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On the Trail of Copper Bloodhounds… [16August06]
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<blockquote data-quote="Monty Tomasi" data-source="post: 2833791" data-attributes="member: 40137"><p>Part III:</p><p></p><p>Herstanz charged forward, overturning several tables as he built up momentum barrelling forward towards the front door. Plates, mugs and cutlery scattered across the room and several chairs splintered as the armoured warrior swung his spiked mace to clear a path.</p><p></p><p>Frendick leapt on to a bar-stool, stepped on to the bar and jumped towards the wagon wheel suspended from the ceiling that had once been used as a chandelier. The aging ropes supporting the wheel creaked ominously, but Frendick ignored it and swung his legs forwards as he prepared to launch himself at the guards crowding the entranceway.</p><p></p><p>Marco sprinted forwards, weaving in between the chairs and flying bits of furniture with remarkable agility for a man his build. He slammed his fists together and immediately the rings on his hands burst forth bands of multicoloured lights that contracted and formed knuckledusters of scintillating energy.</p><p></p><p>The burly guard at the front began to move forwards to intercept Herstanz. “Number three sword”, the red-armoured guard said and quickly drew the sword that materialized in the ancient scabbard. He brought up the wide-bladed sword with its leaf-shaped tip just in time to parry a two-handed swing from Herstanz spiked mace. Herstanz’s charge carried him forwards and he drove his shoulder in to the guard knocking him back against the tavern wall.</p><p></p><p>Herstanz continued his assault on the burly guard raining one blow down after the other. Each time the guard brought up his wide-bladed sword just in time parry, but as the milky-eyed berserker attacks increased in speed and ferocity one of the strikes got past the guard’s defences and the barbed mace slammed in to the guards shoulder. Several of the spikes punctured the guard’s armour and blood began to flow freely. </p><p></p><p>A couple of the nails holding the ropes connected to the chandelier tore lose from the ceiling just as Frendick let go on an upwards swing. He somersaulted through the air and landed right in front of the copper haired guard. His leering smile at her revealing corset turned instantly to a mask of utter pain as he looked down and saw that he’d landed on top of her upraised knee. A whimper escaped his lips as he slid down her leg and on to the floor. Frendick’s beautiful rapier slipped from his fingers and he curled up in to a foetal position.</p><p></p><p>The copper haired guard dropped to her knees on top of Frendick who moaned in pain as his already bruised body was forced to endure further torment. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. Tears streamed down Frendick’s face and when he saw the guards beautiful eyes shift from green to the colour of molten gold he opened his mouth to scream. Before he got chance she pressed down her lips on to his and kissed him.</p><p></p><p>Marco was last to arrive, slowing his charge sufficiently to let Herstanz arrive before him. The black-robed mystic picked his moment just right after his leader had sent the burly guard flying and caught the spiky haired guard off-guard with a quick succession of short sharp jabs. Marco finished his manoeuvre with a back-hand against the cross-bow wielding guard who let go of her weapon and fell to the tavern floor.</p><p></p><p>“That’s cheating,” the spiky haired guard taunted as he dodged the next couple of punches Marco threw his way. He retaliated with a kick to Marco’s knee and the mystic responded by taking the spiky haired guard in to a bear hug. As Marco locked his hands behind the guards back the energy from his rings combined and he could hear the hissing sound of the guards back being seared from the intense energy and heat. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly Marco’s head felt as if a flaming ball of fire had exploded inside his skull and he tasted the blood streaming down from his broken nose. Too late he realised that the spiky haired guard had slipped from his grasp. He felt rather than heard the guard kick his weakened knee in quick succession and time slowed as Marco watched himself in the mirror above the bar toppling over sideways towards one of the nearby tables. There was a brief moment of blinding light and then Marco’s world went dark.