Bandits in the Woods

A wet evening for a walk, but it is a bit warm at least. The Gobbo was insistent. She felt cooped up. Trapped. Despite being plague free for some time, she was willing to risk the symptoms for some time away. She even broke out her leathers, grumbling a little about being a bit chubbier and having to squeeze herself into them. For the first while, she was pretty energetic. Led the way. Set the pace. But now, as days slips into night, she has flagged. Slowed. She won't admit it, but it is probably time to head back.

The sith-makar at her might be walking a slow pace, but he seems to have an endless supply of energy. He watches the trees with a sort of distrust that's not surprising given that he's sith, but it's not just his homeland that makes him distrustful of the wilderness. It's what that one man told him about. His tail flicks from time to time, his green eyes always roaming. Lingering on Acedia now and again, but he's never once commented on how sick or tired she seems. He clearly doesn't intend to.

Acedia pauses, and for the first time, lets out the nasty, wet cough that plagues those with the... plague. She spits something dark and icky into the brush, and lets out a wheezing gasp. "So. Probably. A. Good place to. Pause.", she pants. "How're you feeling?", she wonders quietly. Zeke comes to a slow pause, looking around a little bit before finally looking at the goblin speaking to him. "Thisss one isss fine." There's a slight shift of his weight, a flicker of some emotion in his green eyes shadowed by the cowl of his cloak. "Thiss one isss concerned about being out here though. Are you ssure it isss ssafe?"

She sniffles and rubs at her cheeks. "Well, it is wilderness. So could be animals about. Monsters, even. I would be wary. But I don't feel scared." She sneezes, rather loudly, and grumbles as she pulls out a hanky from a pouch, to deal with the mess. "No, I did not miss this at all, but I did miss being able to walk around places."

The sith-makar nods; keeps a wary eye on the surroundings. It's clear that he trusts this wilderness as little as he trusts the environment inside the city. Which might beg the question of if he ever relaxes at all. His tail flicks and he digs his feet a little into the dirt for a firmer stance. "Did you not take sssome of Mikilosss' medicine before you left?" His question is gently curious.

The Gobbo's facial expression shows how much she detests that medicine, and she shakes her head. "No, I didn't want to start my walk with that taste in my mouth. It is truely terrible, you know?" She pats a pouch on her leg. "I do have one with me though." She takes a deep breath, and begins to move again. This time in the direction of the city. "Thank you.", she says quietly. "For coming with me on this walk. It means a lot to me."

"You are welcome." Zeke turns, following in her wake slightly as they turn back toward the city. There's no watching her now, and that's perhaps a measure of trust from him that she will not step closer than is comfortable for him. Though there is enough space between them that he'd have warning before she did. "Thissss one hasss not tried the medicine, but asss it isss largely made of ssalt, thisss one imaginesss that it tasstess of that."

"Heeeey there little lady." A man comes sliding into view, a greasy looking character with longish brown hair and leather armor. He wields a long dagger in one hand which he uses to 'casually' trim his nails as he watches them. Mostly his eyes are on Zeke whom is actually standing at his full height out here. "Got somethin' fer me?"

As the man slides into view Zeke grows still. The commentary from the man seems to garner no reaction, but the threatening tone makes Zeke's eyes darken slightly. Then Acedia speaks up and Zeke flashes a sith-makar grin; all teeth and not really very humorous at all. In fact it's hard to call it a grin at all. Perhaps it's more a threat. Yes it looks like Zeke is actively wondering if the man would taste bad if Zeke were to bite a limb or two off. "Thisss one would sssuggessst moving along sssir. The plague issss quite deadly."

The man blanches somewhat. At the unspoken threat, or the threat of the plague it's hard to say. He glares at the spot where Acedia spat and then there's a soft whisper at his side and a smaller man joins him. "He means money lady. Hand it over or this is going to get nasty real quick."

The first man's evil little grin comes back and he points his dagger at Acedia. "You too. I 'ave enough knives fer the both of ya."

