Open Chronicles Miscreants and Miscalculations

[Maecey]

Alliria - The Rutting Rat

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Maecey cried as a chair was smashed into little bits on the wall above her. The wood fractured and splintered, shards of the stool crashing down on her as she held both of her hands over her head in protection.

"YOU LITTLE CHEAT!"​

The man screaming at her stood nearly thrice her height. It wasn't much of an accomplishment given that she was considered short for even most Halflings, but that didn't make him any less scary. His muscles were thick and veiny, and given from the look on his face Maecey had managed to make him very angry about the game of dice they'd just been playing.

A thump rang out as the man stomped forward. "FUCK YOU!"

She shouted back, deciding that it was the best course of action.

"I didn't cheat on shit!" The man did not seem to like that answer, and he quickly picked up another stool and threw it directly at her. Maecey quickly ducked, sliding beneath the chair and moving quickly beneath one of the tables on the other side of the man. A hand snapped at her head, one of the man's compatriots. "Hey!"

She shouted, half tilting back to dodge the hand.

"I'll gut you like a pig!"​

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

"I'm just glad we're going home soon..." Down the road a bit, a man was grumbling to himself, rubbing his back in exhaustion. The journey back East hadn't been long in actuality, but it had felt longer. Might have been easier to head stright for home, but the lad had figured it be prudent to finish one last contract in the same direction. Didn't pay much, but it paid somthing; deliver a package from one merchant to another located in Alliria. After all that, he'd finally be heading home. "...sure, might be boring patrols and guard duty...but at least it'll just be that for the while...think we could use a break from all the excitement..."

The 'we' he was referring to was his companion traveling alongside him; a big canine, keeping pace with the man, wagging his tail as he listened to the man speak.

Said man was clearly an archer of sorts, given the longbow he was carrying, albeit it was unstrung as if he wasn't expecting combat. This close to the city, there wasn't likely to be as much danger as in the wilderness, at least if one kept their head down...

And Erwin had every intention of keeping his particular head down for the time being.

"...Way too much excitement..." The huntsman sighed, looking back up at the road. There was an inn not to far from where he was. which was good timing. Judging by the position of the sun and the growling of his stomach, it was probably lunch time. "...what says we get somthing to eat? Shouldn't kill our timetable too much..."

That's what Erwin thought, at least until he rounded the corner and was greeted with a stool to the face...

 

[Ace]

Upon mentioning the word eat, Ace dropped his tongue and began wagging his tail even more so. It was among the few words that had to do with food, and food was among the few things that could get him very excited.

Ace and Erwin had been traveling back on a road they had previously trekked on with more people, now it was just the two of them, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Ace liked traveling with Erwin, they had been traveling ever since he was a little pup and he was a little pup human, except now they were traveling even further distances. Traveling, seeing new places and meeting new people.
But Erwin seemed tired as of late, and he talked a lot about going home. Home was really just a smaller area to travel around, it wasn't like they really had a house to live in. But still, it was familiar, maybe that was what he meant...somewhere familiar...

When the two had rounded the corner, the canine's first instinct was too duck and let off a surprised yelp, as he saw somthing flying at them. Erwin wasn't as lucky, getting whatever it was to the face and knocking him over.

Ace's first instincts was combat mode, as he widened his stance and flashed his razor sharp fangs. A growl escaped his throat, enough for the most of the inn to hear...had they look over, they'd see a very angry hound next to a dazed huntsman...

 

[Maecey]

"HA!" She shouted as she ducked beneath another table, slipping underneath the grasp of another one of the men that had tried to grab her.

Maecey had counted three of the thugs now. She had no idea if they all worked together in some way, or maybe if they related, but the lead one had just managed to smash a complete stranger in the face with a chair.

That boded well for her. "You moron! You can't even aim straight!"

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

The sound of steel leaving it's scabbard rung in the small tavern. In an instant Maecey felt goosebumps crawl over her skin, her face falling into a slight hint of fear as her ears twitched.

With a glance over her shoulder she rushed towards the man at the door and his dog, figuring he would go for the man that had thrown the chair and not her...the innocent halfling.

"Nice doggy." She offered as she tried to slip behind the Hound and out the door.

 

[Ace]

Ace didn't exactly get a chance to see who clobbered his friend in the head with the stool, so he couldn't really be sure who to bite next.

