Walker, Sandpoint Ranger
Book One
A man runs into the tavern yelling, "Goblin attack! Goblin attack!!"
Quickly the people jump from their seats (except for the town drunk who still sits slumped on a bench). Another man still sits in his stool at the counter. He takes one last draw of his drink then slowly rises to a stand. Panic is ensuing as some run to find their families, others check their guns and prepare for a fight. The man who stood from his stool raises some suspicion--but not much considering. He's a foreigner. Most likely just passing through. There is a shotgun strapped to his back, a pair of knifes on his right hip and a sword on his left. The barkeep bellows to the stranger, "You're not obligated to help us, stranger, but I'll give you drinks on the house if you will help protect my tavern."
The man picks up his hat from the bar and places it on his head. "I'll take you up on that offer."
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There was one lone girl, sitting in an isolated corner, watching the tavern with interest. It was entertaining seeing everybody get worked up over a goblin attack. She had faced far worst and come out alive. There was a katana leaning against the wall beside her, and a fan sitting on the table in front of her. Her eyes were on the man that had just stood up. She eyed him with interest.
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The man walks toward the front of the store. As he does so he turns his head to the left so can see out the window and down the street. Most goblins only grow to about two and a half--three feet tall. He can see upwards of twenty swarming across the street. Several--he assumes--are already pillaging stores and houses. Screams from women and children can be heard among shouts and shots from men and their guns. The man continues toward the door--spurs clicking on the floor with each step. He pulls the shotgun from off of his back with his right arm and opens one of the two swinging doors with the other. He stops there and turns his head to nod at the girl who was watching him before he steps outside.
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Feeling intrigued, she stands and follows him, grabbing her fan and her katana as she went. She looked down the road, and sighed. There sure were a lot of goblins. She walked toward the hoard, ignoring some of the calls she was getting. She flipped open her fan, and throwing it like a boomerang, she hit one and caught her fan as it came back. The blades on it was dripping blood and she flipped it close. She glanced around, looking for the man she was following.
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The man just barely saw something flash by his out of the corner of his eye--but he definitely saw the decapitated goblin fall to the ground and something fly back to his left. He turned to find the source, but all he could see was the young girl from the tavern. The man closed his eyes and exhaled. He would have to figure this mystery out later, now there were goblins to kill. He quickly opened his eyes and swung the shotgun around dispatching a goblin who had crept over and around another building. I always forget how good they are at climbing. Then he turned the gun back toward the main group and fired twice more--both shots hit, dead on.
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The girl just stood there, watching the goblins, and upon hearing the shotgun, she saw two goblins fall down dead. She smirked and sighed. This was so troublesome. She started walking toward the goblins, unsheathing her katana as she went. She stopped a few feet from the advancing goblins and watched them approach closer. A smile spread across her face and she ran right into the middle of the goblins. There were a few thuds and a cry of pain from the girl. She managed to roll out of the goblins and looked down at her arm, there was a gash that ran from her shoulder to her elbow. She looked up at the goblins and narrowed her eyes.
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This was starting to become less work than it was worth. Gunpowder costs money and he didn't want to just sit by the tavern--it had been too long since he had gotten any action. That was when he heard the cry. He quickly looked and saw the small girl by the swarm of goblins. How'd she get way over there! He sprinted toward the goblins, unsheathing his rapier as he went. In one quick, fluid motion he slashed across two goblins and through another. He swiftly withdrew his blade and danced around them so that he could stand in between the, now smaller, swarm and the girl. One of the goblins stopped to lift a strange horn to his mouth, and then he blew. The note was a low moaning one. It carried far enough. The man could hear a great bellowing cry behind him and before long, a heavy pounding shook the ground. The goblins scattered as the noise grew near. The man quickly turned and what awaited his him caused his eyes to widen--three massive trolls lumbered toward him and the girl. On each rode a goblin with a spear.
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The girl saw the goblins riding the trolls and her eyes widened. Well, this was a surprise.
"Looks like we have our work cut out for us, huh?" she asked, looking sideways at the man.
She smiled as she stood up and pulled her bladed fan from her pocket. If she threw it hard enough, she may be able to get one of the goblins riding the troll. Her throbbed with pain, but she ignored it. She drew her arm back and let the fan go with all her strength. It flew for a few feet then it came back. She caught it and sighed. Guess she will have to take care of them the old-fashioned way. She flipped her fan shut and took off toward the goblins and trolls. She knew she was being reckless, but she didn't care right at that moment.
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The man was slow to recover from his shock. Was it the trolls that shocked him? No, they only irritated him. It was the girl and her fan. He suddenly understood what he had seen earlier--and yet, it didn't make any sense. This small girl had that kind of strength and power--and look! Now she rushes toward the trolls taking no wind of caution.
Suddenly, he snaps out of his distraction and creates a new logic. The girl must be blind with rage, perhaps she lost her father to goblins. The man releases a sudden burst of speed and sprints after the girl. Got to get her before they can. It's mere seconds before he realizes that he won't reach her in time.
