syliras.

The Rear of the caravan was guarded by two seasoned Monks of Uphis, carrying blades. Their identities remain hidden to the group and they seem to be mere mercenaries.

All of the wagons are unmarked and all the mercenaries show no colors.

Image


Spring 58, 516 AV, Noon
Twas a long and weary road from Nyka to Syliras. After a treacherous time traversing the bogs outside of Nyka, the caravan turned south-west for many days uncontested. Upon reaching the Kabrin road, the caravan turned west straight for Syliras. Ser Imass very much wanted to hop on a horse at the nearest Knight Outpost and race home, but alas he had to honor his commitment to the Nykan Businessmen to guard their goods the whole journey. Word was quickly sent out by courier that the Akalak was in good health and returning to the Fortress soon.

The group trudged along for many days without seeing much, except for a patrol of Lesser Knights riding between outposts. The highlands gave way to forest and for the last week, the caravan traveled under the shade of thick greenery. The smell of spring was about them and the eager Knight was getting anxious to return to his homeland.

Near the end of their journey, the caravan came up upon a banner indicating that the city was only two more days away. Imass rejoiced from his position as a bowman on the first covered wagon, "Praise be Yahal! I can almost smell Syliras from here,"

One of the mercenaries walking alongside the wagon guffawed at the Akalak's words, "The smell of shyke is your upper lip Akalak - HA,"

The Knight beamed a look of disdain at the lesser man, "I will drop you were you stand if you belittle my beloved city once more, fool,"

"It is but in jest only," The man said than dropped it.

The main businessman on the journey called for a halt; there would be a brief break to water the oxen pulling the heavy loads. The caravan brought their wagons around and stop under the shade of a giant oak that forced the road to split in two **They occupy squares (t-6)(u-6)(t-7)(u-7) under the tree

Imass jumped off the wagon and stretched; slinging his bow on his shoulder he shook out his legs for a good while. He turned to the two mounted men, "I pray that thee would have the prudence to go scout the area ahead," Imass ordered them in a tender polite manner.

The two mounted men scoffed at him, "What for? We are so close to Syliras, why can't we take a damn breather like the rest of you?"

Imass walked up the horsemen with a grim, bitter look on his face, "I am not going to allow this mission to fail during it's final moments. You two go scout ahead and do your damn job or I'll shoot you down and do it myself,"

The Knight stroked the mane of the horse, "Such a fine horse, I think I'll make it into my new war-steed,"

Several of the lesser mercenaries around began to whisper at Imass' blatant attempt to intimidate the decorated vanguard, but before any one could say anything the Lead Business man shouted, "Listen to what the Knight says! He is right! Go forward and scout the area!"

Imass smiled revealing a row of broken teeth. The mounted men scoffed with angry looks and rode off.
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Sayana on March 15th, 2016, 11:50 pm

Image

Notes :
Just a couple notes for clarity’s sake and to make sure we are on the same page in terms of expectations:
Since Imass is the PC of the caravan group, I’m going to assume that he is the most skilled in combat. Therefore, all the other mercenary NPCs are a mix of competent and novice in terms of their preferred weapons.

I’ll also just reiterate the NPCs being used so I don’t accidentally overlook any:
- 2 Mounted mercenaries (skilled in lance and probably a hand-to-hand weapon)
- 4 Bowmen (Each placed with a different wagon and seated with the driver, Imass being one of those bowmen)
- 6 Walking foot soldiers (of lesser skill)
- 2 Seasoned monks of Uphis at the rear (appearing as normal mercenaries)



It had been the previous night when she had first spotted the caravan. She was ranging west along the Kabrin Road, past the Sunset Falls and almost a full day further on along the road. In the late evening she had caught sight of the faint fire light in the distance and saw fit to investigate. However, in keeping within the tree cover it was hard to gauge the size of the party except for the fact that they had at least two campfires going. She would have to wait for the light of the morning.

Sayana set up her tent a cautious distance from where she had sighted the campfires, and took care to be concealed within the undergrowth. She added a couple of well-placed branches to help mask her brilliant white horse. The mare nickered uncomfortably but she soothed it with a long comforting gaze and a slight transfer of djed. Safety, trust, security… Food. She focused intently on the feelings as she met the horse’s gaze, then provided the welcomed distraction of food as she reached into the saddlebags to produce a handful of feed.

