Atulon's Pass (Full)(Started!)

[Nukey]

Krinilik had found a nice, secluded corner in the tavern to nestle in, the quietest section of the otherwise noisy building. The table he was sitting at was, as always, adjacent to the musicians, choosing to listen to their musings rather than get indulged in a conversation of his own. His eyes and ears diverted their full attention to the group of bards, who were mostly going unnoticed by the other patrons.

Unfortunately, the reason why the others weren't listening to them was becuase they were fairly bad, awful in fact. They lacked any training, finesse or talent, randomly playing their instruments out of tune and without any coordination; sounding no more graceful than the groans of a dying dog.

Ugh...These morons haven't a clue of what they're doing. Krin thought, rubbing his temple in attempt to relieve the pain of the headache he was currently enduring, most likely brought upon by those talentless oafs who dared called themselves musicians. One more slip up and I'm confronting these bastards.

Spoiler: ooc

*sigh*

This is dreadfully short, and I'll increase the length of this post later on, but for now I'm afraid this was the best I could manage. Sorry.

Also, Krin, despite how friendly he acts when talking to others, tends to be rather bitter when thinking. Probably should've pointed that out sooner.

 

[Lost In The Void]

The broken sounds, clash of steel; wrought iron and screams
Battle breaks the strongest man with disturbing dreams
Once in and never out
Soul signed, and body auctioned...

Felon was working on another poem, sitting in the corner of the tavern. While men clashed glasses and slapped each other on the back in self gratifying manners, cheering at simply being them, Felon sat in the dark, sipping a drink and writing. He didn't have much to do these days; the cold would snap his bowstring and he had no one to share with. These were his comrades and sometimes friends, but he could not share with them what he felt. The bartender walked over to refill his mug, but he covered the top, waving the jovial woman away from him. She went to flaunt to the other soldiers and he sat, sipping at the same ale he had started with two hours ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma was dancing with the more drunk of the soldiers and villagers in the centre of the tavern. She had more than a few drinks in her system and she just wished to forget about the blizzard that was racking the village at this time. Despite being stuck here for more time than the soldiers had expected, the brew stocks had held and it was keeping the worse of the cabin fever at bay. And she didn't mind this; she loved the feeling of happiness and ecstasy in the air. As she spun, her hair flying all over the place, she spotted a lone man, an uncommon site in the tavern at this point. She grew curious; she recognized him as one of the troops and yet he never sat with them, instead content with loneliness in the furthest corner of the tavern. She decided that no one ever deserved to be alone and walked over to say hello.

"Hi!" she said brightly sitting beside the man, amongst the moving bodies and happy calls. He looked at her, and his eyes looked completely lost in though as he looked her over. He nodded slightly, acknowledging that she was there and returning to his drink. Her smile faltered, only a little as she saw him working on a small piece of paper, "What you got there?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Felon looked up slightly surprised as a rather cute young woman sat down beside him. He nodded, letting her know that he didn't mind her being there. She then enquired about the poem he was writing, "It is a message of tragedy, that war isn't all its called out to be. There isn't always heroics and a wonderful glorious victory. I strive to let the world know that..." he continued on, discussing life and death and war, while the young girl stared transfixed, looking at the broken man, as he describe a bleak world, apparently the one they lived in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma had never heard such sorrow in a human voice before. She listened as he described what he was working on. It was fascinating, the view this man took on about the world. She found herself both amused and horrified at this. And she saw, just a small feeling, a bit of a challenge to make this man see the better side of life. For now though, she sat and listened to the words of this man named Felon.

 

[Shapsters]

Aryana smiled as Yan covered her eyes, in a way she was a bit relieved that someone had pulled her from her book. Even if it was the lanky, red haired goofball that she was constantly being pestered by. Sure he was constantly making advances at her and trying to seduce her -especially when drunk- but she couldn't help but to have grown rather fond of him. His quirky smile, his cheerful attitude even in the gloomiest of situations and his generally uplifting vibe kept her rather happy. Obviously at first she was hesitant and annoyed, and to this day is still annoyed at times, but he was her friend and she was glad for that,

"I think a guess would be unnecessary wouldn't it Yan? You aren't exactly one who blends in with a crowd!" she laughed as she placed her book on the table and pulled his hands off her eyes. She gestured for him to sit down beside her, "So how did the game go? I assume you won as you always do?"

Of course she had already see Io celebrating at the bar and knew he had lost. But why not rub it in?

