The Bloodoar War Ep.5 has started at Outside Arx - Lyceum near Nilanza - Small Islands off the East Coast of the Lyceum.

Luckily cornering a Queen and her bodyguards in a keep gives you time to heal and prepare. Unluckily it gives her time to heal and prepare. It also gave Zakhar several solid hours worth of time to dismantle the front door. Stepping through that door brings you inside the 'hall' of the tower where the soldiers and retainers would usually eat and sleep. The furniture has been arranged to make it difficult for you to easily get past which will be inconvenient given the presence of a dark skinned archer to the Queen's right and the bodyguard to her left. Both are well armored and both move with the coiled grace of predatory cats but that is where the similarities end. The archer is beautiful whilst the man looks as if something tried to graw off his ear and half his jaw. Queen Rynne, an equally armored dark haired woman, has fresh wounds on her cheek which weep blood in a parody of normal tears sweeps her eyes over you all and speaks. "It is time then."

"...is how you take apart a door. Now to make sure the lumber is saved. It will make a better chair." Zakhar turns from the now open doorway to stare at the gauntlet of furniture, pointing at it while yelling "Why would you cause such mayhem with these chairs? What the fuck did that desk do to you!?" Looking back to the others, "Please try to save the furniture, or if we can't, I suppose we can just set it all on fire?"

Raven's eyebrows shoot up, "FUCK, Y'all look ragged. How about this, surrender now and you get to keep your lives?" her head tilts and and her good hand lifts in an open-palmed 'why not' gesture." She flicks a look towards Zakhar, "What is with you and fire, old timer?"

Caspian watches zahkar work on the door with a grin, "Please dont hit me with that wood when you get it alright? i promise im not going to take it from you" when the door fell, caspian pulled his chain blades, heading into the room with the others. His dark eyes flickered around, clearly expecting to more men then the three combatants arrayed against them. he paused at her words. "You know.. you could just surrender.. save us all this nasty bit and maybe spare the lives of your guards here. no need for them to die just so you can seem a bit more intimidating before you shit yourself when we kill you." he offered a smile, "honestly, it would be better for everyone if you all just surrendered. the mercy of the Malespero is a lot more likely then the mercy of the blade"

Gabriella squeezes her grip firmly on her sword as they step past the dismantled door and into the hall, her eyes narrow as she is on high alert. As she spots the Queen and her bodyguards she tenses up and looks to the others. "Be careful of that archer. All it takes is one arrow.." She takes a few steps closer to the barricade just in case an arrow flies by and she has to take a quick dive.

Ian had left for a short time while the door was being dismantled, taking his prisoner to the medical tent to get seen to. He returns with the slice to his face roughly stitched so that it's not leaking blood anymore, and a fair amount of blood that's not his on his shirt, visible while he shrugs his coat on, on the way in. He gives the guards and the queen a tired look. "What is it that you think you're going to do here? There's no version of this where you win. It's only a matter of how much you're willing to lose." He's a grisly figure, weary and grim, who, after a night of fighting and bleeding and being bled on, projects a sense of inevitable carnage. "Is this worth dying like rats in a hole?"

Zakhar turns towards Raven a little, while still holding onto a board from the door now acting as a partial shield. "Fire can be very beautiful if you give it a moment. Especially when it's too close to your enemy, watching them inhale and fall over. No more problems." A grin to Caspian, "Aye. we don't hit you. But a shield from them archers might be better. Less." He looks to Ian with a nod then back to the archers and queen, "Any of you fancy a cuppa tea?"

Ian checks command and intimidation at hard. Ian fails.

Raven checks charm and diplomacy at hard. Raven is successful.

Caspian glances between the three figures, lowering his weapon just a little bit. "look.. you know how this ends.. we know how this ends.. everyone knows how this ends. if you stay this course.. arms raised.. you end up dead. maybe some of us do to.. but you absolutely do. no songs song, no burials of heroes.. just.. dead on the floor. Thats not how this has to end. drop your weapons, surrender and plead your case to the Malespero. They aren't unreasonable.. you never know but you might find an accord. its a path with hope.. not the doomed place you find yourself in now. so.. put them down eh?"