There would be no fire tonight. At least not on her part. Fortunately she still had some dried rations on hand. It was harder to get to sleep that night, knowing that she might wake up to a sword point or an arrow or worse, from those she thought might be viable prey. But it did serve to wake her up all the more early and rather energized for what awaited.

---

Spring 58, 516 AV

The morning was spent taking down camp and scouting out her targets. A bit of dried food and a short run to a small nearby stream were enough to fulfill her most basic of needs. Scouting proved more difficult, especially scouting unseen. She was better at the ‘unseen’ part and managed to keep within the underbrush and using various game trails but only a few of them ran even remotely parallel to the road and she was constantly zig zagging back and forth through the forest paths trying to watch the progress of the caravan. That much at least she had been able to confirm, a caravan of maybe four or five wagons. When she had doubled back around upon her mount, the ruts that the wheels made in the soft spring soil were clear but she had only dared to get close enough to see the group off in the distance making it hard to count its numbers.

Four of five wagons. Let’s say five to be on the high side. Perhaps there might be five people to a wagon? So twenty five in the group? That would be a lot for even her to take on. But there had only been two campfires. Or had there been a third in the back? Sayana chewed her lip as she cantered at a swift pace along the game trails, quite a bit offset from the road so that she would likely go unnoticed. Wagons created a lot of noise and same with the horses who pulled them. Twenty-five would still be a lot but that was the likely the higher number. But if she had the element of surprise and chose not to stick around for very long…

And thus she prepared her plan of action.

---

The location was a curious oddity and landmark along the otherwise unchanging road. While it may cause the party a chance to stop and think, she craved the ironic symbolism behind it. Once she felt she was sufficiently ahead of the caravan, she slipped back onto the road and traversed it at a full gallop. The wind swept through her dark brown hair as she kicked her heels into the white mare and the speed gave her a rush like none other. Except of course, what she had planned ahead. Upon reaching her destination, she led her mare about a hundred yards south of the road so that the horse would be well hidden within the foliage and out of earshot if the horse balked at any of the fighting. The clear patches of grass were just as important as they made a quick escape route for her, though they would also ease the passage of anyone else by foot or by horse. She did have the benefit of investigating the trails beforehand however.

Once the white mount was tied loosely to a tree, Sayana took only her most needed supplies. Four throwing daggers, four regular sized daggers, a small collection of herbs and healing supplies tucked within her black vest, her black robe, her climbing boots, a black mask, and most importantly her set of zith wings which she could hold with her low hands and wrap around herself. Oh, and one more thing. Her heart quickened as she carefully coated one of her throwing daggers with a fine brown powder. If she had not been deceived, it would create increased pain like no other upon injury using her dagger. Ashes of seaweed, or sometimes known as Phantom’s Shell.

The rest of her supplies for faring in the wilds were left with the horse along with a simple helmet and small buckler. She approached the road carefully through the trees. Even though she thought she was a bell or two ahead of the party, it was impossible to be sure. Her ears were her best friend and she strained them to try to listen for anyone, horse or person, coming along the road. Once the coast was clear, she approached the great oak tree and from the east side she began her climb.

Even with the sharp blades of her boots and using multiple arms to hug the tree, it was a labourous endeavour. The oak tree was tough and the blades hardly sank in, but the thick bark provided multiple handholds. She was able to take her time but as her arms strained with the effort she was more than glad to reach the first branch, probably eleven or twelve feet up. She didn’t stop there, but climbed higher so that she wouldn’t be so obvious even with the cover of the spring leaves. At last she found a place where she could partly hide behind the main trunk, and she carefully retracted the blades of her boots as she would no longer be needing them.

She donned her black mask, made sure that her robe allowed movement to her high arms but concealed her mids, and donned the wings using the straps that acted as hand holds. So long as she kept the wings down or wrapped partially around herself, they would hide the low arms that maneuvered them. With her weapons in place at her belt, now she just had to wait. And perhaps that was the hardest part for her.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

T-t-t-tap. T-t-t-tap.

She drummed her finger tips against the tree bark. She didn’t have claws. Zith had claws. But if she was fast no one would notice. What if she could hypnotize one of them instead? No, she was too far away. But she could try, couldn’t she? It would only take but a moment. But for surprise every moment counts. A myriad of thoughts consumed and distracted her.

