Gravus applied a silvery colouration to Titus' hair, combined with adding deep wrinkles and loosening his features to give the illusion of a much older man.
The dwarf only carries his pugio,and various alchemical trinkets. Upon seeing Titus' reaction to whatever he saw within the building, Gravus increases his speed, but does not yet brake out into a run; his eyes cautiously scanning the surrounding streets for any additional dangers that Valka and Titus may have missed on their way.
Valka's got a big OUPS! Look on her face for half a second. “Show’s over guys! Well part one anyway! Now its time for part two!” she thinks as she try to focus to best use the few seconds of surprise she got. She drops the amphora, ideally in tall butcher guy’s direction, and uses the full length of the table to leap right over that 15 feet gap to land on the bar where that scimitar/cleaver is on that wooden chopping block (x10y11)!
INITIATIVE ROLL:
Titus realizes the moment is at hand. The catcalls have been replaced by the silence the proceeds the storm. Reason slips from him. All he can think of is blood and vengeance. He steps forward a step and batters the window and shutters in front of him with all his might. Let them drown in this storm; let them drown in thier own blood, is the only thing approaching a cohesive thought in his mind.
Gravus wisely scans the surrounding streets for additional dangers. He notices on a nearby corner that commands a view of harlot's lane and its adjacent street an emaciated prole who is looking back at him intently. A lookout? The prole is watching Gravus with an unanswered question on his mind. Whatever the question, he didn't react until he sees Titus trying to break down the window shutter. Startled, he looks away from Gravus.
Inside the Tavern: Valka drops the wine amphora, steps back 5 feet, runs the length of the table and leaps towards the bar. The leap is well executed and surprising for such a petite woman. Valka's strong legs launch her across the 15 feet gap to successfully land on the bar counter. The thick bladed scimitar is at her feet. The Vulpi are astounded, most still trying to make out the bundle of cloth and metal that fell on the table.
Titus, in one savage motion, throws his shoulder and entire body at the wooden window frame. Though somewhat hindered by the bundle he is carrying, the strength deployed on impact is impressive. The inside wooden bar securing the shutters snaps cleanly and both shutters are thrown wide open.
Gravus at first begins to approach the lookout, intent on distracting his attention away from the activities at the tavern, though when it becomes clear that no amount of distraction will hide Titus' actions, the dwarf begins to make a dash towards the now opened window.
Valka yanks the scimitar/cleaver free from the wooden chopping block, takes a step toward shaggy haired Siricus and tries to chop his head off!(teach him to grab my boob and slap my ass!)
Titus straddles the window frame and climbs inside. Taking hold of his long gladius hilt from his sticks bundle, he starts making his way towards the stairs, roughly pulling the weapon free. The stick bundle collapses to the floor along with Valka's stowed gladii as Titus's long strides carries him next to the table.
The well dressed arrogant looking man speeds along the balcony towards the stairs, drawing a gladius in mid stride, yelling out: "Vulpus Nigrus we are under attack!" Both men on the balcony follow after him, drawing weapons (older man a gladius, barrel chested a heavy mace).
The cute barmaid runs off scared, disappearing in the safety of the kitchen (A3). The old patron at the table lifts the thin scarf that fell, looks at the 2 pugios, and takes them, observing them. Is the man wasted? Or just weird?
Valka dislodges the thick scimitar with one sharp pull. A single long stride on the bar counter allows her to deliver a downward chop meant to decapitate Siricus. The thug shows decent enough reflexes, and the blow meant to kill instead carves a deep cut on his left shoulder.
The wounded Siricus backs off: "You f@cking bit@h!"
He whips out a pugio and throws it at Valka. The fast throw hits the frieze of Valka's dress and fortunately only delivers a very superficial flesh wound.
Micon charges inside, club held high. He shouts: "Shut the door Goro!".
The big bald man complies and bars the door shut. Micon reaches the bar and swings in a wide arc aimed at Valka's legs. The Spartaca leaps over the attacks, avoiding it.
