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    Orien Terrik

    "Arik tree'ac te kek."
    Jorunn nodded in agreement with the Bounty Hunter. "Aye, this is not the work of the Forsworn. Not only is he right about the shoes they wear, but their tracks wouldn't be all the same. These are deep tracks, every single one of them, and they are all the same size. Like he said, they would leave the bodies here, and take valuables, and would most likely have desecrated the bodies as well. The Forsworn weapons also don't leave marks like the one I found in that house. To add on to that, the Forsworn have not been able to form such coordinated attacks like this, since the end of the Forsworn War. Us Rangers have kept tabs on them, keeping them in check. No, I feel like this is something else entirely. Not sure what, however." He finished up. Then turning to the Khajiit woman, he nodded to her. "Yes, I can track these." He said simply.
     

    Drahkma

    Dashing Imperial Officer.
    Ardus listened as the steel armoured man wondered out loud if the abductions were the work of the forsworn. It was a fair question, but even Carn could tell it wasn't the work of those savages. The boot prints were disciplined, and heavy. He guessed iron, or possibly heavy plate armour. Which meant professional mercenaries. Or slavers. But slavers, as far as he could remember, stuck to the coasts of Hammerfell, raiding small villages. So mercenaries. The only questions now, were where the people were being taken, and why. Then again, Carn only really cared about being paid. They found the villagers, killed the mercs, and then returned to Markarth. Simple. Probably. Speaking of getting paid...he turned to find the robed young girl lingering behind the others. "Girl! Hurry it up. Might not have been forsworn that did this, but I'll bet there's plenty lurking in these hills." He snapped. "And seeing as you still haven't paid me, keeping you alive is one of my priorities."
     

    willowwisp

    Well-Known Member
    Alicia did her best to stay out of the way as the others looked into the tracks leading away from the village. She couldn't fathom why innocent people had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night and forced to walk to who knows where, to have who knows what done to them. She didn't approach the others as they spoke about tracking the group. She was no tracker or hunter. In fact, she was, as she'd been frequently reminded, not very good at much. Sure, she was a competent healer, and she knew a few minor defensive and offensive spells, but out here in the wild...she doubted she be good for much.

    'I don't know what I was thinking walking into that tavern. One of my stupider ideas, I guess' she thought. The others started to move, with the tall mercenary, the one that looked to be part Imperial, part Nord, and stonefaced, leading the way, besides a grim faced ranger. The steely eyed Imperial man turned and stared at her."Girl! Hurry it up. Might not have been forsworn that did this, but I'll bet there's plenty lurking in these hills." He snapped. "And seeing as you still haven't paid me, keeping you alive is one of my priorities."

    "I'm coming!" She replied, irritated with his testy attitude. Once the man had turned away, pulled a face, and broke into a short sprint to catch up to the others. "I have a name, you know. Alicia. Try using it sometime." She said, trying and failing to keep the irritation out of her voice. It might not have been a good idea to annoy a man with so many weapons, but she'd never been able to help herself.
     

    TheShadedOne

    The Angry One
    (OOC: Gets a little graphic later in the post. Just a heads up.)

    The group headed out, with the ranger and the half-Imperial she'd met at the keep in the lead. Zah'Nivani followed them, taking a position in the middle of the group. Though the sun had risen since they'd arrived at the village, she wasn't afraid of being exposed as a vampire. After being a vampire for over a century, she'd become resistant to the suns rays. She wasn't nearly as powerful as she was at night, but she had no reason to fear most mortals.

    Besides, lurking near the back of the group, or ranging far ahead would only make the others more suspicious. Perhaps suspicious enough to act. And though she didn't have any problems with fighting them, she wanted to find the missing villagers first. Just for the satisfaction of sating her curiosity.

    As the group continued to move, clouds moved in, and it began to rain. Not a downpour, but a fine mist of rain, that clung to clothing and her fur alike. She wasn't bothered by the water, even when a gentle breeze began to force it against their faces. What did bother her was the scent of death. It was faint, at first, but then it became more and more pungent. Nivani glanced at the others, unsure if they could smell it as well. She knew it might seem odd if she declared that she could smell death when the others couldn't. But, she was a Khajiit, after all. Her senses were better than most humans, even before death.

