Knock-down Drag-out War
The raiding party wasn't as large as it probably should have been, only twenty or thirty people instead of the small army that they thought was there. A few tents were scattered about, but most of the raiders had spread bedrolls near the large bonfire that sent sparks flying high into the air. The men themselves all looked like your typical sacks of meat, big, filthy, and more stupid than anything else. Fade's illusions should work wonders.
They all acted like the raid had gone well indeed, gold was scattered about as men distributed it without care. Fine rugs and clothes, anything that wasn't nailed down in the village, and from the looks of it, that included people too. Men, women, and children sat in a large group, chained together to be sold as slaves. One of the raiders walked among them, he seemed to be examining female prisoners, which only meant one thing.
Hidden behind the trees surrounding the camp, Knight and his companions watched all this, and were disgusted by it. Knight turned his back to the tree and looked over at the mage, "Are you ready fell?" The mage nodded, "I'll tell you when to cast the spell." He looked back at the camp, and he focused on the raider walking among the prisoners, he wanted to get him frustrated and angry. And if he didn't leave with the others, he wouldn't leave at all.
The raider suddenly stopped, bent over, and hauled a struggling woman to her feet.
"Now, Fade!"
The mage stepped forward and began her spell, a moment later, she screamed and on the other side of the camp, a thousand voices roared back, thousands of voices in the trees, the retaliating village people who didn't exist.
Fade spoke and a voice echoed her words, "Give me back my wife!"
She spoke again, and another voice, "Give me back my children!"
And another voice, "Give us back everything you stile from us or die!"
With the last voice, Fade began another spell, and a dense fog seeped out from the trees. Soon, the entire camp was enveloped, and only the five companions, who knew it was an illusion, could see through it.
The raiders, though, didn't have a clue, and some panicked and ran in to the forest. The odds were slightly more favorable.
"Okay," Knight said to the others, "let's go dance."
Knight, Blade, Fel, and Elfsong waded into the camp while Fade concentrated on maintaining her illusion.
The first one the raiders saw was Knight, and three of them tried to rush him.
"Stay back," he cried at them. "I'm warning you!" The men ignored him and continued forward, and Knight flowed into the fight, attacking with the Tiger Claws pattern and grimaced when he felt the blade bite into flesh. After the first attack, he was forced to go on the defensive as both the remaining men attack at once. He glanced around to see if his companions were doing okay.
Fel was the first he saw, she was full out running to her prey, As she ran, black fur began to cover her body and great claws extended from her fingers. With a scream that was half cat and half human, she leaped forward and bounded toward her opponent on all fours. She was soon on her prey and attacking with fangs and claws, almost with reckless abandon.
One of the raiders tried to catch Knight off guard by feinting at his head, then swinging at his kidneys. Knight rewarded him for his troubles by swatting the sword aside and taking his hand off at the wrist. No sooner was one taken out of the fight then another took his place and Knight was defending himself once more.
This time, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw that daggers imbedded themselves in two of the raiders, when he looked back, he saw Elfsong standing not far away. As another raider ran at her, she made a gesture and a silver streak raced toward the man, depositing a dagger in the man's chest. A raider managed to get the drop on her, and discovered that her weapons didn't need to be thrown to be lethal.
Knight brought his foot up into one of his opponents gut and then brought the pommel of his sword down on his head as he doubled over. Knight grunted as yet another enemy joined the attack and he started losing ground once again. A scream behind him announced another raider coming in from behind. What was he going to do? If he turned to defend himself from the attack, the two he faced now would cut him to pieces.
A blur moved past him and another scream issued forth. This one cut off as Blade's short sword brought the would-be backstabber down. She ran past him to find another enemy to sneak up on, as she did she tossed a grin at Knight and flashed him a thumbs-up at him. He only grunted as he pushed back one of his opponent's swords and drove his fist into the face of the other, dropping him from the fight as well.
This time, no new enemy could rush right in, and he was given a few moments with only one care. As the man thrust his blade out at him, Knight sidestepped and stuck his foot out. The man managed to keep his feet and he whipped his sword around backhand. Knight blocked the attack and found himself facing the way he had come in.
He looked up at Fade to see how she was holding up. Sweat beaded on her forehead and ran down her face as she fought her own battle to maintain the illusory fog. Her eyes were clenched shut as she concentrated and she were began to sway as the fight began taking its toll. If she kept this up much longer, she was going to pass out.
Knight had had enough of his game with the raider in front of him; it was time for someone else to defend themselves. He began to sweep his sword in intricate patterns and each time, the razor-sharp edge came closer and closer to the man's skin. With another swing, horizontally and at the man's neck, Knight kicked the man in the chest while his sword was away. He quickly followed up with a fist in the raider's face, then grabbed the man's head and smashed it into his knee.
