The Rail-Blazers of Karad'Gor

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary quickly spotted out the rats just before the chaos broke loose. The first resounding blast coming from the long shooter's rifle seeing the after affect on the unsuspecting victim splattering his nearby friend before the rest jumped out of the bush. He would have cheered for the beautiful shot if they didn't immediately tried to return fire causing the proud raccoon to fall backwards into the mud below. He didn't waste time getting back up as he gasped for air briefly from the fall that knocked the wind that was in him. As he did so he tossed his binoculars into his bag and called out after the second shot. "There's maybe about fifteen maybe more! Keep on your toes!"

With that out of the way he needed to focus on keeping the nearby party safe. He pulled his revolver from the holster and charged into the oncoming enemies blasting one of the rats that was attempting to flank the trio as he did so. It wasn't dead but the bullet that logged itself into the torso of his target definitely did not agree with him causing the rat to shriek in pain as it recoiled away from the Direction it was hit. he then turned his attention to the front line and he threw his left fist towards another rat man. But last seccond before the fist made contact the blade from switch blade emerged from his sleeve stabbing through the rat man's neck swiftly cleaving the blade straight down slicing through the remainder of the neck as he aimed the revolver again straight ahead shooting another rat man in the stomach. He surely hoped his back was covered or this would end quickly for him.

[KittKat chunky~]

So loud and sudden was the explosive bark of Laina's carbine that Kat flinched, her aim wavering as she flicked her sensitive lynx ears flat back against the painful ringing sound. Heavens knew what it was like for Nihlus, right at the epicentre, but there was no time for such thoughts as in that brief moment the rat creatures poured out of the undergrowth like a tide of mangy grey and brown fur. Kat loosed her first arrow, its whistling lost beneath the surrounding bangs and crack of firearms that ripped through the still swamp air. But the shot found its mark as it thudded into the nearest charging creature and brought it down with a pitiful squealing. No time to celebrate, Kat leaped aside as the creature crashed into the mud beside her.

Notch another arrow.. draw... release... Her second shot skittered off into the air over the shoulder of one of the ratmen as Kat aimed for the swirling mass of creatures that Zach had launched himself into. Notch, draw release... Another rat fell, gurgling hot blood with a shaft pierced through its throat. But the crazed animals kept coming, leaping from the undergrowth, churning through the slick grey mud in a veritable swarm that seemed to flow around and between the members of the group. With terrifying speed Kat found herself cut off from Nihlus and Laina by a wall of the snarling creatures, all closing in as Zachary kept fighting headlong into the group nearest him.

Kat swore loudly then, after a moments hesitation, started to pull off the long gloves she wore; revealing a golden gleam of fur up to her forearms hidden beneath. With a snarl she drew the long-handled hammer from across her back, polished meteor steel gleaming as she swung it round into two hands.

The slavering creatures circled for a moment, seemingly wary of this unusual prey. It was the largest of them that eventually made the first move, pouncing forward it aimed to skewer her there and then with a long spike of rusted iron. Kat bared her teeth as she barely twisted in time to face the rat and it's spike slashed painfully across her thigh. But it was already over for the creature. As Kat brought the meteor hammer up in one swift motion and connected squarely with the rat's chest she let a stream of raw uncontrolled Metalmancy pour through her paws and into that strike. In an instant the hammer glowed like molten steel, flashing from red through orange to angry white-hot and with a thundering clap the plague rat was eviscerated, practically torn apart by the concussive shockwave that erupted through its chest. Kat reeled backwards from the expenditure of the blow. Her arms felt heavy and her chest heaved with ragged breaths as she bared her teeth and gripped the weapon in her gleaming paws. Steaming hot rat blood spilled across the ankle deep mud around her like an oil slick, but to her dismay the sickening smell of it only seemed to whip the others into an even greater frenzy.

[coolcoyote]

Far enough ahead to be usefull to the party as a scout but to far to be immidietly usefull in the battle Kaz hummed to himself as he navigated the swamp land, plotting ojt obsticals and poking his head down holes that might contain deadly coyote eating monsters.