Caspian checks charm and seduction at daunting. Caspian is successful.

The dark haired Queen throws back her head and laughs hard enough that she has to bring up a hand to wipe away the tears. She looks you all over again, this time with disdain. "And which of you will act as surety during our escape?"

The archer shifts her position and in that moment you realise what makes them so loyal to Queen Rynne. The resemblence between them is strong enough that the archer might well be Rynne's daughter.

Ian rubs his forehead. "Fuck. If someone were willing to serve as hostage, would it get us out of having to have this fight? Or are you just asking to see what we'll say?"

Caspian looks to the others and lowers his voice drastically so only the group can heart, "if its needed.. as the least important one here i'll volunteer"

Gabriella looks from Ian to the Queen and her bodyguards to Caspian before frowning and speaking up, "I have a hard time trusting them. What's to stop them from killing us as soon as we lower our arms?"

Ian motions to the chairs. "All this furniture, for one."

Gabriella says, "Aye but the hostage would have to be defenseless, no?"

Caspian gives a grin, "bah.. i'd have you all to protect me. they throw down their arms save a single knife, and we walk em out of her and into cells, nice and easy like"

Zakhar looks at the barricade of furniture then to the others while they are discussing hostages, finally up to the queen and archer.

Zakhar says in Isles shav, "How about we sit down for a moment. We've all been at this for a few days, and you already know that if you put any more furniture or lumber between me and you it will only be a matter of time before I get through it. And really, a cup of tea. No tricks. We just sit down and have a little chat. Cause some of these nobles are blood thirsty, while the others might be willing to let you have a hostage.""

Raven purses her looks and looks around. She frowns, unhappy with Caspian volunteering but Duty keeps her from volunteering herself, "Fuck. Nah. This is a bad deal, they're desperate." She mutters lowly, "Fuck this, maybe we should just kill them?" in a hushed mutter to the others,.

"Very little." The Queen grins like a cat weighing up a chicken for its dinner. "But we will leave IF you provide me with a hostage and an escort out of the area." he flicks her gaze towards the archer. "Me, my kin, and anyone else I deem to be suitably important to accompany us on this journey." she walks her long knife across her knuckles and grins again. "Well? Do we have a deal sweet warriors?"

The man with the chewed ear and jaw gestures to Zakhar. "Leave your helm and your weapons and you can come closer."

Gabriella nods in agreement with Raven, "We have the advantage right now. If we give into their demands we would only be losing. She could just put a knife to Caspian's throat and order us to throw down our arms. Would you just let him die?" She looks around at the others with a pointed look.

Ian nods to Gabriella. "But so would they. Killing the hostage would mean the death of their queen." He angles his head towards the queen as she makes her counteroffer to 'surrender and maybe don't die'. "... But none of us has the authority to let her go free."

Raven frowns, "Zakhar." unhappy. She looks at Caspian then Ian "Well. That isn't my problem. My job was to take the city, take the castle. Dealing with foes

Raven frowns, "Zakhar." unhappy. She looks at Caspian then Ian "Well. That isn't my problem. My job was to take the city, take the castle. Dealing with political foes is an in house affair."

Raven says, "I am not loving this plan."

Caspian clicks his tongue, "well.. moot point if they are talking of leaving. i was talking of surrender. it not our call if they simply leave the place. and likely a bad idea. you know they would be back"

Ian watches Zakhar, also looking a bit dubious. "What plan?"

Zakhar grins, "What helm?" While he unwraps the leather wrap from his head, then looking to Raven. "You'll take care of me weapons?" The next several minutes is filled with Zakhar not waiting for Raven to respond and proceeded to drop weapons at her feet. Starting out small with a boot knife, butcher knife, small bandage which unwraps to reveal a set of brass knuckles ... to several small knifes and sharpened shaking sticks to then reveal the sharp tip of diamondplate at end of his bone cane, frying pan. Finally reaching into his hair to pull out a pair of sharpened clavicle hairpins, and then a tea cup and spoon which he holds onto while looking back down to the pile of weapons then over to Ian. Holding out the teacup, "To have a cup of tea of course."

