Colleen had given Vivian a nickname in hopes of making their group closer together. In fact she had been working on coming up with nicknames for everyone in the group. Nicknames created a sense of familiarity which would raise the groups over all moral and chance of survival. The prophecy called for six heroes. She wasn't entirely sure if they all had to survive but she was absolutely positive they all had to at least make it to the fight with Vaeros. Being a small group with a hard mission they would need to watch each others' backs and cover each others' blind spots; for them to be able to do that, they needed trust. Unfortunately Colleen noticed that Vivi didn't take a liking to the name. No, perhaps it wasn't that she didn't like the name, maybe it was connected to a bad memory. Vivi's father just died, right? Perhaps it reminded her of him? Either way, Vivi was a no go.
At the very least Vivian joined her and Tysin to eat. Almost everyone was talking to someone in the group. Now all she had to do was drag their final dragon shifter into a conversation and they would be set... Geez, what was with these anti-social dragon shifters? At this point Colleen was beginning to wonder if all dragon shifters were like this. She sighed.
Meanwhile, Kolmar was making great progress with their most timid link. Valaina did not need to say much in reply to his speech; the dwarf could tell a chord of her heart resonated with his message and maybe, just maybe, the shy elf would find her footing in this world after all. That was all the satisfaction he needed.
"I'll do my best to assist the group."
"You already are," Kolmar murmured, his hand leaving its perch on her shoulder to rest on his leg. He knew better than to continue on that train of thought, lest he completely overwhelm the maiden with thoughts of grandeur. But it would seem that Fate conspired against him to test the timid elf even before a genuine
"You're welcome," could leave his lips. He felt the presence seconds before he heard the swish of arrows-- milliseconds before Vivian's warning:
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!"
Colleen's eyes widened. She had made the mistake of letting her guard down. Her father had taught her time and time again to always keep her guard up. Such a lesson had been drilled into her since she was little... and yet here she was being caught off guard once more. Leaving the food that had previously been in her lap to drop to the ground she pushed herself up to her feet. With some stroke of luck the first couple of arrows were shot at random with no particular target leaving Colleen enough time to get to her feet. However as the next set of arrows came flooding in she was caught. Colleen had just gotten to her feet but she hadn't obtained her balance yet. Colleen quickly threw herself back down onto the ground as an arrow flew by.
A sharp pain took her side and instantly her hand clenched it. She could feel something warm dampening her fingers and it wasn't hard to guess what had happened. She had been hit.
"Dang," came her voice behind clenched teeth. However this wasn't the time to be distracted by something a little as a cut. The wound couldn't have been too deep, right? An arrow's head didn't poke out too far from the shaft, therefore the wound was at most half an inch deep. It would be fine to treat it later. Colleen quickly pushed herself to her feet.
Now, of all the members of the group, Kolmar had been in the worst position for a surprise attack. Not only was he sitting on the ground, but he happened to be sitting on his rump with his legs sprawled out and arms behind him. Thankfully, though, the arrows seemed to be aiming at.... not at them, but at.... nothing? The slew of arrows had whizzed overhead towards the empty plain beyond.
'Strange.' His brow furrowed, but he did not let his puzzlement keep him grounded for more than a mere breath.
Vivian wanted everyone down? Then he better get up.
Planting one hand firmly on the ground beside him, the dwarf rolled his bulk onto his knees as his other hand groped behind his head to locate Ikspar's shaft. Blue eyes half-hidden under knitted brows scanned the woods in front of him. Three to the left, footsteps of a fourth not far behind. To the right, five more enclosing. One straight ahead, arrow knocked. Ten altogether. Underneath his beard, Kolmar smirked. He could take them all with one hand behind his back. Another volley loosened from the five on the right, but Vala was already up, already moving, and several arrows fell useless to the ground in front of them. A shield. His grin widened. Ah, what a spirited lass that bonnie maiden could turn out to be!
And he was up. Ikspar firmly in his grasp, Kolmar moved instantly between Valaina and the advancing brigands. One stumbled back as a rock slammed into his gut, but the dwarf did not have time to contemplate that as a particularly hairy orc ran ahead of the others with his sword raised, screaming something unintelligible. Raising his own weapon, Kolmar rushed at the brute and returned the scream with a battle shout of his own-- a deep rumble from the pits of his gut that could shake the very earth from its axis...