At last she was distracted from her thoughts by the soft sound of distant hooves. As they grew nearer, the creak of wheels and voices could also be heard. She still wasn’t certain of the numbers in the party but from her high vantage point, she was able to peer around the trunk of the tree and make out about a dozen people armed with ‘something’. There were others who looked like mere drivers or merchants but it was hard to say for sure if they had concealed weapons.

She was stiff from the wait, and shifted slightly to try to give circulation to her limbs. Below there was quiet conversation, some exclamation about their destination drawing near. She was about to act in their moment of splendour but she listened in as the caravan was called to halt. Yes, now would be… But then words regarding scouting ahead were exchanged. The Eypharian held her breath knowing that with two less men on their side, the more she would be able to accomplish. As she forced herself to be patient she looked down at who might be her first target. She sucked in a breath as she caught sight of blue beneath a helmet. An Akalak? Surely they weren’t all… No they weren’t. But the Akalak was in full plate. Something that Aren would have surely appreciated. Concentrate. She spied a young man with a simple sword at his side. He seemed to be milling around without intention now that the caravan was coming to a stop. But more importantly, her target only wore leather to cover his chest, and not his lower half. He appeared to be idly reading the sign in front of the tree. Surely the two scouts were gone now. They were on horseback and should be out of sight by now… Sayana chanced a quick glance towards where she thought the scouts would have gone and upon not seeing them, she readied her weapon not wanting to lose the opportunity she had been given.

The young man near the sign lingered a tick or two longer than he should have, and Sayana aimed and released the poisoned dagger for his thigh. He was a goodly distance, but a motionless target is a vulnerable target. *1st Target at W-8

Hardly a tick later, her dark zith form swept down from the tree in a billow of black cloth and wings. Already two daggers were out in her high hands, while her low arms beat the wings fiercely churning up wind and dust. And more importantly, attention. Even as she was lunging for another one of the weaker looking targets, *2nd Target at V-5 she caught sight of several bows. Bows, petch. She didn’t like such weapons and was ill fit to protect against such. But her tactic changed so that she began ducking and weaving and darting behind people and horses alike whenever she saw the opportunity. Even still she made her dash towards the second man, slashing two daggers one after another towards his arm and then his opposite leg. *Still against Target #2 Her strikes were not intended to be fatal and her wings flapped as she gave a high pitched shriek.

Notes :
In your next post could you include the locations of the horses and wagons? :D This is exciting. Excuse the super long ‘prep’ writing. I got caught up in it and wanted to be thorough. My other posts won't be so long. And her own horse is off the map to the south (approximate columns p or q depending on the terrain).
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Imass on March 19th, 2016, 9:15 pm

Information :
Coordinates:
2 horsemen (-k,4) and riding west
Wagon 1 (q,6)
Imass (q,6)
Wagon 2 (r,8)
Wagon 3 (s,4)
Wagon 4 (w,8)
Foot Soldier 1 (v,5) The one Sayana is currently engaged with
Foot Soldier 2 (w,8) Fallen by poison dagger
Foot Soldier 3 (r,4)
Foot Soldier 4 (t,9)
Foot Soldier 5 (q,8)
Foot Soldier 6 (s,7)
Uphis Monk 1 (s, 3)
Uphis Monk 2 (t, 3)


Drivers/Businessmen/Bowmen with each respective wagon, either inside the wagon or attending to horses.

All the wagons remain racing west.

Image


After the two vanguard-men rode off, the four wagons began to circle the tree that divided the road. The intention was to get into the shade for their break. Three of the wagons circled around the tree to the south, while one went north. The lesser mercenaries set up a perimeter around the three wagons on the south side, while the two undercover monks walked with the forth one north. Imass walked alongside the first wagon.

The man who fell to the poison dagger was undetected by the group, but as soon as Sayana made her move out of the tree heads began to turn. She had chosen to run up the north path and engage the lesser mercenary who had lagged behind.

The two uphis monks drew their blades and began to approach Sayana to engage her. The sound was a familiar one to the Knight, alerting him of trouble.

"Zith!!!" The one monk yelled

"Ayh!?" The Akalak yelled. He couldn't see what was going on, "Ayh!?" He took an arrow out of his quiver and strung it.

