View source for Refuge in Ironsoul - RPLOG

=Participants=
* [[Angus]]
* [[Fenris]]
* [[Galve]]
* [[Glein]]
* [[Selena]]
* [[Zuri]]
=Date=
10/11/479
=Log=
<div></div><br> <br>The guardsman, a sparrow guard that looks every bit like he got dressed in a hurry for this, speeds off with the hired Freeswords towards the Main Concourse. He&#39;s looking over his shoulder suspiciously, waiting until they are out of earshot of any passing beings before he speaks.

&quot;Right boys. Name&#39;s Sammy&quot; He says, addressing the group of rag-tag Freeswords. &quot;From this moment until you&#39;re told otherwise, you&#39;re under the employ of the city guard.&quot; He thumbs over to a nearby carriage. &quot;Move on over there, pick yourselves a seat. In just a moment we&#39;re going to bring out two prisoners for you to escort to a safehouse outside of the city. Move move move! No time to waste!&quot;

The beings do as they&#39;re told, taking up position around the carriage and staying put for another ten minutes. Two beings are brought out of a nearby guardhouse, one short and lanky, the other broad and tall, cowls over their heads, their hands bound behind their backs, and they are stuffed inside the carriage and wheeled off down the street, under heavily armed guard.

Sammy dutifully watches the carriage depart, then retreats into the guardhouse, where Hulda and Big Heart, the two prisoners, still sit bound and sitting quietly on their chairs. &quot;Right, that&#39;s the decoy sent.&quot; He looks back out the door, waiting for the actual escort party to arrive. &quot;The others should be here shortly.&quot; A separate contract, private, had been filed in secret under a different pretense, bringing in a few extra beings to help with the actual priosner transfer.<br> <br>Fenris is already here. The big tiger wears his Divine Sentinel Unit uniform, which does not mean much, except that he looks outlandish, official, and most guards have to defer to him, which is fun. He is seated beside Big Heart and pats the big guy on the back. &quot;Nothing to worry about Hartford,&quot; he says, &quot;I&#39;m here for you.&quot; 

Fenris, under guidance from one Amos Longtooth, has been &quot;Big Heart&#39;s&quot; liason to the children found with the bandit group and has done all he can to befriend Hulda&#39;s best muscle.<br> <br>Angus taps a few fingers on his crossed arms, leaning against the wall within the building. &quot;Lets hope that the decoy is actually taken, I&#39;d hate to bloody the streets.&quot; He mutters a bit before Sammy enters and he stands up, giving a bit of a nod before putting his hat on. &quot;Well, lets go meet the rest of them eh?&quot; <br> <br>It wasn&#39;t often that this particular being was called to help the Guard.  Mostly due to a few, issues some might have with his being.  Nonetheless, he was going to make good on his promise to Angus, and besides, this was a chance to improve relations with the guard.  Now that he had established himself as a information broker with his Sailor&#39;s Rest, he needed to actually prove he could do it.  So, that in mind, the spider-being opens the door to the guard house in particular, and looks over those present, his hood still up.  Of course, seen hanging from the sash around his waist, is the pendant marking him as what he really was - A Shadow Being.<br> <br>Galve had answered the call, wanting to help the Freeswords when he could. He was wearing some of his armor but otherwise wasn&#39;t as prepared for combat as the others, but he had his medical supplies with him.... he might not be able to fight, but he&#39;d patch up anyone who got hurt. He followed Glein in, feeling out of place i<br> <br>Hartford, the tall and broad cactus being, offers Fenris a warm smile. &quot;I know. Thank you.&quot; This is met with a &#39;tsk&#39; from the other priosner in the room, Hulda. The humboldt squid being looks up at Angus, a being she&#39;d seen on occasion since he arrested her at Woodsford Keep. &quot;I still don&#39;t understand why we&#39;re here. If you&#39;re not letting us go free, why bring us out of the cage?&quot; She looks down at the table before her, scattered playing cards clearly indicating a game of go-fish was underway just recently.

The sparrow being clears his throat, and turns to Angus for approval before speaking up. &quot;The reason we&#39;re here, and why we&#39;re gathered in secret, is that Conrad is dead. He was found dead this morning in his cell.&quot;

Hulda successfully hides her surprise, but &#39;Big Heart&#39; does not. His reaction is immediate, his fists clenching. &quot;What? How!&quot; He turns to Angus, as if expecting the being to have answers. &quot;Did that psychopath do it? The little wench with the lightning?&quot;

Sammy stops the conversation with a raised hand, continuing. &quot;No. Whomever killed him was inside the guard&#39;s circle of trust. There was no break-in or smuggled weapons. There is nothing in the duty logs. Whoever did this had access to the cells, all the keys, and the knowledge of where and when to strike.&quot;  He gestures. &quot;Hence the ruse.&quot; He looks at Glein and Galve, smiling. &quot;And the hired help.&quot;