Ian eyes Zakhar, then looks up at the queen and her followers. "Whatever happens, I just want to be clear. It's been a long night. If you take this to a fight, there will be no more chances to surrender. Not from me, and I'm usually the best chance you're going to get."

Raven rolls her eyes and siiighs giving Ian a sidelong look of exasperation before Gabriella gets a wry grin. She looks looks to the Queen and her Kin, "My lord's a master of understatement but he ain't wrong."

The scarred man pushes a table aside enough for Zakhar to squeeze through but he holds up a hand to stop Zakhar before he's within mischief range on any of the Bloodoar Nobles caught inside the tower. "Sit" he demands. "And we'll talk like civilised" he glances to Rynne for permission and gets a nod. "People. First thing you can answer." he is speaking directly to Zakhar again. "Is Why? Why are you here?"

Ian's declaration that there will be no more offers of surrender makes Rynne shrug. "I don't particularly care to accept surrenders either."

The archer adds. "We either fight or we leave. We won't surrender to be hung like hogs or kept in a gilded cage whilst you boast of your kindness."

Caspian nod his head at that declaration. "respectable. foolish.. but respectable." he gives his daggers a little bit of a twirl as he grins.

Ian is content to let Zakhar have his tea party without interfering or trying to interject. He finds something not currently part of the barricade to sit on and wait, while he keeps an eye on the archer. If there's a table he can overturn to use as a makeshift shield, he will, but otherwise he'll rely on reflexes and the alaricite glove covering his left hand.

Zakhar nods softly to the archer looking to find a seat then putting hooking a chair with his foot to pull it over closer so he can sit down. His hands still firmly upon teacup with the spoon sitting at the side within his palm. "Why am I here? Or why are any of us here? Really, that's a complicated question? You sure you want to start there?"

Raven says, "WHy don't we start with why you're still here. That's more relevant, no? You could have escaped the city before now, surely?"

Gabriella pulls on the straps of her armor and rolls her shoulder with a wicked grin as the talk of peace passes. She hefts her blade and lifts a sabaton to rest on one of the overturned tables while keeping a watchful eye on Zakhar. She leans over to whisper to the others, "Be ready if he acts. We will not lose anyone this day."

Ian is, indeed, not going to launch an attack while Zakhar's in a position where such an attack could cost him his life, so for now, while he's said all that he's going to say, he takes a flask out of an inner pocket of his coat and takes a quick drink.

Caspian glances to raven, smirks, and then speaks very softly, "what if we start sneaking around the side of the barricade while he is uh... distracting them. these talks are only going to end one way.."

After Zakhar answers the man goes to answer but Rynne speaks over him. "None of that matters right now. Are you going to allow us to leave or are we going to fight?" She gives Raven a disdainful look "I'm the /Queen/. I can't just Leave." Her shoulders straighten with those words. Some of the power of your earlier words lost.

Ian checks perception and war at normal. Ian marginally fails.

Raven says, "Ooooh, don't you worry, highness. I'm fair sure there'll be blood spilt before wee leave. Don't worry about Zakhar-he'll be fine." Her gaze lifts, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that you can. Other Queens, Kings, Dukes, Duchesses and other notable figures have frequently fled their homes when seiged.""

Raven's first comment is to gabriella and then the Queen.

Pasquale has called for a check of luck at normal.
Raven is successful.
TIE: Ian is successful. Zakhar is successful.
Gabriella marginally fails.
Caspian marginally fails.
Terese fails.

