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"Hopefully?" The single word is accompanied by a shrug and a smile at the priestess as the half-elf makes his way to the chest, starting to examine it closely as soon as he gets within reach. "Qhude, by all means, if anything jumps at me, feel quite free to punch it," Kieran quips as he does so. "Repeatedly."
"This is just a guess -an educated one, mind you, but still...- but you really do not like being here, do you, Qhude?" Kieran makes small talk with the Bas'o warrior, or at least he attempts to do so. As the half-elf speaks his characteristic smile is evident on his face, though his silver eyes do hint at himself not feeling entirely at ease either. Not exactly a surprise given their more or less current confinement. "Not that I blame you all that much really..."
"Surely you cannot fault us for being somewhat... brusque," Kieran says with a smile as he picks up a piece of cheese and takes a sniff. It does indeed smell like cheese, but still, like his companions, he does not partake. "Up until moments ago we had been stumped by an empty room for what felt like veritable years,"[b] he continues with a soft chuckle, which is both sincere and to lighten the mood. [b]"Is it any wonder that we find it difficult to relax with some food and wine?" "I am, of course, assuming this place can also make wine out of thin air," he adds, both a quip and a question. "Simply scientific curiosity, mind you," he concludes, turning at Tebati and winking.
"Well, I assume even supermen of antiquity may have had need to unwind and maybe enjoy a beverage or two once in a while," Kieran quips after Ansha makes her comment.
Despite the harsh conditions and the fact that they me anywhere from minutes to hours away of coming face to face with orcs, Kieran is in high enough spirits. He moves gracefully despite the mud and snow, taking care to keep his eyes not only on the ground lest he lose his footing but on his surroundings as well.
"As good a time as any," Kieran concurs with a nod. "Better to be well-rested as I have a feeling we will need all our strength for what lies ahead."
"Bright or not, we should not underestimate them," Kieran cautions. "It was a very small group, the one we bested. As Olaf here has just pointed out, that might not be the case this time."
"Daerdryn's thoughts and words mirror my own," Kieran speaks up as well, nodding in agreement. "We are here now and we will still be here when the orcs come." He speaks plainly enough, but with conviction. Never a difficult decision for him to make, as it is the right thing to do. Still, it helps that the woman whose children he and the others are seeking is also on board with helping defend the town. Turning to face her for a moment he smiles and nods.
"Well met, Jorun," the Imperial man returns the greeting warmly. "I am Kieran, Kieran Markavien," he introduces himself, the first to do so, extending his hand. "We thank you for both your welcome and your hospitality."
"A little under the weather," Kieran speaks up, "and considering the actual weather, well, it is hardly surprising, yes?" He smiles, although he is more than a little concerned about Sigurd. The big man seems hardly like the kind of person who would let a mere cold get him down.
"Although not my primary reason, it certainly makes for a much welcome added incentive," Kieran cannot help but agree.
"Orcs attacking a small village without warning does not bode well for the villagers," Kieran says with a sigh, the concern in his voice clear enough. "We cannot in good conscience ignore this."
Without missing a beat so to speak, Kieran reverses his grip and swings his weapon again, this time against a new target, seeking to take another one out of the fight before it even begins. There is the undeniable sound of bone breaking as the sturdy wooden quarterstaff connects with the orc's body.
Quarterstaff gripped in both hands, Kieran follows Olyenna's example and moves silently before charging, aiming his trusted weapon at an orc's spine.
With the fog apparently thickening even more, quite possibly courtesy of Daerdryn, Kieran holds his position a while longer to see if the orcs will continuing moving into and through the mist. Not exactly looking forward to facing them alone -a foolish idea to be sure- he stands ready to turn around and report back to his friends if these new foes do indeed start advancing.
"Olyenna, I do have an invisibility concoction that seems ideal for such a thing," Kieran suggests. "Allow me to scout ahead. Or at least take the potion."
Other than waking up and grabbing his quarterstaff, there is not much else Kieran needs to do in preparation for the upcoming fight. He settles for stretching a little to chase the sleep and grogginess from his body and his mind before moving to take his position alongside his friends.