    Deciding to go with that line of argument, she made her way up to the ranger and half-Imperial. Following her nose, she shoved past the pair, and when they made no move to immediately follow, turned acting confused. "Can't you smell that?" She asked, before pushing on wards.

    A dozen metres away, she found the source of the smell. Bodies. About a dozen of them. Most of them looked to be elderly men and women, a few women, and even a few children. All dressed in simple clothes. It looked as if the group had stopped. Off to the side of the faint trail left by their passage, blood was smeared on the rocks, and the grass was crushed, as if the bodies had fallen there, and been moved. She turned back to the others who were making their way through the rain and wind towards her. "I found the villagers. Well...some of them, anyways."

    She turned back to the bodies once more, noticing the unceremonious way they'd been heaped into the middle of the tracks. They hadn't been dead long. An hour, maybe two. The blood on the bodies still smelled fairly fresh. The Khajiit looked up as the others arrived. "Thoughts?" She asked simply.
     

    Andre Marek

    You can run, but you'll only die tired...
    Marek squinted through the rain at the Khajiit as she brushed past him and the Ranger. She glanced back at them, "Can't you smell that?" She asked. Marek gave the Ranger a sideways look and shrugged. He didn't smell anything. Before he could respond, the Khajiit disappeared around a large rock just ahead. Moments later he heard her voice, muffled through the rain, "I found the villagers. Well...some of them, anyways." Lengthening his strides, Marek rounded the boulder and came up beside the woman.

    Blood oozed outward from a small mound of bodies, mixing into the deepening mud around his boots and running further down the trail. Now he could definitely smell the stench of death. As the others also rounded the bend, they formed a small line facing the bodies. A few possibilities presented themselves to Marek but only a two really made sense as far as he was concerned. Most of the people in the pile were children and elders. In other words, the weak. Judging from the obvious marks in the mud that indicated that the corpses had been moved after dying, he figured that most of these people had simply dropped dead from exhaustion or perhaps wounds suffered during the attack. That or whatever the villagers were being taken for was labor related and these people wouldn't have been useful anyway so the kidnappers had simply sped up the process.

    Given that all of the bodies were in one place, Marek decided that the second option was the more likely. Stepping forward, he knelt down and examined one of the bodies, looking for any wounds caused by weapons. Almost immediately it was evident that the person had been stabbed in the back; A direct jab, downward through the spine. Near instant death. It was an execution technique.

    "This one was executed. Kneeling. Not sure about the rest of them but it would make sense that all of them were the same." He stood up and faced the others, sweeping his arm around over the corpses, "Whoever is taking them probably wanted to thin the herd. Although why they would do it out here rather than just kill them in the village I'm not sure..." He trailed of, putting a hand to his sword as he glanced over the hills surrounding them. He'd thought he'd heard something but he couldn't be certain. Glancing at the Ranger to see if he'd heard it too, Marek loosened his sheath just in case.
     

    Aethalia

    Well-Known Member
    Nathariel listened in quietly as the others discussed whether or not the Forsworn had actually been behind the raid. Popular opinion seemed to be against it. The Altmer mercenary stayed back and kept her mouth shut. So far, they seemed to be thinking she was a simple mercenary. If it came to it, and greed overcame them, like it so often did, she would have a few surprises up her sleeves for them.

    She fell in with the others as they finally began to leave the village and it began to rain, smirking as the younger, robed woman caught up to the group and gave him a piece of her mind. Maybe the girl wouldn't be as helpless as she'd originally thought. If her attitude was matched with her skills with magic. If the Imperial replied, Nathariel didn't hear. The unarmoured and unarmed Khajiit woman shoved her way past the two men leading the group. A moment later, her voice reached Nathariels ears "I found the villagers. Well...some of them, anyways."

    A sense of foreboding gripped her. She didn't think the kidnappers had suddenly decided to release a few of their prisoners. The others spread out in a line, facing....a heap of dead bodies. Elderly people, children, a few women. One of the men that had been in the lead stepped forwards, and checked one of the bodies."This one was executed. Kneeling. Not sure about the rest of them but it would make sense that all of them were the same." He announced. "Whoever is taking them probably wanted to thin the herd. Although why they would do it out here rather than just kill them in the village I'm not sure..."
    A sour taste filled her mouth. Killing in combat was one thing, but executing defenseless old men, women, and children was something else entirely.
     

