The Lead Crown: Ch 3b, The Prodigy (Pt 1)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 3-1, The Prodigy
The hunters struck quickly, and mercilessly. Aodhan, who had been sleeping fitfully, came to the moment Cruff's scream signaled the Church's attack. In the little time it took him to process the placement of the combatants on the battlefield already far too much was happening. Cruff knelt beside Friar Arlowe, who had fallen where he had been struck by a quarrel. Vic had still been asleep while Rhys was only just starting to rouse.
Their attackers consisted of far too many combat-capable enemies. Although Aodhan had little experience with Inquisitors, he knew enough that the iconic black cloak and cowl gave the dragon away. He was accompanied by three men: a second dragon, a rhino, and an eagle, all armored in the gilded plate mail of the Church's Templars. The final five that rounded out the group all had holy symbols sewn into their leather armor, but they had the road-savvy look of scouts to them... most likely Hunters sent to track them down... and they apparently did their job well. All were mounted, which meant that fleeing would not be easy.
The two Sisters, Aurelie and Antoinette were fastest in responding to the attack. Aodhan found himself racing after them to join up and create a defensive line.... such that it was. Both Sisters carried pole arms but the wolf had nothing but his teeth and claws... and two curved blades he planned on reserving for moments where their use could be put to best effect. With Cruff kneeling by the fallen monk and Rhys finally getting to his feet, a portion of the hunting party charged them while the others readied crossbows. Aodhan was not confident about the outcome of the encounter.
"Get to the forest!" Sister Antoinette roared, "They can't follow on horseback!"
The Inquisitor shouted a response to his followers, but it escaped Aodhan as combat was joined; the collision of the three Templars slamming into the three of them meant nothing else in the world mattered. The Rhino was the only one of the Templars not bothering to remain mounted, instead he had climbed off his horse and was leading the charge with his horn... and it was Aodhan who was set to receive him.
To either side of the wolf the Templars collided with the Sisters. Aodhan's heart quickened as the Eagle bore down on Sister Aurelie, by the cat proved more than capable in receiving him. Halbard shaft in paw, Sister Aurelie set to receive the charge, bracing the butt of the weapon against a nearby rock... and the Templar was unseated as he took the halberd's spike to his shield. Tossing the torn metal away, he was up a moment later, ready for combat to continue.
The Dragon Templar fared much worse against the enraged gorilla. Sister Antoinette didn't bother standing her ground or bracing her halberd; she moved right out to meet the charging attacker. With a powerful thrust, the woman imbedded the blade of her halberd right into the throat of the man's steed, standing like a stone statue against the rushing horse.
Her weapon snapped cleanly from the force of the charge, but, with forward momentum halted, the dragon sailed right over the horse's head and onto Sister Antoinette's weapon's spike. With a grunt, she used the Templar's momentum to heft him into the air and send him pitching onward to the ground a number of yards away. He remained there for several seconds, stunned and bloody.
Despite Aodhan's readiness, the distraction on either side of him caused him to hesitate that one second when it most mattered, and the rhino's horn came rushing in faster than the wolf could track. Whether by the will of the spirits or sheer luck, Aodhan managed to pivot his foot at the last minute and push the majority of his weight to the side allowing the Rhino to charge by, merely clipping the wolf's ribs with his shoulder.
wincing at the impact, Aodhan chose not to hesitate any longer, and his knives came out. With two quick steps chasing after the rhino, he sheathed his weapons again, using the Templar's back to holster them. Alarmingly, the two blades didn't fell the stocky warrior, and the Rhino turned to face him, rage playing cleanly across his battle-hardened face.
Still focused on the enemy before him, Aodhan couldn't spare the attention to see how the rest of the party was faring. Although he heard shouts and screams from the temple-goers, he wasn't able to leave the sisters' sides... not yet... not while they were still in danger... not while Aurelie was in danger. His spirits lifted for a moment when he heard the sound of someone break-away on foot, heading toward the forest. That hope was dashed a moment later by the sound of a chorus of crossbows firing, followed by an anguished cry from Cruff, "VIC! NOOOOO!" Aodhan lowered his ears against the impact of a body against the ground.
It became quickly apparent to Aodhan that no matter how well they did individually against their attackers that they were outnumbered. That truth was all the more evident when he heard Sister Aurelie scream, "Sister!!!" and the wolf turned to see Sister Antoinette kneeling on the ground, her arm raised in defense, nearly cleaved in half by the Inquisitor's long sword. The Gorilla's halberd lay in two pieces at her feet, and, to make matters worse, Aodhan could do nothing to aid her-- his own opponent pulled a battle axe and came at him anew.
