Runner
The Southern Route to Groville
"For one silver a day? Really?" Runner questioned the mage once again, trying to wrap her head around the details of this job. She was walking next to the half-elf, Velemor or something similar, keeping far enough back that they weren't right next to Jonesy.
The guy just sighed and gave her a withering glance. "Yes, Miss Runner-"
"Just Runner. Don't call me Miss."
"...yes Runner. The pay is meager, but not all of us are here for the pay." He explained. "For myself, it is a chance to join this caravan on its route around Keldanis."
"Huh. Okay." She really didn't care about that last part. To be fair, Runner had not honestly earned money in a long while. "So… what's in the cart?"
That question seemed to actually get a reaction other than annoyance from Vealomor. He had a contemplative look on his face for a moment, glancing at the cart driver. "We… do not know."
Oh? So they were transporting some unknown cargo? Only the owner of the cargo knew what it was? The owner forbade any of them from going near it? They were five guards for one measly cart?
Suspicious.
Runner's curiosity peaked. What could be inside that cart? Perhaps it was chests filled with stolen gold and gems, slowly being distributed to hidden locations across the land to be retrieved later. Or maybe it was illegal weaponry, some sort of arms that had to be smuggled across some border. Or maybe-
She shook her head to clear these 'what ifs' out of it. She can't be giving her hands and incentive to do what they did best. It was probably just some boring old junk the guy was delivering to some stuffy noble. Probably.
Baz had taken a position behind the cart, walking next to the nervous dragonborn, Inathia. Both of them held their tongues, it seemed. The only sound coming from back there was the creaking of the wheels and the cart behind them.
Speaking of Baz… Runner was pleasantly surprised with him. She owed him a great debt now, sure, but it seemed that he was in no hurry to collect on it. He had saved her life, what… twice now? No, call it once. She helped him the first time so it was even then. Eshah, it was indeed a weird situation. The dwarf lady that had healed them up said that he had spent healing magic on her. Not on himself. Her. That confused her. She knew that kind people existed, because duh of course they did. She just wasn't used to them.
Nonetheless, Runner may have been a thief and a cutpurse, but fundamentally she still wanted to keep some morals. For now she would stick around him, at least until they got to Groville. That should give her plenty of time to repay whatever weird moral debt she owed to the half-orc.
Fuck, she cursed. Speaking of moral debts… she technically owed one two each of the dwarven women who had cleaned her and Baz up. Melia, the one who seemed nicer, more so… but Runner had no idea where to even start with her.
Selm, on the other hand, Runner could take a few guesses. That dwarf had some issues, even Runner could tell that. She reeked of freshly fallen nobility. Wearing clothes that were once nice, speaking in speech that was educated and fancy, and an all together haughty attitude. Yeah, definitely fallen nobility. Runner had seen plenty of the type back in Miyet. To Selm's credit, it seemed she was taking it in stride. She had full cheeks that were red with the quiet effort of walking so far. As soft as the dwarf seemed physically, she didn't seem as soft mentally. Vaklemore was oblivious to any questions about her.
Runner figured one act of good karma would be enough to pay back both Selm and Melia. Once all of those were done and paid for, she could escape back into solitude without consequence befalling her ego. She had a conscience, even if it was tainted by her grabby hands.
A whistle called out from up ahead. Runner didn't think much of it at first, but the way everyone but her and Baz tensed up made her reconsider it. "What was that?"
"That was a warning signal. There are enemies afoot." The mage said, tracing a few scribbles in the air before a faint purple glow began to emanate from him. She cautiously slid a dagger from her side, not knowing what to expect. She didn't have any armor anymore, so she'd have to be careful.
A careful look around revealed the caravan to be still moving forward, just at a slightly slower pace. Everyone seemed on edge, which certainly put her on edge. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She was being watched.
However, minutes passed by as the caravan continued to trundle forward past thick brush and jutting stones across the bushy fields. Runner would have paid more attention to the pretty flowers that dotted the bushes were she not actively searching for some unseen threat. Instinctively she began to walk in step with Velmor. She walked on the inside of him, keeping him between her and the side of the road.
Her ears picked up a sound. A rustling in the bushes, somewhere off to the left of where they walked. Her eyes didn't spot it, but her ears did. Runner licked her lips, about to warn the others of the noise when she heard another sound. It sounded like a-
She barely managed to shove the half-elf forward as the arrow aimed at him slammed into the side of the cart, embedding itself in the gray wood. Shouts of surprise echoed all across the caravan as others faced projectiles of their own.
Yips and cries came from hiding places along the road, followed by strange gurgling howls. Furred heads rose from where they lay, weapons at the ready as they began to rush forward, their large lumbering forms resembling humanoid hyenas. Spotted hide of wiry hair armored loosely in other hides and jagged pieces of metal. Slathering jaws filled with sharp predatory teeth. An all together look of insanity.
"GNOLLS!" Someone ahead shouted.
Runner quickly tried to count how many there were, trying to get an estimate on the half-failed ambush. However, their chaotic movements as they sprinted towards the carts made it a bit hard to focus on them. At the very least, the caravan wasn't caught with its pants down.
