Who's The Fool? Part II

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Night of 67th Fall 515

A cold spell over the night woke her, and Merevaika sat upright, gently stroking her puppy who slept deeply by her feet. Everything that had happened so far had been so slow, so boring... Nothing had happened. Just like Godwin Swiftmind, there appeared to be something happening here, something she could not see but feel in the depth of her gut. She always took her gut feelings as true - at times, there were things that could not be seen but only felt.

A shadow passed over her tent. At first, she assumed Juniper couldn't sleep either, and had risen to get some fresh air. Why he would lead the comfort of the warm tent to the chilling air outside confused her. But then two more shadows, tall, human shadows, passed together, it was unmistakably not him. Which meant they had visitors. And no visitor that came in the dead of night would mean no harm.

Merevaika grasped out for her bow, feeling the wood beneath her fingers, and drew an arrow from the quiver, resting it gently on the weapon. Slowly, very slowly and very gently, she tiptoed over to the tent entrance, pulling it back very slightly to catch a glimpse of the men who were lit up by the tiniest flame, which danced around the centre of the camp. There were three, two taller and a shorter one in front, who waited expectantly by Juniper's tent. One of the other two seemed to pass something to him: under the light of the moon, she had to strain to see the knife.

What were they doing with a knife, in the dead of the night? Her grip on the bow tightened, and she wanted to shrink back more, hide from these people, but she couldn't. They were threatening the safety of the old man she had been hired to guide and protect. It wasn't that she had any worries about Juniper, but because if he was killed, she would be the one blamed for it, for they should have been alone. She should have been the only one in the area. They knew that as well as she did.

Taking steady breaths, she notched the arrow, drawing back with a steady motion. Calmly did it. It was hard, but practise under pressure made it easier, the movement only shaking slightly. The arrow peeked out the crack at the entrance of the tent, taking its aim. Then, just as the shorter man made to enter, she released, sending the arrow towards her target with a whistle, and a thud.

It hit in the lower back, and he doubled over, moaning with pain. Four eyes moved to stare straight at her. Another pair, belonging to the inured man, stared at the blood he had on his hands that had moved to the wound.

It was time to run.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Still clutching the bow tightly, she managed to grab her knife and cloak, pulling the latter over her as she slipped out the tent, hearing the shouts of the men behind her as they tried to get her to stop. Juniper was no longer a priority to them, and as she cast looks backwards, his figure slipped out of the tent, stealing his way into the night. Only the fallen man might have seen it, as the other two had eyes on her.

If she managed to get far enough, she would be able to hold them off with her bow at a distance, or simple disappear into the night, depending on their tracking skill. But that would mean abandoning her possessions to them, and they would happily take them, that she was certain of. Her breath clouded in front of her, but the rest was barely visible.

A familiar horse's cry echoed across the plain, and she turned, heart pounding. They couldn't touch Eryunt, he must have escaped before they could reach him.

But the sight that greeted her wasn't pleasing. One of the men had thrown several ropes across the horse, holding him down to the ground, and the other clutched a knife perilously close to the stallion's neck. He kicked and fought, but somehow was unable to escape.

These men weren't Drykas, but knew them well enough. "If I were you, I'd come back, or your Strider will get the blade." Merevaika hung her head, stepping closer to them, but they could see how she prepared to attack. "Drop your weapons first." Abandoning them in the grass, she approached slowly, terrified eyes looking at Eryunt.

"Please, release him." Her voice begged them, and she would have done anything to keep her horse safe. Even if it meant sacrificing herself. She loved him, but the bond was even stronger, and she was part of him, and she would always stay part of him, no matter what happened. Apart from death. If she lost him, she wouldn't forgive herself. The man with the knife smiled, gesturing for her to come closer. He had her right where he wanted her, and she was helpless against it.

"We would have left you alone, you know. We need you, after all, the Watch must blame someone. Why else would Godwin pay to hire you? Only because you're an incompetent fool who is a new arrival to Endrykas who seems suspicious. But you hurt our friend. And because of that, you need to pay a little, just enough in return from his injury." He gestured towards the other man, who took the place by the horse, and moved closer to Merevaika.

He stopped right in front of her, his salty breath drifting upon her. It renched of raw meat, and she struggled to breath. Her eyes remained focused on her horse, and he laughed, right in her face, and she fought the urge to shrink back. "We'll let him go, don't worry. He'll be fine. It's you you should be worried." She was. She was well and truly worried, but tried to hide her shaking fists, tried to hide her racing heart, but he was inches away, so close she thought he could hear every beat.

"Now stay still, and don't fight back. This shouldn't hurt a bit." The mocking laughter of his 'joke' shifted up to the sky, still going when the first blow came.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

He hit her hard across the face, eye stinging with the impact. It must have turned red, for it hurt, hurt so badly. Then he kneed her in the stomach, and she feel to the ground, aching with the pain. The man then grabbed her hair, pulling her head back with a sharp motion that brought tears to her eyes. His hand curled to a fist, and he slammed her nose, a crunch announcing that he broke it. Blood trickled down her chin, dripping on her clothing.