TNT. That's what he needed for this trip. It would be so usefull for reasons no sane person would consider. Saddly after the necessities of food, drink and lodging the coyote didn't have the funds for such items.

Kaz guessed he would have to just survive on his coyote-ly charms and wits.

Stopping by a puddle of clear water Kaz peers into his reflection. With a sad sigh he clutches either side of his stomach. "Well, hopefully my wits will make up for my lack of charm..."

Then came the gun shot. Even before the next one came Kaz was already rolling forward behind tbe nearest cover with his pistol drawn. He scanned the horrizon for enemies but saw none. "Easy yote. Twas just the party firin in the distance."

There was a short pause.

"@#$!"

Leaping out of his cover the coyote began to book it back to the others. "Five minutes. Five Light forsaken minutes and they are already in a fire fight. That has got to be a record. So help me if they all die I'm going to shoot them!"

Little did the yote know that he was heading more towards the rats than his own party...

[Eden-H]

Nihlus' stance faltered when the first shot rang directly in his ears, forelegs nearly buckling beneath him as it reverberated bone. For a moment he thought he was going to vomit as his head rattled, but the effect thankfully wore off quickly enough to allow him to retain some sense of stability and awareness of what was going on around them. However, for future protection against this dangerous wave of sound, his feathers folded inward. Able to both muffle and protect his sensitive hearing, he lifted his head to watch as one of their companions foolishly began wading through the onslaught of rodents into their center. The same one who had made the tactical mistake of climbing a dead tree both before they had arrived and soon after.

If it were his choice, he would have leapt onto the man and ended his threat to the party. Fortunately it was not up to his personal tastes, but slaughtering some of these frothing rats... He could certainly handle that. With a brief warning provided to the woman riding on his back, he lowered his body to the ground before literally bounding into the fray of flesh, saliva and blood. With this great jump, he crushed one of the smaller and unaware beasts beneath his claws, but immediately moved beyond them. Indeed he was making his way towards Zach, quickly snapping out with his jaws and gripping one of the rodents 'round their entire neck.

Close enough to the man to provide a buffer against the continued onslaught, he used the full force of his jaw strength to eliminate the one that had been wriggling in his muzzle. Snarling, he threw the now-limp body in a random direction and moved into the path of the rushing monstrosities. While he could only provide a buffer against the armed monsters for so long, especially when he considered the danger Laina was under while perched on him, he was not going to let this bleeding idiot get himself butchered in their very first combat situation.

[Xavier Akafur]

Laina felt the creature beneath her tense, and she dropped the bead she had on the next creature in favor of hanging on tightly to Nihlus. Good thing, too, because a she bounded towards the battle it was all she could do not to be flung off of her perch on his back. It would not have been too difficult if she hadn't had to try and keep hold of her rifle as well, the heavy weapon sure to fall clattering into the mud if she let it go now. Given that it was her only viable offense against this many creatures, she clung to it as desperately as she clung to her seat.

When nihlus finally came to a stop she sat up a little bit, surveying where they had ended up. She cursed loudly when she saw that they were nearly in the middle of the swarming creatures. "Shiiiiiit..." Jerry came back up, aimed loosely at the creatures running towards them. "BOOM BOOM BOOM.....BOOM." The shots almost sounded like echoes of each other as she rapidly fired into the crowd, taking down a rat with two of the three initial shots. The fourth was paused long enough for her to take aim on a marksman she had spotted in the foliage, and while she could not tell if she had hit her mark, she saw the rat drop into the weeds. Hopefully he hadn't just been ducking.

She lowered herself down against Nihlus's back once more, hoping he was somehow bulletproof as her volley of gunfire was sure to attract attention. She fumbled at the bullets on the belt across her chest, the smoke-filled air around her lingering with the lack of breeze. The gun barrel was still smoking as she flipped out the cylinder, dropping the spent casings down into the muck and starting to reload the carbine a bullet at a time. She mentally checked the shotgun-pistol at her hip, but realized from this vantage point she may not need it. The marten was especially careful where she was moving and holding her weapon, making sure not to burn the nativathi out of carelessness.