He turns back to Angus. &quot;Unfortunately, keeping this a secret from even the guard makes it hard to get these prisoners somewhere safe. There is no plan but the one we create now.&quot;<br> <br>Fenris frowns, and shakes his head. &quot;Conrad did not deserve that,&quot; he says, patting Hartford on the arm, then leaning on the table, &quot;Where are we supposed to go, then? Out of the city? I can think of plenty of places to hide a couple of beings, but if you are going to take them out of guard custody, you might as well let them go free. What is the goal here?&quot;<br> <br>Angus looks Hulda in the eye when she starts talking to him, letting the sparrow explain the situation. &quot;While we do not know who killed him as of yet we are looking into it.&quot; He gives a nod to Glein and Galve as they show up, standing up straight as it was his turn to adress the group. &quot;We are running under the assumption that this isn&#39;t one person looking to silence witnesses, letting you two go would be just as effective as killing you ourselves. With that in mind I&#39;ve contacted an old friend of mine who can help us with a new location. It&#39;s ioslated, secure, and since a few years back? Most people think it&#39;s completly abandoned.&quot;<br> <br>Glein tilts his head.  &quot;If you&#39;d like, I can see about having my network listening for anything we can use about this attack.&quot; He says, though he does keep his hands in plain view, away from his weapons hidden on his person.  &quot;That said, the immediate issue will be getting these two to this safe house I assume?&quot; He asks, looking over the pair.<br> <br>Galve kept out of the conversation, not really having anything to add to the conversation as he was neither swordsman nor guard. He was just &#39;the help&quot;.<br> <br>Assuming the conversation doesn&#39;t drown them out, the quiet sounds of footsteps approaching the group. Not bothering to knock for once, and potentially to the irritation of the guards in the main room, Selena pulls open the door to the room they&#39;re congregated in after checking a note and stowing it in her backpack. &quot;Angus, you asked for me?&quot; She asks, offering a quick wave to the group even as an ear flicks in irritation or annoyance at something or another. &quot;You really made this short notice. I prefer not having to cancel classes for the day for these errands, you know. Could you give me a little more advance warning next time? Or possibly be a little less vague?&quot; She shakes her head, looking over the group and those two now out of their cells. &quot;Particularly after I&#39;ve been trying to get in contact with your for the last month. I&#39;d like to have a word with you after this; shall we get to business, then?&quot;<br> <br>The sparrow nods at Angus. &quot;We&#39;ve facilitated another carriage to transport you all to wherever you wish to go, private hire.&quot; He pauses, looking over at Hartmant. The being looks clearly distraught, but is sufficiently calmed down by Fenris&#39; presence that he does not fly into a rage.

Hulda breaks her silence with a scoff. &quot;He probably mouthed off to some guard. I could never keep that boy in check.&quot; Hartford&#39;s harsh glare is silenced by Selena&#39;s arrival. A moment of tension is felt as the guards present all turn to the door and reach for their weapons, but stop as the being there addresses Angus.

With that situation momentarily resolved, they return to their posts, with Sammy the sparrow raising his hands to try and get everyone to calm down. He turns to Angus and nods. &quot;This sounds like a plan. What do you need from me?&quot;<br> <br>Fenris nods at Angus. &quot;Sounds like as good a plan as any,&quot; he says, rising to his feet and stowing the playing cards, &quot;You want me to scout ahead?&quot; He glances at the agitated Hartford. &quot;Or should I stick close?&quot;<br> <br>Angus chuckles a little as Selena appears. &quot;Sorry for the short notice, but to the point? I was wondering if you would allow us access to the Ironsoul Defenders stronghold, these two we are going to be escorting are under threat and we need to keep them safe till we can deal with the situation, after that we can talk alright?&quot; He then turns his attention to the rest of the group. &quot;The place we are going to was built by Kilsa Ironsoul, the founder of the Ironsoul noble house and the only member, she&#39;s gone into seclusion over the last few years and no one has heard from her sense. The Defenders were her response to the ever growing threat against Sweetwater, just as the Lightbringers were. She was a bit...egocentric, but when it comes to building nothing is stronger.&quot; Angus shakes his head at Sammy. &quot;Just be prepared to move soon.&quot;<br> <br>With a quick nod, Glein now reaches across his person, checking his two pistols on his back, several knives hidden in various points and the sword sheathed at his side.  &quot;Ready when you are.&quot; He says, looking over the rest present.<br> <br>Galve nods his agreement, looking over the two escortees then back to the others. &quot;I&#39;m also ready.&quot; He adds shortly after Glein speaks up, a little nervousness in his voice.<br> <br>The guards reaching for their weapons certainly doesn&#39;t go unnoticed by the canine, who scoffs quietly. &quot;Sweetwater certainly has the shortest memory of any nation I&#39;ve heard of.&quot; she mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes. &quot;It&#39;s only been a few years... Didn&#39;t you at least tell your friends I&#39;d be coming?&quot; Selena asks, turning again to Angus with a raised eyebrow.