"It is as fine a cause as any," Kieran agrees easily as he helps the others load the wagon before finally being on their way away from the fort. "And besides, it is good to once again be traveling. And alongside friends no less," he adds with a warm smile.
Leaning against his quarterstaff, after cleaning it of course, Kieran takes a few moments to study Elyana. A curious one that one. Different, maybe a little... off. But then again here is a woman whose best friends and allies are... well, deader than the proverbial doorknob. No, no, that is not really correct. For doorknobs do not actually talk and lend their aid in a fight. He sighs, his eyes moving from one of his newfound friends to the next. An interesting bunch, to be sure. "Should be fun," he says suddenly, simply. "If anything, traveling should be really interesting from now on."
With their foes falling one after the other, it is only natural that one of those remaining would grow careless and it is this carelessness Kieran takes advantage of to strike quickly at him. "Look around you," he calls out to the aristocrat at the same time. "Put your weapon down. Surrender. And you may yet live to see another day." His words and his tone may be harder than usual, but considering whom they are directed at, it is hardly surprising.
With his path now clear Kieran sprints towards the soldiers at the south part of the room, jumping and twisting in the air at the last minute in order to add even more momentum to his quarterstaff strike as he brings the sturdy wooden weapon down on the helmeted head of one of them.
With no enemies near him and no immediate path to reach those farther away, Kieran opts to wait and see what his companion will do before engaging any other foes.
Stepping over the fallen soldier Kieran moves to engage the one looking like an officer, striking at him with one end of his quarterstaff and then the other. Going for force over accuracy in order to end the fight quickly, his blows are less than true.
Following Sigurd's plan, Kieran opens the door and quickly makes his way to the men near the supplies as the large warrior suggested. Wasting no time he swings his quarterstaff, looking to drop one of them as soon as possible by aiming for the man's temple.
"Sounds like a plan then," Kieran comments, leaning against his quarterstaff. "And if I manage to do a little better than before... well, that will be just swell," he adds with a slightly bitter smile.
Moving towards the front Kieran looks through the crack carefully, trying to discern any more details through sight and sound before the group storms in.
"Well," Kieran whispers, barely suppressing a smile, "talk about what goes around comes around." Elyana's glee when she mentions killing the man does give him pause though, making his smile vanish. "Calm yourselves. I understand wanting to pay the man back, but still." Nevertheless, despite his words, he does not move to stop the others from their course of action; after all, it is hard to convince even himself that the man does not have it coming.
"Then it is decided," Kieran says with a smile, as much a statement as a question directed to Sigurd, the last of them who has not yet agreed. "And onward it is."
"We did save his life," Kieran adds his own voice to the young man's. "If nothing else, it would be poor form if we did so only to leave him here amidst the chaos and fighting." "Not that the harsh lands outside this place will necessarily be more forgiving," he also says, this time to the soldier. "You will have to pull your weight, so to speak. At least as much as you can."
Kieran looks at his new quarterstaff with a puzzled look. He had expected to fare better in the fight. Perhaps the weapon was at fault? Off balance maybe? He takes a few moments to perform a few rudimentary moves by himself. "No," he mutters softly to himself. "It is fine, well made. Better than my last one." He sighs, a sign of disappointment. 'It is not the weapon that is off balance, but I,' he ponders. 'I can fault my imprisonment and the cold for now, but I can do so only for so long.' Another sigh and then a smile before he joins the others as they look through their foes' equipment for anything that may be of use to them.
"Kindness to friends is easy," Kieran offers, putting a reassuring hand on Daerdryn's shoulder. "Kindness to enemies on the other hand considerably less so." Taking a deep breath he smiles, his wounds all but gone. "Thank you by the way. I rather like my blood inside of me rather than out." He adds a wink just for good measure.
Moving to help Olyenna with the soldier she is fighting, Kieran takes a step in an attempt to better position himself and flank the man before striking at him with two staff blows one after the other, or at least trying to.
