I decide to take a walk down the road for a little peace and sanctuary. While walking down the road i noticed a man down next to a tree I rushed to the man asking do you need any help?, the man replies by pulling out a knife from under his robe. He told me that if i wish to live i should follow him, and with such force i had no choice but to follow the man, he pushed me on foward and lead me to a remote area where a wagon sat, with 5 gaurds around it.
The gaurds put chains on my arms and legs, then throwing me into the back of the wagon, and shuting the door with a lock. An enchanter casted me with sleep putting me out. ( The wagon starts to leave and heads farther down the road back to the town from where it came.)
Rhadama is walking back toward town from the secret mine. She's moving a little slowly and seems to be wincing a bit, but has an overall pleased and satisfied air about her. She hears the wagon before she spots it and fades back into the bushes to watch it approach.
Walking back toward town, Marduk spies a familiar head of feathers bobbing around behind a bush. With a grin, he starts to sneak up on her. He finds the job easier than he thought as she appears to be looking intently at something. Falling to curiosity, he takes a knee behind a tree to see what is conspiring. Its at that moment he hears a wagon coming down the road. "Are they soldiers?" he whispers to himself. "Is Rhadama going to attack them alone?!?"..... He quickly and quietly readies his sword and shield. Then with a low chanting.... barely audible, one hand begins to glow ever so slightly.... "Ok, I'm ready now... lets do it..." the whisper more of a moral booster than a sign. After all, the wagon could be packed full of well armed soldiers..... "Rhadama.... what are you getting us into..." then he waits ..... watching for Rhadama's first move...
*without hesitation the soldier driving the carriage snaps his whip at the horse, speeding up the horses, (Zarmchers shadow realizes that his body needs help so he departs him self frmo the body and leaves rushing towards Jastrey in do help from a fellow Uordeq) The Soldiers dont take notice to the black shadow leaving out of the back of the carriage.*
Akon smirks, amused mischief in her eyes, responding to the disciple and putting out a protective arm to keep Branwyn behind herself. "I don't know them...but I know that one.." She nod towards the black figure, seeing the last of Zarmcher's backside being loaded into the cart. A wicked grin begins forming on her lips. "Time for some fun then...." Akon rises, and lifts her hands above her head, closing her eyes a moment, the grin spreading across her face as one could almost feel the dark power gathering into the warlock at the forrest's edge. Suddenly the warlock's eyes shoot open, wicked pleasure blazing like hell fire across her red gaze, lips parted in a stream of encants. Holding her hands above her head, her palms shoot open, and black dark energy whisps towards the horses like a dust. The animals come to a grinding hault (snare x 2), causing the wagon to rattle violently.
Akon's grin merely widens, eyes flaring as the powerful encants keep coming forth in a flowing chant. (named frenzy on 2 of the 6 soldiers) She watches on as the soldiers then start swinging their blades left and right, taking their companions off guard, and breaking out into an open brawl amongst themselves.
Branwyn fell back slightly and drew her blade, not anxious to wade into combat, but not wanting to be caught unprepared either. She winced as one of the armed men suddenly pointed in the direction of the warlock and the healer and yelled to his companions, "OVER THERE!". One of the frenzied men had dropped, but the other was still fighting hard, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Marduk, hearing the fighting, moves up quietly toward the cart and sees the horses seemingly rooted in place. Two of the soldiers were attacking anything in sight. The other soldiers were taken completely by surprise. "I sense a bit of magic at play here." As the driver dropped the ranes to the horses he picked up a crossbow from the seat beside him and began aimng in on one of the insane soldiers. "From me to you I cast this spell" the incant came to life in his hand. The spell energy jumps from Marduks hand and strikes the guard with the crossbow.... (daze) suddenly the guard stops aiming and looks a bit disoriented. Marduk ducks back down behind a bush and readies his next spell, but waits to see the full damage of the insane soldiers... "Evil are those who fight among themselves..."
The dark magics holding the horses at bay begin to receed and the startled horses begin to wisk the carridge down the road at a frantic pace. The cart sways erratically and bounces down the uneven road as the driver attemps to regain control of the startled horses. The frenzied guard kicks the last brigand off the back of the vehicle and begins to turn his blade to Zarmcher.
