[p] raid on halebend

[katya]

By the time the roosters crowed for dawn, the bandits were already upon the village. Sunrise brought the clash of steel and a spray of blood. A bandit archer made quick work of the tired town guards keeping the night watch, but not quick enough. The sound of alarm bells ringing brought out anyone in Halebend that could carry a weapon.

The mercenaries and local militia gathered in the center of the village. The local militia, with their logs and pitchforks, went to secure the eastern area, where bandits have swarmed into the village, setting fire to the buildings at the outskirts of Halebend. A myrmidon and two fighters with an archer are your enemies there. There are two houses near the fires that should be visited and warned before the fire spreads.

Still hidden in the forest to the north, the bandit leader Arndt the Fighter waits with two myrmidons and two knights for an opportune moment to flank the city once the village defenders are distracted.

The child tres was outside the village (fetching water from the river or something). Tres has escaped the notice of the bandits thus far, but getting back into village without drawing their attention will take a dire combination of luck and stealth--unless someone comes to his aid.

Eric, Sonya, and Nero are in the center of the village. What will you do?

ENEMIES

North: Arndt (Fighter), Myrmidon x2, Knight x2.
East: Myrmidon x2, Fighter x2, Archer, Dao.
Two houses to visit.
Please save Tres, guys.

[Dao]

Things had been prepared before hand. The entire assault, the mapping of the town, and keeping tabs on the rotation of the guards had all been noted down to grant the bandits the best advantage they could garner before starting the attack. Different from campsites and travelling caravans, a Village such as this would be monumentally more difficult to take over. With actual fortifications and a standing militia to help defend the innocents and quell the attempts of invasion, the Bandits would have been clearly idiots if they thought attacking without any preparation would secure them a victory banquet at the end of the day.

Yet these men and women alike knew the drill and had prepared for it. As the breath of the sun crested across the village, the roosters of the farmers crooning loudly to wake the workers from their cozy and safe homes, lives and blood had been shed. The sounds of screams and agony, with the village guards just barely managing to alarm the rest of the village about the bandits that had begun to invade their homes, spread throughout the vicinity faster than the fire that had set some of the houses ablaze.

Those buildings, the ones whose blazes had already reached the second floor, were already too far gone to be saved. The victims in the inside too would no longer see the light of day as their corpses would turn to dust alongside the fruits of their efforts. The eastern area had devolved into chaos, with the four biggest instigators sowing more and more detestable acts into the lives of men and women who have done nothing wrong. The two Fighters carried with them a torch each with a bag of flammable substances. Their objective was to go further in the village to burn down more of the property, with the notable two houses being their target.

The Myrmidon, a young man of only seventeen summers, tightened his grip on his bladed weapon. The bronze blade in his hand covered in gore and crimson liquids as his leather armour had been liberally splashed with the substances as well. Dao had killed, one of the first ones at that to have ended a life as the bandits began to trickle into the village, and had been directed to support the Archer, with the aid of another Myrmidon, who seemed to be having the best time of his life with his bow. Arrows flew and ripped through the air, catching innocents and the unlucky militia men in vulnerable areas as they fell to the ground either painfully…or painless.

The madness continued and through it all, Dao searched for worthwhile targets to kill. Maybe if he brought back a notable head, he'd be able to have his wishes granted once more.

---

Tag: Eric, Sonya, tres, Nero
Notes: The 2 Fighters are heading for the 2 Houses in the information post while cutting down civilian and militia alike. Dao is supporting the Archer who's being trigger happy and trying to support the 2 Fighters in the lead. The other Myrmidon rotates between the 2 Fighters and Dao to give his support where it's needed.

[Eric]

Halebend, a small backwater village on the outskirts of the Eldrich Duchy.  Though nowhere near the capital of Ylisse, the village had two major uses to the country.  Firstly, it was the closest village to the Plegian borders as the Eldrich Duchy extended at the foothills of the great mountains that separated the two countries.  The river flowing from the forest to the north supplied ample water for the farms and made it a great source of food for the Halidom.  Though a small village, it held great importance and was one of the villages that had been fortified with an organized militia and supplemented with hired help.  Despite these preparations, month after peaceful month had passed without so much as a whisper of an attack making their defenses slack.  This was just the sort of opportunity that was needed.  If it hadn't been for the effort of the guards the village may have been overrun immediately by these invaders dressed as Plegia's Soldiers.

