Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jun 5, 2012 21:43:15 GMT -6
OoC: Just gonna say I'd like to find Garnet's Blue gem here.
Also, continued from A Promise Made.
BiC:
Snow glinted as the sun bounced its rays off of the white crusted ground. A soft crunching sounded under the footsteps of the red headed hero as he glided around the area in front of the cave. The pegasus knights had tracked the bandits back to this location after their encounter earlier. Garnet was surprised that there didn't seem to be any sign of a guard out front. Perhaps he really had disorganized them by killing the top thug.
"Looks like the door is open." Garnet groused out, waiting for the small group he'd brought with him to arrive and get set up. It wasn't alot, but there wouldn't be for a large band of strikers to hit. So was Garnet's thinking, at least.
"I guess the inside of the cave could easily widen back out." Garnet said to himself, looking at the darkened whole leading into the side of a cliff face some distance away. "There could always be more entrances as well. I don't see any though."
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Jun 6, 2012 16:45:05 GMT -6
Aleth felt far better now that she had time to rest her body and mind. Surprise, surprise, the old advice helped for some reason. It almost made her laugh but she shut herself up. She was prepared for whatever was thrown their way. Even if it was something as simple as plain old bandits!
"The best way to find out is to go in!" Aleth chipped in, not quite helpfully but with good nature. She enjoyed the ice caves in Ilia quite a bit. Her parents or rather some of the others in the mercenary group had told her of quite a bit of stories about the caves. She had been to only one and the walls were amazing to say the least. However one problem remained, sometimes there were icy spot that made keeping a footing extremely difficult. She didn't think it was worth mentioning, besides everybody knew that all ready. She assumed that everybody knew at least.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jun 9, 2012 18:32:07 GMT -6
"I guess so." Garnet replies quietly to Aleth. Such an action didn't appeal to him, but there wasn't a hidden approach to the cave. He reached up and cleared his twohanded blade from the back rig he carried it in a few inches, before letting it drop back down. It would draw when he needed it to. Satisfied of that, he pulled his square shield out and fitted it on his left arm, readying it for action. He'd left his single handed sword with the smith to be repaired, but the shield would still make a deadly weapon in and of itself in the mean time.
"Alright. If they're half as competant as I give them credit for, there will be a watchman inside the cave, and he'll be alerting the others before we can even get our bearings inside.... Break into small groups, shields leading." He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. They'd come here to dislodge the brigands prowling these roads in a force about twenty strong. About half of that had already been dealt with in the first encounter, or so it seemed when he remembered the thick of battle.
"Aleth, I'd like you to stay close." He told her, lowering his voice as he looked back towards her. His face carried confidence and concern. Some of it for all of them. Some of it for only a few. "Have you ever fought in underground before?"
He could see Jordan a short distance away, prepping his bundle of short spears and a buckler in anticipation of the fight to come. Most of the soldiers here were actual soldiers in one sense of the word or other. They actually knew how to fight. That was one thing Garnet could be thankful for.
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Jul 15, 2012 22:25:05 GMT -6
Aleth wasn't sure how to respond to Garnet. When she went through that one cave they didn't encounter any trouble but that didn't mean she was free from training. In a sense she did know how to fight in the cave out of experience but she couldn't really call it a fight. It was something more than just sparring and not as life threatening as a battle.
"Well no, I never had an actual fight but I was beat up in one before," she finally found the right word for it. Yes this was the best way to describe it. She knew how to handle herself in there though and tried to reassure Garnet of it. Instead of sticking around to create unnecessary worry, she rushed straight into the cave. At first it seemed as though she was going to trip and fall into the actual cave but she knew what to do enough.
She didn't dare to look back, instead she focused on getting in quickly without falling face first in the slippery areas of the cave. As the snow retreated from the actual entrance, the ground became more or less either slippery or relatively safe to walk. Her new armor was clunky on her but she was used to the feel of the armor enough that she was able to step on the right spots. It was only when she took about ten steps on the new surface did she turn to look how the others were doing.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jul 18, 2012 11:38:08 GMT -6
Somehow he didn't think Aleth had caught what he was trying to figure out. Being beaten up in a cave wasn't the sort of experience he was trying to find. He'd been hoping for something closer to a clear head for directions, and navigation.... He looked back to the others for a moment, doing a quick head count before going in. Unfortunately, by the time he got back to Aleth, she was no longer there.
"What the- Aleth!" He looked around suddenly, and noticed the white-haired swordmaiden running ahead into the cavern in front of them. What the hell. We were about to move in anyways.