Looking at the lesser men who surrounded the three wagons to the south and the one next to him: he ordered them, "Hold! Keep our clients safe!" *Foot soldiers 3,4,5,6 remain stationary as body guards for businessmen/drivers

Getting into a crouch, the Knight began to jog along the southern path. He would take cover at each wagon, look over, then run to the next vehicle. He was not going to get caught blindsided.

To the archers he yelled, "Hold! And don't let it fly away! I want this Zith dead!"
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Sayana on March 23rd, 2016, 10:24 pm

Image

It was a shame that the man had fallen to the poisoned dagger with not even a scream. For a split moment she was disappointed that nothing more impressive had come of it, and that she had wasted good poison. But now was not the time to dally.

Her sudden jump from the tree had certainly caught the group’s attention. But even as she dashed to the north path, the weak looking mercenary was quick to draw his blade. Her dagger strike was met with a block and there was a fierce clash of steel. Her follow up slash with her high left was clumsy but her opponent was clearly not expecting a second attack so swiftly. Even as he tried to jump backwards out of the way, the tip of her blade nicked his thigh.

At the sound of blades being drawn behind her, Sayana spun around. The two monks were approaching her, and one cried out. In that tick it was hard to gauge their skill, but either they foolishly brave or they were confident of their skill. But they were approaching quickly nonetheless. Suddenly remembering the mercenary behind her, and the fact that there might be arrows flying at any moment, Sayana leapt to the side and into a roll landing just off the beaten path. *V3

The maneuver almost ruined her wings, but she managed to tuck them in tight and land in a low crouch with the leathery wings splayed out, hardly inches from the ground. Only when she started to rise did she realize it hadn’t been the best ploy. In fact, she had put herself right in the path of the two approaching monks. She dodged the first strike, blocked the second. But the third, even though she managed to parry it with her left dagger sent a jarring tremor all the way up her arm from the impact of it. Petch, these guys weren’t messing around.

There was a narrow window of opportunity and the slightest hesitation from one of the monks. Sayana seized the moment. Her new goal was the wagon. *Wagon 3 at S4 She made a mad dash for the back of the wagon. With a leap into the air, her low arms flapped wildly, meanwhile she cheated by using her mid hands to grasp the top of the wagon. Her feet scrambled to find a foot hold, any foot hold. Her highs still held her deadly daggers and she hoped the whole maneuver gave the resemblance of flight. As soon as she was up, switched one of her medium sized daggers for a small throwing one, then made sure that her robe concealed her mid arms. She was a prime target while on top of the covered wagon, and she wasn’t going to waste a moment while up there. With a well practiced flick of her wrist, she aimed the small throwing dagger at the rump of one of the two horses harnessed to the wagon. She only had two throwing daggers left with her, but she hoped this would provide a well needed distraction. Plus the scent of a predator still on her zith wings to scare the beasts of burden.

OOC :
Even though I’m referring to the Uphis monks as ‘monks’, this is just for ease of writing. Sayana does not know they are monks.

Since you didn’t mention the weaker mercenary’s attacks/blocks in your last post, I got the impression that it was okay to roleplay some of the NPCs. Let me know if I went too far in terms of controlling them but I hope that it sounded challenging for Sayana.

Also, I interpreted the wagons as having a rather sturdy cover/roof to them. Hope that’s a valid assumption.

Let’s see some horsey action *pictures rearing and wagons rolling*
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Imass on March 25th, 2016, 6:50 pm

Image

The bearings in the Knight's mind turned in the direction of battle. Extraneous thoughts and feelings were all gone now. The landscape etched into his mind and his instincts began to kick in.

Jogging eastward on the road towards the sound of steel, information bombarded him in sequential order: A lesser mercenary laid fallen in the short grass.

The driver of the fourth wagon*(w,8) held to the reigns with terror in his eyes. He was utterly useless in this situation. The bowman stood tall aiming his arrow north, but holding his fire.

Why?

Imass' head was on a swivel; turning his gaze quickly to the south to register nothing, then back to the north. The Zith was spotted finally as it rolled away from a lesser merc. Now he knew why the fourth bowman didn't fire.

No shot.

The Knight took two bounding steps north and stopped in the grass under the shade of the large tree that divided the road*(u,7). He could already feel his breathing quicken. Pulling the string as far as he could, Imass closed one eye and tried to aim at the foul creature. The two rear guardsmen had already engaged her with their blades.

Still no shot.

The Knight's arm began to strain at holding the position. That was when the Zith bolted west along the road.

