Meanwhile the Lady Ahmo, still undiscovered, spared a quick glance through a shattered window from inside the house. What she saw filled her with dismay. Taphreille faced three desperate, wounded foes, Masin stood alone against the leader and his half orc henchman and two more rushed viciously towards Xanderian, cutting her off from the other two.
Shaking off her concerns, she continued on her mission, stepping silently into the next room and freezing. The room stank of blood and pain. Two women were each bound, discarded on two different piles of what seemed to be old rags. Casting a cursory eye on the two forms she could barely recognize her two friends through all the blood and bruises. The filthy robes they were wearing were matted by blood to their skin in several places, indicating serious wounds beneath. The Lady Ahmo fought down the urge to rush to them for she had a more pressing matter...they were not unguarded. One thug, the one that the Bounders must have injured previously, was stting in a chair between the women, one leg and both knees heavily bandaged. He was, however, awake and called out. "Hoy! Intruder in the house!". A knife in each hand, he hurled one towards the elf and then tried to stand, but failed, giving a cry of pain and falling back into his chair, fresh blood seeping into the bandages over what must have been a compound fracture.
The Lady Ahmo easily sidestepped the thrown blade and came in close, moving faster then the dazed man could follow, and slapped the knife out of his other hand. The man's eyes filled with hatred as the Lady Ahmo, who had first walked Middle Earth long before this man was even the ember of a dream in the mind of Iluvatar, pressed her delicate blade to the man's throat and hesitated. As she did so, one of the women moaned in agony, having moved in their stupor, and the man's fate was sealed.
Stepping away from the man as he bled out with a gurgle, she was faced with the grim truth that now this was a waiting game. She had not the skill to even begin healing her friends and feared doing more harm then good, so aid could not come to them until the battle outside was over, if they could hold on that long. Leaving them in relative safety with a prayer for their protection she slipped towards the front of the house to see if she could aid her companions.
On the porch beyond, Masin fell heavily, his legs wrapped in the half orc's chains. A moment of fear struck him, but then the knowledge of what was at stake filled him with strength and with a warcry kicked outward, ripping the chains out of the half-orc's overconfident hands and casting them aside. He sprang to his feet in triumph. His elation dimmed a bit as the massive man drew a sword in his suddenly empty hands with a wicked grin and advanced on him, the leader easing back towards the shelter of the door to watch the show. "Frying pan, meet fire" muttered Masin as he set his shield again and hurled himself down at the half-orc, hoping to slam him with his shield..
At the foot of the porch, the hardy Taphreille who had sought to aid him faced her own problems. Turning to face the three brigands who were grabbing at her, her boot slipped in the fresh mud and she went down hard, the wind knocked out of her. Cursing, knowing like this she was an easy kill, a turtle on it's back, she desperately rolled away. As she did, she felt the hacking thrusts of the thugs cut through the armor across her back. At least her roll had protected her chest. Sudden pain and then nothing...not good.
Regaining her feet she was relieved to see that it couldn't have been too serious, both arms still worked and she raised her shield against the three, but she knew she was bleeding badly from the copper taste in her mouth. If this fight took much longer she could be in trouble.
Across the yard, the two bandits sent by the boss to deal with the annoying archer ran towards Xanderian, howling. Best to make this a good show for the boss, after all. She smiled at their enthusiasm and casually nocked an arrow as Heartbreaker sang a soft, sweet song, then let fly and smoothly nocked a second. The first arrow took the faster of the two in the left eye and continued through, planting itself with a THWACK in an oak tree behind him that had seen better days.
The squelching sound of the arrow's passage caused his compatriot to bring up his sword defensively, which saved his life as the blade deflected the shaft that was meant for him. With a cry of amazed joy he hurled the knife in his left hand towards the archer, but she was not where he had seen her last. Surprised he stopped and looked around...and took an arrow through the throat from somewhere off to his side. As he toppled into the grass his last thought was wondering where the arrow had come from but Xanderian has already moved on, turning her attention to the battle on the porch, nocking another shaft.