**************************************

Zieg sat at the kitchen table, the bland food sat in front of him and despite the fact he had sat there for more than an hour, he was determined to not finish his meal. The meat was bland enough as it was, but why did his mother insist on serving beets?! They are such a wretched and vile vegetable, it was of Zieg's belief that they should all be gathered together and burned.

But of course, his mother didn't care.

Spoiler: Ooc

I will write more about Zieg later,I need to watch Breaking Bad now!

 

[The Hairminator]

"Well", Yan said as he sat down in the seat next to Aryana's. "If you ask that old fox she'll probably say she won. That, of course, is a lie. I think she cheated."

Yan looked at her, making his eyes conspicuously large and innocent, although he well knew that Aryana could pick out his lies from a mile away. Before she had time to possibly expose his lie, he quickly changed the topic and pointed at the book on the table.

"What you reading there, Ary? It better not be one of those love short stories again, 'cause, you know.. You only need to ask." He smiled maliciously, knowing the ritual well.


It was long since he had given up any real romantic ambitions with Aryana, although he definitely had such at one point. After many scouting missions and quite a few battles together, they had gained a natural friendship based on mutual trust, and at this point they both knew it wouldn't work out. It wasn't just that, however. He really liked her in another kind of way, her calculating and sometimes cold way of thinking made a nice counterpart to Yan's impulsive and more fiery behavior, while on missions.

 

[Quad08]

He watched as the flames danced in the fireplace, the flames twirling and swooning as his old weary eyes gazed at them.

The Common Room was filled with many people now, destroying the calming silence he once had. He sighed and went back to his meal, taring his eyes away from the fire to concentrate on the slab of meat before him. Picking up his fork and knife he began to slowly cut away, enjoying the juicy, savory taste in his mouth. He knew once they got travelling again it would be awhile before they had real food again.

Samuel Rhine allowed his now watchful eyes to gave across the Tavern. Many members of the unit he was apart of were now inside, drinking beer and having a good time. He envied them in a way. Many of them were still innocent in the ways of battle and survival. They did not know what it was like...

What it was like...

He shook his head then, as if trying to shake out the dark thoughts that had started to creep back into his head, taking a sip of beer before going back to his meat.

Best to savor the goods while he could and save the darkness for another time.

 

[Yorgmiester]

"Bullshit."

"I'm telling ya, it's true! They're out there, I saw em'!" said a tall, lanky man named with long greasy hair named Glen. He was almost yelling in his anger.

"That's a damn hefty load of goblin spit, and you know it!" Cossan was, as usual, in some kind of argument or confrontation. This time he was having a heated debate with one of the locals, a trapper, who swore on his mother's grave that he had seen some manner of apparition or monster of some kind in the mountains.

"A big, tall, white critter he was, with ter'ble black eyes, standin' like a man up atop a bluff, starin' down at me." the villager insisted, gesturing animatedly with his hands and receiving a good many nods and muttered agreements from the men around him. "I was sure I was come to an end right then and there, he woulda killed me an' ate me livers, I'm sure of it!"

"Well, why didn't e' then?" Cossan replied, motioning wildly at the man's body with his mug, spilling some of the contents in the process. "Your livers don't look et' to me!"

"Hey, it's true, ya' hear?" one of the other trappers said rather angrily. "You're a damn soldier, you haven't lived here, you don't know! Those mountains are damn well filled up with all kinds o' dangerous, hellish beasts. Us hunters an' trappers an' loggers, we're the real heroes, bravin' them god-forsaken hills near er'y day!" There was a round of cheering as all the men of the aforementioned trades heartily agreed, confident that their jobs were the most dangerous, heroic, important jobs in all the Empire.

"That's all hogwash." Cossan said dismissively, turning his attention back to his beer. "Ain't nuthin but wolves and trees and ice up there. You all got it soft."

There was, of course, an uproar at this, as every self-respecting and inebriating man within earshot shouted their protest. Cossan sat in the middle of it, swallowing his beer, with a content look on his face. As the bedlam continued, Griger Lucas and his band of "merry men" emerged through the tavern's entrance, unnoticed by any save the few who sat near the door.

"What's all the yelling about, eh?" Griger asked, stepping into the mass of arguing men very suddenly. All heads turned towards him, and then the noise doubled in volume, as they all complained to their self-proclaimed leader about the nasty soldier man who didn't believe their ghost stories.

"So, you don't believe in ghost stories, eh soldier?" Griger said chidingly, a smirk appearing on his face as he sidled up to Cossan and leaned on the counter, lording over the old war vet as if his lumberjack's physique held some great importance.

