Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Mysterious Bandit (Closed)

“Rope and net? Simple enough,” she snapped her fingers at Alexei, who huffed in response and went searching around.

Iskra turned to Dunsten and the others, speaking quietly to them in her home language; she felt more comfortable now that Quintus had taken his strange helmet off, but she wasn’t risking it, so she kept their words between them. But judging on her hand motions, she was explaining the plan to them.

When Alexei had managed to find what they needed, he came back, handing the net to Aynor with a hesitant glare. Lev bound Iskra’s hands together carefully, lacing the rope up around her neck to make it extra tight, and also convincing. After all, a woman like Iskra had already displayed her prowess at running and escaping, “This will look more believable. Careful you don’t choke her too much.” Alexei said firmly, again not too pleased with Iskra’s cooperation in this scheme.

“She might fall in love with you, if that’s the case.” Lev snorted, to which, again, the younger man received a few elbows and a good punch to the gut as a response. He was the youngest of the bunch, and had a loose mouth like Iskra did. Whatever came to mind, he seemed to spit it right out.

Iskra grumbled at being bound once more, being cautious of how she moved so she didn’t choke herself, “V-Vell...get zhat mage and fae to drop vall... before I drop instead.”

The knight kept his eye on Aynor as the mood of the negotiations turned. He did hear Quintus' words, however, and put it together well enough to fall behind the smaller man. He mumbled something, perhaps only loud enough that he might hear, though his words were still unintelligible. The tapping Atoli made against Quin's armor drew his attention briefly but he just as quickly looked away.

Then he actually smelled what the two were trading. Jal looked down again, watching the two eat rather closely. He reached for his belt impulsively, finding an emptiness where something (perhaps a bag?) used to be, and sighed. He lowered his hands again and continued to observe.

((Blart))

Taff immediately stiffened at her command to make the wall disappear and shook his head in refusal, crossing his arms in clear defiance at the given orders.

"Not happening. The wall will not vanish until I have seen for myself that the prince is still in one piece, alive, and in your care. For all I know these thugs could have killed him already for his refusal to follow orders or sold him off for the matter. You, yourself have yet to see his face.

I do not trust slavers, tricksters, thugs, thieves, bandits, assassins, torturers, rogues, dubious lords, corrupted guards... and the rest of them" informed Taff refusing to budge on the matter

This would make the trip back to the bandits lair all the more... interesting... with Iskra bound as she was, but it was imperative for Taff to ascertain the prince was still there, alive and breathing. If Aynor failed and Pentre turned tables on them he may well kill Iskra this time round and then Merthyr might pay the ultimate price. No no, stakes were much too high to simply endanger Iskra.

As Quintus took the jerky, Atoli gave a small satisfied smile. She glanced at Jalsinter as she felt his eyes on them. Her eyes narrowed at the tall knight for a moment before she clutched her satchel protectively and scooted around to the other side of Quintus, using him as a barrier.

She looked back to Quintus as he gave her praise for the jerky and perked up proudly as if she had actually made it; rather than stole it from a town’s store house. “You can have more if you like. I did have more than just this bag until recently…” She looked pointedly at Iskra.

When she looked at the woman and saw her tied up, the harpy guffawed noisily. “Hawhaw! All trussed up like a turkey dinner! What a plan this is.” She grinned, looking amused and amiable now that she was no longer considered a captive.

Quintus chuckled at Atoli's protectiveness over her food, "thank you Atoli, though it might be best to save it if it's really all you have left...." her pointed look directed at Iskra placed him into thought, a question rearing its head in his mind causing a small frown to be born. Looking at the burnt out barn and back at Atoli he placed two and two together. Her home or at least food stores had likely been there.
"The barn was your home I'm guessing?" he said whilst mulling over his next words carefully, "any plans for it when this is all done?"

Whilst waiting for a reply his eyes traveled back to Iskra and the others, regardless of what their plans were Quintus would see that they made it through. he spoke up, "It would be prudent if we made a choice sooner rather than later. Every moment wasted is another that Pentre has to find a way past the wall."

