A new beginning, a new arrival

Post by **Valz Malar** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:17 am

Mol hammered on the door, for a moment Valz was taken aback. He knew she was big, but didn't realize just how big Mol really was until her hand slammed into the door a couple of times.

Valz was just about to answer Mol's half-serious question when a voice echoed from behind the door, "If you are with the Watch, banging on my door, I'm gonna have your job. I pay good money to have you ignore my kids." Valz was suprised at the voice, which got louder as it went on, as if the man was coming closer to the door; he was expecting a nasly reedy voice that would come from a weak, pathetic man, but the voice sounded, well normal. Normal or not, it made no difference to Valz, he was still waiting for his gut to tell him whether to talk to Sirah when he opened the door, or to just start swinging.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:03 pm

Lachtna turned his head at the rising level of activity behind him, but when a small voice asked, "Are you with the Guard?" he turned back to face its owner.

A little girl with dark glistening eyes looked at him. Her skin was deathly pale except for the dark rose on her cheeks, so bright it looked like rouge.

He knelt down beside her in the dirt, lean fingers dusting over ginger-hued curls. "I am not with the Guard." He told her kindly. He could feel the fever coming from her, could see it in her cheeks, in the glassiness of her eyes.

"How long have you been ill, little one?" He asked soft and low so as not to attract attention.

"I don't know." She said with a tired smile.

And without thinking he reached his hand out and laid it to her cheek, his concentration coming easier than it had when he'd first discovered this ability. He focused and then sent a rush of cool energy into her through that touch and chased the fever away. He was dizzy for a moment, but she was such a small thing, so it did not last long.

She looked at him with wide eyes as he straightened. He placed a finger to his lips. "Shh." He told her. She nodded, mouth partially open. She did not understand exactly what had just happened, but she understood that something had.

Lachtna walked quietly up behind Valz and Mol as the door swung open and they were all three brought face-to-face with Sirah.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:46 pm

"Not guards... call us a few concerned responsible citizens." Mol growled low in her voice. "What gives you the right to use these children like this? They should be learning about life and you've got them starving and picking through trash."

Her knuckles cracked menacingly and she glanced to Valz. She wanted one good reason she shouldn't just pound him into a pool of ooze like a squashed bug.

Post by **Valz Malar** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:18 pm

Lachtna had rejoined him and Mol at the door after talking to a little girl. Valz heard Mol speaking to the man, Sirah, in front of them. He was a small man, maybe coming up to Valz's collarbone. Dark curly hair covered his square face. Valz noticed the man may have been small, but he was powerfully built, probably weighing as much as Valz did. However, the three of them towered of Sirah. The kids had all stopped working by now, staring at the confrontation.

Mol started laying into Sirah verbally. Sirah seemed to wise up as to what was going on real quick as she was speaking. Valz saw him hunch his shoulders and glance down at his feet, knowing that Sirah was going to try to slam the door on them, at which point it would be very difficult to get in, Valz sprang, throwing his whole weight into the door. Sirah tried pushing the door shut, but Valz was able to get a leg and part of his shoulder into the gap.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:07 pm

Without thinking, Lachtna joined him and the two men thrust the door open easily, sending it with slamming force into the wall and leaving Sirah open to their advancement. Mol was right there with them. Lachtna had a feeling that the "talking" part of their negotiations had just ended.

"What would possess a creature to force children to work to the point of illness?" He spat at the short man. His words were formal in nature but anger coiled throughout each word. It affected him in a great way to see that little girl with fever coursing through her blood. What illnesses or injuries remained in the others? What worse things had arisen as the result of Sirah's cruelty?

"These kids are scraps." Sirah responded gruffly. "No good orphans. They'd be rotting on the streets if not for me."

"Or they'd be warm and safe in good homes." The elf responded vehemently, hearing knuckles crack at his side.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:39 am

Mol stepped heavily in through the doorway and got directly into Sirah's face. She looked him squarely in the eye, silently communicating to him that this was the last straw. It wasn't his game anymore. He was going to have to answer to someone.

To illustrate her point she gave him a solid shove, one that would send most men stumbling to the floor unless they were very heavy or had some other means of staying on their feet. If he was a smart man he would realize that if she could throw a man around like that, she could probably crush him too. A smart man would admit to his mistakes and start spitting out some answers. Molly would be even happier if he admitted he was a bad man and would mend his ways. But if it was a fight he wanted, she could oblige him there as well.

Post by **Valz Malar** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:26 pm

With Lachtna and Mol's help the door swung off Valz's leg; he knew in the back of his mind that he was going to have a massive bruise on his leg in the morning. He stumbled and regained his feet in time to see Mol push Sirah. Valz was quite impressed and not altogether sure he could have stood under her shove. Sirah turned and sprinted across the hall, heading towards a door in the back.

"He's going for a weapon" Valz yelled and took off after him.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:43 pm

Lachtna tightened his hand around the hilt of his short sword and pulled it free from the sheath at his side. He had truly hoped things wouldn't go in this direction, but he couldn't sit idly by and watch a fight that was partly his own.