"No, I think it's all a load of crap." Cossan replied flippantly, smirking in return and continuing his drink.

Griger smiled, a devilish look that bespoke of fake friendship. "Aw, well, you gotta give some merit to some of it. Ol' Glen over there ain't totally daft, and Sam's dragon stories can't just be storks or eagles. And what about Aldrus and his little people? What d'ya suppose that could be, eh?" Cossan didn't respond, and so Griger continued. It was clear the burly lumberjack didn't believe any of it either, but the drunken men around him didn't notice, and so they cheered him on.

"You gotta admit, ol' boy, there's some strangeness in those mountains. You've survived a while, you're smart. A man of your intelligence can't just ignore all these people's.. traditions, all their dangers. We've got a bad lot, you see."

"Nope, it's all crap. You've got a soft job and a boring town."

Griger's countenance immediately changed. He was angry now. With a scowl, the big man slapped a muscular hand on Cossan's shoulder and tried to swivel him around so they could be face to face. He got a solid smack to the back of the hand and a foot to the stomach, pushing him backwards a few feet. Cossan was off the barstool, feet planted firmly apart, sleeves rolled up and a finger jabbing into Griger's chest.

"You wanna dance, tree boy? Eh? That was your hand, wasn't it? Or was it somebody else's?" Cossan peered at the group that had gathered around him and Griger, looking at each of them in turn. They all shook their head.

"Thought so. Alright, so how you want this to-" he was cut off by a fist to the gut, as the big lumberjack planted his best punch into Cossan's portly stomach. Unfortunately for him, his best punch wasn't nearly enough. He was immediately caught in a vice-like bearhug and sent hurtling backwards through the crowd of people. An even mix of cheering and shouting began, punches started to fly, and in no time at all the area around the bar had erupted into drunken chaos.

Spoiler: OOC

Bar-fights are, without a doubt, the single best way to start an RP. Enjoy.

 

[Shapsters]

"Oh don't you worry Yan, I know just who to talk to if I want to learn about romance. I mean, who better to talk about romance than with you? You have had so many romantic endeavors and- oh wait thats right!" she fiendishly smiled at winked at him, "But now that you mention it, I think you could probably relate to this book, its all about the local ugliest wildlife and beasts. In fact, I read one particularly nasty description of a local boar and my mind instantly thought of you!"

She laughed at her friends reaction, it was playful banter like this that most of their conversations consisted of. They had fun together and she was happy for that.

Suddenly the fight broke out, she rolled her eyes and sighed, turning to Yan she raised her eyebrows,

"Should we stop them? If we do, things could get out of hand and we could be injured, which would not only piss Rinus off but also screw up the unit. That being said, if we don't, things could really get out of hand and it could turn into an all around brawl, nobody wants that..." she shook her head as she watched the fight, it was a rather pathetic bout between a few drunks, "What do you think?"

Aryana turned her head to Yan to get his response.

*************************

"Listen mother, you told me that now I am older I am to be the man of the house, and as the man I hereby declare beets aren't allowed!" Zieg defiantly pushed the beets away from his face and with a determined look on his face he stared down his mother. She stared unmoving into his eyes, her brown eyes that were once warm and loving had suddenly become cold and unforgiving. And without a word she won the argument.

Zieg quietly shoveled the beets into his mouth and stood up.

"May I be excused?" he mumbled, not willing to admit his defeat. His mother quietly nodded and gathered the plates, as Zieg slunk past her he quietly mumbled, "Beets are no good."

In a flash Zieg yelped in pain and his ear was twisted in his mothers hand,

"Now you listen to me and you listen good. You should count your blessings that you have such good, hearty meals as you do. If it wasn't for the kind and wonderful farmers in this town you would be praying that you had as much as a beet to eat! You don't seem to realize just how lucky you are!" she gave him one more tug and let go, Zieg rubbed his now red ear and had a defeated look on his face, "Now you go to your room and I don't want to hear another peep from you about how much you detest the good food I serve you!"

 

[Sporky111]

"C'mon, little'uns." Ochrem said as the fight started. He lifted himself up on his cane and started leading the frightened children out of the way of the crashing bodies and flying fists. Some of them were quickly picked up by their mothers, but a small group of them stayed close to the grandfather figure. They were able to safely skirt around the fight and hide out in the kitchen.

----------------------------------------------------------​

Orson stood up and tried to figure out where the fight had started. There was still a large crowd near the counter, and it looked to be beyond helping.

