FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 2 Part 6b
Tipper had waited near the back door of the bunkhouse until someone had emerged. The door opened and a cloaked woman came out carrying a lantern, she closed and secured the door then headed towards a nearby post, from which a low burning lantern hung. Tipper came up behind her, grabbed her by the chin, covering her mouth and pulled her back. The lantern dropped to the snow and went out. Tipper brought her other arm around the woman’s neck, dragging her back into the shadows as she tried to shout and struggled. Tipper fell back onto a snowbank and used her legs to pin the woman and continued choking her.
The struggled lasted a few more moments. When the woman went still Tipper did not stop choking her until she had finished a slow hundred count. Then she rolled over and stood up, a quick look around revealed no immediate threats. She took the knife from the other woman’s belt and slid it between the ribs into the heart and then dragged the body a bit further back. She took the time to listen and scan around the area, nothing seemed amiss.
Once inside the bunkhouse, Tipper dropped her cloak by the door and snuffed the nearby lamp. Then she walked on down the hall. She came to a door and stopped to listen. From within she heard at least three people talking, it sounded like they were playing a game of some sort. She drew her hatchet, opened the door and walked in.
There were four people in the room, one woman doing needlepoint, sitting at the far end of the hall, by a bright lamp. Three men were playing a card game, sitting at a table in the centre of the room, a chandelier with a dozen candles above them. There were three other doors, all closed. Two narrow stairs lead up to an open loft area and she could see bunk beds up there. No one looked up at her when she entered, likely assuming it was their friend returning.
The man sitting at the game table did look up as Tipper threw her hatchet, it smacked into his forehead slightly off centre and he topple over backwards, chair clattering. Then Tipper drew her new hatchet and closed the distance to the man who had his back to her.
There was some shouting from the two remaining gamblers as they started to their feet and the woman across the room screamed. Tipper struck her intended target in the neck as the man was beginning to turn around, the dwarven weapon clove through flesh to the spine. Tipper dragged him with her as she stepped around the table and gave the third man a kick to the chest. He tripper over the chair behind him and toppled over backwards.
There was some shouts from upstairs. Tipped cleared her weapon from the man’s neck, letting him drop, blood sprayed. The other man had rolled further back as Tipper advanced on him.
“We’re under attack!” The woman screamed.
Tipper kicked a chair at the man who had rolled away, he still managed to come to his feet with a knife in hand but kept backing up. Tipper rushed him, he attempted to step off to the side, knife raised to deflect the incoming blow. The dwarven hatchet cut most of the way through his wrist, the knife fell to the floor. He backed away screaming, clutching at his wounded arm. The woman started towards the nearest door.
Tipper threw her new hatchet, the impact slammed the woman into the door she’d been heading towards, the blade buried deep in her back, she screamed some more. Tipper backed up a few steps, she saw a couple people coming down the stairs from the loft area.
She crouched and struck the haft of the hatchet she had earlier thrown, freeing it from the man’s skull. Then she came back to her feet and threw it at the lead man coming down the stairs, he tried a sudden stop. The hatchet hit him low in the guts, haft first, but the man behind her target overran him. The two of them, her hatchet and a short sword clattered to the ground. Tipper tossed a chair at them then ran towards the woman who had fallen against the far door.
There was more shouting from upstairs, Tipper made it to the woman and gave her a hard kick to the head before retrieving her hatchet. Then she turned and took a moment to appraise her situation.
The two men who had tumbled downstairs were back up, weapons in hand, including her hatchet. There was a woman up on the opposite loft area, crouched behind the railing and likely talking to some one behind her. She saw one of the doors adjacent to the main room, open and a man quickly stuck his head out and looked around before ducking back and shutting the door.
The two who had tumbled down the stairs were moving to flank her. The man with a short sword and her hatchet was moving past the table to come in on her left. Drawing her knife with her off hand Tipper rushed the man on her right. The woman up in the loft shouted, “Now!”
Tipper swung overhand and the man she was rushing lunged with his knife. His blade caught her in the centre of the chest, just below her breasts. Her hatchet caught him in the shoulder just shy of the neck, he screamed, she used her momentum to swing around behind him as his companion moved in. She spotted a man, where the woman had previously been spying on her, he held a crossbow at the ready.
Heaving the man she had in front of her into the oncoming foe she then backed up and ducked under the stairs leading up to this end of the loft. A crossbow bolt thwacked into the floor, not far off. The man with the sword and hatchet had pushed his screaming companion aside and closed to Tipper. He jabbed at her with the sword and started to swing the hatchet. She dropped to her back and kicked his knee, the leg buckled, she kicked him in the face as he came down.
