Fun with Guns and Bombs [Cambie]

[Alegretto]

((OOC: You leaving this to me Cambie? You can control the NPCs too you know O.o))

Fletcher's words made Darjak heft his bangstick suggestively. He grinned wide and put more mania into the expression than usual. "I can think o' better places to put them than THAT Fletcher..."

The bandits visibly gulped. "I dunno nothin' about nothin' specific-like," one of their number opened up, "but chances are it's with the rest of the gear we all been picking up. We've got an armory near the front o' the mine. That's probably what you're lookin' for."

His last few words were frantic, as during the speech, the dwarf and his explosive had inched closer to the men in the most menacing way possible.

[Cambie]

"The front of the mine? Lovely, that's probably where the rest of them are camped," Fletcher moaned, burying his head in an open hand. He should have alerted the proper authorities, rather than go gallivanting along with this dwarf he barely knew.

He looked to the other bandits and eyed them warily. "Is what he says true?"

The second bandit whose gag was removed only scowled at the three of them and spat at their feet. "I ain't sayin' nothing," he snarled and lurched forward. Klaus caught him before he could go very far.

"That'll be enough of that," Klaus said as he replaced the man's gag. Turning back to the first, clearly nervous bandit, the smith crouched down beside him and said, "Is that the truth of it? Because this crazy dwarf seems like he means business."

[Alegretto]

Yeah the bandit's eyes darted wildly from Fletcher to Darjak to the serious-looking metal stick in the dwarf's hand. "That's where we been puttin' most of the stuff. I mean, I guess our really valuable hauls go to the boss. He's further in the back of the mine. It could be there, maybe?"

Klaus re-gagged the man and looked at Darjak and Fletcher. "So where do you wanna check first?"

[Cambie]

"Let's go to..." Fletcher began, before realizing he was speaking in the presence of these bandits, notwithstanding the fact they were all bound and gagged. He ushered his companions off to the side and mumbled under his breath.

"My guns are certainly valuable goods, so the boss'll have them. I think. Besides, there's probably fewer of them in the back than there is at the front. And who knows, maybe they'll have..."

With am embarrassed look, Fletcher turned to Darjak and slowly asked, "I forgot, what are you looking for again?"

[Alegretto]

Fletcher's words caused Darjak to look up in surprise. He laughed a little. "Don't worry 'bout it Fletcher. I kinda forgot 'bout it too." The dwarf thought back. "Sulfur," he said, "there are supposed to be sullfur deposits in this mine and I wanted to check them out."

He shrugged. "They'll be in the back of the mine though, so we might as well head there anyway." He started off, taking the lead, but he once they were out of earshot from the bandits he stopped again. "Hey, you two still have my map, right? I think we're gonna want that soon."

[Cambie]

"I have it," Fletcher replied as he fumbled in his pack for the parchment. They had left the lantern with the three bound bandits, and the only light left where they were emanated faintly from that little room far behind them. In the dark, Fletcher was once again forced to use his sense of touch to find it.

"I hope you have good eyes," he muttered as his hand finally found it and drew it out of his pack. In the course of things, a slight corner of the map ripped, eliciting a low curse from the gunsmith.

"This is ridiculous, we can't even see where we're going!"

[Alegretto]

Fletcher bumbling caused Darjak to groan. "Let's go back to the light, we'll be able to see better that way. And now that I think about it, I don't think we outta leave that lantern with our new 'friends' anyway, might make it easier for 'em to escape."

He started walking but turned to Klaus as he went. "You're sure that they're not gonna get outta those knots you put 'em in, right?"

Klaus nodded. "Oh I'm positive. Those things will keep them pinned forever."

The dwarf nodded. "And did anyone remember to check the lot of 'em for blades?"

Klaus, and Darjak looked at each other, the look on both their faces saying no, and the pair turned to Fletcher.

[Cambie]

Fletcher also stared back at them, his eyes wide as he slowly shook his head. Behind them, the soft sound of a knife sawing through rope echoed through the silence.

The first of the bandits managed to cut through his bonds and tossed the knife to the next man before yanking the cloth gag from his mouth.

