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Two Men Walk Into A Bar, And The FIRST Guy Says... (Open! PM to join!)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, May 08, 2018, 09:28:17 AM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

The town of Eastbrook was a small settlement- the population rarely went above two-hundred. It's location near the center of the Sehra Plains made it a frequent stop for travelers however, and the local taverns were almost always chock full of weary adventurers and highwaymen.

It was approaching nightfall as Danny and Matchitisiw rode into town. It had only been a week since they'd had met, and so far things weren't going so well. The two took to each other like water and vinegar, and their reasons for sticking together were falling apart. Danny's clairvoyancy had lead to no concrete results so far, and Matchitisiw refused to give the boy nawat training until it did. The tension between the two couldn't even be cut with a knife- it'd probably take an axe to cut it.

Slowing his horse to a stop, Matchitisiw looked at the surrounding buildings. "Danny." he said coarsely. "I need a drink. We're going to the bar."

Danny sighed, stopping Squaredancer. "Alright."  he muttered, a grimace spreading on on his face. "There are stables over there, I'll take the horses."

"Just leave them outside, Danny!" the Duhjari man cried as the boy dismounted his horse. Dismounting his own, Matchitisiw crossed his arms. "If they wander off then they're bad horses and we find new ones."

Danny gave his companion a confused look. "I don't want them to get stolen." he said flatly. "Squaredancer is my friend, I don't want to loose her."

Matchitisiw snorted. "Whatever..." he muttered, walking towards the bar. "Squaredancer is my fwiend! I love her!" he mimicked quietly. "Stupid, naive kid..."

Not waiting for the Adelan boy, Matchitisiw stepped inside the bar. The low murmur of voices stopped for a moment as the regular patrons all turned to look at him, then resumed once more. Letting out an amused breath, the man walked to the counter and sat down. "Ey, barman!" he called, motioning to the bartender. "Get me whisky."

The bartender narrowed his eyes. "Get lost, horsefucker." he said coldly. "We don't serve your kind here."

"Oh really now?" the Duhjari said, lifting an eyebrow. He leaned his left elbow against the bar, his right hand inching towards his pouch of throwing stones. 

"What's going on?"

Danny had returned, a worried look on his face. "Danny." he said bemusedly. "This man doesn't serve my kind, Danny."

The bartender slowly reached under the bar, pulling out an imported musket. "Leave now, savage."

Matchitisiw pulled a smooth stone out from his pouch. "Make me, asshole."

Danny looked at the two of them nervously, holding his hands in front of his chest. "C-can't we settle this peacefully?"

DragonSong

"I wouldn't."

The voice was heavily accented, and when she spoke again it wasn't Common at all, but the language of the plains as Riala slotted herself with surprising ease against the bar and cocked an eyebrow at the three of them. Though she was ostensibly speaking to all three, she was looking at the Duhjari and speaking a language that--at least she assumed--only he would understand.

"Is the insult really worth a few broken ribs? Or worse?" Her eyes flickered meaningfully over his shoulder toward where a few of the "regulars" were already reaching for weapons. Blunted clubs it looked like, mostly; she'd clocked them for guards rather than patrons when she slipped into the bar a few minutes before.

She looked from the boy to the bartender—and his musket—and back, then smirked. Switching back to Common, she urged blandly, "Call your hounds off." A meaningful look at both the guards and the other Duhjari. "I don't think anyone wants trouble here tonight."

At least she certainly didn't. She was further from home than she'd ever been and she needed some information, damnit. She wasn't likely to get any if a bar fight broke out.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Danny looked around frantically as everything around him went to shit. A number of bar patrons were slowly getting out of their seats, various weapons in hand. Another Duhjari had appeared to back up Matchitisiw, but this only seemed to enrage the bartender further. "I don't take orders from you, featherhead." he spat "An' quit speaking your plains gibberish and get out. This is a place for civilized folks."

