Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Methos and Lyonene)

[Lyonene]

It was a wolf-ridden night, as cold as any time in recent memory, and lit with nothing but starlight beyond the Village of the Bear's hearth fires. For the small group of warriors creeping through the black, however, all thoughts of warmth and comfort were secondary to the knowledge that they might be the only tribesmen to stand between the lives of their loved ones and an enemy too powerful to face alone.

Thera could only shake her head at the thought of it; the viking season had drawn to a close many weeks ago and only the most desparate (or ambitious) clans raided outside this honored time. Her family was more than likely asleep, half the house thanes in a drunken stupor while the other half would be snoring in the main hall. 'No,' she thought to herself, propelling herself through the snowy underbrush with elbows and knees, 'they won't rouse easily.' The barbarian girl could only grunt, an oddly feminine sound emitting from the dark animal skins wrapped about her. She limbered the spear at her side and rose to a low crouch, allowing her warriors a moment to melt into the darkness nearby.

Her messengers would have a hard time of it, but if any of them wanted to live to see the sun rise ....

She raised one arm, signaling for silence while their enemies drew closer. There was no hope for her band of fifty to defeat their attackers outright but perhaps .. perhaps they could kill someone important enough to buy her runners enough time to wake the village. Even her keen eyes, showing white and round as an owl's in her soot-blackened face, couldn't count their numbers as they swept through the Elmwood on silent feet. She could only wait for the correct moment to strike and hope her men were patient enough to await the order.

 

[Methos]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

The season did not favour a raid, but ambition was ever a dangerous thing. Nor was there every any leader more eager to make a name for himself than a brash younger son who succeeded a father of substantial reputation. Aldric had taken to the field for precisely that reason. Much was expected of him, for his people had accepted him as king to follow his father. Being called king alone placed the weight of expectations upon him, for they hailed him not as a mere chief, for his was lord now of several substantial towns and a scattering of villages of a plain and through the hills. With their dragon badge and fancying themselves a kingdom rather than a tribe, there was ever pressure to demonstrate that they were indeed better than the lowly clans that neighbored them.

Hence he’d raided through the season and now he sought to continue it with another strike before the weather was too much of an obstacle to continue. He’d gathered five hundred of his finest warrior and they marched swiftly into the lands of the Bear clan. Their gold, their livestock, their armour, weaponry and women would all be theirs. Not to mention slaves would be had to work their own lands as well.

They’d slipped over the border and moved through the hills rather swiftly. As far as Aldric had been able to tell they’d not even been spotted and they were only hours from the village. They’d moved swiftly and silently, as given that the season had passed he expected that their target’s guard would have lowered which would allow them to accomplish their aim without much in the way of a fight.

Aldric likely stood out somewhat amongst his fellows. A fine cloak of wolves fur was wrapped around his back, while a helm worked in the shape of a dragon’s maw would partially cover his rather handsome features. At six and a half feet in height, he’d be among the largest men in the group that surged forward. Not to mention that being at its front others appeared to follow him.

A shield was strapped to one forearm, while an axe was held in his other hand. His sword was belted at the waist and he had a rather finely worked suit of chainmail on overtop a leather tunic. Dark hair spilled down to his shoulders while green eyes looked out into the night. He led his men forward rather steadily, his eyes constantly searching the shadows before him as they headed towards the town with all due haste.

 

[Lyonene]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

She watched the shadows of men as they hastened through her forest, minding her of a swarm of angry insects with their fancy armor than the real fighting men that accompanied her tonight.

"This is our land," she breathed, her voice low and husky in its whisper although it was passionate enough to make a man's chest swell with pride. "Our families. Our fields." Thera allowed her gaze to leave the approaching army for a moment, meeting the eyes of her own warriors as they looked to her for guidance. "Do not let them take what is ours by right. Do not let them have the Village of the Bear!"

It was a small enough noise, this last empassioned whisper, punctuated with the rise of her black-coated spear, yet the forest seemed unnaturally still, as if every creature smaller than a man simply disappeared into the night. Every warrior had heard of such things, of course, but as far as Thera and her tribesmen knew there was no living sorceress in all the Northlands. She turned to scan the trees again, exhaling at the familiar sight of the raiders they must kill tonight. Only men.

