Trouble Rides Again (Open)

[wolfie]

The day was a bore. Nothing new or exciting. Fin was wondering if she would ever get to have fun again. Sighing she got on her bird and started to fly around. She could bombard someone from the air easy enough. Sending the bird down would be fun too.

She was about to give up on having any fun when she noticed something moving below her. She used the reigns and had the bird fly down closer. She wanted to see what it was moving below, but she didn't want to be caught. That would ruin everything.

She saw someone moving around, but wasn't sure what they were doing. She got an idea and had the bird fly back toward a tree. She gathered a couple of nuts and an acorn. Once back on the bird with her prize she flew again. When she was above what was moving she sent down the nuts and acorn hoping to land a hit.

[TheHighwayman]

Lerrok had to fight to keep from chuckling as he counted his "earnings," and even as it was he couldn't keep a somewhat suspicious-looking grin off of his face. By selling the horse he'd stolen a few towns back and the dagger he'd lifted from the nobleman who'd been thick enough to walk the streets without minding his possessions, he'd made quite the little fortune that day. At least twenty glints worth- enough to last him a good while if he was bright about it. He gave the coins a jingle in his hand and went to tuck them away-

Clunk. Coins and curses filled the air as the acorn struck the thief squarely on the head. The Connlaothian dove to scoop them up as quickly as his hands would let him- which would have been much more quickly if he didn't keep dropping the shining bits of metal in his haste. Lerrok raised his head so as to properly berate his assailant, only to find all directions void of an obvious source.

"-seen more brains from a noble's son. People like you ought to be tied to the tallest tree available and left in a wildfire. Give me half the chance and I'll shove one of these coins-" The thief's stream of insults paused as his mouth caught up with his mind. His head tilted to the side, he frantically turned in circles searching for the culprit. "...And I suppose they're invisible now- I knew there was a reason I liked Connlaoth better."

[wolfie]

Findra couldn't have picked a better moment to cause this man trouble. He was laughing until that acorn hit him in the head. She noted that he was trying to put his coins away only to have them all litter the ground. She thought that interesting but not amusing enough.

She was careful to keep from being seen on the bird. He hadn't noticed her, which was a bonus. He started shouting up at her even though he couldn't see her. She wondered if he knew or if he was just shouting at nothing. She chuckled a little hoping it was the second one.

The bird seemed to like her just then and not him much. Right as they were passing over him again the bird sent some droppings down on him as if this was natural. Carefully watching from the bird she waited to see what this man would scream next. Would he try to do something to her bird? She hoped not.

If you like it better go back there. She thought heading back toward the trees. The bird landed. She tied off the reigns so the bird couldn't go nowhere. She looked around and saw a few more acorns. She laughed and managed to tie a few to the bird. She looked around for anything else. She had an idea, but wasn't sure it would work.

Getting back on the bird they took off. She had the bird grab a pine cone, which the bird decided was a great idea. It was like the bird and Fin were on the same thought wave. She was loving this. It wasn't long before they rained down the pine cone onto this man. She couldn't wait to see how he responded. She made sure that the acorns she had for a future rain down couldn't be seen from the bird well all except one.

[TheHighwayman]

The man had just started to calm down and was about to carry on with his day when yet another projectile came flying down towards him- fortunately this one missed his head, only landing on his right boot. Still, it was enough to send the already irked traveler into another storm of curses- or possibly babbling madness, as by this point he had used most of his favorites. He looked up just in time to catch sight of the bird before it can get out of sight, glaring after it as if he thought appearing angry enough would ground the creature. His gaze rested on the trees beyond which his antagonist had disappeared until his breath ran out.

Lerrok was about to continue along the road when he could movement out of the corner of his eye. "I'm starting to think Angsar might be trying to tell me something here." He eyed the bird as it wheeled back towards him. No way this was just some coincidence. As the bird flew ahead, he took two steps to the left- and cursed as the inaccurate shot suddenly became a lot more accurate, scoring another hit on the top of his head. "Well, either Angsar is trying to test me somehow, or I'm going to eat that bird if it's the last thing I do." He didn't seem to realize that he was talking to himself at this point.