The mage had shakily gotten back to his feet, his eyes glancing between her and the arrow. He looked like he was about to say something, but thought better, turning his attention back to the charging gnolls. Runner watched him draw a few symbols in the air, shifting patterns that faded as quickly as they were drawn, before he finally muttered something out, casting a spell. Instantly, three beams of burning orange fire shot out of his staff, each heading towards a different charging gnoll.
The first two slammed into their targets. One gnoll caught fire, quickly howling in pain and dropping to the ground, rolling around to attempt to put the flame out. The other was not as lucky. The bolt had managed to hit it in the face, entering through one of its eyes. It too had fallen to the ground, fated to not get up ever again. The third bolt, however, was blocked by a crude shield of wooden planks held together by some old rope. The shield did not survive, but the attacker did.
Vormen cursed. "Cover me for a moment, if you can."
Runner nodded. The only close enough to them, being just her and the mage at the front left side of the cart, was the now shieldless one. She didn't like the look of its rusted battleaxe, but it looked slow and trundling. There were more gnolls coming, but it seemed they lacked the sense to overwhelm them all at once. While the mage prepared his next spell, she dropped even lower in her stance, prepared to dodge whatever blow it would deliver as it finally got near enough to attack.
It snarled, almost daring her to do anything other than be fresh meat. The battle axe swung down overhead, giving her just enough room to duck into the gnoll's personal space. It clearly did not expect this little hairless human creature to want to get closer to it, resulting in its startled expression.
Runner stabbed forward, the dagger finding its way into the creature's neck. It pulled back, yelping in pain as blood sprayed outwards. The gnoll swung the axe sideways wildly, trying to catch Runner with it. Runner, now no longer starving to death nor exhausted, simply ducked under it. The first stab was not enough to kill the creature. The second one was.
She had to quickly dart back to the cart, however, only barely yanking the dagger out of the creature's throat in time to avoid a small barrage of arrows that pelted the space she had just occupied. She took another look out over the fields. Quickly she spotted a couple of archers, already knocking more jagged tipped arrows.
One of them, however, suffered a similar fate to the other gnolls on their side as a collection of flaming bolts slammed into it, putting it down. The other gnoll archer seemed enraged at this, changing targets while it fired(and consequently missing both of them in the process).
Runner spared a glance around her, to see how everyone else was faring in this. Baz it seemed was bashing another gnoll's head in, but was bleeding from an arrow sticking out of his thigh. His mace was already decorated by the blood of another corpse lying next to him. As soon as the second gnoll had fallen, his eyes had met hers. He gave her a quick nod before grasping his holy symbol. The bleeding out of his thigh slowed, and then stopped as a pale glow healed it. Huh. She wishes she could do that.
Inathia at some point had pushed her way past the two of them and was now at the front of the cart. It seemed she was trying to protect the horses, or calm them. Jonesy was nowhere to be seen, the reins to the animals hanging limply on the ground. The dragonborn seemed every bit as nervous as the animals and was barely making any headway as she tried to keep them from bolting. Weird. Runner assumed she would be out there tearing the throats off of the gnolls, being that she was slightly bigger than them and definitely had more strength compared to their wiry bodies.
She couldn't see much over the cart, but she assumed based on how Selm sounded like she was… singing(?) that everything was okay over there. Baz seemed to have noticed something, however, and had disappeared around the back of the cart. Perhaps going to help the dwarf out with some expanding numbers.
Another howl drew Runner back to the battlefield in front of her. More gnolls were approaching. Runner decided to be a bit more proactive in her "guarding".
"So! I'm gonna go kill that big one in the back shouting orders. Cool? Cool." She stated, only expecting the mage to hear her. The gnoll in question was a bit bigger than the rest. Not necessarily bigger with muscle, but was more gangly. It had a strange cowl and a large bow made of twisted black wood, and it seemed to be barking orders to other gnolls around it.
"As long as you are confident." That was all she heard from the mage before she dove into the bushes that the gnolls were hiding in before. Keeping low and hidden, she used the chaos of the mage casting some more flashy spells that dropped another gnoll or two to sneak forward. A counterattack. Yeah, that is what she was doing. Taking out enemy leaders and all that guard/soldier talk.
The large gnoll had also been approaching the caravan alongside other archers in its group, but had slowed down considerably after they began getting picked off by the mage. Runner actually had to make a small pit-stop by one of the gnolls who was busy trying to roll in the grass to put the flames on it out. It was safe to say that it did not expect to see her there. Nor did it expect its life being cut short by the dagger jammed deep into its throat.
Another volley of arrows seemed to be let loose overhead, causing her to still her motions for a second. A cry from the caravan sounded like some hit their mark. Oops. Better hurry. Quickly, she shimmed past the archers knee-deep in the ungroomed grass. She would have to leave these ones alive for now, lest their deaths alert the leader.
