Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Convergence (Veilbrand)

[Meekakitty]

Samara's heart sank at the sight of Erik lying on the ground clutching his arm in pain. The amount of blood spilling out had told her that an artery has been punctured. It wasn't a fatal wound son long as they got the bleeding to stop, but in the currently scenario that didn't seem possible. She rushed to Erik's side, removing her shirt revealing her well defined abdomen and her chest which had been wrapped several times with gauze. Several scars tainted her mostly fair skin. She began to tear her shirt apart, fastening a makeshift sling for Erik's arm. "Keep the pressure on the wound," she ordered. The bullet had ripped clean through his arm, which provide minimal relief to Samara. "We can't stay here. Get on my back," she crouched down for Erik.

Samara began to devise a plan for escape. To the left was thick brush that would be hard to move through, but the right was too open and would make them an easy target. Straight back seemed like the best option, but with very little thick trees for cover it was also risky. Then there was the option heading toward the enemy, a fool hardy choice, but certainly an unexpected one.

Once Erik was secured on her back, using her arms to hold his legs and leaning forward, she was ready to move. She waited and listened for a moment, motioning for Erik to stay quiet. The chatter of squirrels and chirps of birds were absent as a result of the gunfire making the forest eerily silent. Erik's labored breathing was the loudest noise nearby. Samara tried to focus on the direction the of the grey oak tree.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik did as ordered, tying the shirt while trying in vain to hide the thorough blush in his cheeks as he was hoisted onto her back. She was a lot stronger than she looked. Erik wasn't a huge guy, but he wasn't tiny either.

"They're all there behind those trees." He whispered while pointing with only a finger in the direction he'd seen them.

As this was happening, Riley and Bernard broke the tree line into open space heading towards camp.

"Think they'll be okay?!"

"Revolution Captains aren't Captains because they can yell at you, Bernard! They'll be fine!"

The pair continued on full speed towards camp to warn Command and everyone else about the threat that was just spotted.

Meanwhile, Erik spotted a flash just ahead on the right. A glint of sunlight off metal.

"I think they're trying to spread out and surround us." He whispered.

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara could hear the movements surrounding her. It only only made more obvious when Erik mentioned them. With little time to decide, she chose to run straight back. While there was very little immediate cover, the forest was much more dense further in. She knew this area well, and there were two different emergency supplies caches in that direction. If one of them had a weapon it would prove to be of use. If the attackers were in pursuit, she would only have time to retrieve one cache. If Erik wasn't injured they would have been able to get both, so she had to choose which one to head for."Pay attention on the enemy's movements and don't let go." she whispered to Erik.

With that, the race was on. Samara gave all her focus to running and keeping her balance, trusting Erik would warn her of enemy positions. She wanted to avoid giving a clear shot, and moved erratically to avoid getting hit. Carrying Erik only hindered her slightly, but she wouldn't be able to maintain full speed for long. The deeper into the forest she ran the safer she felt, but she couldn't afford to stop. The first cache was not far, but it's position was not easily accessible so they would have to go for the second one.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik did as ordered as the Captain pushed them onward into the dense brush. He wasn't aware of why they were coming this way, but he knew there had to be a strategy to it. The brush would be harder for the enemy to move through for one thing. So maybe that was it. Slow them down enough to give help time to arrive and prep for a potential change of camp location if need be.

Erik glanced over his shoulder as the Captain began a new zig zag path.

"Confirmed two on the left." He said as quietly as he could while being loud enough for her to hear.

He couldn't risk the enemy knowing he had seen them as he glanced the other way.

"Looks like... Two behind and right. Nobody on the far right."

Erik felt a change in the levels of pain in his arm and looked down trying to flex his hand.

"I think I can run, Captain. My arm's not hurting as much now."

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara pressed on, getting as much distance from her pursuers as possible. With the help of Erik pointing them out, it was made much easier. There was about half mile between her and the cache, but she was making good time. As she moved closer to the cache she looked for signals to help pinpoint it's location: a marked carved into a tree, an odd formation of rocks, or signs of foot traffic. She ran for about four minutes before noticing signs until she caught a glance of the gleam of metal above. She came to an abrupt stop, and knelt down to allow Erik to stand.