[wolfie]

Fin was sad to see the bird droppings only land on the man's boot. She giggled a little seeing him vexed though. She wished she could have heard the words he was saying, but she was too far away for that.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw her second projectile hitting him again on the head. She was getting better at sending things above. If she had time she would make sure to get him from below as well. She had no idea though that he was wishing ill against her feathered friend. If she had known she would have launched a better attack on the man.

Fin was wondering what else she could send at him. Aerial attacks only went so far she would need something else. She went back to the trees and tied up the bird to come back to it later. She would have allowed it to roam if she knew it wouldn't fly away on her. So far though she didn't trust the animal.

Carefully sliding down the tree she found the bunny she had tied up below. She was glad she had more than one animal she could count on. She had a feeling he wouldn't be expecting this. Heck it was a bunny, why would that attack. Smiling she got on and had the animal burrow below the ground.

Digging around she had the bunny make a few potholes in the road for him to step into. It would slow him down while she could plan the next attack. She also thought of letting him think that maybe letting up a little. If he thought he was safe again she could launch a great attack on him. Plus it would give her time to plan it.

[TheHighwayman]

When the bird failed to reappear once more, Lerrok decided to cut his losses and simply move on. He took off down the road, walking perhaps a little more quickly than he would normally. The thief had never been a very superstitious man, but so much good fortune followed immediately by what could almost be described as a curse didn't sit well with him. There would be time to puzzle at the mystery of his increasingly rotten luck at a time when he didn't have under half his wits available.

It took only a few minutes for that decision to crumble apart. His foot struck the first disruption in the road, nearly twisting his foot out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground. Lerrok grimaced and rose again, looking at the road ahead. As he got moving again, he noticed more disruptions in the road ahead- disruptions that had certainly not been there when he arrived the previous day. That settled it. Somebody was screwing with him.

"Alright then, if whoever's doing this wants to start something, let them start something." The thief carried himself across the road and sat down besides it, pulling a small hunk of bread from his pack and sitting down. He began to eat- and to wait.

[wolfie]

Fin felt the ground shake above them. She smiled knowing what had occurred. The man had fallen on the first try. Luck seemed to be on her side, but for how long. Usually someone or something managed to wreck the fun she was having.

She had the rabbit go topside again. It was time to see what he was up to. She had found the roots and managed to get up in behind a bush. She had the rabbit stay put as she peaked out at him. He was just sitting there eating his bread. She wondered what she could do to him while he was there, an idea sprung itself without much though. She grinned and sent the rabbit underground again.

Having the idea she needed she sprung up near a tree where she could gather the vines she needed. She would need a few for this to work. She chuckled, and with the right amount of vines went back underground.

Behind his feet she made a hole. She carefully sewed his heels to the ground. Carefully moving around his feet with few holes she managed to sew parts of his feet to the ground. She then went back under making the bunny go up behind him. There sleeping was a porcupine. It was just sleeping. Carefully she broke off a large part of two quills. Aiming carefully she sent them both into the man's backside.

Before she could be caught or the laughter took her she had the bunny retreating down far enough. Within minutes the bunny was tied up and she was in a tree again watching him carefully. He looked so funny she couldn't help but laugh.

[TheHighwayman]

The thief hadn't noticed anything happening at first, not feeling the vines until his adversary had disappeared again. It took him until he attempted to stretch his legs to notice something was wrong. Feeling resistance, he spotted the vines poking through the ground. "I can fix that easily enough." Leaning forward, he grabbed his dagger and began to cut apart the binds.

He had just snapped the final binding when Fin's latest attack struck. He sprang to his feet with a howl and turned around to find, as he expected, nothing.  The man winced as he ripped the quills out of his rear and spat a renewed series of curses.