Judging from the atmosphere of the room, the aggression was being pointed solely on the little person scurrying around the room, Ace felt that much. Looking over to her, she seemed very wily compered to the others...though looking back at the others, they seemed plenty strong enough to toss a stool across the room.

Then again, Ace had been wrong about the strength of a creature before...

If the short person tried to make a break for the door, Ace would angrily bark at her, snapping his jaws together in a threatening motion. Guess he had to wait for Erwin to confirm...

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

Meanwhile, the man was slowly pushing himself off the ground. Whatever force the man had used to throw the stool, it might have just given Erwin a concussion.

"ExCusE mE...SiR...MadaME...PerSoN...I WaS tolD...er...ToLd...ThEre Was A...Er... wArEwoLF inFesTaTioN...er...AroUnD...'ErE..." The man was now on his feet, bu he was barly standing up right. It might have been clear to all those present that stars were now doing laps around his head. "...ShOW mE...ShOw Me...ThE InfestAtION...pEoPlE,....I'll...i'Ll shoOt 'Em...ShoOT 'eM in tHe FaCe..."

Erwin lifted his bow, and began trying to grasp on to what appeared to be an imaginary bow string, as his longbow hadn't been strung....

 

[Maecey]

Maecey instantly put up her hands, as if that would show the dog she wasn't a threat. "Nice doggy."

Her voice half slipped as she said the word.

Unfortunately for the little Halfling she wasn't much bigger than the dog, and if it decided to maul her there wasn't much she could do. Furthermore, the man behind the hound stood, clearly delusional from the whack to the head he'd just suffered.

A puff of air escaped her lips, pushing some of the hair out of her face. Behind her she could hear the man with a blade approaching.

"Nowhere to run now."​

She shot a glance back, then from the small of her back she drew a blade. For her it was the size of a short sword, for anyone else it was a dagger. "Who said I was running?"

From a nearby table she quickly snatched a piece of steak, waving it in front of the dog before throwing it at the man coming at her.

The steak struck him in the face.

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

There was sooo many people moving about the inn and they were moving FAST. Erwin barely could keep up with all the movements, as he grasped onto the door frame and began leaning against it. Perhaps it was not his intention, but he was now blocking the entire exit with his body, trying to catch his breath amidst the chaos.

"WhY aRE thEy'RE tWo...FOuR...gur..." Erwin continued blinking, trying to blink away the visions he was seeing. Squinting harder, he could vaguely make out the face of a big and burly...and meat colored individual.

Was that the werewolf? Probably not, that was probably the man the halfling threw the steak at. But Erwin didn't exactly know that...since he couldn't really see stright at the moment.

"AcE!...WeREwOlF!...siCK 'eM!" Erwin yelled, pointing at the big man, now wearing a steak on his face...

 

[Ace]

Someone was not amused. Had Ace been any other canine, he might have brought that trick hook-line-and-sinker. But Ace, he just looked over to the smaller human. His mouth was closed, but an unamused and disapproving face that might have very well said "shame-on-you". At the moment, the canine was guarding his companion, which was a mattered that came above a juicy steak.

Admittedly, it was a rather a painful ordeal to forego the scrumptious looking snack, but sacrifices had to be made.

"Go SIcK 'Em" When Erwin had called out, Ace looked back in confusion. His companion didn't seem to be in the right mind or sorts...but he had just given him a signal to attack...and he was pointing at the big man, calling him a "werewolf". The canine thought Erwin had just been confused, but looked back at the big man, now brandishing a knife.

Maybe he did throw the stool at his friend, he was an aggressor, after all.

Sprinting forward, instead of gnarling at the steak, the hound went for the sword hand. In a feat of great control, Ace bite onto the man's hand but did not sink his fangs all the way in. Instead, bring about enough pain to force the thug to drop his blade with a clang before letting go and snatching away the weapon...

 

[Maecey]

Exactly as planned! Probably.

As the Hound pounced on the man and bit his sword arm Maecey took the opportunity to step forward. The man did not see her coming, her small and lithe form falling beneath his vision as he tried to shake the attack dog away.

Just the opportunity he needed.

As the man bent low to strike the dog and pick up his sword Maecey reached up and buried her sword in the mans throat. The blade pierced through flesh, ripping apart the man's neck and she yanked it to the side.

A loud thud rang out as the attacker collapsed onto the ground. His mouth and neck spilled blood, guttural gurgling noises emanating from him as he struggled to hold his wound together. The room around them went quiet, the Rutting Rat falling into utter silence.