Iskra glared at Taff, But when Atoli made her jeer the woman shifted, letting out a harsh cough when she yanked on the ropes that bound her, the coughing and struggling only making it worse as she eventually just lowered herself to the ground, sitting and attempting to calm down. She was used to having ropes around her neck, but with it attached to herself, it made it difficult to be impulsive and threatening.

“How much does that prince weigh? Maybe Wyvern can carry him...?”

“Not vith chest bound...” Iskra grumbled, “Zhose vounds he carved arent healed yet. And I vill not let the damned brat open zhem up. Again.” She sighed, “Vell, a deal must be made. In order to get out and see your prince, zhis wall must be dropped.

If you drop vall, ve can all head to horses before Pentre sees. Pentre vill give chase, and ve split up. Quintus, Lev, and ozhers vill guide you to hideout. I promise on my own life zhey vill cause no harm. Aynor, Alexei and myself vill lure Pentre away. Sadly, ve do not have time to entertain you nobles.” Iskra scowled, “But zhis is only vay I agree. Or ve can all vait for Pentre comes for my neck and your prince loses his own.”

Taff shook his head defiant and unmoving, unflinchingly so.

"Go with them? back to that death's lair? have you even ever been there? ever been held in that dungeon of nightmares where they tear every man apart and then go on to sell those wretched survivors like if they were cattle?

Nay nay, I am going nowhere near there again. I do not trust any of them at all, there is nothing trustworthy about these butchers, not after what I have seen them do" shuddered Taff having seen them butcher the guards and knights earlier and sell a couple mangled ones on the cheap to other slavers.

"Send them all to get the prince and bring him here... unharmed... right away. You are quite right that you do not have the time to entertain, time is running out by the hour for all of you. If his highness is not returned to me, brought here before nightfall, I am forthwith cursing you all to become blind and mute, crippled for life, all the while you will still remain confined here in this forest in such deplorable state.

All of them are free to cross the wall at will, not you though... you are their leader and are staying here, held to ransom by me, kept in relative safety, so long they deliver the prince. These cut-throats seem more humane with a woman's touch around. If you trust their obedience and loyalty, there ought to be no trouble sending them to gather his highness and escort him here. If they fail in the task, you can spend your darkened days cursing your misplaced trust. Night is quickly fading and your time is running out... suit yourself." muttered Taff uncomfortably casting the curse and upping the game a little seeing they were not cooperating enough to his cause or giving it enough importance.

He calmly made his way to the travel bag preparing the platter of food again for Iskra ready to serve the woman like a common lowly manservant would serve a noble lord, having nothing more to tell these men.

Pentre was lurking nearby and if they crossed the wall there was a chance that he would likely give them pursuit, which made the task to go get the prince and return him all the more arduous but Taff had set the terms of the game already, the ball was in their court how they went about fulfilling the task... or pay the penalty

At Iskra’s harsh coughing the harpy’s snickering died down; the longer she watched the bound woman the more uncomfortable the position seemed. Atoli looked back to Quintus as he asked his question. “It was a hideout for the winter, not a home. I thought it was a good enough place to put food and supplies…not anymore though.”

Atoli shrugged, having no further care or use for the decrepit place now that it was in much worse condition. She gave a glance to Iskra. “I’m sure her place has enough food to make up for what I lost.”

Taff’s threat caused the harpy to swiftly turn to give him a withering look. “Who do you mean by ‘You all?’… Put any magic on me and I’ll split you from gob to gizzard.” Atoli crossed her arms to look more intimidating; but with the satchel in her arms it looked more like she was hugging a stuffed toy.

Quintus heard the words leave Taff's mouth, and his thoughts towards him immediately soured. There'd been enough magic usage to warrant consideration that he wasn't bluffing, a slight fear filled his system before making way for anger. It would present a major problem and so required a forceful resolution.