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary kept up his assault on the mass of plauge rats. And with Kat's help it gave him that moment to study his surrounding opponents. Who's more likely to attack first, who would be the bigger threat, and who had the biggest weapons. All this happened as he gave a gut loosening slash to a rat man and a decapitation to another. Once he did so he fired a shot towards one of the bigger rat men aimed for his chest. The revolver cracked as nihlus jumped closer to him, the bullet hitting it's mark... mostly. It hit the stomach instead. But nonetheless he snapped his revolvers aim to another target and fired another shot. The rat man fell and he saw Kat in her predicament he decided to return the favor and quickly fired another shot aimed at the rat men circling hrr. This shot hit one of thier shoulders but he had no time to worry about it now because the rat men sprung to attack once more making Zachary quickly leap out of the way his sword catching the enemy on his way out. Sure it wasn't lethal but it caused him to reel back trying to avoid it. Zachary didn't give the rat time to balance and quickly followed up with his grappling hook swinging his arm wide so the cable snared him loosely and tugged hard making the rat fall over with the revolver aimed to the head quickly blasting his brains out as the cable retracted quickly. He needed to assist Kat by getting closer. But the wall of rats between them was causing a bit of a problem.

[coolcoyote]

"Five minutes." Kaz growls unhappily as he plants his tail behind the cover of a log. "Five bleedin minutes. And already they started a war. With out me no less!" The yote peers cautiousoy over the log. "Well...that's more rats than I have fingers to count."

He draws a pistol in each paw.  Each pistol has been modified to carry 7 shots. That's 14 bullets against x number of enemeies. "Now if I were any kind of gentle yote I would be abliged to rush out there like a mad man, firing, hooting and holoring and get myself shot for my trouble. If I was a smart yote then I would just stay here and try to pick them off with a pair of pistols...until they circle back and stab me with their...spears? Well ok then."

The coyote's narreration pauses as he considers these options. Eventually he begins to smile, toothy grin splitting his muzzle ear to ear.


"But thankfully they hired a crazy pyromaniac with self destructive tendencies." The yote couphs once to clear his throat. Taking a deep breath he leaps to his feetm cacckling like a mad man as he fires two quick shots towards the rats. "We got em surrounded now boys! Move in for the kill!"

The coyote takes off to his right pausing behind a different tree to fire two more shots with the same pistol. "Move in! Send in the marines! Take no prisoners!" He shouts as loud as he can before moving down to another set of cover. He dashes back and forth in the tree oine, repeating the process of shouting and firing quick shots, trying to keep himself hidden when he can.

Making the rats believe there were more enemies out in the woods was, at best, a long shot. At worst a few rats might be drawn away from the party. That was fine with Kaz. He could lose them easy enough...he hoped.

"We are having rat stew tonight!" He says while firing the last of his bullets. Like the rest of his shots they go wild and strike nothing but the earth, narrowly missing a few rats...and even some times his own party members.

"Blazes I hope this works." He says quietly while reloading one pistol at a time.

[KittKat chunky~]

Kat felt a brief sense of relief as the others waded into the combat too, lessening the number of rat-men that stood between them rapidly. Her relief was short-lived however as the slavering creatures just kept coming. With each swing of her meteor hammer and accompanying thunder clap of power Kat could feel the strength sapping from her limbs until she felt ready to collapse, arms leaden and every muscle in her body flaring with pain.

The number of the swarming creatures did seem to be thinning however, helped of course by the powerful blows and bone-cracking jaws of Nihlus as he waded into the crowd. And she wasn't sure if it was just confusion of her senses, but at the height of the fighting Kat could swear there seemed to be other shouts from the bushes, not the rat creatures, and even more bullets whizzing overhead. All she knew for sure was that in the ensuing confusion a gap in the snarling creatures presented itself, and so with one last push she spent the last of her strength into forcing her way through to her companions.