The tall large eyed man unsheathes a pugio and engages Titus. Nothing to be concerned of for the legionnaire except the stocky cook used the diversion to sneak on Titus's blind side and deliver a nasty slash of a pugio she swiftly whipped out. Aimed to cut the thigh deep, Titus is able to roll away from the worst of it. So far so good but these thieves can be dangerous when ganging up, Titus realizes, for the second time.
Gravus has reached the smashed window.
To the tall large eyed man Titus begins a tirade of the most foul and abusive and blasphemous language... I am going to shove your bug eyed face up your leaders a$$, a place where your tiny cock has been many times. But first I am going to sever it from your neck...
On being hit by the woman behind him he reacts on instinct, and swinging about mightily he attempts to dispatch her.
Valka takes a cleaver swing at the club holding thug. If she can she`ll try to take that dagger that was thrown at her and back up a step on the counter just in case!
Titus reacts with primal instinct and surprising strength, the backhand circular sword strike cuts at an upward angle with brutal force. The stocky woman tries to react but she isn't dealing with some local ruffian now but a trained and furious legionnaire. The long equite gladius cuts deep in the stomach and chest. It brings her down, dying on the tavern floor. The tall large eyed man reacts with stunned stupor: "Wife!"
He staggers backwards, rattled by the savagery of it all, Titus's words compounding his growing despair.
At the bar, Valka finishes her leap by landing a foot on Micon's club. A fortunate twist of fate and skill that allows the warrior maiden to cleave at the brutish man's face. The scimitar bites deep into the cheek and severs the nose, nose ring along with it, the gold loop sent flying 10 feet behind on the main floor. The massive shock topples the big man who falls to the floor clutching his mangled badly bleeding face. Valka grabs Siricus's thrown blade, turning her into a two-weapon furry as she wisely backs off, probably understanding what being surrounded can mean against these backstabbing criminals.
The older rogue shows himself to be still nimble for his age: using his free hand he grabs on to the stair railing, leaps and swings over it, landing square next to the tall `butcher`. As he falls he delivers a downward slash that catches Titus on the chest, carving a bloody gash and INJURING the legionnaire.
Siricus, seeing Micon fall, clutches his bleeding wound and yells: "What are you waiting for Goro? Kill that @unt!"
The Bald Giant looks at Siricus briefly, and charges Valka, drawing a club as he moves behind the counter to engage her. The club swing misses the agile Valka by a few inches only.
Siricus takes advantage of Valka distracted to rush her from the opposite side, drawing his own gladius on the rush. His thrust is meant to hamstring Valka. Warrior trained reflexes avoid the worst of it but he does clip her on the calf: a nice gash.
The barrel-chested man makes his way down the stairs. He steps over the fallen body of the stocky maiden and swings with both hands at Titus. With attackers in all directions and used to these wolf tactics, Titus doesn`t know where to focus. The mace hits him square in the chest, breaking ribs and GRAVELY INJURING him.
Meanwhile, the well dressed man has moved all the way down and circled to position himself in between Valka and Titus, his eyes evaluating which target to go for.
A clear, hard voice rings out from the balcony above the tap-room.
"And now the bright lamp of the Sun dropped into the Ocean, drawing black night in its train across the fruitful Earth. The Aerdians had not wished the day to end, but to their foes, who had yearned for this relief, the dark came like a tardy answer to their prayers."
Eyes glance upwards to x7 y9 where Cassia stands, and she blows a handful of sand from her palm into the air.
She moves around the balcony to x12, y8.
Gravus hauls himself through the window, looking about the room he sees the grave situation Titus has managed to find himself in, again. With his Domina contending with only two foes, the dwarf ducks down to scoop up the gladii at his feet before heading to support the beleaguered legionnaire.
The situation is dire as a determined Gravus hauls himself through the window successfully and picks up his Domina's twin gladii.
But Suddenly Cassia Aquila herself appears on the balcony above. She stands naked except for a single shoulder pouch containing a large bulbous object (the eye?), her long dark hair loose and flowing, her body bruised from beatings and fresh whip marks, a long whip in hand. She looks both beautiful and terrible: a furry unleashed onto this world. Extending her left palm, she blows a handful of sand and speaks the dread words.
