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Post by Ryuzaki on Jul 27, 2015 0:02:38 GMT -6
"Well, son of a..."
Vincent was down. He'd been pulled off of the wall... But... There was still one other option. He could charge straight in and attack. So, that was exactly what he chose to do.
The assassin whirled around the corner, his eyes flashing hellfire and brimstone and his sword Gemini held in his left hand, the grip of a practiced expert holding the gleaming, 'cracked' blade and the right still holding the tapestry. As he spun around the corner, he swept the large wall hanging and sent it draping over the closest bandit, entangling his axe as he charged straight for the one with the large axe.
"Hello, good sir... Would you care to... Die?"
As a bandit stepped into his path, blocking his way to the leader, the assassin swung his sword once, letting its razor edge slash straight through the foe's gut and sending him wheeling backwards, blood pouring out from the wide, deep cut through his exposed skin.
"Arise, Vincent! We have work to do!"
The assassin had no idea where the other fighters were, or how many bandits would come. He had one goal: the leader. If he could remove him, he had no doubt that the rest would fall to pieces. With the head of the snake gone, the body would surely cease to resist. A chuckle ripped from his throat. These fools believed that they could stand up to his might... He, the assassin, the shadow, the deadly, silent killer. He was Death!
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Post by Vincent on Jul 28, 2015 12:38:02 GMT -6
Vincent ground his teeth as Ryu had to leap in to save him. It was a habit he needed to quit before he had no more teeth to begin with. A bandit was slammed to the ground an open wound gushing blood. It was about to get real messy. The one with the big axe was quick to react but he completely ignored Vincent. He braced to fight Ryu but a slashing pain sent him to his knees, his Achilles heel was slashed open by Vincent's dagger.
The leader sighed exasperated. He clearly did not fear the swordsmen and smirked haughtily. Holding a long spear in his right hand and a short one in his left he beckoned for the two to take him at once. "I did not become a bandit boss by being a push over you know. I have some talent of my own with the spear." Not only talent it was evident he had a very unique style.
Vincent sheathed his dagger and readied to fight. The leader allowing him to grab his lancereaver. The sound of scurrying footsteps came from all around, one, two,... no five others. Six vs two was terrible odds. "I think we ought to pull back Near." There was no pretense of confidence this time, replaced by legitimate concern.
The bandit leader seemed to breathe deeply as his muscles budged and an aura enveloped him. Vincent was in horror and in awe. A cleric must have aided him with his staff. The bandit grinned toothily and laughed heartily. The five others were in the room now.
“I’ll have to kill to survive this, won’t I?” Vincent asked no one in particular. He resented it but he had to come to terms with it all the same. “You take the leader. I’ll keep the others off of you as best I can.” To come out unscathed seemed nigh impossible but he had to try… or improvise.
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Post by Ryuzaki on Aug 3, 2015 11:36:43 GMT -6
"Talent with the spear, hmm?"
That was evident. His spear did not intimidate or frighten the assassin, but it did cause him to take more caution. There were five grunt bandits and one beefed-up, angry leader. Not bad odds, if he could eliminate the staff user. But a quick glance revealed no sign of one, so the assassin set his eyes to the six opponents who were quickly closing in.
"You can't handle five others... Now would be the best time for our backup to arrive, but in this situation, with no backup in sight or probable of arriving, I would say we have to just fight like wild cats. So... Let's bring the fight!"
In the two seconds it took to speak, the taut, stretched stalemate snapped like an overdrawn sinew, ripping open as the five grunts moved in. Ryu quickly analyzed. If he could break through the tightening vice, he could swing freely and like mad. He needed the room, so the only option was to break on through to the other side. In a split second, he swiveled, running diagonally toward, up, and then down the wall, using his momentum to push him off and land him behind a bandit, who received a sword thrust straight through the back. Ryu kicked him in the back, trying to pull him off, but his blade was stuck in the man's ribs... Not good. Another axe swing came towards him, and he swung his right arm up, arcing it to glance the blow away, and smiling as he heard the clang of his iron armguard on the iron of the weapon. The bandit's eyes widened - he hadn't seen the hidden armguard blade, and it spooked his simple mind.
