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Right. He'd seen this coming. Why hadn't he thought ahead to his potential responses? Oh right, he tended to fly by the seat of his pants. Or teleport rather. His jaw dropped at the woman's insistence of leaving his goods behind. Even if he did smile coyly at her flattery.

He blanched at the half-giants words though and his legs tightened against his mount. "My good, bandits, I can't just hand over my precious food like that. How am I supposed to make a profit?" And as the last words were barely out of his mouth, he leaned forward and kicked his mount into a full-on gallop.

He wasn't going to teleport if he could help it. He needed to lead the group to the traps at the very least. And he needed to make sure that the horse didn't get caught in the net trap. He hoped they were ready for him because he was leading an entire party.

Keeping his breath steady Flavio continued to lie in wait with his musket at the ready. This wouldn't be his first battle, of course not, but that didn't make it any less scary. Perhaps one of the bandits would have his type of weapons with him, he knew that he wasn't carrying around the best type of gun, but it was not exactly easy to get these kind of weapons, even his current musket was stolen.

In total there were four bandits who used muskets. And three of them shot at Arien once he started running, which was to the dislike of Brenniken."Damn it, save your bullets, you ugly ducklings!" She turned her head around."What're you waiting for? After him! Keep him alive if you can, though feel free to remove a finger." And with that the bandits went in after him. They managed to keep up with Arien, though not at a close distance. This white steed of his was like a raging bullet. The Half Giant and Brenniken were the last of the group to follow. But even at such a distance the loud 'thumps' the giant made when it ran were still as loud as ever.

Meanwhile at the trapped area Bender took it to himself to hide behind the bushes in order to ambush anyone that got to close. Ghen'drak stood at the left flank whilest Roughart stood on the right, meaning Flavio was somewhere in the middle. The Orcs stayed close to him. They knew he'd become target number one if left unchecked.

Arien winced as the gunshots rang out and he ducked low against the horse. It was, in all honesty, all he could do to hang on as the shouts of the bandits behind him indicated their intention to pursue. Even better--they would let him live. Excellent.

He directed the horse around the net at the last moment, signalling for Bender and the others to get ready--which he did simply by dropping a vial of tabasco sauce onto the ground where it shattered.

He would turn the horse around just after he passed Flavio's wall and then check himself for injuries.

Flavio heldout his musket and peeked over the wall. He had to be careful who to shoot, he's only got one accurate shot, he had to make it count. He already has an idea who and what to shoot, but if anything else was too dangerous, he might change it yet.

The bandits were unaware of any traps. Though the shock of seeing other armed men did make a few of them stop, most of them rushed forward, which lead to certain doom. A pair of horses got tangled up in the ropes and fell to the ground, causing their riders to be launched further off, leaving them with broken bones. Another bandit got snatched off of his horse and hung in the air upside down, yelling at his fellow bandits to cut him down in a panicking way. So far the traps were a success. Two more riders however went over the net and got themselves trapped in there. The horses neighed loudly, but these men carried swords. If only they could reach them in time.

Five of the eleven bandits were rendered useless for the time being. Three more grabbed a hold of their rifles and stayed where they are. The others dared to go through the trapped area carrying blades and crossbows.

Bender and the Orcs started moving around. They didn't want to be sitting ducks for the riflemen. The old sea captain had his gun risen, hoping to get a shot at one of the daring bandits going through the trapped area.

Brenniken and her Half Giant were still behind, but they would soon catch up to the rest of the group. It was only a matter of time.

Arien grimaced as his hand came away red; had one of his tabasco vials been broken? No, a sharp pain lanced up his side--he'd been shot! He stuffed wadded up piece of fabric on the spot, hoping to slow the bleeding for the time being.

Finished with that, he looked up to see his traps were being sprung and he couldn't help the grin that came from seeing a job well done. This was what he lived for.

He contemplated dismounting from the horse, but actually it would give him an extra boost in height. He looked at Flavio. "Aim for the half-giant if you can," he called to the musketeer, before leaning forward and goading the horse forward. He drew his sword, and with a yell descended onto the fray before him.

"I can't see him yet..." The gnoll complained, not taking his eye off the scene. They'd hardly seen him this concentrated before, nothing in the world seemed to exist to Flavio but this single battle, he kept an eye on everything but mostly the riflemen and crossbowmen for now, he'd have to duck if one of them aimed at him.

"Can you load me a crossbow?" The sharpshooter then asked Arien, although it didn't matter to him who was listening. "Two swift shots will help us now... even if it is with a bow."