The toll of the bell struck Eric's ears like a death knell, waking the young nobleman from his sleep.  At first he was confused, not recognizing the imminent danger.  It took a few moments for the situation to sink in.  The young man bolted up, the veil of sleep vanishing from him instantly.  When he had taken to his routine patrols along the border villages he hadn't thought for a moment he would be caught in an attack, himself.  His stomach tightened as he sprang from his bed and quickly pulled on his clothes and shoes, a hand grazing the bronze sword sheathed at his side.  With any luck he wouldn't have to draw it... but if worse came to worse, his training would certainly be useful.  He strode out the door into the town square, the smell of smoke and the cries of terror greeted him.  He had heard stories of the raids from the recounts of survivors, but their words struck hollow with him now as no words could describe the fear, the anger that flared in him.  The militia and mercenaries were already at work, securing the center of the village and setting up patrols.  The captain of the guard saw Eric and jogged over to him, the man's face looked as pale as Eric felt.

"What's the situation?"

"Sir, the invading force are five Plegian soldiers attacking the residential district.  Most the civilians have made it to safety, but two of the houses are yet occupied."

Eric frowned.  "Very well.  I'll lead a small squad to deal with the threat and warn those houses.  Captain, hold this position.  Our foremost priority is the safety of the villagers."  The captain nodded and turned to the group of militia and mercenaries and began barking orders, proceeding to lock down the area.  A small breath of relief escaped the young lord.  Things could have been much worse had it not been for the vigilance of the town guard.  His gaze hardened as he turned to the crowd.  The next order of business was forming the small squad he would be taking into battle.  Though he was practiced in the use of a sword, he had never been in battle before-- nor had he been required to form or manage a party.  His eyes locked on the two he would be taking with him.  "You,"  he pointed at Nero, "and you."  He pointed at Sonya,  "We three will be enough."  He spoke confidently despite not feeling such.  In theory, a smaller force would have a worse chance of winning a fight.  Still, if they were going to be successful, breaking the enemy forces with a small force was essential, taking too many people away from putting out fires and defending the village square would ultimately lead to too many costs and casualties to count any result from there as a victory.

---

Tag: Sonya, Nero

Notes:  We need a cool team name! A ny suggestions?!

[Nero]

Why had he taken this job again?

The dark skinned, brown haired male was woken up out of his bed with a rude toss. The mercenary band that had hired him as an extra hand didn't consider him one of their own of course, so they weren't respectable. He dragged himself out, an ax snug on his back within moments of his awakening. Sometimes he even slept on the thing, and yet for some miracle, he never cut himself. The male had his armor and clothes slapped on like a myriad of movements, and was out before some of the more experienced ones, despite them being up longer. That was simply because Nero had been doing this for a long time, and was already ready in optimal time.

That was probably why he had gotten hired anyways. But the male was out, and there was fire, spreading. Well shit, this was not a good thing, as his eyes sought out where he was supposed to go, as a nobleman was making commands. They had sent one of their high born goons down here to keep this place tip top uh? He might want to respect Ylisse, but he didn't want to comment. Of course, he was trying to pass as quietly his big boned self could, and well needless to say, he got picked out... along with a long haired lass. And he could see he was the only one without a bloody sword. Great. What were they gonna do if there were bandits with lances uh?

''Right sure milord.'' Nero answered, letting a soft smile touch his face. Play the nice guy, the unworried guy, as he just walked towards the young lord. His eyes looked over at the house, and then he pointed. ''Yo, them two not warned yet. I'mma go ahead and try to warn at least one yeah?'' he said, not even staying to listen to the lord, his steps lumbering away already. That's when it hit his nose, the scent of blood, and of burning flesh. Well, he hoped the lord and the lass had a strong stomach, 'cuz this might get ugly, sliding down his beloved from her sheath. He wasn't going to get jumped, as he hopefully ended up at one of the houses.

And would pound his fist at the door to let them know something was up. But he had to get there first.

