Bandit Bashing (Open)

[Aria]

Early morning in a small village by the Rhine River

Aria sighed softly watching as her brick colored wyvern flew through the air. Once again it refused to take it's weekly bath. She could tell by the wyvern's grunts and movements that it did not want to jump into the water due to the fact that the water was cold. Aria blamed herself for her Wyvern's spoiled attitude. Back in Lucerne or Lagaruz Aria could afford to take the time and heat up one or two buckets of water to help mitigate the cold temperatures. But out here near the outskirts of some tiny village she was a stranger too, she could not do that. A handful of villagers on the road stopped to watch the spectacle.

"Ugh. Chewy COME ON!" We don't have time for one of your fits! The red wyvern landed in front of her and growled. It was something akin to a younger sibling stopping just short out of their older sibling's reach just to say "No". Normally Aria would sit and wait for Chewy to calm down before attempting to coax her in the water. But the lady rider was pressed for time, they were supposed to do a small patrol route around the town before noon. Aria dropped her things and charged straight for her beast. She caught hold of one of it's "arms" before it could start to fly off again. Her hands and feet found the familiar grooves of her mount's body and before she knew it she was on top of the reddish creature's neck. Chewy started to make a bucking motion to try and shake her off.

"Hey! No! None of that!" She yelled. While grabbing hold of one of it's horns. She jumped off the creature while still hanging on to the hook like horn. This forced Chewy to turn its head, loose it's balance, and fall to the floor. Chewy then gave a small groan annoyed that Aria had just "won" another fight between them.

"The heck has been up with you lately huh?" She asked the creature. Now that she was pretty much face to face with her wyvern.

"Yesterday you refused to eat. The day before that you didn't let me put the armor on you. Today you refuse the mandatory and AGREED upon wash." She petted the wyvern's snout lightly.

"You sick? Something hurts? Homesick? Bored? Splinter in your gums again?" She rested her chin upon Chewy's muzzle and stared into the beasts eye. If only you could speak the common language... She sighed softly.

"Fine.. we don't have to bathe you today. It's already late and we are supposed to go on patrol. But tomorrow morning you are going into that river." She spoke to it like an adult does to a child. She got off of her wyvern companion and began to get Chewy's armor ready. Chewy gave a small snort before complying and helping to put on it's protective gear. Unbeknownst to them or the villagers, a small group of mercenaries turned bandits had set their sights on the small town.

[Gaston]

One day Gaston decided that he was going to head to the south. The southern lands where in fact a territory of Ilia so he had all the right to travel down there. The forest there where said to be filled with more game than in the north. Plus the Wyverns to the south where said to be much more fearsome and dangerous. It was a challenge for only a real man, and Gaston was a real man. Word on the streets in Ilia was that Bern was in rebellion. Because of that many people avoided going there, but that meant nothing to Gaston. He did not care for the petty squabbles of lesser men. Bern was now his land, as a citizens of Ilia of course, and thus he had the right to got there and hunt in any of the woodlands and no pitch fork waving dirty southerner was going to tell him no.

After arriving in Bern Gaston did a bit of hunting. A few bucks here and a boar there, nothing serious. He was mainly getting use to the terrain. It was different from the snow covered Ilia and it took the big man a while to adjust his hunting techniques. However nothing was impossible for Gaston and he was killing southern bucks like a pro. However he had yet to find a wyvern. Not that he did not see any. There was a entire pack of them when he first crossed over from sacae, but they where mounted by people. Gaston did not care for southerners much, but he was no murder. There was also the added fact that there was plenty of other game to kill.

Now Gaston had found himself in a town near the Rhine River. It was a poor excuse of a town and had the smell of wet dog. However Gaston was in Bern and everything in Bern smelled of wet dog. At one point he wondered if they had lots of dogs running around, but a quick observation informed him that it was just the people. No wounder the savages land was known for bandits. They where as much beast as the animals he hunted.

As Gaston marched though the town, astounding people with both his size and the majesty of his presence Gaston came upon a curious site. There was a women, well he guessed it was a women. You can't always tell with these southerners. She was struggling with her flying lizard. It was a truly strange site to behold. She was talking to it, almost as if the thing was a person and to make it worse she spoke of agreements.