There Masin had hurled himself down towards the half orc, but his foe sidestepped as Masin came down, looking as though he almost expected that. Taking advantage of Masin's awkward landing, the brute swung his heavy blade at his foe's now unprotected side, cutting through mail and flesh both as the man grunted in pain.
Staggering back onto the steps away from the blade, Masin swallowed hard, his blood and Taphreille's turning the mud at their feet into a red paste. He tried to regain his balance despite his head becoming light from the sudden loss of blood. This was bad, he thought, but forced himself to his feet. The burly man's wicked smile turned into a mocking smirk as he saw Masin rise unsteadily. He shook his head..."Little man should stay down and die quiet..." and swung again.
Seeing her companion fall as she steadied herself, Taphreille let out a blood curdling Haradric war cry and and slammed the nearest one hard with a booted foot. Fortunately the treacherous terrain cut both ways and the startled foe slipped and fell onto his back in the bloody mud. Stabbing downward with her blade she dispatched him easily and turned to face the other two, just as her larger adversary suddenly fell forward, a gleaming green shaft jutting out of his back. Over his corpse she nodded grimly to Xan across the field and prepared for the remaining foe who rushed her. She took the blow easily on her shield and forced him back a step but he recovered immediately.
As Taphreille battled, Masin had a but a moment to pull his shield back up and block his own foe's sword but he managed it and swung his own blade, to see it harmlessly rebound off the Half-orc's armor. He hadn't the leverage to strike properly while already wounded. His foe circled slightly, looking for an opening. He faked left and then swung hard right, attempting to get past the shield once again. As he did, the leader stepped forward sword in hand, sensing the battle soon done and wanting to get in on the kill of the wounded knight.
Xanderian was moving fast now, filled with a rising sense of panic. She felt the agony of the two captives vividly now and was painfully aware that she knew not where the Lady Ahmo was or what her situation was. This was taking far too long. Seeing Masin's plight as she came over the crest of the yard, she nocked and fired towards the leader, narrowly missing him in her haste. The arrow came whizzing harmlessly past his head, but it was enough to make him flinch as it impacted in the door behind him. "Sonuva..." He muttered and quickly retreated into the doorway, keeping it open so he could bark orders but out of sight for now. The Huntress rolled forward, and nocking again, targeted Masin's other foe despite a bad angle and then nocked and fired toward Taphreille's remaining opponent.
The half orc was not paying attention to his surroundings, his focus on Masin's frustration and his imminent victory, and the arrow hammered into his shoulder and threw him off balance, taking his attention off the battle for the moment and allowing Masin to catch his breath and set his feet properly.
Taphreille drove forward against her foe as he scrambled back, his sword set and ready, then he jerked and fell forward with Xanderian's arrow sticking out of the back of his head like a horn. Without missing a beat Taphreille leaped over the man's body and changed towards the half-orc to the rescue, shield held to cover herself and sword ready to shorten the massive man by a foot or so, but her battle had forced her away from the porch and there was a lot of distance to cover. She cried out as with a happy grunt the half-orc struck the wounded man.
His mighty blow was caught by Masin on his shield, but knocked the protection out of his hand, staggering him back. The half orc drew back to finish the matter as Taphreille swung low at full extension, sinking her blade deep into his leg and saving Masin from certain death. The bandit bellowed and turned awkwardly to face them both, buckling to one knee. He brought his sword up just in time to block Masin swinging at his head, the knight now holding his sword in both hands.
Slowly rising fully, the half-orc screamed his war cry and slashed out at Taphreille. She took the blow on her shield but his massive strength caused her to slide in the mud and away from the fight, struggling to regain her footing. A second massive blow knocked Masin's sword out of his rapidly numbing arm, sinking the blade point first, deep into the thickening mud. The half-orc laughed, confident in his victory and toed the blade toward Masin. "Pick it up, die like big boy..." he growled, smiling mockingly.