    Thesius

    The Imperial Paladin
    Tyresius followed in the wake of the others, ahead of the Altmer woman, but far enough back so that he could keep a wary eye on the Khajiit and the Imperial man. He was still suspicious of them, and he knew the only way he'd confirm his suspicions was through constant vigilance. And vigilance was something Tyresius was extremely good at. Without warning, the woman tensed, before shoving her way past the two men in the lead. She didn't seem to be up to anything malicious, but he lengthened his stride anyways. The two men, apparently surprised by the Khajiit glanced at each other before following her. The others followed as well, ignoring the light rain and wind. They were brought up short by the sight of a dozen corpses, all heaped into the road.

    The Khajiit woman turned to the others and asked for their thoughts. One of the men, the dark haired Nord mercenary stepped forwards and examined the corpses. He deduced that the body he'd been examining, had been executed. Probably while kneeling. Tyresius clenched his fist as anger clawed its way up his throat. The man continued to guess that those who'd captured the villagers had wanted to 'thin the herd.' He was once again reminded that evil came in all shapes. Not just the monsters that Tyresius spent most of his time hunting. "We should bury them." The paladin said gruffly. He knew the moment he said it, it was an absurd thing to say. They had little time to dig a mass grave, and certainly not enough to dig individual holes. Nor did they have the tools. Plus, the ground in the immediate area was poor for digging. "Instead, we'll just have to avenge them with the blade."
     

    Orien Terrik

    "Arik tree'ac te kek."
    Jorunn lead on, slightly ahead of everyone in the group. As they approached a turn on the path, a stench hit his nose. It was foul, probably the prey of a Predator, like a bear, or Saber Cat. He reached back, and started to pull his bow off his back, when the Khajiit woman burst past him, turning around the corner. Jorunn drew his bow completely, and notched an arrow as well, then took off after the Khajiit. As he rounded a rock, he saw the woman kneeling over a pile of corpses... but not of soldiers, or men, but women, children, and the elderly. Jorunn pulled down the mask that covered up his mouth and nose, a grim, almost sad look on his face. He sheathed his bow and the arrow, and pulled his hood all the way off, exposing his hair and face for the first time among the group.
    "This one was executed. Kneeling. Not sure about the rest of them but it would make sense that all of them were the same." Said the Bounty Hunter, taking a pause before finishing his thought. "Whoever is taking them probably wanted to thin the herd. Although why they would do it out here rather than just kill them in the village I'm not sure..." Jorunn nodded in agreement. He heard the Paladin say behind him something about burying the bodies, but he knew the ground was too rocky for any kind of digging. Next the Paladin mentioned avenging them, which Jorunn fully agreed with. Kneeling down, Jorunn examined the bodies. The patterns of wounds on the bodies didn't resemble the Forsworn at all. He stood, and turned to the group. "It is truly Clear, now, that the Forsworn didn't do this. Look at the wound patterns on their bodies. They are not jagged, which are the patterns that forsworn weapons make. They are smooth for the most part....." He stopped talking as he noticed a little girl in the pile, or the upper half of a little girl. She had been split in half, he waist resting below her torso, with her little intestines hanging out from both parts. Jorunn walked over, taking a knee beside her. She was the only female child in the group. Jorunn pulled out the little doll from his pack, the one he had found on the trail outside of the city, and placed it in her hand. Standing up, he began gathering rocks, placing them around the pile of bodies. After he finished surrounding them, he knelt down in front of them, on the outside of the rocks, and muttered a few words under his breath. Standing up, he used his magic to create a small fire in the center of the group, which began to burn very quickly. The ground was to rocky for grass to grow properly so the fire would only burn the bodies, and then extinguish. "May your bodies turn to ash, and nourish the ground, and your souls move on to the afterlife." He finished, pulling the hood back up over his head. Turning to his comrades, he sighed, and said: "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people. Its is our duty to find those responsible, and ensure justice is served." He stated. Then, pulling up his mask to cover his mouth and nose again, he turned, trudging back onto the path, following the footsteps once more. He traveled slowly, so the others could catch up to him.
     