In a split second, Colleen had decided not to worry about her wound and started to analyze the situation. Safe, safe, safe, Kolmar was fending off one, Vivian two. They should be fine. Her gaze shifted along the land, she noticed every dip, bump, rock, and leaf. It never took Colleen long to memorize an area, especially a clearing as small as this. Her eyes shot up once more, who was in trouble? Who could she cover? Vivian? No she seemed to have something up her sleeve... Kolmar. He was fending off quite a few of them and it seemed he was doing his best to keep them off of Valaina. Perhaps she could be of assistance?
...Hatred burned in the eye of his attacker, hatred and a twisted sort of glee. This one had a grudge against dwarves. But not for long. Ikspar swung back, and with a powerful rippling of dwarven muscle, the mighty war hammer barrelled through the air until it connected with the snarling head of the orc, cleaning cleaving the ugly skull in two. The momentum of the swing kept him going, Ikspar connecting with the chest of another brigand and flinging him back into the trees as if he were but a rag doll. Not a deadly hit, but it would keep him out of commission long enough for Kolmar to dissuade the others of the raiding party from picking on Valaina.
"What's this?!" he roared in challenge.
"Already you drop like flies! Come show me what a real brute can do, cowards!"
Colleen stood up, one hand still covering her side as her other reached for her bow. The battle was rapidly changing and, thanks to Kolmar, the bandits were already losing morale. This would be an easy fight.
At his taunt, Kolmar's three remaining attackers brandished their swords and spears, their attitudes varying between outright anger and mild hesitation. Kolmar tossed his thick mane about as his head swung this way and that to locate the heart of the battle. Valaina, for the most part, had safely distanced herself and behind him and off to the left, Vivian had engaged herself in swordplay with two brigands. Colleen. Kolmar's eye fell on her next, locking gazes across the field. She'd been wounded and was caught in the middle of the other attackers with the rest of their party. That would be the epicenter. Pivoting on the unsuspecting thugs, the dwarf placed himself behind them and steered them towards Colleen with wild swings of his hammer. Groans emanated from the fourth brigand as he picked himself up off the ground and staggered after them, but he was no threat. Not yet, anyway.
"Ye all right there, lass?" Kolmar called out to Colleen as soon as he was in earshot. Ikspar connected with one of the half-orcs' breastplate and flung him out of the way. Turning on his heel once more, Kolmar maneuvered his foes until his back faced the archer's weak side.
Her eyes widened, was it that obvious? She looked down and frowned seeing a small amount of blood already leaking from her fingers. It wouldn't take a trained eye to see she was hurt.
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." She assured him with a nod before moving her hand to her quiver. Wouldn't his antics tire him out? Sure Kolmar was undoubtedly strong, but even he couldn't find swinging such a large hammer rapidly easy.
Kolmar had taken up a defensive stance on her right to cover for her, but that did not mean she was just going to sit idly by while he had all the fun. Her hand left her wound and went straight for the arrows packed in the quiver resting on her back. Colleen pulled out four arrows and knocked one, leaving the other three resting in between her fingers.
"Was your goal to gain the attention of the entire group of bandits? You weren't planning on keeping them all for yourself, right?" she said teasingly. This was an attempt to show him she was really alright. It would be bad if he was more focused on keep her safe rather than driving back the foe.
Lifting Ikspar horizontally above his head, the shaft connected with two brigand swords aiming for his head. He grit his teeth. His foot shifted slightly to give him better balance. Two against one, the odds fell in his favour.
"My goal," Kolmar grunted as he strained against their force,
"is to end this as efficiently and discreetly as possible!" Down went Ikspar to throw the two off balance, the brigands faltering and stumbling forward as Kolmar held out a foot to trip one and bashed the other with his head. Only, that accidentally made him immediately susceptible to the arrow pointed at his head from the third...
