Linde Xe' Almna's Story

A cloaked figure atop a horse appeared through the dust that littered the recently attacked village of Atlum. The figure was disheveled, but not unkept, as whoever the rider was, kept their self with a straightened back as they slowly strode into the town. It was clear that the rider was from no where close, as the horse was visibly tired and hungry, as well as thirsty, the same could have been assumed of the rider, if their face had been visible, and not hidden behind a mask and cloak. What...What happened here...? the figure questioned within their mind as they looked around the town, seeing all the destruction and chaos that had happened, they didn't know what had occurred, all that was known is that it was for the lack of a better word, ransacked and left the towns people to their own devices. The figure shook their head and sighed, such brutality and lack of humanity never surprised them, as they had their fair share of the same actions, but this? A whole town of most likely peaceful people? Unnecessary, even to a Bounty Hunter as this.

As they passed by a mass of injured people, they stopped as they saw a brunette haired woman attending to the crowd by herself. She's attending all these souls by herself...? they thought, if their face was not concealed by a mask, a small smile would have appeared across their face for only a moment, but just as soon, it vanished. Gently the figure bumped the horse in the sides, mushing it forwards, into the town. They needed a place to refresh themselves, then to leave once their stomach and mind were once again replenished, they proceeded forth further. Once they entered the small town, or well the remains, the cloaked being dismounted their steed, trying them to a broken post, and gently patted the mare on her head. "I'll go look for something for us, Bree...Wait here." the voice was soft, but enough for the horse to hear it, giving a soft huff at its owner and went amongst its business. The figure turned, and began walking to find any form of nourishment, as their stomach began to growl quiet loudly in fact, as it was indeed days since they last had even a scrap of food.

As they proceeded through, they saw someone else enter the town, a rather tall in appearance, red haired individual. Hm...Better not be here to cause any trouble....I really am not in the mood for more blood she- the figure was cut off from their train of thought as the person spoke, voice was surprisingly deep for the individual, but as they spoke they spoke with care and a bit of kindness in their tone to the horse, Hm...Rare.... they thought, not many people especially men tend to talk so caring to their animals, never mind their steeds. They shook their head once more, and turned and went to continue on in their pursuit for food.

After the cloaked figure had found a small place that sold food that they could afford, handed four pieces of silver, three copper, and one gold to the man behind the counter, "Thank you." the figure said, their voice echoed almost as the mask did cover their whole face for the most part, was sincere and honest and surprisingly higher pitched than the man expected, as the person was rather tall and appeared to be rather bulky in appearance, as contrary to their appearance, they weren't as dead or souless as the mask looked. The man gave a kind smile and gingerly took the coins he was given, "Th-thank you, miss. Thank you, and let the gods bless you, well....if there are any gods left there is..." he said as he nodded to his costumer, who only nodded in turn and walked away. As the figure walked back to their horse, they sat upon the small stack of wood that was nearby, and gave their horse an apple to eat as it balanced on one of the planks. The figure, as no one was bothering them, as well as wouldn't know who they were, and if anyone did, they could disapear without a trace, removed their mask, and then dropped down their hood, to reveal their face which was a lot younger than anyone would have expected it to look, except that two large gashes went down her face, starting from the top right corner of her hairline, and trailed down until they reached down her face until it reached her upper lip and abruptly stopped with two small hook like scars. The girl sighed softly, as she looked around, no one was watching, at least no one she noticed. She graciously ate the bread and two pieces of freshly cooked meat that she had purchased, savoring the taste as she hadn't eaten in days, or least she couldn't remember eating recently. Did she? It had been a while, she couldn't remember. She shrugged her shoulders and when she eventually finished, she placed the rest of her food in the pouch on her steed's side, when she heard yelling coming from down the road, was it someone yelling for help? She couldn't exactly hear, but as she placed her hood back over her head, she looked to see what the commotion was.