The Gobbo coughs wetly, leaning to one side momentarily, before she slowly pulls free the dragonspitter on her hip. She calls to Zeke then, over her shoulder. "Make sure they're dead before you start eating them. The screams last time stayed in my head for weeks afterward." She grins toothily at the Sith before looking at the two men. "I'm more scared of your body odor than I am of your dull wits and duller blades."

Zeke huffs out a breath, then emits a low grumbling noise from his chest. Even from a distance it's clearly threatening, and he shifts the staff he holds in his hand slightly. Just a few inches forward. "Thisss one will take the tall one with the dagger Ascedia." His hand rises up, tilts his cowl back so that the men can see clearly his gaze which holds only contempt and ire for them. It holds the promise of violence.

The man with the dagger steps back slightly from Zeke, intimidated by the sith-makar but his companion laughs. "An over-grown lizard and a little goblin? You should have just handed over your gold. Now I'm gonna take it out of your hides first. Bovran. Get the lizard." His tone brooks no argument and he pulls his own short sword as he nears Acedia.

His companion seems to think better of the idea of attacking the two of them, but being ordered forces him into a tight spot and he chooses to flip the dagger in his hand and rush Zeke full-out.

The rumbling noise from Zeke has hairs standing up on the Gobbo's arms and neck, and she suppresses a shiver. "No.", she states, simply, though gives no indication if she's talking to Zeke, Stumpy or Bov-ranaway. Acedia grins toothily at the smaller man coming to her, she brings up the dragonspitter so that he can see it, then quickly points it at the man rushing Zeke, and pulls the trigger. The bang is legendary, and the smoke is thick enough to taste the grit in the air.

Zeke startles at the loud noise, jerking backwards from Aceida, and then he lets loose a loud growl, heading directly toward the nearest man. Which just so happens to be the one that was rushing him. It's immediately clear that the shot from Acidea has wounded the man, and it does him no favors as Zeke brings his staff to bear. The whirling weapon arcs through the air and thumps the man hard on the shoulder where it meets the neck and practically crumples the man to the ground.

The second man isn't intimidated by the loud sound at all, and he takes Acedia's distraction as a chance to attack!

The Gobbo is distracted by Zeke being startled. "Oh. I should have mentioned that. I'm sorry... it makes a very loud noise." She is heedless of the man, though, as she goes to reload.

The sith-makar isn't distracted. The moment that the first man goes down even for a second he's already turning toward the second. He knows instantly that he can't reach the man before the man reaches Acedia, but he can... Well he whacks outward with his quarterstaff, tripping the man and giving Acedia the few crucial seconds that she needs to reload. Of course, this distracts /him/ from the man he downed who rises up with his dagger. He takes one step and stabs Zeke with the blade.

Acedia squeaks as Zeke is stabbed and for a moment she looks quite upset. Then her expression grows cold, and the tripped man finds the Gobbo standing over him, the barrel of her dragonspitter pointed directly at his eye. "Call your dog off and you both get to live."

"Stab him deeper Bovran!" The man grins and kips to his feet in a rolling movement so fast that it doesn't leave a chance for Acedia to react. The man's companion does though, following through with what he's told and twisting the blade in Zeke.

Pain flashes over Zeke's face for the briefest of instances before it vanishes without a trace. The sith-makar lets loose a roar that would make any dragon proud to hear, and charges. Not the man who stabbed him, that man manages a cut across Zeke's left arm which skitters off of crystal and leaves cloth flapping downwards. No Zeke charges the man threatening Acedia. The man has all of an instant to ready himself, but his attack goes wide as the sith-makar's staff strikes him right between the eyes.

The Gobbo huffs as the man rolls up out of the way, and is trying to level her gun at him once more when Zeke roars. That causes her to jump a little as Zeke charges past. There's a moment there, a mental shrug, and she levels her dragonspitter at the taller man again. The report is echoed back from the hills nearby, and the taller man has a wound in his good leg now. Though this one looks a little more serious, making a thumb-sized hole.