Stepping away from his chair, he found himself shoved forward onto the table. His tankard spilled it's contents on the floor, and he sighed that he would have to fight this fool. He gripped the metal stein firmly and whirled around, striking the assailant on the cheek. The man fell on his ass, with a hand to his face.

No sooner did Orson drop the tankard than he was attacked again. A man had charged from the side, dropping his shoulder and driving into the soldier's side. Orson went sprawling over a table and rolled off onto a chair. He grunted as the edge of the chair dug into his ribs, but picked himself up. His attacker was nowhere to be seen, likely already onto another fight.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Felon and Emma were still talking quietly when the fight broke out. Felon was content to just let it play out, let everyone get the aggression out of their systems, but the fight soon spilled over into their corner as literally as it could as a tankard and a drunk plowed through the table they were sitting at, drenching Emma in ale and causing her to emit a small shriek of shock. Felon decided it had gone far enough and approached one of the men, "Sir, it is time to calm down before someone gets hurt here."

He was of course met with a swinging fist that he easily side stepped. He pushed the man into a pile of others that were gathering on the floor, battered results of the brawl that was beginning to emerge, "Everytime someone hears something they don't like they fight it," Felon thought to himself before another brute of a man tackled him to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma ran out of the way of the fighting men, dripping with the foul reek of ale. She saw Felon take down one man, while another dropped him to the ground with a monstrous tackle. She winced as she saw him go down hard. Without thinking, she grabbed the nearest mug and smashed it over the attackers head, watching him stagger backwards before Felon kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground, where he failed to move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Felon lept to his feet, dodging another wild punch, he continued to delve into the brawl, only defending, never attacking. He was going to find the source of this fight and put an end to it; this wasn't the way to go about things.

 

[The Hairminator]

Yan watched the bar-fight with a slightly amused face, "Well, I don't see any knives or sharp objects in there. Everyone should be alright" he said, not taking his eyes off the scene "..in a few days, at least", he added as he saw Cossan crush a chair against a poor man's back.

"On the contrary, however" he said to Aryana ", We are the vanguards of peace and calm in this place..." A vicious smile was yet again on his lips.

He glanced at her, still smiling. "Some of these guys look pretty strong. You might want to stay back."

Despite his words, Yan knew Aryana could hold her own in a fist fight, even against men significantly larger than her. He gave her a 'let's go' nod as he got up from his seat. Approaching the fight slowly, he made eye contact with as many of the other soldiers he could, to make sure they were on the same page. If they were to stop this before it escalated into a full-out brawl, it would have to be quick and decisive, and probably as a unit.

 

[Yorgmiester]

*CRUNCH*

The man to Io's left went staggering away to the wonderful noise of breaking teeth, courtesy of her elbow. Swiveling around, she took a step forward and caught his stomach in a wicked right uppercut, a move that, when delivered from this particular soldier woman, lifted him off the ground and sent him sailing over a table and onto a pair of grappling lumberjacks.

Swiveling again, she thrust her leg out, catching her next assailant at the shins. He stumbled forward, his fist flailing wide over her head. Pulling him off the ground, she spun him around then promptly kneed him in the groin, followed by a powerful kick to the gut that sent him sprawling out of sight.

Feeling somebody behind her, she spun around a third time, her fist already flying towards their face.

~~​

Cossan would have been beating Griger Lucas soundly, but for all of the angry, drunken men around him. Both of them knew how to brawl in a crowd, but the fact that most of these people were friends of Griger's and "enemies" of Cossan gave the lumberjack the advantage. Already the coward had vanished, poking his ugly head out now and then to try and catch Cossan off guard.

Right now the soldier was playing defensively, for the most part, keeping an eye out for Griger. A blocked fist here, a cracked skull there. Somebody rushed him from the left, attempting to plow into him like a battering ram; it had little effect. Wrapping one burly arm around the assailant's neck, he grabbed a large portioned of the man's hair with his other hand and then twisted cruelly. The man let out a pitiful yelp, struggling violently for a few moments before he was released, at which point he stumbled off towards the door, holding his head.

Suddenly Cossan felt somebody at his back, and spun around, planting a well-aimed fist right into the newcomer's gut... just as his own face was assaulted.

Staggering back, Cossan cursed and held his nose, staring in fury at Io, who was staggering back herself, grasping her stomach. An evil grin appeared on both of their faces. They had done this dance before, but it never got old. With bloody battle cries they charged at each other, fists flying and muscles pumping.