Caspian clicks his tongue slightly, "simply leaving was never an option Queeny.. surrender was.. but i think you made your stance on that fairly well known." he gives a sigh and begins walking toward the side of the barricade in a truly non chalant matter

Zakhar says in Isles shav, "Everyone can leave. It's simple. Put one foot in front of the other and wander in a direction that is not here. It's that or stick around being stubborn to watch some nobbie decimate your home and then claim the land for themselves. And believe me, you don't want to piss those people off, (Zakhar thumbs back to the others)""

Zakhar starts talking in Crownsland again, while reaching slowly to his vest to pull out a small tea kettle. Ornate with drawings of flowers around its base. "Do you have any water to heat up? It makes the tea better."

Terese has been her along with the others she mostly sit quietly observing. Since Terese has few diplomatic skills she is just here to help when things go south. So she just listens for now, seeming to see if anyone else might talk their way to a peaceful solution

Ian puts his flask away and gets up. There's a decided shift to his demeanor as Caspian starts to move. A profound serenity slackens his hard features, while his eyes take on an almost luminous intensity.

The Queen sighs and rolls her eyes at the various words that go around the group. She moves as if she is going to simply stroll away, spitting a word out in shav that seems more an expletive than a command, but before the last syllable of that word can fade away she hurls her long knife at Gabriella.

The scarred male spurs into action almost immediately, lunging a spear at Zakhar, and the archer looses her first arrow right at Caspian.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Zakhar checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Zakhar fails.

A second knife quickly wings its way from the Queens hands towards Terese.

Gabriella checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Gabriella is successful.

Caspian lets out a yelp and darts behind the table in the barricade as the arrow whistles toward him, burying itself with a thud into the oak. "hey! mind the furniture! no need to bring the woodworking into this... lets keep our murdering civil at least!"

Gabriella flashes Raven an excited smile before replying, "As long as it is not ours." She nods before turning her attention back to Zakhar. Her foot barely moves but move it does as she tries to feel out a weak point in the barricade without being noticed. A flash of steel is all the warning she gets and she throws herself to the ground as the knife whizzes past her cheek cutting a strand of her golden hair. She watches as it floats down to the ground before snarling at the queen and rising with a vehement look darkening her features.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Critical Success! Terese is spectacularly successful.

The spear stabs into Zakhar's left shoulder and he just sits there for the moment before reacting. Almost as if his shoulder and mind are not communicating properly. While his right hand grabs at the shaft of the spear he is slow to move from staring at the spearman to the steel that is lodged into his shoulder, then finally as if the little messengers finally fought their way past all the drug addled guards in his mind. "WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!? I ask for hot water and you fucking stab me??" He pulls on the shaft of the spear throwing his body forwards to claim more of the spear while running his shoulder upon the blade and growling at the spearman as he attempts to both disarm the man of his weapon by claiming it upon his body and punch wildly at the spearman.

Ian checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Ian is successful.

Zakhar checks stamina and brawl at hard. Zakhar marginally fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Caspian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Raven marginally fails.

Thankfully Terese moves quickly to draw here sword and deflect the knife coming for her and suprisingly aiming the blade to hit the spear coming for Zakhar with enough force it knocks it off course. She is now standing to presue the attackers.

Gabriella checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Gabriella is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Terese is successful.

Gabriella checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Gabriella is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at daunting. Raven fails.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese is successful.

Vern arrives, delivering a message to Terese before departing.

Between the cane and the frankly flat demeanor and seeming inclinations towards peace, Ian didn't look threatening, he really didn't. Even in those last few seconds, when his demeanor took on a sense of a pack predator of some kind closing lazily in on prey, it would be very easy to focus on his strange gait, the fact that something is clearly very wrong with his legs. So it's not surprising that he's not one of the people targeted in the initial salvo. But all of the sense of inertia vanishes in a moment the moment weapons start flying. He grabs an upper part of the barricade one-handed and hauls himself overtop the barricade with a surprising amount of upper body strength, moving more overtly in time with Caspian's attack. The alaricite sword comes free from his cane and flashes lambent in the dim light in the hall, reflecting some of the blue in his eyes as he brings it around in a devastating arc. There's fighting to win, and then there's fighting to kill. Ian's doing the second one.