The effect is immediate: Both the old rogue and the tall butcher collapse to the floor in slumber.
Focusing all of his fury on the thug with the mace he swings mightily and continues his foul tirade. Yes Goro make sure the door is locked! Let us bleed out each of these miserable sh1t stains! No one gets out alive!
Titus does not seem to notice the serious wounds he has recieved. He is too consumed in his act of vengeance.
Valka attacks Siricus with the scimitar only, and she will do an acrobatic leap to land next to the Big Goro behind the bar right next to that L shape. She is hoping that way no one can attack her from all sides and avoid flank attacks.
She also yells out when she sees-hears Cassia:
"Cassia its US! Valka and Titus!"
Titus grabs his gladius with both hands and hacks downward in one powerful strike at the mace wielder, eager on revenge. The barrel-chested rogue is barely able to avoid being split in two. A quick backward jerk saves his life but leaves his chest and stomach gutted, severely injuring him.
Valka answers Siricus's gladius thrust with a swift hacking slash to his exposed weapon arm. The scimitar severs the hand at the wrist: Siricus collapses from shock and blood loss.
Goro tries to land a two handed club swing of his own, but the agile Valka leaps acrobaticaly off the bar counter and avoids the blow, landing at his side. The club smashes hard on the bar, breaking a few clay mugs.
The barrel-chested man is obviously affected by hell-bent Titus. He attacks Titus with a series of defensive swings, meant more to keep Titus occupied than anything. The blows miss but the well dressed man takes the cue. He leaps quite deftly on the long bench, travels the distance in a heart beat and lands at the exact opposite side from his partner. His gladius is very precise and deadly, missing the heart by a few inches but piercing the lung, usually a killing blow. But Titus, enraged, refuses to yield and keeps on fighting.
Gravus at first seems ready to join the fray with Titus, but before rushing forward he becomes distracted by something at the bar. Moving towards whatever has caught his attention, the dwarf frowns sternly before twisting his grip on one of the gladii to hurl it in a careening arc in the general direction of his Domina.
Cassia moves to x12 y5 on the balcony.
"I am Adrasteia, daughter of Nemesis. I am here for you, Domineus Viusenius, and only you. These others, they may yet live if they leave you to your fate."
The whip in Cassia's hand snakes out from her position on the balcony, coiling around the fore arm of the well dressed man (presumably Viusenius).
Gravus´s gladius toss hits the top of the bar counter. Valka thought at first it was meant to give her weapon back as ordered but in fact it served another purpose: uncover the position of the stealthing waitress trying to get at Valka´s back . The waitress yelps in reaction to the near miss, revealing her position.
Cassia´s whip snakes around forearm and gladius with pinpoint precision, disarming Viusenius (the well dressed rogue) and sending his blade flying. The Vulpus Leader looks up at Cassia, a murderous look in his eyes.
The burning in Titus's lung is the thing that starts to jolt him from the desire for carnage. The red starts to slip from his eyes. In desperation he realizes that once it passes he will be no more. He fights to keep the adreneline flowing.
It is funny what your mind thinks at a time like this. There is no replay of his life. Of all the things his mind could turn to he suddenly notes with grim humor that his own dear mother was in a nearly identical situation many miles and years away. It is a shame she did not pass the familial trait of escaping these sorts of things.
His mother! Thoughts continue to race. Cassia, repay this by getting my mother to her brother! Tell her Tynan loves her.
He can still be of some worth to these new friends though. In his final seconds he hopes to be of use to them and innocent Veleda.
With desperation he lunges at Viusenius and hopes to repay the wound he delivered.
Valka move so her back is to the shelf/wall
and attacks Goro with the scimitar and dagger, hoping to get rid of him quick so she can help Titus!
