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oz

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Registered: 2016-11-20

Posts: 1,658

Ambush In The Woods-Quade TP And Defenders Log

==Abbey Pond==

Gorvenalus stands quietly watching the stars in the night sky, stars do not do much most of the time unless you get a rare shooting star and that’s something to smile at.   

Minsc walks over and stands beside him "Abbot Gorvenalus.....you doing ok?"   

Gorvenalus nods "I am...not being locked in a cell is a start, freedom to walk around as one pleases is a good feeling I have missed"   

Minsc says, "Yes but there is still Quade out there somewhere and we hardly know anyone here, not really. We know their abbot because he was a captive for 3 weeks with Quade. We escaped and now are here" He thinks "And I know the badger Xander fairly well, leader of the Defenders whom I joined"
   
Gorvenalus nods "A good group or so I heard. They will help defeat Quade but I do worry this place may share the same fate as our own lands"   

Minsc forms a frown “Let’s hope not but they did learn of Quade a lot sooner than we did, that may help and they have been able to get at least some help...even if it’s a little bit"
   
Xander walks along the path close to the pond, looking to be in deep thought. He looks up as he sees the two beasts and makes his way over to them "Hello...thought you would be in bed"   

Gorvenalus answers the badger "Sometimes sleep escapes one when there is troubles and stress, Hello Xander how are you fairing this eve?"   

Minsc nods but gets serious "That bird still alive?" Yes he sounds serious.
   
Xander nods "Yes in the infirm and he still has a guard watching him and he has a talon tied to the bed."   

Gorvenalus looks between them "Bird? Which bird would that be?"   

Minsc says, "Kurt, Quade’s robin...he crashed into the bell tower during the storm last night, broke a wing. That Brother Leon tended to him, in my opinion  Kurt should of just been slayed, not healed or keep a captive, more kept in a bloodly pile of feathers"

Xander frowns and then slightly glares "He is a living creature and needed aid, the abbey does not kill beasts"   

Gorvenalus looks between them " Please do not argue and I do remember the robin , he showed up in the cell a number of times with Quade"
   
Minsc says, "Yes and he is a friend of Quade and a spy, a dangerous spy whim most likely is the one who helped Quade gather info he needed from your abbey cause who would think a robin is an enemy...well that’s how Quade works"
   
Xander says, "Minsc....you’re not harming the robin, that’s an order"   

Minsc folds his arms over his chest "Oh now you ORDER me...I am not to be ordered and I think you’re a fool to keep that bird alive...maybe get infor from it, then it needs killed and maybe sent back to Quade as a message to not mess with us and that we are on to him now"   

Gorvenalus says, "Now Minsc...please my friend I know your just upset but your words are...are painful to hear"   

Xander says, "I am leader of the Defenders and you are in my group and there is no killing in this abbey, the only way that would be able to happen is if there was no other choice or your life was in true danger but it’s not. Kurt is his name, he told me and he may tell more of Quade and then maybe we can...well do something with him. He was hurt and so he needed helped and even asked why we helped him when I am guessing Quade most likely could care less if he was hurt"

Minsc folds his arms over his chest and closes his eyes "I..know  sir..your leader of the group sir...but you don’t know what me and my abbot has been through, have seen..HAVE LOST!"   

Gorvenalus appears loss right now not knowing what to say or do, he can only watch and listen.   

Xander takes a deep breath and exhales "Your tight, I don’t know and I will not ask as I do know how it is to relive an event, to think on it again and again...my mother was killed and I keep thinking over and over again how she was carried inside by my father, unmoving and told she was past a healers help as it was too late, she was dead....and seeing my Uncle almost die a couple days later"   

The beaver decides now is the best time to head inside, its late and maybe sleep is best   

Minsc watches his old friend go inside and starts to follow but stops as he looks to Xander and snorts "I do not trust the robin sir..it’s dangerous to keep around"
   
Xander is listening, he is as he speaks " I didn’t say I trusted him either and it’s not like he can fly away with a broken wing. If he tries to hurt or kill someone then he can be placed outside and we can make double sure no one can enter we don’t know unless we check them first....like you or Gorvenalus can help us"
   
Minsc says, "Makes me wonder if Quade has any other birds...we do...right? I mean I know Thunderwing is..."   

Xander looks down as a tear goes down his face "Yes, Thunderwing died...I want to go to where his body is, give him a proper burial, whatever that is for an eagle"
   
Minsc nods as he walks over " I am...sorry for my words earlier..it’s just my thoughts, one needs to be careful so let’s go" He starts for the entry.   

Xander nods as he follows, getting his armor on and his blade. He also goes to find the Defenders nearby to help and if needed be there for a fight.

==Near a clearing in the woods==

Xander lead the group into the woods, a couple otter guards tagged along to help with well guarding and if needed carrying the eagle.

Zolomon limped slightly but his leg was healed enough to help,”Ya lying right Xandy? He isn’t really dead I mean he is a big bird”

Minsc stayed close as he scanned the area “So..where was he when you found him?”

The two otter guards just scanned the area quietly, they seemed to not want to be out too long or maybe just didn’t like to be away from the abbey.