A litany of what sounds to possibly be Zakhar swearing as his mind catches up to be stabbed at and taking the spoon from the teacup in front of him in one hand to put between his teeth for 'safe keeping' then the tea cup is picked up and flung at the spearman.

Zakhar checks dexterity and archery at normal. Zakhar is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian fails.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese is successful.

Gabriella checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Gabriella fails.

Raven takes a running start looking for a good foothold to vault herself over the 'barricade' and use her momentum to close the distance..that was the plan. The execution leaves something to be desired as something shifts beneath her causing her to give a muted yelp and clatter as she summersaults on the way down, landing hard on her knees and making a desperate and wide swing to try to distract Sagan.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Caspian grabs the table edge he just hid behind with a click of his tongue, "Well..least we can say we tried." he didnt really sound all that broken up about the turn of events. he hoisted himself up and vaulted over the table, hitting the ground and dashing toward the archer, looking to end her before she got another shot off. blades whistled through the air as the twisted and sent one lancing toward the woman to draw blood. Sadly.. he couldnt divert fast enough to avoid the return shot, the arrow thudding into his shoulder with a grunt.

Gabriella glares daggers at the queen as she crouches before jumping over the barricade with a fierce growl. Everything else seems to fade away as she focuses on Rynne. "You," she snarls. "Look what you've done to my hair! I will make you bleed for that, cur." She launches herself at the queen in a wild flurry of blows seemingly forgetting all notions of defense. She winces as Rynne deals her a blow but pushes through the pain to draw Gluttony across the queen's body.

Terese is making her way past the blockade with all the skills she has trained tiredlessly to build. Even in her full steal armor she seems to take little to no effort to rush after Rynne. This time she is on the offensive and striking first to land a blow and then dodging the counter attack. Unlike the other she is quiet as she focuses on her technique.

The three Bloodoar nobles soon prove themselves to be excellent fighters. Even with two foes apiece they are managing to mostly keep up with the battering combinations of parries and attacks. Rynne uses her long knives like a dancer, laughing-crying whilst she takes a couple of brutal strikes from the two women fighting her. Sagan fights with a grim sort of practicality that results in lightning stabs and cunning sweeps. Rilana meanwhile has taken to ducking and dancing through the mess of furniture, leaping up to fire off arrows from all sorts of impractical positions before using her dance like athleticism to duck away. Even so she soon has blood running through her dark hair.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven is successful.

Gabriella checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Gabriella is successful.

Zakhar checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Zakhar marginally fails.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian fails.

Zakhar checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Zakhar fails.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese marginally fails.

Caspian wields Charm and Grace, alaricite chain knives.

Gabriella wields Gluttony, the Sword of Tiberio Pravus.

Terese wields Dragon's Dawn, a diamodplate longsword.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese marginally fails.

Gabriella checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Gabriella is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Raven wields Blackheart Halfmoon Blade.

Zakhar checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Zakhar is successful.

Zakhar wields braided handle spoon from flatware set.

There's a terrifying efficiency to the way that Ian fights. He's not fast like his opponent. He can't quickly jump around. He doesn't have to. His eyes move fast, taking in her movements, taking in the surrounding bric a brac she's diving onto and off of, and he places an attack not where she is, but where he knows she'll be. The upshot is that he doesn't so much strike Rilana as let her dive right onto his blade, while he, at the same time, just... isn't where she needed him to be in order to hit him. His expression is peaceful as he fights, even serene, the there are hints in his eyes that he's enjoying the challenge of this bloody chess game he's playing with the archer.

Terese is unable to land her next blow nor dodge the counter attack this time, it's almost as if Rynne is mostly focused on Terese for that moment or something but Terese does not back down even as she takes a decent blow.