The traps were a great success. Every bandit trying to cross the trapped field got caught in a trap. Though some managed to get free rather quickly. One even managed to cut himself free before he dangled upside down. Bender Of Iron Will used his shot on that man though. The bullet hit straight in his gut. That one wasn't going to get up any time soon.

But the other bandits were trying to set themselves free as well. The ones carrying crossbows would be trapped for the remainder of the battle. Though six more bandits would still be battle ready, including the three carrying their rifles, who were still trying to get a good shot.

Finally Brenniken and Stomp had caught up with the fellow bandits. Her expression was blank when she saw how many of her commonly feared bandits were stupid enough to get themselves trapped."What in the hell are you doing!?" She yelled as she looked over at the group who opposed hers."Are you truly getting beaten by an old man, two green shits, a guy in a dress and a mutt?! Shoot them already!" The bandits grumbled but they fired their shots at the people who were the closest to them.

Stomp roared loudly as Brenniken dropped his chain once more."Go get them! But keep the handsome one alive!" The half giant roared as he ran towards the first person who he saw, and it was Flavio who got his attention."Doggy go bye bye!!" His voice boomed, his eyes locked on Flavio.

At Flavio's request, Arien fitted a couple of crossbows with bolts. "Sure thing; maybe you should get a longbow--they're faster to reload."

And then he was off, clinging close to the horse lest another bullet found him. He was distracted by the shout of the earlier female bandit, before seeing the half-giant coming for Flavio.

"Oh no you don't!" With his sword hefted he brought the horse around to bear down on the giant. He couldn't let Flavio take this thing on alone; there was no telling that one shot might take him down.

So he stampeded from the rear of the beast, sword ready to swing.

When Flavio saw the large thing, he knew the chances of killing it with one shot were ridiculously slim. As he had expected the skin looked thick. Still the gnoll could manage a grin, because there was one spot that was always soft, two in fact.

Flavio took a deep breath and finally released his long-awaited shot, the lost blast deafened him while the smoke blinded him, he could all but hope that his bullet hit its mark. The right eye of the half-giant.

Tragedy happened as the bandits fired their shorts. Two of the bullets hit poor Ghen'drak in her gut as well as her leg. She tried to keep quiet, but still a loud scream escaped her lips as she knelt to the floor in pain. Strangely enough, Roughart didn't seem bothered by it. Instead he watched the Half Giant for a bit with a sly grin.

"Ho, lad!" Bender Of Iron Will yelled. What was Arien doing? He couldn't face a Half Giant by himself. No one in this group could. He ran in his slow manner towards Arien and the giant. His arm caused him to be rather slow. But soon the Half Giant would be in trouble. Though no one realised that just yet.

Flavio's shot was right on target. Stomp screamed loudly as his charge got interupted by a painful bullet in his eye. Though it was no deadly shot, it sure as hell was a painful one. Stomp held his huge hands on his eye as he stumbled around the area."Stomp pain! Stomp very pain!" He whined loudly. To add to his pain, he landed his foot straight onto Roughart's rune.

The symbol started to heat up as a sudden geyser of fire spewed out of it, burning Stomp's right leg as well his right arm. The Orc started laughing loudly as Stomp hopped away from the flames, screaming even louder.

This enraged Brenniken even more."No one hurts my baby!" She yelled as she drew her two handguns and drove with the remainder of her bandits towards the group.

Arien swung his sword at Stomp's side as the half-giant reacted to the bullet in his eye. Hearing Bender's yell, he remembered the rune on the ground and very narrowly avoided the geyser of fire. The horse beneath him reared and neighed in fear, however. By some manner of luck, Arien managed to stay seated.

"Easy girl, easy!" he said as he turned the horse away from the gruesome sight of a half-charred half-giant.

Of course the scream from Ghendrek made him shudder. Arien never enjoyed battle and he had forgotten what human screams were like in all his battles against nature. He turned his mount around to find Brenniken launching yet another attack at them.

"Bender! We've got incoming!" He knew those guns had to be stopped and he wasn't anxious to get shot, or for his fellow companions to get shot. He concentrated on the spot just in front of her, and in a wink, he was gone from the horse's back and was standing in front of her, sword raised to neck level as he stumbled forward a little.

"Stop! Or I'll lop your arm off." Of course he was ready to dive to the ground in case she should decide to shoot him at point-blank range.

Flavio grinned widely as his bullet hit the mark, he didn't gloat for too long though, he practically threw his musket aside as he reached for a crossbow that Arien had loaded. He tried the thing, it felt much like a musket but the weight and the aim was different. He vaguely remembered the days before he stole his musket, he often shot with a crossbow back then.

