Smoke filled the air
from one of the wagons that had been flipped over, the fire creeping
over it crackling in the still morning. Other wagons sat nearby,
driver-less with their draft animals detached from them, the goods that
were within them spilled out across the ground so that they could be
scavenged for items of value.
A group of disreputable looking men walked amongst the debris, here and there checking on one of the still forms lying in the tall grasses of the Arathi Highlands. Others leered at the small group of men, women, and children that were kneeling in the grass in a long line, their hands bound behind them.
It had taken the bandits only a few minutes to overwhelm the poorly defended civilian caravan as it made its way towards Refuge Point. With the Forsaken so close now and the tensions in Stromguard, it had been easy to arrange the ambush, and the thieves would make good coin from the items they were able to gather amongst the possessions of their victims. That and the coin they'd make from selling their prisoners as slaves and research subjects to the Forsaken.
One of the men laughed as a prisoner spit in his direction, moving towards the man and kicking him in the chest until he fell over into the grass. A few cries came from the other prisoners, but they were quickly cowed by the armed ruffians that walked up and down the line of kneeling forms. "That'll be just about enough of that. You lot will be taking a little trip with us, where you'll fetch us good coin. If you keep your mouths shut along the way, you'll live that much longer 'afore the Forsaken get their hands on you. So keep it quiet, before we m-"
His words were cut short by the curious sound of hooves clomping across the cobbles of the partially paved road just beyond the ambush site. By the sound, there were only a few horses and the riders should have been smart enough to stay away from the sight of rising smoke and the band of men converged around the wagons. Instead, it appeared that more victims had decided to casually waltz into the trap. The leader of the group smiled and made a few sharp gestures, his men gathering their weapons up.
They had only a moment or two to wait before three horses came into view. They left the road, heading directly for the smoking wagons and group of men. Each of the riders glinted in the morning sunlight, the heavy plate armor they wore reflecting brightly. Each wore a dark black tabard with golden trim, and as they got closer the men could make out the emblem of a golden bell on the chest of each. One of the three riders lagged back a bit, holding a banner with a similar design on the end of a spear. The three casually rode up to the group, stopping a few feet away. Their blank helmets gave little indication as to their thoughts as they surveyed the scene.
The leader of the bandits grinned wickedly, signalling to his men to spread out. The ragged group of humans began to move, encircling the three riders on their horses. Behind them, several of the prisoners whimpered, knowing that the three were about to be attacked by the ruffians. As the men got into position, the leader called out, "Throw down your weapons and dismount and you won't be hurt."
The statement was met with utter silence. Not just silence even, but stillness. The three armored figures didn't twitch a muscle, as if they were simply observing and deciding what would happen next. The leader of the bandits scowled, his fists clenching in irritation. He pointed at the closest of the three, "You're outnumbered twenty to three! Don't be stupid!"
Finally he was rewarded with a response, although it made him immediately turn red in anger. The closest of the three responded, Tobies's deep voice echoing from his helm, "Well, that's true. If you want, we can wait while you get more guys to make it fair for you."
Behind him, Adyta barked out a laugh through her own helm, which further spurred the anger of the bandit leader. He shouted, face red, "You think we're joking?! You will die right here knight! And the woman will make fine play for the men once we strip that armor off of he-"
The man never finished his sentence. Before anyone could even blink an eye, Adyta had grabbed the standard from the knight-recruit following them and hurled it through the air. The spear struck the bandit leader in the chest, impaling him. He fell on his back, the Divine Order's banner flapping wildly before settling as the spear came to rest upright in his corpse. Adyta's voice echoed from her helm, "Anyone else have any suggestions?"
Tobies chuckled, "D'aww, now there's only nineteen of them. Completely unfair now. A pity."
The rest of the men looked at each other for a moment and then roared in anger, surging forward in a disordered mob. The tactic, while excellent for taking down groups of civilians in the tall grasses, was not so well thought out when attacking a group of heavily armed and armored paladins who were used to being swarmed by huge mobs of ghouls and zombies after fighting up north.
Ady responded the fastest. She drew her sword and raised it over her head, yelling "YAH!" and flicking her reins. With expert timing and control, her warhorse lurched forward on its front legs, its rear legs lashing out. Steel-shod hooves slashed out, taking two of the men down instantly. She flicked the reins again and her horse surged forward, barreling over two that had approached her from the front. She added injury to the insult by slashing one with her sword.