Titus Albanus coughts blood as he addresses Cassia. Determined, using his last energies, he launches an unbalanced strike at Viusenius. The rogue leader, quick on his feet, side-steps the attack moving in close body to body with the fatally wounded legionnaire to cut away his weapon reach and ability to deliver an effective strike with the longer weapon. Doing so he retrieves a short stabbing blade, a small punch pugio concealed as a belt buckle.
The two combatants embrace as Viusenius punches Titus's chest with repeated well placed piercing jabs. The flurry of attacks prove fatal to the unarmored equite of the Ursa Adria. Titus spits blood as he expires.
Viusenius looks at his costly tunic now blood stained and turns to Cassia, his voice low but menacing:
"I will have this tunic dyed red with your blood, you filthy patrician w#ore!"
Valka meanwhile expertly slashes at Goro with both blades. The pugio inflicts a horizontal cut at stomach level while the scimitar delivers a deep gash on his right forearm.
The big bald man doesn't cry out, but withdraws defensively towards the culina (kitchen), wishing to avoid the fate of Siricus and Micon.
The sneaky barmaid, obviously not the brave type, retreats when uncovered and with Gravus approaching. Like Goro she dissapears behind the culina's curtain
Gravus watches the legionnaire fall lifeless to the ground, and his gaze hardens as he sees the ruthless killer stand over the body to throw his threats towards the balcony.
Retrieving from a pouch on his chest another of his tiny vials of potent reagents, the dwarf gives it a firm twist before moving his body in a single motion to send it sailing through the air. It lands with a small jolt on the table between himself and the villainous Viusenius, and roll slowly towards the far edge...
From her memory, Cassia calls forth an appropriate verse.
"So then Labienus, since I too am going below, but after you, I shall not hold your funeral till I have brought back here the armour and head of Metellus, who slaughtered you, my noble hearted friend. And at your pyre I will cut the throats of a dozen high born youths of Ilium, to vent my wrath on them for killing you."
Her voice resonates in the air and the rhythm and cadence renew the spirit of her allies despite Titus' fall. As she speaks she moves along the balcony keeping her eyes fixed relentlessly on Domineus.
Valka sees Titus fall and hears the foul words coming from Viusenius mouth.
"YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!!"
Valka screams in her own mind. Her eyes are on fire.
Valka runs 10 feet to get enough running start to leap on the bar counter.
She tries to roll on the counter and land on the other side and finish her move so she can finish off the barrel-chested guy with her scimitar.
Gravus's throw is expertly executed. The Dwarf uses the table top's far edge close to Viusenius as the point of impact. The alchemical bomb thus explodes outwards straight at the Vulpus leader but without harming, or waking, those below at his feet.
Vuisenius is forced to quickly shield his face and twist his torso to avoid the worst of it. Still, the fiery blast singes his arms and upper body, leaving his once immaculate expensive tunic a smoldering mess.
Valka's running start is just enough to allow her to clear the 4 foot high counter. Surprising for someone so petite, the Spartaca's strong legs propel her up so she is able to carry through with an Ukemi style shoulder roll on the bar's counter top, sending flying a wooden bowl of olives, and landing on the other side, continuing without breaking stride to engage the barrel-chested rogue with a simple but strong downward hack of her thick butcher's blade.
The rogue never saw the swift and nimble Valka coming. The scimitar digs deep into his back, killing him instantly and sending him toppling to the now bloodied floor right next to Titus.
'Noble hearted friend' Valka can't help thinking as she sees Titus, echoing in her mind the words of Cassia.
The old patron, who was strangely unmoved by the vicious melee so far, finally reacts to Valka's killing blow by instinctively dropping her dropped pugios he was holding and timidly raising his hands halfway up in a gesture of non-belligerence.
Viusenius's eyes are darting left and right, appraising the worsening situation. He has no quips or insults to offer now, but he remains focused, still confident in his chances. He backs off to the old sleeping rogue and picks up his gladius (holding both weapons, gladius and short punch dagger in hand now)
Gravus, finding the words of Cassia bringing even greater focus to his mind, her speech urging righteous retribution, strides towards the once well dressed man and pulls out a second vial. Stopping out of the immediate reach of his foe's weapons, he crouches low and thrusts his hand violently forwards to send the potent mixture spinning at an upwards angle towards the murderer's torso.
