Hazardous Times: Chapter XII - Yet More Intrigues

[Galadria]

OOC>> Thank you for your kind wishes, Jen. IC>
LADY GALADRIA {She hears orc-voices in the distance, shreiking and hollering, before she sees them. Then, they burst through a gap in the trees. Gold Top begins to prance and curvet, but she keeps her on a tight rein. This should have been a warning to the orcs that they do not face two frightened girls but a full-fledged fighting woman, and a esquire of the Order, but they are maddened with lust and battle-frenzy. She pretends to scream in terror, and turns Gold Top's head back to the bend in the road where her friends await. She hears Eliza following fast. The orcs groan and cry out what obscenities that they are going to perform on them when they catch them. They round the bend in a flurry of hooves, and there is Blandamour and their friends. She quickly hauls out her helmet and takes a lance from Blandamour, who has been holding it, and wheels Gold Top next to him, her lance at the ready.

[Galadria]

ELIZA (She follows Galadria , screaming up a storm. The orcs seem amused by this. She reins her palfrey a little, mindful to teach them a lesson, but remembers her Lord's strern warning, and spurs again. When she reaches Blandamour's side, she throws back her hood and draws the short sword and mounts the shield with Cedric's proud device upon it. She is ready for anything. Something whispers into her ear, "Today would be a good day to die," and, instead of being horrified, she is strangely comforted.)

[Attalus]

SIR BLANDAMOUR (As the orcs chasing the girls ( [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) come around the bend in the road, he marks the hugest and ugliest for his own. This is indeed the chief, Gothmog. About sixteen orcs follow him, crudely armed. Battle fury blazes up in him. He can barely control Shaitann, and now there is no need. He releases the rein, applies the spurs, and shouts his battle cry.) "For Torm and Truth," (The huge black stallion springs forward and gathers speed over the thirty or so yards between him and his chosen foe. A small orc tries to trip Shaitann, but he might as well have tried to block an avalanche. He goes down under the thundering hooves. Blandamour's lance is couched, and his skill, honed in a hundred tourneys, proves out. Gothmog is impaled on the lance, which snaps off. Leaving the dying orc chieftain, he cuts about with his sword as Shaitann spins, kicks, and bites. There is blood in his nostrils, and it is not his.)

[Ar-Cunin]

Sanael Ganahr

Having circled around the orc camp Sanael comes up behind the sentry stationed above the cave entry, who is peering down into the canyon following the chase - at the other side its companion is doing the same.

Sanael Carefully takes aim at the farthest orc - he would only get one oppotunity to kill it. He releases the arrow, sending it flying straight past the orc standing only a few feet in front of him, and as he draws the bow for the next shot he registers his first target falling backwards.

The other orc twists around in shock as the arrow speeds past it - only to see an elf with another arrow nocked. Sanael let fly at point black range - the arrow cutting right through the orcs chainshirt and burrying itself to the fletching. As soon as the second is fired Sanael springs up and closes the distance between himself and the stricken orc - grabbing it with one hand to keep it from falling into the canyon, while slitting its throat with the dagger in the other hand.

Sanael throws the still twitching orc aside and carefully peers over the side to see if the orcs at the cavemouth below had noticed anything, but they are still trying to see what is happening further down the canyon.

With a smile on his lips Sanael again carefully takes aim - straight down. The first arrow strikes the head of one of orcs piercing the skull and killing it instantly - and then the other orcs makes its last mistake. Instead of moving as its partner drops dead it looks upwards - only to catch the next arrow in its open mouth. That arrow is quickly followed by two more - finishing it off.

Having disposed of the four guards Sanael pauses to hear if the alarm have been raised. Detecting nothing, he then shoulders his bow and starts climbling down the cliffside using the hand- and footholds the orcs themselves had carved.

OOC: I'm brutal [img]graemlins/evillaughter2.gif[/img]

[mistral4543]

OOC>>> One thing's for sure... there's plenty of action here

Sorry I won't be posting much, folks... I've back, neck and shoulder pains which will keep me away [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img] So, please drag Isaura along if need be and don't wait for my post.

And Legolas - it's your turn to look after Sorsha for me

[Lady Blue03]