Sonya you're up and idek, but Nero is going ahead... poor axe man.

I kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Sonya]

Well this was a find way to spend the trip back.

A mercenary group had hired Sonya on as an extra hand for a short time, not knowing or caring who she was. That was all well and good, but Sonya had made sure it was only for a short time before accepting the offer. She did have to get back eventually, after all. So, given the terms, she hadn't actually expected anything to happen. Which, of course, meant that something had happened. After a very pleasant night, she was awoken entirely too early by warning bells signaling a raid. So, she shook her momentary companion awake as well and sent him off, then gathered her weapons and made her way down to the town square.

She arrived in time to hear one among them asking for and being told the situation. Seriously? Plegian soldiers? They'd gotten bold all of a sudden. This seemed oddly purposeful. And familiar. But, since Sonya was currently caught in the middle of it, she made a note to attack a Plegian target next once she got back. Then again, maybe that was how this started. Oh well. If that was the case, then the Steward would have what he wanted and maybe she'd be able to relax for a bit. But, any of that would require her to get back, first. So, for now, she settled in amongst the mercenaries, without a shred of panic or nervousness. In fact, she looked as calm as though attacks like this were an everyday occurrence. She nodded as she was singled out to help with a smaller attack force, then blinked as other one acknowledged it, then immediately ran off to start 'helping.'

"Well, here we go, then," Sonya said. "If you're not too worried about sticking together, I can go after the other one. Otherwise, I'll follow your orders."

[tres]

Of the unheard voice in the cacophony of screams pierced through the mad cackle of flames a mother shouting a child's name.

“TRES! TRES! TREEES!”

Her shoe lost in the way, her green hair singed, and her face damp with sweat; soot snaked like a black gash from her cheek down to her neck. The flames swallowed everything red at her sight but at the corner she saw her hope, whole and solid, standing by the dancing shadows of the blaze. It was either by the surge of courage or desperation that she blindly charged for it, a wildly running deer that instantly caught the attention of the two fighters. They bolted toward her and she stumbled into her house on time, locked the door and barricaded it with the closest chair. They were other faces she saw in the street but none was the one she was looking for.

“TRES!” She dashed upstairs and slammed open every door, empty rooms greeting her. He wasn't here. Of course he wasn't here. Tres jumped out of bed before the first ray of the sun could emerge and skipped his way to the local church with his awkwardly tall staff at hand. He turned everywhere with his eyes wide with wonder, stopping to talk with the neighbour before leaving with a loaf of bread on his mouth. There were days she didn't have to cook since Tres would end up getting his meal from his various sources.

“Don't you feel ashamed? We're not needy.”

Tres, his legs swinging under the table, stuck his tongue out and noisily sipped from his spoon.

She reached for the chair he'd sat on last night, barely able to contain her sobs. Where was her son?

---------

"BLEUGH!"

The fox's tail twitched on the grass. Tres pulled his cheeks harder and rolled his eyeballs in a speed that made him dizzy. The fox twisted to its back and nibbled on an itchy spot. Tres sighed, making a noise with his lips.

"Man, you're no fun."

With both of them having lost interest with each other, Tres supposed it was time to go back. Grabbing his bucket full of water, he made the trek back, whistling.

Dao (Team Farm Dao)

[Dao]

It was a close shave, too close because of a mistake. The young man had over extended himself in the wrong direction, baiting the wrong opponent and having read the movements wrong in this chaotic mess of a raid. The dodge was too shallow to properly dodge the attack that had been sent at him. It was, thankfully, a shallow cut. Just a graze along his forearm and though there was a sharp sensation running through it, it would not in anyway hamper is fighting ability. Countering that attack with a more brutal exchange, the young man proceeded to bisect the bastard’s neck.

A spray of blood later and Dao was once more weaving through the chaos to ensure that the Archer who had been supporting the other three bandits was still alive. The manic shouts of morbid glee and crude taunts were obvious enough signs to tell him that the Archer was still alive and still up to his antics. They were lagging just a bit from the trio, but it wasn’t much of a problem at this point. There had been no enemy, in regards to the ones that Dao had fought, which was notable in their fighting ability.