To her surprise, it was a woman screeching for help, from anyone, while holding what seemed to be her child in a terrible state. She would have offered help, but she was no doctor or healer, nor did she know where the doctor was, besides that lady she had seen earlier. Who just so happenly did the woman with the child in her arms stumble across as she answered the cries for help. Aetrius watched on as a spectator in the back round as the woman went to work, meticulously going to work on the child's body. Aetrius thought it was a lost cause, she clearly was missing an arm and had a ghastly wound to her abdomen, as she could survey. She won't make it..Too much trauma and blood loss...Stop wasting your time with her... she thought as she looked on at the woman who she had seen earlier. She sat back down and watched on from affar, but eventually to her amazement, she watched as the moment used different forms of medicine and common medical procedures to help the child, and somehow, she seemingly helped stop the wounds from progressively getting worse. She chuckled to herself as she crossed her arms, "Luck was on your side today, lady....May the 'gods' be on your side today." she said half mockingly, half sincerely, as the woman would need luck at the rate she was helping people with. As Aetrius re positioned herself as she sat, her armor squeaked as the leather creased, making her eyebrow crease at the sudden sound, for her to realize what the sound was, to only chuckle at her own stupidity in getting spooked by her own armor. She placed her hand on her hip that housed her dual swords, one on each hip. Her armory consisted of her two swords, her two flint lock pistols that were housed on the inner lining of her cloak specifically designed and tailored by her for her bounty hunter needs, and her long bow and quiver that were strapped to the side of her horse. She sighed as she laid back on the wood pile, and covered her mask with an extra layer she had on her horse's saddle, as she wouldn't be needing her mask, not yet anyway. And she decided to try to take a breather for a moment before she would leave the town to travel to who knows where, and without realizing it, she closed her eyes for a moment too long, and had accidentally fallen asleep where she lay, as sleep was usually neigh possible for the young bounty hunter.

She had been fast asleep, when suddenly yelling and a commotion had awoken her from her much needed slumber. Which resulted in her reacting to her instincts and she was no longer asleep, but was suddenly up and on her feet with her hands on her weapons, ready to fight. But for her to see that the rucuss was already resolved, by the same man with the red hair from earlier. She was impressed, a slight smirk on her face as she saw how he easily handled the situation that had landed in his lap. She listened to him talk about in need of a job, of certain varieties, which caused her interest to be peaked. So he is a mercenary....No...He isn't here for me, is he? No...Or he would have caused a scuffle earlier, right? Hm... thoughts swirled in her head like an endless cyclone, thoughts going in every way, then merging and emerging at every counter she could have thought of. But just in case he was here for her, she kept her right hand close by to her weapon, unsure of the man's intentions. He seemed to be there for innocent work, but possibly it was a cover, or simply the truth. In case it was the former, she wasn't willing to take any chances, the sooner she could get out of the town, the better.

Aetrius shook her head and stood up, pondering on what her next course of action should be, when suddenly a man stumbled into her drunkily, knocking her off and over the wood pile she was standing next to. Which only resulted in seething anger to fill her, as no one, not even a drunk should have been able to push her over so easily. She swiftly jumped to her feet, grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eyes as she spoke, "Who do you think you are, eh? Knocking random by standers over like they're nothing?" she said angrily as her griip around his shirt tightened. The man looked at her in both surprise and fear, as he was highly intoxicated and wasn't in a clear mind. "Ey, look ladie. I wash just passin' trew, eh? I meant nottin' by it, okey?" his words slurred together like a mess of mud and sludge from the back end of a used horse stable. "Just watch where you're going next time, eh? Could have resulted far worse if you had bumped into some one else, kapeesh? Just go home and sober up already, alright?" she said as she let go of the man, having him land in the streets carelessly as she walked past him in annoyance and in a sense, a bit angered. Hoping not much of a scene was created by her small interference, she put her hood back up and mounted her horse, and strode off down the main street, back to originally from where she was, mask in hand that was hidden by her robe. As she exited the inner part of the town, she for just a moment made eye contact with the woman from before, and gave her a slight nod, a small sign of respect and acknowledgement, but before she decided to make her own way around the town, she spoke to the girl, "Pardon me, but do you know where the closest place to stay would be? Not looking for a place for the night, just some place for a few hours, if that. Mainly for my steed...." she kept her head low as she spoke, keeping the majority of her face unseen by the other woman.