For a moment the creatures closed around her, grasping and swinging with their crude weapons. Then with a final shoulder-barging slam she was through. Kat stumbled alongside the rest of the group, breathing heavily and knee deep in blood and mud. She stood and readied herself again, clouds of hot steam hissing off the unnaturally golden fur of her paws matched the smoke that wreathed the still red-hot hammer. A white hot pain seared through her thigh and she bared her teeth against it with a deep growl. "Oh, now I'm really pissed off..."

[Xavier Akafur]

Loath to leave her seat of relative safety on top of the natavathi's back, Laina hesitated after she finished reloading her gun. Her paw spun the chamber and flicked it back into place deftly, the metal issuing a soft click amidst the chaos of shouting and gunfire. It was quite a feat just to stay atop Nihlus, his giant frame swatting aside rats like they were little more than insects. Most of them flew away so broken and mangled that they likely drowned in the mud of the swamp. Still, his ravaging attacks did little to help the marten on his back, and Laina knew she had to dismount if she wanted to take any further offensive action beyond a few pot shots in the moments he held still... which were not many.



So, hoisting Jerry above her shoulders she rolled to the side on Nihlus away from the oncoming horde. She came down hard into the mud, easily sinking to her knees from the impact. The lithe female struggled to free herself from the mire, her ears picking up the sound of shouting and gunfire from another area of the bushes, a bullet sinking into the mud right next to her leg and splattering flecks of the brown much across her face. That little reminder of her own mortality made her struggle like mad to get out of the mud, eventually pulling a leg free. Several of the rodents had tried to get at her, but Nihlus posed too big of a threat to simply run around him.

Ayllaina paused in her struggling to level her rifle at the treeline, firing a single round in that direction when she saw the muted flash of metal. The bullet splintered a tree trunk between her and Kaz, but did not manage to actually hit the coyote. Oblivious to the fact that her comrade was the one in the trees she assumed that would hold this new attacked at bay long enough for her to free her other leg. The rodents had a different idea, two of them finally managing to skirt the massive reach of the natavathi and come at her, swords drawn. The marten's instinctive combat reflexes warned her just before they reached her, and she whirled around as best she could, firing a string of three bullets the moment she confirmed there was indeed a threat. Jerry wasn't suited to close range combat, but a bullet is a bullet. The second bullet of the three caught one of the rat-men high in the thigh, not a fatal wound surely but it slowed the thing down as it angrily gibbered whatever language they were speaking at the sniper. Then the first rat was inside the range of her barrel and she was forced to maneuver her gun in the way of a rusty and wickedly twisted blade as it angled for her hip, trying to cut her where she had difficulty defending herself. The blade struck the metal with a dull pinging noise, leaving a shallow scratch line.

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary kept up his flurry stabbing a rat in it's head as it followed Kat to the party. He had to keep his combat awareness up now so he wouldn't slash at his allies. Well one was easy to keep track of and that was Nihlust. He was the most distinguished from the whole mass being the only quadruped in the mass. He took a quick glance around then saw the sniper jump down. She was pretty easy to spot to with her finer clothes. He also got a look at Kat noticing her literal golden fur. Well at this rate he was the most bland of the group.

He'd chop a few more plauge rats down before seeing the two that snuck around trying to get at the sniper. He was too late to stop the damage she received but he could stop any further damage. He let the cable draw out and use the grapple at the end as a mace knocking the rat man that was on her back with a powerful blow to it's chest. That should give her some room to counter and get out. If not Nihlust would take care of them.

But he needed to lay off as much heat he could off of of Kat or she won't make it. He fired a shot after the swing to knock the rat man back past Kat into a rat man that tried to get behind her.

