Half their number felled with only one bloodletting to their name, the resolve of the bandits is wavering. A wordless snarl from their leader keeps them in line for now. Their initial apprehension disappears, although they clearly doubt their victory.
At the gate, one of the surviving bandits steps behind Berrin, occupied by killing his comrade, and slashes with his sword. The bandit's blow is accurate at the cost of power, the tip running along Berrin's back without penetrating deeply. He lets out a little laugh, clearly unaware of the reckoning at his own back.
The bandit inside the courtyard slashes at Verik, hoping to cut into his unarmored flesh. Verik's training, hard earned after Knesh's sacrifice, brings his shield up by reflex, warding the sword out of the way.
Jemini leaps through the flickering flames before her, the corpse of the fallen bandit licking at her feet. "Tandlara! See if you can get this fire under control!" She takes one more long step then jumps from the palisade reaching little more than a few feet . Heedless of the bandit immediately next to her she rushes onwards to get next to the bandit leader .
"Mercy is no more! Your depravity ends! here!" With the emphasis on these last two words Jemini's sword glows a fervent silver as holy power manifests within it - its path leaves faint afterimages as if many spirits and their ethereal weapons echo the same attack at varying speeds. The blade cleaves true, razing through the man who's face becomes a rictus O of surprise.
Jemini appears through the flames as if Sarenrae herself was sending down an avenging angel to smite the wicked. Flames that would normally scorch her instead part as she passes through, following her as she runs to carry out the judgment of the cruel bandit leader.
The bandit sees Jemini as she passes, striking out vainly with his longsword at her. It whips through thin air, missing as easily as if she were wearing armor.
Jemini strikes down the leader of the bandits, driving her blade deep into his body. It erupts in flames, immolated completely in the flash of an eye, leaving behind only his armor and scorched body.
The rage leaves Tandlara's face as she sees the bandit's body begin to be consumed. [i]This fire is more dangerous than those men. With a worried look she turns and leaps of the wall, landing with some grace she moves along behind the guest house and into the courtyard calling 'Oleg!? Svetlana!?' She wants to make sure their okay before moving to stop the fire.
"That is definitely the plan, cousin!" Hearing Verik's call, Taisper darts around behind the bandit while he's distracted, speaking clearly and softly to himself as he moves:
"Keeper
I your humble servant
Ask for your Divine Justice
To guide my swing"
Coming into position, his arm already moving as he arrives, he grunts softly as his morningstar connects with the bandit's head, tearing off a big chunk of scalp and quite nearly caving the man's head in, but not quite bringing him down.
"Hey Verik!" he says cheerily, "You know you get downright fierce in a fight! If I was this cur, right here, I'd be terrified. In fact, I'm even kinda scared of you right now!"
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Verik blinks in surprise as, Taisper's blow sends the bandit's head snapping towards him, noticing a nasty gash just below their foe's eye in addition to the damage inflicted by his cousin. He glances at the head of his weapon and feels at once elated and sickened as he sees blood there.
"Well done cousin!" He calls excitedly, "Ha, that'll show you I'm not chubby, I'm compact! Just like your skull's going to be in a few seconds." He snaps at the bandit.
Seeing what can best be described as an avenging angel burst out of the flames and disintigrate the bandit leader in front of him takes Berrin back for a moment. 'Glad she's on my side.' He can't help but stop and stare for a moment at her terrifying beuty.
Glancing back he notices the bandit at his back, spinning on his heal he brings his sword down toward his neck. , Catching the bandit high on the shoulder Berrin severs tendon and bone, sendig a spurt of blood high into the air as he yanks his sword from the wound.
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With a grunt of effort Verik rushes in his shield meeting the bandit's blade as he brings his morningstar hurtling in low aiming for the gut. But the blow upon his shield unbalances him and instead of striking down his foe he barely manages to keep his feet.
Staggering back he shoots Taisper an apologetic glance, feeling slightly guilty as he realizes he is relieved not to have taken a man's life; and finds himself hoping Taisper is the one to land the final blow.
"Apparently I should have trained a little longer." He calls ruefully to his cousin.
Now with a clear vantage point from his post on the roof, Zander takes aim on the remaining bandit by the gate and fires off another volley of shots.
Hit in the back with the arrow, the bandit lets out a yelp and falls to the ground. From his rooftop perch, Zander surveys the battlefield.
'Only one bandit left... This fire is everywhere... There must be something to be done about it...'
The sole remaining bandit weighs his options, seeing his allies fallen around him and none of his enemies down. He drops his sword, rapidly begging for mercy. "I surrender please don't kill me the Stag Lord has my family I didn't know anyone would be in here please have mercy I am repentant please oh please I'm going to be a father soon I don't want to die."
He would say anything at this point to not get executed.
The fire is spreading somewhat quickly over the wood, although it has gone out at some points on the grass and gravel. Smoke is pouring out of Svetlana and Oleg's house. She shrieks in fear, shouting, "Help! Help!" Oleg coughs and shouts as well, "The entrance is blocked!"