Gabriella reaches down to feel the wound, her anger boiling over as it comes away smeared red. "You should have surrendered when you had the chance. Now it is far too late for you." She dashes forward, her neck twisting as she just barely ducks under Rynne's swing before cutting another spray of the queen's blood into the air. She dances back and laughs. "Is that really all you've got after such big words?"

Caspian was waiting for the arrow this time around, the champion lashing out with a flurry of blows as he tried to connect with the nimble archer. Sadly the most he could do was keep her moving. Fortunately, ian was there to catch her as she dodged into his strike. Caspian grinned, then twisted out of the way as a an arrow drove into the ground where he had been standing just a moment before. "Good catch lord ian!" he laughed , closing the distance with the troublesome archer yet again

Raven rolls to the side and then finally gets her feet back under her and gives an irritable, feral sneer, "That was a mistake. Hope your idiot arrogance is worth your life." She gives a wicked snap of her wrist to send her blade out for a cut and then recoils just as quickto cover the backend as she ducks out of the way.

What was once snow white floppy hair is now sprayed and beginning to be matted with blood, Zakhar's own blood covers his left shoulder rising into his beard and left side of head as he swings with spoon at the now unarmed spearman with the spear's shaft still sticking out of the old man while he bears his teeth in a snarl, "Going to cut your thumbs from you and use them to peel your eyes out when I get close enough."

Rynne staggersas Gabriella's great sword strikes into her guard. She backsteps, nimble as a cat, and spits blood before angrily declaring "May Leviathan eat your heart!" as she leaps back into the fray.
Sagan has taken to using the haft of his spear as a defensive tool to keep Zakhar and Raven from getting in to close to him. Any disarment having lasted mere moments. Its making it harder for him to use the blade but every move taken by them comes with the risk of a thwack or their legs being swept out from under them. Whilst Rynne and Rilana are practically dancing he's picked a spot and rooted himself to it. He arches a brow at Zakhar's threat "And you wonder why we didn't surrender?"
Rilana gasps as she takes yet another blow from Ian and for a moment she loses the rythm of her movements. Her bow falls to the ground with a clatter and an aborted attempt to retrieve it made before she switches to a long knife just like her mother.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian is successful.

Gabriella checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Gabriella marginally fails.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Botch! Raven fails completely.

Zakhar checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Zakhar fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Critical Success! Caspian is spectacularly successful.

Gabriella checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Gabriella fails.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian is successful.

As Zakhar misses again he grins back to Sagan, "It's not as if you'd have done anything different if the tables were turned. Besides Leviathan will find a meal upon you, it already spat me out. What do you believe your chances to be?"

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese fails.

Zakhar checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Zakhar is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at daunting. Raven is successful.

Ian and Caspian are a well oiled machine; it's now his turn to keep Rilana moving and drive her into the Champion's blades, a part that he plays to perfection, such that they could be passing her back and forth between them, at this point, like they're playing tennis, with the unfortunate archer as the ball, and rackets replaced by alaricite weapons.

Raven growls, "And so you thought ATTACKING would facitate a better outcome? Oh, I know somene who has a saying for people like you..." She lunges and there's a gasp as he almost locks up her blade and comes VERY near to disarming her but she manages to make a feline twist while pivoting away and exhales, "Fuck." is exhaled at the close call.

Gabriella struggles to keep herself calm as she steps in to take another swing at the nimble queen. This time however her sword goes wide and Rynne manages to slice through her armor to leave a few more lacerations. She coughs and spits out blood before tossing back her head and laughing almost maniacally. When she fixes her gaze upon the queen once more a fiery light burns in her eyes and she throws herself back into the fight with a renewed vigor. "You will have to do a lot more than that. I have killed warriors that make you seem like no more than a child." She studies Rynne's reaction as she tries to get a rise out of her.

Caspian send a chain flashing through the air in a wicked arc to send a spray of blood as it caught the archer across the side, ending her stumbling back toward Ian. he dropped to the ground, and rolled as her clumsy shot came firing back at him. his eyes were alight with the thrill of battle as he charged toward her, looking to finish this off. "honestly you should have just surrendered..think of all the blood that would still be in your body!"

