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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Dec 18, 2022 13:29:37 GMT -5
Gerhart was thankful he usually seemed to pair up with people used to information extraction or at the very least were physically imposing when compared to him. He could fight as well as just about anyone, but when it came to outright being mean it was a bit harder for him.
But the information was acquired regardless it just unfortunately meant they had to head outside of Pale City. Cold as it was, at least all the walls and buildings helped cut down on the wind, not so much out in the wilderness. The Coldwoods were at least some what familiar too him, forests being a more natural terrain for him. He followed the bandit's directions as best he could, but kept an eye out for signs of his own. Naive as he was, he wasn't going to just take the bandits words at purely face value.
Gerhart sighed in relief seeing how hardpacked the snow was, that would make tracks easier to follow. It was a pain in the ass when it was soft snow that drifted around. He stops after a moment, looking around with a pause. In that pause he sniffs the air a bit.
"Campfire smell....they are up ahead....but they have alarms." He points out a few bits of thin wire connected along several spots. "You wanna lure them out or should we go around and take'em by surprise?"
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Dec 18, 2022 16:47:16 GMT -5
Between Ak’ka and Gerhart, they managed to get enough information to figure out where the Red Rogue hideout was. Once the criminals cracked, they spilled the beans on where the rest of their guys were hiding pretty quickly. Even though the current group had been taken care of, their employers were still testy knowing that there were more thieves out there, so they decided to take a more proactive approach- sending Ak’ka and Gerhart out to the Coldwoods to take care of the threat themselves.
This late into winter, the wind and snow whipped around them, not bothering Ak’ka in the slightest. She stomped through the snow with a purpose, the trees growing thicker around them. They’d been walking for a while now with no sign of these Red Rogue shits, until Gerhart pointed out where he’d smelled smoke. Ak’ka squinted- sure enough, she could make out the thin plume of a campfire rising from the trees. She snorted, smacking her knee in amusement.
“Man, you’d think these thugs would be at least a little bit cautious about keepin’ a low profile.”
Then again, the Coldwoods weren’t much of a hotspot for visitors. Ak’ka had been here a few time, and seen all sorts of unsavory folk hiding here. The harsh elements and the monsters that usually made these woods home were enough of a deterrent that most didn’t venture up here for a lovely picnic. Those guys could only have been the Red Rogues.
She stopped as Gerhart suggested they either rush in or lure the guys out. Ak’ka grunted as her brow furrowed, trying to think of what might be the best strategy for once. Normally she didn’t hesitate to charge in, but they were being paid for a specific job, so it wasn’t exactly her choice here. She’d done enough merc shit to know how these things worked.
“Our job’s to destroy the hideout.” She said. “If they got this place trapped to high heaven I don’t see why we don’t lure them out and wreck their shit.” She wasn’t much for stealth, but maybe she could hide behind a big tree or something. The Little Man seemed to have a lot of tricks up his sleeve, maybe he had something that could help them out here.
“‘Course, I don’t see any problem just going around these traps and going in crossbows blazing.”
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Dec 18, 2022 16:56:11 GMT -5
"Well given that whole fiasco last night, I bet they are pretty high on themselves, thinking they can't be touched." He blew into his hands as they walked to fuel a little bit of heat and keep himself ready. "Unfortunately for them, we are about to prove that wrong.
Gerhart surveyed the traps and looked around to try and gauge everything they had. It didn't seem highly sophisticated, just a basic alarms system, but snow made it easy to hide a lot of traps he had already proven that. Maybe he did have a plan after all.
"I bet they only have a couple of guys out front...easy enough to pick off. Think we can trip an alarm, take out those few guards then get a uniform off them and sneak in. Once in, then we can just start hitting people till there's no one else to hit."
