Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Jul 29, 2013 7:42:45 GMT -6
Blackness. Everything was dark, wherever he was. He was only faintly aware of his body, of his lungs dragging in just enough air to sustain him, of the pain that was only a dull trace right now. What......happened...? The thought occurred him brokenly, the words sounding foreign as they struggled to articulate through the jumbled maelstrom of Derick's thoughts. Derick...that's my name... The fog over his mind started to clear, patterns began to stir in that blackness, which was fading into a dull grey. I've been here before...when I lost control... Derick felt himself gasp as his senses restored themselves suddenly. Light flooded into his eyes, he grimaced as a burning pain settled into his ribs and leg, and a dull headache from before set on. Events from the battle reasserted themselves in his mind, seeming to occur in fast motion as he watched himself embroiled in battle. Derick rolled himself over with a groan as the pain in his ribs intensified. His right hand probed the pained areas as he propped himself up on his knees and his left hand. He'd been wounded, but the bleeding was already slowing, nothing to panic about. I'm in a battle! that was something to panic about.
Derick's brow furrowed tightly, he forced back any more noises of complaint as he made frantically his way back to his feet. Glancing at the bloodied dirt as he feet, he guessed that he had been out for less than a minute. His neck snapped up and his eyes darted, surveying the area. Any natural beauty that the grasslands and forest could offer were marred by the violence that occurred here. Blood stained the tall grasses of the field next to the road, and there was even blood spattered on some of the tree trunks. It appeared that the bandits were all dead, however, judging by the bodies scattered among the grass. Suddenly, branches snapped in the forest, Derick turned with alarm and just managed to catch two figures disappearing into the woods. He reached for his vulnerary, torn on the idea of pursuing them, when he noticed the boy who had been throwing rocks standing next to the log still. "What's going on?" Derick paused, his tone was still harsh, which probably was downright alarming combined with his blood-soaked appearance. Derick smiled disarmingly, hoping that the other boy wouldn't bolt. His foot scrapped along the dirt as he limped to take a seat on the fallen tree. "Did you know either of them?" he tried again. In his current state, he wouldn't need healing, but he wouldn't be able to give chase either.
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Post by Jason on Jul 29, 2013 9:00:10 GMT -6
"Honestly I have no clue what just happened, I was walking along I asked for directions and then that green haired guy came running in and said he was being attacked by Birgands and then said Brigands attacked. And then the fight began and I threw some rocks at them. I didn't know either of them but I'm fairly certain that the green haired guy got something stolen from him" Jason replied. Thanks for your help, my names Jason by the way. Jason extended the hand.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Aug 1, 2013 9:40:42 GMT -6
Derick met the boy's eyes as he talked. This one was definitely a few years younger than himself, despite the boy standing a few inches taller. His matching hair and eyes gave Derick a sense of uniformity, this boy would be easily lost in a crowd. Derick's mouth formed a straight line as he listened to the descriptive of the bandit attack, but he broke into a wry grin as the boy described his combat contributions. "Yeah...you might want to focus on using that next time," Derick's eyes held a glint of amusement as he glanced at the sword by the boy's side. Derick's eyes wandered to the forest as the account finished. He had glimpsed green hair on one of the figures who had disappeared between the tree trunks.
Derick took the hand, hiding his surprise. Jason certainly had no reservations about blood, Derick was covered in it. "I'm Derick," he shook the hand and smiled. "No worries," it was my pleasure. Derick no longer felt heady from the ecstasy that had gripped him during the skirmish, his bloodlust would be sated for now. "So!" Derick walked back to the puddle of blood where he had killed that last bandit and retrieved the broken head of his lance. He walked past Jason, towards the woods, in the direction the two figures had disappeared. "Shall we investigate?"
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Post by Jason on Aug 3, 2013 14:20:27 GMT -6
Jason shrugged at the remark about his sword and the rocks, before grinning and nodding Yeah I guess that would be a good idea lets get going.
