Vengeful strikes {Tetrosabier, Artemis, and Rayne}

Tetrosabier stomped down the street, mumbling furiously to himself.  I sit out in the woods for 5 days, looking for them,  and find nothing.  That old man lied  He turned a corner, moving quickly down the alleyway.  Pushing the grouping of players out of his way,  he made his way towards a run-down looking shop.  Throwing open the swollen wooden door, he stomped inside.

"They weren't there old man."  Knocking several displays over on the way to the front desk.  The old-looking NPC looked at the intruder and smiled

"What can I get for you today," he said calmly,  his old gravely voice grated on Tetrosabiers ears.

"The location of the two trolls you promised me a reward for," Tetrosabier said, through gritted teeth.  He was losing his patience.  He needed the circuit board that this man had promised him.  It was the latest component to fix his jetpack.

"Oh yes!" The old man exclaimed.  "Where have you been for the last week?  Someone else completed that bounty a couple of days ago."  Tetrosabier couldn't believe his ears.  A couple of days!

"WHAT!?" He shouted in disbelief.  "WHO!?" He yelled, throwing his fist down onto the counter, knocking over the items set out on display.  He was now royally pissed.  He took the hunt very seriously.  He had even posted on the board of hunters that this hunt was his.  Some idiot was STUPID enough to steal my hunt.

"Oh yeah, you just missed her,  it was this orc lady.  She came in and asked about open bounties.  You had been missing for a weed almost so I told her that it was open."  The man chatted slowly as he set back up the bottles back on display.  Throwing away a cracked bottle leaking an orangish substance.  

Tetrosabier grunted in frustration as he turned around, making his way back out the door.  His eyes a deep crimson red,  he looked around for any orcs.  He glanced down the alleyway he had entered from to see a female orc, pulling herself off the ground and helping up the rest of the group Tetrosabier had knocked down.  He stomped into the alleyway, glaring at the players.  The older of the four players looked into his eyes, a sudden horrified look rushing onto her face.  Running away all you heard was the terrified screams of someone who had seen something that had truly terrified them.  Watching their teammate run,  the two players that seemed to be accompanying the first chased after them.  The orc stood there, confused.  

Tetrosabier stood in the opening to the alleyway.  Slipping on his ring as a precaution,  he shouted to the orc, "WAS IT YOU?"

Turning around surprisedly,  Artemis came face to face with the large 7'9" figure,  his figure obscured mostly by the shadows.  Glowing red eyes almost seemed to peer from the darkness.  The blue glow of his jetpack illuminating the walls behind him.  He reached for his weapon and unclipped it.  The cold steel instantly coming to life in his hands.  A faint orange glow formed around numerous points of the weapon.  Holding it in one hand,  the orange light making the formal wear barely visible.  Pausing for a moment he waited for a response.

"WAS IT YOU WHO KILLED MY FUCKING BOUNTY?"

    At this point, however, he wasn't listening.  He didn't even know it,  but he was beyond listening.

    He paused for a moment to think to himself.  I might be able to solve this without any violence...  I would rather not have the guards on my ass.

"Give me the circuit board," he said, his voice dripping with anger.  He held tightly onto his weapon.  Obvioesly since this orc killed two trolls by themselves,  this could be a fun fight.  "I will kill you for it."  Tetrosabier started the boot-up process for his sword.  

The blade erupted as electricity surged from one contact to another.  The high pressurized air erupted from the middle of each contact, sending the newly created plasma outwards from the hilt.  The ark of the plasma didn't reach far until a beam of iron launched out of the hilt allowing the blade to reach the end of the rod.  The now 6-foot blade made of light reached from one wall of the alley to the other.  I'm going to be at a disadvantage,  with a blade this long.  All the more fun.  He twirled the blade around,  attempting to intimidate her. He aimed the blade towards the target and charged.

Talking to the group around her, Artemis questioned them on the uses of circuit boards in this game.  They seemed to know and were making offers on it, but Artemis knew that that meant it had value.  She kept driving up the price to insane numbers, hopefully getting them to stop trying to buy it.  The group seemed to be working together to try getting her to let go of this item.  Setting the price low and "arguing" over it, raising the price slowly.  The conversation got so in-depth that no one was paying attention to the tall lanky figure, furiously pushing past them.  As they all slowly made their way back to their feet, Artemis popped up.  Looking downwards, she noticed the gang slowly arising.  She walked over to the first person.  Helping them onto their feet, Artemis glanced over to see the quick flash of blue feathers.  Disregarding them she looked towards the group.  Slowly helping them up, not in any rush.