"Boss! This one has iron skin!"
Ryuzaki cackled and used both hands to wrench his blade free from the dead bandit. Four more grunts. Come on, Ryu, focus...
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Post by Vincent on Aug 8, 2015 7:32:24 GMT -6
Vincent bore witness to more of Near's high flying assassin abilities. Leaping off the walls and over bandits striking one down. The leader seemed to stand still, content to watch, or perhaps he was still taking in the full extent of his power. Either way, arrogance or not the delay was the only thing that was going to save them.
Take on five bandits, that was a dumb thing to say, but it was what just came out. His reaver left him at an ironic disadvantage against his foes, the odd structure of the blade made fighting lancers easy but axes more complicated. Three of the bandits, now two, focused on Ryu, that left only two for him. They were quick and ready, the two swung in unison forcing him back.
"Quit running you coward! Heh heh heh, come on and meet my bite!" Rushing forward one bandit rushed with his axe raised. Vincent could not react with a lunge or the like as his blade was not designed with that intent and opted for his fists instead, the hard metal knuckles of his gauntlets were made for this.
Tucking his body in he raised his fists and dropped his sword. The bandit came in practically frothing at the mouth. His blade fell as Vincent lunged in with a hook and raised arm. By blocking the axe was kept above his head and did not strike him down and his hook struck the bandit's jaw with a satisfying thwak! The bandits body swiveled momentarily as he stumbled before toppling over.
The second bandit stepped back in surprise before regaining his composure. "Nice move, but that won't work twice."
"No, it won't," Vincent held his steel dagger with his blade back handed. His reaver was right by his foot and he kicked it up before grabbing it in his other hand. "Leave or die." Vincent lowered his head as if to say he was serious.
"No, no, no. Simpletons." The lead bandit seemed to be ready now. "Three men dead! I think it's time I took action." He was fast, faster than even Near, but there was a flaw in his techniques, he relied on his power from the mage and not ability. Still it was more than enough to overwhelm Vincent in a moment. The first spear lunged past him nicking his ear, intentionally the blow came. The short weapon came next piercing his leg.
"Gahhhh!!!" The bandit ripped the tip out and moved past Vincent, he was of no concern to him, the other, Near however, was something else. Vincent was struggling to stand after that strike, he'd have to remember to apologize to Near if they made it out of this. Still, he did a backflip like this. Mustering his strength he forced himself to stand. Near was holding out well enough but two on one with buffed up reinforcements still couldn't end well.
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Post by Ryuzaki on Aug 9, 2015 6:36:36 GMT -6
The assassin turned his attention to the lance-using bandit boss, who was now moving toward him. He'd struck Vincent too, which meant that his comrade wouldn't be doing much of anything soon. Great. That meant that he had... The leader, and three grunts. Two men had died, one by his hand and one by Vincent's. Four on one? Horrendous odds, actually, but he had the advantage of -
"Surprise!"
Swiveling to face the footsteps he had heard gaining on him, Ryu hurled a throwing knife, his hand flickering to his bandolier and then back up, releasing the weapon, all in the span of a second or two. The charging bandit slumped, a beautiful new decoration growing from the front of his skull. Well, well. He hadn't expected the throw to be that good. It was a nice change of pace.
The bandit leader grunted. He was nearly within range now, and he charged forward, lance flying out to take advantage of his long range. Ryu swung Gemini up, the gleaming blade rising to send the spear-stroke awry, far to the assassin's left as he charged into the gap. Then the short spear came forward, and again the assassin blocked with his armguard, barely evading the blow as he delivered a kick to the boss's chest and backflipped away, landing with Gemini up. What was the count? Two grunts and the leader left? Good grief, it was ridiculous. Even he was beginning to tire. He couldn't keep his evasive acrobatics up for much longer... He was getting boxed in. Dammit, if only Vincent was still good to go!
