Unguarded Guardians (IC) Part 2

[Zender_Solarheart]

Victor remains quiet during the verbal confrontation up ahead, ready to act if needed...though, Dax pretty much said everything he would have, if he were the one up there instead. He's had experience with these "male superiority" types, and he knows that sexism never solves any problems; all it ever does is create new ones. Hell, the officer speaks as if men have never steered people wrong in leading positions, which is obviously false. A man is just as vulnerable to the corruption of power as a woman is, if not even more so.

For now, Victor simply keeps watch, making sure no guards try anything funny. If one of them draws his blade, however, he's ready for action...and if they so much as touch Nyx, they'd better pray for heaven to save them...because anyone arrogant enough to do that will need it, regardless of whose blade is turned on them first...

[MiscChaos]

"Got'cha. I'll keep an eye on him then. But yeah, the hellhounds that were killing off your livestock are nice and dead. Was almost easy dealing with them. There's some lady pulling strings behind the scenes though. I think that might be your necromancer. If it is, the slave thing is just an afterthought to her real goal. If it isn't, then we still get the slaving to worry about. We haven't heard from the rest of the squad yet though, so we don't know about your captain."

[napsii]

Kaz had wrenched her chair free from the wall, and now was content to rock back and forth on it dangerously, creating a rhythmic clack-clack as the legs bounced against the floor. Dethorac (a name which she thought was DUMB!) was not only a jerk face, he was also ugly. And a slaver. Kaz did not like slavers! At home in Furon, she was a minor noble so she'd never faced the plight of chains and manacles, but out here, slavery was madness! Bleh. If it was up to her, she'd shove all of the slavers in the world's faces into the dirt.

"Wut she said," cross-eyed Kaz echoed Lilia, who'd already given the long and the short out of it, "We totes effed them up. Oh, ya, and there was some like, almost naked lady shooting PURPLE NECROMANCER MAGIC AT US!" she exclaimed, rocking the chair to and fro more intensely, "She like, blasted us in the butt and then ran off! She's totes Cap'n Sort's ecks-gee-eff. It's like, so adorable!" she grinned ear to ear, giddy at the idea of cuddly-wuddly romance.

"I hope the others didn't get blasted in the butt! It hurt!" Kaz's chair then creaked, and then with a thunderous crack, the rotten wooden legs shattered into a pile of splinters, sending the girl sprawling onto the floor, still seated at ground-level on the wrecked chair seat.

"DURF. OW."

[Icaelus]

Mex stepped quietly through the cave, trailing behind Sort as she let him lead, Ravenous at the ready. Didn't pay to let your guard down when you were on enemy turf. Still, there didn't seem to be anything as they progressed. The burning Necro out there probably had wiped out most of them, a good thing for once.
"Seems like they can be useful once in a while, those Necros."
Mex gave Sort a little grin as they came upon a large cavern. They quickly retreated behind cover as they noticed a small camp in it. Three orcs and one unconscious human woman in a cage. The guard captain, probably? Mex chanced a peek out at the eating orcs, a devilish smile crossing her face. She pointed to the largest orc and then nodded to Sort. Surprise attacks were always fun..and the one to start it always had the best chance to do some real damage.
Mex backed up a bit, raising Ravenous overhead in a vertical swinging position. She swung down hard and shifted mid-swing, materializing about a foot above the Orc Boss' head, Ravenous just about to cleave it clean off.

[Sortaix]

Sort and Mex:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Mex got quite lucky as her shifting got her up and close to the orc boss before he even knew what was happening. Unfortunately for her, Ravenous decided to stick around again, and instead of taking the orcs head off, merely embedded itself in the orcs skull.(-40 stamina) The other two did a classic food and drink spitting out of shock before trying to get up to attack. One was able to jump up and back and un-sheath his axes, while the other stopped short due to an arrow in his knee.(-20 stamina) (-40 health) He emitted a growl of pain before grabbing one axe and trying to limp back to get ready.