His mouth practically worked on its own as his mind began to run the possibilities over. Somebody had picked a fight with him, somebody who had nothing to gain except perhaps satisfaction, somebody who seemed to be able to get at him from underground and the sky, somebody who would use the spikes of a porcupine as a weapon. Lerrok wasn't exactly well versed on the subject, but there didn't seem any clear answer besides the one- some sort of fae.

Lerrok growled. "Alright then, if I can't catch it to make it swallow those coins, then I'll just have to settle for the next best thing." He rummaged through his gear until he came across some flint, tinder, and one of the torches he carried in case he ever needed to travel at night. He stormed towards the treeline. "Alright, whatever manner of nuisance you are, I'm going to give you till the count of ten. Show yourself or I start burning." He was bluffing of course, he didn't really want to kill everything inside, even the pest, but he certainly looked furious enough to mean it. Some part of his mind reminded him that even if the assailant showed itself, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd do about it- he ignored it.

[wolfie]

Fin was laughing very hard at this man. She wasn't happy he snapped the vines instead of falling flat on his face, but hey not everything worked. She could only plan so much and hoped that it worked. Half the time she was disappointed. Not this time.

While he was cursing up a storm she could hardly breath. Fin had finally found the right person to torture. She then got serious when she heard him threaten to burn the place around them down. Stupid Biaf, you'd think they'd learn not to tempt me. Go ahead burn it. How will you survive? She thought still watching him. This was more fun than she had in months.

She wondered why he wanted her to swallow some coins when he should be spending them on more meaningful things. That's at least what she thought Biaf's did with their coin or toss it away on something stupid.

The fire gave her another idea, but she would have to wait to act upon it. She couldn't be seen let alone caught by the Biaf. That just wouldn't do her fun would be spoiled, and she didn't want to see what coin tasted like.

Going to the inside of the three she crawled down it and out the bottom running carefully past him. She got her rabbit and took it back to where the vines where. This would be just as fun although not as fun as the fire idea. She gathered her vines and made two ropes.

She thought about this further and then while he seemed to like the trees, she roped and pulled back one of the branches behind this guy. She tied it off wanting to come back to it. She checked the angle and then tied the other vines in a straight line for him to trip over. She chuckled lightly knowing where he would land - the dung. Going back underground again she went above to where her bird was waiting. She let the rabbit go free no longer needing him. She would capture a squirrel or something next if necessary.

From above she tossed an acorn at the tied part of the tree. It came lose smacking him in the back. She waited to see if her calculations would be correct and if the man would suddenly want to smell something rosier.

[TheHighwayman]

As it didn't seem his bluff was working, Lerrok gave up on the attempt. He supposed he'd just have to let the matter drop and carry on his way until the creature decided to quit bothering him. He took a deep breath to keep himself from doing something foolish in parting-clunk.

The man spun on his heels, preparing to- he wasn't sure what exactly. He made as if to step forward... and then froze. "Almost got me with that one, pest!" He carefully stepped past the makeshift tripwire and the dung behind it. He was starting to catch the creature's game, so long as he watched his step and didn't lose his head- again- there didn't seem to be much his opponent could do to him.

The thief returned to his pack, put away his torch, and started along the road again. "Alright, fine! I hate to say it, but you win. I don't plan on killing you, and whatever you are I doubt the methods I'd use to get back at another human would be much help. Keep pestering me or don't, I suppose I'll just have to deny you the satisfaction of success." Surprisingly, he was able to keep his voice fairly calm given he'd nearly fallen face first into a pile of dung, but perhaps he had simply run out of the energy needed for fury.

[wolfie]

Fin was waiting with anticipation, but she seemed to fail yet again. This Biaf was actually catching onto the way she worked. She hated that wondering what she could do to him now that he knew her. Well he didn't completely know her. She smiled seeing his pack was slightly opened.