The red head gave a short low whistle to get the attention of the troops, and then gestured onward. Pushing himself up, and over the little hill they'd been behind, the red head started forward. The ground was stable enough, but a few of them slipped a bit on the slick rocks as they entered the cave. The metal crash as armored knees and gauntlets hit the ground was not the quiet entrance he'd been hoping for, but such was the case.
"Alright. Stay alert." He resisted the urge to growl at Aleth for rushing in. They'd all made in inside quickly because of her impulsive rush. He kept his shield readied as they started forward.
Further inside, torches lined the walls, providing light as the mouth of the cave entrance grew further away. The floor was mostly smooth, with only a few ups and downs, though the flickering torch light still made it treacherous.
As they continued, the cave opened out again, revealing a large room with lit braziers around the walls. Passageways around the walls led elsewhere. This room wasn't empty though. Tables, boxes, chairs, and logs brought in from outside were scattered around for the use of what looked like a large crowd. Bowls and plates littered some of the tables, but the most apparent feature was the ring in the center. A rough wooden fence about chest height ringed a space in the center. Chips and breaks were apparent in the wood, as well as dark smeared stains on the floor inside the ring. It wasn't hard to guess what sport was played in there.
"Looks like a good spot for an ambush. Keep an eye on those other passages."
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Jul 23, 2012 20:11:59 GMT -6
Aleth felt guilty for not following orders but that might have been one of her many shortcomings. She didn't mean to trouble Garnet, she only wanted to get this whole raid over with. As the group stormed the room, she kept close to the walls. It was more assuring than being dab middle of the place. All the passages here meant a number of possibilities as she struggled to decide which one would be the best route.
She never had the best of direction senses. It didn't help how confusing a cave could really be. For her it was more or less a gamble without the educated guess part. She didn't want to alarm the man anymore and decided to keep closer to the others. She couldn't help but notice the sound of footsteps echoing through the walls. They were quieter than that of the soldiers, that only meant that those bandits were coming!
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jul 26, 2012 22:12:58 GMT -6
Garnet and some of the fighters moved towards the center of the room. A few other groups started towards the passages. Without being near them though, Garnet heard none of the warning sounds that betrayed the approach of bandits to Aleth.
The twang of a bow string, and the sound of a whistling arrow were the only warning sounds Garnet heard. His head snapped towards the sound, and he started to bring his shield around, but felt an arrow catch him in the shoulder as he turned. It wasn't gentle either. He barked out a pained noise as he felt the shaft skip off the bone in his shoulder, and shoot clean through him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, brought down because of the slick floor. His head spun, but through the waves of dizziness, he could hear the sounds of battle being joined, as if coming from far away. He didn't wait to recover his steadiness before turning onto his side and toiling back up to his feet though. He shook his ringing head and shouted, ignoring how the pain suddenly made him wonder if his head was about to split open.
"Cut them down! They SHOT me!" Perhaps not the most inspiring war cry, but Garnet felt more like his head had been used for an anvil, and less inspiring at that moment. Turning towards the direction the arrow had come from, he caught another on his shield, raising it just in time to catch the piercing shot, despite the pain spiking his shoulder as he did so.
With quickening steps, the red head reached the group of bandits already in contact with his own forces, and through the arm out against another spike of pain, punching through a sword strike with his shield, and into the lightly armored torso behind it.
Frantically, Garnet tried to get his battle sense back. He could fight one man just fine, but tying together all the priority enemies to take out to cause their offense to weaken would take more than that....
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Aug 9, 2012 17:18:54 GMT -6
The redheaded swordsman crashed on as a wounded bandit collapsed from a blow to the chest. He made a concerted effort to forget his injuries amidst the adrenaline. The battle became like a dream in which he was at the center of a cloud of swirling mists. He could see enemies and allies through the fog, but there didn't seem to be anything else around anymore. He whirled and bashed with his shield, fighting with it and grabbing at enemies with his free hand.
He reached up with his right hand, and pulled his heavy two-hander blade over his shoulder as he backed off, his shield being evacuated off his arm to hang from its strap. His left arm relaxed in relief as the weight it carried left it, only to send a pained protest down the swordsman's arm again as it was forced to take up the greatsword.
The first downward strokes were made from the back of a group of soldiers pressing the bandits. Those were proof of how effective an aggressive greatweapon fighter could be. Garnet's blows lopped off weapon heads, hands, torsos, and anything else left in its bloody swath as the more intelligent of the bandits turned and ran. He probably wouldn't be able to do that again if he wanted to keep his arm intact, he realized. It was just as well that the fleeing bandits didn't know that.