Aetrius smiled at the woman who had given her directions for where she could find a place of respite, she gave the woman a nod as a thank you, and was about to head over the direction she had been told of. When suddenly a group of men were starting to harass her, in ways not acceptable to anyone, even a Bounty Hunter such as herself, but just as she was going to give her aid, another woman came walking by and tripped one of the men causing a small smirk to appear on her face. The other men seemed shocked, but for Aetrius, their behavior was unacceptable and needed to be dealt with further. She looked at the men and shook her head, with simple ease she dismounted her horse and landed with grace, as she stood up she spoke to the men, "You there, you bastards. What do you think you're doing? Do you think it's proper to treat a woman in such a way? One that was willing to give you honest aid, and yet you prove to be all the same, disgusting pieces of shit that deserve to be wiped off the earth." she said as she spit at one of the men, aiming for his feet.

She casually placed her hand on her hip, by one of her swords making it obvious that she would be willing to take up arms if need be, even for a complete stranger. As cold hearted as she could be, she knew when justice and good deeds, or even just common human decency were needed and this was one of those times. She stepped infront of the woman and then looked back at the men, surveying how many there were, if they had any weapons, or if they were even really worth the trouble, which in reality they would be no more than simple novice practice for the huntress. "You alright, m'lady? Did they hurt you in any other way?" she asked the woman that had been assaulted by said scumbags, never once taking her eyes off the men as she spoke to the other woman, just in case the men tried anything at all. Which, to the gods, she prayed they didn't, for their sake as it would not end well for them.

Aetrius stayed close by, guarding the defenseless woman, when out from the corner of her eye did she see someone running up with a drawn weapon, the man from before. She was prepared to take on all three if this is what it was. But to her surprise, the same man from before had attacked the bigger thug, which caused a grin to form on her face. Just as swiftly as he had arrived to help, he had the man down on the ground, and declared who he was and that caused her heart to thud faster. S....Saharan....He....he's from Saharan?, she thought. It brought back memories from home, and her time there, but Lonan Arzura, she didn't know that name, or anyone of the Arzura name. She assumed she head kept most knowledge of her home and people from there out of her care. But as the bigger thug had been distracted, it was the perfect play.

With a swift set of motions, she easily knocked the man off his feet with a simple kick to his ankle, a satisfying crack came from his leg causing a grin to form on her face again. The man groaned in pain as he could feel the bones in his ankle breaking, both from the sheer force of her kick and the fact that he wasn't bracing himself for an attack as he had been too distracted with his friend being attacked. "The coward" she murmured. She spun around and with her left hand she punched the man square in the face with her leather gloved fist, his nose breaking on contact with her fist, she watched as he fell to the ground holding his face as he squirmed in agony. She unsheathed her sword with her right hand and pressed it against his neck, not enough to puncture, but it was enough for her to get her point across, "Do not ever harass another woman or person like that again, or I will personally come back here and cut off your toes, one by one with a butter knife." she said as she kicked him down with her boot, and kicked once more square in the jaw, the smaller man was only able to whimper as a response, as his mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth. Aetrius looked back at the red haired male as she sheathed her weapon and spoke, 'Well done, but I think his friend's manhood is already broken as well as his pride of being a man..." she gave a slight chuckle at her joke, and nodded at him once more, and removed her hood as she looked to the after noon's sky above. After taking in the morning sun's glow, she spoke again.