"Yer gonna pay for that!" he snarled.

[Alegretto]

((OOC: Apologies for any typos, phone post))

Darjak didn't wait for even a half a second. He sprinted back along the tunnel pulling out a bangstick as he went. He arrived just as the first man who had freed himself was stooping to retrieve a sword, and the dwarf clocked the bandit in the back of the knee with the metal rod in his hand.

The fellow collapsed, howling and clutching his wounded knee, and the dwarf took the opportunity to club the man senseless while he was down. It didn't take him long to finish the action, but by the time he was done two more bandits had freed and armed themselves.

They approached Darjak with weapons drawn and the dwarf backed down the tunnel away from them. "Fletcher, Klaus, I could use a little help over here!" Maybe the gunsmith's weapons would dissuade the bandits again.

[Cambie]

And as the gunsmith and his blacksmith friend ran to assist Darjak, Fletcher raised his rifle up to his shoulder and pointed to the nearest man, the one holding the dagger.

"You drop that knife or I'll shoot!" he warned. This time though, the bandit didn't seem to be buying that threat at all. In fact, he gave a yellow-toothed snarl and took a single step toward Fletcher, knife brandished in the faint lamplight.

The entire cavern way echoed with a deafening explosion as Fletcher discharged the gun in a massive puff of acrid smoke. Instantly he winced and dropped down to one knee as the noise ricocheted off the stone walls and disoriented him. The others likewise did the same.

Except for the one bandit, who remained standing for another moment before toppling to the ground, blood leaking from the exit wound in the middle of his chest.

[Alegretto]

The entire cavern rung like a bell as the noise of the discharge ricocheted around the enclosed space. Darjak was among one of the first to recover, he was used to loud noises and a little bit deaf anyway, and he took the small amount of time to beat another bandit into unconsciousness with his bangstick.

The final bandit tried to intervene on his fellow's behalf, but Klaus was there sword in hand to stop him. The bandit raised his sword for a downward strike at Darjak, but the blacksmith drove his blade through the man's neck to stop him. The man made a few awkward gargling noises before falling backwards off of Klaus' bloodstained weapon.

Darjak nodded in thanks to the blacksmith and then looked to Fletcher. "Well what now? That shot is gonna bring ev'ry bandit in dis mine right here."

[Cambie]

Fletcher's ears were still ringing from the noise, and still very much disoriented from it. Unlike his companions, he clearly had never been in a combat this up close. In his half-deaf state, he could almost clearly hear his heart thumping in his chest.

It took a moment for him to digest Darjak's words and actually find some meaning to them. His brows furrowed slightly as he slowly climbed back to his feet, head pounding. "I... I don't know. What do we do?"

They could continue to the cave's front. Or to the back, where the leaders were likely to be. Or to... wherever. He couldn't even begin to think of a plan of action.

[Alegretto]

Darjak saw that Fletcher was confused, but frankly he had no clue either. His brow furrowed in concentration, what could they do?

Out of the three, the first one to speak was Klaus. The blacksmith spoke up, taking charge of the situation. "We go deeper. The leaders are likely to be there. Maybe if we capture one of them, they can get us out of here. I think that's out best chance right now."

Darjak thought about the idea, but he only needed a moment to see the validity of the plot. "Aight then, let's do it. Deeper it is."

And so saying, Darjak grabbed the map, identified the nearest tunnel that brought them further into the mine, and began leading them towards it.

[Cambie]

Fletcher was still looking pale and disoriented, his eyes drifting down to the dead bodies at his feet. A small stream of blood trickled toward him, and he inched backwards away from it.

Klaus gave him a pat on the shoulder and a slight grin. "A couple more, and you'll be a seasoned vet," the big blacksmith said with a comforting smile. "C'mon, let's go get your guns."

With a silent nod, Fletcher followed him and the dwarf deeper into the cave tunnels, this time aided by the faint light of the bandits' oil lamp. He spent the time reloading his guns, which gave him some sort of comfort throughout it all. Thirty seconds of it, at least. It wasn't long before his weapons were primed and ready again.

