Nightwatch. [Terra] (Completed)

[Myles Arnnett]

Searing 82 age of steel year 121

Myles woke with a start as Jonah burst into his room, the lantern in his hand illuminating blood on his side. Jumping out of bed Myles leaped towards his subordinate. “Jonah what in blazes happened to ya?” “It isn't my blood sir, some group jumped a nightwatchman squad, I heard the guy screamin as he ran up and ran him to the medic.” Nodding Myles dressed as soon as he knew Jonah was unhurt letting the man fill him in on what was going on. “They said they where patrolling the south gate near the smithy street. Apparently they heard the sound of ingots clinking but not forgefire or smoke to evidence working in the wee hours. When they checked the shop they got jumped.”

Now fully dressed Myles left his room in the barracks and grimaced. Walking down the hall in the barracks he left the officers floor and went to the infantry bunks where the greener soldiers stayed. Slamming the door Myles barked. “Up and at em boys, you're being drafted for an emergency search and rescue! You've got three minutes to gear and meet me in the mess hall!” He shouted into the room of now semi conscious infantry men who'd likely only gotten to sleep two to three hours prior at best. Stepping out of the room with Jonah in toe he paced towards the mess hall. His boots and those of Jonah clicking in time on their approach. Upon entering the mess he glanced to the clock and grimaced now that he knew it was only two in the morning.

Taking a seat at the longest table he glared at the clock as he waited the three minutes he'd given the infantry to get their collective asses together. If he didn't get at lest three or four men he'd be tossing people out of beds on his way out. Steepling his fingers he pondered what thieves could want from raw ingots if that was in fact what the guard had heard. Tapping his foot impatiently with the second hand of the clock Myles looked at Jonah, thankful for the man's fitful sleep for once. “Make sure our lanterns are full of fuel, it may be a long night.” Saluting sharply the sleepy soldier stumbled off to make it so. Yawning he stretched leaning back into the chincy chair and groaning as his back elicited a loud series of crackling pops. He hoped other nightwatchmen had the scene under control by the time he arrived but with the recent unrest there was no guarantee that would be the case. Chewing his thumb he watched as the final minute ticked away on the clock, he heard footsteps from the direction of the barracks and prepared himself to brief those who showed as quickly as he could before leading them into the night. He hoped at least half of them had the wits to bring their own lanterns.

[Terra]

Terra was resting soundly before a loud voice boomed in the barracks it was time to get back to work. The private rolled out of bed with her boots still strapped to her feet this hadn’t been the first time she’d been corralled out of bed. Tired and disheveled her short dirty blonde hair was an absolute mess so she went for her military cap that fit snug and concealed her untamed mane. Shirt with a few buttons missed in the rush and a sunken look of exasperation in her brown eyes as she was awfully tired and hadn’t exactly managed to wake up yet.

Disorientated the soldier instinctively went for her basic gear in her footlocker. Terras issued flintlock musket kind of a lackluster bitch compared to what the engineers had cooking in the siege pit. She’d love to talk specs with them sometime and pick there brains on how to rifle out her hand cannon. As she rustled around her box for her powder keg, cloth strips and bullets

On her hip she holstered her flintlock pistol it clearly was not standard issue, she’d paid her wages that she’d saved for seasons for that hot little number it was a good gun for a bad girl. For five hundred coins it was her pride and joy.

She’d take her black cloak it was dark and she could better conceal herself with it plus hide anything disorganized about her attire. And with that she was out the door.

Terra made her way to the mess hall, she wasn’t the first one too show and she wasn’t the last. She preferred being in the middle of the pack. The rifleman was checking over her equipment primarily because the hammer and flint and if there was primer in the pan confirming what she already knew; her rifle was loaded and ready to go.

She wasn’t all that familiar with Myles, the harsh wake up didn’t necessarily discredit him either. She knew that the summons was important and as she started waking up she was beginning to piece together that a fellow brother in arms was attacked and she took the matter both seriously and personally.