Angus&#39;s response is met with a slight sigh and a nod. &quot;Yes, I can do that.  &quot; She replies simply, before turning back to the group. &quot;Not that I expect it to mean much to anyone here, but I did do my share of work on the building as well; it was in fairly bad shape when we reclaimed it. I can tell you it&#39;s in good shape now, and I&#39;d like to hope that if you know anything at all about me, it&#39;d be the work I&#39;ve done in spellcrafting and magic. I do take some pride in my work.&quot;

Stretching and managing a quiet yawn, she looks back to Galve. &quot;Don&#39;t worry too much. It&#39;s been a while since any especially bad attacks have happened around here, and the road out to the fortress is fairly quiet.&quot; Perhaps unlike the rest of the beings present, she doesn&#39;t seem to check for any equipment or gear in her own right, rather pulling out a small book and scribbling down a quick line before it too is returned to her bag. &quot;Whenever you need to head out, let me know.&quot;<br> <br>Sammy nods. &quot;Alright, looks like we have a plan. Stay here one moment.&quot; The sparrow being departs via the double doors, leaving the prisoners and the impromptu escorts in the room for a few minutes.

Hulda finally speaks up again, seeming to address Angus every time she speaks. &quot;So we&#39;re being ushered off to some stronghold?&quot; She smirks. &quot;Aren&#39;t you afraid we&#39;ll take it over? I mean.. we did take one of your forts before.&quot;

&quot;Be quiet.&quot; Comes Hartford&#39;s reply, unusually harsh for the big catcus being. &quot;They&#39;re trying to help. I don&#39;t know why you refuse to see this.&quot; He looks up at Fenris briefly, then back to Hulda. &quot;Sorry boss, but this time you&#39;re in the wrong.&quot; He turns to Angus. &quot;We&#39;ll fully cooperate with anything you need us to do.&quot; 

Not long after the sparrow returns, opening the double doors and ushering everyone outside. The two prisoners are escorted into what&#39;s clearly a trading caravan, the top stacked with bags of produce. &quot;Everyone inside, there should be just about enough room.&quot; He smiles. &quot;I&#39;ll stay here and give the other Freeswords their payment when they return.&quot;<br> <br>Fenris answers Hartford&#39;s glance with a smile and follows quickly after, ushering others into the cart. &quot;I&#39;ll run alongside,&quot; he says, &quot;Don&#39;t worry, I can keep up.&quot; It would be good to have a pair of eyes on the outside.<br> <br>Angus watches the door as Sammy leaves, tapping his foot once against the floor. &quot;Well I was thinking you could put on a dress and entertain the defenders for a few crowns a night, but then I remembered we still haven&#39;t sat down and chatted over the situation. The place is isolated, all but abandoned with only the defenders having the keys to access every thing. As of right now the only available defender within Sweetwater is right here giving us permission to use her location to protect you until you can help others.&quot; With that said the fox follows the rest of the group. &quot;I&#39;d rather have someone sit up front with the driver in case of a problem.&quot; He comments towards Fenris, before deciding he&#39;d take that position himself, pulling the brim of his hat down a bit farther to keep his face ot of view while laying his blunderbuss across his lap.<br> <br>&quot;I can watch over our charges.&quot; Glein states flatly, climbing into the bed of hte carriage and settling into a little niche that could see most of the interior.  He didn&#39;t exactly have a lot of other means of helping, since he was more about infiltration and the like, over overt displays of power.<br> <br>Galve nods. &quot;I&#39;ll watch them as well.&quot; He said, following the spider being into the bed of the carriage and finding a similar spot.<br> <br>Gesturing back to Angus as he makes his statement. &quot;You think I have any reason to be afraid of you?&quot; Selena asks evenly, raising an eyebrow, waving off Hartford&#39;s response. &quot;I think you&#39;d value your lives a little more than your pride, and the only way to guarantee the former is if you keep your heads down. That means not taking drastic action that&#39;s going to be plainly obvious.&quot; She shrugs, boarding the cart. &quot;You understand that, I hope. Of course, if you really wanted me to take some extra precautions, I could seal the room shut and leave a few airholes for you, and a little hole at the floor to slide food through. Your choice.&quot; Setting herself down on the cart, she shrugs. &quot;Anyway, whenever you&#39;re ready.&quot;<br> <br>With every being loaded into the caravan, the driver spurs the horses into motion and soon the group is on it&#39;s way down the Main Concourse and over the bridge, quickly departing Firmament&#39;s inner boroughs and out into the outskirts. The silence is somewhat awkward, the two beings - Hulda, the squid, and Hartford, the heavy clanner who barely fits in this small carriage. They glide along the countryside, on their way to the keep that will soon be these prisoners&#39; new home.<br> <br>It was probably for the best that Fenris is trotting along beside the coach instead of stuffed inside with the even larger Hartford. Cactus cuddling is not exactly high on his list of priorities. Fortunately, all of those long, grueling hours under Sally&#39;s loving tutelage and brutal application of force have paid off and the tiger has no trouble keeping pace while keeping an eye out along the roads, his long coat fluttering behind him. &quot;Everything good in there?&quot; he calls out by the carriage door.<br> <br>Angus takes a deep breath as they start going, letting it out as he rests back against the wagon. His eyes stay constantly moving, inspecting every being they go by as he keeps his hands on his lap, cloak drawn around him for a few moments before turning towards the driver. &quot;If I may, what is your name?&quot;<br> <br>Galve looks over the beings he was being paid to escort, not having seen any quite like them before in his time here. He idly checks in one of his belt pouches while the cart moves.<br> <br>&quot;No trouble here, Fenris. Though I could probably be moving a little faster if I decided to use some air magic, I&#39;ve had a fairly long past few days. Not having to travel on my own feet is a nice change of pace.&quot; She replies, closing her eyes for a moment. &quot;Must say you&#39;re doing a good job of keeping pace yourself. I don&#39;t see many beings that can move quite this fast without a bit of magic.&quot;<br> <br>Hartford certainly looks uncomfortable inside the cramped space, but he&#39;s used to enduring. He looks over at Selena, who&#39;s sharing the cabin with him, and offers a soft smile. &quot;Apologies, I did not mean to sound ungrateful. I&#39;m just..&quot; he clenches his fists. &quot;I just want to find whoever killed poor Conrad and punch him until there&#39;s nothing left.&quot;