Turning sharply around a corner, the carridge hits a pothole in the road snapping one of the wheels and pulling the horses back suddenly. The guard poised to strike looses his balance as the cart begins to toss. His downswing slicing the ropes that bind the rogue's arms as he narrowly misses. The sudden stop of the vehicle causes him to stumble forward, hitting his head against the front of the vehicle, knocking him unconscious.
All that remains in the wrecked vehicle are an unconscious guard and the disoriented rogue.
(OOC: Driver dead/unconscious too?)
The disciple backed another few feet away from the road as the wagon careened wildly past the women, ensuring she was well out of the way if the vehicle swerved their direction.
There was little she could do about the inevitable wreck except watch in wide-eyed dismay. But as the dust settled, she raced toward the broken wagon, already rolling up her sleeves to see who was in need of healing and who was already beyond her help.
Reaching the recent prisoner first, she crawled up over the back of the tilted wagon to check on the rogue's status. The wagon rocked as the still upset horses pranced in their harness, but she managed to scramble up without slipping. "You okay?" she asks as she checks for wounds (Diagnosis).
Marduk moves up to the wagon as fast as his feet can take him to see what the damage is. Seeing the disciple tending to the wounds he begins freeing the horses from there harnesses. "Go run free my friends. If you stay here the soldiers will call you dinner." As he slaps the horses on there back hind-quarters.
He then turns back to the disciple, "Is he ok?"
Akon watches the crashing wagon without moving a hair. Her eyes fix on the wildly loose vehicle, a flash of daring in her eyes. She waits until the dust settles, the three conscious brigands fleeing at the sight, then walks forward behind the disciple, her eyes on the remaining men. She kneels over the most mutilated of the frenzied men, and finds his pulse silenced. Leaving the corpse as it lies, she made her way to the wrecked mess of a carriage and checks the pulse of the two unconscious men. Pausing over them a moment, she frowns, then pulls the thick rope from her side, pulling it around the wrists behind each of them, then picking one up in each arm and dropping them with less than delicacy to lean against the wagon wreckage. She then looks over at the others, nodding at Marduk. "Good to see you, friend. Looks like we've got more scoundrels on our hands..." She frowns, looking at the two captured thieves. "I'd rather not harbor them in our town....we've got enough trouble on our hands..."
"He's okay," Branwyn told the gnome. "Just a bit dazed, he'll come around in a minute."
As Akon bound the hands of the two brigands, the disciple dumped the recently gathered herbs from her bag and dug down to the bottom to retrieve a few bandages she has stored there. Starting with the one that had been frenzied, she wrapped the bandage around the man's head, stopping the bleeding where he had cracked his noggin against the front of the wagon. "May Istensia's light heal you," she whispered, concentrating on binding his wounds.
Starting work on the second brigand, she offered her opinion. "The town needs more protectors. Could they make up for their ways serving in the forces against Ressik?"
Akon folds her arms as the disciple does her work, watching on sternly. She takes a deep breath, then shakes her head. "No...recruiting criminals to serve as allies? I'd rather not take the risk. They'd be just as likely to stab us in the back and rob us like those other brigands in town. I'd rather just be rid of them entirely. We've not the supplies, the men, or the resources to harbor criminals..."
She waits for Branwyn to finish, then kneels down to pick them up. "I'll take them out down the road, release them and let them see to their own fate. Unless you have any objections?" She looks to Branwyn, then to Marduk.
Marduk looks down at the two unconscious soldiers. "If you can release them without them or you getting hurt, I belive your idea to be a good one. If these two soldiers quit being soldiers... then they are no longer our enemies." He looks back toward town and says, "Too much blood gets spilled around here anyway..." Marduk turns and begins removing the dead soldiers off the road. "I'll see if I can get most of this stuff off the road."
Akon sets her gaze on Julie a moment, pausing in her action to pick up the bound men. "...no one...there is no jursidiction in a lawless town." She looks down a moment, something about her features portraying some mix of dissaproval and deep thought. She then looks to each of the bound thieves and fixes her grip upon them.
She hefts each of them over her shoulders with little more than a grunt. Sauntering off towards the edge of the view of town, she calls towards the two as she increases her distance. "I'll be back..."