"Stupid southern bimbo", spoke Gaston. He meant it more to himself, but anybody could hear him with the volume of his voice. "Listen lady such beast do not speak or understand the common tong. If you wish to make it do something then beat it with a rod or simply put it down for disobedience. Arguing with it like a child will do you no good except make yourself look dump and ... good lord what is that smell. You might want to add a bath to that list of things to do as well."

[Aria]

Aria put the finishing touches on Chewy's saddle and harness a voice called out towards her. Stupid Southern Bimbo? She turned around to see a man she had never seen before. A tall man with a reddish scarf, with a bow, who was giving poor advice to Aria's attitude towards her wyvern. Chewy was laying down in her saddle strapping position and being mostly obedient. But when the man spoke about beatings, killing, stink, both rider and wyvern glanced at each other in a mutual "he did not just say that" sort of look. This man was clearly a stranger to Bern or to wyverns in general. Chewy used her snout to gently push Aria out the way, before attempting to charge with intention to bite the man. Fortunately Aria recognized her wyvern's body language and grabbed the reins and pulled them hard. Causing Chewy to stop and stare right at Aria.

"AY! No biting random strangers!" She spoke loud enough in a voice that he could hear. Then whispered something only the wyven could pick up.

"You don't even know where he's been. Just sit and calm down I'll talk to him." She then gave Chewy a light pat on the cheeks before going to address the tall man. Chewy scoffed and reluctantly made motions to lie down. The reddish wyvern kept staring at the stranger. She did not like him at all.

"Do not be alarmed. You, sir seem to be unfamiliar with wyverns. Allow me to explain, wyvens do not speak the common tongue, but they do understand language. She heard your... opinion... disagreed with it and wanted to express that disagreement with her mouth." She explained calmly. She was willing to give this stranger the benefit of the doubt. She was willing to ignore his prior "bimbo" comment. She knew not every man was a gentleman. Aria gathered her equipment then got up onto Chewy's saddle.

"As for the bath... Well have you ever tried to bathe a wyvern? You can try your luck after my rounds...Word of caution We hold no responsibility for any accidental loss of body parts. Now.. if you will... excuse me.." As she finished that line Chewy got up off the ground, she displayed her height. Chewy was a large wyvern. She was both taller and wider than the rude stranger. There was something of a smirk on her face as she flapped her wings. Chewy kicked up dust toward the stranger and took to the sky. The pair of them began encircling the village Chewy occasionally giving a shout to the sky happy to be in the air.
---

About eight bandits began to make their way out of the forest into the town. The bandits consisted of one sniper who was the leader of bandits, four axe wielders, one archer, and two sword fighters.They used fire to cause panic and confusion amongst the people. The archers used flaming arrows to light some of the roof’s on fire. The foot men charged forward and began cutting people down. The town guard which consisted mostly of retired military and a few mercenaries went out to greet them.


--

Ooc- Ilheod and some of his Npc riders are supposed to jump in at some point. Hence the bandit numbers.

[Gaston]

"Pshaw", spoke Gaston as he watched the beauty and her beast flashing about. He could care less about there attempt to show power. "Lucy for your leather bag that you where here. If not I would have been forced to put a few holes in it", scuffled Gaston. As the two began to fly off the Archer began to measure the distance, range, and power. "Only takes one", he spoke to himself as he walked off. Gaston was no murder, but he had to hold back his desire to simply draw his bow and shut the duo up permanently. The winged beast was no match for a well trained archer. Gaston was sure of that, but he had to hold his peace. It was a lady after all, maybe a southern uneducated bimbo, but still a lady.

Gaston spent the next hour in the tavern. There was a very pretty waitress by the name of Oichi. She had brilliant pink hair and a voice like a angel. Gaston wanted to try and get in close with her when he suddenly heard the sound of screams and fire. "What is going on", spoke Gaston as he rose from his seat. Naturally he grabbed his bow and made his way outside. It was chaos, whoever was attacking them was doing there job very well. By setting the house on fire they had panicked the weaklings and the guardsmen, well they where not Gaston. He doubted they would last long.