&quot;Be quiet, Hartford.&quot; Says the squid, eyeing Selena with some suspicion. &quot;Remember, these people are also our captors, and they&#39;re taking us to some far off location. There no telling what will happen to us when we get there.&quot; 

The drive is a sullen looking donkey being, clearly in his twilight years, but he offers Angus a tired smile. &quot;Jeffrey, my good boy.&quot; He works his jaw briefly. &quot;You&#39;ll forgive me for not saying much, but I was told to keep me mouth shut during this here job. I-&quot; The driver gasps and pulls the reins, spurring the horses into a sharp stop that jostles the beings being carried inside.

A large tree has been felled and lies across the road. It&#39;s clearly there for the purpose of ambushing a caravan, especially taking into consideration the beings that spill out from behind the trees the moment the caravan stops. At least ten in total, and maybe more hidden by the darkness that surrounds you, they converge on the caravan, clearly armed and dangerous.

&quot;Your money or your life!&quot; Calls out a lanky platypus being that moves up to the front of the caravan, pulling a pistol on the driver.

&quot;Everyone out of the carriage!&quot; Calls out another being from the darkness..<br> <br>&quot;I do my best to stay-&quot; Fenris starts to say, then spots the fallen tree up ahead. &quot;Stay in the carriage,&quot; he shouts, not slowing as he continues to charge toward the ambushing beings. The tiger grins, showing rather more teeth than is strictly necessary and starts to laugh, raising his arms and charging. Imagine yourself in the other being&#39;s shoes as a huge, laughing tiger in dark leathers comes crashing toward you like a runaway cart. Yup. That is the plan.<br> <br>Angus sighs as it seems they were going to be stopped, grabbing ahold of the railing upon the seat as they come to an abrupt halt. He leans forward a bit as he looks at the Platypus as he starts to speak. &quot;Intresting time of day to start a robbery, but of cou-&quot; Then comes the lions charge, no time to play this nice it seems, already drawing the pistol from his belt to shoot the armed bandit.<br> <br>Glein simply looks at those present in the cart, and gives a small nod towards the exit, reaching back and drawing one of his pistols, quietly checking to make sure it was primed and ready, then also drawing one of his knives, the metal oddly dulled so that it wouldn&#39;t reflect light.  It didn&#39;t seem any less sharp a blade, just not as reflective.  He shifts slightly, making sure his weight and movement didn&#39;t alert anyone outside to her presence.<br> <br>Galve feels the jarring stop and wonders what was going on, before he heard the bandits speak up. Staying quiet, Galve&#39;s hand drifted to the sword at his waist, the only weapon he&#39;d bothered to bring with him.<br> <br>Looking back to Hartford, Selena returns the smile and nods. &quot;You&#39;ve lost someone close to you. I know that can wear on someone.&quot; She replies softly, chuckling a little as the squid makes their skepticism well known. &quot;You&#39;re right to be suspicious. But for my part, all I intend to do is what I&#39;ve been asked to - ensure you&#39;re at least somewhat safer than you&#39;d be otherwise. I&#39;m not here to try to enforce any laws or appoint myself your judge, jury and executioner. That&#39;s not my place.&quot; The canine sighs and rolls her eyes a the bandits arrive. &quot;Well, if you&#39;d excuse me for a minute, it sound like this won&#39;t be a good time for a chat.&quot; She shakes her head, stepping out of the cart with a quick flourish of a hand, her variant of calcified flesh coming into action to make her a little less easy a target.

