The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time (Attack Thread)

[NPC Holdless]

((Tags:Arvid, Hu'sik, M'rek, Anaryn, C'mar))

Posting order: Posting order will be determined after everyone posts their first post.

1. NPC Holdless
2. Marnark
3. Wolf
4. Ise
5. firebreath
6. dragon

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Feeding Grounds were being used by several riders before the Holdless broke through the defenses of the Weyr. Seeing the dragons from a good distance a group of the Holdless broke off and headed towards the grounds.

They were led by a middle aged man who seemed to made of pure muscle. He carried with him a mace as well as an axe. He was at least 6'7 and over 250 pounds. Behind him were two men and two women with varying builds although the really thin one even had a whip cord like strength to him. They had been training for this. Even on their grim looking faces one could see that this was their mission. They would hunt down and kill as many riders as possible.

Behind the men one of the women with her hair shorn clean off of her head seemed to be finding a good position. She was as burly as the men around her and carried multiple daggers and knives. As the group approached the Feeding Grounds it was easy for all to see that they were about to attack the few riders that remained there.

They knew if the rider was killed the dragons would suicide which was the goal. After hacking their way through some of the men and women who stood in their way they were within range of the riders. Taking a moment only to judge the situation. It seemed it would be about one on one at this point which pleased the Holdless just fine.

The leader of the group put up his hand making his people stop. The woman from behind pulled out some of her knives sending them flying towards the riders although her aim seemed to be off a little. She nearly nicked someone's ear. Her face took on a more determined look.

She took more knives out from the inside of a leather vest. She was covered from head to toe it seemed in weapons. She was here for one purpose and one purpose alone. Holding the first knife steady in her hand she threw it better than before. The others watched as one then another knife went whizzing towards the group of riders.

[Marnark]

Dragons needed feeding, though not nearly as often as C'mar had thought before he'd come to the Weyr. If he'd ever bothered to think about such logistic at such a point in time ... which he hadn't. At the time dragons were still a myth, why think about what they ate and how often?

Lokinth was bouncing around in the pens, having more fun scattering and scaring the herd than he was in actually picking one off to eat. Bored out of his mind, C'mar was leaning on the fence and just watching the blue chase the bawling animals back and forth. "Just pick one already. Preferably not one of the best, you want the best to propagate, remember." C'mar reminded.

Do we have somewhere to be so pressingly urgently, mine? Lokinth asked.

"No, and even if we did I wouldn't be terribly inclined to go." He admitted.

Then why should I hur ... the blue trailed off as he suddenly stopped his bouncing about, head coming up to full height as he turned his attention toward the treeline. Mine? I hear something different.

"A squirrel probably busted a fart." C'mar remarked, uninterested. Really, he just wanted to go do nothing, or better yet, do something fun.

Mine...? Lokinth asked again, ignoring the rider's earlier comment. And then people could be seen as well as heard, and the dragon was in motion. Mine!! There are people!! he uttered a short, sharp trumpet, which oddly enough sounded louder on the ground than when uttered in the air. Bounding across the ground with his wings lifting and furling, the blue turned broadside to shield his rider even as the projectiles started flying. Mine!

"I'm moving, I'm moving. Who are they? Are they those Holdless?" C'mar asked, bouncing upward and catching one hand in the blue's harness. Feet braced there, he didn't let go but didn't properly mount either, his shoulder bulging with the effort of the position.

I think so! They're certainly not friendly! The blue bleated a sudden, short cry when one flung blade punctured his own hide before falling off again. Turning about and snarling, the blue lowered his wings again to shield C'mar again as he turned to leave the pens.

"What are you doing?! Go back, we can't let them get into the Weyr!" C'mar protested. He'd never fought a battle before, but he'd certainly had his share of tavern brawls and similar back in the north ... that and some tussles he'd had with brothers and cousins. Never had he fought to kill, but he still knew that this was something they would have to do.

Lokinth grumbled, but turned about again, closing his wing a little closer still as he barreled back toward the humans. Lowering his head, he uttered a loud, sharp roar as he sped to what was more or less a dragon-gallop across the field, stock scattering ahead of him yet again.

He did not bite, nor did he deliberately stomp, squish, or otherwise maim any of the people. He just couldn't. They were people, to be protected from death. But that didn't mean he couldn't scare the living daylights out of a few by making them think he was going to end their lives. In the middle of one such scattering fray, C'mar dropped off of Lokinth's shoulder and rolled back to his feet, coming up with a powerful uppercut to one man's chin that lifted him off the ground before dropping him back to the ground unconscious. Pouncing the man's body, C'mar snatched up the weapon he'd been carrying. Because all he had on his own was his eating knife... definitely not enough in this case.