Maecey looked down at the man for a moment, then glanced at the rest of the inn. "What?"

She asked, her tone more annoyed than anything.

"He attacked me first!" He had. "Threw a chair at this guy."

The Halfling jerked her hand at the man still stumbling around.

 

[Ace]

Dangerous was perhaps the right word for this one, Ace saw it now. Had no issues about killing, which generally wasn't the people he nor Erwin ran with by choice. Even the canine himself had merely wounded his adversary, all in an attempt to wrestle away his dangerous weapon. Too bad that was all for not.

Returning to the door frame and his companion, Ace dropped the dagger he had in his jaw. He wasn't sure if either party looked like the good guy, with Ms. Stab happy in one corner and the others whom looked to be cable of tossing more then a stool in the other.

The only thing that the canine could think about was protecting Erwin from the chaos. Perhaps this might have not been the best place to take a rest, it was getting to messier by the second...

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

"Huh?" Erwin mumbled, pulling himself up the door frame. The dizziness was starting to go away, but the ringing pain might take a bit longer to disparate.

Taking another look around the room, he finally noticed the man gurgling out of a whole on the side of his neck. Everyone was now starring at this one short...child? Women? She didn't exactly look like a dwarf...not any dwarves he knew at least...did she?...

"Did you do this?" The huntsman asked, as if he wasn't standing there for the past five minutes, looking at her like he had just stumbled onto a murder scene.

 

[Maecey]

Maecey glanced down at the body on the floor, a shrug rolling over her shoulders. "Your dog helped."

The rest of the Tavern was still all but silent. There were a few coughs, but most apparently did not dare speak. The men that had been backing the Thu had taken a few steps backs, though their weapons were still drawn.

She glanced at them.

"Look." Maecey reasoned with the Mercenary, though in truth she was more addressing the rest of the room. "I have plenty of witnesses."

She did in fact. "He attacked me first, and drew a blade first."

A shrug rolled over the Halflings shoulders. She was fairly sure that the authorities would side with her on this. She was a Halfling after all, and the dead man was a full grown human. The size difference alone meant she would have been a fool to be the aggressor.

 

[Ace]

When the short person mentioned dog, Ace's ears perked up. What was she trying to imply? The canine wondered, as his eyes narrowed on her. There was somthing about her that was rather...iffy...

It was really more of a feeling then anything to certain. Perhaps it was a result of her movements, which usually belonged on that of a fox or weasel...somthing quick but opportunistic...Ace had chased enough of either to know how much they liked to scheme of ways to get out or benefit.

Then, Erwin began to speak again, and the canine's ears perked up further...,

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

"I dunno...you dwarves do have tendency of being pretty belligerent..." The huntsman responded, scratching his chin. Perhaps he couldn't tell exactly if she was a dwarf, or a halfling, or a really short human. His head still hurt, so he wasn't really paying that much attention...

"Then again...if this is one of your grudge settling life debts...well..." Erwin pushed himself upright, before rubbing his eyes. That had really been one mean throw. "...I guess it's none of my business...carry on..."

The huntsman began to turn away, content to leaving the fight before it engulfed either him or his partner further....

 

[Maecey]

"Dwarf?!" Maecey echoed the words with a healthy amount of indignation. There was a scowl on her face, and she wagged her sword at the other man.

It was not a threatening gesture, not at all, from her stance it was clear she was acting more the scolding mother than anything else. Her face was slightly scrunched, and she was all but ignoring the armed men that were still standing at her back.

"Do I look like one of those Rock eaters?" The words were slightly racist, but Maecey hardly seemed to care. "Those numbskulls use a sword as well as they use an elvish flute!"

Dwarves of course were far more well known for their use of Axes, maces, and far less subtle weapons. It was a point of pride for Maecey that she had a certain amount of finesse when fighting, and being compared to a dwarf didn't sit well with her.

Not at all in fact. "I'm a halfling you idiotic human."

She huffed.

 

[Ace]

This might have not worried Erwin too much, but Ace took pride in his role as a guard dog, lowering himself and growling when she lifted the blade. She wasn't waving it in their direction, but she was skirting a fine line between harmless threats and getting her face chewed off...that is, depending on what she planned on doing next...

Either way, Ace watched her carefully...even if she tried to hit-and-run, for whatever reason, he had locked her scent by now...she was really the only one that naturally smelled like apple pie...