Zander looks down at the wounded bandit skeptically before his attention is drawn away by the screams coming from Oleg's house.
'No... Can't let them burn... Must do something...'
Jemini is not taken in by the stammering whimpers of the remaining bandit.
But she's not entirely unkind, "You! Bandit! Your pithy lies will not save you now. What little mercy I will offer you, is the chance to clear some of the tarnish your soul is stained with. This place is on fire! Oleg and Svetlana are trapped! Help us save this place - and I promise you a swift death and at least a somewhat kinder reception on the other side."
Jemini then nods to Zander, noticing how his arrow is already cocked in his bow; she hopes that the message to both Zander and the bandit is clear: should the bandit make one foul move, he'll find death swiftly.
EDIT:
Jemini follows up by entering back into Oleg's - making her way to the stable to start putting out the little fires before they can grow.
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Verik gives the paladin an exasperated look, "Thats a stu... I don't think that is wise lady Jemini, he's already proved himself to be a murderous untrustworthy liar. His repentance is about as convincing as a Chelish Saint. We should either kill him now or knock him out - and kill him properly later. We can't afford to be watching him right now."
Zander sees Jemini's look and the unspoken order, but Svetlana's screams are more urgent to him at this moment than whether a half-dead bandit comes to justice. Moving to the edge of the roof, Zander climbs down and makes his way over to assist Tandlara, keeping a wide berth between himself and the burning bench.
In abject terror, the bandit joins the efforts to put out the fire, batting furiously at the burning table in front of him.
Taisper remains where he is, listening to the yelling around him. He smiles. The bandit's pleas appear utterly unmoving to him. The head of his morningstar still glows with a faint golden halo. "Hah. You know, walking dead man, you remind me a bit of my uncle Tipsy Stozs back in Alkenstar. Doesn't he just, Verik? Uncle Tipsy, he was walking home and came across some kids and an old dog. He asked what they were doing, and a boy said 'We all want to take this stray home, and we're having a lying contest to see who gets him. Biggest lie wins.' So Uncle Tipsy, he says 'You can't do that! Lying is a transgression! Would the Keeper lie? No! I personally have never lied in my life!' And so the kid sighs and he says. 'Alright mister, you can have the dog.'"
Taisper then quietly asks "Hey walking dead man, here's a riddle. How many vaults is the Keeper watching?" With a mighty swing, he clubs the bandit in the temple, killing him instantly. "You're about to find out."
Having seen the water in the storage area while atop the roof, Zander yells out to his fellows, "Get to the storage shed! There's water there!" His concerns are more immediate though - Oleg and Svetlana will not burn.
The bandit having been dispatched, Taisper immediately dives in to help with the fire.
Taisper sprints across the courtyard, dropping his shield as he runs and sheathing his morningstar. He pauses only long enough to ensure the windows are shattered completely, then runs to the storage shed as Zander suggested.
"Form a bucket line!" He yells. He fills a bucket and hustles to the nearest window, trying to extinguish the flames. "Oleg! Svetlana! It's Taisper, hey can you hear me? Can you make it to the Southwest window?"
Tandlara runs for the water barrel and fills a bucket. She then runs it outside the shed, and leaves it on the gorund running back to fill another.
'Taispar's right! Line up! We need to fight the fire back enough to get them out of the window!'
"Zander! C'mon, friend, help with the buckets. We'll get 'em out by the window, here."
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Verik, dropping his weapon and shield, rushes over to Tandalar and begins shuttling the buckets back and forth to Taisper, moving at an astonishing pace. Panting heavily his companions can see that the young priest has hardly any spare meat upon his boxy frame, and indeed that he has a rather impressive crop of blond chest hair.
"Anyone heard from Oleg, or Svetlana yet?" He wheezes as he works.
Jemini nods to Taisper. A grim deed; but his sentence was only half an hour away anyway. Nonetheless, she had given her word... "Sarenrae - Our Lady Fire - I thank thee for coming to our aid in this combat, and although our battle is not yet done, your guidance will see us through. Sarenrae - Our Lady Redemption - please look upon the soul that journeys towards you now, and judge him against what sincerity he felt in his last seconds in this world."
Taisper smiles pleasantly at Jemini and nods politely, happy to contribute positively to his team.
"Nah, Verik we haven't heard anything. Here, hang on." Gripping his golden key, Taisper invokes the power of the divine on the end of his weapon, causing it to radiate bright light.
"Keeper
Let your wisdom
Illuminate the way
For the Civilized Innocent"
He walks to the window and shatters out whatever is left of the glass and window frame.
"OLEG! SVETLANA! Can you see the light? Look for the bright light! That's us!"
Hurrying up with a bucket Verik grumbles, "Cobblehoof's cry only Taisper would feel telling people in danger of burning to death in a flaming house to go towards the light."
Hearing his always-wiser cousin, Taisper smacks his forehead with the palm of his free hand. "Oh. Yeah. OLEG! SVETLANA! Look for the it's-not-firelight bright light! Don't walk into firelight that'd be worse."