Sort: Health: 360/360 Stamina: 1170/1250
Mex: Health: 360/360 Stamina: 1060/1200
Orc Lackey #1: Health 500/500
Orc Lackey #2: Health 460/500

Dax, Kaz, Lilia, Vic:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Dax had no more responses given to him, Dethorac just pointed him in the direction of the young guard. As Dax would enter the station, he would find Kaz safe and sound, though the action she was performing on her chair might be...*THUNK*...dangerous. Well, at least her head broke her fall, and it's surely thick enough for a fall like that not to affect her in the slightest. The guard jumped up as Dax entered to ask him how his mission went, but Kaz's display of the dangers of chairs cut him short. Though he asked Dax about the status of his mission after they checked Kaz for any serious injuries. Meanwhile, Dethorac continued his rant outside, though if Vic payed attention, he would notice it sounded more like an attempt to get the men to join him and overthrow the mayor.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Something about Dethorac's ranting speech gives Victor a strange feeling...as if there's more in it than just sexist bigotry. His initial thought is to walk away and play it cool...but between both curiosity and anxiety, he can't just leave it alone. So, he cautiously approaches a little closer, listening more intently to the speech. Frankly, he's hoping that his hypothesis of a revolt in the works is mere suspicion, and nothing more...

(I swear, if he's plotting what I think he is...)

[MiscChaos]

Lilia sighs and facepalms as Kaz hits the floor. "At least ya didn't fall on anything important." she says, only half-jokingly. Then she just finds a nice corner to see the room from and parks herself there, waiting for Dax's mission update while keeping an eye on the man that followed him in that's creeping towards the door. She doesn't think they were introduced when she first met the group, but Dax doesn't seem to have a problem with him, so she doesn't either.

[daxtinator396]

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Some weird Necro lady threatened to do... stuff to you guys." Dax said with a frown and went to see if Kaz was okay. Satisfied she was he finished his report to the rest of the group,"The bandits were all a trap only Familiars. Something is definitely going on here. They knew who we were and they wanted to capture us alive! Somebody tipped them off and I'm not sure what is going on but that Necro lady is definitely behind it. But if she meets Mex I think we won't have anything to worry about!" He moves back against the wall just glad that both of the ladies were okay.

[napsii]

With a clumsy roll, Kaz managed to flip right side up again and sprung to her feet. She looked up at the others, brushing some grime off her shorts. Wow! A real happy reunion! She grinned ear to ear, spinning around to face the newcomer... drumroll, please... DAX! She wondered if his real name was Daxter. With a few bats of the hand, she waved away the peeps critiquing her for injuries. It'd take more than a tumble to knock out Kaziente Celskyja!

"WOWZERS! Nice to see you again Dax... ter? Is it Daxter? Or just Dax? Iunno! It's a mystery!" Kaz exclaimed, scratching her temple to listen to his tale. Sort's ex-GF, shapeshifters and... other stuff? It was a really poorly designed recipe for disaster!

"I dunno what any of that means, but I say we go bash some heads in and save the day. That Dethorac guy looks like a dum-dum. Let's bash his face." nodded Kaz, swinging Tide over her shoulder.

[MiscChaos]

"This lady... she was an elf, barely dressed, had a dead horse to ride on, blasted people with dark magic?" Lilia asks from her corner. She doesn't doubt that this is the same woman that attacked her and Kaz earlier, but it's always best to be sure.

[daxtinator396]

Dax smiled at Kaz glad she was alright and even seemed happy to see him! His heart skipped a beat and answered her question after he finished telling his report,"Well it was Daxter but I changed it becuase Dax just rolls of the tongue better. You are the first person to even guess! Good job." He said smiling and then heard Lilia`s question and his smile quickly evaporated,"Got it in one... what did she tell you? And Kaz I agree we should go bash his face in. WOuld prove that women are better too." He said with his face set in a thin line.

[MiscChaos]

"She's after your boy, Sortaix. She's apparently an ex-girlfriend of his and is looking for some cheap revenge. Even if she's gotta kill us to do it. She also told us that we've been chosen by the gods as their champions and something about paladins, but I don't know anything about that." Lilia says, arms crossed. She figured that the bitch would've targeted Dax's group either before she met Lilia or after blasting her and Kaz. "She tell you anything important?"