"Stop running around like a chicken with its head chopped off", shouted Gaston as he attempted to gain control of the masses! "If you panic like that you make it easy for the bandits to cut you all down!" As Gaston finished speaking a figure appeared through the smoke. It was a burly man looking maybe in his mid thirties. He had a scraggly beard and a axe in his right hand. Already Gaston could tell he was a bandit, he had the look of one. Gaston pulled out his bow, but the man was already to close for him to pull off a shot.

"Die big man", he spoke as he prepared to swing his axe toward the archer. The brigand however expected Gaston to run or coward in fear. He was a archer after all. Archers where the weak cowards who only attacked from range. However he did not know who he was messing with. Gaston was not your normal archer, nor was he your normal man. If his height and width did not give that away then his boot soon would.

As the man moved to enter striking range Gaston quickly pulled up his leg. With a swift kick Gaston stumped his boot into the man's chest knocking him back and onto his bottom. "Who do you think I am", spoke Gaston as he looked at the man with a disgusted look. "I am Gaston", he spoke as he posed his arms instead of drawing his bow. "The brilliant hunter from the frozen north. If you think you can defeat me by simply running up to me with a axe then you have the wrong idea." As Gaston spoke the brigand pulled himself off the ground. Gaston's foot print was still in his chest and the man was far more weary of the giant standing before him. "When they speak of Gaston, the handsome, brave, manly man from Ilia they speak of this hunt of man flesh", spoke the narcissist as he pointed his thumb toward himself.

[Ilheod]

From within the heights of the sky, wind blew to combat the heightened speeds at which the small gathering of wyvern riders flew. Ilheod felt the resistance of the draft pressing to them, and could feel the slight changes in how Astraeus flew to compensate for the wind. The tensing of the wyvern's muscles along the neck. The extra force that lurched them forwards more abruptly each wing-beat. The increased interval of wing-beats to keep them from losing momentum on the wind's current. Despite the need to be fastened to the saddle still, on the chance of occasional gusts of wind outside normal currents or the need for evasive maneuvers; he enjoyed these moments. When he could simply reside within the skies on Astraeus, with little to no worries, those were the greatest moments. Ilheod had his legs strapped to either end of the wyverns saddle, but did not have his hands on the reigns. By this point the large wyvern knew their destination. Though his crimson eye was obscured by the black eye-patch tied around it, to better assist in nocturnal combat, he could see with clarity as he gazed about them to the landscape.

His hands brushed along the heavily armored hide of the creature. Digits running along and scratching at the wyvern's neck on either side while he let a rare smile grow on his expression, though hidden by the gargoyle bone mask which covered his faces lower half. Given all the fighting they'd experienced lately, traveling for something so simple as to restock a few basic supplies was certainly worth while.

Behind Ilheod, rode four of his closest comrades. Seth. A man who had been in the nightwings almost as long as Ilheod had himself. The wyvern rider was like Ilheod, in that he'd been assigned to the unit from the first. At Seth's side, Alexander. The man who was second in command of the squad, and led it in Ilheod's absence; even if his younger brother lead the entirety of the nightwings in his stead. Though he was closer to Ilheod's youngest brother in age, he was as at home in the skies as the mount he rode. Horst flew with them as well. A large man with a larger laugh that boomed loud enough to shake an entire room it felt at times. At their backs and in the rear, completing the formation, flew Immen. Seth's cousin, and another long term member. A tad quick to leap into combat, but someone Ilheod knew he could trust his life with.

Their intention was to visit the small Bernese village so that they could receive supplies. Though this was technically for the rebellion it's self, they were simply there to obtain rations. Bread, perhaps small quantities of meat. As Ilheod gazed out at the village over Astraeus' head however, he noticed the sight of flames upon a village roof. Men rushing out of the village to repel defenders. A darkened gaze covered his visage, and despite the mask muffling his words he swore in contempt. Ilheod lifted a hand to signal to his riders before he closed his fist and lowered it to point at the brigands. Loosening his spear from the hook it was bound to while flying, Ilheod swung it over to bring it about as the small nightwing unit veered into a sudden dive.

Ilheod veered off as the unit sped into the village it's self to first secure the people. That was priority one. Ensure the villagers safety. Astraeus let out a piercing shriek as Ilheod banked harder. From within the village he saw an Ax toting man beginning aggressions. Though he had been kicked free by a somewhat large scarfed man, Ilheod had not the patience to tolerate the brigands ilk. Astraeus was upon the man a moment later. The thunderous rumbling of the colossal midnight blue wyvern crashing down upon the brigands figure as he attempted to get up masked the swift execution Ilheod brought to him with a spear plunging straight into the man's body.