Zeke is beating down on the man, striking again and again so quickly that the much smaller man is forced to do little but defend against the onslaught. The few hits that Zeke takes seem to skitter harmlessly off of /something/ underneath his robes. Those that don't... don't seem to affect Zeke at all. He just keeps attacking until the man falls to the ground and even after Zeke hits him twice to make him /stay/ down. Then he looks back across the clearing to where the other man is knelt on the ground because his legs can no longer hold him.

The man in question squeaks, fear running rampant on his face. He looks as though he'd run if he could but he can't and... He throws his dagger at Zeke in panic, catching the sith-makar at the junction between shoulder and arm at his left side. Zeke doesn't seem to notice. "Please! I mean! I'm sorry!"

"Shut up if you wish to see sunrise tomorrow.", the Goblin spits out. She approaches Zeke then, after his furious assault on the now downed man. "They've hurt you.", she says softly, and begins to mumble words and trace intricate patterns that Zeke might recognize. A gentle, white glow surrounds her hand in a nimbus, and she directs the spell to begin stitching his wound together. She's probably a bit too close, but she has taken pains to not touch him.

Immediately the man shuts up, cowering on the ground. Zeke doesn't stop though. Not until Acedia moves toward him and then he grows still. Stiller even as she draws closer to him. Closer. His green eyes watch her like a hawk watches an eagle. Uncertain if this is a fight that can be won, and yet still willing to fight it. "Thiss one will heal." His voice is ragged from roaring, his naturally deep voice like gravel.

"Shhh." Acedia's expression is one of concentration. "I'm going to pull the dagger out." She pauses, waiting for what his reaction might be, before she reaches up, standing on tiptoe to reach it. With as little pressure as possible, she tugs it free in one go. This is followed by another curative spell, the Gobbo working to knit the wound back together. "You are brave. But your wounds need tending to. I cannot carry you, if you topple over due to pain, exhaustion or poison. You, if needs be, can carry me should I succumb to wounds."

The Gobbo sighs. "So I guess we will have to drag these two back to the city."

Zeke doesn't move. Doesn't breathe. Nothing happens as she pulls out the dagger. Not a sound of pain as it's pulled free, and it had to have hurt. His eyes nictate slowly, and then only after she takes a step away does he breathe again. This sounds of pain, as if it is hard to breathe. He reaches his right hand up to touch the wound on his shoulder and then the worse one on his side. Both of which have been healed by her magic. Zeke is shaking mildly. "Thisss one will sstay here with them. You mussst go and get the guard." His green eyes meet hers and he nods. "You can make it."

Acedia eyes him curiously, concern in her eyes. "Are you alright, though? Have my magics taken hold? You still look and sound pained." Her eyes hunt, eyeing his body closely, looking for things she may have missed. "No.", she says gently. "We will take them. Together. We will quickly make a means to carry them, and we will do that. We're stronger together, yes?"

"Thisss one isss fine." Physically he is. The wounds are gone, but her closeness and the wounds have his breathing too short for comfort. He shakes his head as if shaking away what his body is doing. This physical thing does not matter. They have work to do. He glares at the man on the ground whom shudders in fear. Zeke hisses in distaste.

"Then you guard them with your weapon and thiss one will tear cloth to bind them with." He shifts, pulling the cloak his back. Instantly his arm and leg are revealed, the arm to the shoulder though the leg... it's hard to tell where that begins or ends. Looking at the arm it's clear that the dagger must have struck in the exact juncture between flesh and crystal.

The Gobbo smiles brightly at him and his resolve, and she moves to sit on the unconscious, smaller man. She rummages around through his pockets and pouches and the like, and makes sure to pull away all of his weapons. "So you two knock over any other travellers?", she asks of the taller one. "And don't panic. Once my friend here has tied you up, I'll heal your wounds. Wouldn't want you dying after we've carried you all the way back to town." Aceida ohs!, and gestures to her backpack. "I've got rope in here!", she says to the Sith-makar. "if you want to grab it?"

