Thief on the Borderlands (Chapter One)

[Daos]

Amethyte 9, 602

Raine walked the barren plains alone that morning, hugging herself for warmth. Thankfully it was not snowing this chill winter day, but that didn't make her fingers feel any less numb.

Finally having had enough of her father's schemes, she had waited until he was asleep and then robbed him blind, running off on her own. That would show the old fool. However, traveling the plains alone is very dangerous, especially off the roads. But Raine felt she was clever and quick enough to avoid anything that might be a threat.

She was heading south. To the far east, she thought she saw a river. Likely, it was the Tiger River, so she must be in the Tiger River Valley. And if that is true, the town of Dekan must be somewhere along that river. Dekan was the eastern most village in the free plains. Beyond that was the Empire.

Hopefully, she would reach Dekan soon. The thoughts of a warm bed and a good meal kept her going.

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Weather Check (2d10): 8. Calm.

[HorizonsDream]

Raine walked along quietly, making sure to listen out for any type of danger that might be headed her way. She thought she as clever and quick enough for whatever might be headed her way, but she knew to listen out for it as well. It was always important to be aware of one's surroundings, or so her father told her time and time again. "Probably the only useful thing he taught me," she muttered to herself.

[Daos]

Raine strained to hear anything around her, but all she could hear were her own footsteps on the dried up grass. However, where her ears failed her, her eyes succeeded. Far up ahead of her, to the south, she saw movement.

There were figures moving, probably man-sized. They were about 1,500 yards ahead, so she could not make out any real features. But they appeared to be fighting each other. Some kind of battle was taking place, but she would need to get closer to make out any details.

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Raine makes a Detect Noise check (1d100): 28. Fail.

OOC: It will take over twelve minutes for Raine to walk to the battle, sooner if she jogs or runs. If she only wants to get close enough to identify who is fighting, it should only take a few minutes.

[HorizonsDream]

Raine wasn't too terribly surprised to see people fighting out on the plains, but she didn't want to get completely involved in it either. The most she wanted to do was to see who was involved, and perhaps determine what it was all about. So, at a running pace, she moved forward only to get close enough to see who was fighting. Naturally, if there was any cover nearby, she would take it as well.

[Daos]

Moving at a jog, Raine continued south to get a better view of what was happening.

A few minutes later, she came to a halt to catch her breath and survey what was happening.

A pack of humans were fighting against half a dozen black raptors. Several humans had been caught up in some kind of giant webbing, likely caused by magic. The web held at least six men, but four more remained fighting. However, from this distance, Raine really couldn't tell much about the humans. Where were they from? Who did they serve? The same went for the raptors, as well. What were they doing on this side of the border?

Looking around, Raine spotted some tall grass she could hide in. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully from the distance, the two groups would be distracted fighting each other and not notice her.

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Raine moves at double speed (24) and crosses 1,000 yards in four rounds.

[HorizonsDream]

Raine quickly makes her way towards the tall grass to hide in. She could only hope that she was close enough by now to figure out what exactly was going on (though she had a pretty fair idea considering that these men were fighting raptors).

[Daos]

Raine hid in the grass and observed as the fight raged on.

One of the humans called out something. The voice was feminine, although from this distance, Raine had thought she was a man. One of the raptors bit into her neck, tearing out a decent chunk of her flesh. She went down.

Another human shouted something, possibly a name. A third human ran to help the fallen woman, but a bolt of lightning pierced his body from behind, dropping him. Things were not looking good.

The two remaining humans fought back-to-back. The one who had done the most shouting--possibly their leader--had his chest slit open by a raptor's razor sharp talons.

The last human, a large man with dark skin, fought like a madman with his massive halberd. He managed to kill a raptor and brutally wound another before they all teamed up against him and took him down.

The remaining raptors then turned their attention to those caught in the web. They started tying them up, then lead the whole group of about a dozen east, toward the river.

[HorizonsDream]

Once the raptors are far enough in the distance, Raine peeks up from her hiding spot in the grass. With a frown, she cautiously makes her way towards the fallen humans. "Before long, they are just going to take over the plains," she mutters softly to herself.

[Daos]

Raine sat in the grass for a good fifteen minutes before slowly moving south toward the scene of the battle. Once there, she surveyed the area.

The area was soaked in blood. Strangely, the webbing had all disintegrated, as if it had never existed. There were five bodies, total. One was a raptor, the other four were human.