</p><p></p><p>“Valori”, the burly guard shouted angrily. His wounded right arm hung limp at his side and he was using his left hand to parry the attacks from the towering berserker. Herstanz stepped in to a pool of spilled ale that caused him to lose his balance momentarily, but the guard was too busy fighting for his life to launch a counter-attack. Instead the two combatants circled each other between several broken tables, trading blows as they tested each others defences but neither pressing the attack. Herstanz felt the red haze lifting from his vision and when he saw two of his companions downed his mind began to rapidly formulate an escape plan.</p><p></p><p>The mouse-colour haired guard had meanwhile picked herself off the floor; retrieved her crossbow and she was busy trying to insert in to the barrel of her weapon a small metallic cylindrical device with glyphs etched on to the outside. Cursing softly she fumbled and the stubby cylinder popped out of its slot, but she caught it before it fell on to the floor. Ignoring the melee taking place around her she gently inserted it a second time and smiled in relief as the gear and cogs in the crossbow sprung to life with a high-pitched humming sound.</p><p></p><p>Just then the door at the top of the stair burst open and Gyzz stepped on to the landing. He scowled angrily as he surveyed the battle taking place below him and raised his hands to channel the energy that would bend each one of the pesky guards to his will. The words came easily to him, mental constructs of complex magical force flashing through his mind as he wove the arcane powers of his birthright and shaped them with his will.</p><p></p><p>The mouse-haired guard raised the crossbow to her shoulder, glanced around for a free target and with delicate care pressed down on the trigger. The crossbow four-pronged arms hummed with energy, thin strands of gossamer thread coalesced around them and within the blink of an eye the crossbow shot forth a bolt that expanded in to a web of sticky threads that sailed across the room and pinned Gyzz to the wall at the top of the stairs. The enchanter’s spell-weaving was cut-off mid-sentence, leaving him bound and gagged up against the wall.</p><p></p><p>“VALORI”, the burly guard shouted a second time. He was struck full-on in the chest, lifted off his feet and flew backwards in to the remains of a broken table. Herstanz raised his mace for the killing blow, but he too was slammed against the wall with thick, ropey and sticky strands holding him in place. The mouse-haired guard lowered her crossbow and ran over to the fallen guard’s side.</p><p></p><p>“Sergeant, are you ok?” she asked as she tried to staunch the bleeding.</p><p></p><p>“Help me to my feet,” the guard commanded her and he struggled painfully to his feet with her help. The spiky haired guard was busy checking on Marco and he nodded in the burly guard’s direction to indicate that the mystic was still breathing.</p><p></p><p>The Sergeant sheathed his wide-bladed sword, that promptly vanished, and with the help of the other guard made his way over to where his copper-haired colleague was still passionately kissing Frendick.</p><p></p><p>“Stand down, Fey.” The guard commanded. “STAND DOWN!” he repeated grabbing hold of her coppery hair and forcibly pulling her back to break the kiss. The golden colour melted from her eyes to be replaced by a deep sea green colour. The look of sheer bliss faded away from the guard’s beautiful face to be replaced with a stony mask.</p><p></p><p>“Bitterness,” Frendick whimpered quietly, curled up in a ball. “…Golden shadows… How could I not have known? Such loss … Such a bitter loss…”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s get these berks restrained and we’ll use the wagon outside to take them back to the barracks,” ordered the Sergeant. The guard closed his eyes for awhile as if to go to sleep, flexed his shoulder and experimentally lifted his right arm. With a smile he struck a match and re-lit the stubby end of his black-weed tar cigar.</p><p></p><p>The mouse-haired guard worked alongside her male colleague to extract their captives from the webbing. They secured Gyzz’s and Herstanz’s hands with a thin red strand and marched them outside and secured them to the wagon. The copper haired guard went upstairs and returned with several sacks that jingled with the sound of coins and other metallic trinkets.</p><p></p><p>After the others had carried Marco outside on to the cart the burly guard walked over to where Frendick lay and puffed on his cigar.</p><p></p><p>“Loss and bitterness…” the wounded man whimpered with his eyes scrunched tightly shut. “Golden shadows…”</p><p></p><p>“You’ll thank me for this,” the burly guard said as he pulled Frendick up in to a sitting position. He punched him hard in the jaw and proceeded to lift the unconscious man over his shoulder and marched outside.</p><p></p><p>Some time later the innkeeper and the barmaids crept out of the kitchen in to the common room. The innkeeper’s jaw dropped when he saw the devastation left behind and it was only awhile later that he realised that the barmaids had run out of the tavern never to return.