Zeke hesitates, glancing toward her bag and then nodding. His cloak goes back over his shoulders to hide his limbs once more and he moves to her backpack. In a few moments of rummaging to get to the bottom he has found the rope, and is traversing the distance to the one still conscious man. Once there he bends down slowly, meeting the man's eyes with his own. "If you touch me..." He snaps his jaws shut meaningfully and the man turns white as a sheet. He even obediently holds out his hands to be tied though it seems he is too intimidated to properly answer questions just yet. This is done delicately by the sith-makar to keep from touching the other man, and when it's done he nods. "Ssstay."

Slowly he gets back to his feet, making his way to Acedia. "If you move, thisss one will tie up thiss man ass well." He makes a motion with the rest of the rope.

The sith-makar takes less care with the unconsious man, tying him up with quick efficiant movements. When he's done he rises back to his feet slowly. The motion of sinking down to his knees and rising back up again seems difficult for him. Or perhpas it's just something that he's always taken care of. Regardless of the reason he's on his feet again. "Thisss one can heal them." He says this and closes his eyes briefly. Then, there's a pulse of power from him, a radiance of warmth that passes through not only the men but can almost be felt by Acedia.

"Thisss one did not heal you... thiss one doess not wissh to upsset the plague." Beside him the unconscious man is stirring.

She nods briefly when he speaks of healing them, and she coughs for some time afterwards. Taking a shuddering breath, she grins toothily. "I understand. It was... nice being here though when you did that. I could feel the power from you." The Gobbo reaches down to grab the smaller man by the hair, yanking his head up swiftly. "We're taking you to Alexandria. Cause us any trouble, and you will regret it.", she snarls.

Zeke adds his own glare to Acedia's but the man doesn't react well to the knowledge of what they intend for him. Instead of sitting there quietly he pulls on his bonds. It's to no avail, but he manages to pull a dagger from /somewhere/. Zeke has a moment to curse his own reluctance to search the man's body even while he's unconscious before the man stabs the weapon into the sith-makar's foot. His... artificial foot. Zeke blinks and looks down.

The Gobbo hisses at the man, and even as he stabs Zeke, she bites into his cheek, drawing copious amounts of blood. She grabs hold of his cheeks and bites down into his cheek. Her teeth then snap at his throat towards his throat.

The man tied up as he is can do nothing to defend himself and Zeke... For a moment he's too dumbfounded to. He realizes a heartbeat later what's going on though and he says her name loudly but gently. "Acedia!" It's almost like the voice a reproachful parent might use. "Thisss one just healed him!"

She snarls in response but doesn't gnaw the man's throat out, so there is that at least. "He stabbed you, despite being healed by you! He's spent his second chance poorly." The Gobbo huffs and turns away, spitting out blood. "Bleeeh.", she complains. "Human blood is gross."

Zeke shakes his head, looking down at the bleeding man. "You ssshould ssearch him for more weaponss." It is a wise statement from the man who had not done so in the first place. He lets out a breath and another pulse of healing energy which he directs smoothly around Acedia. It's there, but it doesn't harm or help her.

It seems that Acedia's attack had the effect that she wanted it to have on the man because even healed he cowers away from her now, his hands on his throat to stem bleeding that's no longer happening. "She's crazy! Crazy I tell ya!"

The Gobbo takes a few breaths, wobbling a little on her feet, before she turns back to the man on the ground. She is not gentle, but is thorough. She shoves her hands everywhere. Up the legs of his pants, down the front and back of his pants, under his shirt. A few more daggers are found, and she takes some grim pleasure in stabbing them into the ground next to his face. Acedia then spends several minutes wiping her hands on grass, bushes and a few other things in an attempt to clean them.

-End