Colleen heard a loud clang of metal on metal coming from her right side and in response swayed to her left leaving Kolmar just enough room to move a foot back which would improve his stance. She then glided around him in a graceful sweep prepping to loose her arrow upon one of his attackers; however Kolmar had already managed to overpower his foes and they both ended up stumbling to the ground. Her lip dipped slightly at the sides thinking Kolmar really might just have all the fun but before this thought was fully processed she caught the sight of an arrow being loosed, the direction: Kolmar. Kolmar was an impressive warrior indeed, but in this situation, with him slightly off balance as a result of some fancy moves that helped him not only over power but also temporarily disable the thugs, there was no way he was going to safely block or dodge the arrow.
Colleen immediately dropped the arrow she had previously prepped, stretched forwards and wrapped her hand around the oncoming arrow. Her movement stopped the speeding arrow however it wasn't without consequence. It skid along her hand, ripped through her glove, and gave her a painful burn. She was relieved. Colleen had hurt her hand, but saved a life. That, in her opinion, was a fair trade.
"Kolmar, after this, I would sincerely like to hear your definition of discreet." She retracted her arm and knocked the arrow she just caught noticing another thug aiming at Valaina's back. Colleen turned on heel planning to hit the archer before he could loose the arrow but she was too late. As soon as she finished turning the arrow was slipping through his fingers. She changed her target and loosed an arrow of her own. Normally Colleen only shot when she was absolutely positive her arrow would meet its mark, however this time... well a life was on the line.
Both arrows suddenly slowed down just before they made contact. Tension welled up inside Colleen as she watched the arrows come closer and closer, if she was a fraction of an inch off the arrow would still manage to hit Valaina... she could feel her heart beating. Colleen took a deep breath and attempted to calm herself just as the arrows hit. It seemed lady luck was on their side, the arrows collided and were knocked a little left and a little right of Valaina. She couldn't help but let out a sigh.
The third bandit, thwarted in his plans to bury an arrow deep into dwarf hide, now switched to his sword and prepared to battle the duo with melee combat. After Colleen's fancy maneuvering with her re-purposed arrow, the startled fourth brigand seemed to be thinking twice about joining his team in their attack. That made three moving targets and Ikspar's head had buried itself into the earth on that last swing. There was no time for chuckling at Colleen's quip... not yet. Kolmar released his hold on the war hammer just long enough to spit onto his palms and rub them for traction. Then with a heave-- tired muscles straining more than they ought-- and a shout, the dwarf pried the massive weapon from the clinging clumps of dirt and arched his back to raise Ikspar behind his head like a golf club.
'Wait for it...
Wait for it.....'
"Colleen! Duck!"
Once again she had dropped her guard and didn't notice. Although she hadn't understood what he meant at first, the hammer swinging level to her heard cured her confusion. She quickly dove forward, just left of Kolmar, and rolled to a crouching position just behind him. Down and across swept Ikspar, sinking its metallic bite into the neck of the first advancing brigand. But the hammer didn't stop there. Building up momentum, Ikspar swung its wielder around for a second attack, missing Colleen's back by a hairsbreadth the moment she dove forward. If she hadn't dodged the second swing she would have ended up
legoless. Ikspar barrelled through armour, flesh, and bone as it separated two torsos from their legs. Three bloody bodies and their dismembered parts lay quivering on the red-spotted earth. The sword of the fourth brigand clattered to the ground as he backed away slowly, his hands upraised and his face white.
"Remind me to never stand between Ikspar and a thug again." Colleen lightly whispered with a sigh as she stood to her feet and sent an arrow threw the heads of the three dieing bandits. Sure these men were the lowest of the low, trying to pick on weary travelers in order to make some easy gold, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to end their suffering as soon as possible.
"RETREAT!" came a cry from somewhere behind him and the few survivors disappeared as quickly as they'd come. Ha! They had won the day!
The dwarf then turned to address Colleen, but the shining scales of a white dragon arrested his attention. A look of incredulity overcame his features. Dragon?!? Vivian had turned into a dragon? For a mere handful of overly zealous bandits? Was she that incompetent with her sword? Her bow? Her magic? Or was it worse? Slowly, he picked his jaw up from the bottom of his beard and turned it into a frown. Had she done it to show off? Oh, that he had taken out all of the brigands before they could have gotten away! Tongues would wag far enough of a mixed race group like theirs, but to have a known dragon-shifter would only spread the rumours farther!