Moving to the outside edge before the other soldiers could give chase, he hearded them back around towards the rest of the group, wheeling them into a quick turn to flank the rest of the line of engagement.
"Break their ranks, and flank their hides!" The battle was going well, for having started with his little troop being ambushed. A spear thrust coming towards him caught his attention. He could see it a mile off, but things like that tended to be quick and nasty injuries, and far more difficult to avoid than most people gave credit for. Raising his blade in a rising arc, he caught the weapon and lifted it away. It took only a moment more to shift directions and bring the weapon crashing down on the haft of the lance he'd blocked. The weapon shattered, as his blow cut clean through, and the enemy fighter quickly had other matters to tend to, like staying alive without his weapon.
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Aug 12, 2012 14:01:35 GMT -6
Now what was Aleth during all this mess? Well she had her own hands errr hand full on keeping a number of the reinforcements at bay. When the dashing of the enemies approached, she noticed another passage close by. As she slipped over, it became obvious that there was a group approaching. This corridor was smaller than the others, perhaps one burly man can walk through at a time.
When the first man arrived he met an unsightly end as Aleth burst forth and managed to get a clean slice. The blade entered once side of the neck and exited the other with a harsh cling against the ice. The men behind him doubled back in horror, the ones in the back falling over on their butts. She tugged at her sword, which soon freed itself from the ice. She gently tapped the back of the sword against her should guards, throwing some taunts at them to come forward.
"It's only just a lass!" a voice came out from far behind. She nodded an approval to the message. The more bodies that fell over the passage the better. The closest man to her nodded and reluctantly came forward. He proceeded slowly and cautiously keeping an eye on her sword. When in striking range, he raised his axe quickly and hoped to end it soon. Unfortunately for him, he did it far to fast as the axe lodged itself to the top of the passage. He had no time to realize his mistake as her sword glided through the air and sank deep into his chest.
She pulled it out fast as he stumbled back, a stunned look on his face before falling over dead. There was a moment of silence from the opposing side while Aleth took that time to poke at the axe lodged on the roof. After some prodding, it landed in front of her with a sickening sound as it made contact with the flesh of the first man. She didn't like doing this but it kept the others with less to deal with. There appeared to be a number of others trying to get in through this particular passage.
It was at this time that a smaller, leaner man pushed through the crowd. He wielded a slim sword much like her own. This would be a tougher opponent than the others but she will fend them off. It also seems that the others had not quite caught on as there was no opponent to contend with from behind as far as she could tell. This was more or less for her to bide her time.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Aug 27, 2012 9:00:37 GMT -6
Despite his attempts at maintaining some form of shape to the battle, the time for formations was up. His men were crashing through the enemy. Some of the bandits were knocking aside his own fighters as well. The battlefield was changing from a cluster of shield wall fighters advancing on strongarm fighters, to a general morass of conflict. The cave echoed with the cacophony of the grand melee held inside, and the redheaded leader realized his voice wasn't carrying strong enough to challenge the echoes.
It was after that realization that he turned just in time to see an axeman bull rushing into him. The renegade guardsman of Etruria felt himself lifted off the ground and tossed through the air. He lost his grip on his iron blade as the impact doubled him over the back of the bandit. The next thing he knew, pain was shooting through his shoulder as the pair of them slammed to the ground.
He landed on his back, his enemy above him. His left arm was trapped under the bandit who was currently beginning to get the idea that he was going to choke the life out of the mercenary hero he'd brought down. The arm was a lost cause in this situation. With the shot he'd taken through it earlier, he'd never get it free. Right now he just needed to focus on surviving. He would not be strangled by some thieving fiend!
Reaching up with his good arm, Garnet grabbed one of the bandit's wrists before he could wrap his hands around Garnet's throat, and gave a strong yank. The pull momentarily knocked the bandit off balance. He took the opportunity to give the brigand a swift introduction of a fist to the bandit face. Using the distraction, he reached across the bandit, and grabbed him by the neck before shoving the bandit, and rolling himself over. It worked, ending up with Garnet being on top and ready to lay into his fighter. Before he could though, another fight crashed his party, and crashed into him, thrown off balance by some other combat. Garnet tumbled away, left dazed for a moment, and trying to pick out friend from foe.
He couldn't hear anything clearly, but he did see that the fighting was spreading all around the cavern, around the braziers, and atop the tables, like some macabre barfight gone wrong.
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Aug 28, 2012 19:29:21 GMT -6
Aleth continued to hold the people in the tunnel at bay. However even she could make out the sound of increasing chaos. A bead of sweat began to roll down the side of her face as another man stepped forward. She began to move forward when she noticed the smile on his face. It was elation but that only brought confusion upon her. Instead of continuing forward she made her way to the left, hearing a loud crunch on the ground where she had stood.