~~​

"Three beers, barkeep!" Jutani yelled as he, Otlina, and Lera emerged through the front door, covered in snow. Dalder nodded and went to get their drinks, unperturbed by the brawl. His rule for this kind of situation was simple: keep it on the customer side of the bar. As long as none of it endangered himself or his brew, it was fair play.

"Gods, this place is awful." Lera said in an annoyed tone as the three of them inched their way along the far wall, towards the relatively safe side of the room. "I think I may just go to bed."

"Hold up now, I already ordered you a beer!" Jutani replied. "You can't just go and leave a man hangin' like that, it's just not right!" He grinned playfully, turning to Otlina. "Isn't that right, babe?"

Otlina rolled her eyes, pushing him along towards an empty table near the fireplace. "It's fine, i'll drink it. Or give it to Cossan, I'm sure he hasn't had nearly his quota yet." She scanned the room as they sat down, picking out the various members of the unit, noting that Cossan was in the center of the fray, and probably the cause of it. Rinus was sitting at his own table, by himself, quietly eating as if nothing was going on.

"Well, I think I'll take Otty's offer and head upstairs." Lera said demurely, casting her eyes about the wild room in a nervous manner. "Sorry."

"Yea, yea yea. Just get outta here." Jutani said, knowing that nothing would ever get the girl to stay in such a crowded, noisy place. The three of them had eaten dinner in a small villager's hut, thanks to the hospitality of the hut's occupants. It had been cramped, but rather nice, without all this bedlam. He wasn't entirely comfortable here himself.

"Poor girl, this entire situation must be torture for her." Otlina said, shaking her head as she watched Lera hurriedly cross the room and disappear up the stairs. "The only place she's really at rest is out in the woods. I mean, this whole confinement thing is bad for all of us, but it must be truly a nightmare for her."

"Oh, it's not so bad." Jutani said, as their drinks arrived. Otlina looked at him questioningly. He took a long swallow, then continued. "In fact, I'd venture to say it's rather nice."

"How..." A second later she knew the answer, as a sly smile appeared on his lips. She crossed her arms and fixed him with a slightly condemning look.

"Hey, I'm just sayin, we're trapped in this town for a month, out in the middle of nowhere, locked inside by cold and wind and ice, sittin' next to a nice, hot, roaring fire..." his smile grew less playful, more serious. "Two beautiful people like us..."

She held her chin up, looking down her nose at him in mock derision. They had gone through these motions at least a dozen times since arriving in Highburn. "Humph. And what makes you think I would be even vaguely interested in that vulgar concept, hmm? To even think that you'd conceive such a notion."

"Don't play it like that, girl. We both know you've got to be feeling a little randy by now, and who else is around? Not one of these drunken maniacs or lumber men, surely." He leaned back and took a long drought of ale, confident that he had used his final card and cornered her.

"Oh, I don't know." Otlina said, turning to gaze out at the brawl. "I've always found the mountains to be a very romantic setting. Perhaps a rougher model would be more appropriate for the backdrop, wouldn't you say?" Jutani followed her gaze, and then immediately spat out a mouthful of beer.

"Yan?" he asked incredulously. "Yan? Really? I mean, nothing against the guy, but he's an oaf! A nice oaf, but an oaf nonetheless!"

"Oh, but look at his muscles, Jutani. He's so strong." Otlina said these last words rather slowly, looking back at Jutani with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She set her mug down and slid her hands slowly down her thighs, as her back arched suggestively. Jutani nearly dropped his mug.

"You didn't."

"No, of course not, you idiot." Otlina laughed, picking up her beer again. As she drank, she eyed Jutani over the rim of the mug, amused by his bothered demeanor. After a few moments she set the drink down and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then glanced back at Yan. Crossing her legs, she began to idly twirl a strand of hair.

"But you never know..."

"Aw, alright. I've had about enough of this." Jutani exclaimed, standing suddenly and downing the rest of his beer. "I'm going to bed." With that he stalked off, feeling down-trodden and used, as Otlina smiled contentedly and continued drinking. It was a little cruel, she supposed, but in the end he deserved it. Kinda.

Glancing at Yan one more time, she noticed that he was staring at her this time, but not in that kind of way. He was making eye contact with her, motioning for her to do something about the brawl. Apparently a few of the others were joining him.

Sighing, Otlina got up from the table and began her approach along with several of the others. "Never a dull moment on the job."

 

[Nukey]

Within moments of the first starting, a bottle filled with cheaply distilled ale, exploded on the table in front of Krin, having been tossed at him by one of the drunken fighters. He didn't move back or jump form fright, and instead he simply turned his head in the direction it came from in order to single out the man who had thrown it. Sadly, the tosser of said bottle was no where to be seen, most likely having retreated into the mass of screams and shouts.