"There is a cache above, find a rope or a pressure release to let it down." She ordered as she began to look around. She looked up to trace the rope down to a wide tree. It had an out of place vine wrapped around one of it's roots. Samara made quick work of it by cutting the vine with her knife. The cache descended rapidly crashing on the ground hard. Fortunately the net the bound the supplies together remained intact, but the content inside may have been damaged. They didn't have time to check. Samara grasped the knot keeping the bundle together, and slung it over her shoulder."Let's move, stay close behind me." Her run continued, but in the opposite direction of the base camp. Often checking behind her to keep tract of Erik.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik was happy to be set down. He hated being a burden on her like that. And when she began speaking of a cache he looked around as best he could. But he didn't see anything that he felt was out of the ordinary in such a densely wooded location with as much brush and vines and leaves and... Argh! Too much sensory input!

Luckily the Captain found the cache instead and managed to get it down, though doing so created a lot of noise which Erik was certain the enemy had heard even if they were a few steps behind. As the Captain slung the budle of supplies over her shoulder, Erik nodded to her command and kept pace with her as best he could while keeping an eye on the binding around his arm.

The bleeding seemed to have stopped for now. But the sight of a clear hole through his arm was now forever burned into his memory. All the red, the pinkish-red muscle fiber strands, the white of the bone peeking out from behind the blood... His stomach churned just thinking about it.

As the Captain led him in a new direction, he realized something...

"Captain? Where are we going?" He whispered.

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara continued to run, deliberately making her path easy to track. "We are driving them away from base." she answered calmly."We need to make them think we are running scared." The two began running up a subtle incline, barely noticeable for most. Samara swung the cache around, loosened the knot, and began to search the pack. It was somewhat difficult to do while maintaining her pace and balance. She pulled out a signal horn, tightened the knot, and swung back over her shoulder. As she ran she blew the horn in three long breaths every thirty seconds. The horn had been slightly cracked and the wide end had be slightly chipped.

The subtle incline soon to an obvious hill. The density of the forest only continued to intensify. While a final blasting of the horn, they had reached the summit. A small clear at the top of the hill with a small, unkempt campsite in it's center. "Keep watch on the enemy," She ordered as she finally opened the cache. A number of items spilled out: A leather quiver with ten arrows and a small short bow, a small metal case with medical herbs inside, another small metal case containing a flint and steel, a wooden spile, a small hatchet, a filled water skin, and pouch containing dried berries and nuts. The quiver had been somewhat crushed, but only two arrows had been snapped. She pull on the quiver, and began gathering kindling nearby. She starting a small fire easily with nearby twigs and sticks. With the hatchet she chopped a few large branches with loads of leaves and tossed them over the fire. The fire grew quite quickly and produced a large amount of smoke. "Erik, can you climb a tree?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik's head poured with sweat as they reached the clearing. He huffed and gasped and coughed to try and keep his airway clear while Samara got to work dumping the contents of the cache onto the ground. A whole lot of stuff poured out and she used some of it and the surroundings to make a fire and asked if he could climb a tree.

"I uh... I think so."

He looked around and found a tree with a low hanging branch and jogged over to it. Looking up, he took a deep breath and jumped to grab it with his right hand, keeping his left against his chest/stomach, and swung until he was able to swing his legs up and hook his knees over the next branch up. He used his right hand to support himself as he pushed his way awkwardly up into a seated position on the first branch. Quickly he reached up and grabbed the next branch and pulled himself into a standing position on the branch which he'd hooked his knees onto, and proceeded to climb higher until he was able to see a good portion of the forest from which they'd come. But the trees were thick and all he could make out were the waving leaves and branches.

He descended a few branches and was able to see quite a bit clearer. And he spied three enemies in the distance coming up the hill. The one in the rear had a rifle and the other two were using swords to hack the brush away.

"Three coming up the hill Captain! One's got a rifle!" He called.

He could swear he'd seen others before too. But he couldn't see them. Maybe they were taking a different route up?