    Drahkma

    Dashing Imperial Officer.
    Carn smirked at the girls retort. Not many had the guts to talk back to someone like him. Especially if all they had by means of protection were robes. He'd been about to reply when the Khajiit woman raced ahead and then declared she'd found some of the villagers. The others spread out, each of them eager to get a look. As soon as Ardus saw the bodies piled into the middle of the path, a sense of wrongness gripped him. Not because he was horrified by the sight of the bodies. He saw plenty of dead bodies in his line of work. Not all of them necessarily as young as some of the corpses in the pile. The other bounty hunter knelt by one of corpses and announced that he'd been executed, while kneeling. He also guessed that they'd been killed to thin out the herd, and that those among the dead were least likely to be good at hard labour.

    Ardus approached the bodies, specifically those that lay on the outside of the pile. He occasionally stopped and gave a corpse an exploratory kick, checking to see that it really was dead. With most of the others off guard, it wouldn't have been too difficult to disguise a few of the kidnappers as victims, and set up a trap. Even after making sure those he examined really were dead, he wasn't satisfied that it wasn't. He stepped away from the corpse pile, towards the side of the path. The stones and grass there were splattered with blood, too much for it to be blood spatter from the executions if the villagers had been killed in the path. The other bounty hunter was wondering why they'd been killed at this location, instead of the village. It was a good question. If Carn would have been in charge of the kidnappers, he would have had the villagers that would slow them down killed inside the village. It would have also discouraged any heroic escape attempts.

    Glancing at the bloody ground, he said "A better question, is why did they take the time to kill them here," he pointed to where he was standing, then strode over to where the bodies were, a good two or three metres away. "Just to waste time dragging them into the path?" It didn't take long for him to become certain of the answer to his own question. "This is a distraction. They knew if anyone was following them, a pile of corpses would get the pursuers attention. Especially if the pursuit was catching up." The paladin said something about burying them, then avenging them. The ranger, removed his hood and mask, knelt by a girls body, and placed a doll in her hand. Then he placed a ring of rocks around them, and set the corpses on fire, muttering something under his breath. Carn swore. " You'd better hope the rain kills those flames before there's too much smoke. Otherwise, you've just given our position away." He passed the corpses without a second glance. "Let's go. The dead can't hear us, and we've wasted enough time already."
     

    willowwisp

    Well-Known Member
    The bounty hunter she was following seemed to find her outburst funny. He looked like he'd been about to say something when he looked ahead, and focused on the Khajiit woman. She called out, something about the villagers. The rest of the group was spreading out behind the woman, and as she came up beside the Imperial mercenary, and stared. It took her a moment to realize she was staring at bodies. Human bodies. The others approached, but Alicia felt like she'd been rooted in place.

    'What kind of monsters slaughter women, children and old men?' She thought. Most of the others didn't seem very bothered by the carnage. Her eyes locked on one of the bodies, a boy not more than five or six, who looked like he'd been run through with a blade. The ranger removed his mask and set a small fire which quickly grew. The man she'd been with, warned the ranger about giving away their position with the smoke. Then he and the others began to move off, following the path of the kidnappers. There were still other villagers to rescue.

    She made to go after them, but her stomach cramped and she ended up retching into the mud. After she'd finished she wiped her mouth. 'Great.' She thought. 'Way to show them you can handle yourself.' She thought. Averting her eyes from the bodies, she followed after the others. She wasn't sure how the ranger would be able to track the kidnappers through the rain, but she guessed he had his ways.
     

    Aethalia

    Well-Known Member
    Nathariel wasn't surprised by the Imperial mercenaries response to the bodies and the lighting of the fire. He didn't seem like the most reverent of men. The young robed woman that was with him didn't seem to share his attitude. She stared at the bodies a little longer than any of the others. They started to move, Nathariel at the rear of the group, as usual, kept an eye on the girl. When she stumbled and threw up the Altmer mercenary laid a hand on her back. "You're alright. Come on. The sooner we catch up to these guys, the sooner we can be done with this." She wasn't sure how effective her words would be, but she had to try. None of the others seemed to care.
     

    TheShadedOne

    The Angry One
    The whole group gathered around the bodies, and it didn't take long before all of them were coming to their conclusions. All but a few of them seemed unphased by the carnage. The ranger, surprisingly, removed his mask and knelt by the bodies, said a few words, and set them on fire. She heard some of what she'd said, but her attention wasn't on him. It was on the bounty hunter who'd been ahead of her, walking with the ranger. He was no longer paying attention to the corpses. Instead, he was surveying the surrounding landscape, looking a little troubled. He glanced at the ranger, then his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

    She'd been about to ask him what the matter was when she heard a faint noise. It sounded like a boot heel scuffing against stone. " You'd better hope the rain kills those flames before there's too much smoke. Otherwise, you've just given our position away." The Imperial mercenary snarled, leading the group onwards. "Too late." She muttered, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the others were following.