Ilheod gazed up towards the man, as the small plume of dust settled from their landing, and removed the spear from the brigand as his other riders landed around him only to immediately busy themselves with ensuring the civilians safety. "Are you uninjured sir?"

[Aria]

Aria frowned. She blamed herself for the attack. Perhaps if she was stricted with Chewy she wouldn't have rebelled during bath time, which meant that they would have been in the air faster, which could have meant that they would have seen the attack coming. Chewy tilted her head up at her rider.

"We both share respnsiblity for this Chewy. The lives of the innocent that fall here will be on our hands. Chewy this.. this is why I stress our timing. Do you understand?" Her reddish Wyvern gave a small growl. Aria sighed softly.

"Look there's an archer on the roof. Use the smoke towers for cover and charge at him. Remeber to hold your breath this time!" Chewy gave a roar of agreement. Aria double checked her straps. She grabbed her lance and prepared herself for a dive.

"Come. Lets go save a few lives!" She kicked her heels lightly at her mount and Chewy swirled through the air then dived down into the fray. Chewy moved her wings slightly and broke the dive into something more of a diagonal movement. Aria held her breath as the mighty wyvern charged into one smoke stack. She tugged on the reigns subtly to guide her wyvern through the smoke then came charging into the one bandit on the roof. Chewy knocked him down and landed down upon his body. Crushing the poor soul under her large weight.

"Woah! Sniper ahead. Up!" She pulled on the reigns hard and Chewy jumped back into the air. She circled around the smoke pillar and kept behind it to keep herself hidden from the sniper's arrows. Here she noticed several other figures in the sky. About five other wyvern riders that she had never seen before they were flying down in formation. They were lending their skill to defend the village. She would have to thank them later.

[Gaston]

"How dare you", spoke Gaston in a booming loud and angry voice. Gaston was not please. No he was not pleased at all. Here he was showing off his perfect body, perfect form, and perfect skill and this southern hillbilly comes down and steals his glory. Even more so that Gaston had placed the brigand on his bottom in the first place. Who did this man think he was? Did he think he was Hartmut, maybe even Roland, probably figured he was the Saint Emilia. Those are the only people in the world who should have the courage and the balls to mess with Gaston. Anyone else was open for a thrashing or a good lashing of the tong.

"Listen here you one eyes southern barbarian you don't steal me kills! Stop kill stealing! That brigand was being taught a lesson in the food chain and seeing the magnitude that is Gaston! Then you and your flying leather purse came down and stole me kill! Now what am I going to tell the tavern girls latter this afternoon after I sweep away this horde of unwashed heathens! Oh yes I was giving the human tick a good thrashing and then the monkey version of a dragon came from the sky and sat on him! Bah Southerners", shouted Gaston as he began to walk away.

Frustrated and angry Gaston began to search out for another target. Surely there was some other cutthroat he could take down and show just how skilled he was. It was in that moment that Gaston saw just what he was looking for. On the top of a building there was a archer. A febal little man, no where near as refined as Gaston. Still he used a bow nearly as well. The man took it upon himself to fire arrows at the flying wyverns, a act that Gaston could not disagree with. Dirty heathens barely knew there place in the world. Still somebody had to stop him from murdering people so Gaston took it upon himself to show the fool that he did not measure up.

Pulling back on his bow Gaston fired a arrow at the man. He purposeful missed just to get his attention. There was no point in shooting at another archer if the archer was not shooting back. The projectile scared the bejibies out of the man. He had no idea that the village had such a archer and was probably even more frighten when he saw that it was Gaston. Still the moment he regained himself he pulled back on his bow to fire a arrow. Gaston also did the same and in a single motion the two fired at each other.