Edson keep guard in the back of the group, eyes and ears open to any sounds or sights of danger as he spoke not a word as he keep his blade in his paw as he wasn’t taken any chances.

Quade saw them, he saw them for the past 10 minutes but choose not to let himself be seen. Nearby a couple tall stoats and some rats stayed well-hidden and waited orders.

Xander soon came to where the eagle Thunderwing laid with arrows and a bola wrapped around him and started to cut the bolas off and break off the arrows.”We can bury him by the river, he loved the river and the fish there”

The eagle was carefully laid in a hole that was dug, it was maybe 4 foot deep and then covered in dirt, mud and some leaves. The otters stayed close as a small funeral and some words were said. A pile of stones marked the grave of the bird.

Zolomon was sad, he seen the large bird as a friend, he was slightly afraid of the large eagle at first and then got to trust him as a friend and now that friend was gone.

Minsc spoke “Dust to dust….may he rest in peace and fly in whatever skies are in the dark forest forever more”

Edson  stayed off to the side, he keep an eye out and only gave the small funeral slight attention. He only spoke to Thunderwing once since he had joined the Mossflower Defenders, he was more worried than sad as whomever managed to take an eagle down was surely more dangerous than they had thought.

Xander was tried, and he sat by the freshly dug grave of his friend as tears went down his face.

Zolomon watched from not too far away as he looked to Minsc” Think Quade did this?”

Minsc nods “Yes I do, not on his own of course as he had friends but he is the cause of it yes”

Quade rolled his eyes, he let them have their funeral, why not and now he was going tired of waiting, this was his chance and he was taking it. He nodded to a cloaked figure nearby “Proceed with the plan”

The cloaked figure nodded and slipped closer to the badger, it was still dark.

Edson frowned, why was it so quiet all of a sudden, he griped his blade and looked around.

The cloaked figure made its way closer to the badger and smirked as it spoke “Stripedog  time to face me” He held in one paw a long sword and the other was made into a fist at his side as the blade was ready to block any oncoming blades and the other ready for another attack.

Xander spins  around at the voice and quickly drawed his sword to strike at the other beast, eyes narrowed, the badger needed rest and it showed. “You….”

Minsc meanwhile was talking to Zolomon when he held up a paw “Wait, its near morning why are birds not chirping?”

Zolomon frowned “Too early. Then again chap ya bally well right. Maybe we should head back.” His good ear twitched ”Was that the sound of blades crashing into one another?”

Edson is already moving “Let’s go I have a bad feeling”

Quade snapped his fingers and the Defenders will soon find themselves stopped by a group of 3 stoats, and 4 rats. He dropped from a tree and sprinted away laughing “By the time you get through my beast your leader will be DYING to see you again!”

Minsc growled as he sliced a rat’s head off and stabbed another as they came closer, he caught sight of the squirrel and his eyes blazed with pure hate.

Zolomon fired an arrow at a rat killing it instantly and gasped as he barely avoided a slice from a stoat, a bit of fur came off his head “Whoa…ok didn’t need a haircut!”

Edson charged a stoat from behind, “DEFENDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!” His blade was out and ready to kill

The rats seemed easy to kill and now only two  remained and was fighting the hamster, one stoat got a surprise from behind as he dyed rather quickly but the last 2 stoats went to fight the hare who clearly was not too good with up close fighting.

Zolomon could still jump and kick fairly hard, though he did get a slice to the check “Someone bally well do something!”

Edson quickly went to help the hare,  ”Hey bad breath scum fight someone with a blade or are you a coward?”

Minsc ducks and then stabs forwards at one rat and the other he sidesteps and goes to slam it into a tree.

One rat is killed, the other is knocked out and groans as it slides down the tree and falls sideways, yeah he will be out cold for a while.

Also a stoat is kicked as the wind knocked from him. He starts to stab the hare and then decides the hedgehog looks more fun and goes to attack him and the other goes to flick a dagger at Minsc!

Zolomon gasps and then quickly fires off an arrow at the one attacking Minsc and looks to see how Edson is doing “We need to get to Xandy guys!!”

Edson is a good fighter and blocks the blade the stoat has and  goes to step back and stab again at the advancing stoat.

A couple things happen at once, one being the dagger barely misses Minsc as it sinks into a tree he was just in front of, and then the arrow hits the stoat in the back killing the stoat. The other stoat gets stabbed in the chest and coughs up blood before falling over dead as well.

Minsc  pants and snorts “That was not random…let’s get to Xander” He goes off in the direction of other fighting as its clear he isn’t waiting.

Well Zolomon is not waiting either as he manages to ran fairly fast, maybe a bad idea on a still healing leg but his friend needs him

Edson makes sure the beasts are dead, well most are dead and one unconcious rat is not a threat as his leader safety is more important2

======Meanwhile not too far elsewhere in the woods===

Rowtag only smirked” I do not think we have truly meet one another stripdog. But I have little time to chat and a job to do” He goes to kick the badger hard in the chest.