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

"Climb higher and stay quiet and hidden. Do not move, no matter what happens." Samara gathered the herb case and the food pouch and the water skin. She tied the water skin and the pouch to her belt, and placed the herb case at the base of the quiver. She kicked up some dirt and used her hands to dirty her hair, face, and clothing. Then she pulled the bow of the the quiver, and nocked an arrow. She positioned herself behind a tree a ways away from Erik. After checking her flanks to get for enemies, and finding any she crouched down. She poked her head just slightly out to allow her to see the campsite. Silently, she raised the bow and took aim at the ridge line. She waited for the pursuers to come over the ridge, and listened closely to her surroundings.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik did as ordered, climbing higher into the tree and trying to stay as still and quiet as possible. But did this mean she was going to take them on her own? She'd need help eventually, right? Some of the lower branches looked well shielded by leaf cover. Maybe he could go down there? Just a few branches down. Not many. They wouldn't see him, right? And he'd be better able to help if needed.

He shook his head.

She said stay put, Erik. So stay put. He thought.

He looked down and saw the first of the enemies through the leaves. They wore dark green undershirts beneath their armor which, thankfully, was silver in color. Probably steel. Egruus had no shortage of that on his side. Their pants and boots looked brown, but not the same brown as the tree trunks so that wouldn't help them much if they came out into the open.

Erik noticed a warm sensation in his left arm. Something flowing? He glanced down and saw his binding had come loose allowing blood to drip down his arm and fingers. Quickly he brought the arm up and used his right hand and teeth to tighten it, stemming the flow once more. Doing so sent a wave of pain and nausea through his head though, as the taste of his blood through the fabric made him feel ill. Letting go and forcing everything down and back, Erik took several deep breaths to calm himself. He couldn't hurl here. That'd give him away and make things complicated for the Captain.

Slowly the enemies inched towards the ridge line. They kept low and in sight of each other using hand signals to communicate. The one with the rifle went wide left of Samara's position while the other two came up the middle and slowly poked their heads up high enough to examine the area.

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara's vision narrowed onto her prey. She drew back the strings of her bow slowly, and took aim at the soldiers observing the campsite. She waited a moment, for a clear shot to the throat, and the released he arrow. The arrow soared, but missed the throat, and instead hit the mans left shoulder. It looked like it was a bad injury, but not a kill shot. She crouched down and began to crawl to the left, her movement quick and quiet. She crept behind another tree, stood up, and nocked another arrow. She was about to take aim on the other soldier when she heard a commotion to her left. She turn her head to find the rifleman circling around the camp. She immediately changed her target to her left and fired an arrow into the mans right thigh, just barely missing the bone. It must have been painful, but not critical in any sense.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Erik remained up in his tree trying to stay as silent as he could. But it was hard. He wanted to shout their positions. But he didn't know of a way to do that. Was there a whistle or some other method to reach her and say where the enemies were? He only knew how to whistle for how many he'd seen.

And where were Riley and Bernard? It had been almost 10 minutes, and if the Captain's smoke signal was being seen then they should be here any minute!

Hang in there, Captain! He thought.

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

The rifleman noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He looked over to find Samara behind a tree in clear view, and looking out into the clear. The rifleman crept into range of his musket and began to take away, but as soon as he was ready to fire and arrow pierced his leg. It tore through his flesh, leaving the arrowhead poking slightly outside an exit wound on the back of his right thigh. He bit down and let out a deep grunt in pain, but recovering quickly. His musket now aimed directly at Samara. Gunfire echoed across the clearing.

Everything seemed to freeze in place for Samara. Her adrenaline prevented her from feeling the intense pain as a bullet broke through her skin of her chest. Instinctively her free hand covered the fresh wound and was immediately drenched with blood. Using her last last she ran into the clearing, dropping the bow. She didn't make it far into the clearing before she collapsed. She rolled onto her back and stared vacantly up into the sky. Her mouth a gape as if she were struggling to breath, but she deliberately made her breath long and slow. She knew she had to stay calm, but over time the pain grew more an more. She'd been in a lot of fights, gotten a lot of injuries, but this was by far the worst. Her head rolled the one side allowing her to watch as the armored men slowly approached her. They spoke, but their words were inaudible to Samara. Her eyes grew heavier, and she felt the pulled of slumber. Her death was imminent, and her hopes of survival were dying with every breath.

