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Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 4-2, Reversal of Fortunes

The initial charge into the front of the building had been led by Alarice and Inigo with Alvis folowing along a good number of steps back. Weisen took Joshew and Roland in through a side door while Sada remained outside to serve as a lookout, armed with the talk-box that Weisen's clockwork dragonfly had carried. The plan was for Weisen to shout a warning within the building if the otter woman caught sight of reinforcements... until then, they pretty much had the run of the place.

The man standing guard at the front door seemed perplexed by the group approaching him and had taken a step forward to object to their presence, but Alarice's short sword was faster than the man's tongue. Revenge was never a profitable pursuit. In fact, revenge usually went against everything that Alarice stood for but, as she pulled her sword out of the rib cage of the she had to admit that, if nothing else, it felt good... it felt very good. As the body slumped to the porch she motioned to the door, and Inigo kicked it in.

The walls were thick and well-built, which meant that only Inigo heard the sound of combat engaged on the far side of the building; apparently the group entering through the side door had encountered resistance. Alarice wasn't particularly concerned with the other party however; she had to put her trust in the dragon since she had her own objectives to worry about... and that meant getting in, placing the explosives, and getting things done.

The front room was clear and Inigo had already anticipated her directions before she had the chance to sign them to him. Alvis lingered at the entryway for a moment, gingerly sidestepping the dead body before he came in, hanging back near the door as had been discussed. The two combatants cleared the main entryway and each scanned a doorway: one leading left and the other to the right. It was during that quick inspection that one of the Order's soldiers came down the stairs, drawing his sword.

Alarice couldn't be bothered crossing blades with the man; she pulled out her Faula pistol with her off-hand and pulled the trigger. The man didn't really have anywhere to dodge on the staircase but attempted to throw himself to the side regardless; a spray of blood emerged from his ribs. He stumbled the rest of the way down the stairs and the woman threw the empty holdout at him. She motioned the scholar to the side passage before heading that way herself, "Inigo, he's yours."

The bat's confirmation was filled with an obvious double-entendre, "I'll change things up and make this quick."

Alarice didn't bother with a response, and, instead, shepherded Alvis onward. They passed through the next room without event, and into the next, where Roland had indicated during their planning that their barrel should be placed. "Alright... there's the pillar... think you can put it where it'll do the most damage?"

Alvis lowered the keg to the ground then glanced around the large stone column for a moment, tapping his muzzle in thought. He almost jumped out of his fur when Inigo strode in after them, "That's the problem with swordsmen these days... one pop of a pistol and suddenly they have no staying power." He paused, "What are we standing around for?"

Alarice chewed on her lip, "Alvis is trying to figure out the best place to put the powder keg to do the most damage."

Inigo nodded definitively, motioning at the pillar, "I suggest next to the support."

Alvis sighed, "It's not that easy... explosives aren't like a crossbow... they have a certain way they act that--"

The bat didn't seem all that interested in an explanation, "So where do we put it? Less talk, more walk."

The wolf-dog fidgeted, then paused when his eyes fell upon something. He went over to a small coffee table, "Well? Help me with this."

Alarice motioned the go-ahead with a nod and Inigo went over to aid him, but not without his due amount of commentary, "So... we came in here to blow the place up, but you want to redecorate first? BELIEVE me, Heidi Homemaker, if things turn out right this whole room will be redecorated just fine when we're done."

Alvis did not bother responding to the comment until the table was almost right next to the pillar. He gave it a firm kick, knocking it over, and he placed the keg between it and the column, "She asked me to place it the best way possible... and having something to reflect the blast IS the best way possible."

Inigo reached out to ruffle the fur atop the mutt's head, "Wow... sexy and smart....assed. You're quite a catch."

Alarice frowned, "Alright, that's enough. We have our job done. It's time to get moving and meet up wtih--"

"We're not done."

The scholar's objection got both Inigo's and Alarice's attention, but the bat spoke up first, "Whadda ya mean we're not done?"

Alvis fidgeted, "The powder doesn't go off on its own... We need to wait until Joshew gets here... I think he plans on creating a powder line that we can set off before--" he didn't get a chance to finish his words as Alarice pulled out her Geoffrey pistol and fired at another man rushing into the room. The shot hit him in the neck and he fell over, trying in vain to halt the geyser of blood that was spraying out. A second man stepped past him, two swords at the ready.

The woman let out a frustrated sigh, "Inigo, with me." and she approached the combatant.

The bat acknowledged with a simple, "Best way to be."

Whether she expected the man to be any good at fighting two foes at once wasn't something Alarice had given any thought to, but, several seconds after the initial exchange of blows, she was quite surprised that the sword man was not wounded once but, then again, neither was she or Inigo--- which suggested that he was more interested in defending himself than causing them harm... from there, she realized that meant that he had reason to believe that reinforcements were coming. She didn't bother looking back over her shoulder, and chose instead to shout into the man's face,

"Where are they? We need to go!"