Given that he missed, Kieran tries nothing flashy. Instead he opts for a quick succession of two strikes with his quarterstaff. First the lower end goes for the man's right side, looking to shatter a rib or two, and then immediately follows the upper end, going for the left side of his head and face. One connects, the other does not. "Hmphh." The soft sound is accompanied by a look of mild disappointment. The cold and the imprisonment have certainly played their part.
Following the others' lead Kieran quickly closes with one of the unoccupied soldiers, bringing his new-found quarterstaff to bear as soon as he is within striking distance. Maybe it its the time he recently spent in chains or maybe it is his foe's actual skill, but whatever the reason his attack misses, glancing off the man's helmet harmlessly.
"If we take any longer to get there, the one doing all the begging is probably going to end up dead," Kieran says, not bothering with stealth much like the others. "The others are growing tired of him." He starts moving a little faster, a little more urgently. "Sigurd? Olyenna?"
"Well, I rather like walking, I suppose," Kieran says with a shrug and a smile. "And I can do so not only quickly but quietly if need be." He then looks at the quarterstaff in his hands. "And I fight well enough with this." His smile widens. "I even fight rather well without it too, if I do say so myself." He takes a deep breath. "It is not that I cannot use other weapons if I need to, it is just that I usually do not see any reason to do so. Usually..."
"You don't think the soldiers had a plan for him, like my children? I don't recognize the name Audun. Was he well known?" "Well known? I do not think so," Kieran replies after thinking on the question for a moment. "He was... is a strong warrior, yet never quick to show his skills. He preferred talking things out first. But I know next to nothing about his past frankly. He never spoke about it while we traveled together." As Elyana displays her power and introduces her spirits the Imperial man remains silent through it all, watching and thinking. Finally when it is over he speaks up. "Hmm... I would not have pegged him for a Bob."
"None taken," Kieran returns to the big man with a smile, leaning against his new quarterstaff. No armor for him, no sword or spear. No reason for such things these days, so quite unlike a few years ago. "It is a noble cause," the Imperial readily agrees before a sigh escapes his lips. "Audun would certainly agree were he here." At the curious looks from the others, he turns to the sisters. "The older man who was with me when the fighting began in the tavern. We were separated in the chaos. And our captors were not exactly forthcoming with information as to his whereabouts." He shrugs then, as if chasing any unpleasant assumptions from his mind. "Who knows, perhaps we will run into him again, if the Everwander has anything to say about it."
"Hmm..." Moving about the room Kieran examines the various weapons and suits of armor. With a smile he settles on a sturdy and well-made wooden staff, while he also picks up a dagger and its accompanying sheath. "These should do nicely," he says to the others before moving on to the clothing and gear, picking from them what he believes will be of use. "Do not forget the wineskins. They can prove useful in the cold weather."
There is a soft sigh followed by a deep breath as Kieran lays eyes on the chaos and carnage unfolding before him. It takes a moment of hesitation -it is not like he has seen such beasts before after all- and then, just as the others spring into action, so does he. The door is not far and sneaking about means it will take him more time to reach it, risking that a stray arrow or some blood-crazed orc finds him while he tries to hide behind some wagon or other. So he sprints. He is almost one third of the way there when out of the corner of his eye he sees the point of a spear, an Imperial at its other end. Without missing a beat he slides and ducks under it, the spearhead almost grazing him, and then quickly rises, turning and grabbing the spear shaft and pulling the other man into the dirt, all in one fluid motion. "Sorry," he mutters as he resumes his running. 'Almost there,' he ponders and the distraction almost costs him his life. It is not entirely his fault though. Wagons do not usually drop from the sky. Still his quick reflexes save him once more as he rolls away from under it right before it crushes on the ground. And then finally he is at the door. "Exciting."
"Elves?" Kieran's voice and tone betray his surprise. "Well, I suppose you are certainly a much more welcome sight than those two guards with their spears, or the orcs laying siege to this place." Finally able to stretch more properly, the man takes the opportunity to do just that. "Not that I am not grateful -I am- but who are you? What are you doing here? And in the middle of an orcish attack no less?"
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