Bright silvery eyes finally came to rest on a shape larger than the rest, a great dragon of a man hefting axe and shield as though they weighed nothing at all. She noted how the men behind him tracked his progress through the trees and moved to match his pace, none moving faster than their leader. The barbarian's lip curled. So this is the cur that would attack out of season! The wretch that would steal into her home in the dead of night and take everything from her!

The snarl that left her lips was barely human as she let her spear fly, its path as swift and sure, its objective the massive chest of the Dragon at the head of his army. A hail of spears would follow, each hurled as soundlessly as the first, a silent diversion before the small band of warriors leapt into the breach, lashing out with weapons blacker than the night. To a superstitious mind, it would seem as though the Elmwood itself rose up to destroy these treacherous invaders.

Several moments of pure silence followed, punctuated only by the shrieks of the injured as Thera and her fur-clad defenders fell upon the enemy. If her figure was somewhat smaller than the others, it made little difference in the melee. Her sword was just as fast as the others and her aim just as true. The midnight furs swathing her body gave nothing away and the paint that blackened her skin hid all but the whites of her eyes and the flash of her teeth as she spat and snarled at the men before her. If she moved to injure rather than to kill, well, that was for the warriors behind her to finish - there was only one man that needed to die tonight and she was cutting a path toward him.

 

[Methos]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

A string of curses would part Aldric’s lips as the stillness of the night was interrupted by the whistle of thrown spears. “Get your shields up! Get your shields up!” He bellowed rather loudly as his own shield was brought in front of him to receive a spear seemingly thrown directly as him. The point of it would strike that iron and wooden form, cause the weapon to skitter to the ground. The force of its impact sent him back a step or two.

A few men who responded to his orders too slowly fell and he cursed further as he dashed forwards in the direction of those that had ambushed them. The men closed to him responded and a general charge in the direction of their attackers began. Rather fiercely the young king would meet his assailants with that wicked axe hewing through those that stood before him like some sort of macabre lumberjack as flesh and bone was chopped away with ruthless efficiency.

The fur clad ambushers seemed to be rather lightly armored, hence Aldric found that he swept through them like wildfire upon dry grass. His axe would meet flesh and cut through it, one warrior and then another would fall as his shield blocked their blade and then his axe found its way past their own in turn. Five warrior were soon struck down around him and with those warriors accompanying him the small party that had attacked them in the dead of night was being rather badly mauled.

“Let none of them escape! None of them get back to their village to raise the alarm. Kill them all.” He demanded as he ordered his men forward. Whatever else he deemed this ambush to be, he did not appear to plan to let it be anything more than the most minor of setbacks. As he tore through the Bear clan warriors he seemed rather intent on implementing that order by himself if need be.

Of course as he was cutting a path through her clansmen in general Thera had been cutting a path towards him. She’d find him soon enough and he let his eyes fix upon the slight fur clad warrior. He gave no particular thought in the dead of night to the gender or identity of his enemy it simply was that and enemy. Hence as she draw near he’d seek to use his shield to ram against her to knock her off balance to let his axe follow in a quick killing stroke.

 

[Lyonene]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

She slipped through the ranks of armed warriors as easily as a doe running through native forest, the dripping edge of her blade parting flesh while its deadly tip seemed to draw unerringly closer to the dragon-headed leader of these strange new enemies. The bellow of his voice was loud enough to shock the forest into momentary stillness but still, she worked hard to close the distance between them.

All about her, she could feel the wrath of her clansmen - she fair boiled over with rage, growling as she watched the raiders begin to fall before her party and gasping when one of her men took injury. She trembled with fury to see so many of her men throw themselves upon the Dragon's axe .. and fall. There was no real thought behind her headlong charge into the enemy's ranks, not a goal to accomplish beyond the death of their leader, even at the cost of her own life. No, there was nothing discernable about the slight warrior charging the enemy besides an expression of indignant rage and a widening of impossibly large eyes as she was knocked off her balance with such ease. The smaller warrior could only duck her head, blade slashing out wildly as she rolled away from the man's arm, feeling the rush of air against her scalp but emerging more or less intact.