&quot;Interesting choice of roads.&quot; She comments to no single bandit in particular. &quot;I&#39;d have thought there would be some more active trade routes for you to lie in wait on.&quot;<br> <br>The being placing a bead on the driver discharges his weapon, but misses horribly as Angus fires back at him even quicker. He crumples up and collapses on the floor, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his gun clattering to the ground.

The being that was next to him raises his weapon, ready to assault Angus, but something stops him. His eyes grow wider in recognition. &quot;Oh.. crap.&quot; And like a bolt of lightning, he&#39;s fleeing in the other direction, his weapon left abandoned on the ground.

Over on the left hand side of the carriage, Fenris barrels into a pair of beings, sending one flying and the other rolling across the ground. The other two beings quickly surround the big tiger, each slashing at him with his own sword. One of the blades clinks off, the sound of metal on metal ringing out as it hits something underneath the tiger&#39;s clothes. The other blade hits home, taking a quick slash at the tiger&#39;s side, leaving behind a shallow but painful cut.

Glein practically vanishes into the darkness of the night, escaping the confines of the carriage before the rest of the bandits can close in. From here he&#39;s got the perfect vantage point to pick his targets.

More gunfire rings, various of the assaulting beings discharging their weapons at the carriage. Most of the shots miss, or embed themselves into the carriage&#39;s side, but one of them finds a mark. With a howl of pain, Big Heart clutches his forearm, red ichor spilling out from the bullet wound. &quot;Aargh!&quot; Hulda, to her credit, immediately dives for cover, as much as her restraints will allow it.<br> <br>Fenris roars in anger and pain. Pain at his own wound, and anger because he just got that cactus patched up! The huge tiger moves quickly and adroitly for someone his size, spinning inside the reach of the more successful of his attackers and dropping into a low crouch before rocketing upward to take the other being in the solar plexus with a blistering punch. &quot;I liked this coat!&quot; he roars.<br> <br>Angus scowls as one of the bandits run, but there are other priorities. &quot;Everyone get down, and someone patch him up!&quot; The fox snaps as he draws the other pistol, firing off another round at their would be attackers as he speaks loud enough for all to hear. &quot;Lower your weapons and depart from here and there will be no more lives lost.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Stay low.&quot; Selena calls back to the beings in the caravan, conjuring her Fire elemental into being and having it disgorge a flurry of fiery darts at the beings attacking the caravan - definitely not enough force behind them to kill, but certainly to injure. &quot;We have medical supplies stored at the fortress, worst case. Just make sure the wound&#39;s not too bad.&quot;<br> <br>Once he managed to get into a good position, Glein took aim at one of the three he could readily see, and pulled the trigger.  Knowing the discharge of the firearm would reveal any cover he had, he made the decision to move to the next bit of concealment he could find, so that he could holster the one pistol, and draw the other already loaded one.<br> <br>Galve jumps as Big Heart clutches his arm. Rising from his position in the carriage he makes his way to help the injured being, pulling his supplies from his belt. &quot;Just keep calm, I&#39;ll get you patched up...&quot; He says, surveying the extent of the damage.<br> <br>Angus&#39; warning to the bandits seems to be of no avail, although his shot is painfully accurate. His round hits one of the beings on the right side of the carriage center-mass, and it appears every bit like a kill shot as the canine crumples to the ground clutching his front. Glein&#39;s element of surprise allows him to pick a good target, but his shot is less than perfect. The bullet grazes his target&#39;s shoulder, leaving a painful but not lethal wound.

Selena&#39;s elemental manifests itself in a fiery eruption, bolts of flame spewing out and illuminating the battlefield. The flames cascade down around the two beings near Glein, setting their clothes ablaze. One of them stops, drops and rolls, while the other, already distracted by Glein&#39;s bullet to the shoulder, does not fare as well.

Fenris&#39; punch sends his target flying, and he practically skids off the ground as he lands. He contorts in agony, his body failing to respond to his commands as such a sensitive nerve cluster just got concussed so hard.

More gunfire rings out, the remaining beings discharging their weapons. Strangely they don&#39;t draw melee weapons and charge, but opt to keep their distance.. their morale faltering.

Two bullets fly out in Angus&#39; direction, but the agile and attentive hops out of the way. One bullet misses, the other glances off his armor and is deflected harmlessly. Fenris reacts promptly, weaving out of the way of the gun aimed at him, and that weapon is discharged too late, the bullet flying off harmlessly.

Hartford grits his teeth and growls as Galve starts to root around his wound. It&#39;s quite deep, but seems immediately operable to the sheep being tending to it.