    The mercenaries, plus the girl, ranger, and paladin continued on their way, farther north, until the hills became more rocky. Rain continued to fall, but the rock walls lessened the impact from the wind. The Khajiit vampiress was uneasy. The ravine they were in offered no easy escape, and she'd never liked feeling trapped. A clatter of stone striking stone drew her attention up and to her right. She looked up, to see a group of men and women, wearing the distinct fur and hide armours favoured by the Forsworn. Each of them had a primitive axe or sword in their hands, and some wielded two.

    They ran down the steep slopes, moving more like mountain goats than men and women, and they howled warcrys as they came. A glance behind showed that more had circled around behind the group, cutting off an escape. "Oh, an ambush. How original." She said, mostly to herself, though she was pretty sure some of the others overheard. She didn't bother to call out a warning to the others, instead falling back, near a flat topped boulder, and hopping onto it. From there, she'd be able to observe how the others fought, and have an advantage over any opponents.
     

    Andre Marek

    You can run, but you'll only die tired...
    Marek had his sword out in a heartbeat, his reflexes kicking in the instant he heard the savage warcry of the forsworn. He hadn't liked the narrow ravine that their group had wandered into and had been about to voice his concern but it was apparently too late for that now. Several of the forsworn ran at the group from both sides, weapons held high, while a third and fourth group cut of their escape from the front and back. There was, at the very least, twenty five enemies and if Marek knew anything about the Forsworn, more wouldn't be far behind.

    Almost immediately, the Khajiit woman jumped nimbly onto a large, flat topped boulder and took a fighting stance facing the nearest charging Forsworn. Marek did likewise, distancing himself from the others so he would have room to fight unhindered. As the others did likewise, Marek engaged the leading Forsworn warriors.

    A large man wielding two axes came at him swinging. He was sloppy though so it was a simple matter for Marek to deflect the mans blows with a quick flick of his sword. With the man off balance, Marek swung his fist into his face, sending him toppling over backwards. Before he was able to finish the warrior though he was force to deal with another one. This time it was a female who attempted to behead him with a powerful swing of her rough sword. Marek easily ducked under the blow but the woman quickly continued with a kick to his forward leg which he countered by slightly twisting and throwing a small kick of his own, catching the womans shin on his armored boot. Howling in pain, the woman stumbled back with a limp. With a quick thrust of his sword, Marek finished her before she could recover before doing the same to the first warrior.

    This all took place in under seven seconds. Then the next warriors were on on him, forcing him to begin backing towards the rest of the group, deflecting and delivering killing blows the whole while. As the Forsworn closed in around them, Marek decided it was far too close quarters for the use of his longsword. With a swift slash, Marek took the hand off of the nearest warrior and followed up with a powerful push kick into his abdomen, sending the crippled man stumbling back into his comrades. Only a moment after, Mareks own longsword was flung towards them, revolving once before burying itself in the crippled man and injuring the warrior immediately behind him.

    Now that he had a moment, Marek pulled his dagger from its belt sheath with his left hand and settled into a fighting stance. With a quick look around he confirmed that the others were similarly engaged in fighting the Forsworn.
     

    Drahkma

    Dashing Imperial Officer.
    Carn lead the others into a ravine, and felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Glancing up at the edge of the rock wall, he had to admit, only a fool would pass up an opportunity for an ambush. The entire group was forced to walk in single file, and once they'd passed a short distance into the ravine, the Forsworn sprang the trap. War cries echoed as the scantily clad warriors, nearly thirty of them, charged down to assault the party. A quick glance behind him, showed that more warriors had closed the way behind them. Ahead, those that had leapt down from the cliff sides clogged the way ahead.

    Ardus saw the other bounty hunter step forwards, drawing his sword and engaging the first few Forsworn. He was good, but the press of warriors had him falling back towards the others. To Carns' surprise, the man flung his own sword, impaling one man, and wounding another. It was a neat trick, but not smart. There were still plenty of Forsworn swarming the group, and now the man was left with a dagger. He stepped forwards and drew his sword, along with the steel war axe at his side. A large warrior, an axe in each hand, stepped forwards, and Ardus stepped forwards to meet him. The man roared and swung, a vicious horizontal blow that would have left him with a nasty gash in his side. If it landed.