Much better prepared for the rushing assailant, Aodhan was able to evade the attack more effectively, backpedaling then leaping to the side as the Rhino charged, swinging his axe. The wolf growled, however, realizing that every moment he didn't spend disabling his foe meant more and more of his allies had the chance to be harmed. In a case of life mirroring his thoughts, Aodhan felt his heart skip a beat when Sister Aurelie let out a cry of surprise and alarm; the Eagle Templar was up, and charging the cat with his broadsword in talon.
Focusing as much as he dared on Aurelie's confrontation, Aodhan's attention was actually pulled completely from his foe as the cat sprang high into the air, using the halberd like a pole to vault upward, catching the Eagle by complete surprise. Although the Templar raised his sword to guard against the downward swing, the cat's momentum and added weight powered right through the weapon, and Sister Aurelie's halberd buried itself blade-first into the Eagle's skull.
Aodhan's attention went immediately back to the Rhino, who had also paused to watch the cat's acrobatic prowess. Their eyes met at that moment, and combat continued as if it had never ended. The two continued to exchange blows, and, despite the wolf's eagerness to end the fight quickly with a decisive strike, Aodhan was forced to remain on the defensive due to the Rhino's aggressiveness. To make matters worse, the Hunters were reloading, ready to concentrate fire on another member of the group... but they never got the chance.
"Kena!" shouted a voice in the tribesmen language, the call to attack. The cry was echoed by the sound of a war horn... which identified the tribe immediately; Aodhan watched out of the corner of his eye as sections of the grasses and shrubs rolled away from the ground and numerous cervine warriors rose up from their shallow hiding pits.
"Tribals!" shouted one of the hunters... the Hound, it sounded like. In unison, the still-mounted crossbowmen turned to face the newest threat, weapons cocked and at the ready... but not one of the five had a chance to fire before the Yew Tribes' bows sang their own song of death. The Wolf, Hound, and Human Hunter each fell out of their saddles, dead before they hit the ground. The ferret managed to duck down, using his steed for cover, and held tight as it fled off back into the grass lands. Of the five Hunters, only the Tiger remained alive and present, though he had two arrows in him regardless.
"Friends!" Aodhan shouted, using the Tribal word 'hamahni' to identify to the deer that he and his party meant no harm. The Yew Tribe didn't appear to need tge reminder, as all of their arrows were aimed at the Church men... and most of those strikes found their targets. Stepping away from the Rhino, who suddenly had more to worry about than one wolf, Aodhan went immediately to Aurelie and knocked the halberd from the cat's grasp.
"What are you--" Sister Aurelie objected, having been so focused on the blade imbedded in the Eagle's head, then paused, apparently noticing the deer for the first time. After that, the cat had no problem relinquishing a hold on the weapon, "Oh."
Despite the appearance of the dozen tribesmen, the remaining trackers from the Church refused to give up the fight.... and Aodhan noticed it before the cat, "Saury!" he shouted, bowled out of the way by the Rhino as the armored Templar charged. The wolf hit the ground hard, going into a roll to bring himself up to his feet. He spun around at the ready, heart frozen in terror at the thought of what he'd see had become of Aurelie... but the imagined images tearing at his mind were not what he encountered.
The cat and the Templar both stood, but their positions had been juxtaposed. The Rhino remained facing in the direction of his charge, and Aurelie had turned to face him, standing behind the imposing Templar. It wasn't until the Rhino fell to one knee that Aodhan realized that the blades he'd stuck in the man's back were gone. The Rhino wavered where he knelt, unmoving, as if stunned, and didn't so much as turn around.
Aurelie's paws, covered in blood, remained at her sides. A single, thick drop of the liquid fell from the cat's index finger; the Rhino dropped to his other kneee as a fresh cascade of red poured from his neck. A second drop joined the first on the ground beneath the cat's paw; the Rhino landed on his side, rolling onto his back as another spray of blood was sent arcing into the air, and that's when Aodhan saw that both of his blades were imbedded into the man's throat. A third drop fell from Aurelie's digits; the third and final jet of blood from the Rhino was far weaker than the prior two, and was joined by a faint gurgle... then nothing.
Aodhan remained oblivious to the exact specifics of the split-second exchange between the two combatants, but he realized that no answer would be forthcoming... not with the fight still raging on around them. Only three of the Church's lackeys remained, although it didn't seem to be making the battle any easier. The Inquisitor, seemingly invulnerable, strode away from the unmoving body of Sister Antoinette and, with barely a thought, added a deer to the number on the ground, knocking the tribesman's attack aside with one swipe from his weapon, and following it up by tearing the man's throat out with his claws.