[daxtinator396]

"Only that her name was Sierra Salla and that our good captian knows more about why we`re here than he told us before. I intend to get some questions answered when he gtes back unless we want to go find him... On second thought if we leave I don`t want to know what will happen especially with that bigoted asshat outside. You." He turns to the guard who`s name escapes him,"What is that man`s name? And what can you tell us about him. He bothers me. Something about him isn`t right and he screams,"Coupe!" To me." He said with a grim look on his face. He didn`t want to think what could happen if a man like that was put in charge.

[MiscChaos]

"His name is name is Dethorac and you're right. According to our friend here, he's trying to gather the guards up so that he can overthrow the mayor. He's been put in charge of making that slave outpost by the necromancers. Big surprise there, huh?" Her opinion of Sortaix drops a little more. He's been withholding vital information from the very people he's been travelling with? If he's supposed to be their captain, he's a piss poor one at best. She halfway contemplates taking him out pro bono just to get him out of their hair, but nixes the thought.She's pretty sure no one would appreciate it.

[Icaelus]

The most fun was being the first one to go. Of course, that didn't mean being the first one to die. Mex smiled coldly as Raven sheared the boss' life away, drawing first blood with one gruesome strike. Again, the sweep was imperfect and the scythe lodged in the orc's skull instead of a clean cut. She growled in annoyance.
"Are you kidding me?"
Mex cast a quick look at the two surviving orcs, both of which were still busy spewing food over each other. An arrow smashed into one of the orc's knees, buying her some time to get Raven free. She immediately got down to the task, shoving a foot firmly against the orc boss' head and tugging Ravenous free with one great effort. She turned to face the orc that already had his axes unsheathed, summoning a cluster of flame projectiles to throw towards him. The flames rocketed towards the orc, zig-zagging in riotous directions everywhere as they zeroed onto him and finally descended on the orc in a cascade of blazing death.

[Sortaix]

Sort and Mex: (read first)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Mex's flame attack was quick and deadly. The orc was caught in a burst of flames and magic, that consumed him. The other orc was wounded and slowed down, that allowed Sort to place an arrow directly into his eye socket, killing him. With the death of the two orcs nothing stood in Sort and Mex's way as they checked up on the woman in the cage. She was unconscious, showing clear signs of being ravaged by these brutes.
"Let's let her sleep, as we check this place for anything useful. Then, I'll carry her back to town."
Sort then went about searching the cave, as the two searched they found little of note, other than a large sack of gold, that contained at least a hundred and fifty pieces. They did find the staff of the necromancer that was killed. Sort carted it back, as it could serve a few useful purposes, both as a disguise or as a quick pawn off, should the need arise. Sort made Mex carry the staff as well as the gold sack giving her a big gropey hug and a kiss before commenting on how good she is with "sacks", before cleaning up the guard captain and wrapping her in a blanket and carting her back to town.

Town: (SHIZ WILL BE GOING DOWN!)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Little else happened in the guard station for the next few minutes until a few gasps were heard outside as Sort and Mex came walking forward, through the group of guards and toward the station. Dethorac stopped Sort and Mex and demanded to know what they were doing, what happened to the captain, and what was going on. Sort simply responded to him.
"Listen Asshole, she was ambushed, captured, and raped by orcs. I carted her ass all the way back here after killing those green-skins. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to get my payment for this deed and go on my merry ******** way, and unless your the **** mayor of this town, you can kiss my hairy white ****, and get the **** out of my **** way."
Dethorac, being the type of man to never be insulted or being told "no", just stood there dumbfounded, till Sort walked around him and walked into the guard station. The young guard came rushing forward and took the captain before laying her down on a bunk in one of the cells.
"Is she going to be alright?"
"Don't know kid, can't tell you. It's all up to her now, she has been through hell. Let me get a drink of water, then I'll put my healing magic to work, to hopefully give her a push in the right direction."
Sort then walked over and took a water skin and drew down a big gulp, stopping dead in his tracks as a little dove flew into the window. The bird did not move once it landed, nor did it say anything, but it did stare at Sort. The two locked in a staring contest as neither one of them blinked. The bird then gave him a low bow and flew out the window. Sort stumbled over to the bunk where the guard captain was, visibly shaken and even pale.