Grinning at Verik he adds. "Thanks, cousin! Keeper's keys I'm so glad you're here."
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Verik lets out a heartfelt sigh of exasperation, "Just say dayli - nevermind. If anyone's going in I'm going with them, I can keep us healed if we get burnt and help Oleg and Svetlana if they are injured - besides we might need to drag them out."
He waits to see which path, door or window is opened first.
"Berrin! Get back here and help with the bucketline!" Jemini, having spend a while clearing the fire at the entrance of the stable, rushes inside the stable; trying to keep her voice soothing and calm as she coos at the panicky horse inside. She makes her way to the fire inside that is steadily eating its way along the wood. "Sarenrae be praised that it did not directly ignite the hay..." she mutters as she pulls away the immediately threatened flammables from the fireherd. She proceeds to take time to stifle the fire with a sack she found at the stable's entrance.
The doorway is jammed, possibly from a fallen timber inside. The Brevoyan habit of building everything out of lumber means that it is quite literally a tinderbox.
There is no motion or noise besides the crackling fire from inside the house. Peeking in the windows, Oleg and Svetlana are lying at the back of the entry hall. Oleg appears to be shielding his wife with his body.
Berrin sprints up and joins the bucket line, bridging the gap between Jenini and Tandlara. Listening to the yapping of the two Adabarians as they all work toward getting to the trapped couple.
"Quit your yappin' and get in there!" he shouts at Taispar. "If you wont, I will!"
"Haaaha! Yes sir! Come on, cousin, let's go get 'em!" With that, Taisper climbs into the window and starts crawling along the floor to Oleg and Svetlana, staying as low as possible under the smoke.
ETA:
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"Berrin help Zander get that blasted door down!" Verik yells, too worried to take umbrage at the hulking warrior's tone.
Seeing Taisper entering he rushes forward to join his cousin, taking a huge gulp of air before entering the smoke filled house. Seeing that there appears to be no physical harm to the outpost's owners he holds back on channeling healing energy prefering to get them out into clean air as soon as possible.
Holding his breath he hurries across to Oleg and begins dragging the man towards the window.
Cursing under his breathe Berrin leaves the bucket line and races to the door. Grabbing Zander's shoulder he shouts in his face; "At the same time! Kick in the door!" Turning to the door he kicks the door.
Zander continues trying to smash the door in, slamming into it with his shoulder and putting all of his weight behind the blow.
The door refuses to budge.
'No... no... no... Must get them out... Can't happen to them...'
Gathering all of his might, Zander lets out a roar and slams into the unmoving door with the strength of a giant, smashing his way into the burning house and falling to his knees.
Knowing there's no way he could lift either of them, Taisper grabs Svetlana as Verik gets hold of Oleg, and drags her to the quickest exit.
Flames burst out from the doorway as Zander bursts it open.
Seeing Oleg and Svetlana trapped in the blaze, Zander shuts his eyes and runs headlong through the flames. The fire had already taken his life away - He would not let the same thing happen to these good people. Tears streaming down his face as the familiar heat bears down on him, Zander presses on. Old memories flash in his mind, but he puts them aside. As he helps Verik and the others grab hold of Oleg and Svetlana and bring them outside, his left ear aches.
Dancing around the flames as best he's able with his human cargo, Taisper bolts out the smashed-down door, mere footsteps behind his cousin.
As they get outside, Zander helping to speed up the last sprint, Taisper stoops over for a moment, coughing the smoke out of his lungs.
"*cough* Hey thanks Zander, that was super brave. That helped us *cough* get out faster. *cough cough*" He then steps over to his cousin. "See?! *coughhack* I told you this would be *cough* more fun than lawyering!"
Taisper bends down to see if he can figure out how their hosts are doing.
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After dragging Oleg away from the doorway he shouts, "See to the fire, I'll take care of them." Even as he speaks he calls upon the healing power of Abadar and sends a warm burst of healing energy radiating out to all those nearby.
He then begins examining Svetlana trying to bring her round. Seeing little result at first he desperately keeps working, whispering fervent prayer's for Abadar's aide as he works and forcing himself to push back the waxing tide of panic rising in his belly.
Standing by the door as people come rushing out Berrin can only watch, gritting his teeth and willing them to go faster. When everyone is out of the house Berrin looks over Veriks' shoulder, knowing he's useless in this he rushes back to the bucket line. "Come on! We're not through yet!"
Feeling the healing energy emenating from Verik his wounds knit over, now looking like day old scars.
Passing buckets as fast as he can he battles the flames with the group till either the fire is dead or the post gone.
Oleg is still, not breathing. Svetlana begins coughing, tears streaming from her eyes. She weakly rolls to check on Oleg, trying unsuccessfully to speak to him. She looks at Verik, wordlessly begging him for help.
Leaving Verik to his work, Taisper moves back to the bucket line to help Berrin and the others. "If you need me, cousin, you call."