He grinned proudly, ready to trip an alarm wire whenever Ak'ka found a suitable place to hide. When she hid he'd pull a string, the snap sending a cacophony of noise through the forest. Gerhart quickly scaled a tree to hide in the branches, camoflauging himself. Soon they could hear a small group heading towards them, mumbling about something dumb tripping the wires. None of them seem excited to check, but none of them wanted to get hassled by the boss either.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Dec 21, 2022 20:06:16 GMT -5
She nodded along as Gerhart described the plan… up until he got to the part with the uniform. She raised a brow as she looked back at those punks. They were nothing to sneeze at, but Ak’ka wasn’t exactly made for children’s clothes that size.
“Yeah… I don’t think I’m fitting into one of those.” Ak’ka shrugged. “But what the hell. Maybe if I rip the sleeves off, I could make the torso fit.” She said, completely serious. Yeah, that would work- man, she was seriously getting the hang of this espionage thing.
“Sure. I’ll hide.” She gave Gerhart another toothy grin before bounding behind the thickest tree she could find nearby, holding up a muscular arm and giving Gerhart a thumbs up.
None would be the wiser… except for people with eyes.
Ak’ka watched as Gerhart scampered up a tree like some kinda monkey after tripping the wire, sending those bozos their way. Ak’ka thought she was pretty well hidden… ‘til she heard one of the guys call out, “Oi, what the hell are you doing here?” And she realized the jig was up.
Damn. Sneaking and hiding was kind of fun, but not really her thing.
She may as well drop the act now. The Little Guy could be as sneaky as she wanted, but it just wasn’t gonna cut it for Ak’ka, and now she had to act fast. Ice coated the bottoms of her feet as she ran forward at twice her normal speed, fist raised in the air before delivering a devastating punch to the sternum of the guy who’d spotted her, cutting off anything else he might’ve shouted to get the attention of the guards.[1]
While the other guy stood there, dumbfounded, Ak’ka cracked her knuckles, staring down at him with a dark look in her eye. “You gonna scream, or do I need to rip yer tongue out, too?”
The guy’s eyes widened as he debated whether or not she’d make good on that threat- Ak’ka didn’t have to, though, because as the guard was preoccupied with her, Gerhart was up above, hopefully about to jump down from above and silence this motherfucker. 1. Frozen Feet
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Dec 21, 2022 20:59:47 GMT -5
"Maybe we stitch a few of them together then." Another wide smile and laugh, she made a fair point, but he figured the disguises didn't really need to last long anyways.
It was always nice to see a plan work the young adventurer thought as he heard the two guys running. He would've looked real dumb if they just ignored it. From his perch above, Gerhart surveys the field and takes just a moment to watch Ak'ka fight and get a better idea of how she operated. It would be much easier to strategize and fight if he knew her tactics, her thoughts, oh she fights just like Shaa, perfect, that's way easier.
As the half-orc takes care of the first guy it might seem like her partner had abandoned her, but what's that? IT'S GERHART COMING IN FROM THE TOP ROPES. While the guard is taking in a deep breath to alert the others and call for backup, Gerhart launches himself off the tree branch. He grabs the man's head from behind as he sails past, the momentum sending his face into the hard packed snow and ice. It almost seems to bounce off it as the move ends.
Both guards now knocked out, Gerhart grins once more. "Well all right. That went smoothly! I'll get the disguise on and let's crash this place!"
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Dec 31, 2022 22:41:01 GMT -5
“Hell yeah!” Ak’ka shouted as the little guy jumped down with the most badass assist from the sky, knocking the second guard out by throwing his head against the solidly packed snow and ice. Gerhart may not have been the biggest guy around, but the sheer force of that blow sure looked like it stung. “Damn, Ger, you’re alright!”
She clapped him on the back with enough force to nearly throw the shorter guy to his feet before picking up the one she’d knocked out, since he looked a bit bigger, and throwing him over her shoulder. “I’ll try this on and see if it fits.”
Ak’ka then went to go step behind a cluster of trees…
Only to emerge a few moments later in a partially torn red uniform that looked like it was clinging to her torso for dear life. Despite the fact that she’d ripped the sleeves off, leaving her arms completely bare, she didn’t look at all bothered by the biting cold.