Quintus frowned, glaring directly into the kid's eyes before placing his helmet back on, allowing the visor to polarize and return Taff's reflection. Marching over to him he pointed a finger at his cheek and growled out, "I was on your side until just then. You better hope we make it back in time, because I don't need my eyes to take you apart, bit by bit... and that's assuming Pentre and the Prince don't do it first for treason" Turning back towards the others he continued simply, "Let's move, Iskra's men, take point."

As he began to move towards the wall he looked at Atoli giving her a reassuring nod, "We'll be okay"

Taff pursed his lips briefly at looked back at Quintus glad he was taking the task seriously and making others move to secure the prince's safe return. Though he felt bad about angering the man who had indeed been supportive, protective and helpful till that point. It was a friendship Taff respected and sought to restore.

He came to place a hand upon the man's shoulder briefly, then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The touch would let Taff look into this man's desires and past, seeking something he could offer to this warrior that this man would appreciate as a worthy enough reward.

Among the memories that came flooding through Taff's mind, he saw the wars and the misshap even the names he was known by.

"Red scythe... if you succeed in helping out I will return your fighter Suzy back to you. I will recharge any empty supplies, restore any missing or damaged equipment and grant you a passage back to New Harvest, Earth Federation, if you so wish, or repair your home here, its broken windows and mess, should you choose to stay" promised Taff to reveal to him Taff was well aware of the future he belonged to and had come from.

"But you have to deliver first... no payment without a service" muttered Taff walking away and returning to his servile chores

“Ay, don’t pretend like we agreed ta this!!” Alexei yelled, putting his foot down (both literally and figuratively), “That...That sod’s—“ he pointed to Aynor with a glare, “ just been disgracing my King, and now you—“

“Alexei.” Iskra’s voice was blunt and cold, like the winters she came from, and he shut up instantly, looking to her. The woman let out a yawn, scooting herself towards a wall to lean back on. She blew a piece of hair from her face, and it was becoming very strange how, even tied up and helpless, Iskra seemed to demand and quite honestly seize both attention and control. The woman looked up with her slate eyes, “Go vith. Make sure Pentre does not get hands on Prince. And if zhere is anyzhing but surface vounds on little Prince Merthyr, I vill have your heads.” Her eyes swept over the group, even over Quintus and Atoli, “All of zhem.”

Alexei stared at her for a moment longer, pleadingly, but when the woman spoke no more he sighed, “Well, come along then....we ain’t got time to waste.” He made his way out of the barn and quickly began to scale the wall.

Atoli's mistrustful shuffle away didn't seem to perturb the knight, though it'd be hard to tell beneath his armor. His eyes softened; though she might be infuriated to know it (something he could tell despite the language difficulties) he started to associate some of her behavior with that of a child's.

In the moments that they started to set out, Jal hadn't enjoyed any epiphanies as to what they were saying. He did, however, feel a shift in both the mood of the others and the wind itself when Taff presented his threat; he didn't need to know what exactly it was to know it was bad. The knight stared at the manservant for a few seconds before grousing; wanting to understand but finding everything very tiresome. He'd spent the night wearing himself out already.

Still, he remained close to Quintus, if only because possible communication with him was more likely than with the others.

Atoli was quiet as Quintus put his helmet back on and made his way to the wizard. Her eyes glinted in anticipation as the knight spoke, and nodded in agreement to his threat while absently pulling out another strip of jerky to nibble on.

The harpy’s intent gaze narrowed when Taff reached his hand out towards her knight. She blinked for a moment at her own thoughts. ‘My knight? Well...he did help me when I asked for aid after all… twice even...’ Her thoughts faded as she listened to Taff speak, and frowned at the ‘deal’ he was trying to propose to Quintus; most of which didn’t make sense to the harpy.

She gave a start at Alexei’s abrupt shout, and looked to Iskra after she silenced him. The tone in the bandit’s voice commanded attention. As Iskra said, “I vill have your heads. All of zhem.” Atoli was silent for a few moments before she gave a loud ‘Tsk!’ sound through her clenched teeth.