Matchitisiw snorted, gaze shifting to the newcomer. "I'd say it's worth it, yeah." he replied in Duhjari, face twisting into a nasty smirk. "Besides, the only-"

"Um, guys?" Danny squeaked, looking as if he were about to cry. "Maybe we should just go. There's got to be another bar in town, right?"

Matchitisiw looked at the boy in disbelief, and likely would had said something disparaging had one of the one of the men not hurled a bottle at his head. Barely managing to duck in time, the Duhjari looked on as the bar erupted into chaos...

DragonSong

Riala’s shoulders stiffened, but she forced herself not to react to the bartender’s insults. She shot the older man a dry look; she had no interest in getting shot today, not for someone else’s pride. “Fine. Do as you like—“

She started a sharp dismissal, intending to leave, but before she could do much else a bottle came flying toward them and her eyes widened. She dodged sideways, grabbing the younger man who’d seemed so distraught by the conflict and dragging him down behind the bar.

“Fucking hell,” she swore under her breath, eyes darting around as she tried to take stock of the situation. Her hand was already moving to the knife on her thigh. There was a moment, just a fraction of time, when she saw a clear path through to the door. Her eyes flicked to the boy beside her and she grinned, crooked and almost feral.

“Alright, you wanna get out of this in one piece? Stick close.”

Eckhart_Von_Musel

It only took a few moments for the entire bar to go to hell. The bottle that'd been thrown smashed against the wall, showering the bartender with glass. From somewhere in the corner a man drunkenly hollered, and another bottle found itself airborn. Matchitisiw caught it in midair, quickly turning to smash it into the bartender's face. The man stumbled backwards, his gun falling to the floor with a clatter. The bandit had little time to celebrate before two more men rushed him...

Danny let out a frightened squeak as the Duhjari woman pulled him behind the bar. Were they both crazy? Fear clouded the boy's mind as he took in the surrounding chaos, and he made a silent prayer to any spirits who might have been watching. "Please, help us..."

The woman's voice cut through the haze, causing Danny to flinch. He glanced in her direction, and immediately wished he hadn't. A wicked smile played across her lips, almost as if she was enjoying this. It wasn't the look of someone he felt comfortable trusting- but at this point, what choice did the boy have?

Danny swallowed nervously. "R-right." he stammered. "I'll-I'll be right behind you..."

DragonSong

Ria laughed at the look on his face. "Oh, pup, you'd better learn to hide that fear," she recommended blithely. A moment after she was on her feet, hauling the boy up beside her before she let go of his arm and darted for the door, keeping low to avoid making herself an obvious target.

Not so different from using the tall grasses of the plains to keep herself hidden, all things considered.

Of course, grass didn't move about so much.

She skidded and turned on her heel as one of the bar's now many patrons who had joined the brawl jolted back a step and she nearly smacked into him. Hissing under her breath, she reached back instinctively to grab the boy's wrist again and jerked him around behind her protectively, herding him toward the door just a few steps away.

It was an automatic movement, muscle memory. She froze for a moment, just a split second, when she realized what she'd done. Stupid. He was just some boy. Not family, not a tribesmen, not anything. What did she care if he took a wrong step and got himself hurt?

Hissing a curse in her native tongue under her breath, she released his wrist as though his skin burned her and shoved him toward the door. "Go, now!" Feinting left to avoid a drunk's wild swing, she ducked and darted for the door a moment after.

A high, sharp whistle split the air as she moved, a call that was answered with a horse's high neigh. He sounded close. Good. Ortec could be here in a matter of heartbeats if he pushed a little.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Matchitisiw ducked out of the way to avoid his attackers, aiming a kick at one of the men's legs. The drunkard stumbled, giving the Duhjari just enough time to dart behind him...

Danny's eye twitched. "Pup" was not something he was used to being called, and the name made him feel rather uncomfortable. He was in no place to complain about it however, as the woman had soon yanked him up by his arm and began to lead him through the chaos.