The half-orc turned to Gerhart with an expectant grin on her face, arms spread out wide. “Well, how do I look? I definitely blend in, yeah?” She was starting to get pumped up now. Ak’ka didn’t do undercover shit like this, but it seemed like it had its perks. It definitely made getting into their camp a hell of a lot easier. Ak’ka had led a lot of raids in her life, probably more than she could count, and she was used to the classic method of brute-forcing your way through the enemy’s defenses. This new method of infiltration was teaching her all kinds of new things!
She didn’t wait to see if Gerhart was ready before excitedly bounding towards the camp, boldly waltzing straight into the heart of their hideout, counting on her perfect disguise to keep her hidden.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Dec 31, 2022 23:16:32 GMT -5
The uniform that Gerhart stole also wore a bit oddly on his body. While he had a decent amount of strength, he wasn't bulky so everything was loose in some spots. He looks over Ak'ka with a grin and firm nod, hands on her hips.
"Good news is that we only have to worry about blending in until we get to the door. This is just to help us not get shot on the walk up." He gave a laugh as took one last moment to readjust the new outfit. Similar to working with Shaa, the disguise game didn't quite work with the half-orc, but really what did it matter when she can probably crush a skull with her bare hand.
"Oi, hells goin on out there?" As the pair started to come into view of the hideout out, another guard called out to them. It seemed only one man was left on the outside of what was formerly a mining operation. The thug pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against to take a few steps forward.
"Some deer, ain't nothing to worry about."
When the wind started to die down and the thug started to seem like he was getting a better look at the two of them, he squinted his eyes a bit. It took a second for the rusty cogs in his mind to start turning and piece together that one of the guards that ran out had drastically changed in size....and gender for that matter. The second it seems like he is about to turn and run, Gerhart bursts across the snow. He holds out an arm to lariat the guard against the throat, the speed and force of the hit knocking the air from him and knocking the last exterior guard out.
"Sorry, didn't mean to take that one. I'll let you get the first guy on the inside." Gerhart flashed a smirk back to Ak'ka as he fished the keys off this guy.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 5, 2023 16:12:59 GMT -5
Ak’ka wasn’t too mad that Gerhart dropped the first guy at the door. The little guy was faster than her, and one body paled in comparison to the sheer number of people inside the gates to this old abandoned mining site. There was about to be a bloodbath on the inside, and she couldn’t wait to dip into it.
“I’ll take you up on that offer, little guy.” Ak’ka grinned, resisting the urge to simply kick the door down as Ger put the keys in the lock. They were supposed to be all stealthy and subtle, which meant she couldn’t just burst through the wall like she wanted to. So she waited, patient until Ger managed to get the door open, and the two let themselves into the Reg Rogue’s hideout all proper and shit.
The ruse lasted all of five seconds until someone pointed to the big, burly half-orc whose uniform was far too small for her, and the human whose uniform was far too big, and neither of whom were the guards that had left on patrol earlier.
“Who the hell are you?” Some guy demanded, immediately pointing his crossbow at Ak’ka…
Only to end up getting scooped up by Ak’ka and slammed into the nearest wall like a ragdoll. Multiple times. Ak’ka dropped the mangled heap to the ground, satisfied with the announcement.
“Alright. Ger and I are here to fuck up your little operation and drink ale, and we’re all out of ale. Y’all wanna all come at once, or get in line for the inevitable ass-whooping?”
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 5, 2023 21:02:29 GMT -5
Gerhart was not in the least bit surprised to see the first guy get so incredibly destroyed. It was a sight to see for sure. Heavy, thudding foot steps were already closely following when the guy screamed out. Two more bandits came rushing around the corner, one armed with a mace and the other a pair of scimitars.
As they rushed in to avenge their friend Gerhart started to jog towards them before taking a little hop and dashing across the wall[1] past them, "I'll let you handle those two, I'll find the rest." Gerhart let out a little laugh. He didn't often get to be this reckless, but so far these bandits weren't much of a threat and Ak'ka seemed the type to enjoy fights as well.
The young knight runs off to the next room ahead where he is greeted by several guys who seem to be getting up from tables and downing ales as the sounds of battle echo through here. "This is not where I parked my horse."