</p><p></p><p>“I’ve been caged in this city long enough,” the innkeeper remarked to himself. “Back home all I had to worry about was Bacchae… but this… well this is too much.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Monty Tomasi, post: 2833791, member: 40137"] Part III: Herstanz charged forward, overturning several tables as he built up momentum barrelling forward towards the front door. Plates, mugs and cutlery scattered across the room and several chairs splintered as the armoured warrior swung his spiked mace to clear a path. Frendick leapt on to a bar-stool, stepped on to the bar and jumped towards the wagon wheel suspended from the ceiling that had once been used as a chandelier. The aging ropes supporting the wheel creaked ominously, but Frendick ignored it and swung his legs forwards as he prepared to launch himself at the guards crowding the entranceway. Marco sprinted forwards, weaving in between the chairs and flying bits of furniture with remarkable agility for a man his build. He slammed his fists together and immediately the rings on his hands burst forth bands of multicoloured lights that contracted and formed knuckledusters of scintillating energy. The burly guard at the front began to move forwards to intercept Herstanz. “Number three sword”, the red-armoured guard said and quickly drew the sword that materialized in the ancient scabbard. He brought up the wide-bladed sword with its leaf-shaped tip just in time to parry a two-handed swing from Herstanz spiked mace. Herstanz’s charge carried him forwards and he drove his shoulder in to the guard knocking him back against the tavern wall. Herstanz continued his assault on the burly guard raining one blow down after the other. Each time the guard brought up his wide-bladed sword just in time parry, but as the milky-eyed berserker attacks increased in speed and ferocity one of the strikes got past the guard’s defences and the barbed mace slammed in to the guards shoulder. Several of the spikes punctured the guard’s armour and blood began to flow freely. A couple of the nails holding the ropes connected to the chandelier tore lose from the ceiling just as Frendick let go on an upwards swing. He somersaulted through the air and landed right in front of the copper haired guard. His leering smile at her revealing corset turned instantly to a mask of utter pain as he looked down and saw that he’d landed on top of her upraised knee. A whimper escaped his lips as he slid down her leg and on to the floor. Frendick’s beautiful rapier slipped from his fingers and he curled up in to a foetal position. The copper haired guard dropped to her knees on top of Frendick who moaned in pain as his already bruised body was forced to endure further torment. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. Tears streamed down Frendick’s face and when he saw the guards beautiful eyes shift from green to the colour of molten gold he opened his mouth to scream. Before he got chance she pressed down her lips on to his and kissed him. Marco was last to arrive, slowing his charge sufficiently to let Herstanz arrive before him. The black-robed mystic picked his moment just right after his leader had sent the burly guard flying and caught the spiky haired guard off-guard with a quick succession of short sharp jabs. Marco finished his manoeuvre with a back-hand against the cross-bow wielding guard who let go of her weapon and fell to the tavern floor. “That’s cheating,” the spiky haired guard taunted as he dodged the next couple of punches Marco threw his way. He retaliated with a kick to Marco’s knee and the mystic responded by taking the spiky haired guard in to a bear hug. As Marco locked his hands behind the guards back the energy from his rings combined and he could hear the hissing sound of the guards back being seared from the intense energy and heat. Suddenly Marco’s head felt as if a flaming ball of fire had exploded inside his skull and he tasted the blood streaming down from his broken nose. Too late he realised that the spiky haired guard had slipped from his grasp. He felt rather than heard the guard kick his weakened knee in quick succession and time slowed as Marco watched himself in the mirror above the bar toppling over sideways towards one of the nearby tables. There was a brief moment of blinding light and then Marco’s world went dark. “Valori”, the burly guard shouted angrily. His wounded right arm hung limp at his side and he was using his left hand to parry the attacks from the towering berserker. Herstanz stepped in to a pool of spilled ale that caused him to lose his balance momentarily, but the guard was too busy fighting for his life to launch a counter-attack. Instead the two combatants