“So that’s how Onyx repays debts, eh?...” Her voice was low and calm as she gave her reply, though her talons dug into the damp ground. She met the Bandit King’s eyes and stared back at her in challenge. After a few moments, Atoli broke eye contact to follow Quintus; her feathers had begun to bristle. She chided herself internally. 'I can’t say I’m surprised. I've met rotten scabs like them before...'

She spoke to Quintus, “I’m coming with you. There’s no way in seven hells I’m going to stay here.” She stared forward broodingly as she trotted beside him. Though after a while, she gave a cursory glance to Jalsinter, since he too seemed to be following along. She tilted her head back to get a look at his face… though it was covered by armor and did very little to reveal anything to her. She mumbled something about tall people quietly.

((Edited my post a little))

Aynor on the other hand made not the least gesture to move a finger towards following the mercenaries and roguish knights or help them in any way to retrieve the prince.

He turned around and came to sit by Iskra, placing yet another cheeky kiss on her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders to tug her closer to his rather manly and muscular chest, his strong arms gently wrapped around her back and chest like a protective lover.

"Well, chop chop lads... you heard her... go to your lair and be back quick with the snotty prince... before I loose restrain and her and I end up taking things considerably further, you know, she's a woman of beauty and talent, all tied up and I am a man with desires and a passion for danger, the both of us here, all alone, in a darkned smoky barn... it does bring in that edgy excitement and dangerous romance..." mused Aynor if only to taunt and tease Alexei further

"Go get your own crown jewels lads, mine are here already." motioned Aynor hugging her further

"Should something happen to the servant and the wall happened to vanish, I am not missing the chance of saving my queen or capturing the lord knight, or even better... do both, save the queen and capture the knight" shooed Aynor waving his hand at them dismissively.

"I told you I would keep you safe, darling... and if they fail and I end up blind, I want my final hours to engrave your beauty in its every detail upon my heart and mind..." confessed Aynor nonchalant keeping the protective hug around Iskra

Alexei scowled bitterly, turning on his heel and hissing something in his mother tongue; Lev snickered and Iskra managed a short chuckle, but it was obvious the bandit had hit her breaking point, and the exhaustion of the day was setting in, “Just be quiet...” She grumbled at Aynor, shutting her eyes, “I need sleep...”

There was a pause, “And it’s King. Not Queen. Vomen are veak and incapable. I am not.”


Her men had begun scaling the wall, stopping at the top for a moment to make sure everything was clear. Alexei paused, “We have horses down below. Lev will ride with me, Quintus, you shall take his horse. I want you to ride behind us...make it look like you’re chasing us. Since we aren’t Iskra...hopefully it will deter Pentre from giving chase.”

Without waiting for any confirmation, the men began their descent, and once they made it to the bottom, sprinted for their horses. Swinging up into the saddle and pulling Lev up onto the back, Alexei yanked the reigns and quickly began to make their exit.

Upon hearing the command of being silent due to exhaustion, Aynor took his cloak and wrapped it around Iskra warmly and carefully, brushing the hair gently out of the face walking away to let her sleep.

He had to admit he was lucky to have a woman of steel as this one, few compared, and Aynor had no intention to continue looking. Not at all, he would strive to earn her heart instead. It was clear she feared Pentre over all and what a better way to earn his beloved admiration if he but brought the knight to her knees.

Aynor waited patiently until Iskra fell asleep and patted Taff on the shoulder, on his way out, to do exactly that.

On his way beyond the wall, he saw Tron Pentre, the stubborn lord knight still circling in the woods, following Iskra's trail. He exchanged a few words with the man and convinced him the wounded woman was concealed in such dense forest opening, horses could not possibly reach her.

Pentre was much too keen to get to the woman's whereabouts that he disregarded the words of warning from his guards, words of caution against the Slayer. But Aynor was rather good at playing the helpful but not too clever thug, finger pointing towards the forest growths with certainty, too tempting to not follow.