Terese lands a blow on Rynne and though Caspian shields her from taking to much more damage she clearly is stuggling a bit more to dodge being less used to fighing offensively the defensively it seems but she still does not back down, quietly adjusting as she continues to try and help the others to defeat their enemy

Following Caspian's last attack Rilana struggles to stay balanced and upright. If not for the adrenalin that is no doubt surging through her system right now she would probably be unconscious. Pain is written all over her face and theres fear in her dark eyes. "You could have just let us go!" She shouts when Caspian tells them they should have surrendered.
Rynne is still dancing-fighting even with her wounds. She just laughs wildly at Gabriella's insult "So very determined to be the one who killed Queen Rynne Bloodoar!". There is a fair quantity of blood coating her armor but its difficult to know for sure how much is hers and how much is from the two women she is fighting. At least some is hers.
Sagan is still holding his bit of ground with that same stoic stubborness and deadly flicks of his spear. His only contribution to the banters and insults being thrown around is a grunt.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese fails.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven is successful.

Gabriella checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Botch! Gabriella fails completely.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian fails.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian fails.

Zakhar checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Zakhar fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese fails.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Gabriella checks dexterity and dodge at daunting. Critical Success! Gabriella is spectacularly successful.

Zakhar checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Zakhar marginally fails.

The change in Rilana's rhythm of attack catches Ian off guard, and he loses track of her leaps and dodges such that his next attempt to intercept her movements brings him to entirely the wrong position in their little debris-strewn corner of the battlefield. Of course, this also means that he's in entirely the wrong position to be stabbed. He's not in the same mood for quiet, honorable banter that he was when fighting on the walls. Not that he's not enjoying himself, something glimpsed from time to time as a light in his eyes, but it's not the scintillating conversation that holds appeal for him in this fight.

Terese seems rather frustrated but makes little nose nor exchange of word even as she misses hitting her target and once again is shielded but this time from Gabriella. She seems more determined to try and adjust her technique once more. Any thanks to Caspian or Gabriella is more of a silent, bow of her head just for a moment before re-focusing on her task

Raven growls with her slash, "Make-" she's cut short but the need to parry an attack, cutting off in a soft grunt but holding her ground.

Gabriella flips her blade over and arcs it through the air to halt Rynne's blade as it swings at Terese, pushing against the dancing queen with all her might. A fresh splash of blood spills out onto the floor beneath them and she grits her teeth as the pain makes itself known. "This will only end one way. With you dead on the floor."

Caspian her retort actually makes Caspian bark a laugh, which is likely why his attack swings wide and misses. "yes well we COULD.. but we never offered that did we. was never an option despite how much you wish it was. should have left earlier if you were hoping for that outcome. or you know.. not been a pirate" he chuckles as another arrow is dodged away from as he closes back into range. he pauses to blink as Gabriella manages to perform a minor miracle in dodging, while correcting a missed swing, and somehow keeping terese safe. he picks his jaw up from where it lay on the ground and continues on trying to dispatch the pesky archer.

Zakhar's steam is wearing down and in his last attempt to swipe a shot with spoon at Sagan the old man just sits down on the floor holding his hand up to look to Sagan and Raven. "Right. You've fought well. Are you sure we can't just have a cup of tea?"

Whilst Rynne continues her laughing knife dance and Rilana tries to skewer Caspian or Ian, Sagan takes a strike from Raven that makes him grunt. He gives Zakhar a terse nod. "Not to late to let us go." Words that might have been a little more believable if he didnt follow them up with an attempt to stab Raven in the leg. Then again you aren't talking over a nice cup of tea right now. Rilana blinks at Caspian as if she doesn't quite understand what he said. "Pirate?"

Gabriella checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Gabriella marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Critical Success! Raven is spectacularly successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Zakhar checks dexterity and archery at hard. Critical Success! Zakhar is spectacularly successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese is successful.