"That," said Kolmar at last, his finger pointing disapprovingly at Vivian,
"is not my definition of discreet. Half the bloody country will likely know of us before nightfall-- the elf-dragon who condescends to travel with a dwarf."
Colleen followed with her eyes. She couldn't help but agree with that. Kolmar's actions certainly were discreet compared to what Vivian had done.
"True, and though I would have liked to be unknown for a while longer I can't say this turn out is bad. There are many ways to win a war and the smallest things can change a battle. My father, for example, made an entire army retreat simply by spreading a well thought out rumor. Perhaps 'the elf-dragon who condescends to travel with a dwarf' tail will be exaggerated each time it's told until it sounds as great as some of the hero's of legend. I'm sure that's what Vivian was thinking when she changed forms." Colleen couldn't let the group look down upon Vivian. The entire group needed to have good chemistry, any bit of doubt or tension between any of the members could cause the group to fall apart.
"And of course we don't have to leave that up to the bandits, though I'll assure you if they spread the tail they'll exaggerate it tenfold in order to save their pride, we can certainly have a part in spreading the tail ourselves... though I wouldn't mention it was us. It'll work in our favor. Kolmar, imagine the tale we could weave. A handsome dwarf whose strength can overpower ten muscular men and sending them all flying, two powerful dragon shifters who are experts in both of their forms, an elven female magician who's magic transcends even the magic of the ancients, an elven monk who cannot be hit, and a human archer who can accurately shoot between the small gaps in armor from over a dozen yards away." She purposefully added handsome before dwarf in order to flatter Kolmar. His weakness seemed to be those of the opposite gender and she was sure a little sweet talking would encourage Kolmar to agree with her.
Colleen had already worked her plan out in her own mind. Spreading a rumor such as that would eventually make its way to Vaeros's ears and he may even feel a little threatened by it, depending on how great a tale they could weave. If they themselves spread the rumor while talking in third person no one would suspect they were really talking about themselves. At the very least, this tale might give hope back to the people of this world which would only help raise their own morale.
"What do you think?"
Try as he might, Kolmar could not give Vivian the benefit of the doubt as Colleen did. He was quite certain no such thought had entered her head as he did not view the dragon-shifter as particularly devious. However, such a positive look on the outcome was not lost on the dwarf. Too much blood and the frenzy of battle had clouded his judgments and loosened his tongue. Kolmar could have cursed himself if he'd been in the habit of doing so. He considered how lucky he was that his guard had been lowered around the archer and not Valaina. But, he was aware of himself now and therefore did not voice his objections and concerns to Colleen's wishful thinking; her comments even going so far as to coax a half-smile from his frown.
She found him handsome, eh? No doubt such a pointed compliment had been meant to appease him, but Kolmar's ego seldom needed such stroking. He was above that. However, it still did not go unnoticed.
When Colleen finally drew breath enough for him to slip in a word, he merely shook his head and said with a heavy sigh,
"Aye, it could make a pleasant tale, but I sincerely hope Vaeros does not get wind of it and seek to end us before we're ready for him."
Just then, the knots in his stomach gave way for an undeniably loud grumble-- the first sign that his gut was waking up from its hibernation. And no wonder! That little workout had burned up quite a bit of his stored energy. Instantly, the dwarf turned on his heel to locate the fancy-footer.
"Tysin! You wouldn't happen to have a tankard of ale hiding with those nuts in that pack of yours, would ye?"
Vaeros was not good at waiting. His first instincts were to go straight to conquering the other races, but to fully gain control with no questions being asked, he need to establish his rule, to make sure there would be no rebellion. So he waited. He set strict rules, no one was to leave the kingdom without his express permission, no meetings of three or more, and the like. Some of the dragons there were eager to serve him. They had long awaited someone to overthrow the previous leader and take control. Someone with a ruthless hand like Vaeros. So Vaeros had a group of followers that would do his dirty work within the kingdom for him.