In such a fight there was no room for error. People had their lucky days and this was one of them for her. Knowing better that she won't be able to face the bandits when all of them exited the tunnel, she made a dash towards the epicenter of the battle. Her head reeled looking for Garnet.
Even while focused on finding her upper officer, she had a nagging feeling to the side. Due to her own inattention, she has failed to notice a gash where the axe had pierced at her ribs. It wasn't large one but blood still oozed out in a steady stream. In time it will clot but the adrenaline and pumping blood wouldn't make the time there pleasant. They needed a plan quick or more of the soldiers will die. The bulk of their forces here might meet their end without order.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Aug 29, 2012 21:28:09 GMT -6
Still dazed, Garnet pushed himself up and looked around. He wasn't in good shape, and it was obvious. There was a hole through his shoulder, and he'd been battered all over. He was looking for an easy fix to the bandits, but there didn't seem to be one. He kept on looking, confused. No giant broom was coming to sweep the brigands away.... But of course there wasn't a giant broom That was wrong.
He passed his hands over his eyes for a moment. All his senses felt a little bit fuzzy.... Shaking it off, he started flailing about, looking for a weapon he could use. Sudden movement to the right. There was a curved bladed iron axe there. He could take that one. Unfortunately, as he moved to take possession of it, he realized that the fighter using it was still alive, and not happy with Garnet and company.
The hostile axeman leapt up with a growl, and knocked Garnet flat on his back. Garnet spotted a long piece of wood, and swung it down into the man's shins, and he hit the ground with a howl as the timber splintered. And so it started. Garnet wrestled with the man, trying to keep him from killing him, but for some reason, he just couldn't manage to overpower his enemy. Nor could he seem to out think the enemy. And he was tired. A corner of his mind was beginning to tell him to just lie down and go to sleep, even though he was in the midst of a battlefield. If he stopped though, he was certain the man over him would kill him
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Sept 2, 2012 18:24:24 GMT -6
Aleth soon found Garnet and made her way towards the man. As she did so, she saw the attack from the axeman. She looked around trying to determine what the best sort of action would be. It was far to dangerous to just stab the man seeing as Garnet was under him. The second technique would most likely be more effective.
"Hey knucklehead!" she called out as she brought her sword upward and was within hearing distance. The man turned to face her and the eyes widened in surprise. He unconsciously brought up his hand as to block her blow however the place simply cut through. He howled out in pain, loosening his hold and making a run for it. In most likely circumstances, he was going to die from the blood loss.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Sept 7, 2012 8:53:55 GMT -6
The axefighter had managed to get a hand around the swordsman's throat. One which he was unable to dislodge. Things started to go blurry as he felt the pressure on his throat and chest intensifying....
From somewhere far away, a voice said something about being a knuckle head.... He squinted up at the face before him, and.... didn't recognize it. The voice had sounded familiar though.... He looked to the side, and did see someone he recognized. Two someones, in fact! There was a pair of Aleth's standing there, and she was swinging her sword at him.... Why would she do that? He wasn't moving fast enough to flinch anymore, so he just waited, and sure enough, blood splashed over him with her stroke. He didn't feel any pain though, so it must have been a trick of some kind. A weight was lifted from his chest as he lay his head back and felt his eyes closing down. He must have been more worried than he thought, because it felt like real weight leaving him. Where was he, anyway? It didn't matter now, because he was freeeee....
Garnet didn't react much as the bandit tore off into mess of action again. About the most he could be said to have done was lay his head back and close his eyes. His body had decided that it was time for a rest without his input.
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on Sept 9, 2012 20:12:15 GMT -6
Aleth stared at the unconscious Garnet for only a moment before deciding what to do. She hoped she wouldn't regret it but she had to wake the man up. A weapon can fall on him and he wouldn't know better. So she dragged the body and put him up against the wall. As she bent over and tilted his head to give him a second to wake up on her own, she couldn't help but feel that she had done what she was about to do towards. Now when, where and to whom did she do it? She shrugged her shoulders, there was no time to think about the past!
"Alright Garnet prepare for a rude awakening," she warned before giving him a good smack against the face. After the first one she paused for a second before beginning a series of slaps. She made good time switching between a front hand to back hand slap, all the while yelling for Garnet to wake up. It was hard to hear to begin with especially with all the weapons and screams erupting around them. Honestly she stopped paying attention to if Garnet was reacting to her treatment. He will probably have to grab her hand or something to make her stop. She was trying to be aware of her surroundings, not just focused on waking the hero up.
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