[Stumble Alley] Choices [Closed]

[Drayton]

The heavy boots of a huge older man had startled a rat from its nest. Its claws made soft scraping noises against the stones as it ran past the man and scuttle in front of Eleanor. The dry noise was quickly drowned out as the man’s bravado rang out in the alley and the Daggerhands began to cackle. The first bruiser wants in, this one wants it to end, and Robern’s boys have got their buddy’s back covered while he enjoys himself. Drayton watched as one of the Daggerhands moved in their direction, while the leader of the pack met the bigger threat. Another of the paid blades aimed his crossbow down the longsword’s alley, where a young woman’s voice seemed to have come from, was she the other threat they saw?

It’s so petching hard to tell what’s going on back here, between his ass and these walls I can’t see a thing. Frustrated by her blindness and fueled by curiosity the girl began to shuffle sideways. Knuckles still curled around her blade the girl shifted her weight on her hands, moving her body slowly to the edge of her cover. The shining metal of axes blades was visible between Dourne’s legs as Eleanor craned her neck desperately to see around the large man. The uncertainty of her surroundings was agonizing. She couldn’t step out without joining the victim’s list, she couldn’t leave without being spotted, in which case her only shield from being dragged into the same mess was the grizzled do-gooder standing between herself and the mercenaries. Good way to die, torn four, maybe five ways if that guy hopes in. Bits scattered about an alley where they’ll vanish with the sunset. I blame you Dem.

[Bob Barton]

All safe and uncomfortable hiding in his little crate, Bob watched the whole scene unfold. The bloodthirsty barbarian, the psychotic scarman from the bar brawl and the Crimson Edge seductress who is probably going to be the next to get raped should her allies lose. If Bob was smart enough to remember that in Sunberth you should always watch your back, he would realize too that there is the silver haired archer hiding behind his crate. But unfortunately the mess in front of him had all his attention. Someone better clean that up, and soon.

The stupid hole in the crate Bob was using to peer from inside was too small. Once the taunting and the roaring was over Bob could only catch the faint glimmer of steel around the combatant's hands. It would be dangerous if Bob could not see the battle properly especially since he is at the risk of being drawn in as well. Grabbing the sides of the lid of the crate, Bob lifted it up a little to allow his head to pop out. Should anyone be paying attention to him in the alley they would probably see the eyes, nose and messed up hair looking from inside the box. But with all the excitement going on, Bob hopes that there would be better things to look at than him.

And as always if things weren't bad enough what should one of the thugs be looking at? Of course the man was looking with a crossbow aimed at Bob's direction. What luck. Bob still did not know that the man was actually taking aim of the archer behind him so Bob just started looking around to see if there is any way to get out of this situation he found himself in.

OOCFineeeeeeeeee, since everyone wants Bob INSIDE the crate then I'll do it. Have fun Antar and keep him alive XD.

[Dourne]

Dourne laughed as he shrugged off the pathetic insults, years ago he would of slaughtered and gutted the fool that even mentioned his father but as he grew older he learned to ignore such offences. Dourne started to adjust his armor, the armor that saved his life dozens of times over, the slashes and grazes started to take its toll as the leather started to grow ragged and patchy, however didn't bother him much, it made him more aware of the vulnerably of life and made him far more combat smart, smart enough to do anything for victory, be it dirty or clean, if he saw an opportunity to crush his opponents skull in he'd take it.

Seeing Cade rush forward gave Dourne a renewed sense of confidence, one verses four, the odds were slim, even for a veteran killer like Dourne, however two verses four then there was a good chance. Taking his axe in both hands he brutishly laughed again.

"See this axe? do you realize how many pieces of shit like you, it has cut down" he shouted while pointing at the thug with the two axes. "When Im done carving pretty little pictures into your face, Im going make you squeal like the little bitch you are!". Dourne laughed loudly while rubbing his beard "Lets see, how cocky you are when I make you eat your own insides!". Lifting up his axe, Dourne charged towards his adversary, his mind controlled by blood lust.

Upon reaching his foe, he swiped his massive, black steeled axe in a huge arc, putting all his strength into the swing, the force from the attack alone had enough power to mangle flesh and metal alike. Dourne's methods of attack were unusual but they were effective.
However he didn't want to kill his rival outright, he wanted to show the thuggish antagonist the true meaning of pain.