As he began to run after a new enemy, he glanced back over his shoulder at Fade, just in time to see her collapse in exhaustion. As soon as she did, the fog disappeared, and the situation became a little more dire. Now, all of Virgo's forces knew what the game was, and they were more than willing to play.
Having dispatched the last of the initial resistance, the four remaining heroes stood together to face the returning forces. Knight looked at his companions and shook his head. It did not look good.
To make matters worse, a storm broke and raindrops splattered the four. They all made a collective decision and began forward. As they closed the distance, they began to run faster, they were moving at a dead run when they were almost on top of the enemy. A lightning bolt flashed, and with the power of the rumbling thunder, they carved into the mass of troops. Swords, daggers, fangs, and claws tore into the opposition, cutting swathes through their lines. They fought better than they ever had before; they fought for their lives.
After bringing down one more enemy, Knight looked around for his companions, the enemies rank was getting thin so it was fairly easy to find them. There was Elfsong, looking more like a tornado with her daggers than a woman. Fel, still a were-cat, was mercilessly tearing men apart with her powerful claws. Blade had been drawn out of the shadows and was now engaged in a straight-up fight, which she seemed to be winning, except for the man who jumped down from an overhead tree branch. Knight bent low and his arm flicked out, sending his own dagger straight at the raider, catching him in the middle of his head and bringing him down. Blade looked at Knight who offered his own thumbs-up and then launched himself at another foe.
After what seemed an eternity, the job was done. Virgo's forces either fled to the forces, or lay on the ground converting into worm food. Knight watched the retreating forces go, holding his arm where someone had managed to give him a deep gash. Blood flowed freely, but that was the least of his worries. He walked off to confront Virgo.
Blade was ecstatic. They had just faced what seemed impossible odds and had come out on top. And apart from a few bruises that would leave her sore, she was alright. She looked around for her friends and saw Fade sitting on the ground where she had passed out, holding her head. Blade had a few potions to help with the headache and went to help her friend.
Elfsong walked around the battlefield, retrieving her weapons, cleaning the blood from them, and returning them to their hiding places. She was thinking about how to turn this whole battle into an epic ballad. There was one nice thing about this whole adventure business she decided as she bent to pick up her last dagger.
The scent of blood drenched the air, assaulting her sensitive nose, and the beast hungered for more. She tried to stop it, tried to control it, tried to reason with it, but it ignored her. The beast had been allowed control, and it wasn't going to give itself up without a fight. It stalked through the trees, silently, and she chased after it. She had wrestled it to the ground before and she would do it again, she had to. The beast stopped suddenly, and with its cat-like reflexes, sprung off in a different direction, but she had seen the muscles tense and changed her path as well. The beast stopped again, this time it dropped to the earth; ears back and ready to pounce, she looked through the eyes they shared and saw what it meant to do. She had to hurry, new friendships counted on her gaining control.
Elfsong straightened and as she began to turn, something heavy collided with her and knocked her to the ground. She managed to roll over and found herself staring up at the snarling were-cat Fel. A scream caught in her throat as the feline raised a powerful paw to swipe at her head, and then she flew off as if something hit her with the strength of a charging bull. Fel rolled on the ground clawed hands clutching her head as she screamed her terrible woman/beast scream and her body seized spasmodically.
She had the beast by its throat, and it beat back at her with its' paws. With every hit she felt colder, as if its' claws were draining her life force. She knew as well that with every moment, the beast was feeling the same drain. All she could do was hold on and hope she would survive as the forces of nature and chaos waged their terrible war within the boundaries of her mind, ripping at hers and the beasts beings.
Elfsong sat in shock for a moment and rushed to the were-cat's side. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew it was not Fel's fault and that she needed to help her friend.
Knight burst into the commander's tent to confront Virgo. The room it created was sparse, a bedroll on one side with a flat-lidded chest that had papers scattered across it. Standing against the back, with nowhere to run, was Virgo. He looked at the commander in shock for a moment, but there could be no mistake about it. The cold-hearted killer, the one responsible for the massacre of countless people, was a woman.
She glared at the hero, judging him as surely as he judged her. "What are you going to do with me now, hmm? Kill me like you did my men?" Her gaze pierced straight into Knight, skewering him with hatred like daggers. "Or perhaps you had other things in mind?"
Knight looked down at the bloodied weapon grasped in his hand, when he looked back up his own eyes were as hard as stone.