    Carn intercepted the blow with his sword, and stepped back, avoiding the follow up blow. He finished the fight with a powerful overhand strike that cut through the mans' headdress, and into the skull beneath. Before he could wrench the axe from the mans skull, another of the forsworn rushed him. The man attempted to slam Ardus off his feet, but the bounty hunter was more than ready for him. He set his heels into the wet ground, and brought his blade up before the man could use his own. With a quick motion, Carn drew his maine-gauche dagger, and plunged it into the mans' throat. The man gargled, and Ardus shoved the man away, impeding the process of a third warrior. The warrior, a woman with a sword, hopped to the side, in order to avoid stumbling to over her companion. He dispatched her with a quick thrust from his sword. With room to breath, he glanced around, checking on how the others were progressing with their own fights.
     

    Madrar

    The Shadow in the Dark.
    Marcus kept to himself as the party of mercenaries came across the pile of corpses. His days in the legion, and more recently, his work as an operative of the Bloodlet throne had hardened him to such gruesome displays. That didn't stop him from feeling a twinge of righteous anger at their murderers, or sympathy for the young robed girl. The others inspected the bodies, and soon, the ranger set the corpses on fire. The smoke climbed into the sky, slightly hampered by the light rain. The Imperial bounty hunter was upset about that, and lead the others on their way.

    They ended up in a ravine, with alarmingly high walls. It sloped enough for people who were familiar with the terrain, to have no trouble flooding into the passage the party occupied. From a military perspective, it was the perfect place for an ambush. As if this thought was a signal of sorts, Forsworn warriors spilled over the edge of ravine, charging down to engage the party. Marcus turned on his heel, and, unsurprisingly, more of them had blocked the either entrance.

    He hesitated for an instant. His legion training had taught him to fight in a unit, each legionnaire watching one anothers back. But his companions were hardly imperial soldiers. On the other hand, in serving as an operative, he'd learnt to fight on his own. He turned and went to confront the warriors heading to the rear of the group. "Deal with the others, and I will hold off these." He called to the others.

    He drew his sword, and faced the nearest of the approaching forsworn, two men, and a woman who wielding a pair of axes, attempted to circle around him. He kept the woman in his sight, even as he approached the pair of men. The man on the right made the first move, lunging forwards, sword leading, an axe in the other. Marcus parried the stab, and stepped back at the same time, avoiding the savage slash of the axe. Though he wore a shirt of mail, he wasn't about to take foolish chances.

    He dispatched the first man with a quick thrust to the kidneys. Not a fatal blow, but it put him out of action for the time being. The second man arrived with a flurry of blades, attempting to drive the vampire back, into a position where his friend could land a potentially lethal blow. Marcus allowed the man to push him back, dodging or parrying every attack. When he noticed the woman moving towards him, he sidled to the side, forcing his current opponent to turn with him. Tired of waiting for her companion to finish him, she rushed at him. Aware of this, Marcus caught both the mans blades on his own weapon, near the crossguard. Drawing on his vampiric strength, he shoved the man, sending him stumbling backwards.

    While the man regained his balance, Marcus spun back to the woman, slashing at her unarmoured midriff. She cried out and leapt away as a thin line of blood appeared on her stomach. Quickly, he turned back to the man, and finished him with a thrust to the side of mans neck. Then he was left with the wounded woman. For the first time since the confrontation had begun, he noticed a little uncertainty in her eyes. "I will make your death as swift and painless as I can." He promised, saluting her with his bloody blade. She engaged him again, one of her axes swinging in low.

    That forced Marcus' blade down, to protect his legs, leaving him vulnerable to the second weapon. He saw the flash of triumph in her eyes, and she brought the second axe in to chop into his ribs. With his free hand, he reached down, and caught the haft of the weapon, just below the blade. He held the weapon an inch away from his side, holding it there despite the womans' best efforts. Her expression turned from triumph to confusion, then surprise as she spotted the pale hand holding her weapon back. Marcus struck then, slipping his blade down the haft of her left hand weapon, launching a stab at her leg.