Through the space between the stairs she tried to see what was going on up on the loft, her line of sight was blocked however. No sense in staying put, she came up to her knees and stabbed the man’s hand as he reached for his sword, pinning the hand to the floor. Leaving the knife, she rolled out and threw the dwarven hatchet at the crossbow fellow. Then grabbed her other hatchet. She came to her feet and stomped on the head of the man nearest her.
Someone tackled her from behind, by jumping off the stairs, together the two of them went down. They rolled across the floor, Tipper lost her hatchet. The woman who had been spying from the loft, rolled up on top of her and grabbed Tipper by the throat. “I got her!”
She dug her nails into Tipper’s throat and punched her in the face. Tipper grabbed a handful of curly locks and bucked upwards at the same time. As the woman was yanked to one side Tipper surged up, but the woman wrapped her legs around Tipper’s waist and at the same time the woman’s hair ripped free of the scalp. Then they rolled across the floor, both fighting to get the upper hand. Tipped briefly won the advantage and slid forward until she was nearly sitting on the woman’s throat, her head pinned between Tipper’s knees.
Tipper risked a quick look around. During the grappling the two of them had moved out towards the centre of the room, the table was a pace to her right. The man who had earlier peeked out was emerging from the room, he was naked with a small stool in his left hand and a long sword in his right. Behind him, standing in the open doorway was a woman, making a couple gestures and muttering under her breath. The crossbow man, minus the crossbow, was moving along the catwalk between the two loft areas. Another man had come down the nearby stairs.
A heal smacked into the side of her head and the woman’s other foot was suddenly under Tipper’s chin. She was dragged backwards, then the woman scrambled to climb back on top of her. Tipper kicked her in the face and scooted under the table. The man with the sword was close. The other man who had just come downstairs moved to check on the woman Tipper had been grappling.
With a roar, Tipper surged to her feet, lifting the table and rushing the man with the sword. She slipped in blood and lost her momentum. The man slashed at the table, coming close to hitting Tipper’s hand at least once. Then Tipper turned away and tossed the table at the other man who was in the process of helping the wrestling woman to her feet. Tipper darted towards the stairs. A knife hit her just under the collar bone. She looked up and could see the man who once had the crossbow was readying another knife. Tipper rushed up towards him.
The man’s second knife flipped past her head, he drew another. She came to the top of the stairs, staying low, she grabbed the man by the legs and surged forward. His knife came down hard on her back, biting through her armour. She bowled him over, scrambled across him and slammed her fist into his face. She could hear someone coming upstairs behind her, she took the time to grab the knife from the man under her and surged to her feet, stumbling into one of the bunks.
Tipper stepped to her right, turned and brought the knife up in a sweeping motion. The man with the sword stood at the top of the stairs holding his weapon ready, he had not pressed his advantage. The other man, at his feet, groaned and crawled away from Tipper. The sorceress came up to the second or third step from the top.
Tipper was a little surprised to realize that she was breathing heavily. Very happy to still be alive though. She held the knife ready, not sure what was going to happen next, but was somewhat concerned about the witch.
Then the nearly naked mage pointed a finger at her and said, “Enough! Stand down!”
Tipper felt the mind-magic wash over her. She lowered the knife and relaxed her shoulders. The man who had crawled away from her was sitting against the wall, he sighed and said, “Thank the gods.”
The woman said, “I’ve got her.”
The swordsman kept his weapon pointed at Tipper.
The sorceress made a subtle gesture and said, “Put the knife down.”
Tipper nodded, stepped forward, bending to place the knife between her and the swordsman. Then she surged up, catching the sword with the knife and she slammed her shoulder into the man’s chest. He went backwards, down the stairs. The witch screamed as he knocked into her, the two of them tumbled to the floor below. Tipper looked over to the man sitting against the wall.
“Oh gods, no.” Was the last thing he said as Tipper stepped over and drove his knife into the man’s throat.
She moved along the catwalk, glanced down to see what was happening. The swordsman was keeping an eye on her as he gave a hand to help the sorceress to her feet. The wrestling woman and the fellow that had gone to her aid had armed themselves. The man with a missing hand had passed out, the fellow with his hand pinned to the floor had not moved. When she reached the other loft area she spotted the dwarven hatchet Adwin had given her and a broken crossbow. She retrieved her weapon and moved to the top of the nearer stairs.
Tipper looked down at her four remaining foes. The sorceress was readying another spell, the swordsman stood between her and Tipper, the other two had moved to guard the bottom of both stairs. Tipper was about to tell the mind-witch to save her energy when the woman clapped her hand together, fingers pointed towards Tipper.
It suddenly felt like a wall hit Tipper, the railing and top of the stairs exploded as a thunderous roar deafened her and she was propelled backwards through the upper section of a bunk and hit something hard when she landed.
Stunned, Tipper fought to keep from falling into the darkness of unconsciousness.
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