The only actual problem here was that they seemed to be just fine to throw themselves at his sword when they knew they weren’t going to win. Or at least that’s how it looked to the teenager. He didn’t particularly give a damn about what went on in their heads anyway. Moving forward with the Archer, the Feroxi dressed in half-hearted Plegian colours felt his eyes glance over to where there was a shrill screech of a name being repeated over and over again.

The twang of an arrow, and the following curse announcing that the archer had missed, soon followed.

On the side of the other Bandits however, the Two Fighters and Myrmidon were having the time of their lives. Weapons coated in gore, they approached the home that the woman had barricade herself into. Laughing in the face of such a development, the trio could only wonder as to why the person had preferred to lock herself up in a death trap! There was a chorus of agreement there and with a rather haughty battle cry did one of the Fighters hurl their torch.

Crashing against the window, the flames going on strong, the flaming object found itself nestled snuggly within what was presumably the living room of the house. It was also by fortune that said house had also been one of the targets they had set on to burn earlier. Continuing onwards, the trio began to haul their dastardly backsides to burn the other side of this route.

---

Notes: Dao and Archer 1 are lagging behind a bit, cutting and killing things to create a bigger mess. The two Fighters and Myrmidon 1 had reached one of the 2 safe houses and had promptly begun the process of burning it to the ground. They’re heading to the second one.

[Eric]

Purple orbs skimmed the houses on the map quickly. There were five enemies invading, hardly enough to call a raiding party. They were formidable foes, however, to be cutting so cleanly through the village's improved defenses. Had he underestimated the experience of the Plegian army? The first he had pointed to was eager to say the least, running off to the first house to warn of the impending danger. The second was more aware there might be a larger picture beyond the objectives. Still, with the fires spreading the first had good intuition of what needed to be done. There were risks in both strategies, separating would cover more ground, but open them up to being overwhelmed. That outcome could not be allowed to happen at all costs.

"Hmm, what I wouldn't give for a pegasus knight... for now, we should support our friend. We need to stick together and deal with the initial threat before reinforcements arrive. Keep your eyes open for swordsmen and lancers, we have diversity enough that we should have the advantage in most fights we initiate."

He responded quickly, keeping it concise and to the point. He would rather save their axe-man for later encounters, but being a sturdy frontline bruiser he was the best suited as the initiator. The sword-woman and himself were best used as finishers, however either could take precedence against axemen. The only problem they were going to face were other swordsmen-- such fights would come down to sheer skill alone. He outpaced his dark-skinned fighter counterpart, rushing ahead with his sword already drawn. He could see several forms standing at the base of a house, torches in their hands. He wasn't going to make it!

"Axeman, let us deal with these, go inside and ensure the house in empty!" He barked, the two Plegian soldiers were aware of his coming, but it was more important they were on the same page. The villagers would be able to put out the fire after they dealt with the threat, human life couldn't be replaced as easily as a house. The soldiers had managed to brandish their axes in time to receive Eric, slashing one of them across the chest piercing the leather armor creating a line of red where his sword trailed. for now, he'd wounded one of the two fighters leaving another and a myrmidon to retaliate. He could use the nearby lamppost for cover, but beyond that it was a fairly open area with little terrain advantage he could use.

---

Tag: Sonya, Nero, Dao

[Nero]

Well shit. Lucky for him speeding to the first house had gotten it empty as the lord and his entourage finally arrived, but the second? Not enough time, as the ax fighter felt his teeth grind. Christ, and one of them was a sword user! This was a bad fit, but the Lord had barked out an order or two. ''On it!'' he yelled out as answer, letting him and the lass take care of the axe wielder and sword user. That way, Nero would still be able to keep himself together and saved up for the harder enemies, like knights or lance wielders. After all, these two were meant to be speedsters, not charge at the ground like he did.

With a twist of the knob, the door wouldn't open, he found. He had reached the second house, the one on fire because he doubted the one he was banging the door on was on fire, so with a harsh grunt, and a slam, he broke the door down. Well lucky for him he had high strength, because to be fair, Axes were heavy. His eyes found a green haired woman hanging onto a chair, and without even a preamble, he lopped the lady and the chair over his shoulder. ''Normally I'd ask ya, but the fire's a mite close milady, so hold on to that chair if ya want it!'' he said, before his body moved out of the bloody burning house, carrying the woman out. Luckily for him, one of the militia had seen the house and lurched forward, so he passed her off to him to take care of the woman.