"No, there has been enough blood spilled on the ground today. And I want nothing more from you than information."
She seemed surprised at first. She wasn't a hideous woman, in fact, quite the opposite. Many men had joined her command just to be near a woman of her beauty, and she was so sure that he was going to try something. After all, he was only a man. But he just stood there, waiting for her to speak. She needed to find out exactly what he wanted, and then she needed to get out of there. An evil plan formed in her mind. After all, he was only a man.
As suddenly as a lightning bolt, her entire demeanor changed. She began to walk, almost slinking, to the adventurer and said, "Oh, I'm sure we could work out some sort of arrangement. What is it you want?"
She was close now, close enough for him to smell the wildflowers of her perfume. He knew what she was trying to do, and it made him nervous. For some reason, he couldn't get his legs to move him away.
"I, uh, I need to know where Virgil is... Y-you're the only one who, uh, can tell me." Something sparkled in her eyes and she brought a hand up to caress his face.
"Who cares about him, I want to know more about you. Why do you want him so badly?" Despite the rough calluses on her hands from years of handling a sword, her touch was smooth, and Knight squeezed the wound on his arm to jolt his mind.
"Urg. I need to find his boss. I have a few things I need to discuss with him." Wow, when did her eyes become bottomless pools?
"Why don't you discuss them with me? I'm sure I can help you." The hand on his face had moved to the back of his head, and began pulling his face down to hers, while the other arm wrapped around his waist and forced him closer.
Then, when it almost seemed she had won, Fel's snarl/scream ripped through the air like a banshee's howl. Knight's hands shot up and pushed her away from him and her spell was broken. He turned instinctively to see what had happened and heard a cloth ripping and shuffling behind him. He turned back and saw Virgo slipping through a hole she cut in the tent cloth.
Knight cursed at his stupidity and ran out the entrance of the tent. He saw Elfsong tending to Fel who seemed to be slowly and painfully reverting back to human form. He ran around the tent to the back and watched Virgo disappear into the forest.
Knight clenched the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white and the pain in his arm threatened to overwhelm him. How could she have been able to turn him into a consummate idiot so quickly? Now she might be able to warn Virgil that they were coming. He cleaned his sword on the grass and returned it to his sheath. He held his cut, trying to stop the flow of blood again and turned to check his friends. They still might be able to track her.
If they couldn't, the situation might get bad.
The raiding party wasn't as large as it probably should have been, only twenty or thirty people instead of the small army that they thought was there. A few tents were scattered about, but most of the raiders had spread bedrolls near the large bonfire that sent sparks flying high into the air. The men themselves all looked like your typical sacks of meat, big, filthy, and more stupid than anything else. Fade's illusions should work wonders.
They all acted like the raid had gone well indeed, gold was scattered about as men distributed it without care. Fine rugs and clothes, anything that wasn't nailed down in the village, and from the looks of it, that included people too. Men, women, and children sat in a large group, chained together to be sold as slaves. One of the raiders walked among them, he seemed to be examining female prisoners, which only meant one thing.
Hidden behind the trees surrounding the camp, Knight and his companions watched all this, and were disgusted by it. Knight turned his back to the tree and looked over at the mage, "Are you ready fell?" The mage nodded, "I'll tell you when to cast the spell." He looked back at the camp, and he focused on the raider walking among the prisoners, he wanted to get him frustrated and angry. And if he didn't leave with the others, he wouldn't leave at all.
The raider suddenly stopped, bent over, and hauled a struggling woman to her feet.
"Now, Fade!"
The mage stepped forward and began her spell, a moment later, she screamed and on the other side of the camp, a thousand voices roared back, thousands of voices in the trees, the retaliating village people who didn't exist.
Fade spoke and a voice echoed her words, "Give me back my wife!"
She spoke again, and another voice, "Give me back my children!"
And another voice, "Give us back everything you stile from us or die!"
With the last voice, Fade began another spell, and a dense fog seeped out from the trees. Soon, the entire camp was enveloped, and only the five companions, who knew it was an illusion, could see through it.
The raiders, though, didn't have a clue, and some panicked and ran in to the forest. The odds were slightly more favorable.
"Okay," Knight said to the others, "let's go dance."
Knight, Blade, Fel, and Elfsong waded into the camp while Fade concentrated on maintaining her illusion.
The first one the raiders saw was Knight, and three of them tried to rush him.
"Stay back," he cried at them. "I'm warning you!" The men ignored him and continued forward, and Knight flowed into the fight, attacking with the Tiger Claws pattern and grimaced when he felt the blade bite into flesh. After the first attack, he was forced to go on the defensive as both the remaining men attack at once. He glanced around to see if his companions were doing okay.
