Year 2947: Theft of the Moon

[Vladim]

Nori shuddered at the thought of having to swim against the currents that Idunn suggested. “I’d sink like a boulder,” he guffaws at her suggestion, now standing upright and looking a little more prepared to exert himself physically.

The dwarf watches in awe as the Woodswoman begins to make her way across the slippery stones, silently cheering her on as he gets stone-by-stone closer to the other side. His stout body shifts and jerks as she catches herself her and there, as if by repositioning himself, he somehow aided her in her short, but perilous journey. When she’s made it to the other side, Nori pumps his right fist and lets out a quiet, but rousing, “Yes!”

The dwarf, with the assistance of the rope, is able to make his way easily across to the other side. However, keeping quiet about it seems to be something all that much more difficult. The stones, made slick by the splashing of the current, cause him to amble about like a drunken ox, his axe crashing into the stone as he catches himself in certain spots. The dwarf growls and curses his clumsiness as best he can under his breath, but the distinctive metallic clinking is probably already sending up alarms in the little camp.

[Vladim]

"Whats that noise?" Yelled an exhausted looking man, his eyes wandering side to side, trying to find the source of it, as Nori made his presence known. Having found the dwarf, he pauses briefly, but then a companion of his runs up to him and screams towards the mostly destroyed tower: "Intruders!" The result is the night being disturbed by the sound of many boots beating against the pavement, as no less than five men - each looking worse than the other, poorly armed, had emerged - two were on top of the wall with bows, while the other three stood on the ground. Despite their visible exhaustion, it seemed that none were willing to leave. More seemed to be on their way - already, the guards at the gate were heard, and there was another man atop the further wall, with men yelling something beyond the shabby looking gate to the right of the company.

 

Required Rolls

Battle, [TN18] - for Combat Advantages(Due to the enemy having the Initiative)
[Declare your stance as Forward, Open, Defensive, or Rearward]

[Vladim]

Idunn almost let out a curse when Gram recklessly risked discovery to distract the guards – but before she could say anything, the young horse-lord had made it past them and rejoined the fellowship. The huntress looked at him disapprovingly, shaking her head, but focused her attention on helping her dwarven companions cross the river.

As soon as both of them made it safely across, she sighed in relief, but the metal click, followed by the inquiring sounds of the guards, clearly indicated that they were about to be discovered. With no escape or place to hide, Idunn readied her axe and prepared to parlay with the enemies. She still clung onto the hope that this matter could be resolved without bloodshed.

[Vladim]

The dwarf seems a bit flustered, quite upset with his lack of nimbleness and his inadvertent alerting of the guards. As he hears their voice ring out, bringing attention to his presence, he tries to ready himself, but his nerves seem to have gotten the better of him. He fumbles with his axe while losing a bit of footing and slipping a bit on the rocks. If Idunn didn't know any better, she might think the dwarf she had ventured with the past several months was not the same dwarf.

Nori lets out a deep grumbling tone of a curse that would make dwarves grimace and elves blush as he tries to prepare himself for the oncoming bandits. When he's finally got a grip on himself (and his axe), he looks forward and growls, "Right! Let's get this over with!"

OOC: Nori takes an open stance.

[Vladim]

Suddenly, Guthred speaks: "What the blazes are you doing here, Berthoc? Weren't you sent along with Bornhald to Black Tom's to negotiate? Escaping Viglund... only to join Cenric and become a common thief?" The anger in the viglunding's voice was palpable, as he shook his head in disbelief: "Always took you for an honest sort... But this?" The pale man who raised the alarm looked at Guthred with a mix of grief and bitterness: "I had to - Cenric's got my son. Bornhald's wife, too. You think we WANT this? Sure, it was hard to work the earth - but at the end of the day, we were full, we were with our families... Escape where? To the north, where the orcs will devour us? South? Where the Bear will do the same?" The man beside him nodded vigorously. Guthred looked taken aback, slightly lowering his spear: "Who... Who told you such rot?!" He finally roared. "Your son was going fishing in the Shady Pond, trying to catch catfish! And you, Bornhald!" He pointed accusingly. "Your wife was helping my old woman when me and Cenric left for the trip to Beorn's! There's no way he even knows where she is! And what is this trash you accuse the Bear Lord of? He and the Old Wolf certainly dont see eye to eye, but to say he'd 'eat' you? Have you drank too much bad mead?"