Well if she had any wisdom to impart, as he was sure she had panicked for a reason, now was the time, but he didn't want to leave the two sword wielders by himself. He had a bad feeling about something. He should be ahead of the front line, making sure that everything would be alright. He just had a bad gut feeling, and despite his doubt of himself, those gut feelings tended to be unfortunately right. Which often caused a lot of problems, since nobody listened to gut feelings of a mediocre failure. So it often ended up bad for the entire situation, but he hoped this time he could act on it, or get someone to listen before it came true.

But he didn't like this one bit, for out of the corner of his eyes, he had seen Plegian uniforms, but not like he had seen when he traveled there. No... more sloppy. More rushed put together, more low ressources then anything.

He had a real bad feeling about all of this.

Sonya so hopefully we got both houses but if I misunderstood something fix me ya? And probably either learn/save poor Tres' mother ;.;

I kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Sonya]

"Right," Sonya said, keeping her response even shorter and quickly running alongside the lordling. She easily kept pace with him, although that wasn't nearly fast enough to get to the remaining house before it was set alight. The axeman went inside to check the house, leaving only the lordling and herself to deal with the attacking soldiers. "Well, here goes. Time to pick a fight with an invading army," Sonya said, moving to engage the remaining axeman.

...Actually, now that she got a good look at them, they weren't all that soldier-like. Their uniforms seemed rather sloppy, and their discipline was more like the bandits she commanded than what she'd expect of a soldier. A disguise? Sonya wouldn't put it past a few bandits to try and pin their attacks on someone else. She was tasked to do similar things, after all, but she never actually tried impersonating a soldier. But that didn't really matter. If they were bandits, they would find out why she ended up in charge of her own crew so quickly. If they were soldiers, they would be wishing they'd stayed in Plegia in their last moments. If something else was going on...well, that would make things more interesting, wouldn't it?

The lordling quickly intercepted the first axefighter, leading Sonya to aim for the second as he brandished his axe. He swung it in an overhead strike, prompting Sonya to step out of the way and deflect it with the side of her weapon, blade pointing down. She then rushed in, closing the distance between the two and jamming the pommel of her sword into the man's face. Then she grabbed the man's axe-wielding arm and took a step back, leaving him open for a split-second while she slashed him diagonally across the chest, then stabbed, then slashed again. Another cut to the legs dropped the fighter to the ground, and one final stab finished him off. That left only a swordfighter to retaliate, but he was now faced with both Sonya and the lordling. Would he run, or would he try his luck?

[tres]

When unceremoniously hoisted like a log by a man with an axe, scream.

Nero's ears were to be spared when he handed her over to one of the members of the militia, a man in his forties whose eyes went wide in recognition. Tres's mother had forgotten about her grief and wanted to find the chair she had been holding on moments ago and smash it on Nero's face. She didn't care whether the man had just saved her life. At this point, she might not have even realized it.

“Rachel, Rachel!” the militia man shouted, shaking her. It didn't take a genius to see the daze that settled on her face. Her eyes were so far away as if she didn't see the fire blazing in the chaos. “Where's Tres? Hasn't he come back yet?”

“What?” Rachel stared at the man. Ivan. He lived at the end of this street. “Tres – No, he's not there.” The focus returned in her eyes slowing lighting up again with fear. “Dear Naga – ”

Ivan appeared disheartened but it was to last only for a second. He held her shoulders, afraid that if he didn't keep her steady, she would fall on her own. “Plegia is attacking us. You need to run – ”

“Ivan, where's Tres?”

“—The lord is fighting with us! Take care of yourself and leave the rest to him!”

“The lord...?” Rachel muttered breathlessly, scanning the bloodbath that she had not witnessed with clarity. Soldiers and fighters were moving too fast for an ordinary person to distinguish but Rachel jumped and ran toward where Eric was busy fighting. She had exchanged a greeting with the lord a few months ago. Would he remember her? “MY LORD! MY SON – YOU NEED TO SAVE HIM!”