"What you did was more admirable than most acts I've seen in years...Good to know some still exist....And you said you're from Saharan, eh? What brought you all the way here? Aside from the adventure of work, as I over heard earlier." she said as she looked to the man that was called Lolan, impressive for someone of his stature, he wasn't much taller than her, if anything he was more on the skinny yet well kept side. She kept that in mind if he were to ever attempt anything. Good with a blade....fast...skilled...Noted. she thought to herself as she made a mental note of what he was capable of. She looked back at the woman she had been previously guarding, "What would you like to be done with these...men...? If you can even call such low lives that."

After Aetrius and Lolan had all too easily beat up the goons that were harassing the poor girl, they discussed among-st themselves, mainly Lolan telling her why he was there in Atlum. She could sense he was lying, partially, her years studying people and their body language speaks volumes. She could judge from his body movements, while he was telling the truth, it wasn't all of it. As long as he wasn't there for her, she couldn't care less of his reasoning. But as she listened she saw from the corner of her eye the same girl from before with the polearm, she brought Aetrius her horse. Aetrius smiled, and gave the white haired woman a nod as a sign of thanks, and pet her horse, "Who's a good girl." she then corrected herself and coughed, realizing how she was acting, as she adored her horse more than anything. She looked back at the woman that Lonan refereed to as the "Angelic Knight of Cre’est" or so he called her, a name she had never heard of, surprisingly. She nodded at her as well, letting her tend to the men she had ever so brutally beaten to a literal blood pulp, well her and Lolan. May have gone too ham....Nah." she thought, they deserved it regardless.

She mounted her horse again, and was going to follow Lolan to the tavern for a drink, or two, as she would need one. But then sudden shouts sounded from down the road. Something of bandits, again. Her eyes widened as she looked and saw dozens of bandits coming over the horizon. It was an invasion, again. As if this town hadn't been through enough, yet another raid. She growled as she saw innocent lives being taken, as the bandits callously slaughtered the helpless villagers. While some may say it's hypocritical of her as she does kill for a living, she has her limitations, and taking innocent lives of defenseless people is against her rules she abides by. As the raiders drew closer, she pulled Lolan onto her horse and made a mad dash into the town. As they got closer, she put her mask back on, withdrew her bow and steadied an arrow, taking aim she let it free, watching as the bolt pierced one of the bandit's hearts, watching him slump off of his ride and was limp, a smirk on her face appeared as she raced into the down. As more raiders poured into the streets, she slowly rose on the back of her horse, handing Lolan the reins, "Take her somewhere safe, I'll defend you." she said as she let two more arrows fly as two more bandits were easily disbanded of. She leapt off of her horse and rolled into a summersault, and pivoted, as she did so she knocked two bandits off their feet, as she engaged in combat with the two. She took her bow, and with simple ease she turned and smacked one across the face with her bow, disorienting him for a moment as she grabbed the other by the back of the neck and slammed him into the wall as he fell. As the other managed to recover, she withdrew both of her blades, and began to fend off more raiders, seeing Linde and a hooded figure in the distance, "I could use some help over here!" she called out to the two, or anyone ele that would be willing to help her in the fight, which seemed to be for a lost cause.

How'd she get roped into this, was one of the bounty hunter's first thoughts. Always one to get caught in the cross hares no matter where she went, apparently. Was it worth it? Fighting for people she didn't even know, lest cared about? Maybe, but was getting herself killed like this what she wanted? No, of course not. But she had to fight, for herself as well as the others. She listened to the hooded man's words, and begrudgingly nodded, looking back at the men that were selected. Five looked at her, they were big, tall, strong, larger builds than her, of course. Naturally she'd get the bigger enemies, right? Was her luck after all, as it always happened. Two melee, two cross bow, and one had brass knuckles. Take out the cross bows first, then the knuckles, melee last as I can easily fend them off, she thought. She could determine who was a bigger threat easily in mere seconds. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming herself and surveying the surroundings and what she could use to her advantage before they would start.