Part of her wondered where this confidence of hers was coming from. Just a few days ago she was fighting for her life against some pesky wolves. Now she was sneaking through the lines of an ambush to kill a big gnoll. What changed? Perhaps, maybe, she was riding the high of actually getting close to her goal. Or… and she was hoping this wasn't the case… she was playing into her hand's inherent greed through the idea of "whoever kills the big one gets its stuff". Well, it had to have something shiny, right?
Surprisingly silent, despite her thoughts doubling over themselves, Runner came up behind the large gnoll. He looked like some sort of huntsman, she realized, with how that cowl and bow stood out to her. Mister huntsman gnoll was knocking another arrow and yipping at the other archers in a strange tongue that she didn't know. She didn't have any real way to get access to his throat, but she could change that.
She tensed, feeling her body tighten in preparation. Her breath stilled, her eyes leering at the place she was targeting. All at once she let that energy loose, her dagger flashing forward as fast as she could. Not towards the throat of the gnoll, nor towards its expansive and grotesque back, but towards the back of its knee.
The huntsman gnoll howled in pain, collapsing down as the balance it so carefully used to creep forward on the caravan was cut from under it. Runner smiled triumphantly to herself, happy her plan worked. She swung her other hand forward to end the creature's life.
A second too late it seemed. The thing glared at her as the blade swung, seemingly aware of where she was now and stumbling back to try and gain some level of distance. Runner pressed forward, her adrenaline pumping. A bit of worry filled her for a moment as she had hoped to finish the kill then and there, so now she needed to improvise.
The shout of pain had to have alerted the other gnolls to trouble as well, but for some reason they weren't attacking. Runner couldn't tell at the moment as she fell onto the larger creature in an attempt to stab it to death. The rough grapple ensued with Runner on top of the huntsman gnoll, who was nearly double her size. She stabbed down repeatedly as it tried to beat her off of itself. Runner's dagger met flesh and blood as it stabbed down, only occasionally hitting metal or the resistance of leather armor.
Her stabbing was not without payback. Beyond the surprise and being off balance, the huntsman gnoll had regained some semblance of control in this grapple. It snarled at her, trying to snap at her face with its sharp jaws. It wasn't the jaws that hit her though, but it's right arm. The fist it had made slammed into her jaw and sent her reeling. She saw stars! Or anvils. Or coins? Ow.
She too was now disoriented and rolling around in pain. She was, however, the first to get back on her feet. Her offhand dagger still in her grip after that blow, she looked at the huntsman gnoll, awaiting it to similarly roll back to its feet for them to continue the standoff. She held no illusion that outside of surprising it and knocking it off balance, she was at a disadvantage.
No need for her to worry, though. The gnoll lay there, her dagger sticking out of its chest. She had managed to hit something nice and meaty in her last swing. Its death throes had just included giving her a headache and something to remember it by for a while. The huntsman gnoll was dead.
~~~
The fighting had actually ended with that final scuffle. The other archers were either picked off by Vapelm, or were enticed by Selm's magic voice song thing and then consequently gutted by other guards. Note to self, Runner thought, Selm has magic songs. The dwarf woman had some way to protect herself other than that big ol' kitchen knife.
After regrouping and addressing the wounded, it was apparent that the caravan had survived the ambush with little to no casualties. Some goods had been broken or stolen by fleeing Gnolls. A horse had broken free but was caught not too long later. Some people had a few minor cuts or scrapes. No one dies though, which was a relief.
"Curious."
"Huh? You talking to me Valindoor?" Runner asked.
A raised eyebrow and a sharp look. "Velemure. And I simply stated that it was curious." He replied, pointing to the battlefield. She took a look around and shrugged. It was a battlefield filled with dead gnolls. Big whoop. He sighed at her apparent lack of understanding. "There are significantly more gnolls around our ward than along the rest of the caravan. At least double, perhaps triple the amount."
Her face lit up with interest. The half-elf was right. That was curious! "Something to do with you-know-what?" She questioned, a slight grin coming. The grin diminished as she winced, the bruise on her face already beginning to irk her.
"Perhaps. The beasts of the wilds were not my subject of study… I know not what they wanted so badly here without taking a closer look. It seems the mystery will die there, for now."
She grumbled, watching Baz pull a few arrows out of Inathia. Either because of her inherent size and possible intimidating stature or because of her protecting the horses, she had received a few arrows in her shoulders, between the chinks in her scales. Baz was healing the wounds as he went, stemming the blood that dripped out of them. The dragonborn had tears rolling out of her yellow-gold eyes. Runner's gaze was caught by her hands, holding onto a stone the size of a small cooking pot. The dragonborn's scales were mostly a dull crimson, but near her extremities(namely her hands and feet), the color of the scales lightened. It reminded Runner of peaches at the very tips.
Crunch.
The loud sound caused everyone immediately around them to flinch. Baz had pulled the last, and biggest arrow out of Inathia. It had a few more jagged edges and had probably been extremely painful to pull out. Inathia, her eyes now pouring tears let out a low gurgling whimper. Baz quickly began healing the place it had been.
The stone she had been holding crumbled into a hundred little pieces.
…Huh.