---------

A sudden gust of wind swept through the forest, thin and filled with lanky trees and bushy leaves. Surprised, Tres bolted with his bucket and staff, not slowing down until he felt whatever phenomenom struck had somehow passed. He turned his head around and rolled it behind his back. They say when winds like that hit, a dragon too fast to see with the naked eye was passing by. Tres grinned and hurried outside the forest. If he were quick enough, he might catch a glimpse of the dragon at the distance.

Dao

[Dao]

The bandits, though injured in battle, refused to surrender. Swishing about their colours and their taunts, raising their weapons to defend themselves from the militate that had managed to converge about. Beyond them, they could even see some of the braver villagers trying to douse away the fire with their futile efforts. A fire with such magnitude wouldn't be put out with just that kind of system. Back to the present however, the house that the forward trio had managed to reach had already began to be lit aflame. The initial items that had caught on fire began to spread its influence to everything else while the blazes that had come from the other structures would latch unto its sides. In a short amount of time, that house would no longer have the ability to be rebuilt and any new attempt would simply require the carpenters to build a new one. A wonderful development truly. It may not have really done anything strategically but it managed to cement the fact that the people of Plegia wanted a fight.

The screams of hate and terror resounding from those retreating certainly added to that notion. 

But even though their objective was being met in good time, the very people who had been selected to raid the town were not fairing so well. The 2 Fighters and the Myrmidon had finally met worthwhile resistance. Resistance that had become an offensive and ended up with the brigands losing one of their abled men and the other being injured. With 1 of the 2 fighters dead, and the other injured yet still willing to fight, the lone Myrmidon in purple and blacks certainly became the biggest threat.

For the time being at least.

Dao and the Archer, who had just finished taking care of some rough and not quite so tough militia man with a flourish of blood and gore, finally managed to catch up to the battle proper. Now with 4 people wielding around their weapons and plegian colours against 2-3 defenders of some-what maybe justice (since one of their fighters had been sent away to help the civilians) it seemed like an unfair fight. The Archer, with his ever keen insight to see blood be spilt, wanted to increase the odds even more and had unleashed the arrow that was notched in his weapon with unerring accuracy towards Eric. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the timely intervention of some banshee-screaming civilian had gotten in the way of his plans.

Quite literally even.

Whether it by luck or instinct, the civilian woman had taken the blow that was meant for her lord. An arrow lodged right through her throat, a splattering of blood, and her body falling almost lifelessly to the ground. It was dramatic. It was heart wrenching. The sheer implication of such an action too important for it to simply be a footnote in the life of others. To the Archer however, it was simply a delay in his objective. "Is that a Lord I see?! Well boys! Looks like we got ourselves a good target!" Were his words as he readied an arrow once more. "For Plegia!" Fatigued, and injured as one of them were, the remaining Bandits roared in anticipation and glee.

Though Dao simply did it for effect.

The axe wielder who should have been done in by the Nobleman roared as he hefted his axe once more before letting it out a fast and heavy upward slash that would bisect his opponent should it connect. If his attack was to be defended from however, then the Axe holding bandit certainly would follow up with a brazen kick aimed at the long haired male's abdominal section.

The leathery skinned and leather worn Myrmidon whose age had past that of most bandits, swung with the same kind of brutality that most axe men were known for. Yet they were faster and more precise than his fallen counterpart. The old sword wielding bandit had taken it upon himself to revenge his fallen comrade by instigating a series of fast slashes and precise footwork against the dark blue haired swords woman.

The youngest, presumably, present within the vicinity held his sword tight and had decided against helping his fellow Myrmidon. Dao had initially preferred to not tangle again with the Nobleman he had fought with before but knowing that there was an inherent sort of disadvantage to the axe when faced with a sword, decided to help out. With his nerves steeled, and his sword slanted, the teenager had launched himself across the distance with startling speed.

Using his fellow bandit’s attack as a form of distraction, the youngest Myrmidon took the flank of the lord where he wouldn’t be blind sided by any of the remaining opponents. Not the axeman, not the swordswoman, and definitely not the Lord. With his sword at the ready, Dao unleashed a whirlwind of slashes that carried much more lethality than what Eric had faced in their little spar from before.

