Wonderful 90.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

Riding off the downhill forest track, sir Percavelle Lé Dic spurs his mount towards two of the on coming riders. As he does, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger, who rides with his bow strung. Takes his horse into the trees as the heavily armoured knight has done. As he does, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger calls out to the others "Spread out!".
Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy rides further down the track before heading into the trees to the east. The elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands, is low on his mount, down next to it's head. He feels an arrow pass directly over him. And he immediately knows that was a human bowman shooting at him. As any half decent elven would of hit him no matter what.
The spy Tanith looks to his left, uphill. Where through the trees, he spots the earl of Lé Dic, with his shield raised up infront of him. Just in time too, because a yard long shaft smacks into it. Hitting with force, that the heavily armoured knight rocks back in the saddle. That was definitely shot from an elven longbow.
"Damn cheats, and their bows" mutters sir Percavelle Lé Dic as he rights himself in the saddle, just before he rides into one of the two on coming mounts.
The ranger Hait hears the impact of two horses somewhere away to his right. He figures the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands has probably ridden his horse, head on into one of the attackers. It's what the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che often does.
The mercenary ranger can't exactly see that way, as he's low on his horse. Infact he's out of the saddle, and down along the side of his mount clinging onto it with his legs as it runs between the trees.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, pulls the right rein once so the horse turns that way. He lets go of the rein, and drops his head down even lower, so that he's looking underneath his mount, between it's legs.
With his right hand, the ranger Hait takes hold of the string of his bow that he's holding with his left, the left that he's also using to hold the arrow to the belly of the bow.
Riley Hait who spots a couple of armoured figures running through the trees, releases the string, which slaps across the side of his face as the shaft takes flight. Right towards one of the armoured figures heading his way.
Shur Kee the monk slaps the rumps of the two pack horses, sending them into the forest proper, in the direction of the attackers. The acolyte in the order of Bru Li looks into the trees a bit further down the forest track when he hears a couple of mounts collide.
The short statured monk spots sir Percavelle and his horse smash into the mount of one of the attackers. Both horses and their riders go down, though a couple of moments later, Shur Kee spot the paladin get up off the ground and shout "Saint Mar-che!" with his shield out infront of him, and his broadsword in hand.
The physical adept knows it will be an extremely brave individual, or a complete idiot to take on the knight from the kingdom of Druvic, in a one on one situation.
Seeing that both Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera have dismounted, and that the nobleborn youngster from the kingdom of Sarcrin is stringing his bow as he runs behind a thick bole tree. And that the orphan teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury is loading Shur Kee's old crossbow as she gets down behind some brush.
The short statured monk wearing the odd conical shaped hat, rides into the trees towards where the attackers are coming from. As he does, he takes a hold of something that he has lashed to the side of his mount, pulling it from it's ties, though still keeping it low, against the side of his mount.
Dalinvardél Tanith leaning forward and down, puts his right arm and hand, down below the head and neck of his mount. In that hand he holds his small crossbow that's loaded. With the arms and the stock not extended, the weapon is easily used one handed by someone who has mastered it's use over multiple decades.
The spy Tanith shoots the bolt off, taking one of the attackers in the face as he rides to where sir Percavelle is, for the heavily armoured knight is garnering a fair bit of attention. Which causes the elven spy to slightly shake his head, as he thinks it's foolhardy to take on the earl of Lé Dic.
The best thing to do, would be to stand off and shoot the heavily armoured knight full of bolts and arrows. That's what Dalinvardél would do if he was on the opposite side of a battle from nobleborn knight.
After kicking a barely conscious mercenary in the side of the head with a steel boot, the mercenary whose mount he rode into.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic holds his shield up one handed, like a lady would hold her parasol up on her way to court at the palace in Leeabra, the capital of his homeland of Druvic.
A heavy sword swung down by a mercenary clangs off the shield as he rides by. As the rider goes by, the earl of Lé Dic swings his broadsword at the front left leg of the mercenary's horse. The animal screams as the blade slams into it's forelock.
The mount goes down tumbling, sending it's rider out of the saddle and over it's head.
Seeing that the mercenary who has just been flung forward off his horse, isn't getting up anytime soon. Sir Percavelle Lé Dic turns in the direction of his attackers, and in light hearted tone, not to mention a loud voice, he says "Right chaps, which one of you miscreants is next, wot?".
Tamric Drubine looks down the track and spots one of the attackers ride out onto it from the trees. It's an elf, and the nobleborn adolescent from the kingdom of Sarcrin in the Southlands, draws back his bow, and lets the arrow fly.
The shaft takes the elven mercenary unawares in the chest, as he was looking to the otherside of the track, back into the trees, where sir Percavelle is getting all the attention from the most of the other mercenaries.
The former heir to castle Drubine in his homeland, takes another arrow from his quiver and searches for another target, hearing the thunk of the crossbow being used by Lisell Maera, being fired.
The bolt takes a mounted mercenary in the side, he screams out in pain, clutching his side, dropping the reins. He was riding towards the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che. Who reaches up and yanks him out of the saddle, when the horse wanders by the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic.
Dropping back down behind the bushes, Lisell Maera slides the underside of the crossbow back, so that it's quickly in firing position. She puts a quarrel in the grooved top, and looks through the bushes, across the forest track, and into the trees there, looking for another of the attackers to shoot at.
Shur Kee the monk pulls back on the reins of his mount, bringing it to a stop. He ducks as a rider swings a sword at him, the blade barely passes over him.