Akon tosses the bound men like sacks to the ground, letting them land as hard as gravity dictated. With that, she then draws her long blackblade and walks up to the mouthy Uordeq, placing the tip of her blade to the nook of his neck. She stares down at him cold and hard as ice. "I can't make laws, but I can make you a promise." She lets the tip of the blade bite into his neck, twisting it just enough to draw a stream of blood ." If you ever come back to this town, I will drag your body out again, but it will no longer bear a pulse."
She keeps her gaze on the Uordeq for a moment longer, eyes locked as cold and heartless as the neather. She then releases her blade from the Uordeq neck, and leaves them bound in the middle of the road. A few paces away, she takes a small dagger and stabs it into a tree, eyes flicking back to the concious Uordeq as if to say "-don't- come back" before starting on her way back to town.
The Uordeq laughs as he fingers the trickle of blood running from the fresh cut in his neck. He looks at the blood on his fingers, and absent-mindedly feels for an old wound on his abdomen. Chuckling he looks up at Akon, as he picks himself up from the ground, free of his bonds [release]. "Mistress Nivanian, wasn't it? Are you still following that Cassitran brat? If so, tell him I said hello."
The Uordeq picks up the ropes that bound him from the ground and drapes them over his shoulder as he turns to walk down the road, leaving the other brigand unconscious in the middle of the road. "It's been a long time since I've seen another Uordeq, tell me, are they all slaves yet? You know... I think I'll just find out for myself." Turning his back to the group, he walks confidently down the road, confident that his words would provoke the desired reaction from those listening.
Akon keeps on her way, leaving the dagger in the tree for the remaining brigand to use to cut himself free. She doesn't turn back, yet her voice carries across to the rogue. "You always were stubborn, Rienholdt. Tell your brother I have something for him."
Wiping the tip of blood on her robes, Akon stalks up to the rest of the group as she shealthes her blade. "They are taken care of and left to fend for themselves," she says, addressing Marduk and Branwyn. Seeing Zarmcher conscious, she glances over him briefly. "Zarmcher....I do believe you did exactly the opposite of what I told you? This is far from staying out of trouble..." She frowns at him, then looks over the wagon, digging through the debris and looking for anything salvagable or of value.
Marduk moves a few more pieces out of Zarmcher's way and looks up at the disciple, "Good job Branwyn, he's looking better already... " "How do you feel Zarmcher?" The gnome throws a broken wagon wheel into some thick bushes and comes back to clear more. "How do you feel Zarmcher?"
*looking at Marduk* I feel light headed and pretty much pain all over but it bothers me not Marduk you need not worry,*Zarmcher turns to Akon* and Sister I Know not of this happeing all i saw was a stray straggler, I was just trying to help him and instead this happens...
Digging through the wreckage, Akon finds a few tattered and worn suits of poorly constructed armor, some ill maintained weapons, and a small sealed wooden chest. In the corner of the wagon under a small rug there's a small hinged door that seems as if it would open to a hidden compartment. The door is stuck shut but seems that it would open with a good strong pull.
Akon picks up the chest, looking it over with criticle eyes, and sets it aside, away from the others. "Don't open that...." She says to the others. She then moves aside the rug and sees the door. Upon feeling it stick at a small tug for no apparent reason, she then rises, and looks around the wagon for where the chest would be in relation to the rest of the cart. Finding the right corner, she then places her dagger between the planks of wood that make up the bottom side of the wagon away from the door, and uses it to wedge the board at the same corner of the wagon free, seeing if she can reach the compartment from the side.
Try as Akon might, the veihicle is suprisingly well constructed for something owned by a bunch of bandits. The dagger slips in and out of holes, however, none of the floorboards appear to give way under the weight of the dagger. The closer she gets to the door the more give there is, however, at no point is the crack big enough to peer though.
Akon frowns, surprised that she couldn't at least loosen one of the boards. "Oi, Zarmcher, are you well enough to put yourself to some use? That door there is stuck, but I'm of suspicion it is triggered with some sort of roguish trickery. One of those bandits wasn't your ordinary scoundrel it seems....Can you take a look and see if you can see anything unusual? Any traps?"
She steps back, and picks up the chest, giving it a good look over for any markings, clan signs, or anything that would determine where it is from.