A scream echoed out from the distance, and all eyes turned to its origin: the direction of the crack. The injured man, who lay on the floor moaning, pointed towards it, words slipping out of his lips. "Juni... per.... fell... swallowed by.... Semele..." The man who was beating her up laughed, letting his grip on her fall and she sunk to the ground, trying to fight the pain.

"Looks like we don't have to do the dirty work ourselves!" the other one added, not paying enough attention to Eryunt. The stallion took his chance, roaring up, smashing the first man on the skull, pushing him to the ground. He stomped on his, cracks clear, and the man's screams were agonizing. No longer bound by Eryunt, Merevaika snatched a knife from where it hung on the man's belt, tearing it off and moving to attack him.

From nowhere, he pulled out another one, slashing first her arm, then across her face. It stung hard, but only bled lightly, not deep enough to be a problem. At worse, it would scar.

She fought her body, snatching dust and throwing it in her eyes, moving to attack him. He stumbled back, out of reach, and her body refused to move, shivering and weak.

The man snarled, once regaining his vision, and charge forward, flipping hid blade from one hand to the other. Merevaika rolled out of the way, just escaping his reach with a move that hurt all over. Juniper was dead, and the man had been right. She would be blamed; even if it was seen as an accident, she should have been there to prevent it. There would be no way to return without being seen responsible for his death.

That didn't mean she didn't want to live.

Mika leapt into the scene, teeth bared and growling at the man attacking his mistress. He took three large strides forward, resembling more of a wolf than a dog, and launched himself at the man, pushing him to the ground and biting his shoulder hard.

He was soon thrown off, but he had done considerable damage. The man couldn't move his arm much, wincing in pain as he tried to lift it, and had to resort to using his other arm as his knife hand, although it was his weaker one. He swiped at the dog, who fell back whimpering and scared, before turning back to the woman in front of him, who he now truly hated, after she killed his two friends, almost brothers, considering they had grown up together so close.

She needed to pay for it fully. And if she recovered, she would pay more. If not, it would look like the glassbeaks got to her. They would, with the fresh meat. The blood was probably already drawing them closer.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

"I could have let you live. I could have let you be, let you return to Endrykas, let you live with the consequences of your actions." His words were threatening and mocking and every shade of evil. "But you killed my friends, my brothers by everything but blood. You will pay. Your family will pay."

Heat rose in her, and she forced herself to stand. "You said it yourself - I'm alone, without family. Kill them if you can! They're all dead anyway!" She tried to rise a fist, curled around the blade as if holding on to the last strand of her life. "You won't get to me. Ever!"

Everything seemed to go as a blur. The man's face contorted into several shapes, but all Merevaika could concentrate on keeping her weak, wobbling muscles strong, standing upright. He shouted something, anger filling the night sky, and words came out of her mouth too, falling short of their target as she realised she had nothing to say.

He lunged, and instinct moved her knife to the correct place, catching his blade with hers, struggling under his strength. It finally fell, and she shifted back, scraping through the dirt as she tried to keep steady, focus on what was going on in front of her.

Feigning another lunge, the man changed to a thrust towards her stomach, and she didn't manage to block this one. She was cut upon, blood rushing out, her shirt ruined. Gasping out for air, she clasped at the wound, feeling the sky leave her and the ground come to catch her. As she struggled to breath, she saw her horse smash into the man, her dog bite at his ankles.

Merevaika clutched the bleeding cut tightly, trying to stop the loss of blood, hoping the pressure would work and the blood would stop and create a stab. It wasn't working, and her hands dyed a dark red, which stained everything she touched: her shirt, her trousers, the knife, the ground. It was covered in blood. Her blood.

The man was gone. Another replaced him. This one had scraggly grey hair that fell around his face, wrinkled hands clutching a quarterstaff. His face was a look of pure shock, sorrow, anger and guilt, and he bent over to help her.

He smiled, and the scar that ran down his cheek moved back under the shadows of his hair.

Who was he? Merevaika couldn't remember. Where was she? What was happening? Too much blood had been spilt, and her grasp on reality faded. The world tumbled and turned around her, slowly and gradually fading, fading until only darkness remained. Then nothing.

[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Merevaika

Experience

• Logic: 1
• Observation: 2
• Weapon, Shortbow: 1
• Detection: 1
• Stealth: 1
• Intelligence: 1
• Running: 1
• Brawling: 1
• Endurance: 2
• Rhetoric: 1
• Wrestling: 1

Lore

• Logic: Trust your gut
• Stealth: Clothing can hide you at night
• Merebaika: Would do anything for her Strider
• The pain of a broken nose
• Glassbeak: Attracted to the scent of blood

Injuries

1 x Broken nose [will need to be set in order to heal right]
1 x stab wound [will need to be seen by a healer asap]
bruises and aches for the next 15 days.

Notes

Edge of seat action! I can't wait for the next part!