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

"Well, you tell me..." Erwin snorted, glancing back at her haphazardly, gripping onto the door frame for support. "...I've never heard a halfing curse so loudly...but then again, you lot do have a tendency of being cocky..."

Erwin shook his head, he really couldn't tell. But if she said so...

"Not that it really matters...someone got shanked and I didn't do it, sooo...good luck with that?" Erwin shrugged, he seemed rather indifferent. Truthfully, he wanted to avoid using his medical supplies; he was running low after the last scrap. "I've got a job to complete, anyways, and I'd rather not get shanked myself..."

 

[Maecey]

"Job eh?" Maecey looked around the Inn for a brief moment.

Most people were now staring daggers at her, the two men whom had been with the now corpse were looking as though they just needed simple opportunity to gut her. Her lips thinned, and for a brief moment she considered her options.

She had coin, but getting out of Alliria probably wouldn't be easy. At least not without getting jumped anyway. "Need any help?"

Maecey asked candidly.

"Could use a job." That wasn't true, but she could use cover.

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

Oh yes, she was going to be trouble, no doubt about that.

At least she was a mercenary, just the mere mention of a "job" could attract them like flies to a corpse. Then again, this had been the same profession Erwin dabbled in from time to time. The huntsman considered himself more of a "part-time mercenary"; he already had a day job.

He could have said no, he should have said no, but maybe he was hit too hard in the head to be thinking stright. Instead, he meandered a "...Well, it's not a well paying one".

Wasn't necessarily a yes, but it was certainly not a no...what would happen next was up to the interpretation of all those who had heard it...

 

[Ace]

Ace looked up at Erwin, unsure about what he had just said. Didn't sound like he was too confident in his words, which was kinda odd for him. The man had turned down larger contracts before, so denying this one would have been easy.

Ace looked back at the halfing and squinted at her with inquisitive eyes. Whatever would happen next, he would keep an eye and a nose on her...she would be the hardest to keep track in a scuffle, at least for most beings...but if she was plotting somthing against his companion, he'd rip her throat out...

 

[Maecey]

"Look." She offered the man. "Every job pays as much as you need."

Maecey flashed a smile. "Plus I could use a reason to get out of here."

The men within the room who had stood and drawn their swords hesitated for a moment. Their odds were good against the Halfling on her own, but another man and then an attack dog on top of that? They'd seen how quickly Maecey had moved.

She shot a glanced back, and then looked up at the man.

"Better leave sooner rather than later." The Halfling urged. "Clocks tickin and all."

 

[Erwin Geschwind]

The huntsman looked at her, with a look that made the word skeptical sound generous. There was somthing about the situation that seemed rather backwards...but he couldn't really put a finger on it...

Instead of saying anything, Erwin just shock his head and turned to leave. The further thing that Erwin wanted to do at that given moment was getting into more trouble. The huntsman had seen enough death as of late, and could do with another body or two weighing down further on his conscious.

As the man exited the tavern, he let out a rather shrill whistle, returning to the road...shaking his head...not really saying more to the situation...

Weather the halfing followed or not, well...it was not Erwin's place to dictate...

 

[Ace]

The halfing talked, again, and again, Ace listened. She seemed to be rather in of a hurry to leave...probably because of the blood she spilled...the canine could feel the tension of the room, and he didn't need to see it or smell it to know.

But then, a quick, high pitch noise caught Ace's attention. No mistake, it was Erwin's signal, signal for him to follow. This confused Ace for a moment, who looked back to the room, specifically the halfing(with a suspicious pair of eyes) before slowly turning and following...his eyes watching their back until they were safely out of the tavern.

Speeding up a bit, Ace began matching pace with his friend...making sure to keep track of the scents, especially those that got stronger...the only thing he wanted was to make sure Erwin was alright...

 

[Maecey]

Eager to get away from the Taverns wasn't even close to how she felt.

The place was relatively isolated and she knew that sticking around would likely mean ending up in a sack somewhere. Best to just follow the other man for a little while, even if there wasn't a job at the end of the road.

"Buh bye now." She couldn't help but jeer at the men remaining in the tavern, offering them a wave as she stepped through the door.

Maecey's mother had always said that the little folk couldn't help but get themselves into trouble around ordinary humans. There was a drive in them to cause mischief, mostly because of the feeling of being looked down on all the time. She wasn't sure if her Ma had been right, but she was certainly sure those men in the tavern would agree.

With an unnatural quickness Maecey caught him with the huntsman, falling Into stride besides him.