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Caleb
Myrmidon
The child genius who believes in the right thing - Caleb,
Posts: 7
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Post by Caleb on Aug 5, 2013 17:53:12 GMT -6
Caleb had pursued her to the nearest town. He grabbed his Iron Sword and cornered the thief in a dark alley. "Mind giving it back?" He asked in a charming tone. "We don't have to be enemies. I'll give you half the gold I am getting for delivering this book, and we could just be friends. I don't have friends anymore..." Caleb started to tear, trying to win her over. He really needed to get the book to his employer, but having a friend his age would be comforting.
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Mel
Thief
Posts: 187
Profession: Professional Asshole
Affiliation: Bandits and Tiger and Bears, OH MY!
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Mel
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Post by Mel on Aug 8, 2013 14:02:07 GMT -6
Mel grinned widely, having led the little moron on into an alley with such ease that it was almost criminal. Almost was a fickle word though, because it was obviously criminal whenever it had anything to do with her. She had stuffed the book down her tunic during the escape, freeing up her hands to do other more important things. Like stretch, and pull out her own blade.
She shifted her weight from her heels to the balls of her feet and turned quickly, suddenly stabbing at him in one clean motion. He had obviously never been in a situation like this before, some country bumpkin out on their first journey was more than a likely explanation. Why would she ever want to be 'friends' with anyone? Especially some weak little trash that broke into tears to try to persuade a thief. "You don't have friends? You won't need them anymore where you are going."
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Phineas Lucine
Shaman
"The many capabilities of the human mind are so vastly undervalued."
Posts: 1
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Post by Phineas Lucine on Aug 9, 2013 13:38:59 GMT -6
The quiet splendor that Phineas was enjoying reached an abrupt end.
He had been poring over tomes and the like in his rented abode since dawn first broke that morning. The crisp smell of dew, which had wafted its way through the young shaman's ajar window, had lingered until midday, after which it was gradually replaced by the less pleasing olfacts of stale food and manure. Phineas ignored these distractions to the best of his ability; though growing up with three brothers with sharply contrasting ideals facilitated this. However, not even the vivid images portrayed in the lore-heavy book he was currently reading could regain his attention after it had been diverted to the commotion brewing up outside.
Another robbery? the arcane practitioner thought to himself as he listened to bits and snippets of the exchange down the street. This town was once one of the safest in Etruria, and yet now we play host to miscreants? That's quite unfortunate, indeed...
The crisis was brief, and it had subsided by the time Phineas was watching the victim rush haphazardly into the adjacent building. The former was acquainted with the elderly couple that resided there, but not much more than that. And although Phineas was in no position to intervene, the look that the boy had shot him, albeit very briefly, unnerved him somehow. Perhaps it was a mere trick of the light.
Yet, something compelled him to act anyway. Something deep within the pit of the mage's gut. The weight beneath his sternum was growing for some reason. Not thirty seconds later, he felt himself briskly canter down the adjoining corridor to investigate. Relinquishing a held breath, he knocked at the elderly couple's door, absolutely perplexed as to why his concience was acting this way in the first place. Phineas did not readily help people. But what made this occasion so different, so vastly set apart from others? He had seen his share of petty crimes. He himself had been a victim of a couple of them and subsequently recovered and ultimately moved on from both.
Years ago, Phineas had been robbed at bow-point by a grotesque-looking, overly-muscled female sellsword. She made off with what little gold he had and the collection of tomes he had kept since leaving home. He had only just recently acquired new copies of all of his lost volumes, nearly a decade after the ordeal had occurred. In retrospect, perhaps a minor pool of sympathy was bubbling deep within him. Perhaps this was what was making Phineas so atypically eager to assist the poor boy.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Aug 11, 2013 10:40:12 GMT -6
A smile budded on Derick's face as the town appeared on the horizon. Finally! Civilization! His gratitude was slightly muted by the fact that he encountered people already. Though not all of them were friendly... Derick walked with a limp from the axe wound he had taken earlier, he resisted the urge to finish the vulnerary hanging on his belt. "We're going to search that town," he mentioned to his new companion, Jason. It made perfect sense, what better way for a fresh-faced thief to disappear than among the faces of many? As they drew nearer, Derick began thinking, after the earlier fiasco he had no want to walk into another situation completely unawares. The main gate, a construction of wooden stakes hanging in a wooden archway, was shut. "Wait!" Derick stuck out his arm, halting Jason. The omninous ringing of a bell tolling drifted towards the pair outside of the town. An alarm... Derick cursed, an alarm meant that this town had a militia. "Come on, we're going to find another way in." If the main gates was barred in the late afternoon, the guard's goal must be to keep something inside of the city. On the bright side, that sounded like the thief. Derick smiled gratefully as the moved along the town wall and encountered a gate on the west side of town that hadn't been barred yet. It was smaller than the gate they had encountered previously, and the untamed footpath indicated that this route only accommodated farmers and rural villagers, rather than supporting a trade route.