It must have only taken a few seconds to navigate the bar, but to Danny it felt like an eternity. Every obstacle dodged led directly into another, and at one point the girl had to pull him out of the way of a couple of brawling patrons. When the door was finally within sight the boy felt himself being pushed forwards, and he quickly scrambled outside. He looked around frantically, before rembering that he'd left the horses at the stables.

"Just leave them outside, Danny! If they wander off then they're bad horses and we find new ones."

Cursing under his breath at his companion's unconventional wisdom, Danny made a mad dash for the stables...

DragonSong

Riala started when the boy took off, surprised he seemed to actually have some survival instincts after all.

Then she realized he wasn't just running, he was running toward something--the stables?

Ah. Well, he was travelling with a Duhjari. She supposed that made sense.

She really hadn't been intending to follow him--he was out of the fray and she honestly shouldn't even have cared that much--but then she saw the flash of a familiar dun coat nearly cut across Danny's path and she rolled her eyes as the stallion drew up short, hopping on his back legs in a half-rear. Always so dramatic.

"Ortec!" She loped over to the horse, whistling to call him away from the boy, whom the stallion had been eyeing as though judging how many kicks it would take to pulverize him. "Not that one, leave the pup be."

The horse tossed his head and huffed, sounding almost disappointed, before mincing his way over to her to lip at her hair. She shoved his head away with another roll of her eyes, though she did spare a quick pat on his neck before swinging up onto his back. "You and your friend best get to your own mounts," she told Danny, as though that was something he hadn't already thought of.

A shout and something that sounded like breaking glass came from the tavern. Riala winced, glancing back over her shoulder, and Ortec hopped in place again, anxious, aggressive energy thrumming taught through the lines of his body. "Or maybe just you. Faster you get some distance between this place and your ass, safer you'll be."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Danny scrambled towards the stables, barely stumbling out of the way as an unfamiliar horse galloped past him. Behind him he could hear the woman calling to the animal, but it wasn't something he could pay attention to now. Finally making it to the stable gates, Danny's eyes darted from horse to horse. Finally spotting Squaredancer in the corner, Danny rushed over to untie her...

*CRASH*

Danny flinched, looking back towards the bar in a panic. Fear quickly turned to relief as he saw Machitisiw dashing towards him, having seemingly dived through a window to escape. He was carrying a large bottle of whiskey in his hands, and had a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. He yelled something, but it was difficult to hear him over the horses. Danny lifted a hand to his ear. "What?"

"I said, there's no time for that! Just grab one and go!"

Danny scowled, hastily climbing into his saddle. "What do you mean, 'no time'? We can't just- hey! That horse isn't yours!"

The Duhjari had burst into the stables, procuring a knife and cutting free the closest horse he could find- a powerful-looking grey stallion. He mounted the animal in one motion, digging his heels into the beast's side. With a whinny the horse began to move. "There's just isn't, Danny!" Machitisiw cried as he cleared the stable gates, goading the new horse into a gallop. "Get going, before they catch up!"

Danny blinked, finally nudging Squaredancer forwards. As she slowly began to pick up speed, he spared one last glance towards the stallion the Duhjari rode in on. Shaking his head, he pressed on. He could see the woman who'd helped him escape on her own horse nearby- was she coming with them? He could hear yelling behind them too, angry bar patrons no doubt. Would they follow? Danny squeezed his eyes shut, praying in vein that this day would end...

DragonSong

She had no intention of following the two idiots who had started this whole mess in the first place--although she supposed the barkeep did rather have something to do with it. If she had the time, she'd go back and deal with the ass herself.

Unfortunately, she did not have the time.

Or, apparently, any sort of luck.

She'd wheeled Ortec around, sort of trailing a beat behind the boy and the Duhjari man--there was really only one way out of town, after all--when a dagger whistled by her ear.

Riala growled, risking only a single glance back over her shoulder to see that four of the stumbling, brawling crowd from inside the tavern had grabbed horses of their own and were, evidently, in hot pursuit. For a second she thought she saw a fifth skidding to a halt in front of the stables, clearly looking for a horse that was no longer there. But she didn't exactly have the time or inclination to dwell on it, as another throwing knife nearly skimmed her ear.