The retainer that had been holding the banner drew his own blade, lashing down at a man and leaving him with a deep gash in his shoulder. He expertly turned his horse, using his return swing to block a blow from one of the bandits. His horse bumped into one, bowling him over.
As for Tobies, the larger paladin knew he didn't have the finesse of his allies. Instead he drew his sword and shield and leaped into the air. He came down with his shield leading, falling on top of two of the men that were rushing up towards him. Given his own weight plus the addition of his heavy plate armor, shield, and sword, a little over three hundred pounds of man and steel descended on their fragile, unarmored bodies. Tobies himself was quite unharmed as he ground them into the soft Arathi soil before rolling off and bringing his shield up to block the downward strike of another of the bandits.
Men swarmed towards the paladin, and his blade and shield lashed out. The tall, flat surface of his bulwark slammed into the face of one of the hapless thieves, throwing him unconscious to the ground while his sword glowed with holy Light and plunged into the gut of another foe. Behind him, a man brought his weapon up to plunge it into the paladin's back, only to be blasted from his feet by a burst almost blinding radiance as Adyta brought her faith to bear. Two other attackers were forced to look away from her as pure light glowed from her body. She used the distraction to slam one with her blade, and the other was thrown from his feet by a shock of Holy Light.
The bandits began to falter as they saw their casualties mounting. Quickly they ran towards one another, trying to use their numbers against the paladin on foot. Tobies grinned beneath his helm and called out over his shoulder. "Board to board!"
Immediately Adyta and their retainer rode up behind him and jumped from their mounts. Each brought a shield up, holding them such that they covered the paladin next to them. Between the shields the deadly swords of the paladins could flick out and impale their lightly armored foes. As the bandits rushed forward, they found themselves slamming into a wall of impenetrable steel. The paladins struck back, hurling three to the ground who didn't rise again as the rest were forced stumbling back. It was a tactic that worked well against mindless tides of undead attackers, and it worked equally well against brainless bandits in the plains.
A loud report sounded as one of the bandits drew and fired a musket at the paladins. The projectile sparked as it hit Tobies's armor, piercing his shoulder pauldron but deflecting enough to miss his body. The ball-shot rattled as it fell within his plates and he scowled beneath his helm. He lifted his shield and hurled it, even as the men began to surge foward again. It collided with the legs of the nearest two men, the weighted edge breaking their legs and knocking them down. The flat disc skipped on the ground once before hitting the gunman in the knees, throwing him down. Even as Tobies threw his shield, Adyta and their retainer surged forwards, warcries echoing in the air as they met the last of the bandits blade to blade.
On the ground, the gunman grimly tried to reload his weapon as a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see Tobies standing above him, the sun shining down behind the large man. Eyes wide and still trying to reload, the bandit stammered out a few words, "W-who the fel are you? W-where did you come from...?"
Tobies looked down on him, frowning beneath his helm. His voice echoed deeply as he spoke from beneath the metal, "When the sun rose this morning, it rose on a new day. A day when real men came to reclaim these lands and bring back the word justice. Welcome to the dawn."
His blade came down, the flat of it striking the gunman in the head and knocking him unconscious. Tobies grinned, sticking his sword in the soil and reaching up to pull his helm free. He turned to look at his companions, and his breath caught in his throat. Standing amidst the fallen and groaning enemies, Adyta had also removed her helm. The light that she'd been using still radiated from her like a halo, framing her raven locks of hair with a soft and beautiful glow. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled as she looked at Tobies, and her chest rose and fell quickly from the excitement of battle. Her armor was spattered with the blood of their enemies, the bright crimson a startling contrast to the shining silver metal. She tilted her head, noticing his gaze.
"Light Ady," he murmured, "If we were alone right now.." He trailed off, the thought unspoken. Adyta grinned, a hand on her hip and a fire burning in her eyes as she met his look. He returned the look with one that made her bite her lip and flush a bit before he broke the moment and stepped forward to see to the prisoners. As he passed, their gauntlets met briefly, clinking together in a moment of electrifying contact.
And then there was work to be done. There were prisoners to untie. There were wounded enemies to check on and heal. There were bandits to be restrained and escorted back to Refuge Point for trial. It would take them a few hours, but it had been worth the detour from their planned scouting mission into the Highlands. The Divine Order had brought justice to a little part of the mostly lawless land, and had helped the innocent be free from tyranny. It was what they were meant for, what they were born to do, and soon the Forsaken would learn of it as well.