Fel was the first he saw, she was full out running to her prey, As she ran, black fur began to cover her body and great claws extended from her fingers. With a scream that was half cat and half human, she leaped forward and bounded toward her opponent on all fours. She was soon on her prey and attacking with fangs and claws, almost with reckless abandon.
One of the raiders tried to catch Knight off guard by feinting at his head, then swinging at his kidneys. Knight rewarded him for his troubles by swatting the sword aside and taking his hand off at the wrist. No sooner was one taken out of the fight then another took his place and Knight was defending himself once more.
This time, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw that daggers imbedded themselves in two of the raiders, when he looked back, he saw Elfsong standing not far away. As another raider ran at her, she made a gesture and a silver streak raced toward the man, depositing a dagger in the man's chest. A raider managed to get the drop on her, and discovered that her weapons didn't need to be thrown to be lethal.
Knight brought his foot up into one of his opponents gut and then brought the pommel of his sword down on his head as he doubled over. Knight grunted as yet another enemy joined the attack and he started losing ground once again. A scream behind him announced another raider coming in from behind. What was he going to do? If he turned to defend himself from the attack, the two he faced now would cut him to pieces.
A blur moved past him and another scream issued forth. This one cut off as Blade's short sword brought the would-be backstabber down. She ran past him to find another enemy to sneak up on, as she did she tossed a grin at Knight and flashed him a thumbs-up at him. He only grunted as he pushed back one of his opponent's swords and drove his fist into the face of the other, dropping him from the fight as well.
This time, no new enemy could rush right in, and he was given a few moments with only one care. As the man thrust his blade out at him, Knight sidestepped and stuck his foot out. The man managed to keep his feet and he whipped his sword around backhand. Knight blocked the attack and found himself facing the way he had come in.
He looked up at Fade to see how she was holding up. Sweat beaded on her forehead and ran down her face as she fought her own battle to maintain the illusory fog. Her eyes were clenched shut as she concentrated and she were began to sway as the fight began taking its toll. If she kept this up much longer, she was going to pass out.
Knight had had enough of his game with the raider in front of him; it was time for someone else to defend themselves. He began to sweep his sword in intricate patterns and each time, the razor-sharp edge came closer and closer to the man's skin. With another swing, horizontally and at the man's neck, Knight kicked the man in the chest while his sword was away. He quickly followed up with a fist in the raider's face, then grabbed the man's head and smashed it into his knee.
As he began to run after a new enemy, he glanced back over his shoulder at Fade, just in time to see her collapse in exhaustion. As soon as she did, the fog disappeared, and the situation became a little more dire. Now, all of Virgo's forces knew what the game was, and they were more than willing to play.
Having dispatched the last of the initial resistance, the four remaining heroes stood together to face the returning forces. Knight looked at his companions and shook his head. It did not look good.
To make matters worse, a storm broke and raindrops splattered the four. They all made a collective decision and began forward. As they closed the distance, they began to run faster, they were moving at a dead run when they were almost on top of the enemy. A lightning bolt flashed, and with the power of the rumbling thunder, they carved into the mass of troops. Swords, daggers, fangs, and claws tore into the opposition, cutting swathes through their lines. They fought better than they ever had before; they fought for their lives.
After bringing down one more enemy, Knight looked around for his companions, the enemies rank was getting thin so it was fairly easy to find them. There was Elfsong, looking more like a tornado with her daggers than a woman. Fel, still a were-cat, was mercilessly tearing men apart with her powerful claws. Blade had been drawn out of the shadows and was now engaged in a straight-up fight, which she seemed to be winning, except for the man who jumped down from an overhead tree branch. Knight bent low and his arm flicked out, sending his own dagger straight at the raider, catching him in the middle of his head and bringing him down. Blade looked at Knight who offered his own thumbs-up and then launched himself at another foe.
After what seemed an eternity, the job was done. Virgo's forces either fled to the forces, or lay on the ground converting into worm food. Knight watched the retreating forces go, holding his arm where someone had managed to give him a deep gash. Blood flowed freely, but that was the least of his worries. He walked off to confront Virgo.
Blade was ecstatic. They had just faced what seemed impossible odds and had come out on top. And apart from a few bruises that would leave her sore, she was alright. She looked around for her friends and saw Fade sitting on the ground where she had passed out, holding her head. Blade had a few potions to help with the headache and went to help her friend.
Elfsong walked around the battlefield, retrieving her weapons, cleaning the blood from them, and returning them to their hiding places. She was thinking about how to turn this whole battle into an epic ballad. There was one nice thing about this whole adventure business she decided as she bent to pick up her last dagger.