[Antar]

Antar's mind raced at lightning speed.

Keeping his arrow on target, the rogue's eyes were wide, drinking in the details of the alley. The situation, and where people were was already being fed into the archers instincts and filed for later use. The position of the battered woman, with the man forcing himself upon her was being covered, but slightly visible. The gargantuan swings of the other barbarian's axe and taunts carried in the still air. Resonating to his eardrums. He tried to instinctively recognize the place he was at, as well as his current proximity to the old Sunberth Library.

Worse came to worse, he could always try to make a break towards there. And uncharacterstically , he noted that If he survived this little encounter unscathed, Noth would probably try to deliver the assaulted woman to Braga's place. At least there, she'd have some herbal concoction to ensure she wouldn't be pregnant from the ordeal. He wouldn't sell the woman on the slave block either; damaged goods weren't profitable and if the big man tried to rape her in front of the others, well ... then he'd have to tell the lug to use his head in a different manner then Carina was.

An odd part of his mind noted that somewhere in the heavy stack of crates he was in half cover behind there sounded like something shifting within their contents. Something in any other moment might have characterized as breathing.

Antar smiled for a fraction of a second somewhere in the midsts of the moment it took the barbarian Cade to get his ire on. His cold eyes met the crossbowman's and a slight nod was his only means of assenting a degree of respect to another bowman to pass along he realized he had been noticed, and noticed the person who was doing the noticing.

If some silent communication had passed between them then, the other man might have realized, Noth had a duty to protect his fellows even as the man had a duty to protect his. That's what archers of all kinds did.

Even if one who had chosen a vastly inferior weapon such as a crossbow. They were good in close quarters, but as unwieldy and innacurate as could be in comparison... A common wound crossbow in the hands of the inexperienced was like a cist on the backside of a horseman. Something that made them all woefully poor at their job if they weren't skilled enough to compensate for the jerk, and aiming difficulties. It took over three pounds of immediate pressure to pull the trigger of one of those. He should know, he was learning to build them at the Carver brothers.

But this grizzled man didn't seem like he was an amateur. He figured the man would get off one shot before having to reload if things went south. So it would be best to play it safely.

Time snapped back to the present in his senses as Cade took his first step to charge. Taking a slight correction in his attack, Noth adjusted his aim a fraction of an arc. Putting the tip of the arrow upon the buttocks of the man who was still raping the woman, Noth plucked the string, letting the arrow fly. Without waiting he immediately leapt to his right, minimizing the line of sight profile upon which he could be attacked even if the impact with the ground and wall might hurt his shoulder.

He hoped to roll in one smooth motion, closer to the full cover of near the wall of the alley, abruptly cutting off his sight of the crossbowman. Hopefully, his instinct decision had not given the crossbowmen any time to pull the trigger.

[Annassena]

What was this? A petching circus?

Annassena ran her tongue over her lips absently as she watched the activities unfold. The man screaming obscenities like a stuck pig seemed to be known by the belle of a woman standing among the filth of the alley like a lovely tiger lily stuck among peonies. The men with the bow and the one with the crossbow seemed to be having some foolish duel with one another, and her shadows were demanding for blood?! They'd get it.

The snake-woman crouched and shifted her way back down the alley, stopping and shimmying out of her clothes until she stood naked. She wondered briefly if anyone had seen her before her form began to contort in that pleasant, heavenly way. Legs wound together and lengthened, muscle grew on thin arms, and her head became grotesque before becoming beautiful and serpentine again. She had to become this creature, this Dhani, to be anything of worth to the darkness, and it was worth it to feel the pleasure of transforming into a graceful, sleek, pale body. And now that she was as Siku and Caiyha made her race to be, she undulated her form back into the alley, keeping low and out of the light and ignoring the darkness flickering around her. Once close enough, her great sleek body began to coil. Feet of her thick girth wound up in a spring, a highly volatile coil of muscle and sinewy power.