 

Narration

It doesnt seem like a battle is starting - the men around seem hesitant as Guthred begins to speak. However, not all of them - some which approach are armed and clothed entirely differently, with an altogether different look in their eyes, each bearing a small depiction of a castle wall over triangle, with a crown atop it.

[Vladim]

Sensing hesitation in Cenric’s men, and thinking that they had only followed the thief because of lies now exposed by Guthred, Idunn speaks, trying to offer another way. ’You need not follow this man.’ she says to the Viglundings. ’Give us Cenric and the Sickle, and we will tell to Beorn that all was a misunderstanding. The Bear-lord will judge him according to his crime, but no harm will come to the rest of you. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that you will be protected from his anger.’

[Vladim]

Nori stands at the ready, seemingly a little uneasy - even as the men converse with Guthred. Yes - there's no bloodshed (yet), but it's a tense situation where you have men clearly desperate and operating off a misunderstanding. What else could go wrong? Well, for starters, what about those blokes in the garments bearing the crest of a castle wall over a triangle with a crown atop it. They don't seem like they answer to Guthred. And they certainly don't seem like they're in the same mental state as Berthoc and his men. Who are they? Nori's eyes shift between all the conversationalists while he racks his brain trying to recall if he has ever seen that crest before and who it might belong to.

[Vladim]

Fundor is surprised but also relieved that fighting might be avoided. Still nothing's sure for the moment and the dwarf stays attentive and ready to any sudden attack. He doesn't speak but listen carefully.

[Vladim]

As Idunn and Guthred finished their speeches, there was a loud clang as the man named Berthoc threw his sword on the ground, looking up to face first the Viglunding Thane, then the huntress: "It was good to hold a weapon again... But this is not our way. Our way is raising crops on the harsh soil of the north, of singing arrows that spear through the orc raiders... The shovel and the bow. With you as witness - none of us wanted any of this." Guthred's face visibly relaxes as he does so, and he nods: "I will vouch for you with the Old Wolf himself, Berthoc." The other man nodded, a smile slowly spreading on his face, which then froze in a moment as he looked down at his chest, from which two gleaming blades protruded. "Backing out? Berthoc, Berthoc... I told you, once you're in, you're in for life. I mean..." A man clad in a ragged coat and cloak, with a scarf wrapped around his head stepped back and roughly yanked the swords out of the viglunding thrall's back: "I mean how stupid do you have to be? You even disarmed yourself." The man smiled at the company, flashing a grin with nearly every tooth he had: "Good help is so hard to find, right? Cenric, by the way." He was interrupted the clang of the other thralls throwing down their swords as well, and Guthred's growl: "I hope nobody here objects if Beorn gets only this bastard's head." Cenric frowned: "Still you resist? Very well, you'll be joining them. Gizik! Seems like we'll need your thugs after all, if your - our lord's will is to be done."

"Be silent, snake. This is why you are not a leader. Only a third-rate would use such a tactic on the northmen." A man clad in an armored overcoat stepped forward, on his chest the same symbol of the mountain, the fortified wall, and the crown. While his clothing had been neat and looked after, the same could not be said for his face; an unclean, ragged beard decorated it, his hair much too long than on any of the men of the north; poorly cared for, cut in places as if with a knife. His nose was broken in two places, his face decorated richly with scars, and the piercing yellow eyes which looked with disgust upon Cenric completed the picture as he leaned on a short spear. "I detest helping a foul, honourless man like you, but I've my orders. Men, to battle."

