iKo99 & Kelewen

[Kelewen]

Edric had picked up the trail just outside Eastwood and followed the smaller footprints away from the town walls, thankful for the fresh spring snow that had blanketed the landscape during the night. He knew it would probably melt away in the afternoon sun, but it certainly made the job of tracking the thief much easier. With any luck, he would have her arrested and be claiming his reward before mid-day.

Lady Cristiana had placed a rather large bounty on the thief. Larger than a run-of-the-mill, every-day thief should have warranted, really. Maybe the girl had robbed some noble of some precious trinket, he thought. Not that it was his concern, really.

Edric paused his stride for a moment and listened. But he could only hear the sounds of a few birds chirping, so he continued walking, hand on the hilt of his sword. He was not sure how far of a head start the thief had and wanted to be ready should he run into her suddenly.

[iKo99]

Vena waded through the thick snow, the frozen water crunching underneath her boots. Her thin coat was wrapped tightly around her shivering frame as she fought the cold of winter. What a horrible day it was. Luckily for her, she had almost reached her little hut. It had once belonged to her grandfather who had built it himself. It was the hut she was raised in, and since her grandfather had passed away, same as her parents, she was now the only one living in there.

Stumbling through the snow, she finally reached her little wooden shelter, opening her screeching door and stepping into the warmth. Well, it was still cold but compared to the chilly wind outside this was much better. She sighed in relief and slid her bagpack off her shoulders and emptied its content on the table. Pieces of wooden branches, a couple of apples and a bit of dried fish.

Removing her jacket and pulling her boots off her bare feet, she sat down in front of the hearth and started making a fire.

Spoiler

Name: Vena
Age: 16
Background: Both her parents died when she was younger but luckily her grandfather raised her until he too passed away. That was when she was about the age of 14 and since neither the king nor anybody else cared about her she was left to lie on the street and survive by stealing.

Appearance:

[Kelewen]

The young swordsman was no skilled tracker and if it wasn't for the snow on top of the soft spring ground he'd never have a prayer of following the thief. So he studied the ground continuously as he went, afraid of losing the obvious trail.

He suddenly flinched, half drawing his sword, at a crashing noise as a tree branch with new spring foliage snapped under the weight of the wet snow. "Don't be a fool", he chastised himself quietly, sliding the sword back into it's sheath. He would never admit it, but Edric was nervous. While he didn't know that this thief was particularly dangerous, he'd never apprehended anyone single-handedly before, always having the safety and support of his brothers in the guard. And people not wanting to get caught could do reckless things.

The tracks led straight to a small hut. "Seems that she's home," he said aloud as he spotted the smoke coming from the small chimney. Boldly, he marched straight up to the door and pounded loudly.

[iKo99]

Having finished starting up the fire, Vena moved onto the kitchen to cut the fish into small pieces so she could cook it over the open flame. She hadn't eaten anything yet, so the hunger was gnawing at her tummy. Also having cut a few vegetables into small pieces, she added them to fish and waited patiently, thinking about what has happened today. It had been a very awkward day.

Ever since she stumbled over that particular conversation the day before yesterday, she had felt watched and exposed. By chance she had stumbled over two hooded figures in a dark alley, talking about a plot to overthrow the king when he was to pass through the town in a couple of days. Unfortunately for her she had been spotted in her attempt to get away and felt like being followed ever since. What should she do? She never wanted to get that piece of vital information, but it was too late now.

She sighed once more and was about to turn the fish when she suddenly heard loud knocks on the door. Never having had a visitor before, she jumped up in surprise, a quiet scream coming out of her mouth. Why would anybody visit her? This certainly had to be one of her pursuers, but why would he knock on the door? She had no idea but grabbed a long dagger that laid on the table and carefully crept towards the door, trying to see the visitor through one of the windows.

[Kelewen]

Edric barely heard the stifled cry, but it made him draw his sword in preparation for whatever was to come. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said loudly, certain the thief could hear him through the old rickety door. "But you are under arrest, by order of Lady Cristiana of Eastwood, for the crime of thievery."

He took a step back, waiting for some sort of response from within, but ready to kick the door in if the silence went on for more than a few seconds. Silently he cursed himself for not checking if there was a back door to this place that she could be sneaking out this very moment...

[iKo99]

What should she do? Once she was arrested she would certainly be punished for her crimes and perhaps even executed, or worse, sold into slavery. No, giving up was out of question, after having been able to survive for this long she and even managing to save up some money to maybe settle to a new town and start a business of sorts. After all she hadn't planned on living like this forever. So what should she do? Fight? Even though she would lose most likely? No. Her only option was to escape but she possessed neither the clothing nor enough food to survive for more than a day at most in the cold snow.

"Damn.." she mumbled and tightened her grip around the small blade. What to do, what to do? Finally, after a few moments of consideration she decided to take on her pursuer. If she was lucky she may be able to defeat him. Then she could grab his clothes and get the hell out of her. Yes, that was the only option. Having made up her mind, she cowered next to the door, ready to jump the moment the saw the intruder.

[Kelewen]

Still nothing...

Edric took a deep breath and kicked the wooden door. The old weathered wood splintered under the force, breaking off the small latch that held it shut. And it swung inward even harder than he had intended, banging against the wall. It was much darker inside than out and all he could make out was the flicker of a fire. So he held his sword defensively as he took a quick step inside, trying to make his eyes adjust quickly and not realizing his target was crouched just inches away.

[iKo99]

The door suddenly burst open and smashed against the opposite wall with a loud bang. The sudden noise almost scared Vena to death who was tense at the moment, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. But she managed to stay low, hidden right next to the door. The shuffling of clothes, as well as scraping of metal could be heard and the moment the saw the first piece of cloth walking through the door she darted forward, piercing her dagger towards the thigh in front of her, aiming to cripple the other person.

If she were to succeed it would certainly slow down the opponent which would give her at least some kind of advantage. The reason she didn't aim for a direct kill was because she expected him to guard his vital areas, such as face and neck, with his weapons.

[Kelewen]

As he stepped inside, a rush of motion to his right alerted him to the girl's whereabouts and he turned toward her just as she was plunging the dagger toward his thigh. In the relative darkness of the hut, he couldn't make out much more than a figure and the glint of metal. He threw himself back in attempt to avoid the blade, but not quite fast enough and felt it cut across the side of his leg, leaving a gash. He gritted his teeth in pain as he belatedly knocked her dagger away. "You think murder will carry a lighter sentence, girl?" he sneered, hoping his voice didn't hint at the pain in his leg.

Trying to not give her a chance at a second attack, he lunged forward, bringing his sword down in a hard beat, attempting to knock the dagger out of the thief's hand.

[iKo99]

"Damn it." Vena cursed and jumped backward. Her attack hadn't been quite as successful as she had hoped it to be. In fact, it only left a rather small gash on the stranger's thigh. While stepping backwards, her bare feet dancing around the table, she made sure to never let the intruder out of her eyes. "Who said anything about killing? I wouldn't want to kill you..." she replied as she waited to see how the man would react. He wasn't as old as she had expected, guessing him to be only a few years older than herself. In his twenties maybe?

She opened her mouth to ask him another question but was interrupted as he jumped forward and brought down his sword. Luckily she just managed to jump out of the way before the blade could hit her. "Who are you?" she called out, rolling over the floor and jumping up again.