[coronatiger]

Thoughts on November 2nd (continued)

My partner managed a look outside and swore. Perhaps things weren’t going as badly as I thought? I tried to get him to focus on what we were doing, but while he was still a willing participant, he wasn’t as into it as before. Someone knocked on the door a little later, but they went away when I told them to.

I called out for Sulla, the three-faced god of love, when we reached the pinnacle of our performance. Then I slid contentedly off my partner and took a few breaths before I began to dress. My partner was eager to get away, but I grabbed his arm and held him back. “It’s best if you don’t run away quite yet,” I told him.

I looked outside, cautiously. Va’lyndra and Leopold were doing first aid on fallen bandits. Ilzo had sunk into the ground – only his hands and head stuck out from the dirt – and he was unconscious. I wondered how he had managed to get into that position, but since my friends seemed to have the situation under control, I remained where I was, making sure the last bandit didn’t bolt.

Va’lyndra asked Leopold to make a deep hole to hide the three corpses, and she ransacked the bodies, but it didn’t look like she found much. Then she came over to me and said I needed to stop my partner from seeing what she and Leopold were doing. She spoke so forcefully, my partner turned away. I got the impression that not even Olivia should learn what Va’lyndra was going to do, so I closed the door. I couldn’t tell her what I didn’t see myself. I asked the bandit if he wanted another round, but discovered that he was crying. I asked why, but got no reply.

Leopold arrived while I was practicing contortion, and asked if I could help him unbury Ilzo. We didn’t have any shovels, but Leopold just asked me to pull Ilzo out. I took hold of one of his hands and pulled as hard as I could, but he was completely stuck. Meanwhile, Leopold told my partner that they’d given first aid to his friends, and asked him to take care of them. Did he know a place where they could rest? Leopold said it wasn’t our intention to harm anyone. They had only fought back when the bandits attacked.

Va’lyndra said that an armed crowd had gathered to take us, and it was time to go. Leopold asked my partner if those guys were friends of his, but he just shrugged. I asked if I should run to the inn to get a staff or something, but Leopold had enough energy to loosen the earth around Ilzo, so we managed to pull him up. I heaved the orc over my shoulders and began staggering towards the inn. Va’lyndra was exhausted and didn’t move much faster than me, but neither she nor Leopold looked very hurt.

The watching crowd began to run, and Leopold said they were going to intercept us. I seemed to remember that Va’lyndra knew some people in the area, and asked if we could go there to hide. She didn’t want to bring a mob to their door. Leopold proposed that we paid someone to hide us.

A sudden hailstorm struck, and we seized the opportunity to change directions while the weather covered us from sight. I asked Leopold if any of the bandits they fought had knives, and asked him to run back to fetch one for me, in case we had to fight. That mob had leather armor and clubs, so it would be prudent to have a weapon. I was so slow under Ilzo’s load that we only had gone about thirty meters from the battlefield. Leopold returned quickly and gave the knife to Va’lyndra, who put it in my hand.

The hail stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and we saw that the mob were now heading straight for us. Va’lyndra looked for a hiding place. We were in a garden. Leopold tested the back door to the adjoining house; it was locked. I told him to knock. Va’lyndra offered ten gold if they let us in. Leopold said we knew they were in there and promised that we weren’t going to rob them. Va’lyndra even jingled her pouch, but nobody opened. I asked Leopold if he had enough energy left to make a cave for them to hide in while I ran back to the inn to get supplies.

We didn’t have time to linger, and went around the corner. Va’lyndra said the mob hadn’t seen us yet, despite coming in our direction. A single bandit was running straight for us, and he was too surprised to defend himself when Leopold cut through his armor and Va’lyndra whirled her staff up between his legs. The blow was so hard, he didn’t even have time to register the pain before passing out. Passersby looked at us with shock.

Va’lyndra pointed at another bandit, fifty meters away. He was going to alert the others to our presence, she said, and asked if I could take him if she carried Ilzo. I asked what I should do with him. “Capture him, knock him unconscious. Just don’t kill him.” I could do that.

I dropped Ilzo and dashed off. I was over half-way there when he reacted and shouted for his friends. He stood ready with his club when I got within reach. He swung for me twice, but I dodged both attacks easily. My return slash cut past his parry and through the leather. Blood sprayed onto the street and people around us began to scatter. A woman dropped her basket.

The bandit tried to retaliate, but I dodged again. I began pulling back towards Va’lyndra and Leopold, for I didn’t think my opponent could remain standing for long, not with the gash I had given him. I guessed right; he managed another feeble swing of his club before collapsing.

I turned around. Between my friends and me were five more bandits, and two of them were aiming bows at me. They hadn’t seen my friends yet, but if I just took off, they would certainly look around and spot them, so I ducked and weaved, making myself as hard a target as possible, while still allowing them to try.

Leopold came charging at the archers, but someone behind a house called out that a gnome was behind them. The archers loosed, and I only dodged one arrow. The other stuck out from my stomach. Shocked with pain, I didn’t even try to attack the two club-wielders who came into reach. I dodged them easily enough.

I gave one of them a light slash and continued to dance backwards. They ran to surround me, swinging wildly, but they both missed. I attacked the same one as before and gave him a deeper cut, taking him out of the fight. Dancing backwards, we had now rounded a corner, but Leopold had run for the other side of this house, keeping the attention of the other bandits away from Va’lyndra. The bandit swung his club again, but I ducked under the blow and cut his thigh. He fell, and while he was still awake, I considered him no longer a combatant.

I charged back into the street. The archers were now aiming for Leopold, who was getting away, pursued by one club-man. Another lay on the ground. I rushed the closest archer and made a wild swing, which missed. The archer turned and shot, but he missed, having not had time to take aim. Leopold made it around the corner, and I didn’t see Va’lyndra anywhere, so I waved my knife in the archer’s general direction and took off. Neither archer got a shot off before I turned the corner.

The one whose thigh I cut tried to throw his club at me as I passed, but he failed to even come close. I rounded the next corner, and saw Leopold in melee with another club-wielder. I ran up to them and swung at the bandit, but missed. Leopold swung and missed, too. The bandit copied our failed moves and retreated a few steps. I followed and slashed his thigh. He fell and screamed.

Leopold peeked around the corner, but couldn’t see the archers, so I checked the other corner. The archers were there, standing near the two bandits I had taken down earlier. I yelled for them to put their weapons down, or else I would come and take them. One archer threw down his weapon and ran for it, but the other attempted a shot. He fumbled and dropped his weapon, and took off when I charged towards him, knife raised and howling as orcishly as I could.