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As she got closer, she stopped again and flipped open her fan, she should be close enough to hit at least one goblin. She drew back her arm and let the fan go. It sailed throw the air and decapitated a goblin. She smiled in satisfaction as her fan came back to her. She flipped it shut, ignoring the goblin blood dripping. She raced toward one the troll that had lost it rider and jumped up on it. She stabbed it in the back of the neck and managed to sink her katana deep into his neck. The troll reached up to swat her off him, and she pulled her katana out of his neck and managed to cut a couple of his fingers off. The troll howled in pain and anger and managed to swat her off him. She fell to the ground with a loud thud.
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When the girl stopped to throw her fan, the man almost had enough time to reach her. However, just as he braced to grab her she raced off again. It was only then that the truth dawned on him. This is no ordinary girl. She's like an Injun warrior! This meant he could concentrate on the fight. He narrowly dodged being trampled by one of the trolls and quickly pulled his shotgun from off of back. Without aiming, he fired two shots at the far troll's knee with the hope of falling it like a tree. Meanwhile, the third goblin led his troll to aid the first. He attempted to get close enough to jab with his spear.
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She stood up, wincing. She wasn't hurt to badly, but she wasn't about to let the troll off the hook. She ran toward the one she injured and jumped on his back again. With all her strength, she stabbed him in the back where she thought his spinal cord would be. She managed to sever his spinal cord and jumped off him before he hit the ground. The ground shook at he fell and she turned her attention to another goblin ridden troll. She ran toward the troll and dodged his feet as he tried to trample her. She was small, so it was easy to avoid his feet. She rolled under him and ended up behind him. She jumped onto the trolls back and stabbed the goblin from behind, then she stabbed the troll in the back of the head. As the troll fell forward, she jumped off, but she sprained her ankle in the process. She winced as she fell to one knee.
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The man was not willing to take a shot at the one troll with the girl running around it. He simply watched as she successfully and gracefully took it down. All that was left was the one who's knee he blew off. The goblin from that troll gave up his wounded mount and charged the now wounded girl. The man barely had to aim to take it out. He then walked over to the wounded troll who was still trying unsuccessfully to stand. A well-aimed blow with his rapier ended its misery. He then returned to the girl and knelt down beside her. "May I see it?" he asked, referring to her ankle, "I know how to care for injuries."
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She scooted away from him, narrowing her eyes at him. He was a stranger, so she didn't trust him.
"I can take care of it myself," she answered.
She turned away from him and tried to get up, but she fell down again when pressure was applied to her foot. She sighed as she sat there cradling her ankle. Her arm was starting to hurt, too. She looked down at the wound and sighed again. That looked pretty bad, too.
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The man reached into the pouch that rested on his hip and pulled out a roll of bandage. He then opened a small pocket that was sown into the holster strap of his shotgun and pulled out a vial. The glass vial was about the size of a larger shot glass. "I understand that you might be wary of me. We've never met. But I have seen many wounds in my day and I know that your arm is a serious one. You need to stop the blood flow or you could potentially die. This liquid, when poured over open wounds, helps the wound to heal better. It works even better than throwing dirt on it. If you'd like I can let you use it and the bandages. If you won't let me help then this would be the least I could do."
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She continued to eye him suspiciously, then she looked down at her arm. She knew he was right and it felt like her pride was being crushed.
"Please help me," she whispered.
There was a part of her that hoped he didn't hear her, then there was the even bigger part that hoped he had. She glanced up at him and looked away again, blushing. She felt so stupid sitting here, unable to move.
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He moved to her side and asked her to hold out her arm. He ripped off a portion on the bandage and used it to soak up the blood. Then he picked up the vial. "This will hurt," he said as he pulled the stopper and lifted the vial over her arm, "but it is necessary." Slowly and carefully he poured the precious liquid over the wound, starting at the shoulder and working his way down. He kept a straight face as she cringed from the sharp pain. Then he quickly--but staying just as careful--began to wrap the clothe bandage tightly around her arm. Once he reached the end of the wound he wrapped back up toward the top and tightly tied it just below her shoulder. "This is to cut off the blood flow," he explained. It was mainly just to break the silence.
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"Thank you," she said, looking down at her arm. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes roved over his body, but she didn't see any injuries.
"It's all my fault," she whispered. "I always get injured."
She tried to stand, but just fell down. She looked up at the man, not wanting to ask for anymore help. She sighed and resigned herself to asking for help.
"Will you please help me back to the tavern?" she asked.
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He eyed her with interest. "It would be my honor," he replied as he stood and lowered his hand to help her rise, "You fight very well."
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She took his hand, feeling very awkward. "I'm not as good as my father. He was the one who taught me to fight. What you saw is what my father taught me."
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He helped her to her feet, "I'm going to put my arm under yours and you need to put your arm around my shoulder." He waited for her to nod and then slipped his arm behind her back so he could help support her. "Your father sounds like he was a very great man. If his daughter is any comparison than he may be they greatest fighter I have ever heard tale." He looked at her, "Will you be able to walk like this?"
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She nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"My father was a great man. He raised me all by himself after my mom died giving birth to me. He never blamed me for her death, even if it was somewhat my fault. But, everything I know about fighting, I learned from him."
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"I see," he started. "Well then, shall we?" He motioned back toward the tavern.
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She nodded as she put one foot out, and with the support of the man she just met, walked/limped back to the tavern.