Samara slowly reached down to grasp her knife. Once she felt the warm wooden handle she pulled it up and brought it to her chest and let it rest there, her hand still holding on. As the men got closer her grip tightened."Come any closer and I'll bring you down, Capitol Scum." she threatened weakly. Her breath grew shorter, and she felt herself getting angry. Angry about how she allowed her enemies to best her. She refused to die without a fight.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

The men gathered around Samara with deep scowls and grit teeth while staying just outside her arm's reach.

"So what should we do with her?" Asked one.

"Doesn't matter, really. She's worm food when we're done." Said another.

Erik started panicking. She said not to come down no matter what. But he couldn't leave her there like that. And so, slowly, he started creeping down from the tree as quietly as he could.

Meanwhile, two more arrived and joined the others around Samara.

"I say we shoot her through both nips and see how long it takes for her to drown in her own blood."

"Nah. Too quick." Rebutted the first.

Erik touched down on the ground and started to sneak towards them.

"How about we tie up her arms and legs and pull in all directions until they all pop free of their sockets? That's always fun."

"Yeah... And the screaming's usually nice too."

Erik pulled out his hunting knife and froze when one looked like he was turning his head. But it was a false alarm. He only turned it far enough to look at one of his colleauges.

"Who's got the ropes?"

"Fuck the ropes. Let's just gut her and leave her. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too."

"You guys are seriously gonna leave a fun time like this to just die like that? C'mon. We deserve a bit of entertainment here."

Now!

Erik leaped onto the back of the closest one to him and immediately began stabbing him everywhere he could reach across his chest. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. Five times! The blood sprayed across his colleagues faces and caught them all off guard with the screaming. One of them tried to draw his sword, but he hacked his friend's side by mistake causing him to double over in pain gripping it to stop the bleeding. Another drew a weapon, but the blood in his eyes kept him from firing just yet.

The one in Erik's grip lost his strength to stand and slumped to the ground as Erik tried to make a dash for the one with the gun. If he could just get his hands on it. He could aim it at one of the others and then he could-

BANG!!

A body hit the ground... Erik's.

The bullet ripped clean through his left eye socket and out the back of his head leaving him twitching on the ground from residual nerve signals being misfired post-mortem. But he was already dead. He didn't even hear the sound of the gun.

"Fuck!!" The one who fired the gun exclaimed.

"Where the hell'd he come from?"

"He must have been hiding. The little coward."

"Hey. Help me get this blood off me!"

The men started helping each other clean up, and gathered around Samara once again.

"So now what?"

"I think-"

BANG!! BANG!!

Brain matter spraye through the air all around them as two bodies dropped. Bernard, Riley, and a host of other Revolutionaries stormed the clearing with weapons drawn and the two who'd fired their rifles already starting to reload at the rear.

"Shit!"

"RUN!!"

The two who remained bolted as fast as they could. But with one of them being the one Samara had shot in the leg with an arrow before, he could only hobble away as Riley and Bernard chased him down and started maiming him with all their collected rage. The others, meanwhile, gathered around Samara. One of which was the only genuine physician the Revolution had left, named Cristianna Mel.

"Captain! Just hold still. You'll be all right!" She assured Samara.

"Someone put pressure on that wound, immediately!" She ordered as she dug through her medical bag to find the items she needed to treat her.

Meanwhile, Riley and Bernard knelt by Erik's body, both with tears in their eyes. No words needed to be spoken as they closed Erik's eyes and placed their hands on his back.

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara felt her strength leaving her as the men the surrounded her began to decide what to do with her. Her anger had left with her strength. All she could manage to do was smile. “ Just unlucky.” She whispered to herself quietly. Then her acceptance of death vanished at the sight of Erik stabbing the the soldier. “No.” She tried to speak, but barely a sound came out. A tear formed in her eye and was released at the same moment that his body hit the ground. She stared at the corpse of Erik. Even when more gunshots rings out, her gaze did not shift. Another tear gently ran down the side of her face.

Her gaze forcefully broken when the medics pulled her over and began tending to her wounds. Samara gave a futile effort to resist, but the medics easily overpowered her. She looked up at Christiana, her eyes occasionally letting a tear fall from her face. The pull off slumber tugged once again, and Samara closed her eyes. She had no fight left, and soon fell to sleep.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

"How much is hers?"

"All of it."

"Fuck."

"Please don't use that language in my infirmary, sir."

"Ah. Sorry."