 

Notes

Idunn: The men are already shaken by Guthred's words - Idunn's logical conclusion and offer seem to have made an impact. They are unwilling to fight for you - they are physically spent and not fighters to begin with - but they will not engage in combat.
Nori: You have no recollection of such a heraldic image... Even with the long memory of the dwarves - it is perhaps something new? Still... as one of the men shifts his position and the tabard slightly alters its shape, you recognize the 'triangle' - for what it is: A mountain. Whats more, the sides of the mountain look peculiarly close to your home: The Lonely Mountain.

[Vladim]

When Berthoc finished speaking, Idunn felt relieved, but she did not lower her readied axe, nor did she command her hound to relax. Yet she did not expect the thief to kill the man in such a cruel and cowardly fashion.

Upon seeing the blood, a wild, unbridled rage took shape within her. Without second thought, she raised her weapon. ’You will die for this!’ she cried as he charged recklessly, deaf to the words of Guthred and everyone else around her.

[Vladim]

Seeing the sword thrust through Berthoc and then Idunn charge wildly into the fray, there's a brief moment of hesitation on Nori's part as he processes the betrayal as quickly as he can. Letting out a sharp, "Nnnnh!", he rouses himself from the daze and quickly follows Idunn's move. Letting her take her vengeance on Cenric, Nori barrels towards the unnamed 'captain' next to Cenric - the man seeming to be a suitable target as he commands the others gathered. Holding his axe out to his right, the rust-haired dwarf swipes at the man's legs, hoping to hobble him and make him an easier target going forward.

[Vladim]

Hoping for a positive end to that hunt, Fundor is really disappointed when he sees the men's killing. It seems that fighting is the only solution. Again ! So Fundor takes his weapon firmly in its hand and run at one of dual-wielding man.

[Vladim]

Idunn's shout still echoes in the ruined fort as she charges furiously into the melee, swinging her longaxe at the nimble mercenary; he attempts to parry with his strange swords, but to no avail! The axe's hit makes him stumble a bit and he curses under his breath, only to display an even bigger smile to the woman: "Ooh, you're quite the eager one. You like what I did to that traitor? I'll do the same to you!" At his side, Nori assaults Gizik, but though his blow connects fiercly, he stumbles partway, and the harsh-spoken man takes the opportunity without so much as a triumphant word, striking mercilessly at the dwarf. On the other side, Gramtyng had engaged in a duel with another bandit, trading blows back and fourth. Fundor was not as fortunate, having missed his target, but he maintains a steady stance. Guthred can be heard roaring in the background: "He was mine, Woodsman!" and taking his anger out on the two men who were previously guarding the camp's entrance, impaling one on his spear and tossing him aside angrily. Cilderic beheads the man who attempts to attack him in one casual swipe of his axe. In the background, arrows begin to sing, targeting Fundor and Gramtyng. The counterattack of the thieves certainly doesnt make it look good: Gramtyng, even with his shield, was struck with an arrow in his shoulder, while the bandit he was fighting took the chance to strike him in the same place, making the Rohirrim growl in pain and nearly lose his balance, being knocked out of position. One of Cenric's swords, blurring in the air, struck Idunn heavily, while the other missed by a mile - perhaps a consequence of this sort of battle style. Nori was having troubles of his own as Gizik exploited his somewhat broken stance and struck at him with his spear. Fundor, too, was fending off a bandit who got a little too eager, getting in a lucky strike.

[Vladim]

Cenric’s blow knocked the air out of Idunn’s lungs and made her stagger, if only for a moment. Had it not been for the armour she wore, the sword would have made a deep gash in her belly, most likely ending the fight-and her life-then and there.

Yet the huntress was still alive-at least for now-and the strike did nothing but enrage her further. Oblivious to the danger she was in, she pressed on with her reckless onslaught, swinging her axe heavily against the murdering bandit.

[Vladim]

"Whoa, this is no joke..." The Rohirrim grunted in pain as his shield was struck with enough force to make his arm nearly useless. Doing his best to avoid the momentum of the damage, he allowed himself to be pushed back straning against the barrage of blows the archer and axeman were landing on him. "Come on, all together now!" The bard shouted encouragingly even as he grimaced in pain: "Beat these guys, take the sickle, and head back!"