Standing erect her hand flat towards her brow with her musket at her side as she stood in attention as she issued rank and name as others

Private First Class Terra reporting in, sir!

[Myles Arnnett]

With those that where gathered around Him Myles looked to Jonah and the cadet that announced their self as Private Terra. Looking over the other rag tag group of ill prepared men he grimaced in mild disgust at the shape of them.

“Jonah, Terra, On me, the rest of you, lantern up, start reinforcing patrols.” Turning on his heel he made for the exit of the barracks, Jonah's heels clicking in time behind him as they left the mess hall. Lighting his lantern as he entered the darkness of a moonless night. Cursing the darkness Myles set out towards the scene of the supposed theft and attack. Looking back at the two soldiers behind him he planned any encounters they might have.

“Alright Jonah, you're middle, Terra, watch our rear, I'll play vanguard, Jonah be flexible, Terra I'm trusting sharp eyes are paired with that gun”

Tromping forward in the night it took them a solid five minutes of jogging to get to the vicinity. Where Myles signaled for them for them to slow up and try to move more quietly. The fact that he didn't here anything at all meant that their weren't other active guards in the area which made Myles' skin prickle. Opting to approach from a side road an alley to the targeted smith Myles crept in the darkness shuddering his lamp to limit it's flare.

“I don't like this, if this seems like an organized force we get reinforcements, no hero stuff from the sound of it we are already down men.” With that Myles began to creep down an alley that would feed them out directly across from the rear of the smithy. “If you trust your aim, fire over my head so long as my Helmet is on Terra.” Myles whispered as he tapped his gauntlet against his steel plumed helm. About halfway through the alley Myles noted that the paving stones of the street they where approaching where slick with something reflecting the moonlight...

[Terra]

The moonless night was pretty in Terras eyes, lots of places to fade into the shadows and her eyes scanned areas she herself might have taken. Vantage points and angles high ground or dug in, there was more than plenty to watch out for. Terra was using her own tactical knowledge to spot for trouble by thinking about where she might set up.

Yessir! she raised her free hand and spread her fingers out as far as they could go. She was trying to explain that the muskets groupings were in fact tit for tat prone to haphazardly veering in its expected spread pattern in a space similar to her entire spread out hand. A smooth bore musket was fine enough to land a fifty caliber slug through head or chest, but not exactly a precision instrument at anything beyond seventy five feet.

It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this!
Terra didn’t like the idea of giving something she treasured so freely but this was a dangerous situation and Myles was a brother in arms. Sometimes when your back is pressed against the wall in life or death situations, what’s mine is yours. When your a soldier sometimes it’s not about yourself but the person next to you. Her free hand unclipped her holster and slid her cavalry pistol free. As the bulge of the handle emerged from her black cloak, it was clear she was offering big thunder up for grabs. Her figuring is if Myles was ambushed he could stop one or maybe hold them off to get away.

The soldier had her orders and she did a exactly as instructed. Her hood went up and with a swipe of her free hand the edges blew out and as they fell they draped over her rifle as she took a knee. In the dark of the night the black fabric would act as camouflage to help conceal herself the next step was a deep breath in followed by a steady release to calm her nerves and steady her hands.

Mentally counting Myles steps as he embarked on point she was calculating his distance. As instructed she would watch him from the rear, shed taken the liberty to cut off on an angle to do her best to keep her commanding officer out of her weapons trajectory.

You pull that trigger you own that bullet

[Myles Arnnett]

Looking for understanding and confidence in the eyes of his soldiers in the moonless dark Myles smiled thinly when he found it. Surprised when Terra offered him her spare gun Myles hesitated before taking it, tucking it into his belt Myles nodded accepting that his subordinate thought it would be better served in his swordsman's hands. Sometimes things like this were better to go along with and be thankful for later. Unsheathing his sword and raising his shield he quickly made for the exit of the alley and into a grim scene.