Green eyes, marked as inhuman by slitted pupils, were wide and unblinking as the body of Annassena settled into a tightly wound coil and she faced her first kill of the day, the man bearing the crossbow, from the side. Let his quarry attack. She needed only a bite before she could down him.

She snapped forward in one powerful leap, arching over the ground and wrapping her arms around his body, sinking her fangs into his shoulder and puncturing skin and bone combined, her coils tightening to pull her form back, but keeping her prey facing forward to ward off any attacks. She released him from her jaws after returning to the safety of an adjoining alley, keeping his body clutched to hers warily. In this form, she saw everyone as heat sources, and all were brighter than the man in her arms.

"Want some more?" She asked of the shadows as her tongue flicked at her bloodied maw. She knew she most certainly did.

[Carina]

When Cade turned to retort her assumption of his action's and decisions, his words did nothing to stop the annoyance she felt. That was obvious in the way she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. This pose was all too common when somebody irritated her, and one she didn't care to disguise at this point. "At least try to make this quick then, Cade. Need I remind you of what trouble we might be faced with if we stick around here too long?" Of course, she wasn't being forced to stay for the fight, but for reasons unknown to her, she found it difficult to leave her old time business partner in a situation such as the one he was in. It could have simply been the fact that he and she were both part of the Crimson Edge, or just a likely, the old memories they shared. Putting a halt to any further distracting thoughts, she returned her focus to the present time and away from the past. While two of the brutish men carried close ranged weapons, the third was armed with a crossbow. Carina let her eyes focus on the third, knowing that if any of them were to try and attack her, he would be the most likely to succeed. But while her attention was on the archer, another figure leaped into the middle of the fight. At first glance it was little more then a blur, but once it found its target, its form was very clear, if not amazing. Carina hadn't seen anything like this before; a giant snake? The surprise of its sudden appearance had caught her off guard, or at the very least, surprised her. Taking a few hurried steps back towards Antar and the hidden Bob, she wanted to keep a safe distance from whatever was to happen next. As things progressed, the feeling of needing to defend herself continued to intensify. Reaching through the slit in her skirt, she pulled a dagger from one of the sheaths wrapped around her thigh. Grasping it tightly, she held it in front of her body in a defensive fashion. She wouldn't speak out loud about it, since it was probably apparent to any who watched, but she thought the fight was getting out of hand very quickly. Moving back away from the group of men and the snake, she came to a stop behind Antar. "Are you planning on firing any time soon? The sooner this fights over, the better for all of us." He probably didn't need her to tell him that, but she wandered when he would shoot. Before he could answer her question or reply to her statement, she hurried over to the wall that Antar had just rolled out away from. Was it because she was a cowered? No. It was simply because she had never been one for battles of blade and muscle. The reason she honed her ability to manipulate and seduce was to avoid situations like this. Or at the very least, come out unscathed in the end. Battles fought with subtlety and cleverness were the ones she favored, and usually the ones she had the upper hand in. If her wits were to fail her, she could fall back on her poisons and daggers, but those were only effective in her hands if the person wasn't expecting them. If her opponent were to have the forethought to check her over for weapons, then there wasn't much she could do. It was for that reason she wasn't of very much use on a battle filed like the one before her. Deciding it would be best for her, and the others, if she were to stay out of the way until it ended. "I really should remember to get some dagger training after this... If I get out of this alive, that is." She mumbled to herself, leaning against the wall and out of site. Occasionally she would peak out to see how things were going, but how much did that help her comrades?

[Leviathan]