Masin rose as best he could, but instead of reaching for the blade he threw himself towards the half orc, attempting to grapple him. The brute stepped back causing Mason to fall short and laughed, leaving both of his foes in the mud, and raised his wounded leg to stomp Masin.
The man rolled away from the massive foot and towards Taphreille, both of them finally regaining their feet. Masin drew a dagger, shoulder to shoulder with Taphreille as the half-orc gestured for them to come at him, relishing the challenge, a cruel smile on his blood splattered face.
The desperate battle turned even more brutal as Taphreille drove forward, attempting to stab the man over her shield while punching forward with the heavy guard. He spun away, despite his leg wound, and narrowly avoided a dagger thrust from Masin who slipped and fell behind him as the brute laughed, leaving him to be finished off later.
Able to focus on only Taphreielle now, he met her second shield charge head on, taking the blow to his broad chest and swinging his blade in a short, tight arc. Shocked at the impact, Taphrielle was stunned for a moment and the blade of the half orc sank deep into her shoulder, her shield dropping as her arm went dead.
The brute gave a low chuckle, drawing his sword back again slowly, savoring the kill, then stopped. He looked down to see the point of Masin's recovered sword sticking out of his chest, and dropped to one knee again. The knight leaned over the half-orc's shoulder for support and whispered, his voice weak and exhausted. "Die like big boy...." With a last snarl the bandit fell forward, to take the edge of Taphrielle's shield to the side of the head with a dull snapping sound, finally falling face down in the bloody mud, going limp once and for all.
As the battle played out on the far side of the porch, Xanderian meanwhile had reached the path leading to the stairs of the porch and took a wild shot towards the hidden leader.
The bandit chief grunted as the arrow grazed his side and he staggered back into the cottage, barely avoiding a surprise blow at his back from the Lady Ahmo who had been advancing through the cottage. His sudden retreat had shocked them both and they faced one another for a moment. The Elleth drove forward with her javelin point but the skilled leader of the bandits spun around her, putting himself behind her after swinging with his sword at her head, landing a glancing blow but staggering her out through the open door and onto the porch.
"MY LADY!!!!" Xanderian cried and charged to her side, Heartbreaker slung across her back now, the sword Lovelorn gleaming in her hand as she lept onto the porch beside the woman who had fallen to one knee, her head swimming.h
The boss twirled his sword and spat on the ground. "Always wanted to see Elf blood." He scowled and brutally stabbed downward at the kneeling Lady Ahmo.
Xanderian flicked out Lovelorn, barely blocking the descending strike before the woman could be harmed. The bandit scowled as his blow was diverted and seeing no further avenue to continue the attack the man disengaged by stumbling back, which in turn saved him from a rising thrust of the Lady Ahmo's javelin as she recovered herself, still kneeling.
As he retreated, Lovelorn lashed out again as Xanderian slashed across the bandit's chest, his crude armor offering only marginal protection against the cut. He clutched the wound with his free for a moment as blood soaked through his fingers and huffed. "I swear I'm getting sick of this" before swinging at Xan.
The blade caught the Huntress in the shoulder and she felt the sword slide between jerkin and pauldron into flesh. Hissing to herself she shrugged her shoulders and pivoted, keeping the blade trapped in her armor and desperately slashing again towards her foe's neck in a long backhanded stroke.
The man dodged forward, avoiding the obvious blow easily, his hand still on the hilt of his trapped blade leaving him wide open as he practically drove himself onto the Lady Ahmo's waiting javelin. His eyes grew wide as the short metal spear sank deep into his belly, then he staggered back and to the side desperate to make his escape. There he met the blows of both Masin and Taphreille as they advanced, and he dropped to the rough wood of the porch, dead before he reached the ground.
The four looked at one another in the sudden stillness, smiling for a moment in triumph, then they remembered their mission and rushed into the house, seeking the captives and answers to to the riddle of why this all happened.
End Part 2