Dimly lit by the stars and his lantern were the four corpses of night watchmen, they were for all intents and purposes just the nocturnal sector of the defense corps. As he approached slowly Myles gritted his teeth in the disturbing silence, each rattle of his mail further stressing him. If there was any solace to have it would be that he would be a far larger visible target when compared with his soldiers who were more geared to the night. Motioning one fist up in a Hold command Myles approached the first of the corpses laying face down in a fresh pool of blood. Kicking the body over Myles met the still open eyes of a young man whose throat had been sliced, deeply at that. Looking to the other corpses they all seemed to be similarly slain. Grimacing Myles peered about in the darkness his eyes slowly alighting to the broken back gate of the forge complex. Moving to the wall the broken gate was against Myles began to slowly approach the open smithy warehouse entrance. Raising a hand He motioned for his men to approach and get behind him.

Slowing his breath Myles listened in the dark for any sounds other than himself or his men. His skin crawled at the sight of the bloody pools beneath the exsanguinated guardsmen. Steeling himself he prepared to breech the complex wondering who or what they might come against. If it had been one dead guard it would have been easy to say a sneak attack, but for four guards to have been ambushed so precisely that only one got away was hardly amateur work. Now against the wall next to the broken gate Myles paused waiting on Jonah and Terra to form up behind him.

[Terra]

As her commanding officer had began fiddling with the lantern the musketeer averted her gaze as not to ruin her recently acquired night vision. Things had taken a turn for worse as the light danced and flickered in cascaded radiance upon the fallen.

The marksman felt a surge of rage as if her veins had been flooded with kerosene and someone had just suddenly struck a match. The soldier was a fuming inferno of turbulent emotions violently stirring into a volcanic cocktail of catastrophic fury . She did not suffice or allow no she fully embraced this hatred using it as a vital source of fuel to drive her forward as her focus was kicked into overdrive as revenge was searing itself into her mind like a piping hot brand.

Her pointy little nose crinkled in dissatisfaction. Blood was in the water, it wasnt just an attack on a few night watchmen this was an affront to every soldier and payback was coming and this bitch would get it while the getting was good. They would find those responsible and dispense her justice on the firing line.

She knelt and fanned her fingers over there eyes to give herself some semblance of peace of mind. Before going over them sifting through pockets and retrieving whatever was a available.

There wasn’t much on them like they’d already been picked apart by the vultures and gutter rats, her eyes found an interesting weapon in the muck of dirt and blood a saber as she pulled the scabbard free and hooked it to her belt. Even if Terra had no skill behind a chunk of steel, if shit hit the fan she would die on her feet like a fucking man rather then on her knees as a coward.

Heading Myles command her musket came up at the ready. Shouldered tightly as she crept forward taking taking careful measure in her step to hide the noise of her footfalls as she too kept her ears open hoping to hear something. Her breathing steadied and was more focused as she began consciously making an effort to conceal the noise of her inhaling and exhaling.

Myles was on point and Terra would stick to the shadows and cutting corners to stay out of the way and have room to fire.
She was concerned for his safety but between his shield and sturdy armor he was best equipped to breach. Plus it would look terrible on her resume if her commanding officer did not make it. The private needed to make an emphasis of that as she wanted to climb rank and ladder.

Terra stopped evaluating her commanding officer and regained focus on the mission, she’d made her judgement she just hoped he lived up to her expectation.

[Myles Arnnett]

Watching his allies move in the pail light Myles watched Terra close the eyes of the dead men before quickly scouring them for anything of use. While happy he supposed that she'd put them to rest he was disappointed briefly in her for wasting precious moments that could endanger her allies. He would talk to her about it later he decided but for now nothing needed to be done. Jonah behind him now nodded in the silence as they waited on Terra to enter rank. Once she'd scrambled to the back he looked to them both and pressed a finger to his lips.