Now.

Imass held his breath and released tension on his shortbow. The arrow flew true, but missed the Zith several feet behind it.

With the big tree blocking his view of the Zith, Imass' head turned on a swivel again as he reached for another projectile; nothing new spotted to the east or west. He decided to circle the tree to the south in attempt to gain a new line of site on the creature. Hugging the tree trunk, Imass needed to step over some large roots *Imass jogs from (u,7)--->(r,7).

Looking down at his weapon, he notched the arrow on the string. As he did this the loud braying of horses could be heard. Looking up again, the most unexpected thing happened. The third cover wagon was jolting eastward. The driver had no control. The horses pulling the wagon veered off the road haphazardly into the thick undergrowth*(p,3).

The horses buckled. The driver jumped off his seat. The wagon flipped over. Screaming horses and men. The loud crash of the wagon and all it's goods. A human scream of death. Minimal amounts of dust flew in the air. The Zith began to fly. An arrow flew*Coming from (r,8). The two rear guardsmen and the lesser merc began to approach from the east.*(v,3)--->(r,4)

Drawing the string back, Imass let another arrow loose at the creature, but yet another miss.

"BOX IT IN!" Imass yelled to the three men on the Zith's flank.

Bounding at an angle*(r,7)-->(p,5), the Knight's tactic was to cut off the Zith with his unarmed skill, while the three other foot soldiers caught up. Dropping his shortbow, the Knight prepared for the Zith to make it's move.

OOC :
This was a very fun post to write. With the map coordinates, it makes it so much easier to visualize the battle. :P Let me know if I did too much. I also assumed that Sayana would jump in the air and land at around (q,4)ish when the wagon crashed. Why? because she probably wouldnt jump into the undergrowth (denoted as the dark green multi color specs on the map) If you dont wanna do that, or would jump to another area, just PM me and I will change my post
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Sayana on March 27th, 2016, 4:49 pm

Image

Even when she had been running to the caravan, Sayana had heard the deadly whizz of an arrow through the air. Petching archers. But fortunately she had reached her goal unscathed. Her attempt to cause a ruckus with the horses proved more successful than she had initially thought. Yet as the caravan lurched forwards, she nearly lost her footing entirely. With another frenzied baying of horses, the caravan jerked to the right. Sayana did a quick hop and skip before leaping off the roof of the caravan, wings spread wide. It was only then that she remembered that her low arms would be visible from the front view *She was facing south while jumping to q4 – Caravan was already moving at that point. and she swiftly bent her left low to only show the back of the wing.

That’s when the arrow hit.*The one from r8 In her moment of distraction with maintaining her zith disguise, she hadn’t been paying attention to the potential of whizzing arrows and this one sank deep into her low left arm, apparently piercing her wing. She gritted her teeth with the burning pain, but ducked down low before the next arrow came whistling over her head. The akalak wasn’t messing with his bow.

Sayana had vaguely heard the tumble of the caravan along with the screams that had resulted from it. The three men she had evaded earlier were approaching from the side. And more arrows surely awaited her.

Time to go.

Even as she thought it, she saw the armoured akalak break into a run. She’d have to be faster. The disguised zith darted into the undergrowth, first heading north *q3 and then veering to the left *p3 in attempt to snag something from the overturned caravan. She snapped twigs and branches as she leapt over small bushes. She only had one dagger out, the one in her left high, and the monks were closing in quickly to her right.

As she reached the overturned caravan she bent down to grab something, anything, but preferably something shiny or exotic to take back as a souvenir. This she would grab and pocket swiftly with right high before continuing her flight into the undergrowth.

Except, in the time it had taken her to retrieve the shiny something as loot, the akalak was already upon her.*It think it would be fair to assume he would continue after her, plus it’s more exciting this way. The arrow was still sticking out of her apparent wing, and she hastily snapped it in half with her free right, despite the shooting pain it caused. The black masked zith made a half-hearted swing of her dagger with her left, and attempted to stamp on his foot before ducking and dashing to the north. The blasted thing was covered head to toe in armor.

