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Post by Augustus Nacht on Apr 20, 2014 20:22:19 GMT -6
"This is it. This is the last time. And you'll get all you need. Is that right, Augustus?" The scarfaced Georg looked over to the feminine faced Druid.
"That's right, Georg. One more time and I've got more than enough." Augustus Nacht grinned in that arrogant way of his. But if he was right...
"Fine. One more time."
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It was a couple of weeks since Nacht's last overt slaughter. Blame fell upon the rebels as he'd predicted with the trail of clues that he'd left. Georg's bandits were free to enjoy their spoils and increase their own armory while Nacht got what he desired, free of financial burden. Now, the time was coming for another strike. And if all went well, it'd be the last that Nacht would need to do as well.
A Bernese merchant caravan would travel by the route he'd taken note of and the bandits' own surveillance. Roughly 15 people in all, 25 counting the bodyguards that were hired, enough to scare off most would be scavengers. However, the Bandits held a greater number at over 30 strong for this attack and more than capable of seizing the caravan from the hired guards.
---
The caravan rolled along, the guards looked around at the hills they passed between on this long route. The trip had been a quiet one, thankfully. No rebels, no bandits. It was turning out to be an easy job, but they couldn't rest yet. The lead guard removed his helmet, starting to take a drink from the canteen he wore at his hip. As the canteen met his lips, a piercing and sharp pain filled his body. He dropped the canteen, looking down with shock at the arrow. His eyes drifted up as a mess of people came over the hills.
"BANDITS!"
---
Nacht rode atop Midnight, looking over the battle. He looked to the armored man that sat beside him on his own steed, Georg. "And here I am, sitting above the view with nothing to do. How rare." He looked to Nacht once more. "I have to ask. Just why are you so interested in reviving Hargus?"
The Druid chuckled. "His ghost was rather insistent. And besides, I've been more of a follower in the slaughter."
"My ass, Augustus."
The Druid got a real laugh out of that.
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Aethan
Knight 
Moonlit Wanderer
Posts: 24
Profession: Knight for Hire
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Post by Aethan on Apr 20, 2014 21:17:33 GMT -6
What an odd sight this must have been, he thought to himself. Aethan stood with both hands on his lance, his helmet already on, his armor gleaming in the sunlight as he stood in the midst of a rag tag band of brigands, soldiers of fortune, and bandits. The last one still left a sour feeling in his mouth. He looked to the side, to see one of the grizzled men giving him something of a look of... What was that emotion? Anger? Envy? Or maybe his face was just stuck that way? ... Had to be, the poor fool. Whatever look he gave, Aethan responded to it with his usual carefree, cheerful, and perhaps borderline insane smile. The other man stopped looking after that. This got a laugh out of him.
Here he was in Bern, sitting on the front lines ready for battle, and what for? He didn't actually know, but he knew it was gonna pay pretty well. Sometimes, being a mercenary meant you had to be the bad guy. And sometimes you didn't get paid to know the details of what you were fighting for. It didn't really matter, did it? This still could be exciting. He kept the confident smile on his lips as he looked to the side. There were the commanders on their steeds in the distance. Would they take part, he wondered? He couldn't make out any details from where he stood. So instead, he kept his eyes forward. There was the man drawing an arrow from his quiver. Things were about to start.
And then, the arrow was loosed. The shouts from beyond the ridge was enough to confirm it.
A grin formed on his face, as he got even more excited for the battle to come. The bandits and brigands rushed past him easily. It wasn't his job to be fast. But it was his job to dominate the field once he got where he was going. Hefting his lance, he started with a walk, going into a bit of a jog. He was used to his armor well enough to be conditioned to do this for a while.
The first man he ran into was busy fighting off a bandit, with a second threatening him from another side. He didn't get the chance to choose which one to fight or to divide his attentions. Aethan took the opportunity while the guard was distracted, running his lance into his exposed side and driving him down into the ground. That had to be painful, Aethan thought with a bit of a laugh, mixed with lightly winded breathing.
He wasn't taking this seriously in the slightest.