Rather than provide an answer, Alvis simply let out a cry of alarm. Alarice didn't spare her attention glancing back, but the moment Inigo was able to do so safely, he did, and provided her an unwelcome assessment of the situation, "Got another near the dog... you want to help him or should I?"

she was just about to answer the question when the sound of a breaking window caught everyone's attention. The fight paused for a moment as a coyote in silvered chain mail followed his thrown round shield in through the window, squaring off against a second member of the Order of Blades who had been closing in on Alvis. Although the coyote wore a helm, Alarice recognized the voice of the mild-mannered priest as he addressed the aggressor, "If you walk away now nobody has to get hurt."

Recovering from the surprise, Alarice glanced back to her own opponent just in time to see the pommel of a sword grow greatly in size until her vision went white with the impact of it against her forehead. As she fell, the follow-up sword strike was blocked by Inigo's blade as he placed himself between her and the man. "I don't much care for any man who beats on a lady... I can see we're not gonna get along very--" but his banter was interrupted as the swordsman followed up with a kick to the bat's midsection.

Alarice tried to blink away the haziness as she saw him raise both swords, set to deliver a killing blow to both of them... when his back erupted and a spray of blood coated the walls, coinciding with the sound of a pistol firing. A second later she heard Roland announce, "Damn, Shew... you got him." Alarice, still on her knees, turned to see the human scholar flanked by the black furred dog; Joshew immediately dropped the empty arquebus.

A moment later the heavy sound of a body striking the floor signaled the end of Brother Jessen's fight, and the coyote put his sword away, moving to Alvis, who was hiding behind the pillar. He raised his face guard, "Are you alright?"

The wolf-dog nodded silently, then offered a meek, "I didn't know you knew how to fight, Brother Jessen."

The coyote shrugged, and his face guard fell back down, causing its wearer to jump in surprise.

His voice echoed through it, "I haven't in a--" he paused, lifting the visor again, "I haven't in a long time... but I'm not going to sit and do nothing when people need my help."

Joshew cleared his throat, "Good-good-fine-whatever... all of the charges are placed... can we follow up with the social niceties later?"

Roland nodded, "Yea... I'm thinking we've worn out our welcome."

Alarice glanced around at the scholars, while Roland helped Joshew complete a line of the black powder, "Where's Weisen?"

The human fielded the answer, "He's back in the hallway fighting off two men... he told us to meet up with you and he'd find us outside the building."

Alvis took a step forward, "We can't set off the explosives until we know he's safe."

Roland snorted, "Which is why Sada has the talk box... she'll be able to signal us when he's clear of the blast."

The discussion was put on hold as two more members of the Order of Blade came charging down the stairs. Alarice made the decision, "Out... now."

Inigo moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her, as he spoke to the scholars behind him, "You heard the lady.. move it."

She raised her two swords, "You too, Inny..."

The bat hesitated, but held his ground, "You need my help."

Alarice frowned, stepping between the men and the explosive keg, "I don't remember asking for your opinion... besides, if there ARE more of them coming the scholars need you to protect them while they set down the line of powder more than I need you protecting me."

He hesitated again, opened his muzzle to say something, then simply sighed. Alarice winced when the discharge of a pistol set her ears to ringing. One of the men in front of her recoiled, shot in the thigh. The bat followed up by throwing the spent weapon at the other man before retreating, adding, "There... you can pay me back later."

Alarice engaged the two in combat but, in truth, she was doing little aside from testing their defenses. She wanted to delay them until she heard the sound of the scholars' powder trail burning. The two swordsmen, however, seemed to have a different idea. While the injured man was slow at moving he still managed to keep her engaged in combat while the second worked passed her. By the time Alarice figured everyone had gained enough distance from the building, the man was already moved beyond her reach, and she cursed silently when he scuffed the line, interrupting the trail.

Lashing out in frustration, she caught the injured swordsman with the hand guard of her sword then stuck her second weapon into his mid-section, spinning around just in time to block the off-balanced blow from the second man. She fought to spin past him, but to no avail... he was keeping her from the powder trail... and the sound of more boots on the steps coming from upstairs was not reassuring.

The swordsman smirked, testing her defenses and, at the same time, pushing her further yet from the powder line, "You saved us the trouble of looking for you, Alarice." It was the first time any of them bothered speaking.Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "It's more trouble once you find me." She lunged forward in a feint, second weapon ready to follow up with a quick jab... but he did the unexpected and stepped forward. Alarice opened her eyes wide in surprise as her sword shifted off to the side, glancing off his chest without doing anything more than tearing into his coat without drawing even a drop of blood.

She had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of some strange metallic vest beneath the cloth... there was no possible way armor could have been so flexible and light to wear beneath clothing-- but, she didn't have any more time to contemplate it as the swordsman's weapon collided against both of hers, and, suddenly, she found herself swordless. She backpedaled away from the powder line as the man came closer. He smiled confidently as three more men came into the room, "Don't do anything stupid. You're worth more alive."

Alarice felt a strange sense of serenity as she pulled her last holdout pistol... one she'd held for a long time with a special message scratched into the wood, "What kind of stupid, exactly?"The swordsman in front of her fell into a combat stance, sword at the ready, "There are four of us and one of you... I would call firing that hand cannon the worst kind."

She smiled, drawing a finger over the tip of the flare gun, "But THIS is my FAVORITE kind..." She took aim at the man and he dove aside, providing her an even better view of the powder keg; she hoped silently everyone had gotten out of the house. The first explosion set off two more and, together, the three were more than enough to bring down the entire building.