Running his fingers over the walls and floorboards of the wagon Zarmcher notices a small nook in the wall just big enough to get a knife or pair of fingers into. It seems to be some sort of elementatry bypass to the lock and with enough force should release the door harmlessly. Above the nook is a crude carving of an embelliseh 'R.' Any Uordeq should recognize it as the basis of the clan symbol of the Reinholdt clan.
Nothing about the carridge detects as magic.
Akon looks over with a grunt. "Hmmph..well, you seem to know what you're doing. Why don't you see if you can open it and sabotage that lock eh? No doubt it is trapped if it is set by a Reinholdt. "
She keeps eying over the chest in her hands, looking for anything suspicious. "And when you're done, come take a look at this chest too."
Zarmcher activates a small switch hidden in the nook and a small click can be heard from under the floorboards. The once stuck door cracks open slightly revealing a small compartment beneith, no bigger than that of a small chest. A small wire can be traced back under the floorboards to the switch, with a trigger mechanism pulled back from the latch designed to keep the contents secret at any cost.
Inside the compartment is a series of complicated maps, drawings, troop movements, and hideout locations. Folded neatly underneath the papers is the tattered remains of a blood soaked red shirt and a pair of fine gloves with a lesser alchemists circle inscribed into the palm.
Akon looks up from the chest in her hands at the sound of the click, almost on instinct, tensing slightly. She then relaxes when she sees the door pop harmlessly open, eyes fixing on the maps. "By the immortals...." She places the chest down and reaches for the various documents and looks through them quickly. "Do you realize what these are?" She glances from side to side to make sure no soldiers are within sight.
Deciding not to wait on an answer, Akon then quickly gathers everything out of the chamber, and stuffs them down the front of her chest armor. "Well done, Zarmcher. Call me impressed. It's not an average rogue that can crack a Rienholdt trap. Let's get going, I don't want to be seen here longer. Go on ahead, I'll catch up." She hands the chest that is yet to be opened off to Zarmcher, then waits for the rest of the group to get a good distance. She then shuts the latched trap door solidly again, and ties a rope around the handle to open it. Walking off a long distance, she then holds the rope in both hands, and gives it a solid yank, to pull the trapped door open.
Akon then walks back up, but still keeps relative distance, as the trap may have been something unseen, and cuts off the rope with her dagger, throwing the tail end into the middle of the rubble. She then walks up to the rest of the group, face scrunched up a bit. "I think it best we keep these documents unspoken of. The rogue that had them will be sure to be wanting them again. Any of you have a way to light the rubble up?" She looks among them.
As Akon turns to walk back to the party, the wagon is engulfed in a giant wave of fire.[Burst 50 Fire] Charred pieces of wood and steel fly from the wreckage as the desnely packed explosive trap detonates behind her. [Spray 20 Fire].
Little is left of what remains of the wagon, and what is left on the side of the road begins to burn furiously. A lone Uordeq stalks just inside the cover of the woods, smiling mischeviously. [Blend]
Akon blinks as she turns back around, watching the wagon burst into flames. "Nevermind...." She then chuckles a few times, a darkly amused smirk coming across her lips. Her eyes glance around once more, skirting the surrounding woods and field, then she turns once more towards Jastrey. "We should be getting back....and let us say we don't have anything other than the chest. I'll hold onto the documents until things settle. I would advise we keep knowledge of these documents amongst ourselves for now."
*holding the chest zarmcher uses it as a shield from the heat of the flames* what the hell!, this was a trap cleverly placed by a reinholdt , searching the surroundings of the scene zarmcher uses ( sense secret) to see if he can find the trap remains or a clue to see How the trap triggered, worked.
Akon looks over to her, as she keeps walking towards the town. "Both..seems it was an Uordeq gathering info on the Ressik army. I assure, you'll I'll keep them safe until they can be used for us. But for now, I am more concerned for our safety. An explosion like that is bound to draw eyes."
Branwyn and Akon emerge from the woods and the disciple pauses for a moment to readjust her satchel full of various leaves, roots, and berries. "This'll help me get a good start on restocking my sup..."
She breaks off as a wagon comes into view around the corner in the road, escorted by armed men. "Know them?" she asked quietly, getting ready to retreat back into the tree line if need be.