“Finish them off quickly!” Shouted the Leader. At that instant she unsheathed her twin blades, and got into a defensive position, the cross bows would need being extinguished first. As the one with brass knuckles charged at her first she grinned, she easily flipped over him as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him using his momentum against himself, resulting in him getting a mouthful of dirt. She grinned, as one of the crossbow users started to steady a bolt, she took a bolt of her own and swiftly threw it with all of her might, causing it to pierce his right eye and lodging itself comfortably in the eye socket, his body slumping soon after as blood pooled around his corpse. One of the swordsman charged at her, almost catching her off guard, but she managed to parry his first blow, but only received a metal gloved fist to her left cheek. "Ugh..." she groaned, as blood was spat out of her mouth and onto the ground in front of her. She countered and returned an equally if not harder blow to his jaw, managing to stagger him, as the other cross bow user aimed at her, releasing his bolt, she managed to grab the swordsman who was staggered and using him as a human shield she hid behind him, the bolt piercing his chest. She swiftly dropped his body as his last breath existed his lungs, the man with the knuckles managed to come out of nowhere and get in a punch himself, causing her to stagger backwards, her mask falling off as his fist made contact. She groaned yet again, as she looked at her mask that now lay on the ground, she tightened her fist, seeing as how the mask was now cracked in half. "You bastard." she said as she looked at the man who grinned at the now unmasked Aetrius.

"Just as ugly as I had imagined. The mask is a good look for ye, girl." he said with a grin as he prepared to go in for another hit. Aetrius growled and caught his punch, only resulting in her to growl in pain as a sharp pain rippled through her wrist and forearm, it was broken for sure. "You fucking bastard, you're going to die." she yelled as she charged him, smashing him into the ground. She proceeded to give him at least three solid punches to the nose, and then the jaw, landing a solid last punch that gave a solid crack as her fist made contact with his horribly disfigured face. As she slowly stood up, she looked down at the man, and swiftly stomped his head in once, then twice, then thrice. She heard a click sound from infront of her, she looked up to see the other crossbow user taking aim at her, a small grin on her face.

"Just go for it, you bastard. Have the bollocks and just go for it alread-" she began, but suddenly felt an all too familiar feeling in her right side. She looked down to see a crossbow bolt had lodged its way into her side, a chuckle erupting from her mouth as she looked back up at the raider. "Wha....what? You're fuckin' nutts, ya know that?" the man said as he looked at the woman he had just shot in the side with his crossbow. Aetrius chuckled more, "You're all the same. You think because you have something I don't, that you're instantly better. Well guess what?" she started, she looked down back at the bolt, and with a swift motion she snapped the bolt in half, leaving the bolt side in, as anyone knows if you are stabbed, shot, or land on rebar, you never pull it out or try to get it out. You leave it in until you can get proper medical attention. "I've been shot, stabbed, trampled, burned, sliced, whipped....et cetera, et cetera. You can't kill me so easily." she said as she slowly made her way to the man, who only looked on at her in horror and awe, as she was certainly a sight to behold. She grabbed the man by the throat and hoisted him into the air, grinning, "You make a fine decoration, what says your friend?" she grinned, the man struggled to get out of her grasp, the last man with the sword charged Aetrius, who grinned and swiftly turned, to see the eyes of the man who she was holding widen. As it turned out, he had been impaled through the chest by his own comrade. She used the swordman's surprise to her advantage, and swept his feet from under him, and swiftly plunged her two swords into his chest and neck, watching him choke on his blood, and then go still.

As Aetrius looked around, she saw that Lolan had finished off his five by now, and nodded. The others had been fighting their own onslaught. But as the pain and blood loss finally hit Aetrius, she fell to her knees, gripped the crossbolt wound tightly, becoming weak and her vision clouded she fell onto her back, trying to help stop the blood flow, as her wound wasn't fatal itself, but if she kept losing blood without proper attention soon, she could very much so expire.