He gives a sheepish grin and holds his hands up as they approach feigning innocence and just being scared. When the first one charges in he drops the act, shifting to the side and delivering a hard elbow to the back sending him into the ground.[2] He drew his swords just in time to knock the second guy's weapon to the side, chest kicking the third to keep the space between them.
1. Wall Dash 2. Grounding Strike
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 16, 2023 22:47:07 GMT -5
Ak’ka liked the idea of splitting up. Spreading out would give them more chances to destroy things, like they were sent here to do. Ger went off across the wall in search of more guys, leaving Ak’ka to deal with the guys with the scimitars and the mace. The one with the mace attempted to run after Gerhart, before Ak’ka showed him exactly what a mistake it was to turn his back on her.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Ak’ka dashed forward, solid ice forming under her feet as she propelled herself forward, delivering a solid punch right to the first guy’s spine. Bone crunched under her knuckles- a satisfying sound. She probably cracked the guy’s spine right in two from the force of the blow, stopping him from intercepting Ger before he could reach the little fighter.
Ger disappeared as he made his way further into the hideout, leaving Ak’ka left with the other guy.
“You two have made a big mistake.” The guy uttered, raising his scimitar in the air. The weapon crackled with electricity, lightning and ozone sticking in the air. This one was a mage. “I don’t know who you two are, but you don’t know who you’re dealing with. We will give power back to the people-”
“Too much chatter.”
Ak’ka grabbed his scimitar by the blade- the lightning crackled up her arm and left her with a strange burning sensation thrumming in her skin, and the blade pierced the skin of her palm, but Ak’ka ignored the pain, wrenching the sword out of his hands and tossing it to the ground near her.
She stepped close enough that the two would have been chest to chest any taller, forcing the disarmed mage to crane his neck in an attempt to stare up at her- arm burnt with crackling electricity and an utterly pissed look on her face. She snorted, a puff of ice-cold air hitting the pathetic hack of a fighter right in the face. He talked big game, but in the end, didn’t have shit to offer. It was disappointing.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are.” She uttered, grabbing him by both of his shoulders. He let out a little squeak in fear, realization settling in his eyes that he was completely and utterly screwed. “All I care is that you’re the Red Rogues, and as far as I’m concerned, you ain’t red enough.”
He writhed, attempting to break out of her grasp, but Ak’ka wasn’t having any of that. She flipped him over until she was holding him upside down, and immediately dropped to her knees, cracking his skull against the stone floor.
Ah, there it was. The song of battle marked by the staccato of crunching bone and broken skulls. Ak’ka’s favorite sound in the world. She dropped the rogue’s limp body to the floor, straightening and flexing her arm experimentally.
It was sore- sorer than she would have liked. Ak’ka frowned in displeasure. A wound that hurt more than normal meant she was getting slow. And being slow meant getting killed. She needed to toughen the hell up if small injuries like this were beginning to bug her. She heaved a breath, any soft vulnerabilities hardened as her skin began to shimmer, resembling diamond more than flesh, turning as hard and cold as ice to the touch.[1]
That was much better.
With a satisfied smirk on her face, Ak’ka ran over in the direction Gerhart had gone, smashing her fists into anything they could reach. They were supposed to be trashing this place, after all. 1. Cryomancer I: Frozen Form
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 17, 2023 17:18:08 GMT -5
The sounds of clashing steel echoed through the little mine shafts they had found themselves in. Gerhart was doing his best to keep up with the three, but he didn't have the same brute strength to overpower people that Ak'ka did. What he did have were a few tricks up his sleeve. The young knight baited the three into attack, ducking their blades when they all came in. When he did, a light bubble would burst from his sword.[1]
The three thrashed blindly about as Gerhart made a quick spin making a shallow cut across all three of them. There would be no wound, but suddenly all of their pants would hit the floor as Gerhart cut their belts. While they were still blinded, Gerhart chest kicked one off the little platform they were on and knocking him out as he hit the ground.