Cade's opponent only stared at him as he spoke of sword and cravings of blood and his battle lust, then the man grinned. Cade wwas loud and obnoxious. He was wordy, but didn't sound overly intelligent. He had brute strength and a certain level of intimidation that might work, but Cade's Daggerhand nemesis had cunning, experience, and he had an entire gang that would kill for him. The Daggerhand were brothers, brothers in murder and violence and cruelty. "So be it. Know the man who will kill you is named Gregor. Dira take you." The clash of blades was short, brief as Cade lunged into the man, throwing a wicked verticle strike that could easily cleave a man's head in two, cut down through to the chest from the shoulder, or easily sever and arm if that was the unlucky target, yet none of these things occurred as the Daggerhand leader lifted his blade to hit against Cade's, redirecting it to his right, then retaliated with a fierce strike from the pommel of his longsword into Cade's sternum. The blow was far from lethal, but it forced the Half-blooded Myrian to stumble backwards as his lungs fought to reclaim air as they quivered in pain. The man, Gregor, then pressed foreward, throwing his own blade is a strong precise horizontal slice that, if not deflected, dodged, or blocked, would decapitate Cade. Leather armor or not, the weapon was too strong and sharp to be contended with. "It's a beautiful weapon. I think I'll take it." The man Dourne had adopted as his own rival at that moment, the man with two axes, one small enough to be considered no larger than your common hatchet, actually wasn't quite as large. He was an average sized man with muscular tone, but not so much muscule build or obvious strength to be devastatingly powerful, yet he was still a Daggerhand, which meant he had to have something about him that was a bit more deadly. Dourne swung his mighty axe wildly at his opponent, not so differently than Cade tried to carve his own foe in half, but the two barbarians' attacks proved to have the same initiat effect. Cade was parried, while Dourne was straight up evaded. The axe was heavy, swung hard, which made it difficult to stop midswing when there was so much momentum carrying it through. The Dual-wielding axeman took a step backwards, allowing nothing but the faint breeze following Dourne's sacred weapon to touch him, then as weapon moved past, he dove in. Two axes swung wildly as he through deadly strikes here and there. An overhead verticle chop with one hand, a lower swifter attack aiming at Dourne's stomach at the same time, then againm, more directions. This man moved so fast, despite having both a reach and strength disadvantage, would be the death of Dourne without some help soon. The older man had no suitable weapon to effectively defend himself against this sort of attack for long. If he wasn't disarmed, or forced to defend himself instead of throwing terrible axe-attacks, Dourne wouldn't live long. Whatever respect Antar thought he shared with the Crossbowman/Archer of the Daggerhand, that man obviously didn't feel the same. As he took aim at Antar, he didn't share cunning words or subtle threads , he simply fired the weapon. If Antar thought he was going to let him take the initial shot of this battle, he was very mistaken. The bolt flew quick and true, whizzed through the aim, and stuck itself right into Antar's right forearm. The jolt of the shot jarred Antar's aim ever so slightly as the sudden sapping of strength forced Antar to release too soon, and his own shot did not hit his intended target, but actually dug itself into the thigh of the already thoroughly beaten and raped woman. Up until shis point, she was quiet, but the moment the arrow dig into her leg, she screamed like never before. Pain, uncensored, undeniable, wracked her body as she could only wail in torment. The man that was pleasuring her took the arrow for what it was. It was for him, they weren't going to let him have his fun. Antar dived out of the way before any more bolts caught him, but his arm was already wounded with a bolt dug deep into the flesh, meat, and out the other side, he wouldn't be able to draw back the bow like this. Any shots he made would be lucky to be accurate, assuming he could even draw it back enough to fire. He would need a new method to fight, if fighting was still his plan. But he wasn't done, how he knew of Annessena's presence was a mystery, but any true archer knew that you had to be aware of evertyhing when you relied on distance of a bow or crossbow. You had to notice wind, to predict any hinderance to your shot. You had to be aware of motions that may complicate your shot. You had to be aware of anything that might cover, hide, or deflect your shot from your target. Somewhere along the line, he took count of the Dhani, and as she lunged at him, he spun around and punched her sin the side of the head with the face of his crossbow, tossing her harmlessly against the wall. By now, the fourth and final member was up and basking in his naked glory as he drew his shortsword from the sheath on the ground. He watched the area with a crazed glare and ever-observant paranoia. Now that he was aleart, and obviously angry, he looked like some maniac, nude and ready to slaughter.

[Cade]

The Myrian savage stumbled back from the pommel attack delivered from Gregor to his sternum as the it knocked the wind out of the barbaric brute. Cade gained his footing still queasing for breath as he did not have much time to regroup while instinctively forcing himself in the Fool's Guard, the point of his sword lowered to the ground, appearing to "foolishly" expose the upper parts of the body and inviting the attack.