"Lokinth! Stay close!" C'mar called, knowing that the mayhem and confusing the big beast could generate might well be his saving grace. As the blue whirled about to circle around his rider again, C'mar hefted the weapon he'd gleaned; a crude mace. It wasn't something he'd ever used before. But in being a metal ball at the end of a stick, it was similar enough to an ax or a maul for him to use it effectively he imagined.

Taking a step suddenly to one side, he swung the mace in a upward arc, catching a man full broadside in the ribs, flipping him sideways to collapse to the ground in agony on a side full of busted ribs. Leaving him to lay, C'mar moved onward. That woman with the knives, she needed to go down before she killed someone. Going in that direction, C'mar systematically started laying people out with his powerful, precise swings. Some survived the encounter to wish they hadn't, others merely died on impact. C'mar didn't really stop to notice which were which, as they all were going down before him. Between his massive size and reach, and the lethal nature of his swinging the mace, it proved quite difficult for anyone to get too near enough to him to do him any damage. Especially since Lokinth was staying pretty close, doing his best to shield him from anything that was thrown. Head carried low, he snarled and roared at the holdless, trying to drive them back.

In a forest where felines and whers ran rampant, it was only natural reaction to run from a large toothy mouth that was snarling at you.

But as frantically as Lokinth was in defending his rider, C'mar did eventually take a hit to his off arm when someone with a long blade came after him. Yelling in shock and pain, C'mar whirled around, backing in a half circle to get away from that blade. In a split second motion he looked at the gaping wound that crossed his outer upper arm in a slant. His skin was completely severed, but the meat underneath was okay. Though it looked awful and felt worse.

"Try that again, you oyster-sucking tree frog!!" C'mar bellowed, lunging at the knife-wielding man with his mace stuck straight forward as if it, too, were a sword. It had the intended effect of making him lurch backward in a reflexive action to get away from that ball of iron headed for his face. Once the man was off-balance, C'mar leaped forward yet again, this time bringing the mace up and back down again in a classic double-handed log-splitting swing. Whatever it hit, it wasn't going to exist for very long.

[wolflover1458]

Anubith always seemed able to pick terrible times to want to be fed. So it was on this day, when Hu'sik felt like doing nothing more than simply lying around. And now Anubith was begging that they go down to the feeding grounds together. Hu'sik had never been one to disagree with his dragon, so he had grudgingly did so. They ended up not being the only ones with that idea, but Hu'sik was too intent on Anubith to look around at other people. The dark colored Blue had happily landed by the feeding pen, snatching up one beast before he had really landed.

Hu'sik took to moment to stand back and just watch Anubith, who had eaten one other herd-beast. Really, he didn't have anything to do, but all the same, Hu'sik wouldn't have minded doing it somewhere else. The feeding pens had never been his favorite place. All of the noise from the confused animals, and watching Anubith take his time picking them off, had always bugged him for some reason. He supposed it didn't really matter. Anubith had wanted to come down here, and he hadn't had anything better to do. Might as well do nothing down here, where Anubith could do something.

Anubith had fixed his gaze intently on another beast when he suddenly looked up, his eyes swirling with color. Hu'sik, do you hear that?

Hear what? Hu'sik asked, listening around. With the noise around him, he couldn't here much of anything.

People, Anubith said simply.

So?

Lots of them. I believe there may be trouble.

What makes you think- Hu'sik started, but he stopped when he, too, began to hear them, and turned too see that Anubith was right. There were people. Lots of them. With weapons. And they didn't look to friendly.

Anubith's first action was to get closer to Hu'sik. They were not the only ones in the feeding grounds, but at the moment, that didn't matter. If the Holdless had breached the Weyr (and Hu'sik had the feeling this was them), then they had a huge problem on their hands. Hu'sik had always tried to avoid fights. He highly doubted he could start now.

We must fight, Hu'sik. Look out! Anubith called to him urgently. Someone out there had started throwing things. And Hu'sik backed up as a shining silver knife soared through the air towards him and landed exactly where he had been standing moments before. Clearly, these people did mean business. Hu'sik dodged forward and grabbed the knife (he didn't exactly go down to the feeding grounds armed) out of the ground, holding it in his hand and looking around uncertainly. Anubith had been torn between trying to protect Hu'sik and trying to avoid the flying knives. The Blue finally lunged toward Hu'sik, ready to protect him with his own life.

Hu'sik was finding it impossible to concentrate with knives hurling through the air at them. Anubith was finally hit with a knife, and then another, and he let out a furious roar that sent a few of the Holdless scattering back. But they were not to be swayed so easily from their position. I don't know how to fight, Anubith Hu'sik finally admitted. Even back North, he had been quiet, preferring to avoid fights rather than get stuck in them.