She heard him say she had won. It wasn't a contest or anything of that sort. She wasn't ready to move on yet, and he was the most fun she had had in awhile. Her mind was turning there had to be something else she could do to him.

Using her bird she went to another tree watching him. She could be patient if necessary. She scowled knowing it would have been awesome if he had managed to get a face full of dung. She shrugged and waited for the right opportunity to come knocking again.

She knew what she must do, and it wouldn't be easy. Carefully she went back and gathered some more vines this time a little sturdier ones. The ones used for the earlier stuff was tame and would have broken easy enough but would have held for her purposes. It wouldn't have helped her in this.

She wanted to wait until he was on the move again. Using the vines she roped the coins one by one taking them out and away from him. It seemed to be his pride that he had them. She used the bird and placed the coins high up in several different trees. She then had the bird fly to one close enough to enjoy, but not to be spotted. She couldn't wait to see what he did.

[TheHighwayman]

Ironically enough, the plan almost didn't work. Only on the last coin did Lerrok notice something was wrong. Turning around, he swiped the last coin and slipped it hurriedly into his coat pocket. He cursed as he saw the rest of the coins hanging from the trees. "And there goes the bright side to my day."

The man paced back and forth, not entirely sure how to go about this. He could try to climb the trees, but that would be like sticking his head through a noose. No, there had to be a better way. He peered closer. The coins couldn't have been fastened that well- he didn't know how exactly the sprite pulled it off, but it certainly hadn't been digging around in his pack and tying them in up close. Lerrok scratched his head. He needed something to throw...

Stooping down to pick a number of small stones from the road, he began chucking them into the air- it was slow work, and he wasn't able to hit the coins with any degree of accuracy, but one by one they started to slip away from the vines encircling them. One or two of his particularly bad shots slipped out of his hand and happened to fly near the creature's hiding spot.

[wolfie]

Fin's plan yet again was fouled up. He was getting smarter and this was getting harder. She was saddened that she might have to move onto the next victim. She remembered the quills and laughed again knowing she wouldn't forget that any time soon.

There was one thing she was liking in all of this. He wasn't making much progress of getting out of the woods. She had slowed him down giving her more time to come up with a better plan of action. It had to be good something he wouldn't expect. She couldn't just tie his shoes together that wouldn't work this late in the game.

She noticed the pebbles, in her case rocks considering her size and theirs, coming in her direction. She made sure the bird didn't try to fly away as the rocks made their way near them. The bird was skitish, but Fin managed. She would duck if she needed to.

She remembered ahead not far was a pond. He might be thirsty after all she had done to him. She wondered if there would be a way to have some fun there too. She knew that if she waited he might forget and not be so wary. That or he would be too thirsty.

[TheHighwayman]

Soon all but one or two of the coins were back in Lerrok's possession, with the stragglers being too far away to hit. "That'll have to do. Still plenty of money for someone like me." He stuffed the coins into a small pouch and made sure to tie the strings tightly- and made certain his pack was absolutely closed. He peered into the trees one last time- "About ready to give up? I'm sure there's someone else you'd be able to trick for a while." He carried on, keeping an eye on the road and an ear out for anything coming from the woods.

After a few minutes of walking he called out. "You know, if we're going to keep this up we might as well know who it is we're dealing with. There's not much point in you hiding, since I've got a pretty good idea of what you are by now, and there's nothing I could really do to you so long as you stay out of reach." Something odd had begun to creep into his voice. The anger was gone, and so was most of the irritation. He sounded almost like he was beginning to enjoy the challenge.

He fell silent as he came upon a small pond. He'd brought two waterskins with him, but only one was filled, and half-full at that. He stepped a little closer, keeping an eye out for any tricks. "Hrm..." He frowned, not entirely sure what to do here. He was certainly getting thirsty- all the shouting earlier had seen to that, and he might need to make what water he had available last a while. "Clever, you might not even have a trap ready for me, and by this point I'm so concerned I might pass up completely innocent water even if you hadn't." He actually chuckled a bit at that. "We'll see." Lerrok crept closer to the water and knelt to fill up his extra waterskin, taking a swig from the original.