The leader of the daggerhand crew gave no hesitation to advancing upon Cade, viciously slicing at him with a powerful stroke aimed to kill the half blood myrian with a single blow. Cade with panther like reflexes raised his blade into a hanging parrying striking the bottom of Gregor's blade from the fools guard and locking it to the hilt of his own sword. If done correctly Cade would of knocked the oncoming blade up and off to the right, then twisting his wrist to flip the position of his own blade on top of gregor's own blade and using his strength and skill to displace the attacking sword downwards, opening The man for an counter attack. The savage swordsmen would then retaliate upon the upper opening with a quick horizontal slash aimed at slicing Gregor's arms and torso, which may not be a killing blow but could significantly slow his enemy down and give him the advantage.

[Drayton]

Crossbow bolts and Dhani flew through the air, the projectiles slicing through the woman's hollering as it filled the small crossroads. Eleanor watched the snake-like creature smash against the wall and heard the pain of whoever had been the target of the Daggerhand's archer. Not going well... Not at all. Why the petch did you stick your nose into this mess. A screaming woman ought to be a good sign to stay away, not come snooping. But she could hardly leave now.

Before her the smallest of the Daggerhands was swinging viciously at the large man who stood in her alley. None of us are going to last long, especially if this man dies. My meat-shield will be gone and no one will distracting the axe-man. The girl ground her teeth together in a moment of indecision, if this man didn't have half decent reactions they would both be dead. Her stomach felt like a great lead weight as she sheathed her dagger, freeing her hands.

Dirt from the street clung to her sweaty hands as she scooped up the most dangerous piece of refuse she could reach. No longer than her arm, and splintering, the old board was at least heavy as she took it in both hands. If it shattered on impact perhaps it would be enough to distract the man so he could be killed by the other... Man. It'd be nice if I knew the name of the bloke I'm helping. Gulping at the rancid air of the city the girl shifted a quietly as she could into a squat, staring at the edge of her cover crate and the swinging blades just beyond it.

With a leap she landed on top of the rickety box, shocked to see how close the two men actually were to her. Her arm had begun moving as she jumped, hopefully meaning her blow would land before either had time to react. The rotting wood beneath her creaked and complained, shaking under her weight. She swung for the Daggerhand's head as hard as she could, hoping to connect before the perch buckled or threw her with her momentum further into the fray.

[Bob Barton]

Hell, things were going from bad to worse. Not even counting the difference of skill it was going to be a hard time for those who want to help the woman. These Daggerhands with their matching tattoo's would show some sort of close relationship and this would not have been their first fight together either. In this sense they are definitely more experienced than this ragtag gathering when fighting in groups. Bob saw the random arrow and snake tripping over each other and now the other girl who joined in with the axe fight. He would have to try and help as well if anyone of them wants a chance to survive the night.

As far as Bob could tell, there was the scary rapist barbarian and woman who came with him, the chivalrous thug, the one who sent the arrow from behind Bob and the little girl. Lets not forget about the snake as well. "Five or six on four...great odds..." Bob thought to himself and took out the stinging smoke he kept for emergencies. Frankly the damned thing won't be able to tell the difference from friend or foe so Bob just hoped it won't make things worse. But this was an alley, the gas attack may prove effective in this small area. And if he can try and control its movements even just a little, it might help a lot.

While he looked at the flask on his hand thinking, he also saw the Hapchance mark on his arm. If it was not for the twins who helped him when he was in a situation much like the woman here, he would probably be suffering right now somewhere. It helped to make his decision and he started getting some res out of his hands and rubbing it all over the flask of stinging smoke. Now with a layer of res all over it he started concentrating to attract some air from around it. More and more air folded over themself to make a substantial layer around the flask, making a wall of pressured air all around.

This was too dangerous to risk himself losing control over the res if he tried to throw it himself. So while maintaining most of his focus to control it, he pushed the lid of the box just a little to sneakily give the flask to whoever it was behind him which shot the arrow. In a soft voice he gave the instruction "Psst, throw it at the middle." At least this way he can still help the fight while not bringing attention to himself. The volunteer who throws it can take all the shyke going his way while he tries to concentrate keeping the air in check.

OOCI am confused whether its Antar or Carina near the box now sorry, so either one of you can take the stinging smoke and throw it if you want.