circled each other between several broken tables, trading blows as they tested each others defences but neither pressing the attack. Herstanz felt the red haze lifting from his vision and when he saw two of his companions downed his mind began to rapidly formulate an escape plan. The mouse-colour haired guard had meanwhile picked herself off the floor; retrieved her crossbow and she was busy trying to insert in to the barrel of her weapon a small metallic cylindrical device with glyphs etched on to the outside. Cursing softly she fumbled and the stubby cylinder popped out of its slot, but she caught it before it fell on to the floor. Ignoring the melee taking place around her she gently inserted it a second time and smiled in relief as the gear and cogs in the crossbow sprung to life with a high-pitched humming sound. Just then the door at the top of the stair burst open and Gyzz stepped on to the landing. He scowled angrily as he surveyed the battle taking place below him and raised his hands to channel the energy that would bend each one of the pesky guards to his will. The words came easily to him, mental constructs of complex magical force flashing through his mind as he wove the arcane powers of his birthright and shaped them with his will. The mouse-haired guard raised the crossbow to her shoulder, glanced around for a free target and with delicate care pressed down on the trigger. The crossbow four-pronged arms hummed with energy, thin strands of gossamer thread coalesced around them and within the blink of an eye the crossbow shot forth a bolt that expanded in to a web of sticky threads that sailed across the room and pinned Gyzz to the wall at the top of the stairs. The enchanter’s spell-weaving was cut-off mid-sentence, leaving him bound and gagged up against the wall. “VALORI”, the burly guard shouted a second time. He was struck full-on in the chest, lifted off his feet and flew backwards in to the remains of a broken table. Herstanz raised his mace for the killing blow, but he too was slammed against the wall with thick, ropey and sticky strands holding him in place. The mouse-haired guard lowered her crossbow and ran over to the fallen guard’s side. “Sergeant, are you ok?” she asked as she tried to staunch the bleeding. “Help me to my feet,” the guard commanded her and he struggled painfully to his feet with her help. The spiky haired guard was busy checking on Marco and he nodded in the burly guard’s direction to indicate that the mystic was still breathing. The Sergeant sheathed his wide-bladed sword, that promptly vanished, and with the help of the other guard made his way over to where his copper-haired colleague was still passionately kissing Frendick. “Stand down, Fey.” The guard commanded. “STAND DOWN!” he repeated grabbing hold of her coppery hair and forcibly pulling her back to break the kiss. The golden colour melted from her eyes to be replaced by a deep sea green colour. The look of sheer bliss faded away from the guard’s beautiful face to be replaced with a stony mask. “Bitterness,” Frendick whimpered quietly, curled up in a ball. “…Golden shadows… How could I not have known? Such loss … Such a bitter loss…” “Let’s get these berks restrained and we’ll use the wagon outside to take them back to the barracks,” ordered the Sergeant. The guard closed his eyes for awhile as if to go to sleep, flexed his shoulder and experimentally lifted his right arm. With a smile he struck a match and re-lit the stubby end of his black-weed tar cigar. The mouse-haired guard worked alongside her male colleague to extract their captives from the webbing. They secured Gyzz’s and Herstanz’s hands with a thin red strand and marched them outside and secured them to the wagon. The copper haired guard went upstairs and returned with several sacks that jingled with the sound of coins and other metallic trinkets. After the others had carried Marco outside on to the cart the burly guard walked over to where Frendick lay and puffed on his cigar. “Loss and bitterness…” the wounded man whimpered with his eyes scrunched tightly shut. “Golden shadows…” “You’ll thank me for this,” the burly guard said as he pulled Frendick up in to a sitting position. He punched him hard in the jaw and proceeded to lift the unconscious man over his shoulder and marched outside. Some time later the innkeeper and the barmaids crept out of the kitchen in to the common room. The innkeeper’s jaw dropped when he saw the devastation left behind and it was only awhile later that he realised that the barmaids had run out of the tavern never to return. “I’ve been caged in this city long enough,” the innkeeper remarked to himself. “Back home all I had to worry about was Bacchae… but this… well this is too much.” [/QUOTE]
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