"How the fuck are they even sober enough to throw straight?!" she exclaimed in blind frustration. Ortec shivered beneath her, the the thud of his hooves increased in tempo. He was nearly flat out--she didn't have the space to really open him up here, but he was moving as fast as he could given the circumstances.

Fast enough that they quickly caught up with the other two fleeing on horseback, and even started to overtake them. Adrenalin racing, Ortec snorted a challenge and snaked his neck toward the Duhjari's grey, clearly going for a bite on the other stallion, before Riala managed to jerk him back. Spitting curses in her native tongue under her breath, she tried to peel away from the other two. They were coming up on the edge of town, if she could just...

A sound she didn't recognize, but instinctively knew, rang out behind them. Gunfire. Her eyes widened and she leaned low over her horse's neck, sharply dragging him away from where they were shooting--which herded her closer to the two men and their mounts.

She'd heard that Connlaoth's newest weapons were devastating, but had shit aim, especially at a distance. If she could just keep her lead--

Another shot. Way too close that time. Hissing another curse, she jerked Ortec back, slowing his pace sharply, then urged him forward again so that he first fell behind, then sprang forward between the other two horses.

They could be good use as shields, if nothing else.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

*BANG!*

Danny ducked instinctively at the noise, heart racing. He felt something whizz past his hairp, and Squaredancer began to run even faster. "What- what was that!?" He yelped. "Are they throwing things at us?"

"The fuck? Danny, it's a gun!" Machitisiw glanced at the Adelan boy in disbelief. "A gun, Danny!"

"I didn't know they sounded like that!"

"Danny... Is this your first day outside?"

The two were now approaching the town outskirts, but their pursuers were still hot on their tail. Another gunshot rang out, and Danny shut his eyes tightly. There were hoofbeats directly behind them now, and the young man turned his head to see the Duhjari woman from the bar gaining on them. In a sudden burst of speed she overtook them, cutting between the two horses effortlessly...

"Hah." Machitisiw muttered under his breath. "Not today you don't." He pulled out his axe, wrist twisted at a strange angle. "Pay attention, Danny- this is called 'appeasing the mob'."

The man would throw the Axe at Ortec's hindquarters, ignoring Danny's cry of protest. Regardless of whether it made it's mark, the axe would then boomerang back to his hand..

DragonSong

Riala cursed, hearing the older man shouting--she couldn't not, what with how closely they were all forced to ride--and worried that she knew all too well exactly what kind of bullshit he might be planning.

She sat back hard, yanking on the reins to pull Ortec up into a dead stop. The stallion neighed a protest even as she gave him the command to kneel and he obeyed--just in time to avoid the thrown axe swishing over both their heads, then curving back to the thrower's hand.

"Bastard!" Ria snarled in Duhjari, giving her stallion a quick tap and an apologetic stroke along his pole as he surged back to his feet and leaped forward again.

That kind of insult wouldn't go unanswered.

"You want to appease a mob?" she continued in her native tongue, and a subtle squeeze and tap from opposite legs were the only command Ortec needed to spin and throw the entirety of his weight into the gray stallion's shoulder. The animal may have been a proud looking thing, but Ortec was a trained and tried warhorse; he followed up on the first attack without Riala having to prompt him, rearing up and lashing out with his front hooves to catch the other horse in the head and neck.

No time to make sure the animal went down. Riala pulled him away from the fight with some small effort and once more they were galloping forward, passing the last buildings that marked the edge of the village and heading out into open ground.

"You should choose your company more carefully, pup," she called to Danny as they flashed passed. She didn't bother turning to see if the gray and his rider had gone down, or if the younger man was stopping to help his companion.

Open ground meant she could let Ortec run flat-out, but it also meant no cover from the shooters behind them. She just had to hope that it was dark enough and Ortec was fast enough to get them away.

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