The potent fiery mixture is a well aimed center mass shot: it crashes on Viusenius's chest, destroying his upper tunic and inflicting considerable burn marks. The exposed flesh sizzles and turns a dangerous shade of purple-red over almost half of his torso. Viusenius screams in agony, both Valka and Gravus can be smell the burnt chest hair.
"Metellus looked up, saw him and began to tremble. He no longer had the heart to stand his ground, he left the gate and ran away in terror."
Unable to contain her cold fury, Cassia strides along the balcony and half way down the stairs. Implacable and relentless, her long hair lank with sweat, her eyes blank holes in her face, her nakedness reinforcing the sense that this is a feral creature intent on her prey.
"You can hurt me, but you cannot break me. You can run from me, but you cannot escape me. You can kill me, but you cannot stop me. You are mine."
Swinging the whip above her head, Cassia lashes out with it, aiming a cruel cut at the thief-lord's face.
Valka gives a quick look to that old patron .. just in case... let him know I KNOW he is here!
Valka advance on Viusenius with the bloody scimitar in her hand and face him like Valerius teach her how 2 gladiators face each other. She attacks with the bloody weapon, using all the skill she knows!
Viusenius dodges skillfully under the crack of Cassia's whip, barely having time to catch his breath as Valka engages him.
Both combatants are agile and fast but Valka strikes first. A backhand slash is deflected by the Vulpus leader's blade but the Spartaca reverses her weapon, crouches while making a hard cut down, catching the exposed foot and severing a couple of toes.
Viusenius grunts in pain but manages to counter and slash high, cutting Valka on her shoulder, INJURING her. He uses the short breather to hop back on a bleeding crippled foot.
"Metellus, realising what had happened cried: 'Alas! So the gods did beckon me to my death! Death is no longer far away; he is staring me in the face and there is no escaping him."
Again, Cassia's vicious whip cracks out, slashing at Viusenius' eyes and throat. Her own eyes glance across the room to the opposite side of the balcony, and she moves along the walk-way to x12 y2.
"Keep him alive if you can."
Valka bites her teeth at the new cut on her shoulder. Even if she is hurt, she pushes on Viusenius with both her weapons attacking, hoping to finish him off.
Gravus determinedly steps up onto the bench beside him, using it to climb onto the table. Giving the unfamiliar weapon in his hand an experimental swing, he continues to move around Viusenius by hopping down to the floor and holding the gladus threateningly towards the rogue; hoping to keep his attention away from the far more dangerous threat of Valka.
Cassia sends her whip’s coil twirling through the air a few swings before launching a second lashing strike at Viusenius. The whiplash strikes the Vulpus leader in back, leaving a long red mark on the exposed flesh, forcing him to scream in pain.
Gravus repositions himself intelligently and Viusenius is obligated to keep an eye on the flanking gladius wielding Dwarf. The distraction leaves him wide open to the gladiator-ally trained Valka. Mercilessly the Spartaca presses forward, her blades whirling with devastating precision. The scimitar severs the right hand. Valka moves him close, close enough to feel the burnt flesh and the bad breath, body to body. Looking up at him in the eyes, she stabs him once, twice, three times with her pugio. She continues jabbing into his chest until she sees the life leaving his eyes, dying the exact same way Titus was taken down.
As the leader of the Vulpes Nigra falls lifeless to the ground, the dwarven slave steps around the almost entangled forms of the dead man and Valka Spartaca, moving over to confirm what he is already certain of about the fallen legionnaire.
Gravus remains silent for a moment, giving a mournful shake of the head, but quickly regains his stoic focus. "Should we give chase, Domina?" he asks with a nod towards the curtain through which the fleeing pair had departed.
Valka tries to calm down from the heat of battle, happy to see that Gravus is checking up on Titus. She says to Gravus:
"No! Do what you can to save Titus if its possible. And stay close to me. This is a nest of thieves: you can't let them surprise you or gang up on you alone. That's the mistake Titus made."