[Ilheod]

Ilheod could briefly hear the insults being spewed about as he turned his wyvern around to face the man he'd "saved". Shaking off the initial notion that perhaps he should have let the brigand kill the man, Ilheod leaned forwards and patted Astraeus' neck with his free hand. The colossal winged wyvern rushed towards the rude swearing ilian archer before leaping over his head and flapping twice with heavy wing-beats that sent the midnight blue scaled mount shooting into the sky. He would disreguard the man for now. After all it was a pale priority over the actual threat. Astraeus twisted and turned into the sky while Ilheod swept his spear and realigned it. That was when he saw a sudden arrow bolt through the air. It whistled into the distance, before dipping into a building. The resulting crashing sound indicated that the arrow had actually managed to hit someone.

Ilheod's gaze shifted, and twin hued eyes found that of a man wielding a surprisingly large bow. Compared to the others, he was likely the most skilled to use a heavier bow with such accuracy. That was who Ilheod would focus. He would have to take care however; a bow like that could easily harm both he and Astraeus. He dipped downwards into the town once more, flying low along the streets to use the buildings as cover. Small bursts of movement, from idle on the ground to racing across a street towards another house. Slow progress. Safe progress.

Meanwhile...

=-----------=


Alexander had seen the commander kill that brigand. He'd also seen the pig headed oaf who harassed the commander for saving him. Alex leaned forwards and aligned his spear, patting Vulcan's neck while he gazed around. Armored digits brushed the scaled neck of his mount as they idled in the air briefly; noticing that the vulgar Archer had picked an opponent. A wry grin spread upon the lieutenants lips as he spurred his mount forwards. Racing through the air in a manner similar to a dive, he swooped low and swept his lance as they raced past the brigand archer who had just had an arrow fired at him to direct his attention. Alexander shouted towards the ilian while he used the length of his lance to knock the archer from his perch. "Thanks for the distraction!" As they swept past, he spun around and wounded the archer before climbing back into the sky. Though the rushing winds drown it out, he laughed a bit while attempting to imagine the archers reaction to it; given his reaction to the commander helping him. Every possible outcome...nothing but beautiful.

[Aria]

From the air Aria could see there was a small band of the swordsmen harassing a poor family for their loot. A quick tug of her reigns signaled chewy to dive down and interrupt the swordsmen from killing the family. The wyvern descended down to the ground and landed with a hard thud. Aria used her lance to deflect the blades from hitting either her or Chewy. The brick colored wyvern raised her wing up so as to shield the family whom were under her while here tail went to work at trying to swat away the enemy mercenaries.

"Go! Escape! Follow the Evacuation!" Aria shouted to the family. The swordsmen which consisted of a myrmidon and a mercenary were forced to jump back and avoid the wyvern's large body. Slowly the small family picked themselves up off the ground and ran off towards the streets. Aria hoped they would make it safely out of the village via the evacuation route. With the family gone, Chewy tucked in her wings giving her better maneuverability in the confined spaces of the village road. The mercenary tucked behind some alley and left his comrade. Aria gave another tug on the reins and Chewy started to charge forward on her legs. This sudden burst of speed gave the sky haired rider the opportunity to skewer the myrmidon with her lance. While this act was painful to the swordsman it did not kill him. What did kill him was the force his body felt when Chewy kept pushing him forwards and into the nearby stone wall. Aria dislodged her lance from the man's corpse and wordlessly commanded Chewy to head back up into the air.

[Gaston]

Ok that was it. Gaston was not happy, he was not happy at all. Not only did the first of those flying boot riders took his kill another one had the audacity to do it as well. To make it worse he even had the gall to mock Gaston. Well Gaston was going to show him. Gaston pulled back on his bow and took aim. "All it takes is one arrow", spoke the archer as he prepared to fire. It was then that Gaston noticed a young boy in the corner of his eye. The boy watched the archer with perplexity. He woundered what Gaston was doing and especially when the city was being attacked by bandits. The riders where the good guys, why would he attack them.

"Thank the heavens rider", spoke Gaston as he turned his bow and fired into the smoke of a nearby building. Gaston was sure that nobody was there thanks to the structure being cleared out before hand. "Dang missed him", spoke Gaston as he marched toward the home. "If that boy had not been there I would have", spoke Gaston as suddenly a burly man erupted from the smoke filled building swinging a axe.

"What the world", spoke Gaston as the man caught his bow with his wield swings. The axe knocked the weapon out of his hand and sent it into the structure.