    The figure returned as she was helping up the last person.  He glared down the alley as a dark chill swept over the surroundings.   His dark red eyes the only visible things in the shadows of the building.  The older of the gang panicked and fled, their party following suit.  Artemis stared off at them, confused as to where they were going.

    "WAS IT YOU?"  She turned quickly, confused.  He meant business and having never met this stranger she didn't know why.  She started putting the board away as he reiterated his question.  

    "Was it me who did what?"

    "WAS IT YOU WHO KILLED MY FUCKING BOUNTY?"

    "Oh yeah, you mean the two trolls?" She chuckled nervously,  not being able to read his reaction made it difficult to talk.  "Yeah, I did that.  Killing those trolls were so easy!" She lied through her teeth.  She didn't know how strong this man was and didn't want to risk combat.

    "Give me the circuit board,  I don't want to kill you for it,"  he said.  The weapon in his hands said otherwise.  Taking off her mace she readied for any attack.

    "Why do you want it?" She asked him.  Not hearing her,  the birdman charged forwards, the blade of light crackling in his fingers.  The arks of electricity jumped from the blade, searing the walls.  His red eyes piercing through her very being.  She stood petrified in place.

    Realizing the blade drew near to her she stepped to the side.  The narrow alleyway restricting her bulky self.  The blade of light sliced through her flesh like a hot knife through butter.  The searing pain ripping her arm.  She gasped as the shock flew through her body.  She didn't know what he just did, but she definitely couldn't survive another hit like that.  Glancing down at her arm,  she was confused to see the cauterized wound was bigger than she thought.  Her arm dangled limply at her side,  barely attached to her arm.  She was terrified.  A light blow nearly took her arm off!  She took off running in the opposite direction of her attacker.  Activating Acrobatics she rushed out of the alley

After the mission with Artemis, Rayne was looking forward to taking some down time to relax. It wasn't the trolls so much, though they had been tough enough in their own right to drive anyone to need a vacation. It was also however her companion for the endeavor whom had somehow simply... drained her by her mere presence. That long walk back to this settlement had been nearly as much work as killing the trolls had been. She never would have said it to Artemis, but she was glad when the two of them had parted ways after receiving the reward.

Which is why she was surprised to see the woman again so quickly. Artemis was standing in an alleyway, and then suddenly running toward her as if her life depended on it. Rayne instantly drew her two weapons, the feel of their grips in her hands made her feel instantly more secure and she looked for the source of Artemis' obvious fear.

All she saw was a huge bird-man standing there with some sort of strange weapon the likes of which she'd never seen.

It was enough for her to hard-set a frown on her face and her stormy-gray eyes to narrow on his figure. She might not be overly fond of Artemis, but she'd saved the other woman's life and she wasn't inclined to stand by and let someone terrify the other woman now. "Hey there Artemis. Everything alright?" She put herself between the woman and the man with his strange weapon. Everything was not, she could see that Artemis was already wounded. She smiled a slow strange and not very pleasant smile. "This guy wouldn't be bothering you would he?"

Oops.  Tetrosabier hadn't meant to actually hit her.  His weapon was meant to glance off the wall next to her, allowing him to get behind her with the charge.  He turned to pursue Artemis as she dived behind the building, only to find another woman,  clearly braver than the orc.

She glanced over her shoulder towards Artemis.  "Hey there Artemis. Everything alright?"  Tetrosabier glared towards the woman who intercepted between him and his prize.  She looked at the cut on Artemis's arm and back towards Tetrosabier.   He was already prepared for a fight.  He pulled his sword upwards to her eye level,  which ended up somewhere near his chest.  His red eyes faded to a pinkish green.  He wasn't sure who this stranger was,  but she obviously knew Artemis,  and if she was going to interfere,  he would kill her himself.  As her lips curled upwards into a sinister looking smile she said, "this guy wouldn't be bothering you would he?"