Thera found her feet quickly and squared off again, ignoring the fact that her deep fur hood was pushed back somewhat, revealing wisps of snowy hair about a face much too delicate for a barbarian's. "FOR BJORNALL!!!" She cried, her voice low and raspy from exertion. Her feral smile could only widen at the answering cries of "BJORNALL!" and "KILBERHAAR!!" from her men.

She came at him again, her blade lowered to drive beneath the man's shield before he could adjust. "Escape?" The smaller warrior snarled, "we do not run from thieves in the night!"

 

[Methos]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

Aldric watched the slight warrior who’d ran towards him tumble backwards as he struck her with his shield. Although when she was knocked backwards and then dodged hastily away from him, her face became visible along with snowy locks of hair suggesting that it wasn’t a slight man so much as a woman that was his opponent. He’d look rather surprised as that became clear and then remark “So the Bear clan sends a mere girl out to fight me…”

His axe had cleaved past her, dangerously flying close to splitting open her head. The woman had dived out of his way and then scrambled to her feet. His axe and shield were readied and he moved towards her once more. The youthful king quite intent on finishing this skirmish quickly and bloodily, he saw his men were overwhelming their opponents. Severe advantages in numbers most often had that effect if given half a chance to go about it.

He heard the woman attempting to rally the men with her. And they did cheer. On the other hand they were also dying rather swiftly so while she snarled at him they didn’t run from thieves in the night, she may have more prudently wished to recognizer that particular policy. Her sword stabbed low at him and his form slid to the side to evade the thrust.

His shield was pushed towards her again as he sought to cause her to shy away from it. But as he did so a rather wicked slash from his axe followed almost directly thereafter. Aldric snarled at her “If I don’t kill you girl, you’ll look fetching curled up like a dog at my feet begging to know what pleasure I would have of you. As you and your whole clan are good for little but slaves.”

 

[Lyonene]

Re: Of Wyrms and Warriors (For Lyonene and Methos)

Thera could care less what her opponents thought of her - not while her own men were fighting .. and dying. Yes, the casualties they inflicted were severe but there was no hope of killing the entire force. She watched her fur-clad warriors dodge attack after attack, the fierceness of their ambush disturbing many of the Dragon's warriors, if not deterring them outright.

But they were dying.

There wasn't much time to survey the battle, of course, but she could feel that none of them had much time left. Their only hope was to delay the army and give her clan enough time to prepare for the battle to come. His attacks were strong enough to cleave through flesh and bone, Thera didn't need to glance down at the bodies of her fallen warriors to know it, but then .. the terrain and near blackness about them favored her. Aside from the pale hair about her face, there was little to separate her (and all of her warriors) from the starlit forest.

She knew enough not to fear the man's shield; the buffet was slow .. too broad an attack for this sort of fighting and he seemed to think so little of her that he felt no need to alter his attacks. The blade of his axe slashed harmlessly to one side as she dodged forward and pivoted, seeking to slice through the unprotected tendon behind his left knee.

"One of us dies tonight, Dragon," she snapped, her voice almost lost amidst the screams of the dying. "It would be a thousand times better to die in battle than to live and serve a thief like you!"

 

[Methos]

Aldric’s most skilled men had clustered around him. Naturally they’d been rather encouraged by his cutting a swath through the opponents before him, and when he’d become preoccupied with his current duel they’d surged past both him and the woman he was fighting to continue to drive the other bear warriors back. In numbers and ferocity his raiding party was at the most distinct of advantages, thus a route was in the making and his party seemed rather intent on surging forward all the way to the town beyond.

The woman before him lacked anything resembling his reach. Hence it was necessary for her to spring forwards towards him as she sought to close distance and then strike downwards towards his knee. Yet as she move forwards it was just as easy for him to step back and to the side to leave her blade whistling through the air

Yet he seemed it a rather foolish ploy on her part to seek to bring herself close enough to strike him, as while she slashed forward past him, her body was briefly exposed. He’d close the distance that he’d created to avoid her blow, rather swiftly his axe licked out towards her own legs if nothing else seeking to force her to parry or avoid it. But his forward momentum with shield before him would carry him towards her as essentially sought to force her to choose whether she would be struck by his blade or bowled over.

“Then I hope you’ve made your peace with your gods for I shall not die this day.” Aldric snarled at her. And he smirked “And if you survive you’d best get used to having your legs spread apart, for you’ll be my own little fur clad whore.”