Just after running the man through, Aethan felt a heavy impact on his shoulder, rocking him forward to the point of almost losing his footing and taking a step forward to catch himself. It didn't hurt. It didn't get through. But he'd bet coin that it left a dent or a scratch, and really, that was just irritating. No one would've known from his expression, though. No, he just kept that same smile the whole way through, even after being spattered with blood, having killed a man, and having taken a hit. He smiled, and laughed. It might as well have been a game.
He wrenched his lance out with great force after seeing where his attacker came from, driving the butt end of the lance into his attacker. It hurt him, and it made him back off, but it didn't kill him. Aethan turned, leveling his lance at his opponent, fully focusing on him. He'd remedy that lack of dying soon enough, he thought with another laugh.
He had this area of the fight covered. It was up to the others to take care of their areas in turn.
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Post by The Madness on Apr 21, 2014 8:51:08 GMT -6
Oleg used his sword to lean on it, watching down at the slaughter, then to Nacht. "Want me to get in on too? Or would you prefer more protection? Anything works for me, you're the one giving me the money to do as you say." Oleg then spat on the ground, returning his gaze to the fighting as he waited for his orders. He could not give two shits on why Augustus wanted to revive Hargus... Yet. Maybe if someone offered him enough to care, he would. For now, his work was to listen to the green haired druid, even if he did not like it one bit...
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Post by Augustus Nacht on Apr 21, 2014 9:59:35 GMT -6
"Feel free to join in, Oleg. What's life without some fun?" Nacht briefly looked over to the mercenary before gazing down at the battle once more.
---
As he turned, the Knight could also see a bandit being cut down by another of the guards before the guard was quickly taken down to the ground by another of the scrapping foes. A couple merchants tried to run, but found arrows in them as well. The foe that Aethan turned too managed to recover after a moment, starting to swing once more. The pressure before had felt heavy and his shoulder ached terribly even if his armor wasn't pierced. Now that he could get a look, the guard was slinging around a mace, a favored weapon against armored foes such as the one-eyed mercenary. And potentially a lethal one.
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Aethan
Knight
Moonlit Wanderer
Posts: 24
Profession: Knight for Hire
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Post by Aethan on Apr 21, 2014 12:23:29 GMT -6
Now he knew why he was knocked forward with such momentum when he got hit. All the plating in the world didn't fully stop the feeling of sheer weight driving into something.
Unfortunately, he didn't wear his armor because he was the best at dodging. And so he felt it again. This time he was caught in the chest plate, right near the solar plexus, almost having the wind knocked from him. The noise he made was a mix between a cough from from the blow, and a laugh at the unexpected surprise. He'd be bruised up by the time the morning came, certainly, but the fights! He didn't think he'd actually be exerting so much effort to earn his pay, with the numbers on their side.
He took the opportunity to aim a shot, thrusting forward while the man was recovering from his own blow. Being hit with a mace wasn't fun, but the shock of hitting his armor couldn't have been good for him, either. He could see it in the man's eyes, that slight wince of pain. His lance went right for his neck.
The guard had good reflexes, he'd give him that. He jerked to the side, escaping with only a shallow cut. Aethan only laughed at this, too. He was good! It was a good thing that there were so many other bandits and other bodies on the field on his side, or he'd have been tied up long enough for other people to target him. Even still... This would need to end quickly. It was a shame they couldn't just call it off and agree to continue it later, but such was his profession.
Another blow from the mace came down, sensing an opening that was probably there. This time Aethan kept a bit more mobile and leaned to the side, and the shot skipped off of his armor and hit his helmet. Always dangerous, but the force of the shot was mostly in the shoulder. The helmet was only a minor discomfort. But it was just enough to leave the man disoriented. This was his moment. For the first time since the fighting started, the smile on Aethan's face faded, as he leveled his lance with a pure focus. Time slowed, and he watched his lance driven at just the right angle to pierce the guard's armor and go straight through his chest.
The guard looked down with surprise. A look of pain, confusion, and desperation started to form on his face, but it was short lived. His mace fell to the ground first, followed by himself once Aethan planted his plated foot on the man to remove him from his lance. He was a good opponent. The smile came back to his face. He hoped he'd find peace wherever he ended up, but for now, he had a battle to focus on.