All this commotion, noise and gunfire finally spooks the unattended horse. He kicks and bucks, trying to run and straining against his harness. The carriage rocks and jostles, further destabilizing Angus and throwing the fox off.<br> <br>Fenris moves with fluid grace, moving with uncanny speed toward the frantic beings reloading their pistols. He has stopped the mad laughter, choosing to conserve his energy for the fight, now that it has served its purpose, charging in eerie silence now. This time, he comes in high instead of low, leaping into the air at the edge of his chosen target&#39;s reach and coming at him with an upward strike of his knee that speeds toward the poor being&#39;s chin.<br> <br>Angus curses a little as his Jacket becomes torn from the bullet, nearly thrown onto his ass when the horse buck, barely managing to right himself in enough time to roll back to his feet after hitting the ground. Holstering both pistols he draws his saber, making a mental note he&#39;ll have to find his blunderbuss after everything dies down, hoping the thing didn&#39;t go off when it went flying.<br> <br>Not bothering to draw and fire, Glein slinks forward towards the flailing being, intent on grabbing ahold of him and then throwing him to the ground, all while Glein&#39;s knife was present to convince him struggling was not the best of ideas.<br> <br>Galve eyes the wound, and fishes out his supplies. &quot;Ok big guy, grit your teeth, I&#39;m going to remove the bullet....&quot; He says, digging his fingers into the wound and extracting the bullet. Setting the bloody hunk of lead aside, he pulls several clean cloth bandages and wraps them around the wound snugly to staunch the bleeding, and tying it off. &quot;Are you ok, miss?&quot; He asks the other being, making sure she was ok.<br> <br>&quot;Every time. EVERY TIME!&quot; Selena sighs exasperatedly. &quot;One of these days, Angus, you&#39;re going to have to ask for a favor that doesn&#39;t miraculously attract unwanted attention like this.&quot; She yells over the noise to the fox. With the bandits assailing Glein dealt with, she rubs her temples and directs the elemental above the cart to stay until any further developments come forth. &quot;Well, at least I know what to expect from these sorts of jobs.&quot; A slight smile crosses her lips, followed shortly by a sigh. gesturing towards the bandits further off, a brief flick downwards of her hand results in the forming of a small hailstorm around their location. &quot;Could you stop trying to attack, now? You&#39;re clearly outmatched.&quot; She yells.<br> <br>The horse continues to buck and kick, while the donkey being that was previously driving the cart tries to keep hold of the reins and calm it down. &quot;Wooah boy. It&#39;s okay! Wooah!&quot;

Angus&#39;s blunderbuss clatters to the ground, discharging its shot wildly as it strikes a rock. Luckily it misses any targets of opportunity, but the loud noise just adds to the confusion and chaos of this fight. Fenris&#39; punch is ducked by the alert being he is attacking, though at this point the battle is practically won as both of them drop their guns and prepare to surrender.

It&#39;s at that point that Selena&#39;s spell resolves. A swirling and roiling wind resolves out of that mathematical equation, cooling and howling as it riles itself up into a localized hailstorm that pelts and harries the two beings. They run, as fast as they can, but only one of them manages to escape - the other is knocked unconscious with a hailstone to the skull.

The being pinned to the ground by Glein practically breaks down crying as the blade is pressed to his neck. &quot;Please no! I surrender!&quot;

No more targets remain. The fight is over.

Inside the caravan, Hartford is fighting through the pain as much as possible, putting on a brave face as much as he normally does. Galve&#39;s treatment is inspired, and the bullet is extracted expertly, and the wound staunched and bound up as well as any field dressing could manage.

As the being leans down to look at Hulda, she appears well and conscious, but rolled over on the ground. She freezes momentarily as she&#39;s called out to, and says in a rather low tone. &quot;I&#39;m fine..&quot;<br> <br>Fenris sighs and relaxes, accepting the bandits&#39; surrender. He grimaces a bit in pain and reaches down to wipe a tricle of blood from his coat where it is oozing from his wound. &quot;Can. . . ugh,&quot; he shakes his head, &quot;Can someone process these gentlemen? I am going to need a moment.&quot; The tiger staggers over and sits down hard near Hulda as the driver gets things under control again. &quot;These your boys?&quot; he asks, casually, as he produces a small, white box with smooth corners and starts to wave his hand over it in cryptic motions.<br> <br>Angus shoves his saber back into its scabbard, moving over to pick up the blunderbuss before heading over to those that surrendered. &quot;To the cart, move!&quot; He snaps, anger very clear on his features as he raises his voice loud enough. &quot;Treat your wounds, catch your breath, tie up anyone who surrendered and get them into the cart we have to move soon.&quot;<br> <br>Galve nods and looks to the others. &quot;Does anyone else need medical attention?&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Could one of you give me a hand with the bandit over here?&quot; Selena asks, gesturing to the wake of her hailstorm. &quot;I don&#39;t usually move this much weight.&quot; The canine continues to make her way over, dragging the unfortunate sod by the legs. &quot;If we have some spare rope, then getting these unfortunate souls tied up would be a good idea as well.&quot;<br> <br>The survivors are quickly rounded up, five in total. Three of them are in such a state that they might require patching up, but their wounds do not seem life-threatening. The two that fled were the lucky ones, because the rest of the bandits lie dead.

The donkey being regains control of his mount, rubbing his brow in confusion. &quot;Pfuh.. what.. what happened?&quot; He stands up and looks around. &quot;Is everyone alright? Miss? Are you okay?&quot; He asks, addressing Selena. He then notices she&#39;s dragging one of the unconscious bandits, and shuts up.