---

“Alright boys. That’s enough distraction!”

A booming voiced called over to the 2 Knights and 2 Myrmidons who had been quite bored with just waiting around. They had placed themselves in a position that retreating from the enemy would be easy while making it just as easy to launch their attack. There was no chorus of resounding shouts as the only notion of acknowledgement that Arndt The Fighter had received were the dangerous and deathly manic grins of his underlings.

Hefting his prized axe, an axe that had felled dozens of men in battle, the contingent of 5 bandits had began to make their way to the village as fast as they could. With the Myrmidons geared up with swords and the Knights carrying a couple of light weight javelins with iron lances, it seemed like they were going in without any intention of retreating.

These bandits would only retreat at the more dire of situations it seemed. With their hearts set to destroy the image of Plegia, burn the village, and potentially incite a war between 2 countries, not even a child stumbling upon them by chance would be spared.

---

Tag: Eric
Notes: Sorry for the lengthy post.
A quick general summary:

• Dao and the Archer had reached the scene where the Fighter that Sonya fought had been killed. The Archer had let loose an arrow that was meant for Eric but was bodily intercepted by a civilian woman.
• Injured as he was, the remaining Axe wielding bandit charged for the Noble once more, with Dao coming in to flank the guy with a plethora of lethal attacks. The other Myrmidon decided to take on Sonya with intent to mutilate. Nero, assuming he's not quite within the very immediate attacking vicinity, was left alone.
• The other team of Bandits, the ones up North, had waited enough and are now beginning to move forward. Reaching the village and causing mayhem on the north area would most likely begin next round.

[Eric]

The squad was operating well, or so Eric thought. Sonya had made quick work of the other Plegian fighter leaving only the unit Eric had wounded before and a Myrmidon. He'd hoped the wound he'd inflicted would give the soldier pause for fear of it life, perhaps the myrmidon would falter as well now that they saw they were out matched? Surrender had never been an option. As soon as he'd heard the woman's cries of her son and turned to look at the woman approaching, an arrow found its mark in her neck, piercing her from behind. Another myrmidon stood with an archer who was cursing his ill-fortune. Eric stood in shock, the information not processing right away as he looked at the woman's face.

Eric's strike hadn't been enough after all. He'd purposefully avoided dealing a fatal blow the first time, but sheer adrenaline and anger kicked in now, his hands gripping the sword's hilt as he stepped toward the axeman, his sword slashed horizontally across the soldier's torso felling him as he'd wound up the powerful swing of his axe. The man would crumple to a heap on the ground. When he'd recount the events that played out, he couldn't remember how he knew Dao had been approaching, perhaps it was a sound or movement from the corner of his eye. The young lord spun around to face his next opponent, but it wouldn't be so simple as the others he'd fought. His sword didn't have the time to travel back to defend its owner. The first strike from his new assailant grazed his left shoulder causing his shirt to rip and a red stain to form from the wound. Eric's face contorted in pain as he stumbled away from his new attacker. He was barely able to get his sword around to block the successive strikes, some of them found their mark at different parts of his body, one grazed his thigh and another found its mark at his side. These cuts weren't lethal by any means, but they burned, reminding him his life was on the line, even now. Eric's eyes suddenly widened.

"You..."

Eric wasn't sure if he was still the shock of seeing a woman killed in front of his eyes or if it really was the young man he'd met in the capital. All he could do was defend and lose ground with his wounds slowing him down. He'd remembered the face of the boy he'd met in Ylisse some time ago, there was no doubt this was the same person. Eric frowned. Odd, he hadn't pinned the boy as the type to be a Plegian Soldier. "Small world." Though he was trying to be casual, his breath was already coming ragged, his wounds definitely not helping his case. "So, is this why you didn't want to be caught in the capital?"

---

Tag:  Dao

[Nero]

Well everything went to hell in the space of zero point four seconds.