If she managed to evade the akalak well enough, her flight would take her north *p3 - q0 and then east. *q0 – A(-1) Unfortunately ‘flight’ didn’t mean true flight. It would look odd for a zith to be seen running through the woods but the small blessing of the arrow might suggest her wing was too injured for flight. Regardless, she knew she’d have to get to the south side of the path at some point, but right now she needed the tree cover to avoid further arrows and maybe a chance to hide. If she managed to get near enough to spot the old campfire, she would attempt to hide behind the large tree nearby. *I2 It was her small hope that the campfire would confuse the ones who pursued her to think that it was her own campsite. Meanwhile her horse and goal was much further south, but she’d have to cross the road once more.
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Imass on April 6th, 2016, 5:26 am

Image

The Knight's bounding was very rusty; the battle technique that was once easily performed was nearly lost to him. Out of necessity, Imass' focus turned to his foot-steps. He forgot to spot the assailant's wounded wings. He raised his hip-flexer high and stepped with a little pop and rhythm (the reason was so that he could be "in-step" when making contact during his charge). Despite previous training, his footwork was faulty and made him much slower.

"I got it!" a yell sounded off behind the Akalak from the second archer.

Feeling good about his footwork, Imass brought his focus back up towards the overturned wagon: the Zith had turned north. Planting his left foot, he pivoted towards the overturned cart. Missing a beat, he recovered with a third redundant step and ran*(p,5)-->(p,3) as quick as he could towards the Zith. At the cost of not having optimum combat footwork positioning to make a clean charge upon the bandit, Imass was able to reach the Zith's position successfully.

The Zith's greed is what gave the Knight an opportunity, "Huaah!"

Just as the creature stood up from looting the overturned wagon, Imass attempted to take it down. Being completely out of step and out of practice, the Akalak was easily dodged as he ate the dirt. Tumbling several feet, the loud crunching of plate armor and branches rang in his ears. Disoriented, he lost all sight of the Zith, but only for a moment.

Feet!

Popping up, the Knight's heart and head were pounding; he did not maintain any combative stance for at least two ticks. If anything was permanently instilled into the warrior was to never be on the floor during combat. Information flooded his mind as his head turned on a swivel: the Zith disappeared north and west into the trees as the other mercs had arrived on the scene moments behind Imass.

Ughhh...

One of the "mercenaries" continued*(p,2)-->(n,1) after the bandit with sword in hand, until he too disappeared behind a tree. The other "merc" sprinted towards the archer*@ (o,3) who had been crushed by the falling wagon somehow.

The lesser merc took no action and hailed Imass in confusion, "What now!?"

"Help the merchants and the driver here!" the Knight blurted out in a panic, as no specific tactic came to mind. His instinct told him that erring on the side of caution was his best move in the situation.

Exiting the undergrowth and climbing back on the road, Imass hollared to the others despite his short breath, "Round up the wagons! Round up the wagons! Keep the drivers and merchants safe!"

With forceful purpose, he picked up the short-bow in stride. The sounds of galloping hooves could now be heard to the west. Jogging west on the road, Imass spotted the blades-man appear*The Monk sprinted west, hopping over roots and avoiding trunks. Not being able to keep up, he exited the forest back to the road at a jog. (n,1)-->(j,1)---> (i,4). from the trees.

"Huhoy!?" Imass grunted.

"Gone, I think it flew away," The "mercenary" responded with shallow breaths.

Ughh...

"We need to regroup!" Imass yelled without giving further instructions.

The two horsemen of the vanguard appeared. The Knight waved them down from his position*(k,5) on the road, "We've been assaulted!"

"We heard!"

Imass opened his visor, "Get the flank! We need to muster a defense until we are certain--" The horsemen were already galloping back east towards the banner before they heard the rest of Imass' instruction, "--that we are safe fr--" He didn't even finish his sentence.

Notching an arrow and taking a knee, the Knight stared westward in vigilance; behind him the "mercenary" stood with blade in hand. The caravan behind him began to group up all the wagons in a defensive perimeter on the west side of the tree.*The wagons bunch together @ (n,5)(n,6)(o,5)(o,6)... IF needed I will plot out all the other NPCs after your next post, or you can do it.
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Sayana on April 10th, 2016, 3:20 pm

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When the akalak charged for her, Sayana managed to dodge to the right, keeping her wings curled protectively around her. He was sent tumbling and that was all she needed to take off from the scene. There were others rushing towards her and she managed to duck behind a tree as they carried on westwards. The next couple chimes were tense as she made her escape north, then east. Her pounding footsteps were overwhelmed by the other sounds of the skirmish and she made a leap over a small shrub to avoid the distinctive snapping of twigs.