Then you must learn. Quickly, Anubith suggested back to him. Hu'sik could feel the mix of fury and worry inside the Blue.

Hu'sik wasn't sure that was possible, but this wasn't the time to argue about it. The only person he could think to target was the woman who seemed to be the one throwing all the knives out at them. But he doubted he could reach her without being slaughtered.

While Hu'sik may have been indecisive, Anubith was not. He was all to happy to join Lokinth in trying to scatter the people. Never in his life could the Blue imagine wanting to harm people. It wasn't something that was done. It could not be done. But if they dared to attack them, then Anubith would attack them back. He was larger and stronger, and no reasonable being was going to stand close to a wounded animal with huge teeth and claws.

[Ise]

This was… pathetic. Arvid had held back, letting the first round of idiots run head first at the riders that were caught outside of the Weyr. It had been her idea to send some of the Holdless at dragon’s food supplies. So instead of being able to join in the real action, Riverton had sent her here. Not even to lead a charge but to just assist. So she let the others run head first into the handful of dragons and riders that were there while she watched.

A small smirk rose to her face as the dragons chased some of the Holdless around. But it was always the riders who did the fighting. The same thing had happened at Haven as well. The dragons could look big and scary but that was it, just looks. Flash teeth and claws, roar, run at someone. The woman almost giggled at it. These soulless monsters couldn’t hurt them.

Feeling more confident about their chances now, the Holdless healer started her stroll towards the battle. She didn’t look like much, especially not next to some of the massive warriors that had come with them. She looked rather harmless next to them, especially when some of them were lugging around two-handed weapons. She had a dagger on one hip while in her hands she carried a fire hardened staff of wood. The staff greatly extended her reach and well, those big scary weapons weren’t much good to someone who’s larynx had been crushed.

Both sides felt the sting of Arvid’s staff. She was more then happy to trip up any Holdless that tried to run away. She would have done more then just trip them if she could, and a few of them did receive a good hard smack from her. They at least got up and were able to walk away from an encounter with her. The Weyrfolk fleeing from the feeding pens weren’t so lucky. Some of them would live, unless another one of the Holdless came by and finished her job, but a few of the suffocated slowly after she had jabbed them hard in the throat. Arvid didn’t even bother paying attention to these people, she was only interested in the riders.

[freya]

M'rek stood at the feeding grounds with his green Isith as his dragon was eating s weyrbeast when they heard a noise. He turned to see a large group of angry people approaching and this caused his green to leave the beast. She got infront of her rider as if to defend then then said, ""Stay back," . The young green rider got out his small sword from the side of his belt and then got ready to defend himself. While he stood next to his dragon and watched as they started to attack the weyr folk. They had to be the holdless and they had come to the weyr to kill them all. It was to their grief that they'd find the gold gone and just plain old riders here.

While a man came at him with a dagger that her barely dodged and was thankful for the training that he had gotten the last few turns. He was not the best fighter yet he could defend himself and swung his sword as it collided with another man's sword. M'rek watched as his dragon was fighting off a young woman and couldn't believe that humans would ever want to harm dragons. The young man wondered what made them hate these great beasts this much and he just looked as the swords meet again. If he was to die today then he would go down fighting and not begging for his life.

[NPC Holdless]

The Holdless were not winning the battle as planned. As the large dragonrider and the others who followed came through, trying to get to the knife throwing woman many were killed. The men and women of the lead group were beginning to scatter as the dragons tried to send them this way and that. The Holdless knew better than to go after the dragons. Humans were much weaker so it was their strategy to ignore the dragons and go for the riders. The Holdless, despite the fact that this small group of riders had come together to fight them were determined in their mission.

Each of the men and women were skilled enough to attack the dragonriders in different ways. The woman with the knives continued to back up to keep distance between her and the advancing riders. She often kept a person or two between her and the riders. Her knives were quick but more ofen then not the riders seemed to deflect her knives. Her target soon became the weaker of the group. She started throwing the knives towards Hu’sik and M’rek, depending on who was a clear shot at the moment.

The battle continued furiously. Seeing their counterparts getting overwhelmed more Holdless came over to support them. A large man, about the size of C’mar met with the young man ready to duel it out. He carried a mace as well as a myriad of other weapons strapped about his person. “Pick on someone your own size boy.” He grinned. Here was a battle! Finally someone worth fighting.

--

The battle went on for what felt like candlemarks. The Holdless, despite their best effort had fallen. Only one Holdless left this incident alive and she was much to fast to get caught when the horn sounded for retreat.

[HG]

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