"Bah..." He grunted, no doubt unamused by the fight. "Every time I set foot into these places, a fight erupts breaks out and I have to stop it..."

He picked himself up from his chair, slowly pushing off of it to avoid drawing too much attention to himself, although with his massive stature that was near impossible. He didn't need to look to find someone to take down, as one drunkard had decided to lunge at him, throwing a punch at the man. The man's punch connected with Krin's jawline, causing a fair deal of pain, but fortunately no damage had been done. Krin soon retaliated, throwing a straight into the intoxicated opponent's neck, sending him stumbling backwards, tripping due to his inability to keep his balance. Krin quietly chuckled to himself as he walked over to the fallen drunk, finding a small amount of amusement at the spectacle, just before sending a swift kick the man in the stomach, most likely breaking a rib in the process. Krin took no pleasure in hitting a downed foe, but if it would keep them down until the fight ended, it was for the best.

Satisfied that he had disabled an attacker, he threw himself into the crowd, trying to repeat the process.

Spoiler: OOC: Notice & Whatnot

@Yorg: Just a heads up, but I've just been informed that I'm leaving for a vacation early Friday evening, and I'm unsure whether or not there's a computer there and if I'll be able to post. If there isn't one, I won't be able to post until Sunday, so yeah...do what you will with Krin during that time.

Also, BAH! I've been having a bad week in regards to making decent posts. >.< Maybe a vacation would do some good.

 

[Sporky111]

Orson gasped for air under the weight of two drunks. One of them had thrown a punch to his face, but Orson easily blocked it. The guy gave up and charged, tripping them both. He landed on top of Orson, and then another had fallen over a table on top of them.

Struggling to free his arms, Orson noticed that his would-be attacker seemed unconscious. His head sagged to the ground next to Orson's shoulder, leaving his huge bulk as dead weight on the soldier's chest. The other man, whose only visible part to Orson were his boots, didn't seem to be moving either.

His last tactic was to try and push himself out with his feet. One leg was blocked, he found, but he used the other to lift his hips off the ground. The villagers shifted, but didn't fall away.

Feeling defeated, Orson looked about to make sure he didn't get stepped on. A few people walked or stumbled by without notice, but it took a little while for Orson to recognize one of his unit.

"Ay!" he barked, "Help?"

Spoiler

That can be anyone, if you want to help.

 

[Shapsters]

Aryana laughed and began to follow Yan toward the brawl when she suddenly saw Otlina walking toward the fight. Normally Aryana didn't judge people, she liked to look deeper into a person and figure out who they truly were. She found herself unable to do this with Otlina, there was something about the woman Aryana just couldn't stand. Perhaps there was a hint of jealousy, or maybe it was because Aryana viewed her as a direct competitor in more than one category, whether it be looks, or skill or catching the attention of men. Whatever the reason, Aryana did not like Otlina and she made that quite clear.

"Great, Otlina the beauty queen is here." she mumbled as she walked toward the fight, not knowing, or caring if she was close enough to Otlina for her to hear, "Maybe she can just flirt all of the men out of fighting and everyone can be happy."

Luckily for Orson, the short pause Aryana did was short enough to take her mind off of the brawl and examine the situation. She observed who was in the bar, taking note of all her unit members that were present in the bar and of the villagers as well. She quickly noticed that Orson was not too be seen and began to carefully scan the crowd of people. She spotted a face beneath a drunk man and a table, sighing she formulated a plan involving her strong legs.

She ran into the group of fighters, keeping her head low she headed straight for Orson. Avoiding fists, flying bodies and thrown beer mugs, she slid in front of the man Orson was stuck beneath.

"Alright, I am going to crouch and use my legs to push the table up. You just need to help me a bit with your back and we will be fine." Aryana nodded and crouched beneath the table and in front of Orson, "Ready?"

Of course, prior to reaching Orson and on the way to the trapped man, she had already calculated the options and consequences. It would be harder for her to lift yes, and could get hurt in the process. That being said, she is one of the more observant members of the unit and the likelihood of Orson remaining unseen was rather high and not having Orson to help fight could make the brawl last much longer. So she figured that her helping him would be the best option, and she did just that.

She thrust her legs up, the weight of the man and the table on top of her was great, but the strength in her legs were much greater.