When she reached the old campfire pit, she was surprised to have made it as far as she did without any pursuers. Had they simply mistaken which way she had been going? Even as relief washed over her, she crouched low and looked back before making a dash to a large tree.*Hiding at (I,2) Her heart thudded loudly as she waited, trying to assess the situation. She couldn’t see them since she was too far off the road but she could still hear.

She perked up at the call to regroup. Maybe they thought they had lost her. She almost wished she had chosen to disappear to the south side of the road instead, since she still had to cross it to reach her horse. Uncomfortably she adjusted her black wings but when she leaned her low hand against the tree she winced sharply. Bloody arrow. Gritting her teeth, she looked at the injury and saw that half the arrow was still sticking out. If they were regrouping, she should have time… With her high right, she gripped the arrow tightly at its base and with a gasp she yanked it out.

Suddenly she realized she didn’t have time. There were galloping hoof beats on the road and now she had blood coming faster than she had anticipated. Hastily, she rummaged in her vest to find the bandages she carried. With a couple of free hands, she tied her arm up tightly then returned the simple bandages and drew a pair of median sized daggers in her highs.

The mounted knights were back, and stationed near the banner by the oak tree. Sayana cautiously inched out of her hiding spot while keeping a low profile, slightly crouched. *(I,2) to (I,5) As she moved, she tried to avoid dry leaves and twigs that might rustle or snap beneath her boots and she very gently pushed away vegetation with the tips of her daggers. Through the leaves of the bush to her right, she was able to see the two knights on horseback with the four wagons collected together just beyond the giant oak tree. Somehow they had managed to get the tipped wagon upright again. She’d have to make a dash for it. It didn’t seem like all the guard were facing in her direction but the knights on horseback were the ones she had to worry about. She needed a distraction, or something…

The Eypharian bent down to grab a stone just smaller than her fist, and momentarily switched her dagger into another hand. It wouldn’t do to throw it out from her hiding place, as it would only draw attention towards herself. But if she managed to throw it such that the rock wouldn’t be seen, and only heard once it hit something... With a slight smile she glanced back towards the fire pit and then squinted through the trees to find a clear shot. Bringing her arm back slowly, she launched the stone as far as she could where it promptly crashed against some branches and ultimately a tree trunk. *Sound of rock at (E,3)

She gave the knights half a tick to react, then made a dash south, across the road and to the cover of trees. *To (H,13) The trees would be her best protection from the horses and if she could just reach her white mare in time… However, what she didn’t expect was the sudden neigh and uncomfortable stomping of hooves from her horse right at that moment. Was her horse alright? Or just spooked? Or being taken by one of the knights? Panic set in as she sprinted towards where she had left the white mare. *Approx (p,25) - off the map
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Imass on April 15th, 2016, 7:18 pm

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Tension began to build up in Ser Imass as he continuously scanned the westward road back and forth. Looking for any signs of movement in a hyper-vigilant state began to make his head pound; he couldn't bare it anymore. Rising up, the Knight ordered the swordsman to stay put while he checked on the caravan.

Jogging eastward on the Kabrin, the Akalak rushed to the scene. The other covered wagons had already formed a close defensive circle. The entire score of civilians (drivers and businessmen) where working to flip the fallen wagon back up. Determining that the caravan guards were substantial enough without Knightly supervision, Imass approached the Uphis monk standing*(p,3) over the dead body.

Everything was chaotic.

"What happened here?" Imass thought out loud as he took high steps over the thick undergrowth. Nothing needed to be said though. The unprotected head of the archer had been crushed by the wheel of the wagon. The bits of skull and brains reminded the Akalak of a smashed pumpkin.

Righteous anger filled the Knight, he did not feel sorry for the dead mercenary, but rather the need to make the Zith pay dearly for their deeds. His mind imaged a cold blade sinking into it's vile, black flesh.

A holler could be heard coming from the east, calling for attention. Sprinting through the defensive formation, the Akalak arrived on the other side of the great oak tree that divided the road.

"Oye!?" Imass yelled to the horseman.

"The green kid draws his last breathe," the horseman said grimly, nodding to the kid laying on the floor.

Rushing to the fallen man's side*(w,8), Imass took a knee and stared him in the eyes, "The mission was successful!" It was a meager attempt to keep his spirits up.