There was the woman, who had short blonde hair, and the shaggy looking man next to her with a blackened hole in his chest. The faint but sickly scent of burned flesh still lingered in the air.

One of the warriors seemed to be older than the others, his short hair grey. Nearby was the large dark-skinned man. There was some manner of tribal tattoo on his forehead.

Whoever these would-be heroes were, they were dead now. Their story would go untold, and nobody but Raine had witnessed their heroic attempt to rescue those slaves.

===========

Raine moves at half speed (6) and crosses 500 yards in eight rounds.

[HorizonsDream]

"Nice try, guys," Raine said honestly. It was a nice try to try and save the new slaves to the raptor empire, but it was also foolish in her opinion. After a few glances around, she decided to loot the bodies. After all, they didn't need their stuff anymore as they were dead, and there was no reason to let it all go to waste!

[Daos]

Unfortunately, it seemed that the raptors had all ready looted most of the hapless heroes' gear. They only left behind things that would be of no use to them, such as weapons and armor.

The woman with the short, blonde hair seemed to be some kind of sorceress. Her spellbook and all of her components were missing, likely taken by the raptors. She did still have a quarterstaff, although Raine had no means of determining if it was enchanted or not. She had been quite pretty, and it was a shame she had not survived. Just because she had been born with her genitals on the inside instead of the outside had not made her any less capable on the battlefield.

The shaggy man lie next to her, his body still smoking lightly from the lightning bolt that smote him. Raine had to hold her breath while searching him, as the sickly smell of burned flesh remained fairly strong around him. He was wearing leather armor, although the lightning bolt had some some damage to it. He had a simple mace and wore a bronze pendant around his neck in the shape of an eye. He wore spectacles, an odd sight for someone traveling the plains, dangerous that they are.

The other man, the one with the short grey hair that seemed to be their leader, wore leather armor and carried a bronze axe and small shield. Further searching revealed a small child's toy, a little wooden horse and carriage. Why he was carrying that is anyone's guess. Perhaps he had a child at home, waiting for him?

The final warrior, the large dark-skinned man with the tattoo on his forehead, was likely a tribal of some sort. He carried a massive halberd and wore bronze plate mail. He had seemed a formidable force in life. Raine certainly would not have wanted to fight such a large brute herself.

Alas, nothing else of worth could be found on the bodies, save the clothes off their backs (which were mostly shredded or burned). Up above, Raine heard vultures calling. The scent of blood had drawn them near, and they circled above, awaiting a meal.

[HorizonsDream]

Raine stuck out her tongue at the smell of the bodies around her. Quickly, she took the pendant from the glasses wearing body, and then she took the toy from the leader. "These should fetch a good price," she said softly. After all, these guys didn't need them anymore!

Once she was done looting the bodies, she started back down the road again.

[Daos]

Collecting and pocketing the toy and the pendant, Raine moved on, leaving the bodies to whatever scavengers found them first.

She traveled for another few hours, and just as the sun was passing its zenith, she spotted the walls of Dekan about five miles away.

After walking for another hour and fifteen minutes, she reached the wall and started around it to the west gate.

The town of Dekan seemed an impressive fortress from the outside. The entire village was protected by large wooden walls with numerous archers prowling the battlements. A moat lined the wall, adding further defense.

The west gate was not a gate at all, but rather a drawbridge that was lowered over the moat to allow entry. Two hoplite guards stood on either end of the drawbridge, resplendent in their bronze armor and each armed with spears and shields.

Some kind of wagon had just pulled up to the drawbridge, and the man driving was speaking with the guard on the left. The wagon was flanked by two hobbits in leather armor riding ponies--Outrider guardians, most likely.

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Raine collects the toy horse and the bronze pendant. She travels south, reaching Dekan at a quarter past 2 bells.

[HorizonsDream]

Raine approached the guard and the man speaking to one another. She was a little curious as to what exactly was being said, and since she wanted to get into Dekan, she figured she might be able to use these Outriders to her advantage.

[Daos]

"Here are your papers," the guard said, handing a scroll to the man driving the wagon. "You know the rules by now, so I won't bother repeating them. Go on ahead."

The man on the wagon nodded and with a flick of the reins, sent the horses pulling the wagon forward at a slow trot, bringing the wagon into the town proper. The Outriders rode quietly behind him, nodding to the guards respectfully.