Popping back up in the saddle, the acolyte in the order of Bru Li, swings his left arm up and around. And the staff he's been holding low against the body of his mount. Comes up and hits the rider in the side of the helm.
There's a resounding clang when the wooden staff smacks into the pot helm of the mercenary. Who falls sideways out of the saddle, completely dazed, and completely surprised that something just hit him.
Shur Kee puts his heels to his mount, and rides forward. In one swift movement, the physical adept jumps up into a crouch on the saddle, then leaps forward, and to his right off his horse, swinging his staff as he does so.
An elven mercenary who turned, and was riding at the short statured monk from the far eastern kingdom of Wah Lee. Is struck in her side by the staff, which cracks against her ribs, sending her out of the saddle.
As she hits the ground with a thud, Shur Kee, puts his right hand down, planting it on the empty saddle of her mount as it slows down.
With a single hand plant, the physical adept is completely upside down, with his staff in his left hand held out to the side. He pushes up, vaulting to the right, flipping off the horse, somersaulting in mid air, before landing on the ground in a crouch, with his left arm, and the staff in the hand, held out and behind him.
Tamric Drubine steps back and looks to his left, and finds Lisell Maera turning and looking at him from where she's crouching behind some bushes, the teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury has a raised eyebrow, for she like the nobleborn youngster from the kingdom of Sarcrin, has just seen what Shur Kee the monk just did.
Tam shrugs his shoulders, then looks around the tree he's behind, and draws his bow back when he spots another of the mercenaries who are attacking them in the forest this morning.
Riley Hait's mount goes down when a cloth yard shaft takes it full in the chest. There's another already in it's rump, while a shorter arrow is in it's side, on the left just below the neck.
The mercenary ranger who was trained and raised in the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands, jumps clear of his dying mount before it plows head first into the ground.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman hits the uneven ground rolling, making sure to keep his bow held out to the side so he doesn't snap it. The ranger Hait who in actual fact is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra. Was riding horses and falling off them before he could even walk.
It's the way of the barbarian hordes, who live on the vast tundra, far to the south, just north of the southern polar region.
So it's with ease the mercenary ranger hits the ground rolling, quickly popping up to his feet, and running along the incline through the trees. He steps quickly to his right, and stands right behind a tree, with his back to it.
He hears a slight thud on the otherside of the trunk, and he slightly winces, as he figures that was probably a yard long shaft from an elven archer, which was intended for his back, that just hit the otherside of the tree.
With small movements, the ranger Hait takes an arrow from his quiver, puts it to the belly of his bow, and notches it to the string. He holds it down infront of him, briefly closing his eyes. Feeling the slight give on the waxed string through his gloved hand. Flicking the goose feather fetching of the arrow he's ready to let fly when it's time to.
Riley Hait knows he's no got no chance in a shooting contest with an elven archer. Even a half decent one will be a better shot with a bow than he is, and he's a skilled archer himself, especially from horseback.
He opens his eyes when over the noise of the fighting through the trees, in particular sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who likes to talk, loudly at that, whenever he's fighting. The mercenary ranger thinks he heard the slight thuc sound of a crossbow being fired. A moment later, he hears the recognisable voice of Dalinvardél Tanith call out the word "Clear!" to him.
The spy Tanith looks down at the elven archer on the ground with a bolt in the back of his neck. He shoulders the dead archers elven longbow, as they're always worth it, in both coin as well as a weapon to have.
Then the elf from south of the equator, slips away through the trees, as he knows there's another archer nearby and on foot. Though this one is human, and no where near as a good of a shot as the elven archer that he just killed was.
The elven spy from the principality of Alínlae as he runs, seems almost to blend in with his surroundings. His grey, brown, mottled cloak, along with the almost matching leather armour beneath it. Is by far the best form of camouflage in a forest, that one could wear, that isn't magical.
Only someone with a spell cast upon them to hide them, would be harder to spot than the spy Tanith at the moment.
"Yes, you wait your turn, let me kill your pointy eared friend here first" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic in his overly loud voice as he blocks a sword with his shield. While ramming his own sword into the guts of the elven mercenary to his right.
The blade crunches through chainmail, which along with the leather tunic beneath it, and the undershirt beneath that, goes into the stomach of the elven mercenary.
The earl of Lé Dic lets go off the hilt his broadsword, leaving the blade in the guts of the elf to his right, who staggers a step, then drops to his knees as blood comes from his mouth.
The heavily armoured knight bashes his shield into the mercenary directly infront of him. The nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic grins behind the visor of his full helm when he sees the mercenary stagger backwards with a bloody and bashed face.
Sir Percavelle smacks his shield into the mercenary again, telling him "Take a seat there boyo" just before the mercenary falls on his ass.
From behind his back, the paladin, well former paladin, takes his pick from his belt. And he slams it down into the top of the exposed head of the dazed mercenary sitting there on the ground.
"Something on your mind there my dear fellow?" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who then adds "Let me pick your mind for you" as he pulls the hand pick out of the head of the dead mercenary.
"Oh Percy lad, what a witty wit you have" the heavily armoured knight murmurs to himself as he laughs, the early of Lé Dic, who though in his early forties, is still extremely quick, especially for a man in excess of two hundred and twenty five pounds, who stands a few inches over six foot.
Spins and throws the pick at a mounted mercenary riding towards him, the weapon takes the mercenary in the face, sending him tumbling backwards out of the saddle, and off the horse.
"Next!" calls out sir Percavelle Lé Dic in a gleeful tone, as he takes a hammer from behind his back, off his belt, as he looks around for someone else to kill . . . . . .