"I got to hand it to you for seeing me in the smoke laddy", spoke the man as he looked up at Gaston. For Gaston this was a complete surprise. Still things where bad as he no longer had a weapon and was facing against a armed brigand. However he was Gaston and as a result the brigand was at a disadvantage. If he was fighting any other man victory would have been assured.

[Ilheod]

Ilheod was swift to try and isolate himself. Unlike normal open combat on the field of battle; within towns it was easy to be caught out. However, in this situation it worked to his advantage. He severely doubted that any of the brigands could take him in single combat. Though, reflecting back on earlier years fighting brignads; Astraeus was doing a remarkable job at remaining quiet compared to the last time he'd tried this. How long had that been? Eight years? Maybe nine? Things were so much easier then. No demons. No brigand unification. It was just..kill the wrongdoers. He even cracked a bit of a smile as he tugged at the wyvern's reigns and guided him around the corner. Here he could see him. The sniper, standing atop a partial highrise near one of the houses. He was taking aim. At..what?

That hardly mattered after a moment's realization. Ilheod knew that anything he was aiming at was something that would better be left alive. Ilheod tucked his knees and shouted as he brandished his spear. "Astraeus now! Go! " The colossal wyvern let out an ear splitting high pitched shriek before launching into the air. A brief lunge upwards as the wyvern spread out his wings gave him an almost impending sensation of doom; at-least as the image projected itself. As Ilheod pressed himself flat to his mount's back, the large draconic steed raced into a downwards dive. The sniper was fairly calm to adjust his aim and try to fire an arrow at the wyvern lord. However he was caught too soon. Ilheod was too close when he'd lunged forwards to strike, having used superior mobility to get into range before the bowmen had noticed him. In this regard Ilheod felt a slight twinge of thankfulness. Even seasoned riders knew the dangers of talented bowmen. The way this man reacted gave testament to that. Ilheod struck at him, crashing his spear's length into the man since he wouldn't have had the angle to stab at him. He swung his spear and snarled as they flew past, sending the man flailing across the roof and onto his back; not a moment later the wyvern lord dipped back down below the maze of buildings and began swiftly navigating the winding back alleys. The man would be onto him now. This meant he'd have to focus specifically on Ilheod. That also meant Ilheod would have to be far more careful about his next strike. The sniper would be watching. He would be waiting.

[Aria]

Aria and Chew circled the skies around the town. They made several dives down in order to shoo off the bandits that were preying on the civilians. The other wyvern knights that joined her and soon most of the small brigand band was dispatched. Aria kept herself hidden in the air via the smoke stacks. Perhaps later Chewy and her would make repeated passes with water buckets to help deal with the fires. Or maybe not.

She looked down to find another target. The stranger she met before seemed to have ran into some sort of trouble. As the tall sir was staring down a bandit with an axe. Aria made another wordless command to her mount and the reddish wyvern descended down out towards them. Although her lance was at a disadvantage to the bandit's axe, she would spare no effort to help the rude stranger. The wyvern tucked in her wings as she flew into the roadway. The brigand readied his axe and Aria quickly slammed the lance through the air so the metal tip made contact with the axes side. Throwing it off balance and causing it to miss the large scarfed stranger. Chewy then did a quick hop back so as to avoid the retaliating strike.

"Are you alright sir? With teamwork we can take him down!" She hoped the scarfed stranger would assist. Otherwise Aria and Chewy were going to have a bit of a trouble against the bandit. Please use your bow to cripple the enemy not my wyvern.

[Gaston]

"Of course I would notice your sorry hide hiding like a craven in a burning building! Do you have any idea who I am", spoke Gaston as he pointed his thumb toward himself. The archer in truth had no idea he was there. He just shot the arrow at random. However that was not going to stop Gaston from playing it off. It was far better than losing face. "I am Gaston you fool! General Winter, The Divine Arrow, Hercules bigger cousin, the one and only beefy hunter from the land of snow. I am a dimi god compared to the rest of you unwashed humans", spoke the as he flexed his muscles.

Gaston's boasting may to some seem as a foolish narcissistic flurry form a fool without a weapon. However to those who knew the mind of Gaston they knew that was only half true. Gaston knew he was at a disadvantage. However he knew a clam Brigand was a far more dangerous threat than a angry brigand. When you are angry you make mistakes and ... what the.