A group of disreputable looking men walked amongst the debris, here and there checking on one of the still forms lying in the tall grasses of the Arathi Highlands. Others leered at the small group of men, women, and children that were kneeling in the grass in a long line, their hands bound behind them.
It had taken the bandits only a few minutes to overwhelm the poorly defended civilian caravan as it made its way towards Refuge Point. With the Forsaken so close now and the tensions in Stromguard, it had been easy to arrange the ambush, and the thieves would make good coin from the items they were able to gather amongst the possessions of their victims. That and the coin they'd make from selling their prisoners as slaves and research subjects to the Forsaken.
One of the men laughed as a prisoner spit in his direction, moving towards the man and kicking him in the chest until he fell over into the grass. A few cries came from the other prisoners, but they were quickly cowed by the armed ruffians that walked up and down the line of kneeling forms. "That'll be just about enough of that. You lot will be taking a little trip with us, where you'll fetch us good coin. If you keep your mouths shut along the way, you'll live that much longer 'afore the Forsaken get their hands on you. So keep it quiet, before we m-"
His words were cut short by the curious sound of hooves clomping across the cobbles of the partially paved road just beyond the ambush site. By the sound, there were only a few horses and the riders should have been smart enough to stay away from the sight of rising smoke and the band of men converged around the wagons. Instead, it appeared that more victims had decided to casually waltz into the trap. The leader of the group smiled and made a few sharp gestures, his men gathering their weapons up.
They had only a moment or two to wait before three horses came into view. They left the road, heading directly for the smoking wagons and group of men. Each of the riders glinted in the morning sunlight, the heavy plate armor they wore reflecting brightly. Each wore a dark black tabard with golden trim, and as they got closer the men could make out the emblem of a golden bell on the chest of each. One of the three riders lagged back a bit, holding a banner with a similar design on the end of a spear. The three casually rode up to the group, stopping a few feet away. Their blank helmets gave little indication as to their thoughts as they surveyed the scene.
The leader of the bandits grinned wickedly, signalling to his men to spread out. The ragged group of humans began to move, encircling the three riders on their horses. Behind them, several of the prisoners whimpered, knowing that the three were about to be attacked by the ruffians. As the men got into position, the leader called out, "Throw down your weapons and dismount and you won't be hurt."
The statement was met with utter silence. Not just silence even, but stillness. The three armored figures didn't twitch a muscle, as if they were simply observing and deciding what would happen next. The leader of the bandits scowled, his fists clenching in irritation. He pointed at the closest of the three, "You're outnumbered twenty to three! Don't be stupid!"
Finally he was rewarded with a response, although it made him immediately turn red in anger. The closest of the three responded, Tobies's deep voice echoing from his helm, "Well, that's true. If you want, we can wait while you get more guys to make it fair for you."
Behind him, Adyta barked out a laugh through her own helm, which further spurred the anger of the bandit leader. He shouted, face red, "You think we're joking?! You will die right here knight! And the woman will make fine play for the men once we strip that armor off of he-"
The man never finished his sentence. Before anyone could even blink an eye, Adyta had grabbed the standard from the knight-recruit following them and hurled it through the air. The spear struck the bandit leader in the chest, impaling him. He fell on his back, the Divine Order's banner flapping wildly before settling as the spear came to rest upright in his corpse. Adyta's voice echoed from her helm, "Anyone else have any suggestions?"
Tobies chuckled, "D'aww, now there's only nineteen of them. Completely unfair now. A pity."
The rest of the men looked at each other for a moment and then roared in anger, surging forward in a disordered mob. The tactic, while excellent for taking down groups of civilians in the tall grasses, was not so well thought out when attacking a group of heavily armed and armored paladins who were used to being swarmed by huge mobs of ghouls and zombies after fighting up north.
Ady responded the fastest. She drew her sword and raised it over her head, yelling "YAH!" and flicking her reins. With expert timing and control, her warhorse lurched forward on its front legs, its rear legs lashing out. Steel-shod hooves slashed out, taking two of the men down instantly. She flicked the reins again and her horse surged forward, barreling over two that had approached her from the front. She added injury to the insult by slashing one with her sword.