Before he could even call to the damned woman, she had some how found herself near the lordling and took that damn arrow straight through her throat. But her words were enough for the male to have acknowledge. With a scowl, the mercenary sent a minor glare at the militia, and then with another gaze to the two, he shook his head. He couldn't do shit against sword weilders, but the male was left alone... and out of sight, out of mind, as the Feroxian moved in the smoke and ash. Luckily, the two houses, despite burning down, would have no one in them... however the chair wielding woman was unfortunate in her deaht, and her screamed words pounded the inside of the male's head.

Her son. There was a child out there! With a snarl, the Feroxian didn't know where the child was but he couldn't stand another moment still, racing to the outside of the village... only to notice the archer getting ready to take out the lord. Perhaps he wouldn't have to be afraid, just this once, as the male felt that smile on his lips. Good, he found the woman's killer hadn't he? The archer wouldn't even see it coming, as the male snatched his ax, and with an easy, practiced motion, swung it right into the target's side. Archers never had the close sight, and with the ash and smoke of their own doing... well it proved to be his undoing, as the victim probably wouldn't be able to do anything now. With a sick noise, he pulled the ax out, and ran back out to the outside.

Nero wasn't stupid. Hasn't come back yet meant that the boy was not in the village, elsewise he'd be safe and back. So he had to stop the child from ending up dead or worse at the bandit's hands, feeling his teeth grate in irritation. If he had to take them all... he would, as the male felt his eyes harden. He would run the perimeter if he had to, fight the sword weilders if he had to. If anything, he owed it to that poor woman, whom he had almost saved, until the bumbling militia man let her slip. There were very few things that even disturbed Nero out of his own self-pity anymore...

And this was one of them, and he would not rest until the child was safe, and these bandits were either dead or gone. If he had to take an army, the fighter didn't care. He was Feroxi, he had almost made it to become champion, and he would not fall that easy. After all, he vowed to himself to save that child. Come hell or high water, the Feroxian would not let himself fall, the smile on his lip tightening on his face now, becoming rage. These... soldiers... bandits... whatever they were. They would pay, and he would make DAMN sure of that.

Sonya right so now nero's ticked have fun guys XD poor Rachel ;.;

I kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Sonya]

Curiously, at least possibly so to her allies and maybe even her enemies, Sonya didn't react at all to the woman getting shot. She did register, at least, that the woman had mentioned a kid before taking an arrow, but she'd wait for the lordling's orders before doing anything about that. Otherwise, she barely glanced in that direction for a split-second, then immediately focused on the myrmidon who had stepped in in the axefighter's place. She'd just made short and quick work of the man, even when the lordling had failed to deliver a killing blow, and here only one other had come after her? Interesting. Sonya didn't exactly have time to ponder the logic of those tactics though, since the guy currently trying to cut her up was moving fast and swinging hard. The shock from the first block was enough to tell Sonya that trying to block him head-on was a bad idea. Fortunately, despite being quite a bit faster than the axefighter, Sonya was still able to weave around most of his attacks, and deflect the rest with glancing blocks.

"Hey, you're not bad," Sonya said, not missing a beat as she stepped out of the line of an oncoming slash and immediately connected it to one of her own. The old man managed to avoid her as well, dodging just far enough from the line of the attack to easily flow into another one of his own. Sonya found herself narrowly evading that one as well. "Pretty fast for an old man, too. But I bet you're starting to lag behind the rest of these boys, aren't you." Dodge. Strike. Glancing block. Strike again, then thrust. Slowed down a bit, their exchange might have looked like a dance. "Heck, if you all survive this, I bet they're going to leave you in the dust for too long. Just an old veteran who can't keep up with the new generation."

Sonya stepped to the side, angling her body away from another overhead attack. She felt the wind from it as it passed despite not being as dangerously close as the last few slashes. Oooh, she must've struck a nerve with that one. And there it came, back up, but she'd already gotten past him. He was wide open for her next cut, right across his wrist. By the time she'd connected with that, it was already over. He made a valiant attempt to disarm Sonya as well, blocking another light attack with his injured arm then reaching for her hand, but Sonya drew a secondary knife from her waist as he did and rammed it into his gut. As he collapsed to the ground, Sonya stabbed him again through the chest to finish him off.

"Hoy, you okay?" Sonya asked, pulling her blade back out and moving to aid the lordling.

Eric Dao Nero tres