There was a sound from inside the forge complex, metal clinks and rattles that sounded like equipment. Not so close that it was on the other side of the wall, whatever it was likely further in the complex behind the wall. Myles cursed silently, did they know a guard had gotten away? The man had been wounded so they'd seen him, and the fact that all the other had slashed throats to finalize them. Swallowing Myles came to the conclusion their foe was not stupid enough to leave corpses next to an entrance and not guard it in some capacity. They could wait... they could send for reinforcements, both options that might save their lives, but that might also allow their quarry to escape. Gritting his teeth he hoped that he wasn't about to get them all killed.

Stepping around the corner and into the darkness Myles abandoned any attempts at stealth and entered with his shield up. The club that swung at his head connected with a clang and rattled his arm as much as it startled him. The man holding the club hadn't counted on Myles shield being on the ready, however Myles was no more ready for the club even if he'd suspected ambush. As his arm dropped He whipped his sword arm forward driving the point into his foes ribs. In this time Myles felt the pain of a knife being stopped by his chain mail as the brigand on the other side of the entrance stepped forward to stab him. Jonah at this point drove his spear into the one behind him with a glancing blow causing her to yowl in pain and jump back. The sounds of at least two more people came from inside the complex as the noises rang out. Ramming the man still on his blade into the wall he finished skewering the man, the tip of his sword danced beneath the flesh above his collarbone. Blood gushed from the now gaping maw of the would be criminal, as he dropped his club trying too late, too weakly to pull the dagger at his belt. Jonah stepped into the room chasing the dagger wielding thief with a series of quick stabs as two more thieves rounded the corner to check their allies, one armed with a crossbow the other a wicked ax.

[Terra]

And so it was her commanding officer had decided he was gonna go full force as he disregarded stealth as he met there ambush and doubled down with a ruthless assault. The gunmen was starry eyed as Myles got cracked upside the head and stabbed then retaliated like a fucking animal. The savagery of the exchanges was intense but so close and so tight the musketeer couldn’t do much if she shot any of those brigands that close she could potentially blow out the sergeants eardrums and get demoted for her valiant efforts. No what she needed was some kind of gadget like a spear on her rifle in these close quarter combat scenarios.

Still at the ready weapon shouldered as she leaned in to absorb the expected recoil the barrel vigilantly poised to engage hostiles as they rounded the corner. The soldier reacted and made a mistake the big boy with the wicked axe as he rounded the corner Terras finger squeezed there was a flickering of sparks as the flint hammer struck the pan and a moment later a thunderous roar in the form of an ear piercing boom as flames and smog belched out the barrel.

A fifty caliber slug sailed forward hitting the burly man square in the chest with enough force to exit his back as misshapen slag leaving a crater the size of an orange shamelessly spattering lung meat and blood on the wall like confetti.

It was enough to cause the crossbow wench to be startled before reingaging, a factor in her favor was a flooding of wafting smoke from the initial shot had created a hazey screen in the tight confines of the building.

INCOMING!Terra yelled as she turned the corner for cover, as a crossbow bolt had been loosed into there vicinity. The smog provided some measure of cover to not be targeted fully, but it was double edged.

She plucked a piece of paper from her breast pocket bit it and tore it open and poured the pre measured sorcerer sand down the barrel the bullet and cloth square were next as she gripped the ram rod from the barrel and made it snug before returning it to the barrel. Cocking the flint head back her sand horn came out as she thumbed the pan open to dust it. Closing the pan she took a breath as she estimated the time she took, as she withdrew from safety in a forward assault through the fading gun smoke.

As Terra emerged from the cloud she’d caught the archer still trying to span her crossbow under pressure. Her enemy was staring down her muskets barrel inches from her face. In an act of desperation she attempted to surrender but as she tried to raise her hands it had been far to late as the Private already beat her to the punch. As flames and thunder raged point blank into the enemy combatants face or rather what was left of it as a mixture of blood brain and bone matter slapped her face.