As Fenris addresses Hudla she quickly scrambles to sit again, casually brushing her hair with her bound hands. &quot;My guys? Of course not! How could I even organize such a thing from prison?&quot; She asks, before glancing outside and.. blanching. Her eyes widen in recognition as she looks at the being getting dragged around by Selena. &quot;Dominic? But.. how?&quot;

Fenris&#39; use of his little creator device quickly binds his wound and heals him, the miraculous device acting with barely any input from it&#39;s owner.

Glein drags back his own prisoner at knifepoint, and after some ropework all of them have been bound up and placed atop the caravan instead of the sacks of grain and straw that had been covering it before.

The felled tree still lies in front of the carriage, but otherwise all is ready for the beings to resume their journey...<br> <br>Fenris looks over at Hulda and sighs. &quot;I would love to know how ANYONE knew we were coming this way,&quot; he says, &quot;But first.&quot; The tiger stops talking and produces a heavy leather strap from his coat that he uses to reinforce the ropes on Hulda&#39;s wrists. &quot;Honestly, I wish you were more trustworthy, Hulda,&quot; he says, sounding like a disappointed parent.<br> <br>Angus waits until everyone of the captured bandits are under the eye of everyone else before turning his focus towards the downed tree. Unclipping his cloak he leaves it with the rest of his loose gear on the bench of the cart, shifting into his more draconic form to move the tree out of the way for them. &quot;Just make sure they won&#39;t die on us before we can really help them.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Sweetwater really does have a short memory.&quot; Selena laughs, shaking her head. &quot;No. I&#39;m fine, but thank you for your concern. Word doesn&#39;t travel so well when you&#39;re best known for research and don&#39;t have a noble house backing you up.&quot; The canine smiles, dusting her hands off and dismissing her elemental. Hulda&#39;s comment is met with a raised eyebrow. &quot;So, you know them... Why would they be out on this road? Unless Angus&#39;s courier was compromised, I don&#39;t think there&#39;d have been a good way for them to be here, Fenris. And I would like to hope Angus&#39;s judgment of character is at least decent in these affairs.&quot;

&quot;My condolances if any of the deceased were also your friends, but I don&#39;t take kindly to being shot at, and neither does anyone else here I imagine. It&#39;s a shame they had to resort to violence so quickly. A minute, if you&#39;d please... You&#39;ll be able to speak with your friend when he&#39;s awake, I imagine.&quot;

Taking a flask of dulling potion from her bag as she makes her way around to the block in the road, selena quickly empties the dose - though when Angus evokes his sacred family she shrugs and looks back to the cart. &quot;Well, let me know if you need a hand with the log, Angus.&quot; She says over her shoulder, setting herself back down wit the passengers with a soft sigh. &quot;I get the feeling I haven&#39;t been told something rather important about this situation.&quot; The wolfess doesn&#39;t seem terribly pleased. &quot;I&#39;ll definitely be having a long talk with Angus about this later...&quot;<br> <br>Galve sits back and cleans his hands on a rag he produced from one of his belt pockets, looking at Hilde as Fenris binds her more securely. &quot;W-wait.... then she...&quot; He said, slowly putting the pieces together.<br> <br>The log is almost too effortlessly disposed of, with Angus using his sacred family to great effect and growing in size, strength and changing in shape in order to toss it aside as if mere tinder.

Hulda glowers at Fenris, but she has no comeback. She has been caught, and as her bindings are reinforced she has to face the criticism of yet another being: Hartford. &quot;Hulda! Why?&quot; He says, between gritted teeth. &quot;Why would you try to escape? Why did you call them here to do this pointless ambush on these beings trying to help us?&quot;

The squid quickly snaps back. &quot;It wasn&#39;t me! I had on way to contact them!&quot; She looks outside, trying to check their faced and verifying that, yes, they&#39;re all part of her band. &quot;I.. I don&#39;t understand..&quot; She looks over at Selena, trying hard to look imposing and angry, but failing given the circumstances. &quot;It&#39;s not like you people have any care for me and mine anyway. We&#39;re all lambs to the slaughter, aren&#39;t we? Just another apostate for you to kill in cold blood.&quot; Hartford almost seems ready to  burst out of his  bindings, his injury be damned. &quot;HULDA! Shut up right now! You&#39;re not helping and you&#39;re disgracing their memory with these pointless accusations!&quot;