[Alegretto]

The tunnles seemed to continue on forever, and even with the map, Darjak wasn't one-hundred percent sure he knew where they were at any given time. He kept quiet, trying to limit their noise output to decrease the chances of them being found. More than once he heard activity down a side-tunnel or from a ways behind them, but they didn't run full-on into anybody, which was good.

Eventually, they started reaching an area of the mine that was unlit. Darjak grabbed one of the torches off the wall from further back and gestured for Klaus to do the same. He didn't think Fletcher should grab one, the man probably needed both hands in case of a fight. "I think we be gettin' close guys," the dwarf whispered as they moved along the darkened tunnel. "A few more turns and we should be in this big cavern here," Darjak indicated a spot on the map. "Keep yer guards up, till we know what we're up against."

[Cambie]

Fletcher didn't have to think twice about obeying that command. He shouldered one gun and clutched the other one tightly in his hand, staying within the flickering torch light and as close to his two companions as possible. A turn here, a turn there. He never strayed far.

And just like Darjak had said, the next corner they turned led down a narrow tunnel that slowly opened wider and wider until it emptied into a massive cavern. Evidently miners had long since tunneled this far, because the cavern was filled with stacked crates, both open and unopen, wooden winches and cranes, and a crisscross of crude tracks leading down other tunnels, with several unused mine carts sitting quietly in the shadows.

The entire place reeked of sulfur, and in the soft torchlight small traces of the stuff was visible in the cavern walls.

Klaus let out a low whistle and mumbled under his breath, "Look'it that. It's like walking into an alchemist's dream."

[Alegretto]

Klaus' whistle was complimented by one of Darjak's own. The blacksmith wasn't kidding, this place was incredible. All other thoughts suddenly shelved, the dwarf ran over to one of the caver walls where the yellow rock was prevalent.

He pulled his pack off his back and started fishing for some equipment. He'd already pulled out a strong-looking spade and a chisel when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Klaus, who was shaking his head. "This is definitely the place," the blacksmith started speaking, "but probably not the time for that. Let's deal with our other problems before w-"

The blacksmith suddenly stopped speaking, and he had a look of concentration on his face. "Quick, hide!" he hissed urgently. "Sounds like someone's coming." So saying, the big man leapt behind one of the mining carts and crouched down to minimize his profile.

Darjak looked about him for a few moments before picking a likely looking crate. The wooden box was open, empty, and the lid was nearby. Perfect. The dwarf jumped into the crate and pulled the top after him so that he was covered.

[Cambie]

Always just a step or two behind his more seasoned companions, Fletcher was the last to scramble backward and hide behind a stack of crates, clutching the wheel-lock rifle tightly in his grip as if ready to fire it again in these tight confines. Not that the massive cavern was small in any sense. The light from their little lantern barely reached the outer walls.

The lantern.

"Oh, sh-" Fletcher began, before clamping a hand over his own mouth. It was too late to rush back out and retrieve the flickering light as the voices from down another tunnel grew louder and louder.

[Alegretto]

Darjak heard a muffled noise outside of his hiding spot, the beginnings of a curse, and he lifted the lid of the crate so he could look at what had elicited the words.

Then he had to muffle a curse as well. The torches. He and Klaus had both left their torches on the floor of the cavern. He was about to jump out to try and put them out when he saw the shadows of the approaching bandits on the tunnel wall.

He ducked back into his hiding place, and hoped that their enemies didn't find anything amiss. He heard footsteps, at least four sets of but probably more, and then voices. 'What the heck are these torches doing lying here?" said one.

"I dunno, but something ain't right," he heard another. "Look around guys, let's find out what's going on here."

[Cambie]

Fletcher held his breath even as his heart thumped wildly in his chest. When the mercenaries spied the torches and voiced their suspicion, he could've just died then. He certainly wasn't cut out for this sort of work.

Luckily (or not), the next little noise did not come from him. Klaus, in an effort to back farther up toward the jagged stone wall, swung his elbow a little too quickly and bumped a small wooden crate.

With a loud echoing clatter, it fell to the ground.