The Tiger hunter, having been dismounted by the volley of arrows, still fought on, even with two shafts sticking out of his shoulder. Cruff had taken up a defensive position with Rhys near where Friar Arlowe had fallen, and Aodhan was surprised to catch a glimpse of the old Raccoon Dog fighting along beside them. Although none of the three had the skills of a warrior and their stances were all wrong, the strength of numbers allowed them to fend off the tiger readily, and, even though none seemed eager to strike back at their attacker, they seemed to be doing well enough defending against him. Taking no more time to calculate his options, Aodhan charged to help the deer with the Inquisitor; Aurelie was right beside him.
The Tribesmen surrounding the Inquisitor had more than just his sword and claws to contend with, however, and the cloaked dragon's tail managed to trip up one of them. Just as Aodhan and Aurelie closed the circle around him, the Inquisitor tore his cloak loose and threw it into the face of one of the more aggressive bucks. He followed that up a moment later by spreading his large, green wings. With a powerful leap and a strong flap, the man launched into the air, forcing the tribesmen around him to cover their faces from the down blast of wind.
At first Aodhan thought that the Inquisitor meant to retreat... but, instead, he simply circled around, rivulets of liquid fire dribbling down from his maw. The wolf opened his muzzle to shout a warning he knew would be too late, but a weight struck him from the side as Aurelie took him to the ground, both hurtling to the side as the Inquisitor unleashed an enormous gout of flame down upon them all. The cat's quick thinking left them unharmed, but at least half of the deer were caught in the worst of the inferno.
"You have embraced Hell, Heathens!" the Inquisitor shouted, "And so Hell now embraces y--!" his trite promises of damnation were cut short as a fresh volley of Yew Tribe arrows sought him out in the air, and, while most were easily evaded, enough found their mark that he was brought down. Aodhan's heart dared to hope for a moment when the dragon landed hard... but the Inquisitor still managed to find his footing, and rose up, eyes practically burning in rage... but that fury didn't last long. Following the distinct *PLNK* of a crossbow, one of the Dragon's eyes opened wide-- the other was filled by a quarrel. Vic, laying on the ground, dropped the empty crossbow as his body finally gave out.
The Yew Tribe rallied again, forcing the last hunter away from the priest, monk, and acolyte. They dispatched him with the clean efficiency that only a tribal war band could manage. Aodhan was ready to move and greet the buck that appeared to be leading them, but his plan was interrupted by a cry of anguish from Aurelie. Turning to regard the cat, the wolf watched as the Sister ran to where Antoinette lay on the ground; Aodhan could tell even from that distance that she would not be getting back up. The gorilla whispered something softly to the young Sister, then lay still.
The next minutes were a blur as the wolf was forced to put his emotions aside and deal with what had to be done. Taking stock of the remainder of the group, Aodhan made certain that everyone knew the deer were not to be trifled with, and all weapons were immediately stowed. He checked on Friar Arlowe who, as it turned out, was one of the least injured members of the party; the holy text he had stored in his breast pocket took the quarrel meant for his heart. Cruff and Rhys had taken a fair share of injuries... some a little more severe than others, but nothing life threatening. Aodhan's ribs hurt from where he'd been shouldered by the rhino, but Aurelie--
Aurelie! The wolf finished his assessment and ran quickly to the cat's side. Sister Aurelie lay atop the unmoving gorilla, crying over her. Aodhan swallowed the tightness in his throat and knelt down beside the cat, reaching a paw out rest on his dear friend's shoulder. Aurelie spoke between sobs, "She... asked us to help... the Sisters."
Paw still on the grieving cat, the wolf glanced around. The Yew Tribe were taking stock of their losses even as two of their number spoke with Friar Arlowe. Rhys and Cruff where kneeling beside Vic and, based on their expressions, Aodhan knew the news was not good; when the Rat began speaking Last Rights, he was sure of it. They had all but failed against a Church hunting party, and then, only managed to survive thanks to the timely intervention of the deer.
"She asked us to help the Sisters." Aurelie spoke again, voice a little stronger; it held within it the stubborn defiance that Aodhan had come to know as iconic to his childhood friend, "We have to help them."
Aodhan's gaze lingered on the sight of Vic; Cruff was crossing the fox-coon's paws over his chest, placing a small pocket book beneath them. He glanced down to Sister Antoinette, far more peaceful in death than he ever could have recalled seeing her before. The wolf was not one to give in to hopelessness, but the prospect of saving the envoys from the Sisters Divine seemed near impossible. He looked back to Aurelie, the cat's vibrant, intense gaze staring right back at him. Aodhan nodded; "We will."