As Rilana darts away from Ian and Caspian again, Ian, striking at her with a slash that's not intended to hit so much as to drive her further back up onto a pile of furniture, jerks his scarf free from where it's usually clipped to his belt with his left hand and, holding it folded in half, lashes out. Not at Rilana, no. He uses the scarf to hook the leg of a chair that's a key element to her balance just at the moment, and then JERKS, hauling the chair, which should have been beyond his reach, clear out from under her, spilling her straight towards Caspian.

Raven growls from the top, "Make better choices, asshole!" driving her blade in a joint of his armor and weither by chance or Zakhar's skill with cutlery-happens to give Zakhar a handy target-Raven ducking quickly to out of the way.

Zakhar sits on the floor and looks up to Sagan, a small shrug is started before he winces in remembering where his left shoulder sits and is still bleeding. A nod to Raven as if a silent motion to what is coming next and a small painful wink before looking back to Sagan, "See if you'd taken the tea you'd only be left with a raspy voice and be huddled over as the poison from the leaves seeped through you. But now. Now, you get to be embarrassed when you see the other queen and get to ask, Was it really a spoon that killed me?" And with that, Zakhar flings the small braided handle spoon at Sagan. Where in a grace of flight or last ditch effort of luck on his side, pierces the man's eye blinding him enough to allow Raven to get a solid swing in ending the man.

Caspian gives a laugh as she comes stumbling toward him. his blade flashes out with w whip like motion, wrapping around her once, twice, before the blade finally drives itself into her stomach. like a dancer finishing a spin, caspian caught the bound woman and sent her spinning away from him, ripping the chain as he did.. the woman spun for a brief moment before the blade yanked free in a spray of blood as she went careening away to slump down dead. Caspian glanced to the others, but seeing them dealt with, he looked to ian and offered a bow "marvelous dance my lord"

Gabriella weaves through Rynne's guard as she spots Terese advancing and takes a distracting swing at the queen, placing her hope in Terese as she could feel her body slowly giving out on her.

Terese looks at Gabriella as she takes her next strike missing but in an effort to dodge her huge blade Rynne opens herself for Terese to land the final blow that brings the woman to her knees then before falling limp to the ground and not moving. Terese makes her way to check on Gabriella after finishing off their for. "Are you alright," she asks

There's blood everywhere. It's on Caspian. It's on Ian. It's on Ian's scarf. More is on Ian's scarf after he casually uses the scarf to wipe the blood off his face (or really, smear it on his face, but who's counting?). "With you, an enjoyable dance," Ian agrees. There's something... not quite right about the flavor of enjoyment in his voice, a quiet, rational pleasure not keyed up or enhanced by thrill or adrenaline. The now smear of blood on his face doesn't help dim the eerie effect. "But I wasn't dancing with her."

Raven pauses to lean against an overtuned table and wheezes, looking a smidge pale rather than flushed-no doubt from all that talking while she was fighting-or not yet coming to accept her limit of her collective warwounds from before this war.

Gabriella sways on her feet before falling back to land on her rear. She looks down to check her wounds before waving a hand at Terese. "I'll live, just tell me you killed her. Her blades bit too deep for my liking." She laughs weakly which quickly turns to a groan and a grimace.

"I killed her, come on let's get the medics to look you over," Terese says, letting Gabriella lean on her as she tries to help her by letting her lean most her wieght onto herself.

Zakhar nearly falls over to his right side after Sagan falls down. A long slow breath is let out before the pulls himself towards Sagan's body to reclaim his spoon, and take the man's thumbs with the sharpened edge, all while muttering at the body.

Zakhar mutters, "... now you'll be like your friend horace. ... little trophy upon my wall, with thumbs where your ... ... ... Or should I ... some sands from the ... and use ... ... sewn your ... ... Either way, your skull ... ... ... rest."

Gabriella rises to her feet slowly and leans against Terese gratefully. "Thank you, I should be fine after some medical care and some rest. Marvelous job finishing her off, that was a kill to be proud of."