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Post by Vincent on Aug 13, 2015 10:09:40 GMT -6
Vincent's face read with the concern for Near in this fight, the man was a skilled swordsman but there was something that seemed to have passed Vincent's mind: he was good in a duel but as an assassin he was not trained to fight endless crowds. He was better than Vincent sure, but Vincent would need to help him out of this one. The lesson being do not overestimate your allies.
His leg was shaky, the damage and tearing was horrible. The pain, not so much. Forcing his body to stand by sheer will. "Okay you! Let's finish our bit so I can help him out." With a first pained step forward Vincent charged his opponent. The bandit braced himself eyeing the boy as he ran. With a shout he began to swing his reaver before tossing it at the bandit.
The bandit's expression turned from a haughty confidence to one of confusion in the heart of chaos. Managing to swat the blade away he felt safe again before the dagger plunged into his chest. A sharp breath and the moment of disbelief. The boy threw the blade and then the dagger, hiding the dagger in the sword's shadow.
Vincent's leg had given out and he was on his face in the dirt. The bandit was down and he would be fine so long as Ryu could manage... blast it all!!! Burying his fists into the stone ground he forced his way up. Jerking the dagger out of the bandit's chest he gave it another go. The blade flew reaching the mark. A second bandit fell. Now all that was left was for Ryu to deal with the leader.
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Post by Ryuzaki on Aug 13, 2015 14:01:00 GMT -6
Suddenly, the two advancing grunts were cut down by throwing daggers. Hm! It seemed like Vincent still had enough in him to help him out with that. How kind. Now all he had was one angry and advancing leader, two lances ready and his muscles still beefed up by the hidden spellcaster. Not at all a cakewalk. There had to be an opening in his defense, a hole he had not patched, a chink in his armor. Ryu just had to find it.
So the assassin started circling, looking at the bandit leader and watching his movements carefully. The burly man jabbed, and he leaped backwards, always keeping enough distance from the long spear. If he could break through the two lines of defense, he would be able to slice the man into ribbons. But that was much easier said than done. Two spears? Difficult at the most generous, ridiculously tough at the most realistic.
So fine! He wouldn't play the man's game. He'd just fire away at him from afar!
The assassin sheathed his sword in a defiant gesture, smiling at the bandit leader.
"SURPRISE!"
The assassin's hands whipped forward, sending two throwing knives sailing towards the leader bandit like angry wasps ready to sting. Then his hands flickered down to his bandolier and back up, and then he hurled the second salvo, all four aimed at the enemy's center of mass.
After all, if he couldn't beat the man's reach, why not have even more range and just pelt him with blades?
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Post by Vincent on Aug 13, 2015 14:19:17 GMT -6
The bandit was impressed, he was not fearful or angry, more thrilled at the surprises this man threw at him. The first two daggers were child's play to deal with. A quick spin of his lances and the blades were stuck with him and firmly outside of his body. The next FOUR! Were trickier but thrown with one error. They were all aimed for the center of his body. Dodge one and you dodged them all.
He swiftly moved to the side as the rest flew past him. "Tch! I like your style kid, how about becoming my new lieutenant? Could use a man of your ability. You did cut down my last one after all." The bandit was not bartering for his own life but rather interested in making Ryu his ally. Vincent did not think Ryu would be the type to accept, or if he did he would simply cut the boss down at a later date and never think twice about it.
The daggers were an intense trick, if this had been their prior duel Vincent was not too sure if he would have avoided becoming a pin cushion. On the other hand he just had four daggers tossed in his direction. The boss would be too busy to notice Vincent gathering them as well.
The bandit was not keen on stopping the battle in hopes for a favorable answer, instead he opted to let him answer before he dies if he can. The leader threw out two rapid jabs before using his strength to leap into the sky landing on the wall. The balancing act was no issue for the enhanced brigand. "Come, let me whip you into submission." He grinned wickedly.
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Post by Ryuzaki on Aug 13, 2015 18:49:34 GMT -6
"You want me to fight for you? Sure. I only have one condition -
You'll have to freeze hell over first."