 

[Sporky111]

"Thanks." he mumbled as Aryana crouched beside him. He couldn't help but appreciate her appearance from such a low vantage point, but he quickly banished those thoughts from his mind as she lifted the table off him.

He took in a deep breath to expand his chest, then freed his arms and pushed up. He managed to get a knee up under the table as well. Between them, the table rolled off him fairly quickly. Aryana helped lift the other guy off so Orson could roll out and onto his feet.

"Alright, now what?" he asked her calmly, keeping a keen eye out for the next attack.

 

[The Hairminator]

Yan was about to answer Aryana's comment on Otlina, when she without warning took off into the brawl. Soon he realized, it was to help Orson, who was trapped under some apparently rather heavy men. As she darted past them, Yan saw many men turn their heads after her, in surprise. His defensive instincts kicked in.

Yan charged the fight head on, trying to draw some attention to him. He saw the first punch come. He sidestepped, and grabbed the arm, twisting it in the movement. The easiest way to go from there would have been breaking the arm, but Yan doubted that would generate good-will with the villagers. Yan kicked the man in his hocks, and as he fell punched him yet again in the side of his head. He hoped the man would stay down for the remainder of the fight. The whole maneuver took no more than a few seconds, but Yan was still left exposed. He turned around to face the brawl again, but was met by only a fist, blocking everything else in his field of view.

Everything went black.

Spoiler: OOC

Sorry if it's shit, but I wrote this at school, and was not fully concentrated on the writing.

 

[Quad08]

Samuel stood up and made his way towards his room as soon as the brawl started. He hated these drunk displays and when one of the patrons charged him, Samuel backhanded the drunk so hard he crashed into the table Samuel had just been sitting at. A satisfied smile crept onto his face until he saw Yan go down.

Making his way towards the younger man, Samuel managed to keep out out of the other brawls grabbing Yan but the arm and dragging him out of the brawl area and sitting him down at one of the tables with a nod to the bartender, tossing a few coins his way before heading up back towards his room.

It was a small space and a tad cool but to Samuel, they were all that was required. He had been in the army for far too long, more used to sleeping on rock and dirt with only a thin cloth to lay on. He sighed again and lay upon the bed, with no intention of sleeping, rolled over and looked out the window. The night was cold and a light snow was starting to fall again. The mountains in the distance beckoned to him, for he knew full well that they would eventually have to travel through them again...

 

[Yorgmiester]

Spoiler: OOC: Notice & Whatnot

@Yorg: Just a heads up, but I've just been informed that I'm leaving for a vacation early Friday evening, and I'm unsure whether or not there's a computer there and if I'll be able to post. If there isn't one, I won't be able to post until Sunday, so yeah...do what you will with Krin during that time.

Also, BAH! I've been having a bad week in regards to making decent posts. >.< Maybe a vacation would do some good.

Spoiler: OOC

No problemo. Krin will be in good hands.

Rinus continued to eat, having ordered a second helping after he realized he was hungrier than usual. He payed little heed to the fight, content to simply keep track of where his soldiers were and what they were doing. The Captain was well aware that Cossan was the most likely cause of this brawl, but he was not in the mood to do any reprimanding.

He grinned slightly as Buyir abruptly landed in the seat next to him, bruised and bloodied, apparently having experienced the worse end of his "go and get em" attitude. The man said nothing, simply slouched into the chair and enjoyed the bubble of relative safety that seemed to surround Rinus' table.

~~​

Otlina dodged a swinging fist, dropping low and using the chair leg she had acquired to take the attacker's feet out from under him. That followed by a swift kick to the chest kept him down.

A figure appeared on the left side of her field of vision, and she was about to swing hard, but stopped when she realized it was Aryana. "Oh, sorry Arie!" she exclaimed, as she had just about smacked the other woman's head. Looking behind her, she noticed Orson getting up off the floor, and gave a little wave.

"So, you got a plan or something?" she asked Aryana. Otlina had always viewed herself as the pretty, charming one and Aryana as the brainy one who worked things out.

~~​

"You call that a punch?" Cossan said with a grin, as he wiped blood away from his mouth. "The dead rat rotting underneath my bed can do more damage than you."

"I suppose you know this from experience." Io replied, charging forward and performing a wild string of kicks and punches, ultimately landing yet another blow on Cossan's hard-to-miss person. "You really shouldn't let deceased rodents bully you."

Cossan staggered back a few paces, holding his stomach. Despite the pain, he was having a wonderful time. Io was clearly the better fighter, and beat him soundly almost every time they sparred, but that didn't make it any less fun. They grinned devilishly at each other across he sweaty space between them, as he straightened and was about to utter his own witty reply.