[coolcoyote]

The best laid plans, thinks the coyote as his plan backfires in a very literal way. He lets loose a frightened yelp as the tree rocks from the bullet pounding its side. He slips on the wet grass and falls onto his back.

"Who's side are you on!" Kaz shouts. Just then a rat dressed in only a loin cloth and body paint land in the ditch to his right. Brandishing his spear at the coyote he goes to run the bandit through his fat belly. "Blazes!" in a moment Kaz is on his feet pulling the triggers for both his revolvers.

/click/
/click/

Right...he still needed to reload from his little failed attempted drawing attention away from the party.

Well that's why he carries a shot gun. The weapon has more than enough stopping power to take down a measly rat! Throwing his revolver at the on coming rat he pegs him in the face with it, cause his opponant to faulter just long enough to draw his shot gun single pawed and blow him away.

The rats eyes light up with fear as he reconizes that his end is upon him.

/\BOOM/\

And the buck shot rakes the tree next to the rat, completely missing its target. The sting of his wrist being wounded from pulling a manuver so foolish is nothing compared to the bitter sting of missing with a shot gun at 10 feet.

"Aw come on!" Kaz shouts. In the next moment the rat recovers his wits and thrusts forward with his spear, aiming to impale the coyote.

[KittKat chunky~]

Kat gritted her teeth against the pain that burned white-hot across her thigh with each new step she took. The leg of her normally grey pants was stained red and blood pooled over the top of her boot. But the pain was only really in the background, like wolves circling an injured deer. So Kat pushed on and with a feral roar she brought her hammer up again in a swing that caught one of the rat-men circling Laina a heavy blow, shattering its jaw. The creature stumbled and fell, bright red tongue gurgling uselessly from its bloodied mess of a mouth.

Standing shakily in the midst of the fighting Kat breathed through her bared teeth. She barely even noticed Zachary blast down another creature circling behind her anymore, or Laina still struggling desperately against the other two rat-men. Past intense waves of pain and clashing of steel there was only one thing Kat could see or hear through the undergrowth... Kaz, the jovial and portly coyote who she had barely met hours ago, however he had got there.. Under the rushing point of a spear that seemed destined to be lodged in his chest.

Kat's expression twisted into a pained snarl as she saw the scene unfold with a sudden sense of clarity. She reached out one paw, fighting against the leaden weight of her tired arms. There was no time for any fancy metalmancy, and even if she had thought to try Kat wasn't sure she had the strength anymore. Instead she did the only thing she could and poured everything she had at the metal head of the spear in one last desperate burst. Her paws became wreathed in bright golden light even as the rat man plunged the spear forward, it seemed like it was too late...

Then the spear shattered with a deafening screech. Tiny fragments of metal showered the ground around the coyote and the rat creature as Kat's legs finally buckled beneath her and she slipped into the suffocating darkness of unconsciousness.

[Xavier Akafur]

Laina heard more than saw the bullets still spraying around them and the grappling hook take out the rat behind her, struggling as she was with the single rat-man aiming wild swings at her head and torso. Its first attack foiled it went into a frenzy, trying to cut her down with nothing but persistence and strength. There was no finesse to the attacks, which was probably the only thing that saved the marten from being hacked to pieces. Jerry was taking a beating from being used as a shield, but the gun was made of a tougher metal than whatever the rat was wielding, and the damage was superficial.


Nihlus was still rampaging through the group to her right, having town most of them to bloody pieces. She had no idea how he was still standing, being such a big target meant he had to have taken several shots at the minimum, but maybe his hide was tougher than she thought. A massive paw came down on the rat that Zach has knocked over, simply crushing it to a paste. With the sniper off his back and the horde significantly thinned, he took to the sky with a powerful leap, landing some hundred yards into the treeline amid a chorus of screaming rat marksmen.