"Told you that temper of yours would get you in trouble some day."

"Not the time, Ogato."

"Gentlemen, please. You know I respect your authority. But this is my infirmary, and your voices may disturb the patients. So please, either state your business or leave."

Lieutenants Lee and Ogato shared a nod and gave Cristianna a bow and salute before exiting the infirmary tent.

She sighed softly before being approached by one of her assistants.

"Lady Cristianna? Is everything all right?"

"Yes. The Lieutenants just wanted to check on the Captain."

"I see."

"Any change?"

"No, my lady. She's breathing steadily and the stitching is holding strong."

"Perfect. The worst should be behind her now that the wound's been cleaned. You can take a break now if you'd like."

"No, thank you my lady."

Cristianna chuckled.

"The offer stands."

The two women shared a soft and quiet laugh before walking up to Samara's beside where Cristianna gently gripped her left hand and gave it a light shake.

"Captain? Can you hear me?"

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara remained still, fading in and out of consciousness. She heard very little of her superiors conversation, but when she felt the warm hand of Christianna her sense came back to her. “Where is Erik?” she asked with a soft voice. She examined her surroundings before focusing her eyes on her caretakers.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Cristianna took a breath.

"I'm sorry, Captain. Erik's gone. His body is set to be buried this evening. They're preparing it all now."

She put her hand on Samara's shoulder.

"You lost a lot of blood and you're in no condition to try getting up right now. So focus on resting now, Captain."

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara sank into her cot, feeling a sharp pain in he chest as she moved. Her hand rushed to the wound in reaction, but did nothing to ease the pain. She paused for a long moment before looking back at Chritianna. Samaras expression turned solemn, “Did the lieutenants need something from me?” She suppressed her emotions. This wasn’t the first time she’d lost an underling, but it was the most unexpected. Still she had her duty, and couldn’t let her grief have control.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Cristianna shook her head.

"They just wanted to check on your condition. Sorry if they were noisy."

Cristianna looked over to the side and then back to Samara.

"Would you like some water, Captain?"

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

“I would, yes.”

Samara sat up slowly , careful not to cause herself more pain.

“Will there be a service for Erik?”

Her voice was monotone and quiet. Her face was void of emotion, and her eyes were dull. She stared down at the end of the cot were her feet rest.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

"A small one, yes." She said softly while returning with a small wooden cup of water.

"We'll bury him on the hill outside camp at midnight."

After handing the water over she walked over to the entrance of the infirmary tent.

"If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to ring that bell on the end table there." She said, pointing to a small wooden end table to Samara's left side.

"Rest easy, Captain. We'll be sure to retrieve you before the service starts."

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara nodded in acknowledgment before she reached for the cup.

“Wait! When can I expect to be ready for combat?” She asked in a louder tone.

She gripped her cup tightly, causing a few drops to spill out. Her face reddened slightly and her shoulders tensed up. The pain from her injury worsened, but she ignored it.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Cristianna offered an apologetic smile.

"Unfortunately, you're not going to be ready for actual combat for at least two weeks in a best-case scenario. Potentially longer, depending on how well or poorly your rehab goes. Your muscles need that time to heal and rebuild, after all. And that doesn't happen overnight."

The assistant walked into the room.

"Pardon, lady Cristianna. But there's someone here to see you."

"Thank you."

The assistant left as Cristianna looked at Samara again.

"You should be well enough within the next two to three days to at least get back on your feet and resume your duties overseeing the training of recruits. But it'll be limited only to verbal training methods. If you try to get physically involved, even using only your good arm, it will create tension throughout your entire torso which will put unnecessary strain on the damaged area and slow your recovery. So no physical involvement. Doctor's orders." She said with a more playful smile.

"I'm pretty sure the Lieutenants would be willing to find some assistants for you to help demonstrate your lectures for the recruits. If you'd like, I can talk to them after this next meeting?"

Meekakitty

 

[Meekakitty]

Samara didn’t like the idea of needing help. She shook her head.

“No, that won’t be necessary, I can figure something out.”

She took a sip from her cup and placed it on the bedside table. With a short sigh, she slumped back down into a laying position.

“Wake me when it's time for the service.”

She closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing. Only a minute or two had passed before she had fallen asleep.

GojiBean