OOC>>Wah! I had this all typed up and then AOL booted me! Well, now i wont take the time to color coordinate lol
IC>>Verloren
The red rage of battle filled Verloren's eyes as she saw the orcs poor out of the cave. Time for some action.
Wasting no time, Verloren charged into a pack of 10 orcs in front of her. She drove Isan and Isak into the 1st charging orc, heaving upwards and throwing it behind her. The next fell as Isan drove into its heart and froze the very blood in its veins.
Quickly figuring it was no use to fight her one at a time, the remaining 8 orcs rushed as a group. Finding herself surrounded, she crossed her wrists above her head and sliced her swords across while moving her arms to her sides, slaying one orc and severing anothers arm.
A sudden pain entered her right thigh, and she whipped around to find an orc had scored with a crude pick. She quickly knocked the weapon out of its hands and sent Isak through its throat, the electricity killing it instantly. Dodging a low swipe from its neighbor, she cleaved upwards with Isan from between its legs and up to it throat and sent Isak through another ones forehead, leaving her only 2 more to deal with, one already missing an arm, howling in pain and on its knees.
She laid Isak down on the ground; this would only require one sword. She deflected the orcs crude blade and launched her palm at its face, smashing its nose and causing it to stagger back. Sweeping her foot, she knocked it to the ground and sliced its head in half.
Walking over to the last orc, she smiled cruely "Well, it looks like youre the last one left! I see you've lost your arm, i bet it hurts! Let me end your misery, monster!"
The orcs eyes rolled in fear and it shook its had wildly "No! No kill me! I-" the orc was cut short as Isan ran down its throat
Withdrawing the long sword, Verloren watched in satisfaction as the orc fell forward onto its face. "A fitting end for you!" she picked up Isak and blinked; she was covered in blood,her fair face spotted with it, undershirt soaked in it, and her hair had come undone from its knot. Muttering, she wiped her swords off on her pants and ran to were Sir Blanamour and Eliza were, ready to continue.

OOC>>Ah, finally. Time for bed. Looking forward to tomorrows posts!

[Attalus]

OOC>Excellent posts, Ar-Cuninand LadyBlue! Mistral, so sorry to hear about your illness.First Gal and then you! IC>
KINN'ZUWANNIK (The great dragon stirs in his cave, hearing foosteps in the slot leading to his den. The little orc wearing the bloody dress peeks cautiously around the corner.)

ORC "Uh, dragon?"

KINN'ZUWANNIK (Hisses) "What is it, toad? If you cannot address me properly, you had better run, for I am getting hungry."

ORC(Grovels and scrapes on floor.) "Me sorry that me not know right way to talk to you, great dragon. Me not even know your name. You tell, so I not eaten?"

KINNZUWANNIK "My name is longer than your memory, vermin. Call me Lord Dragon. Now, what is it that you want?"

ORC "My chief Gothmog send me here, Lord Dragon. He say, please check your spells, humans finding their way into our hideout." (Fingers robe, licks blue lips at the thought of the cannibal stew.) "Not that it all bad. But, what you say, Lord Dragon? Gothmog be getting plenty mad."

KINN'ZUWANNIK (Laughs evilly) "Getting mad is he? How mad will he be, do you think, when a party of considerable strength starts knocking on his front gate? No, if I know some of those in that party, and I do," (He licks at his thigh where Galadria's stab still hurts him.) "you may not find much to return to, except perhaps Gothmog's foul head on a pike."

ORC "Oh, no. You betray Gothmog?" (Brightens) "Hey, I guess you be plenty smart. You need somebody around here, not to guard. (looks admiringly at the black dragon's shining bulk, impenetrable scaLes covering huge muscles) but to run errands, keep you company?"

KINN'ZUWANNIK "Your company, dolt? I'd as soon have a conversation with a cave bear. But I do need someone around here, to deliver messages and run errands. If you work out, that is. Otherwise, I shall just eat you. Now, take that ridiculous dress off and find some armor in that room there. You will probbly need it.

[Galadria]

LADY ROXANNE (She wakes from a fitful sleep on a pile of rags that are the only bedding that the orcs have allowed her, to the sound of battle. Hope blazes in her heart! A rescue! But, they might not know that she is here! She starts hollering and beating on the bars of her cell with a plate.) "Help! Help me! I am Lady Roxane, a human captive! Oh, please free me."

[Galadria]

LADY GALADRIA (As Blandamour charges the biggest orc, she writes the beast off as good as dead. The power of that great horse concentrated in the point of a lance should impale the strongest orc. She spots other prey, though. A huge, white, shambling thing, looking more than half a troll. She notes with wonder that it has two heads. An Ettin, smallest of giant-kind! She spurs Gold top, straight at the monster. It bats at her with a huge club, but it is too slow and clumsy. Her lance enters the thing's belly, exiting out the rear. It falls, mortally wounded. She struggles to free her lance, but to no avail. She then draws her sword and starts methodically hacking at the swarm of beasts. She gets a good one in on the neck of a greenish orc, and smile to watch the head sail off to land beneath the skull totems. Two can play at that game, she thinks.)

[Galadria]

ELIZA(She darts in and out of the orcs, looking for points of weakness, stabbing here and there. Finally, one of the littler ones bares his armpit to cut at Blandamour. Her training takes over and she stabs the thing to the hilt, and it falls with a gurgle. Quickly withdrawing the blade, she parries a club from a bigger orc and cuts at his neck. She misses, but the edge of her shield catches the monster's hand, momentarily paralysing it and making him drop the club. More confident, now, she feints at the orc's face,and when it raises his hand to block it, stabs it in the chest. She feeels an exhilaration. Perhaps she can become a Paladin, after all. Just because she is not a cow like Galadria. There was a place for small and nimble.)