There was no time for memories though, the gnoll took aim, his first target was Brenniken the leader, but before he released his shot Arien suddenly appeared in front of her. "Ah, cursed, idiot." The sharpshooter cursed loudly as he stopped himself just in time.

Instead of the woman he just raised the bow at one of the bandits with muskets and released a shot. It wasn't aimed as well as usual, both due to the flare of anger and the lack of time.

Bender Of Iron Will had heard Arien's warning and turned to the charging bandits. He was capable of stopping a horse, though that would probably cause his arm to malfunction again. He wanted to keep it in case the enraged half giant wanted some revenge for his now mutilated body. Instead the pirate captain sidestepped as a bandit came for him. His gun was unloaded, so he could not shoot him. For now he had to be lucky to strike one of them with his sabre.

Flavio's gunshot was a huge succes. Blood spewed from the bandit's chest as he fell off of his blade before he could strike at Ghen'Drak. For now Flavio saved her life, but she was bleeding badly.

Finally the bandits who got caught up in the net managed to get themselves free. They fell on top of their horses as the net shredded due to the weight of the horses as well as these bandit's constant cutting of the ropes that held them up. The horses weren't keen on carrying their masters anymore though. These two would have to fight on foot. Luckilly they carried no rifles. These two had swords and charged straight towards Bender, thinking they would be able to handle an old man.

Meanwhile Brenniken seemed unimpressed. She was about to prove how she managed to get the status of bandit leader. With one swift movement she grabbed Arien's sword arm, held it as far from her body as possible and drew her gun with her free hand. She meant to fire a shot right above his groin. A painful shot which could be lethal if not treated quickly. She was still keen on keeping Arien alive.

For a nasty moment, Arien found himself face to face with Brenniken, and she was pointing a gun where it would surely do some damage.

"Not on your life!" He kicked with his left leg, using her grip for leverage as she pulled the trigger. If he was going down, it wouldn't be without a fight. Still, it would be a lie to say that his life didn't flash before his eyes.

Flavio worked quickly, he laid the crossbow by his side and took the last one that Arien had pre-loaded for him. He'd better make this shot count, and he saw a good target. The gnoll could take his time this time and aimed propery for one of the two swordsmen charging Bender.

As soon as the bolt was away the gnoll threw a glance towards Arien, who was taking on the leader. He'd need a precise shot to help him.

As Bender Of Iron Will prepared himself for an uneven fight, a bolt charged right past him and penetrated the left sided bandit in the knee. He fell down onto the road, screaming loudly in pain. This man's adventuring days were over.

The sea captain now had a more fair fight, which didn't take long. The remaining bandit was overzealous and didn't take mind of defending his more vulnerable parts as Bender casually sliced his throat open after sidestepping from the bandit's charge. Now only Brenniken, one bandit, two captured ones and Stomp remained.

Brenniken panicked when her shot didn't work the way she intended to. She couldn't reach for her other gun in time without actually having her arm cut off. Instead she kept holding on to Arien's swordarm and used her gun as a club to smack him with her handgun until he'd let go or drop unconcious. She wouldn't need to do this for long. The remaining bandit was loading his gun once more and still on horseback.

The half giant roared loudly as his rage only increased. In pure madness Stomp started swinging his arms around, hoping to hit something. Sadly, this something was Bender.

As Bender turned around he had no time to run away. A raging fist was headed his way. Instead he used his steel arm to protect himself from the impact. This tactic didn't work very well. Though his arm might have broken Stomp's index finger, he flew straight into a tree. A loud crack was heard as he landed against the tree's trunk, hardly moving.

So much for that kick. He found her using the weapon as a club. He yelped and released her, stumbling back but not out of the way completely as Brenniken still had hold of his sword arm.

"Let me go!" he yelled at her. He had no time to look around him to check on his friends, though he heard an ominous crack somewhere behind him as someone struck a tree. And then his hand fell to one of the many vials of Tabasco Sauce at his waist. His eyes glittered with hatred at her as he uncapped one of the vials and flung it's burning, stinging liquid at her face. A perfectly good waste of Tabasco sauce.

Flavio cursed loudly as his eyes found the horseback bandit reloading his shot, he couldn't let him finish! Working as fast as possible the gnoll yanked the string of the crossbow back and plucked a bolt outside of a small pack that had been left there, the same Arien'd had used to prepare him a few bolts.

Not even checking his crossbow for lack of time the gnoll took aim at the horseback bandit and released the bolt, praying to the few gods he slightly believed in that the shot would hit.