The retainer that had been holding the banner drew his own blade, lashing down at a man and leaving him with a deep gash in his shoulder. He expertly turned his horse, using his return swing to block a blow from one of the bandits. His horse bumped into one, bowling him over.
As for Tobies, the larger paladin knew he didn't have the finesse of his allies. Instead he drew his sword and shield and leaped into the air. He came down with his shield leading, falling on top of two of the men that were rushing up towards him. Given his own weight plus the addition of his heavy plate armor, shield, and sword, a little over three hundred pounds of man and steel descended on their fragile, unarmored bodies. Tobies himself was quite unharmed as he ground them into the soft Arathi soil before rolling off and bringing his shield up to block the downward strike of another of the bandits.
Men swarmed towards the paladin, and his blade and shield lashed out. The tall, flat surface of his bulwark slammed into the face of one of the hapless thieves, throwing him unconscious to the ground while his sword glowed with holy Light and plunged into the gut of another foe. Behind him, a man brought his weapon up to plunge it into the paladin's back, only to be blasted from his feet by a burst almost blinding radiance as Adyta brought her faith to bear. Two other attackers were forced to look away from her as pure light glowed from her body. She used the distraction to slam one with her blade, and the other was thrown from his feet by a shock of Holy Light.
The bandits began to falter as they saw their casualties mounting. Quickly they ran towards one another, trying to use their numbers against the paladin on foot. Tobies grinned beneath his helm and called out over his shoulder. "Board to board!"
Immediately Adyta and their retainer rode up behind him and jumped from their mounts. Each brought a shield up, holding them such that they covered the paladin next to them. Between the shields the deadly swords of the paladins could flick out and impale their lightly armored foes. As the bandits rushed forward, they found themselves slamming into a wall of impenetrable steel. The paladins struck back, hurling three to the ground who didn't rise again as the rest were forced stumbling back. It was a tactic that worked well against mindless tides of undead attackers, and it worked equally well against brainless bandits in the plains.
A loud report sounded as one of the bandits drew and fired a musket at the paladins. The projectile sparked as it hit Tobies's armor, piercing his shoulder pauldron but deflecting enough to miss his body. The ball-shot rattled as it fell within his plates and he scowled beneath his helm. He lifted his shield and hurled it, even as the men began to surge foward again. It collided with the legs of the nearest two men, the weighted edge breaking their legs and knocking them down. The flat disc skipped on the ground once before hitting the gunman in the knees, throwing him down. Even as Tobies threw his shield, Adyta and their retainer surged forwards, warcries echoing in the air as they met the last of the bandits blade to blade.
On the ground, the gunman grimly tried to reload his weapon as a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see Tobies standing above him, the sun shining down behind the large man. Eyes wide and still trying to reload, the bandit stammered out a few words, "W-who the fel are you? W-where did you come from...?"
Tobies looked down on him, frowning beneath his helm. His voice echoed deeply as he spoke from beneath the metal, "When the sun rose this morning, it rose on a new day. A day when real men came to reclaim these lands and bring back the word justice. Welcome to the dawn."
His blade came down, the flat of it striking the gunman in the head and knocking him unconscious. Tobies grinned, sticking his sword in the soil and reaching up to pull his helm free. He turned to look at his companions, and his breath caught in his throat. Standing amidst the fallen and groaning enemies, Adyta had also removed her helm. The light that she'd been using still radiated from her like a halo, framing her raven locks of hair with a soft and beautiful glow. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled as she looked at Tobies, and her chest rose and fell quickly from the excitement of battle. Her armor was spattered with the blood of their enemies, the bright crimson a startling contrast to the shining silver metal. She tilted her head, noticing his gaze.
"Light Ady," he murmured, "If we were alone right now.." He trailed off, the thought unspoken. Adyta grinned, a hand on her hip and a fire burning in her eyes as she met his look. He returned the look with one that made her bite her lip and flush a bit before he broke the moment and stepped forward to see to the prisoners. As he passed, their gauntlets met briefly, clinking together in a moment of electrifying contact.
And then there was work to be done. There were prisoners to untie. There were wounded enemies to check on and heal. There were bandits to be restrained and escorted back to Refuge Point for trial. It would take them a few hours, but it had been worth the detour from their planned scouting mission into the Highlands. The Divine Order had brought justice to a little part of the mostly lawless land, and had helped the innocent be free from tyranny. It was what they were meant for, what they were born to do, and soon the Forsaken would learn of it as well.
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