The cart begins moving even as the argument continues. Not far to the keep now.<br> <br>Fenris leads Hulda back to the coach and helps to load up the other bandits. The big tiger&#39;s stomach growls loudly. &quot;Ugh, using that thing always leave me starving,&quot; he grumbles and hauls himself in after, making things quite cramped, &quot;Sorry, Hartford. But its only a little further.&quot;<br> <br>Galve holds his hand out to Hartfort. &quot;Be easy, you don&#39;t want to hurt yourself any more than you are.&quot; He said, trying to be authoritive.<br> <br>Angus makes sure to fling the tree far enough out of the way no one will have a problem with it before going back to his more vulpine nature, collecting his gear as he steps back onto the Bench. Blets are clipped, guns checked before he starts fiddling with the clasp of his cloak. &quot;Sorry about the wait friend, shall we keep going?&quot; He asks the driver, before poking his head through the canvas to look back into the cart. &quot;Now miss Hilda, we&#39;ve been very patient with you even after the insults and accusations of us being butchers. But let me make this very clear. Every ambush you&#39;re friends set up, every attack will mount casualties. More beings will die the harder you fight us, contrary to your belief I would like to prevent that. I don&#39;t wish to be harsh, but if you keep pushing. I will not be friendly.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Sir, that&#39;s enough.&quot; Selena replies to Hartford sternly, before she turns back to Hulda and shakes her head. &quot;I see beings that haven&#39;t been given a fair chance at life because of their circumstances.&quot; She continues shaking her head and sighing heavily, &quot;I don&#39;t see lambs to the slaughter. And I would rather not kill anyone. I&#39;ve worked in Shanty town before. I&#39;ve seen what goes on down there first hand. But I don&#39;t think that anyone there would&#39;ve wished for that life if they had a real chance at something better. We from Cliffside, at least, have a tradition of caring more about what someone can do than whose badge they wear on their shoulder, whose name they inherited, or what clan they&#39;re in if they have one. I don&#39;t expect you to believe a word I say, but it&#39;d be remiss of me not to at least say it.&quot;

&quot;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s likely that they&#39;d have known about this transportation plan - again - unless they intercepted Angus&#39;s messenger or set ambushes up around every route heading out from Firmament. I don&#39;t expect the latter, nor the former. Let&#39;s not make accusations until we have evidence to back them up; I imagine it&#39;s been a long enough day for them already. So we&#39;ve established that we don&#39;t want to fight your friends, hurt you or them, but if they keep trying to kill us, we don&#39;t have much choice in the matter. We&#39;re all adults here; we can talk this out rather than resort to violence.&quot;<br> <br>It does not take much longer for the caravan to arrive at the Ironsoul Fortress. The donkey being driving the cart pulls up to a stop outside the gates. As the captured beings are unloaded and those able to walk dismount on their own, Hulda and Hartford are finally able to get a good look at their companions under the light of the torches that illuminate the outside of the imposing castle.

Hulda looks distraught, looking at them in abject confusion, even fear. &quot;I don&#39;t.. get it.&quot; Hartford, for his part, keeps his mouth shut after being silenced by Selena and told to take it easy by the group&#39;s would-be medic, instead opting to stand next to Fenris, perhaps the closest thing he has to a trustworthy friend at this point.

&quot;Anyone heading back with me?&quot; The donkey asks. &quot;I&#39;m not stayin&#39; here any longer than I need to.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Thanks,&quot; Fenris says, &quot;But I better stay here and see to the wounded.&quot; His stomach gurgles again and he sighs as he gets to work, using his Creator tool on the worst cases and stopping to check Hartford&#39;s arm. &quot;This is good work, kid,&quot; he says to Galve, &quot;Keep it up. Hartford, if you feel up to it, I could use your help. We&#39;ll let Hulda think for a bit.&quot;<br> <br>Galve nods. &quot;I&#39;m staying. I want to make sure he&#39;s ok, and help where I can.&quot;<br> <br>Angus stands near the door, giving the Donkey a wave. &quot;Go home, get some rest. Thank you for your help.&quot; He answers, making sure to keep his eye on the horizon. &quot;Fenris, Hold off on that until after we get them secure in the building.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;I&#39;ll have to stay here for a time and make sure our guests are comfortable.&quot; Selena replies to the &#39;driver&#39;, dusting herself off and offering a hand to the two captives that ARE conscious. &quot;Now that it&#39;s a more reasonable time, my name is Selena Hearthkeep. It&#39;s a pleasure to meet you both, though it&#39;s a shame these couldn&#39;t be better circumstances.&quot; Moving to the gates, Selena sighs quietly. &quot;I never liked these...&quot; She mutters, slipping into a small front room for a moment to have them opened (And silently thankful there was no portcullis closed). Locking the small outer room quickly, she ushers the group in. &quot;I&#39;ll be showing you to the saferoom and bunks. Angus, I want a word with you privately -&quot; she looks to the others, &quot;And I DO mean Privately, so if I find someone eavesdropping I&#39;ll have you escorted out of the premises, conscious or not, thank you.&quot;

&quot;And finally, I don&#39;t believe I got your name, but Sir,&quot; she looks to Galve; &quot;We have some medical supplies in the armory, if it&#39;s no trouble then I would appreciate it if you could tend to their injuries. They may be captives, but until they leave here I would like them to at least be kept in good health. They are beings, and it could just as easily have been any of us in their position if we weren&#39;t as lucky with our families.&quot;[[Category:RPLogs]]