The scent of blood drenched the air, assaulting her sensitive nose, and the beast hungered for more. She tried to stop it, tried to control it, tried to reason with it, but it ignored her. The beast had been allowed control, and it wasn't going to give itself up without a fight. It stalked through the trees, silently, and she chased after it. She had wrestled it to the ground before and she would do it again, she had to. The beast stopped suddenly, and with its cat-like reflexes, sprung off in a different direction, but she had seen the muscles tense and changed her path as well. The beast stopped again, this time it dropped to the earth; ears back and ready to pounce, she looked through the eyes they shared and saw what it meant to do. She had to hurry, new friendships counted on her gaining control.
Elfsong straightened and as she began to turn, something heavy collided with her and knocked her to the ground. She managed to roll over and found herself staring up at the snarling were-cat Fel. A scream caught in her throat as the feline raised a powerful paw to swipe at her head, and then she flew off as if something hit her with the strength of a charging bull. Fel rolled on the ground clawed hands clutching her head as she screamed her terrible woman/beast scream and her body seized spasmodically.
She had the beast by its throat, and it beat back at her with its' paws. With every hit she felt colder, as if its' claws were draining her life force. She knew as well that with every moment, the beast was feeling the same drain. All she could do was hold on and hope she would survive as the forces of nature and chaos waged their terrible war within the boundaries of her mind, ripping at hers and the beasts beings.
Elfsong sat in shock for a moment and rushed to the were-cat's side. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew it was not Fel's fault and that she needed to help her friend.
Knight burst into the commander's tent to confront Virgo. The room it created was sparse, a bedroll on one side with a flat-lidded chest that had papers scattered across it. Standing against the back, with nowhere to run, was Virgo. He looked at the commander in shock for a moment, but there could be no mistake about it. The cold-hearted killer, the one responsible for the massacre of countless people, was a woman.
She glared at the hero, judging him as surely as he judged her. "What are you going to do with me now, hmm? Kill me like you did my men?" Her gaze pierced straight into Knight, skewering him with hatred like daggers. "Or perhaps you had other things in mind?"
Knight looked down at the bloodied weapon grasped in his hand, when he looked back up his own eyes were as hard as stone.
"No, there has been enough blood spilled on the ground today. And I want nothing more from you than information."
She seemed surprised at first. She wasn't a hideous woman, in fact, quite the opposite. Many men had joined her command just to be near a woman of her beauty, and she was so sure that he was going to try something. After all, he was only a man. But he just stood there, waiting for her to speak. She needed to find out exactly what he wanted, and then she needed to get out of there. An evil plan formed in her mind. After all, he was only a man.
As suddenly as a lightning bolt, her entire demeanor changed. She began to walk, almost slinking, to the adventurer and said, "Oh, I'm sure we could work out some sort of arrangement. What is it you want?"
She was close now, close enough for him to smell the wildflowers of her perfume. He knew what she was trying to do, and it made him nervous. For some reason, he couldn't get his legs to move him away.
"I, uh, I need to know where Virgil is... Y-you're the only one who, uh, can tell me." Something sparkled in her eyes and she brought a hand up to caress his face.
"Who cares about him, I want to know more about you. Why do you want him so badly?" Despite the rough calluses on her hands from years of handling a sword, her touch was smooth, and Knight squeezed the wound on his arm to jolt his mind.
"Urg. I need to find his boss. I have a few things I need to discuss with him." Wow, when did her eyes become bottomless pools?
"Why don't you discuss them with me? I'm sure I can help you." The hand on his face had moved to the back of his head, and began pulling his face down to hers, while the other arm wrapped around his waist and forced him closer.
Then, when it almost seemed she had won, Fel's snarl/scream ripped through the air like a banshee's howl. Knight's hands shot up and pushed her away from him and her spell was broken. He turned instinctively to see what had happened and heard a cloth ripping and shuffling behind him. He turned back and saw Virgo slipping through a hole she cut in the tent cloth.
Knight cursed at his stupidity and ran out the entrance of the tent. He saw Elfsong tending to Fel who seemed to be slowly and painfully reverting back to human form. He ran around the tent to the back and watched Virgo disappear into the forest.
Knight clenched the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white and the pain in his arm threatened to overwhelm him. How could she have been able to turn him into a consummate idiot so quickly? Now she might be able to warn Virgil that they were coming. He cleaned his sword on the grass and returned it to his sheath. He held his cut, trying to stop the flow of blood again and turned to check his friends. They still might be able to track her.
If they couldn't, the situation might get bad.