One bandit would make a wild stab that Gerhart slipped past, hitting his elbow and shattering it. The blade clattered to the ground as the man passed out from pain.
"One left!" He called to Ak'ka as he saw her come running in.
The last band would try to grapple Gerhart, but in a rare happenstance he was actually stronger than someone. He grit his teeth a moment as they struggled against each other. Gerhart eventually got the guy off the ground, lifting him airborne behind him. Ak'ka was in the perfect position to put the guy through a table.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 20, 2023 8:18:10 GMT -5
As it turned out, once more, Ger really didn’t need Ak’ka’s help at all. He really was a competent fighter- he’d already dropped two of the three guys and had lifted a third in the air. He called out a warning just as Ak’ka charged in, hoisting the final guy into the air right for Ak’ka to land the finishing blow. A table that had a couple of drinks and playing cards on it was between her and Ger, but that didn’t matter.
In fact, it gave her an idea.
Ak’ka grabbed the guy by the head, suspending him between her and Ger only for a second- right before Ak’ka roared, “DROP!” And the two immediately hit the bricks in sync, throwing the last guy right through the table.
Wood splintered everywhere as the table broke into pieces. Before the guy could recover, Ak’ka immediately pulled herself to her feet, smashing her fist right into the guy’s face. Red coated the ice-like skin where she’d smashed the dude’s nose in.
“Yeah, he’s not getting up for a while.” She stood, popping one of the muscles in her shoulder. It didn’t look like there were any more guys in this room- it was a break room of sorts. Ger must’ve caught the guys off guard. A surprise attack- nice. Ak’ka was learning the value of those a lot more lately.
Well, that left them only one thing left to do here- wanton destruction. Ak’ka turned to Ger, anticipation evident in her eyes. “Ready to trash this place?” The commotion might send more guys coming if there were any around here, but that was only more for Ak’ka to destroy.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 21, 2023 0:13:01 GMT -5
"Yeah, I think he's out." He laughed as he caught his breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. Faint sounds of groaning and whining could be head from the few folk that weren't dead or completely knocked out. Gerhart picked up an ale, sniffing it a moment before giving a very sour look. He tossed the mug over to Ak'ka.
"Just from the smell of that I think we can set this place on fire with that. Smells like the oil ya put in a lantern." There were plenty of terrible ales he's drank in his time, but this stuff could start a car if Gerhart had any idea what a car was. Still, something a little stiff to warm them up before heading into the cold wasn't a bad idea. He tried a swig from another mug before coughing and hacking.
Cough, cough, sputter, "OK No this is" cough, cough "This is bad. An insult," sputtering cough, "An insult to ale....I'll smash a keg if ya wanna take the other one and gives us a little trail....we can light that at back at the entrance so we aren't in the middle of the fire. How's that sound?" He rubbed his chest which felt like it was on fire itself.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 24, 2023 20:16:45 GMT -5
Ak’ka caught the mug that Ger sent flying in her direction with one hand, giving its contents a cautious sniff. It smelled like complete and utter shit, but when you grew up in a place cut off from the world and your only option was to drink whatever cheap swill that you could get your hands on, you learned not to be picky. She downed half the glass in one sip, nose wrinkling as she did.
“Man, this stuff is garbage.” She threw the cup down, smashing the mug down on the head of one of the nearby men who was still barely conscious with a loud THUNK. The guy didn’t make another sound. “It’ll sure put some hair on your chest though.”
The taste was absolute crap, but Ger brought up a good point- even the strong, cheap stuff like this was good for something. If it wasn’t drinkin’, it was good for lighting this place up. Ak’ka’s lips split into a grin as Ger suggested it. “Yeah, that’ll work.” With all the liquor in here, lighting up the break room would set this place ablaze like a box of matches. She moved to grab one of the kegs while Gerhart punctured a hole in another one of them. Fire wasn’t her first instinct, but it sure as hell would be satisfying.
With the keg resting on her shoulder, Ak’ka and Ger made their way back to the entrance, where finishing this place off would be easy enough work.
Ak’ka hoped it would be the last they saw of these bastards.
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