"Alright, so here's the plan..." Derick concealed his lance in a pile of brush near the gate, it was the second time in recent memory he wished he had a concealable weapon, such was the plight of wielding a lance. He was thankful that at least his new garments wouldn't draw any attention, unlike his lost Bernese armor. "We go in as quietly as possible. Hide your weapon. The last thing we need are guards asking questions when they're already alert on something else..." Derick peered through the gate, it led into a row of houses, with plenty of alleys to duck into. "We'll stay together, you lead the way, let's try to avoid picking fights." He almost snorted at the last order, like he was one to talk.
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Post by Jason on Aug 13, 2013 21:22:23 GMT -6
Jason nodded and hid his sword in his jacket about as well as he could, he noticed something about the man , something vaguely familiar, maybe he'd seen him somewhere before . "Hey could I ask you something? As they started to enter the town Jason asked and then rather than waiting for affirmation of his question he just went ahead and went on to ask his question "Where are you from? Something about you seems vaguely familiar I can't quite put my finger on it though." As they continued to pass into the city they saw a guard passing by and quickly ducked into an alley.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Aug 30, 2013 12:08:05 GMT -6
The streets were bustling. Around Derick and Jason, pairs of guards made their way down the streets, their heads turning alertly as they sought out their target. For their part, civilians stepped quickly to avoid the patrols, ducking into their houses, shops, or even stranger's houses, anything to avoid trouble. As a result, the small crowd that roamed the main street was dissipating rapidly. We're running out of cover... Derick nodded approvingly as Jason ducked into a side alley and followed directly behind him. Evidently, Jason possessed more sense than throwing rocks at armed enemies would suggest. A pair of militia marched by the entry of the alley as they took a few steps into the shadows. One of them spoke harshly to a citizen, barking a question Derick couldn't hear, but then they proceeded away from their hiding spot. Huh...must not have noticed us..."Sure thing," Derick answered, his lips broke a smile, but his eyes remained on the street.
Derick looked a question at Jason, his armor should have been a dead giveaway...the armor I'm not wearing... Derick looked down at his clothing and his grin deepened. In his current attire, he looked every inch a swashbuckler from the Western Isles. Well...almost, his skin lacked the tan that most of the pirates he had seen had. "I'm from Bern." Derick replied a little slowly. His smile faded a bit, his country of origin was no secret to be guarded, but his involvement with the military..."I went to Ilia to become a mercenary, and I've been traveling for a time now." How long had it been? A moon or two, at least. Things happened so fast.
"THROUGH HERE!" Derick jumped at the new voice. His head jerked towards the alley access they had come through but it was clear. The echoes of boots marching confirmed the question raised in Derick's head. Derick grabbed Jason by the shoulder and pulled him close, attempting to maintain silence as the pounding of foot continued nearby. "They're moving through another part of the alleys!" he whispered fiercely. The clattering of weapons and light armor identified 'they' as militia.
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Post by Jason on Sept 9, 2013 4:21:06 GMT -6
"What should I do if they catch us?" Jason asked immediately starting to worry about his and Derrick's safety I hardly know how to use this thing and you're currently unarmed so I think fighting them off is out of the question.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Mar 4, 2014 19:47:11 GMT -6
Derick bit his lips as the footsteps echoed through the alleyways. Oddly, he found himself reminded of a fight on the docks of Badon. That fight had been a mess too...charging through a throng of soldiers...A gruff shout brought him back to reality. The tail-end of Jason's question floated in his head. light...he's right. The moment soldiers found them, Derick would charge them. Injury or not, his addiction would tear his mind from his body...I wouldn't wake up. The thought frightened Derick, he had never thought about dying in combat. But here, partnered with a boy who hardly knew one end of a sword from the other...This was a bad plan...