The kid coughed and blood began to leak from his mouth, "I never thought this is how it would end..."

"Stay with me kid! It's not over yet,"

"...I thought... I would die fighting... at least... not like this..."

In a spur of rage Imass pointed at the flag of the Windoak, "I swear to thee I shall avenge your death by slaying the Zith myself!" With the rageful words of the Knight, the kid closed his eyes and died.

Suddenly the horsemen took off into the trees north of the Kabrin road*(E,3). Standing up, Imass notched his bow and waited. He saw nothing and heard nothing else. Eventually the horsemen came back, dumbfounded and without any clue where the Zith was hiding.

~~*~~


Thus, the Brief Encounter on the Kabrin road came to a close.

The Zith assailant had outsmarted a whole group and escaped unscathed. The vile creature had slain two men and stolen from the group. The business men were still happy for a vast majority of their goods remained unspoiled. The mercenaries felt good about it too, because in the end of the day they had done their jobs.

The Akalak Knight on the other hand, fumed the rest of the day. He could not let go the fact that they let a single bandit escape their clutches. Over and over he planned out actions he was going to take back in Sylira concerning this matter. Those who did not follow the Rule of Law and Sylir's will deserved to die.

For the sake of the two dead men, Ser Imass made it his personal mission to find and slay the Zith.
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A Brief Encounter on the High Kabrin Road

Postby Sayana on April 16th, 2016, 4:28 pm

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After the rock was thrown, she dashed across the path. It proved to be enough of a distraction since the mounted knights were preoccupied with the sound and the rest were turned away focused on keeping their defense or tending to the wounded.

When she reached the cover of trees on the other side, she exhaled with relief. No one seemed to be on her tail. She picked her way a little more carefully through the trees, taking light steps, until it opened up into a grassy clearing. It was time she was gone. She ran swiftly across the clearing, her feet softly thudding upon the ground. She kept her black wings partially tucked around her so as not to catch the wind and soon she was once more within the tree cover and her white horse in sight.

She glanced quickly behind her and also in the direction of the other grassy clearing. No one seemed to be coming and all she could hear were faint voices from the road. With her heart still pounding she approached the restless mare. There was nothing in the immediate vicinity to threaten the horse and after a double check and a triple check, Sayana was confident that they were alone.

Regardless, the horse seemed uneasy and Sayana put a comforting hand on its neck. She did not want to speak to it, for fear of being heard, so she began drawing upon her djed. She wrapped feelings of safety and warmth within her magic. And then concentrated on a firm purposeful desire to leave. As she caught the horse’s gaze, she released the magic.

She gathered the shield and helmet on the ground next to the mare, then mounted up. With a nudge of her knees she set off south, but it was hardly needed as the horse was anxious to get moving. The walk soon turned into a trot and as they created distance from the caravan Sayana spurred the horse into a canter down one of the forest trails.

She had done it.

She had not only successfully made an attack on a full caravan but she had also escaped the mercenaries who defended it. There must have been about a dozen armed mercenaries in all, and four loaded wagons. Plus the additional drivers and merchants. There had been the two mounted knights, and she was pretty sure a bowman and mercenary for each wagon. It all happened rather fast but the element of surprise and a few well placed attacks had brought sufficient confusion so that they could not work efficiently as a group. Had she lingered, it might have turned out worse for herself.

Sayana idly wondered what else had been in the wagons, but had she managed to steal a prized souvenir of the encounter. The number of guards was valuable information for future endeavours as well as knowing their overall skill. Other caravans would likely have similar defences depending on how many wagons were used for the trip. Overall, the mercenaries seemed more interested in defending the caravan and each other than actively chasing her down. And the use of her zith disguise had turned out better than she had expected.

With a smile she halted her horse with a tug of the reins. She was now well beyond the reach of the caravan and for the sake of her mount, it was time to switch her disguise. She swung her leg over and jumped down from the white horse. First came the wings, which she carefully removed from her low arms. As she twisted to take them off, she was painfully reminded of the arrow wound. Even as she folded them up, she noted the tear in the wings where the arrow had punctured it. She’d have to tend to that later. Her mask came off next and she put both of them into the saddlebags. Then to complete the switch, she donned the helmet and strapped the buckler to her back. It wasn’t the most elaborate disguise, but it would help to keep anyone off her tail.

After all, who would question the savage nature of a zith?
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