"This has nothing to do with you,  leave if you know what's best for you."  He leapt into the air, activating his fly feat and rocketing above the buildings and landing behind Artemis,  pinning her between himself and the newcomer.  He brought his sword up and slashed downwards,  the plasma on his blade poping and fizzing as the air flew through it.  His slash flying into the wall of the building, lighting the bricks on fire temporarily.  Tetrosabier yanked at his sword as it slipped out of the burning hole.

He looked towards the intruder and gave her a glare,  his eyes returning to the deep, glowing, crimson red.  He scanned her up and down, with his eyes locking onto her guns.  Those, will hurt.

"Don't even try it," he threatened, bringing his weapon closer to his face as he turned to face Artemis once more.

Watching Rayne step in made Artemis feel terrible.  Not only had Rayne saved her ass in the forest, but now she was doing it again.  Artemis felt her cheeks warm as she blushed.  She watched as Rayne force herself between Artemis and the bird.  She watched as the bird leapt for into the air,  his large body landing behind her with a heavy thud.  She turned around to watch the bird slash downwards,  sending her flying back to evade the attack.  She looked upwards to see the hole that was burned into the wall.  She gulped.  She was scared,  this man sliced through a brick wall almost like it was nothing.  

"Don't even try it,"  She was pissed now. No one threatens her friends- wait, are they technically friends?- oh well,  no one threatens her acquaintances and gets away with it.  She stood and tried to raise her mace, but couldn't.  She glanced at the damaged arm to find it lying on the floor.  

Jumping around like that,  the loose skin holding it in place must have snapped off.  She ignored it,  swinging it up towards his stomach as he turned to face her.  Attempting to cast one handed, however did not work.  The average sized mace swung upwards, pathetically.

"Don't even try it."

Was he... Was he talking to her?!? Rayne felt her blood beginning to boil and took a second to try and control the urge to just shoot him in the face right then and there. She suspected that the man was the reason that Artemis' arm was now on the ground but she didn't have any proof.

Not until he swung a second time and that strange weapon of his went arcing through stone like it was warm butter rather than rock. It didn't frighten her to see the weapon go through the building so easily. This was a game after all and there were all sorts of things that she'd never seen before. This probably wouldn't be the last unmentionablely unkindly (in her head) named man she met wielding something that he probably shouldn't.

"Oh, I'm about to do more than try it bub."

That was all the warning he got before she fired twice right where the academy trained her to aim. Mid-center mass. Good luck dodging two bullets in close proximity with a mass that big! She didn't bother waiting to see however, putting one of her weapons in its handy holster and using that now-free hand to grab Artemis, pull her back and growled at him. "Even if you kill her I'll PK your ass so fast your tail feathers'll feel it in the morning."

As Tetrosabier turned to the orc a mace pitifully came up to meet him a bit far south for comfort.  Stumbling back, he turned towards Rayne.  He hoped keeping himself covered would keep her from hitting him again.  Noticing the two barrels pointed to his chest, all he had time to say was

"Oh, shi-"  The bullets collided into his chest, one quickly followed by another.  The force of the shots sending him sprawling.  He quickly covered the wounds, applying pressure to the wounds to stop the bleeding.  He glanced up towards the duo to watch Rayne grab Artemis and look back towards him.

"Even if you kill her I'll PK your ass so fast your tail feathers'll feel it in the morning.  He sighed.  He was slightly tired of people replacing human parts in expressions with bird parts.  Looking back towards the arm lying on the ground,  he spotted what was lying in the hand.   He stood up and reached into the holes in his chest, wincing he plunged his fingers into his chest.  His high pain tolerance allowed him to do it with minimal wincing. The bullets were deep and difficult to get out, but soon he had both the bullets in his hand.  He opened his inventory, searching for healing potion.  Throwing he potion down his throat, he bent over to pick up the lifeless arm.  Examining it he pulled the circuit board out of the hand and threw the rest to the duo.  

"Well thank you." he said, inspecting the circuit board to make sure no damage had come to it.  "It was a pleasure doing business with you."  His eyes faded back to their normal shade of green as he turned on heel to walk away.  As he walked away he spoke loudly so the pair of them could hear him well,  "Your lucky your friend stepped in to stop the fight.  It would have been-" he paused for effect, "-unfortunate if I had to kill you." He went back to full stride.  He smirked to himself as he suddenly dissapeared into the crowd that had recently formed.  Having the component to fix his jet pack fully was all he came for...

But he had gotten a lot more than he had bargained for... Two foes.

---Fin