His eye scanned around, his head movements somewhat dramatic so he could see all around him including on his blind side. He noticed the ones who were leading, still where they were. His smile turned to a smirk. He supposed that answered whether they'd be joining in the fight or not. His focus returned to the fight.
How many were left now, now that the bandits had some time to overwhelm these forces...?
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Post by The Madness on Apr 21, 2014 12:36:50 GMT -6
"With pleasure, Augustus." Oleg chuckled, running down to the battlefield as he lept down to the forces, taking his sword indo a defensive position. Soon enough one of the axemen came to him, letting out a faint snarl as he then begun to charge towards Oleg. Oleg grinned, swinging his blade in an upwards arc to parry the hit, kicking the axeman in his chest while at it. As the axeman was regaining his balance, he thrusted himself forwards, his blade impaling trough the chest of the axeman.
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Post by Augustus Nacht on Apr 21, 2014 13:08:00 GMT -6
There were only a few guards left now as the numbers played up a rather overwhelming advantage. A few of the bandits had been cut down and the few guards that remained began to enclose in a defensive circle, though one broke away to charge at another swordsman who'd rushed in to join the combat, swiftly realizing how bad of an idea that had been. Merchants were hauled out by unoccupied bandits, killed and then looted for what nice pieces they had on them before the brigands went to looting the wagons themselves. All told, it was looking to be quite the successful raid indeed.
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Aethan
Knight
Moonlit Wanderer
Posts: 24
Profession: Knight for Hire
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Post by Aethan on Apr 21, 2014 14:11:22 GMT -6
And so the curtain dropped on this one act play. The fighting turned to looting and pillaging now, and it was easy to see most of the men shifting from murderous intent to greed as they took everything they could get their hands on. Aethan watched on, softly smiling, though not truly amused. He didn't really have much desire to join in on this looting himself, but he didn't exactly feel like walking away without payment. And since he didn't trust any bandit to pay him in coin, well... He needed to find something to take with him. This, this was the feeling he didn't enjoy. Like a crow to carrion.
He took each step in patient sureness, his lance resting on his shoulders. Yeah, his right side was definitely sore, he thought with a smile. He liked it. It was a reminder of how good that last fight was. He made sure to pick up the man's mace once he passed over it. He had no plans to use it. Might sell decently, but it might also be a good trophy. Past that, he'd see what he had on him, and what the other man he ran through happened to have. Wasn't as though they were using it, after all, he thought with a chuckle.
Once it was all said and done, he turned to the side, looking off to the leaders of the fight, the ones who watched on. Would they have more work? Did he feel like asking? Something sat poorly in his stomach at the thought of it. He thought about going towards them for a moment. To see what the point of all of this was. To see if there would be similar in the future.
Then, Aethan laughed. No, no. He had what he came for, and fulfilled his end of the bargain. He didn't know if they had anything planned for the people who fought today, but he wouldn't be there to find out. Taking what he scrounged up, the knight of silver returned his lance to resting on his shoulders, reflecting the sun off his armor where it wasn't bloodied as he slowly made his way past everyone and quit the field.
He did this quietly, and with a smile. It was time to drift on to the next job. If they needed him again, it wasn't as though he'd be hard to find.
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Post by The Madness on Apr 22, 2014 6:22:19 GMT -6
Oleg walked back up to Augustus, chuckling loudly as he held a fresh money pouch in his left hand, his sword resting on his shoulder. "I haven't felt this young since I was young!" He then continued his chuckling... But deep inside, he was hating himself. He had always tried to fancy himself as someone with honor, not just someone who would loot and kill for money... Yet here he was, enjoying a life of killing with a man who was about to bring back someone truly horrible. Did he enjoy it though? Sadly, yes, yes he did.
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Post by Augustus Nacht on Apr 22, 2014 11:59:52 GMT -6
Nacht grinned at Oleg. "I know exactly what you mean. It's always such a fun rush." He then looked over the battlefield once more and then back at Georg. "The time's come. I'll be returning to the old place. Join me when you can, Georg." He looked from the Paladin to the Mercenary. "Stick with my friend here for the time being and head up with him."
The green haired Druid pulled on the reigns of Midnight, turning his steed around before galloping off. Events needed to be set in motion now. And they could never have been stopped.
[THREAD END]
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