Xander may have armor but a kick when one is tried can still hurt and knock one sideways, he tenses up and goes to glare at the cat” I see your uglier than last we meet” He goes to bring his blade angled at the cat

Rowtag blocks the blade and finally lifts and throws some sort of powder at the badger’s eyes. It will burn badly and feel like fire, it will cause sight to be lost for a most of the day and even the next things will be blurry, but sight will return but the cat is hoping the young badger doesn’t have time to recover “I will be the last thing your see before you die! I AM Rowtag and I am your assassin today!”

Xander growls as his blade is blocked and goes to back up and swing again when the powder enters his eyes and he stumbles backwards and first mistake is to try and rub his eyes, he then blinks and it makes it worse as the dim light goes dark and his eyes get very watery and just burning feeling. He starts to panic and try and listen to sounds.

Rowtag is careful not to make a sound, he throws a rock and then suddenly lunges at the badger and tries to slam him into a tall oak.

Xander swings his blade…the wrong direction and is hit from behind as his face goes into the oak tree and he falls backwards and tenses up in pain as he starts to get back up.

Rowtag right away sets a footpaw on his throat, “Armor doesn’t protect from all things….you ever wonder why you still live, its cause others have died in your place…..your mother, your former leader lost a paw….two of your team members were slain, your uncle almost died and now that eagle Thunderwing…slayed…”

Xander gasps for breath as the cat presses on his throat and goes to try and stab the cat with his blade

Rowtag goes to wrap a tail around the badger’s blade, some cuts form on his tail as he goes to force the blade down and press harder on his throat….” Stop fighting…it’s time to sleep …not to worry your wake up and see your mother…”He angles  his longsword “ Your head will look good on a pike….your friends will come just in time to see your headless body…”

Suddenly an arrow flies through the air right at the cat’s back and a yell” Get off him rot head!”

Edson charges to the side of the cat, his short sword out as he aims to slice his tail off, or seriously injury the leg.

Xander struggled  to breath, he felt ability to stay awake  fading and panic set in as he went to kick the cat in the chest.

Rowtag feels the kick and some reason chuckles, the chuckle turns to a gurgling sound as an arrow is now growing out of his chest, He drops the blade, then he feels his tail get chopped off and falls sideways and off the badger, he goes to claw at the hedgehog but weakly as his life is fading.

Minsc makes his appearance as he  quickly goes to check on Xander.

Zolomon narrows his eyes and fires off another arrow at the cat aiming at his back again.

Edson gets  a claw mark on his arm as he blocked his throat and holds the bleeding arm now and cusses under his breath..well could have been his throat and not his arm.

Xander coughs and gasps for air, he is alive but his neck is sore now and it takes time to regain breath and speak “Edson…Minsc…Zolomon..-coughs-“

Rowtag  feels one last thing before he dies, the hares 2nd arrow sinking into his back and this time he falls and takes his last breath and goes limp.

Minsc lays a paw on Xander’s arm “Sir…..Xander relax, we are here its fine and the cat is dead”

Edson backs off from the cat and goes over to Xander, he will help him stand if he is able to.

Zolomon is at Xander’s side in an instant “Xandy…oh Xandy are you ok, wot hurts..wot doesn’t hurt? “

Xander coughs but allows help to stand and leans on a tree ”T..throat…some…easing but my eyes..burn, they hurt and…”Fear floods his voice “I can’t..I can’t see!!”

Minsc frowns and tries to examine the badgers eyes “Open them if you can. Let me look…anyone have a canteen of water now!”

Edson digs one out of his knapsack and hands it over to the hamster “Not much left sorry”

Zolomon hands him one as well “I always carry an extra one….is Xandy ok, wh..why can’t he see?”

Xander manages and blinks a couple times only frowning and staying silent.

“Powder…causes temporary blindness, had it used on me before and some others have,  “ The hamster explains. “something Quade uses to fight dirty…blind the beast he fights or have another use it…then kill the beast or take them captive.” He goes to wash some of it away “This will help it to burn less. Flushes out most of the powder but the rest will have to slowly come out…your sight will be messed up most likely till tomorrow, but then most likely blurly..1-2 days till sight fully returns and then may still hurt some in light a few hours….we need to get him to Brother Leon and Angela…get some Eyebright, it’s an   herb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrasia ”

Zolomon frowns “Just so its temporary….” He takes Xander’s paw “I am here for ya Xandy. We should get  back to the abbey”

Edson nods “Yes before Quade finds out his Assassin is dead instead of whom he clearly wished to be dead. I will be rear guard”

Minsc nods “Let’s get back” He stays beside Xander “ I am here as well sir, not leaving your side”

Xander holds still best he can and frowns. He will allow the help back to the abbey but it’s clear he is afraid but does his best to not show it. He nods slowly after a short while “Thank you….yes the abbey is safer we can tend to any wounds any one has, that’s an order…and then plan. Quade will want revenge”

The group heads back slowly to the abbey and get Xander to the infirm to be further helped by Angela and Brother Leon.  Also any other injured gets checked and tended to before resting, rest that is most likely needed for whats to come.

---

I play:
Brother Gorvenalus-Redwall Abbey Recorder,  Private Cole,a runner, of the Long Patrol
Oz( Yes named after Papa Oz) young adult and Novice in Redwall.