[wolfie]

Fin was watching him more and more curious about what he was up to. This was different than most times. Her fun had stopped so she wasn't too pleased. She heard him talking and sighed. He knew she was there, but not in what form exactly. Nobody could have guessed it was a Brownie in the woods. Most thought fairies.

She heard it and smiled. He was challenging her if she ever heard it. He hadn't said as much, but it was there in his voice. She was rubbing her hands together and had the bird fly to the pond. She looked around wondering what she could do to him now. There was only one thing that came to mind, but she wasn't sure how to pull that off. Suddenly there was and she knew how to make him willingly do it.

She saw him at the water, and he apparently hadn't looked around. She smiled. Fin left the bird far enough away to not be harmed. She was inside a tree so that they wouldn't come after her for hitting it. Her aim was good and she tossed the rock. It hit immediately stirring them to anger. She smiled and waited watching to see what this man would do with a rock hitting a beehive.

She could stayed well hidden so they would think he had done it. She knew her goal - get the Biaf soaked. She couldn't shove him in, she was too small, but this would do. What better way than to make them do it themselves. She figured if she was lucky he would dive in with everything and maybe lose a few items.

[TheHighwayman]

It didn't seem as if his antagonist was going to try anything. Maybe it had given up, or maybe it had simply left a trap further along. In either case, he was safe for the moment. The sound of a rock parting leaves told him otherwise. He brought his arms up over his face, trying to protect his eyes and nose from the projectile. But the rock never struck him.

The following cracking sound didn't quite register with him, but the furious buzzing certainly did. "Bees!?" It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened, or the intent behind it- but he didn't have much choice. Lerrok could outrun a lot of things, but anything with wings tended to stay off that list. He dropped his pack on the bank and lunged into the water.

He realized that the bees would likely persist a lot longer than his breath would, so he grabbed a reed growing along the bank and slipped back above the water. One or two of the insects stung Lerrok before he could get back under-this time using the reed as one would expect, but he largely escaped unscathed. 

Lerrok grimaced. That had been a good one, he had to admit. He tried to think- seeing as there wasnt much else he could do at the moment. What would the creature try to follow this with? His eyes immediately locked on his pack, left just a few steps from the water. It had already gone for his things once, and it was the easiest way to get at him for the moment.

[wolfie]

Fin laughed at him for thinking the rock was going to hit him. That was precious, but not as precious as him grabbing a reed and diving into the pond. She couldn't help but laugh. Then she realized he had done something dumb after all. Instead of taking his pack with him he had left it behind. Nothing like opportunity knocking.

She made sure he was still under and that the bees were busy. Sighing she knew there was no way to the pack above ground. Digging a tunnel would take forever too. She would have to give up this opportunity or fight the bees. She didn't want that.

Sliding down the inside of the tree she found a root that went a little farther than the others. It wanted water more than the rest of them. Using this to climb along she found she was under the man's pack. It seemed like luck was still on her side. She pulled the needle she used to sew earlier out and poked a hole through the pack. She was using it as a knife just then sawing through the underside of his pack.

Once she had a hole big enough she looked around the pack not sure what would be inside it. She would only have a few moments before the man would be back, that much she knew. She spied the bag of coins and went behind it trying to shove it out of the hole. It was too heavy. She  opened it and managed to take the coins out one by one. Instead of leaving an empty sack she placed dirt inside of it. This man had left a few behind, but Fin knew he would do what he could to find them again once he realized what he had instead.

As quick as she could she moved the last coin down beside the root moving carefully back to the bag. She then sewed the bag shut again. She began moving the last coin back to her hiding tree. If she left them all at just the right spot he might not find them again. She just had to make sure he wouldn't find her either.