Plain and simple
...
Justice

Radiant blue eyes filled with fanaticism and zealotry stayed on task as she used her rage to focus as she breathed to steady and calm her nerves as she found cover and readied another bullet as she waited on her commanding officer.

[Myles Arnnett]

It was briefly a glorious moment. They'd deflected the ambush and come out victorious, Jonah having also having killed his foe briefly stood victorious. Shaking the excess blood from his blade Myles opened his mouth to briefly congratulate Terra on her well timed shots. Before he could do this however a pair of flashing eyes in the dark betrayed more thieves, or what he thought was more thieves, a woman stepped out of the darkness already making some arcane gesture as she approached. Myles witnessed the slain corpses begin to rapidly swell and stink. He'd seen this horror only once before but his body was thankfully moving one step ahead of his mind, the reflexes of his career saving him and hopefully his allies.

“Get down!” He yelped as he turned to the door from which Terra had been firing. Dropping his sword Myles swung his arm wide and caught Jonah in the stomach. Digging a heel in he threw his companion out the opening. With his shield arm Myles caught Terra by the middle and attempted to pull her light frame to his front. Already their was a red light and heat forming behind him as the bodies swelled to their bursting points and erupted into fiery explosions. Throwing his arms wide Myles deflected the molten blood and viscera with his armored back. Gritting his teeth Myles grinned, it hurt, but he'd been burned once enough to learn, His jerkin beneath his heavy chain was a thick leather now that smoked but didn't allow enough heat to pass to wound him. He wasn't entirely unscathed however, a fragment of what looked to be a rib bone had pierced his calf drawing a stinging throb from the limb. As he turned to face the mage responsible, he was met instead with the faces of two more of her cohorts running towards them with wicked daggers drawn. Swordless Myles raised his shield arm and stepped forward to block the door, grimacing as his action drew a spray of blood from his wounded calf that threatened to give out on him. Jonah was slowly scrambling to his feet behind him dazed but with enough brains about him to heft his spear in preparation for more combat.

[Terra]

So that was it Terra was confident in her ability she was breathing heavy and smiling with blood and sinew splashed across her face as she was high off the rush and thrill of it all. Adrenaline and endorphins were tapped into her veins as everything felt surreal.

That was up until everything had gone catastrophically wrong, Myles had stepped forward and in that moment she’d taken her eyes off the darkness as they fell on her superiors form she understood in that moment she fucked up as his facial expression grew grim.

In Desperation she tried to swing around but it was too late the carnage began to unfurl as the bodies exploded in there fiery reign of molten gunk, the young soldier thought this was it just before Myles dashed and shielded her from certain demise.

She didn’t fight it as the armored knight swept her off her feet in more ways then one. It was a thin line a small gap as she was sandwiched between his breast plate and shield as the scorching inferno enveloped them in a crashing wave of incendiary fury.

That slit flooded with wicked flames licking and lashing the musketeers left side ripping and tearing through the fabric of her uniform, caressing the skin assaulting her with flame broiled savagery as her flesh blistered and seared until the wave had finally past blowing over.

Smoldering garment and third degree burns from her shoulder was the price she paid for dropping her guard.

That intense pain was overshadowed by what she could only describe as a trauma fog. These turbulent feelings only intensified the soldiers hatred and rage as malevolent intent filled those sapphire blue eyes as she saw retribution within her grasp as her right hand made her way towards the pistol she let Myles borrow.

Gripped tightly around her gun, when Myles grasp around her waste receded she’s fight forward to break free.

The gun out shaking trembling from pain and fatigue pointing at the witch. She didn’t pull the trigger it was a last ditch warning as she was holding her ground. She knew if she fired and missed they’d be slaughtered she felt that was her best bet make them think twice.

She wasn’t sure if it worked or if by some other reason but luck was on her side as the witch and the knife wielding cohorts slank back into the shadows.