Valka finishes off that older rogue
"Cassia! We should stay together!"
Unless something else happen, Valka will also finish off the butcher tall guy .
"Not even so shall your lady mother lay you on a bier to mourn you, but the dogs and birds of prey shall eat you up."
Cassia looks down on the corpse of her enemy, no sign of any emotion on her face.
"Don't kill any more of them if you can help it."
She then takes off at a run along the balcony disappearing from view when she gets to x7-y11, her words still hanging in the air.
Gravus kneels on the bloodied floor, using his free hand to quickly check for a heartbeat (pulse) and for breath exiting the mouth of the fallen legionnaire. He finds neither. His worst fears seem confirmed.
Valka crouches low and neatly severs the throat of the sleeping old rogue. He awakes in a frenzied panic, eyes wide open, gasping for life, and dies moments after from massive blood loss, his jugular cleanly cut by the thick bladed scimitar.
Cassia runs back up to the upper floor. For a moment the harsh beatings she endured earlier almost make her loose footing. She is reminded just how weak she is (BADLY BEATEN) now that her inner storm of vengeance against Viusenius has started to ebb.
The Vulpes Nigra has gone quiet, save for a low moaning sound coming from an agonizing Micon.
In round 9, faintly, from a room upstairs, Cassia can be heard.
"I have dragged Metellus' body here for the dogs to eat it raw; and at your pyre I have cut the throats of a dozen high born youths of Ilium in my anger at your death."
"I'm afraid there's little I can do, Domina," Gravus says quietly, looking up from Titus' mutilated body.
Valka moves over to the tall butcher guy and plants her pugio in his heart. She whispers something under her breath when she does it looking at the stocky woman Titus killed and that he called "wife".
After that, she tries to focus on the situation: who's there? any noise? Cassia and the Eye that both went UPSTAIRS!
Valka turns to Gravus:
"Follow me close, and watch my back!"
Valka runs up the stairs after Cassia, both weapons in hand, ready for anything!
Valka rushes up the stairs with Gravus in tow, only to find Cassia walking towards her slowly, whip in one hand, naked and up to the elbows in blood, eyes dilated and hair hanging in lank strings: a powerful image indeed. She is followed by a rotund man non-threateningly holding a pugio.
Cassia calls for 3 names: “Viria! Sabucia! Floronia!"
Three women timidly step out of a room
Cassia orders the oldest one: "You're taking Antia's position: you are in charge of the girls."
The older woman looks stunned.
The rotund man reacts with some surprised at this, but seems to find the comment acceptable.
Cassia finally notices she is not wearing anything. She turns to the youngest and has her fetch something sensible to wear. Cassia continues down to the tap room and goes through Viusenius' pockets until she finds something that she clutches in her free hand.
The rotund man inspects the carnage from the stairs: "Sabucia, try and save Micon! Stop that blood."
The older patron actually manages to smile at the rotund man: "Paesentius, you should have seen these naked Amazons! Like the Furies they were!"
His smiles fades a touch as he turns to Cassia:
"Will I die now?"
"You will die. But not by my hand and not today, unless Tisiphone there's bloodlust is not yet sated."
Valka Spartaca and Gravus hear Cassia's voice whispering in their ear even though she is standing several paces away.
"Valka Spartaca, you have turned this place into a charnel house, making a desert and calling it peace. Now we have little left to bargain with. Would you carve a bloody path from here to the city wall? Act as if you are my servants."
She turns to the rotund man.
"Paesentius. You have work to do restoring the Vulpes Nigra and I have business elsewhere. I trust you can explain to Placidius what has happened here, including your change in station. I have what I came here for." She looks meaningfully at Viusenius' bloody corpse. "Send Floronia for my belongings, and cloaks for Tisiphone and myself. When I return we shall discuss what is to become of the Vulpus Nigrus."
The perceptive might notice that Cassia is leaning against a table and she is beginning to shake.
"Take our friend's effects. You...you need to get me out of here."