"Quickly, ride by the houses and wake the people." Lanaey turned and got her bow off of Drass as quickly as she could. While she was stringing it an arrow sped by her to barely miss a dodging Jess. Locking Jess with a quick look, the young human took heart, jumped on her horse and darted off toward the nearest house with a high pitched yell calling out attack.
Nocking her bow, Lanaey took defense behind a mid-sized tree that left her slightly exposed. With a few clicks of her tongue she sent Drass into hiding, who quickly went behind the nearest building. Turning to the side of the tree to face the invaders, the Elf quickly took aim and let her arrow fly. Without waiting to see if her aim had been true, she swiveled back into a protected position and grabbed another arrow.
She could hear the village coming around and hoped that the people wouldn't be rash and run right into the invaders arrows. Of course, the brigands wouldn't use bows soon; they were riding past the edges of the village.
Glancing around the tree Lanaey spotted two riders that were practically touching each other as they charged forward. She took careful aim and released. She didn't stay exposed to watch like the time before, but she heard her success this time. The horse on the left neighed sharply and collided into the other, knocking both riders to the ground. Lanaey felt a twang of guilt for hitting the innocent horse, but this fight was one she wasn't prepared to lose.
Giving a shrill whistle Lanaey let loose one more arrow then stepped away from the tree as Drass came galloping up. Drass didn't slow down in passing. Lanaey took two quick steps, grabbed the pomel with precise timing and swung up. Locking her bow into it's emergency holding strap she unsheathed her sword and started toward a side opponent.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw others, villagers and warriors who had come out and were fighting. Grinning at their bravery on the inside, Lanaey swung at the wild man who had tried to impale her at their first passing, and had failed. Yelling a wordless cry she leaned low in the saddle to avoid another slighlty clumsy blow and felt her sword slide cleanly into the mans gut. Wrenching her sword free Lanaey turned Drass around once again to find the next closest invader.
~*~
There were so many dead! Leena had killed three more wild men so far, but had seen at least twenty fallen villagers and five dead Rohirrim fighters.
Currently she was chasing down a fleeing invader who she had seen kill a child. The memory flashed behind her eyes, stealing from her concentration as it played out once again in her mind.
- A young child, no more than six summers old, running out from his hiding place to hold his just killed father. The wild man laughing as the boy cried and tripped when he finally reached the dead villager. The small boy hugging his fathers middle, tears still flowing unendingly. The brigand picking the tiny form up sneering, “Want to see him again?”
Not waiting for the child to answer he snapps the young ones neck and drops him like a maiden would a soiled cloth. -
Leena had been dispatching another killer when she saw the bits and pieces unfold from across the road. Giving a terrifying yell she ran to the boy. The wild man had heard her cry, saw her eyes, saw her coming towards him and he ran, dropping his sword as he turned to flee. Pausing to touch the boy’s still warm cheek and to mutter a quick word of prayer, Leena had gathered her fading strength and started in on the chase that led out of the town and through the forest. She wasn’t paying attention to the land as it passed by her in blurs, her only focus was on the weaving figure before her.
This one will die of his own poison, but not before I gut him.
Seeing her prey falter slightly up ahead she put on a burst of speed and stumbled on a bit of her dress as it caught beneath her again. Cursing yet again she kept up the pace and was soon on the man, tackling him from behind with a dagger leading the attack.
Crying out as he fell, the man started to beg for his life. “Ple..please. I didn’t..I’m….I don’t even have a weapon!” The figure was pitiful, writhing on the forest floor trying to back away from the advancing priestess.
Leena’s face screwed up in revulsion. She took her sword and thrust it into his belly, then took out one of the stolen darts as he screamed and spit up blood. Kneeling down she embedded it into his chest, right above the heart, much like when someone hits a table with their fist.
“Now you have two.”
[ August 03, 2003: Message edited by: Kryssal ]
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