Pentre gave his horse to his head guard Prodius with specific orders to wait there for his return or further orders. He would just follow on foot a while further to observe the woman and ascertain how many men would be needed in her capture

Quintus ignored Taff, the promise of home almost made his heart jump, but naive trust resulted in death. His mind shifted to Taff's actions what he had was unprecedented, dangerous even, if he had looked through his memories he wouldve made many discoveries, some considered extremely classified.Upon his return he would see the extent of the damade. "You better hope you didn't see everything mage" Quintus growled out before marching towards the wall, turning to the strange knight he gave a nod and bade him follow before preparing himself mentally for what was to come.

A voice broke through the paranoia that Taff's mind reading had brought about, “I’m coming with you. There’s no way in seven hells I’m going to stay here.” the voice said, he smiled lightly. "Of course...let's go" he stated simply before running full speed at the wall. Jumping forward and upwards feet first to ensure his momentum would pass from him to the wall he directed his body upwards pushing himself even higher, before grabbing at few improvised grips allowing him to quickly scale the wall. Standing a top and staring into the darkness he took a breath before jumping downwards into the darkness of the woods once more and sprinting towards the waiting horse. He hoped the other would be able to keep up.

As Quintus broke into a sprint at the wall, Atoli hurried after. With her satchel slung over her shoulder, she began to flap her wings. Immediately she winced. The newly healed arm throbbed with an irritating ache. She sucked in a breath and gained enough height to clamber to the top. The harpy perched there for a moment, watching the knight reach the horse that had been waiting, before she launched back into the air to follow after from above the trees.

Iskra noted him putting his cloak around her, and had half the mind to shrug it off. However, the other half of her mind had been running all day, swam through a freezing river, and nearly was hung in the morning. She was entirely exhausted, and so the cloak, Aynor's or not, provided warmth she wouldn't be getting rid of any time soon, and she quickly fell asleep where she sat.


Alexei looked back as they rode, making sure the others were following, but glancing back at the wall as the moved. He trusted Iskra of course, but perhaps Aynor wasn't really working on their side? Obviously he had taken a liking to their boss, but men like him often liked money more than anything. He tightened his grip on the reigns and dug his heels into his horse, taking off towards the den at the base of the mountains.

The ride would take only a few hours, before Alexei paused at the tree line and raised his hand to his mouth, blowing a high pitched whistle that sounded somewhat like a bird call. After a few seconds, a head popped up from beyond a hill, waving them forward.

“Thanks to you lot, we’re gonna have to move. Boss won’t be too happy with that.” Alexei grumbled as he hopped off his horse, letting another bandit watch over them while they went inside.

The den was underground, the heavy wooden door leading deep into the earth- a cave system, Onyx were known for inhabiting such places. Within a few moments, other bandits began to be heard and, eventually, they were met with the den, all eyes turning to the newcomers.

“Any word on Ma?” A voice called, and a small boy squeezed between the bandits, looking at Alexei before his eyes drew to Atoli. Judging on the slate grey feathers that lined his arms and white ones that came down his neck, besides for a patch of red, that looked like a stab wound, as well as his legs being... certainly more birdlike than human, he was a harpy. The feathers around his neck began to fluff up, but he turned his attention to Alexei again, “Well?”

“Being held Captive, a mage...that boy we got was more than a boy, we had the damn prince in our clutches...”

Murmurs filled the room, but the harpy boy had already dipped back into the crowd, and when he emerged he was headed out it seemed, securing a mask on his face that resembled a birds beak, “I’ll be back, Alexei.”

“Iskra sai—“

“She’s captive. I ain’t lettin no silly magic man hurt Ma.” The boy grumbled, heading above ground.

Alexei only sighed and signaled for the others to follow, “Come on...were going to get the prince.” And with that, he lead them further into the den, guiding them to the dungeons where Merthyr would sit in chains. Iskra’s ‘pets’ would sit a few feet away, white wolves with wild eyes, and despite being unchained they only watched Merthyr, and anyone who came in; at the sight of Atoli and Quintus, they growled, standing up, and Alexei frowned, “Try not to piss them off...they only listen to Iskra, don’t give a damn about the rest of us here...”