He took off after Valz down the hallway, sword lowered until he was given a reason to raise it.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 5:09 pm

Mol was game for a square hand-to-hand fight but she didn't have her stick with her. If she did this would be a done deal as far as she was concerned. Still, she did have a notion of self-preservation and at the mention that the man was armed, she weighed back onto her back leg away from the man and edged closer to Valz and Lachtna.

Her practiced eye roved over the scene to pick up any details she might have missed like if the man might have had any buddies lurking elsewhere in the house who were alerted by the noise.

Post by **Valz Malar** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:43 pm

Valz was a big man but he was pretty sure that in a sprint he could overtake Sirah before Sirah got to whatever weapon he was going for. Valz pushed off his back feet starting into a sprint. He heard Lachtna beside him and figured Mol would bring up the rear.

Valz got lucky when Sirah fumbled at the door in the back of the hallway wasting precious seconds that Valz used to catch up to him. Sirah had gotten the door open and was stepping through it when Valz threw himself into Sirah. The diving tackle took the two men to the ground inside what appeared to be a bedroom. Valz didn't even have time to look around before Sirah had rolled on top of him and started raining fists down into Valz's face.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:04 am

Lachtna's practiced eye looked around to see what - if any - method there would be for escape so that it could be guarded.

There was only one window with cracked glass and so thick with dust there was barely any light showing through. It was the only exit that could be conceived other than the door, which Mol wasn't leaving open for an option.

He heard fists flying and moved forward instinctively to offer help if any were needed.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:38 am

Mol was still by the door watching Sirah try to flee and Valz take off after him. She did not want to see this bastard get away.

So focused was she on what was going down in front of her that she did not look behind herself. In those moments while Valz was scuffling with Sirah another man came up behind her noticing the door was open.

"Sirah... It's Morti, I'm here for Grendel's cut." He called.

Mol jumped at the sound of a man's voice behind her and failed to turn before the man realized that she did not belong there.

"Hey! Who are you?" He demanded racing up to the doorway.

Mol backstepped as the man charged inside reading to fend him off if necessary.

Post by **Valz Malar** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:15 am

Sirah still sat on top of Valz, taking advantage of the moment to hammer Valz's face with his fists. Valz was slightly disoriented from the flying leap and rolling around on the floor which is how Sirah must have gotten the upper hand. Valz instinctively put his hands up to defend his face; during the precious seconds that bought him he wondered where his compatriots were at while he was on his back being beaten. That only lasted as long as it took to hear some voice shouting at Mol. Valz realized he needed to get control fast, and laying on his back wasn't the way to do it.

Faster than would seem possible Valz bucked his hips forcing Sirah to put his hands out in front of him or fall flat on his face. Grabbing Sirah's right arm with his left, Valz hooked his left foot on the outside of Sirah's right side calf. Valz didn't want Sirah to know what was coming so speed was of the essence. Slamming his right fist into Sirah's ribs and continuing on with his momentum he was able to roll Sirah over while holding his arm in place. Valz heard the sickening crunch of separating tendon and bone that always made him sick: Sirah's shoulder was mangled. Sirah's screaming told Valz he now had that situation under control and was able to look around. Blood poured into Valz's eye from a cut on his forehead and his nose felt broken...again. Neither the blood nor the pain masked the fact that there was another person coming into the room and he looked pissed.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:47 pm

Valz was wounded. Lachtna was already there, a skilled eye taking in the blood that flowed freely down the man's face.

He knew he wasn't much help in a fight. His help had always come after the fight was done and there were pieces left to be picked up afterwards, things that needed to be fixed.

The cut didn't look severe, but the nose looked as though it were broken. There was a commotion behind them both as Mol's sheer strength took on the other man who had entered the room.

There wasn't time for the elf to think or to worry about what would happen if this were all a trick being used to trap him. He concentrated on placing that energy he could feel into his hand while Valz gave him an odd look. He reached forward and touched slender fingers to the wound, and forced that bit of focused energy into it. If he wasn't any good in a fight, he could at least be certain that everyone else on his side was.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:43 am

Mol bristled at the sight of the newcomer. What a day to leave her stick behind. She did not wait for the other man to say anything. He was working with Sirah and they did not need him causing trouble too. She reached out a thick hand and snagged him by the front of his shirt, throwing him against the wall.

"Sirah's business is finished here. Yours is too if you know what's good for you." She growled. Her eyes were intimidating. For that moment she was her old self, the one who'd lived comfortably with brigands.

The man uttered something resembling an expletive but he didn't get to finish it before Mol's fist was crushing his face, once and then again.

"Oh you're gonna pay for this." He sputtered. His mouth and nose were gushing blood.

She kicked him in the gut. "This is already payback hon... for those children whose sweat and blood has put bishani in your purse."

The man backed off, realizing he didn't stand a chance against the monstrous woman--was she a woman?--who was filling Sirah's doorway.