The footsteps solidified as the soldiers closed in. The clang of armor and thump of boots bounced around the corner ahead of Derick and Jason. With that much noise, there's at least four of them... Derick's mouth twisted thoughtfully. He spared a glance for his wounded leg as he formed a plan of actin. It's our only hope...
"Ok...new plan." Derick turned from the noises and grabbed Jason by his shoulders. It was a little awkward looking up at someone he was ordering around. <i>I guess I know how Clair feels...</i> he grinned at the thought, fitting for what he was going to say. "Run as fast as we can out of this town...I don't think we'll be able to handle them." He spun Jason back where they came from and gave him a light shove on the back to start him sprinting. Derick reached for his lance to follow him and stumbled across the grimy cobblestone as he came up empty. A novice and an unarmed soldier against a pack of armored militia...understatement of the year. His grin widened as danger closed in and his skin began to tingle. He had never tried running one-legged before.
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Post by Jason on Mar 6, 2014 5:31:12 GMT -6
The two quickly sprinted down the road Jason looked back at Derrick, he noticed that Derrick had a limp "Hey are you alright? You sure you don't need to get that thing looked at?
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Mar 8, 2014 9:45:07 GMT -6
The pounding of boots and clanking of armor had intensified, they must have heard us... "Woah!..." the toe of Derick's boot caught on the edge of one of the cobblestones, his arms windmilled as his injured leg jolted forward to catch himself. "Argh..." the groan through Derick's clenched teeth as pain arced through his split open thigh. "Just...k-keep...moving!" He forced the sentence past his tightened jaw.
The cacophony of pursuit rose in volume. they're closing on us... Sweat beaded on Derick's forehead as he pushed himself harder. Derick was nearly blinded as he and Jason rounded the next corner only to be confronted by a beam of sunlight framed by the end of the alleyway. One more street... If they could make it onto main street, they could blend with the crowd...The crowd that's not there... The toll of alarm bells had nearly become background noise a midst their chase.
Derick's legs pounded beneath him, he could barely hear his thoughts over the sound of his own breathing...or over the pounding of boots a corner behind them. We're not going to make it...
Another step, Derick's thigh shook and then went limp with strain. "Agh!!" With a cry, Derick forced his body to lurch forward in effort to keep running, but his leg wouldn't obey, he started to fall. Reflexively, Derick's hands shot out, looking for a hold to balance on. His flailing grasp tangled itself with the neck of Jason's shirt. Overbalancing, Derick dragged Jason into the shadows of a side alley.
Derick had enough presence of mind to wince as the footsteps of their pursuers reached them...and then kept going. Planting his arms, Derick pushed himself into an awkward laying position. The rough pavement had left a scuff on his cheek. He grinned foolishly at Jason, "Well...that worked."
"I wouldn't say that..." The voice sounded young and smug, an overconfident hunter with his prey. Derick let an arm buckle to spin and survey the voice. Militia. Thinking quickly, Derick laughed, the peals of laughter hung false in his ears as he turned back to Jason. "This will be cake," Derick could almost hear the young militia man seethe behind him. "He's a blustering fool, take care of him." Derick held his smile for all we was worth as the militia hefted his sword into an inexpert fighting stance. We just need to knock out him out...then we're safe... Derick nodded at Jason, then looked at his sword, non-verbally telling him to fight the man.
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Post by Jason on Mar 11, 2014 13:59:47 GMT -6
Jason picked up the sword and suddenly a nervousness swept over him as he stared down the person in front of him and waited to see who would jump first.
Without warning the opponent lunged at Jason who side stepped him, but a searing pain came in his upper thigh as he realized he had been grazed by the lance. Jason responded with a quick cut on the chest of his enemy and and then followed up by hitting the man in the back of his head with the hilt of his sword.
The man fell unconscious as Jason clutched his wounded thigh.
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