[daxtinator396]

"She mentioned his name! She said... that he was going to have him rape you two. I`m tempted to go out there and bash his face in now just for the threat and that thing about the slave outpost isn`t helping his case... I really hope we get to bash his face in." He started to mumble to himself about it angrily as he sat down next to Kaz, hoping her bubbly presence would lift his mood to it`s usual happiness. As he sat down his ears perked up as unease went through the crowd outside and he heard Sort`s voice and he grinned as he heard the word`s spewing out of his mouth at that Dethorac asshole. Seemed their mission was succesful. He quickly bounced to his feet as they entered and tastefully ignored the still nude woman. He then saw Sort move over to get some water and stop dead at the sight of a funny little bird. He seemed visibly shake and that bothered him. Sort was never scared of anything. He always kept his cool and he never backed down."What was that aboit? Did that have anything to do with Sierra?" He asked being the only thing he could think of at the moment that could make him act like this.

[MiscChaos]

Lilia's eyebrow twitches at the mention that the elf bitch was planning on trying to get them raped, but assures herself that that wouldn't have happened. As civil as she likes to be, she is an assassin at the end of the day and must keep her pride as such intact. Anyone who tried it would be cut down mercilessly without a second thought. When Sortaix and Mex comes in the room, her mood rises a bit, both because of the verbal ass-kicking Dethorac just got and because Merah is... alive. Safe or OK don't sound like they'd fit her right now. Then the bird floats in and puts an almighty fear in Sortaix, Lilia looking on curiously while it happened. Dax asked the question she wanted to, so there's not much left to do other then keep an eye on Merah.

[napsii]

"Bleh, bleh, bleh..."

Kaz had leapt from the ruins of her seat, immediately taking residence in a large hammock strung up in the corner of the room. She rocked wildly back and forth, enjoying the comfort it provided as the others chattered on about doom-and-gloom stuff that bored her to death.

"Can we chat about anything other than this duuuuuuuuuuuuuumb stuff? Let's talk about... um, PENGUINS." nodded Kaz just as Cap'n Sort and Mex cruised in through the doors following the muted buzz of the jerk-face outside getting verbal bomb dropped on his butt, settling them on a new topic. She paused from her rocking to eye the bird that Sort indicated to with his leery stare. The girl blinked, watching the seconds-long staring contest in tense silence before the bird flew off. She scratched her head, then turning her attention to the KO'd Merah. Well at least she was still breathing! Even though she looked in bad shape. Kaz's eyes widened in sympathy. Poor girl! She wanted to make her a big mug of hot chocolate when she woke up!

She shifted to give Dax some space to sit as he took a seat beside her.

"Ya okaaaaaaaaaaaay, cap'n? You need like... a nap and a BACK MASSAGE! I heard you can take a bunch of rocks and then heat them up, and then put them on your back to make it feel better! Like, how cool, rite?" she remarked, swinging the hammock back and forth some more. She rolled over onto her stomach, propping herself up on crossed arms. "And that bird was SO CUTE! I want a bird." nodded the girl.

[Zender_Solarheart]

(Apparently, Victor's espionage on the speech got skipped, and now everyone in the group knows that Detho's planning a coup d'etat. Well then...)

Victor heads back inside shortly after Sort and Mex return with the...female guard captain? Wow, imagine that; he could've sworn Dethorac wouldn't allow that. Probably wasn't his decision...though, her signs of recent ravaging are quite unsettling.

Recalling Sierra's "demands," Victor decides to fill Sort in on that. "Before you ask 'how do we know about Sierra,' we met her in-person. She said things about that portal back at the cliffs, and some dispute you two have...errm...are you okay, Captain?" The clearly shaken and disturbed manner Sort holds himself in right now is shocking even to Victor; this is the same man that shot down a freshly-incarnated Lich, while half-alive, to boot. If there's something that gets to him like this, then it must indeed be a grave situation. Hell, even Victor can't help but elicit a nervous gulp, and feel an eerie chill slither down his spine...the kind of chill he hasn't felt since his first day as a freelance guardian.