As Gaston thought on his stratagem another Wyvern descended from the heavens. What was with these flying sack of leather today, thought Gaston actually did need the help this time. He would never admit that thought. From the sky came the same blue hair bimbo he saw earlier. She had used her lance to throw off the enraged brigand's strike and gave Gaston a clear opening he needed. As the brigand turned his head to look at the Wyvern, which was the most threatening at the time, Gaston rushed forward and took the opportunity to grab the man's right arm.

"What the", spoke the Brigand as Gaston tighten his grip on the man's forearm. The burly man pulled his arm back to Mississippi and sent a punch flying with the full strength of his body.

"Gaston Punch", he shouted as his fist slammed into the man's jaw. The blow was strong enough to give the brigand a concision, but Gaston was not done yet. "Who the hell do you think I am", spoke Gaston as he punched the man in the jaw again. He kept his his left hand firmly gripping the man's right arm to prevent him from attack.

"Oh right", spoke Gaston as he turned back toward the maiden on the wyvern. "I did not need the help. I am Gaston after all. However thank you for you assistance", he spoke as he pulled back to punch the man in the jaw again. The brigand however had enough of being punched and took the opportunity to kick Gaston in the knee allowing him to break free. Dizzily the man scurried over to his axe and grabbed the bladed weapon off the ground. Gaston however did not even move to stop the man. Instead he took a few steps back and picked up his bow and notched a arrow. If the maiden on the Wyvern had not finished him off yet Gaston was sure to with his bow.

[Aria]

Aria and Chewy stared the brigand down. Aria gripped her lance tight and was ready for a second attack... when the large scarfed man seemed to leap onto the bandit and proceed to punch him in the face. The large sir kept punching him and saying Gaston. Then introduced himself and claimed that he did not need her air but was thankful for it anyway. This man clearly has a few screws loose in his head. Aria thought to herself. Chewy just slammed her tail down and snorted. An act of aggression possibly, she was probably confused to the man's speech, either that or she was displaying this aggression out to the bandit.

The bandit had managed to kick Gaston loose and went for his axe. Aria seized this opportunity to put an end to this bandit once and for all. She clicked her heels into her mount's body and Chewy responded by charging forward. Aria's aim was a bit off. Instead of hitting the bandit in the center of the chest like she wanted. The lance hit the bandit square in the shoulder, but the force that was behind it was enough to run the lance completely through the man's body. Until the pointed weapon was a little less then half way up the shaft length. But the bandit was still alive. Aria pulled on Chewy's reigns to reel her back before the bandit could hit her or her mount with the axe. This gave a clear shot for Gaston to fire an arrow and kill the bandit.

"He's all yours! Fire!"

[Ilheod]

There was a certain, almost methodical, mannerism behind Ilheod's actions and movements. It was also a practiced thing. He had luck on his side in that, when fighting in Lycia during the Bernese war of Aggression, He'd become familiar with town to town combat. Most didn't account for the fact that Wyverns were powerful creatures, with powerful limbs that could move fairly swiftly. Marksman had a hard time managing to pin them down if they wound through streets and alleys. Of-course, it helped to have gotten a few moments to see the lay of the land from above; otherwise one knew not where to steer the beasts. However as the sniper attempted to gain a sense of where Ilheod had shifted to, he and his scaled mount darted through the winding pathways between houses within the Bernese town. The heavy footfalls of Astraeus' scaled limbs was not loud enough to blatantly give it away among the faint din of battle elsewhere.

It was however enough to give him enough of an impending danger that he wouldn't turn that dangerous bow of his back to the skies where the other lads were fighting. Which was good for the wyvern commander. Gripping his spear firmly, Ilheod rushed from street to street as he began to approach the house from another corner. Lifting his spear upwards, but not enough to give him away by cresting over the town's small houses, Ilheod prepared to strike. He'd have to ensure that he killed the man this time..or else...

--

What few brigands there had been were no real match for the combined forces of the trained Bernese riders present. They were simply at a distinct disadvantage. Too few were actually used to fighting riders it seemed; and with the female rider assisting the Nightwings as well as Ilheod seeing to the bandit leader personally; it seemed like the combat was on it's last legs.