"Well..." he began, but was suddenly cut off my Griger Lucas' fist slamming into the side of his head.

The huge lumberjack stepped forward and sneered as Cossan hit the floor, then turned towrads Io. "Thanks for loosening him up for me, ba-" he was instantly silenced by her fist to his face, and a sickening *CRACK* as his nose broke in several places.

~~​

Ravius would have been content to simply sit quietly and finish his drink, but it seemed that even such far away places as "the very end of the bar" were going to be affected by this maelstrom of sweaty bodies. He grimaced as a loosely flying leg smacked the mug out of his hand, spilling beer all over the counter and his chest.

"Idiots." he mumbled, choosing to simply get up and leave, instead of inserting himself into the fray. Glancing around, he noted that many of the others from his unit were moving in to "put and end" to this brawl, soldier style. He wanted none of it.

Passing along the far wall unnoticed, Ravius successfully crossed the Common Room and slunk upstairs, feeling slightly nauseous and more than a little annoyed. The long seclusion in this place was beginning to put a damper on his spirits, which was truly a feat of depression. His spirits couldn't feasibly get much lower.

Sidestepping a drunken couple in the hall, Ravius quietly entered the unit's boarding room, shutting the door behind him to help block out the wild noises of debauchery. Jutani was already in bed, apparently asleep. Lera was standing at the far side of the room, staring out the window. The only light that could be seen outside was the dim glow of the tavern's windows, which illuminated the curtain of driving snowflakes for about six yards. After that, everything was utterly black.

"You should get some rest, instead of staring out the window." Ravius muttered, as he weaved his way through the beds to his own humble cot in the corner. "There's nothing to see out there."

Lera continued to stare out of the window. "Something's not right."

Ravius stopped halfway into taking his boots off, and looked at her curiously. "Of course something's not right. None of this is right. We've been stuck here for almost a month."

"No, I mean something else. There's something hanging over us."

Ravius glanced at the ceiling, as if Lera's metaphor might take form and reveal itself. After a few moments, he shrugged and continued getting into bed. He was gloomy all the time, a little more gloom and doom didn't change much. "It's nothing. Just the cabin fever getting to you."

"No, it' not." Lera replied quietly, still staring out the window. "Something's wrong."

Ravius rolled over, staring at the wall, listening to the creaks in the wood, the obnoxious sounds of sex and drinking from the neighboring rooms, and the faint yet unmistakable noises of fighting from downstairs. They could all feel it, he was sure. They were just dealing with it by numbing themselves with booze and pleasure.

The closer you get to the fire, the better everything feels. Then you get burnt.

"Yea."

 

[ThreeWords]

Seiben lounged in a chair by the wall, out of the way of the fight but near enough to see everything. His nose broken, Griger staggered back, and Sieben moved forwards, knowing that Io would hurt him further if she had the chance.

Stepping neatly between the lumberjack and his attacker, he put his hands up in front of the advancing Io, his face a blend of amusement and concern, and his voice pitched for persuasion and mockery

"I think,my dear Iovynne" his voice so spoken as to sound secretive while making sure all could hear, "That this poor mountain man has had enough of you affections. Couldn't you see to letting him go to his bed? maybe in the morning he'll be a better sport."

Under cover of a few laughs, he spoke only to the woman. Speaking lower, he muttered, "Gods, Io, did you have to break to poor bastards nose? Sparing's one thing, but that'll have him hating you." his face hadn't moved from the look of amusement, "I don't care if you want to make enemies in your own time, but we need these people working with us for the evacuation."

Spoiler: OOC

Sorry for a rubbish first post, but I'm pushed for time. I'll introduce Will tomorrow

 

[The Hairminator]

"Don't listen to him, babe. He deserved it." Yan had gotten up and was now walking towards the others, wobbly, still dizzy from the knock out. He had seen Io punch the aggressor Ravius on the nose, just as he woke up, effectively putting a stop to the fight. "Besides, they started it, I think. No one can blame us for giving them what they simply had coming."

Yan closed his eyes, and exhaled. When he opened them again he had a smile on his lips. "And he's gonna think of you, every time he looks in a mirror for the rest of his life." Yan looked at Iovynne with a reassuring smile, but under the surface he had a booming headache. "Besides, serves him right for ruining my beautiful face." He could feel the shiner forming around his right eye, even as he spoke. He turned to Aryana and added in a cheerful tone: "It's alright, babe. You can cry if you wish."