The assassin grinned. As the stabs came toward him, choreographed and simply, Ryu simply parried both, his sword moving in both hands first to his left, then his right. But the bandit did not press on - instead, he leaped backwards onto the wall, standing above and out of the assassin's reach. Fine. Not a problem.
"You want to fight me, you can come on down and do so like a man. I'll gladly take you on. Because you see, now I'm mad. First of all, you show up and you have to be a damned lance user. I don't care, I could deal with that. But no. You're not man enough to fight us without having a staff user beef you up to make you more intimidating. What, were you worried that a kid and an assassin would be too strong for your bulging muscles? No big deal. I've seen worse. But the straw that broke my back - you offer me an out, to try and save face, because you're worried that you'll die. And then you try to act tough in the meanwhile, yet run away to the wall so that I can't cut you down. Now that makes me mad. You're a coward on three counts. You buffed, you bartered, you backed away. And now? Now I'm gonna show you why you should have run while you could. I'll make you fear the name of Near. For I am Death - Death is Near. Now come!
Fight me, coward!"
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Post by Vincent on Aug 14, 2015 4:20:14 GMT -6
The bandit looked down with an odd sort of look. He knew exactly what the assassin had said, it was not that he was stupid, contrary to popular perception, it was that he was shocked. He worked through it all, his face growing in a grimaced grin and shrinking back to a scowl and then to a grin again, and finally a scowl.
"YOU WOULD DARE CALL ME CRAVEN!!!?" Did Ryu's taunt actually work!? The bandit's magic was wearing off now and he wasn't paying attention. Leaping down he thrusted at the assassin before going wild with attacks. "Screw you! I'm going to fill you full of holes!" His onslaught was initially fierce but slowly it was dying down, becoming sluggish and weaker. The blows less sharp and Vincent had an idea.
He watched for it, magic always had a source and as soon as his helper sought to aid him he would find them. The red aura faded from the man's body and he was panting out of breath, it seemed to have taken its toll on him after all.
"Near! Give him hell!" Vincent shouted throwing a dagger into the shin of the now sluggish bandit.
"GAHHHH!!!!" It was then that the magic came forth again, it was expected this time and Vincent located the source.
'Gotcha' Rushing to the bandit's throne, as best he could, it was more like a limp and drag really, he found a small door down below it. Throwing open the hatch Vincent ripped a small frail looking old man out. He threw him from the hole to the side as Near finished his fight. A glaze fell over his eyes and he slowly approached the old man ready to kill him slowly.
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Post by Ryuzaki on Aug 18, 2015 11:34:02 GMT -6
"Yeah, I dare - let me show you why!"
The assassin leaped forward, landing in a ready stance with Gemini pointed towards the bandit leader, steady and ready. Then he winked and twitched his hands, and the blade split into two halves, each a twin of the other with a razor-sharp edge and a jagged, vicious edge.
"Ready, you pansy? Don't wet yourself now... Come on!"
It would be a lie to say that it was simple and fast, that Ryu dominated and cut the bandit into ribbons. His only saving grace was the dagger in the bandit's shin - even when buffed up again by the last burst of magic from the staff user, he was still much less mobile.
"C'mon! To the left, right, left, and thrust!"
Ryu blocked a volley of frenzied, careless strikes from the bandit with repeated blocks to both sides, and then, as the foe roared angrily, Ryu stepped nimbly back. The bandit boss lurched forward, directly into what proved to be a deadly trap. As he lunged, Ryu used both swords to sweep outward, leaving both his body and the bandit leader's exposed to attack. While the lance-using bandit was reeling, Ryu pressed forward, placing his right foot behind his opponent's uninjured right leg and throwing his weight into the boss, who tripped backwards and fell onto his back.
Ryu descended like a hornet, plunging his swords into the fallen foe's chest and then leaping back, avoiding the short spear but taking a hit from the longer as he retreated. Thankfully, due to his motion, the impact was lessened, but he still winced at the pain coming out of the shallow puncture that had bruised one of his ribs.
The poor bandit leader was writhing in pain, a pool of blood surrounding his body as it jerked first quickly, then slower and slower, until finally he lay still, breathing once more in a shallow gurgle.
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