She heard that the bees seemed to no longer be buzzing around. She was glad they had presented her with a great time. It wasn't every day she saw a grown man jump into a pond with his clothing on.

Leaving the bag of money really low in the tree she dashed from it to the bush again. Working carefully she got back to the tree with her bird in it. Once there she sat down next to the bird to watch this next scene. Will he realize that it's gone again? Lucky for me I had time to hide it. Let's see how smart you really are. She thought glad to be back high again.

[TheHighwayman]

Lerrok waited a moment after the bees stopped, then climbed out of the lake. He shook his head and pulled the wet hair away from his eyes. He  checked the ground between him, his pack, and the road to make sure there weren't any more surprises waiting for him before trudging out of the pond. Shouldering his pack again, he tried to ignore his present condition and get moving again, but something stopped him.

"No, that would be too easy." The man dropped his pack and checked inside, looking for anything that could have been tampered with. Everything looked in order, nothing appeared missing or damaged, and the bag of coins was still sitting safely where he had left it- but there was no harm in making sure his assailant hadn't attempted to hurt him in his wallet once again.

Lerrok took a sharp breath as he opened the pouch, finding nothing but dirt inside. He held it out at arms length and tipped it over, letting the dirt fall out. "Now, where are they this time?" He thought for a moment, and peered around the clearing, but couldn't find any sign of them. Then he remembered the direction the rock from earlier had come from. It had to be somewhere over that way.

No, still nothing.  He supposed he'd have to just leave the coins- wait, there was just a glint over there. Drawing closer, Lerrok looked for any more traps that might have been laid. When he was satisfied that there weren't any, knelt down and examined the tree more thoroughly. Towards the base had been where he'd seen it, so it was probably- there! Lerrok grinned a bit as he started to recollect his money. "Now we'll see if you've got any other tricks."

[wolfie]

Oh no he had found out about her trick. She sighed wondering how many more times he was going to ruin her fun. She was lucky she hadn't been caught yet though. She knew that luck would run out eventually.

She had another idea and had the bird fly toward another tree not far away from there. The bees wouldn't trouble them any more. They had served their purpose in making her laugh she would leave them alone for awhile.

Fin knew she had to act quickly because as soon as he had his coins he would be on his way again. She knew what was in the log below. She had the bird land on the ground so she could make a quick getaway if she needed to. She wasn't leaving anything to chance if she could help it.

"Hey big dumb dumb over here. You want me I'm in the log but I don't like the taste of coins," she said into the smaller end of the log. Sure it might wake the animal inside, but she was willing to take that chance. The animal stayed put figuring nothing of it. She knew if he stuck his head in there or even just his hand he would smell for days.

[TheHighwayman]

Lerrok once again- hoping it would be the last time that day- fastened shut the bag holding his coin. At the brownie's taunt, he let out a round of genuine laughter. "Really now? After the cunning you've shown so far, after every trick you've pulled, you expect me to poke any part of me into a log- a log I have no idea what's inside- because you told me that's your hiding place? I'm almost a little disappointed."

As he spoke, the man took a few steps away from the log, circling it to get a look inside from a safe distance, and crouched down. He couldn't quite make out what was inside, but it looked suspiciously like an animal he wouldn't want to pet.

"Besides, what would I do if I did catch you? Kill you? Not for a few jokes. That coin threat was mostly the anger talking- the satisfaction isn't worth the price even without the trouble of catching you in the first place."

Of course, he wasn't quite done yet. He'd heard rustling a few feet away immediately before the challenge had been issued. His plan had a very good chance to backfire, but he couldn't very well leave without an attempt at retaliation. Lerrok grabbed five small rocks, took aim, and chucked the first into the log.

As the skunk within took off, he followed up with throws to either side, attempting to guide the creature towards the presumed location of his adversary. It didn't respond quite as well as expected, but the thief was able to goad the creature largely in the desired direction. "Now let's see if that works..."