    She was forced off balance, and extended her left arm to regain it. Marcus swung his blade up and down, the keen blade slashing through the womans right wrist, before doing the same to the left. The woman held the bloody stumps up before her disbelieving eyes, and Marcus brought his blade around in a horizontal slash, taking her head clean off. He took a moment to kill the first man he'd stabbed, before turning to engage the others near him.
     

    Orien Terrik

    "Arik tree'ac te kek."
    Jorunn picked up the sent of the Forsworn before seeing them. As he was about to call out to the others, the Ravine began to fill up with them, almost 30 sliding into place. Jorunn's bow was out in an instant, and he dropped two of them before they had even reached the ground. As two more rushed at him, he quickly threw his bow back over his shoulders, and unsheathed his sword. Throwing a ball of fire as a distraction, Jorunn charged in, and easily decapitated one of them. Lifting his blade up, he blocked the last warriors axe. Jorunn made eye contact with the man, and new he was a briarheart. This was their leader.

    The Briarheart let out a yell, and pulled his axe back, letting loose a frost spell at Jorunn. Quickly throwing his hand, up, the Ranger was able to deflect the magic back at the Briar heart, who was apparently unprepared for that, as it struck him right in his exposed Briarheart. A weird expression crossed his face as he fell to his knees. Jorunn walked forward, swinging his blade around in a circle, and then burying it through the top of his head. Yanking the blade back out, he cleaned it off on the Forsworn's hide clothing, and then sheathed it. Turning back around, he watched as the others finished off their own opponents. Suddenly, a noise caught his attention, looking up, he saw a Forsworn about to launch himself from the top of the Ravine. Pulling out his knife, he flipped it around in his hand, holding the blade. The Forsworn jumped, and let out a yell, and Jorunn let his blade fly. It was a beautiful throw, impacting the forsworn in the neck in mid jump. The dead body of the Forsworn warrior landed with a crunch next to the young robbed girl. Jorunn jogged up, and yanked the knife free cleaning the blood off, again.
     

    Aethalia

    Well-Known Member
    Nathariel heard the attackers before she saw them. The scuff of hide boots and the clatter of weapons on armour reached her ears from above. A minute later the Forsworn initiated their attack, blocking off both ends of the ravine. The others in the group drew their weapons and defended themselves, cutting down a fair amount of the attackers. Nathariel drew her own sword, and brought the blade up until it was at the same level as her jaw, held horizontally. The point of the blade faced the Forsworn coming towards her, and she held the pose until one of the attackers landed in front of her. The man held and axe in both hands, and didn't hesitate to charge her.

    The Altmer mercenary spun away from her opponent, her blade dipping low, briefly tapping the leading axe, before disengaging. She completed her spin ending up behind the warrior. Before he could turn to attack again, she slashed low. Her blade cut through the tendons at the back of the mans neck. Taking a two handed grip, she chopped high, cutting through his neck. The man toppled forwards, and she heard a snarled curse from behind her. She reversed her grip on her weapon and thrust backwards. Her attack was rewarded with a grunt. She reclaimed her weapon and turned in time to see the man collapse. Free of assailants, she looked around to see the others finishing off their own opponents.
     

    willowwisp

    Well-Known Member
    The Forsworn attack was nothing short of terrifying. She'd heard stories of the savage Forsworn that lived in the hills around Markarth. Alicia had never been unfortunate enough to encounter them before now though. The descended from the ravines edges, swinging savage looking swords and axes, and hollering war cries. The mercenaries around her drew their weapons,and began cutting down the lightly armoured warriors.

    One of the Forsworn spotted her, and, seeing the lack of weapons on her person, hefted his weapon and grinned. Alicia thought of trying to draw her dagger, but then what? She wasn't a warrior. She preferred to avoid any kind of conflict, if at all possible. That didn't mean she was completely helpless. She focused, bringing her magical energies to bear on the man. The spell wasn't anything as flashy as lightning, fire, or ice. Instead, it was a telekinetic assault, something that sent the man flying backwards, away from her.

    He struck his head against a rock, and went still. She wasn't sure if he was dead, and she wasn't about to go check. A sound drew her attention, and she noticed another Forsworn warrior. He was poised to jump down and attack her, and Alicia doubted she had enough power to stop him. As it turned out, she didn't need to. The ranger chucked a knife at the leaping man, and the forsworns leap turned into a fall. He hit the ground with a crunch, and Alicia flinched away as the ranger calmly collected his knife and wiped away the blood.
     