Ayllaina maneuvered her carbine around for another block, but this time made sure that it was angled perfectly for her next trick. Just before the rat's weapon hit her gun she pulled the trigger, the open chamber spouting fire at the rat's face from the perfectly angled barrel. The bullet flew harmlessly out into the swamp, but the rat threw its hands up as the flames and smoke scorched its face and burned its lungs. She quickly dropped a hand to her waist and pulled her shotgun, lunging forward. She pulled the trigger just as the hit the limit of her reach, the weapon going off just inches from the thing's chest. It was dead in nearly an instant as a hole the size of a fist was punched through its heart.

The marten didn't even pause as she tossed the spent gun to the side and worked her leg up out of the mud. With a slurping pop she came free, luckily still with her boot, and she came up in a roll, leveling her rifle towards anything that might be behind her.... only to find that there was in fact nothing there. Kat lay slumped in the mud, and Zach was battling the last pair of rats some few feet from her.

With an exhausted sigh she put a bullet in one of the two rats fighting Zach, dropping it dead. Looking down the sights gave her another view, however, for directly past the two stood Kaz and another Rat... holding a pole? She pulled the trigger again, aiming at the rat's head, but the carbine just clicked lamely, out of ammunition.

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary had to block one of the two rat men attacks and he went to shoot the seccond while he could but the sniper quickly stopped him by shooting the intended target. So Zachary jumped back anticipating the rat man he blocked would try to kick or throw him off which good for him, he was right. As soon as Zachary was on the ground again he'd swiftly aim to the now charging plauge rat and fired off on more shot. The plauge rat took the bullet to his chest and fell, not dead but in severe pain and bleeding into to mud.

Zachary sighed in relief that that ordeal was over, for now at least. There was definitely going to be more challenges down the road and he's definitely going to need to be on his toes more so then previously. But this adventure would be his story to tell, and other affiliated parties.

Quickly surveying the remaining members in the area, noting Kat passed out and the sniper aiming at something. He returned the blade back to his sleeve and walked over to Kat to check she was ok, quickly noting the injury. Too bad he didn't decide to bring his first aid kit. At least staunching the blood flow would be good for now until they find something to clean the wound. Zachary took a arm out of his coat sleeve and tore the forearm section of the shirt on his left side, Not like he needed it anyway, using the sleeve bit as a makeshift bandage tightly tying in over top the wound to slow the blood flow. With the condition of the rat's weapons no doubt it was likely infected but again getting out of this area would be better.

[coolcoyote]

Don't panic. Thought the coyote. It's just a sharp pointy spear coming to run through your fleshy organs and vitals. There was however very little time to feel anything, panic or otherwise. As if by instinct Kaz swings his gun upward to deflect the spear away from impaling him.

It wouldn't be too hard really to move forward, over power the rat and finish this. Just like he has done before through a life time of violence and banditry. No problem.

And then the rat's spear head explodes...

Both rat and yote are pelted by fragments of metal, enough so they are both forced onto the ground by the blast. Kaz's ears ring violently. Struggling to get up he lets out a gasp of pain from the various small shards peppering his hide.

The rat is no worse off. He blinks once or twice, looking at the broken shaft in paw, trying to fathom what just happened. Spears dont just...explode do they? Maybe that is the consiquences for buying a second hand spear!

As the rat contemplates this Kaz is on his feet lunging for the rat. With a defiant squeak the rat drops the broken spear shaft, drawing a wicked serrated bone knife from behind his back.

Both battlers are quickly lost behind a pair of bushes. Occasionally a knife will be seen over the bushes, a desperate paw keeping it at bay as its attacker struggles to plunge it into his enemies heart. The sound of gasping rustling and struggling is prevailent until...

"AAAAAAAEEEEEEIIIIII!" The ear peircing shriek fills the air and the sounds of struggling stop. There is a rustling noise as the rat steps free from the bushes. He stands still for a long moment, wavering on his feet before collapsing onto face first into the ground. His own knife is plunged deep into his back like a flag post.

Paws bloody, both literal and metephorical, Kaz appears shortly there after. He takes a look at the battle before him. A true scene of carnage.

"The heck?!" He shouts to all.