    Thesius

    The Imperial Paladin
    The ambush was cunningly executed, Tyresius had to admit. One moment, they'd been following the tracks left by the villagers and their abductors. The next, forsworn were charging down from cliff top to attack. Being used to facing much worse on a day to day basis, the psychological effect of screaming, half naked savages rushing down the ravines sides was lost on him. Calmly, he shouldered his crossbow took aim on one of the leading enemies, and fired. The heavy oak bolt struck the man in the chest, killing him almost instantly.

    He didn't have time to reload the weapon before more of the warriors reached him. No less than four warriors stood against him. Unlike with most of his opponents he faced, the forsworn weren't evil. Not completely, anyways. In any other circumstance, he would have tried to avoid them. But the people Tyresius was after were evil. Or at least controlled by an evil entity. And these forsworn were trying to stop him. Which meant they needed to be dealt with. Drawing his greatsword, he faced his opponents. The first man to charge was overconfident, leaping forwards, both weapons well away from his body. Tyresius sent the warrior back to his friends, minus his head.

    They were more cautious after that. Just because Tyresius' beard and hair were going grey, it didn't mean he was any less capable than the younger warriors. The three remaining forsworn spread out, trying to get past his defenses. He parried several assaults, taking a few blows on the platemail of his armour as well. Though the forsworn were persistent, Tyresius had the better weapon, better armour, and more experience. In minutes, all three remaining enemies were dead.
     

    TheShadedOne

    The Angry One
    The rest of the group drew their swords, chopping down the Forsworn as they approached. The majority of the ambushers were focused on the heavily armed and armoured mercenaries. Nivanni stayed atop her boulder, watching the others fight with interest. A pair of warriors, seeing the Khajiit woman, in nothing more than a dress, and completely unarmed, rushed her. She waited until the leading man had closed the distance, drawing his sword back to slash at her legs, she lashed out with her booted foot. Her heel caught him on the nose, and it broke with an audible crunch. Howling, the man fell back, cupping his crushed nose.

    His friend, made aware that she wasn't as helpless as she looked, began circling around to get behind her. She turned with him, stepping back as he lunged with his own weapon. Predictably, he slashed sideways, trying to take her feet off at the ankles. She hopped over the attack,and retreated to the other edge of the boulder. She kept her eyes on the uninjured man, but angled her ears backwards, listening to the ragged breathing of the first. He seemed to have recovered a little, and was approaching, probably hoping to catch her by surprise. People always tended to underestimate the hearing of her species.

    One of the warriors charging towards the others suddenly fell, a longsword lodged in his chest. The man collapsed, injuring one of his friends as he did so. The first warriors breathing hitched as he charged, stabbing at her back, while his friend did the same. One of them would have surely injured her, if she'd still been there, that was. Instead, Zah'Nivanni leapt sideways, off the rock onto the ground. She plucked the blade out of the man, and turned to her two enemies. Well, one enemy, now. The man with the broken nose had stabbed his friend, a fatal blow to the chest. He stared dumbly at his companion as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

    She offered the man a feral smile, and lashed out with her borrowed weapon. The tip of the blade tore open the mans throat, releasing an arterial spray. Now that the her attackers were dead, the scent of blood in the air was....intoxicating. A grunt near her legs drew her attention. The man that had been wounded stared up at her. It looked like he'd lost his weapon when he fell, or was at least dazed. She glanced at the others, most of whom were busy finishing their own fights. They'd never have noticed if she fed on him. Her back was to them, after all. But no. She didn't want to risk being found out so early. Instead, she reached down and snapped the mans neck.

    She cleaned the sword on one of the corpses, walked back to the others, flipping the weapon around and offering it hilt first to the bounty hunter, unarmed except for a dagger. "Here you go. Thanks for the loan." She looked around at the dead Forsworn. "Well, this was a fun distraction, but I think we should get back to hunting the ones that took the villagers, hmm?" She motioned for the ranger to lead the way. Then noticed the blood on the snow white fur on her leg. Obviously, some fool had gone and bled on her. She snatched the rangers cloak, "do you mind?"She asked,and without waiting for an answer, used it to clean off the worst of it. There was still a stain ,but once they got back to civilization, she could clean herself up properly. Just because she was a monster didn't mean she had to look like one. "By the way." She turned back to the bounty hunter. "I don't think I ever got your name."
     

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